This Tiny Plane Revolutionized Light Aircraft Design
Did you know that the amazing Mooney family of aircraft are all derived from a tiny single-seater? And what made this tiny Mooney so amazing?
Enjoy this video about the Mooney M-18 Mite!
Chapters:
About Al Mooney
00:34
Culver Aircraft
01:16
The Mooney Mite is born
02:14
The Mite wing
2:59
The “Backwards” Tail
04:13
Retractable Gear
05:16
The Crosely Mite
08:01
An Affordable Plane
10:02
Price Increase
11:23
The M20 is Born
11:38
Final Thoughts
12:42
I love producing these videos! If you have any recommendations for other odd or unusual designs, drop them in the comments below and I’ll throw them in the mix.
I don't own these clips. All rights are reserved to their respective owners, and used with prior approval. Creative common videos are also utilized. If your clip is included and you'd like it removed, please email me, and we'll address the matter right away. richard@e-sense.tv
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I retired from the airlines as a B767 Captain. I flew over 80 different makes and models in my career. The most memorable was the time I flew a Mooney Mite. The owner (very generously) said “ Go ahead, take it around the patch”. I’m 6 foot 4 1/2 inches tall and I managed to fit in the cockpit and even got the gear retracted. What a thrill. It flew beautifully. Just one take off and landing. It was amazing.
Am glad you got to try it! My old man told me he and his buddies would simulate dog-fighting in Mites back in the 50s.
My son in law is a 6-foot-7 Jet Blue captain. Wonder if he could fit in one
I owned N4153 back in 1972. Traded it for a Piper Super Cruiser.
Tail snapped off and lived to tell the tale🤣 Always loved Mooneys, never got to fly one. Thanks for sharing👍
What a great presentation! Thank you! for many years, the "West Coast Mooney Mite Association's" annual fly-in was held at KPTV (Porterville, CA). It was a thrill to see so many Mites in one place!
Enjoyed this - the rudder design was to improve the rudder effectiveness / safety during slow flight and stalls. One correction - the Mooney factory is in Kerrville, TX. They don’t produce aircraft anymore but they do produce parts.
I read other accounts that the rudder was designed as such as somehow it lowered production costs, was quicker to fabricate. I like the aerodynamic version better. 😂. Yes on Kerrville, not sure why in my mind it had a "y". Now I know...
As a resident of Kerrville, I still see Mooneys flying frequently from the airport. The distinctive tail is the giveaway.
Aaahhh... that dreaded gear handle 😯. As a very young pilot I flew a Mooney M 20 C with the same design. My first few patterns were akin to a dolphin's swim 🙃 as I inadvertently pulled or pushed at the yoke while trying to get this darn lever to latch properly. Ah those were the times. Thanks for this history lesson!
I read many accounts on how pilots had a tough time with the handle and getting it to lock in place (not just Mites but any Mooney).
What an amazing engineer. We need someone like him to make aviation great again. Edit: I wonder if this aircraft could be reinvented and sold as a cheap light sport aircraft.
A Continental O-200-D is $40,000. Glass Avionics, GPS, plus Radio and ADSB $10,000. Prop, gear, hardware. Another $5,000. Now for the construction materials in pre-punched kit form. $25,000. Total. $80,000. Cheap, yes? If you count 1,000 man-hours of qualified aircraft factory workers at $40/hr plus payroll taxes and benefits totaling $55/hr. Is another $55,000. Add cost of building and operating a small factory add another $5 Million, divided by total production of say 500 aircraft. This alone adds $100,000 to the cost. Now you're at 80 + 55 + 100 = $235,000 plus another $50,000 for product liability insurance for each item sold because lawsuits are each $1M losses as soon as the letter arrives. Just in legal defense, not including fines. Now, multiply 285,000 x 1.25 for a fair profit margin that can endure some slow times, and you're at $365,200. Will you sell 500 at this price? Probably not. Not right away, maybe over 10 or 20 years. This is the problem. Experimental / Homebuilt and Kits get you into the air in a new plane for under $100K unless you count your time as valuable Then closer to 120-150k.
