What was total time when you bought First Mooney?

[5854Q]

803 hours for me. Thats equal to 28 years, a 1958 172, 1965 C - 310, Cherokee 180 and a host of rentals. Had only flown in one once and that was a long time ago. Bought this one sight unseen but not unknown. Although it was a rough and basic 1965 C (low time engine & prop), it does what its meant to do: 170 mph IAS at 10 gph avg. These days its slowly being cleaned up, up graded and modified. Hoping the numbers will get better with time / effort.

[Becca]

I had a little over 250 hrs and a complex endorsement with the vast majority of my time in Cessnas and Pipers, my husband (jetdriven) is a multi-thousand hour ATP, and our other partner is slightly over 110 hr PPT.  The insurance company required me to have 5 dual/5 solo, the less experienced partner 10 dual/10 solo, and husband none.  All but two of Falcon's insurance companies declined to underwrite.   I don't think 100+ hours is too low as long as you take the transition seriously and its the right airplane for you.   I can only speak to my personal experience - I have about ~15 hrs in the plane since buying it over 2 months ago.   5 hrs of dual was just the right amount of time to make the transition (and my complex experience was from over 10 years ago too, so I had to re-learn some of that as well), and I think 10 hrs dual was actually a little overkill for my partner.   Airmanship-wise, the speed of the plane was the hardest part for me to transition too, I still pull way back when approaching the airport, and ~120 kts makes it managable.  Technically I am still learning about engine management, but given the amount of discussion about the subject on this board, I think I will be learning about it for a long time.  We certainly talked about buying a transitional airplane (Arrows, Grummans, etc.), but that's what they'd be, transitional planes, keep for a few years and then upgrade.  A 201 may have been a "stretch" for our experiene level, but its also more of a commitment - we're not going to need to "upgrade" to a new airplane as this will meet all our forseeable missions for a very long time and we can actually devote money over the years to improving this airplane instead of going through the headache of buying another airplane in a couple years.

As for learning to fly, go buy yourself a C-150.  Maybe buy it with a friend who is also interested in learning to fly.   Or if you happen to be in an area with a good flying club, join it and meet a community of pilots there.  150s, 152s, 172s, those planes are made for training, so train in them, use them for the mission it was intended for.  Additionally, I don't care how much money you have, it is cost ineffecient to learn to fly in a Mooney.  Second, it will be hell on your Mooney, all those landing gear cycles, hard landings, etc.  Don't abuse your Mooney!

[Kwixdraw]

I had 110 in Cherokees and a little Arrow time.  Found the 201 to be more confidence inspiring than the Arrow and a whole bunch more practical for me.

[TonyPynes]

will be 105 total and 15 complex in Arrows if I close next week.

[aviatoreb]

Quote: AustinPynes

will be 105 total and 15 complex in Arrows if I close next week.

[GeorgePerry]

The premise of the question might be alittle flawed...A person can purchase an airplane anytime they are in a financial position to buy one.  Flight time doesn’t have too much to do with purchasing power.  A better way to put it would be after you could afford it, how long did it take you to decide a Mooney was the right airplane?

 

The implied question the original poster might also be asking is how much flight time is required to feel comfortable in a Mooney.  The answer to that (IMHO) is zero.  If you begin training in a Mooney by the time you have a PPL, you’ll be comfortable. 

 

[Hank]

Quote: GeorgePerry

A better way to put it would be after you could afford it, how long did it take you to decide a Mooney was the right airplane?

 

 

The implied question the original poster might also be asking is how much flight time is required to feel comfortable in a Mooney.

[TonyPynes]

My own discernment and experience mirrors your time during training and anxiousness to buy one. I decided almost immediately after looking at planes (fantasy time) actually when I just decided to take lessons that the Mooney was the way to go. I learned in a Liberty and complex time in an Arrow-200R.

Now I am at the stepping off point waiting on my prepurchase tomorrow and closing hopefully this week.

I will then complete 10 hours dual instruction(I am only 120 now/15 complex) nearby where the plane is in Texas before flying myself back to North Carolina.

