which one to buy and who has one close?

[Rick Pierson]

exploring Mooneys for purchasing but never been in one. I want to make sure my wife is comfortable too. 350 hours Commercial and instrument. Took a job that is 3 hours drive away. I rent a house and stay during the week. Local airport is 2 miles away and I rent frequently to make it back for daughter's sports etc. Well....not knocking FBO but they just raised price of rentals by $45.00 an hour! thinking its time to buy. 75% qould be single pilot. 15% would be with one passenger and maybe 10% would be someone in back seat. Im thinking a C or E because of budget and mission. Also thoughts on buying one with an engine that's at or near TBO. Seems it is worth it to pay $30,000 less than a mid time engine aircraft and rebuild knowing what you have? Anyone in the area of La Crosse Wisconsin to Rochester Mn to Charles city Iowa that has a Mooney my wife and I can at least sit in to see if its a good "fit"?

Thanks Rick

[DanM20C]

  On 3/4/2024 at 12:00 PM, Rick Pierson said:

exploring Mooneys for purchasing but never been in one. I want to make sure my wife is comfortable too. 350 hours Commercial and instrument. Took a job that is 3 hours drive away. I rent a house and stay during the week. Local airport is 2 miles away and I rent frequently to make it back for daughter's sports etc. Well....not knocking FBO but they just raised price of rentals by $45.00 an hour! thinking its time to buy. 75% qould be single pilot. 15% would be with one passenger and maybe 10% would be someone in back seat. Im thinking a C or E because of budget and mission. Also thoughts on buying one with an engine that's at or near TBO. Seems it is worth it to pay $30,000 less than a mid time engine aircraft and rebuild knowing what you have? Anyone in the area of La Crosse Wisconsin to Rochester Mn to Charles city Iowa that has a Mooney my wife and I can at least sit in to see if its a good "fit"?

Thanks Rick

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Hi Rick,

I’m based in Winona.  You can come and take a look at my Mooney sometime.  I’m also a Mooney CFI and can help with the transition training after purchase.   I’m in south Florida with my Mooney now, but will be back home in just over a week.

cheers,  

Dan

 

 

[Rick Pierson]

  On 3/4/2024 at 12:24 PM, DanM20C said:

Hi Rick,

I’m based in Winona.  You can come and take a look at my Mooney sometime.  I’m also a Mooney CFI and can help with the transition training after purchase.   I’m in south Florida with my Mooney now, but will be back home in just over a week.

cheers,  

Dan

 

 

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I live in Trempealeau so that is perfect. When you're back in town maybe we can set up a flight for the wife and I to check ir out. Perfect one stop shopping...plane, CFI, and maybe even ferry pilot to go with if I find a plane.

[Pinecone]

The one downside to buying a runout engine plane, is that you have the downtime just about the time you are getting used to having a plane at your beck and call.

But, in general, I like that idea.  Especially with field overhauls.  Too many quicky/half a**ed field overhaul shops.  

[DanM20C]

  On 3/4/2024 at 12:40 PM, Rick Pierson said:

I live in Trempealeau so that is perfect. When you're back in town maybe we can set up a flight for the wife and I to check ir out. Perfect one stop shopping...plane, CFI, and maybe even ferry pilot to go with if I find a plane.

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Haha.  I’d be happy to go get the Mooney with you too.  
 

I’ll message you when I get back. 
 

cheers,

Dan

[ArtVandelay]

  On 3/4/2024 at 2:07 PM, Pinecone said:

The one downside to buying a runout engine plane, is that you have the downtime just about the time you are getting used to having a plane at your beck and call.
But, in general, I like that idea.  Especially with field overhauls.  Too many quicky/half a**ed field overhaul shops.  

The other downside these days is I’ve heard there’s shortages with various parts, like cylinders.

[Utah20Gflyer]

  On 3/4/2024 at 2:07 PM, Pinecone said:

The one downside to buying a runout engine plane, is that you have the downtime just about the time you are getting used to having a plane at your beck and call.

But, in general, I like that idea.  Especially with field overhauls.  Too many quicky/half a**ed field overhaul shops.  

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This is an important consideration.  Many individuals are reporting downtimes of a year because of parts availability issues and shop backlogs.  
 

What you want to do is find a plane that flies a lot because that is going to minimize the likelihood of needing an overhaul in the near future.  This would apply to low, mid or high time engines.  The higher time engines are lower risk in my opinion given its being flown a lot because a low time engine can need an overhaul and it’s difficult to determine that during a prebuy.  
 

 

[Rick Pierson]

  On 3/4/2024 at 2:19 PM, Utah20Gflyer said:

This is an important consideration.  Many individuals are reporting downtimes of a year because of parts availability issues and shop backlogs.  
 

What you want to do is find a plane that flies a lot because that is going to minimize the likelihood of needing an overhaul in the near future.  This would apply to low, mid or high time engines.  The higher time engines are lower risk in my opinion given its being flown a lot because a low time engine can need an overhaul and it’s difficult to determine that during a prebuy.  
 

 

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Speaking of prebuy inspection, whats the best route to getting a prebuy? Im sure if the plane is relatively close its best to have AP that you plan to use do it. But lets say its 1000 miles away? Is it a good idea to use a different AP than usually does the annuals....not the sellers mechanic?

[Utah20Gflyer]

  On 3/4/2024 at 2:46 PM, Rick Pierson said:

Speaking of prebuy inspection, whats the best route to getting a prebuy? Im sure if the plane is relatively close its best to have AP that you plan to use do it. But lets say its 1000 miles away? Is it a good idea to use a different AP than usually does the annuals....not the sellers mechanic?

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The consensus seems to be don’t use a mechanic who has done work for the owner previously.  I have mixed feelings about that strategy because the mechanic the owner is using might be very good and the one you try to find who wasn’t used might not be good.   It’s really difficult to know the difference between good and bad until after the fact.  
 

While I think a prebuy is prudent I almost think vetting the owner and their attitude toward aircraft ownership is more important than the prebuy.  A person who is constantly proactively fixing things on their plane and trying to improve it will have a plane that is going to be lower risk than a person who puts the bare minimum in to keep the plane airworthy.  This shows up pretty easily.  Also if an owner gives you a lot of “I don’t knows” to your questions then that’s concerning.  I’m not saying an owner should know everything but they should know quite a bit about their plane.  
 

All planes come with risk though so you are only trying to reduce risk, you can’t eliminate it.