RobertoTohme

Any Mooney, long or short body, is a precise flying machine and would serve for the purpose, however, I bet Mr. Chen's intentions is to sell new planes to asian flight schools.

What's with the ploy against the G1000? Look around! Cirrus, Cessna, Piper, Diamond and Kodiak have all turned to G1000 (that I can recall on top of my head) in the piston arena, not to mention turboprops and jets... We're talking here about sales of new airplanes, not retrofitting used ones; technology sells, and not having what's standard on the competition is a major drawback. Whether we like it or not, Garmin is taking over the avionics world by storm not only in pistons, but all the way up to Part 25 certified jets, and since Mooney is not in the basic trainer market they would shoot themselves in the head by not being up to par with the competition. As to the paint jobs, my Eagle was repainted at the factory in 2009 on an Ovation scheme shortly before the shutdown, and 4 years down the road still looks flawless, brand new... It used to be on the old days that their paintjobs weren't that good, but the late Mooney improved a lot on that front in the early 2000's.

I think that Mooney going back to production is a great thing, and couldn't care less about nationality of the new owner; there's a legacy to upkeep, and someone with the technical background is the right person to carry it out. Over time, I'm sure there'll be changes to the M20 but those won't come quickly thanks to the FAA lenghty approval process. My view is that they're going to try to streamline the manufacturing process and product improvement rather than go with a brand new design which will take years and hell of a lot of money to certify; it's always easier, cheaper and quicker to amend the M20 Type Certificate to attain different versions of the same airframe. Want an example? The TBM850, vastly superior to the 700, is still officially a TBM700N... It's faster and carries more weight farther than the previous versions, all this with an amendment to the original TC instead of seeking a new one... Of course, it's greatness has solid Mooney roots, the M30; it's sad that they had to part out of that venture back then due financial reasons.

Why not? I did it... Jumped on my Screaming Eagle with a whopping 43 hours on my log and never felt threathed or uneasy with it. After 7 years, 2000 hours, ATP and 2 type ratings, I can tell you there's no better foundation for precise flying techniques than a Mooney. If I was able to do it, I don't see why anybody else can.

Well, there in the mid teens is where the RR is happy and fuel efficient; yes, it'll be a little higher FF than an Acclaim, but it should be at least a 240 kt airplane in the mid teens whereas you have to climb into the 20's to achieve the A's top speed... This has been proven on the Tradewinds Bonanza, and being heavier and draggier than an M20 still managed 4000 fpm climbs and 225 kts cruise in the mid teens @ 28 gph so, like everything aviation, there's a tradeoff that some will take and most won't, but I'm on the camp that will take the piece of mind of a turbine over a piston engine any day. Also, as you correctly point out, it may be intended for Europe and other places where avgas is either prohibitely expensive or worse, unavailable, but still they'd have to manufacture and certify it here so anyone willing to pony up for the conversion (like me) is welcome to do so... I think it's a fair scenario, Don't you?

An STC to stick a RR Allison 250 turboprop to the long bodies... that's been my dream for so many years... They started talks with RR just months before production stopped, so there's a hidden project somewhere in Kerrville.

I'm just going to say that my M20S made me the pilot I am today, and couldn't have picked a better platform for a solid foundation to move up to the turbine world... I love my Mooney!

If you want to see what a "police state" for aviation is, just look at Mexico... For any flight plan (VFR or IFR) you need a paper plan, and collect stamps and pay the fees from airport operations (a.k.a. the airpot owning company) and the commandant (after providing copies of all aircraft and pilot documents) if it's a domestic flight; if you're returning here add on top of that stamps from customs, immigration and whatever the name is for the food and animals inspector (all separate entities), BEFORE "dispatch" can authorize your plan.... Of course, you can use a handler but it just adds to the expense to cut a little on the aggravation. Please let's not let that happen here by any means....

When I bought my Eagle it came with an S-Tec 30 with altitude hold, which I later upgraded to a 55x with GPSS, Alt select and FD... it now can take the plane from 400 ft AGL at the departure end to 200 ft on the arriving end with nothing more than a few button pushes and power / flap management provided a flight plan loaded on the GNS500W. Wonderful system, and although I've heard around some bad comments about S-Tec autopilots, I can't say a bad thing about mine.

I need to correct you on this; you certainly can put 8 pax plus crew on a Lear 35, and as an owner and commercial operator of one among a fleet of 7 Lears (all others 55's), I can tell you that pound for pound, dollar for dollar, the best performing, all aound go-getter light jet in the world is the mighty Lear 35. It's a jet that you can fill the seats and full fuel and be legal to take off under all but the most extreme high temperature conditions... Try that with a Citation (500, 550,560, 525 variants), or Beechjet (nee Hawker 400), and you'll see how limited in "performance" the other light jets are; they just simply can't under any conditions! The only other light jet that gets close to the 35 is the wonderful Falcon 10, which has also excellent numbers but is more expensive to operate. The rate for a 35 should be around 2850 per hour and SAT-NEW-SAT is around 2.8 hrs. block time, so make it $8 to $8.5k for the trip with some expenses. Just want to bring the facts to the table...

