Whats the story with this J?

[tonyk628]

Usually the bottom of the market has been around ~50K with a completely runout 1977-78 J. 60-65K with a 1400 hr engine. It's probably on ebay because there's a reason it can't be sold on ASO, TAP, or controller.

Not entirely true.. there was a black one out of Northern TX with 1700SMOH recently sealed tanks, new paint, and it was a '78 that was for sale within the last 2 months and it sat on the market at $51k for months.... 

 

We'll see who comes out of the woodwork for this one though... 

[chrisk]

The NTSB  reports on this plane are interesting.

 

 

THE ARPT HAD ONE ASPHALT RWY THAT WAS CLOSED & ANOTHER DIRT RWY THAT WAS MUDDY. THEREFORE, THE PLT ELECTED TO TAKEOFF ON THE PARKING RAMP WHICH WAS ORIENTED IN A NORTH/SOUTH DIRECTION & WAS 1700 FT LONG. THE PLT DID NOT CONSULT THE TAKEOFF CHARTS IN HIS OPERATING HANDBOOK. HE CONCLUDED THAT THERE WAS SUFFICIENT ROOM TO TAKEOFF SINCE THE ACFT NORMALLY USED ONLY 1500 FT AT HIS HOME ARPT IN OBERLIN, KS. HOWEVER, FOR TAKEOFF AT AURORA, CO, THE DENSITY ALT WAS APRX 7300 FT. ALSO, THE PLT USED SOFT FIELD PROCEDURES FOR TAKEOFF. SPECIFICALLY, BACK PRESSURE WAS USEDON THE CONTROL WHEEL FOR ALL OF THE TAKEOFF ROLL, THE NOSEWHEEL WAS LIFTED OFF EARLY & THE PLT TOOK OFF AT 60 KTS, THEN LOWERED THE NOSE TO STAY IN GROUND EFFECT. BEYOND THE END OF THE RAMP, THE ACFT HIT UNEVEN, RISING TERRAIN IN A WHEAT FIELD. FOR A SHORT FIELD TAKEOFF ON HARD SURFACE, NOSE-UP ELEVATOR INPUT IN NOT NORMALLY USED UNTIL ROTATION SPEED.

 

and

 

"

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:

PREFLIGHT PLANNING/PREPARATION..INADEQUATE..PILOT IN COMMAND

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:

PROCEDURES/DIRECTIVES..IMPROPER USE OF..PILOT IN COMMAND

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:

LACK OF TOTAL EXPERIENCE IN TYPE OPERATION..PILOT IN COMMAND

"

 

And the cherry on top:  The last annual before the accident was 08/1981.  The accident was on 07/23/1983.

 

--So, what does this have to do with the question of:  Would I buy this plane .  "CHRIST FOR ALL" owned it for the above accident and "GOSPEL MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL INC " owns it now.   If they are the same owner, maybe the accident and being out of annual at the time of the accident speaks to the general maintenance of the plane.

[BigTex]

Yeah... Without the ability to have an extensive pre-buy, it's looking more like this one will likely be purchased to be parted out.  Knowing you'll need at least a new engine and prop.  There's also a good chance you'll need a tank reseal among other unknows, you can find yourself north of $100k pretty quickly.  Based on today's 201 market, you'll be upside down and still have some really old avionics and no AP. 

 

Checking the inventory at AAA, it looks like the market for '70's vintage 201's pretty well max's out at $95k.  Jim has a well equipped '82 for $87K and 1978 mid-time engine 201 with virtually everyting for $92K.  Anything above that price you can pick up some nice 231's.

[helitim]

Gentleman,

Just wanted to weigh in on this thread since I bought this plane. It remains to be seen if it was a decent investment or not but, I got it at a cheap enough price to take the gamble. This plane will be going on leaseback for flight training after doing a bit of radio work. My plan is to put in a lower end IFR GPS and replace the control head for the autopilot which should make it serviceable. The paint and interior is in a bit better condition than the photos suggest. The damage history is so long ago that this doesn't really concern me too much. The big unknown appears to be the engine at this point. If it performs as well as was reported, then we may get several hundred hours before overhaul. If not, I am prepared for that contingency.

Again, I may be wrong and it could be an expensive lesson but, we'll know soon enough.

Tim

[Cruiser]

Welcome to MooneySpace. It is a great resource for all of us. 

 

There are not many Mooneys in the rental market. Are you in an area that is already established or is this going to be a new venture? 

[chrisk]

Gentleman,

Just wanted to weigh in on this thread since I bought this plane. It remains to be seen if it was a decent investment or not but, I got it at a cheap enough price to take the gamble. This plane will be going on leaseback for flight training after doing a bit of radio work. My plan is to put in a lower end IFR GPS and replace the control head for the autopilot which should make it serviceable. The paint and interior is in a bit better condition than the photos suggest. The damage history is so long ago that this doesn't really concern me too much. The big unknown appears to be the engine at this point. If it performs as well as was reported, then we may get several hundred hours before overhaul. If not, I am prepared for that contingency.

Again, I may be wrong and it could be an expensive lesson but, we'll know soon enough.

Tim

Welcome!   Please do let us know how this all turns out.   And if you don't mind, where are you going to be doing the lease back.  There is always someone wanting to know how a Mooney flys.

[wishboneash]

Gentleman,

Just wanted to weigh in on this thread since I bought this plane. It remains to be seen if it was a decent investment or not but, I got it at a cheap enough price to take the gamble. This plane will be going on leaseback for flight training after doing a bit of radio work. My plan is to put in a lower end IFR GPS and replace the control head for the autopilot which should make it serviceable. The paint and interior is in a bit better condition than the photos suggest. The damage history is so long ago that this doesn't really concern me too much. The big unknown appears to be the engine at this point. If it performs as well as was reported, then we may get several hundred hours before overhaul. If not, I am prepared for that contingency.

Again, I may be wrong and it could be an expensive lesson but, we'll know soon enough.

Tim

 

Tim

Congratulations on the purchase. You will find out soon enough about the state of the plane. Flying it from TN to CA was a good test for the engine. Please PM me if you want to get to know more about the J. It was good to see the bird in person yesterday.

[helitim]

As stated above, the plane successfully flew from TN to CA in one day. 12.5 hrs on 117 gallons. No oil added. Headwinds of 15 to 35 knts with groundspeeds of 130 to 150 knts. After removing the cowling and performing a close inspection, we found no surprises yet. Interior is in good shape with no tears or excessive wear noted. Autopilot is yet to be determined. I will be shopping for an IFR GPS to add. Is it a "cream puff" absolutely not but, it does appear to be a good purchase so far and I'm looking forward to getting some seat time starting in the AM.

[helitim]

Having put an additional 5 hrs on her since arrival I am feeling pretty darn good about this purchase. Compression test showed 78 and up on all 4 cylinders. Bore scope shows very clean valves, seats look good, no corrosion. Interior cleaned up very nicely. New windshield is on order. Garmin GX60 will be added in a couple of weeks. Autopilot will be repaired at the same time.

So far so good.