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29-731: The aircraft designer Al Mooney developed an improved version of the Culver Dart , to provide improved performance with a smaller engine . Originally designated the Culver Model L , the prototype first flew on 2 December 1939. The aircraft was named the Culver Cadet . Although similar to the previous Dart, the Cadet had a semi- monocoque fuselage instead of welded-steel-tube, and a retractable tailwheel undercarriage . The first variant (the Cadet LCA )

58-607: A Swallow biplane fly over where he was working. Following the aircraft to the local airfield, he noticed several mistakes in the aircraft rigging which he offered to help fix. After rerigging the plane, which was flown by J. Don Alexander, Mooney was offered a job. At age 19 he was hired as an assistant to the chief engineer and draftsman at the Alexander Aircraft Company in Denver. His early years proved unfruitful, assisting on an eventually failed design. Finally Mooney got

87-411: A move to other cities while using the threat of leaving to extort concessions out of the town. Just before noon on 20 April 1928, a fire started in the shed where aircraft wings were coated with highly flammable cellulose nitrate ' dope .' A back room was crowded with seamstresses sewing fabric. All of the windows were high and barred, the walls and floors were soaked in the flammable chemical, as were

116-675: A new military role. The Cadet was one of six models that Al Mooney designed during his eight years at Culver. He would leave to found Mooney Aircraft . In 1940, the Cadet LCA was selected by the United States Army Air Corps as being suitable for use as a radio-controlled target. The first aircraft was designated the Culver A-8 (later the XPQ-8 ) and was based on the Cadet LFA , but had fixed tricycle landing gear. After successful tests,

145-673: A production order for 200 was placed, and designated the PQ-8 . Later, another 200 were ordered with a more powerful engine as the PQ-8A . In late 1941, the United States Navy acquired a PQ-8A for evaluation, and then ordered 200 in 1941 as the TDC-2 . An enlarged and improved version was later built as the Culver PQ-14 . Several Cadets, with both military and civilian origins, are still (2012) airworthy in

174-596: A proposal that was developed into the Lockheed Jetstar . Later he led the Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird project. Other designs credited to him include the AL-60 and another unnamed Lockheed business jet. In 1964, while Mooney was designing his final aircraft, a benign tumor was found in his wife Opie. This was the beginning of a decline in her health, ending with her death in 1966. His initial response to her death

203-626: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and U.S. Route 85 . The company went bankrupt in August 1932 and was acquired by Aircraft Mechanics Inc., founded by W. F. Theis and Proctor W. Nichols, in April 1937. It produced components for the Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II , US Air Force ejection seats , and Space Shuttle crew seats. For a brief period from 1928 to 1929, Alexander

232-405: The Culver Cadet acrobatic plane, over 350 of which were built. As war enveloped the country, Culver's main focus shifted towards military drones, in which Mooney had little interest. During this time, Mooney started a business relationship with C. G. "Al" Yankey, which eventually led to the founding of a second Mooney Aircraft Company. As Culver's commercial sales began to slow down with the end of

261-618: The Great Depression and became bankrupt in 1932. The company began life as an offshoot of the Alexander Film Company that specialized in film advertising, and the younger J. Don Alexander decided that they could sell more advertising if they had airplanes. He wrote to aircraft manufacturers asking for a quote on 50 airplanes, but the builders ignored his letter as the work of a crackpot. Alexander decided to build his own. He moved his operation to Englewood, Colorado and set up

290-596: The Mooney Aircraft Company in 1929. His first production design (first flight 1947) was the Mooney M-18 Mite . The M-18 developed into the Mooney M20 in 1955, which was produced through several iterations on-and-off from 1955 through 2019, with over 11,000 examples built. Albert W. "Al" Mooney was born in Denver, Colorado, on 12 April 1906. His older brother Arthur was born on 10 July 1904. Their father John

319-591: The Mooney A-1, which was similar to the Bullet , and the M-5. The M-5 prototype flew seven months after the company started up. With the aircraft industry sales declining due to the onset of the great depression , Mooney decided to fly the M-5 nonstop from Glendale, California , to Long Island, New York , as a promotional feat. However, the nonstop flight failed near Fort Wayne, Indiana , when his engine quit due to faulty welding on

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348-502: The United States, and some are preserved in airworthy condition by museums. Data from U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol. 8 General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Albert Mooney Albert W. Mooney (12 April 1906 – 7 May 1986) was a self-taught American aircraft designer and early aviation entrepreneur. He and brother Arthur Mooney founded

377-504: The aircraft company. He sent Justin McInaney to Marshall, Missouri to buy an airplane and learn to fly. Justin's instructor was the great Ben O. Howard , who later became famous as a racer and test pilot . Justin bought a Swallow airplane for $ 2,300 and flew it back to Denver , a trip with many forced landings. Justin then taught others to fly, including Jack Frye (later president of TWA ) and airplane designer Al Mooney . Sales of

406-472: The aircraft reached eight aircraft a day, just before the depression hit. By 1928, the company was having trouble meeting demand from its jury-rigged factory in Englewood. Operating from a small town enabled the company to evade fire and building codes , but there were rumours that Englewood would be annexed by nearby Denver and regulations would be enforced. The company directors began to prepare for

435-565: The chance to build the M-1 or Long Wing Eaglerock, a plane of his own design. While the airplane had some success as a trainer, it was not enough to keep him at the Alexander company. In 1926, after spending some time working for Montague, where he designed his M-2, Mooney took his first flying lessons. When Montague's finances ran out, Mooney returned to the Alexander company, where he was named chief engineer in 1928. During his time as chief engineer, Mooney

