Mooney M20B

[vash]

Hello, I'm considering buying a Mooney M20B does anyone have experience with this aircraft? If so I would appreciate any pros and cons to weight out while looking at this plane. Thanks in advance for your replies.

[CarlOrton]

Hi, Vash; Sorry I won't be much direct help, but you might check into the Mooney owners group; if it cost you a small amount to join, I'd go ahead and do it. You'll get much better, direct, items to look out for when doing your checkout. Think of it as a pre-buy expense. Better to have "wasted" the membership fee if they ID a potential show-stopper that you wouldn't have found otherwise. Regardless, I'm sure there are several Mooney owners on here that will help you out.

[vash]

Thanks. I'll look into that.

[Bill Greenwood]

I don't know the B, but had a '70C and "77J for a number of years.
Buy the best one you can buy, get the prebuy done by someone that knows Mooneys.
Check for, leaking fuel tanks ( a pretty big deal), bent nose gear, and possible corrosion in fuselage tubes under windows, and like any old plane, some of the value is in if you have good and working avionics.

They are easy to fly and not hard to land at all if you approach at the right airspeed, I recall about 70 mph in my C, I think.
MAPA is a good group.

I did Google it, and find some limits on the B, but the prices are only about $40K, read the info there yourself.
If you can pay a little more, move up to the C or for more the J (201) is a fine plane, and good ones are well under $100K. 155Knots true on 9.5 gal per hour and endurance longer than any pilot bladder, and a good engine.

[champ driver]

Hopefully you're not a big guy as they're somewhat compact inside, not like a Bonanza. And your right arm will get some exercise with the Johnson bar gear. It's really not that hard, if you do it correctly, and at the right speeds. Overall, a nice little plane. Find someone with Mooney experience and knows what to look for when you go and look at it. It could save you lots of money in the long run.

[Skyguy]

- Not a bad retract plane overall.
- You will need access to jacks and weighted tail stand to do the gear maintenance.
- Simple to maintain.....nothing seems to go wrong other than normal wear and tear.
- Keep the avionics access water tight.....otherwise even just washing will kill aviaonics.

-I would own on today if it was not for the need for jacks.

- Instead I selected a C-182 fixed that I can jack with a simple car jack.

- A&P mechanic by trade here.

[vash]

Thanks for all the insight guys.

[vash]

Based on some of the posts I have started thinking about the other Mooney M20 models does anyone have any experience with any of the other models such as "C,E, F". Thanks in advance.

[Chad Jensen]

I used to fly an E and a J. Both had fuel injected 200hp engines and were just fantastic traveling machines. Since you didn't ask about the J, I'll stick with the E. The one I flew was a late model version from '75, the last year they made it, so it had electric gear. The E and F are essentially the same but the F is a longer body and heavier...the J was the successor to the F.

I LOVED flying the E model as a two person airplane with plenty of room for bags. The font seats don't leave much room for back seat passengers, and that's the only reason I say it's a great two seater. The contraption under the cowl they called baffling is essentially a second cowl and is the only complaint I can make about that airplane.

As always with any older Mooney, check the fuel tanks for leaks and the rubber biscuits for cracks.

[vash]

I used to fly an E and a J. Both had fuel injected 200hp engines and were just fantastic traveling machines. Since you didn't ask about the J, I'll stick with the E. The one I flew was a late model version from '75, the last year they made it, so it had electric gear. The E and F are essentially the same but the F is a longer body and heavier...the J was the successor to the F.

I LOVED flying the E model as a two person airplane with plenty of room for bags. The font seats don't leave much room for back seat passengers, and that's the only reason I say it's a great two seater. The contraption under the cowl they called baffling is essentially a second cowl and is the only complaint I can make about that airplane.

As always with any older Mooney, check the fuel tanks for leaks and the rubber biscuits for cracks.

Would you say that the "J" had more back seat leg room?

[Chad Jensen]

Would you say that the F had more back seat leg room?
Yes it does...several inches more leg room.

[kscessnadriver]

I'm a bigger guy (6'1, 240ish) and I fit in a M20B fine. It was a nice flying airplane, flew it just to get a bit of Mooney time. Simple to fly, but really it should be a 2 place with a big baggage area. Gear system was simple, with the manual johnson bar.

[Chad Jensen]

Oh yeah, there is loads of room up front in any Mooney for tall folks!

[Hstaton]

As a past owner of an M20B, I can tell you that I loved the bird. It was a mite close in the cockpit (I am over 6' and 240#), but that is how the Mooney gets its speed - low frontal area. It is the simplest complex airplane out there to maintain - essentially, if the gear moves, it is adjusted properly. No hydraulics to worry about. Gear retraction time is essentially instantaneous. One thing - the manuals I read say not to weight the tail - they say to support the engine instead. What I did was to use an engine hoist and attach to the lift lug on the engine (which can be a challenge - it is much smaller than standard, due to the close cowling!). Remember - the whole Mooney tail moves for trim. The B model tends to be overlooked in STCs - most start with the C model. Also, the B slips beautifully. I have been told that one should never slip a long-body Mooney as the tail will be blanketed and can stall. Cannot confirm that - I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.Bottom line - if it passes the pre-buy, do it! You will not be disappointed.

[Bill Greenwood]

The J might be thought of as a medium body, but there are no problems with it in a normal slip,at least not that I can remember from my 1000 hours of flying them.
I would bet $50 that any precaution against slipping is not in the pilot's manual for that plane.
The B and C are the short body, the F and J longer, and I think the 231 and Ovation, etc are longer still. I only have one short flight in the 231 K so can't write for sure about those.

Sometimes you hear negative things about Mooney s and they are true, like small back seat leg room, and sometime they are dubious. Consider the source, maybe it comes from a Cessna pilot.

When I first got my '77 M20 J I stopped at the airport at Delta. The FBO owner said there was no way the J would really go 201 mph. He insisted on having a race with his new C182 R G. Finally we took off and his plane climbed pretty well, but once in level flight the Mooney had no trouble passing. He really had little more to say, but I didn't consider it a personal thing like he seemed to.