sellis Posted June 14, 2013 Report Posted June 14, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE From Mooney Aviation Company Inc. Kerrville Texas; June 14, 2013 "We wish it to be known that terms for the sale of Mooney to Hines Aircraft Ltd have not been discussed or agreed as they have stated. We reserve the right to take legal action against them or any other company that issues false statements about Mooney. "
KSMooniac Posted June 14, 2013 Report Posted June 14, 2013 Yeah, something strange is happening. I found the following at some password-protected site, but Google has a cached copy: ONE-LINE PITCH Hines/Mooney Aircraft LLC will be a next-generation aviation company created from the acquisition of Texas-based Mooney Aviation by Hines Aircraft. COMPANY SUMMARY Hines Aircraft Ltd. is a private, development-stage aviation technology company that has developed a unique, patent-pending propulsion system. The revolutionary new Air-Jet technology is positioned to become the third major mode of aircraft propulsion in the history of aviation following propeller and jet-type reaction engines. Mooney Aviation is an established manufacturer of light- and medium general aviation planes. Due to being severely mismanaged and exploited the company was forced to discontinue production in 2009, although it continues to operate its parts business and maintains all facilities necessary to restart production in a relatively short period. The management of Hines has negotiated very attractive terms for the acquisition of Mooney, and Hines is seeking funding partners to conclude the acquisition.
Hank Posted June 14, 2013 Report Posted June 14, 2013 Hines' revolutionary propulsion system is a liquid-cooled automotive V-8 engine in the rear of the fuselage, with the radiator behind it. The single engine will drive two ducted fans on the fuselage ala Citation engine placement. Supposed to run 300+ knots on 10 gph, and use engine coolant to deice the wings and tail from the inside as part of the engine cooling process. Did I mention 2000 sm range, with full-fuel 1200 lb payload? It may not be a complete pipe dream, but I take Stacey's message to be that Hines' acquisition of Mooney is.
Hank Posted June 14, 2013 Report Posted June 14, 2013 When I first read his post here, my next stop was Google: Hines Aircraft Mooney I did not find anything about the purchase. Scott's post above is the first I saw of that.
chrisk Posted June 14, 2013 Report Posted June 14, 2013 Hines' revolutionary propulsion system is a liquid-cooled automotive V-8 engine in the rear of the fuselage, with the radiator behind it. The single engine will drive two ducted fans on the fuselage ala Citation engine placement. Supposed to run 300+ knots on 10 gph, and use engine coolant to deice the wings and tail from the inside as part of the engine cooling process. Did I mention 2000 sm range, with full-fuel 1200 lb payload? I'm just trying to picture this on a Mooney. The only way I see it working without messing up the weight and ballance is to replace the exising engine with the dual ducted fan/engine contraption. --Nevermind, I don't even think that would work.
carusoam Posted June 14, 2013 Report Posted June 14, 2013 It's good to see Stacey on top of this rumor. He must have been to busy in the Billionaires club to see the other one! Best regards, -a-
Hank Posted June 14, 2013 Report Posted June 14, 2013 I don't know how they plan to use a traditional single-engine platform. The one I described is shown with two crew and 5 passenger seats; they list 4- and 6-place options along with higher-capacity commercial platforms. A Mooney airframe is just not suitable for hanging two ducted fans on either side of the tail, to say nothing of a 325-hp, liquid cooled V-8 engine . . . My personal opinion is that this is as likely to happen as the Chinese "Mooney Billionaire's Club" that we all saw just a couple of weeks ago.
KSMooniac Posted June 14, 2013 Report Posted June 14, 2013 It could be a ploy to raise money from unsuspecting investors. No way a liquid-cooled double-fan powerplant would work on any Mooney...but who knows what their intent is with this stunt.
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