New Mooney owner suggestions

[Medicpilot]

I am a relatively low time pilot (300hrs over 18yrs), stepping into a Mooney M20J from a Beechcraft Sierra C24R.  The Sierra was comfortable, but was too slow for my missions (4-500 mile trips) What things does a new owner need to know?  Suggestions on getting acclimated with the airplane.  Things I need to buy specific to Mooney's?  I will have to upgrade the panel and repair a few things in the future.  Replacing a Century2 autopilot, KMA20 audio panel, installing a newer COM#2, Install ADS-B transponder with adsb-in, etc.  I am planning on flying 150hrs a year to stay current in it.

 

My plan is to step into the Mooney word with the J, and eventually step up again to an Ovation in 5 years or so.  

 

[Hank]

Just be aware that 150 hours in an N20-J is a LOT more distance and travel than in a Sierra . . .

Learn the new sight picture. Learn what the numbers are for your plane--MP/RPM/Mixture for pattern work, base leg, final, short final; instrument approaches, speed at IAF & FAF; cruise performance at various altitudes, power on descents, and how to slow down after descent to enter the pattern.

The last one there took me the longest. I used to plan to be at pattern altitude 3-5 miles from the field, so that I could slow down under my 125mph flap speed before entering downwind. With practice and experience, I figured out how to do it with a much smaller buffer, but did turn downwind just over flapspeed a few times . . .

Congratulations on your "new" plane! Maybe we will meet up at some airport somewhere.

[Paul Thomas]

You'll love the J; congratulations on the purchase. The J is a great airplane and a great fit for 400-500 miles trips.

I'd advise to fly the J a bit before making upgrades. You'll learn about the airplane and be in a better place to determine what you really need and want. At that point, I would decide whether to upgrade the J or buy an Ovation that is equipped the way I want. While the Ovation does perform better than the J, it's not really a step up as far as piloting skills are concerned. If you can fly one, you can fly the other.

[Schllc]

Skip the J and get the ovation. 

[hubcap]

Always remember to put the gear down.

[bcg]

Your biggest learning curves will be energy management and realizing that although they fly fast, they land as slow as any other GA airplane.  Don't try to put it on the runway until it's done flying or it'll object.  Also, the descent is much flatter than you're probably used to.  When I get into something else, I fell like I'm dive bombing the runway on final.

Welcome to the club!

[Medicpilot]

So what are the numbers to aim for?   I am going to have limited time with a CFI prior to purchase, maybe 4-5 hours.  The owner isn’t flying anymore and barely anyone has Mooney time around me.  I have some studying to do on it.  I ordered the checkmate check list for it.  

[LANCECASPER]

15 minutes ago, Medicpilot said:

So what are the numbers to aim for?   I am going to have limited time with a CFI prior to purchase, maybe 4-5 hours.  The owner isn’t flying anymore and barely anyone has Mooney time around me.  I have some studying to do on it.  I ordered the checkmate check list for it.  

Your insurance company will probably require more transition time than that (4-5 hours) with a CFI that has a specified number of hours in an M20J. If they don't require that, you should. Train until you're comfortable. 

[Hank]

54 minutes ago, Medicpilot said:

So what are the numbers to aim for?   I am going to have limited time with a CFI prior to purchase, maybe 4-5 hours.  The owner isn’t flying anymore and barely anyone has Mooney time around me.  I have some studying to do on it.  I ordered the checkmate check list for it.  

Don't trust those commercial checklists. Spend an evening creating your own from the Owners Manual, it will force you to read everything several times and look for those important speeds, then find the power settings in the Performance Tables.

Don't put them into the first draft checklist, just pencil them in. With your Mooney CFI, you should confirm them in your plane, and write down anything you find that's different. 

Another benefit to home-rolled checklists is that you can customize them to your exact instruments, and rearrange things to match your flow patterns. My Manual said to turn on radios, then set them, but a previous owner had put in an Avionics Master, so all that Radio On and Off stuff went away.

For printing them out to be useful, look up booklet printing in your word processor of choice; I printed mine in landscape mode, double-sided, with my single-sided printer--it took a couple of tries to get it right. But it is MY checklist, and it suits MY PLANE. 

There are two overriding considerations:

1. Fly safe!
2. Have fun

[AJ88V]

1. You can come down, or you can slow down. But you can’t do both at the same time. So, like bcg wrote, learn energy management.  Give yourself time to get down to pattern altitude and  pattern speed by the time you’re entering downwind.

2. the Mooneys are very low to the ground compared to the Sierra and most other airplanes, plus they have long wings that just love to fly in ground effect. Nailing your speeds on final and touchdown zone is critical. Caused me a lot of trouble at first until an instructor taught me to just keep holding her off the runway with gentle back pressure and she’ll settle down smooth as glass.

congrats and good luck!

 

[shawnd]

@Medicpilot You may want to look through the CFI directory at https://themooneyflyer.com/cfi.html and talk to a few CFI's and build a relationship. They can help you get familiar with the Mooney and also provide recurring instruction as needed.

When I picked up my 252 after flying a J for a few years, I went through this page to find a CFI local to where I was going to pick up the plane and did familiarization training for a few days before ferrying the plane back to Washington state and checking off the x-country logistics in it. 

[dkkim73]

18 hours ago, Hank said:

Just be aware that 150 hours in an N20-J is a LOT more distance and travel than in a Sierra . . .

Learn the new sight picture. Learn what the numbers are for your plane--MP/RPM/Mixture for pattern work, base leg, final, short final; instrument approaches, speed at IAF & FAF; cruise performance at various altitudes, power on descents, and how to slow down after descent to enter the pattern.

The last one there took me the longest. I used to plan to be at pattern altitude 3-5 miles from the field, so that I could slow down under my 125mph flap speed before entering downwind. With practice and experience, I figured out how to do it with a much smaller buffer, but did turn downwind just over flapspeed a few times . . .

The first and last two points are worth keeping in mind. These planes are fast and slick. I got handed off to local approach almost 40 miles out yesterday, at 16k, and hitting the IAF for the approach on-altitude took an aggressive descent. Add a tailwind and point the nose down and you'd be surprised how fast you are, for how long. 

The speed is a mixed blessing for building time. Sounds like you fly distance regularly. Sometimes I dial it back a bit, fly airways etc. I practiced VOR nav half the trip yesterday but eventually wanted my week to be done so took direct and pushed it up a bit  . 

You're going to have a good time. 

[bcg]

20 hours ago, Medicpilot said:

So what are the numbers to aim for?   I am going to have limited time with a CFI prior to purchase, maybe 4-5 hours.  The owner isn’t flying anymore and barely anyone has Mooney time around me.  I have some studying to do on it.  I ordered the checkmate check list for it.  

I can't tell you for a mid-body.  My C touches down at 65MPH, give or take, the way I like it configured for landing.  I'm usually 80 over the fence, 75 over the threshold and then pull power and hold it off as close the runway as I can until the speed bleeds off and it lands.  Usually puts me at the 1,000' markers.  The POH should have some guidance, most planes I've flown like to land at whatever stall speed is for the current configuration.  I usually only put in 15 degrees of flap so my stall speed is higher than if I was full flaps.