Lasar Aviation Mooney Assurance Program - Really?

[Schllc]

11 minutes ago, Yetti said:

Mooney is probably kind of one of those standard "Management Teams"  where they want their salary which is usually pretty steep, but don't really know how to do real work.    The Factory could probably work if there were some get your hands dirty management team that knew how to do real work. 

An Owner buyout ie crowdsource of the factory, with actual shares in the factory, would be better than this current Owner Assurance plan proposal which looks to be a give us some cash and you might get something in the future plan. 

 

Maybe, but organizing, collecting, and then managing all has to happen, just to see....

[Tom F]

It looks like the guys at Lasar are listening to the feedback.  There are more details on the website.  I am reviewing.

[Aaviationist]

3 hours ago, Schllc said:

I took operational to mean within regulatory confines, it is operational.  
a manufacturing certificate is neither easy or cheap to obtain. 
from a profitability perspective, it is obviously not functioning properly. 

None of that matters if you can’t make anything. If you can’t “operate” you can’t be “operational”

[Marc_B]

Speaking to a friend who's reading The Al Mooney Story.  Just to hammer home the reason why Mooney is and was unlikely to move from Kerrville, TX..."Kerrville offered Al a ninety-nine-year lease on the airport for a dollar a year."  I believe Mooney left Wichita and moved to Kerrville in 1953.  Lots of financial incentive to stay; lots of financial disincentive to try to move everything.

[76Srat]

I ran out of popcorn reading all of this thread--fascinating stuff.  I spewed out all of the remaining popcorn in mouth when I thought how "easily" taking over and solving all of the problems Mooney and LASAR evidently have, seeing that not many of us on here actually pay the pissant $25/year to be "Supporting Member" of MS.  Maybe we can all start by doing that before we start throwing rocks inside our own glass house.

One more quick thought, and this is based solely on what they've published:  it seems obvious to me that LASAR have no idea about their own market and what sells and what doesn't.  Their latest scheme, though clever, will never fly unless and until they get to know their market and marketplace, specifcally Mooney.  Shame on them for showing up barely knowing how to spell "Mooney", much less expect us to trust them with the company's survival going forward.  This makes Beechcraft/Textron products look all the more appealing by the minute . . . and that ain't no compliment to them, either.

[MikeOH]

11 minutes ago, 76Srat said:

 Maybe we can all start by doing that before we start throwing rocks inside our own glass house.

Using 1/2" thick tempered glass helps immensely

[LANCECASPER]

1 hour ago, Marc_B said:

Speaking to a friend who's reading The Al Mooney Story.  Just to hammer home the reason why Mooney is and was unlikely to move from Kerrville, TX..."Kerrville offered Al a ninety-nine-year lease on the airport for a dollar a year."  I believe Mooney left Wichita and moved to Kerrville in 1953.  Lots of financial incentive to stay; lots of financial disincentive to try to move everything.

That lease was broken over 5 decades ago when they filed bankruptcy in 1969.

But even still today they pay very little rent to stay in Kerrville. They are however assessed a significant amount each year for the improvements and the equipment. 

Edit after @Marc B 's comment:

If you go to kerrcad.org, do a property search and type in Mooney International

[Marc_B]

@LANCECASPER Lance, I thought that sounded too good to be true!  The link wouldn't work though; says search expired.

[LANCECASPER]

Just now, Marc_B said:

@LANCECASPER Lance, I thought that sounded too good to be true!  The link wouldn't work though; says search expired.

If you go to kerrcad.org, do a property search and type in Mooney International

[Fix]

I would be more happy to pay directly to Mooney as an supporter than to Lasar.
Now I feel the money get into the wrong pockets.

As I wrote before Lasar did markup a part with 60% just to drop ship it directly to me.
Would be 100times better if Mooney took 40% of that money, and then Lasar had a normal cut like 20% instead.

Will see what happens, but for $200 each month and only 10% discount on parts not worth it.
Let's say I will need a part in 2 years that cost $5000, then I get 10% ($500 off) and then pay $4800 in "subscription fees" = $4500+4800 = $9300...  Guess it's better to pay full price instead.

Why not add an "supporter" subscription for $10-$30 instead to help out in general. 

