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News & Highlights
Mooney Looks To The Future
Things are looking brighter for the Mooney Aircraft Corporation. Last month the company posted a profit-it's first in 72 months. "We made $6,000 dollars," says Bill Kolloff, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "It was very exciting." Kolloff says that with a smile on his face but the knowledge that this is deadly serious. He knows full well how close to the brink Mooney has been recently, and how slippery the climb to profitability will be.
AVweb told you in June about the big changes in Mooneyville. The company announced it was discontinuing its short-bodied birds-the M20J Allegro and M20K Encore-and putting its efforts into its longer-bodied models, the new M20S "Eagle" and yet-unnamed 4-place pressurized model.
AVweb sat down with Kolloff again at Oshkosh to talk about reaction the company has been getting since the big announcement. Kolloff tells us the initial reaction to the changes was "sort of kneejerk" but he expected it because "change is always tough." It definitely has been, even for Mooney…even though the changes were made to drag the company's bottom line out of the red where it's been swimming for years. Converting all production to a single longer fuselage will streamline the factory and improve productivity. Getting rid of nearly 100 unprofitable contracts will help even more.
Kolloff tells AVweb in an exclusive interview that his single biggest challenge so far has been getting Mooney out of "long-term debilitating contracts." Those contracts ranged from making plastic widgits to door panels for dozens of different companies. Prior management had brought most of the contracts in below cost, apparently hoping the contracts would pay the overhead, which would then put the company in the black. It didn't work that way. One contract alone has cost Mooney six million dollars over the last three years. Kolloff went through six grueling weeks of re-negotiations, finally getting the company to work at Mooney's price and schedule. While Mooney still isn't making a profit on its contracts, at least now it's breaking even.
"It was scary, it really was."
It had gotten so bad down in Kerrville that even as recently as May and June Kolloff worried whether the company would survive. "It was scary, it really was. There was a period of time…that I just didn't know." Kolloff says Mooney got so behind on contracts, several of the companies could have taken over Mooney or forced them into bankruptcy. In fact, one of those companies did call in a government auditor to try to prove negligence, none of which was found.
In the period after the unprofitable contracts were dropped, Mooney laid off over 200 people, and the company was thrown into a gut-wrenching period of low morale and self-doubt. In the wake of the layoffs, 17 other employees quit outright. Since then, the workforce has stabilized. Kolloff, however, knows it will take a hit—like the new Eagle—and some other positive changes to turn the low morale around. Re-tooling and updated machines will improve quality and productivity—by helping produce each airplane hundreds of hours faster. Almost any improvement should help. Losses on the short-body Allegro and Encore line have been a quarter of a million dollars a month because the planes were priced below cost. "Once we get those planes out of the house," says Kolloff, "we can bring the hours down on the other airplanes. I would say by the beginning of '99 we'll be producing an airplane at cost and then towards the end of '99, somewhere near profits you can grow a company on."
Mooney's Future
Mooney is also looking for a potential merger partner or acquisition to help in the development of their new pressurized plane. They're currently talking to three or four different companies, all of which they call "innovators." Kolloff says Mooney should form some type of "strategic partnership" by the end of the year. The company wants to make a big bang with the new bird. "It will be a completely clean-sheet-of-paper airplane," says Marketing Coordinator Susan Harrison. "It may not look like a Mooney. It may even not have the distinctive Mooney tail." According to Kollof, "It all depends if the aerodynamics make sense."
Mooney hopes to have one final ace up its sleeve: military contracts. A couple of different countries' militaries are interested in the Mooney M20T Predator, and possibly even a utility-category M20S Eagle. Kolloff is also optimistic the U.S. Air Force will decide to fly Mooney instead of continuing on with the problem-ridden T-3 Slingsby. If the military contracts come through, Mooney will be smiling broadly and looking at some well-deserved light at the end of the tunnel. In and case, Kolloff says the worst of the bleeding is over and the turnaround is here, although he admits it will take visible changes to make naysayers believe. For all who would count Mooney out, it is now up Kolloff and the company to prove them wrong.
When Domination Isn’t Enough
What do you do when you hold the current world speed record, and have won every race you’ve ever entered? If you’re Jon Sharp and his Team Nemesis, you start all over with a new project called Nemesis NXT. Sharp announced the new venture at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh on Saturday morning.
