Full Flight: 1966 Mooney M20F
Frugal Mooney video on Mooney rumors: • Mooney Myths: Fact or ...
Few airplanes have as colorful a reputation as the Mooney M20. For some, it is an airplane to be feared, for others, one to be loved, but for many, one that inspires lots of questions. From my experience, the Mooney is a fantastic airplane that flies exceptionally well and is built very tough. For those who know me, this is the plane I hit a deer in and it (the plane not the deer) sustained surprisingly little damage. All that said, the Mooney has several quirks and oddities that must be respected and accounted for. Failure to adjust to its unique demands is very likely responsible for much of its poor reputation.
Today I fly an M20F executive model from the Greenville Downtown (KGMU) to the Pickens County (KLQK) airport for its annual inspection. While waiting for some paperwork to be completed I had the opportunity to film and explain much about the aircraft. I also did what I could to film the entire flight with my limited camera equipment. Hopefully this can at least answer a few questions about the plane.
Video chapters/sections
0:00 Introduction
0:29 Aircraft Exterior
5:55 Aircraft Interior
7:11 Starting the Airplane
14:34 Taxi, Runup, and Pre-takeoff
23:16 Takeoff and Climb
26:18 Cruise
31:23 Preparing for Landing
33:36 Landing
Disclaimer: Yes, I am a flight instructor, but this video should not be considered instruction on how to fly a Mooney M20. The techniques and practices I used work for me and this specific airplane, but that does not mean they will work for you and the specific Mooney you might be flying. It is critical that you receive thorough one-on-one transition training from an instructor experienced in the Mooney before attempting to fly one yourself. Also note, that even an experienced instructor may need a few hours to become accustomed to your particular Mooney. These planes have some personality, so it takes some time and patience to get to know them. Just because you might legally be able to jump in one and go for a flight does not mean that you should.
I have a 1968 M20F Executive. I love this airplane. It is rock stable as an IFR platform. I does what you tell it to do, very responsive to control inputs. Definitely feels like a sports car. 150kts on 10gph. It's a good tall person's airplane. I'm 6'4" and I have to move the seat up to reach the rudder pedals. It is not a wide airplane, however. Very few AD's comparatively speaking. I have the electric gear which I prefer to the manual, however, this increases maintenance somewhat.
I appreciate that you enjoyed having the privilege to fly a vintage M20F. It is indeed one of the finest 200hp singles ever made. Fast, efficient, and a good load hauler (mine will take 800lbs in the cabin over 500nm). Reliable, durable and reasonable to maintain (though tight to work on). Unfortunately, it takes more than a hundred to really get to know a bird. Lots of misstatements/understandings. The tail is vertical to facilitate max rudder authority at high AOAs as is the forward slant of the tail. Mooneys do fiume in cross winds, but pilots might not. I have landed my F in components approaching 40kts. I would not recommend it but it is possible. NO Mooney has gear “locks” in the wing. Electric and Manual gear systems are the same except for the the actuator (motor vs arm). The system is locked by going over center. 65kts is not slow. You are flying 1.3Vso for MGW (2740lbs) is 70kts. This plane is likely ~600lbs under gross with pilot in the video. 1.3Vso would be closer to 60kts. As was mentioned earlier, the electric pump is used to prime. Leaving the boost pump on while cranking is not a normal starting procedure. I won’t pick any more knits on power settings and procedures, but you are leaving speed on the table. It’s 150-155kt bird at the altitudes you are flying. I’m glad you liked the airplane. They are very nice to fly and a joy to travel in. Good luck in your future flying endeavors.
Formerly active Mooney pilot - some time in 20B, C, E, F and J. Re comment about width I found the Mooneys pretty identical to the Cherokees I got my ratings in, BUT for me the lower seating position is what made the Mooney feel tighter to me. I loved them all, but the longer F and the J most. However, I also really liked the fast and super reliable gear bar best.
Love the F models.
Love my Mooney and the Jbar -simplicity yields reliability.
So interesting on your starting procedure. I owned a Mooney with the IO360. As you know the battery is aft so I don't understand why you would want to have a huge draw with the the fuel pump on as you crank. Checklist calls for 1/4 cracked trottle, fuel pump on with mixture rich for approximately 5 seconds and monitor fuel pressure (green arc), mixture lean, fuel pump off, crank and as it catches increase mixture.
Really? All of my references say to start with the fuel pump on, unless it's a flooded start!
I was wondering the same thing. Pretty sure my poh says to turn it off as well.
It was nice to see the Mooney. A good plane.
Thank you for sharing this viedo, this give me an idea how it is like to fly one mooney, helps a lot as a buying refrence.
Great video!
