How to find date of my airplane's factory rollout?

[airbuspilot2436]

I'd like to set a day where my 1980 M20K rolled off the factory to celebrate it, does anyone know how to find that date? 

 

My SN is: 25-0389

 

Thanks!

-T

[Floyd]

8 minutes ago, airbuspilot2436 said:

I'd like to set a day where my 1980 M20K rolled off the factory to celebrate it, does anyone know how to find that date? 

 

My SN is: 25-0389

 

Thanks!

-T

Look at the first page of the aircraft logbook.

[philiplane]

The first entry in the airframe log should be the Certificate Of Airworthiness date. That is the "birthday". 

[carusoam]

Build records are nice... but....

That first couple of pages in the first airframe logbook has the AW stamp in it and a test pilot flew the plane through a complete set of test flights.... 

This is a quality control final step...

Some of the coolest signatures people have found are on that line...

My 65C was born in August... flown by Bill Wheat... engineer/test pilot...

I called the factory one day in the year 2000 to ask a question about proper POH and owner’s manual books to have... Next thing I know... I’m talking to Bill Wheat, getting the best answers, by the brightest guy available... only 35 years after he signed my log book!   
 

First time I saw who he was... he starred in the Mooney video... ‘Boots on the Ground’... more than 10 years later...

Bill Wheat was an amazing guy...

Best regards,

-a-

[59Moonster]

06/28/1963

https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N6834U

[MooneyMitch]

“First time I saw who he was... he starred in the Mooney video... ‘Boots on the Ground’... more than 10 years later...

Bill Wheat was an amazing guy...“

When you asked how he was doing, his response was “terrible”.   Hence his nickname “Mr Terrible”  

[David Lloyd]

First page of the airframe logbook will do for most people unless you don't have it. My airplane was exported to Canada in 1977.  Have all the Canadian logbooks but the original logbooks are missing--2 years and 300 hours worth.  Imported back into the US in 1994 and the FAA registry shows the 1994 date, not the original mfg date. I could not even find the original N number until I  ordered the CDs from the FAA showing the registration info, STCs, 337s, lien releases, import cert of compliance,  etc.  Very much worth the $10.  Did see the airplane sold originally for $33k and change.

[tmo]

@airbuspilot2436 - what a great idea!  Tell your plane it's brother, 25-396, says "hi".

FWIW, the FAA says "A/W date: 27 June, 1980" but the first logbook entry is "19 June, 1980".  Don't know if I can handle a week-long birthday party...

[airbuspilot2436]

2 minutes ago, tmo said:

@airbuspilot2436 - what a great idea!  Tell your plane it's brother, 25-396, says "hi".

FWIW, the FAA says "A/W date: 27 June, 1980" but the first logbook entry is "19 June, 1980".  Don't know if I can handle a week-long birthday party...

Haha awesome! Yeah I'm digging around my logbooks and it looks like mine was also in June.

[0TreeLemur]

I hadn't thought of that.  According to the first log book entry, the 1.3 h Production Flight Test- the "birthday" of M20C N2903L was Feb 4, 1967, signed by "W.R. Badger?"   Was there an Mooney employee test pilot with that name then?

[carusoam]

7 hours ago, 0TreeLemur said:

I hadn't thought of that.  According to the first log book entry, the 1.3 h Production Flight Test- the "birthday" of M20C N2903L was Feb 4, 1967, signed by "W.R. Badger?"   Was there an Mooney employee test pilot with that name then?

You seem to have the alternate signature to Bill Wheat.  A floridaman has reported the same... 

Best regards,

-a-

[0TreeLemur]

2 hours ago, carusoam said:

You seem to have the alternate signature to Bill Wheat.  A floridaman has reported the same... 

Best regards,

-a-

That's odd.  Legal documents require real signatures...

[ArtVandelay]

My 78 was test flown by a John Felderman, Bio already posted by Marauder:

 

https://mooneyspace.com/topic/18482-tribute-to-bill-wheat/page/2/

 

[carusoam]

18 hours ago, 0TreeLemur said:

That's odd.  Legal documents require real signatures...

