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Postscript: Shiny new gear switch (looks a lot like the old one )

I was in a partnership on an early 2003 Meridian with the gross weight increase. I loved the pressurization and the reliability of a turbine, but with the range and figuring in a needed fuel stop on the Meridian, a Mooney Bravo or Mooney Acclaim with Monroy tanks, or a Piper Mirage (M350) with long range tanks will sometimes beat the Meridian to destination. Obviously comfort is greater in a turbine pressurized airplane. Everything is a trade-off in aviation.

One note of caution from a concerned citizen on this lovefest… yes, I’ve used jimmy several times. Yes I enjoyed our conversation. Transaction was completed smoothly. However, he sells a lot of Mooneys sight unseen. He probably looks through the logs, although I caught some things on my recent purchase that he didn’t see (and both of us missed a big one in the logs). He hasn’t actually looked at these remote sales except for pictures. I say this because he sold my airplane without seeing it and I hope I didn’t misrepresent it to him or the new owner. Not everyone is going to sell through a remote broker and be totally honest/open. Due diligence folks. Don’t count on a broker catching everything, especially on an airplane he’s not seen.

Everything will seek an equilibrium. As Don Maxwell posted on Facebook, Mooney International can't financially survive on parts making/sales alone. So Mooney's costs have to go down or prices have to go up....or BOTH. I expect Mooney's prices from the factory to continue to go up. The middlemen will also extract price increases to pay for the cost of capital (i.e. the "cash" which Mooney did not have) to place orders (with up front cash costs) and for the cost of stocking/holding inventory. Low margin/limited demand parts will be discontinued or priced so high no-one will buy any (same outcome). Higher new parts prices and culling of low margin/ limited demand parts will make salvaging used parts from downed Mooney's more lucrative. (i.e. used/salvage parts prices will go up). Cost to repair Mooney's will go up. Insurance companies will be quicker to scrap accident/incident Mooney's. Mooney's will be scrapped at a higher rate. Cost of ownership will go up. Fleet will shrink. The market will achieve equilibrium.....

Oh yeah....I want to buy one of those 2019 Airbus 220-300 that only has 4 Cycles and 14 Hours on the airframe!!! I need to upgrade - getting older, would love the A/C and potty on board! What a steal.....Hopefully no-one beats me to it!!!

Bot may be onto something, we might be missing an important step in the preflight checklist: - Fuel - Weather - Pay United’s change fee with an Air Canada confirmation number and a Southwest voucher via Turkish Airlines support chat - Weight and Balance...

Welcome to working on Mooneys!

That's what, Mark, from Top Gun says. He is also very disappointed in Mooney. He found out about the Lasar deal the same as us, on Mooneyspace. They tried to go on the Mooney portal to order some parts and couldn't get in. Expect parts prices to increase accordingly with probable decreased service.

Sorry, but prop touches, it is now a full stop. You have NO idea of the condition of the prop or engine.

