1980Mooney

Let's take your estimate and do a "reality check". The $5 million per year max in "factory parts" would be in the form of sales to MSC's before they mark them up for retail sale to owners and A&P's. Assuming a 40% mark-up, that would be about $7 million in Mooney parts spread over a fleet of 6,000 aircraft. That would mean that everyone, every year is purchasing on average nearly $1,200 in parts made by the factory. How many owners here are buying $1,200 per year in parts made by Mooney? That excludes the accordion intake baffles, Rochester wing fuel gauges and other third party parts which are just sourced from others with a mark-up. I think the answer is not many. It has been many years since I actually purchased a part made by the factory. I am sure Mooney makes big sales in slugs when someone attempts to repair structural corrosion or repairs a gear-up landing but how often does that actually happen vs parting out the damaged plane? I am skeptical that sales will be that high. And as @Schllc points out these sales have to be over a fleet of considerable variation. The economics must be daunting and as Don Maxwell posted on Facebook, having seen the books, Mooney cannot support its overhead selling its current level of parts. So costs have to go down and/or prices have to go up. Probably both will happen.

It has been previously reported that they do.

Did you see Don Maxwell's post on Facebook Mooney Pilots this evening? "Johnny has done his best. He has done this for no salary and has battled a major health issue. He also recently got married. I've seen the books, with the Kerrville overhead it cant make it making parts. Hard to say but its the truth. Hopefully Lasar's hat has a big rabbit in it. I wish them well as we all should." We have known for a long time that they can't make it making airplanes. Many have suspected that they can't make it making just parts either. So what is left?....

For what it's worth, Rocket Engineering's 509-534-2025 telephone number still answers with Darwin Conrad's recorded greeting and then goes to voice mail. Just a downsizing and relocation? Or perhaps it is the end?....

True but Mooney International owns no buildings or land in Kerr County. They operate out of leased facilities (hangar, offices, manufacturing space) on long term lease from the City and County. Go look at the Kerr County Central Appraisal District property search. Their largest asset is inventory at $1.72 million. Next is their machinery and equipment valued at $1.53 million. They have made some leasehold improvements on the leased facilities which they have capitalized. If they downsize further and move manufacturing to a smaller facility, then those building improvement investments become worthless since they stay with the City and County facilities.

If Lasar is taking over those “front-end” functions previously done at Mooney Int’l then that would also mean that Mooney is further reducing staff in Kerrville.

Not according to this.

What does the sign on the folding door say? Does it say Rocket Engineering or is that a realtor sign? I can’t make it out as posted. Maybe your original is higher resolution.

Agreed that the actual pitot/static IFR cert work should not take a 2-3 day turnaround under any circumstances. That just means the plane was sitting while the shop worked on other planes. I had this also done in my hangar a little over a week ago. I have standby power, lights, fans so it was easy-peasy for the avionics tech. It took less than an hour to do 2 instruments (Aspen PFD and traditional altimeter) from arrival to leaving the certs on my glareshield.

Let us know anything that you find out about Rocket Engineering when you are out there today - if they are still in business at KSFF. Looking online, Darwin Conrad, Founder of Rocket Engineering and JetProp DLX (both in the same facility), shows to be 75 years old now. Thanks in advance.

I agree that it is usually the field wire on the alternator that vibrates/fatigues loose. That happened to me over desolate West Texas/Eastern New Mexico about 25 years ago. But something doesn't make sense. If that happened or alternator failure of any kind happened - then first, the Ammeter would start pegging to the left with a constant drain on the battery. Then the Low Volts light would come on as the battery voltage dropped with the power draw. Those indications on the panel normally gives the pilot time to shut down unnecessary Nav/Comms, lights, etc. and conserve battery power. But you say the Ammeter was centered which means no draw on the battery. And that your Nav/Comms reset/restarted a couple times which meant they experienced complete loss of power (not just low volts). Could it be related to the Main power solenoid - either the solenoid or the main power switch on the panel or the wiring to it?