Like the original Nemesis, Nemesis NXT will be a Formula One racer, powered by a "stock" Continental O-200 engine. That’s about all that will be run-of-the-mill. The airframe will be constructed of elevated temperature epoxy carbon, which, besides its strength, allows the aircraft to be painted any color. Remember pink is the team's favorite color. Team Nemesis plans to go directly from computer-aided design to creation of the lay-up molds. Sharp estimated this would save five to six months off the total construction time.
Sharp declined to talk about the specifics of the design, and even performed a mock unveiling of an obviously bogus concept drawing of Nemesis NXT, complete with a large "classified" banner splashed across it. He did say that the team plans a tractor configuration with a mid wing.
Sharp estimated an immediate 20 mph increase in lap speed by Nemesis NXT over the original Nemesis, or speeds in the mid-270s. The team’s goal is a 300 mph lap speed. Sharp said he estimates Nemesis NXT will be capable of 325 to 330 mph over a 3 km. record course.
Team Nemesis’ timeline calls for assembly to begin in the first quarter of 1999 and flight testing to take place by the third quarter of ’99. A Web site will allow visitors to see the aircraft taking shape in the
construction hanger by virtue of a live camera link.
Center, How Old Is That PIREP?
It started at the top. The White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security asked
NASA to address the fact that an average of 17 people a month are killed in aviation
accidents attributable to weather. NASA responded by establishing WxLink to supply
real-time text and graphical weather products for the Aviation Weather Information Network
(AWIN). ARNAV has been selected from over 40 proposals to provide the data for the
program. Cockpits equipped with the ARNAV DR-100 VHF radio will receive METARS and
real-time NEXRAD images. The system’s architecture is open and will feed displays
from numerous manufacturers, not just ARNAV. Pilots can choose from local, enroute and
national images. The next phase will be to broadcast real-time icing and turbulence
reports. There are currently 57 sites in the U.S., with the remaining 53 sites to come on
line later this year. Three sites have come on line since Wednesday, the opening day of
AirVenture Oshkosh.
Chevron Deja Vu...How Come My Gas Isn't Blue?
The fuel scare that ruffled a lot of pilot’s feathers at AirVenture Oshkosh is
over. Mark Wagner of Phillips 66 announced Saturday at 1600 that after running the full
range of 17 ASTM specification tests on 18 gallons of fuel collected from each of 14
trucks, the empirical evidence is that the gas is not contaminated and meets every
standard for avgas. The tests were run at Phillip’s primary fuels lab. Pilots had
reported a kerosene-type smell, “odd” feel and an absence or variation of the
standard blue color in 100LL avgas they received from Basler Flight Service, AirVenture's
official fuel supplier. There were less than 20 people attending the meeting, indicative
of the considerably increased confidence in the fuel supply after two days of flying
without any incidents.
Superior Clones Lycoming O-360...
Superior Air Parts tells AVweb it is out of its
slump. They already have twenty five customers ready to place orders for
something Superior doesn't even build yet. That's good news for a
change for a company that had a rough 1987. Years of raiding the profitable
cylinder side of the business to fund the R&D-heavy turbine side of the
business finally caught up with them. They declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy
early in the year, reorganized, and appointed Bernie Coleman President and
CEO last December 12th. Since then they've made more profit than the
previous two years combined, and they're excited about a new product that's
still in development...the XP 360-1.
Superior thinks it has found a hole in the marketplace. Until now, kit
plane and experimental builders who wanted to hang Superior Millenium
cylinders on their Lycoming 360 series engines often had a problem finding
a worthy crankcase to bolt them onto. And, until now, their only other
zero-time option has been a Lycoming factory re-man. Superior realized it
could sell a lot more cylinders if it offered customers some options for
cases, too. So they developed the XP 360-1.
The XP 360-1 is a Lycoming O-360 kit for experimental airplanes that you can buy assembled or as a build-it-yourself box of parts. The
product is still under development and they're using AirVenture Oshkosh 98 to gather information about what options customers
might want. Some want fuel injection, others want carbs. Some want an
alternator, others don't. Some want a constant speed prop, others want
fixed pitch. Some are content with the stock 180 horsepower, others want to
kick it up closer to 250.
Kits Or Preassembled
They'll offer the O-360 both as a kit and pre-assembled. They're not
sure exactly what they're selling yet so it's hard to quote prices to the
dollar. But round numbers are going to be $16,000 for the kit version of
the O-360 and $18,000 for the assembled version. That compares with a
re-man from Van Bortel priced at about $19,900. Superior estimates that an
experienced mechanic can assemble the kit in about 10 hours. Your mileage
may vary.
Even the kit will come with some parts assembled. Torque on the
connecting rod bolts, for instance, can be tricky for the first-timer.
