The Mooney M10T is a

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...

that was under development by

Mooney Aircraft Mooney is a family name, which is probably predominantly derived from the Irish Ó Maonaigh, pronounced Om-weeneey. It can also be spelled Moony, Moonie, Mainey, Mauney, Meaney and Meeney depending on the dialectic pronunciation that was anglic ...

with an original proposed delivery date in 2017. The project was cancelled in April 2017. The first flight of the

proof of concept Proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is a realization of a certain method or idea in order to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle with the aim of verifying that some concept or theory has prac ...

prototype was on 23 December 2015.

Design and development

The M10T is a three-seat, single engine,

low-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

tricycle gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

composite aircraft, that was originally proposed as a new

training aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

. Although similar in configuration to the

Ercoupe The ERCO Ercoupe is an American low-wing monoplane aircraft that was first flown in 1937. It was originally manufactured by the Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) shortly before World War II; several other manufacturers continued its ...

-based

Mooney M10 The Mooney M10 Cadet is a light airplane manufactured by the Mooney Aircraft Company in 1969 and 1970. The M10 is derived from the ERCO Ercoupe, the type certificates for which Mooney purchased from the Alon Corporation in 1967. Design The M10 i ...

, the aircraft is an all-new design of composite construction with

sidestick __NOTOC__ A side-stick or sidestick controller is an aircraft control stick that is located on the side console of the pilot, usually on the righthand side, or outboard on a two-seat flightdeck. Typically this is found in aircraft that are equip ...

controls. The M10J is a parallel development, with a larger engine and retractable landing gear. The company planned to produce the design at its

Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chin ...

plant initially, with the option of expanding to its

Kerrville, Texas Kerrville is a city in, and the county seat of, Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler-f ...

facility. Assembly was also considered for a new plant under construction in

Hunan province Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiang ...

, China. In April 2017 the company indicated that development was canceled, but that their next-generation piston aircraft would use the knowledge they gained during the project.

Variants

;M10T :Fixed gear trainer with Continental CD-135 diesel engine. One prototype built. ;M10J :Retractable gear version with

Continental CD-155 The Thielert Centurion is a series of Diesel cycle aircraft engines for general aviation originally built by Thielert, which was bought by Aviation Industry Corporation of China's Tecnify Motors subsidiary and is currently marketed by Conti ...

diesel engine. None completed.

Specifications (M10T)

References

External links

Mooney Project AnnouncementNew Mooneys: No Parachute?
by Paul Bertorelli, AVweb {{Mooney Aviation Company aircraft Low-wing aircraft Mooney aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Abandoned civil aircraft projects of the United States Aircraft first flown in 2015