Enjoyable Mooney Story

[Ned Gravel]

OK, we all have them.  Let's hear them.  I'll start.

My girl and I were visiting friends in Sudbury, about 90 Mooney minutes northwest of Ottawa and on the Sunday we were completing the runup to get ready and take the taxiway prior to departure.

There was an AirOntario B1900 in the process of doing theirs too but we go to the hold short point first.

Us:  Sudbury Tower, FSWR holding short 04 and ready for departure.

Twr:  SWR, roger continue holding short 04, _______ on quarter mile final for 04.

B1900 (copilot): Sudbury Tower, AirOntario 1234 just in behind the little one here holding short 04 also ready to go.

Twr:  AirOntario 1234, roger, continue holding short and you will be number 2 for departure.

B1900 (this time the aircraft commander and not the copilot):  Yeah, sorry about that.  My buddy here thinks he's in a Big One.

Us:  Little one roger.  Just remember guys, this is what you will be looking to buy when you retire.  Just for fun, time the gear travel time on rotation.

B1900: roger.

The landing aircraft cleared the intersection of the two runways and tower cleared us to position and immediate departure.  Two pumps of flaps and rotation at 75 mph.  The gear came up with a snap and over the radio came the voice of the Beech pilot: "Nice." 

Sometimes, flying a Mooney gives you the opportunity to exercise your bragging rights just because it is a Mooney.

[piperpainter]

Its funny how many people often think I raise my gear to soon since "what if I had a problem." I try to explain that it takes less than a full second to get the gear up and down...when they fly with me they realized just how quick it is and usually are pretty impressed. I love our gear

[byrdflyr]

Two thoughts:

1.  Departing BNA I was in front of a Delta Connection CRJ-900 that asked the tower if he should "follow the little Cherokee" to the departure end. The tower corrected the CRJ with "that's a Mooney, not a Cherokee."  CRJ said, "whatever it is, its small and I'm behind it."  Tower said, "well, if you've flown both, you'd never forget the difference."

2.  I usually pull up my electric gear within a few seconds after breaking ground to reduce drag and improve climb out.  During my instrument training, my young 20-something instructor asked me "why do you retract the gear so fast? There's a lot of runway left and if you had a problem . . . . Don't retract the gear until you're beyond any usable runway length left."  Odd I thought, since my gear comes up and down in about 1-2 seconds, really.  I was just reading the AOPA story on the new Technam twin. Gear speed is 85 kts, and takes 35 seconds for the hydraulics to reach go down and locked.  Recommended procedure in that bird is to slow to gear extension about 2 miles out from the FAF, drop 'em, then drive down the final approach at 80 kts.  What a drag!

Thank goodness I have a Mooney. 

[skyking]

Going into Calgary one day i was asked by the tower to slow down to allow for a Lear that was ahead of me.

I never heard that request once in all the years i owned any of my 172's

[ugmech]

Last summer arriving CYAM we were cleared right base for 30. Before calling established, I was slowing down looking for the white arc when tower calls and says LMB keep your speed up your number 1 in front of the king air on 5 mile final. I'm sure I had a mooney grin then.

[testwest]

Gretchen was flying 201JX into Van Nuys on one of her usual commutes a few years back. She joined the VNY 16 ILS, for those that don't know, it is famously steep, a 3.9 degree glide path.

A Lear something joined the final behind her, and the controller says, "Lear xxx Lima Juliet, you are number two for the airport behind a Mooney inside KADIE intersection"

Lear xxxLJ, in a tired and irritated male voice: "I guess we'll try to slow down some more"

Controller: "Lear xLJ, spacing is good, she's got 30 knots on you".

 

[RJBrown]

 One beautiful Saturday morning a few years ago my wife suggested a flight down to Santa Fe for lunch.  Heading south out of Centennial over Colorado Springs I always quietly monitor Springs approach as I fly over the top of their airspace, if you talk to them they want to send you 30 mile out over the plains. I heard approach hand off a Baron to Pueblo approach. Once clear of the Springs I called Pueblo approach just after they handed off the Baron to center to pick up flight following. Once on with center they kept calling out traffic @ 12 o clock and 500 below same direction and closing. Well in short order we walked right past that Baron and flew on to Santa Fe. After landing, tying down, waiting for the girls to hit the bathroom we got in the airport shuttle. As the shuttle pulled away I saw the Baron taxi in. After a delightful walk around the square and a delicious lunch we called for the shuttle to bring us back to the airport. As my wife and 2 daughters took their bathroom breaks I went out on the ramp to get ready. Parked right next to me was the Baron. We talked as we waited for our girls. I felt kinda bad for him. This was his first flight out of the local area in his new to him Baron. First flight out in his big brawny twin he could not believe some little single walked right past as he tried to keep up. As we talked he didn't believe I was just cruising at 75% cause he had tried to stay ahead. That Rocket left him dumbfounded. I did more with 305HP than he could with 600.

[ErickR]

These are great stories!

 I am new to mooney flying and already I notice that ATC  likes to request I make wide traffic patterns inorder to give the other aircraft in the pattern more spacing. We have a lot of training flights at my home field.  

[Jeff_S]

I don't have any stories comparing me to other planes in the sky just yet, but I've noticed that at Mooney speeds I need to think much earlier about descent planning compared to my Warrior. A few weeks ago I was cruising home to Atlanta from Kentucky at 8500'.  Chattanooga went buy in a flash as we were admiring the topography of the Tennessee River basin, then I realized we were already past Dalton and I had to start getting down to stay below the ATL Bravo airspace. I still ended up a bit high and had to chop and drop to get down to pattern altitude.

My next task is to get comfortable with how quickly I can bleed off speed and get to landing config on final. I'm sure the Tower people are a bit confused by me coming in with a Mooney and already at a slow 90 knots on 3-mile final. In my defense, I don't have speed brakes!  ;-)

[byrdflyr]

My "C" doesn't have speed brakes either, but gear speed is 120, and I fly under the Memphis class B every trip. If I'm coming up on Bravo airspace a bit high or fast without a code, I cut power, level or climb slightly to 120 mph, drop gear, and then I can descend at 120 mph by more fpm over distance than clean. Once you're under the B airspace, gear up and motor on until your usual gear-down spot in the pattern.  I have also done spirals to keep out of B airspace. Sometimes it is because ATC is busy and I called too late.  BUT, your right, that is not something I ever dealt with in a 172, primarily because I never flew much higher than 5k or faster than 120 mph. In Mighty Mike Alpha, even on a 1 hour trip I almost always file IFR or use flight following, and usually cruise above 7k msl at 140 mph indicated. With a good tailwind and descending, I see ground speeds of 200 mph, or a mile every 20 seconds, so the B airspace can sneak up on you.  Have fun!

[jasonwojo]

I had one yesterday when I was flying into the Wichita, Kansas Mid-Continent Airport (ICT).  I was five miles East and number two behind a Cessna who was two miles out for 19L.  Tower asked me to slow down since I was 50 knots faster than the plane in front of me.  And to think, I was at pattern altitude and already slowing down!  I am sure the Cessna driver felt good when I said I would "slow down for the Cessna".  I love Mooneys!

[KLRDMD]

Quote: Jeff_S

My next task is to get comfortable with how quickly I can bleed off speed and get to landing config on final. I'm sure the Tower people are a bit confused by me coming in with a Mooney and already at a slow 90 knots on 3-mile final. In my defense, I don't have speed brakes!  ;-)

[docket]

I fly in and out of Dallas Love Field a couple of times a week so I know the guys in the tower pretty well.  On approach to 31R a couple of weeks ago a SWA 737 was on the parallel approach to 31L.  The tower called to make sure that I saw the 737.  We were about even distances from the approach ends of the runway.  I advised that I had the SWA in site and the tower asked the 737 to confirm that he had me in site.  We were both then advised to maintain the separation and the tower said he was now dropping the green flag and we were racing for pink slips.  About .5 miles from the approach end the tower called the race for the Mooney and told the 737 to bring the pink slip over to Signature.  When I arrived that afternoon to return there was a copy of the airworthiness certificate from the 737 on pink paper and signed by the Captain and First Officer.