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 Super Fast Modified Mooneys Are Born!While it is hard to believe today, in
circa 1979/80 virtually no modified Mooneys existed anywhere. That is when a St. Louis
based Mooney lover (Mooniac), Coy Jacob bravely disassembled his own
"stock" 1967 M20E and while using genuine OEM (Original
Equipment Manufacturer) Mooney Parts not originally intended for the (shorter) M20E
airframe, he hand crafted it into the first ever, fully modified, Mooney hot rod: A
super fast and efficient "factory clone" M20J/201. Coy's super fast Mooney
(which he termed a 211) soon started drawing crowds everywhere he landed and winning
various air races and MAPA Awards. All this commotion immediately created a burning desire
in many fellow Mooney owners to have him re-manufacture their own Mooneys into a super
efficient, sexy, "like new" M20J/201/MSE....or better! . Having moved to Gulf front S.W Florida years prior, in the late 1980's while always
seeking a more tropical climate to enjoy his Mooney flying endeavors, Jacob started
modifying Mooneys in the Venice, FL area. However with the Venice Airport (at that time)
lacking any available local facilities, he founded Mod Works Inc.
and based it some 50 miles down the road at inland Punta Gorda, FL. Tiring of the annoying
hour+ daily drive (which was nearly too short to fly) and looking
for better facilities to host both his fly-in Mooney enthusiasts and future Mooney
Airshow/Fly-ins, In an effort to move his "labor of love" closer to his adopted hometown
(beautiful Gulf Front Venice, Florida), and after a reasonable (or long earned) hiatus, he
located his current Mooney Mart/Mod Squad Complex in one
of SW Florida's most prestigious aviation facilities: the gorgeous spotless (former)
Duncan Jet Facility in the downtown "up-scale," Venice, Florida Airport (VNC).
When not flying Mooneys, (Coy in his own current personal World Speed Record Holder Mooney; N262CJ), Coy can regularly be found on the hangar floor perhaps on a creeper examining a Mooney, or even in the parts or service department answering unusual or "problem" questions.
The More You Know About Mooneys, The More You Know Why They All Leave Coy's Gorgeous Hi-Tech Facility Smiling....! Remember; View Site Map / Return to Intro Page CLICK HERE To view our "Great
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In short order, Jacob formed a
St. Louis, MO based company known as "The Mod Squad,"
and soon his line of highly modified, gorgeous, super fast, Mooneys erupted into front
page articles, drew crowds at every major U.S. air show, and were heralded as one of the
best, affordable, and most efficient singles anywhere. Featured on the cover of many
aviation magazines and in major trend setting articles, his line of gorgeously highly
modified Mooneys soon provided the impetus for Coy's "second" aviation carrier:
aviation journalism.
Being recognized nationally and even world wide as a "THE
Mooney mod authority," his "hands on" and technical design
knowledge of Mooneys was soon put to good use as his modified Mooneys became either the
subject of, or he the author of many of the articles you have read about the fabulous
Mooney product line in various popular magazines such as FLYING, AOPA PILOT, MAPA LOG,
PLANE & PILOT, AIR PROGRESS, AVIATION CONSUMER, LIGHT
PLANE MAINTENANCE, and PRIVATE PILOT.
Beach front Venice Airport
(VNC) is an ex-WWII bomber training field which uniquely is right "downtown" and
actually within walking or biking distance to virtually anything a pilot could dream of:
an ideal Gulf Front location with miles of glorious beaches and fabulous sunsets, world
class golf courses, excellent fishing, great waterfront restaurants and quaint
"up-scale" downtown shopping districts, and (of course) 4 excellent IFR runways
of 5,000' just 20 miles South of one of the most beautiful (crime free) areas in all of
Florida: Sarasota. The Venice/Sarasota area is known for its proliferation of Northern
Italy or Mediterranean inspired second "winter homes" and it boasts year round
excellent flying, semi-tropical weather.
It
is here in beach side Venice, where Coy's "Mooney specialty" organization is now
home to many of the Factory Trained personnel who worked with him over 15 years ago back
at St. Louis based Mod Squad and also while he owned Mod Works
Inc. In fact, many of his original Mod Squad/Mod Works Mooniac Mechanics are
still with him at his gorgeous Venice facility in alluring S.W. Florida.