Flying Magazine write-up of the M20U Ovation Ultra

[Deb]

Pia Bergqvist wrote a nice piece on the new M20U Ovation Ultra in the December issue of flying magazine. Our own Jolie Lucas (@mooneygirl) and Richard Simile were prominently featured.

https://www.flyingmag.com/we-fly-mooney-m20u-ovation-ultra?cmpid=enews113017&spMailingID=31965892&spUserID=NTE5MDMzMzc2NQS2&spJobID=1180001766&spReportId=MTE4MDAwMTc2NgS2

[MIm20c]

Thanks for the link Deb.  1.5 times the value of my plane for TKS?  I’ll buy the grandfather version thank you very much!

[steingar]

If I had the money to burn I'd buy one.  Then again, if I had that kind of money I'd do lots of things.

[gsxrpilot]

I love it all... except the useful load. If only it had another 100 lbs of useful.

[steingar]

15 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

I love it all... except the useful load. If only it had another 100 lbs of useful.

Takes twice as much gas as my aircraft.  Fill the tanks half full and you get an extra 300 pounds.  Of course, mine goes a LOT farther on 50 gallons than the Ultra.

[gsxrpilot]

1 minute ago, steingar said:

Takes twice as much gas as my aircraft.  Fill the tanks half full and you get an extra 300 pounds.  Of course, mine goes a LOT farther on 50 gallons than the Ultra.

You are very correct. I've always thought that in the effort to find the sweet spot between Speed & Efficiency, Mooney hit the mark over and over again with the C, E, J, K252.

Then they said "to hell with it, let's go fast". The long bodies all go fast, but at a cost per mile penalty.

[steingar]

Just now, gsxrpilot said:

You are very correct. I've always thought that in the effort to find the sweet spot between Speed & Efficiency, Mooney hit the mark over and over again with the C, E, J, K252.

Then they said "to hell with it, let's go fast". The long bodies all go fast, but at a cost per mile penalty.

Yeah, and that can bollux their utility.  I can easily go 700 nautical counting reserves (and being conservative) with mine packed to the gills with nearly a half ton of folks and stuff.  Try that in an Ultra.

[Bob_Belville]

30 minutes ago, steingar said:

Yeah, and that can bollux their utility.  I can easily go 700 nautical counting reserves (and being conservative) with mine packed to the gills with nearly a half ton of folks and stuff.  Try that in an Ultra.

You're forgetting that your C's back seat is useless. 

[gsxrpilot]

1 hour ago, Bob_Belville said:

You're forgetting that your C's back seat is useless. 

Hahahah. Correct, useless to ME, I'm the owner and pilot. Therefore I have a reserved seat up front for every flight. I'll never sit in the back seat. But that back seat can be very useful for passengers large and small who won't complain no matter how tight the quarters, as they are getting to fly Private for free!

[MIm20c]

4 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

Hahahah. Correct, useless to ME, I'm the owner and pilot. Therefore I have a reserved seat up front for every flight. I'll never sit in the back seat. But that back seat can be very useful for passengers large and small who won't complain no matter how tight the quarters, as they are getting to fly Private for free!

Also useful is the isolate button on the intercom to allow the back seat passengers to vent before they are left and the next convenient fuel stop

[steingar]

2 hours ago, Bob_Belville said:

You're forgetting that your C's back seat is useless. 

Speak for yourself.  I've filled all the seats quite comfortably in my aircraft.  Or course, it never hurts being a dwarf carrying teenagers.

[exM20K]

7 hours ago, steingar said:

Yeah, and that can bollux their utility.  I can easily go 700 nautical counting reserves (and being conservative) with mine packed to the gills with nearly a half ton of folks and stuff.  Try that in an Ultra.

Meh: you can fly an ovation at "C" model fuel flows if you so choose.  55% is 10.2GPH for 170 KTAS at 10,000 according to the book.  That's about 50 gallons with reserves for your hypothetical trip.

