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1961 Mooney M20B -- Mods Begin!


hammdo

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Just now, hammdo said:

I said a lot more than that - after we got out of the plane — but to myself ;o)

-Don

Hey, I’m in Weatherford and someday I’ll have my project “F” going. What happened to you is my worst thought, especially after all the work!

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After being away from flying for 20 years and just starting to flying again, buying and updating a very nice plane, then shi* happens. It just goes to show, even with all the ‘proper’ steps/maintenance, some things are just gonna happen.

All things considered, it was a great outcome. The Mooney is one tough bird!

-Don

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I am sorry that this happened. I can only imagine how you must feel.

My Dad owned a 1964 C model which was an absolutely beautiful airplane when he had it. Prior to him purchasing it, the owners had taken it down to Mexico where it had run off the end of a strip and went through a fence. This required the plane to be trucked back to the States where it underwent a rebuild at Norman Larson Beechcraft at Van Nuys Airport. The rebuild took something like more than a year to complete.

When Dad bought it, it had a new three color paint job, new glass, about 50 hours on a factory remanufactured engine and a freshly overhauled propellor. He had the seats recovered and it was nicer than new.

After Dad sold the Mooney, the guy he sold it to landed it a bit sideways which caused the one main gear (left, I believe) to fold resulting in  damage to the gear, gear door and flap. It got repaired and eventually moved on to other owners.

While in the stewardship of the following owners, it experienced three (3) gear up landings that I heard of and was struck in the tail while parked on a ramp by the tip tank of a Lear jet.

Not too many years ago we ran across Dad’s old Mooney as we all ended up in Florida. I used to kid my Dad that the Mooney was happy to see him again as he was the only owner that didn’t cause it any damage. 
 

I tell you all this because there are recent pictures on the internet of Dad’s old Mooney and it has a new, really sharp looking paint job on it, while it continues to actively fly.

Your Mooney can be fixed too, if that is what you want.

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Don, I really enjoyed your progress on the Mooney. Sorry to hear about the unfortunate events but thankful you and your CFI were okay and walked away. That situation could’ve been so much worse and look forward to your optimism for future plans. You are teaching us more about overcoming adversity rather than rebuilding a plane. 

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Thanks!

Just so folks see what I had done 'before' the off-airport landing:

Beautiful Smoked UV SC Lake Aero Windshields that fit perfect: 

20200504_135223.jpg

 

Other side with new OAT/Carb Temp gauge:

20200504_135226.jpg

Down and up lock blocks:

20200504_135201.jpg

 

20200504_135206.jpg

20200504_135213.jpg

20200504_135218.jpg

 

Was a great day to fly too -- haze was a bit much but still was very excited about flying...

-Don

 

 

 

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Totaled...

and to beat me up more, has a lien on it I didn’t know... been on it the last 11 years. Don’t know if the company is even in business...

-Don

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Would it be possible to get a settlement and then do a buy back with enough in the balance to allow for inspection and repairs. I did this years ago with a truck that was hit and since I did the work myself I came out ahead 

good luck sir

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My AP/IA said it would be a crapshoot. By the time I had the plane inspected and torn down, if the crank was cracked - ouch. What I’ll get vs buyback and fix he felt was not worth it.  I wanted to fix it but it doesn’t seem like a good investment plus, to insure it again may just make it unreasonable...

Engine and prop would probably be 35k alone... also don’t know the underlying damage too — firewall etc...

I’d probably have to fork out another 30k above what insurance would give — that would but me into an F or good E...

It breaks my heart but, I have to move on — probably rent for a while until the right plane comes along again. Probably will save up more so I can get an E or F...

-Don

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While I’m dealing with all of this, decided to get my IFR ticket. Probably will use Zulu Aviation’s F as it does have a Garmin 430W and IFR goods. I really like the Mooney — more now after seeing how strong they are.

Don’t want to lose sight of my goals so, this seems a logical step while I’m waiting for my medical and outcome of the insurance claim.

I had budgeted 50 hrs a year with my plane and break even in 4 years of ownership but, that is gone. IFR equipment was set for about that timeframe so... Just moved up the timeframe...

Folks who pay cash for your plane? Do a title search and make that part of your purchase agreement...

-Don

 

 

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Don,

how are you getting it back home?

Or is that part of leaving it to the insurance...?

There are a couple of people around here that are more familiar with hanging a prop on it and flying it out.... it takes a special mechanic/pilot for that....

The usual method for this is to use a truck and trailer... the front comes off.... the tail cone comes off... everything fits on the trailer...

Jerry and Alan are familiar with this process... DMax if you want to ensure it Will go back together...
 

There are a few threads around here regarding old leans and the process used for clearing them...

