This report on a journey is divided into two main chapters:
Part 1 (Trip to Kerville, TX, westbound) was provided by Ivo Vögeli
Part 2 (Trip eastbound) by the owner of the Mooney, Egon Steiner.
For years I (Ivo Vögeli) dreamed of making a Transtlantic Trip with our Mooney 205 HB-DGZ (M20J).
But the plan was spostponed every year for different reasons : family, business or colleagues not available. At the end I was left alone with the 205 which has almost reached TBO. Therefore I sold the Mooney via Denmark (lowest VAT in the European Union) to Holland. Under the Callsign N60GZ the new owner is experiencing the beauty of a Mooney.
When you have flown a Mooney, you always want to fly a Mooney ! You don't get rid of this virus very easily. An upgrade on a stronger engine would also be a challenge. So I got in touch with an old friend, Egon Steiner from Bern.
Egon is owner of a turbo Mooney 252 (M20K) 1986, equipped with all imaginable features: Garmin GNS 430, MX 3000 navigation system, autopilot with Altitude Preselection, Shadin Fuel control system, J.P. Engine control system, triple inserted oxygen system etc. I guess, Egon's Mooney is one of the most sophisticated single engine piston airplane of it's kind.
The turbocharged aircraft is normally flown by Egon between flightlevel 180 and 240! To become familiar with this aircraft still needed a big effort: navigation with the Garmin GNS 430, handling of the turbocharged engine, controlling speedbrakes and usually flying higher than flightlevel 160 required an intensive training. After I felt fine with this ‚rocket', Egon talked me into flying the Mooney over the Atlantic to Texas for installation of long range fuel tanks by Lone Star Aero in San Antonio, Texas and to get a new paint job.
