Been a while, What's a high time airframe?

[Parttime_Pilot_Blake]

Last time I was here I was kicking the tires on a late 80's Mooney M20J. Against the nearly unanimous chorus of Mooney owners warning against it, I bought it. More than 1000 hours later I can't say it wasn't without problems, but I think in general I came out WAY ahead. Through some effort I was able to rebuild the logs that were missing, with one hole I still can't explain. All signs point to this aircraft having a gear up landing at some point... but never could find FAA reports or any logs or mechanics that had worked on it. 

On to the point of the post. My aircraft is nearing 9000 hours on its airframe. The only thing I can find is people warning about the tail trim and mounting and to watch that. What else do I need to watch as I bravely bring this aircraft into 5 digit airframe time? Holler if you have a Mooney with more airframe time than mine and what you learned from your "high time" Mooney.  

[Hank]

Hmmm . . . You should talk to @bluehighwayflyer, he had a J for a number of years that had 10,000+ hours when he bought it. 

[ArtVandelay]

There was a J for sale a few years ago with 10,000 hours, it was a Korean trainer. If it accumulated hours on long cross country trips, that’s no big deal, but a trainer?! I can only imagine the abuse it took.

[Parker_Woodruff]

I owned N19NS which was an Embry Riddle trainer and held a different tail number during that time.  The logbooks were a mile long of handwritten entries.  The places that serviced it never made much/any note of high-hours issues...

But ERAU certainly took great care of it, and so did the subsequent owner or owners.

I purchased with around 6900 hours and sold with around 7200.

[KSMooniac]

I would not bat an eye at high AF time on a Mooney so long as the maintenance was kept up... there are no known structural fatigue concerns that I know of that potentially lurk with higher times on other airframes.  Corrosion is the biggest enemy, but a 1000 TT airframe can corrode just the same if it is not stored well and cared for.  All of the "stuff" that can wear out with use is replaceable in a Mooney without too much anguish... things like rod end bearings, gear donuts, tail bushings, fuel tank sealant, etc.  

Keep flying and maintaining!

[SilentT]

4 hours ago, Parker_Woodruff said:

I owned N19NS which was an Embry Riddle trainer and held a different tail number during that time.  The logbooks were a mile long of handwritten entries.  The places that serviced it never made much/any note of high-hours issues...

But ERAU certainly took great care of it, and so did the subsequent owner or owners.

I purchased with around 6900 hours and sold with around 7200.

@bluehighwayflyerYall be flipping planes in less than 1000 hours around here... WTF

[Parttime_Pilot_Blake]

On 1/22/2026 at 12:14 PM, Parker_Woodruff said:

I owned N19NS which was an Embry Riddle trainer and held a different tail number during that time.  The logbooks were a mile long of handwritten entries.  The places that serviced it never made much/any note of high-hours issues...

But ERAU certainly took great care of it, and so did the subsequent owner or owners.

I purchased with around 6900 hours and sold with around 7200.

Mine is also an Embry Riddle plane. For those thinking of the abuse it received, your not wrong, but your not completely right either. Until pretty recently you needed complex time for your commercial ticket. So they were usually flown by pilots that knew how to not bounce them down the runway. When they got rid of that requirements schools kept their "advanced" students in the the cheapest planes they could maintain. Something about pulling your gear up makes me feel more like a "real" pilot. ~tailwinds

[Will.iam]

For me it’s the inefficiency of leaving the gear out that would bug me. Hell might as well go jogging with my shorts down at my ankles. About the same inefficiency.