JMB Aircraft VL-3 915
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
An engine version of the JMB Aircraft VL-3: aircraft are placed here by the engine on their FAA record.
The VL-3 915 is the JMB VL3 Evolution with the 141-142 hp turbocharged Rotax 915iS, the engine most US VL3s carried before the 916 arrived: a Czech carbon-fibre two-seat retractable with a 27 ft 7 in wing, 862 lb empty at a 1,500 lb gross, 37 gallons, a 2,000 fpm climb and 199 knots true at 18,000 ft, quoted by JMB USA at 800-plus nautical miles.
It is the same airframe as the 916 with 18 fewer horsepower and the earlier Rotax, so it gives up a few knots and some climb and in exchange costs less used, and the registry tells which is which: two aircraft registered as VL-3EH-916 carry 915s, and the engine on the FAA record is what this row follows. Every US VL3 is amateur-built from JMB's kit, mostly at JMB's US build-assist facility, so the builder's work, the aircraft's own weight-and-balance (JMB offers 600 and 750 kg gross weights) and the Rotax 915's logbook - a geared, turbocharged, FADEC engine with its own rubber-replacement schedule and shorter TBO - describe the aeroplane better than the type figures do. Retractable gear and a constant-speed propeller make it complex for endorsement purposes, the composite airframe is inspected for finish damage rather than corrosion, and the whole-airframe parachute has a repack life. One 2022 example asked $320,000 in October 2026 and another $384,990 in 2025; new, the 915 version listed at $235,000 in 2022.
Variants of the JMB VL-3
- VL-3 · 2004 · 24 active
- VL-3 915 · 24 active · this page
- VL-3 916 · 23 active
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Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Rotax 915iS (141-142 hp) |
| Horsepower | 142 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | — |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 199 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 800 nm |
| Service ceiling | 18,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 2,000 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 52 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 638 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 862 lb |
| Usable fuel | 37 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $320,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $384,990 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 25 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 24 |
| Median year built | 2023 |
| 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 | 15 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 62.5 · 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 24 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 24 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 24 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 2.1 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 9.9 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 321 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.04.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 77.5.
- Liquidity: class median 20.
- 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. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30