Presenting . . . "Charlie" The Gulf Mooney - 1967 M20C N6767C

[devyn6seven]

Hi all, 

I've used this forum for reference even before I became a Mooney owner 2 years ago. In June 2022 I purchased N111MR, a 1967 M20C from a fellow Mooniac and forum member, who sold me a plane that already had a lot of blood, sweat, and financial equity in it, with a dual Dynon Skyview HDX system, Hartzel Top Prop, and other great qualities, but the plane had original paint, an interior that left much to be desired, and I saw a great opportunity to make the plane 'mine.' After flying it for a summer, I decided I wanted to invest in paint and interior.

I had no idea the magnitude of the project I had decided to undertake.

Fast forward to June 2024 and last weekend the former owner and I picked up an unrecognizable airplane from Hawk Aircraft in Zephyrhills. N111MR (s/n 670130) is now N6767C. In the past 2 years this plane has undergone full strip, corrosion treatment and repaint in a custom livery I designed (@ Hawk), full gutting and installation of a custom interior @ GEMICO/Hawk), full strip and reseal of fuel tanks including new senders and pickups (@ WetWingologistsEast), prop balancing (@ Solano Aircraft Services in TOA), new flaps, and wing spar splice (@ Dugosh). I am incredibly happy with the results and I'm still not done. I plan to have a one-piece panel cut by Superior Aircraft and possibly add the AeroCruze 100 AP. 

I greatly missed flying this airplane for the 1 year and 8 months it was 'in treatment.' I logged 2h total in 2023, only flying the airplane from paint to reseal and back to paint. Since picking it up I have logged 14h and plan to fly this en lieu of flying on the airlines (within reason). 

As a career graphic and visual designer, and someone who used to draw cars and airplanes all over his schoolwork, it had always been a dream to design an airplane livery and have it become a reality. If any of you are race fans, you will immediately see what this livery is inspired by. I also added some modern touches to make this airplane even more unique. 

Edited June 14, 2024 by devyn6seven

[EricJ]

Nicely done!   The airplane looks awesome inside and out and with that avionics foundation you should have some very good flight experiences in your future.

Good job on the design work.   I think that'll hold up well over time.

 

[Ragsf15e]

Retro and sleek all in one!  Love it!

interior looks great too!

[Echo]

Sweetride!  Enjoy.

[Boilermonkey]

Best C model I've seen....and I use to own one.   Well done.

[devyn6seven]

12 hours ago, EricJ said:

Nicely done!   The airplane looks awesome inside and out and with that avionics foundation you should have some very good flight experiences in your future.

Good job on the design work.   I think that'll hold up well over time.

 

Thanks! It's been great so far. I've flown it between TX and CA a few times, and back and forth to Florida. First summer I had it I took it to the states around my new home state of Texas. It's remarkable how much is within a 2h flight. 

[devyn6seven]

11 hours ago, Ragsf15e said:

Retro and sleek all in one!  Love it!

interior looks great too!

Thanks! Exactly what I was going for. Modern Retro. 

[devyn6seven]

11 hours ago, Echo said:

Sweetride!  Enjoy.

Thanks!

[devyn6seven]

2 hours ago, Boilermonkey said:

Best C model I've seen....and I use to own one.   Well done.

Thank you very much!

[MooneyMitch]

How proud you must be of your beauty!  Congratulations!!!  Enjoy each moment and every flight !! 

[devyn6seven]

2 hours ago, MooneyMitch said:

How proud you must be of your beauty!  Congratulations!!!  Enjoy each moment and every flight !! 

Yup! She takes good care of me and I take great care of her! Thanks!

[Shadrach]

Love the Gulf Racing livery! I had a Gulf 917 poster as a kid and that scheme has always been a favorite!

 

[devyn6seven]

1 hour ago, Shadrach said:

Love the Gulf Racing livery! I had a Gulf 917 poster as a kid and that scheme has always been a favorite!

 

Exactly! I went as close as I could without risking a lawsuit for using the actual livery! I did buy a bunch of Gulf gear tho (custom Mooney 67 Gulf Mug, Gulf shirt, keychain, etc.)

[EricJ]

8 minutes ago, devyn6seven said:

Exactly! I went as close as I could without risking a lawsuit for using the actual livery! I did buy a bunch of Gulf gear tho (custom Mooney 67 Gulf Mug, Gulf shirt, keychain, etc.)

I doubt there'd be an issue.    A fair percentage of amateur race cars use Gulf livery and I've never heard of anybody having a problem.

 

[devyn6seven]

46 minutes ago, EricJ said:

I doubt there'd be an issue.    A fair percentage of amateur race cars use Gulf livery and I've never heard of anybody having a problem.

 

That's a good point. I do like the subtle differences between mine and the true Gulf livery. Those that know, know where the inspiration comes from. 

[WilliamR]

That's a smart looking interior. Did you use ultra suede on the headliner? Any better pics of the headliner?

Thanks

William

[devyn6seven]

11 minutes ago, WilliamR said:

That's a smart looking interior. Did you use ultra suede on the headliner? Any better pics of the headliner?

Thanks

William

Yes it's ultra suede. This is what I have for now but I'll take more next time I'm at the airplane. 

[WilliamR]

Oh, that's helpful. Was thinking about doing the same thing.  Looks good.

Thanks

[AndreiC]

It’s beautiful! The only criticism I have is that it may be hard to spot against a light blue sky background… but in this day and age ADS-B helps a whole lot more. (I used to have a plane painted in desert camouflage colors — I got it this way — and whenever someone complimented me on the paint scheme I’d tell them I’d prefer to be seen than hidden…)

[Echo]

On 6/9/2024 at 1:27 PM, Shadrach said:

Love the Gulf Racing livery! I had a Gulf 917 poster as a kid and that scheme has always been a favorite!

 

I thought the exact same thing when I saw the livery.  Really nice color.  

[devyn6seven]

1 hour ago, AndreiC said:

It’s beautiful! The only criticism I have is that it may be hard to spot against a light blue sky background… but in this day and age ADS-B helps a whole lot more. (I used to have a plane painted in desert camouflage colors — I got it this way — and whenever someone complimented me on the paint scheme I’d tell them I’d prefer to be seen than hidden…)

My other design frontrunner was chalk grey (Fashion Grey like the new Porsches), but then you wouldn't be able to see it in partially cloudy/overcast days. At the end of the day, I have ADS-B in/out. 

[Shadrach]

As much as I like the colors, my favorite design feature is the “super hero mask”.  Is that your design? It really works with the airframe’s lines and gives it a more modern appearance.

[devyn6seven]

1 hour ago, Shadrach said:

As much as I like the colors, my favorite design feature is the “super hero mask”.  Is that your design? It really works with the airframe’s lines and gives it a more modern appearance.

Thanks a lot! Yeah I designed the entire livery. The eye mask was half inspired by the new Airbus NEO jets, and half inspired by the BMW "Hofmeister Kink" window bend. I wanted to add a design feature that hints that this is a "modern" classic Mooney. She may be a 1967, but inside it's all-electric, touchscreen, wifi, bluetooth, leather, ultra suede and LEDs. 

[Matthew P]

So, how was it that you were able to keep the smaller Registration Numbers as they changed the criteria for them to be 12" once the aircraft is repainted?

[devyn6seven]

3 minutes ago, Matthew P said:

So, how was it that you were able to keep the smaller Registration Numbers as they changed the criteria for them to be 12" once the aircraft is repainted?

Planes over 30 years old are considered vintage aircraft category and can keep the small numbers. However, if I want to fly internationally (which I don't) I'd have to vinyl on some 12" numbers.