Mooney Factory stories.

[Mcstealth]

My father let loose with some Mooney factory stories last night and I couldn’t wait to share some of them with the board.

 

He was hired into Mooney as a draftsman (didn’t know that) out of Embry Riddle.  He had his PPL and A&E ratings. Not sure what an A&E is but I guess similar to A&P. One of his first accomplishments was a small redesign of the Johnson Bar. He said every plane starting in ’65 has a better “mechanical advantage” than previous years because of his rework. Something to do with a ‘slot’ he incorporated into the existing handle design that made it easier to get the gear up and locked. Evidently it was a known issue of the difficulty getting the gear up and they put him to work on it soon after he came onboard. Another early design change he said he was completely responsible for was converting the retractable hand crank step to a vacuumed design. He said it took him a day to conceive and draw out plans, but took some time to make it a reality. He said he worked on the boot for awhile to make it reliable. He said the wing leveler boots, and the step retract boot were from the same company and he worked with them on the application and manufacture to make it reliable.  He tried hard to remember the name of the manufacturer but couldn’t.

 

He gave out names, which I didn’t write down, of chief engineers and others and how they would work on M20 refinements and said they could roll off the assembly line a plane a day in 1967.

 

What got my attention the most was when he started to talk about the M22! Evidently there were two departments working on the design. One was Power plant and it systems, and the second was airframe and its systems. The big question/issue was the voltage. 28 or 14 volts? He said he was not happy with the 24 volt decision but it was made so he had to work around it. He said it added weight and complexity that was not needed. He gave an example. The landing gear motors on the M22 were the same motors as used on the Lockheed Electra. A known proven part at the time and readily available. Problem was, they were 14 volts. They had to be rewired for 24 volts. This equaled one of the cost overruns that stressed the project. Another was the rectangular frame on the 22. As he says it, “we had to use a lot of dupe for it to hold pressure” which added weight. He submitted designs to the chief engineer more than once to make a tube design out of the roll cage as opposed to the rectangular design. Those designs were rejected as he was told they were not “Mooney enough” for management. I thought that was interesting that my dad could have changed the course of the Mustang if the plane would have performed just  that much better. If, if , if……. 

 

Anyway, I found this Mooney history very interesting as I had no idea how involved my dad was with Mooney. I always thought he was on the floor, not upstairs actually putting pen and slide rule to paper helping to define the Mooney experience.

 

On a side note,  it is amazing to me how he almost has the memory of a computer. Names, dates, and details he pulls right up. I can't remember what I had for dinner! I am jealous.  I guess that is why he is the engineer and I am not  

[yvesg]

McStealth,

Please send my thanks to your dad for sharing this. I am actually one who flies Mooneys today due to my Dad. I will share more on this with you on another post...

Regards,

Yves

C-FQKM

[1964-M20E]

maybe you can have him recount his adventures on video?

[carusoam]

Spectacular!

Tell the DAD, Thanks for sharing.

He would probably like our discussions on steps and manual gear.

My 65C was a great machine. Worked as designed for several decades.

Best regards,

-a-

[N33GG]

Very interesting!  Thanks for sharing.

 

Side note...I too can remember things from the 60's clearly.  It is what I did yesterday that is a challenge.  Getting old aint for sissies!

[mooneygirl]

Have we interviewed your Dad for our Mooney Legacy video project: Boots on the Ground?  We have 13 hours of video being edited to a 1 3/4 hour movie.  Folks who worked at Mooney for 20-50 years!  The stories of innovation, perseverence and passion are wonderful. The movie will be premiered at Kerrville in late 2013.  Stay tuned.....

[Mcstealth]

Negative. I do not believe he has been interviewed. Would you like to make contact?

 

David

[jetdriven]

I spoke with Joe Schmerber 2 years ago at the MAPA Mooney convention at Kerrville.  I asked him about the N201** tail numbers which appear unique to the 1977 models. He laughed and said he came up with that idea at a meeting back in 1976, when they were planning the 201 project.  He got the ball rolling and reserved all the tail numbers that started with 201. I mentioned that must have been quite a chore, and he mentioned that there was a couple phone calls to some guys at the FAA he knew, and "A few bottles of whiskey." It was taken care of quick.

[KSMooniac]

LOTS of things were easier with the FAA 30-40 years ago!  

[Bob_Belville]

Great stuff. I suppose your dad worked with Brittain Industries in Tulsa. They still support the step servos, (I bought a rebuilt unit from them a few months ago.) They also made to old PC system and then the pneumatic autopilots built on the PC system.