Potential new mooney buyer/owner with model questions...

[Subternal]

Hello all,

Bottom line, I'm looking to buy but not for a couple months and am still undecided.

Been lurking on here for a few months but decided to finally jump in. I wanted to throw out a question(s) to this specific forum for a few reasons. Brief history, I never really liked mooney's to be honest. I know, I know...how dare I on a mooney forum, but let me explain: To me I always saw them as the planes with the crooked tails (still odd to me). At an initial glance was never very appealing. That was until I began to actually talk to people and read the performance numbers. I really was struggling to believe the performance numbers. 

I'm about 30-40hrs into my private pilot (student). I live ~10min from a small airport w/ hangars and respectable priced AV gas ($3.60, I'm sure that'll change). After my Private I plan on building hours and moving onto IR. Maybe multi but no aspirations of working in Aviation. For the foreseable future (2-5yrs) I plan on doing weekly/bi-weekly hour building flights (local touch-n-goes, short(20-50mi)  x-country's, etc). I am also into real estate investing. This is important because I make several long distance drives 200-500mi  to look at real estate and also to do some fixer-upper work. I say this because part of my plane shopping was focused around an airframe that was potentially beefy enough to carry me and possible a few bags of tools (no machinery or large bulky items) and possibly 1-2 passengers.  So with that idea my first jump was to a piper 6, I was pretty much sold on them. It was beefy, capable and has a fairly respectible history and mechanically solid (from what I'vce read). However, economical was one thing it was not.  As I began broadening my search criteria I decided to just look at numbers (price, efficiency, speed, payload, history (brand and model) etc...). I also search things like 'best single engine piston aircraft'.  Time and time again "mooney" was 1st and 2nd in the lists. I couldn't really ignore the numbers even though it wasn't a brand that I had any knowledge or exposure to.  That being said, after speaking with a few people and doing my own queries, its really hard to go back to a piper after looking at the mooneys (crooked tail and all, its growing on me). So that brings me to my question(s):

My budget is ~15k-220k, I dont have to spend that much but I could. 80% of my flying would probably be time building local flights and short  x-countrys. With every few months a 400-500nm X-country. I do expect the longer distances to become more frequent as the real estate return/financial numbers improve. I've been looking at the Ovation2s, 2000-2004s. But wanted some personal accounts as to what is the major difference (even if subjective) between the O1s and O2's. Is the 280 vs 310 really that big of a diff? Am I really overrpicing myself? Is a bravo better for my mission?? Any (respectful) input, help, or personal opinion would be very helpful, thanks again. And sorry if my facts are off. 

[Ragsf15e]

We’ve had lots of folks asking, and it seems step one might be checking on insurance.  Like to see if you can even get a policy.  Complex, high performance, brand new ppl, insurance companies are hesitant.  If so, Ovations are great! Probably overkill for what you’re doing and likely a big jump for a new PPL/instrument training, but doable.  Personally, I’d also consider a C-182.  I know, I know, alert the moderator, have me banned, I’m just trying to give good advice.

Efficiency is good, but your yearly fuel bill isn’t going to change much or at all in a Mooney vs C-182.  All else, costs are likely comparable except insurance is less for fixed gear.

Edited March 19, 2021 by Ragsf15e

[Ragsf15e]

Additionally, even a 130kt airplane vs a 175 kt airplane is only 1 hour different on your 500nm mission.  Much less difference on shorter distances.  

[Ragsf15e]

Ahh heck, I’ll page our local insurance superstar for you.  He can give you an idea if you’re going to have trouble...

@Parker_Woodruff

[MIm20c]

The O1 and O2 are both 280 hp 2500 rpm setups.  The 2700 rpm stc mod can be utilized on any ovation equipped with a top prop or MT 4 blade.  

[RJBrown]

Where you live and fly makes a difference also.

My flying is in the inter mountain west where MEAs were 16,600’ 10 mile west of my house. 

