Aircraft model
VARGA AIRCRAFT CORP. 2150A
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Varga Kachina is a tandem two-seat low-wing aeroplane with a sliding canopy, developed from the 1950s Morrisey Bravo and built in Arizona in the late 1970s. It looks like a small military trainer and flies like one: responsive, well harmonised and much more engaging than a conventional trainer.
It is bought for that character rather than for utility. Tandem seating gives excellent visibility and a genuine trainer feel, but it also means a passenger sits behind rather than beside you. Fewer than 150 were built before Varga stopped, so the fleet is tiny and airframe-specific parts are the real ownership risk — there is no manufacturer and support comes from the owners' community. The Lycoming O-320 is cheap and universally supported, so the engine is not the problem.
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Put VARGA AIRCRAFT CORP. 2150A side by side with up to two other models.
- VARGA AIRCRAFT CORP. 2150A
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320-A2C |
| Horsepower | 150 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1976 |
| Production end | 1982 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 120 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 500 nm |
| Service ceiling | 17,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 900 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,200 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,100 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 692 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 452 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,817 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,125 lb |
| Usable fuel | 40 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 8.4 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $85,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $28,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $40,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 116 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 86 |
| Median year built | 1978.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 34.88 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 34.88 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 21 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 24.42 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 86 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 86 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 86 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 6.4 of 103 |
| Support | 5.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 6.9 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 25 · 181 models in class.
- Severity: class median 5.
- Access: class median 987.
- Support: class median 72.
- Liquidity: class median 20.59.
- 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.