The first Chinese-built Mooney rolled out of the factory in central China’s Henan province last week, officially turning the page on an important new chapter for the 85-year-old light airplane manufacturer.
Wearing an eye-catching gray, white and red paint scheme, the first Chinese Mooney, an M20TN Acclaim Type S model, is one of 17 airplanes on order by four Chinese companies and one individual, according to Want China Times.
Mooney International, now owned by Chinese real estate development firm Meijing Group, has obtained the Chinese type certificates for the Acclaim and Ovation models while also resuming aircraft production at the company’s main factory in Kerrville, Texas. Mooneys for the Chinese market are shipped from Kerrville and re-assembled in China.
The company has been flying two N-number Mooneys in China as sales demonstrators, with word of the airplanes’ speed capabilities growing among China’s elite. Mooney has established a sales office in Beijing to market the models, as well as the newly introduced M10 line of diesel-powered models.
The first Chinese-built Acclaim is set to be handed over to its new owner and will be based in Zhengzhou, Mooney says.
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