Mite Site News Archive

Warning: the links on this page may be broken.

Ben Favrholdt is resigning as president of WAMM, the Western Association of Mooney Mites. Click here to read Ben's statement. Although he does not give a reason in his announcement, Ben earlier told us he has reached an age where he wants to spend the remaining years he has left working in his hangar and flying his airplanes. He feels that this is the time to move into the background and let some younger members take over. 27/12/2002

We are pleased to present an exclusive inside look at the U.S. Army's evaluation of the M-19 in 1951. The report was sent to us by ex-Army Airforce pilot and ex-NAA executive, Buck Hilbert. It is unfortunate that Buck lost any supporting photos or documents he might have had in the disastrous Chicago flood of 1956. However, his first-hand description of Artillery Liaison and his evaluation of the M-19 as a potential liaison aircraft more than make up for it. Our thanks to Gil Gilbert and Mal Gross for bringing us in touch with Buck. 13/12/2002

Bill Vandersande sent us this photo of one of the DC-4 aerial tankers based in Porterville, CA and used in forest fire fighting. Due in part to the huge McNally fire (151, 000 acres) in nearby Sequioa National Forest last summer, it logged a lot of hours. 08/12/2002

WAMM president Ben Favrholdt has announced the dates of the next WAMM Fly-in : May 2 - 3 - 4 at Porterville, California. Mark that in your 2003 calendar. 01/12/2002

Ben Favrholdt, N66MX, of Porterville, California has sent us an article describing an inexpensive way to balance a wooden propeller and thus get a smoother running engine. See the Articles page. 18/11/2002

Pierre Leduc of Montreal e-mailed us the following story:

"I just had Jim Lacy on the phone about wings for a 140 and in the course of the conversation your site was mentioned.

"It has been a long time since, but in 1979 -- it must have in November -- I was driving from Jasper, Alberta back to Montréal, Québec. It was late afternoon on the last day of a long, snowy drive when I caught a glimpse of something vertical sitting in a field. Not far away was a run down, tar-papered shack. I was fresh out of high school and still so many years away from flying but, of course, I stopped. On the ground, supported by some saw-horses, lay the remnants of a single-seat plane with a very distinctive tail.

"I stopped at the RCMP office there in Smooth Rock Falls (Ontario) and asked about the plane sitting near the shack. The lady gave me the name and address of the owner. A few months later I wrote a letter that was never answered. Twenty-three years have passed, but reading your story (The Demise of CF-FAV - see the Articles page) brought back all these memories. Isn't that silly?

"I just looked in the Canadian database and CF-FAV has yet to reappear. Hopefully someday it will, and it is a time I am looking forward to."

Pierre now knows that the remains of CF-FAV ended up on the West Coast. The front end metal, parts of the fuselage and tail, and landing gear are now sitting in Gil Gilbert's garage in Kent, Washington. 22/11/2002

It's our pleasure to pass along the news that Steve McGuire's Mite, N85PM, was awarded Best Classic Aircraft at the Bartlesville, Oklahoma fly-in this past September.We understand that the winner of this award is chosen by ballot among fly-in attendees.This certainly makes a statement about how other aviators view the Mite. Congratulations, Steve! 31/10/2002

In case you are the owner of a set of M-18X plans and drawings and want to see if it is complete, here is what we believe is a full index of the drawings, all 324 of them. Thanks to Mal Gross for his assistance. 30/10/2002

As mentioned in the WAMM October fly-in report, we had a surprise visit from Don Henry of La Mesa, CA in his unusual airplane, an experimental Mite. He had an unusual story to tell as well. 21/10/2002

The photos taken an the recent October Porterville Fly-in can now be seen, along with a report, via the WAMM News page. 09/10/2002

We regret to announce that the Mite Fly-in at Borger, Texas has been cancelled due to apparent lack of interest. Organizer Kurt Etling feels that the promised turn out is too small to warrant holding the event. Unfortunately, this also puts the formation of a Southern Association of Mooney Mites (SAMM) on hold. Kurt hopes to works something out with Steve McGuire in association with the Bartlesville, Oklahoma Fly-in next year. 28/09/2002

We have an urgent request from Kurt Etling in regard to the SAMM fly-in scheduled for Borger, TX next month. Kurt asks that all those planning to attend get in touch with him no later than September 28th. That's this week. For contact information, see the Events page. 24/09/2002

It's our pleasure to welcome two new members to the Mooney Mite community. David Graben of Rhome, TX is now the owner of N60MM, taking it over from Glynn Garner, N4EM. And Rod Thornton of Crown City, OH is soon to take possession of N396A from Jim Lacy. Both of these planes are M-18L's. 24/09/2002

It's time for a last reminder -- the WAMM Porterville Fly-in is only eleven days away -- October 4th. It looks like we're going to have a good turn-out. See you there! 23/09/2002

Dave Dodson, N393A sent us the following e-mail: "I found out something just a couple of weeks ago that I probably should have known years ago, but didn't. I received an official listing of model "codes" used by the FAA for identification, for instance on a flight plan form or on a call-up. The M18 Mooney is officially a MITE. So, in the AC block of a flight plan, or when asked for type, the correct entry/response is "mite." There is no official M18 in the ATC system. By comparison, all V-Tail Bonanzas are BE35, Debonairs are BE33 and straight tails are BE36, not F35 or S35, E33 or A36TC or whatever. Just the FAA/ATC's way of doing things. Was I the only Mite owner to not know this?" 10/09/2002

Many of you have been surprised and disappointed that our Front Page photo was not changed as of the first of September. An apology and word of explanation are in order. You probably hadn't noticed, but our last two Front Page photos were not labeled the "Mite of the Month". As of last July, we simply ran out of feature articles to publish. After 33 such articles since our inception in 1999 -- and after much arm twisting! -- we're out of new material. There are a few owners out there who haven't yet been featured but, for one reason or another, they have chosen not to send us photos and stories. So, for the time being, we will be featuring some of our favourite photos instead. Sorry for being so late with a September photo, but we've been out of town on other adventures. 10/09/2002

Our Man in Texas, Kurt Etling, 342M, has informed us that the first annual SAMM fly-in is coming together. Kurt has chosen to make it the second weekend in October, the 12th & 13th. All enthusiasts, Mite owners or not, are encouraged to attend. Click herefor more information. Incidentally, Kurt is going to try to be at the Tulsa fly-in and he will try to see everyone there and do some further planning. Any suggestions that you have would be appreciated. 10/09/2002

Many thanks to Monroe Spake, N4080, for sending us new photos for our collection. We have updated our photo of N4140 at the Mid America Museum in Liberal, KS, and now have our first photo of N492M owned by the Kansas Air Museum in Wichita (to view, see the Owners Page). Also, a couple of photos of the famous Crosley engine which they have on display (view via Articles Page). We are pleased to add to our collection. 10/09/2002.

The photos taken at the August, 2002 Fly-in at Porterville, CA (PTV) are now all received and ready for viewing. Special thanks to Gil Gilbert and Bill Vandersande for the camera work. 10/09/2002

In April of 2000 we received an e-mail from Jim Davis in which he sent the good news that Mooney Mite serial #67, N106C, formerly owned by Thurman Batchlor of SC is under restoration and will fly again. Sadly, Jim did not indicate where he lives, and the e-mail address he used is now defunct, Jim, if you read this, please get in touch with the Mite Site! 10/09/2002.

Some of the ads on our Buy&Sell page have been there a long time and may be obsolete. If you placed one there and the item has sold, or you are no longer looking to make a deal, please let us know so it can be removed. 18/08/2002

Several attendees, including host Bill Vandersande, report that the WAMM summer fly-in at Porterville, CA last weekend was well attended and enjoyed by all, in spite of 100°+ temperatures. We'll be posting a page of photos and report on details about the event as soon as photographer/journalist Gil Gilbert sends them to us. 13/08/2002

New Mite owner, Lyn Augustin, N18CT, was kind enough to send us a couple of photos introducing himself to the Mite community. Since first contacting the Mite Site a couple of weeks ago, Lyn has conveyed his enthusiasm for the M-18. 13/08/2002

Congratulations to Jim Bergo of North Dakota who recently took part in the Mooney caravan to Oshkosh (see our item dated 19/04/2002). Andy Czernek of Mooneyevents.com informed us that the 80 planes in the flight were delayed by 2.5 hours this year due to thunderstorms and then a gear-up at Wittman Field, but the Caravan came off without a hitch. The organizers are pleased that this year's group included a Mite (Jim's N4178) for the first time. More details 22/07/2002

We have another new Mite owner to welcome to the fold - Monroe Spake of Villa Rica, Georgia. Monroe has rescued N4080 from wasting away somewhere in Alabama. He reports that the fuselage is good but the wing is in poor shape. However, he is a maintenance manager for a major airline, so the necessary repairs are well within his capability. 20/07/2002