At work, we get trained on how to sign documents... what color ink to use... no erasable inks... the date format... etc...

I’m sure things have evolved a lot over time... 

Interesting to see how uniformly the signatures are, by the same people over time...

It takes a severe memory disruption to forget how to sign your name, and a strong disability to not be able to sign your name...

PP thoughts only, not a cognitive therapist...

Best regards,

-a-

[Moonbat]

On 3/4/2020 at 1:57 AM, carusoam said:

You seem to have the alternate signature to Bill Wheat.  A floridaman has reported the same... 

Best regards,

-a-

I was wondering if this signature in the airframe logbook for my plane (M20E, 670008) is the same as the one you mention? The signature in my logbook for the Production Flight is "W B Badger". That can't be "Bill Wheat". Then the Air Worthiness is signed by ??? Maybe one of you recognizes that signature. I can't read it. Then another very early sign off at 2 hours TT by "Milton Jacoby". And another later one (186 TT) by "Charles Dugosh".  All of which means I had better get baking a cake, as Casper’s birthday is next week on April 21 and he’ll be 53! 

Edited April 14, 2020 by Moonbat
formatting

[RobertGary1]

On 3/3/2020 at 7:35 AM, 59Moonster said:

06/28/1963

https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N6834U

I doubt that. It shows 2018. I think that's just when the last updated certificate was issued.

 

-robert

[McMooney]

How about this one, 

Anyone able to read the signature ?  would love to know who signed my girl off

[spistora]

First log entry on mine: 2/13/79 John F Felderman 

[Ross Taylor]

Our E's first entry was the test flight by C.A. Elliott...at least I think that's an A.  Might be another C, though.  This happened on 3-25-1966 and the first Certificate of Airworthiness was issued on 3-30-1966, and signed by (it looks like) Thomas D. Welch?  Or Will?  Or Welsh?  Then a second Certificate of Airworthiness was issued on 4-4-1966, after the gear was converted to electric.

 

[flyboy0681]

Joel Smith, January 5, 1983. I seem to recall that he died in a Mooney crash some years ago.

 

[Hank]

1 hour ago, flyboy0681 said:

Joel Smith, January 5, 1983. I seem to recall that he died in a Mooney crash some years ago.

Yep, stall-spin in the pattern, three very experienced Mooney pilots and a propeller in the plane. 2008? 2009? Pretty early in my ownership. Seems there was a multi-page writeup in the MAPA Log.

And quite a reminder that planes will bite if you let them, regardless of who is at the controls.

[flyboy0681]

1 minute ago, Hank said:

 

And quite a reminder that planes will bite if you let them, regardless of who is at the controls.

A lot of owners feel that they are "with one" when it comes to their planes and that they respond to us. The reality is that it wants to kill us at every opportunity.

[carusoam]

Joel Smith reminds us that even really experienced people can have really bad days...

The traffic pattern is one of the places to be on high alert... no matter your experience level.

http://www.aero-news.net/getmorefromann.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=23e86929-2df1-4d33-b9ed-0364198029fa
 

Best regards,

-a-

[DonMuncy]

It was a terrible loss. I knew all three of them, and had talked to Joel less than a week before the accident.

[mike_elliott]

4 hours ago, flyboy0681 said:

Joel Smith, January 5, 1983. I seem to recall that he died in a Mooney crash some years ago.

 

He did, along with Max Rae and David (cant remember his last name) in Don Maxwell's 201. David was Don's lead A$P, Max was his "fairy" pilot, and Joel recently hired on with Don to run the parts and support effort. There was a lot of Mooney hours in the front seat of that J, yet a tail stall happened while slipping. They were dispatched to put a ferry prop on a Mooney that had a gear up, Joel was to fly the ailing plane back. Don almost shut down the shop and is still at loss over this. His best friend, his best IA, and the legendary Joel Smith