Mooney Structure and Materials

[moontownMooney]

I'm doing some digging to educate myself on the fascinating development history of Mooney's over the years... can someone point me toward any references (or just describe any awareness they have) regarding the structure of the wing, such as what alloy it is made of and if all Mooney's (C-Ultras) have the same wing design/structure? I know the fuselage has changed, along with belly surface, but wasn't clear on the wing.

 

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[amillet]

https://https://www.amazon.com/Al-Mooney-Story-They-Through/dp/0940672340

 

https://www.thoseremarkablemooneys.com

 

 

[PT20J]

Materials are listed in the Service and Maintenance Manuals.

[EricJ]

2 hours ago, moontownMooney said:

 

I'm doing some digging to educate myself on the fascinating development history of Mooney's over the years... can someone point me toward any references (or just describe any awareness they have) regarding the structure of the wing, such as what alloy it is made of and if all Mooney's (C-Ultras) have the same wing design/structure? I know the fuselage has changed, along with belly surface, but wasn't clear on the wing.

 

You could compare the Illustrated Parts Catalogs and Service Maintenance Manuals from C models throught he models you're interested in and see the evolution of differences.   The basic architecture and dimensions haven't changed much, but I think many details changed.

[Will.iam]

2 hours ago, amillet said:

https://https://www.amazon.com/Al-Mooney-Story-They-Through/dp/0940672340

 

https://www.thoseremarkablemooneys.com

 

 

Is there a print of Al-Mooney story that’s not being auctioned off @ $150? Saw a link for the print at mooneypilots.com but when i click on it the mooneypilots.com website only has a homepage with coming soon on it. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, moontownMooney said:

 

I'm doing some digging to educate myself on the fascinating development history of Mooney's over the years... can someone point me toward any references (or just describe any awareness they have) regarding the structure of the wing, such as what alloy it is made of and if all Mooney's (C-Ultras) have the same wing design/structure? I know the fuselage has changed, along with belly surface, but wasn't clear on the wing.

 

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

The maintenance manual shows skin alloys and thicknesses, but ribs, spars, stringers etc are not shown.  These would be known to Mooney engineering department.  As has been pointed out the plan form is almost identical.

Clarence

[carusoam]

But, why start with M20C….

When MSers are still flying a bunch of As and Bs too….

There is a Mooney timeline around here that describes each change made through the years…

Parts manuals give a ton of detail….

A) Wood wing 

B ) Metal wing

C) Lots of small updates, 1965 M20C culmination more changes… rectangular windows, flush fuel caps, lots of flush 1/4 turn fasteners, metal fuel sep…

D) Fixed gear, convertible to constant speed retract…

E) 200hp FI….

F) Mid body… stretched the M20E….

G) Mid body, w/carb

H & I) experimentals

J) Aerodynamic update of the M20F… 201

K) TC’d mid body… 231 252 Continentals

L) First Long Body, Porsche powered PFM

M) TLS aka Bravo… Turbo Lycoming Sabre, got wet heads to become the Bravo….

N, O, P….) experimentals

R) Ovation, LB with an NA Continental IO550, O3 got the 310hp and TopProp…

S) artificially Decontented M20R… many upgraded to recontent them to M20R status

TN) LB with a pair of snails…. 
 

U) Most recent Ovation… 310hp with a spare door, and some composite skins…

V) Most recent Acclaim… pair of snails added to the M20U…

 

This list was from pure fuzzy memory…

 

Some typical lifetime Mooney owners steps through time….

1) Select your entry point, what engine do you want, how big are your backseaters

2) then select your next step, you have Mooney experience, What Mooney do you want for the long haul…

3) finish with your retirement plane selection…. Cutting back, What  Mooney can you afford in the golden years…

4) Often a Family may have more than one Mooney…

 

Extra memory points are scored by knowing the modified Mooneys, and the modifiers…

5) Some older Mooneys got retrofitted to the most modern power plants…. Like the 262…

6) The Screamin’ Eagle

7) The Standing Ovation

8) the Missile

9) The Rocket

 

Often asked question…. How good is a modified Mooney? 
 

When it is Modified by Rocket Engineering…. It is really good!

These planes got all the engineering support needed to properly document putting more raw HP in factory built planes…. Including all the flight testing… and POH supplements…

Some of the details were so advanced… The Mooney factory adopted them to include in the latest production models…

 

Fuzzy memories only, not a Mooney historian, may contain memory errors….

Best regards,

-a-

[PT20J]

1 hour ago, M20Doc said:

The maintenance manual shows skin alloys and thicknesses, but ribs, spars, stringers etc are not shown.  These would be known to Mooney engineering department.  As has been pointed out the plan form is almost identical.

Clarence

Good point, and thanks for the clarification. Mooney specifies the materials for parts that are likely to be field repairable. They aren’t expecting anyone to fabricate dies and stamp wing ribs in the field, so the details for the like would be in engineering drawings which Mooney would likely consider proprietary to make it more difficult for others to create approved replacement parts.

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