How do you even get into flying Mooneys?

[The Other Red Baron]

I've been researching different make/models of as many single engine planes I can find the past few weeks to decide what and how much of a plane I can afford.  I find that I keep coming back to the Mooney M20 due to generally being affordable, fast enough, and relatively fuel efficient.  Today I just realized I've never even seen one for rent.  I've only rented planes at a handful of places but I've never once saw a Mooney for rent, the only person I know that owns a plane flies a Piper PA-28, and I've never seen one at my local airport. How did you guys that aren't in or near large cities even get into flying a Mooney in the first place? 

[RLCarter]

I got into Mooneys through the cabin door....... OK that was bad, find someone around you with one, buy some fuel and lunch and get hooked. Where are you located? The South is a large aera even in a Mooney

Edited May 4, 2017 by RLCarter

[Skates97]

About a year ago I hadn't even heard of a Mooney. A friend was telling me about his plane and when he told me it was a Mooney I had to look it up to even know what one looked like. I immediately liked the appearance. He offered to take my son and I for a flight and I was hooked. Once I decided what my mission was, I started looking at what would fit. In the price range I was looking, both purchase and maintenance it came down to a Mooney or a Comanche, with the Mooney as my first preference. It just happened that I found the right Mooney before the Comanche, and so now here I am.

If you post up where you are located I'm pretty sure there is someone here on the forums within a short hop (in a Mooney) to you that would be glad to take you up. However be ready, as RLCarter said, you'll be hooked. I know I was after the first ride in one.

(I guess I should be glad my first ride was in a 1961 M20B. If it had been in a newer model, maybe a Bravo or Acclaim I might have been completely spoiled. As it is, when I found my 1965 M20D it felt like an upgrade from that first ride.)

[kpaul]

I bought one.  The first Mooney that I flew had my name on the title.

[MBDiagMan]

To begin with post a more specific location, even if it is the region of a state.  If you are in my region I will be happy to give you a ride.

I solo'd in 1991 and at that time read books about buying various airplanes.  The write up on the Mooney appealed to me because of structural integrity, efficiency, and simplicity (I am an engineer.)  it took me many years, but I now own a Mooney.

Mooneys are not typically in rental fleets.  They are a little cramped for larger people, and retractibles aren't typically used for basic flight training.  If you and your passengers are averaged size people and you like high performance vehicles, a Mooney might be right for you.  I had a non pilot friend tell me he had heard that a Mooney is the Ferrari of small planes.

[chrixxer]

I wasn't considering a Mooney a year ago. I was looking at Cherokee 140s and Warriors because that's what I knew. There was a Mooney at my flight school, but it rarely flew.

About six months ago I started looking around in earnest at what would fit my mission and budget. I'd gotten my complex endorsement so I could fly the local flight school's Arrow, which mostly sat and whose owner (leaseback) was okay (as was the school) with waiving daily minimums for weekend trips just to get her flying more regularly.

Meanwhile I'd joined s new firm, where the boss owns an SR22. That thing's a heavy pig - typically slurping 16 gallons/hour in cruise. But she sure is fast. 50 or do hours cruising at 165 kts, you can't go back to a 115 knot Cherokee, or even a 135kt Arrow (12+gph at 75% power).

The E or the F became my target. Comanche 250/260s are thirstier and their 6 cal engines more costly to overhaul - and I worried about parts availability with the factory destroyed 40+ years ago. Bonanzas are made of parts cast from the purest unobtainium, and I don't care for TCM engines. Especially now that they're single-sourcing everything.

Arrows are almost there, but dogs.

Everything else is too esoteric, orphaned, spendy, or high wing (Grummans, Navions, C182RG), or simply out of my price range (SR20).

You really can't beat a Mooney for the best balance of speed, economy, efficiency, range...

So I got checked out on the flight school's M20B, and just bought an E.