6-13-92 was my first lesson. 10-14 92 I got my ticket. 11-2-93 I got my IFR. 11-10-94 and with 400 hour in the logbook I bought my first plane. A 1980 Mooney 231.

Over those 400 hours I flew every type plane available to me in the Denver area. I fell in love with Mooneys and in particular N9136N a 92 MSE.

I was looking at Js when I found my K. 
Fly all you can. Buying the wrong plane is more expensive than renting. Get your IFR as quickly as you can.

A J is a great airplane. But. After owning a turbo for over 1000 hours I sold it for business reasons. A few years later I was in the market again for my “last” airplane. Something to fly through retirement. I bought a 1990 MSE willing to put up with less speed to get more efficiency. 
Wrong, you can never go backwards. Without the ability to get into the flight levels I hated that plane. Sold it and now will have to wait to get another Rocket.

Edited March 20, 2021 by RJBrown

[Parker_Woodruff]

1 hour ago, Ragsf15e said:

Ahh heck, I’ll page our local insurance superstar for you.  He can give you an idea if you’re going to have trouble...

@Parker_Woodruff

Just get the private cert done first. Also helpful if you reach 100 hours, but not mandatory. Get an insurance quote before making an offer on a plane. What’s insurable today might not be insurable tomorrow. 

[Subternal]

4 hours ago, Ragsf15e said:

We’ve had lots of folks asking, and it seems step one might be checking on insurance.  Like to see if you can even get a policy.  Complex, high performance, brand new ppl, insurance companies are hesitant.  If so, Ovations are great! Probably overkill for what you’re doing and likely a big jump for a new PPL/instrument training, but doable.  Personally, I’d also consider a C-182.  I know, I know, alert the moderator, have me banned, I’m just trying to give good advice.

Efficiency is good, but your yearly fuel bill isn’t going to change much or at all in a Mooney vs C-182.  All else, costs are likely comparable except insurance is less for fixed gear.

Didn't even consider insurance at this point (I'm still 12-18mo min away from even considering purchasing), but good advice, I'll look into that. Explain the 'overkill' part though... (not doubting you but looking for as much info as I can get)

 

3 hours ago, MIm20c said:

The O1 and O2 are both 280 hp 2500 rpm setups.  The 2700 rpm stc mod can be utilized on any ovation equipped with a top prop or MT 4 blade.  

Yes, sorry I was browsing some of the classifieds and notice several 02's with the 310 in them. Was wondering how much of a difference 200 rpm/30hp makes. I'd imagine a more stout take off  but then dialed way back for cruise 

3 hours ago, RJBrown said:

Where you live and fly makes a difference also.

My flying is in the inter mountain west where MEAs were 16,600’ 10 mile west of my house. 

6-13-92 was my first lesson. 10-14 92 I got my ticket. 11-2-93 I got my IFR. 11-10-94 and with 400 hour in the logbook I bought my first plane. A 1980 Mooney 231.

Over those 400 hours I flew every type plane available to me in the Denver area. I fell in love with Mooneys and in particular N9136N a 92 MSE.

I was looking at Js when I found my K. 
Fly all you can. Buying the wrong plane is more expensive than renting. Get your IFR as quickly as you can.

A J is a great airplane. But. After owning a turbo for over 1000 hours I sold it for business reasons. A few years later I was in the market again for my “last” airplane. Something to fly through retirement. I bought a 1990 MSE willing to put up with less speed to get more efficiency. 
Wrong, you can never go backwards. Without the ability to get into the flight levels I hated that plane. Sold it and now will have to wait to get another Rocket.

YEs, I should have given a bit more info. I'm on the central east coast (virginia). Thats where the majority of my flying would be. I'm not opposed to other models or makes. I initially thought I'd go for a 'starter' plane. Something small, simple (ie: c172/182, or Warrior, etc) but as i've watched the classifieds for the last few months it occured to me that many of the listings were for sale for quite some time (months).  So I started thinking "well if I buy a starter and then goto sell but it doesn't sell for several months then I'm tied up until the listing gets a buyer"...so why not get something more than temporary (if that makes sense). Again, I could be totally seeing this wrong, just thoughts.