I’ve heard it’s simpler to skin a wing/tail with a straight leading edge and it was a cost saving design choice. I don’t think it has anything to do with being more efficient. The full trimming tail on the other hand IS a design element that increases performance since no trim tab reduces drag.
Got my complex acft training in a mooney with jbar late 70s in Arizona. Loved flying it.
It's not cramped. You wear the aircraft. Great felling.
When I am approaching an airport and need to descend and slow down I descend full power/speed to the target altitude 2-3 miles out from the pattern and then pull the power back to the pattern power setting of 16 inches. Then slowly trim the nose up to slow the airplane to pattern speed.l and maintain that altitude. Done correctly you should never hear the gear horn. You’ll be on speed before you enter the pattern and can drop the gear abeam the numbers and perform a stabilized approach. Personally I don’t find a Mooney difficult to slow down or descend or even do both at the same time. It’s just a matter of knowing your speeds and power settings.
Have you tried wearing earplugs under the passive David Clark H10 headset and comparing noise levels to the DC One X also wearing earplugs?
I have been wearing earplugs under my headset for years, so I have done both. I read in an aviation medicine textbook that it decreases fatigue from flying which sounded crazy, but it actually does work. Some of the fatigue from flying long days is from noise, so less noise helps some. To answer your question you should know that I have after market ear seals on my H10 and that has helped slightly with their passive noise canceling. Now for the comparison with earplugs worn under the two: H10 with stock ear seals and One X with noise canceling turned off are about the same noise level (uncomfortably loud for me) H10 with aftermarket ear seals has better passive noise canceling than the One X with active turned off (still unpleasantly loud) One X with noise canceling turned on is much better, but still not quite as good as I had hoped (loud, but bearable) For a long time after buying the One X I regretted not buying the Bose A20, but then I got a job flying multi-engine pistons and realized where the One X truly shines: it does a fantastic job of canceling the sound from two props out of sync. It makes the multi sound like a single and I really have to listen closely to get the two props synced. Pilots flying with me who have the A20 seem to be bothered by out of sync props far more than I do, and if I had to guess, I would say it is because of the noise canceling on the One X (I certainly notice if I forget to turn it on). I have purposely never worn an A20 with the noise canceling turned on because I'm afraid I would want one, so I can't say for sure, but just from seeing how pilots with them respond to out of syn props, I think I made the right choice going with the One X.
@@WalkerWeathers I’m about 1 month away from taking my PPL Checkride, so flying solo XC with no one to talk to other than ATC had me thinking about comparing the H10 and the One X with earplugs and I would agree with your assessment of the noise levels. When I started my flight training in a Cherokee I used the schools passive headsets but with the engine noise, needing to concentrate to hear and learn aviation lingo was more difficult. I then bought the One X after my instructor recommended I get an ANC headset to help with hearing the radios. I wanted to save some money so I opted for them over the Bose A20. After wearing the One X with ANC I thought it was still very loud maybe 20-30% less engine rumbling noise vs ANC off. Then I got the idea to wear foam earplugs underneath my headset after needing to use them during fireworks on New Years. I first tried Yellow 3M foam earplugs that my dad gets for free at work. Made a huge difference in noise reduction maybe 40-50% reduction, but they were uncomfortable after a while. So I bought Moldex Sparkplugs and found them to be even quieter than the 3M ones and more comfortable. It looks like you use the same brand as well. I’ll ask a friend to borrow his Bose A20 to compare with the One X side by side next time I fly. Also would you recommend the aftermarket ear seals? Are they the Oregon ones? Is it just the seal or is it a different ear cup foam as well?
Correction, the tail had nothing to do with cross wind. It is the most aerodynamic
65kts very slow? Hello says Cessna 150's-182's (in the 40's). Mine (172N) would stall at 43kts. Only time I've ever carried over 60kts over the numbers is if the crosswind was over 20kts.
Weird aircraft 😄
how much money it cost to make glass cockpit with with system?
This is not my aircraft, so I don't know, but it was certainly an awful lot.
Apparantly you are not too familiar with the Mooneys... - I own and fly a Mooney M20F for more than 10 years now and it hurt seeing you starting the engine...
would be way more beneficial to see the instruments during flight instead of a swinging magnetic compass…
Wow a lot of incorrect wives tale gospel in this video. The Mooney and it's very low wing is perfectly fine in a wind, in fact way better than a Cessna, the wingspan is not that long 34ft vs 36ft on other GA airplanes. This is in fact a mid body Mooney, it has not been correct to refer to these as long body since the early 90s when the bravo/ovation debuted.You still use the 1.3vso for approach speed. They only float if you are faster than that, there's no reason to be at 65kts. Also for the love of God stop shaking the control surfaces with such a jerking motion