I'm picking up the E in a couple of weeks and went on a dinner run in the B tonight, just to refresh and practice coming down from cruise. Flew the Arrow from SMO to CNO, the Mooney from CNO to MYF and back, then the Arrow back to SMO.

after zipping around in the B for a couple of hours ("Porsche of the sky" seems apt), climbing back into the bigger, heavier, slower Arrow felt like a huge downgrade. I'm hooked.

The numbers sold me. Actually flying the airframe got me addicted.

Edited May 4, 2017 by chrixxer

[chrixxer]

2 hours ago, Skates97 said:

(I guess I should be glad my first ride was in a 1961 M20B. If it had been in a newer model, maybe a Bravo or Acclaim I might have been completely spoiled. As it is, when I found my 1965 M20D it felt like an upgrade from that first ride.)

I flew that 1961 B tonight. Yeah, almost anything's an upgrade. But she's still a blast to fly.

[MBDiagMan]

Great picture Hyett!

to the OP: one significant difference with a Mooney is control rods instead of cables.  This gives very precise control.  Like sports car as compared to a SUV with worn shocks and steering linkage.  Try it.  You'll like it.

[Yetti]

I rented a plane and flew to All American Aircraft to try them on for size.  being a bit bigger than the average bear, I try on cars and planes to see if they will fit.

[Raptor05121]

My grandpa had an F model and at the same time, my uncle had a Cherokee 140 next to it. I remember the Mooney always being better looking and MUCH faster. I also liked the shorter panel in the Mooney. At 8 years old, I was having an easier time seeing over that than the Cherokee.

It was only a matter of time before I got into one.

[MyNameIsNobody]

I was done with flight training and had joined a flying club.  After 172 I flew a 180 Cherokee.  Knew I was a "low wing guy" from first flight.  Found a retract-complex Arrow and owner that was CFI.  Got used to retract and speed.  Bought Aviation Consumer Used Aircraft Guide-Expanded Third Edition.  Belvoir Publications (1989 printing).  The Mooney M20 was whispering to me over and over again on pages 145-151.  Beauty.  Speed.  Efficiency.  Price.  Safety.  Johnson Bar Gear.  Hydraulic Manual Flaps.  No MooneySpace yet so I had Trade-A-Plane.  Bought the first Mooney I ever flew in.

You have MooneySpace.  Share where you live and pay for some gas.  Get to know Mooney.  As others have stated: Beware

They are sexy in photos, but once you fly in one you will become a Mooniac.  Have fun.

You have no excuse to be an uniformed buyer.  There is so much great wisdom to be gained from the pages of MooneySpace.  I wish I would have known "then" what I know now.  Didn't bankrupt or kill me, but both are possibilities if you don't choose wisely and do proper due diligence.

But I digress...

Have

 

[neilpilot]

I had just moved to VA in 1989 and was looking for a C172/182. Met a pilot looking at a M20E, and we ended up as partners. Had never sat in a Mooney or considered one until that moment.

[orionflt]

I basically decided on the Mooney for some of the same reasons you listed, price performance and efficient. I had seen 1 or two in the past, never worked on any at the time and found a great deal on one. next thing i knew I was flying one and never looked back. I have a 1961 C model (yes it is a 1962 model year plane with an airworthiness date in Dec 61), I am faster then any of the 4 cylinder planes on the field and some of the 6 cylinder. it's a fun plane to fly and believe it or not more comfortable then a lot of other planes. my wife says the back of the Mooney is more comfortable then a 172.

Brian

[Jerry 5TJ]

In the 1980s I was working away on my flight training, wedged with my CFI into rental 152s.  One day I saw a Mooney, probably it was a J, parked near my beat-up Cessna trainer.  The thought "I'm going to get one of those" popped unbidden into my consciousness.  

So far I've owned three.  

Any palaver I might offer about efficiency, design and safety would be post-decision rationalizations.  

 

[Skates97]

5 hours ago, chrixxer said:

I flew that 1961 B tonight. Yeah, almost anything's an upgrade. But she's still a blast to fly.

Coincidentally it wasn't that one. I forgot Lou's was a '61. Actually never even sat in his. 

