Mooneys have always enjoyed a reputation for being fast, easy-to-fly cruisers with average payload and a somewhat tight cabin. But the reality is that theyve been more efficient than fast. Bonanzas and Cessnas gas-thirsty 210 outrun most Mooney models but on balance, no airplane company has managed to squeeze as many knots out of as few horsepower. The sore-thumb exception to this is the Mooney M20M/TLS/Bravo series. For this model, Mooney entered the go-for-broke speed sweepstakes by stuffing the largest Lycoming engine it could find into what is, by even modern standards, a slick, drag-free airframe. The result? A fast cruiser but one limited in range by the Lycomings poor fuel specifics.
The M20M was clearly a departure for Mooney. Its previous entry into the fast-cruise turbocharged market had been the M20K/252/TSE, with a 210-HP Continental TSIO-360. It sipped fuel and had decent if not blazing cruise speed, but engine service issues troubled that model. Maintenance issues would dog the M20M but were sorted out with an engine modification. Buyers of the TLS Bravo are somewhat of a different breed. They gravitate to the type for raw speed and don’t care what it costs to get it. Said one owner: