Not for me, unfortunately. A friend has his eye on a Marchetti SF-260 and wonders if anyone on BT is or knows an expert who can help him out.

I don't know anything about that model, but I recently worked on a SM 1019. Very impressive design; built like a brick outhouse.

Is this SF260 in the Denver area by chance?

George

I don’t think so.

I’m not sure I qualify as an expert but I have operated SU SU II (a Marchetti 260C) for the past 3 1/2 years. That was the 260 owned and restored by the same gentleman who had the Marchetti 1019 shown in the prior post.

My friend/customer came to me and asked me to find a T-34 for him. I looked at several but then thought about the 260. I helped him purchase it and he has operated it for the past few years.

My shop maintains it, I fly it some, and we generally look after it. He has put about 300 hours on it. Loves it.

Also, I made the mistake of letting my wife fly the 260 and she fell in love. So we got her a beautiful Falco. It’s the direct predecessor of the 260. Same speed, very similar handling, even lighter on the controls. But, it’s wood, experimental, and more finicky.

Please PM me if you would like to talk directly about it.

Thanks,

Zeke

Zeke, can you draw a comparison to a T34? Always wondered how different they were.

Jim, I'll trade you some Falco time for some T-34 time and you can see for yourself.

As Zeke said, the SF-260 and Falco fly similarly, as they are from the same designer. The Falco is the SF260's father!

George

Brian and Dennis Sanders out at Ione CA operated 2 of the 3 used in a 3 ship acro team back in the 80s. Believe it’s Sanders Aeronautics?

Thanks, guys. I’ll pass this along but keep it coming!

Where are you, George? Maybe we can work something out!

I'm in Omaha, but with a Falco I can be anywhere in the lower 48 in a day!

I often run between OMA and Florida, so a stop in KY is no problem.

George

Stuart,

I’ve never flown a T-34 so I can’t comment directly.

But, the 260 flies like it is on rails. Higher wing loading. Great acro. Very strong. Light controls.

I describe the Falco as a ballerina and the 260 as a Romanian gymnast. The Falco is light, graceful, delicate and easy to break. The 260 can do amazing things, it is strong and tough.

I love pulling the 260 into accelerated stalls while maneuvering. It retains full roll control all the way through the stall.

We have the MT prop on the 260. It is lighter, incredibly smooth, and probably costs us a couple of knots.

We true 170 KTAS or better at 7,500 +/-.

Ours is lavishly equipped. Perfect paint, interior, and came with a factory new engine and prop.

It’s a C model.

The wing went through several iterations and kept getting better.

Unlike the T-34, it really was made for acro from day one. And it is VERY strong.

The US civil planes have a lower useful load to keep stall speed under 61 knots for certification. But the military planes had an extra 400 pounds of UL and a 67 KIAS stall speed.

Marchetti parts are STUPID expensive. Offensive. But most stuff is US. Prop, engine, fuel pump, wheels, brakes, avionics. But god help you if you need an Alenia part. We priced out the valve on the gas Olathe right.... $1650! Yikes. Luckily we could fix our current valve. It we did Mohave to replace the boost pump. It was a US pump so it w as $950 or so. Not too bad.

Good luck.

Zeke

I have a contact in St Louis to call in am about SF 260 guru. I’ll let you know.

Frank Strickler north of Decatur Texas had the SM USA dealership for years knows it all ex AA retired pilot great guy

Let me know if you are coming through! We actually have a nice Falco on the field. He owes me a ride