gear up wood wing?

[Dangerousdave]

Looking for opinions on inspecting a wood wing M20a that had a gear up with no visible damage to wing except gear doors

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard DDave...

It is pretty much like any other pre-purchase inspection...

But, with a plan of what to do if some wood work is found to need some work...

There is a lot of wood expertise in aviation... often found within the EAA...

Things that would help... but not required...

Prior plane ownership experience.

Aircraft maintenance and mechanical background.

Love for finding hard to find stuff.

Love for reading and research.

 

If the plane is near free, expect to spend a lot getting it airworthy...  time, money, something....

How long ago was the GU? 
Were any of the inspections completed?

What does the engine log say?

 

M20A owners love their planes...  there are still quite a few around here...  

Best regards,

-a-

[Dangerousdave]

Thanks. I have 45years owning , buying and flying aircraft  ( had 20 so far) but never a Mooney, and this one is a A with a rumored gear up and was wondering if some of you out there have done a gear up inspection on a wood wing Mooney? Interested this  specifically.

 

 

 

[carusoam]

You are in the right place Dave...

You might be bumping into a bit of a waiting game...

There are not that many M20As in the wild...

There are not that many GU landings in the community...

Fixing a broken plane with insurance has a tight spread of take the money, or fix the plane... too many get the take the money treatment...

So...

Keep waiting for the handful of people with that experience to arrive... they have to be here somewhere...

While you are waiting... you might consider searching for wood wing Mooney maintenance and things like that...

You may come across people that have the skill you are looking for...

Coming at the same challenge in two directions... 

Best regards,

-a-

[kerry]

My Dad had a gear up in a M20A.  The belly pan was torn up pretty good. Lost the transponder antenna. The springs in the belly that aid in gear retraction process got ground down a bit.  Nose gear doors had some damage.  No damage to the wood wing.  We sold the plane to a friend and it was geared up again a couple of weeks after it was repaired.  The damage was pretty consistent with its first gear up.  A M20A gear up should be the same as a later model Mooney.  

[0TreeLemur]

Just now, kerry said:

My Dad had a gear up in a M20A.  The belly pan was torn up pretty good. Lost the transponder antenna. The springs in the belly that aid in gear retraction process got ground down a bit.  Nose gear doors had some damage.  No damage to the wood wing.  We sold the plane to a friend and it was geared up again a couple of weeks after it was repaired.  The damage was pretty consistent with its first gear up.  A M20A gear up should be the same as a later model Mooney.  

Reminds me of the Sven and Ole joke about them going hunting via float plane.  

They bagged some elk, dressed and strapped 'em to the floats.  On takeoff plane just didn't clear the tree line on the far side of the lake.   The whole thing goes crashing into the trees scattering debris all over.   After he comes to, Sven, who was thrown from the wreckage calls out "Ole!   Are ya ok Ole?!"  silence, then "Yeah!...  I'm ok!"   pause.   Sven yells out "Where are ya?!"    Ole yells back  "Oh, not too far from where I landed last year!" 

[carusoam]

@Dangerousdave see the post from Kerry above... this may be helpful for you.

Best regards,

-a-

[mike20papa]

On 5/2/2021 at 10:50 PM, Dangerousdave said:

Thanks. I have 45years owning , buying and flying aircraft  ( had 20 so far) but never a Mooney, and this one is a A with a rumored gear up and was wondering if some of you out there have done a gear up inspection on a wood wing Mooney? Interested this  specifically.

 

 

 

N number?  

[Kevin Harberg]

Make sure you reference Mooney's "Approved Aircraft Repairs - Wood" as per attached sample. Pg 23 of 24 included here as example of manual.

[A64Pilot]

Wood airplanes are a lot like wooden boats, best left to those with a love for wood and knowledge about it.

You need to find a wood expert, there are a few