Albert Mooney

Albert W. "Al" Mooney was born in Denver, Colorado, on 12 April 1906. His older brother Arthur was born on 10 July 1904. Their father John was an engineer who designed railroad tunnels and trestles for the Denver & Rio Grande, and he taught his sons about drafting and layout. Both young men worked for the railroad when they were not in school.

Mooney's interest in airplane design began while still in grade school and grew as he progressed to high school. While in high school, he realized that he excelled at mathematics, and that his understanding of it offered many possibilities for him. Seeking information on aircraft, Mooney asked his teacher what he should study that would best allow him to design safe airplanes, but he was told there was no such thing as a safe aircraft and he should wait until college before pursuing the topic. Realizing his current schooling would provide limited access to his desires, he began spending time at the Denver Public Library, where he read all the available handbooks for pilots and designers.

Early career

After his high school graduation, Mooney's plan of attending the Colorado School of Mines changed after he saw a Swallow biplane fly over where he was working. Following the aircraft to the local airfield, he noticed several mistakes in the aircraft rigging which he offered to help fix. After rerigging the plane, which was flown by J. Don Alexander, Mooney was offered a job. At age 19 he was hired as an assistant to the chief engineer and draftsman at the Alexander Aircraft Company in Denver. His early years proved unfruitful, assisting on an eventually failed design. Finally Mooney got the chance to build the M-1 or Long Wing Eaglerock, a plane of his own design. While the airplane had some success as a trainer, it was not enough to keep him at the Alexander company. In 1926, after spending some time working for Montague, where he designed his M-2, Mooney took his first flying lessons. When Montague's finances ran out, Mooney returned to the Alexander company, where he was named chief engineer in 1928. During his time as chief engineer, Mooney was responsible for several advances in the field of aircraft design, primarily through his Bullet, a low-wing airplane with relatively high speeds and a patented retractable landing gear.