Mooney M-20

This week marks owning my '65 M20E for 20 years. Fast, fuel efficient and goes and goes. Brittian autopilot still works. One thing I do worry about is locating parts for the 56 year old bird! Not long ago, I was parking at KGED when 8 other Mooneys all landed and parked, I immediately wanted to set up a race from Coastal Delaware to Cape May, NJ, one at a time, time measured, 500-1000 ft along the beach... Any takers?

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Gill, the Monroy extended tank STC is suitable for all mooney aircraft. It adds 36 gallons fuel capacity to the wing tanks. No pumps. Any mechanic can install the necessary fittings, fuel cap, pipes, sealant.

Best upgrade for any Mooney that I can think of, especially the early models that, in my opinion, are short on range.

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Looking for Mooney N1072C last located in Ft. Lauterdale, FL. Used to fly her in 1958 when she was owned by Liberty Aviation at Tamiami Airport in Miami.

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Would love to know what ever happened to 1960 Mooney M20A.
N6598B

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My 1968 Mooney Exec is my second Mooney... It's highly modified... In many ways a 201. Set US & World speed records with it. Painted it with the Mooney Eagle design, red, white, & blue. Has the modified fuel tanks so we flew nonstop from Albuquerque to Oshkosh & had 20 gallons left over! Would recommend this low maintenance plane to everyone!

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Bought a 1966 M20E in 2000. Still own it today. I flew from Dallas to Baltimore in 6.5 hours at 17.5k FT with an O-2 bottle. Had to start down over eastern KY and was gettign ground speed of 190 kts in level flight and over 200kts on the down slope. Plane needs new paint an dinterior but has been a great cross country plane. Simple, reliable, efficient. I fly by myself most of the time so this was the right plane for me though I would have liked to have gotten an F model which has 8 more inches between the front and back seats but is 3-5 kts slower. Since I fly alone most of the time, this was the best plane for me. It has been great but I am not flying so much any more so may sell it.

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If anyone out there owns N9726M 1967 Exec. sure would like to know what happened to it. Thanks

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I have always loved Mooney aircraft, especially for their ability to cruise at or above one MPH /HP. One name that should be associated with the later variants of the plane is Roy LoPresti. I met him in 1976 when he was chief engineer for Grumman American at their Cuyahoga County Airport facility. He moved on to Mooney and did a great job refining an already fast and efficient airplane. The 201 was the class of the field for some time.

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I bought a 1951 Mite (N6033V) in 1988 for $5,000 and sold it in 1998 for $11,000. The buyer was in his late 70's and I'm sure he has passed on but the FAA still lists him as the owner. If anyone knows where this Mite is please contact Bob at:poohbearsleepy2@yahoo.com
While flying the Mite I was also current on the Boeing 747-400. The smallest and largest U.S. airplanes. The Mite was a lot more fun to fly!

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I bought my first 1968 Mooney Statesman after my partner wrecked our 1967 Cessna 182. Paid $11,000 and never looked back. I flew that Statesman for 1200 hours, switched to a 1967 non-injected Executive for another 1400 hours and ended up with an injected '70 Executive for another 1000 hours. Loved all aircraft and always loved the Johnson Bar! I have flown from California as far north as Victoria, Canada and as far east as the east coast of Florida. Never a problem in flight until my engine quit on takeoff in California, Still, solid A /C that got me and my wife down with minor injuries! As safe an A /C as you will ever fly and stable, economical, relatively high speed (155kts) with 6+ hours in the tanks. The Mooney community is the greatest of all time!

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I was part owner of a Super 21 back in the 60's & 70's.
Love that airplane. Chicago to Florida on a cold winters day with a tailwind, in less then 5 hours.

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I flew my first Mooney Mite from Fresno, CA in about 1951. My joy ride was, with canopy aft, to put my arms out horizontally and rotate my palms up and down. Of course the plane changed pitch. I would do this from FNO to BFL on weekends to visit the family in BFL. Later I was allowed by my boss to fly the big Mooney. What a great plane.

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I have owned my1981 M20K "231" for 30 years and 5,000 flight hours.
We have been to Alaska, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas.
170 knots at 10.5 GPH and 6.5 hours endurance was very good when I bought her, but in these days of $6 gas and $450 fill ups, it's fantastic!

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Would love to know what happened to my old Mooney N5970Q. An M20 w / a RayJay turbo. Great economy and reliability.

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That Mooney Mite was fun to fly. I flew one when I was 19 years old and being tall, 6'3" at the tme it was a little tight. I also skined my hand a few time operating the landing gear. I use to get lots of attention when landing at the airports I flew into at the time. Many folks had not seen the Mite before during that time period.

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I flew an M-20F with a Rayjay turbocharger in the 70's and was a real hot rod. It had electric gear but I also flew a wood wing Mooney and others with the Johnson bar. It was really pretty simple and never gave me a problem.

A lady I was instructed wanted to check out in her sons M-20 and would get so flustered trying to put the gear up and down she eventually gave up. I would show her how I could do it with two fingers but she would get a death grip n the handle and couldn't pull down that little bit to lock it into place.

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Al Mooney was a self taught designer. His first design (as a teenager) was an Eaglerock. His brother Art knew how to build anything. Together, they designed and built several thousand remote control Culver anti-aircraft targets for the Army and Navy during WW II. Art hired me (@ age 17, an "experienced line boy") to help build the original 90% wood production Mite (M-18, Crosley 25 hp powered). Later I was permitted to fly the prototype (after it was converted to a 65 HP Continental). That Prototype Mite now hangs in the National A&S Museum at Dulles Airport. Al designed the original wood M-20 in Wichita in late 1949, early 1950. After loosing control of Mooney Aircraft, Al (& Art) worked for Lockheed-Georgia until they retired. Al was the PM for the LASA 60 and the Lockheed Hummingbird (XV-4A & B). Al, Art & Bill Taylor (test pilot) were great people to work for. Al inspired me to get my BS and MS in aeronautical engineering.

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I flew a 1956 M20 with 150hp. Fast airplane, and yes, I learned about the Mooney "bite" when retracting the gear. N5261B

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I bought a 1964 M-20-E, Super 21 and reworked it and flew it for 5 years. Living in Ohio with a son in Oklahoma City I made nine trips back and forth, one of which was extended to Carlsbad, CA in 1991. It's a great instrument ship and the last trip from Wiley Post Airport in Bethany, OK to Salem Ohio was hazy then Cloudy so solid instruments. I logged 6 1 /2 hours of IFR that day and didn't have an autopilot. I wrote a piece of satire about Mooneys and it was printed in the MAPA log in 1992:
A LOVE STORY
Mooney oh mooney what makes you so great
your beautiful wing or your tail so straight
Fast though you are, you're easy to fly
detractors are dummies if they dare to decry
We believers all know the beautiful fact
That Al was a genious, his plane a class act
We wash and we wax and polish your skin
and wipe off your belly and under your chin
No matter what feature you choose to endear
on my 64 it's that Johnson bar gear
Don P. Simons N1946Y MAPA 8529

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I have been a Mooney enthusiast since I flew my first one in 1974. Piper was all over with after that! Due to the Mooney's unique "does everything right and economically", the extra padding for safety, I have specialized in the resale of Mooney airplanes since 1989 and still going stong. Of the many Mooney's I have sold, I have yet to lose a single customer in a Mooney mishap! Want to learn a lot more about Mooney's? check out mooneyland.com.
zef

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