mooneybuilder

It good to have people come to your defense, but if someone has a complaint it has every right to be heard just as a compliment does. There is no better place to make a compliment or a complaint than the community in which that business serves. Don't get me wrong, I know Don is a great mechanic. I said nothing about his mechanical skills. My comments are also not meant to drive any business from him. Just being informative. I was in shock because I too have only heard good things about him and that's why I posted my experience. it's almost like... "how dare I say anything bad about someone we like! You're only allowed to say good things" Anyways, I gotta get back to work. I guess everyone can debate and vilify me...

Your right. I was just venting. Me posting wasn't to resolve, just to tell the community about an experience. I do however think it odd that Some see me as the "bad guy" for posting a bad experience... I know people who have had bad experiences at places that I have never had a bad experience at. Doesn't mean they are lying and I don't say bad things about them because they had a bad experience. I have made the comment... "man, i have never had that problem there" but I never called them a "fool" for them telling people about it.

You don't need to spend a penny here either. I am always willing to help someone find an answer to a maintenance question. If I can ever help answer a question I will. If I know of anyone heading that way the time you're taking your plane there I can pass it along and maybe help you find a ride back. I would chase you in my plane myself and fly you back, but my plane is also due for annual at that time.

First, I do not take in new customers often, as I am generally booked six months ahead. I am a new member and I was prompted to join this forum after a bad experience I had with a well known shop. So since I joined I might as well make some contributions. I worked at the Mooney factory and know these birds pretty well. What I see a lot of when a new customer brings a Mooney into my shop is that: 1. The landing gear pucks are often the originals from the factory.. I have seen pucks with dates from 1963 to 1967 many times. 2. The hydraulic hose for the flaps is also very often the original hose. 3. Brake Rotors We all know that Mooney's can be prone to leaks and there is only two ways to fix them. 1. Have the tanks re-sealed or 2. Install bladders. Leaking cannot really be prevented... they will leak at some point in time, but replacing those pucks before they loose their resiliency will prolong those leaks. Mooney recommends replacing those pucks every five years, but you can probably safely go seven years, depending on the climate your aircraft is in. So if you own or are thinking about buying a Mooney, check the date stamp on those pucks. The hydraulic hose is another one that seems to never get replaced. After a while those hoses become brittle and start to deteriorate, sending little peices of rubber through the flap system.. that's not good. You can change that hose out with a teflon hose. The cost is not too much greater than replacing it with the same Strat-o-flex or Aeroquip hose. The best part is that every five years for about $40 you can send that hose in to be inspected and re-certified for another five years. The same goes with the engine hoses. I see a lot of brake rotors that for some reason most shops seem to miss that they are below thickness tolerances. It takes a long time for a brake rotor on an aircraft to wear down to that point, but I see it a lot.

And hey maybe I just caught him on a bad day... But still...

You know I really do not care about your negative remarks.... your replies are biased because you have either heard or had good experience at that shop so you want to make statement about what I have to say... By saying i have no facts and such is calling me a liar. I understand you're probably just being loyal. I also take time out of my schedule.. I have spoken at A&P Schools, EAA events and many other seminars. I also help owners with issues that I do not even charge them for. I am known to be the only shop on my field to come out a 2 a.m. to tow a plane from the other side of the field while on a Taxiway, fix his flat and only charge my normal shop rate. I don't "stick" it to people when they are in need as we all know there are shops out there that do and will. I am also a preferred shop for several aircraft management companies, one of them being Savvy Aircraft Maintenance Management (owned by Mike Busch). I am a Veteran of the Marine Corps and work hard. Do I make mistakes.. you bet, but I don't lie about what I say, so please elude that I am lying. Me deciding to speak out about my experience has nothing to do about being polite. I normally do not have the time to post things like this. I am booked six months out all the time. But this morning I made an exception... that's how upset this interaction made me. It upset me so much because of the regard I had for Dons shop. If any other shop would have acted that way you wouldn't have been hearing about it. But when you are well known and you treat someone of the same profession that way.. well sure I am going to say something. So if my "rant" is not worth a replay... why have you replied several times.. must be the sense to try to defend or be loyal to someone you respect... Same, but opposite reason I am posting this... What if you had been talked to like that by Don? You would be taken back to wouldn't you? Anyway, I have a full shop. Take from this what you want. but I give my word as a Freemason that I am telling the truth. Stay warm.

wasn't meant to be anonymous i had to pick a user name. I own Blue Skies Aviation my name is Shaune Maycock and what i said is the complete truth. You can say one sided I don't really care. As of today I no longer hold Don in high regards. My name Mooney Builder is as such because I use to work ant Mooney. No suck thing ans libel when you are speaking of a Business and when what is said is the truth. If you use your name as your business name then be prepared for people to discuss all avenues, good or bad, about your business. Call it "slamming" if you want its the truth and I was very disappointed about it. I also never heard anything negative about Don Maxwell, that's why I said "WOW". This is not a rant. Maybe he does not act that way to customers, but I am another shop and I think he was offended when I was asking for clarification about how he described items, and no I was not rude when asking questions. I was very polite because I respected his reputation. I know you want to defend him, and that's fine. I am only describing how I was treated. I made a correction to my original post...darn auto-correct.... So don't think I am trying to slam Don Mawell. I have a right to tell the community my experience.

I use to hold Don Maxwell in high regards. Today I called to ask about some discrepancies he wrote up on a Mooney. The discrepancies made no sense to me. I use to work at the factory and I know these aircraft really well. As soon as I asked for clarification on a discrepancy Don went off, got rude and then hung up on me. Needless to say I was fuming. I am a professional as was completely caught off guard by such unprofessional behavior from one shop to another . There where also a few items that Don said where airworthy that according to Mooney and the FAA are not airworthy in nature. I called back and spoke to his wife. Of course she would defend him. The bottom line is I never got answers to my questions. I was very upset with how I was talked to. Those folks up there are just out of their minds. Dons wife threatened to call "Homeland Security" because I said I should fly up there and get the answers to my questions....? She said I was threatening her...? Crazy.. Sorry for the drama post, but folks need to know how Don Maxwell handles being questioned about what he finds on an aircraft. Completely taken aback.

I can tell you this. Get a good pre-purchase inspection done by a shop that knows Mooney's. You may hear a lot of good things about Don Maxwell, but my personal experience with him was not good at all. When I asked him about some discrepancies that did not sound right he went off. Anyone who cannot answer to a discrepancy that they wrote up is in my opinion not honest. Stay away from Don Maxwell.