Mooney Mechanics and Best PPI Shops

[SMPilot]

Background.  Owned a 1982 M20J and really enjoyed it.  Was getting long in the tooth and needed to many avionics and other repairs. Traded in for a 2013 Cirrus SR20. Love the glass, chute, etc etc. But 145KTs and handling characteristics  aren't working out so well.  We have decided to try and sell the Cirrus and move to an Ovation.  Our ideal plane is something with FIKI, NDH, etc. etc. etc.  We know the value of a good PPI and inspection.  All that being said. I'm looking for recommendations for shops and mechanics in the IN, IL, WI areas as well as NY, CT, NJ.

My thought is if I find something that looks good on my eyeball, flight and logs, to bring to a local mechanic who knows Mooneys.  If that works then a shop for a thorough PPI.

Recommendations in the Midwest and Northeast would be helpful.  Thank you!

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard SMP.

Have you already found the O?

Sometimes getting a PPI is less challenging to organize when it is closer to the owner.

There is a list of MSCs on the Mooney Website.

For the NJ area there are two well appreciated MSCs.

-airmods (N87 Robinsville)

-Weber (PA)

Best regards,

-a-

[SMPilot]

Just now, carusoam said:

Welcome aboard SMP.

Have you already found the O?

Sometimes getting a PPI is less challenging to organize when it is closer to the owner.

There is a list of MSCs on the Mooney Website.

For the NJ area there are two well appreciated MSCs.

-airmods (N87 Robinsville)

-Weber (PA)

Best regards,

-a-

I have found 1 in CO that just is not realistic to get to.  Bummer it's exactly what we're looking for.  Found one in IN.  I'm new to the Chicagoland area and don't know any shops etc.  

[carusoam]

We have a few MSers in each of those locations.  

Standby for somebody to come along with their recommendations.

Since I am always touting how I got where I am at, supporting the businesses that supported me...

Have you seen the All American Aircraft site? They have a tendency to represent some of the nicer Mooney's available on the Market...

http://www.allamericanaircraft.com/default.htm

there is also Lasar...

http://www.lasar.com/

 

This is airmods... Dave is the key guy there...

http://www.airmodsflightcenter.com/

 

I bought my O at All American and went to Don Maxwell for the PPI...

The experience met expectations...  IOW 'awesome' for an engineer! 

Best regrads,

-a-

 

Edited April 15, 2017 by carusoam

[SMPilot]

5 minutes ago, carusoam said:

We have a few MSers in each of those locations.  

Standby for somebody to come along with their recommendations.

Since I am always touting how I got where I am at, supporting the businesses that supported me...

Have you seen the All American Aircraft site? They have a tendency to represent some of the nicer Mooney's available on the Market...

http://www.allamericanaircraft.com/default.htm

there is also Lasar...

http://www.lasar.com/

 

This is airmods... Dave is the key guy there...

http://www.airmodsflightcenter.com/

 

I bought my O at All American and went to Don Maxwell for the PPI...

The experience met expectations...  IOW 'awesome' for an engineer! 

Best regrads,

-a-

 

I'm going to call All American tomorrow and speak to them.  Seems they are highly regarded as is Maxwell.

[gsxrpilot]

Never buy an airplane without a good PPI. If I were ever to break that rule, it would be for an airplane sold by All American, with the last couple of annuals from Don Maxwell. A test flight with Jimmy or David and a phone call to Don, would be the only pre-buy I needed.

*don't try this at home kids...

[C-GHIJ]

Try Canada.  Your dollar goes a lot farther up here.  My local MSC (Tri City Aero) does a great job at maintianing quite a few Mooneys.  I highly recommend them to anyone.

[Danb]

If the co. plane meets your needs which is hard to do, in the O Colorado is just a flight away a nice trip to start learning your new avionics 

[kortopates]

A couple good Mike B articles on importance of Pre-buys, how to structure it and converting it to Annual after the pre-buy.

http://www.avweb.com/news/savvyaviator/SavvyAviator_64_ThePreBuy_199258-1.html 

This one, although for Cirrus, goes into more detail and mostly all applies. 

https://www.cirruspilots.org/copa/tech/m/magazine_articles/563631/download.aspx

I am also a fan of converting the pre-buy to annual, but recognize you need to be the owner of the aircraft before you begin the annual. You can't direct maintenance on a bird you don't own and If something went sideways during the annual and the seller was still the owner you could be in for a rude surprise.

I doubt there has ever been an owner that regretted doing the pre-buy, but many owners that regretted not doing a thorough one or just asked someone to do a pre-buy without being involved with the scope of their pre-buy. 

Edited April 16, 2017 by kortopates