Mooney Aircraft Company Concerns

[PilotDerek]

Is anyone concerned that the Mooney Aircraft Company is on the edge of closing? I only ask because I am looking to buy and everyone I speak to raise the concerns of parts availability. Of course they are all Cessna and Piper owners. I am not dissuaded from a Mooney but was just wondering what everyones thoughts were.

[jetdriven]

They basically "are" closed.   exrtremely limited parts availability. 

[tony]

Quote: PilotDerek

Is anyone concerned that the Mooney Aircraft Company is on the edge of closing?

[kris_adams]

Not so much here. I had a grumman that had been out of production for 20+ years when I bought it. Might take a little while for the aftermarket to catch up though.

 

[jax88]

Not as concerned as I would be if all I had to choose from were Cessna and Piper aircraft.

[Guest]

I wouldn't let it discourage me. Look at Mooney's history they always re-emerge plus you have people like Lasar, Mooney Mart and the like that will always find ways to get/make parts. I don't think Mooney will be closed for very long especially with new overseas markets like China coming on strong since opening more and more of  it's airspace for general aviation. China is going to have one huge demand. 

[aerobat95]

I wouldnt let it discourage me too much.  Am I a little concerned sure but there are a ton of Mooneys out there and there is a market for aftermarket parts.  If Mooney doesnt open back up I think that in time there will be someone to pick up the slack for parts.  We could always just manufacture our own......

[jetdriven]

Try manufaturing a J or newer elevator.   or reskinning one.

[aerobat95]

I am sure there are people out there that can......homebuilders seem to be able to fabricate all sorts of stuff...where there is a will there is a way

[jetdriven]

Skins for these are hydroformed in a die.  There are no ribs. you would have to build a die to make one.  Point is, there are going to be some parts availability problems.  Look at all the guys waiting on 40:1 gearsets for the landing gear.

[mulro767]

Maybe the Chinese will buy Mooney like they bought Cirrus?  

[Sabremech]

Flight controls for Mooney's can be reskinned and rebuilt by Airframe Components in Kendallville Indiana. I took a L-19 wing to them a few weeks ago and found out they can do Mooney controls.

[fantom]

The law of supply and demand will overcome any parts issues, but it may be inconvenient for awhile. Not enough to put me in a C or P product, however. On the positive side, it gives us something to bitch about.

[scottfromiowa]

No.  I already have one.

[DaV8or]

New parts may be a bit of a challenge, but with aircraft values what they are now, Mooneys are being scraped at a pretty good rate right now. I think soon there will be a good supply of used parts out there. Think about it, there's the guy that has the Mooney that gets scraped because of spar corrosion and then there's the guy that has the gear up. Combine the two and there's one Mooney saved. What we need is a Mooney specific salvage operation. This is how it's done in the world of vintage cars.

[Urs_Wildermuth]

My main concern would be what happens to the type certificate. If Mooney folds, to whom would that revert? Especcially in EASA Land (Europe) this might cause horrible problems, as if I understand it correctly they will not issue a c of a for planes for which there is no type certificate holder. After all, that is how Airbus grounded Concorde and the Caravelle, by pulling the c of a. One day you had an airplane, the next day a museum piece.

[Parker_Woodruff]

If they can keep Commander 112 and 114 airframes flying, we should have no trouble with Mooneys. 

[HartParr]

Doesn't a Luscomb club or association own their type cert. same with Navion and Stinson, ect?

[201driver]

I just had my 81 M20J right wing reskinned outward from the fuel tank after a recent mishap. All the replacement parts were available from Lasar including ribs, stringers, outer spar, skins, wingtip and lenses. So apparentlly parts are readily available for now.

[Parker_Woodruff]

I was able to get a new flight control counterweight from Mooney in about 30 days for my Encore conversion.

[DaV8or]

Quote: Urs_Wildermuth

My main concern would be what happens to the type certificate. If Mooney folds, to whom would that revert? Especcially in EASA Land (Europe) this might cause horrible problems, as if I understand it correctly they will not issue a c of a for planes for which there is no type certificate holder. After all, that is how Airbus grounded Concorde and the Caravelle, by pulling the c of a. One day you had an airplane, the next day a museum piece.

[David Mazer]

Quote: BluSky

I wouldn't let it discourage me. Look at Mooney's history they always re-emerge plus you have people like Lasar, Mooney Mart and the like that will always find ways to get/make parts.

[jetdriven]

My guess is if they have the part lying around they will sell it to you. My three voicemails and a call to Dugosh didnt even get a return phone call.  This is for 18K worth of ailerons and elevators.  Thanks alot Mooney, I feel like I bought an orphan airplane.

Quote: Parker_Woodruff

I was able to get a new flight control counterweight from Mooney in about 30 days for my Encore conversion.

[Parker_Woodruff]

Quote: jetdriven

[sleepingsquirrel]

Quote: jetdriven

Skins for these are hydroformed in a die.  There are no ribs. you would have to build a die to make one.  Point is, there are going to be some parts availability problems.  Look at all the guys waiting on 40:1 gearsets for the landing gear.