MBDiagMan

What you describe is a bad accelerator pump in the carburetor.

Well a kind soul who has been helping me immensely via private message now has me worried. I have an instructor at my home field that taught me to fly 26years ago in an Aeronca Champ. He has owned Mooneys and has done checkouts and complex training in them. He did my last biannual review in my taildragger. In talking with him about my moving to a Mooney, his take on it is that the Mooney will be easier for me to fly than the taildragger that I am in now. The kind member that was helping me via private message said that the transition record is terrible with many prop strikes and other problems. He put this forward when I told him that I was using my Tailwheel instructor for my Mooney training, and he did not yet know that he was a Mooney guy too. NOW, I have had many people here tell me how much they love flying their Mooney. Others talk about going to a Mooney at 60 hours total time. I typically three point a taildragger, so I am accustomed to flaring with tail low. At this point in time my flying is a little rusty although I have flown much more than usual the last week or so and the rust is coming off. SO..... Are these planes tricky or not? My thinking and apparently the insurance actuaries thinking is that tailwheel time makes me statistically less risk moving to this plane than coming from some other tricycle planes. What do you guys say? i hope this doesn't trigger some sort of controversy.

The above is pretty much how I look at it. I would probably have already purchased the aircraft if Dugosh had not retired. Here is the explanation of that: my mechanic, an old fellow that annuals my 140 and does lots of Mooney work is who I called first after seeing and sitting in the plane. I told him I wanted him to do the prebuy. He said that if Dugosh has been maintaining the plane, there was no need to pay him for a prebuy if Dugosh tells him that all is well. I gave him the tail number and he called Me back shortly afterward. He said with a surprise "Dugosh isn't there anymore, and I don't know any of those other guys." Once that happened, I got off on the Maxwell path, but the owner refused to let the plane off the airport. Since the logs confirm that the plane has been maintained exclusively by Dugosh for 30 years with Boerrens signature scattered all through the logs, I feel good about the aircraft. Having another highly experienced Mooney guy do a prebuy or annual is added insurance and might turn up something that needs to be taken care of. There are never guarantees, but after seeing the airplane, the logs and talking to the guy at Dugosh, I feel very confident that the plane will come through it all well and we will eventually own it. The next hurdle will be finding a ferry pilot to get it to my home field so I can start my complex training. The insurance quote requires 5 hours duel, and 5 hours solo before hauling passengers. My instructor is not keen on the idea of ferrying the plane himself. He ferried an aircraft many years ago that had just come out of annual and had to dead stick it into a field. So now he is not anxious to climb into a strange aircraft for a long flight. My home field is KPRX, Cox Field, Paris, Texas. Thanks again for all the help, opinions and overall good information. I look forward to talking Mooneys and maybe meeting some of you guys in person over the coming years.

Okay, thanks to some help from my new friends, I have come up with an experienced Mooney guy that will do the prebuy on the field. In fact I will see if he will make it an annual. He can't do it until week after next, but I just now talked to the sellers people and they are coordinating the prebuy/annual. It is again looking like there is a path to ownership. Thanks for all the replies here!

cnoe, Thanks again for the input. I did some looking at the SB208B issue. I have not perused the logs for it yet, but given that Dugosh has maintained the aircraft and I spoke to the guy whose nMe is int the logs the most, who says that the aircraft is completely corrosion free, I don't think I am going to find a problem with this, i went through all this when I bought my Cessna 140 some years ago. At that time as wel as now the enthusiast forum brought to the surface lots of information, caution and assistance. I am seeing the sme thing from all you guys (and gals?) and I appreciate everything very much.

I have indeed seen the entry for the tank reveal and spoke to the man that personally did the work. Is quite confident that the tanks do not leak. What time frame in the logs should I begin looking for SB208B? i am familiar with the risk involved with the high camshaft in the Lycomings. The engine is at 250 hours total time and has been flown regularly, so I am willing to take that risk. Ca guard has also been used which helps the lube stay on the cam longer between starts. Thanks very much for the information.

Brian returned my call. He is too busy with four to five months of work backed up. He made an interesting comment. He said that he didn't do prebuy on the old planes because they get too neglected and not kept up with. I told him the plane had been maintained by Dugosh for the last thirty years and he changed his tune. He said he would help if I could wait four months. Maybe the seller and Maxwell will come up with a plan.

Thanks very much Lance! I just now left him a voicemail. Might be just the ticket!

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I talked to the Maxwell folks and they are going to work with the seller to see what they can do. We are not done with it yet. thanks again

Thanks for the thoughtful response. I must not have written earlier in the thread, this plane has been hangars on the field at Kerrville where it was built. It has been maintained by MSC Dugosh exclusively for the last 30 years. It is likely a VERY solid plane.

Well, this deal might be going South. The seller is saying that due to insurance reasons he can't ferry the plane. He wants me to fly in my mechanic and he will be kind enough to pick h up in San Antonio. The amount of the offer that he had agreed to was considerably below his asking price, so I am wondering if he is just stringing me along to see if a better offer comes in. i am not exactly sure what to think. Anyone know if there is a Mooney guru shop other than Dugosh on the field in Kerrville?

Okay, the seller is having a meeting tomorrow morning to come up with a plan to ferry the plane to Longview. You guys reccomendation to take it to Maxwell is being listened to. It was annualed in August, but I am going to spend the additional $645 for an annual, if the prebuy portion goes well of course. thanks for all your comments and encouragement. I will continue posting progress in this thread.

