Mooney announces new M10 models
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Dav8or
Final Approach
Keep reading. You're way off. It's a much bigger plane than a Mite. It's to be either a two place with lots of baggage (Think RV-14) or a three place with the rear passenger in the center. The plane is primarily intended to be a trainer and this is reflected in the three place design. I think they hope to also appeal to individual owners that really only need a two seater.
TEFLONSEAN
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Teflonsean
Are they still making them for guys 5'3" and smaller? And pax less than 4'9"??
Mooneys are great single seaters...fast and efficient....if I take out all the seats and fly from the baggage compartment.
Mooneys are great single seaters...fast and efficient....if I take out all the seats and fly from the baggage compartment.
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Neal Howard
Cleared for Takeoff
Looks just like one of the many plastic LSA's you see every year for the past 3 or 4 years at Oshkosh, except with a Mooney tail.
Alexb2000
En-Route
Might as well call this a Subaru, it is nothing like a Mooney. IF this is truly the direction they are taking the company then the purchase price must has been worth it just for the name recognition, because they dumped all the IP.
Dav8or
Final Approach
Are they still making them for guys 5'3" and smaller? And pax less than 4'9"??
Mooneys are great single seaters...fast and efficient....if I take out all the seats and fly from the baggage compartment.
Another guy that has never flown a Mooney and has no idea what he's talking about.
He has looked in the window of a Mooney once and he does play a Mooney pilot on the internet though... 
Dav8or
Final Approach
Pretty much. The only other things besides the tail styling that sets this apart from all the other endless plastic concepts out there is, the promise of a diesel engine, the three seat configuration and the retractable gear version. If they follow through to certification on these promises, it will be a unique plane in the new market.
Dav8or
Final Approach
Yes. This is basically it. They bought a brand and history.
Alexb2000
En-Route
Another guy that has never flown a Mooney and has no idea what he's talking about.
How tall was Al Mooney again?
Marauder
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Marauder
Are they still making them for guys 5'3" and smaller? And pax less than 4'9"??
Mooneys are great single seaters...fast and efficient....if I take out all the seats and fly from the baggage compartment.
Pretty funny dude! You must be taking about the Mooney RC model you built. Because at 6'4" and at one point 290 lbs, I never had an issue fitting in my Mooney nor for the past 23 years I have owned it.
Dav8or
Final Approach
He is said to have been 6'5", but I can't find any internet evidence to support this, so no link. However I was able to find these pictures of him (and his brother) in later years and he seems pretty tall too me.
If you check out MooneySpace.com, there are tons of tall Mooney pilots over there all well over 6'. I personally am 6' and have the seat scooted well forward in flight. Plenty of head room. Tall is not a problem as a pilot in any Mooney M20. Wide can be. IMO, it's not a fat man's plane.
The back seat is just fine in the M20F and onward for taller people. I have sat in my own back seat and it's no different than a Piper Warrior. M20L and later are even better with a few inches more leg room. The backseat on the M20-M20E is good for kids, or one adult sitting side saddle for shorter trips, much like the early Piper Cherokee.
TEFLONSEAN
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Teflonsean
Gotta love Mooney guys....defend their birds to the end...no matter how uncomfortable they are.
I am CERTAINLY not envious of mooney owners....nor am I into RC airplanes.
But kudos for your passion for the airplane....
I am CERTAINLY not envious of mooney owners....nor am I into RC airplanes.
But kudos for your passion for the airplane....
DavidWhite
Final Approach
Kent Shook isn't a slight man and he seems to really like Mooneys......and he doesn't own one. I can think of a lot of pilots that fly Mooneys that are pretty big dudes. The Mooney is much more comfortable than the Cessna 207 I fly for work.
edit: I think I found a picture of Sean
edit: I think I found a picture of Sean
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Kent has the best of all worlds - he doesn't own a Mooney (yet); he merely has the use of one.
I have ridden in Kent's Mooney, next to Kent (whom no one would accuse of being slight in stature), and it was not unreasonably crowded; plenty of headroom and width seemed OK too.
If anything, it's just different packaging, as one does sit a little lower than in (for example) a Bonanza (which, as we all know, is the pinnacle of exceptional wonderfulness), or a 210 (which feels something like a barn by comparison to the prior exemplars). The older, short-cabin Mooneys are very tight in the back seat, especially if the pilot has long legs, but the longer birds are fine.
Comanches are very wide of cabin, a fine balance.
The Commanders (112/114/115) are commodious and comfortable and (like the 210) benefit from having two doors. Beech's Musketeer and derivations (BE19/23/24) are very roomy, indeed, but suffer from the oft-mentioned problem of bird strikes in the aft sections of the wings. OK, not really.
I always wondered how a Sierra with an IO540 would do...
rbridges
En-Route
I've got broad shoulders, so it can be tight with another guy next to me. Ingress/egress takes a little planning but leg room is a non issue. As marauder said, it's not a fat man's airplane. It's not going to win any comfort trophies compared to a 182 but it's very comparable to a cherokee.
zaitcev
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Pete Zaitcev
I put some 5 hours on 1968 M20E, and it was okay for comfort. I am 6'5" or 200 cm tall. I do hate the fuel switch though. Also, every time I extended the gear, I unbuckled myself.
