Need Help to find my first Mooney M20...

[MichaelG]

Need Help! 
Hi Mooney Group, 
I am new in aviation and I have decided to start my journey of my first plane with a Mooney M20. I just made my PPL and I will do my IFR as soon as I have all the requirements. 

Now I am looking for an M20 with IFR instruments. But I do not know what do I should look after. 
What version of Mooney M20?
What instruments? What Garmin ...?
What else should I consider?

UPDATE: 

Requirements: 

- IFR instruments
- Budget << 200.000 $
- Long Range if possible

UPDATE: 

- I want to stay way under 200.000 $

Sorry for not being more specific, but I lack of knowledge right now. I look forward to your opinions. 

Edited December 9, 2022 by MichaelG

[redbaron1982]

I assume that as you're not specifying any capital constraint you have infinite money.

In that case I think I would go with either an Ovation (no turbo) or an Acclaim (turbo). The newest you can find, the better. I think the best would be a Garmin G1000, I'm not sure the NXi is certified for Mooney. FIKI is a nice addon if you're flying a lot of IMC in low temps. You would be looking north of 500k.

[dzeleski]

You need to figure out what you plan on using this airplane for, how often you'll use it, how much you want to spend, and what coverage you can get from the current insurance market.

If you can list those out we can start to recommend some things for you.

[dzeleski]

23 minutes ago, MichaelG said:

UPDATE: 

Requirements: 

- IFR instruments
- Budget << 200.000 $
- Long Range if possible

Sorry for not being more specific, but I lack of knowledge right now. I look forward to your opinions. 

You are looking at M20J and M20K for the most part in that price range. Do you want an NA engine or a Turbo? IFR instruments is vague, thats everything from G430w to G1000 and every possible of combination in between. Do you want steam gauges? Some glass like a G5 or G275, or big screens like a G3x? Do you want Garmin? Avidyne? Aspen? What kind of nav do you want? You should have WAAS support at minimum in my opinion.

Pretty much all Mooneys slot into "long range" most of them can fly for at least 4 hours with IFR reserves which is generally way longer then then my bladder can last.

https://lasar.com/buyers-guide
 

 

[Hank]

16 minutes ago, MichaelG said:

Need Help! 
Hi Mooney Group, 
I am new in aviation and I have decided to start my journey of my first plane with a Mooney M20. I just made my PPL and I will do my IFR as soon as I have all the requirements. 

Now I am looking for an M20 with IFR instruments. But I do not know what do I should look after. 
What version of Mooney M20?
What instruments? What Garmin ...?
What else should I consider?

UPDATE: 

Requirements: 

- IFR instruments
- Budget << 200.000 $
- Long Range if possible

Sorry for not being more specific, but I lack of knowledge right now. I look forward to your opinions. 

Look at everything from M20-C through -J with those requirements. Depending on tank size and if you use Lean of Peak (LOP), they will go five to twelve hours.

My C will go five hours with reserves above 8000 msl, 145 knots true, plus / minus whatever the wind is doing. I don't enjoy much over 3-1/2 to 4 hours, I get restless. 

Another consideration is loading. Useful Loads will vary from ~750 lbs to 1100 pounds, but don't just look at the weight. Figure your common trips, how much fuel is required, add reserves and see how much you can take along with yourself. 

Again, my C has 970 lb Useful Load, or me + full tanks (52 gal) + 470 lb. I've been loaded enough in the past that I could only fit 34 gal, but that is still 3 hours plus reserves plus a little bit.

It's all boils down to your mission. Enjoy the hunt!

P.S.--I bought my Mooney five weeks after my PPL checkride, and did IFR training in it. Insurance your first year will be spendy . . . .

[redbaron1982]

Yeah, for 200k you should get very nice M20J or M20K. I think whether J or K depends if you want to fly in the low tenths (12k) or in the mid twenties (FL250).

[redbaron1982]

One thing I cannot stress enough is to do a good prebuy. 

My suggestion is to use an the inspection side of an annual inspection as template. 

I had a very (like 40k) bad experience due to a lousy prebuy. Don't think that a official Mooney Service Center guarantees you anything. 

[hammdo]

I’d do a pre buy turned into annual - pre buys can still miss things. If items found during pre buy, good negotiating points

Good hunting!

-Don

[Utah20Gflyer]

Since you said long range I would say the obvious choice would be a K model.  It's going to be worth getting the turbo if you are traveling longer distances.  

[ArtVandelay]

Since you said long range I would say the obvious choice would be a K model.  It's going to be worth getting the turbo if you are traveling longer distances.  

Only if you’re willing to fly at high altitudes. Depending on what “long range” means, I think looking for long range tanks might be better option.

[Hank]

4 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Only if you’re willing to fly at high altitudes. Depending on what “long range” means, I think looking for long range tanks might be better option.

Yes. Mike @201er has long range tanks in his J, and went nonstop NJ to Central TX. Took 10 or 11 hours LOP, but still nonstop.

[Rusty Pilot]

15 hours ago, redbaron1982 said:

I assume that as you're not specifying any capital constraint you have infinite money.

