M20K 261, A fresh (re)start

[HawkGT]

In todays world of disposable goods, I find enjoyment in bringing new life to mechanical things that are special.  By special I mean the times in history where form and function align in mechanical invention in a way that evokes passion and sets a new bar for performance.  I learned this about myself when I turned 14 and hauled a 1965 Ford Mustang out of the field where it was rotting and personally completed a complete restoration.  I have done that several times over the years and find that I enjoy the journey as much as the destination.  The Mooney M20 has always evoked a special interest as I believe it is one of those instances where form and function align in a special kind of way.  I started looking for one as soon as I soloed for my PPL.  My first plane was an A36TC partnership that allowed me to experience and learn plane ownership from a wonderful group of enthusiasts.  A move forced me to sale out of that partnership but led me to N231JN a 1980 Mooney M20K 261.  I’ll use this post to chronicle its story during my stewardship.  As an aside, the majority of advice I have read is “buy the best plane you can afford” and I think that is excellent advice but this is a different story.

The Purchase

I purchased N261JN in May of 2022 after several failed pre-buys on other Mooneys.  I found this plane interesting because it had 1808 TT, 1400 SNEW on a -MB engine, Monroy long range tanks, back-up vacuum pump, KFC200 AP, Radar and StrikeFinder, Insight engine monitor, built in O2,  ADSB and 430W.  Additionally the logs showed that the plane had recently (hobbs time) had the Turbo overhauled w/ new v-band clamp, landing gear motor overhauled, and nose truss replaced with a Lasar upgraded unit.  The plane had a prop strike early in life with minor repairs, including the truss.  The seller was a A&P/IA with a maintenance shop and he bought the plane from a client who had passed away.  Prior to putting it up for sale he replaced the tires, tubes, spark plugs, air filter,  replaced a cylinder with low compression, completed an outstanding AD, weighed the plane for a current W&B, and performed an annual.  Last compressions were all in the upper 60s and low 70s.

Before I placed an offer on the plane I dug through the logs and found a number of issues.  The first issues was the plane had not flown since 2012 and the owner didn’t have insurance on it so he wouldn’t allow me to fly it prior to purchase.  This is where most sensible buyers would say “no thanks!” but alas…I continued.  I continued my review of the logs and noticed that during an annual in 2001 (1783TT, so it’s only flown ~20hrs in 22yrs) the A&P logged that the FAA registration file was missing the Form 337 for the -MB conversion, Monroy Tanks, and backup vacuum system however he indicated that the owner had the STCs and the work was appropriately logged during installation and he inspected the installations as conforming to the drawings.  The log stated that he filed 337 for the three modifications with the FAA.  At this point I asked the broker for the registration file from the FAA and found that the current file still didn’t show the 337s which was a big issue!  I insisted this would have to be resolved prior to proceeding forward with a contract.  I made some posts on MS on this topic and in the end the owner found that they had the original STC and the 337 completed by the IA in 2001.  Since the owner was an IA I insisted that he submit the 337s to the FAA as a contingency to the purchase agreement.  I also insisted on a thorough pre-buy inspection including M20-208B inspection.  The owner really pushed back but I told them it was a non-starter and I had walked on other agreements due to corrosion so they agreed. The only known issue was the 02 bottle had been removed years ago for hydro and was never reinstalled.

The pre-buy was done in the owners shop by an independent IA I contracted.  He reported the engine ran smoothly and the plane was amazingly clean with no signs of corrosion.  He did not report any squawks except for concerns over internal engine corrosion solely based on the lack of use.  He advised “if you buy this plane you should be prepared to overhaul the engine”.  So I went back to the broker and we negotiated a price that reflected a plane that has sat in a hangar for 20years, couldn’t be test flown, and needed an overhaul.  The owner started off asking the price of an actively flown plane but ultimately we agreed to something I felt was fair for the risk I was taking.  I should also note, the plane was located in South Carolina and I live in Washington state.   What could go wrong?

I used Aero-space reports for escrow and title work.  The title search found a very old open lien.  The broker and Aero-space worked together to find the current owner of the lien records and issue a letter that released the lien.  I worked with Jack and @Parker_Woodruff to provide insurance coverage and the transaction closed smoothly as there was no financing involved.

