Are there any maintenance issues or ADs for the older Mooneys with wooden wings? I'm looking at a 1958 M20A (always hangared) and I'd like to know if there are specific points to check.
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1$\begingroup$ Welcome to aviation.SE! If you're not familiar with the site you might like to take the tour. $\endgroup$– PondlifeCommented Dec 12, 2016 at 18:37
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$\begingroup$ You should have an A&P inspect the aircraft/logbooks that is experienced with wooden aircraft, and preferably, wooden Mooneys. It isn't like buying a car where you can walk around and kick the tires, a pre-buy inspection on an aircraft should be a lot like an annual where panels are opened up and is thoroughly inspected. $\endgroup$– Ron BeyerCommented Dec 12, 2016 at 20:47
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$\begingroup$ Get a Mooney specialist with lots of experience on the wood wing models. Be ABSOLUTELY certain that the tail has been metalized. Check out www.mooneyspace.com and ask those guys for their advice. Read this: acmp.com/blog/… $\endgroup$– acpilotCommented Dec 12, 2016 at 22:50
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3 Answers
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You may want to look around here or here or even here but the short answer is they are a wooden wing airplane that comes with all the issues a wooden wing airplane does. One of the major things to look out for is the M20A's that had a wooden tail, those should generally be passed up on. The later planes should require some inspection of the joints where the tail meets the rest of the airframe as it is a stress point (if memory serves). For what its worth you are better off with a metal mooney. With a wood plane you need to inspect for rot the way you would for corosion on a metal plane.
Like any wood aircarft the M20A's can suffer from delamination which would need to be checked for. unfortunatly the list of people that still work on wooden planes is dwindling with time so it may be hard to repair this. It would be well worth the effort to seek out a mechanic that has experience with the A model and can work on a PPI for you.
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See FAA AD 86-196-10 re: Wood Tail Mooneys (M20 and M20A)
Don't buy a wood-tail Mooney, unless you don't mind falling from the sky when it rots off. Very bad design. Later all-metal Mooneys have good safety record. But wood Mooneys -- wood wing and/or tail -- are just the opposite.
Most of Al Mooney's designs (Alexander Bullet, Monosport G / Dart, Culver Cadet, Culver V, Mooney Mite, M20) seem to have poor crash-and-burn record (several of the prototypes crashed -- some fatally -- even before production). Ralph Harmon (Beech Bonanza designer) metalized the M20 into the M20B, fixing its fatal flaws.
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1$\begingroup$ Quoting the relevant section from the link would is typically recommended. $\endgroup$– zymhanCommented Jul 22, 2019 at 22:28
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I have some experience with the M20F aircraft; however this is an all metal Mooney.
This gentleman may have some good advice for pre-purchase inspections to conduct if you are hunting for a M20A.
answered Dec 12, 2016 at 18:36
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5$\begingroup$ This would be better as a comment since it does not seem to add anything to answer the question. $\endgroup$– foootCommented Dec 12, 2016 at 18:59