EchoMax

Just a couple of additions/corrections. The A/C unit weighs 42 lb. Not insignificant but also not a tremendous hit. It is truly portable and takes less than 5 minutes to put in or take out of the baggage compartment. Since the weight is in the baggage compartment it moves the CG rearward. An airplane with a rearward CG is actually faster than one with a CG more forward. I've demonstrated this many times with my own airplane with the A/C in and out. The 42 lb. A/C unit is removable?! The airplane is faster with the A/C in?! I had no idea! Please disregard my statement above and replace it with the following: "If it were free, N943RC would definitely be getting A/C. We don't mind the small extra weight, and can always remove it if we need to. The extra speed is an unexpected bonus." It's even something to consider at $5K + installation. I wonder why Bob didn't add it? He added or was about to add practically everything else. I'll have to ask Lynn. I'm sure it must have come up for discussion at some point.

I'm a radiologist, not an attorney or an accountant. All I can say is that my accountant recommended the LLC, and for $100 I'm not going to argue. It's kind of like how a 401K is more "protected" from lawsuits than an IRA. It's not foolproof, but it adds a layer of security. My understanding is yes, in most cases they can come after the LLC assets, but not my personal assets. If you have more than one plane, you can put each one into its own LLC. Avoiding probate in the event of an untimely death may prevent costly delays if the estate gets tied up in probate court. Many people don't bother to update their will. The structure of an LLC created as “joint tenants with the right of survivorship” takes care of this automatically—no will required. Coupled with term life insurance, nobody has to take a haircut.

Hi Sharon! Tom Miller here, aka EchoMax. I regret that I did not have the pleasure of meeting your dad, but obviously he was a wonderful person. I have had a couple of charming phone conversations with your equally wonderful mother Nancy. I am blessed with the honor of carrying on the tradition of "The Gypsy Rose". I promise to take good care of her. Her new base will be at KBLF, only 40 minutes from KMRN. You, your mom, or any of your family would be welcome to take a ride anytime, schedule permitting. We will continue service with Lynn at KMRN. Bob's in a better place. God bless him! Tom-

I found these while perusing Bob's old posts here on MooneySpace. Last August he wrote, "My planes have never had names but since we painted the plane last year I've been trying to find an appropriate moniker. "The Gypsy Rose" seems to fit the Red trim and our mission. In addition my late sister ran a restaurant by that name." And then in October he wrote, "Having a little MS fun on a rainy day... Renewed my Medical Certificate Third Class yesterday. Guess that means all youse guys waiting for me to turn Gypsy Rose loose will have to wait a while. " If you inherit a beloved family pet, you should not change its name. Similarly, in honor and memory of Bob, N943RW (aka "The Gypsy Rose") will retain the name Bob gave her! Even if it were free, N943RC won't be getting A/C anytime soon. We don't want the extra weight and the decrease in speed and useful load. In Arizona you have real heat, but hangared at KBLF in the Blue Ridge mountains, the nearest town is Bluefield, WV which prides itself on its hospitable climate. Since 1938 the Chamber of Commerce has given out free lemonade when the temperature tops 90 °F, typically two or three days each year. The city's motto is, "Nature's air-conditioned city, where the summer spends the winter."

The “buy vs club” debate is a version of the old “own vs rent” debate. The multi-millionaire publishing mogul and drug-addled dissolute Felix Dennis once wrote, “If it flies, floats or fornicates, always rent it. It’s cheaper in the long run.”* Perhaps this explains why there are some rich people who are so unhappy. Life is not always about what is cheaper, but there is some truth there. If one can barely afford to fly, then rental is the only option. End of discussion. If you have more money than brains, buy a new TBM. What the heck? It’s only money! Let’s assume that you are able to afford ownership but are frugal by nature. The first question is: solo vs partnership? If you need your own airplane, for whatever reason, and can afford it, then go solo. But keep in mind that it’s bad for the engine to sit idle for a long time, so if your flying schedule might include long gaps, even if you can afford it, do not go solo. That leads us to partnerships, which share some similarities with marriages—there are good ones and bad ones. Partnership Agreements are important but will be a blunt tool in the absence of mutual communication, cooperation, negotiation, flexibility, fairness, and compromise. For me, a two-man partnership is the sweet spot, if you can find the right partner. The fixed overhead gets chopped by half. Ditto for purchase price and upgrades. Makes my frugal heart flutter! What I like most about the two-man group is that complete communication doesn’t require more than a single phone call. For three partners complete communication may require up to three 2-way calls, and for four partners six calls. All things being equal, scheduling will be more difficult in a 4-man group than in a 2-man group. If you can afford to own a plane, you probably have assets that you need to shield, so you should consider putting the plane into an LLC. You can set one up yourself for about $100. It’s not necessary, but as my accountant said, “Heaven forbid someone should crash your plane into a school bus filled with children!” A standard AOPA agreement worked well for us. We may have tweaked it a little bit. Neither of us hired an attorney. The agreement does not cover what happens if one partner dies unexpectedly. The decedent’s heirs may need to sell their share quickly to raise cash, even if at a forced-sale discount, while the surviving partner may not want to sell his share under any circumstances, but does not have enough money to buy out the heirs’ share, and does not have enough time to find a new partner on such short notice. Here’s a little trick: Set up the LLC as “joint tenants with the right of survivorship”. When a “joint tenant” dies, the surviving owner automatically owns the whole property, and property can avoid probate. No will required! Now let’s say one of us dies unexpectedly, and the decedent’s family needs money. Won’t they be angry when they discover that they have just lost the equity in Dad’s share of the plane? Not if this risk has been mitigated by purchasing inexpensive term life insurance equal to the value of the equity. Me? I just self-insure and pocket the profit in the premium. * Felix Dennis, How to Get Rich (2006)

