Loved my Ovation for 750 hrs, but you do wear a Mooney like a tailored suit.

Wears Like a fine Italian suit.

The door panels are different and are not designed yet to use all the available space to the outer skins. Measure where your elbows are and shoulders. My sons height like mine is in our torsos. He's just tall too...

I love all airplanes. Bo is sweet. Some people fit some do not in each type. Heck I have trouble with the car seats getting secured in the TBM correctly...

the guy I flew to sun n fun with is 6'4" 260lbs. I'm 5'10" and 250 and we both sat up front. I did the measurements in the mock up. I was told by the engineer that they did not modify the roll cage enough to change the interior dimensions. I'll measure the ovation tomorrow.

20+ years in Mooney's and agree that the Bo is more comfortable. That said there is a good bit of room in the plane but the seating position is feet forward and you are much closer to the panel.

They are very rugged efficient machines and if flown correctly have great capability.

Be kind. All pilots exaggerate.

And yes, I did buy the Mooney because of the "numbers". Beech and Mooney both make nice airplanes. Different people want different things. I wanted a relatively fast airplane that I could afford that was as economical as possible to operate. I compared the Mooney E, F, and J, the Bonanza C and E, the Comanche 250, Arrow, Cardinal RG, 182 RG, and Rockwell 112. I ended up with the Mooney J (with 3 partners).

I looked at buying a share of a V35B that was for sale but passed after I played with the weight and balance.

Mooneys do sit differently than Bonanzas, Cessnas, or Pipers but I find the seat to be more comfortable than the 757 I used to work in. Still, we do not want to sit in the plane more than 3 hours without getting out to stretch the legs.

I still love our plane. We just flew from S50 (Auburn, WA) to S21 (Sunriver, OR) and back last week. On average, at 7500/8500 feet we saw 155 KTAS on about 9.3 GPH. 2500 RPM, WOTLOP. That's 16.7 NM/gallon. Hard to beat.

It's in the realm of discussing religion: 'Bbbbut Ed Mooney was 7ft tall!'


And no, the seating position is not 'like a 911'. I have a 911 and it is nothing like that.

Paint with a broad brush much?

It is possible to like lots of different airplanes. The Mooney long body models are very comfortable for multi-hour legs. I've flown in the front mostly, but some in the back, and they're spacious. You do sit lower like in a sports car, but I don't have a fuel selector blocking where my left foot might otherwise rest like the Bonanza A36.

Both the Mooney and Bonanza cabins are inferior to the Saratoga cabin. But I still prefer either to the Piper series.

I found the Mooney seating position increased back pain. Sitting closer to the floor requires knee extension to fit in the cockpit as has been pointed out. Because of poor hamstring flexibility I noted my pelvis would flex forward to reduce tension in the hamstrings, but this increases strain on the lumbar spine. I liked the position at first, but it was unforgiving over time. Ironically the Mooney cockpit can accommodate tall pilots well thanks to adjustable seat height and unlimited leg room. I am 6'4" 215 lbs.

Spectacularly efficient machines, they age better than we do.

One of the reasons I discounted a Mooney, a relatively minor one as a Mooney is probably about the worst choice for back country stuff but one I kept in mind. When I'm on a cross country flight I will often take my legs and stretch out across the passenger space including the seat. Can't do that in a Mooney.

I would never argue that my ex-Mooney was more comfortable than a Bonanza, or meaningfully more efficient. The attractiveness of a long-body Mooney (Ovation or Bravo) was the value compared to other serious traveling machines. For a long time, a late-model Bonanza with TKS, WAAS, coupled AP, onboard weather, and extended fuel cost a SUBSTANTIAL ($100k+) premium over a Mooney of comparable age/speed/range. That gap appears to have narrowed a little bit post-Mooney-bankruptcy.

Yes, the Bonanza has the utility to carry 4 or 6 people and a greater payload. But that utility comes at a price and if you don't need it then it's hard to justify the money.

I'm glad I went and measured the Ovation today. The measurements of the Ovation are slightly different than the new two door composite one and one measurement really sheds light on why people find the Mooney so cramped.

Width at hip
Bonanza 41.74
Ovation 41

Width at shoulder
Bonanza 44.25
Ovation 40.5!!!

Width at head
Bonanza 38
Ovation 39

Height from floor to ceiling in front of seats
Bonanza 51
Ovation 43.5

The width at the shoulders is the most important. It's the widest part of the human body. The ovation is 3 inches skinnier than the new two door Mooney and 3.75 inches skinner than the Bonanza. Because the roll cage on the ovation and legacy Mooneys have a bar running right at the left shoulder of the pilot, the plane feels cramped. The new two door is better because the door structure is thinner than the roll cage.

Sat in the two door Ultra.

They've got some tweaking to do as far as the door panels, but beyond that the interior and panel is very, very nice.

Granted, I'm not that big a person, but I really liked it, and the two doors was awesome. Made a huge difference, and the mechanism seemed rock solid. The panel was very cool and well laid out. Still has the mail slot for baggage, which would seem to be a PITA.

Of course, 5 minutes in the mock up vs 3 hours in the clag/bumps are two different things.

Best,
Rich

Dem's my numbers too!!


Yup, I'm still confused about the legging stretching though......in the M20J, my legs are stretched out in front of me, no knee bend.........fully articulating seats.......

difference between a lounger and a chair.......I'll take the lounger anyday of the week.....

comfort on a long trip (> 3hrs) outta 10

Mooney - 9
Baron - 5
Pilati - 3

I'm 6"4'

I always heard that 6 inches is not something one brags about.

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(Or did you mean 6'4" ?).

I always heard that 6 inches is not something one brags about.

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(Or did you mean 6'4" ?).