5 seats and my mooney twin

[aviatoreb]

How to carry 5 people and a bunch of luggage safely and legally in a Mooney rocket.

 

Yesterday there I was in Hartford CT with my family of 5 (incl me) and a whole bunch of luggage including lots of presents from the grandparents we were visiting.  It is a 7 hr drive home from Hartford to Potsdam, NY.  We kicked around renting a car, airlines for one (and Mooney for the rest).  In the end...

 

I flew two laps.  It was 1:15 home at 8500 ft at 170gs to drop off my wife and youngest son - then 220kts to 235kts at 17,500 return in <1:00 to pick up my next two sons and 1:15 return.  So 3.5 hrs total for an average of ~200kts which is close to 172 speeds avg for the round trip - at a greater fuel burn.  

 

I was laughing on my way back to hartford at 235kts thinking about how I wasn't even beating a 172.

 

When I got there - I had that "Deja vu all over again" feeling.

 

3.5 hrs still beats driving one way.  Luckily it seems surprisingly rare that I need to even consider this mission - and with my two oldest knocking on college's door (next year for my oldest) I think I will keep the Mooney rather than "trade up" to something slower with two engines like a Barron - that burns double fuel all the time - where 95% of my flying is with one or two on board.

I told this story to my hangar neighbor with a twin - and he was laughing at me.  I told him because I knew he would enjoy laughing at me.

[Piloto]

On the long bodies M20M, M20R, M20S and M20TN you can locate two child seats in the baggage area and still have room for luggage On the long bodies baggage is amost twice of the M20K & M20J.

 

José 

[aviatoreb]

On the long bodies M20M, M20R, M20S and M20TN you can locate two child seats in the baggage area and still have room for luggage On the long bodies baggage is amost twice of the M20K & M20J.

 

José 

 

If it were legal - I know I could have flown home with the 5 of us.  My youngest is still 65 lb - and he coulda fit fine in the luggage area if only for that darn rule of one seatbelt per human.  But my older two are 16 and 17 and they are something like 150 and 165lbs resp.  My biggest has topped 6'!

 

So even my 12 year old is too big for a child seat.

 

Are child seats legal in the long bodies in the luggage area?!

 

So I don't think 

[aviatoreb]

How did I end up in this position?  On Thursday my oldest two wanted to go to gparents early (spring break) so I dropped the off before work Thursday am.  Then Friday after work I took myself and my wife.  So there we were on Sunday.

 

So three round trips in a Mooney and I moved 5 people and a bunch of luggage.  SO only a little more fuel than owning a twin Barron with the same engines where one round trip with two engines running would be double a single round trip for the fuel.  But a little more than double since a Barron is a little slower than my Mooney.

 

Anyway - better my Mooney that fits most of my flying than a dragging around two engines all the time.

[Piloto]

Wait a couple more years and you will not have the need for five but you and your wife.

Jose

[WardHolbrook]

Mooney Twin? Did somebody say Mooney Twin? Here you go...

 

 

 

Awwww.... What could have been.

[kerry]

You can put 2 people in one seat belt as long as their combined weight is 170 lbs or less.   I use to fly this way with my family of 5 in my short body when my kids we're young.

[Alan Fox]

The plane does does not fit the mission...

[Hank]

The plane does does not fit the mission...

 

No, Erik's plane fits his 90% mission, maybe even his 95% mission. Isn't that what we always tell everyone to buy??

[aviatoreb]

No, Erik's plane fits his 90% mission, maybe even his 95% mission. Isn't that what we always tell everyone to buy??

 

That's it - it fits my 90-95% mission - (usually if I need more than 4 seats we drive the minivan - and usually when we need the minivan we need to bring a ton of stuff) plus compared to the plane that would fit the other 5-10% I love my Mooney since it also fits that untangable - its my hot rod!  Who wants a Saratoga for goodness sake?!  And as I said, the need for this will likely diminish drastically in years to come - my oldest starts college in the fall.  My next oldest the fall after that.  And the cost and effort of getting a different plane and bring it to tip top shape.  Nah - Mooney rocket for me!  Not that i haven't thought of Barons or Aerostars - but nah.

[1964-M20E]

The plane does does not fit the mission...

I think in this case it did fit the mission with multiple short hops that save a lot of driving and like he said he burn less fuel than a Baron.  If it were a 2.5 to 3.5 hour flight each way most likely not.

[Marauder]

That's it - it fits my 90-95% mission - (usually if I need more than 4 seats we drive the minivan - and usually when we need the minivan we need to bring a ton of stuff) plus compared to the plane that would fit the other 5-10% I love my Mooney since it also fits that untangable - its my hot rod! Who wants a Saratoga for goodness sake?! And as I said, the need for this will likely diminish drastically in years to come - my oldest starts college in the fall. My next oldest the fall after that. And the cost and effort of getting a different plane and bring it to tip top shape. Nah - Mooney rocket for me! Not that i haven't thought of Barons or Aerostarts - but nah.

Erik - I am on the later phase of your vision. My oldest is out of the house, the next and last one is a year out. Coming from a long line of "big" people, when my kids hit their teens, between the kitchen sink my wife wanted to pack and Goliath kids, we were limited to day trips with the Mooney. I rented a few times for those times we needed to pack more.

