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Trying to Transitioning from Cessna


Pknox

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I completed my PPL in a Cessna 172 earlier this year.  After doing a little flying in a piper arrow, I was hooked and I am ready to purchase one.  In fact I have been shopping diligently and have not found the right one.  There are a ton of later model t tails but research says it will fly differently than what I would prefer.  In my search for the perfect Piper Arrow I thought it would be wise to look at similar aircraft just in case.  Silly me now that I did a monkey wrench has been thrown in the mix.  It seems the Mooney is a highly touted machine within the same class as the arrow but with different flight characteristics.  

Now here is the questions (I know, there was a lot said just to get to the question but) Does any one know where I could possibly rent one? If not, is there a way to meet  Mooney owners near the Atlanta, GA area? There seems to be no flight clubs or schools with one in their fleet.  If possible,  I would love to speak to an owner to gather some real insight.  I would be even happier if I could find fellow pilot  who would be willing to fly with me to the restaurant of there choice on me in a Mooney.  Then pay for the fuel to get us there and back.  
 

I also hear Mooney has a great family of aviators so, could someone point me in the right direction?

 

by the way guys...I’m Phill

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Welcome, Phil. There are many Mooney owners in Atlanta, more in the Atlanta area, and a whole bunch within an hours' flight. Whereabouts around Atlanta are you? Put your location under your avatar, it will help you find a ride.

The biggest difference that I'm aware of (besides fuel burn), is that when landing, I pull my throttle to idle 1/4 to 1/8 mile before the numbers and still land around the 500' mark. Piper pilot's who fly with me range from surprised to shocked. When I gas up, they get jealous.

Good luck in your search. Whatever you buy, get one in good mechanical condition that has been flown regularly. 

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I think all you really need to do is find a way to line up flying an arrow and then flying a Mooney. That will 100% make up your mind,  as to which one you would prefer. 
I was leaning towards one of them and did that, I wasn’t halfway through the second flight before my mind was made up. 

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1 hour ago, Hank said:

Whatever you buy, get one in good mechanical condition that has been flown regularly. 

1,000,000 thumbs up to that. 
Planes are like boats, they need to be used to be dependable. 
use flight aware and as many here have pointed out, prebuy the owner as well as the plane, it’s just as important....

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I was in the sane position.  I was flying a rented Arrow and planned to buy one.  I then flew in a Mooney.  I immediately stopped looking at Arrows and bought a Mooney and never looked back.  Hope you can get a ride, it will definitely open your eyes.

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Just now, Schllc said:

1,000,000 thumbs up to that. 
Planes are like boats, they need to be used to be dependable. 
use flight aware and as many here have pointed out, prebuy the owner as well as the plane, it’s just as important....

FlightAware won’t necessarily give you the information you want. Of course some have their N numbers blocked but other like me choose anonymous mode for the vast majority of my flights so they don’t show up at all on FlightAware.

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1 minute ago, KLRDMD said:

FlightAware won’t necessarily give you the information you want. Of course some have their N numbers blocked but other like me choose anonymous mode for the vast majority of my flights so they don’t show up at all on FlightAware.

The vast majority of people do not block their numbers, and it’s just a preliminary discrimination before the real inquiry begins.  If the number isn’t blocked ant the last flight was 7 years ago, it’s a red flag for me. 

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12 minutes ago, Schllc said:

The vast majority of people do not block their numbers, and it’s just a preliminary discrimination before the real inquiry begins.  If the number isn’t blocked ant the last flight was 7 years ago, it’s a red flag for me. 

I'm sure you wouldn't buy my airplane since probably 90% of my flights are with anonymous mode engaged :rolleyes:

FlightAware shows about 3 hours of flight time for me this month. I've flown 25-30.

Edited by KLRDMD
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2 hours ago, Schllc said:

The vast majority of people do not block their numbers, and it’s just a preliminary discrimination before the real inquiry begins.  If the number isn’t blocked ant the last flight was 7 years ago, it’s a red flag for me. 

It really should be thought of more as a yellow flag, just something to inquire about. As mentioned before, many flights only show up on flight aware if flight following was used.

The logbooks will tell the true story. I’m ADSB equipped and less than 10% of my flights are on flight aware.

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While my 231 was becoming a Rocket I rented a turbo arrow many times. Big step down but renters can’t be too choosie. Worst flight was one from Denver APA to Phoenix FFZ. I did not have the range because of head winds. Same engine same fuel, way slower. Could not get 495 nautical out of that pig. Landed short in Show Low spent the night on couches in the FBO outer office. Bad night. My 231 went non stop from KAPA to KCRQ many times. And it is 715 nautical miles. 
yes the t-arrow is a big step up from a trainer but the 231 just gets way more out of the same idea. Still air range of the 231 on the same fuel is 250 miles further. That’s why you train on Piper Hershey bar wings but you travel on Mooney wings.

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2 hours ago, skydvrboy said:

It really should be thought of more as a yellow flag, just something to inquire about. As mentioned before, many flights only show up on flight aware if flight following was used.

The logbooks will tell the true story. I’m ADSB equipped and less than 10% of my flights are on flight aware.

