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Well it has finally arrived. That day when baby was left at the airport ready for her major surgery. She is being completely stripped down to bare metal, then a full re-spray. At the same time the interior is being removed and shipped to aero comfort for them to work their magic. I feel like a nervous parent whose child has just gone into Theatre for an operation. I almost cried when I left her on Friday. She is in good hands I know, but worrying never the less. Attsched is the last photo of her in her old paint scheme, and old interior. Andrew

Hi, The carpets in my M20J 205 Special Edition (ser. 24-3076) are worn. I've looked at a few companies that sell M20J kits, especially SCS. SCS were kind enough to send my drawings of their carpet kits but alas, none of them seem to match my interior. Is there anyone here that has experience with a M20J 205 SE interior or knows about existing carpet kits that would fit? Best, Joris Struyve

Better than New: The Refurbishment of N205J Mooney N205J is a 1987 M20J model “205 Special Edition (SE)”. It differed from other M20J “201’s” at the time in that it incorporated a few changes: 1. Fully enclosed gear doors 2. Rounded window lines 3. 28 volt electrical system 4. Electric cowl flaps with infinite adjustment 5. Upturned wingtips with forward facing recognition lights and aft facing position lights 6. Gear extension speed increased from 132 to 140 knots The 205 SE came right as the general aviation market was in decline, so only seventy-seven 205 SE’s were built spanning two years. N205J was previously owned by a business associate of ours. N205J was hangar kept most of its life. It had original factory avionics, paint, and interior and was a low time aircraft with only 1885.5 hours. It had Precise Flight Speed Brakes installed. So why did we put so much money into a 1987 Mooney? I am one of the owners of SureFlight Aircraft Completions which specializes in paint, interiors, and avionics. We made it a “project plane”. We worked on it when we had any gaps in our schedule. Now that it is complete, we have a demonstration plane to show and fly customers that showcases SureFlight’s capabilities. It’s an awesome Mooney to fly! First stop was Henry Weber Mooney Authorized Service Center at neighboring KLNS to perform the pre-purchase inspection. The important thing for us was to have a good airframe and engine to start with. We took care of some maintenance on the airframe, overhauled the prop, bought a new governor, put new gear shock discs in, etc. We had them complete an annual at the time as well. We had the engine sent out to Columbia Aircraft Services for an Inspect and Replace as Needed (“IRAN”) which included new Camshaft, Lifters, Bearings and Rings. While it was there, we had the engine converted from the Lycoming IO-360-A3B6D to the IO-360-A3B6 specification to eliminate the D3000 dual magnetos in a single housing, driven by a single driveshaft. The engine now has two separate fully independent Bendix magnetos. We had the cylinders removed to be sent out for nickel plating. After the engine came back, Henry Weber reinstalled it with new Lord mounts and made sure that the engine and engine cowlings were properly aligned. We added GAMIjectors calibrated fuel injection nozzles and then went to work on the full refurbishment of N205J. Avionics: The aircraft was equipped with a factory original avionics suite from 1986, except the addition of an Apollo GPS. It all came out. All the wiring was removed and replaced. A plastic panel is created to make sure everything looks correct before fabricating the metal: Yokes are painted black and a metal panel is installed: And then filled with equipment: · Fully Electronic panel; Eliminated Vacuum System · Garmin G500 flight deck with Synthetic Vision · Garmin GAD 43e autopilot interface for G500 · Garmin GTN 750 GPS/Nav/Comm Navigator with Telligence Voice Control · Garmin GMA 35c Bluetooth enabled remote audio panel · Garmin GTX 345R ADS-B In/Out remote transponder · Garmin GNC 255 Nav/Comm · King KFC-150 autopilot (the only thing that remained from the old panel) · L3 Avionics ESI-500 Standby Instrument with: Altitude, Attitude, Slip/skid, Vertical speed, Aircraft track, Synthetic Vision option, Navigation option. Magnetic heading option. · JP Instruments EDM 930 Primary computer for RPM, Manifold Pressure, Oil, Fuel, Battery, Engine data. · AirGizmos iPad Mini 4 panel dock · Nimbus Aviation Electroluminescent Circuit Breaker overlay. · ACK E-04 GPS Emergency Locator Transmitter · Guardian Aero 451-101 Panel Mount CO Detector · MidContinent MD93 Digital Clock/USB Charger. Paint: We painted a new King Air 300 for the Mayo Clinic earlier in 2016. We loved their colors. We knew that these would be the colors we would eventually use on the Mooney. Stripping: Everything that is not stripped is covered in foil. Windows are removed to be replaced with Great Lakes Aero Windows SC (Solar Control) Grey installed with Extra thick .250” windshield. All flight controls and gear doors are removed to be painted separately, airframe is etched and alodined in preparation for epoxy primer. After primer, an Axalta White Pearl base color is applied. N205J is painted in all Pearlescent paint which requires a clearcoat after each color is applied. This is one of the reasons pearlescent paints cost more. Paint Scheme Layout: Axalta Cumulous Grey Pearl is applied to undercarriage, wheel wells, airframe, and then clearcoated. Axalta Sable Pearl accent stripes are applied and then clearcoated. Final Prep for the Axalta Dark Blue Pearl: After all the pearlescent colors are applied and clearcoated, exterior placarding is applied, and the entire aircraft is re-sanded for a final overall layer of clearcoat. This gives the airplane a wet, glossy look and deepens the color, smooths edge lines between accent stripes, seals the placards, and it also provides a more durable and cleanable finish because you do not cut into the color when polishing. Flight controls are hung and painted separately: Cowlings and access panels are installed with new stainless steel hardware. Flight controls are balanced and then reinstalled. Interior: Unfortunately, we forgot to get some good “before pics” of the interior. It had blue velour seats with aged and yellowing plastic panels. Old seat covers off. Repaint the seat frames. New covers sewn for the new foam buildups. Upholstered seats with custom Mooney Logo headrests. We repaired cracks in several of the plastics, and repainted with a textured paint to hide any old imperfections. We decided against covering the panels in ultra-leather to save weight. We fabricated a hatch behind the hole for the windshield bar that holds the compass for easy R&R of the glare shield. Painted a flat textured black. Looks like new. The interior goes back together with repainted plastics, new carpet, new door seals, and new upholstered seats. After it was all complete, we put the aircraft on scales. The new weight and balance was 17 lbs lighter than before. We also performed the gross weight increase to increase the gross weight from 2,740 to 2,900 giving the aircraft a new useful load of 988 lbs. Mooney N205J – Ready for Takeoff! Update 6/21/2018 Since Garmin came out with the G500 TXi we updated the Mooney by removing the Garmin G500 and JPI EDM 930 and replacing it with the G500 TXi with integrated Engine Information System (EIS). Here are photos of the conversion: EDIT for 2021: L-3 ESI 500 removed and replaced with Garmin GI 275 backup instrument and a Garmin GFC 500 Autopilot.

