New Mooney Owner

[chan65]

Hello to all,

 

I'm an still a student but had a chance to buy a Mooney MJ 20 201 from someone I know, and it put me in a hangar much sooner than I would have been able to get.

My Question is with little Mooney time, I expect to put another 40-50 hrs. in before my check ride, maybe more, I'm currently at 20. Should I just switch and begin training in the Mooney?

[Mjknick@gmail.com]

Hello to all,
 
I'm an still a student but had a chance to buy a Mooney MJ 20 201 from someone I know, and it put me in a hangar much sooner than I would have been able to get.
My Question is with little Mooney time, I expect to put another 40-50 hrs. in before my check ride, maybe more, I'm currently at 20. Should I just switch and begin training in the Mooney?

Yes only with a seasoned Mooney advanced instructor


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[Mjknick@gmail.com]

Yes only with a seasoned Mooney advanced instructor


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Yes only with a seasoned Mooney advanced instructor


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[Browncbr1]

Yes

[jaylw314]

Yes, if anything, flying a complex plane reinforces doing things by checklist, which is a good habit to learn as a student.  If you don't learn that habit now, it'll be harder to develop later.

If complex planes required smart or talented people to fly, 90% of us would be grounded.

[Yetti]

get your landings down in someone else's plane.  Then switch over to the Mooney.  You will be glad you did.

[Kale McManus]

Yes I would do it as soon as possible 

[chan65]

Thank you, I’m in contact with a Mooney referred instructor, he is coming to evaluate me , and give me his opinion , on if I’m ready and how much More time I should sit in the 172

[Mjknick@gmail.com]

Thank you, I’m in contact with a Mooney referred instructor, he is coming to evaluate me , and give me his opinion , on if I’m ready and how much More time I should sit in the 172

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[Mjknick@gmail.com]

I hope your instructor was a professional seasoned instructor in 172 and your moving to Aircraft that you will benefit with more than a basic checkout.


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[Bug Smasher]

Yes, in my opinion absolutely train in your Mooney. Especially if you have a good instructor with Mooney experience. You can do it. 

[Jeff_S]

I’m not so quick to recommend doing your training in your J. It’s certainly possible, but there’s a reason that even Air Force Cadets all start their training in simpler airplanes...you want to really understand basic airmanship, aerodynamics and the physical skills of handling an aircraft through all the phases of flight before you start layering in the complexities of constant speed prop, retractable gear, higher speeds, etc.The 172 will give a you lot greater latitude to screw things up with less risk of dire consequences, both to life and property. 

I’ve professionally taught many physical activities throughout my life: riding (horseback), skiing, scuba diving, karate. While I’ve never gotten my CFI, the principles are the same...you learn in a progression of skills that build on each other, and it’s beneficial to have developed one set of skills before moving on to the next. You wouldn’t throw a beginning skier on an intermediate slope until they had a good grasp of directional and speed control on skis. I think flying is similar...at least I know it was for me. Spend time learning the fundamentals in a plane that will be more forgiving and let you expand your capabilities, then transition into a plane that will help you grow even more. 

Just my thoughts...

[carusoam]

1) Trainers have their purpose...

2) Complex planes have their purpose...

3)Go do the same training flight in the two different planes...

• If you fall behind in the Cessna, you can generally catch up...
• If you fall behind the same way in the M20J, you might think of better ideas...
• see how many times it takes to repeat the same lesson.

4) Check the cost of insurance, if you haven't done so already...

5) I had difficulty learning to fly in the C172.  Spreading the finances out over months, I Repeated a few lessons over and over... can you dedicate time each week to training?

6) re-training to fly in your own Mooney adds additional stress to the mix.

• a bounced landing can lead to a prop strike.
• prop strikes lead to engine teardowns.
• being worried about tens of AMUs while learning to fly makes things more difficult than they need to be.

7) A defining point in training is the solo flight. This is the point that you know how to mechanically fly a plane...

• It may make sense to solo in the trainer before transitioning to the M20J

8) It may help to read up on what you bought.  The 201 is a Mooney M20J... 

9) learning to fly, then flying around the country is a long worthwhile journey.  

• Don't rush.
• don't skip things.

10) There are a few MSers that have learned to fly in a Mooney.  So it is possible.... See Jim's input above...

Keep asking lots of questions...

Best regards,

-a-

[Raptor05121]

Getting owner insurance as a student will, from what I've seen, double the insurance rates for that year. My hangar neighbor bought a Comanche 260 just days before his checkride and it was $2,600 to insure it for a year. The next year with his PPL, it dropped to $1,400.