We're pleased to have been able to assist Steve Daly ofOntario, Canada, who is constructing a "virtual" MooneyMite for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002. 18/07/2002

Bill Vandersande has just announced an informal mid-summer Mooney Mite Fly-In will be held on Aug. 10/11, at PTV airport (Porterville, California). Early arrivals on the 9th are always welcome. 13/07/2002

Entertaining story received from Michael Bolinger. Our headline: "Mite Hits Fence, Pilot Up Creek." 2002/07/03

A year ago we published an enjoyable article written by Sam Mitchell called The Mite and I. Recently we received another well-written article from Sam, never before published, called Five Days in a Mite. Please let us know if you enjoy reading it. 26/06/2002

To celebrate a milestone in his Mite ownership, Dan Shumaker of Livermore, California sent us a little souvenir card. 26/06/2002

We welcome David Graben of Rhome, Texas to our Mite community. David is the new owner of N60MM. 12/06/2002

Please note: Due to the risk of computer viruses, the Mite Site will delete, unopened, any e-mail that has any of the following characteristics: a) We don't recognise the e-mail address of the sender, b) The e-mail is not addressed specifically to one of our valid e-mail addresses, c) The subject line contains words not related to our general theme, d) The subject line is blank, e) There is an attachment but no message, f) There is an attachment and our name is not used in the message body, g) The e-mail looks suspicious in any other way! This is our standard practice, even if the mail in question is passed by our anti-virus software, and may explain why you have not received a reply from us at some time in the past. You may want to follow this practice yourself. 28/05/2002

We always welcome submissions from Mite enthusiasts out there. It was our pleasure to receive some old photos and a bit of history about N4075V from Merv Speckman of Litchfield, Minnesota. This Mite is now owned by Chris Byrd of Washington State. 21/05/2002

Here is a challenge for Mite experts and enthusiasts -- we ask for your help in identifying a mystery Mite. 19/05/2002

From his home in Amarillo, Kurt Etling, N342M, has taken upon himself the task of organizing a Southern Association of Mooney Mites, tentatively called SAMM. If you would like to take part in a SAMM Fly-in, possibly this coming October, please e-mail the Mite Site, or Kurt Etling. Your support, comments and suggestions are welcome. Click here for more details. 08/05/2002

Our report on the recent WAMM Porterville Fly-In is now ready for viewing. 08/05/2002

The EAA's response to the FAA's sport pilot / light-sport aircraft proposal has just been released, and we have good news to report. In their reply, which is generally very positive, they propose a number of revisions, including two which M-18 owners had hoped for:add a definition for repositionable landing gear which would includethat of the Mite, and remove the V_H speedlimitation. This is not the end of the race, but we have cleared amajor hurdle. Once again, we express our thanks to those of you whohave gone to the trouble of making a submission. Formore details, click here. 07/05/2002

If you happen to be in Arizona on June 22/23, Bill Cox recommends that you take in the High Country Warbirds Air Display at Valle-Williams Air Port. This Planes of Fame show is only 30 miles from the Grand Canyon. As you probably saw in our notice last month, Bill's M-18X is now part of their permanent display. 29/04/2002

One of the pleasures of operating the Mite Site is the opportunity to "meet" many other Mite enthusiasts. You may have seen today's Guestbook entry by Tom Wade of Mt. Orab, Ohio. A brief exchange of e-mails has resulted in a couple of new photos for our collection. 25/04/2002

Special Invitation: Mite owners are invited to join the Mooney Caravan flight to EAA's Airventure Oshkosh. Pilots will be meeting and launching out of Watertown, WI for the grand entry into Wittman Regional Airport on Sunday, July 21. We were pleased to see a number of big Mooneys at our WAMM Millennium Fly-in at Porterville, CA. Now it's time to return the favor. Details here. Note: They have a format for OSH that allows aircraft at the end of the Caravan to fly slower so the 125-knot cruise speed isn't necessary for any Mites that want to fly with them. Also, you can still park in antique or other areas, as EAA volunteers triage the planes after landing. 19/04/2002

Reminder: The WAMM Porterville Fly-in is happening in just two weeks. For those of you who are planning to attend, please check out the information page and let Ben or the Mite Site know if you're coming. See you there! 16/04/2002

To make it easier for you to see the NPRM submissions sent in by Mite enthusiasts up to now, we've copied them from the FAA DMS site and put them on one of our web pages. Please note that, although we've done well as far as appeals for specific aircraft are concerned, the FAA Document Management System has not exactly been flooded with responses in support of the Mooney Mite. We'd like to see lots more. How about it?!! 14/04/2002

Steve McGuire, N85PM, wishes to pass along a reminder that the Mooney Mites will gather again at the 46^th Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In at Bartlesville, Oklahoma (BVO) on September 20-21, 2002. Plan to attend! 02/04/2002

We are about two-thirds of the way through the 90-day response period for the Light-Sport Aircraft NPRM. The deadline is May 6, 2002. We have done our analysis of this large document and come to some conclusions. They are outlined in a statement which explains what we believe would be the best response by Mite owners and enthusiasts. Click here to read the statement and instructions. We urge you to prepare your response with due consideration and submit it to the DOT as soon as possible. 31/03/2002

An invitation for you -- Michael Bolinger, N246MM, plans to fly his Mite to a gathering of Corsairs and other warbirds at Mt. Comfort Airport, ten miles southeast of Indianapolis, on September 6, 7 and 8. He'll be there on Saturday and/or Sunday and he would sure like to see other Mites in the area make the trip for a get-together. More information. Mark it down on your calendar before you forget. 26/03/2002

Another Mite owner has reported his sold: Jerry Jenny, N380A. The aircraft market seems to be picking up. It's interesting to note that the Sales page receives more "hits" than any other page on our Site. It out-does our second most visited page (the News page) by a 10% margin, averaging over 200 hits per week in the last two months. Even though we've never been told of any Mite sales (13 in the past two years) that were made as a result of our efforts, we like to think so. 22/03/2002

We hope that those of you who are within range of central California have marked May 3, 4 and 5 down on your calendars. That's a reminder to attend the annual WAMM Fly-In at Porterville. Many members of WAMM have expressed pleasure at the prospect of seeing the rest of the gang again in less than two months from now. 17/03/2002

Thanks to Jim Bergo, N4178, for coming through with a set of photos and some words for the Mite of the Month feature in May. Our article for April is ready to go, but we are keeping it a secret until the appropriate time. Suffice it to say that the April Mite has been hangared in two countries and had three owners in the past two years. 17/03/2002

Speaking of secrets, can any one help us identify the Mite that John Wolfe delivered to a buyer down in Colombia in 1953, as described in the article below? We know that several Mites went to Central America, but we can identify only two of them, John Breese's N397A and Ron Swartley's long gone N4186. 17/03/2002

Two more Miters are bidding adieu to their little airplanes. Bill Wilson's, N363A and Dennis Vest's, N4154, have gone to as yet unidentified buyers. Dennis says his wife and kids are so disappointed about the situation that he had to promise them he would buy another Mite as soon as their new hangar is built. We hope that both Bill and Dennis keep in touch with our Mite community. On the bright side, we are looking forward to hearing from the new owners soon. 17/03/2002

As mentioned earlier, our backlog of magazine articles on the Mite has been cleared up. They can all be seen when you browse the Articles page. However, stuff keeps trickling in. Most recently, Dan Shumaker sent us a 1954 article on flying a Mooney Mite to Central America. 15/03/2002

Bill Cox of Sun City West, AZ has brought us up to date on the whereabouts of his homebuilt Mite, N18CX which he believes was the first M-18X built to completion from Fred Quarles' plans, and first flown in 1991. Bill had many fun hours building, flight testing and flying the bird, but decided to put it up for sale a year ago. However, because of the liability worries with homebuilts, he concluded that the best thing to do was donate it to a museum. After contacting several, he chose the Planes of Fame people out of Chino, California who have a satellite operation at Valle, Arizona, just south of the Grand Canyon. Bill adds that the Museum has quite a history. They furnish most of the planes and pilots for the Hollywood movies, the latest being Pearl Harbor, for which they loaded all the planes onto a barge and took them to Hawaii to fly the combat scenes. Bill is not sure what his plans are regarding aviation, but if he buys another plane it won't be a Mite, which he confesses he has "outgrown." Incidentally, if you would like to get in touch with Bill or other recent Mite owners, you will find addresses on our Previous Mite Owners page, 08/03/2002

Thanks again to the many people who have made donations to the Mite Site. Much appreciated! 26/02/2002

