Mooney question???

mcoflyer

mcoflyer

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mcoflyer
Since Mooney no longer makes airplanes, how hard is it to get parts for a Mooney?

I ask since i'm going to be looking for an airplane in about 2-3 months. I've looked online and found some pretty nice Mooney's (40-45 years old) for $50,000 or even a bit less. I'd rather do that and put in $10,000 when I get it to upgrade the panel or fix some other items.

Will parts be hard to get going forward? And, will they be expensive to get?
 
Parts availability should not be an issue. Mooney was recently purchased by a new company that pumped in a bunch of money to get things going again.

Get a J model if you can.
 
Well, Mooney wasn't making full airplanes for a few years, but they were still producing parts to support existing owners as far I know (and wikipedia concurs). They were just bought by a group of Chinese investors who plan to restart production (we'll see) and continue to supply parts and support. I agree that it's a bit uncertain, but given the number of Mooneys still flying I doubt the parts stream will dry up...
 
I doubt that there will be a problem obtaining parts . With the new company putting money back into the company ,plus there are a few after market modifiers. I would feel comfortable ,if I wanted a mooney.
 
There shouldn't be any problem getting parts for your vintage Mooney. There is a good network of Service Centers, and the factory has been making parts to order even after it stopped aircraft production around 2008. Aircraft production is scheduled to start up early next year. Go to Mooneyspace.com and look around a bit. You can get some good advice on selecting your Mooney there.
 
Mooney didn't go out of business, they just quit building new airplanes for a while, and that's set to change.

I've also found that the number of Mooney parts I've needed so far has been... Zero. The only thing even specific to a Mooney was a nose gear mod and that was an STC from LASAR.

So, don't worry about it - Buy your Mooney and enjoy it! :thumbsup:
 
dukeblue219 said:
They were just bought by a group of Chinese investors who plan to restart production (we'll see) and continue to supply parts and support.
Click to expand...

Just to make things clear, they weren't bought by Chinese investors. It got the funds from a US company with headquarters in LA. Dr. Jerry Chen is the president of that company, called Soaring America. On top of that, Dr Chen is actually has Taiwanese roots, not Chinese. Also, he is a Professor of Aeronautics at UCLA. The new company is completely American owned.
 
kurtsnyder said:
Just to make things clear, they weren't bought by Chinese investors. It got the funds from a US company with headquarters in LA. Dr. Jerry Chen is the president of that company, called Soaring America. On top of that, Dr Chen is actually has Taiwanese roots, not Chinese. Also, he is a Professor of Aeronautics at UCLA. The new company is completely American owned.
Click to expand...

It didn't seem that straightforward when I was reading about it earlier. There seemed to be some confusion last month about the relationship between Soaring America and a Chinese company which also announced they were buying Mooney. Here's a Flying Magazine article, and here's how wikipedia puts it:

"On 8 October 2013, it was announced that the company had been purchased by Soaring America Corporation, a new California-based company headed by President Cheng Yuan (Jerry Chen) of Taiwan, for an undisclosed amount. Chen heads a group of Chinese investors that some reports indicate include the Meijing Group, a Chinese real estate developer. Chen indicated that his priorities include resuming production of the Acclaim and the Ovation, while continuing to supply parts for the existing fleet. Chen stated that the company will remain in Kerrville, Texas and concentrate on suppling new aircraft for the Chinese market."​

Do you have knowledge that the company is not Chinese controlled? I don't even have a problem with them if they are -- I'd rather somebody build Mooneys than nobody, especially if they keep production in America for now.
 
Parts shouldn't be an issue. There are plenty of used parts in the salvage yards and new stuff is still available from the factory. I ordered some parts from Mooney this past summer, there was no wait other than shipping.
 
As others have said, no problem with parts. I have a 1967 Mooney and I've had no problems at all. In the other hand there is very little that Mooney makes that I've had to actually replace. Airframe is STOUT. It's the avionics and engine stuff that needs maintenance so that means Garmin, King, and Lycomin gets most of my money, nothing in the last year for Mooney. Since 2008 Mooney has not built airplanes, but the factory is still open producing spare parts with a much smaller staff.


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dukeblue219 said:
It didn't seem that straightforward when I was reading about it earlier. There seemed to be some confusion last month about the relationship between Soaring America and a Chinese company which also announced they were buying Mooney. Here's a Flying Magazine article, and here's how wikipedia puts it:
"On 8 October 2013, it was announced that the company had been purchased by Soaring America Corporation, a new California-based company headed by President Cheng Yuan (Jerry Chen) of Taiwan, for an undisclosed amount. Chen heads a group of Chinese investors that some reports indicate include the Meijing Group, a Chinese real estate developer. Chen indicated that his priorities include resuming production of the Acclaim and the Ovation, while continuing to supply parts for the existing fleet. Chen stated that the company will remain in Kerrville, Texas and concentrate on suppling new aircraft for the Chinese market."​
Do you have knowledge that the company is not Chinese controlled? I don't even have a problem with them if they are -- I'd rather somebody build Mooneys than nobody, especially if they keep production in America for now.
Click to expand...

