Comatose Posted December 12, 2012 Report Posted December 12, 2012 I bought my C model at 37 hours total time (Still a student! made test flying planes... interesting.) but didn't actually get it through prepurchase, fixing squawks, getting it delivered and actually getting into the thing until I was at 47 hours with a still wet certificate. 2 years and 180 hours later I'm still here. The insurance company wanted 25 hours dual, of which 10 hours had to be under the hood. That seemed like a lot to me, but we knocked it out in a little under two weeks, flying up to 5 hours per evening. Almost all of that was at night, had to work during the day. My transition instructor, who also owns a C model, was great and it turned out 25 hours was just about the right amount of dual for my situation. 6 hours it too little, you'll tear it up, but technically I was a Mooney owner before I was a private pilot. it can be done. Quote
spokewrench Posted December 12, 2012 Author Report Posted December 12, 2012 Welcome to flying Mooneys in NJ. We have an MSC here and they often rent Mooneys. We also have Mooney specific training available here when you are ready. Learn the search function quickly. There are so many topics initiated/covered by people asking similar questions that you may have. They may have started with the same experience that you currently have. Expect all answers to have a bias, but the recomendations are from the heart. Search for topics like where are you flying this weekend, or holiday travel. Look up the nj mooney web site, one of our members here hosts it. Welcome aboard. Best regards, -a- Where are the airports that will rent Mooneys with instruction in N.J. ? Thanks ! Quote
TWinter Posted December 12, 2012 Report Posted December 12, 2012 65 total hours when I got my Mooney. Got PPL 20 yrs ago- flew C150 and Warrior back,then for a short time. Only flew a year and lost interest (could not afford it really). Fast forward twenty years later (present day) and I got the bug again. Bought a Cherokee 140 and flew it three months last year. Started looking for something with more payload and "just plain cooler than the Cherokee", Found my Mooney, I had about 65 hrs total when I started with my Mooney. Made some insurance calls. Bottom line insurance ended up being $1200 a year and required 10 hrs w/ CFI and 10 hrs solo for the Mooney with only 65 hrs logged. To be 100% honest..I have close to 160 hrs now and am just now feeling real comfortable in the Mooney. As somebody posted and a good thing to remember. A Mooney is the best. "When you fly.Just be sure your brain is always thinking 10 minutes ahead of your airplane".. GL Quote
201er Posted December 13, 2012 Report Posted December 13, 2012 As ambassador of the New Jersey Mooney Pilots group, I'll offer to take you up for a ride in mine once it gets out of the shop (couple more weeks, getting a mags upgrade ) if you will listen to my pitch why you should totally get one but not for a while. Good luck landing a Mooney into solberg is all I'll say for now Quote
carusoam Posted December 13, 2012 Report Posted December 13, 2012 N87 Trenton Robinsville AirMods. Flight Training, rental, maintenance, aircraft for sale. Availability of Mooneys to rent or training depends on qualification. They typically train in Pipers. I don't want to over promise the availability rental Mooneys. You will have to contact them. They have in the past... Last time I was there I dropped my plane off for an annual... Take a visit, it is a genuinely nice place with genuinely nice people, and spectacular aircraft. Best regards, -a- Quote
jetdriven Posted December 13, 2012 Report Posted December 13, 2012 And you wonder where that extra ten hours on the tach came from. I saw an ad from there when you did your annual "Ovaton for rent, two weeks only". Quote
jetdriven Posted December 13, 2012 Report Posted December 13, 2012 As ambassador of the New Jersey Mooney Pilots group, I'll offer to take you up for a ride in mine once it gets out of the shop (couple more weeks, getting a mags upgrade ) if you will listen to my pitch why you should totally get one but not for a while. Good luck landing a Mooney into solberg is all I'll say for now Mike, did you go with the Bendix? we have 3 hours on ours now. Runs great. Supposedly more reliable. Quote
Alan Fox Posted December 13, 2012 Report Posted December 13, 2012 I fly into N87 regularly for buisness and can confirm that they have a rental 201...... Quote
201er Posted December 13, 2012 Report Posted December 13, 2012 Mike, did you go with the Bendix? we have 3 hours on ours now. Runs great. Supposedly more reliable. For the kind of money I'm spending on your recommendation, it better be more than "supposedly" more reliable! Quote
spokewrench Posted December 13, 2012 Author Report Posted December 13, 2012 As ambassador of the New Jersey Mooney Pilots group, I'll offer to take you up for a ride in mine once it gets out of the shop (couple more weeks, getting a mags upgrade ) if you will listen to my pitch why you should totally get one but not for a while. Good luck landing a Mooney into solberg is all I'll say for now I saw a 201 j land @ Solberg on Tues. this week while I was doing my Pre-flight, It was truly a amazing watching it come in, and the guy just landed it perfectly ! I said to myself " One day that will be me ".LOL ! But if you would be so generous to take me up, I would definately accept ! Also, Thanks to all that posted and welcomed my questions with genuine responses ! Quote
spokewrench Posted December 13, 2012 Author Report Posted December 13, 2012 I thought about maybe renting a Mooney with instruction , but realistically I think that it would be taking a step backwards this early in my training as I am just getting comfortable with the C 172 I am training in. I will wait until I have at least more hours behind me and maybe just wait until I have my certificate, as others here pointed out, but I may start looking for a good used one, I know that can take along time ! Quote
201er Posted December 13, 2012 Report Posted December 13, 2012 I saw a 201 j land @ Solberg on Tues. this week while I was doing my Pre-flight, It was truly a amazing watching it come in, and the guy just landed it perfectly ! I said to myself " One day that will be me ".LOL ! But if you would be so generous to take me up, I would definately accept ! Also, Thanks to all that posted and welcomed my questions with genuine responses ! PM me your email/phone number and I'll let you know next time we're having a fly in and if I can pick you up at Solberg. Quote
rainman Posted December 13, 2012 Report Posted December 13, 2012 Spokewrench, I bought my 231 as a low time pilot who owned a Warrior for a year and just wanted to go faster on my cross country trips from San Antonio to Detroit and Albuquerque. Before purchase, I got two e-books from the Mooneyland website. I know Richard "Zef" Zefro passed away last year. But check with the folks maintaining the website. If the books are still available,you will learn all you need to (1) purchase a used airplane of any type, and (2)which Mooney is right for your mission. The offers from the Mooney guys/gals in your area is great, because an owner can have lots of insights into model specific issues to look for during the pre-buy (the e-book, "Those Mooney Airplanes", Richard Zefro will help also). I'd wait until you have your PPL before purchase. Ray Quote
carusoam Posted December 14, 2012 Report Posted December 14, 2012 It's ok to start looking. That way you get the important decision made... Is a mooney right for me? After that the fun gate has been opened... Byron is always welcome to rent my plane after annual... I prefer the professionals take those hours. Next year we may have a JPI 830 for more complete data collection. Then we can discover timing variables for an IO550... Best regards, -a- Quote
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