Visit to Kerrville and Tour?

[Jeff_S]

Hey all,

I've got a trade show in San Antonio starting June 4 so it's the perfect opportunity to stretch the wings a bit more than usual. And while I'm there, I want to visit the factory and maybe stop in to say howdy to the MAPA folks. I went through the recent thread on factory tours, or the discouragement thereof, and wanted to see if anyone has the latest news. Can I just call up the factory and ask to visit? Or go through MAPA to arrange something, since they're in Kerrville now?  Any thoughts or advice is welcome.

Based on other posts, I think I'll land at Stinson rather than KSAT, as it seems about equidistant to getting into downtown and pricing is much better for us little guys.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Jeff

[Bob_Belville]

Jeff, I would give Lela Hughes @ MAPA a call, they are across the field. And you might want to PM @Mooneygirl, Jolie can probably give you the latest skinny. (The recently removed CEO was apparently the perpetrator of the more restrictive visitor policy so it is possible there have been very recent changes. It is also possible this is not a priority at the moment so keep us posted on what yo find out!) 

[mooneygirl]

The best thing to do is to call MAPA or the factory. They are asking for 48 hour notice on tours. 

 

MAPA's office hours are Monday-Thursday, 8:00am - 5:00pm central time

Telephone: (830) 315-8008     Fax: (830) 315-8011      Email: mapa@sbcglobal.net

1885 Airport Road, Suite 100 Kerrville, Texas 78028

 

Mooney Factory

165 Al Mooney Road N.
Kerrville, TX 78028

Sales
Phone: 800.456.3033
Email: sales@mooney.com

[Jeff_S]

Just to close the loop on this, I had a very nice call with Robert Dutton, VP of Production Operations, this afternoon. He personally called me back within about two hours of me leaving a voice message to the factory. He acknowledged some of the recent controversy about giving tours, but said that had been a policy of the "prior administration" which had caused much consternation among employees. Now the factory gladly welcomes everyone from the "Mooney Family," which includes just about anyone who owns, has owned, works on, wants to buy or even just fantasizes about a Mooney. Ok, I made that last one up, but just barely! The point is, they are happy to have you in so you can see what's going on.

They do ask for 48 hour notice and there is a short set of questions they ask you to answer in advance, just standard things like contact info and your prior experience with Mooneys, etc. And you do have to sign an NDA at the start, which is normal. Robert said he will likely be giving me the tour himself, so this will be fun. I'm planning on going Wed June 7 mid-morning. Should be fun!

[Jeff_S]

Final follow up.  Had a great visit with Rob Dutton who gave me a full tour of the factory on Wednesday. As a guy who's spent his whole career in telecom and software, moving bits and bytes around for a living, it was fun for me to see how materials get cut-stamped-dipped-shaped-riveted etc. to make a real tangible product.  The factory has a mix of heavy industrial-age equipment and some new space-age tools for cutting and shaping that are giving a whole new set of capabilities to the factory. I saw a good half-dozen or so of the new Ultras (both models) that were in final assembly and had already been sold, so the new planes are starting to hit the market.

One very encouraging thing for all of us is how complete the factory is in its ability to do almost all the production work needed in-house. While this helps simplify the process of making new Mooneys, it also means that the factory can promote this capability to do contracting work for other aerospace projects as well.  The Chinese investors are equipping the factory to be profitable in a variety of ways; first order is making new Mooneys, of course, but this capacity can be farmed out for other projects to generate additional revenue. That gives the Mooney company some cushion for market vagaries.  Very smart.

My only regret as I was climbing back into the sky for my flight home to Atlanta was that I forgot to take a dang picture of my plane in front of the factory! Oh well, I guess that's a reason to go back some day. For anyone else visiting the area, I would encourage you to contact the factory and ask for a tour...you'll really enjoy it.

[Bob_Belville]

18 minutes ago, Jeff_S said:

My only regret as I was climbing back into the sky for my flight home to Atlanta was that I forgot to take a dang picture of my plane in front of the factory!

Jeff, like this?  Did you take pics inside the factory? I have quite a few from a year ago.

