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Wingspan
Length
Height
Wing Area
FAA Cert. Load Factor
Engine
Horsepower
Propeller
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27.4 ft
23.3 ft
7.9 ft
108.7 sq ft
-3/+6 g's
Lycoming O-540-E4A5
260HP
Hartzel 2 Blade,
Constant Speed |
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Useable, Long Range Tanks |
62 gals |
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Empty Weight
MTOW – Normal Category |
1,710 lbs
2,430 lbs |
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Never Exceed Speed (VNe)
Maneuvering Speed (Va)
Stall Speed / Clean
Stall Speed w/ Flaps |
236 kts
162 kts
69 kts
60 kts |
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Max Rate of Climb (2,095 lbs @ SL)
Cruise (4,000 ft @ 75% Power) |
1,800 fpm
180 kts |
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The SF-260 was designed by the Italian Dott Ing. Stelio Frati: SF stands for SIAI Marchetti (builder) and Frati; 260 denotes the hp. The aircraft was certified in April 1966. Twenty-seven Air Forces fly approximatley 1000 SF 260's and the USAF has considered the aircraft for its new EFS (Enhanced Flight Screener). Less than 100 (some new, some ex-military) have been imported to the U.S. Others have been used as fighter trainers by NATO forces.
Under wing hard points can be equipped to carry rockets and guns. Although it is a piston single, it flies like a small jet with small wings and speed. Like a jet's wings, the 260's are machete thin and perfectly taper in chord and thickness. With small laminar flow wings it doesn't leap off the ground so every takeoff is made with 20 degrees of flap. It is flown from the right seat with your left hand on the throttle and your right hand on the stick; fighter-jock-style if flying alone.
It is capable of doing aerobatics with full fuel (tips and mains) and two people wearing parachutes. Most 260's are painted military gray and matte black. With flush riveting, swept fin, sharp wings, tip tanks, sliding canopy and potent cowl it proclaims some sort of aeronautical aristocracy. If you load up too many g's in a steep turn the wing signals with a sharp buffet, relax the back pressure a fraction and it's flying again, smoothly and instantly. 30-degree bank turns can be made via aileron, and feet on the floor. Stall and spins are classical with clean straight breaks.
The 260 is either flying or it's not flying, with no hint of mush or slop separating the two. The wing loading, coupled with the geometry of the stabilizing surfaces, gives it a faultless response to turbulence. Many aircraft stay flustered for a second or two after an encounter with bumps, with a swift jolt that passes instantly, due not to any form of artificial stability augmentation but the superb design of Frati at the drawing board 26 years ago.
Note: The above was based on an article in "Flying" magazine September 1991. For more details refer to this article. R. M. Garrett, 22 July 1992 The SF-260 was also featured in "Plane and Pilot" Magazine, Sept. 1996; article titled The Sexiest Italian. Current Price tag (new) $450,000. |
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Wingspan
Length
Height
Wing Area
FAA Cert. Load Factor
Engine
Horsepower
Propeller |
25.3 ft
22.8 ft
8.6 ft
115.2 sq ft
+/-10 g's
Lycoming AEIO-540-L1B5
300HP
Mt 4 Blade,
Constant Speed |
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Total Capacity, Long Range Tanks
Useable, Long Range Tanks |
54.1 gals
52.7 gals |
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Empty Weight
MTOW–Normal Category
MTOW–Two Pilot Acro
MTOW–Single Pi |
1,440 lbs
2,095 lbs
2,095 lbs
1,808 lbs |
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Never Exceed Speed (Vne)
Maneuvering Speed (Va)
Stall Speed @ 1800 lbs
Stall Speed @ 2095 lbs |
220 kts
158 kts
55 kts
60 kts
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T/O Roll (2,095 lbs @ SL)
T/O Over 50 ft (2,095 lbs @ SL)
Max Rate of Climb (1,654 lbs @SL)
Max Rate of Climb (2,095 lbs @SL)
Cruise(4,000 ft @75% Power) |
315 ft
679 ft
3,200 fpm
2,150 fpm
170 kts/td>
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The Extra 300L, a 300hp, six cylinder, Carbon Fiber aircraft, has been the choice of aerobatic performers including Patty Wagstaff and Gene Soucy and the Northern Lights aerobatic team. The Extra has a remarkable history since Aerobatic pilot Walter Extra designed the first Extra concentrating his efforts on the optimum structure, tubing size, weight and performance.
Walter Extra & Extra Flugzeugbau GmbH, designed the first Extra 230. The aircraft has a wood wing and Lycoming four cylinder 230 HP engine and is still in competition today. In 1984 Walter flew the 230 at the World Aerobatic Championships and drew the attention of champion Clint McHenry who flew the 230 and won the US National Aerobatic championship in 1986 and 1987. Patty Wagstaff purchased her first Extra and won the same championship in 1991 and 1992. Her aircraft is now on display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C. Patty continues to fly the Extra 300S.
In 1998 the FAA Type Certificated the Extra a testament to the aircraft's structural integrity and handling predictability. |
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