Bichesssssss !!!

Tony,
What do you think about the changes in ownership? Hope it is doable for them. Can’t imagine they got it cheap enough to make sense. Let’s hope. I’d sure like to see them successful.

I know the gear has been in work for a while, and it is real.

Today's announcement mentioned a chute, wider cabin, etc. Time will tell!

What changes? And who are they? The mooney.com website doesn’t specifically say that there’s been a sale of all or 51%. It does say there is some new “ownership” without specifying the percentage or the identity. And it says that the Meijing Group is still a Partner which they “will support“ (Internationally for sure, domestically not clear what their role is).

Maybe somebody here who has an account with the Delaware Secretary of State corporate Registry database can look up what’s happened to Mooney international Corp. ownership and structure.

Man, if that was a retrofit to the C I used to own, that plane would have almost 1400lb useful. 1100lbs payload WITH full fuel. That’s nuts.

Man, if that was a retrofit to the C I used to own, that plane would have almost 1400lb useful. 1100lbs payload WITH full fuel. That’s nuts.

Airplane factories need to sell new planes. Parts and upgrades of older planes won't make Mooney enough money to stay afloat. If it did, they would have never closed the doors...this time, or the previous how many times?

So they can only take new plane orders for what is currently certified, not what might be some day. I'd like to be optimistic but there are no real paths forward without a massive infusion of cash. Needed to keep the lights on while these latest offerings work their way through certification. Unless the gross weight increase is already on the shelf, you won't see if for several years. GW increases are only simple if the main structure doesn't need beefing.They involve maintaining the current stall speed at a higher weight via changes in flaps or adding vortex generators. Anything more requires a whole lot of $$$$, up to and including a new airplane at worst case.

Sounds to me like they have figured out how to make a small fortune in aviation.

And perfected it many times over

Hope it works out. Last trip out west we drove through Kerrville and saw the Mooney plant shuttered. It was a sad thing to see.

Best,
Rich

Word is it will only be for the long body Mooneys, unfortunately. I'm sure it would be cost-prohibitive anyway for the legacy fleet with 200 hp or less anyway.[/quote]


Makes sense. My 200hp J is "mushy" if it's fully loaded so without doing something to the wing also adding the 400lbs would tricky. Even flying a Bravo fully loaded you can feel it but the extra HP would help.

And perfected it many times over

Steve are you a 2900 or 2740? Would be interesting if mid bodies (older J/F) got 2900 with a trailing link gear. Anything above 2900 would be squishy for sure in a 200 hp. Probably would be prohibitively expensive compared to the value of the airframe.

But say you had a retrofit for older models that included a trailing link bolt on LG and a retrofit chute without a GW penalty. You’d probably find a market for that. Who am I kidding us Mooney owners are the cheapest bastards out there.

I like that they are focusing on parts and incremental improvements using older models / retrofit as a test bed before getting back to building new planes. Seems smart. They should also contract for PMA or OEM parts ala Daher making Airbus parts.

Yes, a chute is a possibility. From the article on AOPA on this:

Pollack said a weight-saving carbon cowl for Ovation models is under development, but “the big thing we’re working on is a useful load retrofit. This is a big one, this is a game changer.” A useful load increase of 300 pounds to 500 pounds could pave the way for a whole-airplane parachute, new landing gear designs, and additional utility that could “change the platform” and put the company “in a position to really compete.” However, he stressed that supporting the existing fleet remains the top priority.

There's a Mooney FB thread and an argument about whether the "problem" for Mooney sales is the lack of a chute or the low useful load.

I think anyone who dismisses the chute is just out of touch with the buyer demographic flooding Cirrus with sales.