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1960 M20A--automatic no or?


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Hi guys, been looking at Mooneys for sale for a few months now and recently seen an M20A model come up. I understand that the 1960 A model is one year prior to the metal wings, but would have the metal tail. I've done a lot of reading about the disadvantages of wood in any aircraft, including the Mooney, so would you stay away from anything before the B model? I'm not a mechanic so I'm not looking to buy something that has an extensive list of recurring ADs and inspections. What are the "gotchas" and things to watch for with these older planes?

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We have a few M20A owners around here... and a few hundred M18 mite owners slowly migrating this direction...

No automatic No for any of the Mooney family...

Answer the question for yourself though...

What do you know about wood maintenance?

Ancient airplane maintenance?

You wouldn’t want to accidentally get in over your head.  Know before you go...

Best regards,

-a-

 

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There is a recurrent AD on the Wing.  The Rear fuel tank needs to come out, flap gap seals off, Wing root fairings off. Technically you are suppose to remove flaps and ailerons. It's not hard. Just takes time.  My opinion is a metal wing Mooney is more expensive to maintain.  Especially if you have corrosion on spar or a fuel tank leak.  M20A has aluminum tanks and wood is easy to repair as long as you don't have rot.  Find someone that know fabric airplane to inspect the plane.  Things to look for-  Grab the Flap brackets, if any movement then you should probably pass on the plane.  Any give on the wing walk could also be a issue.  Good luck and hopefully it's a gem.  I bought mine for 12K a few years ago and couldn't be happier.

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On 11/7/2018 at 6:30 PM, ArrowBerry said:

Hi guys, been looking at Mooneys for sale for a few months now and recently seen an M20A model come up. I understand that the 1960 A model is one year prior to the metal wings, but would have the metal tail. I've done a lot of reading about the disadvantages of wood in any aircraft, including the Mooney, so would you stay away from anything before the B model? I'm not a mechanic so I'm not looking to buy something that has an extensive list of recurring ADs and inspections. What are the "gotchas" and things to watch for with these older planes?

Welcome to the forum. Please take a moment to introduce yourself on the main page. Most everyone here is friendly and full of knowledge. 

There is a reputation the wood wings have in that they fly “softer”and more compliant than their younger brothers and sisters. That being said, if you are not close to a Viking mechanic, you are asking for unnecessary trouble. As with any older plane, woodwing or not, everything still applies: PPI, AD’s, Runout engine, etc, etc

would love to see an A rescued. 

David

 

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4 hours ago, Mcstealth said:

Welcome to the forum. Please take a moment to introduce yourself on the main page. Most everyone here is friendly and full of knowledge. 

There is a reputation the wood wings have in that they fly “softer”and more compliant than their younger brothers and sisters. That being said, if you are not close to a Viking mechanic, you are asking for unnecessary trouble. As with any older plane, woodwing or not, everything still applies: PPI, AD’s, Runout engine, etc, etc

would love to see an A rescued. 

David

 

I remember reading somewhere that one thought about wooden wings is that they do not have a fatigue-limited life, unlike aluminum structures.  I don't think that's a valid selling point, since the fatigue life of aluminum wings is somewhere more than 15,000 hours, perhaps much more, since they do not experience high-frequency loads.

On the other hand, yes, it would be great to see one avoid the scrap heap.

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