Ground Speed Challenge

[Hank]

So how is it fair to compare my C against your K, much less against an Ovation with double the HP, double the altitude, and a fraction of the drag??? So he'll only clock 240 kts instead of 242, let's see, that puts me an even 100 knots behind . . . . . .

[jlunseth]

If you can get the Acclaim guys to spot me 70 you can have 70.  One good trip in the jetstream this winter will take care of that.

Who said life is fair?

[GeorgePerry]

NQX to NTU, FL 310.  599 knots Ground Speed

[carusoam]

George,

What display is that?   What airplane is that in?

[AustinChurch]

George, with your "F" running like that, why would you want a missile?  ;-)

This is all I'm getting....

 

[GeorgePerry]

Quote: carusoam

George,

What display is that?   What airplane is that in?

[flight2000]

Quote: GeorgePerry

F-18F

[74657]

How can it be fun to fly any single engine airplane when you get to fly F-18s?? 

[Vref]

Quote: 74657

How can it be fun to fly any single engine airplane when you get to fly F-18s?? 

[74657]

Off topic but I have to ask.... why do so many Military guys own Mooneys?

[Vref]

Quote: 74657

Off topic but I have to ask.... why do so many Military guys own Mooneys?

[GeorgePerry]

Quote: 74657

How can it be fun to fly any single engine airplane when you get to fly F-18s??

To be honest, I enjoy flying my Mooney more. Don't get me wrong, flying the Super Hornet is a blast, but it's a different kind of fun. I get job satisfaction from flying and fighting the F-18. When I fly the Super Hornet, the missions are focused on training or employing. There aren't any "just go screw around" flights...when I fly in the Military, its all business. Also the Hornet doesn't have room for the family. I have the most "fun" when I get utility out of my plane. It's a working bird. I almost never fly around the local area just to fly. When I fly my plane it's with a full load of family, friends and bags. Going places, taking trips and enjoying the convienience of TSA free travel is the best!

As to you question of why so many military guys like mooneys, the answer is simple...Value. For less than 100K you get a plane that's faster and more efficient any anything out there.

And to answer the other question about "only" 599knots. Yep I could have gone alot faster, but that would require more power and afterburner. Great for speed, but not good for efficiency. I was cruising at .89 Mach which is a pretty economical speed. Just trying to do my part to save us taxpayers alittle money.

[GeorgePerry]

Quote: AustinChurch

George, with your "F" running like that, why would you want a missile?  ;-)

This is all I'm getting....

 

[jlunseth]

I am not military so am not working on that question, but I picked up on the note about how much fun it is.  Now don't take this wrong, but it is actually a little boring flying a Mooney.  I mean, you take off and give the plane to the AP, you climb, you listen to the satellite radio and enjoy the sunshine above the cloud deck, and before you know it you are in Montana or New York.  You point the nose down, you descend, you land.  Most of this is accomplished by pushing buttons.  Any variation from en route course or altitude is minute.  The plane flies a whole approach you just do that last couple of hundred feet, which you learned to do in your first ten hours before you soloed.  If there is any weather ahead you see it a hundred miles out on the sat wx.  About the most exciting thing you will do is to negotiate  with ATC to let you fly a few miles off route to skirt weather.  You pull up to the pump and don't even get to pump gas very long. 

OK, sometimes you get to fly over Lake Michigan, or maybe Glacier or the Grand Canyon, or go Minneapolis to Mt. Rushmore and back, or just watch the leaves change, I will grant you that, but you can do that from your car too.

So what's the fun part? 

[DaV8or]

Quote: GeorgePerry

And to answer the other question about "only" 599knots.  Yep I could have gone alot faster, but that would require more power and afterburner.  Great for speed, but not good for efficiency.  I was cruising at .89 Mach which is a pretty economical speed.  Just trying to do my part to save us taxpayers alittle money.

[DaV8or]

Quote: jlunseth

I am not military so am not working on that question, but I picked up on the note about how much fun it is.  Now don't take this wrong, but it is actually a little boring flying a Mooney.  I mean, you take off and give the plane to the AP, you climb, you listen to the satellite radio and enjoy the sunshine above the cloud deck, and before you know it you are in Montana or New York.  You point the nose down, you descend, you land.  Most of this is accomplished by pushing buttons.  Any variation from en route course or altitude is minute.  The plane flies a whole approach you just do that last couple of hundred feet, which you learned to do in your first ten hours before you soloed.  If there is any weather ahead you see it a hundred miles out on the sat wx.  About the most exciting thing you will do is to negotiate  with ATC to let you fly a few miles off route to skirt weather.  You pull up to the pump and don't even get to pump gas very long. 

