Mooney Diesel Two Seater Debuts

[CTLSi]

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[CharlieTango]

Sweet

[dstclair]

Interesting direction both on diesel and composite for Mooney.

[MrMorden]

Don't know about the engines, but I saw the pictures and damn that is a nice looking airplane.

EDIT: That wing has a pretty short chord...I wonder what the stall is like.

[Jack Tyler]

A reasonable guess might be that the Meijing Group, the Chinese real estate company that purchased Mooney, is using some of its abundant capital to simply get in on the ground floor of GA expansion in China. They are principally located in China's first 'air economic zone', Zhengzhou. So while we may see this through the American lens of a venerable Part 23 a/c company being reborn, the financial reality could be that Meijing has purchased the technology, brand identity and management skills needed to start an Asia-centric aviation manufacturing business that might have little impact on USA GA manufacturing. Meijing just gets the financial sweetener of also supporting Mooney's installed base.

[FastEddieB]

Along similar lines, don't forget that Cirrus Aircraft was purchased by a Chinese company, as was Continental.

[dstclair]

A reasonable guess might be that the Meijing Group, the Chinese real estate company that purchased Mooney, is using some of its abundant capital to simply get in on the ground floor of GA expansion in China. They are principally located in China's first 'air economic zone', Zhengzhou. So while we may see this through the American lens of a venerable Part 23 a/c company being reborn, the financial reality could be that Meijing has purchased the technology, brand identity and management skills needed to start an Asia-centric aviation manufacturing business that might have little impact on USA GA manufacturing. Meijing just gets the financial sweetener of also supporting Mooney's installed base.

It is pretty clear from everything released on the Mooney resurrection that the focus is the Chinese market. The US-side of the equation is more of a byproduct.

[snaproll]

A reasonable guess might be that the Meijing Group, the Chinese real estate company that purchased Mooney, is using some of its abundant capital to simply get in on the ground floor of GA expansion in China. They are principally located in China's first 'air economic zone', Zhengzhou. So while we may see this through the American lens of a venerable Part 23 a/c company being reborn, the financial reality could be that Meijing has purchased the technology, brand identity and management skills needed to start an Asia-centric aviation manufacturing business that might have little impact on USA GA manufacturing. Meijing just gets the financial sweetener of also supporting Mooney's installed base.

I am not a big fan of Chinese acquisition of American companies. What they can't steal, they buy. China has stolen (hacked) the designs, technology, and future developments from every major defense contractor from our latest fighters/bombers to the design and engineering of all space related hardware, communications systems, laser technology, and satellite designs. I don't see the Mooney acquisition benefiting GA in the US. The new M10 is attractive - and still only a mockup - will be interesting to see what develops for the Chinese market.

[CTLSi]

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[Jack Tyler]

"USA is still the largest market."

For $500K-$750K aircraft? Perhaps...but that's a tiny slice of a tiny slice, and not the basis for a currently viable business model by itself. (To illustrate this, just review GAMA's sales numbers for the past decade). Let's remember: the future demand of single-engine aircraft in China is in the future. It doesn't fuel today's balance sheet.

"And no doubt this company will want to make planes just as relevant and competitive for the US as it does for China. If that were not true, they would not bother reopening the factory in Texas, they would have already moved it to China."

The factory in Texas exists, as does the local workforce. That's why it was reopened. You don't just flip a switch and have a Chinese factory & skilled work force. The Skycatcher episode illustrates this, which failed even after a significant commitment by a well established GA manufacturer and the long ramp up in a Chinese facility & workforce. Whether the Mooney facility is a transitory one or has a longer-term presence in the USA depends on the economics of manufacturing, sales & distribution (a complicated formula dependent on where the sales occur, the presence of demand from the installed base, shipping rates, management talent and lots more). Meijing simply began their investment by dancing with the one they brought (and bought). That's not much of an indicator about where things will lead in the future.

[CTLSi]

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[Jack Tyler]

I certainly agree that their hope is to market Mooney models in both the USA and Asia, nor did I state otherwise. I just put that desire in the context of recent sales realities. A hope is not a plan. Personally, I found the comments of Jimmy Whats'his'name, the Chinese fellow who arrived to take over Mooney's management, to be embarrassingly simplistic...but that just may be an unfair, first take assessment of his business acumen.

But design & production transfer being simple, easy and quick? Sure, and the check's in the mail. I've been involved in setting up production facilities at contract manufacturers, both domestically and overseas, for both Westinghouse and Johnson & Johnson. Perhaps you've heard of them - both Fortune 50/Dow 30 companies. Simple/easy/quick - if also successful - it never is, as any MBA program now covers in painful detail. Or perhaps you missed the production & logistics fiascos that Textron/Cessna experienced recently, transferring the use of relatively simple tooling and mechanical assembly with which they were already well experienced. You mention transferring 'expertise & management'. Which production personnel, mechanics & qualified inspectors in Texas are signing up to live in Z-town, China? Meijing's factory would not be making waste baskets and door hardware. They had no other choice but to open the Mooney factory...for now.

China's J-20 and J-31 were in development for many years and benefited by much stolen technology. I see no relevance between those high military priority, nationally resourced efforts and what little Mooney and its real estate management can accomplish.

[AJChenMPH]

More pics:

http://www.mooney.com/who-we-are/media-gallery/

[CTLSi]

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[AJChenMPH]

Has anyone heard anything about pricing?

And the M10T is basically just the non-RG version of the M10J?