Thinking about buying a Mooney.

[Brandt]

18 hours ago, tshugart3 said:

Hello Mooniacs!

My situation: I currently own a nice 1980 Piper Archer II, pretty nicely equipped (2 G5s, GFC500 A/P, GNX375, etc.). It was my first airplane, owned it for about 2 years at this point. I've had decent success keeping on leaseback to flight schools. They've maintained it well, it's been basically free for me and I get to fly it when I want.

I'm thinking about selling the Archer and buying a Mooney, probably an M20J, mostly for the speed and additional range, understanding that it will not be appropriate for leaseback and I'll have to pay all the bills. The Archer can do about 128kts TAS at 9 gph, 48 gal tanks. Mission is me and the wife, maybe a couple of small dogs, taking trips to wherever. Perhaps an occasional biz trip for me. I live in Central TX (KILE) with very limited maintenance on field, and I'm on a very long waiting list for a hangar. We'll be moving in 2 yrs (for wife's work) to location TBD. I'm 5-6, pretty light, 600 hr comm pilot and CFI, 50 or so hrs in retracts, 1 hr in a M20J a few years back.

To me the advantages of the Archer are that it's a done deal, super easy to fly, cheap and very simple to maintain, great avionics, and it's pretty comfortable. Disadvantages are basically speed and range relative to the Mooney as far as I can tell.

Thoughts from the crowd? Is the Mooney speed and wow factor worth it for casual trips and buzzing around given the extra expense and complexity? (Insurance will be double at least from the quotes I've gotten.)

Any thoughts appreciated, thanks!

Yours is a perfect case for a Mooney.  You will be glad you did.

 

[Mooney Dog]

First of, and archer is a GREAT airplane. 

Second of, the Mooney is a better airplane. 

 

There's no biased in those statements at all, i promise. 

 

[toto]

46 minutes ago, steingar said:

If the OP is looking to get talked out of a Mooney methinks he came to the wrong place.

I tried

[ArtVandelay]

Does lease back allow you to take the plane for a week? If you buy a Mooney you can park it while you’re on vacation without worrying about having it back at a certain time. If you’re going to fly long distances you’ll have to be prepared to delay return due to weather. Or fly long distances around it.

[ZuluZulu]

No one's really mentioned this yet in this thread, but the market right now is insane.  Prices are higher and supply is limited.  I bought my MSE last July but if I had waited and bought it this year, I either would've paid much more or I probably would have had to settle for a cheaper, not as well-equipped plane instead.  If I was you, and I was sure about my mission changing in two years, I would probably sell the Archer now to take advantage of the market, park your money in an investment account, and wait two years to re-assess.  But then you don't get to fly, so instead I would probably keep the Archer, wait for the move to happen (it might not), and then reassess my needs.  Could be, your wife will get a different promotion, or your plans will change in another way, or for whatever reason you may not want to take the sort of trips in two years that you think you might take today.  

TLDR version: This is just one rando's opinion on the Internet, but I think it's kinda weird to buy another more expensive plane now, in this market, for hypothetical needs two years in the future.  Keep flying the Archer, wait two years for the market to correct, and re-assess.

Even MORE TLDR version: These are two different planes for two different missions.  I would wait two years to see whether my mission actually changes before I spent a lot of money changing planes.

[tshugart3]

4 hours ago, toto said:

Yeah, my Archer payload is about 650 with full fuel.

With the vac system and old avionics ripped out, my UL is 1007, or about 720 with full tanks.

[toto]

3 minutes ago, tshugart3 said:

With the vac system and old avionics ripped out, my UL is 1007, or about 720 with full tanks.

I should probably double-check mine.  Also have 2xG5 with GFC500 and no vacuum.  But iirc it didn't save a huge amount of weight.

[Andy95W]

19 hours ago, tshugart3 said:

 

My situation: I currently own a nice 1980 Piper Archer II, pretty nicely equipped (2 G5s, GFC500 A/P, GNX375, etc.). It was my first airplane, owned it for about 2 years at this point. I've had decent success keeping on leaseback to flight schools. They've maintained it well, it's been basically free for me and I get to fly it when I want.

I love my Mooney, but I’d keep the Archer.

 It sounds like it does 75% of what you want for practically nothing.  That is a deal you’ll miss when it’s gone and you’ll probably never see again.

[carusoam]

I’m a bit suspicious…

Lots of Mooniacs saying keep the Archer….

As if… they want to keep the greatness of becoming a Mooniac… from the poor slow aviator….

 

Its not the aviator that is slow…. He needs a Mooney!

Flying into a headwind must be cognitively torturous… 

The long climb to TPA must mentally be a killer…

 

Get the Mooney so your body can catch up with where your mind is already…. 

I bet the Market for nice Archers is on fire like the Mooney Market is… making it a great time to sell…

 

The biggest problem with the Archer… if you really like the flying….  Now you have to find places farther away to keep the flight time the same…

Technically, Flying the Mooney is even more fun…. You’re going to want to fly even further still….

Back in the day…. Mooney built the fixed gear / fixed prop M20D Mooney Master… it was a great plane to get your aviation/ownership feet wet with…

When the M20D got converted to the M20C… (as all but three have been)… It was like removing the training wheels… 

Sell the trainer while the Market is Hot… you have gotten all the use out of it that was designed into it…

Spread your wings… cross the country… then somebody else’s country…

Ever think of flying the Archer to Europe?

Oddly, people think of flying Mooneys to Europe and back… some Mooniacs do it seasonally…

 

About me…

I considered Brand C, P and Mooney… and got the Mooney… same price, better build quality, more performance…

I brought home the 1965 M20C… after a decade, I got the newer version of the M20C… the M20R… fastest NA, four seat, factory built, speedster on or off the planet…. Longest non stop leg I flew… NJ to FL…

 

Don’t forget the Transition Training… the best way to pick up on all the new 2U things you get with a new plane…

Make it happen!

Go Mooney!

PP thoughts only, not a plane sales guy…

Best regards,

-a-