Good news: the Mite Site has made first-time contact via e-mail and/or phone with a number of owners whose names therefore no longer appear in capital letters on our Register page: Alfred Burnside, N335M, Glynn Garner, N4EM, Don Henry, N60BW, Fennon Moore, N4131, Gerald O'Leary, N4088, Donald Vecchie, N70DV, and Brian Zabriskie, N477M. We welcome all these gentlemen to our Community and hope to "hear" from them again regularly. Bad news: we have not been entirely successful in our mission. There are still over 30 owners who have so far escaped our aggressive quest for details on their Mites. Check out their NAMES on the Register page. If you happen to live near them, your help would be appreciated. 26/02/2002

Professional aerial photographer Bill Larkins of Pleasant Hill, CA discovered the Mite Site a while back and sent us a photo he thought we would find interesting. He took it on June 2, 1950 showing Gladys Davis in N122C, flying over Concord, California. She flew it in the Powder Puff Derby that year hence the name on the side. Gladys and her husband operated a flight school at Buchanan Field at the time. Bill has been in the aerial photography game since 1934! He has a marvelous collection of photos of WW2 military aircraft, and others. Take a look at his website: http://norcalaahs.org/larkins1.htm. Incidentally, N122C is now N66MX, which you should recognize, if you've been paying attention! 15/02/2002

Always on the lookout for material for the Mite Site, Larry Minch, N4180, discovered a couple of interesting photos of a Mite showing what a gear-up landing looks like. 12/02/2002

Last January 26th in Porterville, California an event took place that we think deserves a mention. WAMM president Ben Favrholdt made his 1000th flight in his M-18C Mite, N66MX. 10/02/2002

We are pleased to report that the drive for subscriptions and donations in support of the Mite Site has been very successful so far. We would like to give the donors a little recognition as a token of our appreciation. 08/02/2002

The Mite site regularly receives requests for help. That's what we're here for. A recent one was how to cure a Mite of a tendency to roll when it should fly straight and level. We turned to one of our "resident" experts, Boyd Maddox, who promptly sent us this useful set of instructions on how to fix the problem. Note that this would apply to most any airplane. 08/02/2002

The Mite Site is being penalized for its success! Because visitors to our site are viewing (downloading) photos in ever increasing numbers, our Internet Service Provider has begun adding a surcharge which increases our monthly fee by 50%. Operating the Mite Site as a hobby and a free service is becoming increasingly difficult to justify. We have reason to believe the Mite Site has provided an important service to Mite owners and enthusiasts. Therefore we ask, reluctantly, for your monetary support. Please send whatever amount you feel comfortable with, according to your enjoyment of the Site. But keep in mind that our presence on the Web is an ongoing expense, so you may wish to consider sending a subscription fee rather than a one-time gift. May we suggest $10 per year? Here are mailing instructions. 30/01/2002

Hot off the press! Here is the wording of the NPRM for the so-called Light-Sport Aircraft category in which we hope to have the M-18 included. The full-text of the Proposal will obviously take time to read, and we will depend on the EAA to put it into bite-sized chunks. 30/01/2002

Mite owner Toni Guttman is looking for someone to do official inspections on N10301, including borescope work, near San Jose, California. 22/01/2002

Due to a damaged starter (his right shoulder), Ted Reusch is reluctantly selling N150C. Details about this award winning Mite can be seen on the Buy & Sell page. Have a good look at the page while you are there. 22/01/2002

The Mite Site Guestbook should now be working properly. Inadvertently, it stopped working some time last summer and we did not get around to fixing it until now. At least we hope it is fixed! Time will tell. Our apologies to all those people who have been trying and unable to post comments there in the last 6 months. We know there have been a lot of you, and we would appreciate it if you would try again. 20/01/2002

Over the past couple of years, the Mite Site has received requests for advice on what to look for in a Mite, either as a prospective buyer or a new owner. At last, with the help of Ben Favrholdt, we have put together a page of information that mentions the most important items to watch out for. Let us know if you think there is anything else that should be added to the page. 18/01/2002

This is reminder to make sure you use our new e-mail address if you want to reach us at the Mite Site. It is mooneymite@mooneymite.com. The old e-mail address, druther@home.com, is now inactive. Our Internet address (URL) changed last summer as well, but, unfortunately, several search engines have not yet discovered the fact. 18/01/2002

Dave Dodson, N393A, reports that he modified the replacement cables which he found with the help of Ray Allen, resulting in greatly improved brakes on his Mite. His article is Tip number 9 on our Maintenance page. 09/01/2002

Of special interest to Mite owners - The Office of Management and Budget has OK'd the FAA's request to issue a Notice of Proposed Rule Making that would have a major impact on pilots flying a new category of aircraft, the Light-Sport aircraft category. Read more about this important event. 06/01/2002

WAMM honcho Ben Favrholdt has just announced that he and Bill Vandersande will host two fly-in's again this year. Due to lack of interest in another venue, the Spring fly-in will be held in Porterville, CA on May 3-4-5 (subject to change), while the second one will take place, as usual, on October 4-5-6 (not subject to change). Ben says, "The Spring fly-in might be kind of iffy because of the heat, but we decided to try it anyway, in order to keep the Mite group active." 30/12/2001

Here is the latest news regarding the restoration of N3199Kat the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, as sent to us by NASM restoration specialist, Anne McCombs. 26/12/2001

Do you know where an M-18L owner can get a set of brake cables?? For details, see the Buy&Sell page under Wanted Items. 12/12/2001

You should realize that every web page or photo that you view with your Internet browser is saved in your computer in a temporary storage place called a cache. If you try to look at a previously viewed web page, your computer goes to the cache first to see if a copy is available. If it finds one, it will display the copy rather than download a fresh page. So this is why you should hit the "refresh" button to by-pass the cache if you want to view a time-sensitive page -- such as our News page or Mitetalk. Otherwise, you may not see the latest posting. 07/12/2001

Ken Shea is looking to buy two clear fuel indicator tubes. He spoke to someone about them at the last Fly-in, but lost track of who it was. If anyone out there has some information or suggestions, please get in touch with Ken. 06/12/2001

It turns out that one of the Mites we thought was lost but was brought to our attention by Larry Minch is a rather special airplane. N4149E, owned by Ben Workman of Zanesville, Ohio won a Lindy Award at Oshkosh last summer. Even though he's not on the Internet, we're passing along our belated congratulations to Ben and welcoming him to the Mite community. We're pleased to have received a set of photos from Ben, but we're saving them until we can feature N4149E as Mite of the Month. In the meantime, here is one of them. 18/11/01

The other airplane that Larry Minch found belongs to Leon Lamp of Carrollton, Ohio. Leon informs us that N4164 is in pieces awaiting restoration. He runs an aircraft service shop at Carroll County-Tolson Airport, so we're hoping that the Mite will come back to life soon. 18/11/01

Thanks to a suggestion by Robby Robins, the Mite Site now has a page displaying addresses of previous Mite owners. We should have had one a long time ago. Our apology to Robby, who is a member in good standing of WAMM, but whose name does not appear on this Site simply because he does not own a Mite. Since there is no longer a WAMM newsletter, we stress that anyone who is interested enough in the M-18 to attend a Fly-in is a welcome member. We are still working on adding e-mail addresses to the list, the problem being that the names were taken from Tony Terrigno's old WAMM newsletter mailing list, which predated the Internet. 03/11/01

Here's a contrast for you: Bill Vandersande sent in a photo of his Mite, N4105, posing beside N701AU, a converted Lockheed P-2 Neptune now known as a "Firestar" firebomber belonging to Aero Union of Chico, CA. The only thing they have in common is their colors! 02/11/01

There are three more "historic" articles for you to look at on the Articles page, by Peter Bowers, Joe Juptner and Dan Green. These are the last of the old magazine articles received by the Mite Site since we started just over two years ago. That's it. They're all published. Do you know of any more out there, or do we have every article about Mites ever printed? 28/10/01

The graph mentioned below is already out-of-date! Thanks to the efforts of Larry Minch, N4180, the number of missing Mites drops from 122 to 150. While we wait to hear back from the owners of N4149E and N4164, let's have a look at one of the nice photos Larry sent. Much appreciated, Larry! 25/10/01

If you have been wondering what happened to all the Mites, here is a graph showing the current status, as far as we have been able to determine. 24/10/01

Referring to our earlier news item about N3199K and the search for a good photo of same, we've learned the NASM has decided to display a reasonably good photo sent in by ... The Mite Site (we acquired the photo from the collection of Tony Terrigno). We are looking forward to the day when Mite Number One will have been totally restored and put on display at the Hazy Center at Dulles, which is scheduled for opening on Dec. 17, 2003. 23/10/01

