Mustang II
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.
The Mustang II is Robert Bushby's side-by-side two-seat development of David Long's Midget Mustang, first flown in 1966 and still sold as plans and kits by Mustang Aeronautics: an all-metal low-wing with a 24 ft wing, 927 lb empty and 1,500 lb gross, quoted at 230 mph maximum on a 160 hp Lycoming O-320.
It is a fast, strong, inexpensive two-seater and one of the more demanding to land, with a short-coupled fuselage, a small wing loaded to 15 lb/sq ft and a quick stall, so tailwheel competence matters more than on an RV; a fair number were built with tricycle gear. Construction standards vary enormously across six decades of plans building: the figures here are the designer's and an encyclopaedia's, with no cruise or stall quoted, and the individual aircraft's weight-and-balance, rivet quality and wing-attach and gear-leg condition are what a buyer is actually assessing. Engines run from the O-290 to the O-360 and the empty weight follows. Mustang Aeronautics remains in business for plans and parts. The owner may maintain it and the condition inspection needs an A&P or the repairman certificate.
Variants of the Bushby Mustang II
- Mustang II · 1966 · 116 active · this page
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
Compare with…
Put Mustang II side by side with up to three other models.
- Mustang II
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tailwheel |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320 (O-320/O-360 150-180 hp fitted) |
| Horsepower | 160 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 1966 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | — |
|---|---|
| Range | 374 nm |
| Service ceiling | 21,000 ft |
| Climb rate | — |
| Stall speed (Vso) | — |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 573 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 927 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $47,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $65,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 251 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 116 |
| Median year built | 1993 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 7 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 60.341 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 60.342 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 38 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 32.763 |
| Airworthiness directives | 3 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 116 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 116 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 116 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 1.3 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 3.3 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 6.7 of 103 |
| Support | 6.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.8 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 26.6 out of 506 |
- 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