Details like this are why they decided to preview the product to customers
at this year's show. They hope to walk away with info feedback to make some final decisions on which options to offer.
...Improves On Weak Points Of Original
They're also trying to improve on the O-360's design. Years of overhaul
experience shows camshaft spalling is a common problem as the stock engines approach TBO. The stock Lycoming has oil galleys on one side only. The XP will have them on both sides.
They've beefed up some ot the bosses in the case, and even managed to save
a few pounds in the process. The XP-360-1's dry weight is 289 lbs.
Superior's also planning to offer an IO-360, a TIO-360, and eventually to offer the 540 series as well.
Superior thinks it sees a niche in providing a new level of safety,
reliability and service for the kit plane market. They're hoping brighter
days are ahead as they face the new Millenium.
FedEx Heros Honored
What began as a routine flight by a FedEx DC-10 on April 7, 1994 turned into a
nightmare for the crew about 15 minutes into the flight. A FedEx flight engineer facing
imminent firing from the company was deadheading in a jump seat and attacked the crew with
a 20 oz. framing hammer. Although all three of the flight crew were seriously injured,
they managed to subdue the attacker and land the DC-10 back at MEM safely. The crew,
Captain David Sanders, First Officer Jim Tucker, and Flight Engineer Andy Peterson are
being honored at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh as Heroes of Aviation. The trio, and Memphis
reporter Dave Hirschman, who wrote “Hijacked, The True Story of the Heroes of Flight
705,” appeared at a press conference Saturday afternoon at Oshkosh, and made a moving
presentation at the Theater in the Woods. All three of the crew have undergone extensive
physical and cognitive rehabilitation. None has regained an FAA medical, but several of
them said that their trip to Oshkosh had rekindled a desire to fly again. Prior to the
attack, Sanders was partner in a Beech Baron and Tucker had a Luscombe.’
The Industry Needs Technicians Now!
Paula Derks, president of the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) said today that
the most urgent need in the aviation industry is certified avionics technicians. To help
fill this need the AEA has produced a video on avionics careers, “Avionics—Are You
Up To The Challenge?” It is FREE to anyone who will use it to address students and
promote avionics as a career. Contact AEA by calling 816 373-6565, email paulad@aea.net.
A Tribute To John Denver
Attending entertainment programs in the Theater of the Woods is usually just a very
nice end to a long walking day. However, on Saturday evening Ken Dravis did more than just
entertain his audience. He took them on a special tribute tour of John Denver—his music
and Ken’s personal remembrances of this gentle man. Ken said that his inspiration to
take music as a hobby came from hearing John Denver’s “Annie’s Song”.
He continued his pursuit of music as an entertainer and songwriter writing songs about
aviation and for children. The EAA audience are the first to hear this tribute and gave
Ken a standing ovation.
Koranda Named New NAA President
The National Aeronautics Association (NAA) has selected Donald J. Koranda as their new
president replacing Steve Brown who has accepted a position with the FAA. Koranda comes
from the AOPA Air Safety Foundation where he was vice president of training. “Steve
has left a great legacy. I will do everything in my power to continue to lead NAA into the
next century,” stated Koranda.
 AVweb's OSH '98 communications radios
provided courtesy of ICOM America. |
AVweb columnist John Deakin flew a Martin 404 to EAA AirVenture this year. One
rejected takeoff, two precautionary engine shutdowns, a lost tire tread, along with a few
other less serious events, and they finally made it to OSH with this lovely vintage
airliner. Join John, the rest of the crew, and 16 “passengers” on this cross
country odyssey told in the inimitable Deakin style. You’ll learn a lot about what
it’s like to support an old transport these days and even more about what it was like
to travel way back when flying on an airliner was an adventure for all involved.
What a monster. What a behemoth. What a ride! Walter Atkinson was given an opportunity
to fly in a Grumman Albatross at OSH, the biggest in the line of a fleet of fabulous
flying boats, and he’s taking you along for the ride. If unabashed fun, power,
freedom, and a mega-dose of nostalgia are of interest to you, climb aboard. Walt shares
his experience of takeoff and landings from both OSH and from adjoining Lake Winnebago.
Yet another several dozen new photos
(captioned in AVweb’s signature tongue-in-cheek style) capturing
today’s most interesting sights at EAA AirVenture. A slew of gorgeous photos from
today’s airshow, more shots of aircraft ranging from ultralights to helos and
gyrocopters to amphibians to aircraft that defy categorization, plus assorted pix of how
life goes on in the tent city that is Wittman Field.
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