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Looking hard at the Ovations..


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I posted a few weeks ago that I was selling my PA-30 and taking a hard look back at the Mooney. My Twin Comanche sold on paper the first day it was listed (contract done, deposit done and pre-buy lined up for Saturday). Assuming all goes well I'll have a little leftover to pay a few bills and put down on my next bird. I'm leaning toward the Ovations. I've found a 2006 M20R Ovation 3 GX. Stunning plane.

I had my classic 1973 M20E and upgraded that plane as far as I wanted to go. I went to the twin thinking we might be able to take advantage of more family trips etc.. That time has now passed and I'm back to flying solo or +1. I'm looking for something newer. If I do put something together on this of course I'll have a Pre-Buy done etc... 

My question for the forum. Any issues or anomalies that I might want to watch out for on a 2006 Ovation 3?. This is a huge leap for me going from my E and a totally different animal compared to the PA-30.  

I really like the look, cabin size and of course speed.  

I'm far from a pre-buy and still looking to see what's out there, but the Ovation sure is sharp and would fit my mission well. My PA-30 sold at full asking price and we all know the market is crazy right now. I may wait for the bubble to bust and the market comes back to planet earth, but you never know, this one might be a great fit.

Thanks in advance,

 

Tom

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Awesome Mooney with the 310HP upgrade. My main concern for this vintage aircraft would be wherther its been upgraded to WAAS. If it doesn't have the GIA63W's I understand you'd have to source them used or salvage now. Someone here not long ago said they can be found. WAAS is a game changer for me, after flying with it for what must be 15 years I coudn't imagine going back to non-waas avionics myself. But if that doesn't matter too you, just be sure to get fully immersed with the additional limitations of the old G1000 s/w level - incuding a few hundred non-waas approaches that aren't supported at that s/w level. 
The other thing is the STEC-55X AP, just read up on it to be aware of its limitations especially  with the WAAS upgarde - but I'll add it does the job just fine, but you'll want to read up on it - there is much written here about the issues in the very long G1000 WAAS upgrade thread.  None of this is meant to sound negative, but just to approach this eyes wide open so there aren't surprises after purchase.
Lastly air-conditioning isn’t necessarily something everyone wants given the significant useful load hit.   

Edited by kortopates
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3 hours ago, kortopates said:

Awesome Mooney with the 310HP upgrade. My main concern for this vintage aircraft would be wherther its been upgraded to WAAS. If it doesn't have the GIA63W's I understand you'd have to source them used or salvage now. Someone here not long ago said they can be found. WAAS is a game changer for me, after flying with it for what must be 15 years I coudn't imagine going back to non-waas avionics myself. But if that doesn't matter too you, just be sure to get fully immersed with the additional limitations of the old G1000 s/w level - incuding a few hundred non-waas approaches that aren't supported at that s/w level. 

The other thing is the STEC-55X AP, just read up on it to be aware of its limitations especially  with the WAAS upgarde - but I'll add it does the job just fine, but you'll want to read up on it - there is much written here about the issues in the very long G1000 WAAS upgrade thread.  None of this is meant to sound negative, but just to approach this eyes wide open so there aren't surprises after purchase.

Lastly air-conditioning is necessarily something everyone wants given the significant useful load hit.   

An additional consideration is that it is much more difficult to upgrade the avionics of the fully integrated g1000 Ovations.  I think the autopilot is part of that - meaning no reasonable way to upgrade any of that or to install new avionics at all.

One of the other guys will correct me, but that’s the gist and something to consider.

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The O3 is a great ship.

Be sure it has WAAS already… or be on the phone with D&PMax for how to get there from here… prior to committing…

Keep a close eye on StevenL…  if for some reason, he hits the sell button, being first in line would be a great place to be…  :)

Steven’s plane is the one that my plane wants to be… kind of wishful thinking between planes…  :)

The Mooney World is under constant change…

We don’t get much of a heads up when change is coming…

Best regards,

-a-

 

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16 minutes ago, Ragsf15e said:

An additional consideration is that it is much more difficult to upgrade the avionics of the fully integrated g1000 Ovations.  I think the autopilot is part of that - meaning no reasonable way to upgrade any of that or to install new avionics at all.

One of the other guys will correct me, but that’s the gist and something to consider.

Spot-on.  "Reasonable" is the key word.  It can be done, but......

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The Ovation is an amazing plane to be sure.  Personally I feel it is the best plane ever made for my missions.  Though the GX series has great glass, if it doesn't have WAAS, you are looking at a real uphill battle. 

The IO550 is a great engine with plenty of power and with Tempest fine wire plugs, runs well and can run lop very well.

Be prepared for lower ownership costs than having a twin with excellent speed and efficiency.