You don't need a Continental. you can get Multiple 80hp engines for $12k-$15k. you don't need ADS-B. $5k firewall forward misc is nonsense. And 80HP would be 15HP more. $20-$25k is not unreasonable for a KIT, but plans built would be much cheaper. $12k (engine) + $5k (prop, avionics, firewall forward) + $20k (kit) = $37k, which is comparable to a light single seat plane I am currently building. Cheaper if plans built. Being made of wood, the plane could be even cheaper.
It would have to be enlarged quite a bit to sell in quantity. These are too small for 3/4 of the population to be as comfortable as they demand to be. They are TINY.
@@m39fan obesity has always been a barrier to entry to aviation.
People are taller now. That's the growth hormones, fed to cows, then to us. Older ships like the USS Constitution or similar Era rebuilt to spec are eye opening.
There was a Mooney Mite in a separate small building at what is now called "Eagles Nest" on the west side of Waynesboro (Fishersville), VA. To this day I live about a half mile away from the airport. As kids my brothers and I sat in all the aircraft, particularly the Cubs, a Luscombe and others but never crawled inside the Mite. I have many stories of growing up spending Wednesday afternoons and Sundays "at the airport" ...
Small airports are the life! Glad you enjoyed it. I miss the experience too
To feel like a bird. And fly like one too! Excellent presentation. Thanks.
Thank you!
Been thinking about getting a Mooney as my first plane. This video makes it higher on the list.
I’ve always absolutely loved Mooneys!
I loved flying the Mooney Mite thanks for the memories. (My yellow Mite at the 2:53 minute )
In my teen years my father owned two different Mooney’s. So I got a soft spot for them.
My uncle would fly his Mooney from George Town and Cairns to my home town in central Qld Australia. Flew with him back to Cairns and George Town many times. Some of the most vivid and exciting memories I have from my youth.
glad you experienced it!
Your uncle you referred to wouldn’t by any chance have been Ron WEGNER a very good friend and an excellent pilot as well as being an electrical genius who operated the Georgetown power station for many years and also an Electrical Inspector in Far North Queensland.
The flight school I learned at in the early 60s got a Mite that was a hit with pilots. As a 16 yr old I loved flying it and running circles around the trainers of that day and early 172s. 130 on 65 hp. A real treat.
@@captainhuspower5723 yes he was, he was killed in a car accident, head on with a car carrier a few years back. What a tragic end to a wonderful man. I am Maureen and Rons nephew, Maureen is my father's sister. Love them both very much.
@@captainhuspower5723 the last time I saw him he flew his kit plane down to us and I had to help him work on it at the local airport. Losing oil pressure, he was running a custom VW motor I believe.
AFAIK the Mite was the only certified retractable that didnt require a backup system for the gear operation. I'd love to have one!
Well told, especially for non-native English speakers. An example for all!
Lol, I’m american. Better get to work on my english 😂😂😂
Sorry -vids: I meant that ALTHOUGH BEING A NON-NATIVE SPEAKER MYSELF I could easily follow and enjoy your narrative 😏 Dutch is my mother tongue. QED!
Ah ok, my bad! Very kind words, thank you. I am very self-conscious of my voice and need lots of coffee to watch my own videos so I don't go to sleep. 😂 Am working on getting better..
I never knew about the tail fin trick
I loved flying the mite,great little airplane
Glad you enjoyed it! If there's any left in a couple years, would love to try one myself. My dad flew them in the 50s also.
Oh thank you, that was great !! Thank you for not playing music in the background and thank you for speaking clearly and not that fast. As a german guy it is not that easy to understand everything. This video is the first one which explains the tail rudder very well. Looking strange the forward faced rudder does not only operate optimal at low speeds and high angles of attack but also avoids addidionally nose up torque due to the vertical position at this situation. Other rudders backwards tiltet can give a lot of elevator force which is unliked at critical flight situations. I am convinced if Al Mooney were still alive the company would still exist.
Not so sure of that, Al left Mooney back in the 60s and had nothing to do with whatever came after it.
I did not know this airplane. A nifty little bird!
Sure is!
“Retractable gears . . .” Gear is ALWAYS singular.
thanks for keeping me on my toes, will see if I clean up my voiceover a bit better next video...
