jhelleberg

Thanks for relaying your experience with your MSC. I am eager to learn, but also understand a shop's hesitation to let "customers" into the shop. I used to work as a mechanic at a Chevrolet/Mazda dealiership and we let customers observe while we worked on their vehicles, but in general observation was all that was allowed. Some customers made it somewhat uncomfortable as they appeared to be there just to be sure the "dishonest mechanics" didn't mess up their cars. It was a small town in Nebraska, so we couldn't afford unhappy customers and went out of our way to keep the customers happy. I imagine that even in metropolitan areas the pool of potential customers is small and an A&P cannot afford to have a reputation of dissatisfied customers. I think your advice is right on and I plan to seek out a shop where I can learn about my aircraft. This will no doubt help me to be a safer pilot and also help me to understand what to look/listen for as early warnings of impending failure. There are 2 MSCs within about 1 - 2 hours flight time, so hopefully one of them is open to the idea. I know my way around a shop and understand that I shouldn't touch anything unless told to do so. John

Quote: edgargravel John: A good MSC is your best investment in knowledge and protection when looking for a Mooney. You will learn from them. But if the local one does not like you participating in the maintenance of our own aircraft, you may have to find another shop.

Hello all, I am a Private with ~160 hours mostly in Cessna 172s. I have been interested in Mooneys for several years and the stars have aligned such that I am finally ready to purchase my first aircraft (shopping for M20F or M20J). I found an M20F for rent several years ago and managed to get 2 hours of time behind the yoke (the grin lasted for days), but about 2 weeks after I found it, the owner elected to sell the aircraft. Knowing that it would look better to the underwriters if I had some retract time, I have recently completed my complex endorsement in a 172RG (total of 10.5 hours retract, 2 of them in an M20F). I would love to get a couple more hours in a Mooney before going off to find my dream aircraft, but haven't been able to find any for rent in the Northern Virginia or Washington DC area (I am closest to KHEF). I don't think that additional Mooney flight time before a purchase is critical to my plan, but what I really would like to ask the group is if you all know of or have recommendations for any Mooney experienced CFIIs in the Northern virginia area. In addition, as I begin trying to narrow down the field of prospective aircraft to purchase, I would also like to find a Mooney experienced mechanic both to help with a pre-buy and also to perform maintance once a purchase is made. There is a Mooney Service Center at Freeway Airport just over the river in Maryland that is very close to me. I would like to be involved in as much of the maintenance as possible (I worked as an automotive technician in a previous life). Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions you all can provide. I just ran across this forum about 2 weeks ago and have been reading ever since. The information has been very helpful and I keep staying up too late reading more and more posts. :-) John