On 2006-02-23, Ken Reed wrote:
The legroom fits with what I've read--but, otherwise, you're the first
source who *doesn't* say the Mooney is "a tight fit," "like getting into a
sports car," "you wear it," etc. M20s have a 43" cabin width from what I've
read--compare to 45" for the Comanche. Are my figures off??

This from an AOPA article:
"Although the measuring tape says the cabin is comparable to other
four-place retractables, the perception is that the cockpit is not as
large."

I think a lot of that is that the Mooney has tank slit visibility, so it
feels very enclosed compared to a Comanche or a Grumman Tiger or a Beech
Bonanza. I'm just a shade under six foot tall, but because I have
relatively long legs and a relatively short body, I feel like I'm
permanently IFR in a Mooney (new ones or old ones, it doesn't seem to
matter). I seem to see about ten times as much out of a Bonanza by
comparison. (That's also what I've got against the bigger Cherokees too,
they seem to have enormously long noses and my Cessna 140 had better
visibility for taxiing than a Piper Lance!)

The thing is, if you put a cushion in the Mooney to sit on so you can
see where you're going, then your head bangs on the roof!

--
Dylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net