Can a big dog jump consistently make the jump onto the wing of a Mooney?

[Tummler]

I am looking into buying a plane for business to make a 400 nm round trip a couple times a week. I initially ruled out a Mooney because my two dogs will be flying with me on most the trips. The primary motivation for bringing the dogs is to avoid "get-there-itis" on the return trip.

 

I have searched the board for threads discussing dogs traveling and Mooneys, and it seems like a number of people have no problem flying with their dogs. However, the one thing I have not seen discussed in detail is the mechanics involved with getting a bigger dog (i.e, 80 lbs) into a Mooney.

 

We have a spry 9-year-old Giant Schnauzer that hasn't lost a step, but I could see him slowing down a bit over the next couple of years. Anyone with experience loading big dogs care to offer their opinion on the likelihood of an older, larger dog being able to get into a Mooney?

 

EDIT: Sorry for butchering the topic title. My boss called and wanted to talk.

[PaulB]

My small 20 lbs dog has no problem jumping in and out of the plane by himself. I imagine your bigger dogs won't have much trouble.

[orionflt]

my German Shepard loves to fly, actually, he just loves to be where ever I am at. after showing him how to get up in the plane and where to walk he doesn't have any issues at all getting in and out. until i redid my interior he would climb in the back seat and look out the window for take offs and landings, during the inflight he would lay down and nap.

Brian

[Tummler]

my German Shepard loves to fly, actually, he just loves to be where ever I am at. after showing him how to get up in the plane and where to walk he doesn't have any issues at all getting in and out. until i redid my interior he would climb in the back seat and look out the window for take offs and landings, during the inflight he would lay down and nap.

Brian

Is there enough room for two decent sized dogs who are friendly with each other to comfortably ride in the back seats together?

[David Mazer]

I can't speak for a larger dog but my 25 pounder will hop onto the wing and get right in the back seat.  I preferred to remove the back seats and lay the backs down to make a large area for a dog bed and to eliminate the possibility of his nails hurting the upholstery. With the back open there would be lots of room for the dogs.  I can't speak to W&B shifts either but I doubt that even both dogs moving to the back would substantially alter the flight characteristics if that was considered in loading.

 

For high altitude trips, I had an O2 device that tapped into the ships O2 system and fed him O2 without any problems on a FL190 flight for 8 hrs (2x4 hr legs).

 

The pic below is him in a SeaRey.  He loves to fly.

[Mike A]

We take our two labs on trips with no problems.  One is 9 the other is 5.  They both weight +/- 70 lbs.  The weight limits our legs to about 2.5 hrs max.

 

To load them I lay a towel out over the wing walk then I stand on the wing and my wife passes me their leashes 1 at a time.  They lay on a dog bed with the seat belt buckled through their harnesses so they have a little moving around room.

 

 

[bonal]

I think you would want to put the flaps down to prevent the possibility of the dogs stepping on them, If its just you and one other plus the dogs I would remove the back seat and lay down a nice doggy bed and there would be lots of space

[kmyfm20s]

Models from 1982 and on you can easily take out 1 or both back seat to make a large flat area for them. I routinely take out 1 back seat and put a blacket down, works great.

[dcrogers11]

You may already have theses items, but Mutt Muffs and a harness to secure them in are great for your furry flyers.

 

Don

[Mooney65E]

I had an 80 lb Shepherd Akita mix who always flew with us. He had no problems getting in and out. The hardest part was teaching him to read the "No Step" decal on the flap.

[Tummler]

Models from 1982 and on you can easily take out 1 or both back seat to make a large flat area for them. I routinely take out 1 back seat and put a blacket down, works great.

 

This is very promising. What is the difference with the back seats in J models before 1982, and 1982 and later model years? 

[Guest]

Mine has a little problem getting up on the wing, but once she is in she is ready to go.  The wing sits pretty low so a medium-size dog should have no problems.

 

 

[Cris]

I had a couple of Siberian Huskies that flew with me for many years. The female would curl up on the front seat but the male would hang off of it so he ended up in the back with the kids most times. These animals had no trouble jumping onto the wing and somehow knew not to scratch the flaps. Also they did not fly together as the female passed away and then we got the male. This was in a J.

[DrBill]

My 40 pound mutt has no problem.  My last flight she was relaxing on the hat shelf !!

BILL

[kmyfm20s]

This is very promising. What is the difference with the back seats in J models before 1982, and 1982 and later model years?

82 and after have individual back seats, prior to 82 they had bench seat and more dificult to remove. Take a look a pictures in Controller adds you can see the diffence.

[Tummler]

82 and after have individual back seats, prior to 82 they had bench seat and more dificult to remove. Take a look a pictures in Controller adds you can see the diffence.

 

I noticed the difference and thought the difference was a matter of options.

 

How difficult is it to remove the back of the bench seat?

[kmyfm20s]

I never removed a bench seat so someone else will have to tell you about that. With the individual seat the bottom cushion uses Velcro to hold in place and the seat back is sleeved over the frame. To fold it flat you simply pull up the seat bottom and unsleeve the seat back then fold the frame flat. The frame has carpet on the back and is flush with the baggae area.

[gsxrpilot]

How many of you use hearing protection with the dogs? Our full size Labradoodle can't seem to keep the Mutt Muffs on her funny shaped head. And I'm not sure they really do much anyway. But I am concerned about the noise level.

[cnoe]

Our son Eli (Goldendoodle) is ~3 years old and weighs ~90#. He's logged 85 hours already and makes every cross-country flight with my wife and I.