The journey continues…

Jason

 

[HawkGT]

Ferry attempt #1

Once the transaction closed I reached out on MS looking for someone that could help me ferry the plane.  I only had two months left before the current annual expired so I wanted to get the plane moved ideally to my home in Washington but more realistically to Tennessee where I have family nearby.  @N201MKTurbo offered to work with me on moving the plane and he traveled to SC around a week after the deal was closed.  Unfortunately it only took one lap in the pattern to realize that the plane had several issues that would need to be dealt with, the most significant of which was oil leaking out of the cowling.  The engine made good power but he had some concerns over the gear retracting and erratic MP readout that went up to 40”, the 231 setting.  He landed the plane safely and provided me the report.

Ferry attempt #2 & #3

I reached out to the seller and asked for his help in making the necessary repairs, which I was willing to pay in full.  The seller responded that his schedule was full but offered a contact for a nearby shop that might be willing to come over and work on the ramp to help me.  He also offered me the name of a local Mooney owner and CFI that might be willing to help me ferry it and give me the necessary transition training for insurance.  I reached out to both and they said they were willing to help.  Several weeks later they both looked at the plane on the ramp and reported  that the flaps bound in the lowered position and the fuel pressure was erratic.  They unbound the flaps and recommended that I send the fuel system off for overhaul.  I agreed to overhaul the fuel system.  Several weeks go by and I check in, no update.  Several week and the same.  Long story short it took several months to get the fuel system removed, sent off, and reinstalled due to other priorities.  By this time my annual is almost up so I am in a rush to get it moved to the IAs shop at a nearby field.  The local ferry pilot tries to ferry it on the last day of the annual but reports that the battery is dead and it’s not running smoothly. I try and work with the IA for another month or more but he tells me he can’t find the reported oil leak and he thinks I”m wasting money and he recommends that I do a complete engine overhaul. At this point I come to the conclusion this isn’t working out so I ask him to sign my log book for the work completed and I pay him for his services.

This is now late summer/early fall and I find another IA to come work on the plane on the ramp.  He doesn’t show up two times in a row.  I am a Saavy subscriber and I’m starting to feel desperate so I reach out to Saavy and ask for a referral.  They recommend Above and Beyond Aviation in Greenville SC, a short ~20 miles away.  I was in the area for work so I drive over and plead my case with the owner and he agrees to send one of his A&Ps out to look at the plane and try and find the oil leak.  In no time at all he finds a loose oil line connection and tightens it up but he says the battery is dead and he can’t start it.  Several weeks later I call back up to inquire when they can come back to confirm the oil leak is fixed and the owner responds they are really too busy to drive over.  

Fall is here and cool weather approaches.  I reach out on Beechtalk looking for a local IA and a retired IA tells me he will help.  He worked on the plane 2-3 times over the next month and confirms the oil leak is fixed.  He also finds that the MP guage line was connected to the fuel flow divider instead of the intake manifold which resulted in the erratic readings.  Ultimately he reached a point of feeling the plane was safe to ferry and provided me a log book entry stating such.  I get a ferry permit which was surprisingly easy and I reach back out to my local ferry pilot for help moving the plane.  He makes an attempt but reports the plane is not idling smoothly and despite another A&P confirming it was running fine the pilot is not available again to move the plane.

Ferry attempt #4

It’s now December and I realize I need to find someone different to ferry the plane.  I request an extension from the FSDO and they quickly approved it.  I reach out on the Mooney Facebook groups for a ferry pilot and received an overwhelming response.  It turns out that @ArtVandelayis wiling to work with me as he is also a CFI and m20k owner!  Art drives down and gives the plane a very thorough pre-flight and has a successful flight to Greenville.  Art is probably tired of hearing my gush over how  thankful I am that he was willing to work with me to get the plane moved safely to a field where it can get the attention it needs.

I really want to give a heart felt thank you to Rich Jones (N201MKTurbo) and Art Vandelay, along with the countless answers to questions on MS helping me get this far in the process.  

