Mooneys at Jewell Aviation

[TWinter]

Picked my plane up from annual at Jewell Aviation in Kennett, MO yesterday. Wow, looked like a Mooney Service Center. Saw three Mooney birds in the shop, mine was done and parked in a separate hanger since they were done with it and waiting for pick-up. Good to see that many Mooneys in the shop. Looks like Sam and David and getting very good with our brand. I knew they were good, but surprised to see so many other backwards tails in the shop. Not sure if they belonged to MS guys, but it looked busy in there. By the way a PIREP on the annual..I was pleased with the annual. I've been going to another shop for the last 5 yrs and thought maybe this year a new set of eyes for this one might not be a bad idea. Pricing was good, work timely, no surprises and even fixed a few little items that were non-issue, but took care of them no charge. Very pleased.

 

-Tom

[neilpilot]

As some of you know, since 1995 I've had all but one of my Mooney annuals done at Jewell.  Obviously, no complaints. 

When we were in for our last annual this summer, they were doing an engine O/H on a 231 that they had bought and planned to re-sell.  That might have been one of the Mooneys that Tom saw there.

[Raptor05121]

Are these the same guys that offer great prices on field overhauls?

[Cruiser]

do they charge a flat rate for annual inspection?

[neilpilot]

2 hours ago, Cruiser said:

do they charge a flat rate for annual inspection?

http://www.jewellaviation.com/maintenance.htm

[kpaul]

54 minutes ago, neilpilot said:

http://www.jewellaviation.com/maintenance.htm

WOW!  That’s a great price for the inspection.

[Hank]

1 hour ago, neilpilot said:

http://www.jewellaviation.com/maintenance.htm

And I thought my guy at $850 was a good price . . . No complaints, though, he drives a couple of hours to get here.

[TWinter]

6 hours ago, Cruiser said:

do they charge a flat rate for annual inspection?

Flat rate, but you are charged for fluids, filters,  etc.. By the time I was done I was all in at $1240. A few gaskets, ELT battery  etc..

 

-Tom

[TWinter]

10 hours ago, neilpilot said:

As some of you know, since 1995 I've had all but one of my Mooney annuals done at Jewell.  Obviously, no complaints. 

When we were in for our last annual this summer, they were doing an engine O/H on a 231 that they had bought and planned to re-sell.  That might have been one of the Mooneys that Tom saw there.

That one was still there, but not one of the three I was talking about. They have it in a separate hanger, and have a LONG way to go before it's ready.

[neilpilot]

1 hour ago, TWinter said:

Flat rate, but you are charged for fluids, filters,  etc.. By the time I was done I was all in at $1240. A few gaskets, ELT battery  etc..

 

-Tom

Our August annual was $725.  We supplied oil and oil filter.

[Shadrach]

12 hours ago, Hank said:

And I thought my guy at $850 was a good price . . . No complaints, though, he drives a couple of hours to get here.

That was what I was charged, but I did all the work. The only tools my IA used were a mirror and a flashlight.

Edited November 11, 2017 by Shadrach

[Sean S]

11 hours ago, neilpilot said:

Our August annual was $725.  We supplied oil and oil filter.

That is an amazing price. Based on that price, the entire annual was accomplished in just over 9 hours using their $75 an hour rate! How much extra did they charge for AD research? I see on their web site that the annual price does not include AD research.

[Rwsavory]

1 hour ago, Bayern Speed said:

That is an amazing price. Based on that price, the entire annual was accomplished in just over 9 hours using their $75 an hour rate! How much extra did they charge for AD research? I see on their web site that the annual price does not include AD research.

The first annual at Jewell after we acquired the plane cost about $1176.  This was after an extensive pre-buy at Maxwell where some repairs were done.  So maybe about $300 or so for AD review.

[neilpilot]

3 minutes ago, Rwsavory said:

The first annual at Jewell after we acquired the plane cost about $1176.  This was after an extensive pre-buy at Maxwell where some repairs were done.  So maybe about $300 or so for AD review.

For subsequent annuals, they hand us a printed AD review but the cost is included in the fixed rate.  BTW as you might have guessed Rwsavory is my partner in N5687Q.