Have you looked at the Buy & Sell page lately? New items are displayed frequently. Have you sold the item you listed on the Buy & Sell Page? Please let us know so we can remove it. 23/10/01

Our report on the recent WAMM PTV fly-in is complete. Keep in mind we have displayed only a portion of the total number of photos taken. Thanks to Ray Allen and Glenn Bell for their contributions. 23/10/01

While we wait for more photos to arrive by snail mail, here are some pictures of the recent WAMM fly-in. 14/10/01 Another WAMM Porterville Fly-in is history. A full report will be posted on the WAMM page after all the many photos have been gathered. In the meantime, here are the names of the attendees (in no particular order): Tim Lucero, Ray and Linda Allen, Ben Favrholdt. Bill Vandersande, Gil Gilbert, Dave Rutherford, Garry Gramman, Robby Robins, Ernie Buenting, Doug Triplett, Michael Harms, Anthony Terrigno, Ted Reusch, Glenn Bell, Ken Shea, Graham Shea, Ben and Doris Loftsgaard, and Norm Douthit. We also had a number of unnamed guests who joined us at Don Deaton's pit-roast beef dinner, as well as an assortment of unidentified photo-seekers drawn by the impressive lineup of eight Mites. Check back later. 08/10/01

The weather here on the West Coast is looking really good for the WAMM Porterville fly-in this weekend. We are expecting visits from a number of fellows who may not have attended before, or who have not been there for a while: Ray Allen, Robby Robins, Ted Reusch, and Doris and Ben Loftsgaard, to name a few. Of course, we are looking forward to seeing the "regulars" again too. Hopefully there will be some surprise guests to compensate for the regulars who cannot make it this time. The Fly-in will actually begin Thursday evening and last until Sunday, and dropping in for even part of a day is not unheard of. For those of you who are curious about Mites, in the process of fixing one, or interested in buying one, you'll never have a better opportunity to have questions answered. We'd like to see you across the table at The Rustlers this evening. 03/10/01

We have received a CD-ROM full of airplane stuff from Dan Shumaker, N4142, of Livermore, CA. It contains a great number of photos of the airplanes he has owned over the years (too many to list here!) but of particular interest to us -- many images of his M-18C, N4142. As a result, we have added to our archives, updated some of the photos on our Owners page, and gained more than enough material for a Mite of the Month feature. We would like you to have a look at Dan's article, which he published himself, detailing the meticulous restoration of N4142 between 1978 and 1994, and enjoy his commentary and many excellent photographs. Thanks very much, Dan! 02/10/01

Our request for a photo of N3199K seems to have drawn a blank so far. Too bad! As a matter of interest, Johan Kala, the last owner, made Mite No.1 a gift to the Smithsonian in 1988/89 when Fred Quarles made arrangements for the Smithsonian to accept it from him. At that time, Fred donated over 600 original drawings related to the engineering of the Mite, but retained the Type Certificate. The drawings are currently housed in the Garber Facility. NASM makes them available to the public with the proviso that constructing aircraft or parts from the drawings is expressly prohibited. They can be viewed in the NASM's reading rooms, and copies can be requested upon payment of fees for reproduction and shipping. 25/09/01

The WAMM Fly-in at Porterville, CA is going ahead as planned for October 5 - 7, 2001. For further information, contact Ben Favrholdt or Bill Vandersande, or click on the link near the bottom of this page. We hope to see you there! 24/09/01

While he was attending the August 2001 WAMM Fly-in at Prosser, WA, Garry Gramman made a side trip to see the volcano Mt. St. Helens, famous for blowing its top in May, 1980. He left Prosser after breakfast and was back by lunch time. On the way home, Garry couldn't resist taking a photo of Crater Lake, OR . Thanks to Garry, we are able to present some photos of the flight. 21/09/01

As you may know, the NASM (Smithsonian) in Washington is presently restoring Mooney's original Mite, N3199K. We have learned that the NASM needs a good photograph of this Mite for their archives and their website. If you have, or know of someone who has, a photo of 3199K, please contact the Mite Site or Dorothy Cochrane at the NASM. Thanks! 19/09/01

We've just made our first contact with N4132. Jerry Breeyear e-mailed to tell us that owner Carl Whitney has completed a ten year restoration project under the guidance of Don Mathieson (IA). The Mite recently did a high speed taxi test at the Nashua, New Hampshire (KASH) airport. You can see a photo of the plane via the Owners page. 18/09/01

Here's another article sent to us by Fred Ramin. It was written in 1950 and gives an absolutely glowing flight report on the then-new M-18L. It will make you Mite owners feel really good! 17/09/01

Fred Ramin, NC366A, has sent us a photocopy of a 1949 article from Air Trails Pictorial magazine which he discovered while thumbing through magazines at an antique store in rural Texas. It provides instructions for making a balsa wood flying scale model of a Mite, along with a blueprint which we have reproduced as well as possible. 16/09/01

Michael Bolinger, N246MM, mailed to us a marvelous photo of his Mite in front of the Collings Foundation's B-17G, "Nine-O-Nine." Have a look. 16/09/01

If you'd like to see a photo of N3199K in the restoration shop at the NASM, click on this URL: http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/garber/cam/home.htm. If you don't get a moving picture, click where it says "java applet." If the picture looks rather dark, it's probably because it's after closing time and the shop lights are turned out. Thanks to Dan Shumaker for sending this to us. 31/08/01

We regret that Mite owner Carl Terrana was killed recently while flying a homebuilt Matey "Hawker Hurricane, " near his home in Buckley, WA. Carl owned two Mites: C-GHIY, which now belongs to Jim Jenkins, and N4103, an LA model which is currently being rebuilt at Thun Field in Washington.You can view the NTSB accident report at http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20010829X01819&key=1 30/08/01

We have received a progress report on the restoration of N3199K from Anne McCombs, Restoration Specialist at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. 24/08/01

You may not have clicked on our link to Budd Davisson's website (Links page), on which Budd has gradually been posting more of his aircraft reviews originally published in well known aviation magazines. We'd like to mention that his 1985 Air Progress article on the Mite is now online at the Airbum site. 23/08/01

In the two years since the Mooney Mite Site has been on the Internet, we have been asked several times if we would display online more detailed information about individual Mites, similar to that which you sent in when you filled out our initial questionnaire in 1999. We are still trying to find a way to do this. In the meantime, we have set up a new method of gathering information for such an "online database." You can now send in new or updated information by clicking on the Submit Info button on the left. As the submission form explains, your information will be displayed, some day soon we hope -- just like the contact information on the Owners page -- unless you tell us to keep it confidential. 21/08/01

Have you tried clicking on the "Discussion" button to the left of this column? If not, please give it a try. It will take you to a plain-jane, old-style, www discussion board. No bells, no whistles, no usernames, no passwords. Now that MiloMail is toast, we are hoping to see it become more popular than our small, quiet, and exclusive Club on Yahoo! 16/08/01

Have a look at our copy of a 1999 article by Vicki Cruse from the Custom Planes magazine. The worthy subject is Garry Gramman and his M-18L, N119C. 16/08/01

Here is a list showing all of the various Mooney Mite Owners Association bulletins we have seen while preparing material for the Mite Site. We have been able to keep some of the issues for our files, the rest were loaned to us. If you find that you have other issues that we have not see, how about donating them our archives?? 16/08/01

Photos from the Prosser Fly-in are now posted on the WAMM page. 14/08/01

We have posted several new items to read on the Articles page. Some are taken from magazines, like the 1948 review by Max Karant where the nickname Mite is used for the first time, or Frank Harvey's enthusiastic "ode" to the Mite. You will find Budd Davisson's 1976 Air Progress report entertaining, as his always are. We also enjoy presenting original creations like Sam Mitchell's and Doris Loftsgaard's well written articles about Mites. We would especially like you to note Dick McComas' article, in which he traces the history of his Mite by simply using entries in the flight log. We would really like to see a lot more of that kind of submission to the Mite Site. 06/08/01

The Mooney Mite Site has moved to a different server, Blue Zebra Webhosting of Rio Rancho, NM. If you look near the top of your screen, you will see that we now have our own domain name. Please remember to bookmark our new address: www.mooneymite.com 01/08/01

The appearance of the Site will have changed only slightly, but behind the scenes things are much different. The greater storage capacity of the new server will make the Site much easier for us to maintain. We hope that you will notice a difference in speed, too. Expect further changes and improvements in the future. 01/08/01

You will probably find some links that do not work because of the move. If you discover a bad link or some other problem anywhere in the Site, please send details to the Mite Site. Thanks! 01/08/01

From the WAMM files of Tony Terrigno we have acquired a copy of the 1948 article by Max Karant in which the name Mite was said to have been used for the first time. See the Articles page. 31/07/01

