Longest Mooney Flight (Poll)

[201er]

Ok, there's no denying that Mooneys are the best cross country 4 seater in their class. But now the question is do you make good use of it? What's been your longest flight nonstop by mileage and by duration? Longest multi-leg? How many times a year/month do you fly a cross country flight in excess of 500nm?

 

Since having my Mooney the FAA minimum 50nm cross-country just doesn't cut it for me anymore. Practically anything inside 500nm is like local or extended local flying. 50nm out is when I begin my descent when coming home! Mooney has brought on a whole other meaning to cross country flying to me.

[carusoam]

Got it worked out....

-a-

[jetdriven]

We did 850 NM on 39.5 gallons.  Eat that!

[BorealOne]

CYTH - CYYR...landed with IFR reserves for CYZV as my alternate. It was a 'just so I could say I did it' flight - I started stopping in CYGL just to break things up after that.

[Bennett]

Mooney 261 conversion: 115 gallons in wings, FL270 in winter in lower band of the jet stream, over 150 Kts tailwind for most of the first leg, San Carlos to Gulfport was the first leg, ran at about 40-50 % power to conserve fuel (critical altitude was 24,000), ATC kept reporting ground speeds in excess of 315 Kts, freezing cold, interior windows all frosted up, but relatively smooth air. Set up a 175 mile slow descent to Gulfport, refueled quickly, made it to St. Petersburg, FL in 9 hrs 15 minute of flying time. it took me 16 hours flying time on the return flight at 14,000 - 16,000', against moderate headwinds. I made quite a few flights in that aircraft with 7 hour legs, but none that showed that ground speed again. I had had the seats upholstered with multiple densities of conformal foam which made sitting that long bearable. Of course I was younger then, and weighed a lot less, and fit the seat better than today. As an aside a year or so ago I had dinner with a group of friends and their guests. One of the guests had been a controller at Albuquerque Center. He asked me what my N number was. I gave him the 161's number, rather than my 201's number. He recalled talking to me on that trip - we had had a couple of conversations while I was in his airspace about Mooneys up that high. I made a number of later trips in which we talked, and it was great fun to meet up with the voice I had been hearing via ATC. Good guy, with an interest in GA.

[Piloto]

One of my longest without ferry tanks but with wing long range tanks; CYYR-BIRK and CYYT-LPAZ, 1400nm each. KFXE-TJIG 900nm twice a year. For those wanting to venture outside the continental US wihout the Customs hassle and without ferry tanks I would recomend this trip. There is a lot to see in the old Spanish San Juan. TJIG is on the bay next to the cruise ships docks. At TJIG you can park either at Million Air or Signature FBOs. If flying above 12,000ft you will be in VHF contact with either Miami or San Juan Radio, no need to contact Nassau Radio. No XM coverage past Providenciales (MBPV). But weather is mostly VFR with the occasional build ups. When flying back non-stop to the US a Department of Agriculture inspection is required. The FBO can take care of this. But there is a $200 charge for inspections on weekends or Holidays. So to save $$$ leave on weekdays. From Puerto Rico non-stop to the US you can land at any airport without the need for Customs. There is a remote chance of being intercepted by the US Border Patrol. I have been intercepted three times but that was because I also land at TJMZ which has no tower and no TSA.

 

BTW the continental US (Florida) was first discovered in 1513 by Ponce de Leon then the Governor of Puerto Rico since 1509. There is a statue of him at the old San Juan Plaza. Puerto Rico was the last Spanish province in the Americas in 1898 during the Spanish-American war. If you want to see the oldest city in the US San Juan is the place to go.   

 

José.

[Hank]

My longest multi-leg trip was 1320nm, KHTW-KCOD, with one weather stop (long lunch) and two overnights sightseeing; home was marginally longer, two more overnights (one a little early for weather). Nothing like a long VFR vacation with the wife!

Later I went KHTW-KFXE and back, one stop each way, solo, IFR. She only holds 52 gallons, and I used almost 60 each way, I think.

The longest duration was 4.4 hours into the wind. Groundspeed varied from a high of 115 knots at 4000' passing south of Charlotte down to 68 knots over the hills around Knoxville at 10,000. The trip out had been 2.1, and I was circumventing forecast icing aloft going home. Filled up with 43 gallons, very nervous.

Pretty good for 180 hp and 52 gallons, but it's nothing for long bodies or extended tanks.

[201er]

A few notable nonstop flights for me:

 

Phoenix to St. Louis 1085nm, 8.5 hours - longest duration non-stop

NJ to Witchita 1094nm, 8 hours - longest distance non-stop (using 73 gallons, 15mpg on 8.0gph)

NJ to Florida 820nm, 7.5 hours (headwinds all the way) - longest distance/duration in abysmal speed.

 

Longest day was 9.4 hours air time (1 unmandated but economical fuel stop) going from Phoenix to Chicago 1251nm. Also took a day trip out to San Diego when I was in Phoenix so technically that trip took my coast to coast but it didn't feel like a continuation of the journey. I love love love my Mooney and have a continuously growing list of places I wanna visit.

[NotarPilot]

A short hop by other Mooniac standards but ABQ to LGB at night. 565 nm.

