William Munney

Duplicate post.

I agree. Here are my thoughts on corrosion. As soon as they assemble it…….it starts corroding. Same with new cars or any metals exposed to the atmosphere. It’s 27 years old so it’s corroding too. However, supposedly, no corrosion at this time warrants any action or repair and nothing appears as though it is likely to require attention or be a cause for concern for quite awhile. In other words, the inspector said it’s in good shape for a 27 year old airplane. It’s been a hangared Midwest airplane its whole life so I’m sure it is far less corroded than a coastal airplane with the same age. I suppose i could mist it with Corrosion X at some point. We’ll see.

OK. Still. The old TBO was 2000 i believe so I’m really happy with 2200.

Thanks. That is good to know. So, a factory new 280hp will have 2200 TBO?

Thanks Lance. Great post. Thanks for taking the time. It’s a project. No doubt. My thought is it will be very solid when i finish as i take care of everything up front and do it to my specs. It will sit in a hangar until the engine comes. I am not in a hurry to fly it. I figure about a year to 18 moths for the total rehab on this because of wait times for tank reseal and interior shops and 6-8 months to fly it. It’s not dirty, abused or neglected but it’s 27 years old and has had little use in the last 5 years. Some damage history when it was young but repaired, signed off and flown a bunch since then. The airframe has no corrosion. Good there. Hangared Midwest airplane its whole life. TKS works as advertised. Good pressure. No leaks. O2 bottle is timed out. Cylinders and valves and compression are good. It needs lifters. I am installing a factory new motor instead. In fact, everything new from the firewall forward to the tip of the spinner. (Prop Overhaul) The panel was completely done 5 years ago. All glass and modern Garmin. Most airplanes i saw out there are overpriced and a mix of mid time engines and avionics moving quickly to obsolete. Also, paying more is not necessarily a guarantee of less expense. Or, that has been my life experience. The tanks need resealed. A patch would likely do but I am on the list at Weep No More. The tanks currently have a small weep but still airworthy. I’ll patch if i need to. Paint is original and Meh. Oxidation and some chips mostly. A good detail would have it looking very sharp from 10 yards. Ha ha. Interior is original and looks tired. Carpet is tired too……which all carpet is after 27 years. I’ll have the engine hung and do the gear doughnuts and LED lights while it’s sitting. Paint and interior if i feel like after that.

Terrain will determine your altitude early. After that, it’s all flight planning to get your sweet spot for winds, weather, 02 etc….. Going to be different day to day.

What it costs: $5000-$6000 STC, possibly a new propeller. More wear on the engine. What you get: 30 HP. A couple hundred feet less runway on T/O. Slightly better climb to altitude. No cruise speed increase….or very little. It seems like a lot of money for not much benefit to me. It’s 30 part-time HP. If i bought it that way I would enjoy it. If not, I don’t think i would do it.

WAAS is part of the “future air navigation system” (FANS). As ground based navaids and ILS systems disappear it will become even more important. Non- WAAS airplanes, even ones with fancy panels, are slowly becoming obsolete. The fleet is currently in this transition period. It doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy a non-WAAS airplane just as much for now but if you are using the airplane to travel here and there in all types of weather and you are planning on keeping it, you will meet the non-WAAS limits at some time.

In my mind, there is no question that FIKI > Non -FIKI. If you are using your airplane to travel any distances or climbing to altitude for weather and/ or winds you will be eventually be in visible moisture at temps below freezing. Ice is hard for forecasters to predict accurately. PIREP’s are better but no guarantee. One minute…..no ice in the clouds. The next minute it’s there. I have seen shocking amounts of ice accumulate in short amounts of time in various airplanes with much more performance than the GA varieties we are talking about here and it’s never pleasant. The ability to protect yourself while you find an out is, in my mind, priceless. I have personally been in a GA airplane or two while accumulating ice (despite my best planning) and i do not ever want to do it again. If you have the means or opportunity to get a FIKI airplane. Do it. I have used the Mooney system years ago and it works and is low maintenance too. I would give up much more speed than the TKS unit on the Mooney costs for this benefit. It greatly increases the ability of these traveling machines.

Thanks all. I have arranged for a full avionics and auto-pilot pre-buy. I’m going to contact Mooney and see what they suggest for a flight test. Probably have more questions after these are complete. It just got a fresh annual. Supposedly no corrosion. Needs a motor. FIKI. Nice panel. Paint and carpet are crap by my standards. “Fixer upper” in other words.

Keeping mine at 280 HP. It would require a $5000-6000 STC, engine instruments, and a new prop in my case……..for 500-700 ft of runway performance and some climb? Isn’t the TBO lower as well with the higher RPM limit? I suppose if temps or density altitudes or field lengths for the airports you visit are requiring this it’s a nice option. Otherwise, in my mind, the dollar for benefit scale doesn’t tip in the right direction. Nice to have the option though.

Oh boy. Bad timing for me on this thread. Just made an offer on an Ovation. Sheesh.

That pilot is going to be talking to someone soon. Also. Although the controller is trying to be helpful, I’m pretty certain if you “cancel IFR”……..it’s cancelled. Not really a request….but i understand why the controller was uncomfortable.

Greetings all. New member here. I have aviation experience but have never owned my own. I am considering buying a Mooney Ovation and would like some suggestions or a checklist for its pre-purchase test flight. I will be going over the physical condition and logbooks of the airplane with a mechanic and have arranged for an avionics pre-buy at a local shop as well. I will be test flying the airplane with someone insured on the airplane. I’m trying to get as much done in as little time as possible while being thorough. Fire away please. Thanks.