Potential new owner

[LolaWalker]

I may have an opportunity to become a partner in a 1999 M20S Eagle. On paper, low engine and TT and very well equipped.  I currently fly a Grumman Tiger. I am looking for advice as to the difference in operating cost. Am familiar with the difference in fuel burn but would like to hear from long time owners of this model as to average annual cost, major problem areas etc. Tiger is not the fastest plane in the world but is a ton of fun to fly  and very low maintenance cost so if anyone has time in both models and can give me a quick comparison that would be great as well. Thanks for your time. 

[carusoam]

What year is your tiger, how many hours does it have?

For comparison,

My old M20C and my current M20R cost about the same to own except a few areas...

- Fuel burn. 10 vs. 15 gph (roughly)

- Capital/opportunity lost cost. 7X

- Surprise maintenance, the C's ADs cost me a little more in some respects.

OH on the larger engine will cost more than OH on a smaller 4 cyl....

Welcome aboard.

Best regards,

-a-

[LolaWalker]

Averaging over a number of years, what do you think your average annual costs?

[Jeff_S]

I've only had my Ovation for about a year, so my experience is more limited but I have 4 years of J to compare it to. Any retractable is going to add some to your maintenance costs compared to a fixed gear. It will add a few hundred to the cost of the annual, just because they have to spend more time checking gear rigging, etc.  If you need to do maintenance on it, realize that changing gear shock discs is $106 PER DISC plus probably 2 hours per side (4 hours altogether for the mains, plus 3 hours for the nose gear).  Realize that with the heavier long-bodies, you'll have to change the discs more often.

 

Moving to the engine, that's two more cylinders to inspect, two more chances for exhaust stacks to go bad, etc.  Of course that won't hit you every year, but when it finally does it will add several hundred to the overall costs.  (I just found a cracked muffler while doing an oil change last week, and for safety sake we pulled the whole exhaust and sent it out for inspection since it was seven years old. That will probably set me back $2K or so...but I err on the side of safety, so that's just me.)

 

You'll have speed brakes which work wonders, but when they need maintenance they need to be pulled and sent to PreciseFlight in Oregon. That's $800, at least it was in April of this year!

 

So there are definitely higher expenses, any of which can get you at any point but probably won't all hit you at the same time. The good news is that all this is worth it, because the smile you'll have on your face when you're cruising along at 170 knots listening to that Continental purr is priceless.

[DXB]

I imagine the insurance costs would also differ somewhat?

[1964-M20E]

From an insurance stand point.  If you can fly with someone in a retract do it as much as you can before and and learn the ins and outs of a complex aircraft while doing it.  The extra hours will help you when it comes time to insure.

[carusoam]

John's point above is super valid^^^^^

You can get 15hrs of PIC time in one week. But the insurance rate won't go down until the next year.

Something to consider...

Best regards,

-a-

[PMcClure]

You might be surprised at how LOW insurance rates can be if you have retractable time and IFR rating. 

[ryoder]

I was told by Avemco I would get an 8% discount with an instrument rating and that my 100 hours of Mooney time didn't qualify me for any discounts. They quoted my hundreds more than what I was quoted as a 75 hour private pilot without any retractable time.

[Hank]

Call Falcon. I used to have Starr, my rates decreased 30% when I got Instrument rated. Call it 350-400 hours total, all but 75 in my Mooney. Starr has exited GA, and Falcon charges less.

Oh, look, it's time to renew!

[Alan Fox]

Probably safe to double your costs and then split by the number of partners....  Fuel , systems , insurance , training , etc......  Also it will be a big transition if done correctly , also very rewarding..... Good luck...

[carusoam]

Lola,

Do you have the IR already?

Expenses that may come up...

Like Jeff mentioned, I got to OH the speed brake clutches after 1500 hours too.

They are pretty easy to pull and ship out.

A real annoying expense is a Gil battery every year or two. (Could just be me)

I think an AD that may apply is some bolts holding the tail on. This effects only a small number of long bodies.

An Acclaim had it's tail off in the shop here in NJ, last week.

The Eagle is a very nice plane. It comes with a few different power ratings for the engine, and tank volumes, and prop choices as well. All are good, just know what you are getting.

I like to have more power than less. 100gallons is good, 130 is an option. A two blade prop may be original, a three blade TopProp is preferred by some... ( I'm probably not alone)

Go Mooney!

Best regards,

-a-

[LANCECASPER]

I had a Grumman Tiger (N28618) that I bought in 1988 and flew for a few years before getting into Mooneys in the 90's. Fun, fast little plane that was relatively cheap to operate. If I remember correctly 135-140 knots wasn't out of the question. Brakes at every annual - because of the castor type nose wheel you had to ride the brakes a little or at least keep tapping on them. Mooneys are definitely more complex but a much more solid airplane. I think Alan is right when he said figure double, but you'll split some of that with the partnership. Cost of fuel per hour shouldn't go up hardly at all with the speed gain in the Mooney, but maintenance will. Although the Eagle is probably 20 yrs newer so that should help some.

 

If you can fly a Mooney Eagle in a partnership for anything close to what you are spending on the Tiger by yourself, go for it!