urbanti Posted June 3, 2015 Report Posted June 3, 2015 Has anyone who flies both regularly ever compared the C/E short body airframe vs. an F or a J? I'm just wondering if the lengthening of the airframe affected the handling of the aircraft in terms of pitch? best Tim Quote
mooniac15u Posted June 3, 2015 Report Posted June 3, 2015 Has anyone who flies both regularly ever compared the C/E short body airframe vs. an F or a J? I'm just wondering if the lengthening of the airframe affected the handling of the aircraft in terms of pitch? best Tim I flew a modified D for 8 years and now a J for 1.5 years. The J definitely feels more stable in pitch. Not that the D felt unstable... Quote
carusoam Posted June 3, 2015 Report Posted June 3, 2015 How would you quantify the answer? (Magnitude or frequency of pitch oscillations?) Same wings... Same controls... Same or similar power... One is blessed with a very nice carburetor... Overlapping weight and balance parameters... Slightly different lengths... Some of the short bodies got stuck with a shorter rudder and or rudder throw... One might have a really nice A/P that minimzes pitch oscillations... Both trim very easily... One may have electric trim... Both want to head for the heavens under full power with flaps fully deployed... One may have electric gear... I have not flown either lately, so I'm not answering... But, I would expect your insurance company would want you to have a minimum dual requirement if you were to change from one to the other..? Quote
Bob_Belville Posted June 3, 2015 Report Posted June 3, 2015 It would seem reasonable that an extra 10 (or is it 12"?) between the chords of the wing and horizontal stabilizer would make a difference. I have many more hours in Es than in mid bodies. I would characterize Es as quite stable in pitch. Of course Mooneys are relatively slick so someone transitioning from a small Cessna or Piper might find themselves needing to pay more attention to pitch in a Mooney. Quote
jrwilson Posted June 3, 2015 Report Posted June 3, 2015 I have about 800 in my old C and about 15 in my new K. The K is much more stable in pitch and easier to land. Quote
Hank Posted June 3, 2015 Report Posted June 3, 2015 All I noticed in about 10-15 hours in a 75 F was that it lands much, much better with full flaps. My 70C lands normally with Takeoff flaps. Another difference is in the flap mechanism--both are electric; my flaps are infinitely adjustable, they move up or down as long as I hold the switch. I can land with flaps between Takeoff and Full if I want to; the F had a 3-position lever (Up, Takeoff and Full), and could not stop in between. Don't remember noticing much in the way of stability, but I never flew it much over an hour away, not over much terrain (southern Ohio, northern Kentucky), and not in much weather. It is a foot longer, all behind the wing spar, and it's heavier, so I would expect some degree of improved stability. Quote
C-GHIJ Posted June 3, 2015 Report Posted June 3, 2015 Never flown a J but my C flies just fine with my WIDE body in it. lol. Quote
Ron McBride Posted June 4, 2015 Report Posted June 4, 2015 My 69F has electric flaps, and are infinitely adjustable also. The must have changed later that 70. I only have about 1 landing in a short body, so no opinion. Ron Quote
1964-M20E Posted June 4, 2015 Report Posted June 4, 2015 I've owned and flown both about 250 hours in each and I have not found much difference. The long body F has a little less tendency to fishtail in turbulence but other than that not much difference. The big difference is when you load up people and supplies the F has more room. Quote
orionflt Posted June 4, 2015 Report Posted June 4, 2015 I went with the short body although I did try out several mid and long bodies but the short body was .....oh wait were talking airplanes.. nevermind 5 Quote
gsxrpilot Posted June 5, 2015 Report Posted June 5, 2015 This is second hand... but Don Maxwell told me that I wouldn't enjoy hand flying a C, IFR, with people in the pack seat. Quote
carusoam Posted June 5, 2015 Report Posted June 5, 2015 Having people in the airplane is always going to cause funky behavior. More awake people, more funk... Nice AP, less funk... Best regards, -a- Quote
WilliamR Posted June 5, 2015 Report Posted June 5, 2015 I've flown several short and mid-body Mooneys in low IFR. Not sure where Maxwell's comment is coming from, but I have hand flown my previous C model to mins more than once with an adult in the back with no material change in handling that I noticed. I certainly never thought it was any harder. I always found going missed in any J-bar Mooney to be a huge pain. Now, flying a C-150 in IMC in summer in Florida. That can be work. Note, I rarely took four people in the C due to space constraints, so I probably usually only had one in the back. Quote
Bob_Belville Posted June 5, 2015 Report Posted June 5, 2015 Yeah, I don't think it makes a difference shooting an approach where you expect to have your hand on the elevator, trim, and throttle... what he's referring to is holding assigned cruise altitude +/- 50' w/o A/P and with someone in back shifting back and forth making it impossible to trim to hands off. I would say it is not difficult but constantly watching the altimeter and squeezing on the elevator will make you appreciate ALT HLD. 1 Quote
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