John Pleisse Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 Jimmy has had a few for sale. I was shopping O's on the open market (not at Jimmy's) a few years back and stumbled onto two decptive concealments of tail strikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 Lots of different thoughts about DH, repairs vs. replacement, pricing and desirability. Old gear-ups should not be an issue; more recent may decrease pricing; either should be acceptable with proper repairs [recorded in the logbook, and inspected during Pre-Purchase]. Finding evidence of work on the airframe and not in the logs would make me run away, after beating whatever deposits I had paid out of the seller if necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N601RX Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 I don't think I would even pay much attention to whether it was recent or old. I would probably perfer it be recent, so I got the recent upgrades and can possibly talk to the mechanic or shop that repaired it. I would be more concerened wheither it was a typical gear up or something more. I would not be as concered about the ones that land flat and slide to a stop on the runway after verify the repairs were made correctly.These should be bolt on replacement parts. I have saw some that have departed the runway and subtained much more serious damage that wasn't repairable by just bolting on some replacement part. I would be much more cautious about buying one of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 Good point! Unless the N-number has been changed, you can verify this by searching both the NTSB Accident database, and the FAA Incident database. The gear up my plane experienced was an incident, it took me a while to find it because I didn't know they were recorded separately from Accidents. The difference is spelled out in the FARs, and a simple gear up on asphalt/concrete without hitting anything else is an incident. Yes, I knew it had happened but wanted to read about it anyway, and I still bought the plane. Flies great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottfromiowa Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 I had a keen interest in the proper repair of my plane after it had a gear up. Not a re-sale issue for me as I plan to keep the plane and in conjunction with the repairs the engine was overhauled and the prop replaced. The plane had the following damage: -Nose gear doors (replaced OEM clamshell doors with later IMPROVED overlapping gear doors) -Replaced Belly skins with LASER one piece belly (Less Maintenance as removal of one piece belly vs. multiple OEM panels) -Replaced inboard (right) flap hinge with new hinge -Replaced retractable boarding step (scrapped/tube damage) That is it. There was no wing skin or tail contact. All repairs documented in logbooks (Airframe and Engine). For me the incident resulted in a MUCH better airplane. All repairs were essentially "upgrades" with the exception of the flap hinge and step...I say upgrades in that each improved the plane and were "bolt-on" replacements. Don't NOT buy because of a gear up. DO confirm extent of damage (I have photos) and the documentation of repairs/upgrades... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaMan Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 So did you buy the plane? I expected to find a Mooney with a gear-up in its history when I went looking -- it seemed that all of them had one at some point. The one I bought ended up being a NDH airplane, but that certainly wasn't a requirement. For what it's worth, it seems like that's not a bad price for the airplane, but you could probably find one with a 430 and a sloped windshield for the same price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m20flyer Posted October 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 I didn't buy it. It would have been more of a compromise than I'm willing to make. Still lookin'... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Damage history, especially something that happened long ago and shows up in the logs with proper documentation, concerns me less than the hidden problems that may not found in a pre-buy (rusted cage, etc.). Also with the ever increasing cost of avionics, having a relatively current stack can save you a ton over doing the retrofit yourself and incurring the depreciation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaV8or Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 With hurricane Sandy, I wonder if we'll see another submarine Mooney show up on eBay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 With hurricane Sandy, I wonder if we'll see another submarine Mooney show up on eBay? The eye passed over my area about an hour ago. I just hope everyone outside tied down good. There were some pretty high gusts in my area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meddesign Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 I bought mine gear up for salvage value. I am an A&P so it made sense, when you do not count the hours spent. I am not sure if this applies however you can see that I did not concern myself with damage history. In that regard it may be an opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcastor Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 You'll need to saw off the door to get out of mine in the air, assuming you can't fit through a 2" wide gap. . . . Even if that were possible, youd have to put the parachute on outside. I agree...it would be pretty tough to miss the tail jumping out of a mooney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 Even if that were possible, youd have to put the parachute on outside. I agree...it would be pretty tough to miss the tail jumping out of a mooney. Tail, schmail! Try opening your door in-flight. It moves about 2". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.