LANCECASPER

They said it must be inspected with magnets to see if it was a hybrid weight - these were dissimilar metals and could cause the corrosion that was pictured in the service bulletin. "During the inspection, if the weight is determined not a 430018-1 balance weight, the aircraft may be flown and no further inspections are required for Service Bulletin M20- 345A. Record this inspection in Aircraft Log Book." That's not grounding the fleet. They are duty-bound by the FAA to do what they did. If they weren't supporting you, like you claim, they never would have brought this serious issue to the attention of the owners and the FAA. Of course they didn't have parts available. They didn't realize there was a problem until December 2022. By the end of February 2023 they had parts available for all of the affected airplanes. If that isn't supporting the owners I don't know what is. If you owned another 60 year old airplane that didn't have factory support you still wouldn't have parts.

If you were to tour the "Hammer House*" at the Mooney factory, where the huge hydraulic presses shape the metal parts that go into our airplanes, you would realize that a little operation like LASAR that modifies small landing gear parts and puts together hardware kits couldn't possibly come up with the equipment needed to make the vast majority of parts for our airplanes. * Here's a link to some pictures: http://www.davemorris.com/PhotoViewer.cfm?Subdirectory=Mooney Factory Tour Here's a link to an article of someone who toured the factory https://airfactsjournal.com/2019/05/visiting-the-mooney-family/ PLAN A: Those who have placed orders for parts that Mooney manufactures through a Mooney Service Center have found that they received the parts sooner than what they thought . They are working to fill orders. If you're just checking to see if an obscure part is is stock it won't be. They would have to pay an inventory tax for parts on the shelf and even if they had the capital to fill up the shelves with parts they aren't going to do that. If you need the parts make sure you place the order and get in line. Let them know you are AOG (Aircraft on Ground). They do put priority on that. PLAN B: If you have actually placed the order for the parts you need, like the bell crank you mentioned, that's keeping your Mooney on the ground and preventing you from flying, and you're still waiting, list the part numbers you need on here and let the community come together to help you find the used parts to get you flying again. You list a 1967 F-model in your profile. I think it's amazing that the factory still has any interest in making parts for a 57 year old product that they sold. It may not be a great business decision, but their willingness to make any effort to support the fleet is beyond admirable. Trying going to Ford or GM and see if they'll stamp out a fender for your 1967 automobile. They couldn't if they wanted, the tooling is long gone. To support that vintage car you'd have to find another source (salvage, knock-off parts etc). I realize that supporting a vintage car and an FAA certified airplane are two different things. However vintage Cessna, Piper, Beechcraft, Grumman, etc. owners are faced with the same challenges we are, even though Piper, Cessna and Beechcraft (both owned by Textron) are still in business. If you had a 1967 Beechcraft or Cessna and tried to order a bell crank from the factory I think you'd be facing a similar challenge (www.txtav.com shows zero in stock for either). Owner groups help each other out with these vintage airplanes as well. (On the same airpark where I am is a company called Fletchair - they support older Grumman airplanes. As airplanes come out of service they travel around the country buying salvage airplanes to keep the fleet going.)

Textron has 30 in stock right now. Back on July 16 they said the expected time would be October 14. It looks like they caught up sooner

My guess: The owner may not have increased the hull value when the Avidyne (AMX240/IFD440) and the Dynons were installed, which left the airplane well under-insured. The panel made this one valuable enough that the insurance company declared it a total loss.

24-16 is not your battery model. You need either a 24-15 or a 24-11. https://batterymanagement.concordebattery.com/BatteryDocs/finalfaapma.pdf

Are all of our Mooney owners and Mooneys OK in Florida?

In 1996 for insurance I needed to go up with an instructor and get a sign-off for a M20M. Since I was buying it from Mooney they sent me up with one of their test pilots, Charley. (I wish I could read his last name in my logbook.) I had never put flaps in before the white arc on my 231 that i was trading in and he told me not to on the M20M either. So I went with that. Two months later Mooney scheduled the Flight Safety Course for me in San Antonio, where all customers who bought new Mooneys were sent to by Mooney back in the 90's. The instructor Chris made the point clear that no flaps come in until the white arc. I don't have the course materials anymore, but when I took the course in '96 for the M20M it was printed in the Flight Safety workbook. Also Bob Cabe did Mooney transition for the factory in the 2000's (Bravos, Ovations and Acclaims). Insurance didn't require it, but I spent an hour on recurrent training with him on a Mooney Encore in 2014 and he made the same point - no flaps until 110. He mentioned that he had a few people that were transitioning from older Mooneys fight him on that point. He invited them to show him in their new POH for their new airplane where they had authorization to do that. That was Mooney's position on it from at least the mid 90's until at least 2014. If you're unsure, e-mail fcrawford@mooney.com and I'm sure he can give you Mooney's position on it.