 

I lower the flaps during the preflight and leave them down for boarding (both for people and pets); that keeps them from getting stepped on accidentally. Since my paint's not new and Eli's nails aren't too gnarly I just tell him to get in the plane. He jumps on the wing walk and when I lean the seat forward he steps right onto the rear seat and lays down. I did make a removable denim cover for the seat to keep things cleaner. My J is a '78 so it's a regular seat, and I'm pretty sure I couldn't fit another dog in there with him though. I'd love the fold-down seats, but the newer planes didn't fit my budget.

 

He does wear Mutt Muffs, and usually tolerates them well, but a couple of times recently they've come off enroute. I'm going to use an elastic chin strap on him next time to see if that helps. With his big floppy ears they do hang out the bottom of the cups somewhat but I just make sure to cover his actual ear canals. Though he sometimes "pretends" not to hear me (especially when encountering a squirrel) I'm pretty sure his hearing is still intact because I can whisper the word "treat" from another room and he'll come begging.

 

Cnoe

[Tummler]

Our son Eli (Goldendoodle) is ~3 years old and weighs ~90#. He's logged 85 hours already and makes every cross-country flight with my wife and I.

 

I lower the flaps during the preflight and leave them down for boarding (both for people and pets); that keeps them from getting stepped on accidentally. Since my paint's not new and Eli's nails aren't too gnarly I just tell him to get in the plane. He jumps on the wing walk and when I lean the seat forward he steps right onto the rear seat and lays down. I did make a removable denim cover for the seat to keep things cleaner. My J is a '78 so it's a regular seat, and I'm pretty sure I couldn't fit another dog in there with him though. I'd love the fold-down seats, but the newer planes didn't fit my budget.

 

He does wear Mutt Muffs, and usually tolerates them well, but a couple of times recently they've come off enroute. I'm going to use an elastic chin strap on him next time to see if that helps. With his big floppy ears they do hang out the bottom of the cups somewhat but I just make sure to cover his actual ear canals. Though he sometimes "pretends" not to hear me (especially when encountering a squirrel) I'm pretty sure his hearing is still intact because I can whisper the word "treat" from another room and he'll come begging.

 

Cnoe

Maybe you can answer the question I posed above. With respect to the rear seats in a pre-1982 J, is it possible to remove the back seat but difficult, or is it impossible?

[ottorecker]

Our 80 lb alsatian mix flies with us on just about every overnight trip. Some things we have learned.....

- Flaps down while loading and unloading

- yoga mat on the wing (protection and traction and just about perfect in size) Good on hot asphalt ramps as well.

- much easier to load/unload the dog with two people: one in the airplane and one outside to help/guide. Treats for motivation can help initally

- mut muffs just moderatley sucessful and I m not sure about their efficacy. They usually end up sideways or in some other less desirable orientation. Try ordianry cotton. Probably as effective as MM's but how do you really know? The dog tolerates cotton better.

- costco dog blanket or similar for the back seat. Remember to tuck the seat belts into the seat crack. The thick blanket has been useful for overnight hotel room or freinds house stays and the dog is familiar with it.

At 80 lbs our dog takes up pretty much all of the back seat. Not sure he would tolerate anyone or anything else next to him.

We have also tried various restraining set-ups so the dog doesn't get hurt or end up in the front seats in turbulence. We have not yet found a good effective solution for this that also allows the dog to get up occasionally and repostion. We try to avoid bumps and slow way down when turbulent. Anyone have a good restraining solution that also allows some mobilty and actually works?

[kmyfm20s]

This dog seems to do just fine with out muffs or restraints:)

[cnoe]

We have also tried various restaining set-ups so the dog doesn't get hurt or end up in the front seats in turbulence. We have not yet found a good effective solution for this that also allows the dog to get up occasionally and repostion. We try to avoid bumps and slow way down when turbulent. Anyone have a good restraining solution that also allows some mobilty and actually works?

 The yoga mat's a great idea; I'll likely go with that when the paint gets updated. Regarding the restraint, I had a leash shortened to ~3' with a clip on each end and a d-ring installed on one of the seat belts next to the sidewall. I clip his harness to the d-ring with the short leash and he's able to stand up and turn around without any problems if he wants. He's never once acted up during a flight but a leap into the front could be catastrophic during landing/takeoff so I'm not taking that chance.

 

Regarding Tummler's question about the back seat, I've taken the seat "bottom" out for spar inspections, etc. but removing the seat "back" is a real pain in the butt in the older J's. I don't think it would be that big of a deal if you left it out permanently but taking it in and out repeatedly would get old quickly. I seem to remember a thread somewhere on Mooneyspace about modifying the older seat back with some sort of pivot and release mechanism. You may be able to find that with a search. Hope this helps.

 

Cnoe

[cnoe]

This dog seems to do just fine with out muffs or restraints:)

 

That is hilarious, but I'm pretty sure my plane would be renamed the "Vomit Comet" if I took Eli on such a ride.

 

Cnoe

[ottorecker]

Regarding the restraint, I had a leash shortened to ~3' with a clip on each end and a d-ring installed on one of the seat belts next to the sidewall. I clip his harness to the d-ring with the short leash and he's able to stand up and turn around without any problems if he wants.

Cnoe

I'll definitely look into that method and hopefully I can get something like that to work. My big concern is the dog hitting the ceiling or coming down in an awkward postion after a big bump. I've had a few unexpected head bonks myself. I have not seen the dog seriously airborne (thank goodness) but I am concerned of the possiblily of injury (He, like me, aren't as young as we used to be) I know the dog doesn't like it when the ride is worse than light turbulence.