Flyler

Congrats! Send us pictures once you get her all shined up

I was fortunate enough to get the contact information of a local CFII and Mooney pro, Rob Takacs, from the OP of this thread. I'm not sure if he's a member on this forum but would not be surprised as he is a Mooney owner. At any rate, although I have no Mooney and have not received any instruction from him, he is an excellent resource. So I am thankful to the OP for the inspection report, but more for the intro to Rob. Looking forward to getting a plane and getting some transition training from him.

Do you have an idea of what the total cost to repair this was? I'm looking at buying a Mooney that has a dent in the truss which might be over the limits. Interested to see how many AMU it would set me back.

Hi Gio, Where are you located?

Any thoughts on reasonable price for something like this, assuming there are no major mechanical issue?

Sorry guys, I'm not sure what was going on with the images. I do recall looking at the tail skid/tiedown as it sort of stuck out to me. It looked like a simple flat bar that would have a small amount of "spring" to it. I can't imagine it weighed much at all and would sure as heck take more of a beating than the skin!

Edit: I am closing soon on a lovely local m20F. Thank you all for the offers! I am in the market for my first plane, and I think the Mooney M20E or M20F is the right one for me. Budget-wise I am planning on spending around $50-90k. I really can't put down more than 90 on the plane itself as I want to keep a good amount of cash reserves for the inevitable unexpecteds! I'm not in a major rush, and in fact am still waiting for my PPL checkride date. I absolutely plan on Mooney transition training and have a local CFII Mooney enthusiast and trainer that seems like a great resource. I'm located in CT and don't mind traveling so much, but the nearer the plane is the easier to visit! Please let me know if you are thinking of selling any time in the near future

I've re-uploaded them. I'm not sure what the problem was, they are displaying for me now though. P.S., your signature picture cracks me up!

The deal with poor pictures is just that the owner is up there in years, and not tech savy. I went to see if this was some sort of miracle barn find, but also just to get my butt in the back seat of a short body model. It was a little over an hour drive, and worth the time as I would absolutely consider a C or E model now. It is the second owner, it has always been kept indoors. Its almost all original, including most of the paint. Lots of the paint is peeling up off the primer. It has a few items such as fuel bladders and at some point the seats were refreshed. Still, it looks like something that has survived since 1971. It needs to be restored. I don't think the asking price is realistic, but am not an expert. He had tank bladders installed and they painted the root wing sections at that time. The color is a bit off there. He said that the only damage history was the left aileron and gear door had been replaced. The plane was parked outside and someone parked their car nearby, left it in neutral, and got out. Car rolled into the plane and dented the aileron. When the insurance adjuster came out he noticed a little dent in the gear door so they replaced that too. I did not speak to any A&P, only the owner. Perhaps if he emails me I can digitize the logbook scans he gave me and send to him so they are easier for others to obtain. The plane is more dirty than the pictures suggest, but I think a lot of it is just elbow-grease... then you'd get to about how the pictures look. Interior isn't "busted" but its absolutely been around for a long time...

I visited a gentleman and his 1971 Aerostar, "M20E" for sale. I am not sure if he would want me posting pictures so, out of respect, I've removed the tail number. The tail was indeed very pointy looking. I am not sure if I like how it looks better than the standard setup or not. It is sort of like a fashion model, has lots of sharp angles, from some perspectives looks amazing, from others... makes you think "hmm." Images below!

Whoa, the 71 I'm planning on checking out does have the stinger tail! I had to zoom in on the photo to notice it. Super cool, I'm excited now. Hopefully it doesn't have a dent....

This is so interesting! I am going to look at what is listed as a 1971 M20E, and noticed it had that odd bump at the top of the vertical fin. Is it an "aerostar"? Any other differences? The pictures are poor but I don't think it has the Bonanzesque stinger tail.

Yeah the paint is a tough one for me. Hangar space around here seems to start at $800, but I do need to look a bit harder. I figured I would be reserved to leaving it on a tie-down, getting the note paid off, then maybe close my eyes and pay for a paint job and a hangar after 5 years or so. Still not sure how things will shake out. I feel awful leaving something outside- I own a Harley and they basically turn to a bowl of rusty dust if a water droplet touches them I went down to see this plane. I agree on the OP's comments regarding the (now) owner and his wife. Both extremely friendly and pleasant people. I am probably the worst person to judge, but I do feel that the asking price is a lot considering the "unanswered questions" as noted, and asking prices of other Mooneys online. This is the first Mooney I have sat in and yeah... I am now hooked. Back seat had more than ample room for our needs. Now I need to see if the same is true for the M20E. I'm not sure if it was just that initial Mooney fascination or if this one was particularly suited to me. Loved the color, interior, choice of avionics. It being a 45 minute drive away helps too. I'm going up to see a M20E model and I think I will put this Plainville Mooney on my list to revisit. If they are flexible on the price it seems like a great airplane, pending a really thorough inspection. I think the listing, like many internet ads, is a bit too optimistic in terms of exterior condition. It is absolutely a great looking aircraft but its more like "great condition considering its age" and not "great recently restored condition". Perhaps it was a lot better in 2021 when it was first parked out there.

I think a J model will be out of my price range. To be honest, at first I was looking at "cheap" C and E models. I have done some reading and had some good advice from others on the forums here and am really looking at the F models now. I think that extra room in the backseat will be something I regretted not spending on later. Budget-wise I think I'm more at $85-90k. Preferrably I would find a mechanically and exterior sound plane, with OK avionics, that needs an interior refresh. Looking at a more local M20F that has a really lovely interior, nice avionics and dash, and "pretty OK" paint. It has some question marks around it though. Not enough to scare me away, but I think the asking price is high, considering. That's really what prompted me to make this post.

