An AeroComfort Masterpiece

[TheAv8r]

We just completed "Phase 2" of a 3-Phase modernization of our 1965 M20E. The first phase was redoing the panel last year which included a JPI 930 install, CIES senders, all new circuit breakers, new Garmin GMA 345, new Garmin GTX 225, IRANing the 430W, new engine controls, all new switches, a new, powdercoated and laser-cut 1-piece panel, new headset plugs, new antennas and digital coax, and a few other odds and ends.

Phase 2 is the interior, and we chose to go with AeroComfort due to their stellar Mooney reputation and first-hand experience with one of their planes and oh man am I glad we did. As most here know, Hector is absolutely fantastic to work with, and the whole project was on-time and on-budget. We did a full interior with them and dropped the plane off at SAT to let them do the install. Along the way, we installed Alpha Aviation inertia reel seatbelts, replaced all the insulation & soundproofing with new, and had a custom leather wrap done on the yokes Hector recreated from a picture. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

PICTURES

 

BEFORE / AFTER COMPARISON

[Echo]

Really, Really beautiful, but I bet my E is faster …

Edited September 9, 2023 by Echo

[Hank]

15 hours ago, TheAv8r said:

, and had a custom leather wrap done on the yokes Hector recreated from a picture. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

 

I missed this picture! It's about time to do something to my yokes, especially the right one, what looks like powder coating is now flaking off.

 

[Echo]

I had an AeroComfort interior (already installed) in last plane.  The leather and detail are beautiful.  All kidding aside you will have a beatiful plane to enjoy.  How long did the transformation take to complete?  My old yokes are peeling the old dip.  Iplan to powder coat them and use a cut down bicycle grip for grip surface.  Your yokes are wonderful, but I am adverse to the expense.

[GeeBee]

I had my Ovation done by Hector last April. He is a master craftsman.  It looks like we have the same color carpet and logos on the mats.

 

[TheAv8r]

5 hours ago, Hank said:

I missed this picture! It's about time to do something to my yokes, especially the right one, what looks like powder coating is now flaking off.

 

Ah sorry Hank! Here you go:. Hector normally adds a lot of padding to the yokes when he leather wraps them, but I didn't like how that looked, it made them look bloated and lose the nice crispness of the contours. I really like how these came out. My only nitpick was the Mooney logo in the center is too big for the space, Hector said this is as small as they can go without losing the detail of the head on the stitching. If I had known that, I would have not done the stitching. Minor, minor detail though

[TheAv8r]

3 hours ago, Echo said:

I had an AeroComfort interior (already installed) in last plane.  The leather and detail are beautiful.  All kidding aside you will have a beatiful plane to enjoy.  How long did the transformation take to complete?  My old yokes are peeling the old dip.  Iplan to powder coat them and use a cut down bicycle grip for grip surface.  Your yokes are wonderful, but I am adverse to the expense.

Thank you! They did an amazing job. It took a little less than 4 weeks start-to-finish, and that was with Labor Day. If Labor Day hadn't been there, we would have been a day past 3 weeks. Hector quoted me 3-5 weeks when I took it in, so he was right on the money. I've seen a few with the bicycle grip, it looks kind of tacky to me, but it lends some grip and covering without spending the $1k and downtime, so to each their own on that trade-off .

[Ragsf15e]

47 minutes ago, TheAv8r said:

Thank you! They did an amazing job. It took a little less than 4 weeks start-to-finish, and that was with Labor Day. If Labor Day hadn't been there, we would have been a day past 3 weeks. Hector quoted me 3-5 weeks when I took it in, so he was right on the money. I've seen a few with the bicycle grip, it looks kind of tacky to me, but it lends some grip and covering without spending the $1k and downtime, so to each their own on that trade-off .

Did he do your glareshield and headliner too?  Hows the HL look?

[TheAv8r]

20 minutes ago, Ragsf15e said:

Did he do your glareshield and headliner too?  Hows the HL look?

He did the headliner, which also involved painting the vents, installing a new speaker grate and a new overhead lens for the dome light. I don’t have any pictures of just the headliner but it looks awesome, as high quality as the side panels for sure. 
 

He did not do the glareshield, that was done by an amazingly talented friend of mine. It’s very well done!

[Mcstealth]

What? No cup holders. 

 

Just kidding, obviously.

Congratulations on a beautiful job. 

[Ragsf15e]

8 hours ago, TheAv8r said:

He did the headliner, which also involved painting the vents, installing a new speaker grate and a new overhead lens for the dome light. I don’t have any pictures of just the headliner but it looks awesome, as high quality as the side panels for sure. 
 

He did not do the glareshield, that was done by an amazingly talented friend of mine. It’s very well done!

That interior is awesome.

[DCarlton]

12 hours ago, TheAv8r said:

Ah sorry Hank! Here you go:. Hector normally adds a lot of padding to the yokes when he leather wraps them, but I didn't like how that looked, it made them look bloated and lose the nice crispness of the contours. I really like how these came out. My only nitpick was the Mooney logo in the center is too big for the space, Hector said this is as small as they can go without losing the detail of the head on the stitching. If I had known that, I would have not done the stitching. Minor, minor detail though

For the wrapped yokes, how did you handle the PTT switches and the PC cut off switch if you still have it ?  I see the PTT switch on the right side.  Looks great. 

[TheAv8r]

14 hours ago, DCarlton said:

For the wrapped yokes, how did you handle the PTT switches and the PC cut off switch if you still have it ?  I see the PTT switch on the right side.  Looks great. 

Good question. And thank you! The PC system has been taken out of the plane, it has an AP. Where the override button used to be has been replaced with the PTT, I took a pic for you while I was out at the airport today: 

[LANCECASPER]

17 hours ago, TheAv8r said:

Good question. And thank you! The PC system has been taken out of the plane, it has an AP. Where the override button used to be has been replaced with the PTT, I took a pic for you while I was out at the airport today: 

Excellent job on the whole project. In addition to everything else I like your location for the remote ELT activation, on the pilot's left side panel. Everything you've done is very well-thought-out. 

Hector's shop has always been good but has continued to improve over the years. He did an interior for me on a Bravo in December of 2006 which turned out great and I got to give him and one of his guys their first Mooney ride - a short one from San Antonio (KSAT) to Stinson (KSSF), with a little sightseeing detour around downtown  He's done a number of things for me over the years including another Bravo interior in early 2016, which turned out even nicer than the previous one.

Personally I think it would be awesome if he moved the Mooney part of his shop up to Kerrville and they rented some space in the factory to move toward making that a one-stop shop for upgrades.

[Schllc]

10 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said:

Personally I think it would be awesome if he moved the Mooney part of his shop up to Kerrville and they rented some space in the factory to move toward making that a one-stop shop for upgrades.

They sure have the room for him!  
And, I bet housing is a lot cheaper there now…