Thank you for this! 🐿
The only Mooney I have ever flown was the Mooney that they marketed in 1989 to flight schools, N900AT. I was an instructor at FlightSafety Academy at the time, and Mooney brought the plane to the school to sell it to us. I was one of the instructors chosen to fly it. It was indeed fast! We had Piper Arrow IV's at the time with the T-tail as advanced instrument instructional planes. I flew from Vero Beach to Melbourne and flew an ILS in it, and then the instructor showed me how the air brakes that come out of the wings allowed very high descent rates! It was a small tight plane. I'm 6'1 and 150 pounds, and I fit in it with no problems. FlightSafety Academy wound up buying four of these for advanced instrument trainers, since our Arrow IV's ("Sky Pig") were high time and ready for retirement.
Lucky students!
Yeah…AT for advanced trainer. I recall they had a “barber pole” painted tail. Was a test pilot for Mooney before it shut down in ‘08. Miss Mikey and the gang at Kerrville. Not Kerryville. Great video. New flew a Mooney Mite but always wanted to.
What an excellent video!! What an excellent little aircraft and a designer ahead of his time.
I flew one in 1957. What a fun bug!
Thank you for this explanation about Al Mooney and the history of this awesome aircraft !!!
My pleasure!
Great history of the Mite Richard!
Thanks, bud!
Fantastic video! Keep up the great work!
Thank you! Will do!
Really nice and fun presentation…! Plenty of Mooney facts and pictures… There must be about 200 Mite pilots still active in North America… Art and Al Mooney were awesome team leaders. They surrounded themselves with other good people that were still working for the company after 2000… 40+ years later… One detail you can add to your tail story… Look at the horizontal plane, and the vertical plane… they share so many parts, they look identical… thus, improving the manufacturing process. Art was a manufacturing genius! The rudder got a couple upgrades in the 60s…. Longer, and more throw…. The original wooden tail design, had one failure as noted in this video…. It had a glue joint fail, after some previous known damage…. Most of the wooden tails were exchanged for aluminum after that… If Al Mooney can gear up a Mooney… so can anyone else. (Unfortunately) In the most modern Mooneys… the trim motor and flap motor operate at the same speeds. The pilot needs only to operate the trim while the flaps are being deployed…. 😃 For your next Mooney video…. Consider the three different airframes Mooney built… short, mid, and long body Mooneys… With engine options from normally aspirated, to twin turbo-normalized with matching intercoolers and manifold pressure controllers… The Mite is quite the flying motorcycle. The wing may not be perfectly laminar…. But, the name fits the actual flying characteristics… it’s is really thin, and thus, low drag… compared to other thick, slow, GA wings. Mooneys are both fast and efficient…. It is up to the pilot how he wants to fly today. If you supply 100hp per person in the airplane…. It can climb like a rocket, and speed along faster than any other factory built aircraft…. With pretty short runway requirements…. With grass fields being OK too. Go Mooney! 😃
Love the commentary, and rich information you added for our knowledge. Yes I had read about how the tail setup also made manufacturing easier, in fact some argue that's the ONLY reason the tail was backwards, but the guy who designed it isn't here to clear the air for us, so... I'd LOVE to fly a Mite one day. Not sure if my vast 150/172 will help much in transitioning to it, lol. My dad told me he used to go up with his friends in Mites back in the 50s and chase each other around the sky, I can't even fathom how much fun he had. My next Mooney video is about obscure or failed Mooney designs, I'm still picking which ones but certainly the Mustang and 301 will be part of it.
@@aircraftadventures-vids Good news… Transitioning from C150/172 to a Mooney M20C is a common move from getting the PPL to owning a fantastic X-country machine…. Transition training requirements are insurance driven… often requiring 10hrs dual, and another 10hrs solo prior to carrying passengers… Transitioning to a Mite… has the challenge of being a single seater…. Find a good CFI that has Mite experience… There are a couple of websites that have Mooney Mite pilots hanging out… 😃
I have over 300 hrs in the 201, love the mooneys.
Excellent Video Sir! Seems like there's always more too Learn! Amazing Man!!!