Probably depends on where you live and what kind of coverage is available. 
every single flight I take shows up because I have adsb out that I never turn off,  and I’m inside a delta airspace.  
i don’t feel comfortable turning off the tx because I like seeing the traffic, and anything I can do to make it easier for others to see me is ok with me. 
I don’t  like the thought of being tracked by the government anymore than anyone else, but I enjoy flying and want every advantage I can get. 
I think the point was a frequently flown plane, in my opinion, is preferable.  
However that is determined..

 

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10 hours ago, Schllc said:

Probably depends on where you live and what kind of coverage is available. 
every single flight I take shows up because I have adsb out that I never turn off,  and I’m inside a delta airspace.  
i don’t feel comfortable turning off the tx because I like seeing the traffic, and anything I can do to make it easier for others to see me is ok with me. 
I don’t  like the thought of being tracked by the government anymore than anyone else, but I enjoy flying and want every advantage I can get. 
I think the point was a frequently flown plane, in my opinion, is preferable.  
However that is determined..

 

I live in the same area as skydvrboy and for some reason only about 10% of my flights show up.  I do operate out of a delta and never turn off adsb.

I agree with your point, a frequently flown plane would be preferred. Determining that may take a little work.

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18 hours ago, Pknox said:

I would be even happier if I could find fellow pilot  who would be willing to fly with me to the restaurant of there choice on me in a Mooney.  Then pay for the fuel to get us there and back.  

Nice try getting someone to violate Far Part 61.113 or 119.1. That might fly on your Cessna forum, but Mooney pilots ain’t gonna be dumb enough to fall for that trap.

:lol:

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Rule of thumb...

Use caution when offering to violate the FARs on a public forum...   :)

Shared expenses need to be shared...

 

All it takes is one T/O to know the Mooney is a better plane than the Brand P plane...

By the time you have made it through one lap around the traffic pattern....

Brand P, who are they... what planes do they make?

Unless you are looking for six seats, and a turbine...   :)

Welcome aboard Phil!

Best regards,

-a-

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3 hours ago, carusoam said:

Rule of thumb...

Use caution when offering to violate the FARs on a public forum...   :)

Shared expenses need to be shared...

 

All it takes is one T/O to know the Mooney is a better plane than the Brand P plane...

By the time you have made it through one lap around the traffic pattern....

Brand P, who are they... what planes do they make?

Unless you are looking for six seats, and a turbine...   :)

Welcome aboard Phil!

Best regards,

-a-

Ouch!  Don’t paint all P models with the same brush.

Clarence

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6 hours ago, 201er said:

Nice try getting someone to violate Far Part 61.113 or 119.1. That might fly on your Cessna forum, but Mooney pilots ain’t gonna be dumb enough to fall for that trap.

:lol:

You’re more likely to get them to land gear up than break a FAR!

Clarence

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Buying fuel and lunch doesn’t even come close to paying for the airplane, FAA isn’t going to give you any grief for that.

‘You get into trouble by flying a plane load of people every Friday and return every Sunday down to Biloxi for example, and say they are sharing expenses.

I know someone that does that in a Baron, FAA sort of jokingly calls them 134 & 1/2 operations, but unless there is a complaint they rarely pursue them.

But if you add up the ownership expenses of owning an airplane fuel and lunch most likely fall below 50% , and that’s pretty easy to defend as sharing expenses.

However there was this case maybe 15 years or so ago where someone accepted like $20 for a Stearman ride, hit wires, pax died and he ended up in prison, based largely on accepting the $20. Pax wanted to help pay the gas bill.

‘Anyone remember that?

Found it, but it wasn’t $20 it was $8 and there is more to the story, as one charge gave precedence to others

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2008/july/01/after-the-accident

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I flew an arrow prior to transitioning to a Mooney.  It’s night and day.  The arrow was - I don’t want this to come off the wrong way - a bit of a pig. I wouldn’t want to own any PA- with the wing spar inspection.  Mooney and Beech are another class of engineering and design.  Plus the Mooney’s fly 10x better than the PA2x wing.  And there’s value in the Mooney - you can get a C for less than a Cherokee  or Warrior.   The only ones I consider besides a Comanche are a Cherokee 6/toga as a useful piston single for cross country flying.   Don’t look back.  
 

edited to reflect Clarence’s Comanche being cool 

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10 minutes ago, bradp said:

I flew an arrow prior to transitioning to a Mooney.  It’s night and day.  The arrow was - I don’t want this to come off the wrong way - a bit of a pig. I wouldn’t want to own any PA- with the wing spar inspection.  Mooney and Beech are another class of engineering and design.  Plus the Mooney’s fly 10x better than the PA2x wing.  And there’s value in the Mooney - you can get a C for less than a Cherokee or Warrior.   The only ones I consider besides a Cherokee are a Cherokee 6/toga as a useful piston single for cross country flying.   Don’t look back.  

Time to get some time in a Comanche!

Clarence

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3 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

Time to get some time in a Comanche!

Clarence

Oops meant to say besides a Comanche.  Those are cool. Wing is similar to the M.  Guy in Norwood had one he would fly to ? Norway every summer.  

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2 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

Don’t Bonanza’s have some kind of wind spar inspection now? i don’t know the scope or frequency, but think there is one.

There is a spar carry through inspection for cracking on some models.

Clarence

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