464-573: The cracks and never made production. While most of the aircraft industry was in shambles in the middle of the great depression, the Bellanca aircraft company had some continued success due to contracts with the Navy and the company's popularity among Alaskan bush pilots . In 1934 Mooney was named chief engineer at Bellanca. During this period, Mooney worked closely with its owner, the well-respected Italian-born Giuseppe Bellanca . In his time at Bellanca, Mooney

493-525: The fuel pump. In 1931, with the economy failing, the Mooney Corporation closed its doors. Mooney continued pursuing aircraft design after his company failed. His next design, the M-6, was a two-place low-wing design. However, development came to a halt with financial difficulty that prevented the purchasing of an engine. After several years of searching for financing and continuing design, the M-6 fell through

522-580: The manslaughter charge being dropped. They were fined a total of $ 1,000 and given suspended 90-day jail sentences. With its Englewood factory closed by the Arapahoe County Sheriff , the company moved overnight to new facilities they were building in Colorado Springs . By 1931 the company had an established manufacturing plant between Pikeview and Roswell in El Paso County , west of

551-589: The uniforms of the workers. The only exits from the building were in the doping room and opened inwards. The doping shed was engulfed in fire and explosions, the exits became crowded with fleeing workers, and eleven workers were burned alive. Many others were horribly burned. Both Alexander brothers and three other company officials were charged with voluntary manslaughter . They pleaded guilty to failure to provide sufficient means of escape, failure to have doors opening outward, failure to provide proper ventilation, and failure to provide proper sanitation in exchange for

580-637: The war and tough competition from the Cessna 120 , Mooney left the Culver company. In July 1946, with the partnership of C.G. Yankey and W.L. McMahon, Al and Art Mooney resurrected the Mooney Aircraft Corporation, with Al as general manager and chief engineer. The first aircraft produced was the M-18, a single-place retractable-gear aircraft, and the first of its kind available on the market after World War II; it

609-653: Was an engineer who designed railroad tunnels and trestles for the Denver & Rio Grande , and he taught his sons about drafting and layout . Both young men worked for the railroad when they were not in school. Mooney's interest in airplane design began while still in grade school and grew as he progressed to high school. While in high school, he realized that he excelled at mathematics, and that his understanding of it offered many possibilities for him. Seeking information on aircraft, Mooney asked his teacher what he should study that would best allow him to design safe airplanes, but he

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638-495: Was later named the Mite . After some problems with engine selection and the decision to replace them, Mooney began his next design, the M20, a four-place design of metal construction (the M-18 was made largely of wood). In 1953, the corporation's main financial backer, Al Yankey, died of a stroke before proper funding had been finalized for the M20. With the company again in financial distress, it

667-557: Was powered by a 75 hp (56 kW) Continental A75 -8 four-cylinder horizontally-opposed piston engine. The 1941 version was designated the Cadet LFA , introducing a number of refinements and more equipment, and was fitted with a 90 hp (67 kW) Franklin engine. Production was brought to an end after the United States entered World War II in December 1941, but the Cadet had found export orders, including to Uruguay , and had

696-650: Was responsible for several advances in the field of aircraft design, primarily through his Bullet , a low-wing airplane with relatively high speeds and a patented retractable landing gear. In 1929, with the financial backing of the Bridgeport Machine Co., Mooney left the Alexander Aircraft Corporation. He and Arthur moved to Wichita, Kansas , where they started the Mooney Aircraft Corporation . Their early years were spent designing

725-831: Was responsible for the designs of the Bellanca Airbus cargo plane and the racer Irish Swoop . After his time with Bellanca, Mooney went briefly to Monocoupe Corporation . Working with the small startup company, he designed the Model G Dart and the Monocoach. In his time with Monocoupe, several features of future Mooney aircraft were designed, including rubber shock biscuits in the landing gear legs, and spring-assisted manual gear retract. After Monocoupe went under due to financial distress, Mooney's designs were purchased by Culver Aircraft , and in 1937, Mooney joined Culver as chief engineer. In his days at Culver before World War II , he designed

754-480: Was taken over by Hal Rachal and Norm Hoffman. Only two years after the first flight of the M20, Al left the Mooney Aircraft Company and started working at Lockheed . After leaving the Mooney Aircraft Company, a company in which he had no ownership though it carried his name, Mooney moved to Lockheed, where he spent the rest of his career. In his time with Lockheed, his aircraft designs continued, including

783-475: Was the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, and more aircraft were built in Colorado than anywhere else in the world. In the early 1930s, the firm built a revolutionary new plane—the forerunner of modern aircraft, with a low wing and retractable gear —called the " Bullet ". Several of them crashed in the testing process because the government insisted that the unspinnable plane be tail-spun . The plane later

812-534: Was to lose himself in his work. However, when his brother Arthur retired in 1967, he realized that he was no longer enjoying his work, and retired in 1968. On 7 May 1986 in Dallas, Texas , Albert Mooney died at the age of 80. Alexander Aircraft Company The Alexander Aircraft Company was an aircraft manufacturer founded in Colorado in 1925. It was briefly the world's largest aircraft manufacturer but fell victim to

841-547: Was told there was no such thing as a safe aircraft and he should wait until college before pursuing the topic. Realizing his current schooling would provide limited access to his desires, he began spending time at the Denver Public Library, where he read all the available handbooks for pilots and designers. After his high school graduation, Mooney's plan of attending the Colorado School of Mines changed after he saw

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