Thank you! That's 1/2 the journey for me, learning about it (I was blessed to gain some firsthand info from a former owner too)
I remember flying with my dad at Hawthorne Muni in Cubs and our Ryan SCW in the 50’s when I saw my first Mooney M20. My dad thought it was the plane for his future and loved it speed and low cost per hr. He lost his life in 1963 and never reach that goal.
Sorry to hear! I know it was a long time ago, but still. He was damn right about the M20
I have a family member who owns a Mooney MC20. Very awesome plane.
Very nice segment.
Thank you!
Awesome video. Learned a lot!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Good interesting documentary,I enjoyed that !
Thank you!
KERRVILLE Texas....went to college in Kerrville in the mid 70's and learned to fly on that same airfield. Went to the factory a few times...Great video! Thank you!
Thank you! And I stand corrected on Kerrville...
What a lovely plane it's like a small fighter
My dad told me he'd play dogfighting with his friends in Mites back in the 50s.
Love this channel!
Well thank you bud, badge of honor. And everyone loves yours! 👍
I learned to fly the 201 and T231. Small cabins, but fast and fun to fly.
I was lucky to fly one!
I remember as a child I the 60’s reading an old 1950’s era encyclopedia aviation section that had a photo of the Mooney Mite…with the caption saying “it is safe at low speed”
Hello Ralf, the Mite reminds me of my experience in one 1952. Hans Guido Molkte accidentally touching the sound barrier. I climbed to 9,000 and then thought how to loose altitude. So I set up a rapid descent and teased the red line. The Mite didn't like it. Finally established cruise speed. 18 years old made this a fun event. Of course Hans was in a Me 262, anyhow, hello , hope you and Margaret are well...
Mooney moved to Kerrville..well, Louis Shriner Field which is south of Kerrville. I had relatives work at the factory.
Sorry for butchering the name! I could swear there was a Y in there, lol.
With all the horror stories, I'm terrified of learning to fly but this makes me want to table my fear. Pretty awesome.
You got this! Go for a discovery flight at your local flight school....you might get hooked though, lol.
The thing that takes fear away… Knowledge. The more you learn about flying, and the plane you fly…. The more fun it gets! Experience. The more experience you gain flying around the country, in different weather, during different seasons… The fear generally goes away pretty quickly… Then build on that knowledge and experience… Add night flying, and an instrument rating to really get the most out of your investment… 😃 Go Mooney! +1 for getting that first introductory flight… There are two possible outcomes… 1) That was fun… glad I took that flight early on… 2) Pure addiction… can’t wait for that next flight…! 😃
I'm not sure I could deal with confusing air traffic control comms and airport approaches 😮. "I'm comin' in hot! Roll the trucks!" LOL
@jcflindsay They don't throw you off the pier and say sink or swim though JC. They walk you through it and you learn the controllers are there to help you as you learn. Have fun!
Wow; good show. I knew that rudder type was a Mooney. I didn't know there was other models.
Actually, the Mooney Mite was Al Mooney's eighteenth design (Model M-18). The four place scaled off the the M-18 design was the M-20. The M-19 was a higher horsepower M-18 with a 30 cal machine gun on each wing.
7:18 now that is a lightweight gear leg, particularly with one main bolt and three nuts missing! 🤣
Video of the orange Mooney mite at 4:05 was taken from my 150M over central Texas near lake Somerville. Good buddy of mine has it and it’s a cool little plane.
I love them, I just wish such a thing was possible today as a production aircraft. Unfortunately GA is dying because of old plane attrition, rising ramp and hangar cost, and how incredibly expensive new aircraft are. A Mooney Mite cost about as much as a Cadillac Coup De Ville in the 50s, can you imagine a certified retractable costing as much as a new Cadillac CT4 today (a mid $40,000 range car).
What a shame we can"t have an airplane like this today...with composite and electronics.. wow!!!
Well, you can. The Mite plans were sold to homebuilders at one point. Mostly peoplr wanted them to duplicate the landing gear, so if you canvas the KR-2 builders you might scare up a set.
Moony is a classic
The vertical stabilizer is NOT "backwards." It's STRAIGHT, but looks like it is. The straight design reduces parasitic drag.
