Parts, Spares, Repairs

[fastandfar]

Hello all.

I am based in the south east of the UK. I have just retired after a long airline career.  I wish to buy a four-seater single.  An M20J fits my needs.  However.......almost everyone I speak to says,

"Don't buy a Mooney.  You'll spend ages on the ground awaiting spares, if you can get them at all. Buy a slower, but more easily maintained, Arrow III instead ."

So, please may I canvass the opinion and experiences of those with Mooneys, especially if based in the UK/Europe?

Thank you all.

John

 

[Fly Boomer]

11 hours ago, fastandfar said:

So, please may I canvass the opinion and experiences of those with Mooneys, especially if based in the UK/Europe?

Not in the UK, but if you want to go fast and far, get the Mooney (and a bunch of transition training).

[Airways]

17 hours ago, fastandfar said:

You'll spend ages on the ground awaiting spares, if you can get them at all.

This is true for factory new parts.  But it isn't limited to the UK/Europe.

I'm waiting for some new landing gear parts for more than a year now, but it's not serious enough to ground the plane.

Mooney Service Centers have quite some inventory from cannibalizing other Mooneys.

[MatthiasArnold]

There are a least two competent MSCs in (continental) Europe. 
ACG in Allendorf / Eder, Germany (my personal choice)

Another one in Troyes/France (no personal experience from my side)

And many shops with more or less experience wrenching mooneys (check their experience beforehand)

Availability of spare parts at MSCs  (to my experience): some on stock, and if not on stock but available in Europe or US shipped within some days. 
It’s a global market and the pond does not induce a huge difference (in availability and delivery times).
Just my 2 cents. 
Matthias

[Fritz1]

parts are generally available in the US, it may take some resourcefulness calling the major service centers and also salvage places, there are parts that are notoriously unavailable, e.g. the no back spring for the gear actuator, arguable whether a large quantity of those had to be replaced and some turbo exhaust clamps, a general problem and not just a Mooney problem, soo there are airplanes where parts are more readily available, the question then becomes what constitutes the allure of a Mooney to you, one way to find out, just fly one, if you are hooked you may be ready to go the extra mile to source the parts

[Sue Bon]

I've had to wait a couple of times for parts to be found and then shipped from the US. It's a minor inconvenience, but well worth having a Mooney.

[Ibra]

On 11/18/2024 at 3:35 PM, fastandfar said:

I am based in the south east of the UK

Check with the guys at Biggin Hill, they used to be “UK MSC”?

Sure there are some uncertainty arounds some parts: few (new) factory parts are done in bulk both in time and size and they are not sold B2C, however, the majority of parts are standard or are sourced elsewhere with plenty of fleet around 

I don’t think Arrow vs M20J are very different for maintenance or parts (I flew and maintained both Arrow and M20J, no meaningful difference but again it’s “one data point” and maybe I was lucky with both). Fore sure, the mechanics and schools in UK tend to prefer to work with they have around, in UK it’s Pipers (in France, they prefer to work with Robins and in Austria, they prefer to work on Diamonds, “des gustibus non est disputandum” )

All parts comes from US anyway then one is more likely to suffer from bigger effects (supply shock, lead time, slowdown, covid lazynses, inflation…) than things like “Cessna vs Bonanza” or “Mooney vs Piper”.  These days, you will struggle to find an exhaust clamp for turbo in Arrow same as for Mooney 

Edited November 26, 2024 by Ibra

[Fix]

I say go for it!

I just recently bought an M20K 252 with an Plessy Gear Actuator (The one you can't repair)
But the parts are out there, and now I managed to find a nice Eaton Gear Actuator fully working with less than 1300h and around 300h on the spring.

Some parts may take time to find, but I order parts that will need in future just to not be grounded.
So a little planning ahead is good and solve much.