Looking to buy a plane (Also want to test fly a Mooney around San Luis Obispo area)

[UrgeToFly]

I am pretty green with my planes, only familiar with the 152 and 172, most my hours putting around in the 152 cause its most available for rental. I am falling in love with the specs and look of the Mooney but I have not even had a chance to check one out up close/inside or get a flight in one (hopefully get to experience some landing, to see if its something I really want to buy). 

I am looking to buy my own plane and have a few things I am looking for and things I am curious about. 

Things I would really like in a plane to buy. 

     Looking in the 60-120k price range, anything outside range that fits just perfectly please let me know. 

     Fastest plane I can acquire with reasonable fuel burn - would love to get the highest speeds possible with preferably ~600lbs+ useful load left (with full fuel would be great but if it can get get 4-5 hours with 600lbs then that's still likely plenty - I know some hold quite a bit of gas but if you can get 10-12 gph then the 64 gals should be plenty when carrying 4 people - able to hold more is a huge plus)

The more I research I find even if you spent enough to get the Acclaim/Ovation your likely looking at only 450lbs useable load. Seems like the F and J models are the most spoken about. 

I would like to have an auto gear system rather than manual bar.  Preferably a basic auto-pilot system, IFR certified , would love to have a panel that is already pretty well equipped and not in need of work. ADS-B compliant.  Hopefully a plane that was well treated in the past and has the equipment that helps me continue to treat it well  

I plan to put more than 100hrs a year into it, specially if I use it for work - explained below.

I am sure I am missing lots of things I really would like, but the more things I narrow down the more planes I seem to cut out that might be perfect, but I really would like reliability and not to be hit with huge costs for maintenance unexpectedly (yes I know its possible, but hopefully there are some models that are less known for these problems) 

 

One thing I am curious about, some new work clients of mine might be upwards of 800-2000 miles away, would you fly your plane for those trips or would you jump on the regionals? I HATE flying on the regionals side of things... just curious if those long flights would be reasonable to fly yourself or if that;s just to far to be comfortable and after working for a week and having to fly yourself home (but with the ability to land and grab dinner or stay for the night somewhere different, no family so plenty of freedom) - would it be better or is it better to sit in coach where I am unable to get any sleep or get comfortable and just end up suffering anyways - expected to fly over 120,000 miles in first year - would you fly it yourself or regional? (sometimes with a co-pilot, often without)

My regionals experience:  often getting there so early so that your plane can be late, TSA steals your water but lets Billy Bob board with his buck knife and shotgun (useless job, I miss flying before 911) - the plane always has some problem, so they have to drive hours to get repair parts, you leave hours late, connection left before you got there, had to wait for another plane, finally make it to destination 6hrs to a day later than expected -- This is what I wish to avoid, flying my own plane would be nice but is it going to be exhausting and unpleasant after a work week to fly those long distances 

Sorry if my message is all over the place, not even sure what questions I should be asking ect.. I just tried to get my thoughts and questions out...   

       Thank you for your help! 
    

[carusoam]

Your message is all over the place... perfect for Mooney ownership...

Start defining your mission and your budget...

A great MSer is in your neighborhood... @MooneyMitch?

If that is the right Mitch... he has both the Long Body and short body experience... and the SLO experience too...

Now,  get organized.... 

GA airplanes make great work tools...Mooneys are fantastic.   1k’nm trips take experience... what do you have for experience?

Best regards,

-a-

[Niko182]

7 minutes ago, UrgeToFly said:

I am pretty green with my planes, only familiar with the 152 and 172, most my hours putting around in the 152 cause its most available for rental. I am falling in love with the specs and look of the Mooney but I have not even had a chance to check one out up close/inside or get a flight in one (hopefully get to experience some landing, to see if its something I really want to buy). 

I am looking to buy my own plane and have a few things I am looking for and things I am curious about. 

Things I would really like in a plane to buy. 

     Looking in the 60-120k price range, anything outside range that fits just perfectly please let me know. 