The vertical stabilizer is swept forward. It is a tapered planform with a straight leading-edge. Therefore, the 1/4 chord line sweeps forward. It does little for drag. Swept leading edges on surfaces can cause span-wise flow, which trips laminar boundary layer to turbulent, reducing laminar flow and increasing drag. But this is not an issue on this small of a tail, low Reynolds number, with little sweep. In fact, by sweeping the Vertical stabilizers aerodynamic center forward, it has a shorter moment arm. Necessitating a larger tail that creates more drag. Aircraft designs are tradeoffs. And based on a thorough investigation of previous historical designs; most designers have no idea what they are doing.
Up to the Lean Machine Mooneys where allways sold for to little. It seams that only bad sales people joined the company. They where afraid to ask enough!
Grew up on a ranch about 5 miles from the factory…. My bedroom on top of a hill faced the factory and at night you could see their lights and if the wind was right you could hear them testing engines… fastest single engine production plane for many years…. Literally sports car of the sky
The gear retract lever was up when the gear was down and vis-a-versa which led to some confusion. My dad was checking out an instructor in his Moony. My dad put the gear down, then the instructor put it up, thinking he was putting it down. The belly landing did very little damage and dad said it was a very smooth, but loud landing lol. They jacked the plane up, installed a borrowed prop and flew it home.
Yikes! That's one way to find out.
Fascinating vid. Interesting inventor. There's a bar-and-grill down the road from me that just redecorated by sticking a Mooney on the roof. Dunno why, and can't make out the model, and deffo have mixed feelings about seeing it there.
I think that's awesome! I mean, if the airframe is beyond unairworthy, might as well do something fun with it (or rather turn it into scrap metal?) Send me the name of this place, curious to see if there's a pic.
I owned and flew a Culver Cadet. It was an extremely good flying airplane. Working the gear is a little tricky when your by yourself (it’s a manual ratchet type wheel).
Before I researched the topic I used to think the Cadet was a drone that was converted to passenger plane, lol. (was the other way around). They are cool little planes, especially considering they predate WWII.
@@aircraftadventures-vids It really is a joy to fly. Very robust all wood contruction also. Mine was converted with a C-90 from a Cessna 140 and did about 140mph. Only thing to note is that the pitch control (up & down) is very sensitive at cruise. A little elevator stick movement goes a long way in this airplane. Some owners have had a glue joint issue on the left side of the fuselage where the horizontal stabilizer attaches also so that’s a key area to inspect IMO if anyone gets the chance to fly or purchase one. Fly safe everyone.
There's an example on display at the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita, KS.
If only those donuts were cheap today. My M20J requires 11 of them if you replace them all -- they now cost over $200 each! Ridiculous for a rubber puck!
They have a Mooney Mite at wings over the Rockies museum.
I noticed that some already corrected Kerryville to Kerrville, TX, but what I didn't see was the fact that all three Mooney tail surfaces are interchangeable. Yes, the vertical stab is the same as each horizontal stab. Same for the Aerostar, and maybe the Aero Commander (also a Ted Smith design). Ted Smith also designed the A-20 Havoc, the little known DC-5 (the first one became the personal aircraft of Bill Boeing named "Rover") and the A/B-26 Invader. Now you know where the Aero Commander design comes from.
You know, I always thought the original Aero Commander straight-tail looked exactly like the Invader tail. Glad I’m not the only one 👍
And I’ve been properly flogged about the name Kerrville which i mispronounced 😂
@@aircraftadventures-vids Yes Ted Smith worked for Ed Heinemann Chief Doug designer, but Smith did much of his magic. Look at all four of Ted Smith designs (A-20, DC-5, A-26 and the Aero Commander and a little bit of the Aerostar), they all have his stamp. The Invader had a laminar flow wing.
As a fledgling pilot in 1969 I got the opportunity to fly a Mite. I lived it then and still do. It is a pilots airplane if there ever was one. It sure ignored Newton's law on gravity as it wanted to fly.
I always liked the ercoupe too, except for the rudder problem, they did put peddles in some of them.
What was the airframe wrapped in? In one photo, the fusulage appears to be wood, but what about the wings? Canvas?
It was mixed construction, wood with canvas
Wings are fabric covered wood from D section leading edge back to main spar, from there to trailing edge, fabric only (including flaps and ailerons.
Kerrville, Tx.