2 hours ago, Parker_Woodruff said:

Just get the private cert done first. Also helpful if you reach 100 hours, but not mandatory. Get an insurance quote before making an offer on a plane. What’s insurable today might not be insurable tomorrow. 

That was definitely the plan. I'm in 0 rush. I think 100 hours is well within reasonable. I've heard insurance mentioned several times now, it is worrisome now!

Another reason I even considered purchasing (even if it is 1-2years down the road) was after looking for flying clubs it appears the closest one is 1hr away and seems to be fairly popular. I'm expecting competitive rental scheduling and frequent low inventory. An hour isn't ridiculous, but I guess in my head having an airport 10min away seemed a whole lot more appealing, if they only had a flying club or lease options there...

I really appreciate your guy's insight. Especially the insurance advice....good call.

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard Sub!

Selecting a Mooney as your first plane goes over really well around here...

You have come to the right place...

You might want to discuss how you will use your plane...  how far you travel... who you bring along...

You might want touch upon your drive to keep training... are you going for your IR next?

 

There are two levels of performance that Mooneys have... Fast and ultra fast...

Don’t be in a rush to over commit yourself...

Yes we have an MSer that got his PPL using one of these ultra fast machines... 

All it takes is time, money, and a touch of seriousness...

I went the long way... started with an M20C to find out GA flying, having a family, and a Mooney go perfectly together...

Getting an IR, and a long body with 310hp took another step... in the right direction...

If you have a ton of dough, no family, and can skip work often... start training seriously.... progress your way into the Mooney that you like...  

Go Mooney!

Best regards,

-a-

 

[Subternal]

8 hours ago, carusoam said:

Welcome aboard Sub!

Selecting a Mooney as your first plane goes over really well around here...

You have come to the right place...

You might want to discuss how you will use your plane...  how far you travel... who you bring along...

You might want touch upon your drive to keep training... are you going for your IR next?

Thanks.

Use would be mostly hour building at first. Local, a few short x-country trips. That would be the plan for anything I flew post-PPL, rental, c182, mooney, etc in the first few months. I'd like to be real comfortable flying period(I'm getting there). Travel would eventually extend to 200-500mi. Thing is though if I had an aircraft that could go considerably further and faster, I could honestly say I would go further. If I bought a 172, chances are the extend of my trips would be pretty local. 

Drive, I schedule lessons 5 days a week (every other week). Of course Wx only seems to allow 1-2 lessons a week, is what it is. IR is guarantee for the future.

[Rick-bond]

Me  I am different then probably most people on here. I have always liked Mooneys since i first started flying. i bought a 150 sold it before one year (too boring) bought a 172 sold it too. did not fly for 20 years and decided to get back into it. almost bought a piper 150hp  thank god i didnt. 110 miles an hour.  So I found a not so pretty m20g in Edmonton. It was cheap for a mooney. Needed a lot of work that I did not know about. I have a very good mechanic that lets me do alot of work on it and signs it off.  It is a Mooney m20g / the slowest of the mooneys. But I am very happy with a bullet-proof  O-360 thats lets me cruise around at over 140 knots and 8.5 gallons an hour. I have flown many times from Windsor (detroit) to pigeon forge tenn. in under 3 hours. which is great for me. you have a large difference in what you have to spend. So mission is your bar.  With your hours, an ovation, insurance might be a killer. If you get an ovation you will be flying (most likely) higher. Burning more fuel. 80% of what i do is within 130 miles. going high makes no sense to me.  But if you plan on flying 500 miles all the time, it would make sense to you. If you are in between  buy a J model. If you need a rebuild in that ovation in a few years ( go online and look that up) Number one  Buy the plane for your mission.  There is a video on utube where this fellow in florida bought a J. Its red. Watch it                  

[ArtVandelay]

I think this is what Rick is referring to:

 

 

 

[Mcstealth]

I will be a little more blunt. Buy this plane now. It is a short body with lots of goodies, a good UL, and is sanctioned by @Yooper Rocketman which means to me you have a 99% chance of puchasing a solid turn key plane. 

