The FAA has granted full certification to the two latest aircraft from Mooney International Corporation: The M20U Ovation Ultra and the M20V Acclaim Ultra.
According to company officials, the newly designed Mooney Acclaim and Ovation Ultras feature a host of improvements, including:
- Larger and wider pilot and co-pilot entry doors,
- The latest Garmin NXi avionics,
- A composite-wrapped cabin for a quieter ride, and
- A clean-sheet interior design.
“The new Mooney Ultras have been specifically designed to once again raise the bar significantly for general aviation,” said Dr. Vivek Saxena, president and CEO of Mooney International. “The significant product enhancements inherent in these new airplanes, combined with latest avionics technologies, demonstrate Mooney’s goal of bringing to market the very latest generation high-performance piston- singles – which is in keeping with our promise of differentiating ourselves on technology and customer experience rather than simply ‘me too’ products.”
First deliveries of the new Ultras will begin almost immediately. The company initially plans to build just 50 units in 2017 and the order book is starting to fill, officials note.
The fully certified Acclaim Ultra will make its first public appearance at SUN ‘n FUN, April 4-9, 2017.
Well after owning a Mooney for 15 years. I have never found the need to have a BRS. Nice extra but better to get some more instruction and fly safer! I have flown in a BO and a Cirrus. Both nice but not better.
I would buy a new Mooney if it was in my price range.
I love Mooneys. I just can’t imagine building a new SEP without a BRS chute these days. Sad because I’d love to see them building a ton of these things. Seems the market has spoken, and if you want to sell in volume, you will have a BRS.
Are these models being delivered with the airbag seatbelt systems?
On a slightly off topic note it appears the M10T and M10J have disappeared off the Mooney website. It would be a shame if those projects have been scrubbed as there seems to be a market for them.
It’s the same small cramped cockpit and rickety 50 yo design with an extra door. They also have retractable gear which is an insurance bump. And most important? No BRS chute.
Sounds like you might have a slight bias towards another company also owned by China.
Both are great machines, and have slightly different goals in their design.
Although Cirrus has a very large interior here is the interior width of the 3 top aircraft in the cost range.
Bonanza 42″
Acclaim 43.5″
Cirrus SR2x 49″
I see you also dislike the age of the M20 design. An interesting opinion, but you need to remember that very old design is still the fastest factory piston powered aircraft you can purchase. I also encourage you to consider the average maintenance cost of each of the aircraft. I’ll give you a hint from my experience the Acclaim costs less to maintain overall. With all that being said if I had to pick one it would be a difficult decision. If you are in such a market for one of these aircraft I strongly encourage you to not make knee jerk decisions on what is the best choice for you and run some numbers as you may be surprised which aircraft is most cost effective for your mission.
Last year I was in the market for a new aircraft. I attended the Reno Air Races and saw the Mooney’s up close. The Ultra is an obvious attempt to match some of the qualities the Cirrus has, true. But in the end I did order and take delivery of a 2016 Cirrus SR22T. The Mooney has a kind of cult following as does CIrrus but IMHO Mooney will not attract potential Cirrus customers. And to be brutally honest Mooney is not even on the scoreboard in terms of sales….at least for now.
I have maintenance experience with both, but much more flying time in the Cirrus. It sounds like the Cirrus met your mission perfectly and that is good. Also you can be proud to say that Cirrus also has a better safety record than the rest of GA
Certainly nice enough, but for older Mooney owners, it would be great not to have to pay an arm and a leg to replace cracked hard plastic interior panels