     Fastest plane I can acquire with reasonable fuel burn - would love to get the highest speeds possible with preferably ~600lbs+ useful load left (with full fuel would be great but if it can get get 4-5 hours with 600lbs then that's still likely plenty - I know some hold quite a bit of gas but if you can get 10-12 gph then the 64 gals should be plenty when carrying 4 people - able to hold more is a huge plus)

The more I research I find even if you spent enough to get the Acclaim/Ovation your likely looking at only 450lbs useable load. Seems like the F and J models are the most spoken about. 

I would like to have an auto gear system rather than manual bar.  Preferably a basic auto-pilot system, IFR certified , would love to have a panel that is already pretty well equipped and not in need of work. ADS-B compliant.  Hopefully a plane that was well treated in the past and has the equipment that helps me continue to treat it well  

I plan to put more than 100hrs a year into it, specially if I use it for work - explained below.

I am sure I am missing lots of things I really would like, but the more things I narrow down the more planes I seem to cut out that might be perfect, but I really would like reliability and not to be hit with huge costs for maintenance unexpectedly (yes I know its possible, but hopefully there are some models that are less known for these problems) 

 

One thing I am curious about, some new work clients of mine might be upwards of 800-2000 miles away, would you fly your plane for those trips or would you jump on the regionals? I HATE flying on the regionals side of things... just curious if those long flights would be reasonable to fly yourself or if that;s just to far to be comfortable and after working for a week and having to fly yourself home (but with the ability to land and grab dinner or stay for the night somewhere different, no family so plenty of freedom) - would it be better or is it better to sit in coach where I am unable to get any sleep or get comfortable and just end up suffering anyways - expected to fly over 120,000 miles in first year - would you fly it yourself or regional? (sometimes with a co-pilot, often without)

My regionals experience:  often getting there so early so that your plane can be late, TSA steals your water but lets Billy Bob board with his buck knife and shotgun (useless job, I miss flying before 911) - the plane always has some problem, so they have to drive hours to get repair parts, you leave hours late, connection left before you got there, had to wait for another plane, finally make it to destination 6hrs to a day later than expected -- This is what I wish to avoid, flying my own plane would be nice but is it going to be exhausting and unpleasant after a work week to fly those long distances 

Sorry if my message is all over the place, not even sure what questions I should be asking ect.. I just tried to get my thoughts and questions out...   

       Thank you for your help! 
    

I'd look at a K with extended tanks. I'd say encore but that's out of your budget. 2000miles is stretching it for a lot of people, but 800 miles is nothing. a 252 in the in the high teens and low 20's can do that in under 4 hours. and I'd say the Encore because you want the useful load. Some bravo's have 1050lbs useful loads, but the delta is smaller because realistically, you're burning 18 to 20GPH vs 10 to 12 GPH. most mooney's limiting factors are the weight. Some have sub 800Lbs useful loads. most are around the 900 to 1000lbs range, some have over 1000lbs, and very rarely do they have over 1100lbs useful loads. I'd say there are probably 150 to 300 mooney's in total that have over a 1100lbs useful load.

[bill98]

19 minutes ago, UrgeToFly said:

I am pretty green with my planes, only familiar with the 152 and 172, most my hours putting around in the 152 cause its most available for rental. I am falling in love with the specs and look of the Mooney but I have not even had a chance to check one out up close/inside or get a flight in one (hopefully get to experience some landing, to see if its something I really want to buy). 

I am looking to buy my own plane and have a few things I am looking for and things I am curious about. 

Things I would really like in a plane to buy. 

     Looking in the 60-120k price range, anything outside range that fits just perfectly please let me know. 

     Fastest plane I can acquire with reasonable fuel burn - would love to get the highest speeds possible with preferably ~600lbs+ useful load left (with full fuel would be great but if it can get get 4-5 hours with 600lbs then that's still likely plenty - I know some hold quite a bit of gas but if you can get 10-12 gph then the 64 gals should be plenty when carrying 4 people - able to hold more is a huge plus)

The more I research I find even if you spent enough to get the Acclaim/Ovation your likely looking at only 450lbs useable load. Seems like the F and J models are the most spoken about. 