[Jerry 5TJ]

Longest vintage Mooney jaunt was 800 nmi SNA to TDW in 5.7 hours at 12,000 (without supplemental O2) on 44 gallons and resulting in one tired pilot.

[aaronk25]

We did 850 NM on 39.5 gallons. Eat that!

Duplicated it exactly at fl170 from Rochester MN to Laguadia NY at 1am. Same distance and within .5 gallons burned.......unfortunately all the saved fuel money paid for the landing and ramp fees

[DrBill]

If you have not read the book "UPON SILVER WINGS" about the Round the World Journey of Carol Ann Garrett in an M20 do so. .

I was lucky to have been to a FAAST seminar where she was speaker about preflight, and bought her book.  She's done it at least twice now.

Some of the legs were really intersting and some of the stops were really close to extortion!

 

http://www.earthrounders.com/cgi/archive/garratt/index.htm

 

Bill

[Seth]

I flew myself from the east coast to west coast and back - twice.  Once in 2010 with a 1967 M20F and just a few weeks ago in my 1983 M20J Missile 300.  40+ hours and about 4950 nautical miles 2010 for the loop around the country flew southside on the way out and north side on the way back.  Similar route in 2013, but stopped in Seattle, so the trip was closer to 5100 nautical miles.  That rount took me just over 30 hours flying time. 

 

Longest non-stop flight both distance and time wise were in the Missile - FCM - Flying Coud, Minnesota (Minneapolis) to my home base of GAI - Gaithersburg, MD (Washington DC suburb).  800 NM, about 4.5 hours.

 

-Seth

[jnisley]

The longest day trip I ever flew was a 1140nm round trip (one stop), 8.9 tach hours, 87.5 gallons fuel, 9.83 gph ROP

Five years ago this month I started flying Angel Flight missions, to date I flew 31 missions, 155+ tach hours averaging 5 hours per trip with the longest being 8 hours and the shortest being 3 hours. All are multi leg trips, usually three.

[Parker_Woodruff]

Longest nonstop Mooney flight is Austin, TX to Lakeland, FL. Just under 900nm on the route I took. Did this flight last fall in N252BH

Longest Mooney trip was in an M20J I delivered from Longview, TX to Seattle, WA.

Longview, TX - Garden City, KS - Billings, MT - Great Falls, MT - Slept 3 hours then continued to Seattle.

1641nm is what it shows from point to point. Just over 13 hours of engine running time.

[Bennett]

In the good old days of the Mooney Homecomings in Kerrville I twice flew the approximately 1400 Statute

miles (approximately 1230 Nautical miles) trip non-stop in my 261 conversion west to east, and on the

return trips I stopped at Salinas (about 100 miles south of San Carlos) because I would have landed

with less than one hour of fuel still available. My habit then (eastward) was to climb to the mid 20s

flight levels as quickly as possible, and then throttle back to anywhere between 45% to 65% power as

the winds might dictate. The 261 (and 262) conversions essentially converted a 231 to a 252, and with

long range tanks (117 gallons in my case), and all the speed mods one could obtain in those days it

made for a great cross country aircraft. As reported above, with a low jet stream band in winter, I

used this technique to make it all the way to Gulfport before refueling. Can't do this with my J,

but I still make the flight between San Carlos and Scottsdale(about 750 statute miles) burning about

40 gallons LOP, leaving a reserve of about 24 gallons. These flights are made at 8,500/9,500 VFR

because of the benign weather, and because they are fun to fly this way.

[Joe Zuffoletto]

Denver's in the middle of nowhere, so all my legs are long!   Nonstop examples:

 

Denver-Orange County

Denver-Napa

Denver-Seattle

Denver-Chicago

Denver-Austin

Denver-Cabo

[1964-M20E]

Just completed the two longest flights time and mileage wise 650nm 4.4 hrs there 5.2 hrs back NEW to Indianapolis KEYE.  Landed back in NEW with 1 hour of fuel left about the closest I like to get.

[N201MKTurbo]

We should be asking the furthest you have flown in one day.

My record is Meadville PA to Chandler AZ in one day.

[bonal]

Still just getting my feet wet. Longest so far 700nm Missoula to home not so long but over some serious mountains.

[carusoam]

First long flight with the O...

KSAT to NJ... Two stops...

Seemed like it took an hour and a half...!

Best regards,

-a-

[Amelia]

I've flown from Atlantic to Pacific several times, hit 49 states and much of Canada, but part of the joy in that journey is stopping in interesting places, every three or four hours.

I enjoy meeting on-line friends and far-flung relatives, and stopping for lunch in the only dusty little crossroads for a hundred miles. Good people populate this country, and the one to our north. Not for me is the record-busting, bottom-busting nonstop, though I do appreciate a good tailwind at FL 170 for as long as it can be comfortably sustained.

[eman1200]

0 minutes, 0nm. Did I win?

I am hoping to change those numbers though.

[carusoam]

e,

You have a winner. Don't hold onto it too long!

Best regards,

-a-

[Raygun15E]

Longest Mooney trip in a day - 750nm split in two legs. Flight time 6.5hrs.

Longest flight - 9.3hrs. Europe to NC in February (F-15E). Four piddle packs required!