Waco RNF
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The RNF is the Warner-engined member of Waco's 1930-31 F series: a three-seat open-cockpit biplane with two passengers side by side in the front cockpit and the pilot behind, a 110 hp Warner Scarab radial, 29 ft 6 in of span and a published cruise near 95 mph. Around 150 were built and an owner's manual written for one in 2008 estimates about 40 survive.
This is a collector's aeroplane with a flying-club price tag attached to a 1930 airframe, and the owning cost is in the Warner: parts and overhaul capacity for the Scarab are a specialist matter, many survivors carry a larger 125 or 145 hp Warner under a field approval or a Form 337 that may be missing, and the propeller, magnetos and cowl are hand-made or reworked rather than catalogue items. Weights in the manual read differ from the type figures by 250 lb, which is normal for a restored antique and means the individual weight-and-balance governs. Expect a tailwheel biplane with no brakes to speak of in its original form and a wooden wing that wants a hangar. The one asking price found was on a classic-car site, not an aviation marketplace, so the price band is left blank.
Variants of the Waco F series (RNF)
- RNF · 1930 · 35 active · this page
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Partial: 11 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)
Among 3–4 seat pistons (223 models)
Compare with…
Put Waco RNF side by side with up to three other models.
- Waco RNF
Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 3 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Warner Scarab (110 hp) |
| Horsepower | 110 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1930 |
| Production end | 1931 |
| Endorsements required | tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise (75 % power) | 83 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range (75 %, standard fuel, 30-min reserve) | — |
| Service ceiling | 14,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 800 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | — |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 3 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 772 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,897 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,125 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
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, 3–4 seats.
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | $2,000/yr | |
| Insurance | fixed | $2,000/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | $1,800/yr | |
| Hangar | fixed | $6,000/yr | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
No fuel burn is on record for this model, so fuel is not included.
No TBO or overhaul cost is on record for this model, so the engine reserve is not included.
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 | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 107 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 35 |
| Median year built | 1930 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 28.57 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 28.57 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 9 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 25.71 · 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 35 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 35 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 35 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 1 of 103 |
| Support | 1.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.4 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | Partial: 11 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)6 |
These record scores treat Waco RNF as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes the record of aircraft once registered under WACO AIRCRAFT CO. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 33.21 · 223 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 796.
- Support: class median 131.
- Liquidity: class median 19.89.
- 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 8 · scores Sep 30