Mooney pilots from around Florida — and as far away as Georgia — congregated at the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 534 hangar for their annual Mooney lunch at the Leesburg International Airport in Florida on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017.
This was the third consecutive year that EAA Chapter 534 hosted the Mooney Lunch Group. Several members own Mooney planes, so it turns out to be a good fit.
It was a great flying day with clear skies and warm temperatures. Many of the attendees took advantage of these conditions and arrived by plane. At one point 11 Mooney airplanes were lined up on the ramp near the EAA hangar. Some of the more local Mooney owners chose to drive.
The Mooney Lunch Group fly to a Florida airport on the second Saturday of each month to talk about flying and show off their planes. This tradition has been going on for 12 years.
Chapter members put on a barbecue style lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers with all the fixings. Tables were set up in the hangar to accommodate everyone.
Ten members of Chapter 534 turned out to set up the tables and produce a hearty meal for the 24 Mooney folks.
As the caption under the photo of the Mooney tail states , the forward leading edge of the vertical stabilizer generally speaking, appears to be at a 90° angle to the fuselage. The vertical stabilizer, along with the horizontal stabilizer actually rotates forward and aft as one unit, thereby changing that angle plus or minus. That empennage rotation is controlled through trim settings.
Speaking of the Mooney tail, which legend says our tails are on backwards, Al Mooney created that tail design for a specific reason. Al’s theory was that a leading edge surface 90° perpendicular to the airflow, is more efficient than a swept surface . With that efficiency, less mass is required and thereby creating less drag. The Mooney aircraft is known for its efficiency and this is part of that equation.
As the late Mooney guru Bill Wheat stated, our tails are not on backwards, everyone else’s tails are on backwards.