1980Mooney

True… That’s what happens when there’s only about 250 left of the original 15,000 P51’s produced. Maybe if we wait until only 250 of the original 11,000+ Mooney’s are still flying, then we will see some meaningful price appreciation.....

Consider this. The owner of the plane with the jack through the wing, N6466Q, will get his plane repaired regardless of the cost which will be paid for by the offending shop and its insurance. The unfortunate owner of the "green machine", N2953L, may be in greater peril of loss depending on damages and his level of insurance and personal resources. And as pointed out in another current topic in General Mooney Talk, the owner of N2953L may get dropped by his insurance company going forward while the owner of N6466Q will not.

You are correct in your assessment. And this action will spiral up prices for another reason than the smaller population of pilots. I suspect that most of these pilot owners who are being dropped for filing claims had not owned their plane long enough to pay total premiums over time equal to the cost of the accident claim loss. Insurance is a "pooled risk" in which the insurers will charge total rates high enough to cover total claims while still earning a return. The action of the insurance company (especially if it is insurance companies in mass) to drop owners like this guarantees that the dropped owners will not pay any more premiums into the "pool" in the future to cover this past shortfall. So who pays to cover the loss in the "pool"?....the rest of us in the form of higher premiums!

The video confirmed the eyewitness account per NTSB. A homeowner adjacent the runway commented on BeechTalk: ”One of my neighbors caught the flight on one of his surveillance cameras. You can see the plane pitch way up, I'd estimate it to be 40 degrees. Then disappear out of the frame for a few seconds, then come nearly straight down.”

Here is one fact. We know that Mooney committed before the holidays to pay the employees 2 weeks holiday pay and then they reneged on paying them after the holidays. The owners/management are either callous and devious liars that are despicable in their treatment of the valued employees with knowhow or alternatively they are completely incompetent buffoons. Take your pick. A great way to build brand loyalty and buyer confidence. https://dailytimes.com/promotions/article_c8cf8c5e-30d8-11ea-ae58-0bf9a97b793c.html "Mooney furloughs employees again, walks back holiday pay " https://dailytimes.com/opinion/article_fea81790-322e-11ea-ae05-1b1d91593048.html "Mooney’s employees are the heroes who have suffered

The warranty is 3 years or 1000 hours, whichever is earliest...right? Mooney only delivered 29 aircraft in the last 3 years according to GAMA. On average half the warranty has expired for the group and one of the newest aircraft is gone. That's a pretty small class.

I am curious to know if you are simply assuming that there is no debt in Mooney. Clearly lots of cash flowed into Mooney International Corporation. But unless you have seen the accounting books you don't know if it's immediate parent, Soaring America Corporation, used an equity infusion or used a debt instrument to Soaring America to book the cash transfer. Saying it another way, Mooney may have a massive IOU debt to Soaring America and Soaring America could be Mooney's biggest creditor. It's just a matter of how they have financed the business. Additionally there may be some third party debt and there may be vendor advances and payables. Additionally if there is debt of any sort you don't know if it is secured or unsecured. Since it has been reported that Mooney has welched on its commitment to pay employees holiday pay, we may assume they have no cash. But Mooney likely has ongoing cash expenses for security, utilities and property taxes in Texas are due this month. There may be outstanding law suits and new ones may be filed so there are probably bills from lawyers piling up. Soaring America may choose to throw Mooney into bankruptcy in order to stop the continuing cash drain and limit potential future legal liabilities. Or others may force it. If they don't pay property taxes on the plant, which I assume are substantial, the City of Kerrville/School District/County (whichever is appropriate) will move to foreclose on the properties by yearend. Vendors may be able to place liens on assets for non-payment. If it does go into bankruptcy they may seek liquidation or alternatively seek reorganization. If it is liquidation then there is no entity left to seek anything against. Everyone that is owed anything by the company, (regardless of repayment of debt, vendor payables, warranties on planes, service agreements, taxes payable, lawyers, pending lawsuits, utilities, etc) are creditors as you point out. They all have to get in line in order to make their case to get a share of whatever asset can be turned into cash. Each party has to make their case to the bankruptcy judge that they should get some sort of priority. Those that are secured may get 100% of what is owed while others that are unsecured may get cents on the dollar or nothing. All parties will be hit with legal expenses further reducing the effective settlement, if any. Once it is settled everyone gets what they get and there is no further obligation or recourse for anything. If it is the reorganization route then the legal entity will survive, although it could have a different name. Everyone that is owed anything is still a creditor but they need to make a case that they should get priority on being repaid (or warranty protected) from what might be a viable ongoing business. The equity holders usually get crushed. The problem is that some assets have to be turned into cash or someone needs to bring new cash to the company. In that case the warranties could survive and be approved by the court if the judge believes that the "New Mooney" is viable enough to service its ongoing obligations.

