Articulating co-pilot seat frame - revisited

[Bennett]

Some forum members might remember a thread I started on the Moderen Mooney forum dealing with my attempts to locate an articulating seat bottom frame for the co-pilot side of my M20J.  After fruitless searches of the salvage yards, parts ads, etc., mod shops, and even as many of the MSCs I could think of, I finally called Stacey at the Mooney factory.  Initially he thought they had two in stock, and so I ordered one of them through LASAR.  This was back in March.  It turned out that the inventory list was wrong, and Stacey said they would build one for me.  

First let me say that Stacey has been more than responsive to my emails, and not too gentle "reminders".  He emailed me this morning to say that the seat bottom will be completed today and shipped shortly thereafter.  I think I may have been a bit too aggresive here as he has an impossible job.  In his email to me he has pointed out that:

"There are only 3 of us taking parts orders, shipping parts, and many outher duties. There is a total of 8 employees here now.  The seat isn't a couple of bolts and welds as a lot of people suggest. There are over 100 parts in the seat bottom assembly. In  my opinion $3,035 is a bargin for the seat assy. The labor time alone to assemble the seat bottom is many hours." 

I believe we are getting a glimpse of the future here, and I think we should all be concerned.  The seat bottom is elective, but many other parts are required. If Mooney closes its doors we will be in an even more difficult position.  Sure other manufacturers have shut down, and Mooney has a larger base than many others, but what then?  Personally, I see little hope of a demand for new GA aircraft.  As we all can see, the pilot populatation is shrinking, partially by aging, and partially by the expenses of flying.  There are more than enough used aircraft to satisfly the current demand.  

If Mooneys were Experimental, there would be little problem in the parts chain.  Even some LSAs can deviate from the manuafacturer's original ATSM standards, if the manufacturer agrees to add the changes to its "approved" or optional equipment lists, but Certified aircraft must keep to the type certificate, or FAA approved STCs. Form 337s are too difficult to obtain in many FISDOs. (It took me 13 months to obtain a 337 form to change from a generator to an alternator in a Cessna 120 that I was restoring). 

So, I thank the unenviable few employees at Mooney, and hope that some entity, perhaps less pessimistic than me, will decide to buy Mooney, if not to manufacture new aircraft, then to become a parts house.  Even then, I expect the costs of parts to rise emormously. 

When I receive the infamous seat bottom assembly, I will post photos as requested by some members of the forum.

[FAST FLIGHT OPTIONS LLC]

$3000?  Hummm....I think I'll just continue to use the $50 booster cushion on the co-pilot seat.

[N601RX]

Quote: Bennett

I believe we are getting a glimpse of the future here, and I think we should all be concerned.  The seat bottom is elective, but many other parts are required. If Mooney closes its doors we will be in an even more difficult position.  Sure other manufacturers have shut down, and Mooney has a larger base than many others, but what then?  Personally, I see little hope of a demand for new GA aircraft.  As we all can see, the pilot populatation is shrinking, partially by aging, and partially by the expenses of flying.  There are more than enough used aircraft to satisfly the current demand.  

If Mooneys were Experimental, there would be little problem in the parts chain.  Even some LSAs can deviate from the manuafacturer's original ATSM standards, if the manufacturer agrees to add the changes to its "approved" or optional equipment lists, but Certified aircraft must keep to the type certificate, or FAA approved STCs. Form 337s are too difficult to obtain in many FISDOs. (It took me 13 months to obtain a 337 form to change from a generator to an alternator in a Cessna 120 that I was restoring). 

[Piloto]

For $3000 you can get a nice recliner chair, a 55" HDTV and watch a few good movies at no AVGAS cost. BTW I a had similar problem with my wife not able to have good view over the panel. With non articulating seats you essentially have two options. One is the traditional cushion or pillow on top of the seat. The other is to remove the bottom cushion from the frame (it is velcro) and insert a 2" thick piece of wood between the seat cushion and the frame. This will lift the bottom cushion without being notice. If you need to close in the space to the rudder pedals the easiest way is to attach two pieces of wood with ty-wraps to the pedals. Beware that the articulating seat raising mechanism can break with someone over 300 pounds. I had to repair mine with steel tubing because the previous owner was heavy.

Jose 

   

[fantom]

No parts, and before long no GA A&P's, since that are treated better and make more $ working on jets.

[tony]

Quote: N601RX

 Unfortunately many people may start treating their mooney like an Experimental.  The FAA did offer a little releif last year with a AC they released that dealt with obtaining common repair parts for vintage planes.

[knute]

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/ccf7daac581048cd862575e6006ca078/$FILE/AC%2023-27.pdf