Future Mooney Pilot

[B2Spirit96]

Hello everyone. I'm a recently retired USAF pilot and in the market for a Mooney. A good friend has an F, but my lens is open somewhat, maybe an F, J, or K. My wife and I want to travel around FL on the weekend with occasional trips to the Midwest. I look forward to learning about Mooneys and getting to know pilots on this forum. A few comments on your Mooney experience would be appreciated. Thanks.

[gsengle]

Welcome! We love to spend other pilots money

Give us a budget, and we'll tell you what to get. Flying far and fast with just two aboard is what Mooneys do best.

Greg


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[carusoam]

Welcome aboard B2S.

We have a few military and X-military pilots around here.  There are a couple of threads that include some of the aircraft they fly/flew for work...  hit the search box with army, navy, Air Force, coastguard.  Some interesting things should get listed...

Thank you for your service.

Best regards,

-a-

[co2bruce]

Let me say welcome and thank you for your service. 

[ArtVandelay]

You don't need a turbo, so I would eliminate the K. I assume you are at Eglin, there might be someone with a J in the area you can look at.

Make sure your wife is comfortable flying in a small plane, take her up in a rental first or your friends F, include her in the buying process.

 

[mike_elliott]

5 hours ago, B2Spirit96 said:

Hello everyone. I'm a recently retired USAF pilot and in the market for a Mooney. A good friend has an F, but my lens is open somewhat, maybe an F, J, or K. My wife and I want to travel around FL on the weekend with occasional trips to the Midwest. I look forward to learning about Mooneys and getting to know pilots on this forum. A few comments on your Mooney experience would be appreciated. Thanks.

Welcome, and thanks for your service! Check out the Florida Mooney lunch group, a great way to travel around Fl. every 2nd sat of the month. Depending on which derivative of K, it could be the highest workload single engine plane (engine management) which I suspect you would look forward to with your prior training. There are some real "deals" on K's out there right now. The J is the most efficient of the herd you mentioned while a 252 encore is the most capable. You will hear it more than once, get a proper prebuy from a knowledgeable Mooney specific IA. as well as with Mooney specific instructor to bring you quickly up to speed on the Mooney envelope, its likes and dislikes. Treat her like a fine lady and not a $5 puta, with both care and caress, and she will reward both you and your wife with extreme pleasure.

[gsxrpilot]

6 hours ago, teejayevans said:

You don't need a turbo, so I would eliminate the K. 

I was told the same thing... But I wouldn't trade my 252 for anything but a 252 Encore. Going high and fast is addictive. It might have something to do with the lack of O2, but I'm not sure. 

[Oldguy]

Welcome aboard!

I have a J I use between most of the southeastern states and over to Texas to see family. Comfortable for me (6'5", 215) and can fit anything and anyone we want to stuff in it. Might only have 4:30 hours of fuel with full seats, but I cannot go more than about 3:30 without a bio-stop. Typically plan 150 kts. TAS at 7000-9000 ft. My run from my home drome outside of Birmingham (KPLR) to Lakeland (KLAL) is about a 2:45 trip. I've been in my plane for 4 years now and have had no major problems at annual or otherwise, but it did have a cylinder replaced about 25 hours before it came to me. Currently near 5000 TAF and 1600 SMOH.

I bought mine to do my IFR and because my wife said we needed a faster plane than the C-172 we had. Love her! It is a great IFR platform and can hold any avionics you would want in it. A J can get extended range tanks (see @201er on the board - just did Denver to NY non-stop) and other goodies to make a fine traveling machine.

Again, welcome to MS, and thank you for your service.

[gsengle]

Probably the only Mooney I might trade my Ovation for would be a 252 Encore...


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[B2Spirit96]

Whoa! Lots of good advice here! I almost bought a "J" a couple months ago but passed on it suspecting some neglect here and there. I'm willing to spend up to $150k and for that price want a low-time engine, current AD, decent paint & interior, and updated panel. On the other hand, I can compromise as long as it's airworthy, a low-time engine, with no damage history and I'll make the upgrades later. I've been watching Controller, Trade-a-plane, and Barnstormers...anything stand out? I'm eyeing a couple, but would like some independent perspectives. I'm Melbourne, FL based.

...and thank you for the military service sentiments...was an honor and a privilege. 

[B2Spirit96]

15 hours ago, gsengle said:

Welcome! We love to spend other pilots money

Give us a budget, and we'll tell you what to get. Flying far and fast with just two aboard is what Mooneys do best.

Greg


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Greg, here's your chance! See above.

[gsxrpilot]

"No damage history" will cut you out of a lot of really good Mooney's out there. I would expect that most Mooney's have been gear-up'ed at least once. But if repaired correctly, there shouldn't be anything to fear.

[B2Spirit96]

Thanks for the feedback. This one is local...gear up in 1999 but engine/prop replaced and flying great since. It's undergoing an OH now. It will need a panel upgrade at some point. Im going to see it tomorrow. 

https://www.trade-a-plane.com/mobile/search?category_level1=Single+Engine+Piston&make=MOONEY&model=M20K+231&listing_id=2096509&s-type=aircraft

[gsengle]

Personally I'd buy a run out engine and overhaul and do panel upgrades myself...


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[carusoam]

Nice plane.  

But, without the technical description of what is in the panel and who did the engine OH the price doesn't mean very much.

If it is close, go see it.

It probably has an Rnav... KNS80, looks like an early BK GPS, but operates via VOR.

The world has happily gone GPS based nav.  You may want to include that in your budget...

Enjoy the hunt!

Best regards,

-a-

 

[3914N]

I'm late to the party, but welcome to MS and thanks for your service!

$150k will buy you a lot of mooney. With that budget and your location, I would be looking at the J line. Sounds like you are already doing that. 

Ill echo carusoam above and highly suggest you add a WAAS gps to your requirements list. I told myself I didn't need one while shopping, then a year into ownership I changed my mind. That was an expensive and avoidable mistake. 

 

[ArtVandelay]

You should check out the 1981 restoration J in Daytona beach, see the thread here on MS

[M20F]

Call Jimmy or Dave at All American Aircraft.  Tell them what you want and what you want to pay and they will find it. Annual pre-buy with Maxwell. 

[gsxrpilot]

+1 for Jimmy and David. Even if you don't buy from them, don't buy a Mooney until you've talked with them and see what they have for sale. It will give you a better sense of the market.

[DMJones]

I'm retired AF/ANG.  Now in the airlines.  Son in the Army Guard flying Blackhawks, and he needed fixed wing time.  So we started looking for something, but didn't know what.  After a LOT of discussion, I decided I wanted something fast enough to really go somewhere and Mooneys kept popping to the top.  I eventually called Jimmy Garrison at All American, and he spent an hour on the phone with me going over different models and capabilities.  We ended up finding a nice, low-time 231 that we bought through All American.  I took the insurance company's advice and got about 10 hours of dual which was WELL worth it.  I now wander all over the country in it and love it.  Pictures are worth a thousand words.  In the first photo, that's my son flying with his instructor, and me in the back...