Mooney The Mooney International Corporation took root in 1929 through Albert Mooney and his brother Arthur. Together they established the company in Wichita, Kansas. However, they faced the perils of a crashing economy. When the Great Depression struck in 1930, Mooney went bankrupt. While the brothers worked other jobs, Al continued to feed into Mooney Aircraft Incorporated, eventually bringing in financial bankers Charles Yankey and W. L. McMahon. Mooney’s first aircraft was the Mooney Mite M-18, a single-seater [...]

Cessna By Textron Aviation The Cessna Aircraft Company is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Clyde Cessna and Victor Roos partnered to create a company with expertly designed aircraft available for purchase. However, Roos dropped out of the partnership early on, leaving the business in the hands of Cessna. It was then known as Cessna Aircraft Corporation. In 1932, Cessna briefly closed due to hardships caused by the Great Depression. Despite the downturn of aircraft sales and the economy, Cessna’s [...]

Cirrus Aircraft Similar to other aircraft companies, Cirrus comes from humble beginnings. The company began inside an old barn in Wisconsin, Michigan, in 1984 by brothers Dale and Alan Klapmeier. After the brothers took over their old family farm, they began their first project – the VK-30. This model is better known as the Kit plane and took off for the first time in 1988. After retiring the VK-30 in the mid-1990s, Cirrus designed the SR series to [...]

Piper Aircraft The Piper Cherokee PA-28-180 Archer is one of several single-engine aircraft that is a member of the PA-28 family still in production today. All models within this family have signature features: All-metal Unpressurized Piston-powered aircraft Tricycle landing gear Low-set wings At one point, all Cherokee models (including the Archer) were known for having a “Hershey bar wing”. This is because the rectangular platform wings of earlier models resembled the popular candy bar. Later models feature a [...]