F18Lumpy

I'd be interested to know your asking price as well. Please feel free to PM me if you like. Thanks, Jeff

drpep, you've got a nice bird no doubt. How many hours are on the airframe?

Thanks for the resurgence of replies. I enjoy hearing about your experiences. I just need to get my financials in order so I can take action. Jeff

Thanks everyone. Lots of good input and food for thought. Alisha, where in MA are you at? I'm just north of Boston by about 30 miles. I think I looked at your F several times on Barnstormers. If it's the one I'm thinking of, you got a great plane and one I would have pulled the trigger on had I had the cash. Jeff

Thanks Parker. My flying has been limited as of late. I'm in the process of transitioning from a military flying career (no prior GA experience) to the world of GA flying. I've got 2300+ hours TT but only 16 since I've started dabbling in GA 12 months ago. Part of it is where I fly out of (45 mins away and it's a club) so it's not the most convenient to just up and decide to go flying at the last minute. Distance and aircraft availability have factored into it. Maybe I'm over estimating my use, but I really think I'd fly a lot more if I owned a plane and had it located much closer to home. I'll add your questions to my list. Thanks. Jeff

Jolie, Tom, thank you both for your replies. Tom, maybe I need to clarify my financial situation a bit. My logic is being driven by the fact that I really desire to pay cash for the plane and be done with it. I like not having a car payment, not having a boat payment and the idea of not having a plane payment. I could afford a lot more airplane (cost wise) if I were willing to take on debt to do so, but I'd prefer not to. My perspective has been that if I pay cash for the airplane, the lack of any type of monthly payment will allow me a greater amount of cash flow to throw directly into maintenance and operating costs rather than have a loan payment that could force me into the maintenance dilemma you raise. But, I've never owned an airplane before, is my logic in this regard flawed? As for the Cherokee, I've considered that option as well as a Cessna and even some older tail draggers (Cessna 140's and Luscombe 8E's/8F's). Truth be told I've been flying military aircraft for 15+ years and I enjoy the speed. I also have a hang up about fixed gear, but that's probably some Macho BS deal that maybe Jolie could help me work through. :-) Thanks again for the inputs, I really enjoy having you guys challenge my logic. It will only mean my final decisions will be that much better. Jeff

Hi all, I've been looking at Mooney's and lurking on the boards for a while. I've been actively watching the used market for about a year now and have been centering my efforts on the F and J models. Specifically I've been looking for aircraft with < 4000 TT and <= 1000 SMOH that looks nice, has a decent interior and a six pack panel. The longer I look, the more I realize that the acquisition cost of a nice example of these models is outside my reach right now so it's mainly a pipe dream at this point. I have a family of four (kids are 10 and 12) and have been doing some flying at a nearby USAF flying club in Piper Arrows. Almost all of my flight time with the club has been solo or with my daughter (wife and son don't really enjoy flying). I don't envision that changing much going forward, although I would probably try to do some limited XCtys with the whole family if I actually owned a plane. Upon reflection my missions would probably be 50% solo, 35% with two people and 15% with all four seats filled. Because of this, and the lower costs to get into an airplane, I've started giving more consideration to the E and C models. I've had my eye on this aircraft for a while but have been scared away by 5430TT and 1900SMOH. I keep coming back to her though because she looks nice, has NDH (that I can find throught the internet), has a decent interior, an updated (six pack) panel with a basic IFR GPS and the asking price is a good start ~$32K. Looking at VREF through AOPA, I'm coming up with a value of $23K because the motor is 100 hours shy of TBO. With a zero time motor she come's out at $43.9K which makes sense when you consider an O/H cost of ~$20K. Personally, I'm not real interested in buying an airplane only to go straight into O/H during the first year of owning my first aircraft. While researching the C model and the carb engine, I've come across several postings/opinions on the internet that tout the "bullet proof" nature of the O360 engine. Many have stated that it's not uncommon to go well beyond TBO on these motors, if properly monitored and cared for. If I could run this one safely to 2300-2500 TBO, that might open it up for closer consideration. I figure that would give me about 4-6 years of use before diving into the the cost of an overhaul. Any thoughts? Am I crazy to even consider this path? What do you think of the pictures, price, ad and equipment this one offers? Is it a fair deal if I could get it close to the VREF price ($23K)? How about C ownership in general vs. the E, F, and J. Is the slightly slower airspeed of the O360 offset by lower operating costs? How useable is the backseat in the C/E models for an occasional full load? Thanks for your time and I look forward to learning from your opinions and ownership experiences. Jeff

Brian, I wish I had a stash of cash lying around (but I don't). I just had to replace a mini-van that was totalled in an accident. Can you say goodbye airplane fund? :-( I've admired your plane before, it's absolutely gorgeous. Good luck with the sale, Jeff, (aka Lumpy :-) ) Grew up not far from Topeka in Olathe Kansas.

