Lancair Cowling for Mooney

[N601RX]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/66-Mooney-M20C-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3369cd47ebQQitemZ220818393067QQptZMotorsQ5fAircraft

Here is a C model with a cowling design that copies the Lancair.  The moulds are included with the sale.  The STC testing has not been finished, and no stc has been issued.  It will be interested to see if this STC ever gets approved.

[DaV8or]

Good looking cowl. However, finishing an STC is the hard part. It was no doubt started out of frustration over the cost of the LoPresti kit and now he's finding out part of why the Lopresti costs so much. No doubt this guy wants to move on to a kit plane so he can do as he wishes. As it stands now, with that cowl installed, this airplane is an experimental under part 21.191 (. Pretty much day VFR outside of densly populated areas and nothing for hire. It must only be used for the purpose of flight testing. No trips to Grandmas or sight seeing. Once they earn the STC, then the plane can go back to it's old certified status.

Unless someone wants to take on the headache of completing the STC or restoring it back to original and applying for it's factory certification again, this plane's only value is a collection of parts. It's a little bit like the submarine Mooney that was for sale on eBay. The seller doesn't seem to mention the plane's experimental status with all it's limitations. He's no doubt hoping somebody will just buy it unaware.

[danb35]

Was there something in the listing saying that it was an experimental?  I don't see it, don't see the placard, and the registration database doesn't indicate it.  In that case, the plane is simply unairworthy.

[DaV8or]

Quote: danb35

Was there something in the listing saying that it was an experimental?  I don't see it, don't see the placard, and the registration database doesn't indicate it.  In that case, the plane is simply unairworthy.

[aerobat95]

I just sent the seller an email asking about the experimental status of the aircraft.....we shall see what the response is.  I also asked if the 201 yokes have a proper field approval....

[danb35]

The 201 yokes don't need a field approval; there's a Mooney drawing authorizing their installation.  A logbook entry is all that's needed, assuming the work is done according to that drawing.

[rbridges]

Quote: DaV8or

We could give him the benefit of the doubt and say that the placarding simply doesn't show in the photos and that the FAA hasn't posted his updated certificate yet, but given the owner's car guy, hot rod background, I hope the buyer seriously looks into this before laying out the cash. Of course this is why people choose to sell on eBay. Lots of impulsive noobie buyers.

[KSMooniac]

I'd be all over this one if I had the time and cash to spare, which I do not at this moment!  If anyone here considers getting it, I'd seriously be interested in buying the cowling molds and whatever engineering that may exist.  I would like to do something similar myself...

[richardheitzman]

looks like someones trying to rip off Lopresti engineering.

[DaV8or]

Quote: KSMooniac

I'd be all over this one if I had the time and cash to spare, which I do not at this moment!  If anyone here considers getting it, I'd seriously be interested in buying the cowling molds and whatever engineering that may exist.  I would like to do something similar myself...

[kerry]

Even if it doesn't work it still looks cool.

[fantom]

Quote: DaV8or

[DaV8or]

Quote: fantom

Good description of the "not-in-production" Lopresti Cowl, on an M20J  

[M016576]

This might not be that bad of a deal, depending on how close to an STC it is... all depends on if the buyer knows what they are getting themselves into, and if they are able to follow it through to the end.  It would be nice to see a LoPresti type cowling that was sold at more "traditional" cowling prices (~5000) rather than 15k....

[DaV8or]

Quote: M016576

This might not be that bad of a deal, depending on how close to an STC it is... all depends on if the buyer knows what they are getting themselves into, and if they are able to follow it through to the end.  It would be nice to see a LoPresti type cowling that was sold at more "traditional" cowling prices (~5000) rather than 15k....

[N601RX]

Quote: DaV8or

Agreed. It would be nice. In this case though, I doubt the STC process has begun at all. I suspect this guy just wanted a cool cowl and went out and did it. I say this because a) the plane's registration hasn't changed to experimental and the cowl is nicely painted. Nobody doing R&D is going to bother to paint the cowl until all the changes are done. I beleive that the whole STC story and the said money making opportunity is just a line to get somebody to bite. It would not surprise me if either a) he got busted and is trying to ditch the plane, or he finished the job and then looked into what it takes to get an STC to sell the product.

[danb35]

Well, any IA who would be doing an annual (and would therefore be required to have the service manuals) should recognize that this isn't the factory cowl, and start looking in the logs for information about it.  If he can't find any information about it, the plane gets signed of as unairworthy and is grounded until either the new cowl is approved or the old one is replaced.

[DaV8or]

Quote: N601RX

Some people would just take the plane and fly it.  Outside of Mooney owners and the MSC how many people would know that is not the correct cowling for that particular plane? 

[danb35]

Quote: DaV8or

[DaV8or]

Quote: danb35

By "wrong AI" you mean an AI who has a clue of what he's doing, right?

[M016576]

regardless, seems like we are all speculating heavily on the intentions of the seller here.  I do agree, though, that the fancypaint on the cowling does appear suspicious for a "test asset."  I think the current bid is in the mid 20's for this aircraft, but it hasn't met reserve yet.  The real question is: what is the reserve price, and is the fact that the aircraft isn't airworthy (as a certified aircraft) factored into the price....

on another note: how much does it cost to make molds and a custom cowl?  I can't imagine it's that cheap...