Thank God. Now I don’t have to think about it any more 
LOVED the Falco – until I saw this: Breezer Sport
I’m trying to get a ride end of January.
Mery Christmas and a happy new yearOMG, as the saying goes, this Falco just sold on EBay for $30K. I saw it on Barnstormers for $45K or offer and thought that was good value, but not good enough to rush to Hurricane, Utah. I’m annoyed to have missed it for $30K and hope the new owner appreciates what he got… The plane was pretty well known local copy when new in the 80s, N-number changed now but built by a guy named Ray Purkiser.
(Edited to add, the Barnstormers Ad disappeared but upon closer inspection maybe it didn’t sell on EBay? Perhaps it sold for somewhere between $30K and $45K to a non-EBay real world buyer)
Falco… memories…
Had 2 of ’em wooden wonders
First one… failure of a con-rod led to an emergency landing on a public road on the Swiss Jura. Thanks to my guardian angels 👍🏻
Second one, flown for some 650h across all of the EU, pure delight. Another engine stoppage, right after take-off, due to a loose carb heat box flap. A lucky 180°+ to a no damage landing. Sold due to CAA bureaucracy and other problems…
In a nutshell, I’d never have the patience, let alone lifetime left, to build one. Performance was top notch when designed by S. Frati in the 50s, average nowadays. Electrical screw gear can be a PIA. All wood construction means cracks in the paint job will appear.
On the other hand, it still is the sexiest and nicer handling single around 😎
If I were certain that it would be my last plane, this Falco that’s been for sale for many months might well get my attention. The issue is the price, not that it isn’t representative of the effort and cost to build such an example, with such a provenance: Oshkosh plans built champion, CAFE Foundation test plane etc. That doesn’t however alter the fact that, as the seller has found, its difficult to sell anything wood and homebuilt in the US for over $50K. Resale is the issue, people buy used RVs instead.
@Silvaire, @Graham will know that a CofA Falco is waived at us on occasion at Enstone. It’s provenance is that at Enstone there is a shop that can work on wood (they are restoring two Spitfires and a Staggerwing, and their bread and butter is Stearmans), and it had a wheels up/landing LOC so needed some repairs.
I wonder what are the challenges if the Falco is CofA?
160KTAS on a -320 speaks to efficiency.
@RobertL18C, given the regulatory necessity for a certified type to be ‘supported’ in Europe, I wonder who is doing that for Aeromere and Laverda factory built Falcons? Or are they in some Permit to Fly situation in the UK? That would make a big difference to ownership.
I believe there is a factory built Falco in the US, imported and restored by its owner. The interesting thing is that the owner went to a great deal of trouble to put it into N-registered standard category, which was apparently possible due to the type being FAA certified but never actually imported or sold as a factory built product in the US. He was successful and the plane was featured in The EAA Vintage Airplane magazine once.
@Graham, I believe the avoidance of Garmin dealers is easier with a homebuilt, even when you’ve unavoidably inherited Garmin stuff
Just seen a Falco in “my” hangar.
Silvaire wrote:
there is a factory built Falco in the US
you mean N304SF the Corporate Disgrace as named by its owner Alfred Scott of Seqoia/Seqair fame?
Alfred imported that 1960 factory Falco Series III, ex G-APXD and EI-BBT, s/n 216 into the US, then translated the factory plans into plans the homebuilders would understand and be able to work with, and brought the kits on the market. Those plans have been public domain for a few years now, so any of you with the urge…
Sequair is still around, see “http://www.seqair.com”
Major Falco forums:
Alfred’s latest attempt: “http://www.seqair.com/FalcoForum/”
SPFF, very comprehensive but private forum: “http://spff.no-ip.org/phpbb3/search.php?search_id=newposts&sid=9e47f6243a464b7a35e191ffe9565a34”
