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Mooney as a first plane


bdavis171

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I got my mooney with 15 hours total logged time. Basically, I soloed a 172, then started flying the mooney with my cfi. It took me about 3 lessons to get comfortable in it. Some people won't agree with me, but I think it's better to actually learn int he plane you will own... Plus, you'll save the cost of dual that will be required if you already have your PPL... The mooney is not as hard to fly as some people make it out to be, but you do have to respect it and just stay ahead of things.

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I wouldn't let a low time pilot land my Mooney, nor do things like touch and goes that are handy in primary training. I wouldn't want that much slow flight and other rough engine treatment a trainer gets on my Mooney. So if I wouldn't let someone else do it to my plane I shouldn't do it myself. I think a primary trainer should be rugged with fixed gear, fixed prop. Finally, your perspective on what plane you want changes with experience...

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I wouldn't let a low time pilot land my Mooney, nor do things like touch and goes that are handy in primary training. I wouldn't want that much slow flight and other rough engine treatment a trainer gets on my Mooney. So if I wouldn't let someone else do it to my plane I shouldn't do it myself. I think a primary trainer should be rugged with fixed gear, fixed prop. Finally, your perspective on what plane you want changes with experience...

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I suspect as a newbie private pilot I'd be hesitant to mess around with a high performance long body like yours, or a turbo mooney.  But starting transition into a C model right after my private license proved immensely gratifying and, beyond the first 5 hrs of dual, was not an overloading addition to the other areas of growth I needed to experience early on.  When I was shopping, someone had told me I should just go ahead and get a J instead of the C model- I said no way, I was reaching too far already with the C . I do love my plane, but 70 hrs into owning it with all that it entails, I think in retrospect the J might have been a fine move.  Then there's the story of a friend who has flown his wife's Bonanza exclusively from day 1 of primary training - it took him longer initially for sure, but he's a very capable pilot now.  I'm not sure there's one formula for success here.

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Three pages and going. You can learn to fly in any GA plane without a lot of difficulty including a big dangerous turbo twin. What you really need to be asking yourself is are you ready for ownership, what airplane meets your mission, etc. A Mooney might be great (I am obviously a fan) but it doesn't fit the needs of everyone. When it comes to buying an airplane I would really recommend figuring out long and short term goals and seeing what aligns into that. If it is a Mooney great, if it is a Bonanza great, and if it is a C150 great.

You just need to do what is best for you and your pocket book. Be objective in your decision making as well, again partial to Mooney's but there is a lot of Kool-Aide in this thread. They are great planes but they have their short comings.

In short buy a plane, don't join a cult. And really make sure you are ready mentally and financially to own, it isn't a small step.

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Awesome feedback guys.  My mechanic/instructor annuals a few of these a year, so probably not the top of the line guy to go to, but very affordable and very fair.  I'm waiting to hear back about insurance as my quotes went to underwriting.  Hopefully they can work something out.  I have no problems putting in the additional hours with my instructor for insurance and more importantly safety reasons. 

 

 

My first year insurance policy was $2100 with $50k agreed value..   This was based on me having only 15 hours total logged time... and I needed 15 hours of dual before insurance would kick in to cover me solo...  I think my renewal will be about half this premium, but I will raise the hull value because of some things I've done to the plane since then.. ..   I looked at it as a savings because I would have had to otherwise pay $155/hour to rent a 172 to do the balance of my PPL, and then have to pay for 15 hours of dual and complex endorsement.   I saved all that by doing it together......

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  • 2 months later...

Best advice I ever got was "if you bounce hard, or twice automatically go around."

Oh man, this happened to me this weekend in a crosswind landing as I came in hot and then bounced twice, I remembered this advice and immediately executed a go around right after the 2nd bounce. Saved my plane and who knows what else!  Anyway, love Mooneyspace... that's for sure. :)

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My first airplane bought was a Mooney Bravo. Before I did, I had 20 years of renting airplanes, my instrument rating and maybe 20 hours complex time in an arrow and a few 172 RGs. I could have easily bought an Archer, or an Arrow or a Warrior, which is what I was very used to renting, but I know I would have easily outgrown those essentially as soon as I bought it and would want something else pretty much right away. With my Bravo.. I have no desire to get anything else for a long while so upgrading MY airplane is easy for me to justify. (On a non keeper airplane, you might say, well I don't want to upgrade that because I may not get my money out of it) I am doing easily 4x more flying than I did when I was renting, got a great transition instructor to make that jump and couldn't be happier. (Ok I lied a bit.. if my Mooney was Pressurized then I would be ecstatic)

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I bought my F before I completed my PPL.  It was a post on this forum that helped me make my decision.  I don't know if I should thank them or curse them, but the message was something to the effect of "if it's the plane you want, then get it and learn how to fly it."  I wanted a Mooney since I began my training - all of which was in a 172. 

Anyhow, I found the plane I liked.  It had 201 speed modifications installed, as well as a decent avionics package.  The way I looked at it, I had a J with manual gear and flaps.  Perfect, right?  Yes. 

What has helped me the most is I found a fellow Mooney owner, with several hundred more hours of experience, that likes to go fly.  It has been a great confidence booster to fly with another Mooney cultist (I mean enthusiast) to help better learn the Mooney.  Great way to meet new friends with like eccentricities.  Get an F (with manual gear).  Best of luck!

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Sure, a careful low time pilot can learn Mooney lore. 

Years ago I had a business client who was interested in flying. I took him along on several trips in my T210. He loved it and decided to learn to fly. So, he bought a brand new TBM700 and trained in that.  Training went ok. Now he has a Citation.  

 

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