First Complex - Never been in a Mooney

[Mark942]

Hi All,

I have about 550 hours and had IFR rating 24 years ago. Stopped flying when I sold my business (used to use it to visit customers and suppliers) and family and life took over. Now, at 62 my wife told me I had to have a hobby if I ever wanted to retire. All I do is work.  So, I started flying again.  VFR and have picked up a few refresher hours under the hood.  Love to fly IFR, and do cross countries and can now afford something a bit more than a 140, but not a lot.  Looking at older M20's as a good deal for the money.  BUT, I have owned a Cherokee 140, and a Beech Sundowner for many years, flown 172's, 150's, and Diamond DA20's and 40's and even a Van's RV7A.  Never even sat in a Mooney.  Kind of scary to put down a deposit on a plane a thousand miles away pending a pre-buy when I might hate the thing????

 

I live near Warsaw, Indiana KASW.  Anyone willing to give me a ride.  I would cover expenses of course.

 

Thanks,

 

-mark 

[Danb]

Mark

Welcome...at age 62 yrs young if your limber, not a real big guy being a little partial I'd find it hard to believe you'd hate a mooney especially based on the aircraft you have been flying, economical, pretty fast, since your a senior and mom wants time for her boyfriend(just funnily u)...size of the plane most likely won't be an issue.

Many smart mechanical folks preside on this site (I'm not one of them) a great number of questions and concerns are available on this site.

Again welcome hopefully to the Mooney community and happy flying.

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard, Mark.

If speed and efficiency are your thing.

There is a Mooney that fits your requirements.

Best regards,

-a-

[bonal]

Got my license in a 150 and at just around 250 hours bought my 20c and had no problems transitioning into the complex Mooney. I did not start flying till I was 50. Once you get back into the swing (of the gear) you should do fine welcome to the Mooney asylum cuz we're all nuts for our Mooneys

[carl]

Hello Mark,

 

   " Kind of scary to put down a deposit on a plane a thousand miles away pending a pre-buy when I might hate the thing????"

 

   So here is a short part of my story ; I flew , owned a grumman traveller, had kids , wife made me stop flying ,sold plane..15 years go by...Kids are older, wife leaves, get divorced, within 8 weeks buy a RV 8 kit ( this is going to take a while to get into the sky) Spend nights watching "stratobee" on youtube in a twin aero commander, thats what i'm getting, somehow I get on Parrot Wizard youtube videos and he has a Mooney , I watch all his videos.Decide I must have a Mooney. Find a Mooney in Reno area, I'm in Pennsylvania , make a contract pending prebuy, send deposit , passes prebuy , complete sale , Paid for in full. .......... Then I start to fly again and fly in a Mooney in Virginia.

 

Bought it sight unseen, trusted the A&P IA , Never really been in a Mooney.  I was shocked when I got in and It is small , I thought , what have I done , after a hour , it is not that small , and after 30 hours it is great .slowly expanding my flying envelope.  I fly about twice a month to see my son in college,he makes me buy him breakfast, about a 30 minute flight . My ex has to drive, about 2 and a half  hours. (I'm mean)

 

Would I do it again ,YES. Even without the flying the Mooney has moved me to new experiences I never expected.

 

Come to Altoona we can fly all day .  I am not ready for the trip there yet. . Or buy it anyway you wIll be happy with  it.

 

CARL

[DXB]

Let me see if i have it right:  It sounds like you were once a capable instrument pilot and will likely be one again soon.  So you can go places with your plane, and in retirement you will want to use your plane to go places regularly.  You have no need to carry multiple passengers on a regular basis.  And you want to do this as economically as possible.  

 

It sounds like a C model, or maybe an E, is the PERFECT plane for you.  Of course this is a highly biased group of folks you are asking. But after 10 hrs of dual transition with a Mooney instructor, I am confident you will NEVER regret getting a C model over a fixed gear Cessna or Piper.  Get a plane that is worthy of you as a pilot and your mission!  Compared to those other brands, you will love the speed, the economy, the overall feel. 

