Nick Pilotte

There’s a three page post on BeechTalk in the classics section on this plane when it went on the block last year. It can’t be good when there’s no interest in the plane on that site. Some over there were familiar with the plane and said $10k would be over value of it.

One way to save on annual hangar costs would be move to an airpark..... If you have one, sell it to the significant other by telling them it’s a house upgrade for them, and a free hangar for you. That’s why I’m trying anyways.

I had seen those. I thought it was pretty cool. If I remember correctly, there was a conversation between the DC3 and a United plane, the other pilot asked what their plane type was and the response was “Right on!” when the UAL pilot heard it.

I totally skipped over KKNB. I’ll look into that one too. For Bryce Canyon, I guess I didn’t mention the elevation along, but I agree with being very cautious. Another cool site in the area is the Hurricane Mesa airfield up above Hurricane and Virgin. It’s closed but there is a rail system there that they test ejection seats on sleds. You can see it on satellite views.

No personal GA experience flying that area, but been looking at potential retirement locations and I love that area. For convenience, KSGU is the sure bet, in fact I’d almost venture to say they have more GA operations than commercial there. The runway is 7500 feet or so and brand new. Bryce Canyon is a nice runway but it’s kind of on the edge of an RV park so there’s transients there. Not much else there convenience wise. Cedar City is pretty nice too but I don’t know much about the FBO there. If you need a car, go to KSGU. Vegas is a couple-three hour drive if that’s more your speed. I forgot, I spent the month of August out there for work a couple years ago. It’s hot, so pick an airport you are comfortable with the density altitude of.

Guilty Zulu! My wife, a CPA is even getting a headache studying Illinois tax code for aircraft. The more I read, I believe an LLC may be the desired option here, but still figuring out the taxation.

I’ve been a career car guy (though now trucks) and have seen/heard about this before. In fact, there are numerous complaints, investigations, and even court cases regarding this. However, these usually happened shortly after production and there was likely a stress point in the glass when it was made. Since your SUV is as old as it is, yours was likely a tiny bit of debris hitting it in just the right place to cause the fracture. Tigers, yours may have been a chip that ruptured when the rear defroster was activated (thermal changes as you mentioned). https://jalopnik.com/here-are-all-the-cars-reported-to-have-exploding-sunroo-1819815183

Tom, I feel that is a truly amazing gift to receive. I hope you look at it and remember the good times that were had with Steve every time you do.

I’ll add my goals as a(n) older fledgling pilot. Take two local VFR trips with my wife and kids (both under 100 miles for a start) to get them comfortable with private air travel, maybe to visit family for a day trip and perhaps a weekend trip to a local resort that has a paved strip in Lake Geneva Begin my instrument training Obtain additional endorsements: tail wheel, HP, and complex Attend Mooney Summit 2020 Have fun with my new ratings and continue learning the whole time.

Ok, please tell me where you got that comparison chart. I need/want to create something like this. You and I have looked at a couple of the same aircraft too!

And when I saw the original picture, I figured it was “because you were inverted” or some crazy story like that. I really had to think about what would be flying at that level. FL51 is crazy. That’s awesome!!!

I’m not an industry expert but have read and spoken to a lot of people regarding this Garmin feature. It was first introduced in the Piper M600 and will soon be ready (if not already at this point) for the SF50. There was a really interesting podcast from Aviation News Talk about it and there are demos of it on YouTube. I’m intrigued by it, seriously actually. It will select the best airport and runway based off conditions, and can land in 0/0 conditions because it is GPS based. Supposedly it will squawk for you, initiate the decent, continue an auto-broadcast of the emergency to ATC including changing channels as needed when moving through airspace. It even initiated an engine shutdown after auto-braking the plane. I found this Avweb article too. I do believe the hardware is something like $140k right now so a retrofit to a smaller plane isn’t likely, but maybe installations into future product will occur.

I’m still a(n older) student pilot. Very boring 172.

Love it! Congratulations! The red, white, and blue is very nice!

Wasn’t in a Mooney today but I just got back from practicing landings for a couple hours. It really was nice out today. Little overcast over Chicago now but not bad. Lots of activity at KDPA today.