I would like to have an auto gear system rather than manual bar.  Preferably a basic auto-pilot system, IFR certified , would love to have a panel that is already pretty well equipped and not in need of work. ADS-B compliant.  Hopefully a plane that was well treated in the past and has the equipment that helps me continue to treat it well  

I plan to put more than 100hrs a year into it, specially if I use it for work - explained below.

I am sure I am missing lots of things I really would like, but the more things I narrow down the more planes I seem to cut out that might be perfect, but I really would like reliability and not to be hit with huge costs for maintenance unexpectedly (yes I know its possible, but hopefully there are some models that are less known for these problems) 

 

One thing I am curious about, some new work clients of mine might be upwards of 800-2000 miles away, would you fly your plane for those trips or would you jump on the regionals? I HATE flying on the regionals side of things... just curious if those long flights would be reasonable to fly yourself or if that;s just to far to be comfortable and after working for a week and having to fly yourself home (but with the ability to land and grab dinner or stay for the night somewhere different, no family so plenty of freedom) - would it be better or is it better to sit in coach where I am unable to get any sleep or get comfortable and just end up suffering anyways - expected to fly over 120,000 miles in first year - would you fly it yourself or regional? (sometimes with a co-pilot, often without)

My regionals experience:  often getting there so early so that your plane can be late, TSA steals your water but lets Billy Bob board with his buck knife and shotgun (useless job, I miss flying before 911) - the plane always has some problem, so they have to drive hours to get repair parts, you leave hours late, connection left before you got there, had to wait for another plane, finally make it to destination 6hrs to a day later than expected -- This is what I wish to avoid, flying my own plane would be nice but is it going to be exhausting and unpleasant after a work week to fly those long distances 

Sorry if my message is all over the place, not even sure what questions I should be asking ect.. I just tried to get my thoughts and questions out...   

       Thank you for your help! 
    

I have an M20E. I chose to fly it 215 miles instead of flying on a legacy carrier (which I do not have to pay flights for). Per the standard IRS mileage - I broke even when factoring in fuel and cost per hour (engine wear and tear + insurance etc).

I was burning 16-17 miles per gallon going at 160kts. (yes I used miles per gallon) 

I was able to get back home without going through TSA and I was able to sleep in knowing I did not have to park at the airline airport. I landed, parked at the FBO, and was taken to our office across the field at the destination airport. I landed 15 minutes before the meeting. It was an absolute awesome feeling. I chose the times I wanted to depart rather than have the airline dictate when I had to travel.

I also have a johnson Bar gear. Other than the fact I have ZERO storage between seats, I would take the johnson bar every day over an electric gear.

 

[ilovecornfields]

There are quite a few Mooneys based at SBP. I’d be happy to take you up in the Ovation, but I won’t let you land it! 

Older Bonanza might fit your needs as well.

[skydvrboy]

For the useful load, it's hard to beat the F, unless you are willing to a) spend a lot more, b) burn a lot more fuel, c) go slower, or d) some combination of these.  Useful load in my F is 1067, so full fuel (64 gal.) leaves 683 for cargo.  Fuel burn LOP is 8.5 gph, which lets her stay aloft 6.5 hrs w/ 1 hr reserve.  I plan 165 mph at that fuel burn so range is just over 1,000 miles on a single fill up... if your bladder can hold out that long. 

As for your work trips, that's a LOT of flying.  You'd probably be better off taking the Mooney only when you can get there on a single tank and only when the weather will cooperate.  Otherwise, fly commercial... or up your budget.

+1 on the manual gear over the electric.  Simple, bullet proof, low maintenance, and fast to operate.  IMHO, the only reason the electric would ever be an advantage over the manual is if you have right arm/shoulder problems.

[AlexLev]

5 minutes ago, skydvrboy said:

For the useful load, it's hard to beat the F, unless you are willing to a) spend a lot more, b) burn a lot more fuel, c) go slower, or d) some combination of these.  Useful load in my F is 1067, so full fuel (64 gal.) leaves 683 for cargo.  Fuel burn LOP is 8.5 gph, which lets her stay aloft 6.5 hrs w/ 1 hr reserve.  I plan 165 mph at that fuel burn so range is just over 1,000 miles on a single fill up... if your bladder can hold out that long. 

