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Help With Records! New Owner


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Hello to the Florida group! I just purchased a 1982 M20K courtesy of the U.S. Marshal’s service. Tail # is N1157L. It was seized from Alejandro ‘Alex’ Amor on Jan 11, 2016. Right now it is secured at Ft Lauderdale Executive KFXE. Apparently it was based at KTMB, Miami Executive. I was able to speak with his ex-wife who said that her oldest son apparently absconded with the logs. Attempts to contact him have been met with ‘they were lost in a fire, stolen, etc’. I did offer a reward! I have scoured the internet and sent out lots of emails along the southeast Florida coast and made lots of phone calls trying to find a maintenance facility that would have any records, at this point with only minimal results. If anyone here has any guidance on trying to find records or has any specific information, I would greatly appreciate the help! I am planning to use this as a personal aircraft, so want to be sure everything is on the up and up before I put the wife and kids in it. On that note, anyone have any dealings with MobilAero out of KFXE? I have a bid from them for an annual and then to give me a list of discrepancies with associated costs to repair. If I can’t come up with logs and times, obviously this could be a costly endeavor.

The group that had seized it has run it up on a monthly basis. 

Thanks in advance!

Charlie Huddleston (931) 434-1915

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Start with a very thorough inspection to see what is needed, request the records the FAA has on file and start new logbooks. After comparing Inspection notes with the FAA records finish up with an annual and any other issues that need attention..... you can always look for the logs after you get it back in the air

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You  should look at the engine, propellor and radios and see if there are stickers or labels from who last overhauled them. Contact them with serial numbers and the plane n number and see if they have any records. It would be good to get a handle on engine, propellor and airframe time. 

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8 hours ago, RLCarter said:

Start with a very thorough inspection to see what is needed, request the records the FAA has on file and start new logbooks. After comparing Inspection notes with the FAA records finish up with an annual and any other issues that need attention..... you can always look for the logs after you get it back in the air

^^^^ This is the best place to start. You will get the registration of ownership in the documents from the FAA back to the airworthiness date. It may be worth seeing if any of them have any old copies of the logs from when they were trying to sell it or any information of the shops that worked on it. It may also show any dealers who would have handled the sale of it to someone.

Best of luck with this!

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Absent getting the logs, I would have Phil Jiminez at KAVO, Jake Clemmens @ Daytona Aircraft, or Premier Aircraft at KFXE give it a complete go over. This wont be cheap, but you stated you wanted everything on the up and up before you put your wife and kids in it. Arnold Holmes in Leesburg and Jeff Bender in Clearwater are other good choices. All are busy. You got it at a considerable discount because of things like missing logs, so now you own the discount and will have to give it up when you go to sell. Good luck getting the docs back together and good luck with the new plane! Learn to fly it properly, as a 231 is probably the highest workload single made, depending on engine mods.

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I hope you got a REALLY good deal on this, because without the logs it isn't worth as much as an aircraft that has them.  Lucky for you Mooneys don't have that long a list of ADs.  Unlucky for you your mechanic is going to get to do all of them.  I myself would assume any life limited components (gear biscuits, brake pads, hoses, tires etc...) were worn out and would replace without records indicating how old anything was.  And how many hours are on the engine?  If I didn't know I would assume its a runout and act accordingly.

And once you've done all that your aircraft still isn't worth what a comparable one might be because you've no logs.

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Never heard of MobilAero and I've been here nine years. What are the mechanic's names? As for Premier Aircraft, you would be a complete fool to take your plane there with no records. 

You should call the established shops at Tamiami to see about any records. There are 3 or 4 listed on Airnav. And call Premier at KFXE to see if they have worked on it. And call Certified Engines Unlimited at KHWO, they are the go to engine shop in the area. 

However, many of the older Mooneys in this area do not use shops, they depend on traveling mechanics, so back up records may not be available.

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Ex wives and eldest sons may be the wrong place to ask about paperwork. If I were you I would go the source, that being Alehandro. If anyone can locate the logs, it would be him.

A few $$ offered  in keeping his prison account current might go a long way toward asset recovery. No problem bonding, you are both Mooney pilots.

If this fails, I would not be eager to tilt those windmills and would go to the sales barn ASAP.

From my perspective, this seems similar to marrying a gold digger in Vegas on Friday that you met at an on line dating site on Thurs.

You may love her, but she is still going to take your money.

Best,

 

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Thanks for all the helpful advice and leads. I am still awaiting the FAA packet with their paperwork. I’ve got to say, I read DAVIDWH’s reply and had to laugh. Partly because it is funny, and partly because it is spot on! I’m still on top as of now, but know when and where to fold, and recoup without taking a loss! I guess it goes back to that old adage, that there is no free lunch, and if it sounds too good to be true...

Charlie

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Here's a picture taken at Sun N Fun in 2014 so at least it was flying around back then. That's a good looking 231.

 

 

Here's an article about Alejandro: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article2485300.html

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/davidhalperin/photos-lavish-lifestyle-o_b_5923862.html

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article46253760.html  Page 2 of this article has a picture of the Mooney

https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2016/05/02/owner-of-shuttered-for-profit-college-sentenced.html

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article134161714.html

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/FastTrain-College-Operator-Gets-8-Years-in-Prison-for-Fraud-377886971.html   

If he is behaving well he could be out soon. I still doubt you are going to get your logbooks, but I bet he still has a set of keys.

On the other hand, this guy may not have paid for his last maintenance and the shop is still holding the logbooks.

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I recall seeing that plane at fly-in events years ago, and the stories about Alehandro are epic, highlighting the worst aspects of SoFL.

My advise is if you don't want to fall into another expensive black pit, call Phil Jiminez at KAVO first thing. Most records can be reconstructed,  and the longer you own the plane and build a 'new' history, the less the pain will be when you go to sell it. There is no corporate administration over Phil, and as long as he's been at it, I bet he has experience handling this kind of challenge.

Good luck....I suspect you'll need it.

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Just an update, and a thank you to all who replied and gave lots of good advice! Shop in Ft Lauderdale has the plane as of this afternoon, starting an annual inspection +/- ferry permit paperwork. Im still waiting on the official packet from the FAA (with records, 337s, etc) so I can track ownership and any old maintenance. Mailed in the new registration. And, I actually sent the prior owner a letter in jail, to see if he is willing to communicate about it. I also sent out a blast of emails to a lot of the Florida maintenance facilities, and as of yet have not tracked down any leads. But, Im still excited about the prospect and project! I realized today when my mechanic sent me a pic of the dash that it has speed brakes installed! That's a nice plus that I wasn't expecting! Now we just wait and see what all maintenance needs to be made up for. I have a hanger space and mechanic here in TN that is going to help me do a lot of owner-assisted work, as I not only want to be able to fly the plane, I want to "know" the plane, inside and out. Having worked through many other projects in my past, I have realized that more often than not, no one cares about the outcome as much as you do! Having said that, I am not willing to take any short cuts!

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