DoctorEvil

Just wondering if there is any news on the Mooney factory being sold/bought or taken out of zombie-mode? it’s all been quite on the topic for a while, so hoped others might have some info. Hopefully positive of course :-] cheers

I saw THIS and thought of Y'all. . . With Mooney being up for sale (again) and the general consensus saying a new J at a competitive price would be a good seller and potential saviour of the company, along with the needed reduction in assembly cost, a turboprop long-body (Ovation replacement) with a 200hp TP200TP up front could be a game changer if they could turn it into a new entry model. Then maybe a bells-and-whistles Acclaim style flagship with a higher horsepower variant of the powerplant up front could be an option. Hopefully some new owners of Mooney can do something positive like this. I know Mooney did start a turboprop program a few years back, based on the RollsRoyce RR500 powerplant, but the cost of the TurbAero Talon mentioned here is only ~$80k installed! New Mooney factory owners - where can we order :-] Just the ramblings of a dreamer obviously

Thank you all for the great advice, much appreciated and all really helpful. @StevenL757 During those hours racked up on the Ovation, did you ever wish you had gone turbo? I know many say it is an extra thing to maintain and possibly fail, but there are many positives to a turbo as well, so just wondered if the Ovation does "do it all" for you and you don't feel a turbo is needed. Now you have had it for a long time? Cheers, Rob

Living just down the road from BRS in the UK, here is my 2 pence. . . Mooney clearly were ahead in terms of innovation in the early days, to the tune of a couple of decades. Over time this advantage has eroded due to a lack of manufacturing process innovation and overall R&D. The latest owners have proved that currently Mooney simply can't manufacture, market or ultimately sell a M20 for a silly ticket price. They have a still competitive product, for which if they could outsource the manufacturing to "masters at it" such as Toyota, Ford, GM or even Mitsubishi (who have industry experience) it would be the smart way forward. The current factory should be scaled down and used for testing and R&D with the manufacturing done by those with the required expertise. Another advantage is the brand strength, which is a bit of a Carroll Shelby story and the opportunity to not have to start from zero, as a modern M20 would currently be a hot seller at a competitive ticket price. I get the feeling the current owners have simply ran a garage sale of Mooney parts. And, if the new owners can't innovate the manufacturing as described above, the existing, ageing fleet will end up running out of parts and support much sooner than we would all like. Toes crossed someone with a lot of sway steps in to pick up this potentially great opportunity, Elon, Cathy Wood - where are you :-] TTFN

Another link here Re the sale: https://www.flyer.co.uk/mooney-aircraft-company-up-for-sale/

Hi Mooniacs, I am a newbie based in Bristol, UK and just starting my PPL training. Understand I am jumping the gun a little by looking at plane options already, but I really like the Mooney aircraft and community and feel it would make sense to buy a plane in the coming 12 months that is a little beyond my needs, so I can stretch my legs into it, so to speak. I would prefer not to buy a PA-28 (what I am training in) and then have to sell it and lose a lot of money when I step up to a Mooney. Hope this makes some sense. Having searched the forum already I haven't found a definitive breakdown of the differences between the various Ovation models, so apologies if I missed it. But if not, could anyone chime in with the notable Ovation differences? I have read about issues with the Garmin G1000 equipped in some Ovations and wonder if this is still an issue, or likely to be be rectified without a serious panel upgrade if not already resolved? Are there ay other Ovation specific gotcha's I may run into? Being 6'3" tall and weighing 92kg I think I should fit in a Mooney, but definitely want the long body and prefer the modern, lowered panel. I am thinking I am less likely to have to sink a lot of money into a panel upgrade it if the stock equipment is modern and serviceable. Otherwise I would jump straight to a J and save a lot of money. From the UK I would like to fly around Europe, all year round once my certification and experience permits it, so FIKI and built in O2 are useful. Wonder if these can be retrofitted to factory spec if not already in a particular plane I end up buying e.g. not aftermarket stuck on bits? Any help and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks and apologies for all the random questions :-]