O.K., so we guessed wrong. When Mooney announced the new Type-S Acclaim last week, we guessed that some of its additional 5-knot speed gains over the Acclaim came from reducing the size of the cooling inlets. No, says Mooney CEO Dennis Ferguson, the Acclaim’s speed was inched up entirely through subtle drag reduction on the airframe itself. If Mooney’s claims pan out in the real world, dumping that much drag is no mean feat; our hats are off to the Kerrville team. Ferguson also hinted that the airplane has a slightly different prop, but he declined to provide any details.
Whatever the case, Mooney is claiming a top speed of a blistering 242 knots for the Acclaim Type-S and also a bag full of orders. No surprise there, since owners have typically proven more than willing to pay a slight price premium for additional speed. The Type-S is priced at $599,000 and deliveries are expected to commence early in 2008. If you’re on the show grounds at Expo, Mooney has the Type-S prototype on display.