On the topic of improving cabin heat in the Mite, Garry Gramman has found a good source of heater springs. His comments have been added to the article on our Maintenance page, and his source has been listed on the Buy&Sell page. 31/07/01

One time Mite owner, Doris Loftsgaard and her husband Ben of Sacramento still have a soft spot it their hearts for the Mite she once named The Deep Purple Dream! The airplane, serial number 203, now has a different paint job and belongs to Ben Favrholdt. Doris and Ben have sent us a story and pictures which you can see via the Articles page. 30/07/01 It looks like George and Fred Ramin made it to Oshkosh again this year. Their Mites are featured on the front page of AVWEB's Oshkosh site. Thanks to Glenn Bell for pointing this out. 25/07/01

Reminder -- the WAMM fly-in at Prosser, WA is coming soon, August 9-10-11-12 to be exact. More information about Prosser can be found here, or contact organizer Gil Gilbert. If you plan to be there, or have any special requests, please send Gil a note. 16/07/01

We are pleased to present another example of just the kind of thing we always hope to receive in the mail -- a wonderful anecdote about a Mite in the hands of a 17-year-old pilot. It was sent to us by Mite enthusiast, Norman Simpson. 11/07/01

Another article from the WAMM files -- this time a nicely written flight report by Sam Mitchell telling about his flight from St. Louis to Seattle in 1990. Anyone know where Sam is now? Incidentally, he made the flight in N4187, now owned by Mal Gross. Mal also did a long cross-country flight in this airplane, as reported on our Articles page. 09/07/01

We have added some authentic material and a rare photo to our page about the legendary M-19, thanks to Glenn Bell who found the material a while back and sent it to Tony Terrigno, who donated it to the Mite Site. The specifications are particularly interesting. 08/07/01

It appears that Milomail may be a casualty in the "Dot Com" collapse. We have received reports that members are unable to post messages in our discussion group there. There has been a drastic drop in participation as well. Because of this, and the lack of technical support at Milomail, we are taking steps to switch our Mitetalk group to the Yahoo! Clubs website. Although it appears to be more complicated that Milomail, it has more useful features. You are invited to visit the site, sign up, and let us know you are there. To learn how, see the instructions below. Please give it a try! 07/07/01

Steve McGuire of Ponca City, OK e-mailed us with this bad news, "Well, it is certain now -- there will be no Tulsa Regional Fly-in this year -- it has been officially cancelled. So, guys, there will be no Mite gathering in Bartlesville this year. But, plan on next year. The dates are September 20-21, 2002. Let's plan on having the largest gathering of Mites in the US in 2002." 05/07/01

Bill Cox, who advertised his home-built Mite here for many months, informs us that in spite of numerous inquires none resulted in a sale. He has subsequently given his airplane to an Arizona Museum. He says he was very impressed with the organization and feels that it has gone to a good home. 05/07/01

For those of you who are planning to attend the Prosser, WA Fly-in, Gil Gilbert has learned there is a "Wine and Food Festival" happening that weekend and motel rooms will be in short supply, so book now. 05/07/01

The Mite Site webmaster expects to be away on a camping holiday starting tomorrow (June 18th), so there won't be anything new on the Site for about three weeks, including the Mite of the Month for July. 17/06/01

The first of the new items from WAMM archives are now available for viewing -- a 1971 review of the Mite by Bennett M. Rogers (see Articles page) and a dozen new photos of Mites which can be seen via the Owners page. We'll leave it up to you to find them. 17/06/01

The date for the Mite fly-in at Prosser, WA has been finalized -- August 9-12, 2001. If you have any questions, contact organizer Gil Gilbert. Hope to see you there! 15/06/01

A large box of historical material has arrived at Mite Site headquarters. Thanks to Tony Terrigno who donated his WAMM archives and to Ben Favrholdt for packaging and sending it to us. Over the next many months we will be mining this material for photographs, magazine articles and other goodies, many of which will appear here on the Site as time goes by. 13/06/01

A welcome back to the Mite community goes out to Jim Frank of Atlanta, GA, who recently purchased N4094 from Jack Cheney of Acme, Michigan. Jim still regrets having sold N4180 a while back, but says he's already knee deep in the restoration of 4094 and hopes to have her flying this year. 13/06/01

We've just heard from Bill Shea of Woodland, CA who recently donated his M-18L to the A&P program at Sacramento City College. He now has a rare 1946 Commonwealth Sky Ranger, which he would like to trade for a Mite. See the details on our Buy&Sell page. 11/06/01

In 1953, Frank Ogden established the Canadian light plane altitude record flying a Mooney M-18 Wee Scotsman. Frank, who now lives in Vancouver, BC, has sent us some details. 06/06/01

For a long time, we have had a suspicion that there are several phantom Mites out there. We have put down our thoughts on this subject for you to consider, and wait to be contradicted. 03/06/01

The Mite Site always appreciates receiving new material for our archives -- we have photos of only half of the Mites listed on the Owners page. Thanks to Kurt Etling for sending a couple of pics, our first, of his N342M. You can have a look at one by clicking on the N-number on the Owners page, as usual. 02/06/01

Don Wiebe of Newton, KS who is acting as agent for the sale of Don Adams M-18L has asked us to point out that they are in a Must Sell mode and have reduced the price again. 02/06/01

We have often wondered what Mite colour schemes looked like fresh from the factory. Garry Gramman, who bought his plane from Mooney over 50 years ago, has provided us with several photos. 23/05/01 Photos from the WAMM 2001 Porterville Fly-in are now available for viewing. Our sympathy goes to those of you without a high speed Internet connection! 22/05/01

At the recent WAMM Fly-in, Ben Favrholdt told this story about a forced landing in a Mite. 21/05/01

Mooney Mite "souvenir clothing" can now be ordered through the Mite Site. We may have mugs and hats available too, depending on the number of orders received. 21/05/01

For those of you looking for a Mite-sized radio, Ray Allen has discovered an Australian site that has the Microair 760H Transceiver on sale. It has an on-site converter for calculating the price in US dollars. 13/05/01

Looking for a Mite project? Jack Cheney of Acme, MI has found it necessary to sell his M-18C. It looks like a very good deal, especially since it has an A65-12 engine. Look on our Buy&Sell page. 11/05/01

For those of you who are planning to attend, there is now a suggested schedule of events for the WAMM PTV Fly-in. 11/05/01

A Mooney Mite Mite? Enthusiast David Dugannne of Albuquerque, NM sent in this description of his home-built Mite that will fly in a gymnasium. 11/05/01

On the Articles page you will find brief histories of eleven Mites that spent part or all of their careers in Canada. Over the years, there have been fifteen factory-built Mites registered in Canada. To the best of our knowledge, only two remain registered, six are destroyed, five have returned to the USA, and the parts of two more are in the USA. 07/05/01

We've just received the schedule for the Montana Antique Air Tour 2001 from Jim Bergo, N4178, and since there's a Mooney Mite involved, we'll pass it along to you. Click here to see the schedule as well as contact numbers, in case you are interested in going along. 06/05/01

The "rare find" that Dick Rank mentioned on Mitetalk -- the Mooney Mite collector's card -- can now be seen via the Articles page. 02/05/01

The borescope inspection package from Tony Terrigno is now available as a PDF file for downloading. See the Maintenance Page. 19/04/01

All three parts of Dick Rank's inside look at wood deterioration in the Mite are now complete. You can see them by clicking on a link on the Articles page. 19/04/01

Done in his typically thorough manner, here are Garry Gramman's comments in response to the unusual parts mystery [see below]. They are taken from our Mitetalk discussion forum. 09/04/01

Dick Rank has discovered some unusual parts during his rebuild of N125C. He would like help in identifying their source. 06/04/01

Don't forget to check out our Buy & Sell page. New items are coming and going all the time. For example, Boyd Maddox has just listed a selection of miscellaneous original Mite parts. 06/04/01

If you have looked over the new photos on the WAMM page and seen yourself or your plane there, you may have something that we could add to the photo captions. If so, please send it in. Many of the photos need comments or explanations. 04/04/01

Our collection of WAMM Fly-in photos from earlier years has grown considerably, thanks to Gil Gilbert. You may see them by going to the Articles page or the WAMM page. 01/04/01

On the topic of annual checklists, Tony Terrigno's list came in the snail mail yesterday and is now available via the Maintenance page. 29/03/01

Patience pays off! Ray Allen, N476M, has been looking for an A65-12 engine for a long time. His ad for same was one of the first ones placed on our Buy & Sell page. Well, Ray says he's found one. The $500 reward goes to a truck driver from Wisconsin who saw our ad and called Ray with information about an A65-12 in Kansas, at Gus Wiebe's place. 26/03/01

