Rare Mooney Plane with 911 Power Goes Up for Sale
Porsche's short stint in the aircraft business led to unique planes like this.
Aircraft Business
Air-cooled Volkswagen and Porsche engines have earned their place in history, and are quite revered today. But few know that these beloved powerplants were also used quite frequently among light aircraft builders back in the 1950s. Eventually, that prompted Porsche to try its hand in the aviation business with planes like this Mooney PFM that's up for sale in the Facebook Marketplace.
Photos: Facebook Marketplace
New Division
Porsche worked hand-in-hand with aircraft builders from 1957 to 1963 to produce a series of airplane engines. But it wasn't until 1981 when they gave it another go. This time around, Porsche was much more serious about the endeavor, even creating its own division called PFM, which stands for Porsche Flugmotoren, German for Porsche Flight Engines.
Photos: Facebook Marketplace
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911 Power
Instead of going with a four-cylinder engine this time around, Porsche modified the 911 Carrera's 3.2-liter flat-six for medium to high altitude use. They ultimately produced four different aviation versions of the flat-six, including a turbocharged example producing 241 horsepower.
Photos: Facebook Marketplace
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Generating Interest
Interestingly enough, Porsche's flat-six was one of the most advanced offerings in the aviation business at that time. It generated quite a bit of interest in its time on the market and wound up powering a variety of planes including the Socata TB-16, Robin DR400, Extra 330, and Mooney M20L.
Photos: Facebook Marketplace
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Rare Bird
Out of all those, just 41 Porsche-powered Mooney planes were produced in total over two years - 1988 and 1989. This 1988 Mooney M20L PFM Porsche is of course one of them. Up for grabs in Edmonton, Canada, the plane is said to be in great running condition and it certainly looks nice, cosmetically speaking.
Photos: Facebook Marketplace
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Fast and Efficient
With a fine looking Porsche-embroidered interior and Porsche logos on the outside, we imagine it's also a great way to complement one's land-based rides. The seller notes that it's also easy to fly with one lever operation and that the plane is both fast and efficient.
Photos: Facebook Marketplace
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Piece of History
Above all, this Mooney plane is a pretty cool yet obscure piece of history. Few remember Porsche's aviation efforts, and there aren't many of these things around to remind us. For that reason alone, we hope this shining example finds the right owner who'll take care of it and be willing to show it off any chance they get.
Photos: Facebook Marketplace
>>Join the conversation about the 911 powered Mooney plane right here in the RennList Forum!
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