It’s a heavy burden, but we will try to be worthy and not screw this up. N943RW is "special", and we pledge to "be nice to her, keep her flying regularly, and keep her current with appropriate upgrades". We fly our current ride once a month or more frequently and have an ample budget for maintenance, upgrades, and repair. As a bonus, we are only 40 minutes away from AGL at KMRN and can continue maintenance with Lynn Mace who personally has almost a decade of experience with this particular aircraft. Helpfully, my partner is a retired military pilot who is very meticulous by nature and obsessive about maintenance and operational stuff. As far as transition training, my most excellent local flight instructor (Randy McCallister/KPSK) has several decades of Mooney experience as a pilot, mechanic, and owner. He owns and maintains a J and did his commercial training in an E. Oshkosh awaits.

Former lurker, first-time poster. I just changed my moniker to EchoMax, and you will see why. I am a 60-yo student pilot based at KBLF in the Blue Ridge mountains and was poised to take my checkride until Corona virus and hip surgery intervened, but I will be in the left seat again soon. As soon as I get my PPL, I’m going to start intensive IFR training. I have a great partner. (“Choose your partner like you choose your wife, only more carefully,” as my dad used to say.) Together, we own a well-equipped 1983 Beech Sundowner, which is sort of like Beech’s version of a Cessna 172, only heavier, roomier, and harder to land. We bought it for a fair price and then added a few things (electronic engine monitor, AOA, new tires and battery, etc) and fixed a few things for something like $15-20K, money that we probably won’t get back when we sell—live and learn. This plane has some significant limitations, as we have found. My partner took his wife on a short ~150 mi trip and faced 40kt headwinds. Cars on the interstate were making better groundspeed. What’s the point of flying if not to be faster than driving? Also it takes forever to climb to 8000 ft. Time to trade up. First step: establish the mission. Fortunately, we both share the same mission: visits to family and friends, typically 150-500 miles with usually no more than one passenger plus the pilot, as well as local flights for fun. We want what many people want: an inexpensive, fast, fuel-efficient, well-maintained, frequently-flown, well-equipped IFR-ready airplane with engine monitor, decent AP, and GPS. Of course, no plane satisfies all eight of these attributes, but seven-out-of-eight is possible if one ignores “inexpensive”. Perhaps “good value” should be substituted for “inexpensive”, because something may have a high price and still be a good value. Second step: establish the budget. I searched for the plane I really wanted. Unfortunately it was $400K+. I could afford this, but even the insurance would be out of reach for my partner, and I like having a partner, so I set a budget of $100-150K. Setting aside 20% for upgrades and repairs, this leaves $80-120K for the purchase price. It didn’t take long to figure out that a Mooney M20 would best serve our mission and budget. I first considered the M20K but decided that we don’t want to fly at altitudes that require oxygen or risk hypoxia and therefore don’t really need turbo with its greater complexity and higher maintenance costs. So the M20J became our target. At first, I didn’t even consider vintage Mooneys, but soon realized that the short-body C or E with tiny rear seats would fit our mission just fine because we don’t expect to fly much with more than two people. Yesterday I put a deposit down on Bob Belville’s 1966 M20E that seems to hit all the right notes, is within our budget, and is conveniently located at KMRN, only 40 Mooney minutes away from us at KBLF. This beautiful bird is completely tricked out with new paint and interior. Unfortunately, Bob passed away yesterday. I never had the pleasure to meet him, but I understand he is revered among Mooniacs. My condolences to his wife Nancy. Bob has described his E as “Heavy and slow. (900# UL, ~155 ktas at 75% but I fly LOP for economy and range... ~140 ktas @ ~8.0 gph.)”. Those numbers work for me. Bob’s ad is at https://mooneyspace.com/topic/33992-66-20e-110000/?tab=comments#comment-578910. Is there anything to add to this aircraft? Last fall he wrote, “I had planned to do the STEC 3100 but now nothing seems worth the trouble. Lynn wants to replace flaps which came back from paint with some twist...” Maybe upgrade the AP to an STEC 3100 at some point it when it becomes available for the E? Upgrade the audio panel from the GMA340? Neither seems to me particularly necessary or cost-effective at this time. I’m optimistic that there will be no major surprises during the pre-buy inspection, but we’ll see. Some say that no 1966E is worth this amount of money ($110K), but I am comfortable with the price given the condition of the aircraft. What do others think? This was Bob’s forever plane and probably will be mine too. Thanks to all of the MS members for the invaluable information and advice here in the forum.