FJC Posted November 13, 2020 Report Posted November 13, 2020 Does anyone know of a Mooney expert in the Phoenix area? First time purchase and am needing someone to help me avoid making purchase mistake that will be costly. Thank you. Freddy Quote
KLRDMD Posted November 13, 2020 Report Posted November 13, 2020 (edited) My shop in Marana (Tucson) knows Mooneys well and I can recommend them. Ask for Ron in maintenance. https://www.tucsonaero.com There is a Mooney Service Center at Chandler but I've never been a fan of them. I'm happy to fly up to one of the Phoenix area airports and take a look at something for you if you like. Edited November 13, 2020 by KLRDMD 1 Quote
EricJ Posted November 13, 2020 Report Posted November 13, 2020 How "expert" do you need? What model of Mooney are you looking at? I'm at KDVT (Deer Valley). There are a bunch of us (Mooneyspacers, whatever) here in the valley area. Quote
FJC Posted November 13, 2020 Author Report Posted November 13, 2020 Appreciate the rapid response. I'm looking at a bravo. The scope of review would be anything that could prove costly in the short term. Beyond the basic issues common to Mooney, I am looking for someone that can advise on the systems the bravo has and assess condition. Not so interested in cosmetic as unfortunately, hanger waits measure in the half dozen year or so increments so we'd almost certainly park outside. Thanks so much! Quote
KLRDMD Posted November 13, 2020 Report Posted November 13, 2020 51 minutes ago, FJC said: Appreciate the rapid response. I'm looking at a bravo. The scope of review would be anything that could prove costly in the short term. Beyond the basic issues common to Mooney, I am looking for someone that can advise on the systems the bravo has and assess condition. Not so interested in cosmetic as unfortunately, hanger waits measure in the half dozen year or so increments so we'd almost certainly park outside. Thanks so much! I owned a Bravo a few years ago so know them reasonably well but I'm not an A&P. Quote
gsxrpilot Posted November 13, 2020 Report Posted November 13, 2020 Pro Tip: Get @KLRDMD to look at it for you and take his recommendation to move forward to a Pre-buy inspection, or to keep looking. He has bought and sold more airplanes than all the rest of us put together. 3 Quote
Niko182 Posted November 13, 2020 Report Posted November 13, 2020 Frank at chandler aviation was pretty good. His shop is an MSC. Quote
carusoam Posted November 13, 2020 Report Posted November 13, 2020 Freddy, Looks like you are taking a two step approach... 1) Preliminary look see... a chance to look things over before committing to a more expensive PPI... get the log books and read them page by page... see what stands out... look at lots o pics... 2) PPI... pre-purchase inspection, Done by a Mooney specific mechanic that is familiar with all the issues a Mooney may have... get this with the intent to purchase... The cool thing about Bravos... they are modern aircraft, built to modern standards... based on the tried and true Mooney platform... PPIs are the best protection for your wallet... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Go Mooney! Best regards, -a- Quote
FJC Posted November 13, 2020 Author Report Posted November 13, 2020 Yes. Approaching it from a 2 step approach. Thinking of having someone recommended on MS to carefully review the log as the next step. At that point if things continue to check out well, would likely send an expert to do the final look and testing prior to executing final purchase. I'm reading profusely about what are issues with various years, etc. I was looking mainly at ovations but bravos provide more capabilities that I will probably want later like the ability to fly over the Sierra Nevadas or over the Rockies. Its been a challenge to find opportunities to go look at given the constraints created with this pandemic. We've made the conscious decision to be very conservative and limit our contact. We have selected Mooney. There are several models that meet our need. The key requirement is >915 lbs useful load which gives us flexibility to fly for 2-2.5 hours with 620 lbs of cargo. The other requirement is round windows (we want a modern look) but due to budget and cost but we are softening up and will eventually consider older J models if we cannot execute on 1990+. Ideally we'd like a platform with Waas and redundant HI already installed (no time to do any upgrades at the moment). Thank you everyone for suggestions and contacts. I'm very new to this site and the welcome feels very warm! Freddy Quote
gsxrpilot Posted November 13, 2020 Report Posted November 13, 2020 6 hours ago, FJC said: Thinking of having someone recommended on MS to carefully review the log as the next step. Laura at SWTA is excellent at this. www.swta.net She doesn't work for free, but the $250 or so is more than worth it. 1 Quote
carusoam Posted November 16, 2020 Report Posted November 16, 2020 When shopping for a Mooney... My favorite way to compare various models in the same place is called... GMax... https://www.gmaxamericanaircraft.com They literally have many Mooneys on site... Jimmy G is the G in GMax... Click their inventory button, to see what is there... +1 for having a pro set of eyes reading the log books... You can get pretty good at zipping through them yourself when culling planes... looking for damage and engine overhauls... Some logs have been proven easier to read than others... Best regards, -a- 1 Quote
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