Mooney International Corporation
 |
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | General aviation |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Founder | Albert Mooney |
| Headquarters | Kerrville, Texas |
|
Key people
|
Executive Director: Albert Li |
| Products | Light aircraft |
| Owner | Soaring America Corporation |
| Website | www.mooney.com |
The Mooney International Corporation (formerly Mooney Aviation Company, Inc. and the Mooney Aircraft Company) is a Chinese-owned aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1929 by Albert Mooney and his brother Arthur. The company is based in Kerrville, Texas, United States, and manufactures single-engined piston-powered general aviation aircraft. Mooney International is owned by the Meijing Group and currently markets the M20V Acclaim Ultra and M20U Ovation Ultra. Deliveries of the M20V Acclaim Ultra began in July 2017.
Among Mooneys achievements are the first pressurized single-engined, piston-powered aircraft, the M22 Mustang; production of the fastest civilian single-engine piston-powered aircraft in the world, the M20TN Acclaim Type S; the first production aircraft to achieve 201 mph (323 km/h) on 200 hp (150 kW), the M20J 201; and the fastest transcontinental flight in a single-engine piston-powered production aircraft, the M20K 231.
Many Mooney aircraft have the signature vertical stabilizer with its vertical leading edge and swept trailing edge that gives the illusion of being forward-swept.
Albert Mooney had his first job in aviation at the age of 19 in 1925 when he worked briefly for Alexander Aircraft Company in Denver, Colorado. He worked for the Marshall/Montague Monoplane Company in Marshall, Missouri in 1926, but the company had financial difficulties, and Al soon returned to Alexander, where he designed the Alexander Bullet. He was joined by his brother Arthur, known as Art. Early in 1929 Al was invited to meet with some financial backers in Wichita, Kansas, and the Mooney Aircraft Corporation was established with financial backing from the Bridgeport Machine Company. The company owned an airfield and some buildings which could be used to design and build aircraft. Seven months later, Albert's M-5 airplane was test-flown. Due to the Great Depression, the Mooney Aircraft Corporation went bankrupt in 1930. The Mooney brothers worked for other aircraft companies, including the Culver Aircraft Company, from then through World War II. On June 18, 1948, Albert started Mooney Aircraft Incorporated in Wichita, along with Charles Yankey, Art Mooney and W. L. McMahon.
...
Wikipedia