Should I buy a Mooney (for business travel)?

[carusoam]

Keep reading with both eyes open.    Some of us are pretty far from any large city.  One of our daily writers flys his plane just to get groceries...

one of the comments the other day, by somebody looking to buy a Mooney... The Mooney he wanted to see was in the middle of nowhere, and he didn't have a plane to get there.

There are so many people here, you will find a few people that do what you want to do.  Another couple will have a similar background that you have.  

Then there will be a day when you have some interesting knowledge to share.

have you looked into any flight training yet?

Best regards,

-a-

[gsengle]

My other thought on all this is it is only worth tackling if you really like flying a light plane. See if you really like it before you commit. You don't want the flying to feel like a second job...


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[Skates97]

7 minutes ago, gsengle said:

My other thought on all this is it is only worth tackling if you really like flying a light plane. See if you really like it before you commit. You don't want the flying to feel like a second job...


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Exactly!!!! Go out and go for a ride with someone. Take a discovery flight from a local flight school. See if you can go on a day when the winds are blowing a little to see how you do when you're bouncing around some.

If you find you love it, then it really won't matter if it "makes sense" because it will be a way of finding joy in the journey as you go through your days and weeks. You have to travel for work and the method of travel (flying your own plane) is something you love? That "makes sense."

[Drew_Wagner]

I bought my J back in May of 16'. I use it approximately 70/30 business and pleasure. I have put about 160 hours on it since then, including my IR this year in December which has completely transformed my flying. I am based out of LRO just outside Charleston and live below the traffic pattern of LRO which is amazing. I opportunistically use 201XX for all the business travel possible. I know people I want to see and when a good stretch of days is forecast I make the trip. I think that flying makes you way more interesting and customers love to hear about it. It is amazing all of the "I had this friend..." or "my ___ used to fly me...." stories about aviation that means something special to people. I have flown to Arkansas to duck hunt, Orlando for conferences, Disney World with my kids for a weekend. I have flown to GA, SC, NC, AL, LA, FL, and TN to see customers. I really like my work, but I really love flying so I am able to feed my flying addition while working. It is not cheap, budget $20k per year at minimum all in, but it gives me more joy than anything else I do and has allowed my business relationships to grow and my family to make some really cool memories.

I woke up this morning at home in Charleston SC, flew to Auburn AL (2 hr flight vs 7 hr drive), spoke to a group of engineering students at 11AM, visited a customer, will go to an industry event tomorrow, and fly home to celebrate my 7 year olds birthday tomorrow night (knock on wood, no mechanical issues...). That schedule would be break neck driving and require an extra night away, but was easy and enjoyable with GA. That is why I fly and love my Mooney.

[thinwing]

That's exactly it ..the aircraft is a time machine but requires a big investment in education and money...and isn't 100% reliable but with an IR...works for me 90% of the time

[bonal]

1 hour ago, thinwing said:

That's exactly it ..the aircraft is a time machine but requires a big investment in education and money...and isn't 100% reliable but with an IR...works for me 90% of the time

I doubt if someone invented a real time machine it would be any less expensive.  To the OP  destinations around the north west make having your own airplane for travel very practical there just arent that many commercial flights outside of Portland and Seatle.  But you really need to get some exposure to see if its right for you. I hope it is.

[Tater]

Thanks again everyone for the great input. Put together this has confirmed what I have been thinking. I.e., I really can reduce a large percentage of my driving time by flying a Mooney.

I'm going to follow everyone's advice and when I'm home next week I'm going to book a discovery flight. Then start figuring out how to fit flight traning into the schedule.

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[DonMuncy]

Welcome to the family of flying.

[Herlihy Brother]

$7500 to fly 100 hours is a minimal and typical year for me in my 1964 E
Other years we try to find something for $500 to replace like a starter, control links, nose gear rebuild, alternator overhaul. In 20 years and 2000 hours of flying the most expensive repair I've  done was the rebuild of the fuel servo for $1500. That was completely my fault when I had to quit flying for 18 months during my divorce in 2002. Some water trapped in there corroded the fuel servo--nothing is worse on aircraft than idleness..  Second place was both magneto, bendix, overhauls for $1300, then tied for third was a rebuilt #3 Cylinder for $800, and the nosegear overhaul also for $800.  Thank Goodness for LASAR and helpful mooney friends like MooneyMitch and Mooneyspace!!

100 Hr/Year flying Budget (owner provides  Annual labor and oil changes):

Payment    0
Hangar, $179/month at Santa Maria, California    2148
insurance    800
eddy current    120
Pitot static    200
Annual-owner assist, freelance IA Fee    500
Annual cost of parts    300
Total fixed    4068
Cost/hr    40.68
    
Variable    
fuel/hr    40
Oil change/hr every 25 hrs    2
Total Variable    42
    
100 hrs/hear    82.68
Total cost/year   $8,268

 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2017 by Herlihy Brother

[Gone]

Same for me but in Cdn Dollars.