Utah20Gflyer

There is a lot of cost uncertainty if you decide to overhaul. Bad case? Bad crank? Other things may come up. Seems like best case you will just get back the extra money you put in but a good chance you will get back less. If you can get into annual for a reasonable cost then that may be worth it as it allows the buyer to test fly it or move it for inspection. If you can’t get the annual without an engine overhaul I’d sell it without an annual rather than take the risk of major work. keep in mind I am likely the least qualified person on the forum to give out advice, but that’s my take.

You are correct, I purchased the plane from Dale Mooneyham in April. He put a lot of attention and love into the plane to get it in good shape about 20 years ago. I'm sure he never would have sold it to me if he hadn't lost the ability to get a medical. It did sit for a while but I'm incrementally trying to get it back into excellent shape. I've put about 70 hours on it since I bought it 4 months ago so it's getting well used now.

Finally got around to doing that door windlace. Looks much nicer now.

I think the 2 garmin 275s would give you the maximum additional utility. Personally I think they are the better deal than G5’s for the Mooney application because they allow the removal of 4 of the six pack instruments as well as CDIs if you have them. In a tight Mooney panel that makes room for lots of other things in the future. Better functionality and options as well. Worth a couple extra thousand dollars in my opinion. I’m looking to add a garmin 355 gps/com and a 275 HSI in my Mooney in the next month. When funds allow I’ll add the AI.

I'm paying around 2700 a year for insurance as a low time VFR pilot who just bought a Mooney with a 50k hull value. I have yet to get an annual but the shops I've talked to are around 2500 for the inspection not including additional work which I am sure I'm going to have. I'm going to try to keep my annual to 5-6k this year and likely similar for several more years until everything is caught up, I would plan on that as a minimum. I paid 1750 for a prebuy in Tucson AZ, which is about the going rate but the one I got was grossly overpriced for what I got. I talked to the mechanic who maintained the plane before I bought it. I think that is reasonable, but take whatever they say with a large dose of skepticism, they have an interest in making the plane sound better than it is, or maybe I should say they want to make their maintenance sound better than it might actually be. Good luck, it is definitely expensive to own an airplane but it's pretty awesome, way different feel than being a renter.

I run a mini on a yoke mount in portrait orientation. It's a cellular model. I like it. Seems to be a good fit.

Two weeks ago my family did a short family vacation up to the Spokane WA area from Utah. We have 4 kids and a lot of gear to haul so we split up and myself and the two oldest boys went by Mooney and the wife and the two youngest went by Delta Airlines. On the morning we traveled back I helped my wife get ready and sent her off to the Spokane airport. Maybe 15 minutes later the boys and I headed to the much closer Deer park WA airport, got some fuel and took off. We made a fuel stop at Mountain home Idaho and guess who passes us on our final leg into the Tooele UT airport? Delta flight 2403 with the wife and younger kids on it. We had been fighting a 20 knot headwind almost the entire way until we hit Utah. Even so we only landed maybe 10 minutes after my wife's flight but beat them home by 1.5 hours since we live 5 minutes from the Tooele airport and didn't have to deal with big airport shenanigans. It's a lot of fun traveling by Mooney. Seems like within 600 miles the Mooney is competitive with the airlines but with some added convenience - weather permitting of course.

The thing about buying a plane is you won't know if it is cheaper until your into it a couple years and you are looking backward. The real reason to buy I think is access and control. I've only owned for 3 months so far but am loving it. I've put 50 hours on the plane in that time and on average fly 3 times a week. When I was renting I was having trouble flying more than a 2 or 3 times a month. Being an owner I have control over what is done to the plane. For instance the rental Arrow I was flying didn't have shoulder harnesses which is something I think is important. As a renter I couldn't really do anything about that. My Mooney already has them but if it didn't I could remedy that issue.

I have a G model so my data may be less applicable with the o 360, but I am the same fuselage as the two subject models. I also follow the 100 mph downwind, 90 base, 80 final model. I try to start slowing to 75 over the numbers and want to be at 60 as I reach full ground effect. I normally only use half flaps for landing but will sometimes use full flaps or no flaps. MP is 15” for downwind until I’m abeam the numbers then 13” base to final, pull the power just short of the numbers. Seems to work well so far. Not a lot of floating. I have found if you enter ground effect with extra speed you will float a ways, bleed extra speed before you enter ground effect and it is much easier to lose that momentum.

I was planning on flying from KTVY tooele to GEG Spokane this morning but delayed until tomorrow morning because of the high winds and low ceilings in the Boise area. Did you end up flying today? If so how was it? I don’t regret delaying a day, forecast for tomorrow morning looks excellent.

I bought a g model Mooney for basically three reasons. First to get my instrument rating, second to build complex and total hours and lastly to go places. If you can afford to own and operate an f model Mooney it is a great choice. If you wanted to build hours at the lowest cost possible there are other cheaper choices but you didn’t mention cost as being your primary consideration. If in the future you want to move up in plane then Mooney time looks a lot better to an insurance underwriter than C150 time so there are definitely advantages to building time in a Mooney versus cheap plane.

