Mooney Guru in L.A. Area?

[Huckster79]

Greetings!

I'm brand new to the forum.  I'm currently a Cessna 140 owner, I love my little old taildragger but she's no longer fitting the mission.  I fly her and a 180hp Skyhawk that is a club plane.  But with changes in life I'd like my personal bird to have 4 relatively useful seats and be able to get there faster than driving!  I've flown my lil 140 all over the country but it's more out of a sense of adventure than getting there any faster.    I believe I have settled in on an M20 for her replacement.   I'm wondering if the group knows of any good Mooney Gurus to look at one I'm interested in, in the Los Angelos area?   

I don't hear the horror stories from Cali that I do Florida, but corrosion still needs to be a heightened concern in those areas doesn't it, being near a coast?  My understanding is the bird lived in the desert before being somewhat recently brought to the area, but none the less want to make sure I do my due diligence so that my bigger faster bird doesn't end up as hangar decor instead of flying.... So if the transaction looks like its coming together I would like to hire someone to look it over before I fly out there...

Thanks,

Ray

 

 

 

 

[Teddsgotwings]

1 hour ago, Huckster79 said:

Greetings!

I'm brand new to the forum.  I'm currently a Cessna 140 owner, I love my little old taildragger but she's no longer fitting the mission.  I fly her and a 180hp Skyhawk that is a club plane.  But with changes in life I'd like my personal bird to have 4 relatively useful seats and be able to get there faster than driving!  I've flown my lil 140 all over the country but it's more out of a sense of adventure than getting there any faster.    I believe I have settled in on an M20 for her replacement.   I'm wondering if the group knows of any good Mooney Gurus to look at one I'm interested in, in the Los Angelos area?   

I don't hear the horror stories from Cali that I do Florida, but corrosion still needs to be a heightened concern in those areas doesn't it, being near a coast?  My understanding is the bird lived in the desert before being somewhat recently brought to the area, but none the less want to make sure I do my due diligence so that my bigger faster bird doesn't end up as hangar decor instead of flying.... So if the transaction looks like its coming together I would like to hire someone to look it over before I fly out there...

Thanks,

Ray

 

 

 

 

I'm based at KSMO and have a Mooney + know some experts in the area. Feel free to message me direct. 

[kortopates]

I'd change the title to say your looking for recommendations for a PPI in the LA area to narrow down what your looking for.

Its often best to use an established Mooney MSC for a prebuy, but there aren't really any recommended ones in the LA Basin, so a shop with lots of Mooney experience is the next best option; or plan to negotiate a flying it out of town to some one like Top Gun in Stockton. 

[MikeOH]

I used the MSC at Cable over five years ago for my pre-buy.  I can't say they were awful, but I wasn't exactly impressed, either; missed some things I thought they should have caught (leaking prop hub, for one).  I haven't been back.  I went to Top Gun for my first annual and was happy with them, if pricey.  I'm going back to them this year.  As @kortopates says, tough to recommend an MSC around LA.

It's about 2 hours Mooney time to SCK from the LA Basin...

[ilovecornfields]

Top Gun is pretty much a no brainer here. 

[MisfitSELF]

Define "guru" and define "LA Area"

 

[chriscalandro]

I live in LA, I’m not an A&P, but I certainly know my way around a Mooney. 
 

where is it and what is it?

are you looking for a full pre buy or someone to just look for the scary things?

Edited March 16, 2023 by chriscalandro

[Huckster79]

On 3/16/2023 at 11:02 AM, chriscalandro said:

I live in LA, I’m not an A&P, but I certainly know my way around a Mooney. 
 

where is it and what is it?

are you looking for a full pre buy or someone to just look for the scary things?

Thanks!  That bird didn't work out.  Beautiful bird but very low useful load... 

[Will.iam]

2 hours ago, Huckster79 said:

Thanks!  That bird didn't work out.  Beautiful bird but very low useful load... 

define your definition of low useful load.  Mooney is not known for high useful load, they make up for it in high efficiency thus you don’t need to top off the tanks every time you go fly. 

[Huckster79]

1 hour ago, Will.iam said:

define your definition of low useful load.  Mooney is not known for high useful load, they make up for it in high efficiency thus you don’t need to top off the tanks every time you go fly. 

730....  The F I'm moving forward on is 1030... 

[chriscalandro]

They must have gone with the steel smooth belly option. 
 

and the lead paint. 

Edited April 6, 2023 by chriscalandro

[Fly Boomer]

18 minutes ago, Huckster79 said:

730....  The F I'm moving forward on is 1030... 

Well, Mooney is not a huge load carrier, but 730 is the lowest I have ever heard of.  I would be suspicious that it was weighed improperly or without calibrated scales.

[ArtVandelay]

Well, Mooney is not a huge load carrier, but 730 is the lowest I have ever heard of.  I would be suspicious that it was weighed improperly or without calibrated scales.

Also tells me the owner wasn’t an active participant in the maintenance of his aircraft. Not a good sign.

[Huckster79]

1 hour ago, chriscalandro said:

They must have gone with the steel smooth belly option. 
 

and the lead paint. 

I believe it was cast iron...

42 minutes ago, Fly Boomer said:

Well, Mooney is not a huge load carrier, but 730 is the lowest I have ever heard of.  I would be suspicious that it was weighed improperly or without calibrated scales.

Right.... But was still enough to scare me off... Heck my little Cessna 140 with 85hp has close to 500.... Well it was born a G, so lower gross, but then got the 200hp but doesn't get the gross bump, then pair it with all the mods known to exist I think made for a bad combination.... I was bummed as its a beautiful bird, had I planned on just using it the wife and I- I probably would have bought it... 

13 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

Also tells me the owner wasn’t an active participant in the maintenance of his aircraft. Not a good sign.

Yea, something...  But was enough to make me walk... 

[carusoam]

As far as UL goes…

The most around here is around 1200 LBs…  M20S Eagles have the best opportunity for this….

Close to 1k is most common…

7-800 is usually an M20K that got all of the options and gets used as a traveling machine for one or two….

Spare vacuum systems, radar in the wing, O2 bottle mounted on the tail… turbo system, MP controller and intercooler….

 

There have been lots of improvements with color screens….  The older avionics weigh close to 100LBs more…

 

With four adults in the plane… we don’t typically fly more than two hours at a time…

Some people sleep for a few hours… and wake up on the bumpy descent….  

My longest flight was about 900nm non-stop…. I have 100gallon tanks.

Flying with other people in the plane can get a bit technical… if everyone decides to use O2, eat, drink, or get air sick….

You get to be PIC and flight attendant at the same time.

Best regards,

-a-

[ArtVandelay]

I think the Acclaim with FIKI and AC is worst for UL.

[Fly Boomer]

4 hours ago, carusoam said:

Flying with other people in the plane can get a bit technical… if everyone decides to use O2, eat, drink, or get air sick….

Made me laugh.  Thanks.

[Pinecone]

One of the better for UL is a 252 converted to Encore.  Lighter EW than Encore, but with the 230 pound GW increase.  Mine is 1119 UL.