About Mooney
Al Mooney founded the Mooney Aviation Company in Wichita, Kansas, in 1929. Although the company went bankrupt shortly after, Mooney went on to start Mooney Aircraft Incorporated in the late 1940s, producing the Mooney Mite and Mooney M20 models. In 1953, the company’s headquarters were moved to Kerrville, Texas, and before the decade’s end, the M20 would be certified and the M20A would join the manufacturer’s lineup of single-engine piston airplanes.
Mooney M20S Eagle Piston Single Aircraft
In 2013, the Chinese Meijing Group investment firm purchased Mooney, running it until 2020 when a group of U.S.-based Mooney aircraft owners and pilots—including CEO Jonny Pollack—acquired majority ownership. Mooney says it continues to support its worldwide fleet of more than 7,000 Mooney aircraft, providing replacement parts and performing service at more than 35 authorised service centres throughout the United States and 10 additional international facilities.
Achievements & Records
Current Mooney aeroplanes include the four-seat twin-turbocharged M20V Acclaim Ultra and the M20U Ovation Ultra, a normally aspirated model that, like the M20V Acclaim Ultra, features two doors. Pre-owned Mooney aircraft include Mooney Acclaim, Ovation, and Bravo variants and versions of the M20.
Mooney says it has delivered more than 11,000 aircraft worldwide, and that its global fleet has logged over 40 million flight hours. Mooney also claims to hold more than 130 world speed and altitude records. Some of the company’s more noteworthy accomplishments include producing the first pressurised single-engine, piston-powered aircraft, the M22 Mustang, in 1966. The manufacturer also recorded the fastest transcontinental flight in a piston single craft (the M20K 231) in 1978, and the M20TN Acclaim Type S became the fastest certified piston single aircraft in 2006.
Changing Ownership
Meijing’s acquisition of Mooney in 2013 and a return to production in 2014 followed several years of various sales and mergers and ceased aircraft production during the 2000s. After selling fewer than 20 aircraft in 2018 and 2019, however, Mooney shut down operations in late 2019 before reopening less than a month later. In September 2020, the U.S. group assumed majority ownership.
In December 2020, Mooney announced its company website would no longer focus on sales and new planes but rather on supporting the Mooney community of owners and pilots, although the company maintains that it is still designing and building new planes.
Find The Right Mooney Aircraft
You’ll find a big selection of new and used Mooney aeroplanes for sale on ControllerEMEA.co.uk, including Acclaim, Ovation, TLS/Bravo, M20J, and M20K aircraft, and more.
