Aircraft model
SILVAIRE LUSCOMBE 8
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Luscombe Model 8 is the original 1938 aircraft: an all-metal two-seat side-by-side monoplane with a 50 hp Continental A-50, before the 65 hp A-65 of the Model 8A made it the aeroplane most people know. Fifty horsepower is very little even for something this light, and the Model 8 is the rarest of the family on the register.
A Luscombe is a small all-metal taildragger with a reputation for being demanding on the ground, and that reputation is earned: the gear is narrow, the tail is light and the aeroplane will swap ends for a pilot who stops flying it after touchdown. In the air it is quick for its power and pleasant. Metal construction means corrosion rather than fabric is the structural subject, which on a 1930s airframe is a real one. Parts support through Univair and the type club is good.
Compare with…
Put SILVAIRE LUSCOMBE 8 side by side with up to two other models.
- SILVAIRE LUSCOMBE 8
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental A-50-1 |
| Horsepower | 50 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1938 |
| Production end | 1940 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 79 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 320 nm |
| Service ceiling | 13,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 460 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 40 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 490 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 406 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,200 lb |
| Empty weight | 710 lb |
| Usable fuel | 14 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 2.8 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $18,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $45,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 4 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 3 |
| Median year built | 1947.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | — |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | — |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 1 |
| Transfers per 100 active | — |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | none |
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | 1.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
- 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.