We've completed the interior refurbishment project on our 252 just before Christmas and here is how it went. We had found a local upholsterer that works mainly on classic cars but had experience with aircraft as well, even N registered ones (we're in Germany). He told us, he would only use materials conforming with 14 CFR Part 25.853 and could provide a certification package for it. Moreover he was capable of fixing damages to the plastic panels and respray them. I asked my A&P if it was OK for him that I do the work under Appendix A to part 43 (c) privileges and he said no problem. We decided to do it together with this year's annual inspection and replace all windows at the same time. So I removed all the interior panels, carpets and the seats before the annual, and then, together with my A&P removed the old windows and he later reinstalled the new ones. In the meantime the upholsterer worked on the interior. After three weeks everything was finished and we could collect the parts at the upholsterer's shop. He had fixed damages to the plastic panels with small glass fibre patches and the paint looked really nice. We had the windlaces redone as well and when we collected the parts, he gave me a box with all the old material. In there I found the old windlaces cut open, so I asked if he reused the foam. He said he had to, as he couldn't find certified foam of that round shape. I thought to myself, let's hope that the factory was that anal 30 or forty years ago The dark brown parts are leather while the lighter is Alcantara. The carpet is actually surplus material usually used on airliners - the upholsterer had contacts where to obtain it including certificate. Reinstalling the panels was quite a chore, especially the headliners but in the end all went well and here is the result: Frontal view New windlace Pilot's seat The new carpet Rear seats RH rear seat Baggage compartment Rear seats removed

Hi group, Hi group, Does anyone on the group have the rear door interior plastic they want to sell? I’m looking online but I haven’t been able to find yet.

We wanted to run headset wire to the rear seats and refresh the interior a bit. Read Bruce's guide, bought cans of SEM cleaner, paint, this, that and the other things. Pulled most of the interior and had to go get the real masks due to the amount of mildew in the foam used for insulation. Looks like SB-208 time. Here come the questions: - What is the trick to remove the two (?) roof plastic panels? Can't seem to figure it out, and don't want to break anything I don't have to, but I do want to clean / paint them. - The primer on the steel frame is flaking off; I plan to clean it all up with steel wool and apply epoxy primer. Will that work? Any tricks to get enough of the primer on the outside parts of the frame (blocked by the aluminum skins), or just a small brush and lots of patience? - Is "aluminum tape" we're supposed to use instead of duct tape the stuff they use on chimneys, etc? Looks like the kitchen stuff on a ~1" wide roll, with some glue on one side. - What do I use to replace the fiberglass with, and how much of it do I need (whole plane, firewall to baggage compartment)? Thing is, I'd prefer to source something locally than wait for a shipment from a MSC, Spruce or another US source, but if I must wait, I will. From a post by @PT20J I understand the stuff from Mooney is closed cell soundproofing foam from Buckley + mylar, someone recommended SoundEx from Spruce, but I can try to source some "Ensolite" (or equivalent) and run with that, correct? Asking, because Ensolite seems to be a US trade name and we likely call it something else here. - 208 says the new stuff is not supposed to touch the steel frame - does it mean I glue it to the skins? Use the 3M Dual Lock stuff? Use aluminum tape? What else do I do, if I'm this deep into the plane? No new windows, but I'll tint the ones I have (thanks @Skates97) but if I can source parts needed to do something that makes sense in reasonable time, why not.

