Mooney is a brand of aircraft with legions of devoted fans. And in the automotive world, so is Porsche. With that in mind, Mooney and Porsche joined forces to develop the “PFM Mooney” (PorscheFlugmotoren) in the mid 80s. It seemed like a great idea at the time, but chances are both Mooney and Porsche would rather you not know about this boondoggle. ⁣
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The motor powering the Mooney was the PFM 3200, based on the 911 Carrera's 3.2 flatsix. It boasted advanced features like a singlelever performance control unit, fully aerobatic fuel and oil supplies, fuel injection with automatic altitude compensation, and an optional turbocharger. Base power was 217hp and 240hp with turbo. It was initially tested on a Cessna 182. To help promote the package, a crew of 2 flew around the world in a PorscheMooney, a journey that lasted 6 months and 600 hrs. ⁣
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While the numbers on paper looked great, in real life the engine/airframe match was anything but. Though the engine core was in fact lighter than it’s Lycoming counterpart, once you added all the accessories (cooling fan, reduction gear, etc) the weight increased. All the “advanced” features were complex and required special knowledge and skill to maintain. Plus, it was far costlier to purchase, offsetting any potential advantage. ⁣
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Porsche quickly exited the aircraft scene in 1991 after burning through $75M in development, citing the downturn in the economy. In 2007 they surrendered the type certificate and stopped providing support, leaving the handful of PorscheMooney owners stranded with orphaned engines. Many of these Mooneys were converted to standard Lycomings but with severe weight restrictions, and undermining their resale value. The Porsche concept was a cool idea for sure, but history has proven that Porsches fly much better on the Autobahn.⁣
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Source
Mooney Porsche M20L PFM3200 low and over on a private airstrip
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Mooney M20L PFM DERYW Teuge Airport 472019
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