eddie wrote:
: 4.) I know everything happens a little faster, but, other than that do they
: have any nasty little gotchas. (like the narrow CG range on some Bonanzas)

I own a PA-28-180 and I borrow a Mooney 201 as much as I can. The first
little bit of flight time was "oh my gawd look at the ground going by" fast.
After a little bit, it wasn't really a big deal - although the plane I
borrow *does* have speed brakes.

People will complain about the small cabin, but I haven't found that a
problem. The shoulder room is actually better than a Cherokee. Headroom
is a little different: the top of the Mooney is almost circular in cross
section against the Cherokee's almost square cross section, so your head
is much closer to the cabin roof. I find the rudder pedals to be the most
annoying, as it seems un-natural to bend my ankles to the angle needed to
push rudder and no brake. The plane I fly has crank-up height adjustable
seats, I am not sure if these are common or not but I would recommend them!

There is one important service bulletin on tube-frame corrosion. The
front of the fuselage is steel tubes, and they can rust if the paint
is not in good shape. This can be expensive to fix!

: I've looked at Mooney.com and mooneyowners.com but no really useful info
: there. Just looking for experienced Mooney drivers to shed a little honest
: light.

Try mooneypilots.org as well.
--
Aaron Coolidge (N9376J)