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When you think of military airplanes, you think fighter jets, and any real pilot will tell you that’s the ultimate dream; to fly a fighter jet that’s fast with awesome aerobatic characteristics. But most people including certified pilots will never get the opportunity to fly a fighter jet like an F-16. But you can fly lighter airplanes with similar looks and aerobatic features.
Here I present to you some of the best light aerobatic aircrafts in the industry today. Many of these airplanes can be bought as certified aircraft or you can build one as an experimental. Airplanes like the shark and Van RV-8 are both homebuilt kit airplanes. Much more affordable and ver low maintenance cost on these light aircraft because they use a Rotax 912 or Rotax 914 engine. These airplanes are also capable cross country airplanes. Because of that small engine that only sips about 5 gallons of fuel per hour, you have an incredible amount of flight time available to you. All but the Diamond Dart-450.
Here the 5 airplanes listed
Shark: Considered the fastest ultralight aircraft in Europe (It’s really not). Does travel fast at a respectable cruise speed of 146 knots per hour. The shark was formerly designed and manufactured in Slovakia. This year though you can get one in the United states as a build kit in the experimental aircraft category
Engine: Rotax 912
Cruise speed: 146 knots
Stall speed: 35 knots
Fuel consumption: 5 gallons per hour
Price: $151,000
Tarragon: The Tarragon is another ultralight sports airplane designed and produced in Europe. With it’s sleek design and agile behavior, I had to put this airplane on the list. Although the Tarragon project is still being developed, you can still buy one in the nearest future. Great performance with the small Rotax engine. Nice retractable gears and cruise speeds of 150 knots per hour while only burning 4.5 gallons of fuel per hour.
Engine: Rotax 912 or 914
Cruise speed: 150 knots
Stall speed: 35 knots
Fuel consumption: 4.5 gallons per hour
Price: $180,000
Black Shape Prime: A superb light aircraft that i’ve personally followed for years. The Black Shape Prime may be the only airplane on this list with a luxurious interior or cabin space. Unlike the other airplanes Blackshape prime also comes standard with safety features like a parachute onboard. You also get a Dynon skyview standard for your avionics panel.
Engine: Rotax 912 or Rotax 914
Cruise speed: 150 knots
Stall speed: 35 knots
Fuel consumption: gallons per hour
Price: $200,000
Vans RV-8: Vans aircraft company is already a staple in the Aviation industry, especially among homebuilders. Vans provides affordable airplane kits for pilots/builder who are willing to take on the task. The RV-8 is one of Vans aerobatic airplane model. And this airplane in fact doesn’t disappoint. It is also the only airplane on the list that’s a tail dragger. With the RV8 You also get multiple engine options that is not a rotax. The Lycoming IO-360 180HP is a popular and entry level option among builders. More power for more performance.
Engine: Lycoming IO-360 180HP
Cruise speed: 165 knots
Stall speed: 44 knots
Fuel consumption: 9 gallons per hour
Price: $99,000
Diamond Dart-450: The Diamond Dart is technically still a prototype airplane in development phase. This airplane is mainly geared towards military training. It can be owned and flown by civilians, but be ready to pay the high purchase and maintenance cost. The diamond Dart will have a turbo prop engine that gets you to cruise speeds of 250 knots or more. Even for the average pilot, that’s really fast. And the price tag on this baby is $3.1 million. Operating cost, you’re looking at around $500 per hour. Yea not a cheap airplane to fly.
Engine: N/A
Cruise speed: 250 knots
Stall speed: N/A
Fuel consumption: N/A
Price: $3,100,000
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