“Laminar flow wing . . .” Laminar flow is the future of aviation and will always be.
In the50 had uncle bought and repaired Mooney Mite while in army, he was a prisoner of war in WWII. Landed it twice forgetting to crank up gear. Just busted prop. My 6 foot 3 inch brother flew it to California to sell. Flew from Post, Texas . Said never again.
It's just "landing gear." Never "landing gears." "Gear" = equipment/hardware. "Gears" = two or more toothed cogs. For example: a pickup truck may have five forward gears, and one reverse gear. Contained within components such as the transmission, 4WD transfer case, and axle housings, there are various types of gears; involute helical-cut & spur gears, ring gears, pinion gears, & bevel gears, among others. Inside the passenger compartment, the truck may be packed with a variety of hunting, fishing, and camping gear, in preparation for an upcoming trip. Collectively, it's a collection of gear. Each person will be bringing their own gear. If the door comes open on the highway, some of their gear will fall out. The truck's owner installed additional, heavy-duty off-road gear, such as mud tires, a winch system, roof-mounted flood lights, and taller suspension. Just as there are no hunting gears, camping gears, SCUBA diving gears, or safety gears, no aircraft possess "landing gears." I don't blame you; English doesn't make a ton of sense, and to make it even more difficult to get right, our abysmal schools are no longer providing students with even adequate language education.
Even after 46 years I can't get english right 😜
The Moony Might work. Wasn't Mr.Moony on the Lucy show? Gail Gordon?
I wish for a Mooney mite. I'd gladly pay the 4k$!
The plane I always wanted to own but never found one for sale when I had a pilots license
They are likely getting more rare for sure.
Loosing the tail and landing??? Unbelievable! "Johnson" bar...."johnson" is a euphamism! Tubular chromolly front section is cool. Nice plane. Nosewheel retract is a nice trick too. Linkages like on the big ones.
I suspected as much.
I was always curious about the tail's shape.
this inspired me to make my own mooney in a game called roblox, i named it Mooney M51 because it reminded me of a P51H
There are some real-world planes that literally look like they were designed in Roblox (look up a design called the "GafHawk")
The DeHavilland Mosquito employed a similar system of rubber blocks to do away with the need for oleos and and the weight they incurred. The actual reason this was done however was reduce the need for precision engineering.
I owned N4153 back in the early 1970s.
The Mooney factory was at KERRVILLE, TX, not Kerryville.
I know, I know. Been told 50x already in the comments now.
Kerrville Texas my friend, not Kerryville. I live less than 10 miles from Mooney aircraft which is up and running again. A good friend of mine has a newer Mooney M-20K TLS (turbo). I’ve flown an older M-20.
I know, about 20 others told me too, lol. Don’t know why I thought there was a “y” in there
@@aircraftadventures-vids It’s all good. I loved your report anyway!
Kerrville, TX
I noticed that one or two of the airplanes in the video looked very similar to an Ercoupe. A close friend of mine had one (Steve KIsh from Coopersburg Pa., I mention his name because he was very involved in the Ercoupe owners club for many years before his death in 2011 and thought that some of you Ercoupe owners out there would recognize his name) I spent a lot of time flying with Steve. Any way the question I have for you guys and gals out there in aviation land is : Did Mr. Mooney have anything to do with the design of the Ercoupe? Just curious...
I can’t answer your question directly but…there was the Mooney Cadet which was based on the ercouple, so yes i guess
At 0:47, isn't that the Besler steam plane?
Kerrville, Tx
Yup, I thought there was a "y" in there.
I have a 1965 M20C my grandfather bought brand new. After my grandfather died the plane went to my dad and now I have it. I just hung a O360-A1D straight from Lycoming (this is the planes 3rd engine) and only has 2670 total time on the air frame
No f-in way! A 360? Isn't it extremely nose-heavy now? And what are the performance numbers?
Nice…I owed a C that was manufactured in the mid 60’s. I remember seeing the original sticker and it was around $17,000. I paid mid-40’s for the thing around 2002. Tricked it out with an S-TEC autopilot and Garmin 430.
Crosley is pronounced “Craws Lee”. Mooney moved to Kerrville, TX, not Kerryville.
