Marchetti SF-260 Info
From the time of its first flight in 1967 to being delivered to 27 countries worldwide, the Marchetti SF-260 was born a winner. This fully aerobatic, two seat side-by-side, pre-jet trainer is the world’s most successful modern military screener and training aircraft ever built. The growing fleet of SF-260s has reached 880 aircraft being operated worldwide.

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They have accumulated over 1,900,000 flight hours proving the aircraft’s reliability and durability in a variety of harsh environments. The SF-260 has been regarded as one of the best performing, most capable, most reliable single engine trainers ever built. Designed and built by the Italians, it has been dubbed “The Ferrari of the Sky” by those lucky enough to fly this beautiful aircraft. The SF-260’s success is due in part to its robust construction and its very clean aerodynamic design. It flies like a jet at speeds up to 271MPH, has a very light feel on the dual control sticks, can carry a tremendous amount of weight for its small size, and its ability to withstand aerobatic flight loads of +6/-3 Gs while maintaining a very low operating cost compared to jets. The current production model of the Marchetti SF-260E is primarily being flown by military operators to train their pilots to fly jet fighters. This aircraft is an excellent choice for formation training, basic aerobatics and spin training, as well as high performance instrument training profiles for pilots of all experience levels.
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Marchetti SF-260 AIRCRAFT SPECIFICATIONS Engine Lycoming AEIO-540, 260 HP Propeller 2 –Blade Hartzell® 76: Constant Speed Length 23.3 feet Height 8.8feet Wing Span 27.4 feet Wing Area 108.7 square feet Wing Loading 22.3 lb./sq. ft. (normal) | 17.0 lb./sq. ft. (aerobatic) Power Loading 9.35 lb./HP (normal) | 7.12 lb./HP (aerobatic) Seats 2 side-by-side Cabin Length 6 feet 11 inches Cabin Width 28 inches Cabin Height 47 inches Empty Weight 1,780 pounds Maximum Gross Weight 2,430 pounds Useful Load 545 lb. (normal) | 470 lb. (aerobatic) Payload w/Full Fuel 371 pounds Fuel Capacity w/5 Gallon Wing Tank 64 U.S. gallons (63 gallons usable)