Those of you who have been regulars at the WAMM fly-ins over the years will be interested in keeping an eye on our WAMM page. Some new photos have just come in from Gil Gilbert who has attended 25 of these events since 1979. He will be contributing many more photos in the future. 25/03/01

Do you remember your first solo? Five months ago, yours truly flew a Mooney Mite for the first time. It was at the WAMM fly-in at Porterville, CA on the morning of Friday, October 6th -- a date burned into memory! I've finally gotten around to publishing a record of the experience. 25/03/01

Recently in our Mitetalk discussion group, Fredi Berger, N53TW, posted a request for an annual checklist. The subsequent discussion revealed this to be a very popular item. In short order, three Mite owners, Ben Favrholdt, Tony Terrigno and Ray Allen volunteered to share theirs. Two have arrived here so far. They are now available in PDF format from our Maintenance page. 21/03/01

About a month ago, Winslow Jones placed an ad here in which he wanted to trade a Colt for a Mite. Well, he's happy to report he's made a deal with Dale Johnson of Seminole, TX for N4096. He has just flown his new Mite from Texas to its new home base at Lewis-Lockport (LOT) in Illinois. Welcome to the Mooney Mite Community, Winslow! 19/03/01

The Mite Site regularly receives requests for building plans for the M-18, which are now quite rare. If anyone has a set for sale, please contact us. Also, we would dearly love to get our hands on a copy of Gordon Baxter's The Al Mooney Story: They All Fly Through the Same Air which is long out-of-print. Anyone? 18/03/01

Mite owners have been invited to make an appearance at this summer's EAA Arlington Fly-in, July 11 -15. We understand that the flight operations manager, Marc Gordon is willing to set aside a special parking area and a forum for Mites this year. Thanks to Andrew Czernek of Mooney Aircaft Owners' Events for sending us the invitation. 14/03/01

Another Mite has changed hands. Dave Jappay of Nevada City, CA has sold N4152 to Ken Shea of Quincy, CA. Ken tells us that he owned this Mite once before and sold it to Dave many years ago. He's thrilled to have it back. This lucky fellow now has a brace of Mites! 07/03/01

The date for the Mite fly-in at Prosser, WA has been set for August 9-13, 2001. We hope that it will bring out those Mite enthusiasts who cannot make it to the California fly-ins. If you have any questions, contact organizer Gil Gilbert. Hope to see you there! 28/02/01

We have just been advised by Ben Favrholdt that the dates of the two WAMM fly-ins for 2001 will be May 18-19-20 and October 6-7-8. Both events will be held in Porterville, CA. 24/02/01

We're pleased to have just learned that one-time Mite owner Harold Gallatin of Wisconsin is following developments on the Mite Site from the nursing home in which he now resides. He'd like to hear from you. Harold once owned Dick Rank's N125C and Terry Railing's N368A, going back to the late 60's. We have a couple of items relating to Harold on our Articles page, but we're still waiting to hear the full story about his Wankel engine conversion. 18/02/01

Thanks to Mike McCrath for the latest batch files to add to our library of Conversion Documents (337's and STC's) and Service Letters. Unfortunately, we've "hit the wall" on server space and have had to make changes. The files are listed and described on our Maintenance and Conversions pages, but are available for downloading only upon special request. 16/02/01

The second of Dick Rank's useful articles on wood deterioration and repairs is now posted. You can find the link on the Articles page. To supplement his articles, Dick has also provided us with copies of three important Mooney Service Letters. Thanks very much, Dick! 09/02/01

Have you visited our Buy&Sell page lately? We've just posted our first-ever "trade" listing -- Winslow Jones is looking to trade his nice-looking Piper Colt for a Mite. By the way, if any of you with older ads that are not giving results wish to remove them, please let us know. 04/02/01

We have more information on Mite engine conversions available for viewing and downloading via the Maintenance page. Garry Gramman's well-prepared documents show the paperwork required for FAA approval, plus advice on how to make the process go easier. The Mite Site would appreciate hearing from those of you who download these files, just to let us know if it is useful to make them available in this format. Use mitesite@home.com or the Guestbook. Thanks! 03/02/01

Have you visited our Mitetalk discussion group on MiloMail lately? As a result of a lively discussion this week about STC's and 337's related to Mite engine upgrades, we have begun posting a series of document copies available for downloading from our Maintenance page. Thanks to Ray Allen for sending us the first set of documents. 24/01/01

Experienced Mite-rebuilder Dick Rank, has already contributed substantially to the Mite Site (see the Articles page). This time he has submitted the first in a series of articles about wood deterioration in the Mite. We know you will appreciate his insights and his concern with safety. 16/01/01

We just received word from Ben Favrholdt that the WAMM Spring fly-in is scheduled to take place at the Nut Tree airport on the weekend of May 18-19-20 (the traditional dates) They are also planning on having the Fall fly-in at the Porterville airport in October. 03/01/01

Brent Taylor, APM Treasurer, would like you to know that Mac's (Richard McComas') Mite is now on display at the Air Power Museum at Antique Airfield near Blakesburg, IA. Check out their newly updated web site. There is information on the Mite under the APM aircraft listing and also a story (with photos) about the recovery under the Features listing. Mac's Mite will receive an extensive annual in the Spring, and will be back in flying condition at that time. 03/01/01

The Mite Site would like to wish all Mite owners, enthusiasts and visitors to our site a very Happy Christmas and all the best in the New Year! As we begin our Christmas break, here is a surprising news item that we think you will enjoy. 23/12/00

Michael Harms, N201MM, sent us this chestnut for Christmas: Aviation Truisms. 14/12/00

For the past several days, you have probably had some difficulty with our website, such as slow or incomplete loading of web pages. You are not alone. The problem apparently is with our service provider, Excite@Home. Sorry, there is nothing we can do but wait and hope they get the server computer fixed soon. 09/12/00

We've all heard of a Bed & Breakfast, but now Michael Harms, N201MM has come up with a new concept -- a Bed & Hangar. It sounds like a great idea, especially when winters in Florida are so appealing. Incidentally, Michael still flies N60MM regularly, still maintains it in top condition (the annual will be done this week), and still has it for sale. 04/12/00

We have learned that Red Farmer's Mite, N4154, has been sold to Dennis Vest of Fort Bragg, CA. It will continue to be based at Healdsburg, CA. We thank Dennis for getting in touch with us and welcome him to the Mooney Mite Community. He reports that his new plane is really a blast to fly (no surprise to us!) and that he's looking forward to meeting other Mite owners at one of next year's WAMM fly-ins, of which there will probably be three -- Nut Tree (Vacaville), Prosser and Porterville. 03/12/00

The Mooney Mite Site has been averaging about 25 hits a day for the past year. We've often wondered who has landed on our pages but there's been no way of telling. So we've put a link to a "Guestbook" on the Front page to give visitors a chance to register. Thanks to David Favrholdt for the suggestion. 02/12/00

On the topic of engine conversions, we are still looking for one STC for our growing collection. It's number SA-1044WE for a C75-8 conversion. If anyone out there knows where it is, please contact Mike McCrath or the Mite Site. 08/02/01 FOUND!

Today marks a special event for the Mooney Mite Site. We have reached ten thousand hits! Wow! Thanks to all of you who have contributed to and visited our site over the past 14 months! 29/11/00

A discussion has begun about the possibility of having a fly-in at Prosser in Washington State for the benefit of those of you who cannot get down to California. The date has yet to be set. You will see some information about Prosser on the Articles Page, and hopefully a discussion in Mitetalk. If you are interested, please contact the Mite Site or Gil Gilbert. 26/11/00

Another collection of original material has come to us from Dick Rank, N125C. As time goes by, these historic articles and brochures will be published and you'll be able to see them via the Articles page. However, here is the first of them: a very thorough CAB Report on the 1959 fatal accident involving Mite N4174 which resulted in the issuance of AD 59-22-03. Thanks very much, Dick! 21/11/00

We are passing along this request for information from Andrew Czernek of the Mooney Events Site. For his Mooney Model chart, he would like an exterior and a panel shot of a Mite in its original (factory) condition. The Mite Site's collection of early photos consists of scans of low-quality black and white photos from MMOA bulletins. Can anyone out there give us some assistance? 20/11/00

Have you ever suffered from the Miteitis virus? Dick Rank has submitted a report describing his recent relapse, including photos. After buying a project nicely begun by John Gadeikis, Dick validated Le Selting's flatbed trailer method of transportation by moving a Mite and wing from Wisconsin to Georgia. 19/11/00

The Mite Site welcomes to our community Robert Bone, N4173, of Ft. Wayne, IN. Robert's Mite won the Best Limited Production award at Oshkosk '97. Incidentally, he has a propeller for sale. Have you looked at our Buy&Sell page lately? 19/11/00

Mite owner Mal Gross, N4187, has just returned from an EAA board meeting at which the proposed new FAA sport pilot category was discussed. This proposal.needs to be looked at closely by Mite owners as the Mite comes close to qualifying for the new category. We invite your comments in the MiteTalk discussion group. 15/11/00

Another Mite owner has been heard from -- Ted Reusch of Chino, CA has returned our questionnaire. It was Ted who bought Tony Terrigno's N150C last winter. Thanks for making contact, Ted. 14/11/00.

