Aircraft model
MOONEY M-18C
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Mooney Mite is a single-seat aeroplane with retractable gear, a 65 hp engine and the backward-swept fin that every Mooney has worn since. It cruises at 120 knots on about three gallons an hour, which is an efficiency figure nothing else of its era approaches, and it weighs 500 lb empty.
It is a genuine one-off in general aviation: a tiny, fast, very economical single-seater built for a pilot who wants to fly alone and cheaply. Roughly 280 were built. The wing is wooden on most examples, which brings the same hangarage and inspection requirements as an early M20. The fleet is small and parts come through the type club. A Mite has a fixed-pitch propeller, so despite retractable gear and flaps it does not meet the complex airplane definition — no endorsement is required.
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Put MOONEY M-18C side by side with up to two other models.
- MOONEY M-18C
What it is
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-145-B2 |
| Horsepower | 65 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1948 |
| Production end | 1954 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 120 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 400 nm |
| Service ceiling | 19,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,000 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 40 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 350 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 272 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 850 lb |
| Empty weight | 500 lb |
| Usable fuel | 13 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 3.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $15,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $40,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $20,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $30,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 120 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 52 |
| Median year built | 1952.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 0 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 9 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 17.31 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 52 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 52 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 52 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 4 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.6 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.