Crate size for transporting pets in a mid body Mooney?

[AlexLev]

I have an M20G and want to do more volunteer flights for Pilots 'n Paws. Does anyone have experience with the crate sizes? They can apparently be assembled inside the luggage and don't have to necessarily fit through the doors; the sizes offered are:

19" L x 12.5" W x 10" H
24.6" L x 16.9" W x 15" H
26" L x 18.5" W x 16" H
28" L x 20" W x 19.2" H
32" L x 22.5" W x 24" H

Anyone have experience with knowing which size works well for a mid-body Mooney to either keep in the luggage compartment or in the backseat?

-A

Edited May 23, 2017 by AlexLev

[TheTurtle]

paging @JohnB  He does this a lot although he has a long body.  ask him nicely he might show you his dog stickers.

[JohnB]

14 hours ago, AlexLev said:

I have an M20G and want to do more volunteer flights for Pilots 'n Paws. Does anyone have experience with the crate sizes? They can apparently be assembled inside the luggage and don't have to necessarily fit through the doors; the sizes offered are:

19" L x 12.5" W x 10" H
24.6" L x 16.9" W x 15" H
26" L x 18.5" W x 16" H
28" L x 20" W x 19.2" H
32" L x 22.5" W x 24" H

Anyone have experience with knowing which size works well for a mid-body Mooney to either keep in the luggage compartment or in the backseat?

-A

Yes.. ive got plenty of experience with this! Hope you do more, they're really rewarding. If you're transporting small animals < 25 pounds, you can fit almost anything in any Mooney in a crate.  If it can fit through your door, you can usually get it in the back seat. Starting off, you should probably ask them to supply their own crates for their animals which they can try out before the flight, as theres so many different sized animals, its unlikely you'll have one that will fit every animal.

If you want an assembly/ dissasembly crate for a very large animal in a crate, just measure width, depth and height of your baggage compartment, subtract 1" from each and get that crate. That will go through your front door to be assembled disassembled in your baggage compartment.  I have a large wire crate for this purpose I can bring and fold which I use on occasion. I can tell you though, its a ROYAL pain to assemble and disassemble a standard crate around a dog so I stopped doing that a while ago, but it does allow you to put bigger crates in.

If you want to transport larger 50#+ animals, many pilots will just strap them in the back seat with their harness, but be sure to develop a temperance test for dogs you're going to put in your back seat, if they don't pass, they shouldn't fly with you. I can share my test for larger animals if interested.

 I had 4 metal hitching posts installed to the bottom of my baggage compartment floor that I can just put a mat/ dog bed down and strap a large dog tethered by four tie-outs to their harness so theyre not going anywhere and essentially they have the baggage compartment to themselves on top of a doggie bed. The posts are also useful when I stack crates on top of one another in the baggage compartment so I use the posts and tie outs to secure the crates from moving around the cabin. 

 

57 minutes ago, TheTurtle said:

paging @JohnB  He does this a lot although he has a long body.  ask him nicely he might show you his dog stickers.

Ha! Of course!

Edited May 24, 2017 by JohnB

[1964-M20E]

I've done them without crates but I do secure the dog by his collar with leash or rope so that he can move but not exit the rear seat.   Put a couple of old towels on the seat that has worked for me so far.

[201er]

I can share with you the absolute biggest size carrier that can fit in a mid-body Mooney (M20F, M20G, M20J, M20K) based on what I've taken in my 201. You won't be able to go one bit bigger because it either won't fit through the door or won't fit on the back seat. I had a hell of a time getting this monster in and I've done some minor damage on my plane with it. I accidentally hit an already cracked ceiling vent and broke pieces off and I've possibly torn my ratty seats with it. But, if you know what the absolute max is, then you know you'll be good for anything that measures smaller.

This monster is the biggest thing that will fit through the door or on the seat:

Marchioro Clipper Ithaka 5 Pet Carrier, 32.25-inches, Tan/Blue

Measures 32.25"L x 22.25"W x 23.5"H

In this video you won't see me getting it in but you will see how much space it takes up (10:02-10:40):

 

[AlexLev]

Very useful info! Thanks everyone! Much appreciated!

[carusoam]

The parrot Wizard/whisperer at work!  

at about 21 minutes in, the bird shows her talent!

Great bird info.

Best regards,

-a-

[mike_elliott]

Are you bringing the parrot to the Mooney Summit, Mike?

[Marauder]

On 5/23/2017 at 10:33 AM, AlexLev said:

I have an M20G and want to do more volunteer flights for Pilots 'n Paws. Does anyone have experience with the crate sizes? They can apparently be assembled inside the luggage and don't have to necessarily fit through the doors; the sizes offered are:

19" L x 12.5" W x 10" H
24.6" L x 16.9" W x 15" H
26" L x 18.5" W x 16" H
28" L x 20" W x 19.2" H
32" L x 22.5" W x 24" H

Anyone have experience with knowing which size works well for a mid-body Mooney to either keep in the luggage compartment or in the backseat?

-A

Alex -- Jack M (MooneySpace name is Skeyedancer) flies dogs a lot in his F. His 67 F may have a similar seat arrangement (split rear seatbacks) as your G. He pulls the rear seats and has at least 6 crates in the plane. Send him a PM for the details.

[Skeyedancer]

On 5/23/2017 at 10:33 AM, AlexLev said:

I have an M20G and want to do more volunteer flights for Pilots 'n Paws. Does anyone have experience with the crate sizes? They can apparently be assembled inside the luggage and don't have to necessarily fit through the doors; the sizes offered are:

19" L x 12.5" W x 10" H
24.6" L x 16.9" W x 15" H
26" L x 18.5" W x 16" H
28" L x 20" W x 19.2" H
32" L x 22.5" W x 24" H

Anyone have experience with knowing which size works well for a mid-body Mooney to either keep in the luggage compartment or in the backseat?

