Doug Vetter wrote:

I won't belabor the point of small cabins except to say this: you have
to sit in one to appreciate it. If you're going to spend 100K+ on
something, you might as well test driv...er, fly it first and make the
decision based on concrete data rather than a bunch of usenet opinions.

Good point. Absolutely correct.


A few downsides of the M20J...

- Maintenance under the cowling is a hassle -- it's tight in there. On
the plus side, come annual time things get a lot easier because you can
remove the belly panel(s) and expose many critical systems at once. This
reduces the time for needed inspections.

Removing the belly panels on mine requires removing about a million screws. At
some point there is an improved design with fewer screws. Also the cowling has a
lot of screws. You have to remove the cowling to see inside, except for the oil
filler door. You have to remove the cowling to replace the landing light.
There's access to behind the panel by removing the glareshield.

- Lethargic climb performance on hot (95F) days above 5K. It needs a
turbo or maybe 20 extra HP during those times, but on the other hand
it's rarely 95F here on the east coast and when it is, all airplanes
suffer.

Can't say I've particularly noticed this.

- The laminar flow wing is not without its problems -- rain and even
bugs on the leading edge can lower cruise speed by anywhere from 3-10K.
And just don't fly the Mooney in ice.

Agreed. The rain effect it quite noticable.

- While pushrods beat cables any day and it's very enjoyable to fly
straight and level or in shallow turns, IMHO the Mooney is more an
instrument platform than it is a true "pilot's airplane".

Quite so.

- The baggage door is too small. It's sometimes necessary to wedge
larger bags in via the main door and over the seats.

Baggage door opening:
Above ground(sill): 46"
Entry width: 17"
Entry height: 20.5"