As a matter of interest to those of you who have been in the Mite game for many years (and there are a lot of you!), we have acquired for our archives the first four issues of Whit Pearson's MMOA Bulletins, along with two owner's lists from the mid 1960's. We'd like to thank Fred Schmidt, N4109, N4068, N4189, etc. of Camden, OH for contributing this material -- even though he won't be able to read this (he's not on the Internet). In case you are interested, here's Whit's 1964 owners list. 11/11/00

It's always a pleasant task changing names from capital letters to small letters on the Owners page, which signals, of course, that we've made contact. In this case, Ken Shea, N4071, of Quincy, CA has e-mailed to tell us that his Mite is alive and well. He also mentions that his two teenage sons have just been introduced to "Mitehood" as they have both just soloed in it. Congratulations to JK and Graham Shea! 11/11/00

Jim Bergo of North Dakota just e-mailed us two very nice aerial shots of his Mite along with these comments: "These photos were taken out of another Mooney, through the baggage door, by Pietsch Flying. Warren Pietch is flying the Mustang....of course I am flying the Mite. Pietsch Flying is a long time Mooney dealer here in Minot." 07/11/00

As he promised, Le Selting, N612C, has sent us some photos showing how it is possible to transport a Mite on a small flatbed trailer without having to cut the wing. 22/10/00

The Mite Site now has the full series of four articles from the Minnesota Flyer magazine about the restoration that Dick Rank did in 1996/97 when he owned N118C (which now belongs to Robert Schroeder). Very impressive. Previously, excerpts from these articles appeared in the Mite of the Month feature for March, 2000. 21/10/00

Steve McGuire, N85PM, has submitted his report on the 43rd Annual Tulsa Fly-in which took place at Bartlesville, OK in September. 14/10/00

We welcome Jack Cheney of Acme, MI to the exclusive community of Mooney Mites. Jack is the new owner of N4094, serial number 271. His e-mail address and other particulars are displayed on our pages. It is very pleasing to see how more and more "Miters" are coming online and are thus more accessible to what's going on here. 13/10/00

The Mite Site would like to congratulate Garry Gramman, N119C, of El Cajon, CA in renewing his medical certificate. Garry, who carries his 78 years well, has shown great (and characteristic) persistance in this matter. It is too bad that his certificate came in the mail the day after he flew home, in his Buick, from the Porterville Fly-in. We'll see you at Nut Tree in your Mite, Garry! 11/10/00

Here it is, the photo gallery from the WAMM October Fly-in. 11/10/00

Announcement: While attending the Porterville Fly-in, WAMM members elected Ben Favrholdt as their new honcho. His first decision was that Nut Tree airport in Vacaville, CA will be the location of the next WAMM fly-in, in May 2001. He also said that the Mite Site would replace the old WAMM newsletter and that subscribers who are not on e-mail would be contacted and given the option of receiving a print-out of the Mite Site News Page instead. 09/10/00

Bulletin: The WAMM Porterville October 2000 Fly-in: Ben Favrholdt and Bill Vandersande welcomed four Mite owners who arrived in their planes: Mal Gross of Orcas Island, WA, Michael Harms of Mountain View, CA, Tim Lucero of Lompoc, CA, and Craig Ortet of Livermore, CA. Other out-of-town visitors were David Favrholdt of Richmond, BC, Gil Gilbert of Kent, WA, Garry Gramman of El Cajon, CA, and your webmaster and newly-initiated Mite pilot, Dave Rutherford from Abbotsford, BC. A full report on the event, complete with photos, will follow. 09/10/00

Welcome to long-time Mite owner Dan Shumaker, N4142, of Livermore, CA. Dan recently made contact via e-mail with the Mite Site. 09/10/00

With the September issue, Tony Terrigno has announced termination of the Western Association of Mooney Mites Newsletter after 23 years of publishing. Tony has been directly involved with the M-18 and its enthusiasts since 1973. He has owned two Mites, both of which garnered major awards at Oshkosh: N118C won the Classic Award for Outstanding in Type - Limited Production in 1980, and N150C took the top award for the 0-100 hp in the Classic Division in 1982. On behalf of the WAMM community, we extend our sincerest thanks for his contributions and leadership. Using "the technology of the digital age", the Mite Site will take over where Tony leaves off. It is our intention to help, as Tony has so often said, to "Keep the Mites Flying." 04/10/00

Another Canadian Mite has changed hands. New owner Bob McLarnon of Fort Saskatchewn, AB has done a touch-and-go on the Mite Site to say that he has purchased C-FSHK from Robert Winters. This Mite has sat, or rather lain, in storage near Calgary since it was trucked in from Connecticut years ago. We hope that it will now receive the attention it deserves. 04/10/00

For those of you who are planning to attend the WAMM Porterville October fly-in, please note that the flight to Castle AFB on Friday has been cancelled due to persistent fog in the area. Everything else is a go. 03/10/00

We welcome Dick Rank back to the community of Mooney Mites. Dick, at one time the owner of Bob Schroeder's N118C, has just purchased N125C from John Gadeikis in Wisconsin. Now he has to figure out how to get the Mite, partially restored but in fine condition, down home to Atlanta so he can work on it this winter. 03/10/00

While on the subject of ground transportation, Le Selting, new owner of N612C, says that he hauled the aircraft, with 2 engines, 1600 miles from northern Idaho to his home in southeast Arizona -- on a 10-foot flat bed trailer! He did not cut the wing and there was no damage inflicted.He promises some day he'll send a picture showing how he did this. 28/09/00

We're very pleased to have made contact by e-mail with Jack Hillis, N18CT, of Cavalier, North Dakota. Jack responded to our survey last year by sending a photo, but he was not on the Internet at that time. A recent phone call did the trick -- now we have his wife's e-mail address (it's her computer!). 25/09/00

The Mite Site has just received a very nice aerial photo from Mike McCrath. It has been added to the current Mite of the Month page. 25/09/00

Dave Dodson, N393A, has completed a major renovation of the instrument panel in his Mite. It is now fully IFR! Read his description and have a look.... Incidentally, Dave would like to identify all Mites that are IFR equipped. If you can help, please e-mail. 22/09/2000

Chris Byrd, a new owner, has sent in a photo of his Mite, N4075V. Take a look via the Owners page. 22/09/2000

It appears that the long-awaited T2000 transponder from Microair may soon be available -- according to a banner on their website announcing that the TSO/ATSO approval is pending. To get more details, see the link on our Buy&Sell page.

Added to the Maintenance page is a link to an interview of Mooney old-timer, Bill Wheat, on the subject of wood wings. 05/09/00

On the Articles page, you will find an item about one-time Mite owner and well known WAFS pilot, Nancy Batson Crews. 05/09/00

Another new Mite owner has made contact -- Ray Sansoucy, N485M, has done a touch-and-go via snail mail, and sent us a new photo for our collection (see Owners page). Ray has a stone business in Massachusetts but spends winters in Florida, where his Mite is kept at the Fly-in Ranch at Vero Beach. Sounds ideal! Ray's e-mail address will be active as of September 1, 2000. 29/08/00

The dates of the WAMM October 2000 Fly-in have been announced. See the schedule. 23/08/00

Mites are gathering at the Bartlesville, OK Municipal Airport (BVO) on Friday, Sept. 22 and Saturday, Sept. 23 during the 43rd Annual Tulsa Fly-In. This is one of the big fly-ins in the central US. It is a gathering place for a variety of type clubs. This year that will include Mites. Mites will be parked together in the showplane area. There will be a Mite forum for owners and interested people on Saturday. Also, on Saturday there will be a group Mite fly by. Bring your Mite and join the fun. For more information, contact: Steve McGuire at mcguires@poncacity.net. 22/08/00

We were surprised and pleased to see a Mite at the recent Northwest Antique Airplane fly-in at Vancouver, WA -- the first time in who knows how long. Craig Ortet made the two-day flight up from Livermore, CA in N386A. Good to see you, Craig! Incidentally, Craig won an award for postwar classic. 21/08/00

Dave Dodson, N393A, is looking for experience/information: has anyone installed an glideslope antenna and had any problem/special considerations? DWDodson@aol.com. (This request is also posted on the Buy&Sell page). 20/08/00