I have flown to the foothils of the Appalacians in my training time and cross country logging. Always wanted to keep going and fly over but was never able to arrange it.

My longest time in the air so far is 3 hours from Greensboro to Norfolk. Seemed like it was just a few minutes to me. I love cross country and can't wait to have 5 or 6 hours to fly her back. I am planning on a very early departure, maybe before dawn so it is still early when I arrive and before clouds or thunderstorms pick up which they seem to do here daily.

Instrument is next after I put 20-30 hours on the Mooney to get more comfortable. I am already tired of dodging clouds.

[rainman]

I completed my PPL in 1983 and flew about 90 hrs in the next two years.  I then stopped flying until 2009, did some dual time and completed my medical and BFR. I bought a Warrior and flew it about 100 hours in 2010.  After a year of going really slow, I  bought my 1979 231 a couple of months ago with just about 200 hours total time as a pilot.  After completing my transition training, I flew the 1070nm to Michigan and then returned 10 days later.  Great plane, great trip, love the speed.

[bcconsult21]

I am a 300 hour pilot with 6.5  complex time in my new used M20C!!   I love it!!  Lic in 1976 at 18 y/o, I was taught airspeed, airspeed , airspeed on the approach!   "Thank goodness  /;  ]"

[John Pleisse]

Quote: ehscott

I had a little over 200 hours but had not flown in a number of years.  Bought the plane, got my BFR and initial dual of 25 hours, then my IR and have been flying happily ever after. 

[scottfromiowa]

George:

The question wasn't flawed.  It was crystal clear.  I understand that someone might have zero to 10,000+ hours...The thread flowed from there.

[DrBill]

I had about 520. 366 of those in my previous plane, a Beech Sundowner.  I felt it was time to move up in performance, speed and avionics.  I'm real glad I did.

Dr. Bill   Mint Hill, NC  '65 M20E

 

[Randy_B]

I had 82 hours including 5.1 in complex.

[MATTS875]

I am at 207 hours and starting my IFR training next week.It has been over 2 yrs since I had flown until today.Kind of felt like I needed to re-do my PPL again  but it started coming back to me. I have a long way to go though, but I am in no hurry

[N9453V]

I had 320 hours (65 complex) and my instrument rating when I bought my first plane (the M20-G). My first time flying a Mooney was 2 weeks before I closed on it, test flying it with the previous owner. After the first 1.1 hours in the plane, I was pretty sure it was the right one for me.

I've flown it around 130 hours since I bought it in July 2010 including two trips between California and Texas.

-Andrew

[orangemtl]

Learned to fly in 1989; flew OCCASIONALLY at best for the next 18 years for family/career/usual reasons.  Decided it was 'fish or cut bait' time, particularly since I'd been shopping, if only mentally, for my first plane since I was an adolescent.

I flew to Kerrville on my crosscountry flight in '89 in a Beech Sport trainer. Had a chance to walk around the factory that day. When I walked out, I told the man, "The next time I come back here, I'm buying a Mooney". Bold statement.  But I did, and I ultimately picked my Acclaim from the onsite stock in Kerrville. Chose my tail number, designed the paint scheme, and found myself in possession of a LOT of aircraft: with 60-some hours of 'experience', most of it pretty old.

I was determined however to force myself to the wall in terms of flying, ensuring that I'd never run out of plane, and have an aircraft that would always fulfill the mission for the 20 years I'm likely to still fly. Once or twice in life, you have to decide to leap off the high dive; this was it. After the MAPA course (mixed experience, for me), I worked with a CFI with >2500 hours in Mooneys, much of it working for Mooney; thereafter, worked with an experienced CFI here in AZ. Both were, and are, excellent.  The wrong instructor can scare you; the right ones build confidence. The latter two have been great confidence builders---let's face it, a modern Mooney is a LOT of plane for an amateur, with lots of opportunities for foolishness if you do not pay attention.  I've put it about 50 hours since April, and 2-3 hours a week, playing catchup. It continues to make me a better pilot, and in turn I hope to make the Mooney a more effectively utilized aircraft.

