In the Air: Flying First Class
February 2, 2004
The big Lycoming turbocharged six starts easily. The boost pump is
automatically engaged by pushing the throttle, and a high-speed starter snaps
the engine over quickly as it settles into an authoritative, smooth idle. Ground
handling is exemplary, as the Bravo retains a steerable nose wheel linked to the
rudder pedals, rather than the inaccurate, castering type of brake-guided
steering employed in some newer designs. The aircraft goes where it is steered,
and no lurching or untoward pumping of the brake or throttle is required to exit
a parking space or turn onto the active runway.
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The unusual design of the Mooney’s tapered laminar flow wing and tail has always
set the standard for light aircraft performance. (Click image to enlarge)The Bravo enjoys strong
acceleration on the takeoff roll, breaking ground and quickly establishing a
1,000-foot-per-minute rate of climb that it can hold all the way to 20,000 feet,
where it can sustain a 220-knot speed for more than four hours and 1,000
nautical miles. The turbo system’s manifold pressure controller is automatic and
accurate.
Mooneys have always had a solid feel to the push rod–linked
controls, and this aircraft takes a tenacious grip on heading, attitude, and
altitude. These attributes make the aircraft a fine instrument platform, greatly
reducing fatigue over a long IFR flight when the only view is of the instrument
panel.
Standard-equipment speed brakes offer quick descents without shock
cooling the engine, and landings will always be smooth once the pilot gets used
to the signature low-slung Mooney landing gear. I found that my old Mooney trick
of buzzing the nose up trim during the flare worked perfectly, providing
landings of airline-transport quality.
The Mooney is certainly a
mature design with all the advantages that maturity offers. Its airframe is
unbreakable, proven, and gives nothing away in speed. With thousands of Mooney
aircraft on the registry, service and repair hold few mysteries. The interior,
with its fully adjustable seats and logical instrument panel layout, make it a
pilot’s choice for those long instrument flights. And the Bravo DX and Ovation
are still the only single-engine aircraft in production that are certified for
flight into known icing conditions when equipped with the optional, TKS wet-wing
system of ice protection.
Mooney Airplane Co.
800.456.3033
www.mooney.com
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