Saving a Mooney from the Scrapyard - Episode 4: AIRWORTHY
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 11 янв 2025
- So... the meteor crater and Winslow are in Arizona.... I'm not from around here. We had a tight schedule and needed to have it airworthy by the end of May 2020 to fly it to Don Maxwell's shop in Texas for specialized repairs. We stopped by LASAR and snapped a tach drive cable along the way, and met the Pateys (bought a Best Tug) on the way back. Memorable round trip from WA to TX.
Congratulations! I bought a 1965 M20C Mooney in June and have really enjoyed it.
I initially wanted a Mooney but after a couple rides in M and J models I was a bit out of my league after 15 years not flying. A few deals fell through on vintage Bonanzas, then this project fell into my lap. Couldn't be happier with it. Posting the experimental CAFE Mooney interview soon, keep an eye out.
I enjoyed all four videos nice job ....
Thank you! It was quite an adventure and met some interesting people along the way.
Outstanding job. Congrats on saving an old lady.👍
I chuckled at those open ended “torque” wrenches at 2:18.
Yeah, poor choice of words:)
I really enjoyed these four videos today. Been watching Mike Patey for about three years, and I just wander the internet learning about aircraft that tickle my fancy. I am not an aviator, just a dude that has always dropped what I’m doing to stare at what I hear up in the sky. I love flying, and I love aircraft even more, and I especially love Mooney’s. Best Regards, Eric in Oregon.
Best part is you spell your name right. I'm also easily distracted by flying objects, and my wife is slowly becoming that way (lucky me.) Meeting the Patey's was not disappointing, we spent a few hours with Mark and listened to some great stories. Mike was deep in whatever he was working on but he insisted we feel how light the carbon fiber vertical stabilizer was:) One of these days I'll swing by and take you for a flight if you're up for that.
-Eric in Kelso WA
I can’t imagine the waves of nervousness and excitement you must have felt on that first flight! Thank you for bringing a wonderful Mooney back to life!
Had to fight back the bad thoughts on that first flight after such an extensive rebuild with the Wife/family/friends watching. The 200ish mph fly by with safety spotter was a good conclusion to the test. I ended up with 30 hours instruction time with the round trip to Texas before solo, probably for the best since I had hardly flown in the previous 15 years. Now I just need to do some new videos, maybe on the upgrades that are worth it and those that aren't. The last 3 cross country flights averaged 183 mph TAS but it burns 12+ gph doing it.
Good job!
Love to see you keep an old Mooney flying! I just did a bunch of updates on my '62.
I’m really enjoying it, due for annual end of May and just received the MT composite prop last week. Have you had your’s awhile?
@@HairHelmet I have owned mine for 8 years now, but I've spent a lot more time getting it in shape than I have had opportunities to fly. I just finished a 3 year stint during which I repaired and upgraded numerous things. Everything we took apart revealed more that needed repair... I feel MUCH more confident in the plane, now. I'm in the process of getting the annual taken care of for return to service. I now have an engine analyzer...I can't believe I flew without one! Hopefully, in the future, I will have fewer maintenance breaks.
The MT prop sounds amazing, way lighter than your current 3-blade. When it's time to replace my prop, I'd like one.
@@jamesgrossmann866 the confidence after a full year down/inspection is priceless. It’s a bit irrational the choices I’ve made with upgrades, an analyzer would have been a wise choice before the powerflow or propeller...
For the hat "Make America Great Again" thumb up. Greetings from a pilot from Poland.
I really enjoyed your videos saving the Mooney. I have Mooney N78934, a 1961 M20C that when I got her six years ago, had the same paint scheme. Not so much anymore though. Love my Mooney, congratulations on yours!!!
That’s crazy, must have been handing out the N numbers sequentially in those early years. We really enjoy ours, pack it to the ceiling and we can be gone for a week or more, or go solo without any weight and it turns into a rocket. Hopefully we’ll have a few more videos out this month, an interview with the experimental Cafe Mooney being one of them.
