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I use to hold Don Maxwell in high regards. Today I called to ask about some discrepancies he wrote up on a Mooney. The discrepancies made no sense to me. I use to work at the factory and I know these aircraft really well. As soon as I asked for clarification on a discrepancy Don went off, got rude and then hung up on me. Needless to say I was fuming. I am a professional as was completely caught off guard by such unprofessional behavior from one shop to another . There where also a few items that Don said where airworthy that according to Mooney and the FAA are not airworthy in nature. I called back and spoke to his wife. Of course she would defend him. The bottom line is I never got answers to my questions. I was very upset with how I was talked to. Those folks up there are just out of their minds. Dons wife threatened to call "Homeland Security" because I said I should fly up there and get the answers to my questions....? She said I was threatening her...? Crazy.. Sorry for the drama post, but folks need to know how Don Maxwell handles being questioned about what he finds on an aircraft. Completely taken aback.

Hi Everyone, We are in the home stretch for our 2020 Summer Conference & Retreat. I am excited to say that we have now reached nearly 50 registrations for our summer event. We have a diverse group of pilots and their families scheduled to attend from all over the US. Some even from as far away as Texas, Ohio, and Canada. West Coast Mooney Club Summer Conference & Retreat. August 20-23, 2020 Sunriver Resort Sunriver, Oregon Airport Code (S21) Featured Presenters Include: Don Maxwell, Phil Corman (The Mooney Flyer), LASAR, Airspeed Insurance, Jan Maxwell (Right Seat Ready) & Crewchief Systems. Sponsors Include: LASAR, Aircraft Spruce, Crewchief Systems, Don Maxwell Aviation, Bruce's Custom Covers, The Mooney Flyer, Right Seat Ready, JPI Instruments, Lightspeed, Tempest, Oasis Aero / Weep No More, Airspeed Insurance It's going to be an amazing and fun weekend. Land At The Resort Airport (S21), Hotel & Fuel Discounts, Spa & Amenity Packages, Wine Tasting Party, Sponsor & Raffle Giveaways, Amazing Scenery and Recreational Activities For more Information and to Register, Please Click The Link Below. West Coast Mooney Club - Summer Conference & Retreat I hope to see you there. Michael Rodgers

Hi Everyone, We are in the home stretch for our 2020 Summer Conference & Retreat. I am excited to say that we have now reached nearly 50 registrations for our summer event. We have a diverse group of pilots and their families scheduled to attend from all over the US. Some even from as far away as Texas, Ohio, and Canada. West Coast Mooney Club Summer Conference & Retreat. August 20-23, 2020 Sunriver Resort Sunriver, Oregon Airport Code (S21) Featured Presenters Include: Don Maxwell, Phil Corman (The Mooney Flyer), LASAR, Airspeed Insurance, Jan Maxwell (Right Seat Ready) & Crewchief Systems. Sponsors Include: LASAR, Aircraft Spruce, Crewchief Systems, Don Maxwell Aviation, Bruce's Custom Covers, The Mooney Flyer, Right Seat Ready, JPI Instruments, Lightspeed, Tempest, Oasis Aero / Weep No More, Airspeed Insurance It's going to be an amazing and fun weekend. Land At The Resort Airport (S21), Hotel & Fuel Discounts, Spa & Amenity Packages, Wine Tasting Party, Sponsor & Raffle Giveaways, Amazing Scenery and Recreational Activities For more Information and to Register, Please Click The Link Below. West Coast Mooney Club - Summer Conference & Retreat I hope to see you there. Michael Rodgers

Hi Everyone, We are in the home stretch for our 2020 Summer Conference & Retreat. I am excited to say that we have now reached nearly 50 registrations for our summer event. We have a diverse group of pilots and their families scheduled to attend from all over the US. Some even from as far away as Texas, Ohio, and Canada. West Coast Mooney Club Summer Conference & Retreat. August 20-23, 2020 Sunriver Resort Sunriver, Oregon Airport Code (S21) Featured Presenters Include: Don Maxwell, Phil Corman (The Mooney Flyer), LASAR, Airspeed Insurance, Jan Maxwell (Right Seat Ready) & Crewchief Systems. Sponsors Include: LASAR, Aircraft Spruce, Crewchief Systems, Don Maxwell Aviation, Bruce's Custom Covers, The Mooney Flyer, Right Seat Ready, JPI Instruments, Lightspeed, Tempest, Oasis Aero / Weep No More, Airspeed Insurance It's going to be an amazing and fun weekend. Land At The Resort Airport (S21), Hotel & Fuel Discounts, Spa & Amenity Packages, Wine Tasting Party, Sponsor & Raffle Giveaways, Amazing Scenery and Recreational Activities For more Information and to Register, Please Click The Link Below. West Coast Mooney Club - Summer Conference & Retreat I hope to see you there. Michael Rodgers

