Help got left hanging on annual”

[Eraaen]

I’ve been making phone calls all day. My local airport. Has been hurting and allowing me to do owner assist annuals since  COVID. I was scheduled for “Feb” I never heard from them but was traveling all month anyway. Turns out, some sort of blow out occurred and the majority walked. I’m looking for a. Mechanic that can do an annual on a 231K/Rocket. I live on the Norh side of Indianapolis. Looking for something within driving distance. So far I’ve found Muncie IN but they are backed out one to two months. The FBO did say they could help me obtain a ferry permit pretty quickly

[Fritz1]

Sounds like you need a ferry permit regardless, Byerly in Peoria, IL is a large shop and MSC, Oasis in Wilmar MN is excellent, Weber in Lancaster PA is a well established MSC, better make some phone calls on Monday quick, spring is in the air, I keep fingers crossed!

[Pinecone]

If you are flying to Lancaster, you can check with @jetdriven at KGAI.

[Fly Boomer]

21 hours ago, Eraaen said:

I’m looking for a. Mechanic that can do an annual on a 231K/Rocket

I would do what @Fritz1 suggests, and start by calling every MSC in the country.  Start close, and work your way out.  There are lots of other shops, but the MSC list is on the Mooney web site.

[Jetpilot86]

Bohm’s in Pekin, IL C15 south of Peoria

did my prebuy short notice awhile back. Owner used to work for an MSC don’t remember which one. Maybe Peoria. 
 

309 657-8947

[William Munney]

Call Jason Doescher at Jed-Aire Aviation in Benson, Minnesota. (KBBB). So what, you fly a little, stay overnight in the little town there and you are out in 2 days with a fairly priced annual and decades of experience with Mooney.

He is currently doing my annual and fixing some things that were all screwed up from my visit to Don Maxwell Flying Service in Texas.

No question.  The best in the Midwest.

[MikeOH]

13 minutes ago, William Munney said:

Call Jason Doescher at Jed-Aire Aviation in Benson, Minnesota. (KBBB). So what, you fly a little, stay overnight in the little town there and you are out in 2 days with a fairly priced annual and decades of experience with Mooney.

He is currently doing my annual and fixing some things that were all screwed up from my visit to Don Maxwell Flying Service in Texas.

No question.  The best in the Midwest.

Since Don is reputed to walk on water, I'm curious what 'things were all screwed up'?

[N201MKTurbo]

I’ve known and met with a few MSCs they are all about the same. They have a Mooney guru as the boss, but the boss doesn’t spend that much time working on airplanes, he spends most of his time running the business. There is a constant stream of green behind the ears mechanics that cycle through these places that do most of the work. The boss tries to Check everything, but things can slip through the cracks. That is the reality.

[William Munney]

11 hours ago, MikeOH said:

Since Don is reputed to walk on water, I'm curious what 'things were all screwed up'?

First, Don and Paul are fantastic to deal with.  I like them both very much personally.  I’m just going to say that the airplane was there more than enough time to anccomplish the work and that there were some surprising things left undone and done incorrectly.  They are making it right.  Still, highly recommend.

[TheAv8r]

FWIW, there are multiple Mooneys at my home field that have had similar experiences with Maxwell that I have seen first hand. From mistimed mags to improperly installed avionics to messed up paint, etc. I believe they are extremely good for very Mooney-specific problems, but you should use caution when it comes to typical maintenance, likely related to what Rich said above. 

[EricJ]

Most shops have mechanics in the hangar that can make mistakes or have stuff slip through.   I think what makes Maxwells exceptional is that they have a much deeper knowledge and experience level with Mooneys than most, are very practical about repairs, are good communicators, and will make things right when there are issues.

I think it's hard to ask for more than that.   Plus they're good people, so it's no wonder to me that they get the level of respect that they do.
 

[WilliamR]

On 3/20/2025 at 1:28 PM, EricJ said:

Most shops have mechanics in the hangar that can make mistakes or have stuff slip through.   I think what makes Maxwells exceptional is that they have a much deeper knowledge and experience level with Mooneys than most, are very practical about repairs, are good communicators, and will make things right when there are issues.

I think it's hard to ask for more than that.   Plus they're good people, so it's no wonder to me that they get the level of respect that they do.
 

I would not say doing work without owner authorization or not even trying to discuss annual inspection findings despite the owner asking is good communication. Ignoring e-mails after asking for an update every couple of weeks I would not consider good communication either, but that's just me. 

I've never had a shop mess so many things up in my 38 years in GA and 20+ years of aircraft ownership ($5,000+ worth). Got to the point they would fix one thing and break another and not without some push back. After a couple days of that I run out of patience.

Happy to provide my e-mails with them (phone calls were rarely returned) on my encore conversion. It is eye opening.

P.S. Do they own the zip tie company? Never seen so many in my life. Zip ties on intake tubes, zip ties on engine mounts, zip ties everywhere! Oh, and someone should buy them a label maker. Circuit breaker labels hand written on masking tape is weak. I'm fancy like that, though. Ha!

[Jakes Simmons]

Yup, have to concur with the previous post. Lots of stuff was missed after a six week annual. Terrible communication, wasn’t given any idea of cost until very end. Sky Vista in Marysville Ohio is another fantastic shop. Not officially an MSC but they take care of a bunch of Mooney’s and now take care of mine. Shop has a number of young(!), enthusiastic mechanics. Breath of fresh air.

My hope is that Lynn and Tamara fully take over Maxwell’s in the future and bring back the service that originally created the reputation.

[MikeOH]

WOW!  I'm going to stick with Mark at Top Gun. The INSPECTION is performed quickly (a few days) and I get a very detailed, organized, 'punch list' with each item clearly labelled 'airworthy' or 'discretionary'.  I 'sign off' on what I want done and return via email.  AFTER that, the work is performed.  Typically, when I call I can speak with someone immediately; if not, I've always had my call returned within a day.  Emails answered within a day, as well.