Mooney TX-1

Last updated

TX-1
Role Training aircraft
National origin United States of America
Manufacturer Mooney Aircraft Company
First flight 1982
Number built 1

The Mooney TX-1 or Mooney MT-20 was a prototype American military basic training aircraft of the 1980s. It was a two-seat derivative of Mooney's popular M20 light aircraft, but was unsuccessful, only a single example being built.

Mooney M20 aircraft

The Mooney M20 is a family of piston-powered, four-seat, propeller-driven, general aviation aircraft, all featuring low wings and tricycle gear, manufactured by the Mooney International Corporation.

Contents

Design and development

In late 1982 [1] the Mooney Aircraft Company of Kerrville, Texas flew a prototype of a two-seat military trainer aircraft, the Mooney TX-1. This was based on its popular Mooney M20K four seat light aircraft, but with side-by-side seating for pilot and instructor under a sliding canopy. It was an all-metal low-winged monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear powered by a single Continental O-360 piston engine driving a two-blade propeller. [2] The TX-1 was aimed at the basic trainer market, also being suitable for weapons training and light attack missions, [2] and so was fitted with four hardpoints under the wing. [3]

Kerrville, Texas City in Texas, United States

Kerrville is a city in Kerr County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Kerr County. As of 2016, the population of Kerrville is 23,434. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler-founder Joshua Brown, who settled in the area to start a shingle-making camp.

Monoplane Fixed-wing aircraft with a single main wing plane

A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with a single main wing plane, in contrast to a biplane or other multiplane, each of which has multiple planes.

Tricycle landing gear aircraft undercarriage arranged with main gear under the wing or fuselage and a third set under the nose

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 gear aircraft are the easiest to take-off, land and taxi, and consequently the configuration is the most widely used on aircraft.

Mooney stated that they needed orders for 100 aircraft to launch production of the TX-1, [2] but these did not occur, and no production followed. [1] The prototype's aircraft registration was cancelled in 1989. [4]

Aircraft registration registration and identification assigned to an individual aircraft by national aviation authorities

An aircraft registration is a code unique to a single aircraft, required by international convention to be marked on the exterior of every civil aircraft. The registration indicates the aircraft's country of registration, and functions much like an automobile license plate. This code must also appear in its Certificate of Registration, issued by the relevant National Aviation Authority (NAA). An aircraft can only have one registration, in one jurisdiction, though it is changeable over the life of the aircraft.

Specifications

Data from Airdata File: Mooney TX-1 [2]

General characteristics

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 239 mph; 385 km/h (208 kn) at 16,000 ft (4,880 m)
  • Cruise speed: 185 mph; 298 km/h (161 kn) at sea level
  • Range: 940 mi; 1,513 km (817 nmi) at 55% power, no reserves
  • Rate of climb: 1,336 ft/min (6.79 m/s)
  • Ceiling: Over 30,000 ft (6,100 m)

Armament

  • Hardpoints: 4 with a capacity of 1,000 lb (450 kg) total [3] ,

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Notes

  1. 1 2 "BERNHARD C.F. KLEIN COLLECTION: Mooney MT20 TX-1 (N231TM)". 1000aircraftphotos.com. 15 June 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Air International August 1983, pp. 101–102.
  3. 1 2 Flight International 3 August 1985, p.56
  4. ↑ FAA Registry – Aircraft – N-Number Results: N231TM has Assigned/Multiple Records. Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 17 May 2011.

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References

<i>Air International</i> magazine in the United Kingdom

AIR International is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.

<i>Flight International</i> magazine

Flight International is a weekly magazine focused on aerospace, published in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldest continuously published aviation news magazine.

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