Hi Everyone, We are in the home stretch for our 2020 Summer Conference & Retreat. August 20-23, 2020 Sunriver Resort Sunriver, Oregon Airport Code (S21) Featured Presenters Include: Don Maxwell, Phil Corman, LASAR, Airspeed Insurance, Jan Maxwell & Crewchief Systems. Sponsors Include: LASAR, Aircraft Spruce, Don Maxwell Aviation, Bruce's Custom Covers, The Mooney Flyer, Right Seat Ready, JPI Instruments, Lightspeed, Tempest, Oasis Aero / Weep No More, Lightspeed Insurance It's going to be an amazing and fun weekend. For more information and to Register please click the link below. West Coast Mooney Club - Summer Conference & Retreat I hope to see you there. Michael Rodgers

Hi Group, GREAT NEWS! Phil & Linda Corman from The Mooney Flyer Magazine have graciously offered to host a wine tasting party on Friday June 12, 2020 during the Summer Conference & Retreat. We will all be at the Sunriver Resort June 11-14. If you have not registered yet I suggest that you do so and put it on your calendar. It is going to be a great weekend. Featured Speakers are: Don Maxwell of Don Maxwell Aviation, Jolie Lucas & Jan Maxwell presenting their Right Seat Ready Class, LASAR will be presenting information about speed mods and Airspeed Insurance will be on hand to discuss the best way to protect your investment in your Mooney. More speakers are lining up as well. We will have fuel discounts, hotel & spa discounts, raffle giveaways and so much more. Register Today HERE! Hope to see you all there. Michael Rodgers

Hi Group, GREAT NEWS! Phil & Linda Corman from The Mooney Flyer Magazine have graciously offered to host a wine tasting party on Friday June 12, 2020 during the Summer Conference & Retreat. We will all be at the Sunriver Resort June 11-14. If you have not registered yet I suggest that you do so and put it on your calendar. It is going to be a great weekend. Featured Speakers are: Don Maxwell of Don Maxwell Aviation, Jolie Lucas & Jan Maxwell presenting their Right Seat Ready Class, LASAR will be presenting information about speed mods and Airspeed Insurance will be on hand to discuss the best way to protect your investment in your Mooney. More speakers are lining up as well. We will have fuel discounts, hotel & spa discounts, raffle giveaways and so much more. Register Today HERE! Hope to see you all there. Michael Rodgers

Hey Everyone. I am happy to announce that Parker Woodruff and the fine folks at Airspeed Insurance have joined us as PLATINUM SPONSORS of the West Coast Mooney Club's Summer Conference & Retreat at the Sunriver Resort, June 11-14, 2020. The professionals at Airspeed Insurance Agency make sure that your aviation insurance coverage offers the best in value and protection for your aviation operations. Whether you fly a light personal aircraft or operate an aviation business, our professionals look forward to working with you to provide insurance coverage that meets your needs. Give them a thanks here for their wonderful support. Happy to have them with us! http://www.airspeedinsurance.com

Hey Everyone. I am happy to announce that Parker Woodruff and the fine folks at Airspeed Insurance have joined us as PLATINUM SPONSORS of the West Coast Mooney Club's Summer Conference & Retreat at the Sunriver Resort, June 11-14, 2020. The professionals at Airspeed Insurance Agency make sure that your aviation insurance coverage offers the best in value and protection for your aviation operations. Whether you fly a light personal aircraft or operate an aviation business, our professionals look forward to working with you to provide insurance coverage that meets your needs. Give them a thanks here for their wonderful support. Happy to have them with us! http://www.airspeedinsurance.com

