Aircraft model
FAIRCHILD 24W-46
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Fairchild 24W-46 is the post-war radial-engined Model 24: a four-seat, fabric-and-steel-tube cabin aeroplane with a Warner Super Scarab 165 hp radial, car-style doors, wind-down windows and a cabin considerably more comfortable than anything else of the late 1940s.
It was an expensive aeroplane when new and it still feels like one, but it is slow — about 102 knots — and thoroughly a classic rather than transport. The Warner radial is the ownership question: it is long out of production, parts come from a small specialist base, and overhaul is a radial overhaul with the cost that implies. The fabric covering has a finite life and recovering is a five-figure job. Tailwheel handling is straightforward by the standards of the era. This is a restoration and fly-for-pleasure aeroplane, priced and maintained accordingly.
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Put FAIRCHILD 24W-46 side by side with up to two other models.
- FAIRCHILD 24W-46
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Warner Super Scarab 165 (radial) |
| Horsepower | 165 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1946 |
| Production end | 1948 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 102 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 550 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 800 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,062 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 702 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,562 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,500 lb |
| Usable fuel | 60 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 9.2 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $95,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $45,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $80,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 108 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 53 |
| 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 | 0 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 14 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 26.42 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 53 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 53 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 53 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 2.2 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.8 of 105 |
- 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.