Any CFIs currently instructing out of a Mooney in the (western) Kansas City area?

[JB2000]

Hello Everyone--I am writing in hopes to hear from or about any CFIs instructing out of a Mooney in the KC area (preferably Kansas side and/or MKC) or Lawrence. To be clear, I do not own a Mooney (yet), so I will need a solution that connects me not only to the CFI but also to the plane. I am hoping to build 10 hours, maybe more depending on costs, so that 1) I can decide after actually really flying a Mooney whether I like it; and 2) I can have time in type for insurance.

Last year, I met up and flew with a couple of very nice owners from this group who have been incredibly generous with their time and showed me their Mooneys and let me take the controls for a bit in cruise.  What I am hoping to do now is takeoffs, landings, instrument approaches, and other standard checkout training tasks so that I can really get a feel for the type.

I have just over 250 hours total time and 90+ hours of complex time (almost all 172RG for complex).  And, to quickly touch on my location preferences, I am currently in the far west side of the metro, and I fly out of New Century.  It takes me about 25-30 minutes to KIXD, KOJC, KMKC, or KLWC (haven't driven to KFLV, but I bet it takes about the same amount of time).  Ideally, I would find someone at one of those fields.  And, for anyone curious about what I am eventually hoping to get for myself, I am window shopping Fs and Es.

I would appreciate a PM if you have a lead or are who I am looking for.  Thanks for reading!

[Fritz1]

You may want to expand your search nationwide, contact MAPA safety foundation, they do 4-5 clinics per year which brings airplanes and instructors together in one place, welcome aboard!

[hubcap]

I am based at KLXT. I am not a CFI but I would recommend getting an instructor with extensive Mooney experience. An instructor with no Mooney experience will be of little value. 

[201Steve]

This will be tough to accomplish locally. Your best bet would be to search nationally for this arrangement and go take a weekend. 
 

I’m not sure what people are talking about when they want to “figure out if they like it or not” when it comes to flight characteristics. All the major brands are proven and joyful. Beech, Cessna, Mooney, Cirrus, Piper. I’ve never flown any of them and thought, gee this stinks. My 1000 hour opinion across minimal types is probably worth about zero anyway. I can either adapt to each characteristics or I can’t and then it’s simply a question of, Am I studious enough to learn a new airframe or not. I don’t mean this in a rabble rousing way at all, either. I just mean to say, I’ve flown 700+ hours of Mooney and my understanding of it is still constantly evolving. Not much I could have made an opinion on after 10 hours. 
 

so…. Quit overthinking the process, go find an awesome airplane that meets your spec criteria for the mission, and buy it! =)

[Parker_Woodruff]

I would not go about trying to build time solely for insurance purposes, unless *maybe* you were set on the model you want.  Most insurance companies will require a checkout in the specific model you buy prior to sole PIC operations, with some exceptions for the M20F and M20J (same engine, fuselage length, etc.).

What you spend in renting will almost always exceed insurance savings.

[ad5ut]

I was looking for something like this with a K model a few months back hoping to knock out my insurance requirements while I was waiting on V-band clamps for my new-to-me 231 and came up empty. One person was advertising instruction in a rental K-model out of the LA area but had recently stopped due to rising insurance costs. The others I saw were all flying clubs so not really available for public rental.

A few years back, I was able to get instruction in a rental J-model at Air Mods in NJ but I can't tell from their web site if they are still offering that since they now have a new flight academy unit with more traditional trainers. The 0.9 hours in the J (and 28 other retract hours between a 182RG and Travel Air) had a slight impact on my check-out requirements supposedly, but not anything that would have made me want to seek out that rental just for insurance purposes. I think the reduction was from 15 to 10 dual hours and from 25 to 15 landings.

Edit to Add:
My experience with the J unnecessarily turned me off of Mooneys for several years as "too uncomfortable for a fat pilot" until I sat in the K-model with push-pull controls rather than a quadrant and a more reasonable fuel selector location. Just keep in mind that if you don't like the model you find for rental there may be a better Mooney option still available.

Edited Saturday at 03:41 PM by ad5ut

[Fritz1]

www.mooneypros.com has a listing of instructors, give them a call, they may be able to find an instructor and an airplane, another way to test different airplanes and models is to go shopping, test fly, a simple proof of funding tends to get the attention of a seller, in particular of a broker who typically lists several airplanes, sets you apart from tire kickers, after talking to owners and flying a couple of birds you develop a better understanding for what suits your mission, enjoy the journey...

