redbaron1982

I consider myself someone that get informed before doing something. But also I assume people do what they are supposed to do. For me a prebuy should inspect for major issues so to protect the buyer from getting burnt. Actually I don't care for a prebuy to tell me that fuel caps are not placard with the fuel quantity, how much it could be to fix that? I'd rather expect them to tell me anything major with the airframe, avionics or power plant. I get that one thing is to suppose and another thing is what's written. But let's assume another scenario, following your logic, you should become a surgeon before undergoing surgery so you can tell the surgeon all the things he should take care of so you don't die while the surgery.

Thanks y'all for the comments and suggestions, specially those looking forward! The pre-buy is already done and cannot be changed, eventually, in the future, I could be more specific on telling the "experts" how to inspect an aircraft! I hope to get the pictures from the MSC on Monday and I'll share them here and also send it to Don Maxwell or Southwest Texas. I'm based in Houston, now I'm regretting on not having had the annual here, where maybe the best MSC are located. Somewhere I read that there maintenance manual for M20J are of available to the regular public (for free), is that so? Is there anywhere where I can get those just to learn more about the aircraft? I have some mechanical knowledge, but on cars (I'm building a FFR Roadster), not much on aircrafts.

I haven't seen pictures yet, so far is my fear. What they say is not the spar itself but the lower cap on a stub spar. I understand that some of this parts can be replaced. Although I haven't been specific on what to include in the inspection, I wasn't cheap either. I'm paying 2k for the prebuy and 2k for completing the annual. That's only the inspection part, not including any repairs. I would expect certain quality if you take a aircraft to a official MSC. If corrosion is a major issue (and it is), why they haven't checked for that during the prebuy? Actually, as I said, I asked them to do a prebuy that would become the annual. So they said they were going to do the inspection part of the annual, and then completing the annual with the no inspection items. So why corrosion, being a major concern when buying and aircraft, and being an inspection item, was not checked during the prebuy? That's what I am going to discuss again with them as soon as I have more information on the severity of the corrosion.

4) yes and all the aw issues, and some optionals, where deducted from the price. The seller was very understanding. 7) As I mentioned, I didn't ask for anything specific. This is my first aircraft and I thought an ppi was a ppi. They charged me 17 hours for the pre buy, what I think should be enough to open the inspection panels and look for corrosion. But again, nothing in written here.

Yeah, I am not concerned about the compass light, not a big item. My only concern is the corrosion...

I'm from Texas and the seller is from New Hampshire, that's why the pre buy and annual were done there. NH has no sale tax and Texas has with the exemption of occasional sales, that requires a form filled by the seller declaring that he is not in the business of selling and is just an occasional sale. Regarding the pre buy, I told them from day zero that the pre buy would got into an annual if I close the deal. They quote me 17hs for the pre buy part and the 17hs to complete annual. They never asked me if I wanted them to check for corrosion and I never specified it. For me it was obvious that whey would look for corrosion. My mistake. Again, I was going to do both anyway so I was not trying to save money. The last annual was not done by this MSC. I chose this place first because it is an official MSC and second because it was not the regular shop that maintained the aircraft.

That's exactly my point, is there any chance of starting some legal actions agains the MSC? Does anyone had experience with a situation like this, where a prebuy turns out ok, and 10 days after, the same MSC, find corrosion (heavy, meaning intergranular) on an annual?

I get that, of course, but again, why do I pay for a prebuy inspection on a MSC for them not to realize that the compass light is not working or that there is corrosion on the airplane? I mean, isn't a prebuy a mechanism of not getting burnt when buying an aircraft?

I've purchased on 12/20 a Mooney M20J from a fellow member of this forum, up to the point of closing, everything went really smooth. I got a MSC near the home airport of the aircraft, they performed a pre buy that found nothing too big, and the, at that moment, owner, agree to reduce the price based on all the findings. After I closed, two things happened: I cannot get the onwer to sign the form required by the state of Texas to not pay sale taxes, as this was a ocassional sale. It's being already 15 days (I know, we have the holidays in the middle) but hey, response was super fast before closing, and now signing a paper is taking for ever. As the annual was expiring on February, I talked with the MSC so they would continue the prebuy inspection into an annual inspection, so I didn't have to grund the aircraft again one month after getting it. They completed the annual and the new report came with a new item: Lower cap on RH wing stub spar assembly inside inspection panel area directly behind RH gear wheel well has heavy intergranualar defoliation corrosion. Metal has flaked away. Need to evaluate and determine repair. Sent info/report to Mooney -- waiting for reply. Unable to estimate repairs at this time. Of course I already talked with the MSC and asked how come that they didn't find this on the prebuy, he said that is not something common for a prebuy inspection, but anyway, I don't like that answer. The same MSC that 20 days ago made a prebuy report without any indication of corrosion at all, now it came with this. There are other, minor items, that showed up in the annual and not the prebuy, such as the compass light not working. That's not a huge concern, but hey, again, how it comes that they haven't checked that the lights were working? Same with the light indicating that the speed break is deployed. I've asked for pictures of the corrosion (yesterday morning) and I'm still waiting on it. And still waiting to hear from the MSC when they get the response from Mooney. Again, I don't know if there is any advice, but I wanted to share this with someone as I'm quite stressed out by the situation of the owner not signing a paper worth 12kUSD in tax exemption, and now, 15 days after the purchase, finding that there is corrosion in the wing spar, that could end up on having to scrap the airplane.

