Mooney Acclaim Buyer's Guide: M20TN Acclaim, Type S and M20V Ultra

The Mooney Acclaim (M20TN, and the later M20V Acclaim Ultra) is a long-body, four-seat retractable with a 280-hp Continental TSIO-550-G that uses two turbochargers and intercoolers. It was introduced in 2006 and built until Mooney stopped production in 2019. It's turbocharged, not pressurized: the speed comes at altitude, on oxygen. This page covers the Acclaim-specific decision; to compare the whole Mooney line, start with the Mooney M20 family guide.

Is an Acclaim the right airplane for you?

Acclaim, Type S or Ultra: which should you buy?

Sources: Wikipedia (Mooney M20); Aviation Consumer on the Type S; AOPA aircraft guide; asking prices from Controller.com, September 2026. Verify prices with Vref or Aircraft Bluebook.

AOPA's aircraft guide lists a 3,380-lb gross weight, about 1,000 lb of useful load and 89 gallons of fuel (100 optional). With full fuel that leaves a modest payload, so this is mostly a two-to-three-person airplane on long legs.

Decision rule: the Type S is the mainstream buy, with the drag work and a wide range of years. An original 2006-2007 Acclaim can be a value if its engine and turbo times are good. Pay the Ultra premium for the second door, the NXi panel and the newest airframes, not for speed. Whichever you choose, the engine and turbo history matter more than the version. The Ovation vs Acclaim vs 201 comparison shows how much more the Acclaim costs to finance and run than an Ovation.

What does an Acclaim cost to buy and finance?

AOPA's lenders ask for at least 15% down on post-1960 singles and offer terms up to 20 years on loans of $75,000 or more (AOPA Aviation Finance). As of September 2026, piston loan rates generally start around 7% and run to about 10%, depending on credit, aircraft age, loan size and down payment. The examples use an illustrative 7.75%.

Loan amount $442,000. Principal and interest only; excludes insurance, taxes and fees. Illustrative, not a quote.

What should you inspect on a used Acclaim?

The general Mooney items (steel-tube cabin structure, engine mount, gear links and wet-wing tanks) are covered in the M20 family guide. On an Acclaim, add these, along with the general pre-buy inspection checklist:

Run a full AD search on the airframe, engine and propeller serial numbers, and read the logs; see reading aircraft logbooks. Use a shop that maintains turbocharged Mooneys regularly.

Questions to ask an Acclaim seller before the pre-buy

• Engine-monitor downloads from the last several flights, showing power settings, fuel flow, turbine inlet temperatures and cylinder head temperatures in the climb and cruise.
• Turbocharger history: hours on each turbo, when they were overhauled or replaced, and any exhaust repairs.
• Engine time and calendar age against Continental's TBO, and whether any cylinders have been replaced and why.
• Oxygen and ice protection: bottle test date, and whether any TKS system is certified for known ice and fully working.
• Damage and landing history, including prop strikes and gear-up landings, with the Form 337s.
• The last two annual squawk lists, which show what the previous shop found and what was deferred.

A seller who can't produce engine data or turbo records isn't necessarily hiding anything, but the gap should show up in your offer or in a longer pre-buy.

What training and insurance should an Acclaim buyer expect?

You need complex and high-performance endorsements (14 CFR 61.31(e) and (f)). Because the cabin isn't pressurized, the high-altitude endorsement doesn't apply, but oxygen rules under 14 CFR 91.211 do: the pilot must use oxygen above 12,500 feet for more than 30 minutes and at all times above 14,000 feet, and passengers must be provided oxygen above 15,000 feet.

There's no verified 2026 Acclaim premium benchmark. Expect underwriters to price a $450,000-$800,000 hull, look for retractable, turbo and Mooney time plus instrument currency, and require Mooney-specific transition training for pilots new to the type. BWI reported in May 2026 that pricing for experienced private pilots of personal-use pistons is "generally stable" (BWI). Lenders require hull coverage naming them as loss payee; see aircraft loan insurance requirements.

First-year ownership notes for a new Acclaim owner

1. Get Mooney-specific transition training, including turbo management, high-altitude operations, oxygen use and approach speed control.
2. Learn the engine monitor and agree on turbo and leaning procedures with your shop.
3. Reserve for the engine, turbos and exhaust from month one.
4. Keep oxygen and avionics current: bottle tests, databases and software.
5. Register the airplane. Registration is valid for seven years and costs $5; the "pink copy" works only within the U.S. until the certificate arrives.

How this guide differs from related guides

This page covers the Acclaim-specific buying decision; the Mooney M20 guide compares the whole family and the Ovation guide covers the normally aspirated long-body. Specifications and generated payment examples are on the Mooney M20TN Acclaim page. Annual costs are on the Acclaim cost-of-ownership page. For lender requirements, see aircraft loan requirements.