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Posted

Looking for an Ovation 1 94-99. Budget Is $180,000. Would like it equipped at minimum... WAAS GPS, KFC150 Autopilot/w flight director, BFG WX 1000 Stormscope, ADSB in/out. Nice To Have Items...  Factory oxygen, altitude and VS hold. Preferred if it were hangared most, if not all, of its life. Good paint, glass, interior, no damage history, all log books. Ready to fly! Please PM me if you have something that sounds like it fits the above description. Thanks in Advance!

 

Posted

Thanks for the link! I took a look at it and it doesn’t have a KFC 150 AP. It has the KAP150 AP which doesn’t have a flight director. I wonder it it could be converted!?!?

Posted
15 hours ago, V1VRV2 said:

Looking for an Ovation 1 94-99. Budget Is $180,000. Would like it equipped at minimum... WAAS GPS, KFC150 Autopilot/w flight director, BFG WX 1000 Stormscope, ADSB in/out. Nice To Have Items...  Factory oxygen, altitude and VS hold. Preferred if it were hangared most, if not all, of its life. Good paint, glass, interior, no damage history, all log books. Ready to fly! Please PM me if you have something that sounds like it fits the above description. Thanks in Advance!

 

Don't overlook the 1989 - 99 TLS Bravo (M20M). Same body as the Ovation but they have the Lycoming turbocharged engines and overall the panels tend to be even more equipped than the Ovations, which are already nicely equipped. They are a lot of airplane for the money with a top cruise speed of 220 knots. I've owned both the Ovation and the Bravo and the climb performance as you head into the teens is amazing ion the Bravo. I didn't find the cost of operation to be much different between the two airplanes.

On either Ovations or Bravo I would skip the end of the 99's that had the Moritz gauges unless you want to do a complete panel overhaul. The gauges go out one by one and can't be repaired. It basically grounds the airplane until you get working gauges. If it has the Moritz instruments make sure they adjust the price accordingly.

  • Like 1
Posted
31 minutes ago, V1VRV2 said:

Thanks for the link! I took a look at it and it doesn’t have a KFC 150 AP. It has the KAP150 AP which doesn’t have a flight director. I wonder it it could be converted!?!?

My first Bravo (N9153Z) had a KAP150 with altitude pre-select and of course no flight director, which was highly unusual on a Bravo. It worked fine for me, but the next owner, @jgarrison(Jimmy Garrison), who flew it for a few years, upgraded to a KFC 150, which meant going from the KAP150 flight computer to the KFC 150, but also going from the KG-258 attitude indicator to the KI-256. With all of the people doing upgrade to glass now the upgrade to a KFC 150 shouldn't be too bad.

  • Like 1
Posted

The only issue with the Bravo I have is the increased operating costs. The turbo, the fuel burn and the engine. I was under the impression that the top end takes a beating with the turbo. I need an engine that will make it to TBO. Correct me if I’m wrong please.

Posted
Just now, V1VRV2 said:

The only issue with the Bravo I have is the increased operating costs. The turbo, the fuel burn and the engine. I was under the impression that the top end takes a beating with the turbo. I need an engine that will make it to TBO. Correct time if I’m wrong please.

The early TLS planes didn't make it to TBO especiailly when the POH said you could fly it up to 500 on the CHT and 1750 on the TIT.

When they did the Bravo engine in '96 they changed the material in the valve guides with more chromium to last longer and handle the heat better, but most importantly they ran oil to each cylinder head to cool the area around the exhaust valves and the whole cylinder head benefitted. If you operate at 380 or less CHTs and keep the TIT at 1600 or less a Bravo will make it to TBO without a top end much more frequently than a Continental IO-550 or TSIO-550 will. I like both engines and they both have their advantages, but IMHO once you own the Turbo you just can't go back to the normally aspirated, you get spoiled by the climb performance.

  • Like 2
Posted

turbo... more parts, directly related  to more performance....

fuel burn...  more, still directly related to more performance...

engine...  Not so much the top end of the engine... aka cylinders...

The exhaust system overall is under pressure...and the heat takes its toll on the metals...  the TC’d birds need to pay attention to these important parts during ordinary exhaust inspections...

The CHTs need to be controlled like any other NA plane...

Maintenance needs to be monitored a touch more closely... re-use of V-bands is bad... make sure they don’t accidentally get re-torqued without you knowing all about it...
 

So... an old Bravo makes a great super high performance plane...