Next…the annual.

Jason

[HawkGT]

The annual

The day after the plane was delivered to Above and Beyond I called to confirm they have what they need and Ted, the owner, tells me they have already done the compression test and the numbers look great!  I”m in the area over the Christmas holiday and Ted offers for me to come crawl around the plane while they have everything opened up, something I really appreciated.  It was a several hour drive over to Greenville but I jumped at the chance to put eyes in the inspection panels.  Ted and the A&P both commented that the plane looks fantastic.  They only found one squawk and that is signs of heat damage on the landing light wire due to it not being secured.  He gives me a quote to secure the wire, the repair was made and they close the plane back up after the holidays.  I also asked them to perform the TCM engine set-up procedure to ensure all the settings are correct following the fuel system overhaul and reports of rough idle.  They installed calibrated gauges on the motor and work through the procedure however the engine driven fuel pump would not put out enough fuel pressure at idle to meet specification which caused the rough idle.  They recommend overhauling the fuel pump until I remind them it was OH in July of last year.  They call the OH station and he agrees the issue is the fuel pump so it was pulled and sent back for evaluation.  Turns out some water got trapped in the fuel pump and caused a relief valve to hang.  The pump was repaired, tested and sent back for installation.  As of this week, the pump is back on and they are awaiting time to complete the TCM procedure.  New fuel cap seals were also installed.

It been a long 9 months waiting to fly a plane I purchased but as I said at the start, I enjoy the journey as well as the destination.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can start transition training in the next few weeks if all goes well. I have definitely learned a lot and made some mistakes along the way, but so far I haven’t regretted buying N231JN for one minute.  Here’s to blue skies!

[ArtVandelay]

If the owner replaced a cylinder, then he had access to the internal parts of the engine, any corrosion in the engine should have been discovered then.

Good luck!

[HawkGT]

46 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

If the owner replaced a cylinder, then he had access to the internal parts of the engine, any corrosion in the engine should have been discovered then.

Good luck!

Thats true, but he had no pictures/video of the engine condition when that work was done.  Ultimately he just wanted the plane out of his hangar where it was taking up space and he wanted to free up capital while the market was hot.  He knew he had a plane that would be tough to sale for all the reasons stated above and eventually came to a price he could accept.

[231MJ]

My K was pushed out of Kerrville a little before yours and also converted to the MB engine.  You have a great attitude about this adventure and you're going to love the plane.  Just wait util you start thinking about avionics...

[HawkGT]

@231MJ that's very cool. I would love to see a MS registry of aircraft with Make, model, serial, and key mods (i.e. 261/262, rocket, Encore,...).  It would help those of us with similar planes to connect as needed.

[Z W]

Congrats.  Just went through a similar situation related to the fuel system and engine setup procedures.  They are complicated and it seems many A&Ps are not familiar and do not have the gauges to do it.  Also, it requires cowling and de-cowling the aircraft to make each adjustment, a very tedious process.  Once it's done and your TSIO-360-MB engine is dialed in, though, it sure is an amazing piece of machinery and engineering.

[rickseeman]

Sure sounds (and looks) like a wonderful machine. 252 engine and Monroy tanks. My fantasy for years. Now I'm so old I'll probably never take a trip long enough to use that, but still nice. (I do like the old days when the Mooneys and Bonanzas had the curtains in back.)

[HawkGT]

Last week was a big week for N231JN.  The annual was completed and I traveled from my home in Washington state to Greenville, SC to meet with my transition training instructor and start flying the plane I bought one year ago.  We put in several hours Monday morning doing all the normal maneuvers like slow flight, stalls and lots of landings.  I must admit that my landings were not pretty.  The plane just kept sinking despite the flare with a high nose attitude.  I kept hearing how Mooneys float but all I experienced was continued decent.  We also noticed that the landing gear horn would start to sound on downwind despite the gear being down and the throttle at an appropriate position to maintain speed.  We also started experiencing the gear would not retract without the bypass button being pressed so the airspeed indicator switch and/or throttle position sensor need some love.  

