glasgowcmcm

I'd appreciate the chart. Can you email it to me? I tried to PM you but nothing appears in the To/From boxes. Might have to do with the high winds and dust storm going on right now, the internet is hit or miss. Either way, if you're able to PM me, I'll send you my email address if that's possible. Thanks!

I think from the email I just received that my search will continue. He didn't like the price he would get once the PPI/annual were complete. He is sticking to $55,000 but you never know how it will turn out. So that leaves 7 other airplanes to look at and you don't know what will pop up in the next 7-10 days while I await my ride home.

I remember when I was in college looking at helicopter pilots thinking they were crazy while I taxied down in a 152. Then, once I graduated and there weren't any jobs open; the Air Force didn't need pilots, the Marine Corps couldn't guarantee a pilot slot, and I wasn't feeling the Navy due to being on a ship (which I understand you aren't always); I decided to join the Army and try this helicopter thing. I've enjoyed my time and I've learned a tremendous amount, landed in some tight and scary spots, landed with 1 wheel on the Mountain while sniper team jumps out, and landing while engulfed in a cloud of dust. You don't need the buns of steel workout when that happens! I want to get back into flying fixed wing to plus up my resume so once I can retire I'll be more marketable and moving about the country with much less expense and restrictions via GA just seems to make sense. I received the logs today so I'm in the process of printing them out as I type. Hopefully nothing serious will turn up and I can get a PPI scheduled in the near future. The owner brought up the topic of price so I'll see how the next email comes back since I explained my research/discussions and the price point I'm looking at.

I will say hello if I do see him. My wife has already told me she plans to sit in the back with her eyes closed on take off and landing. She is happier not seeing what's going but I told her that will change. My kids are going to be 10 and 13. I don't think they'll have a problem sitting up front at all. I want to introduce both, actually all 3 of them to the world of aviation and the possibilites it can open up. Plus, it will give my kids something to work towards (PPL) if they want. My son enjoys going to the simulator with me. He does barrel rolls better than I do. Probably because I think to much through the maneuver and he just does it.

I've been debating if this airframe is clean and I can get a good deal, updating at least one of the NAV/COMMs to something more up to date. I realize buying a 430 and having it installed is expensive but I'm trying to stay around $55,000 so I have some budget left for unexpected issues the first year or two. Many of the Fs I found look ratty and not kept up. For my mission, cross countries with a family of 4, the E is out but I'm going to try and meet a Mooneyspacer in my town with an E to check the size for the rear pax area, but either way Brian, I don't think your E would be in my price range due to the upgrades. I realize pictures aren't always the best indicator but it's hard to get an idea of the airframe when the seller doesn't list any pictures of the plane. Luckily, I have a few pictures of this plane from when it was listed before. I guess the reason there aren't any up to date compression numbers for this year's annual is due to the plane being for sale that long. I found this plane on TAP back in May/June and I assume he hasn't updated the add. I've received emails back from both MSCs and they have given me a list of areas to look at during my pre PPI. Both mention pulling some interior panels during the PPI to check for corrosion in the tubular structure so I gather they will be thorough during any prebuy. I've read other places; another quick check is to look underneath the instrument panel and check there for corrosion on the structure as well as checking the window seals for any areas where water could have seeped in allowing corrosion to set in. Brian, I'm sure flying with an upgraded GPS is great and I would love it. My next assignment is up at the Sikorsky plant conducting acceptance test flights on brand new UH-60Ms. It has an all glass cockpit and a much better avionics set up along with a ton of other improvements to the airframe. I'll spend 10 weeks down at Ft. Rucker getting my transition training as a Pilot and Maintenance Test Pilot. I'm sure once I get out of that and sit in a Mooney, it will be like going back in time. I like technology and its benefits, but it's nice to sit down strap in and enjoy flying for the shear fact that I'm flying with a map, compass, and clock. Thank for all the comments and keep them coming.

