Add Another Mooniac To The Roll

by ANN Correspondent Annette Kurman

For Eva Kulaga, her mid-life crisis involved the acquisition of a convertible. For husband and Illinois business owner Andre, it involved the acquisition of Mooney's first new Ovation3 smack dab in the middle of AirVenture.

Owner of Hillside Lumber, Hillside, IL... Kulaga noted that he elected the Ovation3 after seriously learning toward a competitive twin. The Mooney, he noted, "offers the performance and comfort I was looking for, as well as the ability to carry three passengers and still offer reasonable range. It definitely compared favorably to the other aircraft I considered."

In addition to wife Eva, who prefers sleeping and reading in the copilot's seat, they have two teenage daughters. According to the Mrs. Kulaga, Andre began flight lessons two years ago, and received his IFR just last week.

"Mr. Kulaga knows something about speed, consistent performance and reliability," said David Copeland, Mooney vice-president of sales and marketing, "because they are all characteristics of the way he responds to his customers in the lumber business."

Kulaga's short-term plans include four days of training with Mooney, after which he plans for a cross-country trip.

Mooney's 310-horsepower Ovation3, the fastest normally-aspirated piston engine airplane currently on the market, can cruise at 197 knots and climb to a service ceiling of 20,000 feet.

Amenities include with the Garmin G1000 avionics suite, a GDL69A weather uplink with XIM satellite radio, a GTX 330 mode "S" transponder, and an STEC 55X autopilot.

Kulaga, said Mooney's Copeland, fell in love with plane's performance; when Kulaga combined the plane's speed and climb rate with its reliable, proven and extremely safe airframe, and then factored in the airplane's all-weather capability, flight into known icing approval, he was sold.

And to think that for my mid-life crisis I got myself a dog. Woof.

FMI: www.mooney.com