Buy a Mooney - need help

[ChristianGodin]

I am in a process to buy a Mooney. I have been flying a friend's 201 for 250 hours. I did my IFR and flew approx. 125 IFR hours but mostly in VFR or marginal VFR condition.

Now is the time to buy! I don't really have a mission but I don't want to get bored with a plane that is too limited and especially since buying and selling aircrafts is tougher these days.

My interest was toward a "Encore" because you get a turbo with a cheap fuel burn plus the possibility to have it FIKI. I live in Canada so if I need to do any cross country I might need to fly high and this mean often ice possibilities.

Since my IFR experience is very limited, I don't really know if I will need to fly that high! Am I better to go with an Ovation? Or should I stick with a 201? The 201 would be cheaper tu buy and run but more limited.

The budget is always a problem an buying for less is allways fun. But let say that up to 200k it will be a hole in my retirement plan but nevertheless allright.

I know that it is a large question but any comments would be very appreciated.

Thank You

[jetdriven]

Up to 200K, a Bravo is a badass but a modded 231 or a stock 252 would do the same job with less fuel burn. if not routinely flying above 10K feet, a M20J or M20R Ovation would be the best bet depending on money.

 

if yo need more that 1000 LB useful load, a TAT TN A-36 Bonanza is the ticket.

[FBCK]

Chris sent you a PM

[OR75]

Keep in mind that once you buy an aircraft, whatever model it is, it rarely makes $$$ sense to upgrade 1 step.

My advice: buy the best aircraft you can comfortably afford, plan to keep it a long time and don't look back.

[driller]

I've had my Encore for a year now and have logged almost 100 hours in it.  I'm obviously biased, but it was a great decision.  Love it.  Wouldn't change a thing.

 

 

curt

[Earl]

Mine is a 252 which meets my mission parameters but has limited useful load and is not FIKI.  Seems to me if you want to fly in Canada in the winter icing will definitely be your limiting factor and that doesn't necessarily equate to flying high.  My only experience with ice was in the spring in the southeast climbing out of a cloud layer at 4,500 feet.  In the winter ice can extend to the ground surface and can actually be less of a factor when you get higher.  All that being said, if you are looking for a FIKI Mooney your choices are going to be limited.  Likewise with a FIKI A36.  There just aren't that many because it is so expensive to add to an existing airframe.

 

What I think you need to do is to evaluate how you plan to fly plane, how much can you afford, with how many passengers, how far and in what conditions.  That will drive your decision to a Mooney, Bonanza or my dream plane the TBM-850.......  For sure my advice is to try to find the avionics you want for the long haul.  Upgrading is expensive and unless you are going to buy and hold it will not make financial sense......but then again, very little about GA aircraft ownership makes financial sense.  Good luck.

[BorealOne]

If you are sticking close to Montreal (ie, anywhere in the East) a normally aspirated engine will do you just fine.

 

If your mission requires dispatch-ability from say October to April, you will want FIKI if you actually want to pick the days when you will fly.  Otherwise, the weather will decide it for you. Known ice in an overcast layer = legally you stay grounded. I've been challenged by tower controllers to verify that I'm FIKI on departure on those kind of days. As you know in along the St. Lawrence, it's almost always overcast with icing at 1000' all winter long, but it's usually a thousand feet or so of stratus and then sunshine on top...

[bd32322]

Have you thought about just adding TKS to the 201?

But if a 201 does not excite you - yeah you should get one that you really like once and not look back

[Rich]

Chris, I owned a 201 for about 10 years and then traded for a 2004 Ovation 2. I can't write the book that I have in my head right here, but while the 201 is cheaper to operate, the Ovation 2 can be flown LOP at ~11-12 gph block to block (vs. 10 gph for the 201). If flying by yourself, you can quite easily climb to 17,000', burn 10.8-11,1 gph and cruise at 168-171 Kt ROP at 2,400 rpm. I have A/C to slow me down a bit while it sounds like you'd need De-Ice to slow you down a bit. While every airplane is a compromise, you have greater capability due to the flexibility of the Ovation 2. You can pack in ~100 gallons of fuel or have more room for passengers. 

That all being said, if $$ are a significant concern, buy a well maintained 201. They are both great planes!

[yvesg]

Et puis Christian, est-ce que tu l'a trouvé ton Mooney?

Yves