I'm not very experienced in Mooneys nor as an aircraft owner but here my comments: * For me being the AC onwer an AP/IA is more a concern than a good point. He may have taken shortcuts or overlooked some points, knowing that at the end he was signing it off. I'm not saying that is the case, but is a probability. * Avionics wise it is not very nice. * As everyone said, it is not a 252. At most a 261, a 252 firewall forward conversion. Not the extra MTOW or the 24V electric system. * Not flying in 15 years? A huge no for me. * Engine is around 200 hours from OH, plus not flying in that much time, as was already mentioned, plan to OH in the next 200 hours. In all, I think you should budget north of 60k of expected maintenance expenses on the next year. The TTAF is low though. Do you know if it was kept hangared the whole time?

Thanks all for the replies. I was wondering, is it possible to put the film on the outside? I think for a thermal point of view should be better, it blocks the heat even before it gets too the plexiglass. Some of the 3M film are designed for exterior use.

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone has experience with applying films to the windows of the aircraft to reduce the amount of heat that enters the cabin through sun radiation. I'm talking about the 3M films that can be used in your home windows to improve energy efficiency. Here in Texas, on summer, without AC is quite uncomfortable, and I thought this could be a good option to reduce a few dergees the temperature inside the cabin. Does anyone has experience with this? Is that something than can be done without any special FAA authorization?

I will review, would be great to save 100 bucks a month. Looking at the POH, the wingspan is 36ft 5in and banks A/B is 35ft 8in...

I was already in contact with her, actually I am going to see the hangar next Monday. I understood that for the M20J the C/D bank is the one that I need, but I will double check with the wingspan.

@jacenbourne, if I may ask, how much are you paying in SGR? The offer they gave me is 587 a month. I live in Katy, so TME is a good option for me too. I don't recall if they replied me they didn't have availability or they never replied at all. I will follow up that lead also. I do agree that having a nice airport with instrument approach procedures (SGR has ILS, that's great!) is a plus.

Welcome JayMatt! I'm also based in Houston, PP working on my instrument. I purchased my first plane this week too. A Mooney M20J 1985. I will have it in SGR while I try to find a cheaper place! Lol. I also fly out of KDWH, that's where I did my PPL and where I'm working on for the instrument rating.

Regarding polishing/wax, does typical car products work? Doing the whole bar clay, polishing with a rotary tool and waxing as any car freak is suitable on an aircraft?

Hey! I don't want to hijack this thread, but I was looking for info on the powerflow exhaust system and I think is the right place to ask it. I'm buying a M20J (from a fellow mooneyspace member) and in the prebuy the exhaust poped up as something that needs to be replaced. The proposal from the MSC is to install a factory exhaust system (that goes for about 1.3kUSD). But I'm not sure if it is not better to take advantage and go with a Powerflow system (I understand they go for 5k). According to the Powerflow webpage, advantages are great, but I've read otherwise too. Going to my questions, does anybody have "real" life experience on a M20J with Powerflow system in regards of: Life span vs stock Efficiency vs stock (higher speeds or lower fuel consumption) Thanks!

I'm quite new to aviation but... even me with just over 100 hours of flight time can see that the OP lacks some ADM skills. The very fact that you're asking about the power setting means that you don't have the knowledge or experience to get into a long XC with a freshly overhauled aircraft. It is likely that you will be able to pull it of, but that doesn't mean that was a smart nor a safe decision. In the chain of events that leads to accidents, you're starting already with quite a few links in the chain.

might be an attachment for a RAM device to hold an iPad?

Thanks all for the replies. Sorry I was not able to reply sooner, last week's have been crazy. I've already emailed a few of the CFIs to see if they have time to help with the transition. Thanks again for the support!

Hey, thanks! I didnt know there was that list. Sadly there are none in Houston, not even in Texas.

Hi all, I'm close to buy a M20J, it would be my first airplane. Currently I feel like in an obstacle races. A lot of things to sort out. My current obstacle? Getting a CFI with Mooney experience to fly with me the first 20 hours for insurance purposes. Does anyone know a CFI with Mooney experience in the Houston area? I would be flying out of KDWH (most likely). Thanks. Ernesto.

The airplane is located at SAINT-HUBERT, CANADA. This would be my first airplane, so "my IA" still has to be chosen. I live in Houston, so my idea is to take the airplane to Southwest Texas Aviation. Maybe I can introduce myself with them and see if they can help me with the first step, that's getting the airplane to the US.

Hi all, Anyone has experience on the process to import a Mooney M20K from Canada? The aircraft was originally registered in the US, then it was exported to Canada (and now has a C-Registration), and now I'm thinking of buying it and importing it back to the US. How complex is the process? Can anyone provide a contact of a person that could help me with this process?