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Why a Mooney?


CMartin

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On 1/26/2018 at 1:48 PM, CMartin said:

That says a lot right there!!! Thanks for sharing

+1 for @Oldguy's post, as I also have an 84J... I'm 6'5", 250lbs evenly distributed--legs/torso. My primary mission is commuting 49NM by myself with occasional trips with 2-3pax @ 300 to 400NM. The J can easily perform my mission and has an absolutely unbeatable speed/cost at this range. Sure turbo's can get there quicker but they will be burning a heck of a lot more gas for the same trips to save less than 10 minutes of time. My longest trips to date have been from San Diego (KSEE) to Sacramento (KSAC) and back five times--400+NM. The slowest was 03:30... the quickest was 02:45. My fuel total each way was 33 gallons... So far the useful load on my J has yet to be a problem @ 913lbs.  Happy hunting if you haven't found your bird...

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On ‎1‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 8:54 PM, jonhop said:

+1 for @Oldguy's post, as I also have an 84J... I'm 6'5", 250lbs evenly distributed--legs/torso. My primary mission is commuting 49NM by myself with occasional trips with 2-3pax @ 300 to 400NM. The J can easily perform my mission and has an absolutely unbeatable speed/cost at this range. Sure turbo's can get there quicker but they will be burning a heck of a lot more gas for the same trips to save less than 10 minutes of time. My longest trips to date have been from San Diego (KSEE) to Sacramento (KSAC) and back five times--400+NM. The slowest was 03:30... the quickest was 02:45. My fuel total each way was 33 gallons... So far the useful load on my J has yet to be a problem @ 913lbs.  Happy hunting if you haven't found your bird...

49? That is all?

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On 1/28/2018 at 6:54 PM, jonhop said:

+1 for @Oldguy's post, as I also have an 84J... I'm 6'5", 250lbs evenly distributed--legs/torso. My primary mission is commuting 49NM by myself with occasional trips with 2-3pax @ 300 to 400NM. The J can easily perform my mission and has an absolutely unbeatable speed/cost at this range. Sure turbo's can get there quicker but they will be burning a heck of a lot more gas for the same trips to save less than 10 minutes of time. My longest trips to date have been from San Diego (KSEE) to Sacramento (KSAC) and back five times--400+NM. The slowest was 03:30... the quickest was 02:45. My fuel total each way was 33 gallons... So far the useful load on my J has yet to be a problem @ 913lbs.  Happy hunting if you haven't found your bird...

 

4 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

There are a LOT of airplanes faster than a Mooney.

True that, but how many of them fit my mission profile that aren't twins, jets, turbines, or turbos... @ significant more cost!

 

 

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6 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

Sure there are. The Lancair 235/320 I owned was both faster and cheaper than three of the four Mooneys I've owned.

Not cheaper nor faster than the 231 I owned. We sold it for 65k

In fact I'm having a hard time finding a sub 75k experimental that can do what the 231 can. Maybe down low, but not up in the flight levels.

I'm considering a 360 or sii and trying to turbonornalize it.

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6 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

Sure there are. The Lancair 235/320 I owned was both faster and cheaper than three of the four Mooneys I've owned.

I thought about building... bought the J and started flying without the risk of buying experimental or the time involved with construction...

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1 minute ago, peevee said:

Not cheaper nor faster than the 231 I owned. We sold it for 65k In fact I'm having a hard time finding a sub 75k experimental that can do what the 231 can. Maybe down low, but not up in the flight levels.

I have a Mooney 231 now. I have had a turbo F, C model and Bravo. The Lancair was faster than all but the Bravo and cheaper to purchase than all but the C model. It was also cheaper to fly, own and maintain than all four Mooneys. I bought the Lancair for $62,500 and sold it for $60,000.

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Just now, KLRDMD said:

I have a Mooney 231 now. I have had a turbo F, C model and Bravo. The Lancair was faster than all but the Bravo and cheaper to purchase than all but the C model. It was also cheaper to fly, own and maintain than all four Mooneys. I bought the Lancair for $62,500 and sold it for $60,000.

I don't see a na 360 doing 185 kts at fl180. If it can I'll buy one.

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9 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

I don't fly at FL180 in a non-pressurized airplane. I fly between 8,000 and 12,000 ft.

Little hard to do in Colorado.

 

There are almost no turbo experimental aircraft out there. You can build a kitfox with a rotax turbo or a legacy with the tsio390 or 550 or the velocity turbo. All of the above are few and far between. Na won't do what I want. I could probably buy a rayjay for a Lycoming and make it work but I'm not sure I'm up to that.

 

Oops, forgot the glasair iii but those are out if budget.

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22 hours ago, peevee said:

There are almost no turbo experimental aircraft out there. You can build a kitfox with a rotax turbo or a legacy with the tsio390 or 550 or the velocity turbo. All of the above are few and far between. Na won't do what I want. I could probably buy a rayjay for a Lycoming and make it work but I'm not sure I'm up to that.

Oops, forgot the glasair iii but those are out if budget.

Partners in my IVPT?      Haha, just kidding.  I owed you that for all the crap you've given me!

:>)

Tom

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Hmmm sw Kansas and only going 300 miles or so? Where at?

I grew up in the area. You’ll be going MUCH further. Get one with a little more legs. 

 

(SW Kansas is in the middle of nowhere. You will have to fly at least 300 miles to get to the edge of nowhere and a few hundred more got get somewhere;) )

Edited by brian]
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How do you get around the "VFR only" restriction.  Seems to me there can be no flying in the flight levels (above 18k).


I never heard that experimental were restricted from entering the flight levels. Is that an FAA rule somewhere?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
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33 minutes ago, jlunseth said:

How do you get around the "VFR only" restriction.  Seems to me there can be no flying in the flight levels (above 18k).

by buying one that isn't limited to VFR...?

 

https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-communities-and-interests/homebuilt-aircraft-and-homebuilt-aircraft-kits/frequently-asked-questions/equipping-a-homebuilt-for-ifr-operations

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29 minutes ago, Marauder said:

 


I never heard that experimental were restricted from entering the flight levels. Is that an FAA rule somewhere?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

It is not.

Tom would be severely disappointed to be forced to operate his turbine at 17,5 and below.

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