 

[hazek]

38 minutes ago, Fix said:

Will see what happens, but for $200 each month and only 10% discount on parts not worth it.
Let's say I will need a part in 2 years that cost $5000, then I get 10% ($500 off) and then pay $4800 in "subscription fees" = $4500+4800 = $9300...  Guess it's better to pay full price instead.

This is the thought process Lasar seems to think we're not capable to go down. They say:

How does this make any sense?? Pay us a min of USD 200/month so we only raise the price to 30% instead of 100%???

They are basically looking for a huge price increase. And not on a part by part basis but merely to have the privilege to be able to buy a part, maybe! Why oh why did I buy a Mooney. I'll sooner seriously think about a turbo A36 before I pay into this fishy, full of red flags, nontransparent scheme.

[Yetti]

Here is the value of the factory in a picture.   

[Brandt]

Actually, here is the value of the factory in a picture.

265 kts GS.  194 TAS.  14.9 GPH. CHT ~300 degrees.

And I’d like the parts to keep it that way.

 

 

 

 

 

[hazek]

17 minutes ago, Brandt said:

And I’d like the parts to keep it that way.

What makes you think this Lasar thing is going to get you that?

[Max Clark]

33 minutes ago, Brandt said:

265 kts GS.  194 TAS.  14.9 GPH. CHT ~300 degrees.

Dang, here I am putting along at 165 TAS in my Ovation

[Brandt]

50 minutes ago, Max Clark said:

Dang, here I am putting along at 165 TAS in my Ovation

Turbos are usually my friend….

[Schllc]

18 minutes ago, Brandt said:

Turbos are usually my friend….

I thought I could do without, and I hated it. 
can’t see me in a NA again. 

[dkkim73]

1 hour ago, Brandt said:

Actually, here is the value of the factory in a picture.

265 kts GS.  194 TAS.  14.9 GPH. CHT ~300 degrees.

And I’d like the parts to keep it that way.

 

The easy operational access to a lot of speed at fairly conservative settings in the Acclaim platform is just amazing. The Mooneys are just such efficient traveling machines. 

[LasarAviation]

Greetings all,

First off, a sincere thank you to everyone who’s shared constructive feedback and thoughtful questions! We’re taking your concerns to heart and several clarifications have already been made on the website as we continue to add information.

Some context: over the past year and a half, we’ve raised the capital to purchase Mooney’s parts division, stabilized and grown Lasar out of the COVID era, and taken on the heavy lift of managing and funding the Mooney facility itself. Since June, our small but determined team has been working to build and execute a plan that continues Mooney Product Support long into the future.  Mooney Assurance is one way to help us get parts flowing and rebuild brand confidence.

We’re not claiming that Mooney Assurance is currently a “home-run” value proposition, we simply want to provide as much value as we can while we tackle an enormous job. The idea for this program came from a number of Mooney flyers who wanted us to provide an avenue to help the brand.  We understand why some may feel they don’t yet have enough information, and that’s fair.  Our focus has been on the day to day, so communication with you all is something we’re working to improve, our goal being to balance sharing updates with digging in and doing the work.

This project is a heavy lift, and many hands make light work. Your engagement, questions, and participation help move the entire effort forward. Please stay tuned for more updates as we work to “show” rather than just “tell.”

For those who wish to discuss specific ideas or concerns directly, please reach out to Brett Stokes at brett.stokes@lasar.com. We appreciate your patience and hope you’ll join us in preserving a legacy.

Stay tuned this week for increasingly informative updates.

Sincerely, 

Brett Stokes and John Smoker

Lasar Aviation

[Justin Schmidt]

3 hours ago, LasarAviation said:

and many hands make light work

If anyone read Mythical Man Month by Brooks, they know that's not true. Should be required reading for everyone most especially Management. 

Good Management and people that know what they are doing is key. 

Anyone that has actually run and/or turned a company or group around knows the way to get cash is offer stock. It has a benefit that is attractive to those that want that risk. Lighting money on fire is not attractive,  no one here is elon musk...even he doesn't lite money on fire

[hammdo]

‘9 women can not have a baby in 1 month’…

;o)

-Don