Yes Commander 112/114 support survives as Commander Aircraft Corp. (CAC). But they have had a very troubled and precarious existence that in many ways is similar to Mooney but with a couple big differences. Commander Aircraft Corp (CAC) produced the 114 and 114TC until 2002 when they filed bankruptcy and ceased production. Three years later in 2005, in a bankruptcy auction, a group of 50 owners named Commander Premier Aircraft Corporation (CPAC) paid $1.7 million for the FAA type certificates, as well as all jigs, tooling and other manufacturing assets. They had aspirations of restarting production in addition to support of the fleet. They moved the assets from the Oklahoma plant and to Cape Girardeau, Missouri where the City stupidly provided incentives. Things did not go well. They never got needed funding and were in debt to creditors. In 2009 they sold to a Montreal based owner named Aero-Base Inc. Creditors had to agree to discounts to get the deal done much like a voluntary bankruptcy reorganization. By 2011, the new owner of CPAC could not get needed financing and Commander Premier Aircraft Corp filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations. Three years later in 2014, the assets of CPAC were sold in a bankruptcy auction to a Chinese national, Ms. Borui Mao, for only $650,000. The new company was named Commander Aircraft Corp (CAC) again. The assets were moved from Missouri to Norman, OK into 2 leased hangars. In 2019 CAC announced that they would invest $8 million in a new manufacturing facility to build new 115/115TC. Nothing ever became of it. I don't think that the 115/115TC was ever approved. CAC continues to sell parts and provide services. The last Commander was built in 2002 by the original CAC. HOME | commanderaircraft Compare this to Mooney: Mooney Int'l is still a corporation with the balance sheet financial liabilities and the off balance sheet liabilities of past aircraft and aircraft part production (18 years going back to everything made since 2007). The so called "new owners", U.S. Financial LLC,, only bought 80% of the company. 20% is still owned by Meijing Group. It is not apparent that the new owners invested any capital into the company. It is more likely that they were looking to get rich with a quick paper flip of the company but are now stuck like a tar baby (remember the Power Point they were using to shop the company?) The main difference between Commander and with the current Mooney situation is that Commander was sold as a "sale of assets" in bankruptcy not once but twice. There were no liabilities assumed by the new buyer(s). (i.e. it was a liquidation of the company twice). Mooney was last reorganized in bankruptcy during 2001-2004. Now we have the following situation LASAR has some unclear deal to manage?/fund inventory?/ take-over? parts fulfillment for Mooney. LASAR's parts guru, Dan Riesland, is located in California and not at LASAR's Oregon home base. Mooney's tech guru, Frank Crawford, who seems to be the glue holding Kerrville support together is in Kerrville With the change, headcount (and hence knowhow), in Kerrville will continue to shrink Don Maxwell posted on Facebook that the Mooney Int'l financials in Kerrville cannot be supported by part sales alone. Three (3) years after the LASAR ownership change and move from California to Oregan, LASAR is still trying (struggling?) to get its PMA's and STC's approved and to market Brett Stokes highlights this in a July 2, 2025 Facebook post He also highlights and promotes that LASAR provides service and support for "Cessna, Beechcraft, Piper and more" - so LASAR's focus is not just Mooney. The Vintage Mooney section is full of posts of how many times LASAR has been called and emailed asking to provide 40:1 gears with no movement. LASAR may be well intentioned, but costs and logistics may overwhelm them quickly - perhaps they already are. From the comments/posts there seems to be a feeling by owners that LASAR will do more to order in quantity and keep larger inventories. That takes capital which no-one (especially the "new owners" US Financial LLC and not even the MSC's which could stock parts as they used to do) seems to be interested in or able to do. So we think (hope) that LASAR has deep pockets? Perhaps the best way forward is for Mooney to be forced into bankruptcy. IThat will be painful and destructive to owners in the short term but could clear the way for the assets to be sold for pennies on the dollar to someone that will just focus on parts manufacturing and supply (and not any dreams of new models, weight increases, landing gear mods or anything). It would get rid of the Chinese and would get rid of US Financial. It would free the IP up for the new owner/supplier with no liabilities.

Its the one-off parts that aren’t easy to make that worry me. Intake ducts are a good example. Mine is for a 252 and it’s a weird shape and different material than the vintage ones which are also difficult to get. Gear motors (or gears) might be another example.

I think that comment misses the point: At some time in the future most of us owners WILL need to procure a factory part. For example, two years ago I needed the intake boot for my F; there are no substitutes. I was lucky Top Gun had ONE left. Had they not had one, I would have been in a bad situation. Let's just say this latest 'development' is NOT an improvement to the already difficult landscape for factory parts.

Let's not freak out... how often are you all ordering from the factory? @201er is it time for a poll?

Yes, the battery box is attached through the firewall, but it's mounted to the engine-side of the firewall. Remove top cowl, remove battery, unbolt and remove battery box (through avionics panel or a second person standing on their head under the panel), remove magneto, stuff rag into hole on rear of engine.

The big question is if this will keep more parts on the shelf or not. If parts more frequently in stock and on the shelf, ordered and sent the same day, it might balance an increased cost. If everything is a one off order and much higher cost, then that's not good.

Could be your speed brakes snapping closed if they are not in the fully stowed position (sometimes they need adjustment). When the master is shut off or the SB breaker pulled, they snap close.

