StinkBug

I've seen and heard mention of this test all over the place, but never seen any kind of documentation, or article, or really anything beyond stories from other pilots. Anyone have a link with more details on this test?

I fly out of CRQ and should have a Mooney of my own there soon. Let me know if you want any info on the local area or wanna get together while you're here. Usually the marine layer doesn't come more than a few miles inland from the coast, and rarely sticks around past 11am or so. Usually starts creeping back in on the field around 5-6pm but most of the time you can get under it from the east. Since you have an IR it shouldn't be a problem at all, but in the rare situation of the field being totally fogged in you can generally divert to RNM which is almost always clear and is very nearby.

Since there's so much discussion about insurance on here I have a question. Is airplane insurance similar to car insurance, where it's basically a monthly thing you can cancel and renegotiate or get a different company at any time, or are you locked in for a full year? Reason I ask is that all the quotes I've gotten are for a year, but I expect to be flying a lot of hours getting my IR in the first few months. I've flown roughly 120 hours in the last 6 months, and expect to do even more in the next 6. It would be nice if I could get insurance now, then renegotiate the rate in a few months when I've racked up some hours rather than having to wait a full year.

If you can give me a sketch with some dimensions on what you need I can give you a quote on making one up.

http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/MOONEY-M20C-RANGER/1968-MOONEY-M20C-RANGER/1342733.htm

Soooo I'm flying out to texas next week to take a look at an M20C that looks to fit all my requirements. Just finished reading through the logbooks and everything looks very much in order there. I'm interested to get any suggestions on who to have do the PPI on this one though. I would have Don Maxwell do it, but he's been doing all the maintenance on the plane for the last 5 years, and David at AAA tells me that Don would prefer to not inspect a plane he's done all the work on. This is my feeling as well, it's always good to get a second set of eyes on things. So with that in mind, who else is in the area that would be a good choice?

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I'd love any Mooney, but my budget is telling me a C or E. Looking for something solid to do my IR and Commercial training in, as well as some traveling. Good radios and a GPS are the main demands, along with an engine with some time left on it. Paint and interior are at the bottom of the list unless they are really bad.

Not really sure how the problems of one plane mean anything to the problems of another. Lets just say the list was very long. Lots of broken bits, enough corrosion to worry, signs of poor maintenance, etc. They were only about halfway through the inspection when I showed up and the list was multiple pages long, and every time we looked at something we found another problem. Like I said, it was money well spent, because none of it was obvious when I looked and did the test flight, but once the panels started coming off it was a different story. Not sure how that would effect a prebuy on a different plane at a different shop though. I didn't have any problems with the shop, just the plane. I'm not lookin for the golden magic mooney here, just one that's airworthy and reliable.

Yes, this will be my first airplane. I cant say that I'm all that educated on airplane systems, but I build custom vehicles for a living so the mechanical things are easy for me to understand, and once something is pointed out to me I generally know what's going on. The guys doing the PPI for me called me into the shop yesterday and just started pointing at things, knowing that I have enough mechanical background to understand what's not right. I definitely don't think I know anywhere near enough to properly inspect a plane myself though, especially because I know I get a little blurry when I see something I want.

I'd love to have the pre-buy done by the same place I was at today, but somehow I dont see the logistics of transporting a plane from TX to CA for a PPI working out very easily. If they did that, I'd be way beyond impressed.

Just came back from the MSC doing the prebuy on a plane I was looking at buying and.....well......I'm not buying it. Sure hurts to spend all that money on an inspection and walk away from it, but I found out all the important things that make that money well spent. Now that I'm back to searching however this brings some new questions to mind. The particular plane I had been looking at was local, and at the same airport as a Mooney Service Center, which was awfully convenient. Pretty much every other plane I've found is nowhere nearby. How do you go about choosing a place to do an inspection when the plane is several states away, at an airport you've never been to? Also, lets say you were interested in one of the Mooneys at All American, who seem to have a superb reputation here. How would that effect your inspection criteria? There are a couple planes there right now that fit my budget and needs, and have had annuals and/or maintenance done by Don Maxwell, who also seems to have a superb reputation. Would you still wanna send it to a 3rd party to inspect, or would you feel ok simply giving Don a call and discussing the aircraft with him. I guess what I'm getting at is should buying from a highly respected place buy you a bit more security in a planes condition, or do you always have to assume it needs to be sent to someone to lift the skirt and peek around? and if so, how do you arrange that peek? To be clear I don't mind spending the money on another prebuy, it was certainly money well spent, though disappointing. I'm just curious if sellers like All American generally inspect the planes before they even take them in, and stand behind them so to speak, or if all planes should be treated as "guilty until proven innocent"