[MooneyMitch]

"One very encouraging thing for all of us is how complete the factory is in its ability to do almost all the production work needed in-house. While this helps simplify the process of making new Mooneys, it also means that the factory can promote this capability to do contracting work for other aerospace projects as well.  The Chinese investors are equipping the factory to be profitable in a variety of ways; first order is making new Mooneys, of course, but this capacity can be farmed out for other projects to generate additional revenue. That gives the Mooney company some cushion for market vagaries.  Very smart."

Mooney has been down the subcontracting road before.   Of course, I want nothing but success for the Kerrville workers and nothing but the best for the Mooney brothers legacy to continue.

[LANCECASPER]

2 hours ago, Jeff_S said:

One very encouraging thing for all of us is how complete the factory is in its ability to do almost all the production work needed in-house. While this helps simplify the process of making new Mooneys, it also means that the factory can promote this capability to do contracting work for other aerospace projects as well.  The Chinese investors are equipping the factory to be profitable in a variety of ways; first order is making new Mooneys, of course, but this capacity can be farmed out for other projects to generate additional revenue. That gives the Mooney company some cushion for market vagaries.  Very smart.

The pendulum swings back and forth . . .

https://www.aopa.org/go-fly/aircraft-and-ownership/aircraft-fact-sheets/mooney-eagle

"In mid-1997, Paul Dopp and his investment firm of AVAQ Partners bought a controlling interest in Mooney; previously, a French consortium owned the majority of the company. Dopp is no stranger to Mooney Aircraft. He owned it and Aerostar Aircraft in the early 1970s. Dopp's new management team shed the unprofitable subcontracts and set about recapitalizing Mooney. In mid-1998, Dopp's son, Chris, was named president, and he has been running the operation ever since."

[MooneyMitch]

"In mid-1998, Dopp's son, Chris, was named president, and he has been running the operation ever since."

A farce and a disaster!  

[MooneyMitch]

On a side note regarding the factory and the factory tours, the two reasons for creating the Mooney documentary,  Boots on the Ground, the Men and Women who made Mooney was,  #1..... a tribute to Bill Wheat.

Number 2, the movie was an attempt at honoring those that actually built the planes.....the worker bees if you will.  The people out in the factory, out on the floor.

The folks that for day after day, week after week, months and year after year, were and are a perfect example of a dedicated American work force that somehow survived (s) the ups and downs, the comings and goings of ownerships and leaderships that did (do) not necessarily have the product, or all those worker people and their families at heart.

I'm still a proponent of those workers and wish them all great continued success!!!

Mooney, It is truly a great American story!  Maybe more typical than we realize.

[Txbyker]

On 6/9/2017 at 7:44 AM, Jeff_S said:

Final follow up.  Had a great visit with Rob Dutton who gave me a full tour of the factory on Wednesday. As a guy who's spent his whole career in telecom and software, moving bits and bytes around for a living, it was fun for me to see how materials get cut-stamped-dipped-shaped-riveted etc. to make a real tangible product.  The factory has a mix of heavy industrial-age equipment and some new space-age tools for cutting and shaping that are giving a whole new set of capabilities to the factory. I saw a good half-dozen or so of the new Ultras (both models) that were in final assembly and had already been sold, so the new planes are starting to hit the market.

Jeff,

It was nice meeting you and speaking to you in San Antonio.  I wanted to park my M20R next to yours at Stinson for pics but I had to take my truck for an important mission (golf).  

I just checked your return on flight aware and it looked much more enjoyable than the path you took going there.  Wow almost 5 hrs direct.  Great flight!

Russ

[Jeff_S]

Thanks Russ. I enjoyed meeting with you as well and sharing Ovation tips. Although I can tell you from personal experience, take out the right rear seat and your O can easily carry a couple of golf bags AND everything else!

Yes, the trip home was much less stressful than the one down there, even though I didn't get the tailwinds I was hoping for at 15K. Did burn less gas though.

Cheers!

[Godfather]

29 minutes ago, Jeff_S said:

Yes, the trip home was much less stressful than the one down there, even though I didn't get the tailwinds I was hoping for at 15K.

That was the Mooney gods hinting that you need a new acclaim...it's a new marketing strategy they are working on.