Question on J or K

[thomas1142]

I have pretty much made up my mind that a J will fill my needs, and have been looking for a couple of months.

 

Now the question, with so many good deals on K's and a couple of Missiles are they really worth it if I don't really want to go high and mess with oxygen?

 

I know I contradicted my first sentence but Just wondering what others would say.

[rainman]

If your mission does not include going up high over weather or mountains then get a J. The Missle is another question because the extra horsepower down low makes it a sort of a mini Ovation (in a J fuselage length). I fly into Albuquerque in all seasons, and being able to climb over the mountains on a hot day helps me. I don't mind the oxygen and higher is faster. I have a K....that fits on my mission. There is an e-book by the late Richard Zephro called "those Mooney Airplanes". It will help you sort out the attributes of each of the models and match you to the right Mooney for you. The book may still be available at the Mooneyland website.

[Houman]

I think defining your mission is very important, then you look at what is available and even more important, what can you afford and handle both monetary and pilot capacity.

In my case, I had a guy at my local aiport that had a Rocket ( K converted to 305 hp turbo ), on the site and in a hanger and he was looking for a partner. So monetary wise it works and I had to get a good number of transition training to be able to fly it safely.

Don't discount the capability of going high and honestly I don't understand people's hesitation with O2, I willl get to that but 1st,

in my very humble opinion, being able to go high will provide better saftey margins, 1st you can fly over weather if you have your IFR ticket, 2 you have much less GA traffic at 16000 and even much less in flight levels than you have under 10 000 feet, and 3, if you ever have a problem, having that much altitude gives you so much more option and range.

On the O2 side, It costed me less than 500$ in total to get fully equipped to go as high as FL220, I already got a portable O2 tank with the plane, I just bought regulators, cannuls, masks and O2 oximeter to mesure. The only thing missing is the 400$ mask with mic that would let me go as high as the K celing of FL240. I use O2 anytime I go over 8000 feet and always feel much more fresher and concentrated when I do. To refill the O2 tank with medical grade O2, it costs me about 27$ at a local medical O2 shop in town.

So look at your mission and also think what you will be doing with the plane in 2, 5, and 10 years, it's not a bad thing to have place for your mission to expand. In my case, the Rocket is the 1st plane I have owned after renting for a while, I think it covers my needs for a long foreseeable future, unless I win the lottery and buy myself a learjet.

[Amelia]

Hi, Thomas,

I have owned a K for a good many years, by purest happenstance,, and although the nearest real estate rising more than 200 feet MSL is 200 miles west of me, I love my turbo. If you find a good deal on a beautiful K, do consider it. It is so much more capable. On a hot and humid southern afternoon, the sky is full of popcorn in the haze, coalescing into summer squalls. Rise above them into clear and glassy smooth. Climb at 800+fpm to find that 40kt tailwind. As for messing with O2, s'wunnerful. If you're flying home at night, plug in your nasal cannula,even if you're only at 6000 feet, and watch those lights out there brighten as if by rheostat. You are fairly quickly an hour or two less tired. The oxysaver (and similar brands) cannulas make it easy and economical to take advantage of the higher altitude capabilities, but the speed and ease of climbing even no higher than 12,500, make my 231 a real joy.. The J will be cheaper per hour, a little, below 8000 or so, and if you do all your flying within your sea level airport traffic area, well then,there's your answer, but if you do substantial cross country flights, it sure is convenient to not obsess over density altitudes!

[rbridges]

Just wondering, have you guys had any turbo related expenses? I've heard that they can be expensive to repair and maintain but no first hand experience. I would love to have a little more climb during hot summer days but always considered turbos potential big money repairs.

[PaulB]

I'll chime in here. I have a J and absolutely love it but I'm planning on upgrading to a turbocharged Mooney in the next year or so. I live in Texas so I don't have mountains to contend with but I do make pretty long cross countries (in DC now) and I'm really starting to see the usefulness of flying over the weather. On the way here I spend a lot of time going around some small build ups which I could have flown over with a turbo. My wife also told me we need a faster airplane and said she doesn't care about wearing oxygen. The other advantage in Texas for me will be the climbs. On a hot summer day the J can be a bit sluggish in the climb and keeps you in the hot and bumpy air longer. My understanding is that the turbo itself doesn't add that much to the expense of the airplane.

[Houman]

Just wondering, have you guys had any turbo related expenses? I've heard that they can be expensive to repair and maintain but no first hand experience. I would love to have a little more climb during hot summer days but always considered turbos potential big money repairs.

My understanding on my turbo is that it has about 800 hrs TBO, rarely that it will get to that before needing to be overhauled. I do cool it down to 750 before shutting down the engine as my MAPA instructor advised me. My understanding is the turbo overhaul is anywhere between 2 G to 4 g, so not comparable to engine overhaul...

[carusoam]

Ever buy a car based on the engine it had?

What kind of Mooney pilot do you want to be...?

The most avid Mooney pilots enjoy their turbos.

Super avid Mooney pilots seek out the Rocket and 252 versions.

(Almost) all-weather avid Mooney pilots like their turbo with a side of ice protection to go with their O2 system.

Let's say your not that avid...

You like to climb out of the bumps quickly and stay under the O2 levels at 10-12.5k'...

Go IO550, then select the AF you want it in...

If you have use to climb like a homesick angel, while headed for the FLs, TN'd IO550 with 310hp is for you... O2 and FIKI systems are icing on the cake!

I'm not THAT avid, yet.

[Hank]

Ever buy a car based on the engine it had?

-a-

Yep, did that once. Jaguar discontinued their marvelous V-12, so I had to get me one before they were gone. Nineteen years later, it's about to move back into a garage again; it's been out in the weather since October while I was working my tail off, getting laid off and finding a new job.

My plan is to keep my Mooney as long or longer, unless I find another one that I just have to have. A while back, I was really looking at Missiles, then the whole job shakeup thing happened. And that cooled my jets for a while. Now I'm settling into another new job and making preparations for a new house, so the airplane replacement will have to wait for a while.

In my opinion, it's hard to go wrong with a Mooney! The differences boil down to back seat and baggage space, fuel burn rate and climb. The thirstier planes can't take a whole lot with full tanks, but do you really need 100-130 gallons of fuel anyway?

Think about your typical flight. I rarely go much over 400 nm at once, and I've never travelled more than about 1-1/2 hours with more than two people, and that was a sightseeing out-and-back on the NC coast to Kitty Hawk. Buy the best example you can find in your price range that will make most of your flights. It's all about condition. Spend freely on a Pre-Purchase Inspection from a knowledgable person, who knows where the weak spots are with Mooneys; this can save you several times its cost in repairs.

Then fly the wings off of it!

[PTK]

Here's an excellent article on J vs. K.

http://mooneyspace.com/files/file/29-j-vs-k-article/

[thomas1142]

Thanks all, this is the type of information I was looking for. Still think a J is my best choice for the mission I have in mind, short to mid trips, low altitude with no time constraint.