Dieselman1220 Posted August 21 Report Share Posted August 21 Hello Monneyspace, long time lurker first time poster. Pending a smooth pre buy with JD and Laura at SWTA I will be the new owner of a 1967 F model N9504M. After doing lots of homework it appears one of the previous owners was a regular here on MS. It has always been a dream of mine to own my own airplane and I can't believe its (hopefully) on the verge of happening. I have spent hours reading on MS but still have lots of questions. But first a few details on the bird. Roughly 5200TT, with 390 SMOH done by John Jewell in early 2018. It's flown about 120 hours in the last two years with compressions in the 70s on all cylinders. It has quite a few J mods as well including, windshield, cowl, one piece belly, aileron and flap gap seals, spinner, single side windows, and newer style yokes. Also O+N 64 gallon bladders, and new B prop hub. I think it has a bit more but cant think of them at the moment. Useful load is 969. Paint was done in 2018, however it needs some attention as it is showing several chips and flaking in some areas. (my uncle w is an auto body guy, so im pretty discriminative when it comes to paint) As far as the negatives go the interior will need some love. It has decent seats but they don't match the airplane at all. The carpet will need to be replaced and likely some interior plastics. The panel is pretty much all shotgun legacy with only a JPI 700 and Garmin Aera. It does have a Britain autopilot with altitude hold that "appeared" to work when I flew it. According to my research and the advice of a very respected and well known mooney broker he said proceed with caution as the agreed price is considerably below market. So on to some of my questions, I have heard great things about SWTA. Should I advise them to focus on certain areas during the PPI/Annual? Or will they know exactly what to look out for and address? In one of our conversations JD mentioned the intake boot and the long delays with them. If everything goes well and I close on it I plan to start refreshing the paint by doing some touch up paint work then a good wash, wax, buff, and possibly ceramic coat. ( The current owner has unfortunately not kept up with keeping the exterior as clean as I would) Then interior, starting with new carpet, recovering the seats, and cleaning up and or replacing some plastics. As many have advised on here I will fly the airplane as is for 8-12 months before doing any avionics upgrades, and Im at a loss with where to go on that for now. I fly for a living, unfortunately my nearly 10k hours of flying jets translates to almost 0 when it comes to Mooneys and avionics trends, so Im doing lots of homework. That being said my flying will consist to mainly within 600NM of HOU. With very little desire to fly in IFR conditions or shooting approaches to less than 700', Especially if the family is onboard. I think the goal however is a newly cut standard panel, a pair of G5s, or 275s, IDF440, JPI 900, an AP, and some improvements to the radios and audio panel. I don't know if this will be a "forever" airplane but it seems to complete about 90% of my desires. Although the price seems right its still tough to contemplate throwing $50k worth of avionics into a nearly 60 year old airframe. Well this first post went way longer than I thought it would. I look forward to hearing thoughts and opinions on my potential purchase with people that have much experience than I do. IMG_2952.pdf IMG_2953.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor_U Posted August 21 Report Share Posted August 21 Congratulations! I have 14M and our planes must rub shoulders at the factory before sold. Only 10 numbers apart but somehow my plane received airworthiness certificate two weeks earlier. Good luck with your purchase. you will enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted August 21 Report Share Posted August 21 Congrats! Welcome home…, JD and Laura are great… -Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will.iam Posted August 21 Report Share Posted August 21 1 hour ago, Dieselman1220 said: Hello Monneyspace, long time lurker first time poster. Pending a smooth pre buy with JD and Laura at SWTA I will be the new owner of a 1967 F model N9504M. After doing lots of homework it appears one of the previous owners was a regular here on MS. It has always been a dream of mine to own my own airplane and I can't believe its (hopefully) on the verge of happening. I have spent hours reading on MS but still have lots of questions. But first a few details on the bird. Roughly 5200TT, with 390 SMOH done by John Jewell in early 2018. It's flown about 120 hours in the last two years with compressions in the 70s on all cylinders. It has quite a few J mods as well including, windshield, cowl, one piece belly, aileron and flap gap seals, spinner, single side windows, and