It’s already a major hurricane. Hopefully anyone there already gets out safely.

SOLD

If I remember correctly the fuel flows need to be set higher than Continental shows. @StevenL757 will know the answer. EDIT: I looked back and Brian Kendrick set my to 29.5 GPH when he did the 310ho on an Ovation I used to have. Also are you starting with the Boost Pump on? Or just using it to prime before the start?

Scott, He asked if anyone else was alarmed with a statement that was made. I said I was not alarmed by it. Period - that was my opinion. If your opinion is different, you have that right. In all of the years you've been on here with all of the other screen names, the underlying issue it always comes back to is that it seems you think we all need to have the same viewpoint. That's never going to happen. That's what makes this a valuable forum - a variety of viewpoints. I enjoy hearing your viewpoint and I'm glad you're here.. My viewpoint on this subject is based on having owned Mooneys 31 years, and not all of them have been late models. In that time Mooney has had 5 different ownerships, has filed bankruptcy once and had shutdowns of several years, a few times. Through that entire time, in addition to the parts Mooney has manufactured, resourceful owners have been always able to find solutions to what they need. That's why there are still 7,000 Mooneys flying. I'm more optimistic now than I was at other times since I've gone to the Factory and the Service Center in person a few times times in the past few years and am not basing my opinion on others who've never been there. That's only my opinion and I don't expect anyone else to see it that way nor do I care if they do.

@DCarlton needed a different spinner and ended up getting it from McCauley. @Cody Stallings may have some ideas also.

The FAA released a Airworthiness Concern letter on 9/24/2024. This morning, two days later Mooney International sent out a Special Letter referencing it to all M20 owners who have signed up for notices. Do you really think it would be better for all owners if they went out of business?

Mooney sent this out this morning Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk SL-24-06.pdf

Mooney M20 Control Wheel Shaft Fatigue Cracks Notice Number: NOTC3947 The FAA is investigating the report of a control wheel separation on a Mooney M20C aircraft due to fatigue cracks in the control shaft or control wheel attachment hub. This failure might result in momentary loss of control of the aircraft until the pilot or copilot is able to regain control with the second control wheel. This may reduce the capability of the airplane or the ability of the crew to cope with adverse operating conditions to the extent that there may be a significant reduction in safety margins, especially in certain phases of flight, such as takeoff and landing. The FAA’s Aircraft Certification Service recently issued an Airworthiness Concern Sheet (ACS) to highlight this concern and the ongoing investigation including a photograph of the failed part. The FAA is recommending operators visually inspect the control wheel and provide information including description of damage, available photos, airplane serial number, and time in service since installation. To view the Airworthiness Concern Sheet please select this link or paste the address into your browser: https://www.faasafety.gov/files/notices/2024/Sep/2024-09-25_Mooney_Control_Wheel.pdf If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Aircraft Certification Service through Jacob Fitch at Jacob.Fitch@faa.gov.

The Dynon STC says you need the Dynon D20 or D30 as a backup.

That would be a great idea

Price reduced

With any of them you'll need a GPS navigator either way like an Avidyne or Garmin. Dynon has no autopilots yet certified for Mooneys. but has nice calculator to add up what you may want to put in the panel: https://www.dynoncertified.com/aml.php

On long bodies, <140 for gear extension and <110 for flaps. Since I can't use the POH for an early J model to justify a higher speed T/O flaps in my airplane, I have to use the POH applicable to my serial number and model. Nowhere in my POH does it mention a lower speed for T/O flaps. If they slam dunk you and you need to, use speed brakes to get to gear extension speed.

I have always wanted to go to the Mooney Summit. It would be great if it was a time of the year that wasn't so prone to tropical storms and hurricanes. Also at a time of the year when it's not hot and humid - maybe Nov - Feb? I know those times might be more difficult to get hotel blocks, but with enough planning it could be done.

You'll want to ping @AF M20J or quote him, like I did you, so he gets a notification.

I'm not. They have operated on a shoestring for the past 4 years and they've been able to add employees and keep the lights on. They have also added some other contract work from other companies to help keep the doors open. None of us know for sure what the future of Mooney is, nor do we know whether any of us will be run over by a bus tomorrow. I try not to concern myself with things i can't control.

Thanks, I corrected my typo.