Mooney M10T Achieves First Test Flight

Mooney International Corp.'s M10T proof-of-concept model has its first flight on Wednesday from Chino Airport in California. Test pilot Len Fox flew the fixed-gear airplane for about 15 minutes, taking it through basic maneuvers before landing as the aircraft's engineering team looked on. The M10T, unveiled in 2014 at the Zhuhai Airshow in China, is Mooney's design for the flight training market. Constructed from carbon fiber, the aircraft has three seats and is powered with a Continental CD-135 turbodiesel engine.

"The flight was a tremendous milestone for the M10 program," said Jerry Chen, CEO of Mooney International. "Our team of engineers have been working very hard to reach this day, and we are excited to have achieved this milestone in 2015." Mooney, which emerged from hiatus nearly two years ago with new corporate offices in Chino, will continue the M10 certification process over the next few years. The company plans to manufacture it in China for the burgeoning pilot training industry there. The M20 series of high-performance aircraft continues to be produced in Kerrville, Texas.