Thanks for all the feedback. The 2 closest MSCs are Daytona Beach and Florida Flight Maintenance in Venice. The owner said he's never had experience with either one. I don't think it's worth $57500 either. I'm assuming he's put in wiggle room. It's been listed for a few months. I tried tried to take a look at it when I was on mid-tour back in July but our schedules couldn't line up. I'm looking for a good Mooney that I can go cross country and have IFR capability. I understand that you should find an aircraft with the avionics you want already installed to save the expense but most of them seem to be out of my budget and I have no experience with a 430. I'm used to flying with a single VOR, single ADF, and a non IFR approved GPS so having dual COMM/NAV will be a step up. Out of the list of 8 possible Mooneys I have built so far, this seems to be the best qualified at this time. If you can think of other items I need to be concerned with once I get the logs, let me know and I'll dig into it. I've got a long plane ride ahead and with the Army's hurry up and wait policy, I should have plenty of time to read while I wait for the flight to cross the pond for hopefully the last time.

Here are the specifics for this 1967 M20F, he's asking $57500 and Vref shows it at $47500. Not sure how you adjust value for good maintenance history and the other mods to the airframe. I'll appreciate any input people would like to share. Engine/Propeller/Rotor Information Airframe: Total Time: 5,500 Hours. Engine(s): 610 SMOH OH by Zephyr Prop(s): 30 SPOH, New-Hub/Cold-Rolled Blades Maintenance Condition IFR Very Clean Fresh Annual Always Hangared No Damage History Complete Logs since Mfg P & I: 7/10 & All Records Compression Mid-Upper 70's at 3/09 Annual Well Maintained by Current A&P Owner Last 11 Years Avionics: 2 Narco COM 120's Narco Nav 121 (Overhauled 2008) Narco Nav 122 w/ GS (Overhauled 2008) Narco AT-150 Transponder Narco CP136 Audio Panel Narco ADF 141 King KN-62A DME Garmin 150 GPS Equipment: 201 Windshield 201 Polished Prop Spinner Locking Fuel Caps Adj Headrests, Front also Tilt Adjustable Wing Visual Fuel Gauges Aero Trim Electric Stabilizer Trim Aileron/Flap Gap Seals Overlapping Nose Gear Doors Front Seat Shoulder Harnesses Front Pass. Side Eyeball Fresh Air Vent Articulating Front Visors Brake Rotation Stainless Steel Brake Discs Individual Adj Rear Seat Backs Horizon P-1000 Electronic Digital Tach El US-8A Engine Analyzer Brittain Wing Leveler w/ Nav Tracker Precision PAI-70 Vertical Card Compass SOFTCOMM ATC-4P 4 Pl Intercom Skytec Super Flyweight Starter/Slick Wags Concorde Sealed Battery Retractable Step (Vacuum) New Vernier Mixture Control Both Rear Seat Backs & Full Width Bench Seat Removable Upper & Lower Cowl Closure (201 Look-Alike Mod Mfg by ARI) 1 Piece 201 Rear Picture Windows Dorsal Fin & Stabilizer Root Fairing Mods Inboard Flap Hinge Covers, Flap Fillet Fairings Enlarged Lower Cowling Air Outlet (Mooney SB 182) New Oil Cooler Relocated to Behind #4 Cyl ADC Firewall Mounted Spin-On Oil Filter M20 Turbos Air-Oil Separator Whelen 3 Light Strobes w/ Central Pwr Supply K & N Challenger Reusable Air Inlet Filter Dual Halogen Landing Lights with Plexiglass Govers Interior: Extensive 14 Month Restoration 1999-2000 w/ New Grey Cloth Interior Beautiful Interior Good Condition Exterior: 1985 White Paint w/ 2 Blue Stripes still Looks Great Extensive 14 Month Restoration 1999-2000 w/ New Glass Tanks Resealed by Willmar Air Svc, MN 8/05 Good Condition Comments: Manual gear & flaps, 64 gals fuel capacity, 200 hp 10-360A1A, 9.5 gph, 147K cruise, 1014 lb useful load, Includes Mooney Svc & Maint, Parts Manual, Svc Bulletin & AD binders, extra POH, Mooney landing gear preload check tools, control travel jigs, felt lined canvas full cabin cover, all receipts for parts purchased by current owner since 1995. 14 month extensive restoration 1999-2000 rebuilding landing gear, all new shock discs, lots of new rod end bearings, bushings, bolts, trim tube u-joints, access panel stainless steel hardware and cowl CAMLOCs. Interior was completely stripped to bare aluminum, old fiberglass insulation & adhesive removed, SB 208A compl/w again, no evidence of any water leaks, only some minor exterior surface rust spots found on cabin roll cage tubing. Tubing and interior aluminum treated, primed and painted. All fuselage interior seams and joints covered with alum foil tape, all surfaces covered with alum foil covered 1/8th inch thick closed cell `Super Soundproofing" sound dampener. 1 inch thick closed cell soundproofing to sides, 1/2 inch thick to overhead, all new interior front side panels & baggage door cover. Rear side and ovhd plastic panels repaired. Poster board baggage compt walls replaced with corrugated Airtex Polyboard. All seat backs repaired and reinforced. All new light & med grey Airtex cloth covers entire interior (panels, window frames, sides, seats & ovhd), new carpet, new seat belts/seat foam, Conforfoam front seat cushions. Replaced all 4 original poor quality plastic round overhead air vents w/metal eyeball air vents. #2 cyl exh valve stuck open @ 290 SMOH, cyl repaired by JB Aircraft Eng Svc, Sebring FL, to include new exh valve, piston pin and ring set. 2003: muffler & exhaust repaired by DAWLEY to essentially new condition. 2005: New Sigma-Tek Attitude Gyro; overhauled DG and turn coordinator. 9 hole LH instrument panel retrofit mod installed.

