Why love our Mooneys

[Danb]

We easily can see why long distance Mooney flight is awesome.

I see why my love affair is strong on shorter flights as well, see this week.

Saturday needed to get to Georgetown flight 28 minutes drive time 2:00 hours

Sunday took nephew to Virginia Tech rt flight 2:40 drive time 15 hours.

Thursday to a client Georgetown 1 hour rt drive time 4 hours.

Today to Baltimore 28 minutes drive time 1:45 times two.

Even though these are shorter hops our time savings are drastic.

MOONEYS are absolutely awesome.

Time saved so far this week 19+ hours.

[Hank]

Just now, Danb said:

We easily can see why long distance Mooney flight is awesome.

I see why my love affair is strong on shorter flights as well, see this week.

Saturday needed to get to Georgetown flight 28 minutes drive time 2:00 hours

Sunday took nephew to Virginia Tech rt flight 2:40 drive time 15 hours.

Thursday to a client Georgetown 1 hour rt drive time 4 hours.

Today to Baltimore 28 minutes drive time 1:45 times two.

Even though these are shorter hops our time savings are drastic.

MOONEYS are absolutely awesome.

Time saved so far this week 19+ hours.

Congratulations! You saved half a week's time. 

[Skates97]

I like to call it my time machine.

[N6758N]

What route are you taking that takes 15 hours to get to Blacksburg from Wilmington Dan?!

[Htwjr]

Unfortunately time cannot be saved.  It can only be spent.  The Mooney does allow us to spend less of it driving and less of it flying than slower planes. 

[Danb]

3 hours ago, N6758N said:

What route are you taking that takes 15 hours to get to Blacksburg from Wilmington Dan?!

Round trip about 7 to 7:30 each way, traffic is brutal. 

I-95 to I-81. It does include 45 minutes to stop for coffee or something at crackerbarrel

 

[N6758N]

36 minutes ago, Danb said:

Round trip about 7 to 7:30 each way, traffic is brutal. 

I-95 to I-81. It does include 45 minutes to stop for coffee or something at crackerbarrel

 

Ah round trip makes sense, I was thinking one way! 

[Bob_Belville]

10 minutes ago, N6758N said:

Ah round trip makes sense, I was thinking one way! 

It's gravity. What goes down must come up. 

[rbridges]

I know what you mean. Flew to Atlanta from middle Georgia for a meeting. Even with Christmas traffic, 45 minute flight time. 

[PaulM]

I find that 1 hour of driving is the break even point... (Drive to airport, pre-flight, fuel, taxi, etc)..  You need people to pick you up at the other end, and it is just showing off..  2 Hours of driving and up?.. no question.  

A 5 hour drive each way, is a day trip return in the Mooney. 

[ilovecornfields]

Had breakfast with my family this morning. Flew to Lake Tahoe. Did some mountain flying with an instructor. Ate lunch. Flew home. Picked up my son from school and was home in time for dinner. Mooneys are awesome!

[Jim Peace]

Sunday flew Caldwell NJ to Daytona Beach.  One stop in ILM and we loitered around a lot eating etc.  

Wednesday, jumpseat on JetBlue from DAB to JFK non stop it was only 1+58 flight plus hours to get back to north NJ on 3 trains and an uber.

Door to door the 180hp 1964 M20C was under an hour more travel time, it was two people and we burned about 55 gallons.

 

 

 

[TargetDriver]

We keep our baby at L36 tucked under the Sacramento Charlie airspace. We've driven up to see my stepson who was attending Oregon State in Eugene. A I-5 interstate drive that takes you the winding way past Mt Shasta. A 9 hour drive ... each way !  I decided to show my new wife (of 1.5 years) how cool GA and especially our Mooney really is for those not-so-long-trips.

We got to the airport at 0830 on a Saturday, off the ground by 0915, 1 hr 50 min flight time (right next to Mt Shasta - cool pics at 12k alt), wheels down and tied down by 1130. kids picked us up, had a cool lunch and hung out with them for a while. back to the airport and off the deck by 1545, landed at L36 and at the hanger door and out of the plane by 1800.

