Airtest- Mooney 201SE

Today there are four models available, these being the M20J (201SE}, M20K (252), M20L (PF M) and M20M (T LS). More than 1,700of the model M20J have been rolled out of the factory and the latest version of that, the 201SE, is the subject of this Airtest.

In Australia, Stillwell Civil Aircraft Sales is the sole Australian Mooney distributor with offices at both Bankstown and Moorabbin Airports. At Moorabbin, the Sales Manager, Alan Thompson, introduced me to the 201SE with a walk around and talk about his latest charge.

Walk Around

One of the very first things that I noted about the white and blue Mooney was the finish of the airframe. The fuselage and wings skin panels and hatches fitted together like they were designed to, smoothly, properly and neatly. The Urethane paint gleamed to show the best lines of themachine. Alan commented that Mooney put more handcrafting into their aircraft than other brands and this shows in the total finish.

The wing is a one piece unit from tip to tip along with a one piece I-beam main spar. The fuselage sits on the wing rather than having each wing panel bolted to the fuselage at the root end. At the wing tip the fibreglass tips have a slight upturn to reduce parasite drag. Shades of a certain winged keel.

Fuel is contained in two wet wing tanks each forward of the spar extending out to the fourth rib. Each tank contains 121litres (64. 0US gal) and while there are cabin panel fuel gauges each tank also has a flush mounted direct reading gauge marked 10,1 5, 20 and 25 (US gallons). These gauges are reportedly very accurate and can be read from the cabin.

Underneath the wing and nose,the 24 volt system electrically operated undercart takes but some four seconds to raise or lower. All three gear legs work on a knee action principle using rubber discs in compression to provide adequate shock absorption and reduced maintenance costs. In flight the nose wheel is fully enclosed by the gear door while the main wheels are enclosed within the wing, although, in the model 201SE a portion of the wheel is not covered by the gear doors.

Moving around to the tail, Alan pointed out that the trim moves the tail as a complete unit – the fin and horizontal stabiliser moves as one, unusual to one accustomed to seeing a fixed fin About to board the aircraft, I opted to put my gear bag in the luggage locker. For one used to bending over to gain access to the locker in other light aircraft, I was pleasantly surprised by the chest high luggage locker door. Once it swung up it gave easy access to the good sized locker which could even be enlarged by folding the rear seats forward.

The Cabin

Sitting in thecabinAlan continued with his rundown of the features of the 21 0SE. The SE incidently stands for ‘Special Edition’ and while still a Mooney M20J,the 201SE version, as it is known, combines the best features of the former 205 and last 201model. The seating is comfortable. The front seats have three way adjustment and, like the rear two, there is a centre fold down armrest. This particular aircraft had woollen fabric covered seats and headrests. Good value in a hot Australian summer.

The metal panel, from left to right, has the flight instruments then the nav aids with the avionics stack just right of centre. On the right side, the engine power gauges were mounted on an angled panel and quite readable. Fuel, fuel pressure, oil temp and pressure and CHT gauges are right in front of the pilot just below the coaming and in horizontal fashion. In the top centre of the panel is the wheel shaped gear switch.

Fresh air vents are in the roof as well as at knee height. The flap and cowl flap switches and their vertical indicators are mounted in a centre console below the throttle, prop and mixture knobs as was the trim indicator. From the pilot’s position the cowl flap switch is slightly obscured by the mixture knob and it almost appears as if it has been raised from a position adjacent to the indicator in order to prevent accidental damage by people’s feet.

Three things that were noteworthy: the flat coaming above the panel, great for putting charts etc en route but beware of the compass just above. There was space between the front seats that would be ideal to stow a folder of charts and publications required in the air. Somehow some designers forget that pilots need places to put their In-Flight paperwork. Mooney, I am happy to say, is not one.

The third item was the clean, easy to read labels for all switches and knobs. Applied and installed at the factory, they make a marked comparison with add on dymo labels so often seen on GA aircraft panels.

The rear seats are also woollen fabric covered and with the large tinted window and side curtain would make for a comfortable passenger ride. Some people could think that the rear passengers would have to be short or have no legs to fly in this aircraft. How wrong you can be. When the front seats are moved forward for normal usage, the rear legroom will allow a comfortable ride for all except tall basketball players. In fact, one dedicated Mooney owner we know is of large frame and 6’3″ tall. Luggage is accessible from the rear seats.

