The History of M-18 Number One, N3199K

For providing this information for our archives, we are thankful for contributions by Fred Quarles of Charlotte, NC, Tim Shearer of Alpharetta, GA, and H. Harold Carter of Snellville, GA.

• Designed in 1946, it was first test flown May 17, 1947.
• The Mite was first powered by the Crosley engine. Certification was delayed until July 30, 1948, because of engine problems. N3199K and eleven other Crosley-powered M-18's were retrofitted to production standards with the 65HP Lycoming O-145 engine which increased the speed from 100 to 138 MPH.
• The history of 3199K from 1947-1951 are unclear. A 1950 Mooney Aircraft document indicates that 3199K was re-numbered to 201 after the Continental engine installation.
• The Solo Flying Club (c/o Charles Shearer of Ixon Hill, Maryland) owned 3199K for most of its flying life. They installed a Continental C85-12F engine in 1952.
• In 1968, the club re-installed a 65 HP A65-8 and sold it to T. G. Shelbrack of Portsmouth, Ohio in 1969.

Tim Shearer:

"I believe my uncle, Charles Shearer, purchased this plane and restored it and re-powered it with a new engine somewhere around 1968. The engine was delivered to my uncle's restaurant in Eastover MD. I remember my father, who was also a pilot, telling me it was serial number 1 when my uncle began restoring it."

Harold Carter:

"On December 13, 1969, with 213 ASEL hours logged, I had my first solo flight in a retractable aircraft, the wonderful, fun to fly, economical, and sporty Mooney Mite. The aircraft had been purchased earlier that year by a generous friend of mine, the late James D. King of Decatur, Georgia. Jim had flown B-25s in WWII and we had worked together at the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. I say generous because I flew this aircraft without a check ride since it was a single place and Jim only charged me $10 per hour wet. I logged 14.5 hours in 99K while Jim owned it and at his invitation, I ferried 99K to the next owner, Mr. Ray Campbell, in Deland, Florida on May 16, 1970. I somehow felt that this was a special aircraft since it was pictured in the background of advertisements for the Money Mite Club which was appearing in aviation magazines at the time. I had noticed in the aircraft logbook that Al Mooney, the designer of the Mite had flown it several times and that a 25 HP Crosley Cobra engine was originally used in this aircraft. Little did I know then that 99K was the first off the assembly line especially since the serial number when I flew it was 201."

• Until it had a gear-up landing in 1970, it was in perfect shape.
• Ray Campbell of DeLand, Florida owned the plane in 1972 - 1974, according to the MOA Bulletin.
• Johan Kala, a Finnish immigrant & aircraft mechanic in Easton, Pennsylvania eventually acquired 3199K. A 1980 letter from The Mooney Mite Aircraft Corporation (Fred Quarles) of Charlottesville, Virginia, verified that this Mite is serial number one.
• In 1981, Kala donated the Mite to the National Air & Space Museum. Subsequently, it was hung from the ceiling in the Silver Hill Museum in Maryland. Legal matters delayed the title transfer until 1983.

Fred Quarles:

"After the NASM accepted it, they arranged for one of their trucks to pick it up in DeLand, Florida if I could get it disassembled and crated for them. Gene Olinger, myself, my wife Holly, and my two daughters Ashley and Ellen flew down in the Aero Commander and disassembled it, identified and bagged every nut and bolt so it could be put back together. When NASM picked it up, they took it back to the Silver Hill Museum and reassembled it and hung it up on a string there. I am told (but have never confirmed) that it is periodically rotated into the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall. It will eventually be on permanent display at the new Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport which opens December 17 2003? maybe 2002."

As reported elsewhere in the Mite Site, N3199K was completely restored and is now hanging in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, USA.

H. Harold Carter took this photo just before taking off from Fulton County (Charlie Brown) Airport in May, 1970 on a ferry permit to DeLand, FL. He was delivering the airplane to the new owner, Ray Campbell on behalf of the previous owner, James D. King, Jr., who can be seen in the picture.