You do not mention growing children or any "real" reasons that places you in long body territory, other than budget. 

This bird has the IR you need and has four cylinders which inheritently cost less than six cylinder planes. Traiing for your IR in the plane you own has advantages. Insurance will be less than LB's, fuel less, etc etc. 

I will slightly disagree with @Ragsf15eon the overall fuel bill of a 182 vs an M20 four-cylinder. A 182 burning 14 gallons an hour will be very hard pressed to keep up with this E using nine per hour. Rags may have been referring only to six bangers possibly?

You say you are more than a year out. Fine. No issues there. Be aware there are some on this board that had shopped for months to years because they were not quick enough on the mark to grab the plane they wanted. I have no hard evidence and maybe others can chime in here, @Parker_Woodruff, but it seems more and more novice owners are now in and have hit the market making purchasing more of a sellers market. 

Anyway. Just rambling. 

David

 

 

[Mooneymite]

On 3/20/2021 at 12:10 AM, Subternal said:

YEs, I should have given a bit more info. I'm on the central east coast (virginia).

If you are anywhere near DC, you better get on a hangar waiting list yesterday.  Otherwise your dream plane will probably be out in the elements for a long time.

[Ragsf15e]

5 minutes ago, Mcstealth said:

I will be a little more blunt. Buy this plane now. It is a short body with lots of goodies, a good UL, and is sanctioned by @Yooper Rocketman which means to me you have a 99% chance of puchasing a solid turn key plane. 

You do not mention growing children or any "real" reasons that places you in long body territory, other than budget. 

This bird has the IR you need and has four cylinders which inheritently cost less than six cylinder planes. Traiing for your IR in the plane you own has advantages. Insurance will be less than LB's, fuel less, etc etc. 

I will slightly disagree with @Ragsf15eon the overall fuel bill of a 182 vs an M20 four-cylinder. A 182 burning 14 gallons an hour will be very hard pressed to keep up with this E using nine per hour. Rags may have been referring only to six bangers possibly?

You say you are more than a year out. Fine. No issues there. Be aware there are some on this board that had shopped for months to years because they were not quick enough on the mark to grab the plane they wanted. I have no hard evidence and maybe others can chime in here, @Parker_Woodruff, but it seems more and more novice owners are now in and have hit the market making purchasing more of a sellers market. 

Anyway. Just rambling. 

David

 

 

Well he asked about an Ovation, so fuel burn is pretty close to a -182.  Yes, you get farther in the O if you’re traveling, but it’s similar over local flights and training.  If you compare to an IO-360 like I have it’s still not much different in the grand scheme...

I guess what I meant by similar fuel bill is in the overall ownership of the airplane, the difference won’t be much.  I think about 13 gph (C-182) vs 11gph (M20E) is pretty fair rich of peak.  Makes it about $9/ hour difference if 100ll is $4.50.  So somewhere around $1000 at 100 hours/ year.  Ownership Is somewhere between $14-$20k / year, so I figured $1k is lost in the noise...

 I think your advice about an E is solid.  Plenty of airplane for 500nm trips.  Maybe a bit tight in the backseat for 3 adults total and possibly UL limited with 3 adults.  He needs to narrow his mission a bit.  But an E would be good for most of it.

[carusoam]

4 hours ago, Rick-bond said:

Me  I am different then probably most people on here.

I never heard that before...   

Not in a good way anyways... 

I wouldn’t hang out here if everyone was like me...   

 I would already know the answer to most of my questions... and never have an answer to things I didn’t know... 