Sent you an email... Check it out to see if it's of your interest. Best.

My Eagle is all electric now and all vacuum, both main and standby, were removed at the factory's service center. If you don't have vacuum powered equipment, they can be taken out, period. Hopefully Brian Kendrick can chime in this thread; he was the one running the factory's service center back in 2009 when my Eagle got it removed.

Well, according to my last Universal Weather Aviation bill from my last flight to MROC in january this year, for about 68 hours of parking a Lear 55 came to a whopping $375.76 that include the Nicaragua overflight permits inbound & outbound (actual cost not disclosed on bill), and about $90 on fees for UWA. If you consider that this is for a mid size jet, the rates for light piston GA aircraft should be much less. I emailed a friend there with connections to Pavas airport to find out what their landing and parking fees are for a Mooney; as soon as I get the info will post it. Cheers.

If your friend is in San Jose then you're going to Pavas, period... Santamaria (El Coco) is to expensive for light GA airplanes. As to the approach in weather, you do the ILS-DME Rwy 7 at MROC and circle to Pavas rwy 9, which isn't much more than a sidestep to the right and keep trucking for 5 more miles. I'll dig my files to check how much I've been paying for ramp at MROC, but don't recall being as outrageous as mentioned above... Post to follow.

That's why TBM's have the optional pilot door.... Don't buy one without it!

I tend to favor a misaligned sensor after reading all the descriptions... If the plane is doing the speeds it should based on the profile for power and altitude, then there's no rigging problem. The factory re-rigged my Eagle after painting it in 2009 and I lost 13 knots TAS for the same profiles, and now the flap indicator disappears of the led bar when full down selected, and can't figure out where my knots were lost since the plane just gained 9 lbs in the process. Dugosh has confirmed the rigging as correct on the last 2 annuals, so no clue as to what caused the lost speed but I sure miss that.

I'll give the benefit of doubt to EP Aero on the pucks; when they did annuals on mine they told me about the conditions of the LG pucks and I was the one choosing to change them or not... perhaps the owner didn't authorize the change at annual. As to the cyl work, when they did the top overhaul on my Eagle after 25 hours 2 cyls were low and they re-did them at no cost to me; they checked out normal after that and no further problems since.

You're not being unreasonable, I've asked the same on all the aircraft I've bought over the years and got it, under the following guideline: Pay for the fuel and pilot (if other than the owner), and be ready to inspect the plane promptly upon arrival so you can turn it around quick and make the decision within a day after negotiating squawks found. If the seller is really considering your offer he should jump at it, specially if it's just 200 miles...

I'll put my 2 cents here... I'm based in ELP, and I'm not aware of anybody with Mooney knowledge outside EP Aero (which is a MSC). I stress the point of not being aware, no that there isn't any. Both of my Mooneys have been serviced by EP Aero, and I'm happy with the results. Now that the Acclaim is gone and the Eagle sat in SAT for 2 years up for sale, the last 2 annuals have been done at Dugosh at very reasonable prices; of course, my plane is perfect and with just a few hours in between annuals it becomes more of a ritual of disassembling, change the oil and putting it back together rather than actual maintenance needed. Personally, I would take it to Dugosh (which is the closest) for the pre buy if you need to keep EP Aero out of the loop, but again, it's just my 2 cents. Hope everything works out good in your deal.

Hi Joe, When you get ready to step up, keep in mind my "M30" which you have seen is for sale... It just does 300 kts TAS @ 51 gph, though.. Look forward to see you around my neck of the woods soon. Regards.

David, First and foremost, Congratulations !! I remember we were one of the first members of Mooneyspace when it came online, and you were starting to work your way around the PPL, so I know you must be feeling light on your feet with the acomplishment... Well deserved. Even if you don't start instruments right away, study the materials you've oredered and try to figure them out; that way when you 're ready to start the formal training, the concepts will materialize in the plane quicker and more naturally.... Keep the blue side up, and enjoy your new freedom! Roberto.

Very nice Joe!! Glad that it worked well for you, and look forward to get together again in Cabo.

Quote: Seth Also, after viewing this thread, I'm curious about the TBM 700 comparison to the PA-46 that Parker suggested as an alternative. Anyone with actual experience? Anyone with fake experience I know Roberto flew and owned (or is still selling - I saw it on controller) a TBM-850, but the TBM 700 is a 280 knot plane for half if not a third the price of a used 850. What is the price vs. speed vs fuel burn, everything else of the PA-46 vs TBM-700. I'd do the research, but this morning I'm just lazy and busy and want to see what other people state. I don't think this is hijacking the thread as we're still compariing the PA-46 which is what is being discussed as a potential step up. Take care, -Seth

Randy, Check out www.acsl.com.mx for the info you're looking for, and as Joe said, if this is your first flight into Mexico then you have to do some research work... it's not difficult, just different. I fly to ACSL on average once a month, and it couldn't be better for convenience and practicality.

I'm glad that the occupants did well on the crash and wish them a speedy recovery. It's sad to see a bird that I picked new at the factory just 5 years ago has been totaled, though... Brett, How are you liking the "M30"?