Back in action, the company, still headquartered in the US, with some production of the M10 planned for China, got to work developing two versions of the M10: the M10T, a 135-hp trainer, and the M10J, a 155-hp long-range tourer. In 2009, it stopped production due to financial difficulties, entering a sort of cryogenic survival mode until it was acquired by a Chinese real estate firm a year ago. The Texas-based Mooney Aviation Company was founded in 1929 and is known for making blazing fast metal propeller planes. So it was a logical choice when Mooney started putting together the M10. Using diesel also means letting go of many levers and dials usually needed to ensure smooth engine running: they use a single level throttle control and a constant speed propeller.
In addition to costing less than avgas, diesel actually has advantages for aircraft: The extra weight is balanced out by a lower burn rate that allows pilots to fly farther. And now those advances are finding their way to aviation.
Today’s diesels are marvels of engineering with low fuel consumption and emissions, and bulk and weight only marginally higher than those of conventional engines. Traditionally, they’ve been heavy and offer short lifespans due to the higher compression rates in their cylinders, not good qualities for powering aircraft. Prices in the US-where fuel is also a cinch to find-fluctuate, but are often about half of what the Chinese pay.ĭiesel engines have been around for more than a century but are a recent addition to the light airplane world. It can cost more than $4 per kilogram (about $15 a gallon). Only one refinery in mainland China makes high octane low lead avgas, and delivery needs to be arranged ahead of time. “Avgas is really hard to find in Asia” and it’s very expensive, says Peter Claeys, Mooney’s head of sales and marketing for China and a longtime champion of general aviation (the official term for civilian, non-commercial flight) in the region. The Mooney M10, announced at China’s Zhuhai Airshow earlier this month, gets around that problem: It’s a diesel.
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That makes training pilots costly and impractical (many learn to fly outside the country) in a place where flying even with a license is tricky. One problem is that airplane fuel is not only in limited supply, it’s extremely expensive-about double what it costs in the US.
Any fix on that front would come from the government (and rumor has it an overhaul is in the works), but a new plane from American-Chinese company Mooney could help address the other problems that are holding back Chinese aviation. Perhaps the biggest issue is that the majority of Chinese airspace is controlled by the military, and thus hard to access.
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That’s problematic, since booming growth in the country’s airline industry has generated a need for pilots, and it’s easier to recruit when you’ve got a population of men and women who already know how to fly. Outside the commercial and military realms, aviation is strictly limited, and private citizens who just want to take to the air have few options. If you’re the kind of person that tends to notice these things, a fair weather weekend stroll in any Chinese city or town lacks a distinct sound: the buzzing of light propeller aircraft in the sky.
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