So here's the story,
I started flying about 20 years ago - bought a Piper Warrior soon after getting my PPL, got my instrument rating and almost 2000 hours later here I sit. Don't ask me how but I've managed to accumulate 2000 hours flying my Warrior, almost all of it cross country with a significant amount of night and IFR. I've got a really nice Warrior - WAAS GPS, modern autopilot, AV30, nice paint and interior, etc - really do not have to do anything with it but fly it. I've literally flown it everywhere East of the Rockies and it's been a blast.
Here's the issue, I'm 55 and would like to double my flying time before I hang up the headset. However, I wonder if I'm doing myself a favor accumulating all this time in a noncomplex airplane? I've found a mid 70's M20C that intrigues me and I think I could actually buy it for less than my Warrior is worth - the equipment is pretty similar so although the plane is different the "accessories" are pretty much the same. I'm fortunate that much of my flying (70%+) is the same trip of exactly 311 nautical miles which over many years of doing I find I do in exactly 2 hours and 45 minutes so I pretty well understand my mission and the Warrior has done it very well across multiple seasons and years.
So to start with here's the "other" plane - I suspect some of you are going to know the plane and its former owner. Seems like a really cool dude who has left us - how do I know? Google the tail number and you'll find his obituary - the plane is mentioned in his obituary - anyone who mentions a plane in there obituary has probably taken pretty good care of it. The airframe hours are a little high - but I like airplanes that have been used - I think it's worth around 80K - what do you think about the airplane and price?
https://www.controller.com/listing/for-sale/219227951/1975-mooney-m20c-ranger-piston-single-aircraft
So now let's talk mission - simply, am I getting that much more with the M20C than the Warrior for my mission? I think the M20C will do the 311 mile trip about 30 minutes faster than my Warrior - while that's an hour each round trip I view that as negligible - do you agree with the time difference. Moreover, how much more expense am I signing up for in terms of maintenance and insurance?
Lastly, what about all the noncomplex time - am I just suffering a pilot inferiority complex -what say you? Final note, I am a strong believer in known versus unknown commodities - thus my dissonance with this situation.
Have at it and thanks in advance folks!