newer style yokes. Also O+N 64 gallon bladders, and new B prop hub. I think it has a bit more but cant think of them at the moment. Useful load is 969. Paint was done in 2018, however it needs some attention as it is showing several chips and flaking in some areas. (my uncle w is an auto body guy, so im pretty discriminative when it comes to paint) As far as the negatives go the interior will need some love. It has decent seats but they don't match the airplane at all. The carpet will need to be replaced and likely some interior plastics. The panel is pretty much all shotgun legacy with only a JPI 700 and Garmin Aera. It does have a Britain autopilot with altitude hold that "appeared" to work when I flew it. According to my research and the advice of a very respected and well known mooney broker he said proceed with caution as the agreed price is considerably below market. So on to some of my questions, I have heard great things about SWTA. Should I advise them to focus on certain areas during the PPI/Annual? Or will they know exactly what to look out for and address? In one of our conversations JD mentioned the intake boot and the long delays with them. If everything goes well and I close on it I plan to start refreshing the paint by doing some touch up paint work then a good wash, wax, buff, and possibly ceramic coat. ( The current owner has unfortunately not kept up with keeping the exterior as clean as I would) Then interior, starting with new carpet, recovering the seats, and cleaning up and or replacing some plastics. As many have advised on here I will fly the airplane as is for 8-12 months before doing any avionics upgrades, and Im at a loss with where to go on that for now. I fly for a living, unfortunately my nearly 10k hours of flying jets translates to almost 0 when it comes to Mooneys and avionics trends, so Im doing lots of homework. That being said my flying will consist to mainly within 600NM of HOU. With very little desire to fly in IFR conditions or shooting approaches to less than 700', Especially if the family is onboard. I think the goal however is a newly cut standard panel, a pair of G5s, or 275s, IDF440, JPI 900, an AP, and some improvements to the radios and audio panel. I don't know if this will be a "forever" airplane but it seems to complete about 90% of my desires. Although the price seems right its still tough to contemplate throwing $50k worth of avionics into a nearly 60 year old airframe. Well this first post went way longer than I thought it would. I look forward to hearing thoughts and opinions on my potential purchase with people that have much experience than I do. IMG_2952.pdf 9.19 MB · 9 downloads IMG_2953.pdf 2.32 MB · 5 downloads Realize the purchase price of the airplane will pale in comparison to maintenance insurance hanger rent and upgrades you will inevitably do during your ownership. I had my last annual done a SWTA they are a top notch shop. Took me 3 years to get in there as they are super busy but most shops are these days. It should go without saying to check for wing corrosion but I would specifically ask about that as there was a person here that did a prebuy that after buying turned the prebuy to an annual and that’s when they found wing corrosion. Because he did not specifically ask for that check and prebuy have no official checklist to follow, asking specifically for this check would be top on my prebuy checklist and first as finding corrosion would be a deal breaker for me and I would not want to pay for any other time inspecting anything else as that is the show stopper for me. Good luck with the pre buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M20F Posted August 21 Report Share Posted August 21 You chose wisely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N204TA Posted August 22 Report Share Posted August 22 Welcome to the “Executive” family! Your comment about throwing $50K worth of avionics into a 60-year-old airplane hit really close to home. I was feeling the exact same way when they quoted me $40K for my big panel update in 2018. I tell you what though, it didn’t take long for me to say, “Why didn’t I do this earlier!” I do have to be the bearer of bad news, however. Your little wish list is probably closer to $100K. Two weeks ago, I got a quote for just an engine monitor and a new autopilot and the least expensive option was over $46K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M20F Posted August 22 Report Share Posted August 22 12 minutes ago, N204TA said: Welcome to the “Executive” family! Your comment about throwing $50K worth of avionics into a 60-year-old airplane hit really close to home. I was feeling the exact same way when they quoted me $40K for my big panel update in 2018. I tell you what though, it didn’t take long for me to say, “Why didn’t I do this earlier!” I do have to be the bearer of bad news, however. Your little wish list is probably closer to $100K. Two weeks ago, I got a quote for just an engine monitor and a new autopilot and the least expensive option was over $46K. What did you do in 2018 for $40K? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N204TA Posted August 22 Report Share Posted August 22 2 minutes ago, M20F said: What did you do in 2018 for $40K? They cut a new pilot’s side panel, installed a GTN-650, two G5s, a GTX-345 transponder (ADS-B in/out), a PMA6000B audio panel, and they refurbished my KX-155 nav/com and did the LED display conversion. $41,846 total. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieselman1220 Posted August 22 Author Report Share Posted August 22 (edited) 15 hours ago, Will.iam said: Realize the purchase price of the airplane will pale in comparison to maintenance insurance hanger rent and upgrades you will inevitably do during your ownership. I had my last annual done a SWTA they are a top notch shop. Took me 3 years to get in there as they are super busy but most shops are these days. It should go without saying to check for wing corrosion but I would specifically ask about that as there was a person here that did a prebuy that after buying turned the prebuy to an annual and that’s when they found wing corrosion. Because he did not specifically ask for that check and prebuy have no official checklist to follow, asking specifically for this check would be top on my prebuy checklist and first as finding corrosion would be a deal breaker for me and I would not want to pay for any other time inspecting anything else as that is the show stopper for me. Good luck with the pre buy. Thank you for the advice, yes I plan to do the annual at pre buy. In talking with JD he did state that he goes by the Mooney annual checklist requirements when conducting the PPI. Regardless, I will remind them of that. As far as costs go, after purchase I have about $40K set aside for any surprises that may arise. I am not accounting for it in the upgrade funds. If I blow through that war chest in the first 12 months of ownership I may reevaluate my purchase. Edited August 22 by Dieselman1220 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieselman1220 Posted August 22 Author Report Share Posted August 22 11 hours ago, N204TA said: Welcome to the “Executive” family! Your comment about throwing $50K worth of avionics into a 60-year-old airplane hit really close to home. I was feeling the exact same way when they quoted me $40K for my big panel update in 2018. I tell you what though, it didn’t take long for me to say, “Why didn’t I do this earlier!” I do have to be the bearer of bad news, however. Your little wish list is probably closer to $100K. Two weeks ago, I got a quote for just an engine monitor and a new autopilot and the least expensive option was over $46K. Wow great looking panel, exactly what I would love to have. At $100k though I may not bother and just put that $$$ into another airplane instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fly Boomer Posted August 22 Report Share Posted August 22 On 8/21/2024 at 4:42 PM, Dieselman1220 said: Although the price seems right its still tough to contemplate throwing $50k worth of avionics into a nearly 60 year old airframe. I too express all the enthusiasm above, but (buzzkill alert) I would just fly the crap out of it for a year. Good chance if something is going to blow up, it will happen in that period. If none of the big buck items need attention, then spend the $100k on toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M20F-1968 Posted August 29 Report Share Posted August 29 On 8/21/2024 at 5:42 PM, Dieselman1220 said: I think the goal however is a newly cut standard panel, a pair of G5s, or 275s, IDF440, JPI 900, an AP, and some improvements to the radios and audio panel. I don't know if this will be a "forever" airplane but it seems to complete about 90% of my desires. Although the price seems right its still tough to contemplate throwing $50k worth of avionics into a nearly 60 year old airframe. IMG_2952.pdf 9.19 MB · 23 downloads IMG_2953.pdf 2.32 MB · 16 downloads When you upgrade a Vintage Mooney you are doing it for yourself, and not as an investment. The Vintage planes, and in particulat the Vintage F model offer unique advantages as a retirement airplane. Specifically low maintenance, no electric motors or actuators. Manual systems are prone to be stable in their long term functioning. The Johnson Bar gear is an upgrade, simple, and the only aviation retractable system to which the FAA did not require a back-up. Your panel will need an upgrade but you will need to do some thinking on that. I have a highly modified 68 F model on my profile. You may want to take a look at the possibilities. John Breda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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