flyboy0681 Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Today I joined the ranks as a Mooney owner. Shortly after the signing "ceremony" of N1161Z, I went up with a well qualified Mooney instructor from my new home base at Boca Raton (KBCT). He put me through quite a workout over the practice area. The stalls in landing configuration were a bit scary but I got through it. My landings were slightly better than I thought they would be and the last one of the day was very acceptable. I did not have trouble keeping the speed down and passed over the numbers at 75 knots each time. My primary concern with choosing the Mooney was my being a small person at 5'4". In reality this posed no problem because the left seat height adjustment puts me well above the panel and I can comfortably sit with the pins in the second notch. After the instructor left and I was alone by myself in the hangar, all I could say was "gulp". More to come. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74657 Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Congrats! Glad to see some people are starting to spend some money! 6 more hours with an instructor before I am on my own in mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboy0681 Posted October 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Roughly 1/3 of my time has been spent in complex (mostly Arrow's) so the insurance company just wants 2 hours with an instructor. I don't think I will feel comfortable on my own until at least 5-8. I must say that it was nice seeing 150 knots in cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgePerry Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Congrats...Enjoy your Mooney! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLRDMD Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Quote: flyboy0681 I did not have trouble keeping the speed down and passed over the numbers at 75 knots each time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N601RX Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Quote: flyboy0681 Today I joined the ranks as a Mooney owner. Shortly after the signing "ceremony" of N1161Z, I went up with a well qualified Mooney instructor from my new home base at Boca Raton (KBCT). He put me through quite a workout over the practice area. The stalls in landing configuration were a bit scary but I got through it. My landings were slightly better than I thought they would be and the last one of the day was very acceptable. I did not have trouble keeping the speed down and passed over the numbers at 75 knots each time. My primary concern with choosing the Mooney was my being a small person at 5'4". In reality this posed no problem because the left seat height adjustment puts me well above the panel and I can comfortably sit with the pins in the second notch. After the instructor left and I was alone by myself in the hangar, all I could say was "gulp". More to come. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboy0681 Posted October 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 The plane does have the pedal extensions but I'm not sure if they are 1.5 or 3.0 inches. I'll have to check the log book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyDave Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Quote: N601RX The Rudder pedal extensions make things much more comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinChurch Posted October 23, 2010 Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 Congrats and enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbridges Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Quote: 74657 Congrats! Glad to see some people are starting to spend some money! 6 more hours with an instructor before I am on my own in mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74657 Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 All of my hours (until 4 hours ago) were logged in a Grumman Tiger. Insurance requires 10 with an instructor and 10 solo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Time requirements vary tremendously by insurance company. When I bought into my C-model with 62 hrs on my damp certificate, my broker received everything from "not insurable" to 15 dual/10 solo, right on down to 15 dual including 5 IFR with a Mooney CFI. Then came the bill . . . But hey, it has Tires and Transistors, so it ain't gonna be cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboy0681 Posted October 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Speaking for myself, the insurer only wanted 2 hours dual and one solo. About 1/3 of my total time has been spent in complex, so I'm sure that's their reasoning, although I don't plan to do less than a minimum of 5 with my instructor. Tomorrow is my next flight and my new Halo headset arrived in the mail today. Hopefully it's as quiet as it is comfortable. This has been quite a week and I lucked out with respect to my new partners, both very personable, approachable and smart guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantom Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Finally!!! Congrats, Mike. Depending on the height of your partners, you should consider elevator shoes when flying. Oh, and as Ken said, 70 kts OVER THE NUMBERS should work better than 75. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboy0681 Posted October 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 One of my partners is well over 6 feet and just towers over me. I'll get the speed down lower as I get more practice, but the statement was meant more to convey that keeping the speed down wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. By the way some people talk, I thought I'd be coming in over the numbers at 95. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff_S Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Transitioning from a Warrior, I too was concerned about how quickly I could slow down a J to landing gear, flap and threshold speeds. I spent a lot of time creeping down the glideslope in full landing configuration before I got the internal sense of just when I could apply all the various components and get to a landing speed at the right time. For me (J model, no speed brakes) I just had to memorize some numbers. Level flight at 20"/2400RPM will get me to landing gear deployment. Drop it back to 17" to get to initial flap speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbridges Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Quote: flyboy0681 One of my partners is well over 6 feet and just towers over me. I'll get the speed down lower as I get more practice, but the statement was meant more to convey that keeping the speed down wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. By the way some people talk, I thought I'd be coming in over the numbers at 95. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 You're right, our birds fly great, and can be flown with great precision if you so desire. I transitioned from my C-brand trainer, and found slowing down to pattern speed was the problem, not slowing her down to land. The ability to descend at cruising speed on reduced fuel flow is a great thing, but I don't want to blast into the pattern that fast. It took some repetition to get comfortable slowing down to flap speed, since my gear and flap speed are essentially the same. Your newer bird has higher gear speed, so you have the luxury of dropping them to use as speed brakes. Congratulations on your new purchase, and may you have many happy hours generating wonderful memories for your family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLRDMD Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Quote: rbridges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parker_Woodruff Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 70 KIAS at the most on final Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rorythedog Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 congratulations on your new bird! i had ten hours of dual when i bought my m20j. my mooney expert instructor told me you ALWAYS land these planes with full flaps. 'taint neccesarily so! i've got about 1400 hours in 201by now....and 70 kts with partial flaps work great for me in most situations. btw, i used to visit boca frequently...beautiful landing scenery! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLRDMD Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Quote: rorythedog my mooney expert instructor told me you ALWAYS land these planes with full flaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboy0681 Posted October 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 In the morning we go up again and I'll be trying different configurations. On my agenda are half and no flap landings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottfromiowa Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboy0681 Posted October 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2010 I just got back from my second flight, while it was exciting, the best part was trying out my new Halo headset. Incredible is the only word that comes to mind. After a while it was hard to tell it was on, the noise blocking is great, sound quality is phenomenal as well as the mic. At 8 ounces I just didn't know they were on. There is no way I'm ever going back to the head-vise, no way. Oh yea, the flight was good. Practiced loss of power down to pattern altitude at an airport 7 miles away and did a manual gear extension. We had a very stiff crosswind today and the landings were passable, but I nailed the speed on final. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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