 

BTW, this board is an EXCELLENT resource on accomplishing purchase, training, as well as any and all glitches that come up in ownership.  The initial purchase advice is standard and recited on here frequently so I will spare you.  But I've had my plane for 9 months now, and I would have completely flailed without this website.  Instead it's going great.  

 

Sure get a ride in one first if you can...but no real need.  Take the leap of faith.  You are going to have the best retirement ever!

[Houman]

  On 9/3/2015 at 12:31 AM, carl said:

Hello Mark,

 

   " Kind of scary to put down a deposit on a plane a thousand miles away pending a pre-buy when I might hate the thing????"

 

   So here is a short part of my story ; I flew , owned a grumman traveller, had kids , wife made me stop flying ,sold plane..15 years go by...Kids are older, wife leaves, get divorced, within 8 weeks buy a RV 8 kit ( this is going to take a while to get into the sky) Spend nights watching "stratobee" on youtube in a twin aero commander, thats what i'm getting, somehow I get on Parrot Wizard youtube videos and he has a Mooney , I watch all his videos.Decide I must have a Mooney. Find a Mooney in Reno area, I'm in Pennsylvania , make a contract pending prebuy, send deposit , passes prebuy , complete sale , Paid for in full. .......... Then I start to fly again and fly in a Mooney in Virginia.

 

Bought it sight unseen, trusted the A&P IA , Never really been in a Mooney.  I was shocked when I got in and It is small , I thought , what have I done , after a hour , it is not that small , and after 30 hours it is great .slowly expanding my flying envelope.  I fly about twice a month to see my son in college,he makes me buy him breakfast, about a 30 minute flight . My ex has to drive, about 2 and a half  hours. (I'm mean)

 

Would I do it again ,YES. Even without the flying the Mooney has moved me to new experiences I never expected.

 

Come to Altoona we can fly all day .  I am not ready for the trip there yet. . Or buy it anyway you wIll be happy with  it.

 

CARL

really good story, mine resembled yours, I was married to someone that was scared of dangerous or risky stuff, did'nt let me by a jetski so a plane was not even a consideration.

1 month after my divorce a new jetski was at my cottage house and a bit later I started my fight training. I have a 9 year old son in shared custody, and he loves flying with me. Every time we go to the hanger just to do something on the plane, he hugs the fuselage and says I love you to the Rocket, have gone to so many places with him and made so much memory with him.

My ex is kind of jeoulous that we do so much things together with my son...

[carl]

ha ha. it seems many of us have many of the same experiences.

time counts and keeps on countin , so we better not wait .

[pirate]

If your ever around Dekalb, IL I could take you up a hour or two, I've owned mine for 20years.

[rangermb]

Mark,

I live in Laporte...wanna go for a ride???

Mike

[steingar]

I transitioned form a Cherokee to a short bodies Mooney.  If a ham-fisted pilot like me can do it, anyone can.  A good idea would be to sit in one beforehand though.  They are small inside and not for the portly.

[luv737s]

Not hard to fly, but a bit different from higher wing airplanes.  Recommend you find a Mooney CFI or experienced Mooney pilot to show you the ropes.  Bought my Mooney 10 months ago (1962 C model with Johnson Bar) and put about 50 hours on it with no issues.  Cockpit is small and hardest discion I make is where to put my IPAD!!!  Fun airplane to fly and FAST.

[MyNameIsNobody]

If you fly with the J guy...You WILL buy a J. Have fun. (Short-bodies are great, but J is JJJJJjjjust right)

*Guy that has a short body and loves it, but couldn't get a J for what they are selling for now...and wishes he could.

[gsxrpilot]

If you can't go fly a Mooney, go drive a 911, Triumph TR6, MG, or even a Miata. If you like that feel of wearing the machine, you'll love a Mooney.

 

[Mark942]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and your encouragement.  I think I need to get my wife to sit in one. She is the one who complains about being claustrophobic.  She always wants an isle seat on airliners.  She was dead set against a Van's RV until I got her to actually sit in one up at OshGosh.  It was a RV7A and she loved it.  We didn't go up, but we did shut the bubble and she said she was just fine in it.  I think the bubble helped with that.  I think it is a bit of a roasting oven in the sunlight, but then I am really a winter person.