In that case I think I would go with either an Ovation (no turbo) or an Acclaim (turbo). The newest you can find, the better. I think the best would be a Garmin G1000, I'm not sure the NXi is certified for Mooney. FIKI is a nice addon if you're flying a lot of IMC in low temps. You would be looking north of 500k.

It looked to me like he is looking to stay under $200K.  Did I read the original post correctly?  That provides a lot of great options.

[RoundTwo]

1988 MOONEY M20K 252TSE Controller.com

This one fits your mission and budget and will put a smile on your face.

R2

 

[redbaron1982]

55 minutes ago, Rusty Pilot said:

It looked to me like he is looking to stay under $200K.  Did I read the original post correctly?  That provides a lot of great options.

Not the original post. It was more vague, in the lines of "I'm looking for a Mooney capable of IFR"

[Pinecone]

As others have stated, first define your mission.  How will you use the plane.   Also, where.

If Eastern US, turbo is nice.  If Western, turbo is VERY nice.

Mooneys are traveling machines.  If your mission is mostly local and an occasional $200 (inflation) hamburger, a Mooney might not be the best fit.

Realize, with low time, a high performance, retract, is going to be EXPENSIVE for insurance.  Maybe get some ideas of insurance prices.

And, as I am going through this, realize that even buying an airplane in very good shape, there are going to be some bills the first year.  Things that must be fixed.  Things you would like to be fixed.  Things that you want to change.  So keep that in mind with your budget and what you can afford to spend to purchase.

For me, minimum IFR would be a 6 pack of steam gauges, with an HSI, and a WAAS IFR GPS.  Garmin 430/530 will work, but they are getting older.   Realize that installed avionics cost less than installing them later.  It seems the seller only gets about 50% of the cost of the avionics and install back.  So better to find an airplane that has a better panel to buy, versus buying and upgrading.

In your stated range, I would look for a nice J.   Or, if west, a 231.

[Hank]

9 minutes ago, redbaron1982 said:

Not the original post. It was more vague, in the lines of "I'm looking for a Mooney capable of IFR"

That will be almost all of them. Some early A and B models may.not be, and probably a few Cs. Other Cs will have glass panels, mine is still steam plus a G430W. Lots of panel variety. 

[redbaron1982]

Something that at least for me was easy to overlook at the begin is useful load and fuel capacity. 

Although everyone has it's own preference/mission, I don't like the idea to have to partially fill up the tanks (or worse empty them!) to be able to take 2 persons on-board. 

It's not unlikely to see Mooney's with extended range tanks that have only 200 pound of useful load after filling up the tanks. 

If you go with a J, with your budget you can get one that has increased MTOW. For me that's a huge plus. 

[Utah20Gflyer]

7 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Only if you’re willing to fly at high altitudes. Depending on what “long range” means, I think looking for long range tanks might be better option.

Yes, The parameters were not very specific so I substituted what I considered "long range" ie 800 miles or more.  If long range is 600 miles almost any Mooney will do and the turbo is unnecessary.  If you are doing 800-1000+ miles then the K seems like the way to go as you could save an hour or so every trip.  

[rickseeman]

3 hours ago, RoundTwo said:

1988 MOONEY M20K 252TSE Controller.com

This one fits your mission and budget and will put a smile on your face.

R2

 

It gets my vote. What a wonderful machine.

[Skates97]

3 hours ago, Pinecone said:

Mooneys are traveling machines.  If your mission is mostly local and an occasional $200 (inflation) hamburger, a Mooney might not be the best fit.

It depends on what the OP is considering "travelling." For mostly local flying, a short body C/D/E I would argue is as good or better than anything else. They are simple and maintenance isn't what all the myths say it is. Even a mid-body G/F/J works for local flights. A K or a long body would be overkill if most flights are local. But, the short body or even a mid body gives you the flexibility to make the longer flights. Our plane is perfect for just punching holes in the sky, making a run for lunch, and still fast enough for the 3-500nm trips we regularly do.

I would add that flying a short/mid body means that you can draw a much larger circle for destinations for that hamburger run than flying something much slower.

[ArtVandelay]

If you go with a J, with your budget you can get one that has increased MTOW. For me that's a huge plus. 

You may not get the useful load you’d expect, the later Js are heavier then their earlier siblings. My 78 has 1012lbs useful load for example.

[Schllc]

It’s hard when you start out because you don’t really understand the vernacular, you don’t know the models of avionics and which ones are to be avoided and favored.

Not to mention the customized details, updates etc. so many things affect real value and get conflated with sales price. 
I would give two pieces of advice,

One, get a friend who has owned a few aircraft, or preferably a Mooney for a few years at least, to help you avoid easy pitfalls. 
Two, buy the newest, nicest plane you can afford. 
 

[redbaron1982]

https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1284857892294946/

This one looks nice too 

[ArtVandelay]

https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1284857892294946/
This one looks nice too 

I get this item is not available or been sold using this link.

[redbaron1982]

How about this link:

https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?make=MOONEY&model_group=MOONEY+M20+SERIES&model=M20R+OVATION&listing_id=2412442&s-type=aircraft