I'm like you, I really don't care one way or another if the company is owned by the Chinese or not. But yeah, it's been pretty unclear and there have been a ton of rumors going around too. Let me repost below something that was posted on Mooneyspace back in the middle of October by Bill Eldred, Director of Engineering for Mooney. This has cleared a lot of things up for many of us.


Hello Mooney Followers,
It is time for all of you to take a deep breath and listen to what I have to say about Mooney International, now that I am allowed to speak.
We have been working for months with Dr. Jerry Chen, President of Soaring America on a deal to provide funding to restart production of Mooney aircraft in Kerrville, TX. This last Friday, all of the necessary hurdles being jumped, Mooney Aviation Company became Mooney International Corporation, with a funding injection by Soaring America. Soaring America is a U.S owned company, with its home office located in the Los Angeles, Ca area.
If you were to meet Jerry, you would find a very intelligent, likable guy. I mean this guy is a full Professor of Aeronautics at UCLA, and he saw the potential in resurrecting one of the most advanced aircraft designs in the world, and growing on that for future Aerospace products. When Jerry first approached us, one of the first visions he presented to us was to maintain a high quality aircraft brand, made in the USA by American workers, sold worldwide including up and coming Emerging markets worldwide. Restarting Production of the Ovation and the Acclaim Type S is an expensive proposition, and Soaring America has the kind if financial backing to get this place up and running again. You, as Mooney owners can expect a serious improvement in parts flow and customer care in the coming months. An example would be the Elevator skins, which have not been available for years, are now shipping from the factory in Kerrville to needy customers everywhere. Why? Because Jerry spent $16,000 to replace the rubber press plate on our Large Hydro Press that had deteriorated beyond use several years ago. We are currently receiving bids to refurbish the factory, and are looking to hire upwards of 100 people in the coming year. This will allow us to start Production of new aircraft in early 2014, delivering later in the year.
Last week, an unfortunate, and inaccurate Press Release found its way onto some of the internet aviation websites. That subsequently lit up the chatlines with all manner of speculation and comment, including one commenter that was ready to sell his F Model because “he wasn’t going to put any Chinese Junk” on his airplane. Really??
Allow me to present some FACTS to you, that you may not be aware of:

- Mooney International Corporation is a U.S. Corporation. Want proof? Friday I transferred the Type Certificate 2A3 to Mooney International Corp. under the authority of FAA Order 8110.4C Paragraph 3-2(f)(2) which states: “Certificate Transfer to a Domestic Holder. When a TC holder transfers a TC within the U.S., the FAA must reissue the TC immediately. The TC holder submits the original TC to the ACO after completing the transfer endorsement on the reverse side of the TC. This changes the TC holder, and the effective date is the date of the TC holder’s signature…

- I personally do not care if another country makes “junk”, or not. I am Chief Engineer for Mooney International, and Mooney International makes aircraft and its parts, in Kerrville, Texas that conform to our Type Design. The people that are, and will be employed here are Americans that live in the Kerrville area. Always has been, always will be.
- Is the source of this financing originating in other countries? Probably. Let me remind you of another fact: Mooney, for more than the last decade, has been financed by (GASP!) European investors. So if the source of the financing that funds a U.S Company, building a U.S. product in the U.S built by U.S. workers bothers you, then maybe you should check out one of our competitors. Oh, wait! Most of them are owned by foreign companies! But not Mooney International. Oh, and by the way, Dr. Chen’s lineage is not Chinese, rather Taiwanese.

In closing, I hope I have been able to put these rumors to rest. If I were you, I would look for news releases that come from here. What is happening here in Kerrville is GREAT NEWS, and should be greeted as such.

Bill Eldred
Director of Engineering
Mooney International Corp.
 
I have ordered small parts with no issue, but I have seen people complaining about long lead times for other things. I am thankful to see mooney getting an infusion of cash flow.
 
I have owned a 66 M20E for 6 years now. No issue getting parts. I have only had to get a few from the factory but it hasn't been an issue. Many of the common wear parts i.e. gear are manufactured by places like Lake Aero that have PMA approval to manufacture or rebuild parts.

mooneyspace.com is a good web resource

and yeah, the valuations on the older fleet look to be pretty soft, bad for me, great for you.
 
kurtsnyder said:
I'm like you, I really don't care one way or another if the company is owned by the Chinese or not. But yeah, it's been pretty unclear and there have been a ton of rumors going around too. Let me repost below something that was posted on Mooneyspace back in the middle of October by Bill Eldred, Director of Engineering for Mooney. This has cleared a lot of things up for many of us.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing that -- I hadn't seen it elsewhere.
 
It hasn't been a big concern since 2008, and should be much less of a concern going forward. About the only thing that has been very difficult to buy in the past has been an elevator, or elevator skin. Mooney couldn't stamp those skins but that recently changed, and they're available again. Mooneys don't "consume" parts with any regularity, and the parts that are easily damaged (like the nose gear truss) are available in the aftermarket easily. The Mooney Service Center network does a great job supporting the fleet with aftermarket parts, repairs, and maintenance.

Salvage parts are an option too, but not widely available like they are with Cessnas. I'm slowly parting out an M20J and the popular parts went quickly since there generally aren't many in the yards. I visited one of the larger salvage yards a couple weeks ago and they only had a few airframes, and they were pretty much picked clean.
 
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