As for your work trips, that's a LOT of flying.  You'd probably be better off taking the Mooney only when you can get there on a single tank and only when the weather will cooperate.  Otherwise, fly commercial... or up your budget.

+1 on the manual gear over the electric.  Simple, bullet proof, low maintenance, and fast to operate.  IMHO, the only reason the electric would ever be an advantage over the manual is if you have right arm/shoulder problems.

I am jealous of your useful load. I would be in Mooney heaven if my G had 1067lbs, alas I am stuck with 900lbs.

[UrgeToFly]

2 hours ago, ilovecornfields said:

There are quite a few Mooneys based at SBP. I’d be happy to take you up in the Ovation, but I won’t let you land it! 

Older Bonanza might fit your needs as well.

I would LOVE to go up, regardless of what you allow me to do, just to get a feel and idea for the way they feel. I understand completely and appreciate the offer.  

So are you the one with the Shark painted on the front of the Ovation by chance? Was told about this plane and think I saw it out at site November but never up close. 

 

 

I haven't seen many Mooneys around KSBP, when I would come and go I only saw a mooney a couple of times at the self serve, the owners looked busy and I just got the feeling they would rather be left alone so I left them be. I would ask anyone on the field that I talked to and I would get names but that was not very helpful when I had no idea where/how to get a hold of them. Basically the common answer was - there's a few out there but I don't really know any of them. 

My issue with the J Bar is that I am not the strongest person and I have heard it takes some effort and have read complaints about it being tough for some pilots or having their co-pilot help. I guess I would need to experience it before I knock it - I can imagine it helps with muscle memory to do it mechanically instead of pressing a button too but just fear that if I feel weak now then what happens down the road when I get older?

Alex, That is a beautiful useful load with your F, I would prefer to have a higher cruise but this is what I was looking at prior to thinking about using it for longer range trips, that extra 30mph on 5 hrs 30m flight would cover an extra hour of distance compared to traveling at 165.  I really have no idea the real world specs, I hear all these 201, 231, 252 numbers (not sure if they are arguing knots or mph either, thought it was mph)-- none of the stories I hear from the forums with these planes seem to be getting those speeds, or at least in the end they usually report cruising around 170-180 knots (so seems like the 201 is reasonable but above that seems to only come from high altitude flying and when really pushing the fuel to a point you lose most the efficiency - which is a HUGE boon to the mooney) 

 

Thank you all for your help even tho I am so scatter brained right now! 

 

[Niko182]

19 minutes ago, UrgeToFly said:

I would LOVE to go up, regardless of what you allow me to do, just to get a feel and idea for the way they feel. I understand completely and appreciate the offer.  

So are you the one with the Shark painted on the front of the Ovation by chance? Was told about this plane and think I saw it out at site November but never up close. 

 

 

I haven't seen many Mooneys around KSBP, when I would come and go I only saw a mooney a couple of times at the self serve, the owners looked busy and I just got the feeling they would rather be left alone so I left them be. I would ask anyone on the field that I talked to and I would get names but that was not very helpful when I had no idea where/how to get a hold of them. Basically the common answer was - there's a few out there but I don't really know any of them. 

My issue with the J Bar is that I am not the strongest person and I have heard it takes some effort and have read complaints about it being tough for some pilots or having their co-pilot help. I guess I would need to experience it before I knock it - I can imagine it helps with muscle memory to do it mechanically instead of pressing a button too but just fear that if I feel weak now then what happens down the road when I get older?

Alex, That is a beautiful useful load with your F, I would prefer to have a higher cruise but this is what I was looking at prior to thinking about using it for longer range trips, that extra 30mph on 5 hrs 30m flight would cover an extra hour of distance compared to traveling at 165.  I really have no idea the real world specs, I hear all these 201, 231, 252 numbers (not sure if they are arguing knots or mph either, thought it was mph)-- none of the stories I hear from the forums with these planes seem to be getting those speeds, or at least in the end they usually report cruising around 170-180 knots (so seems like the 201 is reasonable but above that seems to only come from high altitude flying and when really pushing the fuel to a point you lose most the efficiency - which is a HUGE boon to the mooney) 

 

Thank you all for your help even tho I am so scatter brained right now! 

