How to tell mooney models apart

[JKSmith]

what is the best way to tell different mooney models apart without searching the tail number or serial number etc? I'm trying to get the hang of telling them apart but they've in my opinion kept the size shape and look of them pretty similar thru the mooney family. 

[gsengle]

Look at side windows and windshield. Look at cowling, look at wingtips. And then sometimes the era of the original paint or a big 201 on the side gives it away...

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[201er]

4 minutes ago, JKSmith said:

what is the best way to tell different mooney models apart without searching the tail number or serial number etc? I'm trying to get the hang of telling them apart but they've in my opinion kept the size shape and look of them pretty similar thru the mooney family. 

Go to Mooney fly in. It will be no time when you start to recognize friends and models.

[StevenL757]

J - 

Others will be along shortly with in-depth information, but at a high-level glance (adding to Greg's above...)

Short-body models are the M20A through the M20K

Long-body models are the M20L ("PFM"), M (TLS & Bravo), R (Ovation), S (Eagle), and TN (Acclaim)

[takair]

I would probably call the A,B,C, D, E short bodies and the F, G, J and K mid size bodies.

A had wood wings and tail, D had fixed gear.  B, C, D, G have a small chin where the air intake is, E and F air inlet is faired in.  Rounded rear window through mid 64.  J is aerodynamically cleaned up F.  

I wont pretend to have the newer ones figured out at a glance.  And then there are all the speed mods....

[carusoam]

My favorite question!

Visit a place called All American Aircraft. They are the one shop that specializes in Mooneys.  They take in trades and sell some of the nicest pre-owned planes.

Talk to a couple of gentlemen named either Jimmy or David.  Few people on the planet will know more about the history of each model and how it best fits a customer.

When you visit the shop they have at least one of each model.  Short, medium and long. Try to determine if a TC is required for the mission you have in mind.

Short of sitting in each one, you can go on line to see what they have in stock.

Use caution, it is not a high pressure sales room.  But, the attraction to the world fastest, factory built, four seat, airplanes is pretty strong.  You might get away without actually buying anything...  But you will be back, Maybe not this year, maybe not this decade...

http://allamericanaircraft.com/Default.htm

 

To simplify things... Think small, medium, and large... (How big is your family going to grow?)

Then select your power plant.  Carb'd, Fuel injection, TC or TN'd...

How updated would you like your instrument panel?  Barely IFR, Analog IFR, digital IFR or full blown color screen IFR? Many have been updated to the latest and greatest already...

 

A - short body, wood wings, O360 180hp

B - short body, rounded, shaped Windows.

C - short body, small updates from B. Got rectangular windows in '65.

D - short body, fixed gear, fixed prop. Often converted into a C

E - short body, cowl modded for fuel injection. 200hp (great retirement plane)

F - mid body, looks like a C with a larger rear window. FI like the E.  Bob reminded me to look for the three side windows on the F.  Some have been updated to the J's two window image.

G - mid body, looks like an F but has a carburetor. Fabulous for young family.

H and I were not in production.

J - Aka 201, an aerodynamic version of the F. The standard of the normally aspirated world! Newer Js got rounded corners on their windows.  Other planes painted round corners or used vinyl to look updated...

K - Aka 231, a J with a TC'd Continental engine. The standard of the TC'd world! Evolved into the 252.

L - Porsche powered Long Body.  Know your Mooney history prior to purchase!

M - Updated version of the L using the Lycoming TSIO540.  Aka: Private airliner!

O and P not production models...

R - Ovation, Continental powered IO550 Long Body.  Available with 310hp.  This plane Rocks!

S - Eagle, Started life as an economically favorable version of the R, fully upgradable to Standing Ovation using one mod at a time!  Except they are called screamin' Eagles.

TN - Acclaim, a TN'd Long Body of epic proportion!  Available with 310hp all the way up to the flight levels with options of FIKI ice protection when it is cold, and air conditioning when it is not.

Q and V - These are the new semi composite show pieces with a new pilot side door.  Quality and Value in both!

 

Mods...

Missile - a mid body J with an IO550(a) shoe horned under a K's cowl.... (Rocket Engineering product)

Rocket - a mid body K with more horsepower than the 231 and updated MP controller and inter cooler. (Rocket Engineering product)

261/262 Trophy Conversions. These were/are 231s modified to be 252 clones with a few extra mods. Think of a 12 volt 252. The 261/262 POHS are virtually the same as the 252s. (Thanks go to Bennet who reminded me of these Coy Jacobs' machines)

Each Mooney has a name tag, look on the fuselage under the pilot side horizontal stabilizer.

