airbusflyboy

Appreciate the good feedback on this ............. Will let y'all know what happens ............. Thanks, Mark

Found a Mooney M20A that appears to be in very nice condition however the paperwork is sketchy not sure if logbooks are available, looks like the Tachometer has been changed out but not sure if the engine and prop is at TBO , they are claiming under 2000 hours TTAF. Wood wing, metal tail ............... Can the wood wing be replaced for a Metal Wing ? Obvious issues if a wood wing but what else do I need to know, give me your opinions GOOD or BAD !!!

I am in discussion with owner to purchase his Mooney M20E, located at KIYK airport, INYOKERN, CALIFORNIA ............. The aircraft is not yet flyable but we need someone that might be abel to stop over and look it over for us, just a quick lookover of sorts and let us know what they see. This airport is very near to the CHINA LAKE NAVAL FACILITY, there is a lot of RESTRICTED AIRSPACE over there, I am not sure about the issues of flying into INYOKERN AIRPORT due to CHINA LAKE FACILITY, there may be some Government operations going on that might prevent easy access, not sure ............. Please give me a call or text to my cellphone if you might be able to help out, willing to pay something towards your effort to check it out for us. Kind regards, Mark Casillas email : KRAMSALLISAC@GMAIL.COM 901-413-8692 cellphone

Yea not sure how this could happen as the aircraft is current with FAA registration to the present owners, I would rather believe the guy helping them sell it, I sent a notification to Flight Aware telling them of this anomaly, but who know ................. ???

Yes sir ............. I am getting lots of warning on that very subject, and your labor was free !!! Thank you for the advice .................

Ha !!! I was ATC years ago and never thought anyone would have the "balls" to do something like this !!! I was very surprised to see this N number on a flight down in Florida a few years ago and the N number was in fact registered to the same folks that own this airplane but I am being told it has never left the hangar since 2009 !!!

We did open up a couple of inspection panels on the bottom right wing and looked at one of the spars and surrounding sheet metal was quite clean and very clean spars. It has a very dated interior and average head liner with a small tear. One thing of weirdness tonight ............ I did a search on FLIGHTAWARE.COM and found that this N number was used for a flight in 2015 down in Florida .......... the N number was correct as Flight Aware also posts the Registration info , the aircraft is out of annual since 2009 and has been sitting in the hangar ever since, has not moved .............. So, how does this information get posted on Flight Aware in 2015 when the aircraft is sitting in the hangar ??? I queried the seller about this find and assured me that the aircraft has not moved out of the hangar since 2009. Is FLIGHTAWARE correct in its data or is it possible that someone used this guy's N number to make a flight down in Florida ? I am going to investigate a bit on this.

All very good wisdom and advice , truly appreciated to all of you ! I’m considering letting the local on field maimtenance shop get involved and look it over hard , it’ll cost me some bucks but will get me closer to a decision , right now I’ve seen it and cost me a days time spent traveling back and forth but it was very informative and worth the trip .......... Another area mechanic told me a story of an owner of a 1967 Mooney spending $32,000 to get that one back in flying condition after a 10 year hiatus from sitting .......... A couple other things I forgot to mention on this 1962 Mooney ........ I noticed that the control yokes were sitting with a slight tilt to the right and of course the corresponding ailerons were deflected as such , I noted from moving the yoke around that this condition seemed to be static , iow, the yokes returned to rest in this slight right position , not centered ......... Is this a rigging issue ? Also , there is NO spin on oil filter only the oil screen . What specific inspections do you guys recommend by this maintenance shop ? I’m reading a lot here about checking tubing , spars , corrosion ? Is the fact that the number one logbook is missing a real big deal according to negotiating the price ?

UPDATE : I saw the project Mooney yesterday guys ! Took some pix , looked over logs , crawled around the airplane , it’s very straight no dents or dings or scratches , outstanding paint job from early 2000’s , looks like it needs landing gear donuts soon , interior dated from possibly 70’s but very serviceable , glass very good , engine compartment very clean and tidy but did not remove the upper cowl , chromed cylinders on mid time engine , Hartzell prop , it is missing the very first airframe log from 1962 but picks back up in 1967 , very well documented other than missing first logbook , local maintenance shop can pore over the airplane for me at $75 per hour ....... I told the guy assisting with the sale that I’ve had lots of good advice from you here , they believe it is priced accordingly at $21,000 even though it’s out of annual for 9 years , I’m not sure that’s a good price in this status ........ What say you ?

Russ and crew are super and very honest folks , have used their service and very satisfied

Yea could all be true ........ Cylinders were pulled and cam and other internals checked for pitting / rust , none found . I’m planning to go see it first and make my own impressions then if we want to keep going will do the prebuy stuff ........ Thank you for the advise !

