So is this a bad idea to learn to fly on?

Ken Ibold said:
I agree with Hank about renting the airplane you crash on the runway a few dozen times at the beginning. Speed control in a Mooney is key, and as an initial student that's the hard part. If you get a Mooney into a pilot induced oscillation on landing, you have about three bounces before you strike the prop.

Buy it while you can. Rent for the initial training. Once you get past the touch and goes, then switch to "your" Mooney. That's only, what, maybe 15 hours or so of rental? Much cheaper than the new prop on the Mooney.

I bought my Mooney J model when I had about 45 hours TT. It was not that big a deal to transition or insure. And oh what a fabulous airplane!
Click to expand...


Nothing special noted.

Speed control in a 172 is also critical,

Poor training resulting in PIOs often turns out poorly in any aircraft. On this note I've never had this PIO issue with any of my students. It's comes from crap fundamentals.


Nothing type specific.




Just get a good CFI and buy the mooney if you want it.
 
Last edited:
As a Mooney owner, I'll share my view. The idea of learning to fly in the plane you are going to be flying for the next few years seems to make some sense. Not having to trade up one or more times to get to the plane you really want to own sounds appealing. Can you learn to fly on a Mooney Rocket -- sure you can.

Now the down side. A Rocket is a lot of plane and you will have to be careful not to let it get ahead of you. Mooneys are not as forgiving of poor technique as trainers like 172s and Warriors. If you damage the plane (particularly landing gear or a prop strike) because of poor technique, its damage to YOUR plane and out of your pocket.

I love my Mooney and highly recommend them, but I would not wanted to have learn to fly in mine.

If you are going to learn in a Rocket, make sure you have Mooney experienced instructor.
 
FTLAUSA said:
As a Mooney owner, I'll share my view. The idea of learning to fly in the plane you are going to be flying for the next few years seems to make some sense. Not having to trade up one or more times to get to the plane you really want to own sounds appealing. Can you learn to fly on a Mooney Rocket -- sure you can.

Now the down side. A Rocket is a lot of plane and you will have to be careful not to let it get ahead of you. Mooneys are not as forgiving of poor technique as trainers like 172s and Warriors. If you damage the plane (particularly landing gear or a prop strike) because of poor technique, its damage to YOUR plane and out of your pocket.

I love my Mooney and highly recommend them, but I would not wanted to have learn to fly in mine.

If you are going to learn in a Rocket, make sure you have Mooney experienced instructor.
Click to expand...

What he said about the CFI.

FWIW I learned how to fly in a 7AC champ on a very short and very narrow strip with power lines and trees, it's different challenge, be it a tailwheel in confined quarters, or a fast mooney, it just becomes your normal if you're getting your training from a decent CFI.

There are CFIs (myself included...surprise right lol) who think 172/152/PA28s make poor trainers because they are too EASY to fly.
 
bimmerd00d said:
http://www.controller.com/listingsd...SILE/1981-MOONEY-M20J-201-MISSILE/1357379.htm

I'm told this thing would be like trying to learn to drive in a 500hp Corvette.
Click to expand...

Impossible? No. Bad idea? for all but the most exceptional student, yes...

1) its slick.. Builds up speed quickly.... and doesn't want to slow down. Compared to a small cessna or piper trainer, its a hot rod. You will be needing to learn the essentials about how to land, which involves managing your speed and energy, and having a slick airframe like this will increase your workload and challenge enormously.

2) Mooney's have quite abrupt stall characteristics. Its a matter of the wing's design. If you spin one, inadvertently, its going to be something you never forget. You don't want to spin one intentionally. As a student pilot, you will be spending a portion of most of your initial lessons doing slow flight, power on/departure stalls and power off/approach stalls. This is not the plane to be learning these maneuvers, nor testing them to your examiner. Particularly as a novice.

I would say learn to fly in a 172 or Warrior or Cheetah or something benign that is meant to learn in... And once you get your license then work your way into a higher performance airframe. There will be other Mooney's for sale when you finish.
 
Even if you could get a ZO6 up to 190 knots it still wouldn't fly no matter how hard you pulled on the steering wheel so no, it wouldn't be like learning to drive a 500 hp Corvette.
 
Doggtyred said:
2) Mooney's have quite abrupt stall characteristics. Its a matter of the wing's design. If you spin one, inadvertently, its going to be something you never forget. You don't want to spin one intentionally. As a student pilot, you will be spending a portion of most of your initial lessons doing slow flight, power on/departure stalls and power off/approach stalls. This is not the plane to be learning these maneuvers, nor testing them to your examiner. Particularly as a novice.
Click to expand...
I've yet to personally see a stall in a Mooney that I would capp more abrupt or dangerous than most any other certified airplanes.

Getting a Mooney owner/pilot to stall their Mooney during a flight review can sometimes be like pulling teeth..but after they do it...they realize it's no big deal.
 
That's not flying, that's crashing. It couldn't even be classed as CFIT (controlled flight into terrain) Because there is no "control" there.
 
Last edited:
Thinking about the difference in the landing gear between my Mooney and the Cherokee I trained in, and also thinking about the kinds of landings I was making pre-solo I would cry watching someone do that to a missile. It's also a recipe for leaky fuel tanks and nose gear damage.
 
Doggtyred said:
2) Mooney's have quite abrupt stall characteristics. Its a matter of the wing's design. If you spin one, inadvertently, its going to be something you never forget. You don't want to spin one intentionally. As a student pilot, you will be spending a portion of most of your initial lessons doing slow flight, power on/departure stalls and power off/approach stalls. This is not the plane to be learning these maneuvers, nor testing them to your examiner. Particularly as a novice.
Click to expand...

I've stalled my Mooney many times, including under the hood. Power on and off stalls were the first thing I did in it during transition training. Never have they been surprising or abrupt, though they might seem that way for a student who has no idea what a stall feels like. I also did a ton of slow flight under the hood during IFR training and find it to be much more stable than the Cherokee I did my PPL in. You can set the trim right to the stall horn and just sit there all day with very little input needed. It's a very stable airplane.

All that said, I wouldn't like to see one used for primary training, but for different reasons already mentioned.
 
jesse said:
I've yet to personally see a stall in a Mooney that I would capp more abrupt or dangerous than most any other certified airplanes.

Getting a Mooney owner/pilot to stall their Mooney during a flight review can sometimes be like pulling teeth..but after they do it...they realize it's no big deal.
Click to expand...

I agree. Stalling any airplane is a bummer unless it's a foot or two above the runway and your landing. I learned in an 85 champ and flew one for probably four hundred hours, renting it, before I flew a mooney. The transition , with a high time mooney pilot took two- three hours and it was very easy. As my old instructor said " if you can fly this old champ well, you can handle most anything quite well with a decent check out. Stalling a mooney at 2500-3000 feet is a non event. It's a docile, well engineered airplane, wants to fly real bad!
 
Buy Citabria 7ECA. Learn to fly, do some spins, stalls, light acro. Get 70-150 hours in it, fly every week if possible. Sell 7ECA to another trainee or acro guy, and then go buy what you want. You'll be a seriously better pilot for those ~100 hours in a light TW acro plane.

Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean it's the best process.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top