@@HairHelmet-Why did you take it to the Mooney specialist in Texas? Thanks!
@@thesearcherman6652 Had corrosion in the lower spar doubler on the right side. Only option was to fix it or replace the whole wing. A used wing was $10-13k plus paint and labor, or roughly the same amount to have the corrosion repair done at Don Maxwell's in TX. Don hadn't ever heard of one failing but it needed to be dealt with. Turned out to be the worst they'd seen. They have a modified car lift for Mooneys, and completely open up the lower half of the wing to replace a 1/4" thick by 6'x2" strip of aluminum.
@@HairHelmet- Wow, had no idea! And pics of the old spar/corrosion? Thanks for the reply.
@@thesearcherman6652 I've got a picture of the strip that was replaced. I just wasn't sure of how much detail to put in the videos at the time and didn't want to garner unwanted attention. I'll see about putting a short video together on that subject. Experimental CAFE Mooney upload coming soon...
Just finished watching all 4 videos of your project. Thanks for sharing.
PS 7:18 Winslow & the crater are in AZ...😉
Yeah, I know... I mentioned that in the description:) Most of my life has been spent between HI AK OR and WA. This desert stuff is foreign to me. Might be time to correct it. We just hit 200 hours since getting it airworthy and still going strong.
Closer to Flagstaff than Winslow, Aridzona, that's Meteor Crater
Yeah... I decided to leave that un-corrected just as a reminder to always double check my occasional carelessness when I'm convinced that I know what I'm doing.....
Man I got a Mooney m20G that needs this same overhaul. Gonna start AP class im august. Everybody tells me no when I ask for help to rebuild. Its ok ill figure it out. In the meantime I plan on buying one that flies lol.
What kind of condition is it in? Kyle Kennedy did the bulk of the work on mine, he was the GM at Lasar for 4-5 years and now lives in western Michigan. My plane was his 4th extensive Mooney build. If I do it again, I'd probably go for an E since I've maxed out the mods on this C unless I go injected and Lopresti cowl. The short bodies are hot rods as far as the fighter feel goes, this one climbs out at 1500 fpm at sea level and 183 mph TAS cruise if I push it. Back in November we crossed under an MOA in the Nevada high desert at 200 ft AGL, crazy fun. But I'd be money ahead if I'd just gone for a 201.
@@HairHelmet as far as corrosion I dont see any. Its now in 3 pieces like yours. Ive removed the engine and firewall. Its all screwed up. I took the seats out and sent them to get upholstered. I also removed the flight deck. I wanted to do a complete makeover because I wanted to keep it until I couldnt fly anymore. Then I had to get it away from the airport. Wings in the inside and out look great but ive probably gone too far with the breaking down of the dang thing to get any help without about 60k or more in repairs. So I decided to go to school and in the meantime find another Mooney. That class starts in August and now watching you guys work on this thing it has hit me that its going to take several years of on the job training to get to that level of putting a plane back in the sky. If anything im looking at this plane as a training tool while in school but im not giving up on it. Its not just because im a mooniac its the love of being a pilot and a part if such a great community/family of aviators. I want to change careers and this is where I want to be in aviation. Ive talked to Don Maxwell before. Very nice guy. Im sure you know Paul leowen. Ive purchased SEVERAL parts from him. He has been a super big help. Oh well ill
Keep on keeping on.
@@houstontexas5486 We had a number of volunteers plus the A&P's when we did the final 4 week push to finish it. It can be done quickly if you've got the right people, it'd be worth having Kyle work on it for a week at a time to get you on track. I had quite a bit of corrosion and body damage from the gear collapse along with it being a Pacific coast plane left outside for years. The lower spar doubler had nearly corroded in half on the right wing which is why it ended up at Maxwell's. Don said they'd never seen one fail but it needed to be fixed and was safe to ferry it, $12k fix was cheaper than replacing the wing. Bought a few parts from Paul and met him and his wife at the Sunriver Mooney fly in last summer.
