MinneMooney Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 I finally have gotten a chance to organize and post some pictures on my new plane that I picked up and flew home on January 16, 2019. Shout out to Paul Steen for his insight and advice. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to acquire this plane. N5901Q was factory demonstrator that was purchased in 1966 by Rudy Frasca. He kept it in Champaign/Urbana, IL and flew it as his personal airplane up until 2014 when he donated it to the EAA. It was flown to Oshkosh that year but was basically parked until this past fall. I believe that the paint and much of the interior is still original, but is in very good condition. The plane has been very well maintained and has had a number of nice upgrades in the past 10-15 years ( redo the panel in a standard 6 pack config., Garmin GNS430, GMA340, GTX327, and an S-Tec 30 w/GPSS). It also came with some interesting historical items, such as a Mooney color brochure from 1965, a Mooney PC brochure, and a Mooney Service directory list from 1965. I also got the original Mooney leather key holder complete with a screw driver. here are some pictures if you’re interested. 10 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydvrboy Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Congrats on joining the club! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsxrpilot Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Awesome! So glad you were able to pull this one off. It's great to be able to keep this one flying. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Peace Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 congrats.....get that checkbook ready !!!! These things are addicting to upgrade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinneMooney Posted February 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Agreed. 1 minute ago, Jim Peace said: congrats.....get that checkbook ready !!!! These things are addicting to upgrade Agreed. ADS-B is first in the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooney driver Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Beautiful!..congrats! and Welcome!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Gotta love the math!Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prior owner Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Nice to own a plane with that kind of history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0TreeLemur Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 @Marauder those cost of ownership numbers are truly entertaining. I will say this: INSURANCE WAS EXPENSIVE back then. Fuel for 40c/gal? Ha! But those direct annual costs are killer. According to https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ that $1382 annual cost from 1966 is about $10,000 today, which is about right. The hangar rent has gone up a bunch, and insurance has gotten considerably cheaper here in 2019. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinneMooney Posted February 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Are any of the service centers from 1965 listed near any of you still around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbridges Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 I like the original paint scheme from '65 Honestly, I like it better than the '98 scheme my '65 has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steingar Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Remarkable find, congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris_adams Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 1 hour ago, rbridges said: I like the original paint scheme from '65 Honestly, I like it better than the '98 scheme my '65 has. @Bob_Belville's new paint job has really opened my eyes to the classic schemes! This one looks great as well. Congrats on the new bird 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_H Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Very nice. That paint scheme looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DXB Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 Awesome - Congrats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilpilot Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 4 hours ago, MinneMooney said: Agreed. ADS-B is first in the list. You’ll get plenty of advice from those here on how to spend your money. ADS-B makes sense as a first on your upgrade list, so long as you already have shoulder belts up front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDPetersen Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 A bit of nostalgia there for me. Rudy Frasca was a frequent visitor to Purdue during my stint there (‘65-‘68) and I’m sure the Mooney made the trip. We had one of the first Frasca simulators. Additionally, I note my first employer listed as the Iowa Mooney distributor, Flight Line, Inc. Thanks for the memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLCarter Posted February 4, 2019 Report Share Posted February 4, 2019 congrats! and Welcome!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinneMooney Posted February 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 1 minute ago, BDPetersen said: A bit of nostalgia there for me. Rudy Frasca was a frequent visitor to Purdue during my stint there (‘65-‘68) and I’m sure the Mooney made the trip. We had one of the first Frasca simulators. Additionally, I note my first employer listed as the Iowa Mooney distributor, Flight Line, Inc. Thanks for the memories. I too have fond memories of watching Rudy Frasca fly his Grumman Wildcat at Oshkosh way back when. I wonder how many times he brought the Mooney there. I’m still amazed that this was essentially a one owner plane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0TreeLemur Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 I really like this photo from the brochure posted by @MinneMooney. The thatched hut and Brahma cattle sure make it look south of the border. Looks like they were marketing to the cattle trader! My dad was one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinneMooney Posted February 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 Looks like N7123U is still registered in North Carolina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captnmack Posted February 9, 2019 Report Share Posted February 9, 2019 Heck...The Key fob alone is Historic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinneMooney Posted February 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2019 37 minutes ago, Captnmack said: Heck...The Key fob alone is Historic! Agreed. The first thing I did was make new keys and put the originals in a safe spot. I wondered how many people still have them? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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