I'm learning too!
I did not know all that , I read somewhere years ago that after the company changed hands many times, the M20 was the last evolution of the ALON A2 aka ERCO. ?
You're thinking of the M10 Cadet. In fact I'm going to be working on a new one video in the near future: Mooney's you've never heard of, will be including that one.
@@aircraftadventures-vids Update yeah they took over the AirCoupe co and made a Mooney AirCoupe A2A . I think the reference was about the wing angle being nearly the same . But it was just an Updated Erco but then when you look at the rear windows on the A2A they are very different from the usual Erco bubble cab.
It is Kerrville Texas
Wonder how many of the home built versions were completed and flew?
I believe only three in the US and one in Canada.
There's a name for the "lever that wags back and forth." They're called a wigwag.
11:51 Hey wait a second…. Where did this baggage compartment door come from? Is this the Cherokee option? Mooney baggage doors are hinged near the roof line, and open upwards… allowing the baggage area to be completely filled from the outside… The faux door here… is easy to fill halfway… but, to load the top, the door is in the way! Go Mooney! 😃
Kerrville, Texas, not Kerryville. FYI.
Lived to tell the tail😅
Boom!
It’s Kerrville, Texas not kerryville !
Oops...
Nice presentation, however they didn’t move to Kerryville Texas,they moved to Kerrville, TX…just FYI
My bad! I've been already advised a few times here
Cute little machine,that always triggers "I want!" when I see one. The biggest drawback is that it's a certified aircraft, hence subject to FAA maintenance rules. (Fine for A&Ps, though.)
They did actually offer the Mite as a plans-built at some point.
no way you have a yt channel now
For a few years, but had not been doing anything with it till recently.
Mooney also sold the Mite as the "Wee Scotsman"--a marketing effort to promote its efficiency and frugal consumption of fuel. The tail had a plaid color scheme. The original M20 was referred to as a "Scotsman"--and it truly was an enlarged Mite, even having a control stick in lieu of a wheel.
I recall reading about that funny name. Didn't know the M20 had a stick! They should have stuck with that, lol
@@aircraftadventures-vids Al Mooney's papers are archived in the library at Univ of Texas/Dallas. They have an inboard profile engineering drawing that shows the stick control, and the original 145 hp 6 cyl Continental engine! I seem to recall the aft fuselage was a wood "cone" as well, just like the Mite.(this configuration was the prototype only, not production models) Ralph Harmon, who designed the Beech Bonanza, was later hired by the Mooney factory (after Al was gone) and he spearheaded the change to a metal wing on the M20.
The last plane I owned was a Culver V.
👍👍👍👍👍
Correction, NOT Kerryville Kerrville, TX I live here.
I know, been told. I don't know why I thought there's a "y" in there.
Was the Mite aerobatic?
Probably light aerobatics. With the carbed engine, nothing inverted I'd assume
Kerrville, Texas not Kerryville, Texas
Are there any Mooney Mite-like aircraft being made today? You'd think someone would try.
I don't think there's too much of a market for single-place aircraft, too much of a 1-trick pony. Would be nice for sure.
Not certified. Too expensive. It would probably be >10x the cost of the original when accounting for inflation. Using a list price I found online for a 1951 M18LA, that’s $2517 in 1951, $25,524 in 2023. Certified aircraft are absurdly expensive these days, there is no way a modern M18 would sell for under $200,000. Before you question my reasoning recall that the failed Cessna 162 ballooned to $149,000… in 2011. It’s price directly caused its failure to sell.
@@yucannthahvitt251 Got to be a way. Where there's a will...
"where there's a will there's a way" is a boomerism with no basis on modern reality@@jcflindsay there is no possible way short of deregulating GA to make GA affordable again. I don't think you grasp just how much GA has outpaced inflation. It used to be perfectly attainable for a middle class earner to buy a new certified GA aircraft, now it's 100% impossible. A Cessna 172 is a $400,000+ airplane now, a DA20 is $350,000+. A modern M18 couldn't even be an LSA since LSAs cannot have retractable landing gear unless they're amphibious, and LSAs are slow, fixed gear, don't climb well and are typically $100,000+, nearly 4x the price of an adjusted-for-inflation M18...