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| STANDARD DATA: Seats 1. Gross wt. 780. Empty wt. 520. Fuel capacity 14. Engine 65-hp Continental. PERFORMANCE: Top mph 138. Cruise mph 125. Stall mph 43. Initial climb rate 1,090. Range 440. Ceiling 19,400. Takeoff distance (50') 525. Landing distance (50') 860. |
The Mooney Mite, first flown in 1947, was constructed by Mooney Aircraft, a company formed by two former executives of the defunct Culver Aircraft Corp. This single-seat monoplane was originally powered by a converted 25-hp Crosley automobile engine. With this engine, the Mite had a top speed of over 100 mph, a cruising speed of 85 mph, and a climb rate of 400 fpm. To improve the aircraft's takeoff and initial rate of climb performance, the company installed 55 and 65-hp Lycoming engines and designated it the M-18L. The final engine was the 65-hp Continental in the M-18C.
The Mite included "safe-trim," a trim-control system that consisted of a gear linking the tail trim with the wingflaps. It automatically established proper settings for takeoff climb, approach, and landing. The little personal plane was constructed with a single spruce-and-plywood D-spar wing structure with fabric covering aft of the spar. It had a metal-covered steel-tube fuselage forward and a wooden structure aft.
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