 

You might be just like everyone else... (hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings, you are in good company)

Did you mention that you like speed, efficiency, or both?

Did you mention that you like safe, cross-country, flying machines?

 

Its not about how you got here...

Its about where you are going next...

It’s Not about what we start, it’s what we finish that counts...  - gym trainer. 
 

When looking at cost differences between an M20C and an M20R...

Do you use gph or mpg?

or total cost per year?

Everyone is different when it comes to project accounting...

PP thoughts only, not a finance guy...

Go Mooney!

Best regards,

-a-

[Mcstealth]

I will add that a plane like this E will sell unlike the trainers you mentioned. 

 Get your ticket, log some hours, if you feel you want to upgrade to a mid or long body turbo or not, then sell. 

[Parker_Woodruff]

44 minutes ago, Mcstealth said:

 

You say you are more than a year out. Fine. No issues there. Be aware there are some on this board that had shopped for months to years because they were not quick enough on the mark to grab the plane they wanted. I have no hard evidence and maybe others can chime in here, @Parker_Woodruff, but it seems more and more novice owners are now in and have hit the market making purchasing more of a sellers market. 

Anyway. Just rambling. 

David

I've never seen so many people in the market for a plane and I've also never seen so many brand new pilots in the market for a Mooney! 

[StevenL757]

On 3/20/2021 at 9:38 AM, Subternal said:

Thanks.

Use would be mostly hour building at first. Local, a few short x-country trips. That would be the plan for anything I flew post-PPL, rental, c182, mooney, etc in the first few months. I'd like to be real comfortable flying period(I'm getting there). Travel would eventually extend to 200-500mi. Thing is though if I had an aircraft that could go considerably further and faster, I could honestly say I would go further. If I bought a 172, chances are the extend of my trips would be pretty local. 

Drive, I schedule lessons 5 days a week (every other week). Of course Wx only seems to allow 1-2 lessons a week, is what it is. IR is guarantee for the future.

Never thought I'd hear myself say this, but your mission doesn't sound like it's suited for an Ovation, nor would I think of "time-building" in one.  You'll wind up pouring more money into the ownership experience when you should be focusing on growing your piloting skills by finishing your Private certificate and progressing through your Instrument Rating as soon as possible.  Personally, I'd find a really nice rental, or find another lesser-expensive Mooney with which to build your time, and put your remaining budget into some top-quality instruction and time-building.  Once you accomplish these goals, and if your mission expands, then look at the Ovation.

Steve

[Subternal]

9 hours ago, Rick-bond said:

Me  I am different then probably most people on here. I have always liked Mooneys since i first started flying. i bought a 150 sold it before one year (too boring) bought a 172 sold it too. did not fly for 20 years and decided to get back into it. almost bought a piper 150hp  thank god i didnt. 110 miles an hour.  So I found a not so pretty m20g in Edmonton. It was cheap for a mooney. Needed a lot of work that I did not know about. I have a very good mechanic that lets me do alot of work on it and signs it off.  It is a Mooney m20g / the slowest of the mooneys. But I am very happy with a bullet-proof  O-360 thats lets me cruise around at over 140 knots and 8.5 gallons an hour. I have flown many times from Windsor (detroit) to pigeon forge tenn. in under 3 hours. which is great for me. you have a large difference in what you have to spend. So mission is your bar.  With your hours, an ovation, insurance might be a killer. If you get an ovation you will be flying (most likely) higher. Burning more fuel. 80% of what i do is within 130 miles. going high makes no sense to me.  But if you plan on flying 500 miles all the time, it would make sense to you. If you are in between  buy a J model. If you need a rebuild in that ovation in a few years ( go online and look that up) Number one  Buy the plane for your mission.  There is a video on utube where this fellow in florida bought a J. Its red. Watch it                  

Ha, Pigeon Forge. That is actually one of my frequented destinations for business. 