This may not be all the parts but I bought and created my own connector/splitter/hoses/cannula setup: RES010TC to connect to the large outlet on the G5/Next Salter 1225 Swiveling O2 Supply tubing connector (Male to Female) If you want to set up for two (2) then add AGISH749 - AG Industries Y adapter for O2 tubing from Amazon ComfortSoft Plus Nasal Cannula w/ 4 ft clear O2 supply tubing Even though you may hear the Rove6/G5/OxyGo Next concentrator pulse when you breathe, I wanted a visual indicator. SP Bel-Art Roto-Flo Polystyrene Flow Indicator for ¼ to ⁵/₁₆ in. I.D. Tubing (H19937-0002): Enema Flow Indicator: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific It is a red spinning wheel We fly in the low teens. Works fine.

Didn't fit properly?? How so? They say they come oversized, and you trim to fit. was that the biggest issue? Or was it something worse.

You are correct. I was using short hand. That is one reason I bought one from the site I did, as it was marketed for aircraft use.

I would rather slide into a ditch decelerating already that hit the ground from flying speed. I am not sure what I would do about a crowd.

The PA46 line has both piston and turbine versions. Same size airplane but the turbine variants often are charged higher facility fees.

This would not be no fuss in my familY.

I fly a TBM at work and it’s crazy fast and the useful load is surprising. Fill all the seats, bags and still put in 220 gallons which will get you a LONG way. the landing/ramp/handling fees at airports are what get me. Much higher than the Mooney. Plus of course the fuel burn of 65 gph in the TBM is much worse than the 12gph in my Mooney.

Snap on calls it a performance wrench, but icon sells a set of these at Harbor freight for 100 bucks, it’s a double box wrench, but the box is twice as deep and it’s very thin and it fits on those engine mount nuts perfectly.

Mooney service before: Factory price $, add MSC markup $ -- Owner pays $$ Mooney setrvice after: Factory price $, add LASAR markup $, add MSC Markup $ -- Owner pays $$$

Likely, owner produced is where more and more Mooney parts are headed, I'm afraid. It's going to further restrict the number of Mooney owners as many will have neither the skills to produce nor the will to manage OPP.

I'm not trying to be a pedant, but as the system is DC, they are NOT using a step-down transformer, but a DC-DC converter. The distinction is important in that a DC-DC converter generates electrical noise and if not properly filtered/shielded, it MAY introduce noise into other avionics. E.g. what happens with some USB adaptors which contain similar circuitry. It sounds like you haven't had any problem, and one would hope that a company serving the aviation market would be careful with their design, but it is something to be aware of. Especially if noise/issues are noticed after hooking up an Inogen with this converter.

So some years ago I purchased a plane and the owner was keeping the tail so I had to go through the process of reprogramming the ELT and transponder. This led to me going to NOAA and actually updating the info on the ELT. I was reminded the importance of this a few days ago, when I got a call from law enforcement about an elt signal they had received and I was still the contact Apparently the owner, whom I know well and talk to, had not done this, and when they heard and identified the beacon they reached out to me to make sure there was no emergency. I asked several people I know with planes and realized most people do not know this and don’t go through the process If you have not done it with your current plane you really should . ps. It’s free

Mooney prop-strike go-around crash: http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2016/09/mooney-m20j-fatal-accident-occurred.html?m=1 The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: The pilot's improper landing touchdown attitude, which resulted in a propeller strike, and his inappropriate decision to abort the landing after the propeller had contacted the runway, which resulted in a loss of thrust and led to an aerodynamic stall during climb.

You know it's short (and hot) when the Mooney M20J starts cursing "*&&&#!" with stall warner on approche and liftoff "teet, teet...", this reminds me of American film broadcasted on British TV Nice pictures of Scilies, it was a lovely week for flying in UK !

There is absolutely zero uncertainty that landing unintentionally with the gear up is the least risk to persons. Sliding a few hundred feet on the runway only bruises egos. Most will tell you it was there finest short field landing! But going around after “kissing” the ground is a huge unnecessary risk to persons if you consider the number of fatal accidents. It’s entirely an effort to save the plane - not persons. Isn’t that why we insure our aircraft? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Call them. I've found that their online catalog is not always up to date.