Start with a look at the cowling.  The four cylinders are hiding under a short cowl. The K is hiding a six cylinder under a stretched cowl. The long bodies are hiding a six cylinder and moved the engine forwards for balance.  The original cowl has a large opening similar to a guppy's mouth. There are a few mods that help improve airflow, cooling, and looks.

Proceed to the windows.  The mid bodies got a 10" stretch so full sized adults can sit in the back. The rear window got elongated.  The Long bodies got an even longer window with a vertical bar behind it. The interior volume of an SUV fits in the long bodies' baggage area. David said if it fits in the Tahoe, it will fit in the O.  He was right.

Aerodynamic improvements came in mid J.  Shaped fiberglass wing tips give them away.  The windshield got sloped like a Corvette.

Keep in mind that some improvements from later years can be installed on older airframes using factory parts and assembly drawings. Some improvements may need an STC to go with them.

Ideas that came from the top of my head. I got plenty of help (see following posts) putting this together.

Best regards,

-a-

[gsengle]

The long bodies can mostly be told apart by cowl/cooling inlets.

But what I do when I'm not sure is google the tail number and I see the registration and model number in about 10 seconds.

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[mike_elliott]

2 minutes ago, takair said:

I wont pretend to have the newer ones figured out at a glance.  And then there are all the speed mods

M's have cowl flaps and great big air openings in the cowl Rectangular shape. R's have smaller oval holes in the cowl, no cowl flaps. TN's have larger round holes in the cowl, no cowl flaps dual ex. A lot will have an S on the tail. 

[Marauder]

2 minutes ago, takair said: I wont pretend to have the newer ones figured out at a glance.  And then there are all the speed mods

M's have cowl flaps and great big air openings in the cowl Rectangular shape. R's have smaller oval holes in the cowl, no cowl flaps. TN's have larger round holes in the cowl, no cowl flaps dual ex. A lot will have an S on the tail. 

So what will I be when I install David's cowl?

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[gsengle]

Special

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[JKSmith]

Speed mods always throw me a curve ball, and I had no clue that they made a fixed gear mooney. Great info from you guys. I'm interested in seeing the mooney dealer. 

[mike_elliott]

1 minute ago, Marauder said:

So what will I be when I install David's cowl?

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Happy

[JKSmith]

Just now, Marauder said:

So what will I be when I install David's cowl?

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At the angle you provided it looks like you've got a short body. but since I cheated I know you've got a F. I guess you could call it a F/J cruiser haha 

[carusoam]

A turbo normalized F with David's cowl would be an engineer's dream... 

Marauder, let me know if you need a hand with the engineering studies.

Best regards,

-a-

 

[Bob_Belville]

I don't understand the question. All Mooneys have essentially the same qualities - super wing, steel roll cage, tough landing gear, properly oriented empennage. All are fuel efficient, fast, and guaranteed to put a smile on your face. (As a friend of mine once said about beer - the worst I ever had was pretty good.) 

Paint, cowl, windows, panel... all can be changed, just like normal airplanes. Don't get distracted by the superficial stuff. 

[JKSmith]

1 hour ago, carusoam said:

My favorite question!

Visit a place called All American Aircraft. They are the one shop that specializes in Mooneys.  They take in trades and sell some of the nicest pre-owned planes.

Talk to a couple of gentlemen named either Jimmy or David.  Few people on the planet will know more about the history of each model and how it best fits a customer.

When you visit the shop they have at least one of each model.  Short, medium and long. Try to determine if a TC is required for the mission you have in mind.

Short of sitting in each one, you can go on line to see what they have in stock.

Use caution, it is not a high pressure sales room.  But, the attraction to the world fastest, factory built, four seat, airplanes is pretty strong.  You might get away without actually buying anything...  But you will be back, Maybe not this year, maybe not this decade...

http://allamericanaircraft.com/Default.htm

 

To simplify things... Think small, medium, and large... (How big is your family going to grow?)

Then select your power plant.  Carb'd, Fuel injection, TC or TN'd...

How updated would you like your instrument panel?  Barely IFR, Analog IFR, digital IFR or full blown color screen IFR? Many have been updated to the latest and greatest already...

 

A - short body, wood wings, O360 180hp

B - short body, rounded, shaped Windows.

C - short body, small updates from B. Got rectangular windows in '65.

