Mooney M-18 Mite
The Mooney M-18 Mite was the first aircraft produced by Mooney and established the company’s trademark tail-forward, speed-focused design philosophy. It was a tiny single-seat wooden aircraft with retractable landing gear, intended as an affordable personal airplane after the Second World War. The Mite’s clean lines offered surprisingly high cruise performance for a small piston engine. Its rarity today reflects both its small cabin and the fact that it predates the more familiar four-seat Mooneys.
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Did you know?
Mooney's first aircraft, a tiny single-seat wooden design that established the company's trademark tail-forward, speed-focused styling.
Specifications
| Length | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 7.2 m (23 ft) |
| Height | 1.6 m (5 ft) |
| Crew | 1 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 1 t |
| Range | 500 NM (926 km) |
| Maximum speed | 145 kt (269 km/h) |
| Stall speed | 37 kt (69 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 16,000 ft (4,877 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 13,000 ft (3,962 m) |
| Rate of climb | 1,090 ft/min (5.5 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 305 m (1,001 ft) |
| Landing distance | 300 m (984 ft) |
| Fuel capacity | 45 l |
| Engines | 1x Continental C-65 |
| Units built | 283 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Mooney M-18 Mite starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Mooney, the M-18 Mite family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
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