Mooney Stigmas

[co2bruce]

The Comanche I flew felt like it had a lot of drag, I don't know.........

[DonMuncy]

1 hour ago, co2bruce said:

The Comanche I flew felt like it had a lot of drag, I don't know.........

There must be a good story here.

[Guitarmaster]

18 hours ago, M20Doc said:

You're welcome to stop by and fly my Comanche with me, I think you'll enjoy it.

Clarence

I want to fly that eight-cylinder beast!!!!

 

[Raptor05121]

53 minutes ago, DonMuncy said:

There must be a good story here.

It's an art display

[Raptor05121]

32 minutes ago, Guitarmaster said:

I want to fly that eight-cylinder beast!!!!

 

 

I'm sure he will gladly let you fuel it up!

[HRM]

On 3/2/2017 at 2:42 AM, Raptor05121 said:

I was just over on the Piper forum, a guy is comparing a 200hp Arrow to an M20F and out came the bashing. It wouldn't be complete without the standard "Mooney parts are expensive" claim.

There two truths buried in this. The first is that since a Mooney is a high performance aircraft, some parts are there for that reason and, like a sports car, they are expensive. The second truth is the fact that the plane is basically hand made, far more so than your average P&C brands. Again, adds expense when repair time comes.

I drive a Mercedes AMG and I would not think of owning it without factory warranty coverage. The engine has a little plaque on it that the 'one man' signed after he assembled it. You can better believe that when that engine has a problem you had better have either a large checkbook, some insurance or be personal friends with that guy and live near Affalterbach. The Mooney is a bit like that. There's another stigma: A&Ps don't like to work on Mooneys. I have met some, good to have 'one man' who does like them.

[M20F]

Like the Piper baggage door a lot more. 

[M20F]

50 minutes ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

 The Comanche is much more analogous to the Mooney, though, than the Arrow ever could be, in my opinion.

I really wanted a Comanche when I was out looking but the initial purchase price is much more than an F and the loss of the tool/dies in the flood worried me.  

I really do like the Comanche product. 

[Shadrach]

1 hour ago, M20F said:

I really wanted a Comanche when I was out looking but the initial purchase price is much more than an F and the loss of the tool/dies in the flood worried me.  

I really do like the Comanche product. 

My good friend just bought a 250. Nice plane. I was surprised that it had a lower fuel capacity than my F given the higher burn rate. I look forward to "lining them up" in the air to see which is faster. I'm betting it's nearly a wash. His useful is 1110lbs vs my 1060lbs. 

[201er]

Just now, Shadrach said:

My good friend just bought a 250. Nice plane. I was surprised that it had a lower fuel capacity than my F given the higher burn rate. I look forward to "lining them up" in the air to see which is faster. I'm betting it's nearly a wash. His useful is 1110lbs vs my 1060lbs. 

The real test is who can go 750nm quickest 

[dlthig]

1 hour ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

 

I did like the fact that the PA-28's cabin door opened up wider.  It made it easier to get in and out since it was more out of the way when opened.

As was said earlier here, all airplanes have their pros and their cons.  The Comanche is much more analogous to the Mooney, though, than the Arrow ever could be, in my opinion.

Yep, I agree. The landing a Mooney for the first time reminded me of landing a Comanche. Neither are particularly fond of fast approaches and they will float 2000' while you are trying to flare if you aren't careful. Comanches are quite different than Cherokees. The parts count and quality are substantially different. I've read that even if Hurricane Agnes hadn't made a mess of things, the Comanche's days were numbered. The Cherokees were there to compete with Cessna.

 

[201er]

Well it's no surprise you Mooney guys like the Comanche, after all it's also a Mooney design.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Shadrach said:

My good friend just bought a 250. Nice plane. I was surprised that it had a lower fuel capacity than my F given the higher burn rate. I look forward to "lining them up" in the air to see which is faster. I'm betting it's nearly a wash. His useful is 1110lbs vs my 1060lbs. 

A lot depends on what year the 250 is.  Earlier versions had 60 gallons, after 1961 they went to 90. A clean well rigged 250 will leave your F gasping.  My buddy's 250 would do 165KTAS any day of the week.

Clarence

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, 201er said:

Well it's no surprise you Mooney guys like the Comanche, after all it's also a Mooney design.

Well it's close.  It has bladders from birth, simple oleo struts, Zinc chromate primed throughout so few corrosion troubles, simpler and reliable Lycoming parallel valve engine in all but the 400.

Clarence

[201er]

Just now, M20Doc said:

Well it's close.  It has bladders from birth, simple oleo struts, Zinc chromate primed throughout so few corrosion troubles, simpler and reliable Lycoming parallel valve engine in all but the 400.

Clarence

It's a very good Mooney knock off.

[Skates97]

Comanche and Mooney were what I narrowed my search down to. I found the right Mooney before I found the right Comanche and am very happy.

[Andy95W]

31 minutes ago, Skates97 said:

Comanche and Mooney were what I narrowed my search down to. I found the right Mooney before I found the right Comanche and am very happy.

That's awfully inflammatory talk, Richard!  Good thing you got off probation by buying your Mooney... 

[Shadrach]

4 hours ago, M20Doc said:

A lot depends on what year the 250 is.  Earlier versions had 60 gallons, after 1961 they went to 90. A clean well rigged 250 will leave your F gasping.  My buddy's 250 would do 165KTAS any day of the week.

Clarence

I wouldn't call +10kts gasping, but we'll see. I've 15kts on the Comanche 180 on our field so I'd expect that with a 25% horsepower over me he'll be faster. 

Airfacts raced an E model against a PA24-250 back in the 60s over the Chesapeak Bay at 100MSL. The E model walked away from the PA24.

interesting that another 150 horses only buys 25kts...

[gsxrpilot]

10 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

I wouldn't call +10kts gasping, but we'll see. I've 15kts on the Comanche 180 on our field so I'd expect that with a 25% horsepower over me he'll be faster. 

Airfacts raced an E model against a PA24-250 back in the 60s over the Chesapeak Bay at 100MSL. The E model walked away from the PA24.

interesting that another 150 horses only buys 25kts...

My 210HP K will do 185kts all day. Evidently Mooney HP is much more efficient than Piper HP.

[Shadrach]

5 hours ago, 201er said:

The real test is who can go 750nm quickest 

And who can carry the most, the farthest nonstop.

min truth, I really do like his bird and he did quite well on the purchase. When he's finished  bringing it to his standards it's going to be a great family truckster.

[gsxrpilot]

7 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

And who can carry the most, the farthest nonstop.

min truth, I really do like his bird and he did quite well on the purchase. When he's finished  bringing it to his standards it's going to be a great family truckster.

I'd lose there. My 252 is a great two seat speedster, but I'm not hauling any loads with it.

[Shadrach]

59 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

I'd lose there. My 252 is a great two seat speedster, but I'm not hauling any loads with it.

Useful?

[gsxrpilot]

1 hour ago, Shadrach said:

Useful?

800

[Shadrach]

31 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

800

Ouch. That'd be a tough one for me even with the extra 30kts.  The F will take 800lbs in the cabin and land 550nn later with VFR reserves. I'm trying to think of another 4cyl that will do that.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

800

1495 lbs.