Porche Powered Mooney M20L

[Houman]

Hi,

 

I'm new to the Mooney world, right now, I fly a Beech but looking very seriously to buy a Mooney.

 

The one that I'm looking at is a 1987 Porche M20L model. I have read alot about this engin and most reviews are not favorable, and from my research, it's production did not last long.

 

Does anyone have any comments about this model, should I even venture in buying a Mooney if it`s not a Lycoming or Continental engine in it...

 

Thanks very much for any advice !!!

[KSMooniac]

I don't think any of them can even be made airworthy these days... follow Jim's advice and search on the topic here and you'll learn all you need to know.  Unless you're a DER or similar with time and energy to burn doing a conversion, it won't be worth the purchase.

[DaV8or]

Your life with your M20L would go something like this-

 

Flying around happy enough, but wondering why you can't seem to match J performance even though you burn more fuel. Since you burn more fuel, you'll wish you could fill the tanks all the way up when you go on a trip with the wife. When it comes time for annual, you'll find it difficult and expensive to get someone to perform and sign off on the plane.

 

Eventually there will come a day when something on the motor breaks and that's when you'll be faced with these choices-

1. Make the new part yourself for the repair.
2. Scour the earth to try to find a serviceable, certified part.
3. Break the FARs and adapt an automotive part and hope no one notices.

After this experience you might say, "Screw it, I'm going to ditch this engine and put in a Lycoming, or Continental engine!" That's when you'll find out there isn't an STC available for the conversion anymore. This will be your new round of choices-

1. Suck it up and keep going with the Porsche engine as long as humanly possible.
2. Try to convince a DER at the FSDO to give you a field approval for a conversion. Not likely as there is an STC on the books. Problem is, you can't have it.
3. Try earn your own STC at great time and expense. Your reward will be that you get to keep flying your plane and it will be a much better plane. You will also be able to potentially sell your STC to the other 5 guys still flying M20Ls.
4. Hang a Corvette motor, or whatever motor you want on the end of it and move the airworthiness certificate into the experimental category with some very, very serious restrictions on how, when and where you can fly your plane.
5. Sell, or scrap your plane for whatever you can get for it.
6. Put your engine of choice on it, move to Mexico and hope nobody notices.

So yeah, I'd advise skipping the M20L unless it already has an STCed conversion with all the paperwork.

[jetdriven]

4. is not an option unless you can convince them you want an airshow experimental exhibition or a period for approval for an STC.  Either option requires you to restore it to standard airworthiness after a period of time.  The M20L is a lost cause.

[orionflt]

Your life with your M20L would go something like this-

Flying around happy enough, but wondering why you can't seem to match J performance even though you burn more fuel. Since you burn more fuel, you'll wish you could fill the tanks all the way up when you go on a trip with the wife. When it comes time for annual, you'll find it difficult and expensive to get someone to perform and sign off on the plane.

Eventually there will come a day when something on the motor breaks and that's when you'll be faced with these choices-

• Make the new part yourself for the repair.
• Scour the earth to try to find a serviceable, certified part.
• Break the FARs and adapt an automotive part and hope no one notices.

After this experience you might say, "Screw it, I'm going to ditch this engine and put in a Lycoming, or Continental engine!" That's when you'll find out there isn't an STC available for the conversion anymore. This will be your new round of choices-

• Suck it up and keep going with the Porsche engine as long as humanly possible.
• Try to convince a DER at the FSDO to give you a field approval for a conversion. Not likely as there is an STC on the books. Problem is, you can't have it.
• Try earn your own STC at great time and expense. Your reward will be that you get to keep flying your plane and it will be a much better plane. You will also be able to potentially sell your STC to the other 5 guys still flying M20Ls.
• Hang a Corvette motor, or whatever motor you want on the end of it and move the airworthiness certificate into the experimental category with some very, very serious restrictions on how, when and where you can fly your plane.
• Sell, or scrap your plane for whatever you can get for it.
• Put your engine of choice on it, move to Mexico and hope nobody notices.

So yeah, I'd advise skipping the M20L unless it already has an STCed conversion with all the paperwork.

you forgot that Porsche pulled the certification for the engine, that being said I believe the only M20L models that are legal to fly are the ones that were converted using the STC that us no longer available.

Brian

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[co2bruce]

I think they are trying to say d not buy it.

[Hank]

Hi, Hy!

 

Hopefully the M20L you're interested in has already been converted. If so, check the useful load, and more interestingly, the full-fuel payload. See if you will be legal to put your wife in the plane with you, so that you can fly together to wherever you ship  your bags ahead. Some of them have ~350 lb payload with full tanks, which will only last 4 hours or so, less reserves.

 

Good luck with your search, be it an L or something else.

[Houman]

Hi,

I guess I will be looking for another money, one without the PFM engine... Thanks for all the opinions...

[aviatoreb]

I ask again - what happened to the rocket engineering conversion - did they too pull their STC conversion?

[kerry]

I don't know that much info about the Porsche mooney.  A few years ago I was talking with pilot who owned one.  He was the first owner.  He told me he loved the Porsche motor and he wished he could of kept it that way but he was practically forced by Porsche to change the engine out for a continental.  Porsche paid for the whole conversion process.

[rocketman]

I ask again - what happened to the rocket engineering conversion - did they too pull their STC conversion?

From what I understand Rocket Engineering still have the STC for the Rocket Conversion and be willing to convert a 231 or 252 for a price to reflect a one time conversion. They still support the Rocket and Missile and still have all the parts .... for a cost. At least they are still there and will be in the foreseeable future

[aviatoreb]

From what I understand Rocket Engineering still have the STC for the Rocket Conversion and be willing to convert a 231 or 252 for a price to reflect a one time conversion. They still support the Rocket and Missile and still have all the parts .... for a cost. At least they are still there and will be in the foreseeable future

 

I have found their support to be superb.  Both parts and advice.  Arguably it has been better than the support from Mooney.

 

But what happened to the Liquid Rocket conversion?  Would they still do a liquid rocket if someone presented a M20L or M20M airframe to them for the conversion?  That makes one cool airplane - 335HP in front of a M20 airframe.  Never mind if it is financially practical to do such a thing.