1980Mooney

Lesson #1 - Get ready to spend lots of $$$$…..

A New Encore Continental TSIO-360-SB at only $100k seems like a bargain compared to a new Bravo Lycoming TIO-540-AF1B at $175K (75% more). It seems odd that the Rebuilt Encore Continental is so high at $88K. All these prices are after providing a usable Core. Without a Core, the New Lycoming for the Bravo costs $216K ! More and more, when you buy a used GA plane you are paying for Avionics and the Engine/Prop and the rest of the plane is thrown in for free....

So that was back in mid July - $101K for a Factory Rebuilt. That same Lycoming TIO-540 engine for a Bravo now costs $111K for a Factory Rebuilt. Up 10% in two (2) months.

Watch both of these videos. See the second one at 3:30 min and 5:00 min

I wonder if he was surprised by the 720 foot displaced threshold when landing on RWY 05 which is a loss of nearly 25% of the runway. I also wonder if he was aware of the downslope. You mention “laziness” which I assume you mean is lack of preparation. In the “old days“ of paper charts inbound directories, which were hard to work with in the cabin, it was always important to fully brief everything before flight. Nowadays, with everything available, literally at your fingertip with a touch either on the panel or on an iPad, it’s easier to just “wing it. A pilot can just brief as he goes …. Or maybe not brief at all – hence the surprise.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/09/08/cottonwod-arizona-plane-crash-hospitalizes-pilot/75133618007/ Look at the first picture from Facebook that is embedded in this USA today article. I am not going to post it. It clearly shows the fire crew cutting the side of the plane out And they have the stretcher ready. The pilot is just lucky that the plane did not catch on fire – he would’ve never gotten out and they would’ve never gotten him out in time

Also since you are new to Mooney, not sure your total experience, but if you have not flown any long cross country trips, there other things than can throw you off your landing and give you a "bad day". Fatigue - noise, vibration, lack of oxygen, even lack of bathroom breaks. The M20F that geared-up in Rhode Island was at the end of a 4 hour 40 minute trip that varied between 14,000 to about 9,000 ft. Even if you are young and healthy and flying befow 12,000 ft, you may find that supplemental oxygen keeps you mentally sharper.

In Clarence's 2022 post, he noted that the old-style tube and rod end come un-drilled from Mooney. That is why he suggested drilling and installing larger diameter pins if the Factory would approve. As noted, the new style threaded ends make a lot more sense.

Read these two (2) posts. Specifically look at the comments by "Clarence". He owns and operates the Mooney Service Center, Tri-City Aero, in Ontario, Canada. He is also the Authorized Service Center for Cirrus and Diamond. He was a wealth of useful pragmatic advice before the bastards here ran him off with criticism. His MS name was "M20Doc" but his remaining comments just appear as "Guest" now.

The J and the F are electric - Since it's one of the first J's built, they are both probably Dukes. The G is a mystery - but none of the four (4) gear-up incident reports mention "forgot J bar" or "J bar came loose". they just say "forgot the landing gear" - maybe it is electric also.

There is rarely any discussion, let alone meaningful, in the "Safety and Accident Discussion" Topic. But it happens, and more than most think, know or want to believe. Perhaps you are right - maybe if we don't acknowledge or discuss it, then they will just go away on their own..... If it offends you then just don't read it. BTW - this isn't "every".....there are more if you are really interested.

This particular M20J/201 was built in September 1976, If you search Aircraft.com some owners/brokers over time have advertised early manufactured M20J's/201's as "1976" models, The odd thing is if you look at the picture, it does not look like the propeller is bent in any way - not even the tips scraped. And it is not a "gear collapse" as reported in the FAA ASIAS - the gear are completely up. I wonder if he had an engine out and then landed gear up by accident. Or his gear actuator failed, his emergency manual actuator failed/jammed and he elected to gear up intentionally shutting the engine down. Doubly odd because this is a towered airport and the incident was in the early afternoon when the tower was open. The airport was closed for 2 hours per to the article and also looking at FligtAware history. If he had an engine out or jammed gear he would have declared an emergency to the tower controller. This would have been reported to the FAA. https://www.mvtimes.com/2024/09/07/landing-incident-temporarily-closes-mvy/

FYI - the 1967 M20G at Petaluma is on its fourth (4th) gear-up/collapse in 24 years. 2000 - gear-up, 2010 - porpoise and collapse, 2016 - gear-up and 2024 gear-up. Clean gear-ups/collapses in a Mooney are generally repairable. It just takes time and money.

https://www.asias.faa.gov/apex/f?p=100:93:::NO::: Gear-up Landings 1967 M20G at Petaluma Muni, CA (O69) . Looks like he was on the second "touch and go" 1976 M20J at Martha's Vineyard, MA (KMVY). Last known flight appearing on FlighAware was one year ago on Aug 14, 2023. 1968 M20F at Waterbury-Oxford (KOXC). Flying landings and taxi-back (on third landing). Pic shows right main and nose gear collapsed - slid off runway into grass. New owner in June 2024. Crash 1966 Mooney M20F near Cottonwood, AZ (P52) , Destroyed. Discussed in separate topic - appears to have been on take-off. Pilot in stable condition.

