Pilot boy

So I just want to clarify you were spending about $15k per year to maintain the Mooney M20C for the first three years? Good to know, but you misunderstand, I am in my 30s and my wife and I are well established in our business, which we own. We are just having children a bit later than most have.

I can make those useful loads work for a long time so that should be okay if it's 670 lbs or just carry a bit less fuel on the F and J models etc.

I have read some of your posts on here. What is your average for annual maintenance on that last M20C you had? Is $12k per year around right for keeping it flying? Hangar and insurance separate. I plan to pay for the plane in cash so no interest charges or payments. Sounds good on the don't buy the fixer upper. I will look for something better.

Hello everyone, I am looking for a good xcountry time builder for myself (going for the regionals). My current work also has me traveling from Nebraska to NY state regularly and it'd be nice to take my own plane instead of the airliners as I'm trying to build time anyway. I'd like insight into the cheapest Mooney for ongoing maintenance costs (if there's a difference there). I am thinking manual gear for example might be cheaper to maintain and more reliable than the electric gear. My wife and I have one child and plan to have a 2nd child in the next couple years. I think the 700 to 750 lbs with full fuel payload of most of the Mooneys will suffice as we are not super heavy. I'd like to be able to take the family until they get to teenage years at least. For me building time I'd like around a 10 GPH and the most speed I can get for the long trips to NY. I am open to any model to best fit the mission. C models seem a bit easier to find and for lower up front costs you get more features in the panel etc than an F or G model. and I'm not sure we really need the extra cabin space too much though I'd probably prefer and F or G if I can find a good one...or even an E/201. My budget all in is around $60k for the plane. I'd like it to have a WAAS GPS or else I will be installing the at if I find a cheaper plane without an updated panel. My big thing is I don't mind spending more up front if it's worth it to get a better airframe and engine, but it has to be worth it. I don't mind a little bit of fixing up if it saves me $20 or $30k up front and the repair bills dont make it a wash. So a good time builder that can become also a small family plane that's relatively cheap for ongoing maintenance (I'm budgeting about $12k per year on a regular basis, some years will be more, some less hopefully) with an engine fund of $30k for engine and prop down the road. If that's not enough criteria, I can come up with more. I'm in Omaha, NE so I know Wilmar is fairly close. I'll also need a knowledgeable pre buy mechanic but that may depend on where I find a plane worth looking at. Thanks everyone. If anyone knows a vintage Mooney model around Omaha, NE I'd really like to sit in one as I haven't been able to find a local owner yet. Which is surprising as I've found 2 Grumman Travelers owners here. I'm also looking at the Grumman Tiger but the payload is worse (600 to 650 lbs after fuel) and tops out around 130 knots it seems and I want every ounce of speed I can get. Any prior Grumman Tiger owners I would appreciate insights on costs to maintain also though.

Where did you both have the prebuys done? airtime what kind of mooney and how much did it cost to buy? im in hunting mode.

I am still getting recurrent with my private/instrument after not having flown for several years. Once I'm more comfortable Ill plan a x country to CID

Yeah it's so odd

Considering purchasing a vintage Mooney 20 series, C, E or F, G. Would really like to at least sit in the plane to see dimensions and comfort. Would pay for gas for a quick flight as well if you have time. However, I really just want to see how the cabin feels to see if I should continue pursuing the Mooney 20 series and if I really need an F or can get by with a C or E. Any Mooney owners around Omaha, NE or come here regularly?

Considering purchasing a vintage Mooney 20 series, C, E or F, G. Would really like to at least sit in the plane to see dimensions and comfort. Would pay for gas for a quick flight as well if you have time. However, I really just want to see how the cabin feels to see if I should continue pursuing the Mooney 20 series and if I really need an F or can get by with a C or E. Any Mooney owners around Omaha, NE or come here regularly?

60k is probably the max i want to go right now. this is a first plane, somewhat of a "training" plane to get my instrument and commercial license and fly it afterwards with the family. i don't really care to buy a 172 or cherokee im gonna get fed up with the slow speed on in a year...looking at mooney, arrows, grumman tigers, beeches etc.

im looking in the 35 to 60k range. depends on condition, avionics etc.

i post then revisit to see responses over time.

okay, thank you

Looking for a good shop to do the pre-buy inspection on an M20 series (when I find one) around the one Midwest. I'm in Omaha, Nebraska. I've heard there's a shop up in Minnesota that's good. Any other suggestions on shops or mechanics near Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Colorado, SD, ND? I'd probably want to have the plane pre purchase inspection by someone who knows their mooneys. My shop in Omaha mostly specializes in Cessnas and Pipers. Thank you everyone and thanks for the response to my other thread on ownership costs of the 20 series, 60s era Mooneys.

Yeah unfortunately this is the tack I'm going with wife difficult sell but I think she gets it as she knows how much I like to fly.

I'm very much in the both camps of this. Initially I'm working on instrument and commercial to build time. However, long term I'd like to own a cross country machine to get places fast. I also travel for regular work around the US and the Mooney seems better suited for my job to fly myself around in a somewhat timely way.

Oh i know you did, but I didn't get too many other responses in the other thread since the title was about other Mooney aficionados in Omaha Nebraska. So I wanted to post a more generic thread to get more maintenance numbers from more ppl. Wife's a CPA I need more numbers to keep the spreadsheets happy. No offense intended, I appreciated your answers on both threads

18 years until I get to this point. She was just born!

Thank you and thankfully my hangar costs around midwest are much cheaper!

Lol, my wife is a CPA so you can imagine what I'm up against here with the spreadsheets going etc. Fortunately I do own my own business so $8 to $15k discretionary is doable and I do plan to buy the plane cash. $12k per year definitely manageable. Won't help retirement funds any but I'm here to fly.

Awesome, thank you. I'm in the midwest so hangar rates are very cheap - about $150 per month. I was planning on about $12k per year for maintenance but it seems like that is probably a bit high once I get all the initial bugs ironed out. Is there a good Mooney mechanic in this vicinity of omaha, nebraska? kansas city? minneapolis?

I am in the midwest, Omaha, Nebraska

Any estimates on your annual cost of keeping a Mooney of this age flying would be very helpful. Am I looking at approximately $1k a month for maintenance like random squawks, the annual, hangar and an engine fund? How much do you pay for insurance annually? I'd like as much info as possible with budget numbers so all models of the 20 series are of interest - C,F,J etc I'm trying to justify buying a Mooney versus just continuing to rent less capable planes. How often does something rough happen like a 500 hr engine dying on you, or wings needing resealed and you have a random $15k or $20k bill? Thank you everyone and happy flying!

Can you hazard a guess as to how much (aside from fuel) it costs you to keep the Mooney around each year? Rogue One gave me some good figures to go off - but how do yours compare? I'm a bit concerned to bite off more than I can chew and the wife is a CPA and this has become a hard sell I'm duplicate quoting so I apologize but I want as many different owners and their planes to comment here as possible.

Can you hazard a guess as to how much (aside from fuel) it costs you to keep the Mooney around each year? Rogue One gave me some good figures to go off - but how do yours compare? I'm a bit concerned to bite off more than I can chew and the wife is a CPA and this has become a hard sell