I think you have a very nicely appointed aircraft too. Can you share how the side panels and/or the glare shield are stitched? I come from a long history of working with high end European cars and compare a lot of trim work to them so I’m curious how he lays them out then stitches them.

I tend to agree with Tony (Carusoam) on this. In fact, for many years, my industry was the Euro exotic car market. All of those have an “entry model” and all launched them at a time when their brands were dying. They may not be entry level to average consumer Joe but that applies to all luxuries like aircraft. Bentley was in financial distress and sold to VW, who launched the Continental GT for $140k Opposed to $300+ for the Arnage. Lambo did the Gallardo, Porsche launched the Boxster and Cayenne much to the dismay of purists and it saved them. Aston relaunched the Vantage in 06ish for about $140k too. Ferrari California was a V8 powered convertible for half the cost or so of their 360/430 model. Mooney has had no entry level model anymore. This could be where a properly executed trainer or even a step up from training model that would be similar to an io-360 powered M20 that could help promote easily manageable transition to complex aircraft. I do agree that there is no way you could keep a company afloat with selling 10 aircraft under $1mil each when you factor costs of employees, materials, overhead on property, and compliance. That is my thought as a new pilot and I am not a marketing expert either.

Can you give a pirep on maintenance? Is it intensive per flight hour? TBO super low or are the engines decently durable for heritage type flights these birds see now? I’m sure the parts stream is somewhat constrained but I’d expect that for a 75 year old plane too.

Is there a group of recognized transition trainers for that?

Is the Summit for Mooney owners/pilots or is it open to prospective buyers(sorry, not a new Ultra buyer though)? I’m working the logistics of getting down there for that weekend but am not an owner yet.

I hit the play button and it loaded/played. My only challenge is I’m a little jealous. I’ve loved the PA46 for a long time as well.

Tom, I neglected to pass my sympathies in our exchange yesterday. Nonetheless, you have my thoughts and prayers to go with the rest of the outpouring you see now. Friends can never be replaced, but the memories are alive in your heart and mind. I hope you can continue the tradition of Airventure this year, finding solace that Steve would likely do the same if the tables were turned. It won’t ever be the same, but it doesn’t have to be. Fair skies and tailwinds to your best friend.

You are correct that automating for 5-100 units isn’t feasible. But a thorough market analysis could tell you (company owner) if the market will bear an M20 at a $400k price with minimal changes in a Cirrus-like volume of 3-400 yearly, then you may be able to justify tooling up automation.

Another thought is invest in manufacturing automation like Daimler Chrysler did with Mercedes-Benz 20 years ago (without the quality compromises they installed and failed with as well). You invest largely in machines and train the employees to use them. Production can start and you pump aircraft out on par with Cirrus volumes and cost per unit goes down with every 100 you build. Base prices went down a little as a result of reduced manufacturing costs once the initial investment in equipment was made. Quality can go up when processes are automated because you have less human intervention. Market the new Ovation Ultra at $400k base, sell to flight schools, airline training departments, and university flight departments as a Cirrus competitor for less $$ and you can make more profit on the volume if marketed correctly. Get them set up on a reasonable 3-5 year trade schedule and you now have a used market that you can sell and service as well. If you want, bring the planes back to the factory for a Steele Aviation style refurbish to market as a certified used plane with an engine plan and some semblance of airframe warranty Lastly, I know it sucks when new product prices are cut because it instantly devalues existing customer’s products, but from a manufacturing standpoint, the existing customer is now a liability through the warranty period and often won’t be buying enough parts through dealers to maintain a profitable aftersales market once out of warranty. Over 5-10 years used prices will tend to stabilize like everything else anyways.

I work for a non-aviation vehicle manufacturer so have a little bit of understanding of how Mooney has been operated the last few years. My company has 3 basic divisions and one is a niche market similar to Beechcraft’s piston division. When you have sky high development, testing, and certification expenses, you have a low likelihood of making a profit on low volume product. If they want to turn things around, I think developing the M10 would help but they could also look at single engine turboprop trainers to compete with the T-6 Texan II contract. Over the past 19 years, production of that craft has been 850+ at a unit cost of over $4mil. Perhaps this type of government contract could keep the private GA line afloat. Just random thoughts from a non-executive low level worker bee.