4 hours ago, StevenL757 said:

Never thought I'd hear myself say this, but your mission doesn't sound like it's suited for an Ovation, nor would I think of "time-building" in one.  You'll wind up pouring more money into the ownership experience when you should be focusing on growing your piloting skills by finishing your Private certificate and progressing through your Instrument Rating as soon as possible.  Personally, I'd find a really nice rental, or find another lesser-expensive Mooney with which to build your time, and put your remaining budget into some top-quality instruction and time-building.  Once you accomplish these goals, and if your mission expands, then look at the Ovation.

Steve

I mean thats ok too. If it isn't a good fit, it isn't a good fit. 

I guess when I answered the "mission" question ,initially, I hadn't really thought past student pilot. I was thinking about 'what would I do after I got my PPL'.  Kinda like if you asked me as a teenager before I got my first car "what would you do with it?" What I would have answered then and what kinda car I should have got based on what Id thought I'd ended up doing with was and would be 2 totally different things. I would have assumed I'd just drive it around town, friends houses, work, etc. What I ended up doing was driving on multiple (1000mi+) road trips and everything in between. Point is, regardless of what bird I end up with I'm going to be 'time building' in it,  whether it be an old 150 or a brand new cirrus...I'm still going to be putting in the hours for my flying experience and learning that specific tail. So that was what I was trying to get at with the time building.  If soemone told me "you have a car that could travel direct at 160mph+, avoid traffic and can drive 800mi+ before needing a fill up, what would you do with it?" uhh alot. I'm just rambling at this point and I dont mean to sound vague I truly think my 'mission' would change depending on the capabilities of what I had. 100kts and 300mi range...my mission would be mostly local. 160kts 800mi range, I would both local + x-country. 

6 hours ago, Mcstealth said:

 

You do not mention growing children or any "real" reasons that places you in long body territory, other than budget. 

 I do have a son who is a young teenager. He's very excited about the hobby. But I wouldn't base my choice on him specifically (I dont think he'd care what I end up with). He's got a few years before he can PPL but talks about it frequently. I looked at a long(er) body based on the idea of carrying 3 people comfortably (son and GF). But to be honest before I ever thought of carrying anyone I would want to be very confident in my skills and my flying machine, again hence 'time-building'. I get that all those things (time-building, IR, travel busines/pleasure) is a pretty wide spectrum. Perhaps to wide for specific model, or ovation, or even mooney for that matter and thats ok too. I saw the performance numbers for the mooneys, saw a hobby I was into and came to this channel for some insight and conversation. Even if it is spent mostly with tempering my expectations.

 

 

[gsxrpilot]

Listen... no offense to all my friends on here who say your "mission" doesn't need an Ovation. You don't know the possibilities of what your mission could be, because you're flying trainers.  It is a common situation that pilots who love to fly 50 or 100 mile trips, get a Mooney and all of a sudden realize that those 200 to 500 mile trips are lunch runs. An Ovation will put the whole country within range. And you can't imagine that until you own one. 

Get the Mooney you want and can afford. The "mission" will somehow grow to fit the airplane. It's surprising how it works.

Oh, and it will take you a solid 10 hours or so to get comfortable with the additional power and speed. So don't sweat it. By the time you've figured out how to use your new found speed and range, you'll be comfortable with it.

[carusoam]

@Subternal,

You have come to the right place...

You have asked the key questions...

You got some great answers...

 

Some challenges around here...

The dangers of over promotion...

A long body Mooney... is probably the right plane for you...

Given enough time, training, experience and dollars....

In some businesses... the word suitability gets used...

 

It is hard to share the excitement of flying a long body... with somebody that is in the middle of training for their PPL... that we don’t know very well...

It is very difficult to type all the words to get that message across... and still sound positive...

It is also difficult to tell some people take a few years in a less complex Mooney... to learn the ropes...

 

I do know the ropes take a year or so to learn.... there is too much evidence of that around here...