So I was searching for leather hides.... and The leather hide store had some on sale. So I ordered 2 hides in Khaki They showed up while we were cruising Alaska So the easiest panel to take out is the one under the rear seat. With a left over roll of aluminum sheeting. Looks like siding from something. And a couple hours later As far as fire resistance, Pretty sure it will burn way less than the cardboard panel that this replaced since it was soaked with brake fluid/red mineral oil because someone thought 3/8 vs. 1/4 tubing on the brake reservoir was a good idea. Note ugly green carpet to the right that will soon be replaced. Note foil tape in place vs. duct tape. Next up full leather baggage compartment. Should be easier to clean than carpet.

Hi all, As soon as it warms up enough to be reasonably warm and/or I am willing to inhale propane fumes for a prolonged time, I'm going to pull the interior and do a few projects including: 1 - repair and repaint old interior Royalite, replace carpet and re-do arm rests and side leather. 2 - 2 runs of RG 400 in anticipation of ADS-B upgrades 3- pull old / unused wiring 4- pull old fiberglass - there is still some lurking and inspect tubular frame 5- if its as painful as I think it will be to pull the interior, I may replace the side windows then vs coming back later In terms of replacement foam, there's a number of kits available from spruce, etc. The cheap bastard in me says why on earth would I pay ~ 0.9 AMU for some pre cut foam. Spruce also have polyvinyl nitrile rubber foam as another alternative but this lacks the aluminized mylar backing that I would want to create a vapor barrier. My question to the group is 1) has anyone used actual acoustic dampening foam in an install? If so, what shape is best for the type of noise spectrum that our planes produce. I liked the idea of trying to deaden as much sound as possible as I value my toddler's future hearing and can't get her to keep the headphones in or earplugs on for more than 5 minutes a go. They go back in, but it's a struggle. I found a source here: http://www.usafoam.com/acousticfoam/acousticfoam.html The advantage seems to be that it has a fire resistance classification and has been burn tested (typically used in small enclosed spaces in California studios I suppose - so lots of regulation there). Also available in both rolls and 1-foot squares. Also unexpectedly cheap. The unknown is whether this type of has any propensity to retain water vapor. It's gotta be better than that pink $hit that's still lurking in there. Any opinions from the group? The same source also has what they call "gym foam" which is the same stuff that spruce sells minus the mylar wrapping. Figure that may be an easy addition with contact spray and aluminum tape. Plenty of instructables for aluminized mylar uses from the good folks of the "hydroponic" community. If I end up going this route, I'll post some details / pictures for the ultimate CB redo foam installation. Thanks and take care, Brad

The dome light switch in our '67C is the type that you rotate between thumb and forefinger to turn the light on/off. As you rotate it about 1/2 turn it clicks. As shown in the photo, the switch is too short. It does not protrude beyond the fixture so is impossible to use. I took the fixture off yesterday for a look, and the tip of the switch shaft is rounded and smooth, as if it were made that way. Now I know that this cannot be the case. The shaft seems to be made of plastic, and is about 1/4" dia. Has anyone (1) had this problem and (2) come up with an elegant fix? Of course, I would like to extend the shaft 1/2 and make it a target for a passenger to hit their head on Other options will be considered. Please no hijacking this thread to discuss Star Trek "Force Fieldz" and "Tractor Beamz".

I am getting ready to upgrade my panel, major changes, completely redo the interior as well as new paint. The plane has already been completely stripped of all old paint and the control surfaces reinstalled for ferry. Which order would you do the above? I am thinking, 1. Avionics, 2. Interior 3. Paint. Anyone know of any reason it would be advantageous to do it in a different order? Thanks, Frank

Purchased a '78 J a couple of weeks ago (after a long search), and among the other upgrades, it badly needed a new interior. I went the airtex route, and am in the process of removing the old, nasty, carpet. The gear down indicator in the floor was very hard to read the first few times I flew, and now I know why (see photo). It's actually much worse than the picture shows; scratched and cloudy. Any ideas on how to clean the plastic window? Should I think about replacing it? Is that something an owner can do? Also, only a small window was cut in the old carpet, just for the plastic window, and it was glued around the rest of the black plastic fairing that also houses the fuel selector. Any opinions on whether I should place the new carpet similarly, or cut out for the whole fairing (after cleaning that as well). Tom

