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Rare Mooney Model


gacoon

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That's a Butler from the early 70s, and it's known as a stinger tail.

Don't rightly know the whys and wherefores, but it's certainly an unusual look. Maybe someone else will chime in with the history. Seems like it only lasted for a year or two.

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Butler acquired Mooney when it came out of bankruptcy around 1969 and then Butler also acquired Aerostar and moved production to Kerrville. I think at that point they renamed the company Aerostar and they dropped the Mooney name and all of the airplanes were called Aerostars in 1970 & 1971 and even the "m20" 's  had the tails that were shown in the picture. The C's were renamed Aerostar 200, E's were Aerostar 201, and F's were Aerostar 220 Executive.

1395111965_ScreenShot2018-05-26at10_52_28PM.thumb.png.82ad0ea8b9ba85437665ce80c5fbb5ff.png

 

 

Butler closed the plant in '71 and you won't find a 1972 or 1973 Mooney because they didn't make any. In late '73 Republic Steel bought them and started making 1974 Mooneys. Republic Steel brought Roy LoPresti in and by '77 there was a 201 and by '79 there was a 231.

 

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4 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said:

Butler acquired Mooney when it came out of bankruptcy around 1969 and then Butler also acquired Aerostar and moved production to Kerrville. I think at that point they renamed the company Aerostar and they dropped the Mooney name and all of the airplanes were called Aerostars in 1970 & 1971 and even the "m20" 's  had the tails that were shown in the picture. Butler closed the plant in '71 and you won't find a 1972 or 1973 Mooney because they didn't make any. In late '73 Republic Steel bought them and started making 1974 Mooneys. Republic Steel brought Roy LoPresti in and by '77 there was a 201 and by '79 there was a 231.

My 1970 model says Mooney in several places, including the data plate and Owners Manual. The covers of the original logbooks say Mooney, too, but now I'm gonna hafta check the inside and see what's written there. No, Bill Wheat didn't sign it, durn it! I guess even good test pilots get promoted . . . .

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1 minute ago, Hank said:

My 1970 model says Mooney in several places, including the data plate and Owners Manual. The covers of the original logbooks say Mooney, too, but now I'm gonna hafta check the inside and see what's written there. No, Bill Wheat didn't sign it, durn it! I guess even good test pilots get promoted . . . .

Maybe just the '71's were called Aerostars - that actually makes more sense since it would take some time to design the new tail.

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See if you can get any speed or efficiency out of those fancy marketing gimmicks...  :)

Any UL increase with that?

How about another hour of fuel capacity?

Who’s idea was that 10” extension for the back seaters?

Some brilliant guy decided a TC would improve this simple plane, who was that?

 

Some ideas were truely better than others...

Fortunately some ideas were bolt on... and bolt off...

 

PP thoughts only, not a historian...

Best regards,

-a-

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  • 1 year later...

3 of us hereabouts own serial #1 of the Aerostar Mooneys, shown here flying last weekend with of my co-owners.  Data plate reads Aerostar Aircraft Corporation of Texas, Kerrville, TX;  Serial number M20E  21-0001; Type Certificate 2A3.  From the factory it flew to Honolulu in April of 1971 and, with 527 TT, the engine was replaced due to a broken piston (wrong pistons were factory installed).  In December 1973 it returned to the mainland with 653 TT.  This one benefits from several subsequent updates, namely 201 cowl, windshield, inner gear doors, one piece bottom fuselage cover, and considerable TLC.  Having owned a 1976 F model with a good friend in the late 70's/early 80's, it was fun to return to Mooney flying almost 3 years ago. As mentioned elsewhere, the unusual tail is for looks only!

N6816V.jpg

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  • 2 years later...
  • 8 months later...
On 10/27/2022 at 3:53 AM, BasicPlaneGuy said:

This one is labeled an Aerostar M20F. Off the top of my head, I think it is 22-0005.

Sorry to revive a long dead thread, but it's neat to see some other Mooney's (Aerostars technically) are still flying with that unique tail.

20220826_115009.jpg

I have 22-0012 there were 12 1971 m20fs made. Our has the same paint scheme. I am curious though how you have different rear windows. I bought mine in 2020 and love it.IMG_2715.jpeg.7b29aeec8f572be9df780d9159d4f510.jpeg

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