On this same subject, for someone who has only flown Cherokees (and archers and warriors) and 172's, would you be better off doing the complex training in something else first before doing the Mooney transition? Seems like going straight to the Mooney makes the most sense, as it's gonna be a type transition no matter what. Might as well do one rather than 2. Am I wrong in thinking this? I'm in the process of buying an M20B, and have access to a number of other complex aircraft through my club. Arrow, 182, commanche, etc.

I've never flown into mexico, but I've driven down there for the Baja 1000 and many other races. There are good places and bad, just like the US. There are neighborhoods I dont stop in, and I keep an eye on my truck when it's full of stuff that's easily stolen, but I do that in the US too. Most of the people down there are just like anyone else. Some bad, but mostly good. I've learned that if you dont go out and party and get drunk and act like an idiot american you dont have any problems. There are some beautiful places down there for sure, and it's definitely a whole different world.

I find it funny that people who wont go to mexico like to tell how corrupt and dangerous it is to the people who actually go and spend time there often.

Nope, not mine. Several of the planes in my club were damaged by that storm though, and the Mooney I'm looking at buying is based at MYF and barely escaped being hit by one of the pilotless flying cessnas. Pretty crazy day for sure.

Hmm, that picture looks familiar. At least the RV has good taste in cars to ruin. :-p

Got to go for a test flight with the owner today and loved the plane. Even got to fly a different part of my local area as well. I mainly stay in the northern part of San Diego and generally avoid the class B, but today we departed KMYF and got clearance to transition over KSAN, then fly over the Coronado Bridge before turning back north and flying up the coastline at 500'. Would have been an awesome trip in any plane, but it was definitely a little more fun in the Mooney. Ended up making an offer on the plane, and it sounds like we're pretty close on price. Owner just needs to get the ok from his wife since they weren't expecting to sell it so fast, and they have a trip planned for the holidays. Pretty sure we'll be able to work it out though.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned double D's yet

I've used those sticky mounts on all sorts of things, and they are not destroyed when you remove them. Only the tape is. I bought a roll of 3M VHB (which is what's on them) and reuse them all the time. I have however had them remove paint before once or twice, when the tape bond was stronger than the paint bond. My club also had an incident where a member punched a hole in the bottom skin of one of the planes while using a screwdriver to remove the mount, so be careful.

LOL, you guys are funny. Glad to hear that someone didn't make a very odd modification to this plane. It would definitely be nice to have that space, but if that's the way it is I can deal with it. Thankfully there's a Mooney Service Center at the same airport the plane is at, and I've gotten some great compliments about their service from another Mooney owner so I'll be having them do the pre-buy. Just kinda wanted to prepare myself for what kinda money they might ask for if the gear truss does need replacement. Also lets me know where I should be planning for the purchase price negotiations to go.

Oh one other thing. The panel had a nice wood overlay on it and there was a matching panel covering the upper rear section of the cargo area, where the "hat rack" usually is. This plane has a full wall there with no hat rack. We pulled the wood panel down and there was some insulation behind, and it felt like a solid panel. Do the B models not have the hat rack area, or is this a modification of some sort? I cant see why anyone would purposely take away cargo space, especially in a plane that's already pretty small!

Thanks for all the comments guys. Went to look at the plane today and it looks really good, with only a few issues that I could find. The biggest one is that it does have a dent on one side of the nose gear truss. Not sure if it's bad enough to need replacement or not, but I'm sure the shop that I will have do the pre purchase inspection will know for sure. If it does need to be replaced what are we looking at as far as cost for parts and labor? The owner seems quite friendly and willing to negotiate so hopefully we'll be able to work something out and the plane will check out alright so I can join the Mooney family!

Thanks guys! That is all great info. Been searching Google (and here) for days and got more in this thread in a couple hours. This place is great!

I'm going to look at a 1961 M20B tomorrow, and I've been doing a ton of researching online about these planes, but not finding much about the B models specifically. Seems there is a ton about the C's but even all the model decription lists I've found have very little info about the B's other than engine type and the fact that they are all metal. Seems all the places that list modifications all start with the C model as well. Are the 2 really different? Thanks!