And... no... the other planes aren’t any better for freshman like mistakes...

 

There is just sooo much to learn and become familiar with...

The laws of physics can be a brutal teacher... no matter how much life skill you have, where you come from, or where you will end up a few years down the line...

 

One of my favorite stories of a guy progressing through here on to his next level...  he is a doctor, building a multi-practice business in multiple states...  plenty smart, easy to train, wants to fly jets...

Yes, some super human people, want to skip directly to jets... and they can... and they do...

Our friend trained in other planes spent a couple years flying a Mooney acclaim before he started the jet flying...

He recently sold his Acclaim... it is an awesome bird... 

Stay motivated... work hard... we want you to succeed...

I’d love to see you flying a long body...

Just recognize that it is easy to push too hard...  

I’m looking forward to making more friends, that will be around a long time...

Best regards,

-a-

 

[Mufflerbearing]

I was in your position and had been looking for a Mooney while working on my PPL.  Someone wrecked the plane I was learning in so when I found my perfect plane, I didn't hesitate too much and bought it.  I finished my PPL training and took the test in my Screaming Eagle and have not looked back.  I also jumped right in and got my IFR which took another month to complete.  So far, owning the plane almost 2 years and 300 hours, it has been the best decision I have made.  

The Screaming Eagle is an Eagle that has had the STC of the O2 or O3 depending on which STC was done a the time of installation.  It also has generally better UL because it was a stripper model originally and sold for less money, but most have been upgraded with better avionics and such. 

Enjoy the hunt!  When you know what your Unicorn airplane is, when you find one, jump on it.

[Mcstealth]

5 hours ago, Mufflerbearing said:

I was in your position and had been looking for a Mooney while working on my PPL.  Someone wrecked the plane I was learning in so when I found my perfect plane, I didn't hesitate too much and bought it.  I finished my PPL training and took the test in my Screaming Eagle and have not looked back.  I also jumped right in and got my IFR which took another month to complete.  So far, owning the plane almost 2 years and 300 hours, it has been the best decision I have made.  

The Screaming Eagle is an Eagle that has had the STC of the O2 or O3 depending on which STC was done a the time of installation.  It also has generally better UL because it was a stripper model originally and sold for less money, but most have been upgraded with better avionics and such. 

Enjoy the hunt!  When you know what your Unicorn airplane is, when you find one, jump on it.

Ding ding ding ding ding. Winner winner Popeyes Chicken dinner!

In my humble opinion, of course.

[Chocks]

I’ll just add some notes to your general inquiry and hope it helps. Others on here are much smarter than I with specifics for the Ovations, and costs to operate. 
But, I think I can offer some good ideas for you generally.

First I think you would be extremely happy in any Mooney choice. Just find one that’s easy to manage for you. So it doesn’t matter if it’s a short body, fuel injected E model all the way up to a long body turbo. It’s finding one that you can go do your work and play with and not feel stressed about mx, upgrades, repairs, etc. Wherever that level is for you. 

Next, I would recommend that you find some Mooney drivers and get them to take you flying in their different models. We’re everywhere! And I know most of us HATE empty front seats. So we’re begging for people to fly with us. The short body and mid body are very similar to me in the way they fly, and for the most part, the caretaking of them. The long bodies, i.e. the ovations and others are a different animal in a lot of respects. From high end avionics suites, to some mx pitfalls that can be annoying. But they are fekkin fast and amazing up high. Additionally while all Mooney’s are designed for cross country travel, I believe the short and mid bodies are much better across-the-board for time building, short flights, formation flying, tooling around, etc. - in addition to the cross country flying. And it sounds like you’re wanting to do both of those things equally, for now.

But I think all of this will really start to get cohesive for you after you fly in a few. Get the feeling of the different models and see which one fits you the best, because I promise there is a Mooney model that will fit you and when you know, find one and buy it.

I hope that helps a little bit. Good luck, and welcome!