 

I will show her these posts tonight.

 

Thanks again,

 

-mark

[carusoam]

She will like the copilot side of the Mooney...

They get the door!

Best regards,

-a-

[DXB]

  On 9/3/2015 at 5:15 PM, Mark942 said:

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and your encouragement.  I think I need to get my wife to sit in one. She is the one who complains about being claustrophobic.  She always wants an isle seat on airliners.  She was dead set against a Van's RV until I got her to actually sit in one up at OshGosh.  It was a RV7A and she loved it.  We didn't go up, but we did shut the bubble and she said she was just fine in it.  I think the bubble helped with that.  I think it is a bit of a roasting oven in the sunlight, but then I am really a winter person.

 

I will show her these posts tonight.

 

Thanks again,

 

-mark

If you are looking at the low cost pre-J Mooneys, you might want her to sit in one that has been upgraded to the windshield of the newer models- this speed mod is common on these planes and really does give the cockpit a more open feel. Other than this difference, all the short and mid body planes basically have the same front seat sensory experience- to me it's not much different than the Cherokees, other than the sports car-style seating position, which makes ingress and egress more awkward.  Of course it will still not rival the open feel of, say, the Diamond cockpit or the RV bubble. 

[Mark942]

To Mike, (rangermb),

Thanks for the chance to go up with you yesterday.  As I posted on here earlier, I went ahead and made the plunge and bought my first Mooney (yet to be delivered) but after a chance to fly with you, Mike, I am certain I have made a good decision. Your explanations and walk through of how and why and your own experience of transition from a Cherokee to a Mooney really helps.  Thanks so much for the generosity of your time and the chance to fly your Money with you for a bit.  Just wanted to let everyone know how much I appreciated your coming to Warsaw to give me my first taste of the Mooney experience.

-mark

[Seth]

  On 9/3/2015 at 5:15 PM, Mark942 said:

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and your encouragement.  I think I need to get my wife to sit in one. She is the one who complains about being claustrophobic.  She always wants an isle seat on airliners.  She was dead set against a Van's RV until I got her to actually sit in one up at OshGosh.  It was a RV7A and she loved it.  We didn't go up, but we did shut the bubble and she said she was just fine in it.  I think the bubble helped with that.  I think it is a bit of a roasting oven in the sunlight, but then I am really a winter person.

 

I will show her these posts tonight.

 

Thanks again,

 

-mark

Just letter her know that everyone gets a window seat!  Congrats on your purchase!

 

-Seth

Edited October 19, 2015 by Seth

[rainman]

Congratulations on your purchase. What did you get?  Photos? As stated by others, get good transition training from a Mooney experienced CFI. Also, when flying cross country (TX to MI), my wife is most happy in our Mooney when I remove the co-pilot seat and she sits in the back and has all that room in front of her. It makes entry/egress easier as well...strange but true. Ray

[ryoder]

Congrats.  I also bought a Mooney without ever flying one and after a few hours I was comfortable.  It's not so hard to land.  My advice in a C is to keep it trimmed out all the way to the landing.  This way you can flare with finger tip precision.

[Andy95W]

  On 10/19/2015 at 10:19 PM, ryoder said:

Congrats.  I also bought a Mooney without ever flying one and after a few hours I was comfortable.

Wow... Now that I think about it, back in 1992 I bought my first Mooney without having flown one too.

Never looked back.  Never want to!

[irishpilot]

Same here, first time in a Mooney was during the pre buy. They are perfect cross country planes. Congrats!

Sent from my Galaxy S5 via Tapatalk

[Andy95W]

  On 10/20/2015 at 1:06 AM, irishpilot said:

Same here, first time in a Mooney was during the pre buy.

You were lucky! Mine was out of annual when I bought it.  My first flight in a Mooney was in my own airplane.  Boy, am I glad THAT worked out!

[garytex]

There are some real benefits to buying local.