Not clear what happened. 1966 M20F, N9628M, departed Phoenix-Deer Valley Airport, AZ (KDVT) at about 6:30 AM local time. There are no ADS-B tracks once he gets north of Phoenix in either FlightAware or ADSBExchange. Aviation Safety Network claims that this happened at 9:00 AM. Possibly he had landed at Cottonwood, (P52) earlier and was departing. Plane crashed adjacent home at 71 Spur Dr., Cottonwood, AZ. (yellow circle) Propeller does not show any bending. No evidence of fuel leakage in the pictures. No fire. Engine failure? Fuel starvation? Don't know who was flying but owner is 82 years old per internet. Pilot hospitalized and stable condition. https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N9628M https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ad6710&lat=33.902&lon=-111.947&zoom=10.7&showTrace=2024-09-08&trackLabels&timestamp=1725802047 https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/420941

It's possible that they mean "former owner". When I first inspected the J that I ultimately purchased, I reached down to feel the back of the tubes on nose steering truss. I felt a flat dent. I mentioned it to the partners owning it who was standing there. He reached down and confirmed the dented tube with a simultaneous look of shock and anger and said "We just had the nose gear repaired last month because it was over-turned and bent by the FBO. The FBO paid for repair. I don't think that it has even been flown since the reapir. The same FBO dented it again."

That's great advice although it is just not realistic if your are actually trying to use a Mooney as a traveling machine. There are times when my plane needed to go into a heated hangar to melt the accumulated snow and ice off before a winter return flight. Other times, a sudden severe weather change necessitated towing the plane into a hangar. Some busy FBO's logistics don't work for the owner to move it themselves. You cannot be there all the time, everytime.

That didn't work in the Watsonville mid-air in 2022. The 340 had been flying in and out of Watsonville several times during August 2020. It was returning straight in after a short cross-country flight. Both planes were communicating. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/ntsb-cites-pilot-error-in-fatal-midair-collision-over-watsonville-municipal-airport/

Before you pull the battery box, are you sure that there is not a current drain somewhere? There are two (2) hot wires that go from the battery to the front of the plane when the Master is off if I am not mistaken - 1) the hot wire going to the cabin and baggage lights (and a clock on some models) and 2) the wire going to the Master Switch which energizes the master power solenoid/relay when flipped on. If I were you, I would disconnect the 24 v. positive line coming from the battery box right at the master power solenoid/relay (which is in the tail cone next to where the original battery before the conversion was located.) Use an ammeter to see if there is any current flow that would be slowly draining the battery. You can also check the voltage before the Master is on. If you have a drain, then the batteries are just run down. You will need to find where the current leak is. If it is a bad cell in a battery, then they should be within the Concorde 6 month Full Replacement Warranty period.

As you previously mentioned, that battery box is about 75 lbs and has to be pulled down a wooden ramp (battery board) that you temporarily install. In order to get to it and reach the box, you have to wedge your body into the tailcone a bit. You will wind up leaning on something in the tailcone putting additional weight back there.

I went to the Concorde site to look at approved applications. Amazingly Rocket Engineering never got the 24 volt Concorde batteries approved for either the later model M20J's or M20K 252's. (all with 28 volt systems). All older Missiles (M20J) and Rockets (M20K) with 14 volt systems have 2 batteries in parallel. The smaller number of later Missiles and Rockets with 28 volt systems have two (2) 12 volt batteries in series. @MikeOH was correct in your application/model. I am not sure which (parallel vs series) is more easily damaged by overcharging if one cell on one battery is bad. I have always changed out both batteries together. They typically last 6-7 years. Never had any charging problem.

Cirrus nose wheel turns 108 degrees either direction. Mooney only 11 degrees left and 13 degrees right. I think that asymmetry can throw someone off - especially if making S-turns or side to side deflection while backing. (Especially on a power tug or tractor). Pushing the nose wheel left turn the extra 2 degrees to 13 degrees like the right (to where someone eyeballed the right turn deflection) will bend the truss tube. Service Instructions SIM20-137 says “Towing by tractor or other powered equipment is NOT RECOMMENDED. ” That is just not realistic.

The 252 was the first 28 volt model. From Mooney Chronology https://www.mooneyevents.com/chrono.htm 1986 M20K 252 25-1000 to 25-1066 Continental TSI0-360-MB(1) (210 HP). Replaces 231 with intercooled engine, Garrett variable wastegate. First model with curved side window. Also, enclosed landing gear; 28V electrical. Four place. “The next new model, the M20K 252, appeared in early 1986 with a top speed of 252 miles per hour (406 km/h). It replaced the 231 and achieved its higher speed with the same 210 horsepower (160 kW) engine. It featured a new 28-volt electrical system to power additional equipment and to improve cold-weather starting.”

No. It has 2 batteries in Parallel. This is a Rocket Engineering conversion. They did the same thing with the Rocket and Missile conversion. There are 2 batteries in the tail - In addition to more cranking power, they also act as big Charlie weights to offset the extra 200+ lbs added forward of the firewall. Early J’s and K’s had two (2) 12 V Conchorde’s and later ones had two (2) 24V Concorde’s. But you are right that the other battery could become overcharged and damaged due to excessive charging of the possibly dead cell undervoltage battery.

If they have been drained dead, this may save you about $1 K