Best regards,

-a-

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Insurance is getting it moved. They work with Texas Air Salvage.

I contacted the lien holder to get it taken care of. I’ll search for those threads though. I do have AOPA legal services so may use that to help.

Don't think this one could be flown out - when we rotated the prop, starter was still engaged and didn’t feel any compression. That could have been due to the limited movement...

Pretty sad situation but, I’ll give it time before I look for another plane. Right now, I need to get past the medical. After that then I’ll decide once insurance is done. This one was a really good deal - or so I thought ;o)...

-Don

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Don,

Please keep us posted on the cause of the engine failure. The starter would still be engaged if you had cranked the engine as part of your restart attempts in the air.

Clarence

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Yep, that is what we did, several times we attempted the restart. I’m not sure how soon I’d find out.
 

Was purring along like a kitten then just simply stopped — no hesitations, no rough running, no burbles, just stopped running - smoothly I might add - kinda felt like pulling the mixture full lean to shutdown - That’s the best way I can describe it. Quickly after she stopped (well, just after I said ‘What the heck just happened’ and a second of disbelief) I pushed all controls full forward, then we attempted to do restarts.

After that things happened really fast...

I can tell you it was a very sinking feeling - no pun intended...

-Don

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15 hours ago, hammdo said:

Yep, that is what we did, several times we attempted the restart. I’m not sure how soon I’d find out.
 

Was purring along like a kitten then just simply stopped — no hesitations, no rough running, no burbles, just stopped running - smoothly I might add - kinda felt like pulling the mixture full lean to shutdown - That’s the best way I can describe it. Quickly after she stopped (well, just after I said ‘What the heck just happened’ and a second of disbelief) I pushed all controls full forward, then we attempted to do restarts.

After that things happened really fast...

I can tell you it was a very sinking feeling - no pun intended...

-Don

Hmmmm.  Sounds eerily just like my neighbor's O-360 that suddenly and completely stopped in flight.  Later it was determined a failure of the crankshaft gear retaining bolt which had not been properly addressed after a "minor" prop strike 3 years before.

Please keep us posted on what they find.

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If the motor wasn’t running I can’t imagine the ad requirement on that motor will result in anything bad. Especially if it rolled for a while before it collapsed. 
 

there’s also a guy on here selling a 3 blade prop for a good price. I wouldn’t write it off yet. 
 

sounds more like your IA doesn’t want to do the work than anything. 

Edited by chriscalandro
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11 hours ago, chriscalandro said:

If the motor wasn’t running I can’t imagine the ad requirement on that motor will result in anything bad. Especially if it rolled for a while before it collapsed. 
 

there’s also a guy on here selling a 3 blade prop for a good price. I wouldn’t write it off yet. 
 

sounds more like your IA doesn’t want to do the work than anything. 

The bend in the one blade suggests a bent crankshaft flange.  A friend of mine had a similar bend on one blade of a Hartzell propeller on an IO-360 A1A in an Acrosport, bent the crankshaft flange 0.036”, well beyond limits.  

Clarence

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Still waiting... now I have to find out if they’ll cover the avionics since I just got the plane back that day - after fixing An issue with the avionics and the new items installed. Didn’t even have a chance to call to get them added to the insurance yet. Not sure how that works out...

Sent a note to my broker to find out... didn’t have the plane but about 30 minutes with all the new stuff working...

-Don

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Well, strange set of events... I have 30 days from pickup to notify the insurance of improvements and hull increase (with all the upgrades, I'm moving to $45k). Since I picked up the plane last week, doing that now. Second, the claims adjuster is now looking into repairing the plane. This is really due to the existing lien and what it would take to clear it. 

It's been a roller-coaster. Still waiting to find out if they've moved the plane... 

-Don 

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As soon as I know they are for sure fixing it, I’m ordering them. Already have the $ for them ;o). It was actually next on the list with the dual fuel gauge...

-Don

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4 hours ago, hammdo said:

Well, strange set of events... I have 30 days from pickup to notify the insurance of improvements and hull increase (with all the upgrades, I'm moving to $45k). Since I picked up the plane last week, doing that now. Second, the claims adjuster is now looking into repairing the plane. This is really due to the existing lien and what it would take to clear it. 

It's been a roller-coaster. Still waiting to find out if they've moved the plane... 

-Don 

Hopefully they don’t damage it during the recovery.

Clarence

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It’s all up in the ‘air’. No real good solutions as the insurance will obviously try to keep payout low as possible - if I fix it. I’m going to contact the aviation lawyer on Monday to see what my options are.

I’m not a quitter - this is a very ‘trying’ situation when looking for the best outcome. The lien really puts a monkey wrench in things...

-Don

 

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