Mooney International Corp. has successfully completed the first flight of the M10T Proof of Concept (POC) aircraft.
The first flight was performed by test pilot Len Fox on Wednesday, Dec. 23, in the vicinity of the Chino Airport in California. The flight lasted approximately 15 minutes, with Fox conducting basic flight maneuvers and verifying design data.
“The flight was a tremendous milestone for the M10 program,” said Jerry Chen, CEO of Mooney International. “Our team of engineers have been working very hard to reach this day, and we are excited to have achieved this milestone in 2015, just one year after announcing the M10 program at Zhuhai Airshow in China.”
The M10T is Mooney’s new design, carbon-fiber, three-seat, fixed-gear aircraft. Powered by the Continental Technify CD-135, Jet-A engine, the M10 was specifically designed by Mooney for flight training operations.
The M10T will continue testing as the program works towards certification in the next few years.
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No price figures were announced by Mooney, other than to say the new airplanes will be competitively priced. But what does that mean? If the Cessna Skyhawk is $400,000 or $430,000 with a diesel, then about $395,000 is competitive and similar to where Piper has placed the new diesel-powered Archer DX. But my guess is they’ll be less than that– perhaps significantly less.
The pricing info stated above was written in an article I came across. I personally have heard rumors that the retract version will price out at $410K.
As usual, there is no reasonably priced airplane for the every day guy, and to boot, the description of the diesel engine is “1,500 hours before REPLACEMENT”. That means you cannot have a field overhaul and will have to trade the run out engine for a new one. This seems to be a trend in the industry when it comes to diesels.
Nice plane and would love to own one, but no cigar due to price of the plane and engine swap out (read: more expensive than overhaul) requirement.
Hopefully it isn’t priced way out there. (I’m hoping the $100k area). Any clean sheet aircraft design that is causing innovation is good, but the real kicker would be if it was priced correctly.
Either way congrats Mooney!
We can thank the Ambulance chasers and the US Government for the high cost of airplanes.
An individual can build an RV 10 with a glass panel for around $190,000. Aircraft manufactures can build the same plane for much less, sadly they need to add $200,000 in liability insurance.
The sell-off of our industry, and thus our airspace, began when Reagan put our economy on a credit card. This was to build the mythical “Shining City On The Hill,” and to allow him to tell us everything was OK.
Thanks for that important contribution to the comments section, Mr. Ziegler.
Sounds like Eric is a bleeding heart liberal
……and you must be a FOX NEWS WATCHER!!!!!!!!!!
Mooney Aircraft was purchased a Chinese company just like Sirrus and I think even Continental Motors. Piper is owned by the Sultan of Brunei who imposes harsh penalties of you celebrates Christmas. Piper belongs to a muslim.
Our private aerospace industry has been sucked by outsiders when the economy went south as cash strapped industry selected the option of selling out to communists and totalitarians.
Continental Motors-ASI Innovation Partnership
Mobile, Alabama, USA -25 March 2014 -Continental Motors, Inc., a subsidiary of AVIC International Holding Company of Beijing, China, announced today that in partnership with ASI Innovation of Reims, France that they have acquired from insolvency the Type Certificate, inventory and manufacturing rights for the F406 twin
Just curious….which American investors did these international guys outbid, exactly?
Oh. There weren’t any American investors.
projected Price/lb?
Drove past Mooney factory in Kerrville yesterday. Each time I see it, I wonder what’s going on with them. Last I heard, some time ago, a new owner had bought them. Nothing since.
Why did they name it the M10? The M10 is the Mooney Mite! This should have a different number. Maybe the M15. Halfway between an M10 and M20!!
The M10 was the Mooney Cadet, the old Alon, Ercoupe. The Mite was the M18.