At sun n fun I decided to pack a tape measure. It's a rare time that I can sit in a brand new Mooney and a new Bonanza. I always hear people say Mooneys are just as wide as Bonanzas but I find them cramped. So I gathered multiple measurements....

Width at the hip
Bonanza 41.75
Mooney 40.5

With at shoulder
Bonanza 44.25
Mooney 43.5

With at head
Bonanza 38
Mooney 38

Height from floor vertically to ceiling right in front to the pilot seat
Bonanza 51
Mooney 43.5



*Ovation vs Bonanza measurements on page two*

Mooney aficionado's really don't give a damn about the numbers you posted. They make up their own lies about space to justify their decision. It is all about NM/hour/gallon/cost of engine overhaul. Nothing else matters.

Another thing the Mooney folks find important is structural integrity. The one piece wing and tubular roll cage makes the airframe unusually stout. The horrors of the early wooden wing/tail Mooneys fueled a push to design an airframe with incredible strength.

So yes they have a laser focus on efficiency and airframe integrity. There is a cost of course and it is comfort.

They still tell everyone their cabin is bigger than a Bonanza!!

One 4hr round trip in a 201 left me demoralized and wondering why these owners try so hard to convince everyone their cabins are comfortable. They aren't!!!

Thanks for the measurements.

I'll give Mooney credit where credit is due. From an engineering standpoint Mooneys are great. Airframe strength is phenomenal.

There is a reason Mooneys are robust.


http://www.mooneyevents.com/quotes.htm

Shawn,

Not sure of the dimensions yet but were you in the new 2 door Ultra "mock up"? The final product may or may not have those dimensions in some areas such as elbow and shoulder as it does now. If you check existing Ovations and Acclaims in service I believe you will find you're incorrect as to roominess. My sons 6'4" 200lb frame will not fit in a Bo. No place for his head or legs/knees. Darn... Wish there was I'd have V tail.

Might be worth being a little tighter, in front, with two doors up front. Both wider than before allowing better access to the rear seats.


Perhaps we can measure again when the plane comes off the assembly line. Bo may still be wider then.

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.

I always thought the M20 series was a little too heavy in roll, otherwise a fine and efficient airplane!

I did an instrument rating for a guy who owned a Mooney. Every time I sat in that thing I felt like my toes were tickling the engine! You sit on the floor and your feet extend out so far below the instrument panel, it feels like its ahead of the firewall!

I could never get used it it, but the guy does 9+ hour flights in the thing!

As a pilot I loved our Bravo...solid, smooth, dependable, a real pilots plane that flew 180 kts without ox and 200 in the teens, known ice, hard to beat...loved that Lycoming.
But it wasn't as exciting for non-pilots. More than a few regular passengers preferred a 182 or 206...
And two carseats in the back were TIGHT.

Test flew one several years ago. Owner in left seat. Me in right seat. Wife in rear seat.

We land. Wife says "don't even think of buying this plane".

For a second I thought that your daughter has really really small feet which are attached backwards.

Yea that does look awkward for a second, didn't really look at the pic before I posted it... Also looks like she's trying to protect her baby after her milk was stolen, poor girl.
She's wiser now.

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.