As a first time airplane / Mooney buyer it goes without saying that the process can be overwhelming and frought with danger financially as well as physically. Thanks to the research I did in this forum I located a true gentleman who with his staff proved to be an invaluable resource for a buyer such as myself. They provided an abundance of information about our beloved Mooney’s , their history, systems, quirks, personalities and airworthiness. The bird I have chosen to pursue is a beautiful example on a 1967 M20 F. The seller (Alan) flew her to Don’s shop and I flew in from Los Angeles for the occasion. Don and his staff welcomed me and made me feel right at home. I spent a total of nine hours with everyone today asking numerous questions while looking over the shoulder of everyone touching the plane. The patience they all showed me today was so appreciated as it allowed me to review all of the information provided and make a wise an informed purchase decision regarding the condition of the aircraft. After a long day, it appears that the purchase will be moving forward and soon I will have this bird in her new nest in Santa Monica. Thanks everyone for sharing with us newbies on this site. It’s nice to know we all have a place to go for some much needed answers. And as for Don Maxwell, this man is a total pro who deserves every positive accolade the Mooney community can send his way. I am certain he has many already. I found him to be a kind, considerate and brilliant man who provides remarkable service to everyone who is fortunate enough to have him and his team work on their behalf. Thanks again Don for all you do. Michael Rodgers - KSMO

IT'S OFFICIAL. As of today I am now the proud owner of this beautiful 1967 M20 F. N9268M. It's a life long dream come true. Thanks to the previous owner Alan Basinger for his efforts in closing the sale. Also thanks to Lisa Bainter at Aero -Space Reports and AOPA and Falcon Insurance for your assistance throughout. A special thanks goes to Don Maxwell for his expertise and advice and continued great service. I'm based in Santa Monica, Ca. I Hope to meet other Mooniacs in the very near future.

1999 Mooney Bravo.docx

Some may remember my post about purchasing a Mooney, a Cessna, or just keep renting. I would like to thank everyone that posted on that thread. I couldn't believe the response and I learned allot. I thought I would take a moment to fill everyone in on my descision and share my experiences from Friday the 27th. My planned 172 flight was cancelled early in the morning due to some scheduling conflicts. Since I now had a beatiful day with absolutely nothing to do I decided to make the long overdue phone call to the folks at Don Maxwell Aviation. At this point I was pretty much dead set on a Mooney, but still had only maybe seen two in person. Both of which were before I even had a clue as to what I was looking at. So with fingers crossed I made the call. I was pleasantly surprised when Mr. Don Maxwell himself answered the phone. I explained my situation and expressed my interest in at least seeing some Mooney's in person and maybe getting a flight with his instructor. He informed me his instructor had moved on to flying jets and he could rarely get him to fly Mooney's anymore (understandable) so he couldn't guarantee me a flight. However, he had just about every model at any given time and I was more than welcome to come by and check them out. An hour and a half later I was pulling up to his Hangar. I really don't know what I was expecting. I was doing this all on a whim. No prepared questions. Hell I don't know enough about the individual models to even know what to ask. I knew I was at the right place though as soon as I made the right hand turn by the control tower. There were Mooney's Parked everywhere around this single kinda lonesome hangar. Holy shit I thought. I must be at the right place. I had to be buzzed into the building and the lady that greeted me looked puzzled when I told her I was just there to meet with Don. He was busy at the moment trying to get a part ordered for someone's plane but said I could go look around while I waited. So look around I did. When I opened the door to the hangar I had another one of those holy shit moments. I was thinking I was going to find 3 or 4 planes in some immaculate well lit space. Nope, there had to be 10 planes at least in the main area. All in various levels of repair. It was like a maze just walking around. Reminded me of what my garage looks like when I'm working on a diesel truck. Yes, there are parts everywhere. Yes, I know where every screw goes. Please don't touch anything. Knowing full well what that feels like I made sure not to touch anything. I think I kept my hands behind my back most of the time. Leaning, peering, I had to look like a "planeofile" ( yes I did just make up a word ). Finally one of the mechanics approached me. I guess they had seen this sort of thing before. He just started talking to me about some of the models, and answered what few questions I had come up with at this point. He got back to work and I got back to whaterever it was you would call what I was doing. Learning? Maybe. I made my way outside thru the crack in the main doors. I was greeted by a very uncomfortable looking guy elbow deep in someone's instrument panel. I avoided him for now and made my way to the line of planes parked just off the concrete. If I had to give it a name it would be "the row of dreams". I don't think you could bring a child to this place. To this spot on a piece of concrete and he not instantly want to grow up and become an aviator. These planes just sitting there on this beautiful day looked like a million bucks. Hell, they prolly were worth way more than that. You can really tell these airplanes were designed to fly. And that's really all I could think about doing at this point. Flying. To bad that wasn't in the cards today. So I kept walking and staring, and walking and staring. I eventually made my way back to the uncontrollable guy working on the instrument panel. This time hoverever there was a new guy standing there. One who very obviously didn't work there. An owner! Perfect that's who I need to be talking to. So I wonder over and continue my creepy pattern of just staring at airplanes. (You know the more I think about it I should google "planeofile" it may actually be a condition.) I hear the mechanic ask the owner " who is that?" "Probably someone wanting to buy a plane." He replied. "Is it that obvious?" I said? So we chatted for a while. I got his take on the different models which ones he thought I should be looking at and why. He told me allot about his airplane N205MH. He introduced himself as Scott and offered to take me for a loop in the pattern. Hell yes! It wasn't long and I was climbing into a Mooney for the first time. It is a bit tricky to get into but Wasn't terrible. I now understand the sports car analogy. You really sit down into these airframes. There is a ton of leg room though which I loved. We look off and ended up flying south of the airfield. I am still amazed at the fuel burn. 8.2 gph at cruise. I'm still just trying to take everything in when I hear " your airplane ". Whaaaaat I thought. I get to fly after all! It was at that moment I knew I wouldn't be looking at any other manufacturer. The controls were heavy but crisp. I swear the rudder pushed itself while banking to keep the ball nearly perfectly centered. It just felt automatic. As if the the plane was an extension of me. Even if I couldn't hold my altitude very well. That sight picture will take some getting use to. After a few more minutes we headed back to the airport. Scott and I ended up going to lunch together. On the way I told him of the post I had made on Mooneyspace and how surprised I was at the response. " I remember that post." He said. Turns out he was actually one of the commenters. I want to say what as small world but I shouldn't be very surprised. I was at Don Maxwell after all. We ended up having a nice lunch and learning about each others careers and families. All in all I set out that morning to learn something, anything really, about the Mooney brand. I accomplished so much more than that. I am amazed at how nice most of the people are in the aviation community. It is amazing to me that strangers are still willing to go out of their way to share their knowledge and their time. Especially with someone to whom they owe nothing, and have zero ties. I want to give a huge shoutout to Scott McCray (SMccray on the forum) and the folks at Don Maxwell Aviation. I had a great time. I learned allot and I look forward to seeing everyone again in the near future. When I'm getting a pre buy on the Mooney I decide to purchase!

