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Hank Grand Master

Hank

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4 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

It’s nowhere around here (Arizona) there are no mountains in the background. And our desert doesn’t look like that.

Most likely west Texas. It's Mooney advertising, right?

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MooneyMitch Grand Master

MooneyMitch

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Joe Schmerber (former Mooney sales person in the 60’’s, and Mooney historian) told me they’d take the Mooney around Texas with clients, landing on golf courses for a few rounds. That’s just fun, I don’t care who you are :lol:

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Mooney in Oz Mentor

Mooney in Oz

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7 hours ago, MooneyMitch said:

Joe Schmerber (former Mooney sales person in the 60’’s, and Mooney historian) told me they’d take the Mooney around Texas with clients, landing on golf courses for a few rounds. That’s just fun, I don’t care who you are :lol:

I met Joe at a Mooney Homecoming 14 years ago and found him to be very nice guy.

One of the Mooney history topics we talked about was the marvellous initial upgraded design of the J model from previous models that I thought Roy LoPresti was responsible for.  He responded that contrary to this common belief, Roy was in fact not responsible, but took the credit for it.

I may have been wrong, but sensed some possible back in the day animosity between he and Roy,  so I therefore left it that.

As I own a J and have done so for the past 22 years, I wouldn’t mind knowing the true story relating to the upgrade as to whether it was Roy’s design or someone else’s, if anyone knows.

Sorry about the thread drift.

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Pinecone Grand Master

Pinecone

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Roy was known for aerodynamic clean up.

He turned the Grumman Traveler into the Cheetah and Tiger.  And the Tiger, fixed gear, fixed pitch prop, 180 HP, was as fast or faster than the 200 HP retract airplanes of the time.

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MooneyMitch Grand Master

MooneyMitch

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10 hours ago, Mooney in Oz said:

I met Joe at a Mooney Homecoming 14 years ago and found him to be very nice guy.

One of the Mooney history topics we talked about was the marvellous initial upgraded design of the J model from previous models that I thought Roy LoPresti was responsible for.  He responded that contrary to this common belief, Roy was in fact not responsible, but took the credit for it.

I may have been wrong, but sensed some possible back in the day animosity between he and Roy,  so I therefore left it that.

As I own a J and have done so for the past 22 years, I wouldn’t mind knowing the true story relating to the upgrade as to whether it was Roy’s design or someone else’s, if anyone knows.

Sorry about the thread drift.

During our filming of Boots On The Ground, The Men and Women Who Built Mooney, our dear beloved Bill Wheat told us the 201 evolution story regarding Roy LoPresti.

All the aerodynamic mods incorporated into the J, had been created and individually implemented at one time or another previously by either Mooney R&D folks, engineers and floor personnel, with the exception of the winglets…. those were created by Roy.

As head of Mooney at that time, Roy was responsible for directing the integration of all the previously known airframe enhancements….. Joe is correct, Roy did not create the mods (except for the winglets)

 

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Mooney in Oz Mentor

Mooney in Oz

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7 hours ago, MooneyMitch said:

During our filming of Boots On The Ground, The Men and Women Who Built Mooney, our dear beloved Bill Wheat told us the 201 evolution story regarding Roy LoPresti.

All the aerodynamic mods incorporated into the J, had been created and individually implemented at one time or another previously by either Mooney R&D folks, engineers and floor personnel, with the exception of the winglets…. those were created by Roy.

As head of Mooney at that time, Roy was responsible for directing the integration of all the previously known airframe enhancements….. Joe is correct, Roy did not create the mods (except for the winglets)

 

Well explained and appreciated.

Thank you Mitch.

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KSMooniac Grand Master

KSMooniac

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On 7/2/2023 at 1:25 AM, Mcstealth said:

Any of you taxi your baby into the desert like that?

I still remember taxiing like that in my dad's M20C at a fuel stop in Blythe, CA in the early 80's.  Standard procedure there was to taxi through the desert for a short while to the adjacent truck stop for lunch, and then come back for fuel and departure!  It was HOT... like back-of-your-legs-sizzle-on-the-vinyl after lunch.  There were a couple dozen big trucks and a few airplanes while we were there.

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Mcstealth Grand Master

Mcstealth

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On 7/2/2023 at 9:51 PM, Mooney in Oz said:

I met Joe at a Mooney Homecoming 14 years ago and found him to be very nice guy.

One of the Mooney history topics we talked about was the marvellous initial upgraded design of the J model from previous models that I thought Roy LoPresti was responsible for.  He responded that contrary to this common belief, Roy was in fact not responsible, but took the credit for it.

I may have been wrong, but sensed some possible back in the day animosity between he and Roy,  so I therefore left it that.

As I own a J and have done so for the past 22 years, I wouldn’t mind knowing the true story relating to the upgrade as to whether it was Roy’s design or someone else’s, if anyone knows.

Sorry about the thread drift.

Dad talked a little about a redesign of the cowl in the works. Dad left Mooney in' 69-70,  before the first bankruptcy, so I will say no to Lopresti coming up with the 201. 

Just an observation, nothing official. 

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1980Mooney Grand Master

1980Mooney

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With the 201 we are talking about evolutionary changes to the same basic Mooney design in the days before the extensive use of computer based aerodynamic analysis and finite element analysis.  A sloped windshield, fairings, cowl design, induction change, etc.  Whether he held the pencil or slide rule or not, he made it come together successfully and happen.  He did the same thing with the Grumman Tiger (from the Traveler) before joining Mooney in 1974.  The 231 was a bigger effort as were the first Long Bodies.  

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Echo Mentor

Echo

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On 7/15/2023 at 1:04 PM, Mcstealth said:

There is an Impression that Mr Lopresti was not only a good engineer, but also a braggart. 

Is self confidence and self promotion a deadly sin?  I dislike envy more personally. 

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MooneyMitch Grand Master

MooneyMitch

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I mean no disrespect, nor do I mean in anyway to diminish Roy LoPresti and his accomplishments during his time at Mooney.  It’s clear he made the J happen by directing all those mods be incorporated. That was made clear to me by Bill Wheat and others.  Again, it was also made clear to me that the mods were in existence before Roy arrived at Mooney, with the exception of the winglets (Roy’s idea).  What a great airplane it turned out to be! 

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