If you've got landings down in the 172 after 20 hours, it should be good enough to switch to the Mooney, but I'd still recommend finishing in the 172. I did my checkride in a 152 and it was nerve wracking already, I'd hate to have more systems to manage on a checkride.

[Guest]

I have a client who bought a G1000 FIKI Ovation before she finished her PPL, she finished in the Cessna and hoped into the Ovation.  

A “J” model while more complex than the Cessna is not a space shuttle, it will just take some more time and training.

Clarence

[PMcClure]

Just the fact that you are asking and getting a CFI to evaluate you tells us a lot about you! I am sure you will come to the correct decision. Insurance cost may be a shocker before you have your PPL. But compared to rental costs, maybe not so bad. 

[steingar]

Training in the Mooney will be expensive because of the insurance.  My thought would be to solo the Skyhawk, and then transition into the Mooney.  No sense in having your airplane sit when you need to learn to fly it.  Letting it sit can be expensive too.

[Hank]

Good luck with your continued lessons! Changing to your Mooney will add time and hours before your checkride:  1) you need to learn the new plane; 2) need to relearn all of your maneuvers as power settings will be very different; 3) insurance will require a certain number of hours Dual Instruction before you can solo; 4) you need to know the airplane systems for the Oral exam, so study the POH.

On the other hand, it is possible to transition into your Mooney as a student. I bought mine 5 weeks after my PPL checkride, and transitioned very thoroughly as I was still in Student Pilot mode. But you will need an experienced Mooney CFI; my insurance company actually had different training requirements depending on who trained me. So check with them on that, too. Note that there is usually no cost to add a CFI to your policy as a Named Insured. 

Let us know how things unfold!

[SkyTrekker]

I second everything that @Hank just said.

For what it's worth: I started my PPL training last November (2016) in my CFI's J3 Cub.  After 9 hours in that I moved into the FBO's Cessna 172 rental and did 8 more hours there before I bought my Mooney M20E in May.  I'm at about 56 hours in my Mooney now, and I have a few more solo maneuver solo practice flights between me and my PPL practical test.  As others have suggested, my transition to the Mooney did take extra hours, but I wouldn't give any one of those hours back!  I really love flying this plane :-) 

This approach worked really well for me, since I knew that it was going to take me a year or more to complete my training while I juggle a 60 hour work week with a lot of travel plus family responsibilities.  Once I was soloing in my Mooney, I was able to make flights to other airports in a 150 mile radius of my location to enjoy flying, get familiar with the plane, the region, practice navigating, landings, etc. as often as I wanted on the weekends without having to spend the bucks to rent, not to mention coordinating access to the Cessna with other renters.

I know this approach is not for everyone, but I planned things this way for specific reasons and it has been a really good fit for my purposes.

[Browncbr1]

The cost premium of insurance would be much less than renting a plane and you will save the cost of complex time endorsement.   

I started flying my F the day after I soloed in a 172 and glad I did.

[Bartman]

I have a friend who just bought a J but will complete his training in the Archer. He had already completed all of his landing, solo flight, maneuvers, cross country and just needed some night and hood time. His insurance is about 3,000 this year and he needs 15 hours with the instructor and 10 solo before carrying a passenger. Otherwise since he is PIC on the checkride I think he would have to complete the whole 25 hours before taking the DPE. Had he purchased earlier his instructor would likely have trained him in the J. 

I bought my Mooney with about 20 hours past my PP checkride and transitioned with the same Mooney owner CFI that my friend is working with. I'm sorry some may say otherwise but it was not that big a deal including being setup for bounced landing recovery and short fields too, but stalls can be interesting if you don't keep the ball centered.  One thing I regret was I didn't do my IFR training until a couple of years after purchase, and I wish I had done it right away. 

Short answer, if your CFI has Mooney experience then I say go for it.

[Danb]

21 hours ago, chan65 said:

Hello to all,

 

I'm an still a student but had a chance to buy a Mooney MJ 20 201 from someone I know, and it put me in a hangar much sooner than I would have been able to get.

My Question is with little Mooney time, I expect to put another 40-50 hrs. in before my check ride, maybe more, I'm currently at 20. Should I just switch and begin training in the Mooney?

I would and did. Why not train in what you'll fly if available

[Danb]

19 hours ago, chan65 said:

Thank you, I’m in contact with a Mooney referred instructor, he is coming to evaluate me , and give me his opinion , on if I’m ready and how much More time I should sit in the 172

None