What would I Buy….Luscombe 8A
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What would I buy….Luscombe 8A
This is the second installment in a new series of articles based on a hypothetical set of airplane ownership criteria. Note: This information is strictly the opinion of the author. Your mileage may vary. See our previous installment here.
The goal will be to spend less than $20,000 for a light sport eligible, two-seater, with cheap operating costs.
So if I was limited to the criteria above what would I buy?
The Luscombe 8A
I have had the pleasure of flying one of these almost daily during my flight instructor days and it is a great little airplane. Ruggedly built, cheap to maintain, fun to fly – what else is there. Oh yeah, it will out run a Champ or Cub any day of the week. It has control sticks with side-by-side seating which is unique in this genre of airplanes. It is a true classic so the ramp appeal is a thousand times better than most contemporary factory-built two-seaters.
The ailerons have a lot of adverse yaw, so you have to work your feet – something I think makes you a better pilot.
The little bullet-proof 4 cylinder continental will sip 4 gallons an hour on an average day so cost is minimal. There are plenty of spare parts and the only thing I know that you should watch for when purchasing one is corrosion in the vertical stabilizer.
The price range of these birds goes between the low to high twenties depending on condition. A nice one can certainly be had for $20,000 – see examples below. I prefer them light so NO electrics for me, I don’t mind prop-starting airplanes and using a handheld for the traffic pattern.
Be careful some of the derivative models are too heavy for LSA, but if you want radios and a starter and don’t care about the weight, it’s still a great ship.
If you want a fun airplane that won’t break the bank that you can actually take on a cross-country and cruise at 100mph on 4gph, this is your machine.
General Specs
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 1 passenger
- Length: 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
- Wingspan: 35 ft 0 in (10.67 m)
- Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
- Wing area: 140 sq ft (13 m2)
- Empty weight: 870 lb (395 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,400 lb (635 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 25 US Gallons (95 L)
- Powerplant: 1 × Continental C90 air-cooled flat four, 90 hp (67 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed metal fixed pitch, 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) diameter
Performance
- Maximum speed: 128 mph (206 km/h; 111 kn)
- Cruise speed: 120 mph (104 kn; 193 km/h)
- Stall speed: 40 mph (35 kn; 64 km/h) (flaps down)
- Range: 500 mi (434 nmi; 805 km)
- Service ceiling: 17,000 ft (5,182 m)
- Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
Honorable mentions in this category that I would give consideration to would be:
- C-120/C-140 series
- Taylorcraft BC-12D
- Pietenpol Air Camper
- C-150/C-152 (if I didn’t want a taildragger)
- Kitfox (probably could find below $20k)
For a different kind of machine, same price range (if you shop)
- Varieze
- Quickie
- Soneri
- Cassutt
- Wittman Tailwind
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I thought about Luscombe 8A too, but it offers a few issues.
1. Parts are not plentiful these days.
2. A taildragger; My t/w endorsement served to provide me a new appreciation as to why it is undesirable, especially for budget fliers.
3. The mythical 90 hp 8A does not actually exist, unless you build one yourself, and if it exists, it is not as cheap. Note how the example listings are for 65-hp versions, which are acceptable in Florida, but not in New Mexico.
Good points!
The Luscombe 8F , 90 hp is the one to buy, period.
No. Pete’s points are not good. I regularly fly a 65hp Luscombe in Southern New Mexico in 8,000′ density altitudes on the ramp. Don’t try that with a 85hp Cessna 140. Have even taken it into Ruidoso and Timberon in the Summer. Parts are plentiful. And tailwheel aircraft and budget flying go hand and hand. Can you say 4 gallons per hour and cheap annuals? Luscombes are fantastic aircraft and a real pilot’s airplane with sportscar handling (including the rudders on landing which can catch those with lazy feet off guard). It should go without saying learning to fly one is a given. I have a C90-8F I was ready to install in my 8A but see no reason so I am putting that engine up for sale for some of those mentioned budget reasons. That being said the sweet spot for performance really would be a ragwing 8A with wing tanks and a non-electric C90 (hard-core Luscombe affectionados prefer rag wings and some even pre-war models).
Bob,
Thanks for sharing your first-hand experience – valuable stuff! I’m obviously a Luscombe fan too!
Brent