Thank you all for your responses. Everything makes sense. I agree 100% with just throttling down a little bit too. It also fits my general vehicle purchasing mentality- buy the hotrod and don't go hotrodding it around all day... keep that power on tap for when you want it and make the motor last

Hello sir- I sent an email. A copy of the report would be fantastic and I couldn't thank you enough!

Hello guys, I am starting my hunt for a Mooney. I'm about 5 hours away from my PPL requirements, and would plan on getting at least 10 hours of Mooney CFI time. I am planning on going straight through to my instrument rating and was thinking that would be amazing to do in my own plane if possible. After recently getting into the back seat of an m20F, I think the mid-length cabin is the one for me. As a matter of fact, I sat in the back seat of an m20F that is currently for sale, and am thinking the asking price is probably quite a bit high, but otherwise it seemed great. That, of course, could just be hopeful thinking. Anyone familiar with reasonable prices and wouldn't mind DMing me a bit to discuss? I'm hoping to look at an M20G, all original and hangar kept, next week as well.

Did you end up seeing this Mooney? I'm interested to hear how it went.

Thanks Hank, I agree whole heartedly. I have a set of Bose noise cancelling and a Lightspeed noise cancelling for the wife as well. We are planning some trips with the pup, and she has muttmuffs I've just always found that a more quiet interior space adds a lot to the "luxury" of a vehicle. Who knows, I might decide it was a silly thought later on...

I'm looking at purchasing a Mooney, hoping for an m20F model but also looking at the m20C/E models. Really, I just need to get my butt into the back seat of one to see just how tiny it is At any rate, whatever I buy will probably be due for an interior update and the top of my list is sound deadening. Has anyone gone down this path? I've done vehicles before and was always very happy with the results. It seems that interior work can be done by the owner/operator and doesn't require an A&P, but I have no direct experience. Perhaps my assumption is wrong? Would I be able to add foam/foil sound deading myself and have an A&P sign off on the weight addition? Interested to hear from anyone that has done this- was it worth the work?

Anyone know what this is?

Honestly, I've just worked a lot in my life, and had the privilege of parents paying half my college tuition. Worked full time through college as well. Got really lucky to meet some great mentors along the way. Always been debt-adverse so I just... well I don't have any other than the mortgage. Both our cars are paid off and in good shape. We way underbought on a house that needed a ton of work, and I did 95% of it myself. Yes we are DINK but tbh the wife's job doesn't chip in much and I have her put all her take-home in her IRA. I've been sort of stupidly paying an extra $750/mo on my mortgage (back to that debt-adverse mentality) even though it has a really low rate. Another huge stroke of luck was buying our house in December of 2019, before the market went insane. Figured I might as well just have some fun instead. Wife is *thrilled* with the idea of being able to hike all the mountains that we have a hard time reaching in the car for a weekend trip!

Thank you everyone for the review on this sample Mooney. I feel like my expectations are now set, at least somewhat reasonably. I think something in this price range would be a good entry for me. It would leave me with plenty of cash for the "catch up maintenance" without hurting my pride too much. Payments would be very comfortable and leave me with lots of adventuring money. Things like reupholstering or panel clean up do not scare me at all, and they seem like nice areas where I could make an older plane a lot fresher, and "make it my own" without diving into the A&P territory too much. To be honest, if it was structurally sound with a good motor and no corrosion, I could handle a lot of ugly paint and interior!

So, I made some calls. I was hoping somewhere along the way, I would be shocked by the cost and it would ruin my Mooney dreams, dooming me to the 100Kt Piper rentals. To be honest, I still thoroughly enjoy the 100Kt piper rentals, but, you know. Mooney bug. So far after talking to my credit union, I could easily put 35% down, have comfortable payments, and afford something around $80k. Of course it would need to live outside on a tie-down, which does hurt my soul a little bit, but a hangar is drastically more expensive. I wouldn't mind spending my own money on the interior, but would love to have a machine that someone else has already spent some of their own money into the avionics and maybe some speed mods. Currently my experience is all in old steam guaged Pipers so I figure as long as I never put myself into a full glass cockpit, any GPS would be LOVELY The range of prices is so broad that I was hoping someone could set me in the right direction here. I am guessing I will end up with the short body Mooney due to the cost, but occasionally an M20F shows up that really piques my interest. Do you guys think something like this is "too cheap" where it would need a ton of work? Is this a good price range? https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Single+Engine+Piston&make=MOONEY&model=M20F&listing_id=2427914&s-type=aircraft# In case anyone doesn't want to follow the link, here's the quick info: 1966 Mooney M20F, asking $79.5k Total Time:8727 (that does seem like a lot) Engine 1 Time:873 SMOH Avionics: PS ENGINEERING MA450B AUDIO PANEL GARMIN GTS 430W GPS/NAV (1GS) GARMIN GTX 345 XPONDER W/ADSB OUT GARMIN GTR 200B RADIO Auto-Pilot: BRITTAN ACCUTRAK Other Equip: ELECTRONICS INTERNATIONAL CGR-30P, CGR-30C COMBO TACH, MP. ENGINE MONITOR, FUEL

Thank you, this sounds like sage advice. I'm sure every single student pilot gets the wild dreams of buying their own airplane when they can feel the license is coming soon In reality, I would like to just continue straight onto IR, high performance, complex, and ideally commercial one day. The rates at the school are good and there is a very attractive looking club at my local airport. Of course, they don't have any Mooneys! I'll probably keep stashing my cash for the initial purchase for another year or so before I pull the trigger. Until then I will have to be content with the 100kt Piper rentals.