Mooney M-18L  Mite      N362A                       (c/n  23)

                                 

                                     This minuscule aircraft was designed by the inimitable Al Mooney, a prolific designer who had
                                     previously worked for Alexander, Bellanca, Monocoupe and Culver and was responsible for
                                     many of their well known products.  An enviable resume to be sure. In fact, during the Depression
                                     he had his own company but the economics of the times forced its closure.  However, in 1946 he
                                     resurrected Mooney Aircraft Corp and the first offering was the Mite. This was an all-wood single-
                                     seater with retractable tricycle gear and a cantilevered, laminar flow wing.  The diminutive machine
                                     was certified in 1948 and represented a chance for the private flyer to acquire an aircraft with a
                                     price tag of less than $2000.  As such it  represented the cheapest, smallest aircraft to be produced
                                     in quantity.  Two versions were produced.  The M-18L (seen above in this nice photograph from
                                     Mooney Aircraft ) with a 65 hp Lycoming O-145-B2 and the M-18C with a  Continental A65-8
                                     engine, seen below in my photograph taken at Camarillo Airport in the late 1990s.  The 1953 version
                                     was often known as the 'Wee Scotsman' due to its miserly fuel consumption, but the moniker didn't
                                     really stick and most owners merely call it the 'Mite'.
            
                                        Mooney M-18C  Wee Scotsman     N4155                (c/n    321)