Matt M20J

Good luck! I really agree with @jaylw314 too and he had really good points. I didn't really start seeing or having any issues until 6-8 months outside in South Florida, which would probably be even longer for you. One thing I'd add to his list too is to check the o-rings in the fuel caps and if they don't look good replace them as well - really helps keep the water out of the tanks.

If a great aircraft comes across it can still be worth it, just figure it will be more wear and tear on the aircraft and cost you more in MX. I actually drive almost an hour to my hangar as none of the airports nearby had any available. I'm a big believer in CorrosionX and Camguard too - in my opinion/experience they make a difference and seem to help a bit, especially if you keep the aircraft outside.

I left my 1989 J outside for ~2 years in South Florida and bought a full set of custom Bruce covers (fuselage, tail, wings). I highly recommend Bruce Covers as well, they are excellent and are the only ones I'll buy for aircraft now. They were a pleasure to do business with as well. South Florida is a lot different than the NW US but I'll give you my experience on keeping a J outside. I'm only the fourth owner of my aircraft, she was apparently hangared by the other three owners in the NE and she still has her original paint job from 1989. Keeping the plane outside was the worse decision I ever made. If I had to do it over again I probably still would as my dream plane came available and I'm glad I bought her, but it cost me a lot of stress and money. I will never own an aircraft again, regardless of where I live, unless I have a hangar for her and if I couldn't hangar my baby anymore I'd unfortunately rather sell her then keep her outside. The Bruce covers really help with the sun and light rain but the rain still gets into the tail and at least in FL the humidity from the rain evaporating doesn't help either. My paint job started to self destruct outside within months that I had her outside, I had lots of small mechanical issues from water intrusion too (issues with light connectors, superficial corrosion, speed brake problems, etc.). I have her in a hangar now and the plane is very dependable and I have no problems and MX doesn't get too crazy anymore. I'm sure other places aren't as bad as South Florida (we do have a reputation as being tough on metal aircraft) and I know others who haven't had as many issues keeping their planes outside, but it makes a huge difference having the plane hangared. I used to have a lot of issues with wasps and spiders making nests in the plane too, which was fun... Just my 2 cents...

Thanks Guys!

Well, let's just start that discussion on running LOP in Florida... but only if we could talk about using flaps for takeoff too! Great meeting everyone!

Thanks! Will do!

Hello All, I wanted to introduce myself to the forum as I've just joined Mooneyspace, my name is Matt Meissner. I’ve been the proud owner of Eleanor, she’s a 1989 M20J, for the past two years. I live in Fort Lauderdale, FL and have just relocated her to KBCT as I was able to get a hangar there. I’ve been flying for about 15 years and am commercial rated and have my CFI/CFII/MEI. I recently found a IA who will mentor me and I will be doing an owner assisted annual shortly and performing owner assisted maintenance going forward – I want to get my A&P someday when I’ve gained the required experience. I credit Mooneyspace (and Mike Busch) for inspiring me to work on my own aircraft as every time I looked something up online it was always a Mooneyspace posting that had great information and insight. You guys seem like a great group of people and I look forward to becoming part of and actively participating in this great community. Thank you! Matt