Adios, Mooney

Mooney Shuts Down, Employees Furloughed
https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/mooney-shut-down-employees-furloughed/

 

That's too bad. I only learned recently that they were based in Junction, a short drive from where I live. I had hoped to make time and go see the operation next time I was that direction. Guess that won't be in the cards!

 

Total bummer and I’m not even into planes.

MDS

 

Crazy that Moony sold 4 airplanes in 2019 compared to 203 for Cirrus - is the Cirrus that much better of a plane? The parachute ? Are they priced the same?

I thought the Moony & Bonanza were the two top dogs for single engine smaller airplanes ?

MDS

 

Wow! Always thought Mooney was super cool since they day they put out a plane with a Porsche engine.

 

That was a day that brought them to their knees (for the umpteenth time in their history). Total failure.

 

A bit ambivalent here.....I flew in an evaluation aircraft umpteen times in the mid-80's.....never any issues in-flight, quieter, smoother......I thought it was gonna be a winnah!
But of course, I was biased; as PCNA ad manager, the P-world was booming.....why not an airplane too! Think of the branding we could create! and a Mooney was waaaaay better than any old Cessna/Piper......
We even talked to Bob Hoover to see if there was an opportunity there.....
(I wanted to think of it as a 928 with wings; unfortunately, it was missing 2 cylinders......)

 

Wasn't TBO much shorter?

 

The Cirrus is $200K-$300K cheaper than the Mooney depending on options.

 

Probably had a shorter TBO....couldn't find anything.... was a smaller geared engine that ran at over 5K RPM. It ran smoother as it was running a lot faster. And quieter. Muffler.

And, it's heavier, larger (more frontal area - drag).

Also used a cooling fan like the 911. Produced more drag.

And it was expensive.

Recall it was also available on the 172.

As I recall, I don't think it had any parts commonality with the 911 3.2 engine, either.

 

Sorry, beyond my pay grade......then or now!

 

And thats the issue.
The Mooney way too expensive. Plus you can geta used one with near the same performance for a fraction of the price.
New single engines, lots of great "kit built" ones out there to buy and being sold..

 

So a question for you pilots - if a Mooney and a Cirrus were both sitting there brand new and free, which would you rather have ?

MDS

 

The MOONEY !

 

The BONANZA!

 

The 2025 "new Bonanza V-Tail"........

 

Cirrus

 

That was a big part of the problem. I doubt any of them came close to TBO before requiring OH. IIRC they were all subject to mods but o try to overcome shortcomings in longevity.

The one positive was the required lengthening of the fuselage for W&B purposes. This airframe became successful with the introduction of the TLS series.

 

I'm not thinking about the new Mooney with the Porche engine. I'm thinking about the earlier Mooney M20, if my memory serves me. Years ago with a Lyc 180. A very nice flying airplane .

 

I remember when they came out. A friend who was an A+P said they'd never make it if for no other reason than the TBO. As I recall it was something like 1200 hrs.

 

We looked at both and flew the Acclaim last year and i think Cirrus and Mooney were about equally priced-at least that is what we found. Lots of things to like about the Mooney I thought. But not ready for the 242 knots. So we settled on a new Diamond DA40 NG Diesel. Love it so far but 200 knots plus would be cool. I bet you can get a bargain on an Ovation or Acclaim right about now.

 

278 mph is really moving for a light single. About the same top speed as the prewar P-35A.

 

Who in the world would know what a P-35A is? I know. Alexander Seversky

 

Lol Image Unavailable, Please Login

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seversky_P-35

 

Wouldn't think so. In 25+ yrs of Mooney ownership I probably only used a factory supplied part less than a handful of times. Other than making major structural repairs parts are easy to obtain. The most probably items are powerplant and avionics related which don't need any factory support.