 

M20C, F and G are 140 to 150 KIAS aircrafts. Es and Js, and Ks seem to be around 150 to 165KTAS. Ovations and bravos are all 175 to 190 KTAS aircraft. This is all from 6 to 9 thousand feet. Now at FL200 and above, Bravos, and newer K's are 200 to 210 knot airplanes. acclaims are 220 to 230KTAS aircraft.

[bill98]

58 minutes ago, UrgeToFly said:

My issue with the J Bar is that I am not the strongest person and I have heard it takes some effort and have read complaints about it being tough for some pilots or having their co-pilot help. I guess I would need to experience it before I knock it - I can imagine it helps with muscle memory to do it mechanically instead of pressing a button too but just fear that if I feel weak now then what happens down the road when I get older?
 

 

 

After my first attempt at using the Johnson Bar it became very easy. The key is a fluid motion which makes it easy to use. You just have to make a mental note you are doing one sweeping motion from start to finish, if you release it, pause, then continue it might become difficult. When you release it from it's hold it springs out of place, as it is springing out of the locked position you simply continue to either the gear down or up position utilizing the initial momentum. My hangar has rail guides for the door that I must push the wheels over to get it in and out. It is far easier to get the mooney over the hump if I have some momentum built up before the humps. Trying to push the mooney over the bump as the wheels are against the rails isn't really possible by me (although I try from time to time and count it as leg day at the gym). The Johnson Bar is super easy.

[UrgeToFly]

1 hour ago, bill98 said:

After my first attempt at using the Johnson Bar it became very easy. The key is a fluid motion which makes it easy to use. You just have to make a mental note you are doing one sweeping motion from start to finish, if you release it, pause, then continue it might become difficult. When you release it from it's hold it springs out of place, as it is springing out of the locked position you simply continue to either the gear down or up position utilizing the initial momentum. My hangar has rail guides for the door that I must push the wheels over to get it in and out. It is far easier to get the mooney over the hump if I have some momentum built up before the humps. Trying to push the mooney over the bump as the wheels are against the rails isn't really possible by me (although I try from time to time and count it as leg day at the gym). The Johnson Bar is super easy.

So what happens if you get unlucky or something stops you from the full motion, any way to get that spring back or do I now have to fly until I am out of gas and find some soft grass? lol

   Thanks

[carusoam]

Stop... wait...

There is no magic to manual gear... there are springs and levers, and one or two variables...

• Airspeed
• Manual strength and dexterity

There is one speed where the gear goes up really easily... (slower is better)  too slow, you are busy flying the plane...

There is  another speed where the gear goes down really easily... (quicker is better) too quick, you weren’t paying attention... the gear handle will waken you up...  

What you will find is something called Transition Training that covers this basic operation.  The Mooney was incredibly well designed and built for a machine in the 1960s.

 

Hold off on the judgements until after you have some of the training... you won’t miss any great opportunities this way...

There is nothing finer than a fully manual carb fed, Mooney M20C...   

• Manual gear.
• Manual hydraulic pump flaps.
• Manual hydraulic disc brakes.
• A vacuum powered step is pretty cool, but if you want to stay all manual, get the crank operated one.
• The ultimate manual Mooney has manual speed brakes.

What is the objective, again?

Are we meeting an acquisition cost limit? Or are we trying to decide how fast Money can fly?

All Mooneys are good.  But, they get more expensive quickly, the further up the ladder you go...

Know one thing for sure... people in the 60s were neither healthier or stronger than they are today... One thing to know, if you have a right shoulder challenge already... you want to go for a flight to see how well things are working from head to toe...

We are at an interesting point in the economic cycle ...

Airplanes are being bought and sold pretty fluidly...

When the economy slows.. it gets more difficult to buy and sell machinery...

There are few things cooler than a completely motorized, high powered, Mooney!

 

Meaning... learn as much as you can until committing to a particular model decision...

You might need to travel across the country to rent some seat time...

