Aircraft model
FAIRCHILD 24R-46S
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Fairchild 24R-46 is the same post-war Model 24 airframe fitted with the Ranger 6-440 inverted inline six rather than a radial. The long narrow cowling gives it a very different look and better forward visibility, and 200 hp gives it slightly better performance than the Warner version at about 108 knots.
The engine is the problem. The Ranger is an inverted air-cooled inline six that went out of production shortly after the war, and parts support is now thinner than for the Warner radial — cylinders, crankshafts and accessories are genuinely hard to find and overhaul depends on a handful of specialists. Some aircraft have been converted to Lycoming or Continental power, which solves the problem and changes the character. Otherwise this is the same comfortable, slow, fabric-covered classic with the same recovering costs.
Compare with…
Put FAIRCHILD 24R-46S side by side with up to two other models.
- FAIRCHILD 24R-46S
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Ranger 6-440C-5 (inverted inline six) |
| Horsepower | 200 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1946 |
| Production end | 1948 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 108 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 550 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 850 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 962 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 602 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,562 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,600 lb |
| Usable fuel | 60 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 11.2 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $45,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $110,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $40,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $72,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 2 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 1 |
| Median year built | 1946.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 0 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 0.4 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.