Greetings all! I have owned a non-turbo Piper Arrow III for about 16 years now, and it's been a great plane for being single, then married, then married with 2 kids. Easy to maintain, reasonably capable and comfy to fly in, even coast-to-coast a few times. After many years I've decided to trade platforms and look for a 231. I met one gent at CZL a few weeks ago that let me poke around his 231 a bit (I was flying the wife's C152), and it's comparable to the Arrow in terms of cabin space and whatnot.
I've poked around the interwebs enough to learn some basics about the Mooney model I'm interested in, but was curious about some of the things to look for in a potential purchase- both what you might consider "mandatory" versus "Preferred."
My typical flying will be from TN to NY/NC/FL, with jaunts to ID/WA 2-4 times a year. Will probably fly 55-65% power, but mainly interested in comfortable cruise in the 10-12k range, with hops up to 18-20k for the Rocky Mountains. I've read up on the test pilot writeup that seems to be everywhere that Mooney discussions seem to be, and lurked these forums quite a bit for tidbits here and there.
It seems the best things to look for are the LB engine, single-piece belly, intercooler, and Merlyn Wastegate. Not all mandatory items, but good to have.
What sort of things would be a no-go for a M20K related to the airframe and engine?
