Landing a Mooney

"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
...
We just purchased a'79 M20J 4443H. I am in the middle of getting my
10
hours with a CFI for Insurance purposes and I have to tell you that
this
thing is a lot different to land than a Skyhawk. So far I am glad
that
my CFI has been with me because 75 percent of the landings have not
been
pretty. They are safe (mostly) but nothing you'd want the wife to film
with the video camera. I've got the speeds down good (100 on
downwind,
90 on base and 80 on final) but getting it to the runway smoothly has
been a challange.

I've never flown a low wing plane before the Mooney and I am having a
problem with the sight picture working out for me. Is this a pretty
common issue in transitioning to these planes or should I just resign
to
the fact that I'm not going to get as nice a landings in my Mooney as
I
did in the Skyhawk .

Right now any stories would help out tremendously!! Thanks.

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
Student Mooney Owner
'79 M20J 4443H @ TYQ

Hi Jon;

I've flown the Mk21 and even the old Mite, but it's been a few years :-)

Mooney's are VERY clean and have a tendency to stay put in the flare
until they bleed off energy (airspeed). It's not a big deal really, but
it pays you to fly a stabilized approach in these airplanes and nail the
flare airspeed right on the nose. Their slippery enough that they can
get a bit away from you airspeed wise almost before you can catch it,
putting you in the flare a bit hotter than you want to be. If this
happens, just hold it there if you have the room and let it bleed into
the landing, or take it around if you have any doubt at all about the
available runway. Ground effect is prevalent in a Mooney because of the
short gear height. It can be tricky, but it's nothing to worry about if
you're getting a good checkout.
One thing to remember in Mooney's; actually any airplane for that
matter, but especially something as slippery in the air as a Mooney;
stay ahead of the airplane. You don't have the drag of that 172 to bail
you out of an airspeed pickup on approach. Start flying the airplane
where it will be ten seconds from now and you'll have a fair handle on
things with a Mooney.
One more thing; stop for a second on line up before takeoff and look
directly ahead of you over the glare. Remember that view. That's what
you'll be seeing at the instant of touchdown!
Good luck;
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
for email; take out the trash