redbaron1982

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?

Just to add to the concerns rewarding the gear up landing of that same airplane, on the log books it describes a annual with some repairs to the skin and LH wing rib due to a "runway incursion". I got FAA records and there is no form 337 for the gear up landing repairs. Doesn't that render the aircraft not airworthy?

Thanks a lot for your inputs guys. Regarding pics, I did ask if there were any for this event, because that could shed some light on this. The answer was that there is no pictures of the event. I didn't know that insurance would cover this. Doesn't make sense to not do the inspection if it would be covered by your insurance.

Hi all, I'm still in my search for a J or K Mooney and I came across a J (published here in mooneyspace) that had a prop strike and the engine was not teardown for inspection. The good thing is that the owner brought the issue himself. So good and honest. The thing is that the aircraft supposedly had a very light prop strike on landing due to porposing and very lightly just one blade scratched the concrete. They replaced the prop but didn't not teardown the engine for inspection. Allegedly after evaluating with several A&P. What are your thoughts? Mine are that a prop strike on landing due to porposing is never small and the engine should have been teardown for inspection. Also in the logbook there is only an entry due to the prop replacement but there says nothing about the prop strike.

Hi all, this is a very silly question... but I don't know the answer. I see a lot of Mooneys that don't have what it seems to be the normal rudder/brake pedals on the co-pilot side. They only seem to have a two metal bars, without the aluminum plate for the foot. What's that about? Rudder/brakes on just one side? And example from a M20K 231 currenty in TAP

Hi, i'm looking at a Mooney that's located in KGCT. As I live in Houston, I want to get a good mechanic that can go and take a look at it. Does anyone know a good mechanic in that area? Thanks!