Piperpainter's videos aside, Mooneys are not the best choice regular grass strips IMO unless they are like a putting green. The J's and newer have a lower main gear door that is only a few inches off the ground. Prop clearance is also low. And to top it all off, the simple rubber donut gear suspension offers essentially no damping like an oleo strut, so any repeated bumps can set up an oscillation and prop strike without much effort. Pre-J/201 models like Piperpainter's C don't have the extra gear door and are much lighter, so they can get away with a bit more, but the gear is still bouncy.

I'm willing to taxi at OSH carefully, but that is about it. YMMV!

Jim, if you need new side panels, look up Bruce Jaeger's Spatial Interior upgrade, which I believe is now offered through Wisconsin Aviation. Vantage Plane Plastics still offers a lot of OEM-like Mooney interior panels, but Bruce's are completely different and more robust.

Mooney's on Grass strips are prop strikes. 100/100 times.
Grass strips eat a lot of props (which means engines / which means $100k usually).

Not the best use of your bag of luck imo.


Tj

The answers have been what I thought, but I have very limited Mooney time, so, I had to ask. They still seem to be a good value in comparison to todays market, but I want/need something to operate on grass.

The answers have been what I thought, but I have very limited Mooney time, so, I had to ask. They still seem to be a good value in comparison to todays market, but I want/need something to operate on grass.

The answers have been what I thought, but I have very limited Mooney time, so, I had to ask. They still seem to be a good value in comparison to todays market, but I want/need something to operate on grass.

Any fixed gear 182 is fine on grass, some models are better than others though. I just sold my share in a 182A because it is a very poor substitute to the Bonanza so I hardly ever flew it. Other than getting airborne in a slightly shorter distance there was no reason to favor it over my 35. I don't go to real rough strips, meaning exposed large rocks so the big tire advantage is moot. The other 182 I had(67 K model) was so much better than the older model. The older ones are slow, have less interior room, only have 55 gallons and can't carry a load. Put a 520 in one and now you have something.

The answers have been what I thought, but I have very limited Mooney time, so, I had to ask. They still seem to be a good value in comparison to todays market, but I want/need something to operate on grass.

Good grief, that's just beautiful in so many ways. Sight, sound..........etc!!

Good grief, that's just beautiful in so many ways. Sight, sound..........etc!!

My partner in my Mooney J had an engine out landing in a pasture on the rockies and the only damage was a slightly bent right gear door...... so take that for what it's worth.


[youtube]https://youtu.be/exQn3ekZqMw[/youtube]

What a load of rubbish! I’ve landed Mooney’s on grass and dirt many times with not a prop strike to be seen. In fact the only Mooney prop strikes I am aware of occurred on sealed runways!

Perhaps Oz pilots are taught to fly Mooney’s properly!

What a load of rubbish! I’ve landed Mooney’s on grass and dirt many times with not a prop strike to be seen. In fact the only Mooney prop strikes I am aware of occurred on sealed runways!

Perhaps Oz pilots are taught to fly Mooney’s properly!

Took our Mooney Bravo into grass strips quite a few times, never had a problem.
Used a 2,000' grass strip a couple times, that was a challenge!

True I prefer pavement and avoid grass strips. . . but, when my hangar neighbors went to Tokatee, with their back country planes, I had to bring my 231.