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All of the above mentioned is correct.

  • I went through the challenge of upgrading my 2006 O2 GX to WAAS last year. You will find my "story" here on MS.
  • And yes, the S-TEC 55X does his job but its performance and capabilities are behind a GFC700..
  • And yes, the path forward for the deeply integrated G1000 is unclear (and will be expensive anyways).
  • What I want to add to the list is that you might be forced to renew the composite oxygen cylinder because it has a limited lifetime of 15years (if not already done by the previous owner). 
  • If AMSafe airbags are installed there might by a similar situation (although I don't have details on that matter).

I'm very happy with my 2006 O2 GX - its a great aircraft!
If you are aware of the aforementioned items and can "live" with them (I sure can live with a WAAS enabled G1000!!) and the PPI shows no major obstacles, go!!

Regards,

Matthias

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Can't really add any more plaudits to the O3 than what you see above.  I bought a 2006 O3 with STEC 55x and upgraded it to WAAS as soon as it was available, and then added the GTX345R to get ADS-B in/out as soon as that became available as well.  It's a capable traveling machine, and while the newer models have more gewgaws in the glass, that engine out front is still the same and does a remarkable job. The STEC A/P is still in production and supported so while it may not be as capable as the GFC700, again, it works just fine for most people.

Search around for another post where I mentioned that Scott Crossfield was getting ready to buy an Ovation as he determined it was the best GA airplane for his requirements. That's an endorsement if ever there was one.

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I have a 2005 O2GX and I am in and out of your area a lot, primarily KUCY. 

I upgraded it to WAAS the moment I signed the sales contract, I had Maxwell do it. At the time, 2019 it was about 28K. I upgraded it to option 2. You can't do option 3 which is enroute Vnav following without the GFC 700. Quite frankly on a piston powered airplane I find enroute Vnav tracking a little annoying anyway and the number of times I have been assigned a "cross at or at and....." to be less than the fingers on one hand and I fly in ATL and DCA airspaces regularly always IFR.

As to the STec 55x. The bad. Not as smooth as the GFC 700 unless you know how to use it. It is a rate based autopilot and for that reason it is not as smooth. The good....If you have an AHARs failure with your G1000 the STec keeps the shiny side up, holds a heading, holds an altitude. The GFC can't work, won't work because it has no attitude information. Both A/P will shoot a WAAS LPV or even an LNAV+V and follow the glide path. So.......if you are willing to put up with the requirement for a little more finesse in A/P operation, and have an A/P when the AHARs throws craps and you have to fly on standby instruments, the STec works great. If you want a smooth A/P and be willing to hand fly on standby instruments when the AHARs throws craps, go with the GFC 700. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why Garmin cannot do switching to a backup GI-275 or the like. It would make a really sweet  and redundant operation. 

 

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On 7/29/2021 at 7:03 AM, TWinter said:

I posted a few weeks ago that I was selling my PA-30 and taking a hard look back at the Mooney. My Twin Comanche sold on paper the first day it was listed (contract done, deposit done and pre-buy lined up for Saturday). Assuming all goes well I'll have a little leftover to pay a few bills and put down on my next bird. I'm leaning toward the Ovations. I've found a 2006 M20R Ovation 3 GX. Stunning plane.

I had my classic 1973 M20E and upgraded that plane as far as I wanted to go. I went to the twin thinking we might be able to take advantage of more family trips etc.. That time has now passed and I'm back to flying solo or +1. I'm looking for something newer. If I do put something together on this of course I'll have a Pre-Buy done etc... 

My question for the forum. Any issues or anomalies that I might want to watch out for on a 2006 Ovation 3?. This is a huge leap for me going from my E and a totally different animal compared to the PA-30.  

I really like the look, cabin size and of course speed.  

I'm far from a pre-buy and still looking to see what's out there, but the Ovation sure is sharp and would fit my mission well. My PA-30 sold at full asking price and we all know the market is crazy right now. I may wait for the bubble to bust and the market comes back to planet earth, but you never know, this one might be a great fit.

Thanks in advance,

 

Tom

Take a look at @StevenL757's Ovation he just listed.  I don't think you would find one better.

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55 minutes ago, Davidv said:

Take a look at @StevenL757's Ovation he just listed.  I don't think you would find one better.

I'd add on to what david stated. That ovation is about as nice as they get. A full glass panel that is substantially better than a legacy g1000. Well timed engine, and the best part is, looking through stevens history on this website, it is very clear to see that he has taken very good care of 45X. you don't need to question whether the maintenance was proper or not or if any work was skipped out on.

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On 7/29/2021 at 9:50 AM, Jeff_S said:

Can't really add any more plaudits to the O3 than what you see above.  I bought a 2006 O3 with STEC 55x and upgraded it to WAAS as soon as it was available, and then added the GTX345R to get ADS-B in/out as soon as that became available as well.  It's a capable traveling machine, and while the newer models have more gewgaws in the glass, that engine out front is still the same and does a remarkable job. The STEC A/P is still in production and supported so while it may not be as capable as the GFC700, again, it works just fine for most people.

Search around for another post where I mentioned that Scott Crossfield was getting ready to buy an Ovation as he determined it was the best GA airplane for his requirements. That's an endorsement if ever there was one.

Has STEC abandoned the slide in 3100 replacement for Mooneys at this point or are they still looking for the Mooney Community to fund the R$D/certification for them?

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2 hours ago, mike_elliott said:

Has STEC abandoned the slide in 3100 replacement for Mooneys at this point or are they still looking for the Mooney Community to fund the R$D/certification for them?

At this point there doesn't seem to be a very big market for it. I was originally interested when I had the Stec 30, but now with the GFC500, I have no regrets. Seems to be the case for a lot of people. I guess the only big market would be the 2005 to 2006 ovations and those same year bravos. But how many of those total are there?

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4 hours ago, mike_elliott said:

Has STEC abandoned the slide in 3100 replacement for Mooneys at this point or are they still looking for the Mooney Community to fund the R$D/certification for them?

Yeah, they put it on a very far back burner when they couldn't get enough interest and down payments from the Mooney clan. Also, the integration to the G1000 is not straightforward, interestingly, and those of us with the 55x would have lost some simplification like unified annunciators and the ability to capture altitude using the G1000 controls.  You would have had to enter altitude on both the G1000 and the 3100 and keep them coordinated, which just seemed so bogus to me.  But it has to do with some of the advanced software in the 3100 that wasn't backwards compatible with the 55x.  Go figure...

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On 7/29/2021 at 10:57 AM, Jerry 5TJ said:

Yes, I didn't feel the need to remind everyone that even the best pilots can sometimes meet fate.  I prefer to keep that hunter at a long arm's length!

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We just bought a '97 Ovation and passed on a couple of G1000 birds.  Basically, because I would have been stuck in the G1000 "eco system".  The plane I bought has an Aspen PFD Max, G5 backup, and GTN650.  All more modern and capable then the G1000.  I'm going to be able to upgrade the AP to the GFC500 relatively "cheaply" and will have a nice panel, albeit not as clean as the G1000, but faster, WAAS, and great AP.  

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Good morning all.. I've been out of pocket for a few weeks and have not had a chance to visit MS. I'll follow-up on all suggestions. The original buyer did come take a look. She was not multi-rated or current. Still wanted it, but wanted me to fly it 250 miles and leave it with some shop for a pre-buy. All the local reputable shops are 3 months backed up. I wasn't feeling comfortable with taking it to a shop that had a immediate pre-inspection vacancy and then wanting me to leave it 250 miles from home. Wasn't a shop that was well known and why did they only have a week wait list? Seemed odd to me (possibly very good shop, but didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy). Had a second buyer the broker lined up from Alaska.. Looked like a done deal, but the guy found insurance rates in Alaska quite a bit (3x) higher. Lastly, a third possible buyer showed yesterday and did a thorough inspection (4 hrs) and we took it up for about an hour. He is a professional pilot for one of the major cargo airlines. Nice guy and a good poker face. Said he and the wife would talk it over and get with the broker. He didn't say anything negative. It was a long hot 4 hrs waiting while he looked it over, the bright side was he did a compression check and everything was above mid 70s. Should know more Monday. I'll finish reading comments, but thought I'd toss a update. 

 

Tom 

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Sounds good, Tom…

Most real buyers shouldn’t have too much difficulty telling you what their intentions are…

It may still takes days to decide…

But, if a different buyer shows up later today… and I don’t know the other guy’s intentions…

I would have a hard time waiting on the slow guy with a poker face…

 

Trading machines takes team work…. 
 

Don’t be afraid to ask these kinds of questions…

Best regards,

-a-

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I have had my 2008 Ovation 2 for two years. It has had few issues and is a fantastic airplane. Since I have had the airplane the gear donuts were timed out

and I had a crack in the muffler. These were the two expensive items. The G1000 is very capable and the 100+ fuel tanks make longer range possible.

With full fuel that allows 450 pounds in the cabin which is fine. I don't have AC, FIKI or O2 so more useful load. For summertime I use a portable AC

parked on the rear seats which works better than factory air. Airplane is ,of course, very speedy. The Mooney is not the most forgiving single and 

should be flown by the numbers. Very solid , well built airplane!

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