Bartman

Just make sure you are getting a good mechanically sound aircraft and I will second the recommendation to get transition training with a pilot who has significant Mooney experience. If your insurance policy is like mine was it will require the instructor to have a certain amount of M20 time. If your instructor will demand that you can land and stop easily in 1,800-2,000 ft then you will be fine. Just make sure you follow the speeds on final, and don't forget to put the gear down. Enjoy !

In all seriousness there are different sized M20's and different sized pilots/passengers. Trunk vs leg length can be a consideration but if a pilot wants to fly a Mooney there is a model that will fit both the pilot and the bank account.

If memory serves me correctly, compared to the M20C the F, J and K models has about 7 inches added to the front of the cabin and about 7 inches added to the rear seating area. There will be even more room in the long body, but I have never had the pleasure of being in the long body model. As you can see in my avatar my J is highly modified and only a one seater.

I would suggest sitting in the same model-body length as the one you consider purchasing. For example, some models like mine have a center console instead of push/pull cables and some people don't like that, but I made my peace with it. Due to sitting so low in the cockpit my instructor is older and at first had a hard time exiting, but with some instruction from me his egress is much better.

I am no expert but this is what I understand. The Avidyne 440 is a slide in replacement for the GNS430W. If it is compatible with the 430W then it is compatible with the 440. For example, what if you upgraded you panel with the 430w to the latest and greatest, and then exchanged it for the Avidyne 440 ? This is the extent of my knowledge on this subject.

At 1950 hrs with 35hr oil changes and 100/yr flying I thought I would be doing well with a rebuild. All it took was a fretted case beyond repair and a single camshaft lobe and the rebuild became more expensive and if I had know those two details I would have sent my A3B6D in for exchange. At 2,600 hrs you may have similar complications as I did.

Consider other options.... No hull coverage Fly naked

I didn’t know a C172 would make it to the Teens in the summertime with 2 adults onboard.

Our manufacturer allowed for variety and all pilots have different build specifications regarding leg vs trunk length, and Al Mooney built a one size fits most machine with adjustments and extensions available. I’m 5’10” and have no extensions and use the second notch from the rear for ground ops, and scoot back after takeoff. Legs basically stick straight out and I cannot bend my knees. I would remove the extensions.

I swapped my seats and the seatbelts when I changed the seat rollers. If your seats don’t roll easily then consider that if you are going to swap the seats then make it right.

An instructor once told me that if I had to do an off airport landing to aim for the softest and least expensive thing and touchdown with the least energy possible. I only hope I could do as well as this pilot did and looks like he was trying for a full stall. Definitely made the best of a very bad situation ditching close to the land. I can’t tell you how many people have asked me if I could land on water. My answer has always been I can land anywhere....once.

Congratulations on the successful First Flight !

In other words I think -a- just said... MooneySpace is one collective brain.

My digital OAT goes haywire when I push the PTT button, but it has otherwise been solid performer for me since 2006. I got used to it and ignore it when pushing the PTT.

Yeah I do recall there’s this thing called reasonable and customary.