Aircraft model
WACO UPF-7
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Waco UPF-7 is an open-cockpit biplane with a 220 hp radial, built in the late 1930s and used in large numbers by the Civilian Pilot Training Program before and during the war. Two seats in tandem, wire bracing, fabric over a steel tube fuselage and wooden wings.
It is bought for the experience and for ride operations, not for transport — 90 knots, no cabin, and cold. The burdens are substantial: a radial engine that throws oil and is expensive to overhaul, wooden wing structure that must be hangared and inspected by someone who understands wood, fabric that needs periodic recovering, and bracing wires that must be checked and tensioned. Both tailwheel and high-performance endorsements are required and insurers want documented time in type. Values depend heavily on restoration standard.
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- WACO UPF-7
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Continental W670-6A (radial) |
| Horsepower | 220 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1937 |
| Production end | 1942 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 90 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 330 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 800 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 780 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 480 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,650 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,870 lb |
| Usable fuel | 50 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 12.3 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $150,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $350,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $50,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $85,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 402 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 189 |
| Median year built | 1941.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 26.461 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 26.462 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 31 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 16.43 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 189 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 189 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 189 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 4.2 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 8.2 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 3.3 of 103 |
| Support | 7.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.2 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 26.5 out of 506 |
These record scores treat WACO UPF-7 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes the record of aircraft once registered under WACO/ELY; includes the record of aircraft once registered under WACO/FLOCK. Prices are not combined.
- 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.