Mooneys have the best power off glide ratio of pretty much anything out there so if you are too fast on approach, you wont just fly past the runway, you will fly past the city too. Stall speed in landing configuration x 1.2 needs to be pretty much on the numbers to ace the landing. Some people like to use speed brakes to dirty up the aircraft but too early and you could get a nasty bump. If you manage to bounce a mooney, full power immediately and go around!!!
The Mooney brand encompasses a wide range of aircraft built from 1955 to the present. My 1960 model can make the halfway turnoff on my 3500 foot runway (52F) any day of the week. So you really have to be careful about saying anything generically about "Mooneys". But our airplanes are universally super efficient across all the years. They love to fly, and you have to really convince them to stop flying when it's time to quit. If you keep going fast, they will not think you're serious!
I've always heard that Mooneys are floaters on landing unless you've got the airspeed absolutely nailed. How short of a runway is too short for a careful, conservative pilot? My thought is anything less than 3,000 feet is pushing it unless you've been practicing extensively. With pricey fuel, Mooneys are the hot ticket for speed and efficiency.
They actually drop pretty fast at landing speeds. They only float around 100 knots, down near 80 knots they sink (the laminar wing likes lots of air). I've landed mine on a 1500 foot compact sand runway in Mexico many times.
AWESOME VIDEO! gotta love mooney, huh? one of the best aviation vids on youtube. 5 stars and im subscribin.
snooppupc130jrketmas 2 years ago 2
Mooneys have the best power off glide ratio of pretty much anything out there so if you are too fast on approach, you wont just fly past the runway, you will fly past the city too. Stall speed in landing configuration x 1.2 needs to be pretty much on the numbers to ace the landing. Some people like to use speed brakes to dirty up the aircraft but too early and you could get a nasty bump. If you manage to bounce a mooney, full power immediately and go around!!!
debiassi 3 years ago
The Mooney brand encompasses a wide range of aircraft built from 1955 to the present. My 1960 model can make the halfway turnoff on my 3500 foot runway (52F) any day of the week. So you really have to be careful about saying anything generically about "Mooneys". But our airplanes are universally super efficient across all the years. They love to fly, and you have to really convince them to stop flying when it's time to quit. If you keep going fast, they will not think you're serious!
BigDTexas 3 years ago
I've always heard that Mooneys are floaters on landing unless you've got the airspeed absolutely nailed. How short of a runway is too short for a careful, conservative pilot? My thought is anything less than 3,000 feet is pushing it unless you've been practicing extensively. With pricey fuel, Mooneys are the hot ticket for speed and efficiency.
Ayinger 3 years ago
They actually drop pretty fast at landing speeds. They only float around 100 knots, down near 80 knots they sink (the laminar wing likes lots of air). I've landed mine on a 1500 foot compact sand runway in Mexico many times.
RobertGary1 2 years ago