A JPI can easily make the existing ship’s gauges not a factor...

The Lycoming air intake is not as friendly to LOP... not very balanced like curvy pipes of a TN’d IO550 (Acclaim)

 

Expect that if you have a turbo... you will want to dawn the O2 mask and head on up to the FLs... it’s worth it...

Unless your distance to travel is less than 200nm... climb and descent becomes a large percentage of distance travelled...

If you have a Class B airport nearby and want to climb over it... the turbo is really helpful....

Depending on the height of that class B mountain... the 310hp Standing O makes a great middle zone.....

I liked the NA simplicity for a traveling family of four...

For a traveling duo of adults... go Acclaim!

It takes a fair amount of experience to make this all second nature for everyone...

Best regards,

-a-

 

  • Like 1
Posted

The linked plane has the Moritz gauges.  As Lance mentioned, be careful with those and make sure you price in switching to something else and be prepared for the down time while that work is done.  Bravos are nice, but you will pay more in fuel costs and maintenance costs along the way.  Just be sure you need the turbo and use it often enough to justify the price differences.  You mentioned the KFC-150 as a "want/need".  Have you considered something more modern like a pair of G5s or GI275s driving a GFC500 AP?  The King stuff is getting old and is super expensive to repair.  I just got a quote to replace my King setup with the dual G5s.  $21K.  Along with getting to remove the vacuum system and associated gauges, you get a much more modern AP with stuff the King units just don't have (envelope protection, IAS climbs/descents, level button, and VNAV).

  • Like 1
Posted

Hi Greg.... I stated that the KFC 150 was the minimum I would be looking for. Aircraft pricing would have to reflect the old King KFC. I’m thinking at this point just to go ahead and get a GX Ovation with the Garmin G1000. I’m trying to decide how important WAAS is with the G1000 as many do not have the WAAS upgrade.

Posted
5 hours ago, V1VRV2 said:

Hi Greg.... I stated that the KFC 150 was the minimum I would be looking for. Aircraft pricing would have to reflect the old King KFC. I’m thinking at this point just to go ahead and get a GX Ovation with the Garmin G1000. I’m trying to decide how important WAAS is with the G1000 as many do not have the WAAS upgrade.

That WAAS upgrade is pretty expensive.  I think you may be better off getting something older at a cheaper price and then adding what you want later.  The upgrades have really come down in price over the last few years and the capabilities they bring are incredible.

  • Like 1
Posted

if you can find the gia63w boxes you can do the upgrade for less than 15k

i have done it.
 A g1000 is an almost 20yr old piece of technology when you consider concept to approval. Even so, it’s an amazing piece of equipment that is relatively intuitive, comprehensive and gives amazing situational awareness, in the sheer amount of information available and configurable. 
I know the add on boxes are newer, quicker and have better features, and I’m not really attempting to compare, just saying the g1000 is no slouch or step down. 

Posted
On 7/5/2020 at 3:20 PM, V1VRV2 said:

Hi Greg.... I stated that the KFC 150 was the minimum I would be looking for. Aircraft pricing would have to reflect the old King KFC. I’m thinking at this point just to go ahead and get a GX Ovation with the Garmin G1000. I’m trying to decide how important WAAS is with the G1000 as many do not have the WAAS upgrade.

From J to older R and now GX.  The market must be doing well this week ;).  I’d personally take a 2003/2004 DX and put in a txi/g3x or two. 

  • Like 1
Posted
34 minutes ago, MIm20c said:

From J to older R and now GX.  The market must be doing well this week ;).  I’d personally take a 2003/2004 DX and put in a txi/g3x or two. 

No joking.... if i told you how much money I’ve made in the market this year you wouldn’t believe me. NASDAQ reached a record close today. :lol: Really just trying to figure out what I want and not doing a good job at all. NOT AT ALL!

Posted

Open conversations of gains in the stock market are clear signs of a top coming... :)

If you took the advice of Forrest Gump back in the summer of 1994... he bought some fruit company named apple...

Today Apple reached an all time high... Again... now 16 years later... that is a lot of gains...

 

As always... use caution discussing money in public... not everybody is as fortunate...

After all, we are all about flying Mooney airplanes, not an investment club.
 

There is an interesting thread around here somewhere... how did you make the money to buy a Mooney... if you can find it, it should be interesting to see how well some of those recommendations have worked over time...

PP thoughts only, not a finance guru...

Best regards,

-a-

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