M20E/F in high altitude short runway

[gsxrpilot]

10 minutes ago, cliffy said:

You haven't lived until you've done a takeoff from La Paz Bolivia (in a 727  :-)

I've been in and out of there a couple of times, but always sitting in the back. I did have ForeFlight open on my iPad just to observe speed/altitude/etc. It's quite an experience.

[cliffy]

IIRC Its been 40+ years  there were 3 "escape" avenues down canyons to lower elevation depending on how far after liftoff you were if you lost an engine.   Quite sporty even in the sim. 

[kortopates]

I personally won't recommend a normally aspirated 200HP Mooney even visit MMJC. I haven't visited this airport myself, but I had a local friend fly in there in a SR20 and had one of those never again moments he'll never forget much like @cliffy described flying out of MMH. I have used both the higher Toluca MMTO airport 8466' and lower Puebla (MMPB) 7361 - both with much longer runways.

Of course, if you pick the day and time carefully and watch your weight of course it can be done. There is even a flight school at Toluca. But sure don't get much choice visiting from far away and if you're based there its easy to get tempted to use the airport in conditions that you'll wish you had the benefit of a longer runway. As Cliffy said, its not getting airborne that is usually the problem, (but be sure to master the 70/50 rule), its climbing out in the high density altitude that is the real challenge. Add in some unexpected turbulence, down drafts and it more than just "dicey". 

I've done Mammoth mountain (7135) probably over a 100x time in our Turbo Mooney, summer and winter,  keeping an airport car up there and being a season pass holder, and I always cringed when we had to take off to west because of the terrain and required maneuvering early in the flight even with the turbo performance. 

Edited December 1, 2020 by kortopates

[rene86mx]

Thanks all for the replies.

This discussion has really put things in perspective.

MMJC is 30 min from home vs 60 min to MMTO and its 14,000ft runway at 8400 ft. 

So, I still want a C/E/F. I will change my projected home drome to MMTO, farther probably a little more expensive but definitely safer.

The only setback is losing the small town airport feeling from MMJC to a Class C but safety and my family come first

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by rene86mx

[gsxrpilot]

1 hour ago, rene86mx said:

Thanks all for the replies.

This discussion has really put things in perspective.

MMJC is 30 min from home vs 60 min to MMTO and its 14,000ft runway at 8400 ft. 

So, I still want a C/E/F. I will change my projected home drome to MMTO, farther probably a little more expensive but definitely safer.

The only setback is losing the small town airport feeling from MMJC to a Class C but safety and my family come first

 

A friend of ours keeps a Mooney on a short grass strip close to his house. He flies out on cool, low DA days when solo and light on fuel. If he is taking the family and filling with fuel, he'll take off and hop over to a big airport with a properly long runway and meet his family there. Of course they have the inconvenience of driving to the larger airport, but he has the benefit of hangaring his Mooney at a lower cost and closer to home. 

Maybe a consideration