-A

Alex,

Matilda (my 67 M20F) and I have flown over 1,000 dogs since my first flight for PnP in 2009.  I still fly about 15 dogs a month.  The attached picture was from a recent mission .. all of these crates comfortably fit in the plane.  Where are you located? ... I'm happy to discuss how I have evolved the setups over the past eight years by phone or in person.

.../ jack

[201er]

48 minutes ago, mike_elliott said:

Are you bringing the parrot to the Mooney Summit, Mike?

Wasn't planning on it. You think I should?

[Skeyedancer]

I just read John B's post and agree with everything he said.  I also have four tether points in the luggage compartment, but usually put large dogs in the back seat.  I used to tether the dogs, but now when I have a large dog, I simply let them sit in the seat, and invite a dog wrangler to join me for the flight to keep him/her happy and out of the front ... better for W&B.  About three years ago I started to transport larger numbers of smaller and mid sized dogs (<35#).  I stopped using my collapsible crates, and acquired a bunch of wire crates in various sizes.  By removing the rear passenger seat back, and the front passenger seat, I found that I could easily fit a lot of crates into the plane ... sort of a Tetris puzzle. It's very easy to pop the seats back in for normal operations.

i see that you're in Buffalo ... do you ever get down toward Philly?  .../ jack

[Skeyedancer]

As long as I'm talking about dogs, we're always looking for pilots to fly dogs up from the south ... I could use contacts interested in the southern legs ... North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and sourthern WVa to central Va.  I'd fly down to meet them.  I fly 2-3 weekends/month.  The dogs are brought to our farm near Wilmington, De, where we arrange for their adoptions.  Send me an IM if you're interested.  We could use pilots for the final leg too.  N57 is very near the farm, is a delightful place to visit, and usually has the cheapest fuel around too!  Send me a private message if you're interested in joining our network.  We are a 501c3 charity, so all flights are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the IRS regs.  www.greenmorerescue.org

[mike_elliott]

25 minutes ago, 201er said:

Wasn't planning on it. You think I should?

I don't mind, but final word will be up to Ron, its his condo your staying in  I am sure she/he will be an icebreaker into many mooney stories.

 

 

[AlexLev]

2 hours ago, Skeyedancer said:

Alex,

Matilda (my 67 M20F) and I have flown over 1,000 dogs since my first flight for PnP in 2009.  I still fly about 15 dogs a month.  The attached picture was from a recent mission .. all of these crates comfortably fit in the plane.  Where are you located? ... I'm happy to discuss how I have evolved the setups over the past eight years by phone or in person.

.../ jack

That looks great! It looks like you have quite a setup. I do make it out to Philly every now and then, just need a reason (even if it's just to meet a fellow Mooney owner). Do you know which of those sized crates will easily fit and could potentially fit in the baggage compartment area? I'd like to avoid damaging the interior and keep things as easy as possible for myself.

[Skeyedancer]

Any of the smaller ones in the picture above will fit in the baggage compartment.  If you're going to open it up inside the plane, you'll need to get a top loader.  That's why I take the seat back off.  I don't remember any of the measurements.  Someday we can FaceTime or Skype, and you'll see how it all works ... I can measure them then.

[aviatoreb]

I was thinking of getting one of those soft crates whose frame structure gardens as you blow up like a blow up raft.  To make for even easier in and out through the door without scuffing anything.

[carusoam]

1000 lives saved by GA?

That is amazing.

Best regards,

-a-

[Skeyedancer]

Just now, carusoam said:

1000 lives saved by GA?

That is amazing.

Best regards,

-a-

Believe it or not, that's sort of an "also ran" number.  :).  There are a couple of guys who have broken 3,000, and at least one who has flown > 5,000.  When Debi Bois started Pilots-n-Paws (in 2008, I think) there were only a handful of us.  Now there are thousands of pilots, and several pretty much do it full time.  A couple have the means to support their flying habit without having to fill the kitty back up, and have pretty much devoted their flying life to transporting rescues. It's been inspiring to fly with these legends.

[Marauder]

I was thinking of getting one of those soft crates whose frame structure gardens as you blow up like a blow up raft.  To make for even easier in and out through the door without scuffing anything.

 

I did that one time until the dog ate through it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[aviatoreb]

16 minutes ago, Marauder said:

 

I did that one time until the dog ate through it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Doh!!!

[JohnB]

10 hours ago, Skeyedancer said:

Alex,

Matilda (my 67 M20F) and I have flown over 1,000 dogs since my first flight for PnP in 2009.  I still fly about 15 dogs a month.  The attached picture was from a recent mission .. all of these crates comfortably fit in the plane.  Where are you located? ... I'm happy to discuss how I have evolved the setups over the past eight years by phone or in person.

.../ jack

 

Jack,

Did you say over 1,000 animals?!? Thats awesome!!! I would like to get that milestone one day, hope we someday can meet and share dog tales?

John

[MyNameIsNobody]

I have used collapsible crates I bought at Theisen's with success.  They fold up quite flat and can be loaded through the baggage door and expanded in the back seat.  I load dogs by lifting through the baggage door and into the crate, zip and go.  They are inexpensive and softer so they don't damage anything going in and out.  There is a Velcro type material on exterior bottom that sticks to seats (mine are cloth) and keeps crate from shifting.  They come in multiple sizes.  They are a cloth vs. metal material.  Mesh windows on sides and ends so you can see them sleeping

 

Edited May 26, 2017 by MyNameIsNobody