Luscombe 8A (registered as LUSCOMBE)
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Luscombe Silvaire, a two-seat side-by-side taildragger with an all-metal fuselage at a time when nearly everything else was fabric. The 8A has 65 hp and fabric wings; later models added metal wings and more power. It is fast for its power at around 87 knots and it looks like nothing else, with a narrow, upright stance and a rounded metal shell.
It has a reputation among pilots for being the least forgiving of the postwar lightplanes on the ground. The gear is narrow and stiff, the aeroplane sits high, and it will ground-loop given the slightest provocation — anyone moving into one from a Cub or Champ should expect real dual instruction and should be honest about their crosswind limits. In the air it is delightful and responsive. The metal fuselage removes a large part of the recovering cost that burdens its rivals, but the fabric wings on the 8A still need attention, and corrosion in the metal structure — particularly around the tailcone and floor — is the specific inspection item. Parts come from specialist suppliers and the type club. Many qualify as light sport aircraft, which supports values.
Variants of the Luscombe 8 Silvaire
- Luscombe 8 · 1938 · 3 active
- 8A · 1946 · 897 active · this page
- Luscombe 8A · 1946 · 92 active
- 8E · 1947 · 326 active
- 8F · 1948 · 119 active
Also consider
- American Legend Aircraft AL3Score 32.7/50 · 2 seats · 87 kt
- Taylorcraft BC12-DScore 30.7/50 · 2 seats · 85 kt
- Champion 7FCScore 32.1/50 · 2 seats · 85 kt
Compare with…
Put Luscombe 8A (registered as LUSCOMBE) side by side with up to three other models.
- Luscombe 8A (registered as LUSCOMBE)
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Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental A-65-8 |
| Horsepower | 65 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1946 |
| Production end | 1949 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 87 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 350 nm |
| Service ceiling | 15,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 600 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 40 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 530 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 446 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,260 lb |
| Empty weight | 730 lb |
| Usable fuel | 14 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 3.6 gal/h |
Estimated cost to own
An estimate, not a quote. Change the inputs to match how you would fly it. Defaults are for a single-engine piston, 1–2 seats.
| Fuel (burn × price) | hourly | $27/h | $2,668/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $1,389/yr | |
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | $1,500/yr | |
| Insurance | fixed | $1,400/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | $1,500/yr | |
| Hangar | fixed | $6,000/yr | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
How these estimates are built. Fuel = this model's typical burn x the national average price from AirNav's Fuel Price Report (100LL $7.41, Jet A $7.66 per gallon, 5 Oct 2026; your airport may differ by $2 or more). Engine reserve = typical overhaul cost / TBO for this engine. The remaining lines are class-level defaults, not quotes for this aircraft: annual inspection is the base inspection fee (findings are counted in the per-hour maintenance line); insurance assumes an instrument-rated owner with time in type and a $1M liability limit - less experienced pilots commonly pay 1.5-2x; hangar and tie-down are national mid-tier figures, with rural and metro options; the rental rate is a 2026 flight-school rate for a comparable aircraft, including fuel. Twin and turboprop maintenance defaults are estimates, not published figures. Sources: AirNav, BWI Aviation Insurance (2019-2026), Flying (May 2026), Savvy Aviation, American Flight Schools, published airport rate sheets. Every default is editable - change any number to match your situation. Depreciation, taxes, financing and major upgrades are not included. Depreciation is not included. An estimate, not a quote.
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $20,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $36,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $20,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $30,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 2,918 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 897 |
| Median year built | 1946.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 46 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 6 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 51.281 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 45.712 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 159 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 17.733 |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 897 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 897 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 897 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2.5 of 101 |
| Severity | 4.5 of 102 |
| Access | 4.6 of 103 |
| Support | 9.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.9 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 25 out of 506 |
These record scores treat Luscombe 8A (registered as LUSCOMBE) as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 1 aircraft registered under LUSCOMBE/RANGER AVIA INC; includes 1 aircraft registered under LUSCOMBE/WILDER; includes the record of aircraft once registered under LUSCOMBE/DUIS. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 31.56 · 197 models in class.
- Severity: class median 10.
- Access: class median 1,000.75.
- Support: class median 89.
- Liquidity: class median 19.74.
- 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