tnathan

Sounds like it isn't as bad as I thought. It just seemed like the generic weight quotes I see online seemed to be significantly different than real world numbers I found when I drilled down on particular planes that actually happened to be for sale. Maybe it is inexperience but I really don't want to manage fuel. Did I put in 60 or 70gals? The newer mooneys are nice but out of my price range. THe rocket interested me because it seems to be cheap. On paper, it purportedly added 200lbs of weight with a 300lbs increase in gross for a net increase of 100. I was told that the rocket conversion has a reliable engine and turbo which is better than the stock 231. And, although the top end fuel burn is comparatively high, you can always pull it back to 231 performance and get comparable fuel burns. It seemed like the best of all worlds. However, when I actually found one, the empty weight had mysteriously gone up by 300lbs and they added 100gal tanks so the net was a loss in useful load. I was curious if there is anyway to salvage a plane that has gotten fat. The gross on the newer mooneys seems to have gotten larger. I didn't know if there was much that could be done to increase gross on an older 252, rocket. Based on the comments it sounds like there isn't. I have heard with other planes you can up gross with things like beefing up the landing gear, vortext generators. Thanks for your help.

Quote: blacknchrome Maybe I will get comfortable with it, but I prefer to be able to touch the gas before I go. Managing fuel is just one more thing to worry about. "However, the few rockets I ran across after 100gal tanks and whatever else has been added they end up with 300-400 payload. " Just remember, just because it has 100 gallon tanks, doesn't mean they need to be filled. For your 600nm trip, you need far less fuel than full tanks, which will allow you to carry more 'stuff'. I can carry 118 gallons in the Bravo, but unless I am by myself, full fuel doesn't work on paper. It's just another aspect to manage of our very capable, beautiful airplanes.

I have been considering a mooney 252, rocket, etc. Due to the economy, the cost of these seem to have come down enough that I may try to buy one over the next year or so. My goal is to be able to take myself, wife and bags 600NM in around 3 hours, with a fuel burn that won't bankrupt me and I don't want to manage fuel which has lead me to the mooneys noted above. The speed and range seems to be close, but my biggest concern is gross weight. I saw the specs for the rocket coversion which seemed perfect but when I actually look into particular aircraft, much like myself they have put on a lot of weight over the years. I was hoping for something with around 500-600lbs payload. However, the few rockets I ran across after 100gal tanks and whatever else has been added they end up with 300-400 payload. I saw the TLS has an STC to increase gross. Does anything like that exist for the rocket? It seems like as the engines get bigger and have a higher gross the empty weight goes up and the fuel burn goes up which means people add bigger tanks which further raises the enpty weight. End result is that the payload often decreases. Any thoughts or comments out there from those of you that know these birds better than me? Thanks.