To close off on the cockpit, I noted that the fuel selector was located at the base of the centre console and is either Left, Right or Off. The fuel drain pull handle is located in the floor below the pilot’s knees. The trim can be operated by an electric trim switch on the left control wheel or the manual trim wheel between the front seats. The gear position indicator is just aft of the fuel selector and of course there is a light indicator at the top of the panel.

Flying Time

Alan and Ihad a brief discussion about what we were going to do then star ted the engine, a fuel injected Lycoming IO-360- A3B6D of 200hp. The expected four cylinder engine vibration was damped out by the Dyna-focal engine mounts.

On the taxi out, I found the ride to be comfortable and the steering light and responsive. The aircraft has a nine feet gear width that makes it very stable. At the run-up bay we lowered 15 degrees of flap. The switch must be returned to neutral after the desired angle has been achieved. The same applies to the cowl flap switch. The cabin door lock is a push forward over-centre handle that pins the door closed in two places, the top and middle. Simple and effective.

We lined up on runway 17 and eased in the power. Alan’s advice was to lift the nose off at 62kts, then rotate at 71kts. Allow the speed to build up, gear up, climb out at 91-100kts on 26″/2,600rpm. The gear has to be up before 107kts and the flap maximum extension is 115kts. This day there was stratas cloud in the Moorabbin training area with a base of 3,500′ to 4,000′ , so our flight was confined to below that height. The power gauges on the right presented no problems to read and next to them was an electric fuel flow meter that could also read out gallons used since last total refuel. To check the cruise speed we set 24″ and 2,400rpm at 4,000′ and +5°C. The 155kts I AS gave a TAS of 164kts and all on about 65% of 200hp. Fast economical flying.

The cruise manifold pressure can be increased by I” or 2″ by selecting a ram air inlet located below the spinner. In effect this bypasses the restrictive air filter and, as a safeguard, the Owners Manual advises “not for use below 1,500′ or 1,500rpm”.

Stalls, power off, gear up and down are straight forward with only the slightest wing drop that is soon corrected with rudder. Stall at gross of 1,243kg (2,740lb), no flap or power is listed as 63kts. Our aircraft weight was less than gross and the stall was around 57kts. The emergency gear extension handle is located on the floor at the centre rear of the front seats. In brief it consists of a T handle that is pulled up between 12 and 20 times to lower the gear.

In flight the Mooney 201SE has crisp positive control response that comes from use of pushrod controls instead of the typical cable/pully linkage. The never exceed speed of the Mooney 210SE is 198kts IAS. Back to Moorabbin, the power was gradually eased back as we descended. To assist in slowing down the aircraft the gear can be lowered below 132kts. On base for runway 17 right, we lowered 15° of flap and held 80kts. On final approach the speed came back to 70kts with full flap of 33° and at touch down was 65kts. There was only a shor t ground roll and the Mooney was turned off the runway at the second exit.

Back at Alan’s office. a check of the Owners Manual revealed that at 75% power on full fuel, the 201SE could fly 951nm (no reserves) at 168kts in still air with a fuel flow of approximately 40lph. A long fast flight.

The Aircraft

The test aircraft had a full complement of factory installed Bendix King IFR Avionics as well as a Bendix King K AP 150 Flight Control System and was fully set up for single pilot IFR operations. The purchase price of this particular aircraft was $225,000.

Summary

For someone wanting a fast economical single engine IFR aircraft, the Mooney 201SE would be hard to beat. In the past, aircraft buyers have tended to underrate the Mooney series in favour of the bigger, roomier and more powerful products of the big three: Cessna, Beech and Piper. Now those aircraft are no longer available or available at greatly increased cost, a buyer could do himself a favour by checking just what the Mooney 201SE has to offer.

The cabin is deceptive and in fact offers more space than it appears at first glance. The aircraft is fast, darn fast, and, on only

200hp, it burns less fuel for less dollars. . ‘

Last, it is very well made. Not quite handmade but not far from it. It reeks of quality not quantity. The aircraft tested, with its IFR package, was not suitable for putting on a flying school line but is for the fellow who wants to go reasonably long distances with one or two passengers regardless of weather.

The 201SE can, however, also come with less avionics and options at less cost for those wanting a more basic machine.

The best description of the 201SE came from Alan Thompson himself when he called it, “Sleek, fast and comfortable, the Mooney 201SE is all that and a bit more”.