PP thoughts only, I didn’t have any tremendous strength when I bought my manual M20C. I went with the logic if they built this for normal people... I can be pretty good at...  got an introductory flight in the same M20C I bought... I was convinced it was the right plane after the T/O run and initial climb... don’t recall the gear ops at all...

oh.... and secret number 2.... let’s say you really louse up the gear storage thing... because you are busy getting away from the ground... just let it go for later... it will hang in the halfway position forever...well... a long time... you will need to know the secret for slowing the plane down.... to that magic speed we discussed earlier.... airspeed control is all about attitude.  The plane’s attitude, not the pilot’s...

You are going to love getting some seat time.  Getting some TT is icing on the cake.  Flying an M20C is a great way to step up to an M20R...

But, you have to commit to going all electric for the Standing O.

Best regards,

-a-

 

[skydvrboy]

4 hours ago, UrgeToFly said:

I would prefer to have a higher cruise but this is what I was looking at prior to thinking about using it for longer range trips,

Make no mistake, I have one of the slowest F's out there.  My square step is stuck out in the wind and the rigging is still a little off.  Second, I like running it quite lean of peak.  I can go faster by running it richer, but I don't have an engine monitor to keep an eye on the engine health, so I choose to go slower and cooler.

[UrgeToFly]

You are going to love getting some seat time.  Getting some TT is icing on the cake.  Flying an M20C is a great way to step up to an M20R...

16 hours ago, carusoam said:

There is nothing finer than a fully manual carb fed, Mooney M20C...   

• Manual gear.
• Manual hydraulic pump flaps.
• Manual hydraulic disc brakes.
• A vacuum powered step is pretty cool, but if you want to stay all manual, get the crank operated one.
• The ultimate manual Mooney has manual speed brakes.

All Mooneys are good.  But, they get more expensive quickly, the further up the ladder you go...

There are few things cooler than a completely motorized, high powered, Mooney!

=================================================================

oh.... and secret number 2.... let’s say you really louse up the gear storage thing... because you are busy getting away from the ground... just let it go for later... it will hang in the halfway position forever...well... a long time... you will need to know the secret for slowing the plane down.... to that magic speed we discussed earlier.... airspeed control is all about attitude.  The plane’s attitude, not the pilot’s...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are going to love getting some seat time.  Getting some TT is icing on the cake.  Flying an M20C is a great way to step up to an M20R...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is the objective, again?

Are we meeting an acquisition cost limit? Or are we trying to decide how fast Money can fly?

You mention nothing finer than a fully manual carb fed... Is this because of maintenance costs and reliability or are the motorized ones nearly as reliable?  -- So nothing finer yet it can be cooler? Lol..   I have seen how quickly the price goes up for a small change in the plane. 

 

Secret number 2 - are you mentioning that if you don't get the gear up that you will just let it hang until you can do some Slowflight to pull it back up? 

 

I would LOVE to get some seat time, preferably closer to my home so I can decide if Mooney is even the right fit for me or if I should start looking back at other mfg's - just having trouble finding the people and planes let alone with available time to go up.  I have no idea if I will even like the way the Mooney feels, one thing I fear is that I like to be able to see out the front really well, in the 152 I put a cushion under my butt so I sit up higher in the seat. I heard you sit low like a sports car and I always HATED driving stuff like corvettes cause of that exact feeling and loss of visibility, so I am dying to try out Moonies but just have not had the chance quite yet. 

 

Objective is for work and personal flight. For up to four people, two people often flying places for day trips and activities, then longer trips - vacation and such and often bringing company along, always wanting to bring company now but the only rental plane available to me all the time is a C152 so we have been limited to two people most the time.  Wanting to be able to tour the country at times like a huge road trip by air. As well as possibly use it as a work commuter - when I can make the trip in reasonable time or a tank of gas. 

I would LOVE to finance something that was fast enough to make the 2,000mi work trips, but looks like that would be over $1mil for something worthwhile (P.180 Avanti EVO looks like a DREAM - thought again so different would have to fly it to see if I liked how it flew.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bill98]

17 hours ago, UrgeToFly said:

So what happens if you get unlucky or something stops you from the full motion, any way to get that spring back or do I now have to fly until I am out of gas and find some soft grass? lol

   Thanks

Just slow down a wee bit, push it forward (if trying to retract ) and then you have pretty much the full range of motion again to throw it back to the floor of the AC thus retracting the gear. Think of it like a pendulum.

