The Mooney 305 Rocket Conversion for Commuting?

[jkhirsch]

http://bfy.tw/6pwv

[cnoe]

Guess I ain't brain-dead yet after all.

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[L39pilot]

On 7/12/2016 at 7:24 AM, Jerry 5TJ said:

I'll take the minority view that yes, you could start by buying a capable plane and flying your Eugene -- SF route while training. 

You should plan on training in parallel with your commute travel.  Find a mentor pilot and expect to fly with him/her for 150-200 hours, which is about 40 round trips.  I'm not counting hours of dual for PPL and Instrument rating, that's perhaps another 80-100 dual and the same solo to meet license requirements.  

At the end of all that you'll have 300-400 hours total time, considerable experience in traveling that route in your own plane, and could be well-prepared to fly in the Pacific Northwest.  

It won't be cheap.  300-400 hours in a well-equipped Mooney, a couple hundred hours of instructor costs plus expenses for mentor pilot.  $100K not counting cap ex of buying the plane may cover it.  Much of that amount may be a business expense.

have fun & fly safe!

 

 

 

 

 

[L39pilot]

On 7/20/2016 at 4:51 PM, jkhirsch said:

http://bfy.tw/6pwv

I agree with first a PPL, instrument rating, insurance will require 200-400 hours of complex time.

i commuted every weekend Thursday night until Sunday am from coastal Ms to east Tn.  First in a V35B Bonanza, 2hr 17 minute average; then in an L39, 41 minutes average.  But 4000 civilian hours, 200/1/4 no problem, ice no problem.  In other words, your skill level and equipment have to meet the mission; otherwise, it is only a matter of time before the odds catch up with you!

I would encourage you to be more than a passenger!

L39pilot

 

[Seth]

3 hours ago, L39pilot said:

I agree with first a PPL, instrument rating, insurance will require 200-400 hours of complex time.

i commuted every weekend Thursday night until Sunday am from coastal Ms to east Tn.  First in a V35B Bonanza, 2hr 17 minute average; then in an L39, 41 minutes average.  But 4000 civilian hours, 200/1/4 no problem, ice no problem.  In other words, your skill level and equipment have to meet the mission; otherwise, it is only a matter of time before the odds catch up with you!

I would encourage you to be more than a passenger!

L39pilot

 

Would love to understand real L39 operating costs at some point.  Acquisition is not terrible, but what about Autopilot, etc . . . flying above FL180.

This would be thread drift so maybe start a separate topic about flying the L39?

 

-Seth

[jetdriven]

1 hour ago, Seth said:

Would love to understand real L39 operating costs at some point.  Acquisition is not terrible, but what about Autopilot, etc . . . flying above FL180.

This would be thread drift so maybe start a separate topic about flying the L39?

 

-Seth

At one time we went to Lancaster and there were a few L39s there. IIRC it was 1% of its value per hour, 1300$ / 130K. 

[aviatoreb]

1 hour ago, Seth said:

Would love to understand real L39 operating costs at some point.  Acquisition is not terrible, but what about Autopilot, etc . . . flying above FL180.

This would be thread drift so maybe start a separate topic about flying the L39?

 

-Seth

Do it Seth!  Then take me with you....

[peevee]

You'd be better off with a fiki turbo sr22 for that trip. A non fiki airplane is not the way to go and the avionics and autopilot are better. Youll give up 10 knots but you'll do it at 15.5 gallons per hour. 09 and up sr22s had the fiki option and go for a little under 400k. I've owned both. Even with several hundred hours of k time the rocket was a handful and you're likely not going to find a CFI with rocket time hanging around Eugene. They do have some quirks.

If it's out of the range or you're dead set on a Mooney look for a fiki bravo. 

You could limit your search to a TKS 252 rocket but you could wait years for one to come up. The bravo is a better choice imo.

 

Edited February 2, 2019 by peevee