Could I possibly sit in your Mooney and see how it fits? (Athens, GA / Atlanta, GA)

[p51p28]

Greetings everyone! I'm thinking about a mid 60's Mooney as a possible upgrade to my Cherokee Warrior. I was wondering if anyone in Athens, GA or Atlanta, GA is willing to let me sit in theirs to see how it fits?  Thanks a lot! 

[ArtVandelay]

Try this at home 1st, find a box that’s about 1ft high, sit on it with your legs stretched out in front of you. Imagine sitting like that while flying the plane, if it doesn’t feel comfortable you may not like a Mooney.
If you drive a corvette, Porsche, or other sports car you’ll probably feel at home. If you drive a truck or SUV, you may not.

[p51p28]

Honda Accord here. :-) Thanks for the suggestion! 

[steingar]

Take care of this guy.  I sent him over here.  I'd have flown my own Mooney down to help, but it is too far for such a mission.

[Bartman]

I would suggest sitting in the same model-body length as the one you consider purchasing.  For example, some models like mine have a center console instead of push/pull cables and some people don't like that, but I made my peace with it.  Due to sitting so low in the cockpit my instructor is older and at first had a hard time exiting, but with some instruction from me his egress is much better.

[p51p28]

6 minutes ago, steingar said:

Take care of this guy.  I sent him over here.  I'd have flown my own Mooney down to help, but it is too far for such a mission.

Quite the gentleman here. 

Thanks again Steingar

[GeeBee]

I will be happy to bring my Ovation over to you at AHN or you can come to me. I am at Gainesville, GA.

[p51p28]

34 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

I will be happy to bring my Ovation over to you at AHN or you can come to me. I am at Gainesville, GA.

Wow. Thanks for your offer GeeBee! Very much appreciated. Do you think the cabin dimensions in your M20R is comparable to the mid 60's, 70's variants? 

[Hank]

3 minutes ago, p51p28 said:

Wow. Thanks for your offer GeeBee! Very much appreciated. Do you think the cabin dimensions in your M20R is comparable to the mid 60's, 70's variants? 

The front seats should be comparable, but they will slide back further. My 1970 C has three holes in the track.

[GeeBee]

21 minutes ago, p51p28 said:

Wow. Thanks for your offer GeeBee! Very much appreciated. Do you think the cabin dimensions in your M20R is comparable to the mid 60's, 70's variants? 

I would have to defer to others more knowledgeable, but I guess the front would be the same.

 

[p51p28]

30 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

I would have to defer to others more knowledgeable, but I guess the front would be the same.

 

I'll definitely get back to you once some others chime in -- 

[ZuluZulu]

Come on, let the boy sit in your plane!  Can we stop this cruel game!  Is it so bad to see somebody happy?!  I can't stand to see him in this much pain!

[p51p28]

20 minutes ago, ZuluZulu said:

Come on, let the boy sit in your plane!  Can we stop this cruel game!  Is it so bad to see somebody happy?!  I can't stand to see him in this much pain!

Lol. Too funny

[Bartman]

If memory serves me correctly, compared to the M20C the F, J and K models has about 7 inches added to the front of the cabin and about 7 inches added to the rear seating area.  

There will be even more room in the long body, but I have never had the pleasure of being in the long body model.

As you can see in my avatar my J is highly modified and only a one seater.

[Bartman]

In all seriousness there are different sized M20's and different sized pilots/passengers.  Trunk vs leg length can be a consideration but if a pilot wants to fly a Mooney there is a model that will fit both the pilot and the bank account.

[hammdo]

5 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Try this at home 1st, find a box that’s about 1ft high, sit on it with your legs stretched out in front of you. Imagine sitting like that while flying the plane, if it doesn’t feel comfortable you may not like a Mooney.
If you drive a corvette, Porsche, or other sports car you’ll probably feel at home. If you drive a truck or SUV, you may not.

I've owned and flown both. If you fit in the warrior (mine was a '74), you'll fit in a vintage Mooney. I'm a 'wide body' and fit just fine in my Mooney (both the B and C, flew a F rental too). Wife and me are no problem. Same with my instructors...

Love my Mooney.

-Don

[Culver LFA]

p51p28, I have a ‘67 M20F and would be happy to meet up with you. I’ll send you a PM with my contact info.

-Joe

[carusoam]

Having flown both… an M20C and an M20R….

Having driven both… the Corvette and the Tahoe….

 

Go sit in a Mooney… any Mooney…

Compared to what you have been flying… The Mooney is about speed and efficiency…

The Mooney cabin is wider than the Warrior…. And can be much longer depending on which you choose….

The seating arrangement is very much Corvette like….

Have no fears… the oldest Mooney pilot just celebrated his 100th birthday… it isn’t all that hard to get in and out of… or enjoy sitting in…

Expect Transition Training to be a blast…

 

One question…

Why go from a basic Brand P… to the basic Mooney?

Surely the Basic Mooney is better than the basic other planes… in both speed and efficiency…

 

Why not step up to the next level?  
 

You already have plane ownership experience…

If you are heading that way some day…. Now might be a good time…

 

The finances are different for Forever-planes…

 

PP thoughts only, not a plane sales guy…

Best regards,

-a-

[GeeBee]

Yesterday, I was over at my mechanic's shop and he was doing an oil change on a late model G58 Baron. As I knew the Mooney is wider than the Baron and Bonanza I did not realize how narrow those airplanes where until I sat in that Baron. For a big airplane it is really narrow. The idea that a Mooney is cramped when compared to it is laughable.

[p51p28]

2 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

Yesterday, I was over at my mechanic's shop and he was doing an oil change on a late model G58 Baron. As I knew the Mooney is wider than the Baron and Bonanza I did not realize how narrow those airplanes where until I sat in that Baron. For a big airplane it is really narrow. The idea that a Mooney is cramped when compared to it is laughable.

GeeBee - are you going to Triple Tree next weekend? 

[GeeBee]

No, I have other commitments. Sorry.

 

[81X]

Hi @p51p28 and welcome!  I’m really close by at KAND and I just got my K 231 back from annual so a short hop to AHN for some ops checks before resuming long trips with the family fits my mission for the weekend.

I upgraded from a Cherokee 180 to my Mooney a few years ago so you probably have the same questions I had.  
 
Send me a DM if you don’t have other arrangements for this weekend, with Sunday being best for me. Also happy to chat on any random questions.  

[Culver LFA]

1 hour ago, GeeBee said:

Yesterday, I was over at my mechanic's shop and he was doing an oil change on a late model G58 Baron. As I knew the Mooney is wider than the Baron and Bonanza I did not realize how narrow those airplanes where until I sat in that Baron. For a big airplane it is really narrow. The idea that a Mooney is cramped when compared to it is laughable.

Yep, and try getting behind the panel of a Baron.  Taking the seats out doesn't help much because there isn't a flat floor, just a hump with seat rails to jab you in the back.

It makes working on a Mooney a dream in comparison.

[steingar]

The first Mooney I ever sat in was an F.  It had the same dimensions as my C.  Can't really speak to the later models.

[PilotX]

When size matters change the perspective.