[JB2000]

Thanks, everyone, for the replies.  Just to add a little more information from my end, I had spoken with my current non-owned policy provider Avemco a little bit ago (so maybe this is now outdated), and the agent giving me an estimate provided that they would look at time in type from any M20, so it wouldn't matter whether I was getting it in an E and wound up buying an F or vice versa.  But, I agree with the comment that if insurance savings were my only motivation, getting those 10 hours now wouldn't really be a savings compared to the reduction in premiums.  Regarding the comment on my seeking of training to see if I like it, I do agree with the sentiment that with adequate practice I could operate a Mooney whether I initially liked it or not, and I am largely counting on overcoming that hurdle if it turns out to exist.  However, with any major purchase or major decision, if personal taste, comfort, and other preferences are relevant, it would make sense to explore those before committing rather than discovering them later.  And, truly, I think I would have a lot of fun training in a Mooney leading up to buying one, so I thought I would look.

Big thanks again to everyone who took the time to comment.

[201Steve]

6 hours ago, Parker_Woodruff said:

What you spend in renting will almost always exceed insurance savings.

@Parker_Woodruff What you spend *doing anything* in the hope of insurance savings.

i got my commercial earlier in the year, for several reasons, but I sweetened the deal in my head thinking it would save me some money. No effect whatsoever. I was shocked- mostly because I thought they favored advanced training… any kind of training…. Don’t care. Lol

[philiplane]

I would look for an instructor who is instructing IN a Mooney... 

Edited Saturday at 10:11 PM by philiplane

[toto]

23 hours ago, JB2000 said:

Hello Everyone--I am writing in hopes to hear from or about any CFIs instructing out of a Mooney in the KC area (preferably Kansas side and/or MKC) or Lawrence. To be clear, I do not own a Mooney (yet), so I will need a solution that connects me not only to the CFI but also to the plane. I am hoping to build 10 hours, maybe more depending on costs, so that 1) I can decide after actually really flying a Mooney whether I like it; and 2) I can have time in type for insurance.

Last year, I met up and flew with a couple of very nice owners from this group who have been incredibly generous with their time and showed me their Mooneys and let me take the controls for a bit in cruise.  What I am hoping to do now is takeoffs, landings, instrument approaches, and other standard checkout training tasks so that I can really get a feel for the type.

I have just over 250 hours total time and 90+ hours of complex time (almost all 172RG for complex).  And, to quickly touch on my location preferences, I am currently in the far west side of the metro, and I fly out of New Century.  It takes me about 25-30 minutes to KIXD, KOJC, KMKC, or KLWC (haven't driven to KFLV, but I bet it takes about the same amount of time).  Ideally, I would find someone at one of those fields.  And, for anyone curious about what I am eventually hoping to get for myself, I am window shopping Fs and Es.

I would appreciate a PM if you have a lead or are who I am looking for.  Thanks for reading!

I’m a not-very-active CFI in Kansas City, but I don’t instruct in my Mooney and I’m not aware of any Mooneys in KC that are available for instruction or rental. 

There was a thread last year about J models for instruction (one mentioned was at Jabara):

https://mooneyspace.com/topic/47563-m20js-for-rent-and-instruction/

And an earlier thread trying to collect info about all Mooneys available for instruction anywhere:

https://mooneyspace.com/topic/33671-rentals-known-mooney-rentals-in-the-usa-and-beyond/

 

[JB2000]

10 hours ago, toto said:

I’m a not-very-active CFI in Kansas City, but I don’t instruct in my Mooney and I’m not aware of any Mooneys in KC that are available for instruction or rental. 

There was a thread last year about J models for instruction (one mentioned was at Jabara):

https://mooneyspace.com/topic/47563-m20js-for-rent-and-instruction/

And an earlier thread trying to collect info about all Mooneys available for instruction anywhere:

https://mooneyspace.com/topic/33671-rentals-known-mooney-rentals-in-the-usa-and-beyond/

 

Good to know.  Thank you, @toto.

[kortopates]

CFI’s instructing in their own Mooney’s is just not a thing. There are very few Mooney’s available to rent across the country, mostly vintage Mooney’s. They don’t do well as rentals as a less than current pilot is very likely to prop strike it. Buy your Mooney and pursue Transition training.


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[Ragsf15e]

However, if you just wanted a ride in one or to sit in it and see how it feels, you won’t need a cfi and you’ll probably find someone who will gladly show you their airplane.