Mooney aircraft rolls off line in China

A Mooney M20TN utility aircraft rolled off the line on Monday in central China's Henan Province, marking the United States-based manufacturer's revival following its purchase by a Chinese company last year.

The piston-powered general aviation aircraft, Zhengzhou No.1, has a maximum speed of 448 km per hour. It has a body length of 8.13 meters, a wing length of 11 meters and a height of 2.59 meters.

Four Chinese companies and a private buyer ordered 17 Mooney M20TN on Monday.

Meijing Group, a Chinese real estate developer based in Henan, purchased Mooney in October 2013 after it had laid off employees and suspended production in 2010.

Meijing Group already had two aviation companies in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou.They run businesses of aircraft assembly, trading, exhibition and airport construction. The deal between Meijing Group and Mooney is expected to revive the 85-year-old manufacturer of single-engine general aviation aircraft that have sold more than 11,000 worldwide.

Meijing Group, registered in Zhengzhou in 2002, is aiming to expand its business outside of real estate development.

Zhengzhou was approved as the nation's first air economic zone in early 2013. Since then, it has been transitioning from a rail-based economy to an aerospace one.