So I've made no secret of the fact that I like the Diamond aircraft. I trained in a DA20 and I strongly considered purchasing a DA40. Note that's past tense. Now that I've flown a Mooney, I don't think there's any going back for me. That Kerrville kool-aid is just damned tasty.



It all started with some posts I read on the AOPA forum archives. I was happily reading along in my Diamond-shopping-induced bliss looking for nuggets of information on the DA40. Now, one of the things I like best about the Diamonds is their efficiency. Not many aircraft out there do 145kts on 10gph. Then I noted where a posted suggested a Mooney as being similarly, and as it turns out substantially more, efficient. Hrm... that's interesting. Let's dig a little deeper.

First thing's first. If you want to know about Mooneys, there are two links you'll want. This first one contains very detailed accounts of flight test reports done by MAPA on several models of Mooney airplanes. I found them very fair and objective, despite the obvious bias of a MAPA member reviewing a Mooney airplane.

http://mooneypilots.com/logsample.html

The second is the Mooney chronology:

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

Having read all of that and more, I must admit my interest in Al Mooney's old toys was piqued.

Step 2, I email my buddy Richard at Premier Aircraft Sales. "Richard... you have
piqued my interest in Mooneys." I ask him for more info and he graciously complies. At great length. He recommends for me a nice M20J. Having read this report on the J, I was already considering the airplane. Made sense to both of us. It's a possibility, to be sure.

In his next email, he invites me to fly a new Mooney Ovation with him from Birmingham, AL to the MAPA conference in San Antonio, TX. No.... that doesn't sound like much fun at all. A couple of empty promises and no small amount of groveling to my wife later and we're set. Awe. Some.

The flight down was great. Nevertheless, I decided the Ovation is not for me... personal preference. I'm one of the odd ones that doesn't prefer the long-body Mooneys. I like the intermediate length bodies of the F, J, and K models. *shrug*

Anyway, met some nice folks at the convention and discussed the various models with current owners. That was very helpful to me, and having heard mechanics, owners, and sales folks for three days solid, my potential airplane list morphed into the following:

1. Mooney M20J
2. Mooney M20K
3. Diamond DA40

So, by that point, the DA40 is still on the list, but it's on life support.

One particularly accommodating Mooney owner from Huntsville invited me down to fly his 1996 M20J the week after the convention. Now, I hate to take advantage of people, I really do. But an opportunity for some cross-country PIC time AND an opportunity to fly a J model Mooney is easily enough to overload my humble Southern manners. Bonus points: a student of his has a M20K we can look at while I'm there. It took me all of about 30 seconds to book my rental DA40 after that.

So get this... I flew a 2007 DA40XL from Nashville to Huntsville, which is about an hour flight. We immediately jumped into his M20J. If it took more than 3 minutes into that flight for me to want to throw rocks at the $340,000 Diamond I flew down, I'd be shocked. There's just absolutely no comparison between the two airplanes in terms of stability, handling, overall feel, and, yes, comfort.

That last may surprise some of you. The Diamond isn't an uncomfortable airplane, and Mooney's are notoriously small, but there is actually more room in the Mooney cabin and you can easily move your chair such that your legs and feet are completely free of the rudder pedals. I can't get far enough away from the rudder pedals in the DA40 to really feel comfortable (at a height of 6' 1"), much less be completely clear of them in a long cruise flight.

Flying back in the DA40XL was a chore, honestly. Before takeoff, I kept looking at my J-flight benefactor wondering if I could sucker punch him and manage to find his hangar before he caught and tackled me on the ramp. In the end I decided he was too dangerous an opponent... he was wily enough to buy a Mooney, afterall.

So, the decision now is down to:

1. Mooney M20J
2. Mooney M20K

Note the absence of a Diamond in that list.

Now it's largely a turbo vs. non-turbo decision. Living in Nashville, the fact is that a normally aspirated engine will have little trouble jumping over the little hills we call mountains. Still, I can't help but be enticed by the additional utility of a turbo, its ability to climb over weather, and its additional speed.

That one is going to be a tough decision, and one I'm unlikely to be able to make without taking a moderate cross country flight in an M20K. So, any of you K owners out there that are flying over Nashville, I know a nice VFR backup pilot you can take along with you, and he won't charge a dime :)

Tags: da40, mooney