D - short body, fixed gear, fixed prop. Often converted into a C

E - short body, cowl modded for fuel injection. 200hp (great retirement plane)

F - mid body, looks like a C with a larger rear window. FI like the E.

G - mid body, looks like an F but has a carburetor. Fabulous for young family.

H and I were not in production.

J - aerodynamic version of the F. The standard of the normally aspirated world!

K - J with a TC'd Continental engine. The standard of the TC'd world!

L - Porsche powered Long Body.  Know your Mooney history prior to purchase!

M - Updated version of the L using the Lycoming TSIO540.  Aka: Private airliner!

O, P and Q not production models...

R - Ovation, Continental powered IO550 Long Body.  Available with 310hp.  This plane Rocks!

S - Eagle, Started life as an economically favorable version of the R, fully upgradable to Standing Ovation using one mod at a time!  Except they are called screamin' Eagles.

TN - Acclaim, a TN'd Long Body of epic proportion!  Available with 310hp all the way up to the flight levels with options of FIKI ice protection when it is cold and air conditioning when it is not.

Q and V - These are the new semi composite show pieces with a new pilot side door.  Quality and Value in both!

 

Mods...

Missile - a mid body J with an IO550(a) shoe horned under a K's cowl....

Rocket - a mid body K with more horsepower than the 231 and updated MP controller and inter cooler.

Each Mooney has a name tag, look on the fuselage under the pilot side horizontal stabilizer.

Start with a look at the cowling.  The four cylinders are hiding under a short cowl. The K is hiding a six cylinder under a stretched cowl. The long bodies are hiding a six cylinder and moved the engine forwards for balance.

Proceed to the Windows.  The mid bodies got a 10" stretch so full sized adults can sit in the back. The rear window got elongated.  The Long bodies got an even longer window with a vertical bar behind it. The interior volume of an SUV fits in the long bodies' baggage area. David said if it fits in the Tahoe, it will fit in the O.  He was right.

Aerodynamic improvements came in mid J.  Shaped fiberglass wing tips give them away.

Ideas that came from the top of my head. I had no help putting this together.

Best regards,

-a-

Your awesome! 

[carusoam]

Why, thank you, JK. 

Mooneys are awesome!

Best regards,

-a-

[Bob_Belville]

Slight correction to Anthony's great post: Fs uniquely have 3 windows per side. The J/K combine the rear two. 

[carusoam]

The F was born with three Windows.  The three window F and G can be updated to look like a two window J.

The newer Js got rounded window corners.  Other people simulated the nice rounded corners with paint or vinyl....

If the interior is squared and the exterior is rounded, look for paint and vinyl outside!

Thanks Bob,

-a-

[XXX]

5 minutes ago, Bob_Belville said:

Slight correction to Anthony's great post: Fs uniquely have 3 windows per side. The J/K combine the rear two. 

Except the 1976 model I presume. I don't think mine have been changed out from original.

[Hank]

When David's cowl hits the market, some of our Cs will lose the chin and be mistaken for Es . . . And my C has J wingtips. But for now, a chin behind the air filter marks a carbed model. Seen side by side, shirt and mid body are easy to tell apart but hard to describe. What is difficult for me is telling a 2-window F from a J. A friend had an F with the replaced left side window so I'm familiar with the look. Seeing the panel, though, Fs have a throttle quadrant and only the first year J (1977) did, then they went push-pull. Everything after J has a noticeably longer cowling to hide 6 cylinders instead of four.

As many mods as are out there, and that for decades were reasonably priced, you'll have to look long and hard to find an original, unmodified plane at least through J/K, and a fair number after that.

[gsxrpilot]

The K's come in three flavors.  231, 252, and Encore. The 231 and 252's are easily differentiated by the rear windows. The 231's have square corners and the 252's are rounded. You'll probably have to look in the log book to differentiate a 252 from an Encore. Check the W&B sheet. Encore's carry more load.

[carusoam]

Theatrical Mooneys are the best!

Encore, Ovation, Acclaim, O1, O2, O3, Standing O!

extra credit: Who was Mooney's CEO of the time when these names were brought out?

Best regards,

-a-

[rainman]

The late Richard "Zef" Zefro wrote an e-book I think as called "Those Mooney Airplanes". It had very good descriptions of all the models. The book may still be available on his website which was being maintained by his friend. It is mooneyland.com

[Guest]

Mooneys are easy to differentiate, they have that weird tail, they land on donuts, many leave wet blue spots on the ramp when parked, many have drivers not pilots.  

The J model is known to bank steeply base to final when flown by a green parrot.

Clarence