Ok Thanks for the good info ! I don’t know anything about Mooney airplanes but have always liked what I heard about them ......... I think if we pursue this I will get a prebuy inspect done first to make sure of its status ......... Appreciate it !

Need some real advice concerning possible purchase of a 20C that has been sitting out of annual for almost 10 years , landing gear donuts need replaced , fuel caps are old style rubber plugs that are not sealing , all logbooks , Hartzell AD prop , nice paint and interior , always in a hangar , mid time engine

It is a 1957 ....... Looks like the Lycoming 0-320 is correct ......... Aircraft been restored , work done on wings and engine , mechanic and owner passed away but no sign offs in the logbooks .......... Tons of paperwork and no missing logs

Does anyone know for sure, what the engine model or models were used on a 1957 MO-20A ? I am not sure if it was a Lycoming 0-320 or 0-360 ? This particular plane has a Hartzell constant speed prop HC-82VL-1D ............ does this prop have the recurring AD problems ??? Any reliable information is greatly appreciated !!! Thanks, Mark

Man ............. what a diamond in the rough ! I would be really interested in buying this but have to consider transport and all the airframe work that needs to be done along with getting the engine and prop taken care of. What is your bottom dollar on this ?

Changing gears ............... How about your Aircraft Insurance ? If you run the engine past TBO and have a problem, are they going to pay for it or some of it ? There is some kind of discussion on the web with stats on engine failures at various engine times levels, might be worth a search and check it out ............. ???

I concur .......................... but I did talk to a guy yesterday with a converted M20 D Master ................. the airplane for all intents and purposes does become a 20 C but the 20 D designation stays with the FAA records as such. Yea, not sure about the plane being just that, a collectible piece, and not sure why everyone is so worried about it being converted however I just would not do it on the basis of cost on return ........................................ Although don't like the current prices of fuel, still you can buy a lot of it for the cost of a conversion !!!

Hi Dave ................. True, I don't believe it should be converted at this point either, you can buy a lot of gas for the amount that it would cost to convert it !!! I don't know that this makes the plane especially collectible, either, but it is interesting that it has survived intact without being cut ....................... I am not planning to buy the plane as a collectible, rather to fly it !!! Only concern I have at the moment is the plane not being flown a lot since the factory reman in 1993 but they have flown it.

Hi Dave ................. True, I don't believe it should be converted at this point either, you can buy a lot of gas for the amount that it would cost to convert it !!! I don't know that this makes the plane especially collectible, either, but it is interesting that it has survived intact without being cut ....................... I am not planning to buy the plane as a collectible, rather to fly it !!! Only concern I have at the moment is the plane not being flown a lot since the factory reman in 1993 but they have flown it.

Once again, many Thank you to all of you who have responded !!! I have gleaned a lot of good information here and I am a current AOPA member with Legal services, so I understand where I have to go with this now. I just talked to a guy this afternoon in Colorado, he has the very same airplane ......................... MOONEY 20 D MASTER, but his was converted to retractable model. Interesting ............................. looks to me that a lot of the Mooney 20 D Masters went that direction ! Happy New Year !!!

Hey Randy ......................... Thank you !!! I will check that bank site out and see what they have for contract. I know that a lot has to be understood before the ball gets rolling ......................................

Hey guys ...................... Many Thanks !!! I don't feel uncomfortable with the folks that I have been talking with about the plane, but of course, I have not seen any of it either !!! I understand the recommendations here, they make good, rational sense. I have been looking around for a good bit now, lots of time spent on computer searches, some title searches, phone calls, etc. If we go through with this ..................... will let you know here what happened !

Thank You !!! You bring up a good point ...................................... I should do a prebuy and then if we find discrepancies, have the owner fix them or bring down the price of the plane. I am mostly concerned with corrosion, he seems to have been keeping the maintenance up on the aircraft although this is what I have only learned from talking to him and his mechanic. I just want to make sure we don't skip something on this ..................... I understand that Mooney airplanes are trickier to inspect and catch problems with and requires someone that is very familiar with them. Thank you for your insight ............................. I do appreciate it ! Happy Holidays !!!

Hey ! First off ................. Happy New Year to all of you here on the forums !!! I hope we see something better for 2011, fingers are crossed ! OK, I need some strong opinions about trying to get an Annual inspection done at the same time a prebuy inspection is happening ............ I know there is a huge difference between the two, and I am just looking for answers from folks that have possibly gone this route on their way to ownership of a Mooney 20, we are looking at a Mooney 20 D on this. I have aleady talked to the mechanic that has been taking care of the aircraft, his recommendation was to get someone else involved on the inspection process and I value that advice ........................... I however am acutely aware that the Mooney airplanes require a bit more finesse in the inspection areas and I am trying to ensure that we get a good and accurate inspection done before purchase. Thank you all !!!