None of that has anything to do with the "new" M10T/J, however. If they based them off TR-4 molds, it's going to be wide enough for a modern lardbutt pilot.
None of that has anything to do with the "new" M10T/J, however. If they based them off TR-4 molds, it's going to be wide enough for a modern lardbutt pilot.
rbridges
En-Route
I have to agree with the fuel switch. I wish they could have located it somewhere more convenient.
3393RP
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3393RP
They aren't similar at all, the wing aspect ratio and planform being the biggest difference.
I don't see one shared line between the two.
jesse
Touchdown! Greaser!
I find Mooney's uncomfortable not because of the fact that I don't have leg room but by the fact that I don't like sitting with my legs straight out in front of me. I'm an old man and I'm not very flexible.
As an instructor in them, I find it rather uncomfortable, because I always keep my feet close to the rudder pedals but not on them. In the case of the Mooney there's no comfortable way to do this because you can't just have your feet flat on the floor like you can a Bonanza. You're stuck with your legs straight out trying to hold them in an awkward position to not touch the rudder. Or you can slide all the way back and keep your feet clear but then you can't use them if you need them.
The only person that would say they're more comfortable than a Bonanza either:
a) has never sat in a Bonanza
or
b) is a freaking yogo gymnast jedi master that enjoys unnatural seating
Of course the moment I say a Mooney is uncomfortable is the moment some Mooney owner will say I'm wrong, they're right, and obviously I've never been in a Mooney..which isn't the case. I fly Mooney aircraft regularly.
I like them for their efficiency if you want to go far with two people for cheap. I don't like them for their "comfort".
I will say a Mooney is more comfortable than a Flybaby but certainly not as much fun.
As an instructor in them, I find it rather uncomfortable, because I always keep my feet close to the rudder pedals but not on them. In the case of the Mooney there's no comfortable way to do this because you can't just have your feet flat on the floor like you can a Bonanza. You're stuck with your legs straight out trying to hold them in an awkward position to not touch the rudder. Or you can slide all the way back and keep your feet clear but then you can't use them if you need them.
The only person that would say they're more comfortable than a Bonanza either:
a) has never sat in a Bonanza
or
b) is a freaking yogo gymnast jedi master that enjoys unnatural seating
Of course the moment I say a Mooney is uncomfortable is the moment some Mooney owner will say I'm wrong, they're right, and obviously I've never been in a Mooney..which isn't the case. I fly Mooney aircraft regularly.
I like them for their efficiency if you want to go far with two people for cheap. I don't like them for their "comfort".
I will say a Mooney is more comfortable than a Flybaby but certainly not as much fun.
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Are they still making them for guys 5'3" and smaller? And pax less than 4'9"??
Mooneys are great single seaters...fast and efficient....if I take out all the seats and fly from the baggage compartment.
Pretty much, this will be the trainer for the Chinese GA push.
RalphInCA
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I agree. Except for the very general shape, they aren't even close.
Everskyward
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Everskyward
No kidding. I have only been in a couple older Mooneys but I noticed this. You have longer legs than me so an additional problem was that I wasn't even close to being able to manipulate the rudder pedals. With other airplanes I can add a cushion but when I add enough cushions in a Mooney that puts me right up against the yoke. I would say Mooneys (at least the older models) are designed for taller people rather than shorties.
Hiperbiper
Line Up and Wait
rbridges
En-Route
I flew in a buddy's V tail bonanza. I would definitely say the bonanza is more comfortable. I just don't think the mooney is as awful as some people make it out to be.
Just my opinion, but I think most mooney owners know they are sacrificing a little comfort and size for a little more speed and fuel economy.
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It reminds me of an Ercoupe with a modified tail.
rbridges
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wby0nder
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flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
Are they still making them for guys 5'3" and smaller? And pax less than 4'9"??
Mooneys are great single seaters...fast and efficient....if I take out all the seats and fly from the baggage compartment.
You have, no doubt, never actually sat in a Mooney and flown it.
Another guy that has never flown a Mooney and has no idea what he's talking about.
No kidding.
Maybe that's because the truth is that Mooneys are very comfortable.
6'4" and 300+, and it's the most comfortable single I've flown. (Comanche is close, I'd imagine for similar-vintage planes, the Comanche would win.)
I find the Mooney more comfortable than the Bonanza mainly because I tend to bump my head in the Bonanza due to the curved top of the cabin cross-section. You wouldn't have that problem. The more-upright seating is nice, especially for an instructor, but at least in the Ovation, and despite my very-tight hamstrings, I can fly for hours (I've done some 5-6 hour legs in it) without being uncomfortable.
I believe you - But I would say that you might find them uncomfortable because you're NOT as big a dude as me. You'd be a lot closer to the yoke in the Mooney than in most other planes, you have no concerns with hitting your head or not being able to comfortably reach controls in the other planes like us giants do, and as an instructor you're dealing with both the difficulty of keeping your feet off the pedals due to the lower seating position AND the less-adjustable right seat.
Mooney is a tall person's airplane... The "small and cramped" bit that's parroted over and over again is simply not true. Comfort is, as always, subjective.
I find them considerably less comfortable than a Beech after a 10 hour day with ass in seat. I tried an M-20C one pipeline day but preferred the PA-12.