OK, sometimes you get to fly over Lake Michigan, or maybe Glacier or the Grand Canyon, or go Minneapolis to Mt. Rushmore and back, or just watch the leaves change, I will grant you that, but you can do that from your car too.

So what's the fun part? 

[flhelo]

As GeorgePerry stated, all of our flights in the military are either training flights or employing the aircraft in combat.  I am a retired Apache Helicopter pilot and just got my F/W rating almost 2 years ago. It is alot easier for me to go and see my kids in the Mooney than going Delta, SWA etc..  Plus if you want to stop somewhere and sightsee, just find a nearby airport. I dont think the airlines would let you do that. I fly EMS helicopters now. (It pays for my toys!!) My Mooney is all about the relaxation of an enjoyable flight and I only have to answer to myself if I decline a flight for whatever reason.

[jlunseth]

Thanks Dave.  I have tried hand flying but the darn plane just keeps going straight and level.  Ok, so that takes up one finger.  What is the rest of me supposed to be doing?  The suntanning opportunity is always nice though. 

[Barry]

You know, Dave has a point. A friend of mine flew me over to Freeway Apt to pick up my plane after annual in a Cub. It was great!! On the way back, I ran the engine @ 19 squared and flew back at 1500'. It was great!! The leaves were beautiful in WV. Throttling back and enjoying the ride is certainly possible in a fast plane.

[GeorgePerry]

Quote: jlunseth

I am not military so am not working on that question, but I picked up on the note about how much fun it is.  Now don't take this wrong, but it is actually a little boring flying a Mooney.  I mean, you take off and give the plane to the AP, you climb, you listen to the satellite radio and enjoy the sunshine above the cloud deck, and before you know it you are in Montana or New York.  You point the nose down, you descend, you land.  Most of this is accomplished by pushing buttons.  Any variation from en route course or altitude is minute.  The plane flies a whole approach you just do that last couple of hundred feet, which you learned to do in your first ten hours before you soloed.  If there is any weather ahead you see it a hundred miles out on the sat wx.  About the most exciting thing you will do is to negotiate  with ATC to let you fly a few miles off route to skirt weather.  You pull up to the pump and don't even get to pump gas very long. 

OK, sometimes you get to fly over Lake Michigan, or maybe Glacier or the Grand Canyon, or go Minneapolis to Mt. Rushmore and back, or just watch the leaves change, I will grant you that, but you can do that from your car too.

So what's the fun part? 

[GeorgePerry]

Quote: DaV8or

On this issue, do you have to get permission to use the afterburners on a routine flight and go as fast as you want, or as PIC, can you make the choice. Obviously combat is a whole other story. At 599kts, most of your flights must be less than a 40 minutes or something.

[M016576]

Quote: 74657

Off topic but I have to ask.... why do so many Military guys own Mooneys?

[GeorgePerry]

Quote: AustinChurch

George, with your "F" running like that, why would you want a missile?  ;-)

This is all I'm getting....

 

[Hank]

I still get a thrill going where I want to go, and not whichever way the roads go. BTDT, had no fun. From western WV to central and western NC, you have to drive around 3 sides of the block, but my Mooney goes straight.

There's always something interesting to see, too, even if its just the changing weather. Now armed with IA, when there's nothing to see out the window, there is the challenge of getting through.

I've only been flying for 4 years, but I'm still amazed and thrilled that I have the opportunity and ability to climb into an airplane and go whereever it is that I want to go. It's like the freedom of first getting your driver's license, but so much, much more!

[ProprAire]

George, I'm joining the conversation a bit late but concur 100% with your assessment of why mooney ownership is so much value-added to my life.  I too am retired military.  Although much of my 28 years were in the space and missile arena, I had the privilege of flying several different types of fast-movers like the T-38, F-16, etc.  It was fun but not as relaxing as hopping into my own M-20J with my wife and heading out for a weekend of fun with family & friends.