jmills

Thanks!!!

Is there a source or link that anyone knows of that we can look at what our Mooneys (by year and model) went for originally when they left the factory? Thanks!

Pretty sure everyone on this site agrees handsdown that Mooney is THE GA plane to own for speed and cost efficiency. But Parker has hit the nail on the head re: Cirrus. Hey, Betamax was a superior form to tape TV over VCR back in the day... but better doesn't always = 'the win' in a public opinion/relations/marketing setting.

Outstanding! Have fun with the new bird!

Quote: Jeev Thank you all I will have those checked out... wish me luck

Quote: philipneeper this might be a dumb question... im assuming i dont have a pre J model... the J came out in 77 correct?

I bought my '90 M20J out of Michigan. It being my first plane purchase, I wanted a certified Mooney Service Center to do the pre-buy then rolled into an annual. Michigan has 2 MSC's. Lapeer Aviation and Northern Air. Other than Cruiser's post above, I did not read any positive reviews anywhere of Lapeer and actually found a couple negative ones. But he undoubtedly has more experience in the area than I so look into them. In any event, the owner I was buying from had used Lapeer in the past. And I wanted a truly neutral MSC, so I used Northern Air. Chris Allchin at Northern Air was the shop manager and all around easy person to deal with and quite helpful on my pre-buy. If you use them, contact him to arrange your pre-buy. Because they are a MSC they were not the cheapest option around. But I figured, owning an airplane isn't cheap and I wanted to be sure about what I was buying so spending a few extra bucks up front was probably a wise investment. I can recommend Northern Air for such a job as the pre-buy and initial annual. If I lived in the area, because of their higher cost I doubt I would continue to use them for routine maintenance or subsequent annuals, but for the pre-buy and first annual I am glad I went with them. /2 cents

I used AirFleet Capital. BoA underwrote the note, but I dealt directly with AirFleet. Not sure what their minimum % down was, as I did not use the minimum. However, I found them to be professional and fast. I also used the escrow company they recommended for my own peace of mind. Added about $600 to the cost of the transaction, but well worth it imho. Also give Dorr Financial a try, I've heard good things about them (again, not sure what their minimum % down is, but my guess is most lenders want at least 15%).

Quote: FlyDave All, My previous plans for the weekend have been cancelled and I'l like to go to this seminar on Saturday. I called the MAPA office but they're closed on Friday. I also emailed Lela and am waiting on a response to see if I can still register/attend. Does anyone have any other numbers for someone at MAPA that I can contact about this at this late date? Thanks,

A lot. That's my answer. Frankly, I don't like to look TOO closely or else I'll scare my wallet. Also, too bad we can't do like the gov't and just print money to operate our toys. /carry-on with meaningful cost discussion

/bump for this coming weekend. I'll be there and most likely so will Jeev for the Saturday class (M20B-M20J models). Anyone else?

Nice!

Quote: Jeff_S But I also have more headroom in the Mooney, and never seem to bump my head on the ceiling.

I'm 6'3" 245 lbs, and I fit reasonably ok my M20J. However, I will probably do two things in the next year or so. 1) have an interior shop install a movable right arm rest for the left seat and 2) remove some insulation width from the left side of the cockpit and pick up some room for my arms/shoulders. Finally, I also resigned myself to the reality that I probably don't fit all that great in any GA aircraft, so with that as a caveat I went ahead with a Mooney.

Quote: DaV8or So my first pre buy is now officially over with no plane for me at the end. The seller really didn't want to close out the contract, but today he finally agreed to terminate. Signing up for a new engine was just a bit more than I wanted to spend right now. Learned more about perchase agreement contracts than I did about the pre buy inspection process. No real hands on for me and we never got past the engine. Did learn about log books though and now I know more what to look for and am not so overwhelmed my them. Cost me a fair amount of money, but that's what plane ownership seems to be all about. On to the next one...

Quote: FlyDave Does anyone know what the differences in airframe & powerplant are that dictate which serial numbers are eligible?

Couple of questions. I have my local mechanic looking into this for me. But he can't seem to find an Mooney print out with regard to what exactly is the change on the airspeed indicator for remasking. Also, as for the page insert into the POH, is that data also contained somewhere on a Mooney bulletin? Thanks!

The plane I just bought was overhauled by them in October of '09. It had only 25 hours on it when I picked it up, and now has close to 50. Since I'm new to ownership, and still quite a green pilot, I can't give you much insightful info. My local mechanic is, so far, 'cautiously optomistic' about the overhaul performed on my plane. I will gladly report as time goes on as I learn more, and my mechanic also learns more about the plane.

So, as you folks know I just acquired my first plane recently and last week picked up my complex endorsement and BFR after 14 years of no flying. Now, I may be 'legally minimally competent' but I've got a ways to go before I feel am actually competent. My plan is to spend this summer and early fall getting more acquainted with the plane, flying, radio communications, emergency procedures, x-country, etc... in general just to get up to speed. Once I put some more hours in the plane, and no longer feel like I have two left hands, I want to earn my instrument rating. I like my CFII but he recently got a job with a scenic airline in the area and won't have as much time for me as he has the last month or so. And frankly, I learn better when I jump head first into the deep end. To that end, I was considering an accelerated intensive IFR program. Now, my local area (Las Vegas) pretty much has two seasons; summer and wind. And I want some actual IFR when I'm learning, and to do so in more complex airspace than my local area (granted I've got a Class B airspace shared with McCarren and Nellis AFB and two Class D airspaces, and restricted areas and MOAs pretty much all in one valley here locally in Las Vegas, but I'm sure SoCal is several times more daunting, and that is where I'd like to really cut my teeth... go big or go home, right?). So, I figured I could take some time off from work this fall and head down to Southern California to earn my rating. I was looking at the PIC accelerated program. Apparently, an eat-sleep-breath 10 day IFR course. The plane is pretty nicely equipped with a 530W and Century 2000 AP with ALT hold and slaved to my HSI and 530 but no GPSS though; nevertheless it should serve as a good platform for my IFR training (then again, maybe not as I admittedly don't know much about such things!?!) Any thoughts about accelerated IFR training in general and the PIC course in particular? Also, what recommendations do you folks have regarding prepping myself BEFORE I head into the training later on this year? Thanks! PS Cross-posted on the Purple Board, and the red board too.

Just had mine done yesterday. $139 which included 8 qts of Aeroshell 100+, a new filter, and cutting the old filter to inspect it for defects/debris.

Yowzers. Got my complex endorsement and BFR knocked out today. Warning, steer clear of the Southwest until I log another 100+ hours... haha.

Quote: edgargravel

Quote: jj73 Yes. Northern Air was quite thorough in the pre-buy inspection and subsequent annual I had them perform.

Quote: jj73 Jason -- Curious if your pre-buy turned anything up about the false spar and the rivits that were added.

So, it seems pretty clear that ArtCraft is pretty popular for repainting several forum members planes. And I noticed they also do interiors, does anyone have experience with their interior work? Or can anyone recommend a Western/West Coast interior shop? I may redo the left seat and add an arm rest... or hell, maybe the entire interior! Thoughts?