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From the day the Falco first flew in 1955, it has been called “the Ferrari of the air“. Designed by renowned Italian designer Stelio Frati (who unfortunately died in 2010) the aircraft is sexy and fast. There are two side-by-side seats. The control sticks are reminiscent of a fighter. A bubble canopy for all-around visibility. It’s an outstanding cross-country plane, with thousand-mile range and full IFR capability. And fast. Boy are these planes fast. With standard 160 hp engine, speeds of 200 mph+.

The Falco is also a great aerobatic plane, with ratings to +6g and -3g at aerobatic weights and ultimate capacity at 7.8 g’s at full gross and -9 g’s at aerobatic weight. The ultimate load factors provide a margin of safety of 50% over the normal operational load factors. So maneurvres like cuban eights, loops, rolls, snaps and spins are only a flick of the control stick away (provided the pilot is suitably rated). The controls are light, and after pulling through a smooth series of rolls and loops, the comparison with a military trainer is understood.

The Falco’s was originally certified as a production aircraft. It was built as a production aircraft and has a history of over 40 years of use by pilots in Europe. Now, with many refinements, the Sequoia Falco is a modern, state-of-the-art aircraft built from kits and flown by pilots all over the world.

So this blog is the story (and legal construction log) of my homebuilt Falco. See back, relax, take a look at what it takes to build one, and contact me if you have any questions.

David Leslie