christianhgross

First thank-you everybody for your responses. My main aim with the plane is not to fly commercial! Sounds odd, but I like to fly, but hate flying in a commercial plane. I like to drive, and in my 16 years of marriage I think I can count on my two hands how often my wife has driving while I sat in the passenger seat. This means I want to do long haul flights in the order of 1000+ nm flights. Regarding my Northern Atlantic crossing I am actually planing on hiring a ferry pilot to be my "co-pilot". At least for the beginning because I understand doing this on my own would be a bit dicey. Here are the priorities: 1) Fuel efficiency (I looked at a Piper that sucked back 40 GPH and thinking, yeah I see why they want to sell that plane). 2) Cost like I mentioned, general cost of ownership. 3) Range has to be at least 900 NM, with the possibility of adding an extender (eg Mooney range extenders) 4) Needs to be able to fly at least 17,000 ft as I live right beside the Alps and there is no way I want to navigate through the mountains. Too many people crash into the alps because their plane could not fly over them. It's awesome on a clear day flying through the valleys, but there are also "awesome" wind channels. I also want to be able to fly over windy conditions that happen all to regularly in Europe. 5) Need some amount of haulage for my wife, our two dogs, and myself. When I put all of those things together it all boils down to getting a Mooney since nobody else has a plane that is competitive, at least that is the impression I get. And I am researching all of the tips mentioned...

I am a newbie, and planning on getting my private pilots license with instrumentation (maybe MEP) (albeit in Switzerland). I have been looking for a plan to buy as it will be used for long haul trips (eg to the corners of Europe, Canada, etc). I plan on using the Northern Atlantic Route to Canada. The thing is that I have been looking at various planes for example a Piper PA34-200 Seneca, or Piper PA30. But the added fuel costs and as one pilot described perspective (when one engine conks out on a twin engine your plane will quickly ressemble a lawn dart) am leaning heavily towards the Mooney. From doing my research and talking to people the cost to value ratio on a Mooney is very low, meaning Mooney's are really good value for your money. But now comes the question. 1) Would a Mooney be best suited for longer haul flights that will includer over water. 2) Where can I get detailed specs on each Mooney model. I tried hunting through the Internet and it is hen pecking. 3) Which Mooney model is the best for a budget of say less than 100K, but if push came to shove (and it better be good) could squeeze 150K. I have been looking at the various models and noticed that for example the K series and above is a turbo model and hence could be used in higher altitude (which I want), though the J seems popular and could it handle my needs? It is really confusing actually... 4) Or should I be looking at another plane? Thanks...