4 hours ago, MBDiagMan said:

Great picture Hyett!

to the OP: one significant difference with a Mooney is control rods instead of cables.  This gives very precise control.  Like sports car as compared to a SUV with worn shocks and steering linkage.  Try it.  You'll like it.

Going from cables and pulleys in a Cherokee to the direct link control rods in the Mooney was amazing. It did feel like going from my old Suburban to my BMW. 

[Bob - S50]

Numbers.  I compared speed, range, payload, and price.  No matter how many times I did it, it always came up Mooney.  I had never been in one until our group of 4 bought our J.

It felt a little cramped the first couple times I flew it, but now it feels spacious.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Bob - S50
typo

[pinerunner]

In my case I was shopping for a plane and what I read got me interested in Mooneys. After missing one that was for sale nearby I hooked up with a fellow that was having trouble selling his a thousand miles away. He offered to let me get my biannual in the old Mooney M20E that I ended up buying (great sales technique) and I was hooked. I stopped looking at C-172's.

[Marauder]

In the mid 1980s I was contemplating getting my pilot's license. One of my wife's co-workers (an older fella -- sound familiar?) owned a J and offered to take me up for a ride. Hook set and I was reeled in. I went through flight training at Princeton Airport (39N) and then started renting Cessna 172s (boo hoo). Moved to WNY and continued to rent Cessnas, Pipers, Beechs' but never found a Mooney to rent. Then one day, a flight school put a Mooney on the flight line. It was a tired J, but I got my insurance sign-off for it (already had the high performance/complex endorsement from renting bigger Cessnas and a Piper Arrow).

I rented it a few times and made the decision to buy a Mooney. Unfortunately, J models were really expensive and I ended up in a late model F. Once I started comparing my speed with early Js, I realized that I was a few knots slower than most. The hook was in deep.

The funniest Mooney experience I ever had was a flight I made to a restaurant. A friend had bought a 172 and we flew our planes to the restaurant. I had my 3 year old daughter sitting in a car seat and my wife on board. After lunch, my friend took off first in his 172 and I then I took off. I started to pass him and my daughter asks "Why is Uncle Sonny flying backwards?" I look over and the optical illusion was great. It really looked like he was flying backwards.

[Htwjr]

I did a lot of research particularly on Mooneyspace.  I knew I wanted speed, efficiency, simplicity, range and payload and there was really only one choice.  I got my ppl about four years ago and the Mooney a month later.  I did sit in one before purchasing mine, but like Kpaul I owned the first one I flew and it has been great. 

[Bravoman]

 I bought mine without even ever flying in one, let alone flying one. I always thought that they looked pretty cool, and, of course, always read about and heard from pilots how great they were on speed and efficiency. If viewed in a vacuum, one would not necessarily describe a Bravo as fuel efficient, but when you consider the ground that you cover per gallon, the fuel burn becomes much more efficient.

Regards, Frank

[aviatoreb]

I am at a small town rural airport.  I was renting and not specifically planning to buy, but I was trying to get people to get together to buy a piper cherokee as either a club, or maybe co-owners of about 2 or 3.  But I was doing this slowly because I could rent.

Then in 2007, the world economy crashed and so did the local economy.  The school I was renting from went out of business, and no one wanted to buy a plane.  And the general attitude toward airplane maintenance had been declining.  So for these reasons I realized that if I wanted to keep flying I needed my own airplane, plus especially to keep it up maintained to a standard a bit higher than the ratty machines you often find around here.  So I bought a Diamond DA40 at a fantastic price (because now it was winter of 2007-2008 and anything that was in the luxury item category was dirt cheap that year again because of the crash).  I flew that for 2 years and loved it.  And I loved owning my own plane.  But I wanted something more capable.  I mulled over twins but decided a high performance single was more what I needed and wanted and that my budget would accommodate without telling any of my kids that they can't go to college.  I had a few times ridden in an M20C and loved it.  

