first plane

[N5756v]

Has anybody started and trained in a moony as their first plane as in from scratch?

[kerry]

Mooney's don't have brakes on the copilots seat.  You would need to install brakes or find a Mooney that someone else did a copilot brake install.  Not real practical to use a Mooney to start your private pilot training.  It would be better to rent or buy a trainer aircraft e.g. Cessna 150, 172 or Piper Cherokee.  If you want to challenge yourself start and complete your training in a conventional gear aircraft e.g. Piper Cub or a Citabria  variant.  You will be a better pilot for it.  The day after you get your private pilot certificate and if you want a cross country machine then get a Mooney. 

[clh]

+1 on the Piper Cub or like, (tailwheel will teach  you how to use your feet)   In Learning to fly you will have quite a few harsh landings.  It is best to do that in an aircraft that is more forgiving, Once you have most of the big bounces ,etc out of your system, then transition to a less forgiving aircraft.  Legally, you can train in anything, but IMHO, it would be preferable to do the first part of learning in a slower, simpler aircraft.  

[rbridges]

It can be done but let's just say I wasn't too kind to my instructor's 172. Many hard landings. Even after getting my feet wet, I've put a few landings on the mooney that weren't exactly gentle.

[rbridges]

Also, in a fixed gear plane such as a 152/172/180, you don't have to worry about slowing down to flap speed, gear speed; playing with manifold pressure and prop speeds, and remembering to drop your gear. You can focus on fundamentals. Insurance may also be very expensive as a student but cost is relative.

[bonal]

Airborn you show an m20k as your model do you already own a K? I bought a 150 and did my training and then quite a bit of flying till getting my 20 C. The 150 can't be beat for cost effectiveness. Since there are no brakes on CP side I don't think you can do you initial training in a Mooney. Good luck and welcome.

[carusoam]

It would be similar to using a high performance car for learning to drive...

It can be done, but can get expensive.

A friend of mine tried the cub route. The transition during take-off was too much of a cognitive scary challenge for him...after a few months delay he was successful going the C172 route for training...

What are they trying to save or skip by doing this?

How much time can they dedicate to training?

If the objective is train really hard every day to go from non-pilot to ifr pilot in a couple of months it could be successful.

If the objective is to train a couple of times per month and save on plane rental it is less likely to be money saving.

Everyone will experience plateaus while training. A high performance aircraft will make the plateaus even more of a challenge.

Gaining experience in different aircraft builds the general experience of the pilot. Knowing only one aircraft is somewhat limiting...

Insurance costs will be large.

Training in a K would be similar to learning to drive in a six speed Vette. Way too much possibility for expensive errors...

Thoughts that come to mind,

-a-

[airborn01]

Have a k going for a pre buy this week but the price was right so I would imagine it will be in the hanger for a month or two while I train in 172 but I knew what I wanted and this one showed up . I grew up in airplanes so there was never a question of if I was going to like it . I probably should not have bought it but it was what I was looking

[GeorgePerry]

Has anybody started and trained in a moony as their first plane as in from scratch?

 

Brand new Navy pilots who've never flown before in their lives take their first flight and learn the basics in a 450 SHP turbo prop, so yes, you can learn from day one in a Mooney.  You just need a good instructor who's got lots of dual given in Mooney's.  Also the right plane.  A "J" model with brakes on both the pilot and co pilot side is a good candidate.

 

Very doable, but since Mooney's are a bit more complex than a fix gear, fixed pitch spam can, you may need to plan for your Private Pilots License (PPL) to take more than 40 hours in order to feel fully comfortable on your check ride. 

[par]

Brand new Navy pilots who've never flown before in their lives take their first flight and learn the basics in a 450 SHP turbo prop, so yes, you can learn from day one in a Mooney.  You just need a good instructor who's got lots of dual given in Mooney's.  Also the right plane.  A "J" model with brakes on both the pilot and co pilot side is a good candidate.

 

Very doable, but since Mooney's are a bit more complex than a fix gear, fixed pitch spam can, you may need to plan for your Private Pilots License (PPL) to take more than 40 hours in order to feel fully comfortable on your check ride. 

 

Having walked the path you describe here, I think one thing that really separates the military method is that a student is expected to be ready in every sense to execute each flight procedurally before climbing into the cockpit. For a similar training model to be executed on the civilian side, the same would be expected of a student. I just don't know who would have time for that as learning to fly will not be their primary job. I think in some ways a 20C is almost more to handle than a T-34C. There is quite a bit to manage in a Mooney but again, if you chair fly it enough, it isn't impossible. 

[N5756v]

i think i will be putting plenty of time in the schools 172. going to try to have PPL done in about 3 months . then transition to the moony or as my insructor sees fit fly it now and then as i train

[GeorgePerry]

Good points...To be successful, the student will need: Dedication, proper preparation, proper instruction and a unwavering commitment to learn.  With those prerequisites met, I would not hesitate to teach primary flight training in a mooney.