Things are coming together nicely for the next Mooney Summit Sept 29th to Oct 2nd. We are excited that this year's Subject Matter experts will once again feature Bob Kromer, Don Maxwell, and Max Gurgew to name a few! Ron Jarmon will have a full motion redbird sim and we are working with CAMI and Tindall to get a portable oxygen deprivation chamber for Thurs and Fri. Keep the dates open, and keep your eye here for registration opening in July!

Good morning everyone I would like to show everyone my new paint job and interior that was done by Aerosmith Aviation in Longview, Texas. I also had my annual done instead of a pre-buy by Don Maxwell aviation. First let me start by saying a few words about Don Maxwell and his wonderful wife, Jan. I can't thank them enough for their knowledge and kindness. He is thorough and does not miss a thing. I have always been an advocate for going to people that know their stuff rather thank paying someone who has to learn at my expense. They know Mooney's and what to look for. Not to mention it's my life and my family's that I trust in him. I went to their seminar in May and learned a ton of great information. So, if your wondering if you should go to the class, don't hesitate. They treated me like family and I will continue to go to Don and Jan while I own the airplane. As for Aerosmith Aviation, all i can say is they are incredible!! Dustin Morris is the guy. He has become a true friend throughout this project. For a company to take on a small project like mine was a honor. Especially seeing the type of aircraft they usually paint. They didn't miss a thing when it came to details. Eric, their main upholstery manager is the most creative and detailed oriented soul I have ever met. We sat and dreamed up all kinds of stuff. John, their paint manager took what I gave him and did even more than I can say. As for one of the owners, Wayne, I think the most impressive was when he said to me, "I appreciate us earning your business". By the way, it was Wayne that came up with my prop paint design. So, for all of you out there that may be thinking of doing business with either Don Maxwell or Aerosmith Aviation, I would say do it without hesitation. I hope you all enjoy the photos of my new 231 and I hope to see everyone n Kerrville in October. Chris Schrobilgen