Cassity still appears as the owner in the FAA Registry. He has not been on MS since June of last year. About that time the Registry shows that he also purchased N693BS, a 2021 SUPER PETREL LS (amphibious). ADSB-Exchange shows that it showed up at Henderson on September 19, 2024. It appears to fly fairly regularly from Henderson to Lake Mead. Per ADSB-Exchange the Rocket didn't fly much - last flight in 2024 was November 29 around Henderson, then on February 15-16, 2025 to Buckeye, AZ and back, and then on June 28, 2025 a few short flights around Las Vegas. On July 2 it flew to Provo. This happened the next day on the return. Per FlightAware and ADSB-Exchange it looks like he landed at a high rate of descent, pushed it into the runway about 1/4-1/3 down the 5,000 ft, runway and porpoised extremely hard. As noted above look at how the tail section rear of the steel fuselage frame is buckled downward. That took a high downward force while on the main landing gear. It is hard to tell from the pic but the spinner looks like it is crushed in and one blade is completely bent under the lower cowling. It looks like all the landing gear are sheared off/collapsed In addition to @LANCECASPER comment about the fuselage frame, this Rocket has an STC bespoke engine mount that may also be damaged adding to the cost. Per ADSB-Exchange, he came in way too high. At about 1.5 nm from the threshold, he was about 1,000 ft AGL and descending at -2,000 fpm. That is about a 6 degree glide slope. His rate of descent reduced to about -450 fpm as he crossed the airport fence but increased to about -770 fpm as he crossed the runway threshold which makes it look like he forced it into the runway. (Note - ADSB shows he was about 150 AGL when crossing the threshold. Also 35R is a shorter runway and set back from taxiway A - the threshold is at taxiway C) https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a8b2af&lat=35.968&lon=-115.124&zoom=15.1&showTrace=2025-07-03&trackLabels&timestamp=1751562032 N66JG Flight Tracking and History 03-Jul-2025 (KPVU-KHND) - FlightAware N693BS Flight Tracking and History 06-Jun-2025 (KHND-KVGT) - FlightAware

The Acclaim POH states that Preflight Inspection includes : Nose and Main Landing Gear - Gear, Shock Discs, Tires and Gear Doors ……INSPECT So the answer is “yes” you are supposed to if you adhere to the POH. And if you are checking tire pressure you have to crawl under regardless.

The low this morning in Idaho where the OP resides was 44 degrees F this morning........

Odd. My comment above was in response to a post and quotes by @Scottknoll yet you responded to it and defended Scottknoll's comments as if they were your own comments/post.

@M20GforMe Since you are taking an active role in the Annual and repair, do you have the Service Manual and the Parts Manual for your G and the Lycoming manuals for the O-360? These, along with others, are in the "Downloads" Section here on Mooneyspace.

Just curious - did you replace both o-rings on each cap? The big outer one and the small one around the shaft? I know you are new to ownership and things may appear simple. You removed the cotter pin and nut, then decompressed the spring in order to disassemble? And you reassembled, didn't lose that half moon clip and adjusted with proper spring tension so that is stays closed but does not bind? Great job if you did both. It's a learning experience.... From SB (Service Bulletin) M20-229A,

I think you missed that the OP is a Student Pilot. When flying with the CFI, it is the CFI that is PIC. Since the CFI has been PIC on every flight with the student OP, the CFI can definitely "Ground" the aircraft......

