New Airplane To Make Debut Appearance At AirVenture

This past Saturday, June 4th, 2016, the first Ovation Ultra made its initial flight. The flight departed from runway 30 at Kerrville Municipal Airport/Louis Schreiner Field (KERV) with Mooney Chief Test Pilot Mike Miles at the controls. It lasted about an hour.

The Ovation Ultra Serial Number 32-0001 is a fully FAA conforming certification aircraft. Miles reported that performance and handling were excellent. The airplane will continue test flying, and will be painted very soon, according to a Mooney press release.

The airplane was first shown at a Mooney event in Texas in February.

The plane will be the first FAA Certified Ovation Ultra. Look for both the New Acclaim and Ovation Ultra to make their public appearance at AirVenture this July 25th –31st.

In a related development, Mooney has named Dirk Vander Zee as vice president, sales and marketing – a position he previously held for three years at the company prior to joining Textron Aviation in 1997 as a member of the Citation sales team.

Mr. Vander Zee (pictured) is well known in the aviation industry for his sales acumen and relationship building, and he will be a key part of the Mooney brand’s increasingly successful reemergence in the marketplace. He is a graduate of Baylor University and holds a Master’s degree. In addition he is a commercial pilot and has accumulated more than 7,000 flight hours to date.

“Dirk is an industry veteran with a twenty-eight year proven track record in sales and sales management – and brings back to Mooney an expanded set of skills and industry relationships at this important juncture in our company’s history” said Tom Bowen, Chief Operating Officer for Mooney International. “I’m very pleased to once again have him here in Kerrville in his new role, and look forward to his leadership and expertise with our exciting new product line.”

“It is a privilege and an honor to be asked back to Mooney International in a sales leadership role," Vander Zee said. "I can’t imagine a better, nor more professional team to be associated with. Having the good fortune to have been in aviation for most of my life, it’s exciting to join forces once again with a group so well known for their passion in engineering, quality, and of course, performance. There are some great things to come.”

(Images provided with Mooney news releases)

FMI: www.mooney.com