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Posted

I am going to look at 2 mooneys that are located at freeway airport in MD. One of them has been serviced by the MSC there, I am not sure about the other one. Does anyone have experience with them? If I do buy one I want the pre buy/ annual to be done by a certified mooney mechanic. I know that you usually don't want the same guy that had been doing  the annuals to do a pre buy, so I'm not sure how to handle that. Any suggestions? 

Posted

Ask to have the plane delivered elsewhere for the PPI.

Expect to pay for the travel costs.  MSCs are pretty good about arranging these travel exercises... the older you get, the less likely you will doing all the repositioning of your plane... or so I've been told... :)

Best regards,

-a-

Posted

The Freeway Mooney MSC at W00 must be one of the most underrated MSC's in the country.

Stan owns the airport, MSC, flight school, and facilities - he lives on a home on the other side of the airport (his old family farm I think).  Tom is the lead A&P.  Chris and John are both excellent A&P's and know Mooney's inside and out.   Tommy and team may have some of the best Mooney knowledge outside of Don Maxwell.  I am lucky to have them in my backyard - amazing knowledge and skill.

Yes the place looks worn down - and it looks better than it did just a few years ago!!  They have put some money into the bathrooms, runway markings were repainted a few years back, and some trees were taken down on the approach ends of each runway.  

I learned to fly Mooney's at Freeway and purchased an F model that Tommy let me know the owner was considering selling in 2008.  The runway is short and narrow.  2400 by 40 feet with a displaced threshold on one side with trees, and a 45 degree power line on the other, so your final is at 45 degrees until 100 feet out.  I have never had a problem operating the F or Missile out of Freeway.  If you fly your proper speeds, you are fine.   If you have not touched down by halfway down the runway, go around - it's that simple.  Often you can turn off halfway down the runway.  The taxiway goes up and down a hill;  if you can taxi at Freeway, you can taxi anywhere :)

Side note:  When Sept 11th shut down many airports near DC, Freeway created a second operation out at Ridgely, KRJD, in Eastern Maryland across the Bay Bridge.  It has a 3200 x 50 foot runway and open approaches on both sides.  If anyone has an issue with going into the SFRA or a short runway, land here and Freeway will Ferry it over to W00 or work on it at RJD.

Tommy and team are those that found the E model for the current owner that Fernando is thinking of purchasing and needs a partner for.  It was one of their customers who had mentioned he was looking to maybe get out of flying.  The airplane never hit the full market and changed hands.  Fernando would feel more comfortable moving forward with that M20E with a partner - again - well maintained aircraft and a great potential partner in Fernando.  If I didn't have the Missile I'd consider it.  

Freeway does EXCELLENT work.  They can sometimes be slow with billing, but they'll have the airplane ready for you if you tell them you need it by a specific date.

I recommend them.

 

Freeway:  301-262-6544 - ask for Tommy, Chris, or John.  Sue is the office manager.

Feel free to PM me should you wish to chat.

-Seth

 

  • Like 2
Posted
1 minute ago, carusoam said:

Nice Pirep, Seth!

Best regards,

-a-

Not any shop is perfect, but their drawbacks are not pertinent to their workmanship nor Mooney knowledge.   My wife may not love the bathrooms, but she is confident in their ability to spot problems before they happen and allow us to trust our Missile.

Posted

And going back to the original poster, there are two other Mooney MSC's nearby that do good work:

 

Weber at LNS

AirMods in NJ

Depending on the speed of the Mooney, both are not too far away (max an hour each way).

Tommy, Chris, or John will be able to tell you about the airplane you are considering however - their reputation is too important.

 

-Seth

Posted (edited)

I was very happy with the folks at Freeway when I was living on that side of the country.  Took good care of the plane and went above and beyond helping me out with logistics.

Edited by Sonic
Posted

That kind you guys for the responses. I am going to go look at the 2  c's this weekend. Seth that review was awesome and I did get your pm and just left you a message. I know this has been said before, but the people on this site are awesome. Everyone is so willing to help even the newest members. 

Thanks  

Steve  

  • Like 1

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