The region I fly in is not far from Edwards AFB, and the opportunity to educate myself in an area so steeped in flight tradition is a gret experience.  It also keeps one focused, given the number of holes punched in the desert in this area courtesy of quirky aircraft or one second's inattention...

[kris_adams]

Approx 300 when I bought 2 years ago. I've put about 300 on the plane since I bought it including doing my IR in it during the first 6 months of ownership. Loving it so far.

[201guy]

I had about 80 hours total when I bought my first Mooney, 1964 M20E.  Also took about 30 hours to learn how to control the airspeed and the attitude in the flair.  I must have sleep through that class!

15 years later and over 1100 hours Mooney and now in a 1979 201J, I have never regretted getting bitten by the Mooney bug!  Very amazing aircraft!

[John Pleisse]

Mooneys share both the step-up crowd from Skyhawks and Cherokees and long term enthusiasts. I was/am both. Bought my 201 in 1997. 170TT to now, 1000TT. Various Mooney know-it-alls proclaim Mooney owners stay with their planes an average of two years longer than any other brand. If this isn't true, it sure seems like it.

[thinwing]

Not sure how I missed this topic..a couple years old now I see.5800 hrs for me when delivered the cashiers check for my Bravo.Previous aircraft sinc pvt fall of 1980 were (in order)stinson 108-3,maule m5 235,Beechcraft baron d55,Lake 180 hp buccaneer,shempp/Hirth ventus B 15m glider,Pitts 180hp S1S,Bell 47 G2 helicopter,Husky A1B 180hp on wipline amphib floats.Along the way I have earned Glider winch and aerotow,single engine sea,Multi engine airplane, .instrument airplane both single and multiengine,rotorcraft helicopter ratings to legally fly all the above stuff.So in 31 years of US,canadian,mexico,carribean,central and south america and a few in Alaska,the bravo has been the most capable ,all weather ,reliable transportation I have owned and look forward to owning her another 10 years...sinc kp couch

[140pilot]

I had around 400 hours in C 150s, C 172's and at the time I owned a PA 28 140. After doing some reading I decided the next logical step was an M 20 C and I found a 78 high time Embry Riddle aircraft that worked for me.

We flew down to Johnston County in the Cherokee, I read the POH over lunch jumped in and flew her home. Got into the field right after dark and the landing light burned out on final so that was my welcome to the world of landing a Mooney. I ended up flying her 201 hours before I reluctantly sold her. I never did get any dual time in it. But this was before the regs requiring sign offs for complex aircraft.

Right now I am flying a Piper L 4 and a Cessna 140. HUGE change of pace from the Mooney.

[PilotDerek]

I had less than 80 hrs with 5 hours complex time (all in a Mooney) when I bought my Mooney. When I was going for my PPL, I told my instructor that I was looking at planes, mostly fixed gear; I really like the look of the Grumman (American General) Tigers. My instructor kept telling to buy a Mooney. He said they were the best planes out there. At the time I was not interested in a complex aircraft, I had heard all the rumors about being difficult to land, overshooting the runway, etc. After I got my PPL I looked for someone to get my complex endorsement and found a fellow Marine who not only was a CFII he owned a M20J. After my first flight with him in his plane I was in love. Squashed were all the rumors I had ever heard about Mooney, this was the aircraft I wanted. Less than three months later I have my Mooney.   

[The-sky-captain]

I had 202 hours in a Cherokee 140 that I got my ticket in. Since then I've put 500 hours on my Mooney in 3 years of ownership. When I started plane shopping I went from Cherokee 180's to Grumann Tigers to early model Mooneys and finally settled on My J. No regrets, love the plane.

[231flyer]

I had 20 hrs and no ticket when I bought 231NJ.  She sat in the hangar for a month till I finished my ticket and started my IFR training immediately.  I built a Lancair IV with a LS1 engine and bought an Eclipse Jet and a Piper Mirage.  Finally got rid of the Eclipse last year (VFR only non-Fiki jet restricted to 18,000 FT due to Avionics/cert/PW 610 issues).  I have really enjoyed my 19 years with the 231.  Always trusty and gets me home.  A fast little no fuss machine.