But I was looking for airplanes with tks - I only need inadvertent since I avoid ice but in the north east, sometimes ice seems to happen despite your best forecasting and and use of the forecasting products.  Rarely have I been wrong, but occasionally, thank goodness for tks, and anyway, it gives me peace of mind all the time that there is a backup plan.  SO this narrowed me down to Cirrus, a retrofitted 182, or Bonanza or Mooney.  I was never too excited by 182's but they are no doubt fantastic airplanes for what they are.  Cirrus - I rode in my friend's SR22 and he was proudly demonstrating everything about it, and I came out of that ride thinking I definitely don't like the cirrus for its poor road feel, and some other reasons too.  So it was down to Bonanza and Mooney.  I was surprised to find that despite being over all bigger, the Bonanza has poor leg room for a tall guy.  So now I was shopping for M20.  I was keeping my mind open to any M20 with tks that was in fine shape and a good deal.  Although I was thinking turbo in case I ever did find myself in ice I wanted excess power to get out quick even if that means climb.  Although if I had found a good R or missile with tks I certainly may have gone there.  I loved the concept of the rocket, and found a nice specimen - again at a good price, now in 2009, because the economy was still poor and airplane prices were largely suppressed still.  Although selling my 2003 DA40, I got back more than I purchased it for.

So I purchased an M20K rocket after just a test drive and a repurchase.  And it was at the time a lot more airplane than I anticipated.  everything happens so much faster.  Over time and with training you eventually get used to that speed of things and its fine.

For several years I was maintaining it and improving the avionics (edm830, adsb transponder, p2audio system, overhauled all gyros, and new electric backup attitude, 406elt, overhaul tks pumps, overhaul most components in kfc autopilot) and adding stc speed mods etc, but still thinking in the back of my mind I might end up selling it eventually so a bit reticent to update the interior and paint. Well last year I had an expensive corrosion fix, and at that time I decided to fix that and invest in this plane like I am keeping it for at least 10 more years.  SO I updated all new leather interior, lr tanks, and it is in paint right now getting stripped and painted and new wind screens.  And leather yokes.

So in about a month I will have the shiniest rocket in the fleet.

Edited May 4, 2017 by aviatoreb

[DMJones]

I'm also in the "numbers" category.  I'm a career military/airline pilot, and my son is following along that path.  He's an Army pilot, however, and as such we needed to find a fixed wing aircraft for him in which to build hours.  So, we ran the performance and cost numbers on almost everything from Barons to Super Cubs.  Mooneys kept rising to the top, and so I found one to sit in, to see if I'd fit (I did, and so did my 6' 4" son), and then I hit the internet sales sites, not really knowing how they flew.  Because, as you know, you can't find one to rent.

Ended up buying one from All American, who delivered it locally for a PPI.  It passed with "flying colors" (pardon the pun), and we both started flying it.  Figuring I'd like it ok, I ended up loving it.  They are awesome, smooth, fast airplanes.  And built like tanks.

[aviatoreb]

1 hour ago, Bravoman said:

 I bought mine without even ever flying in one, let alone flying one. I always thought that they looked pretty cool, and, of course, always read about and heard from pilots how great they were on speed and efficiency. If viewed in a vacuum, one would not necessarily describe a Bravo as fuel efficient, but when you consider the ground that you cover per gallon, the fuel burn becomes much more efficient.

Regards, Frank

Its not efficient compared to the most efficient M20's, but for the power and speed, it is fair to also ask how efficient it is compared to the other ones in its category of high performance, including say the bonanza, but also to competing twins, which for the more expensive mooney's those that own these could also be purchasing a barron for example.  On those grounds, it is more efficient.

Edited May 4, 2017 by aviatoreb

[aviatoreb]

One thing about Mooney's that got me buying a Mooney - they just look and feel cool.  Great road feel and they look fantastic.  I think what catches your eye is also a legit buying factor when it comes to expendable income.

[DXB]

8 hours ago, kpaul said:

I bought one.  The first Mooney that I flew had my name on the title.

Me too.  Just buy a good one while lining up a Mooney-experienced transition instructor.  There will be no regret