ThorFlight

Absolutely fabulous! Wish I had that "new plane" smell too! Enjoy a stylish, speedy and safe hop back home. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I agree with Hyett6420. Perhaps the section could be called "Who is this Mooney perfect for?"

charheep, I have been in your shoes and complete understand that frustration. I am wrapping up a 18 month search for a Mooney that began by looking for a J, considering a K, E and F models before finally coming back around and stumbling upon the perfect for me J that I am closing on tomorrow, Lord willing. Where did I happen to find it... Craigslist of all places and thank goodness that it wasn't marketed more broadly. My suggestion are this: 1) be patient with your search and search everywhere, 2) continue educating yourself here on MS, and elsewhere to really learn about the issues that drive real value, and 3) as other have educated me here on MS, plan to purchase something that is at the top end of the price range for it's model/year to get the best value. With that effort you're putting in, you'll start to quickly separate the wheat from the chaff and when you finally see some aircraft being sold that you regret not making an offer, you'll be ready the next time a quality plane comes on the market. I'd be happy to share more as other's did for me; just send me a PM. Good luck with your search!

Good for you and what a lovely evening in NYC! Did you actually have the corridor to yourself?

Seems like LASAR is the winner. Good to know and thanks!

Wow! Yeah, I can't recall ever hear about a nose gear failure due to a "dented truss". Anyone have a recent report regarding the rubber tube fix preventing this in the future? Seems like a good idea.

Greetings everyone, So I’m planning to close on an ’81 J this Thursday and the nose gear truss was found to be dented during the pre-buy. Now the purchase price was adjusted accordingly and the plane's annual is due in January, so I’m going to flow right into that process with the same shop that did the pre-buy. The replacement part from Mooney is apparently ~$1500, which can be had in a couple of days. Sending in mine for repair at LASAR is about $750 + shipping (~$100), but it takes about 3 weeks for the turn-around (apparently they don’t have any refurbished ones available). Beyond the time and money differences, is there any other argument for one approach vs. the other? At this point, I’m leaning towards repairing it as I don’t have a pressing need to fly in January and wouldn’t mind putting $650 into my ADS-B nest egg. Thanks, and I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with everyone and someday shedding my newbie status! Philip

$210/month for an older t-hangar at KMIC in Minneapolis. Includes an electric bifold door, electricity and snow removal (welcome to the north). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks! Yes, Eric and Paul have been my sherpas in this entire process. They are doing the pre-buy and then we plan to flow right into the annual. Very excited!

I'm about to "buy my ticket to the dance" with an '81 J. And after reading this interesting thread, I feel that I have likely budgeted my annuals too low at $3K. Fortunately, that's not a deal-breaker. That said, in preparation for my first ownership experience, I have found Mike Busch's webinars on the EAA site particularly informative on a number of certified aircraft ownership topics, including a pragmatic, structured approach to annuals to help avoid sticker shock and keep the process on-track. I'm compelled to share two of them here based on the thread topics that others might find them helpful too: All About Annuals All About Tires Recommend staying to hear the Q&A too.

Done. Thanks everyone for MS the excellent resource it is.

I was planning to have the engine bore-scoped as part of the pre-buy. If there was evidence of corrosion there, I would assume that the cam is compromised too. Even if the seller is willing, I have concerns about pulling multiple jugs as that is pretty invasive, is it not? Should I not be concerned about that? However, the definitive information coming from that procedure would be beneficial to all parties regardless. All great info here, guys!! Thank you. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Engine installed in Nov. 2007. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would personally be offended by that request and not want to do business with you. There are no warranties on quarter century old machines. I guess you could try it, though. Perhaps your seller will feel differently. Jim Fair point. I would prefer to price the risk into the offer, but the seller is confident in the low-time and roller-cam. If we can't meet at a mutually agreeable price, the escrow might bridge the gap. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The time appears to be evenly split over the 8 years at about 10h/yr - give or take. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk