M20M Wing Spar

[HiSpeedLoDrag]

Greetings, 

Riddle me this, please ~

It's my understanding the wing of the M20Mike utilizes a single-component, full-span spar. What is the scenario for repair should significant damage occur to the spar; that portion of the wing as a whole ~ tip, mid-span or root...? Is such an aircraft simply written-off? Are there known, acceptable standards of repair or is critical damage to the spar the Achilles heal of a Mooney from the context of once damaged, the aircraft, that wing, is done.

If, for instance, a Bravo taxis along, minding her own business while a GSE tug backs into her =>, resulting in a damaged spar. What would a repair look like? Or, if that spar is compromised, is that wing pretty much scrap?

Tom

 

[carusoam]

Tom,

You are more likely to find corrosion as the source to meet your example…

Then assume fixing the wing to remove and replace…

Lets also assume a whole wing cost 100amu…

Insurance doesn’t cover the pilot not taking care of his plane…

Soooo…

Now decide to rebuild or part out….

 

If you have an accident…. Your insurance decides whether they want to rebuild or sell it off…

 

For a more detailed answer…

Supply more details to your question…

 

We have an insurance guy around here…

There are pics of a Bravo around here that ran into a fence during a landing/T/O disaster…

Basically, avoid this at all cost… it takes years to rebuild, and nobody likes the results… harder to resell than an NDH plane.  Lots of appropriate discounting involved…

 

has that plane resurfaced for sale?  

Best regards,

-a-

[takair]

42 minutes ago, HiSpeedLoDrag said:

Greetings, 

Riddle me this, please ~

It's my understanding the wing of the M20Mike utilizes a single-component, full-span spar. What is the scenario for repair should significant damage occur to the spar; that portion of the wing as a whole ~ tip, mid-span or root...? Is such an aircraft simply written-off? Are there known, acceptable standards of repair or is critical damage to the spar the Achilles heal of a Mooney from the context of once damaged, the aircraft, that wing, is done.

If, for instance, a Bravo taxis along, minding her own business while a GSE tug backs into her =>, resulting in a damaged spar. What would a repair look like? Or, if that spar is compromised, is that wing pretty much scrap?

Tom

 

I’m sure others will jump in, but it kind of depends.  The spar is a one piece structure riveted together in subassemblies.  It is really a laminate vs one piece of metal…like a modern machined spar might be.  Not easy to repair, but some folks have taken it on.  Spar cap corrosion is somewhat common and often repaired…so if said tug only damaged that, maybe a reasonable repair.  As you get deeper in the spar, the harder the repair gets, until it is cheaper to buy a “new” wing or airplane.  Here’s hoping this is a hypothetical and you aren’t going through this as we speak. 

[carusoam]

51 minutes ago, HiSpeedLoDrag said:

Greetings, 

Riddle me this, please ~

It's my understanding the wing of the M20Mike utilizes a single-component, full-span spar.

Tom

 

See robs point above…

You are mis-understanding what is meant by the single piece spar…

It is several pieces that build the long spar that reaches from tip of one wing to the tip of the other…

All parts of the plane can be individually removed and replaced….

Some parts take a huge amount of effort to do so…

 

Other planes are not as strong… because their wings attach using bolts…

 

There is plenty of marketing spin in the single piece spar…

Technically it is very strong… whether it is a single piece or several pieces…

The whole plane is very strong…

Because it was designed to be strong… this is the method they used… it is has proven to be strong for several decades…

 

How does that sound?

-a-

 

[KSMooniac]

Just about anything is repairable if the motivation, patience, and funds are there! There is nothing exotic about the Mooney wing construction, and you can still get new skins and other parts from the factory. Whether it is worth the effort and expense to spend dozens or hundreds of hours on repair is the question...

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

[A64Pilot]

Usually damage wise by the time the spar is compromised, the rest of the wing is toast. As an example I’ve seen Ag planes hit telephone poles at 150 MPH, crushing the wing back to the spar, breaking the pole and the spar be undamaged. Front section of a Thrush wing is much easier to R&R though than a Mooney’s.

Its almost always corrosion that damages a spar, if you damage a main spar in an accident usually the airplane is damaged beyond repair. But wings are apparently available, I’ve read where people have put salvaged wings on Mooney’s.

[1980Mooney]

Like this?

 

[1980Mooney]

[1980Mooney]

 

[1980Mooney]

Alternatively this may be more cost effective

 

[1980Mooney]

Here is a Bravo with similar damage.

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2015/09/incident-occurred-september-19-2015-at_20.html

And the repair

 

 

 

[A64Pilot]

Did any of those repairs involve the main spar?

just curious

[1980Mooney]

3 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

Did any of those repairs involve the main spar?

just curious

I don't think so.  If the main spar is damaged, other than a cap, I think it is toast.  There have been some repairs of the rear stub spar.  Looks very time intensive.

 

 

Here is corrosion.  

Rear Stub Spar

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2022 by 1980Mooney

[Kmc]

I am trying to understand. Most common on a Mooney M20E wing spar is corrosion. Can they be fixed or is it totaled? If can be fixed is that a major project? Lots of dollars?

[PT20J]

Anything can be repaired. It’s a matter of time and money. It’s just like a car. Get in a major crash with a 20 year old car and the insurance company is going total it because the cost to repair exceeds the value of the vehicle. 

[Kmc]

Thank you for the reply. Has anyone experienced this? What shop does this work, and any idea ball park dollars to do?

[0TreeLemur]

Don Maxwell's shop in Longview, Texas, is the premier bent-metal Mooney shop in the country.   They can and do work miracles.  Give them a call and talk.

[PT20J]

Depending on the amount of corrosion, it is often more economical to replace the wing with a salvaged one.