Just be careful if you are attempting to buy a used one online rather than local and in-person. And even local and in person there are pitfalls. Due to the price and lack of availability, these are favorites for online scammers. The Inogen G5 and identical OxyGo Next were introduced in 2019. I searched OfferUp, Mercari, Craigslist and eBay (they sold them at the time) back in 2021. There were a considerable number of what appeared to be legitimate lightly used units for sale at the time. I spoke to a couple individual sellers in New Mexico and Colorado (natural markets due to the high altitude) that advertised on Craigslist that seemed honest and legit. I ultimately found a lightly used (about 120 hours) OxyGo Next locally in Houston on Craigslist for about $400. I have searched again recently looking for a second one. I added Facebook Marketplace to the sites. The market is different now eBay will no longer sell full portable units. It is because what @Marc_B said above - the FDA classifies this as needing a prescription. If you post a unit on eBay, it will be taken down by the moderators. Yes they sell parts and accessories. There are "bait and switch" scammers online. On OfferUp I called a seller and they said the "portable in the ad has been sold but I have a stationary 120 volt unit I can sell you". The condition could be crap. Get visual confirmation of Total Hours Used. I found a local G5 recently with 15,000 hours on it. On Marketplace, I contacted a seller in Texas. They sent video of the unit and seemed legit. But then things got weird and ultimately they could not provide evidence of shipping. PayPal reversed and refunded my payment. If you find one locally being sold by relatives of someone who no longer needs it, be cautious if it has been sitting for a long time (like years). If the relatives left the battery installed in the unit sitting for months/years, it will likely be fully discharged. The Inogen/OxyGo batteries are LI-ION. Fully discharging a lithium-ion battery is harmful and can cause irreversible damage. They may be shot. (There are a lot of shot "used" batteries for sale on these sites). The batteries used to be ridiculously expensive but prices have come down. Some places wanted $680 for a 16 cell (double capacity) battery in 2022-23. They are about half that now, but since they are made in China are probably going up. Buyer beware.....

@M20GforMe - as a new owner you are "drinking from a firehose" right now. I can tell from your quote for the Annual that you are using Coletti Aviation at KLOT. Mooney M20 Annual Inspection | COLETTI AVIATION There aren't any PIREP's on Coletti on either Mooneyspace or Beechtalk so it is hard to say anything about their experience, but their pricing seems to be pretty transparent. Maintenance | COLETTI AVIATION Looking at your list, there are some things that another A&P (actually it is the IA) "might" let you "kick the can down the road", but it can be "pay me now or pay me a lot more later". For instance, it appears there is corrosion on the steel tubular fuselage cage - 4.5 shop hours to address it. You definitely want to do it. Then there is the corrosion on the Push/Pull control tubes. I had the same issue when I changed A&P - the old one signed off on the surface corrosion, but the new one would not. In the end it was better to stop the corrosion sooner rather than later. You might be able to spread some of this out over future Annuals but spending more money to put your plane back together, fly to another A&P, pay them to undo your plane again - and then perhaps write up the same list of discrepancies becomes a real money loser. Read this article by Mike Bush - others have referenced Mike Bush who is "Savvy Aviation" EAA_2011-05_is-it-safe-is-it-airworthy.pdf

Perhaps you did not see that the shop found corrosion on the engine mount and prescribed Corrective Action of "Strip down, clean and paint to prevent reoccurrence". If you are having the engine pulled (for issues you highlight) and if they are removing the engine mount frame, then it would be really cheap/"penny wise" to not replace the Lord or Barry mounts at the time. @M20GforMe - corrosion allowance is only 10%. I don't know your mount tubular dimensions, but it might only be 0.035- 0.065 inch thick. That means that corrosion of only 0.004 - 0.006 inches renders it unairworthy. That could be one thick hairs width. Then you get into welding it. It would be best to address it while the engine is out. Otherwise the cost becomes huge if you have to do it in the future.

Please don't scare/mislead a new owner - that is classic Mooney CB. @M20GforMe (CB is "cheap bastard" in Mooney-speak). No shop is going to give you a discount if they have a mechanic in training working on your plane. The shop rate is the shop rate.

Can you elaborate? On Steel fuselage frame, engine mount, landing gear members, control rods? Structural aluminum inside the wings? Filaform?

You didn’t mention if there were any events prior to finding this: - How long/flight hours ago did you or partner last record tighter/normal spreads? - Was any work done on the engine recently or recent Annual prior to discovering the high spread?

The dive shops I go to in the Houston area have pure oxygen.