Aircraft model
FLIGHT DESIGN GMBH CTSW
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The CTSW was one of the first and most successful light sport aircraft in the United States: a German composite two-seater with a Rotax 912, a wide cabin and a ballistic parachute as standard. It cruises at 115 knots on about four and a half gallons an hour, which is remarkable efficiency, and it carries 660 lb, which is a genuinely full useful load for the class.
It is quick and light, and light is also the caution — it is short-coupled and responsive, and pilots transitioning from heavier aircraft consistently report that it needs a gentle touch in turbulence and on landing. The Rotax needs a mechanic who knows Rotax, with calendar-based as well as hours-based maintenance. The airframe parachute needs periodic repacking, which is a scheduled cost. Composite repair is specialist work. Flight Design went through insolvency in 2016, so support now runs through a successor company.
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Put FLIGHT DESIGN GMBH CTSW side by side with up to two other models.
- FLIGHT DESIGN GMBH CTSW
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Rotax 912ULS |
| Horsepower | 100 hp |
| Fuel | mogas-approved |
| Certification basis | LSA |
| Production start | 2005 |
| Production end | 2008 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 115 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 700 nm |
| Service ceiling | 13,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,000 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 39 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,000 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 900 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 660 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 456 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,320 lb |
| Empty weight | 660 lb |
| Usable fuel | 34 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $55,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $80,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $18,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $28,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 224 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 180 |
| Median year built | 2006.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 17 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 94.441 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 72.222 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 61 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 33.893 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 180 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 180 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 180 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 0.5 of 101 |
| Severity | 4.3 of 102 |
| Access | 9 of 103 |
| Support | 7.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 9 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 30.3 out of 506 |
These record scores treat FLIGHT DESIGN GMBH CTSW as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 2 aircraft registered under FLIGHT DESIGN GENERAL AVN GMBH. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 29.1 · 174 models in class.
- Severity: class median 9.09.
- Access: class median 974.
- Support: class median 81.
- Liquidity: class median 20.47.
- 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.