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When to get a mooney


iwantamooney

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  • 4 weeks later...

I am a student pilot with 30hrs in 172 and 152s looking at a 1975 M20F.  AOPA insurance quoted me nearly $4,000 for my first year with a  $75,000 hull value.  Do I need to wait or do I need another insurance quote?

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1 part experience. It's good to have complex experience...

1 part hours. It's good to have a hundred hours under your belt already.

1 part value of the plane they expect to maybe replace or re-skin, or rebuild.

1 part training. It's good to be a Private pilot already, even better to be IFR.

1 part insurance company. Your broker can help you with this.

There are a lot of parts to aviation insurance.

Speak openly with your broker and see what it takes to bring the price down.

Insurance is at a relative low lately.

Generally speaking, it is a little more expensive to learn to fly in a complex plane. That's why they built trainers...

On the other hand, the $4k for insurance to train in your own plane may somehow be beneficial to you.

Shop around you might find a better offer.

There are many steps in aviation. Enjoy them all.

Best regards,

-a-

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I am a student pilot with 30hrs in 172 and 152s looking at a 1975 M20F.  AOPA insurance quoted me nearly $4,000 for my first year with a  $75,000 hull value.  Do I need to wait or do I need another insurance quote?

 

shop around, but getting insurance in a F model mooney without a PPL will be expensive.   

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I am a student pilot with 30hrs in 172 and 152s looking at a 1975 M20F.  AOPA insurance quoted me nearly $4,000 for my first year with a  $75,000 hull value.  Do I need to wait or do I need another insurance quote?

 

I would definitely shop around and surely you can do better than that.  Remember that figure is only going to be for the first year and you should get a big relief for the 2nd year.

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Im definitely going to get the ppl first in someone else's plane.  More specifically, should i build up several hours of "practice" in a less complex plane, or not worry about the transition too much even with low time?

 

My options are:

 

1)Rent, which means flying a lot less often.

 

2)buy a 150 or 172 build up some time/experience, interment rating.  Sell and move up.

 

3)finish ppl, transition into mooney.

 

How long is the insurance dual usually for a low time pilot?

Here is what i did. Keep in mind I am 27 years old ( insurance purposes ) I got my ppl at 43 hours. And I bought my mooney with 85 hours total time with no insturment rating. So I rented for a while after I took my check ride. My insurance covered me after 10hrs of dual in type @ $1100 for the year in the 66 m20e that we bought. Now granted you are looking at a J model... Newer.. a little faster so the insurance requirement as well as price may go up. But also I wasn't in a position to buy when I got my license which is the only reason I didn't. So I would say after you take the check ride if you can afford it, buy it, and get the dual for insurance but RESPECT THE AIRPLANE! Learn everything about it. How to care for it, fly it, ect... You won't regret it! Good luck with your training and I hope my experience buying mine helps.

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When I was half way through my PPL training, I was in similar boat and looking at planes. Insurance was SUPER EXPENSIVE for a low time non-PPL! I decided it would be cheaper and better to finish in a low wing and build time before making a purchase decision. I'm glad that I did. Even flew some different planes like Mooney, Bonanza, Socata and Commander. Try riding along and different planes before deciding on any one plane. Shop around for maintenance costs, parts and insurance. You will sure be glad that you did! How do you fit in a Mooney? Try flying one with a pilot or instructor. I love Mooney but for me I would need rudder pedal extension to not have the yoke rammed into my chest and the instruments in my face. Insurance for me to get into a Mooney when I was half way thru a PPL was like 5-8K the first year!

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There's a reason that insurance rates are high for low-time pilots in complex aircraft.  The insurance companies know the risk and price accordingly.  There are benefits to training in the plane you will eventually fly but there are also risks.  Only you can decide for yourself whether the benefits outweigh the risks but I'm glad I had a few hundred hours before I moved up to a Mooney.

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I agree mooniac15u. I had about 250 plus hours in cessna time before I made the jump and got our Mooney.  A Trainer is designed to train. it allows you to do all kinds of stupid things and also all kinds of unusual attidudes with a very straight forward recovery and with out biting you on the arse. one mooney bounce can cost the price of a nice 150 or 152. And then see how much your insurance costs.

I say build some time learn fundamentals first.

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When I was young and invincible had a Long EZ and flew it VFR around the western desert regions (mostly) avoiding places where I'd hit anyone or anything. I went for a number of years without insurance on the premise that an accident that broke something that was repairable, I could repair for about the cost of a years premium.  If it wasn't repairable then I was probably beyond caring. Well it worked for me and gave me plenty of "retract" time.

 

Stepping into the Mooney after that was not a problem. Too, first year's insurance wasn't too bad. It has gone down in the last three renewals but I think the retract hours, even though they were not complex hours helped. It also gave me experience in a fast airframe that does not like to slow down and will float a mile if approach speeds are high. (Sound familiar?)  On the other hand, the EZ is simple to fly, gives a great view of the world, and a nice one can be had cheap.  Get in good with an experienced mechanic at a local EAA club and you will learn lots about maintainence too.  

 

Then again, most life insurance policies don't cover experimental aircraft and if you have family then stepping straight into a well maintained Mooney after you get your PPL is also a good option.  You might check to see if you can find or form a partnership.

 

While I am rambling, two other things I suggest to new pilots are to check into getting emergency manuver training (can usually be done with a tailwheel checkout at the same time) and get a glider rating.

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I feel that flying a low performance aircraft teaches you to fly better. Many say get some glider time well a c150 makes you search for thermals to help with climb performance. Some years ago I spent quite a time racing karts and all the drivers that began in the slower classes would always drive the pants off the ones that stepped directly into 125 shifter karts when they got into the 125's Lower performance teaches you better energy management and you learn to fly more efficiently .

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bonal, It depends on what low performance aircraft you'r referring to.  If you want to truely wnat to learn how to fly, pick up your tailweel endorsment in a Champ.  I personnally feel there's not a better training out there (including a cub) that will teach you how to fly.  Until you fly a champ, you'll never know what adverse yaw is all about.

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Hey big tex, I agree a convetional will give you a real education i did some aerobatic training in a 152 and the school has a Champ that I plan on addition time to continue the schools syllabus. I did my training in my own C150 and my first instructor really showed me how to find and fly the thermals and to respect them. my home base is surrounded by mountains so when you don't have a lot of performance you learn real well how to get the most out of your machine,

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