A good cover is probably the first step. Second, keep some auto paint detailer spray with you and make sure to clean bird droppings and whatever else off the plane anytime you are around it. Clean bugs off the leading edges of your wings, prop and cowling after every flight. If you do it immediately the bugs come off really easily and it only takes a couple minutes. The auto detailer clears off the bugs quickly and also leaves a protective coating which is especially important since the plane is out in the elements full time. In general if you are outside you will need to spend much more time cleaning the plane than if you hanger it. Keep an eye out for birds and rodents taking up residence in your aircraft. The other day I cleaned half a buckets worth of nesting material out of my tail that a bird deposited there over the course of 2 days after the rag I use to keep birds out disappeared. Keep the proper lubricants handy and use them regularly. I lube all the flight control joints probably at least every other week. Clean, polish, lubricate Clean, polish, lubricate Thats your life if you park it outside and want to keep it looking nice. I'd love to get a hanger to decrease the workload but no hangers available where I'm at. The Mooney tied down next to mine gets no love and it is just slowly wasting away. Never gets cleaned, polished or lubricated. Has a bird nest in the tail with chirping chicks in it. Bird crap every where. Definitely don't do that, just sad to see. Apparently it's for sale but I'm not sure who would buy it for what they are asking.

I haven't had an issue with the I pad turning off using it that way but it does pose an issue if I want to charge it. Maybe I'll switch it and see how I like it. Question. If a screw is loose do you just use one size up but same length? I have a bunch of screws that want to fall out. Seems like that is the easy solution Thanks

I've actually ordered some new door welt/windlass and just haven't found time to install it yet. Also need to pick up some new screws and washers to do the reinstall. Might as well replace everything while I'm doing it.

Hello everyone, After looking at Mooney's for years and spending about one year really trying to find an aircraft to purchase I finally purchased my Mooney about a month and half ago, a 1968 G model. Since then I've put 26 hours on it. This plane sat for about 8 years in Tucson after the previous owner lost his medical as a result of a head injury. Previous to the plane sitting for 8 years it was extensively rehabbed 20 years ago. It's still in relatively good shape but sitting a while has definitely caused some issues from being unused. My squawk list is a full page single space but fortunately they are mostly minor issues that I am going to try to knock out in the next couple years. The goal is to get this plane to the point where I can honestly say it is in excellent condition. That's obviously a subjective determination but I don't want to be like many aircraft sellers I talked to that called their Mooneys excellent when in reality they should have used the word derelict. Anyway. I really appreciate everyone who contributes to this forum. I've learned a ton and look forward to learning much much more. Thanks, Craig

I recently purchased a M20G and used a guy named Donald 330 780 4948. He is a Delta pilot with Mooney experience including a little over 10 hours in my G model recently. I had him fly it with me from Tucson to Salt Lake City and then wrap up the rest of my 10 hour transition training the next day. He’s a good guy. Another option to consider.

I'm a low time Mooney pilot but I don't get why people often claim mooneys are hard to slow down. With just a little bit of planning they slow down great. Personally I start slowing pulling power and adding nose up trim 5 to 10 minutes before I arrive at the airport. I arrive on altitude at pattern speed. I never have to use the gear, flaps or speed brakes(don't have them) to slow down. Maybe it's cause I fly a G model, the slowest of the mooneys. I flew with a guy one time in a J model who would come into the middle of the downwind doing 140 knots, seemed to me that was the hard way to do things. Some planning ahead makes it nice and easy and adds some consistency that will make it less likely that you will gear up. In the end you probably only land a minute later than if you came blazing into the pattern at near cruise speed. Not an instructor, just personal experience from someone with very little personal experience in a Mooney.

Hi, I’m looking for an overhead rheostat for the panel lights and 2 knobs for the heat vents that are at your knees. They would be going in a 68 20g which I would think may have some parts compatibility. Let me know if you have any of those. Thanks!

If you go to www.pilotmall.com they have the 68 M20G POH for 15 bucks. I also happened to buy a 68 20g a couple weeks ago although my panel is not nearly as nice as yours, congrats!

If money is not a concern I think the F is definitely a more versatile plane but also keep in mind the IO 360 is more money to overhaul/maintain than a O 360. Ultimately whichever plane has been maintained better will be the more affordable aircraft to own but all things being equal the O360 with the manual systems is dirt simple with the absolute lowest costs for a complex airplane. As you move from the earlier C/G models towards the late model long bodies the costs incrementally increase. Where you end up on that scale just depends on what mission you want to accomplish and how much money you want to spend accomplishing it.

I just purchased a 1968 M20G, I consider it to be the most utilitarian plane that Mooney every built. Roomy cabin with the lowest cost systems to maintain that Mooney built. I am liking it so far. I’ve actually never flown in an F so can’t give you a comparison of the 2 models. Many say the g is the slow Mooney but mine seems to average 140 to 145 knots with quite a few speed mods, climb has been more than adequate. I think the biggest downside to the g is the lower useful load generally. The gross weight is actually lower than a C with the extra weight of the mid body. My useful is 850 - someThing I may try to work on in the future.

Calgary doesn’t sound like a bad area to store an aircraft but I guess the question is how long has it been there. Either way if it’s been sitting a while you will likely be looking at a lot of maintenance for at least a couple years. The plane I bought sat a while in Tucson Arizona which is a good place for an airplane to sit but I’m finding a lot of little squawks popping up on top of some deferred maintenance I know I’m going to need to get caught up. In my case there where a lot of other factors that offset this issue but something to think about. Maintenance issues seem to accrue whether the plane is being flown or not so keep that in mind.

The engine has only averaged 14 hours a year in what you describe as a high humidity environment so that is certainly an area of concern. Given the difficulty in determining cam/lifter corrosion in a lycoming it would be best to be very skeptical of the “low time” engine. Add to that the wood wing and price and I think that explains why it hasn’t moved in a very hot aircraft market. You also mentioned you wanted 650 lbs with full fuel, this plane would fall about 100 lbs short of that goal. A C model would be more likely to make that number. Most have 950 to 1000 lbs useful. If it were me (and it actually was, I just purchased and saw this plane for sale and kept going) I’d look for an all metal airplane with a more certain history. just curious...how was the fiberglassing of the wings accomplished? Stc or 337?