The longer this drags on the harder it becomes to make a business case for Mooney as a going aircraft manufacturing concern. Posts in Beechtalk highlight the brain drain at Mooney. ”We (Bison Aviation) hired their avionics manager and their chief inspector during the December furlough. When the factory opened back up I asked both of them what their plan was, knowing that they each had a long history with Mooney. I made it clear that I understood their position and that there would be no hard feelings or repercussions if they needed / wanted to go back. Both of them said they were sticking with us. I guess they had a pretty good idea what was coming. https://www.beechtalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=175253&start=30

Piper intentionally discontinued the Saratoga PA-32R, high performance single retract, in 2009. They had the same meager sales as Mooney does today. They see a business model that supports a low end - (trainers (single and twin) and fixed gear piston) and a high end - (pressurized singles (turboprop and piston) and twins). Apparently they concluded that there is no slot in the product line for slow selling loss making single retracts. Business schools typically call this the "middle muddle".

Victims identified. Johnathan Vannatta is listed as a co-owner on the registration of N602TF (as previously stated transfer date 12/20/2019). FAA shows a Private Pilot issue date of 6/2016 and Instrument Rated. News feeds show crystal clear skies with some apparent crosswind based upon the smoke from the fire. https://fox4kc.com/2020/01/01/officials-identify-two-out-of-state-victims-killed-in-plane-crash-near-joco-executive-airport/

Yes...on the other side. That’s the only way to deliver that $300k J Model that Yetti is talking about.

A big fat "T". How appropriate to remind all Mooney owners of the steel and aluminum Tariffs (aka Taxes) that are raising the cost and price of a Mooney. Once again, since there are no tariffs on carbon fiber or epoxy in a Cirrus or Diamond, the predominantly aluminum and steel Mooney is at a further disadvantage. The tail looks like an anchor that will drag Mooney into the ground.....

Nice comparison of planes from the last century.....

I hope that you are prepared to wait a long time for that press release. Mooney gave notice they were exiting the TBM JV in 1991,(just before the TBM 700 was certified) and ceased all involvement and obligations. Socata ultimately bought out Mooney's 30% share. Mooney got cash but no rights or technology related to the successful TBM 700. Daher ultimately bought out Socata. Mooney has no involvement whatsoever with Daher TBM. Mooney would be a different company today if they hadn't made that bad decision. They would have been more diversified with the leading performance singles. Success would have funded new developments. A healthy Mooney may not have blunted the success of Cirrus but I bet they would have taken significant share from Piper. Instead they have only two Ultras and an idle factory. https://aviationweek.com/awin/socata-acquires-mooneys-share-tbm-program

As everyone prepares for Thanksgiving let’s not forget the Mooney factory workers who will be celebrating without a paycheck and face the prospect of nothing for Christmas/New Years. I know of a top piston/turboprop/jet shop on the southwest side of Houston that could use a Mooney factory mechanic immediately. They are Mooney service experts along with other brands. If there are any laid off Mooney employees reading this thread or if anyone here knows of any, PM me for the shop contact information ASAP.