Still no word from the owner. I'm taking this as a sign and moving on to a Mooney that is in the Orlando area. I'll keep you up to date and probably ask a few of you to review the information I have and get unbiased assesments like Ken gave me. This Orlando gentleman emails me back promptly and I'm waiting on copies of the logbooks.

I plan on calling him once I get back to work in the morning. It should be around 7pm Phoenix time so as soon as I get the information and he is willing to allow someone to come by I'll PM you or post it here. I appreciate the offer.

Good Morning All, I'm looking for someone who would be willing to look at a 1968 M20F I found in the Phoenix area. I've emailed the seller to see which airport it’s at. I think he has had some bad experiences in the past based on the first reply I received. I'm still in Afghanistan, only a few more weeks, and can't give him my phone number here since I don't have one and my wife would have no idea what to ask. Email is my way of communicating until the 11.5 hour time difference lines up and I can call him so that shouldn’t make me seem less serious as a buyer. My guess is the Mooney is sitting at Phoenix Regional due do his address being in Maricopa. I would like to see if someone or a couple people would be able to go by and take a look once I get the location and give me an assessment of the aircraft in general. I'm willing to repay expenses to have someone familiar with Mooneys take a look and give me a no holds barred assessment of whether I should continue speaking with this gentleman or pass and continue my search. I've thought about calling a broker but based on the posts I've read, most of the mooneyspacers seem more than happy and willing to help out with these types of requests. Some basics on the airframe are: TT4160, 195 SMOH, 86 on new Hartzel 3 blade, tanks resealed in 2007, paint in 2004, Ovation style glove leather seats. Have a great day! Chris

Rob, I appreciate the offer. I'm back in Afghanistan now but when I return, around Nov/Dec, I'll IM you and see if we can set something up. When I was home on R&R, I was able to go for a flight with Nick from Brunswick down to FL and it was nice getting back into an airplane. Chris

Congratulations on the purchase. I'm ready to get home to see some of the Mooneyspacers Mooneys up close and really get my search moving. Here's a link for Mid Coast Regional (Wright Army Airfield) current prices. http://www.midcoastregionalairport.com/download.php/54/Public%20Pricing%20April%202010%20Revised%20WEB.pdf Here's the General Manger's Information. If you decide to hangar there, contact him to see if there is a waiting list for hangar space. Greg Schramuk General Manager 912-877-4364 gregs@airportbusiness.net It's about 30-40 minutes from HAAF. When you in-process, you'll go to Ft. Stewart for that and you pass the airfield turn off as you drive in if you take Hwy 204 from I-95. Savannah-Hilton Head International is also about 30-40 from HAAF. If I can find info I'll post what I've found. I know one of the pilots here was trying to hangar his plane before the deployment so I'll try and find him to see about prices. Chris