Just made my baggage door cover nice and pretty with new paint. Only problem is when it is installed, the bar rubs on the cover. The bar also rubs on the alum trim and is gouging that out. See pics Tks

I purchased a console headliner at Osh Kosh from plane plastics, the link can be seen here: http://www.planeplastics.com/airplanes/mooney/m20c-j/page17/k130079-037 It is the wrong part number and it is just now that I realized it. It is for some of the pre-J Mooney's just not my 1970 M20C I paid 256 dollars for it but will take 100 or any reasonable offer. It may be a little expensive to ship so if anyone picks it up at KLOU I will buy you lunch (Or I will ship it and add shipping costs to our negotiated price). It is brand new and has not been used. Regards, Jeff Allen

Hi All, Bruce Jaeger (former Willmar MSC owner) will be coming to my airport (N57) the week of December 4th to install his Spatial Interior product in my Mooney. The installation will be done in my hangar and Bruce will be demonstrating the installation process as well as his repair techniques for the wonderful plastic we have in our planes. If you have an interest in stopping by, drop me a PM and I will provide details on the logistics. http://www.jaegeraviation.com/sinteriors

I Was wondering if anyone had an idea of the best glue to bond the interior vinyl trim pieces to the plastic. My thoughts are that a bond that can be pulled back apart would be ideal but I have no experience with this. Here are some useful links for plastic repair. The first link is what got my attention and inspired me to attempt the seeming futile effort of repairing all the cracked up beat up plastic. I used a combination of the information in these articles to make it all work but primarily used the items below to do all the plastic interior. The bottom pic was my worst piece so just wanted to show the before and after. Sand all areas with a coarse grit on backside of repairs to help the Plastifix bond. I was really satisfied with the repairs. https://www.polyvance.com/pfxinstrumentpanel.php http://www.airmod.com/articles/PDF/cpajul07.pdf http://www.airmod.com/articles/PDF/cpaaug07.pdf http://www.airmod.com/articles/PDF/cpasep07.pdf http://www.airmod.com/articles/PDF/cpanov07.pdf This is what I used. 1. Dremel tool 2. Plastifix for repairing holes. 3. 3m fiberglass repair tape in conjunction with plastifix to reinforce back of cracks and missing chunks. 4. https://www.polyvance.com/Hardset-Filler-1/2020-T/ 5. SEM color coat "Warm Grey", and "Super White." 6. 80, 100, 240, 320 grit sandpaper 7. Model airplane iron 8. Hair dryer 9. Fantastic original cleaner not the kind with bleach. I have a pirep for painting inside the plane namely the vents and the rear hatrack area. These pieces were difficult to remove so I taped it off and painted them in place. Some of you may know this trick but I used my shop vacuum very close to where I was painting(8" or so) to quickly suck out all of the fumes and dust that is created when spray painting. It works extremely well and no residue was anywhere inside the plane after painting as well as most of the fumes removed while the paint flashed off. I did and do recommend using a rated mask as well just in case for safety. I also had the exhaust from the vacuum aimed outside of the hanger. Thanks

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

I wanted the interior in my Ovation to be nicer to look at and more comfortable to sit on. Fellow Mooneyspace pilot and 231 owner Rico Flyin Bullfrog crafted new leather seats in two shades of grey on new foam for all four seats. He replaced the carpets on the floor and lower side panels, recovered the armrests and improved the seat pockets. He even created a special pouch for the GRC 10 control on the copilot side. The interior is a great upgrade and I recommend his work highly.

Just to remind folks that the rudder pedal extension drawings that Amelia sent to me about six years ago for digitization are currently published on Mooneyspace at http://mooneyspace.com/files/file/8-rudder-pedal-extension-drawings/. They have been here for a little over 2 years now, but I do not think I posted a notice to that effect at the time and I am now correcting that lack of foresight. Look in the downloads section under "engine reference manuals." I have had three or four people request them from me in the last few months, and I am happy to send them to anyone who asks, but it is probably quicker all round if everyone knows where they are on the site.

This is a plastic trim part that goes around the door and helps hold and cover the ugly parts of some interior plastic as well as the welting around the door. Anyone know the proper name and where I can find it new? A black substitute just doesn't seem proper.

The interior plastic on my 231 needs to be rehabbed/replaced and reattached to the body. I made an attempt to do some repair work, but it is not coming out at a quality that is acceptable. Its time to take the plunge and have some professionals work on it. Does anyone have interior shops that they have dealt with in the southeast that they would recommend?

Hi all, I have a set of grey vinyl front and back seats out of a 66' Mooney. They are in great shape and look serviceable. No tears or rips, clean. Pictures to come. Message me for more details. Thanks