All, I’m going to fly a lease Mooney Bravo while my Bo is undergoing repairs from a run in with a tug. I’ve owneed/flown Mooneys before, but not the Bravo. I’ve done my internet diligence but wouldn’t mind getting feedback from others who have flown one. It’s got GFC 500/ GTN 750, FIKI and factory O2. Very well equipped I’m eager to get into it. Thanks, Daniel

Dan,

I'd contact Don Kaye CFII, long time Bravo owner, and major contributor here on BT for his thoughts and advice. Good luck and "maybe" you will return to the Bo after the taste of Bravo...

CET

Don Kaye is an excellent resource for Bravo ownership and instruction. I would encourage engaging him or another Mooney instructor for some transition/checkout training. It will land much differently than your Bo, and a little instruction will go a long way in operating it safely.

http://www.mooneyspace.com is a good resource. (Some of us also post here on Beechtalk!)

I'd recommend Don as well. Great guy that knows the Bravo inside and out.

If nothing else, you can swap war stories as he is going through something similar right now....

https://mooneyspace.com/topic/27658-an- ... rible-day/

That's awesome that the guys at All American were able to help with a short term lease.

Cheers,
Brian

Thanks all for the feedback. I’ve never known there to be such unanimity on any subject. Don must be a great guy and a great pilot. I hope to get to know him and learn from him. I’m getting excited about the Bravo. Jimmy Garrison at All American Aircraft in KSAT is a great guy and has helped me buy/sell going on four aircraft and has provided great value every time. There’s a lot of wonderful people in aviation

Hi Daniel,

I’m not Don, and I would defer to him when he shows up. I’ve got a soft spot for the Bravo (and 201, 252, & Ovation). Here are my limited few hundred hours of Bravo comments, top-level focused, and general in nature. Anything else specific on your mind?

Where are you located? Do you have plans for a solid checkout or training from someone that knows the M20M well?

We love engines on BT so I’ll talk about it for a sec.

Do you have previous turbo or TN experience? Nothing crazy new, but the TIO-540-AF1B is a little bit of a different animal. IMO, to get book (well, advertised) speeds out of the plane, you have to be a bit unkind to the engine. Contrary to setups we see here like the TAT TN, LOP ops in the Bravo are possible but rare.

Do you have an idea where & how you’d like to operate it? I’m speaking altitudes, power settings. Your leased Bravo looks to be well equipped; if it’s got a GEM, GAMI turbos, and Tempest fines, try a GAMI lean test at altitude. I’ve found most around 1.5 gph. Some are better. One could write a chapter on this, but I think the induction system design on the Bravo is just not efficient enough to deliver balanced intake air to each of the 6 jugs at different power settings to run smoothly LOP at different power settings without someone putting in some solid effort to tune the thing. If your GAMI spread is low, below .5 or so, give 10-20 LOP a try and see if you’re comfy with the vibration level of the engine...you might luck out!

The probability is you’ll be running ROP. The book will let you run it at 1750 TIT below 22k but I wouldn’t do that if I was paying the mx bills. I typically find myself around 29/2400/125 ROP which settles out around 1600 TIT, just under 18gph, and CHTs around 380. Standard stuff on managing CHTs apply...

Some folks’ll recommend a specific TIT for the Bravo, like “set 1600”...what I would add to that is to ensure you’re suitably rich (if that’s what you’re doing) of peak to control ICP/CHT per usual.

Safety stuff...exhaust clamps! I assume you’re well-versed on the history and consequences here. Also, standard oxygen stuff (I like some sort of backup ready above 20k, pulse ox, water, etc).

Mx stuff...I’m not in love with the exhaust system (risers); and because you’ve owned Mooneys previously I’ll stop there. For folks that don’t know the Mooney well, I’d discuss the laminar wing’s stall behavior, ice habits, and how not to PIO & prop strike a landing.

The FIKI setup on the Bravo is good; use it to exit the ice not remain in it. I’ve found it costs a few knots more than TKS on a Cirrus due to the lip it leaves & the airfoil design. That wing gives a nice solid feel at higher altitude, and as you know, is quite stable on instruments. If you’re solo and large, check your CG.

I’ve never found the long body to be tough to land. Trim helps. There’s a wealth of info about this on the googlewebs, so I’ll stop there.

Enjoy the thing...it’s a wonderful plane!

Nick, lots of great input. Thanks for taking time to help out. I’ve got several hundred hours of TC engine time but not much in the past decade. I’ve got a NA IO 550, so power plant management and high altitude operation issues are at the top of my list. The plane will be delivered by a gentleman named Bob Cabe, who does delivery/relocation/checkout flights for All American. We’ll do a couple of flights and get me squared away on systems and sadly I will have to give him back. Talk about great people in aviation- Bob is one great fella and pilot. All American is an outstanding group to deal with in general.

Awesome Daniel, sounds like you’re set then. What a great arrangement, I’m excited for you! The Mooney & Bonanzas are such different airplanes, aren’t they? I am a huge fan of both.

Post pics when you get her and let us know your thoughts!

I sure will Nick.

+1 on Don Kaye.
Bravo is a great, reliable, fast plane with a limited useful load. As noted above, they generally don’t do LOP at cruise power.

The long body Mooney’s are probably the easiest to land well. Nail your speed on final at 1.2 - 1.3 Vso, and roll out the throttle while rolling in nose-up trim in the flare. Squeaker (almost) every time.

Just get used to the sight picture and try keeping two runway stripes visible in the flare. These long body planes sit something like 5 degeees nose up on the ground.
-dan

Didn't know you could lease a Bravo, great solution to your predicament.

The M20M is a special plane to me, have only 500 hrs or so in it, but it's my favorite single. It keeps you just busy enough, stable, handles well, a pilots plane.

You need to know and practice your stall and landing speeds and stick to them, if you're not on speed it will bite you.

Same thing on takeoff, when you're departing at gross it needs a minute before it's really ready to climb, more so than any other plane I've owned.

The TKS works great but the airspeed loss is significant when you're climbing through ice, be careful with that. If you're not climbing and the TKS is on before you enter ice it sheds it well.

Have fun! I'm jealous.

MT 4 bladed prop really changes this considerably.

Don Kaye or Mike Elliott would be excellent for transition training. Don stays fresh on all the latest Garmin gear, too.

You’ll enjoy flying with Bob Cabe. He knows Mooneys as well as anyone I’ve met.