Let's take your estimate and do a "reality check". The $5 million per year max in "factory parts" would be in the form of sales to MSC's before they mark them up for retail sale to owners and A&P's. Assuming a 40% mark-up, that would be about $7 million in Mooney parts spread over a fleet of 6,000 aircraft. That would mean that everyone, every year is purchasing on average nearly $1,200 in parts made by the factory. How many owners here are buying $1,200 per year in parts made by Mooney? That excludes the accordion intake baffles, Rochester wing fuel gauges and other third party parts which are just sourced from others with a mark-up. I think the answer is not many. It has been many years since I actually purchased a part made by the factory. I am sure Mooney makes big sales in slugs when someone attempts to repair structural corrosion or repairs a gear-up landing but how often does that actually happen vs parting out the damaged plane? I am skeptical that sales will be that high. And as @Schllc points out these sales have to be over a fleet of considerable variation. The economics must be daunting and as Don Maxwell posted on Facebook, having seen the books, Mooney cannot support its overhead selling its current level of parts. So costs have to go down and/or prices have to go up. Probably both will happen.

"...and still enjoy it." Then, you should keep it! Honest truth is ENJOYMENT is the only reason I own my Mooney. It is really not a need of any kind.

No airplane makes economic sense for anyone to own. But isn’t that why we work? First to provide for our needs and family, but then to spend the money that’s left on our desires? Some people buy cars, boats, golf memberships, second/third homes… You could get run over by a vitamin truck tomorrow, enjoy the fruits of your efforts.

I think having a Mooney solely as a toy is fine. 50% of the "defined mission requirements" are just people talking themselves into buying the toy to begin with Life is short!

If you absolutely want to shit your pants and have a heart attack all at the same time, break that wire in cruise.

Driving and staying in/near Waupaca. Booth in Hangar A. Come visit.

Not necessarily. Years ago, shortly after I transitioned to Mooney, I almost landed gear up in my E. Interesting chain of events that led to this almost mishap. Got cleared to land at a busy Class D airport with parallel runways, was on short final and heard the controller cleared another plane for takeoff on the same runway and saw the waiting plane moving. Went around, rather rattled, claned up the plane and had to fly large pattern for traffic. Got cleared to land, but in my rattled state of mind I did not put the gear down. Just as I flared few feet above ground, the gear warning horn blaring finally registered in my brain and I realized that the gear was still up. Poured coals on it and went around again for a decent landing. Notwithstanding the controller's screw-up, I can only blame myself for this as I failed to regain composure before coming back after the first goaround. Very valuable, and fortunately cheap lesson as no metal got bent and only my ego was bruised.

It's people like this that make me realize how much I haven't done.

I went with the Aerolites Fusion PAR46. $160. Installed myself under A&P supervision (no issues with fitment with the stock mounting ring/hardware) and had him do a 337...another $100. Their web site is clear that it is NOT an FAA PMA/TSO part, which is why I had my A&P do the 337. I figure that will cover me when I go to sell. I've had three different shops perform annuals since installation and none even mentioned it. As a last resort, if some anal A&P or buyer throws a hissy fit, I'll just remove it and put in the crap incandescent to make them happy I leave it on from take-off to landing...I can't imagine how many incandescent bulbs I would have gone through by now!

Member name "Mitchel"

It seems like Lasar and Mooney have agreed that my order three months ago is still with Mooneys vendor and will be delivered in September. We’ll see. However, I ordered the part through Top Gun and they charged $760. Lasar wants $1015. So you guys were clearly correct about the pricing.

Here’s a real world casualty because of this switch. I had a part on order through Top Gun with a six month lead time. It’s a duct for the intake on a 252. Top gun just emailed me and said the order went through Moomey three months ago and went to the vendor. It’s still on order from the vendor and its supposed to be at Mooney in three months. However, Mooney will not take orders from anyone else except for laser, so my order was canceled. I have an email in to laser see if they can get me that same part since I already ordered it but my hopes of seeing it in 3 months are much lower now…