Brian, 603rd probably hasn't changed much since you were there. More aircraft than people and "Do more with less!" is a common phrase heard at the PC meetings. In 2-3, we're in the same boat. Burning a lot of blade time each day. I hope to be in your shoes one day saying, " I should have owned my Mooney earlier". I'm working with household 6 to get her on board. She seems to be open right now but maybe that is because I'm over here and she knows it keeps me occupied making the time go when I'm not flying, which she prefers I limit due to the indians! Philip, Make sure your going to the USAREC site for your packet. Don't let any one talk you out of putting your packet in. It takes time but it's well worth it. Don't worry about the 6 year commitment, 7 by the time flight shcool is done, it'll go by before you know it. . The last few boards have put a lot of emphasis on the AFAST, PT score, and GT. Not sure if this has made to the regs yet but there was talk of raising the minimum AFAST to 110. The bright side is that you'll be able to save a lot more Mooney Money as a W-1 than E-4. Chris

Hi Philip, You never know, Hunter isn't that big and if you're in Aviation it just got smaller. I should be heading back to HAAF around Dec, but you know how time frames change for redeployment. Not sure when you are due to PCS but I should be in the area until the Summer. I'm looking at getting to Ft. Rucker to teach at the MTP course. If you need or are interested, I'll try and put you in contact with the Mooney owners I'm able to meet while on R&R(coming soon) and after redeployment. I look forward to bumping into you and talking about Mooneys. Chris

Gentlemen, I appreciate all the comments and well wishes. I think it's in my best interest to meet up with as many offering members as possible to get the most information I can. When I'm a week or so out from leaving I'll try and scedule a time to meet up with someone who's schedule will allow. Nick, I'm familiar with Golden Isles, I've flown several time-on-target routes in that area and done instrument training there before. I'd definately like to meet/talk with you since you already operate a Mooney on a Military budget. Jake, next time you talk with your son, ask him if a helicopter is actually louder than an F-15/16 doing an afterburner takeoff. We were told that some Air Force pilots had complained that when we take off to the East here at Bagram, we disturb their peaceful environment. All I know, is when they take off, everything in my office and B-hut(room) shakes. Hey, it's the sound of freedom and it's a lovely sound. Again, I appreciate all the offers so far and I'll do my best to take each one of you up on it. I have no problem with a $100 hamburger if it will make me a better informed buyer, pilot, and one day Mooney owner. Chris

Hello MooneySpace, I'm new to the site and I've been doing a lot of reading the past few days about PPIs and others things to look for when purchasing a Mooney. From what I've seen/read so far, I'm looking for an F or J model to fit my family in for cross-country flights. I plan on using it for both VFR and IFR flights. I'm very outdated/not up to speed when it comes to modern avionics due to flying Army helicopters for the past 12 years. A little about me, I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan as a Maintenance Test Pilot/Evaluator on UH-60A/A+/L Blackhawks. I have my Commercial Airplane Single/Multi-engine Land, Rotorcraft-Helicopter and Instrument Airplane/Helicopter. I've got about 3000 hours total time, 243 fixed wing and the rest in helicopters (Bell 206, OH-58A/C, UH-60). I say I'm outdated on the avionics because the Blackhawk has an ADF, VOR, Doppler/GPS(no moving map), 1 VHF, 1 UHF radio; that's about it minus mission radios/special gear. The newest piece of technology we have is a Garmin 496 for terrain avoidance when flying around here in bad weather, which happens quickly. I have about 35 hours in 1983 M20Js while I was a student at Parks College of St. Louis University, Cahokia, IL (CPS). I always liked the performance of the Mooney and wished that one day I could be in a position to own one. What I would like to do is possibly meet up with an owner or two that lives near Savannah, Ga so I can get close to the airframe again and talk about Mooney ownership and just pick your brain about making my dream come true. Maybe even get some firsthand knowledge on what to look for and any problem areas that will help me make the best decision and stay away from a money pit. I've been reading a lot of articles on Mooneyland.com and just different items that will pop up when you Google "Mooneys for sale". I was directed to this site from Justin at Mid West Mooney when I emailed him about their buyer service and I've found more than enough to keep me busy for the next 7 months on this deployment. Sorry for taking up so much room, I didn't realize I had that much to say. AS to a meeting, I am going on mid-tour leave at the beginning of July so I should be in the Savannah area July 6-17th. I am willing to drive to meet you and take YOU out to lunch for your time as one of the MooneySpace members mentioned. I'm not sure how much of a radius I have to drive since I haven't mentioned this to my wife yet, but I'm sure she'll understand as long as it isn't July 15th since that is our 15th anniversary and it will make the 6th I've been home for. Thank you for your time and any help or comments you have. Chris