Nope, it was for George "Brain" Perry. He was in VFA-105 when I was in VFA-37. Aren't we all looking for a "J?" But I just read in another post that he sold his F, so it looks like I'm still shopping. :-( Sorry to bother you Brian. :-) Lumpy

Brain, when you buy the J, let me know, I might be interested in your F. Take care Bro, R Lumpy

Thanks Guys. Great points about the Annuals and I'll be sure to ask for electronic copies of the logs to review as well. Jeff

Hi, In my search for a Mooney (which will most likely be a pre-J) I've spent most of my time learning about the brand via the internet and picking my buddy's brain who has a 67F. From these experiences I've compiled the following question bank that I intend to use when I'm trying to determine if a candidate aircraft is one that I want to continue to pursue and possible go view in person. I'd like to solicit input on it so I can refine and improve it further. Thanks, Jeff Documentation and History: 1. How long have you owned aircraft? Why are you selling it? 2. Do you have complete and original logs for the airframe, motor and prop with no gaps? 3. How many owners has it had? 4. Where has it been located? 5. What is it's hangar history (i.e. how has it been stored)? 6. Does it have any damage history? 7. Is this the aircraft's original "N" number? If not, what prior "N" numbers has it had? 8. What is the aircraft's serial number? Motor and Prop: 1. How long ago (calendar date and flight hours) was the motor overhaul done? 2. Who did the overhaul on the motor? 3. Does the aircraft still have the original motor? 4. Does it have GAMI injectors? 5. How long ago (calendar date and flight hours) was the prop overhaul done? 6. Is the prop original? 7. Has the prop governor been overhauled? If so, when? 8. Is the aircraft still subject to the recurring Hartzel AD? Airframe: 1. Can you list the mods done to the aircraft? 2. Have the fuel tanks been resealed or converted to bladders? 3. Are there any fuel leak issues? 4. When was the last weight and balance done? 5. What is it's current useful load? 6. What kind of corrosion protection has been done? 7. Have the wings fogged, Corrosion X'ed etc. 8. When was it last painted? 9. Who did the paint job? 10. Was the old paint taken down to metal prior to painting or was it just sprayed over? 11. What type of paint was used? 12. What type of tires are on the airplane? AD's: 1. Have all AD'S complied with? 2. Have the been properly documented in the logbooks? 3. Are there any recurring AD'S (e.g. prop hub eddy current inspection, etc.) Routine Maintenance: 1. When was the last annual? 2. Who performed the annual and do you mind if I speak with the mechanic? 3. What was needed at the last annual? Anything not addressed? 4. Is it IFR Certified? When was it done? 5. How frequently were oil changes done? 6. Who performed the maintenance on the airplane? 7. Are there any open squawks?

Ken, I read with great interest George Perry's thread on buying a vintage Mooney. I know George by a different name (his callsign "Brain") and really enjoyed his perspective on Mooney buying and ownership. I did pick up on the nuances regarding MooneyLand in that discussion and formed an opinion of my own based upon the owner's replies. Caurso - Thanks for the New England reference. I'm a recent transplant, but my kids are getting me up to speed on the terminonlogy.....wicked, bubbler, jimmies, etc. Living in New England is almost like living in a foreign country. :-) Jeff

Hey everybody, Any opinions, good or bad, on this one: http://mooneyland.com/1965_m20c.htm What I see is an airplane that looks clean, inside and out, has some nice mods that I desire (windshield, six pack instrument panel, cowl closure) and one I hadn't considered before, long range tanks. I've been searching for a plane with <4000 TTAF and <1000 SMOH and SPOH. This one exceeds that criteria by a bit, but not so much to exclude it from consideration at this point. Thoughts? Thanks in advance Jeff

Ken, it's only a problem for me. In my opinion, there are too many airplanes out there without an accident history for me to spend time on those with a history. Yes I understand that if repaired properly it should not be an issue, but call me a perfectionist (or maybe irrational) but I don't want to go there. Maybe my perspective will change when I get tired of sitting on the sidelines searching for "the one." But until then I'll keep looking. Jeff