A friend sent this Photo to Me yesterday.......Gorgeous Mooney, looked it up on the FAA, it's a Mooney M20 E, no Mfg year listed So I dove into Mooneys on the Net, one source says 1964, another says 64-65

Question, How the Hell would a Potential Buyer, navigate the different Models? It seems there are so Many, even each Year

Short body:C model carb. E model injected.
Mid body: F model 3 windows. J model streamlined. K model turbo long nose.
Long body: Everything else, all with a big engine, some N/A some turbo.

Indeed that is a gorgeous Mooney, Sid. . . It's a 65 model; only about 180ish serial numbers newer than mine. Mine is SN 754 and was 'born on' 6/1965; this one 6 months later in 12/65.

In the big production years Mooney frequently built inventory ahead like a car manufacturer, so many of them got airworthiness certificates late in the year prior to the marketing year. I expect Beech was similar. I think mine flew in 12/76 but it is a 77 model, the first year of the M20J (201).

I've always Liked them, Dad had one, his second Plane, I'll look in his Log Book for the N#.
It definitely was the Two window Short Body. Our Whole Family -1 Kid, just about bought the Farm one Hot Fourth of July, departing Seely Lake Montana, 1970

He must have learned about Altitude Density that Day I was just along for the Ride, I do remember I could have reached out the Window and Picked some Pine Cones

My Aunt and Uncle were watching, Uncle swears that we chopped a few Pine Needles

You guys probably took off uphill on Rwy 34 because the wind was probably 5 knots out of the NW. Rookie mistake.

You guys probably took off uphill on Rwy 34 because the wind was probably 5 knots out of the NW. Rookie mistake.

We see this every year. Seeley Lake is owned by Montana Aeronautics, elev is 4200. Length is 4500 plus another 1150 feet that we call the over run. As published in the FAA docs and thus on all other flight planning apps the over run is available for takeoff and landing.
However the runway has a slope to it. It is 82 feet higher on the north end plus you have the standard 80 foot trees surrounding the strip. And then if you take off to the north you are now in essentially a bowl, not good if you are in a marginally performing plane.
Many years ago we had a 210 with 4 guys leaving on a hot summer day and they decided to go uphill. They made it but first he did a touch and go off his belly and left his antennas on the runway, somehow without hitting the prop.
Last week we had a 150 try the same thing. He somehow got it over the trees but then stayed at tree top level for quite a while, disappearing from view and having the locals turning their ear waiting for the sound of the crash.

If my 182 had the speed and fuel economy of a Mooney, I'd be really happy. The shop that maintains my airplane says they are a little difficult to work on. They had to change an oil pump gear that was an AD, and they had to pull the engine to get to it.

They had one Mooney in the shop that had an IO 550 in it. They discovered it was so tight, the sump was rubbing on an engine mount tube and had worn a hole in the sump. I didn't talk to the owner, but I imagine it was pretty fast.

The shop is run by some great guys, the IA with more than 50 years experience and the A&P 35 years. They don't mind if you hang out and watch, and I really learn a lot about various models of planes, and confess that I have become a Bonanza fan. Amazing how some of the Bonanzas have held up over several decades. They are just quality built airplanes.

Edit: With new magnesium ruddervator skins now in production, I think it will save some V tails from the boneyard.

Mooneys are simple. Map, short, medium, and long bodies. And you just have different engine choices within those bodies. The small bore six cylinder continental engines and four-cylinder. Lycoming are only found in the short and medium bodies. The big more like Engines I only found in the long bodies. The exception is the aircraft as an STC like the missile or rocket.

Along with the Lear 24, the boss had a Mooney 201 we used to run around in locally. I enjoyed flying it. I hadn't flown one before and the boss wanted me to take to an avionics shop. On my first landing, I learned it was prone to porpoising, and went around for a good landing next time, and never had the problem again. They ride a little stiff on the ground with those rubber biscuits for suspension, but it becomes unnoticeable after awhile. Very responsive in flight.

I had high hopes that the new two door Mooney would be a winner, but that didn't seem to work out.

Edit: I've heard that Mooney wings are almost immune to overload failure because the wing is one piece, and the fuselage is mated to it.

Yeah, like how the heck can someone figure out all those 33, 35, 36 Bonanza variants? Impossible!

You forgot to use the sarcasm font.

Look close at the spar caps under the back seat. Leaking windows and or kids spilling fruit juice can run under the lower spar caps causing corrosion. There was one that folded up a few years ago during a hard pullout and it was right in the center cabin that the spar failed.
It may be impossible to see the Lower side of the spar caps in the center but watch for trace evidence of problems.

Look close at the nose gear tubes just where they enter the wheel well. There is a cross tube there that dents the nose gear truss when the turn limits are exceeded.

I have found Intergranular corrosion and exfoliation of the lower spar cap in the bay outboard of the fuel tanks. No solution other than scrap the airplane sadly.

Remove interior panels and look at the steel truss where window leaks allows water to soak the insulation and lay against the steel tubes. Use a mirror to see around towards the skin side of the tubes for corrosion pitting.

Carb heat boxes are usually totally worn out. The linkage arms and shafts wear with little maintenance.

Typically Mooneys have had several avionics refits and panel changes during their lives. Harnesses on harnesses with lots of splices and unused wires. I have one in the shop now that needed a complete rewiring just to try to organize things. Some have circuit breakers down by the pilots right leg.

Beware of the STC instrument panel relocation mods for earlier Mooneys that move the panel aft. The distance the panel is moved usually placed the panel mounted breakers and breaker switch bus bar terminal lugs directly against the steel fuselage cross tube. The solution was to slide some soft clear vinyl tubing over the steel tube!! This seemed like a huge fire hazard and chance of total electrical failure. The only possible solution is a new panel with breakers and switches relocated to the panel. But this means major rewiring.

Windshield STCs to put more slope on the windshield for early Mooneys cuts the rear panel access panels down to about 1/4 size.

Use Steel countersunk MS screws instead of stainless in the inspection panels. Dip each in Royco oil or similar before installation. They are in and out enough rust is no problem. Galling stainless screws and stripping even with the screws lubricated is more of a problem. There are a LOT of screws and panels.

Adjust all control and gear pushrods so the pushrod can twist a little in the rod ends. Most Mooney come in with one or the other rod end on a pushrod locked against the limits of its ball travel. They need to be able to twist a bit to keep from binding.

Trim system wear and lower tail section hinge wear is often overlooked. LASAR has most parts available.