Tall Buyer - Any Long Body Mooney Owners in Michigan Willing to Let Me See If I Fit?

[ExtraMile]

I know this is a crazy request, so thanks for clicking on it!

I'm a 6'7" pilot trying to get out of high wing Cessnas and into a long-body Mooney, preferably with a glass cockpit. Are there any owners in SE Michigan who would trade me the opportunity to do a fit-test on the airframe for a six-pack or a cup of coffee? I'm looking hard at the Ovation or Bravo GX as I'm flying 600+ miles every week for work. I've already had two failed trips to potential airframes (Turbo Lance and Sirrus SR22) and trying not to fly across the country to be disappointed again!

I've tried an M20K Missile and it was veryyyy close. I could fit but would have taken head trauma in turbulence, so hoping a long body gives me an extra couple inches.

I'm in the Detroit area but willing to hop in my trusty 172 and head all over southern Michigan, northern Ohio, or northern Indiana if need be.

Thanks Mooney Space flyers!

 

[LANCECASPER]

11 minutes ago, ExtraMile said:

I know this is a crazy request, so thanks for clicking on it!

I'm a 6'7" pilot trying to get out of high wing Cessnas and into a long-body Mooney, preferably with a glass cockpit. Are there any owners in SE Michigan who would trade me the opportunity to do a fit-test on the airframe for a six-pack or a cup of coffee? I'm looking hard at the Ovation or Bravo GX as I'm flying 600+ miles every week for work. I've already had two failed trips to potential airframes (Turbo Lance and Sirrus SR22) and trying not to fly across the country to be disappointed again!

I've tried an M20K Missile and it was veryyyy close. I could fit but would have taken head trauma in turbulence, so hoping a long body gives me an extra couple inches.

I'm in the Detroit area but willing to hop in my trusty 172 and head all over southern Michigan, northern Ohio, or northern Indiana if need be.

Thanks Mooney Space flyers!

 

The Missile would be an M20J (with an IO-550 engine). There’s a Rocket conversion for an M20K (with a TSIO-520 engine). They are both mid-bodies and their cockpits are the same size, and they are the same size cockpit as as a long body (L, M, R, S, TN, U, V). The long body adds room in the baggage compartment. If seat travel is what made it veryyyy close, an extra hole can be put in the seat rail to let you go back another inch or so.

[Rmnpilot]

While I am not 6’7”, I am 6’4” and fit just fine in a Bravo.   I guess it depends on where your height is at.   I am near Oshkosh and we can figure out a time where I could swing by or meet at say Battle Creek if it works for you.     Shoot me a PM if you want to discuss further. 

[ExtraMile]

7 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said:

The Missile would be an M20J (with an IO-550 engine). There’s a Rocket conversion for an M20K (with a TSIO-520 engine). They are both mid-bodies and their cockpits are the same size, and they are the same size cockpit as as a long body (L, M, R, S, TN, U, V). The long body adds room in the baggage compartment. If seat travel is what made it veryyyy close, an extra hole can be put in the seat rail to let you go back another inch or so.

Thanks for the correction LC! It was a Rocket. Typing too fast and too early...

The problem was in the headroom, not the legroom. I'd heard there were some differences in headroom with the Bravo/Ovation/Acclaim, especially as some of the newer Ovation and Acclaims received pilot-side doors. The Rocket I was in had light/medium stuffed seat, it certainly wasn't overly stuffed. 

I'll try anything to lever myself into one! 

Edited April 27 by ExtraMile

[LANCECASPER]

2 minutes ago, ExtraMile said:

Thanks for the correction LC! It was a Rocket. Typing too fast and too early...

The problem was in the headroom, not the legroom. I'd heard there were some differences in headroom with the Bravo/Ovation/Acclaim, especially as some of the newer Ovation and Acclaims received pilot-side doors. The Rocket I was in had light/medium stuffed seat, it certainly wasn't overly stuffed. 

I'll try anything to lever myself into one! 

All long body seats and some mid-body seats are articulating - one of the adjustments is a crank on the front that raises and lowers them.

[Fritz1]

gotta try it out, leg length is never a problem, I am 6'4", my height is in the core, Bravo seat all the way down headset does not hit the roof, you can probably carve another 2" out of the bottom seat cushion using a firmer foam

[carusoam]

One challenge is…

discussing standing height, when the air force will measure your sitting height for this…

Maybe god blessed you with long legs… and a short torso….

 

the cool thing about the Long Body Mooneys….

The seats are adjustable, and go all the way down…

 

Lets invite Erik to the party… @aviatoreb and I don’t see eye to eye… until we are sitting down.

 

Go Mooney!

Best regards,

-a-

[Hank]

Don't forget @Yetti, isn't he 6'9". But I agree, its all about inseam length. 

[aviatoreb]

8 hours ago, carusoam said:

One challenge is…

discussing standing height, when the air force will measure your sitting height for this…

Maybe god blessed you with long legs… and a short torso….

 

the cool thing about the Long Body Mooneys….

The seats are adjustable, and go all the way down…

 

Lets invite Erik to the party… @aviatoreb and I don’t see eye to eye… until we are sitting down.

 

Go Mooney!

Best regards,

-a-

I had an extra pair of holes put in my seat rails of the pilot seat.

The long bodies are the same in the seating area.  They are longer behind the seats.

[Yetti]

The issue with tall people in Cessna's is not the headroom, but the windows are too low.   I always had to duck and look while turning left base to final.    When I sit in the Mooney it's like the blinders come off.   There is a mod to drill holes in the seat rail if you want to move the seat back and inch.   I can fly from stock holes, but the further back is a bit nicer.  I think twice I have hit my head and had to readjust the headset.  Just strap in a bit harder and then tip the head to one side when the turb hits. 

when seats are redone some pilots put more foam in the seat.  So some mooneys sit different.

[A64Pilot]

On 4/27/2024 at 12:54 PM, carusoam said:

One challenge is…

discussing standing height, when the air force will measure your sitting height for this…

Maybe god blessed you with long legs… and a short torso….

 

the cool thing about the Long Body Mooneys….

The seats are adjustable, and go all the way down…

 

Lets invite Erik to the party… @aviatoreb and I don’t see eye to eye… until we are sitting down.

 

Go Mooney!

Best regards,

-a-

Trivia, but seating height doesn’t change much with height, height very much is in leg length. The AH-64 we had to sit at “design eye height” so that the system that measured exactly where you were looking would function properly and only a few inches of vertical seat adjustment allowed for over 95% of all adult males to work, covered I think at least from 5’2” to 6’6” at least.

Of course there is always the outliers.

A C-210 has a large amount of headroom as do several other designs, but of course taller cabins come with increased drag.