 

If you miss it at first putting the gear down on approach, pull the johnson bar back down towards the floor so you can easily fling it back up and into the locked and latched position.

 

I also wear a glove 75% of the time when operating the johnson bar just to make sure I don't pinch my skin on anything, although I have started using it less and less now. The glove is a tight fitting one that I use while doing pre flight and oil quantity on a hot engine. They hug the hands very well and feel almost like you have nothing on. It prevents grease getting all over my hands too.

 

Johnson Bar is Easy easy easy. Sit in a chair, put your arm out straight in front of you, make a fist with the arm out in front like you are holding a beer stein, start to move your from straight out in front of you, to where it is now perpendicular to your thigh ( parallel with your quad). Now during that time you are moving your arm from out in front to below your hip, tilt your wrist forward like you are pouring the beer stein out.

 

You could also just take a baseball bat, have it standing up straight while you are seated in a chair, slightly in front and to the right of your right leg and practice laying it down on the floor

[carusoam]

UTF,

When you get a chance, update some data for your avatar....

 

2knm trips are astronomically expensive... when driving a car across the country... but...

If you you drive that distance for work, General aviation does it in much less time...

If your work trips have you stopping in every state from east to west... GA is perfect...

If your work trips have you going LAX to NYC, solo... flying commercial is more economical and easier on you...

Using the economics of a spare automobile will be pretty close for Mooney travel, generally speaking...

If flying halfway across the country to try on some Mooney training is too expensive... we can generally eliminate buying a jet from today’s exercise...  

Really want to focus on getting training, and experience... similar to work... it’s helpful to have a strong combination of education and experience...

As a sales guy... a potential client could call me... and ask something like ‘how soon can you give us a presentation’.   My favorite answer... ‘today or tomorrow, your choice’... I am pretty good with machinery and PowerPoint...  my strongest competitors weren’t that nimble...

For long distance travel and tight work schedules, an instrument rating is really helpful...   spring and winter adds additional challenges with weather... 

As a new pilot... you get saddled with a few challenges... VFR/IMC, fuel challenges.

As an experienced pilot... you get a few more thrown on...  Thunderstorms, Icing.

There is so much to know...

Keep up the good work!

Best regards,

-a-

[SantosDumont]

The farthest trip I’ve taken for work was 750 miles... I wouldn’t do it again. It is no fun sitting in a hot bumpy airplane for 5 hours.  My dispatch range is 200-600 miles. Any closer and I’ll drive, any farther and I’ll ride SWA. 

[Herlihy Brother]

Manual gear is silky smooth, never an issue, takes no effort or else your technique is wrong. Dr limited me to 8# weight limit cuz of broken spine and I still managed the jbar.

2k miles is no  problem in the E.  Its a little above its sweet spot mission, but is super comfy and economical. I managed a 3600nm route for the last 5 years, no problem at all (except crossing those rockies is a cavu day only) but you gotta love to be in the air Because they, at 155 knots (200hp), are slow. 20nm/gal is nice though if you are on a budget.   Rockets, acclaim etc are good for barely 200 knots, probably 185,  block speed. And block speeds are a lot slower than max cruise.   And to get that speed in those turbos you gotta have O2, I have two e bottles for myself in my na e, no passengers, or you'll need a ton more.  Acclaim with the extra na horsepower seems to me  like the ticket.  Because 4 banger moonies are efficient and economical, but not fast enough. Get a 6 cylinder aircraft that can push 165-175 knots tas at 12 gph at 12k feet (acclaim or bo) and that will suffice till the next big jump, which is a medium one, to the cessna 340, 421 or A700. Most a700 pilots transition to the mu2. Citation II's are pretty affordable these days too.

Its incredible what a couple extra 15-20 knots tas makes on those long trips. The Psychological boost is huge.  Remember to include a 40-60 knot headwind to all of your pre-flight calculations when choosing your steed, because that is the real world when you are doing 2-3-4k nm trips.

I live in the SLO area and fly the mooney almost every other day so hit me or mitch up for a ride anytime.