Mal Gross, N4187, has sent along some photos of two Mites he saw at Oshkosh 2000. Turns out they belong to George and Fred Ramin of Houston, TX. You can see them on "The Ramin's Mites" article on the Articles page. 15/08/00

This is another plea for stuff to add to our collection of Mite material. As far as we know, no one's writing a book about the Mite that you'll be able to see in a library some day. So look at the Mite Site as an "electronic" publication for the here, now and evermore. If you have any photos that you would like to share, please mail them or have them scanned and e-mail us the images. Please make sure you attach a description of Who, What, Where and When. Let's help to preserve the Mite!13/08/00

Since last Spring, there have been a number of Mite ownership changes, according to the FAA database:

Wingnut, Inc. of Wilmington, DE, N379A, #40 (previously owned by Doyle Nix of Columbus, GA)

Ted Reusch of Chino, CA, N150C, #81 (previously owned by Tony Terrigno of Chino, CA)

Jan Slaughter of Fort Worth, TX, N488M, #103 (previously owned by Clinton Reese of Greeneville, NC)

Raymond Sansoucy of Worcester, MA, N485M, #239 (previously owned by John Fitzgerald of Vero Beach, FL)

Christopher Byrd of Mercer Island, WA, N4075V, #262 (previously owned by Richard Cottingham of NE)

The Mite Site needs some help with these. If anyone out there can give us e-mail addresses for the above, or get them to contact us, it would be much appreciated! 12/08/00

If you haven't been there for a while, you may want to take a look at the Articles page. There are a couple of new items to look at. 10/08/00

We've just posted an item about Ben Favrholdt's dealings with the Powers That Be, back in 1979, when he got the FAA to revise AD 79-11-05. He persuaded them to allow the use of a borescope and inspection holes instead of having to remove the fabric every three years. It can be found on the Articles page under the heading "Gaining a Concession from the FAA." 05/08/00

N4180, serial number 345, previously owned by Robert White of Columbia Station, OH has been purchased by Larry Minch of North Royalton, OH. Thanks to Larry for keeping the Mite Site informed. 04/08/00

Mike McCrath reported an incredible flying experience in his Mite over Arlington, WA. After take off, he found himself in the middle of a flock of eagles! You can read his report, A Flight with Eagles here, or via the Articles Page. 04/08/00

If anyone out there knows the present situation at the Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville, CA, particularly in regard to their ability to host fly-ins, please contact the Mite Site. 02/08/00

Several Mite owners have navigated their way through the MiloMail website and left messages on the Mooney Mites community message board. For those of you who have filled out the membership application but are still searching for our community, in Categories on their home page, click on Recreation, then Aviation. 06/07/00

Steve McGuire extends an invitation to Mite owners and enthusiasts to attend the EAA Fly-in at Bartlesville, OK in September. Congratulations to Steve for succeeding in having Mites recognized as an Aircraft Type, which entitles them to their own display area at Bartlesville. He deserves your support.

Tony Terrigno has informed us that Betty McComas and her daughters have decided to donate Mac's (Robert McComas) Mite to Bob Taylor's Antique Airplane Museum in Ottumwa, IA. The museum crew came by truck and carted off the airplane, spare parts, engines, etc, to Iowa. The plane will be assembled to flying condition and displayed in their hangar. Incidentally, their website is a bit out-of-date, but you can see it at http://www.aaa-apm.org/aaa/ 21/07/00

Congratulations to the nineteen Mite enthusiasts who have managed so far to make it onto the Mooney Mite discussion group on the MiloMail website! 21/07/00

Thanks to those of you to who sent in a response to the Survey about future fly-ins. We appreciate the well-considered comments. If you would like to read those we have received so far, you will find them posted in the Mooney Mites chat group. If you have not yet responded, it's NOT too late! 07/07/00

We have just been informed by Brian Safran that Mite N4180, from the estate of Bob White of Columbia Station OH, has been sold. We are waiting for details about the new owner. 03/07/00

Ray Allen has sent in another useful technical note, this time on the subject of Mite brakes improvement. See the Maintenance page. 01/07/00

More than once, the Mite Site has received a suggestion to add an e-mail discussion group feature. Well, it looks like the right "tool" has come along. It's elegant and, better yet, it's easy to use! It's an e-mail service website called MiloMail. Clicking on the image on the left will take you to the new Mitetalk discussion group. Bookmark the site and enjoy! 01/07/00

From our new "Mites of the Month" feature, you will have seen the flight report and photos about the amazing transcontinental flight made by two Mite owners, Jerry Johnston and Ted Teach. Fortunately, Ted is now doing e-mail, which allowed him to submit his report just in time for our "July Issue." We understand that more photos are on the way.30/06/00

As indicated in the flight report, Ted is an old hand at these major expeditions. We are hoping that his and Jerry's accomplishment will persuade other Miters east of the Rockies to join them next time. 30/06/00

Another Mite owner has done an e-mail "touch-and-go" on the Mite Site for the first time: Jon Ortet of Valley Springs, CA. Jon and his brother Craig Ortet have owned N386A for many years. The Mite is based at Livermore, California. 27/06/00

C-GHIY, the M-18C which belonged to the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, BC has been sold. It was delivered to its new owner, Carl Terrana of Buckley, WA on June 22nd by Werner Griesbeck of the CMF.30/06/00

It's official now -- the next WAMM Porterville Fly-in will be held on the weekend of October 6, 7, 8, 2000. The annual Porterville, CA events, which previously were held in May, will now be moved to October instead. Further details will be given later in the summer. 13/06/00

If anyone is interested in getting together with the rest of us Mite enthusiasts at Arlington this weekend, here is a page of instructions on how to get to Mike McCrath's hangar. That's where we'll be on July 8th! If you can make it, maybe you can let Mike know. 03/07/00

A reminder: the Arlington EAA Fly-in is coming up July 5 -9. We're hoping that one or two Mites from the Pacific Northwest show up, especially ones that couldn't make it to Porterville last month. In any case, we'll be there on Saturday the 8th, looking for other Mite enthusiasts -- and a Mite or two to rally 'round. If you think you can make it, one way or another, send us an e-mail. mitesite@home.com Also, we ask you to use the old-fashioned telephone method to invite Mite enthusiasts who are not on e-mail! 12/06/00

Thanks to Jerry Johnston, the Mite Site has made contact with his Michigan neighbour and Mite owner, Robert Farr of Saint Helen. N4138 is in the "project" stage at this time, and will have to wait until Robert finishes his degree at university before being assembled. 10/06/00

Incidentally, Robert was one of those "un-contacted" owners whose names appear in CAPITAL LETTERS in certain places on the Mite Site. We are not quite desperate enough to pay a $50 bounty for each "missing" owner or Mite found, but we're getting close! If you're an owner and you haven't yet been in touch with the Mite Site, by all means please do an "e-mail touch-and-go." 10/06/00

Ken Richards has sold N363A to Fred Bennett in Dallas. Ken is now flying a Stinson 108-2, but is on the lookout for a Mite project. Fred informs us this will actually be his third Mite, as he owned 327M and 4051 previously. N363A will be based at 1F7, 20 miles east of Dallas, TX. Welcome back to the Community, Fred! 23/05/00

Dave Jappay has reluctantly asked us to list his Mite for sale. You can see his ad with some new photos of N4152 on the Buy&Sell page.

The WAMM 2000 Fly-in was a great success. Thanks to Bill Vandersande's hangar shade and generous supply of cold drinking water, and the good company all round, we survived the "triple-digit" temperatures in Porterville. Fly-in Photo Gallery

Out of the blue, Tony Guttman of Santa Cruz mailed us a set of coloured photos of 10 different Mites, three of which are new to our collection (N4189, N4180 and N386A). Thanks very much Tony!

You can now have a look at the "Airplane Flight Manuals" for the M-18C and M-18L via links at the bottom of the Features page. We can e-mail copies of these manuals in common word processor files or snail mail hard copies for the cost of photocopying and mailing.

The Mite Site acquired a considerable amount of material at the WAMM Porterville Fly-in. Thanks to Glenn Bell and Bill Vandersande for many photographs to help round out the Mite Site collection. You will see many more links to photos on the Owners page. Garry Gramman and Gil Gilbert have come through with a several "new" issues of those valuable old MMOA bulletins.

Bill Vandersande also provided a magazine article from his collection -- one of the best overviews of the Mite we've seen, written by Jack Cox called "In Retrospect...Mooney Mite." It has a very informative section about the Crosley engine.

On the Maintenance page, you will find an new article submitted by Ray Allen describing a surprising way of repairing the dents in those kidney-shaped oil sump tanks on Continental engines.