[tigers2007]

How are these guys doing annuals so cheap? I thought the “market price” was $1300-1500. At that price I’m better off flying it down there and staying at a hotel a couple nights. Hijack question: how much does Jewell charge for removing and replacing an engine for overhaul there?


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[amillet]

I recall hearing that the Mooney annual checklist requires about 24 hours labor to complete.  Which items are they skipping?

[TWinter]

12 minutes ago, amillet said:

I recall hearing that the Mooney annual checklist requires about 24 hours labor to complete.  Which items are they skipping?

Not sure they are skipping. They might just have more hands involved, so maybe it evens out. My other shop did a great job and was averaging $2000, consumables and fluids were extra. At the other shop there were only two guys working with one being the primary. My other shop says he has a hard time getting a Mooney annual done in 40 hrs.

Jewell had six guys keeping busy. This is also the airport that is well known for cheapest fuel in the area. Bottom line, I was pleased, price was great and timely. Never hurts to have a new set of eyes look things over. These will also be the guys doing my major when the time comes. Good work, good reputation and 45 minutes from my home..the fact I saw several Mooney tails in there made me feel good knowing this is not their first rodeo working on Mooney aircraft. We don't have a local MSC, but I do feel good about the annual they just completed.

 

-Tom   

[ArtVandelay]

I recall hearing that the Mooney annual checklist requires about 24 hours labor to complete.  Which items are they skipping?

If they skip something I would bet on not removing the oil screen or not swinging the gear or maybe not removing a few inspection plates, especially the belly.

[Guest]

It would be hard to imagine that the whole airplane is being inspected for what they are charging, $750 for a complex 4 place retract covers the entire Mooney line up.  I guess this is where some poetic licence is being taken for the meaning of “Annual”. I guess the log books get one?

Clarence

[Hank]

For my $850 annual in my hangar, I have all of the panels off when he arrives on Friday morning, and last year all was buttoned up before lunch on Sunday. We both work . . . The first AD list took some doing, going through my logs, but each year he only has to check the few recurring ones and look for any new ones.

Next time, we are replacing the nose tire & tube, and main gear bearings. Wonder how much extra time the tire will take? 

[Guest]

So 6 person days (40-50 hours) of work for a simple Mooney.  Sounds more plausible.

Clarence

[gsxrpilot]

1 hour ago, M20Doc said:

So 6 person days (40-50 hours) of work for a simple Mooney.  Sounds more plausible.

Exactly but one person working 6 days or 6 people working 1 day should work out to the same cost.

That's a great price, but I'd be skeptical of an annual that was under $1500 without any squawks.

[Guest]

The posted price is $750, the posted shop rate is $75/hour so 10 hours are being devoted to the “annual”. If we use 45 hours over $750 we get an hourly rate of $16.66, which isn’t even a wage rate, let alone a shop rate.  

Clarence

 

[gsxrpilot]

12 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

The posted price is $750, the posted shop rate is $75/hour so 10 hours are being devoted to the “annual”. If we use 45 hours over $750 we get an hourly rate of $16.66, which isn’t even a wage rate, let alone a shop rate.  

I don't believe one guy could get all the inspections panels off, take a quick look, and get them back on in 10 hours. Never mind changing the oil, or checking anything else on the list. And if it's 5 guys working the 10 hours, then it's 50 hours, not 10.

[neilpilot]

15 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

The posted price is $750, the posted shop rate is $75/hour so 10 hours are being devoted to the “annual”. If we use 45 hours over $750 we get an hourly rate of $16.66, which isn’t even a wage rate, let alone a shop rate.  

Clarence

 

I understand your skepticism, but it's not necessarily true that the fixed price annual is based on shop rate.  While I can't say, and certainly doubt, that Jewell's shop spends 45 hours on a squawk free annual, I do know that the time spent is in excess of 20 shop hours (well over 20 man-hours).  As I said earlier, all but one of my Mooney annuals has been done at their shop since 1995.  In 2001, I took my M20E that had gone thru 6 annuals at Jewell to a well respected MSC for annual, since I was having a one-piece windshield & bladders installed.  The MSC annual did not find any squawks that were in any way attributable to a deficiency in my 6 prior Jewell annuals.  However, the MSC did sign off my annual with my front seats installed incorrectly.