Once the daughter went away to college, it freed up the useful load and now with the second one close, the Mooney will be perfect for my wife and I. That is why I followed your thread on packing bikes. We are both avid cyclists and envision more cycling vacations.

[ChrisH]

Simple answer, teach one of the kids to fly and get a second Mooney. 

[aviatoreb]

Erik - I am on the later phase of your vision. My oldest is out of the house, the next and last one is a year out. Coming from a long line of "big" people, when my kids hit their teens, between the kitchen sink my wife wanted to pack and Goliath kids, we were limited to day trips with the Mooney. I rented a few times for those times we needed to pack more.

Once the daughter went away to college, it freed up the useful load and now with the second one close, the Mooney will be perfect for my wife and I. That is why I followed your thread on packing bikes. We are both avid cyclists and envision more cycling vacations.

 

Hi Maurauder,

 

My bike was one casualty of the 3 person flight.  I can easily carry to people and two bikes but once I put people in the back seat - I can no longer carry a full sized bike (but  can still cary my mini folder that fits in the far back).  Sooooo....I rode early AM on Friday before work so that I could fly Friday after work to the inlaws.  Saturday I spent 2 hrs in the hotel gym on the boring indoor bike while it was just beautiful outside, then I rode outside for 1.5 hrs on Sunday evening after I got home.

 

I need a Pilatus to carry everything I want to carry.  Even a Baron is too small.

[rbridges]

even if it took 7 hours for 2 round trips, I'd much rather fly for 7 hours than drive the same.  I can fly for 2-3 hours and land feeling refreshed.  2-3 hours driving in traffic wears me out.

[aviatoreb]

even if it took 7 hours for 2 round trips, I'd much rather fly for 7 hours than drive the same.  I can fly for 2-3 hours and land feeling refreshed.  2-3 hours driving in traffic wears me out.

 

EXACTLY!!!

I tell people that for me going flying is like going sailing.  So when I replace a 7 hour drive with a 1 hour flight (one way) its not that I saved 6 hours.  No, no, no!  I saved 7 hours and replaced it with an hour of "i'd rather be sailing" or specifically "i'd rather be flying" since flying is what I like to do if I can find a free hour - even if I'm not going anywhere in particular.

[Alan Fox]

If you want the 5th seat I removed from my Beech , knock your self out......

[Hank]

 

I need a Pilatus to carry everything I want to carry.  Even a Baron is too small.

 

Or pull a Jimmy Buffet and buy a Catalina, keep it loaded and ready to go with everything important.

[aviatoreb]

I thought that it was a Widgeon, Goose, or a Duck? He scuttled it on takeoff. Caught a wingtip in the wake of a boat. It's in his book.

 

Haha - I should write a book.  Wait - I did.  But its not about that sort of thing.

[carusoam]

It's here, near Orlando!

http://www.margaritavilleorlando.com/

We used KORL (according to my wife). Rented a car. Visited Universal where Jimmy B's seaplane is resting.

Best regards,

-a-

[Hank]

I thought that it was a Widgeon, Goose, or a Duck? He scuttled it on takeoff. Caught a wingtip in the wake of a boat. It's in his book.

 

Widgeon first, then a really bad landing. Replaced with a Catalina variant, I think. Larger, slower, hauls all of his stuff while the wife & girls are flown ahead on the Citation.

[flyboy]

even if it took 7 hours for 2 round trips, I'd much rather fly for 7 hours than drive the same.  I can fly for 2-3 hours and land feeling refreshed.  2-3 hours driving in traffic wears me out.

 

Same here. My last trip was about 3.5 hours, one hour of it in IMC. When we landed I was ready for the restroom but otherwise wasn't really ready for it to be over.

Love flying my Mooney.

[triple8s]

Twin? Naaa, Friday a week ago I was asked if I would give a friend a lift to pick up his baron from a shop in west tn. The trip was about 235 nm and we flew at 8000 msl made it in an hour and 15min west bound, I felt pretty good about that. The Baron driver uses his plane mostly for visiting clients and he kept talking about how much fuel he wouldve burned making the trip. He is a banker and I could see the $signs spinning in his head. Was quite funny actually, he said I always heard Mooneys were fast but I never thought of the economical aspect of it. I don't fly LOP (yet) but he does and he asked how lean would it run, since I am not up on my game in the School of LOP I stayed ROP but the wheels in his head were spinning. He said when I left he would probably look into a mooney for his business use since he is solo 99% of the time! he said it would probably pay for itself in fuel savings. Only negative is the loss of redundancy. I told him he oughta get a ride in a Rocket if he wanted to see fast.

[Bob_Belville]

Same here. My last trip was about 3.5 hours, one hour of it in IMC. When we landed I was ready for the restroom but otherwise wasn't really ready for it to be over.

Love flying my Mooney.

I flew my M20E from NC to Kerrville for the MAPA convention. ~7 hours westbound, 6 east plus a brief fuel stop each way. I used O2 at 8000 and 9000. Arrived fresh as a daisy with "George" doing most of the flying. 

[aviatoreb]

Twin? Naaa, ... I told him he oughta get a ride in a Rocket if he wanted to see fast.

 

Mmmmm - Rocket...