Monday afternoon I was messing around with the plane on the ramp.  The prop cable was really stiff so I tried to exercise it when it bound and then eventually broke.  I was still at the shop that did my annual so we got on the phone with McFarlane and luckily they had the prop cable in stock.  We ordered it with next day shipping.  The cable came in Wednesday morning and I worked with one of the A&Ps and got the cable changed without much hassle.  The new cable feels smooth as butter and is made much better than the original.

We resumed training with 3 hours of cross country flight on Thursday.  I gave a lot of thought to my landing performance, or lack there of, and decided to try to leave in some throttle during the flare to help arrest the decent.  I recall reading that the three blade prop planes really start sinking once the throttle is pulled.  My landings on Wednesday were night a day different and smoothed out nicely. During the pre-flight on Monday we tested the KFC200 Autopilot and it tested fine.  Wednesday morning during the pre-flight the AP controller was non-responsive.  We filed IFR for the days flights and had quite a bit of IMC during the flights so there was plenty of active hand flying including a hold and two approaches.  After three hours of flying I was exhausted and proud that my landings were much improved.  After the flight we did a post flight review and my log book was signed off as having completed the transition training.  I took a peak at the back of the AP controller while on the ground and found that one of the cables on the back of the controller had come loose, likely due to the tight quarters installing the prop cable the day before.  My A&P helped re-attach the cable and a ground check showed that the AP was working as expected.  

I have family near Knoxville so I returned my rental car and made the short hop from Greenville (GMU) to Monroe County (MNV) to close out my day on Thursday.

[HawkGT]

Thursday night I debated, should I leave the plane at Monroe County near family or start the trip west to my home in Washington?  I had already planned my route home taking the southern path due to time of year and the plane is missing an O2 bottle right now.  Weather in the southwest wasn’t good but I felt comfortable trying for Albuquerque.  So Friday morning I loaded up and took off just after sunrise.  There was a band of rain just west of Nashville but I found a nice break and with approved deviations I was able to get through the front with ease.  I started to notice mid-flight that my number 2 cylinder EGTs were rising and getting to warm.  I opened the cowl flaps and adjusted fuel flow to keep the temperatures in check.  The engine was still running well but I could detect a slight miss from time to time.  I landed in Sand Springs, OK, just outside of Tulsa, for fuel.  After filling up and planning for my next leg I jumped in the plane and did my pre-flight.  I noticed at idle I was still experiencing the elevated EGT on #2.  During my mag check the engine ran rough on the left mag so I knew this was something I had to deal with before I continued.  The local FBO recommended SkyBoss Aviation, one of the local shops on the field, to help me with my issue.  It was noon and the owner and his team were eating lunch.  I shared with them my issue and the owner offered to take a look at it.  We pulled the top plug and it looked good.  We also pulled the injector and found some small blue solids in the air reference screen.  We cleaned the injector and reinstalled it but still no joy.  He pulled the plane in his shop and we worked on it until 7pm checking magnetos and testing the magneto harness.  Turns out his magneto harness tester was faulty and he offered to borrow one from a nearby shop the next morning.  I made a reservation at a local Mariott and got an Uber to the hotel.  The next morning he calls me around 9am to tell me that I have a bad harness wire on the left magneto for #2 cylinder and offers to order a new harness for me.  He also checked the timing and informed me my timing was out of adjustment on both mags, which he corrected.  I thanked him for all his help and approved the new harness.  The existing harness looks like it is original to this 1500 snew engine.  I booked commercial flights home and will make another attempt in a few more weeks when my schedule allows.    I’ll just say, I am blown away by SkyBoss Aviation, an engine and magneto overhaul shop, dropping what they were doing and working on my plane to get me back in the air.  This wasn’t the outcome I had hoped for but it’s also not a surprise considering these are the first 10 hours the plane has flown in over 20 years.  The journey continues…

[Danb]

Hang in there it will be worth it this summer getting those $200 hamburgers 

DB

[Bentonck]

....dang hamburgers keep going up.

Love the story and the adventure...it will all work out in the end...or it's not the end.  Best of luck to you!  None of what you are reporting seems out of turn for an airplane that sat for 20 years...you'll get the cobwebs off of it and it will be a great bird.