Manufacturer Lays Claim To Fastest Piston Single Title

How about kicking off the New Year with some speed? Thursday afternoon, Mooney Airplane Company told ANN the company's M20 TN Acclaim has received its final certification from the Federal Aviation Administration -- and deliveries are expected to begin immediately.

Mooney says the 280-hp Acclaim is the fastest airplane ever produced by the planemaker, with the power to cruise at a true air speed of 237 knots (KTAS) at its service ceiling of 25,000 feet.

Even at a lower cruising altitude of 10,000 feet, Mooney says the Acclaim will exceed 200 KTAS... making it the fastest airplane in its class, a title previously held by the Columbia 400. (We can't imagine the folks up in Bend, OR will remain quiet on this one... Ed.)

"With the certification of the Acclaim, the debate is over," said David Copeland, Mooney's vice president of sales and marketing. "Now there's no question which single engine piston airplane can claim the title as the 'fastest' since the Acclaim clearly boasts the highest maximum cruise speed and it is now officially 'in service.' We're pleased that we were able to bring this airplane to the marketplace expeditiously and we're confident that the enthusiasm and acceptance of the Acclaim will continue to grow, as well."

The Acclaim is powered by a 280 horsepower Teledyne Continental TSIO-550-G turbo-normalized engine equipped with twin turbochargers and dual intercoolers, turning a three-bladed Hartzell propeller. When ordered with optional 130 gallon long-range fuel tanks, it can fly up to 1,615 nautical miles (nm) while maintaining a 200 knot cruise speed.

Announced last April at Lakeland 2006, the Acclaim offers an impressive 20% increase in cruise speed over its predecessor, the Bravo, which it replaced in the product line. The Acclaim also features the popular Garmin G1000 avionics package as standard, and is available with the Garmin GFC 700 autopilot, air conditioning and the industry's only factory-installed, FAA-approved flight-into-known-icing package, as well.

Mooney says there is a substantial order backlog for the Acclaim... which should keep workers in Kerrville busy for some time to come.

Mooney Airplane Company currently sells two models of the M20 high performance, four-place, glass cockpit, single-engine piston-powered aircraft. Since its inception in 1946, the company has manufactured and delivered more than 11,000 aircraft worldwide. Today, 7,000 customers in the United States and 1,000 more overseas fly Mooneys.

FMI: www.mooney.com