The long bodies offer more room and more options for how fast/far you want to fly.

-dan

[RLCarter]

On December 1, 2017 at 9:38 AM, Bob_Belville said:

You're forgetting that your C's back seat is useless. 

I've spent just under 2 hrs in the back seat of a "C", at 55 yrs, 6'1" and 225 lbs it was too bad in fact it's easier getting in and out of than the front. It did help that the pilot & CFII up front are both vertically challenged so their seats were up pretty far.

[Hank]

Just now, RLCarter said:

I've spent just under 2 hrs in the back seat of a "C", at 55 yrs, 6'1" and 225 lbs it was too bad in fact it's easier getting in and out of than the front. It did help that the pilot & CFII up front are both vertically challenged so their seats were up pretty far.

Whose C was Bob flying?   

[Ron McBride]

As a teenager, I have about a hundred hours in the back of a C.  We even took a trip from California to Massachusetts and back. It can be done.  As an adult, I would not want to be back there though.

Ron

[Hank]

8 minutes ago, N803RM said:

As a teenager, I have about a hundred hours in the back of a C.  We even took a trip from California to Massachusetts and back. It can be done.  As an adult, I would not want to be back there though.

Ron

My wife rides in the back of our C. She says it's not too bad. I fly with my seat in the center of the three notches.

I don't ride in the back seat because I can't reach the controls from there, but I did test-sit it a couple of times . . . And no passsengers have complained about the free ride.

[aviatoreb]

I had my m20k modified with an extra hole in the seat rails for the pilot seat for my long legs.  No one wants to ride behind me!  Luckily - the plane has pretty poor weight and balance for for people anyway so not not much lost.  Last time a human rode directly behind me with all seats filled was my  youngest son, when he was 70lbs still - now he is 16 and bigger...

The most living creatures I have had on board is 14.  Me, my oldest son, and a dozen chihuahua dogs, in a memorable pilots and paws mission.

[mooneygirl]

It was a fun flight from Chandler AZ to KERV and back in the Ultra. WE had a great stop at White Sands, NM.   Most of the way there was IMC.  It was also quite the thrill of a lifetime to fly in Mooney Lead for the photo shoot. I was actually flying the Acclaim lead in the photo where Pia is directly over the Mooney Factory. Our brave photographer was in the baggage compartment with the door off. Fun times

 

[DonMuncy]

Nobody deserves those fun times more than you Jolie.

[mike_elliott]

19 minutes ago, mooneygirl said:

Our brave photographer was in the baggage compartment with the door off

photographer weighed less than 120#

 

[mooneygirl]

Just now, mike_elliott said:

photographer weighed less than 120#

 

Such a hoot. I love that I have the formation flying skills now.

[steingar]

Looks like a really fun time.

[Deb]

The Ovation Ultra received an Editors' Choice Award from Flying Magazine:

Mooney’s M20U Ovation Ultra high-performance single truly confirms that the legendary Kerrville, Texas, manufacturer is back. After flying the Ovation Ultra for our December cover story, we were left in awe by just what a great job the new owners of the company have done, not only with this remarkable airplane, but with the factory in Kerrville as well (they’ve spent $500,000 upgrading the factory lighting alone). The additions to the Ovation Ultra of a pilot-side door, cutting-edge avionics, a gorgeous interior and a long list of smart design improvements add up to a product that can run with the best airplanes in its class, and thanks to its impressive cruise speed, easily outrun them as well.

(Reprinted without permission from https://www.flyingmag.com/editors-choice-awards-2017#page-5.)

[Little Dipper]

Wish I hadn't read that Flying Magazine article.    It really had me drooling.

[Deb]

Paul Bertorelli (AVweb) has a nice video review of the Ovation Ultra here: https://www.avweb.com/videos/Mooney-Ovation-Flight-Review-230131-1.html.

Edited January 3, 2018 by Deb