All that in the same 9 hours that it would have taken to just drive up there.  I love my Mooney!  ...and to think I was looking for a twin when a friend suggested a Mooney! 

 

 

 

[Mooneymite]

When deciding plane, or car, the "overhead" of flight planning, preflight, travel time to/from the airport, and post flight wrap up, will often tip the scales toward taking the car.  When a rental car is involed, it tips the scale even further.  Now add in fuel, ramp fees, tie down fees, chance of weather turning bad, or the fear of a "mechanical event" away from home and it's  a wonder we ever fly!  

Happily, the fun factor usually out weighs all those mundane considerations.  

[TargetDriver]

You mean we're supposed to preflight and flight plan...AND think about fuel ...weather  - ha ha ?  oops, Im doin somethun wrong !    Throw caution to the wind...just get in and go !    

[Bug Smasher]

3 hours ago, TargetDriver said:

We've driven up to see my stepson who was attending Oregon State in Eugene.

I'm very offended by your post. Oregon State is in Corvallis ;-)

[TargetDriver]

LOL - sorry bout that !!!!   All I know is that I'm supposed to root for the DUCKS and keep the bills paid !  haha   I stand corrected.   I worked in the Auto Industry for 15 yrs in Tool Engineering and flew to Detroit regularly... There, it was always Michigan vs Michigan State.  (I got those wrong too if it lessens my offense any) 

[Hank]

Just now, Bug Smasher said:

I'm very offended by your post. Oregon State is in Corvallis ;-)

I thought "Corvallis" was an airplane? Or was it Eugene's last name?

I have no idea, they're both a long way from here, and all I've ever done in Oregon is change planes in Portland. 

[carusoam]

Nothing like doing the same long trip over and over....

1) familiar pre-flight...

2) familiar weather gathering...

3) familiar flight... familiar frequencies, runways, plans B.....

4) With a hangar, engine heat is automated, no ice and snow on the airframe, Minimum surprises...

5) With a tie-down, things are more of a challenge, but the kids are busy removing and storing the covers... everybody has a job to do...

6) when the execution goes smoothly... it appears to be 'jump in the plane and go'

7) In a C the flight is 1.5 hours. In an O, 1.2 hours. In a Firebird 5.5 hours.... (talk about back seats...)

Go Mooney... for life!    (for life enhancing travel)  

Best regards,

-a-

Afterthoughts....  when it comes to time saved...  I was able to do this trip, up and back the same day. I could be sociable with family after the 'long' trip.  

Leaving after lunch on Sunday to return, was like gaining an extra day.  Family members doing this drive, skip town first thing in the morning. Barely getting breakfast in before going...

[steingar]

My Mooney will get better mileage than most people’s cars. It will go 160 miles and hour burning 8 & a half gallons. There isn’t another certificated airplane that can do that. In no other airplane can a 0360 produce that kind of speed unless it’s experimental.  And it was built 5 decades ago. I love my Mooney all right.

[Danb]

Anthony the big gain is how less tired we are after a day when your not in traffic for 4+ hours. 

[carusoam]

Update for Dan...

5.5 hrs of driving + 1hr nap, Using the FireBird... 

That was when I was 36.... so I probably need a longer nap now.... 

No way I could drive up and back the same day reliably...

Best regards,

-a-

 

[jaylw314]

On ‎12‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 8:21 AM, Hank said:

I thought "Corvallis" was an airplane? Or was it Eugene's last name?

I have no idea, they're both a long way from here, and all I've ever done in Oregon is change planes in Portland. 

Yes, do NOT get Oregon and Oregon State mixed up!

Corvallis is a city in Oregon.  "Corvalis" is the name of the plane originally made by Columbia and then by Cessna.  It was originally built in a factory in Bend, OR, and the Corvalis is, in fact, named after Corvallis.  I hope the misspelling was intentional and not simply the result of a failure to look at a map...