Opinions on a M20J

You'll love it. They are fine aircraft. I've operated in and out of 1500'
fields, at lightweight.
The last time I few one, they were still using MPH on the airspeed, and we
would shoot for 63 across the fence.

The large tanks, and low burn can combine to give interesting results.
Here in fog country, I live in Oregon, the extra fuel sounds reasonable when
airports all over start going 0-0. Catch the winds just right, and you can
go a very long way above most of the weather. I once flew a Mooney 20K
x-country in about 8 hrs. Ok, it was turbocharged, and yes, I did carry a
little extra gas, but 104 gallons from San Francisco to Washington DC in one
afternoon is hard to beat.

Can't say that I've ever had the opportunity to try out Mooney's extreme
crosswind, as we generally have a pretty good choice of runways. But I have
operated it in well over 30 knots. The low profile and stiff legs make it
feel very stable on the ground in a high wind.

I lost an engine in one, at night, over mountains, and 30nm from the
airport, and made it to the airport. (Ok, before you start, yes it was MY
fault. I left the ram air door open and then flew into very thin clouds. I
could see the moon, and I was at eleven thousand. United was at 370, also in
it, and could also see the moon. Ice crystals built up on the fuel injection
air inlet tubes, and shut off the fuel to the engine. I closed the door, and
leaned the mixture trying to find the right spot. As I got lower, Some of
the ice melted, fuel started, and I used power to extend my final to the
airport. Ok, standby, flame proof suit on, go ahead, I'm ready.)

Al Gerharter CFIAMI *

*Long time Mooney Lover







"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
...
http://www.aso.com/i.aso/AircraftVie...craft_id=84399

I flew this yesterday and it was nice (but what the hell do I know) He is
asking 105k but Vref says it is worth $113k. That seemed high but again
what do I know. Any Mooney owners out there want to give an opinion on
the M20J? Thanks in advance.

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
Student airplane purchaser

Jon Kraus wrote in message . ..
Right now we are looking at a '79 M20J. I flew it Saturday adn it was
very nince. The owner has taken good care of the plane. My partner is
going to fly it Wednesday to get his impression. He will probably like
it. He is the one that sent me the ad. I'll keep you posted.

One interesting thing about Mooneys is that they all fly at different
speeds. Some are faster than others. As with all planes they all came
out of the factory with wings that are a little different (the effect
of hand building). Its not unusual for one Mooney to be 10 knots
different than the one that came out of the factory after it. One was
to tell if you have a fast straight wing is to stall the plane with an
experience CFI. Some Mooneys will roll inverted. These are the slower
ones. Some will stall straight ahead. These are the faster ones. Make
sure you try it with and w/o flaps. Under no situation should you ever
attempt to spin your Mooney.

-Robert, CFI Mooney owner.

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
om...

Its not unusual for one Mooney to be 10 knots
different than the one that came out of the factory after it. One was
to tell if you have a fast straight wing is to stall the plane with an
experience CFI. Some Mooneys will roll inverted. These are the slower
ones. Some will stall straight ahead. These are the faster ones.

Any reason why he shouldn't just measure the cruise speed? It sounds more
omnfortable and more reliable?

Julian

Paul,

No, but it can carry guided missiles under the wings! :-)

So, "Maintain own separation" is not a problem to you, I presume :-)

Kai

"Kai Glaesner" wrote in message
om...
Paul,

No, but it can carry guided missiles under the wings! :-)

So, "Maintain own separation" is not a problem to you, I presume :-)

It's probably just my erratic flying that keeps other planes away...

Paul

"Julian Scarfe" wrote in message ...
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
om...

Its not unusual for one Mooney to be 10 knots
different than the one that came out of the factory after it. One was
to tell if you have a fast straight wing is to stall the plane with an
experience CFI. Some Mooneys will roll inverted. These are the slower
ones. Some will stall straight ahead. These are the faster ones.

Any reason why he shouldn't just measure the cruise speed? It sounds more
omnfortable and more reliable?

You would have to fly a lot of Mooneys to notice the difference.

-Robert

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
om...
Any reason why he shouldn't just measure the cruise speed? It sounds
more
omnfortable and more reliable?

You would have to fly a lot of Mooneys to notice the difference.

Huh? You would have to fly a lot of Mooneys to notice a 10 knot difference?

Why is that?

"Ken Reed" wrote in message
k.net...
I flew this yesterday and it was nice (but what the hell do I know) He
is asking 105k but Vref says it is worth $113k. That seemed high but
again what do I know. Any Mooney owners out there want to give an
opinion on the M20J?

You've looked at two Mooneys now. If you are serious about getting one,
you really must join the Mooney list. You'll get more good information
there than anywhere else:

http://www.aviating.com/mooney/subscribe.html

At minimum, read Bob Kromer's flight test reports on the various Mooney
models:

http://www.mooneypilots.com/flight_test_reports.html
snip
---
Ken Reed
http://www.dentalzzz.com

You folk are a wealth of information on Mooneys. I'm overwhelmed. I took
the advice above and subscribed to the 3 Mooney lists (Mooney, Mooney-tech
and MooneyWC) but I cannot keep up with all the email. (although I'm still
interested in trading in my Cessna for a Mooney in the near future!!!)

Is the server at www.aviating.com off the air....because I cannot call up
the pages to "unsubscribe"?

Thanks,
J. Severyn

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message ...
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
om...
Any reason why he shouldn't just measure the cruise speed? It sounds
more
omnfortable and more reliable?

You would have to fly a lot of Mooneys to notice the difference.

Huh? You would have to fly a lot of Mooneys to notice a 10 knot difference?

Why is that?

Because 10 knots is the extream. Smaller differences would be harder
to tell. Its just easier to go up and stall it. You wouldn't want to
own a plane that you never stalled anyway.

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
om...
Because 10 knots is the extream. Smaller differences would be harder
to tell. Its just easier to go up and stall it. You wouldn't want to
own a plane that you never stalled anyway.

You claimed that "the extream [sic]" is "not unusual". Seems like the "not
unusual" case of a 10 knot difference would be easy to notice.

As for smaller differences, if you can't tell the difference, then why would
you care? I know for my own flights, a 2-3 knot difference in speed is
irrelevant. Winds aloft always is a much more significant factor.

IMHO, it might not be a bad idea to stall a prospective purchase anyway,
just to see what the airplane's "manners" are. But I fail to see how
stalling the airplane is a superior method to checking cruise speed than
simply checking the cruise speed directly.

Pete