Can a Mooney Mite be flown Sport Pilot?

valittu

valittu

Pre-takeoff checklist
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...and if so, is there a list of certificated airplanes that naturally comply with the LSA guidelines?

A friend of a friend just came into a Mooney Mite and is trying to decide if he should restore it or just sell the project. Is the retractable gear the only thing that disqualifies it?
 
The retract is the problem.

It's top (119kts) and cruise (108kts) speeds are okay... Also, it's gross weight 780lbs, stall speed (37kts) are okay. It has a 19k ceiling, far above sport pilot 10k limit, but that is allowed as long as the plane is not flown above 10k.
 
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How about if you blocked/welded the gear down?
 
I haven't been there for a few years, but the EAA website had a SP section that contained a list of legacy aircraft that were kosher for the SP to fly. It was surprisingly long.
 
bflynn said:
How about if you blocked/welded the gear down?
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No. The requirement is that the airplane meet the requirements since its original certification. See 14CFR Part 1.

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
No. The requirement is that the airplane meet the requirements since its original certification. See 14CFR Part 1.

Ron Wanttaja
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Many Mites were built E/AB, do they qualify?
 
Oh well, thought I was on to something. The Mite is a charming little plane and its sort of like an all metal version of the Fly Baby, which would allow me to store it outside. Hangar fees here will kill my future fixed income. Once again, I'm leaning Onex, but the Fly Baby is just so damn beautiful. I'm seriously torn.

Not many low wing all metal single seat LSA options outside of a very small percentage of the Ercoupe and the payload stingy Hummelbird.
 
LoxaBagels said:
The retract is the problem.
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A Flottorp controllable prop was an option, and that would disqualify it, too.

valittu said:
Oh well, thought I was on to something. The Mite is a charming little plane and its sort of like an all metal version of the Fly Baby
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Mites have wood wings and wood monocoque aft fuselage.

And if you're much over 6' tall, headroom is an issue. :D

M18_1208_01.jpg
 
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Tom-D said:
Many Mites were built E/AB, do they qualify?
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If it was built with fixed gear and otherwise meets the requirements. And even if it WASN'T built with fixed gear, if there's nothing in its records that says it was......

Ron Wanttaja
 
Pilawt said:
A Flottorp controllable prop was an option, and that would disqualify it, too.

Mites have wood wings and wood monocoque aft fuselage.

And if you're much over 6' tall, headroom is an issue. :D

M18_1208_01.jpg
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And...with the references of its similarity to a Fly Baby, note that the pilot in this shot is Fly Baby designer Pete Bowers....

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
And...with the references of its similarity to a Fly Baby, note that the pilot in this shot is Fly Baby designer Pete Bowers....
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Heh heh -- yeah, I forgot about that.

When Mooney staged publicity shots they used pilots who were somewhat more ... diminutive. :yes:

This is the same airplane as in the Bowers shot:

M18_1208_02.jpg
 
valittu said:
Oh well, thought I was on to something. The Mite is a charming little plane and its sort of like an all metal version of the Fly Baby, which would allow me to store it outside. Hangar fees here will kill my future fixed income. Once again, I'm leaning Onex, but the Fly Baby is just so damn beautiful. I'm seriously torn.

Not many low wing all metal single seat LSA options outside of a very small percentage of the Ercoupe and the payload stingy Hummelbird.
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A good cover works quite well in areas where hangar costs are prohibitive. One thing about a lot of the small planes like the FlyBaby and such is the can share a T hangar with a high wing like a 210 making subleasing a spot under someone's wing a possibility.
 
Tom-D said:
Many Mites were built E/AB, do they qualify?
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I'd heard stories about EAB Mites, and did a little digging. There aren't any Mites on the current registry licensed as EAB (searching for both "Mite" and variations of "M-18").

There are 123 total Mites on the registry (as of 2 January 2015). I did find one that's *probably* EAB (N60BW), as it lists "Williams" as the builder. It doesn't have an entry for airworthiness certification. There are three Experimental ones, one each Exp-Show Compliance with FAR, Exp-R&D, and Exp-Exhibition.

There are two EAB ones on the deregistred aircraft list: N18CX and N53TW.

Found an online article about experimental Mites:

http://www.mooneymite.com/articles-history/greenehomebuilt.htm

However, all of the planes shown in the article actually have a Standard certificate (even the drawing).

A certified Mite was recently restored by several folks from EAA Chapter 441. It was bought by the son of the Chapter president (an AF KC-10 pilot) and flown home to New Jersey from Seattle.

Ron Wanttaja
 
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Mite are sweet little planes, welding the gear would be like turning a Stinson into a nose wheel, you'd have to be a sick SOB to do that.

I also thought they were fabric wings for some reason ?
 
valittu said:
Oh well, thought I was on to something. The Mite is a charming little plane and its sort of like an all metal version of the Fly Baby, which would allow me to store it outside. Hangar fees here will kill my future fixed income. Once again, I'm leaning Onex, but the Fly Baby is just so damn beautiful. I'm seriously torn.

Not many low wing all metal single seat LSA options outside of a very small percentage of the Ercoupe and the payload stingy Hummelbird.
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Since you can fold the Onex's wings, you might be able to swing a deal on shared hangar space. Plus, being a single seater you ought to get decent performance out of the VW engine.
 
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