Watching the Patey's videos (and meeting them on the way back from Texas) gives us a sense of what can be achieved in our spare time... short of raising young kids for some.
@@HairHelmet I can't thank you enough for the info how do I get in touch with Kyle? It's a good idea like you said to have him work on it a week at a time. I need a place to work on it because I had to move it from the airport. So I bought an acre of land and about to put a metal building up. Once I get the tools I need inside after building it then I'll contact Kyle. Wow you said your lower spar was nearly corroded in half? That's crazy LOL. Do you think that you and the guys could have fixed it yourself?
@@houstontexas5486 email me at hair_helmet@icloud.com and I'll pass the number along. It was a 'lower spar doubler', goes from the center of the plane out the wing 4-6 ft. 1/4" x 2" or so wide reinforcement. The early Mooneys have the biggest issue with it and thought to be a metallurgy issue from the aluminum manufacturer. 1961-1964 I think they said, starts in the corners just in front of the rear seats, spill a soda or have standing water and it starts a nasty intergranular corrosion. We explored every possibility to fix it ourselves but Don Maxwell said it was a 110 man hour job no matter who does it. That was cheaper than replacing the wing or trying to fix it ourselves. The whole underside of the wing has to be opened up, including the fuel tank to get the doubler out. Nasty job.
Awesome
There is nothing like a good old Mooney short body with a Johnson bar, especially one that’s been lovingly resurrected meticulously.
Great job and thanks for sharing the journey with us on a high quality video...👍🏻
For what it’s worth, I approve of the content of this video, the 10 gallon MAGA hat & Nancy toilet seat...😂
Thanks man. You never know whose feelings you're going to hurt nowadays, just can't worry about that stuff... until you get canceled.
I'll work on some more videos, I lost my self control when it came to 'safety' upgrades (what I told my wife). Now I have a computer that won't crash during editing so I'll catch up on the last 4-5 months.
Looking forward to more of your Mooney videos...
Love the MAGA Hat ,
Great vid
Rob
NSW
Australia
ppl
Renting a plane and touring Australia is on my bucket list, not sure that’ll happen with how crazy our two countries have become.
Go directly to 5:30 if you want to see someone with nerves of steel!
Haha, pretty much. Had to remind myself to breath a few times there. First flight after such an extensive dismantling....
Try a surefire electronic Mag
I've got the ElectroAir electronic mag installed and love it, haven't heard much feedback on the Surefire.
How many A&P hours went into the restoration?
From August 2019 to March 2020 we managed 2-3 days a week on average off and on, me assisting the A&P who specialized in sheetmetal repairs as we fixed specific problems one at a time. When the lockdowns hit, Kyle (the Mooney specialist) was laid off and I flew him out here to work on it full time for 4 weeks at 50-60 hours a week.
That said... it would have been cheaper to buy one already flying. Similar to buying a kit plane that is already flying.... let the previous owner take the hit on depreciation and time/labor. The advantage when you build it yourself is there's no hidden secrets. I know full well the condition this plane is in throughout and the quality of work completed.
Hey, I have two mooneys that I am trying to save from the scrapyard… what is the best way to take the tail off?
Two Mooneys to save?? Remove the prop, empennage, and tail feathers and the plane will fit sideways on a trailer.... pretty close to 8' wide I think. You'll see in some of my videos where we reattach the empennage, the row of rivets behind the baggage door and 6 bolts I think. Disconnect the trim torque tube, rudder, and elevator linkages. Comes apart quickly if you're good at drilling out rivets.
Thanks for sharing. Sorry your PC crashes when you edit. Maybe you should get a Mac:)
Funny
I used to have a friend who never missed an opportunity to say, “you should get a Mac.” Used to...😆😁👍🏻
As irony would have it, my niece is editing for me now.... on a Mac.
.