Okay, in examining the aircraft logs I learned it is equipped with a 430W with a GA35 antenna. I am currently awaiting the seller to agree to ferry the plane to Longview for prebuy.

I am very familiar with WAAS and the need for it. What I am NOT familiar with is ADS-B. Also What I don't know is whether or not the 430 in the aircraft is WAAS or not. I would expect that it would be WAAS since the plane is otherwise equipped and certified for instrument flight. I will research this point later today hopefully so I can get more information from you guys. Your help is greatly appreciated.

I will indeed ask. Thanks for the help.

I don't know for sure if it is WAAS. I thought that it had to be WAAS to fly approaches with it. It wouldn't be worth much without WAAS.

Okay, here is the latest: I spoke with with the main man at Dugosh who knows this plane well since it is hangared on the field and he has maintained it for almost 30 years. He feels extremely confident that the aircraft is in great condition including his confidence that the tanks don't leak at all. The worst thing he could say about the plane is that the interior is old with worn carpet and seats. I noticed that the interior was slightly worn, but it looked decent, not bad enough to warrant a new interior IMHO. I have pictures of the logs and his name is in the logs for the tank work and much of the work over that time. He echoed what many of you have said. He said that the plane is in great, solid condition, but it is always a good idea to put a different set of eys on it. He said that Maxwell would be good or my local guy with Mooney experience would be okay too. I will inquire as to whether or not my local guy is equipped for the torque test of the gear and make up my mind. I did learn from the Dugosh guy that the plane has a 201 windshield and some modifications associated with that, but it does not have a 201 cowl. He went through the other speed mods which included flush fuel doors, gap seals and some work on the tail section that I did not completely understand. An annual at Maxwell costs $2,095 and a prebuy $1,450. The plane was annualed in August so it sounds like the difference of $645 would be worth it. I am currently an aircraft owner, so I fully understand that these numbers are not what the final cost might be. My offer for the plane has been accepted with prebuy inspection pending before purchase of course. BTW, Up until now, I have not been concerned about the upcoming ADS-B requirement, since With my Cessna 140, I just figured that I would be staying out Bravo and Charlie airspace. With my mission changing I will need it come 2020. What kind of expen$e is everyone planning on come 2019?

Thanks to all. I am 35 Mooney minutes from Maxwell according to Foreflight. I just now received the logs via email. It will take a while to go through them. We have agreed on a price and he is working on getting ferried to my local guy. I will probably change it maxwell once I talk to naxwell and the guy at dugosh. Alex, I remember you. You rode with me to get fuel in my 140 one time. To all. I dont know if I mentioned it but I have been through the buying experience before with my souped up Cessna 140 I bought some years ago. I did the PPI THEN AND THE PLANE WAS Sqwauk free as I suspected. One other thing. I have a great instructor that taught me to fly in an Aeronca Champ 25 years ago. He has owned Mooneys and has lots of teaching time in them. He told me today that it was going to be easier to fly the Mooney than the taildragger I am now in. I look forward to further discussion with all you guys (and gals?)

I have a mechanic that did the prebuy on my 140 years ago. I know him well and trust him to the Nth. He does lots of Mooney work. I think I will send it to him for the prebuy. When I called him about this plane on Monday and told him that Dugosh had maintained it for thirty years, he said he would call them about it and indicated that there would probably be no need for him to take it apart himself. He called this afternoon and said that Dugosh had sold the outfit. Since he didn't know any of the guys there, he did not feel comfortable without inspecting it himself. I live in NETexas, so Maxwell is not far away, but I think I will take it to my guy for the prebuy. I had been waiting on the insurance quote and that is in. The insurance was considerably less expensive than I expected since I have no retractible time. Time to begin negotiating tomorrow. Is it common for a seller to throw in the ferry costs? I am less than two Mooney hours away from the planes current hangar.

Yep, this is Larry, but I will be darn if I can figure out who VLFarms could be.

Thanks for the comments. Anyone know about Digosh in Kerrville as a good prebuy resource?

Is dugosh one of the shops for a good prebuy?

Was posting on pilotsofamerica and a MS member suggested that I introduce myself here. I currently own and fly a Cessna 140, but ready for a plane capable of making it two states away in the same day.:) I am on the verge of making an offer on a very nice C model. I have been smitten with the manual gear Mooneys since I took flying lessons the first time in 1991. the plane I have my eye on has a 250 hour factory reman engine and a new prop at the same time. Has a very nice King panel with a 430. Wet looking paint and nice interior. Has a 201 cowl, windshield and lots of speed mods. Has been maintained by Dugosh for the last 30 years. I understand that Dugosh sold the business. My current mechanic who is a Mooney guy told me that he would be happy to take my money for a prebuy inspection, but if Dugosh has been maintaining it, that I need not worry about it. He is, however, going to call Dugosh this afternoon and talk to them about the aircraft. If my story is straight about Dugosh selling the business do they still have the same dependability without him? Any comments about this being a good plan? if I don't buy this particular aircraft I will almost certainly buy a C or maybe an F model somewhere, so I look forward to getting acquainted on MS. Doc PS: Forgot to mention that I am checking into when the tanks were sealed/bladders/replaced.LB