Thank you Marchettiman, an informative and interesting write up about a type I knew nothing about
Yes, indeed. Never buy an aircraft which is I-reg. I have heard and witnessed many similar stories of eternal timeframes to deregister an aircraft in Italy.
Maybe in the last few years, the process has been streamlined, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
SF260 prices seem to have hardened recently and all but the basket cases are selling readily.
The D model Dan linked to in his post is one of a batch of 10 aircraft that were provided to various Italian Aeroclubs in some kind of state financed deal. A friend bought one of them (I-ISAK) which I collected from Viterbo and flew to the UK about 15 years ago. The paperwork and process of the sale was horrendous, it then took nearly 2 years to get the aircraft deregistered by the RAI and that was with the (expensive) help of a local attorney.
These are Italian avionics standards. Many Italian GA airplanes have even less / older avionics.
Silvaire wrote:
prices up from the low $200s K to circa $300K
I think these prices are also the going ones over here, but there are not many for sale, most of them from Italy right now, such as this one Plane Check
Had to chuckle at the “Super Avionics Installed” though… antique would be more appropriate wording 
Nice Falco photo 
In the US a Falco is hard to sell and gets $40-70K, a fraction of the cost for an SF260 and about half the cost of a comparable RV. Given my propensity to buy what others overlook, that makes them interesting to me.
SF260s are in a different category in the US market. They and also the new-to-the-market TB30s are relatively new when compared with e.g. a T-34, and there’s a pretty active market for all of them. SF260s in the US seem to be slowly getting new flat panels, the ease of which is one of the advantages of Experimental airworthiness under which the ex-military planes operate. This seems to be driving asking prices up from the low $200s K to circa $300K… the higher figure seems to me unrealistic for a plane that was was likely used hard in primary training service, but maybe somebody, somewhere pays it.
@Marchettiman
Bit late on the bandwagon, just read your report, very interesting.
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I’ve owned 2 Falcos, a Series III which I had to emergency land on a road thanks to a broken rod in January 2008, and a Series IV which I sold in March 2016. Flown about 660h over 7 years on them, I have fond memories.
Some of your remarks regarding the handling and stall behaviour are very similar to what I experienced on the Falco. Quite logical sharing the same wing profile, though the wing loading of the Falco is slightly lighter, and of course missing the tip tanks
I unfortunately never had a chance to compare by flying a SF260, though we have like 5 or 6 of them in CHE.
I took part a couple of races in Italy, namely at Rimini and Ancona, plus a few unofficial ones… pretty exciting flying, triangular pylon defined course, and sponsored (fuel paid 👍🏻) by the Italian AeroClub. I remember racing against 6 other Falcos and 3 SF260s in the last race… who won you might ask? I-MIKI, a modified Falco was, at the time the fastest. Then came the SF260s, then the Falcos, but the difference was much smaller than expected. I guess the Siai were loosing more speed in the turns, and were barely overtaking on the straights… pylon racing also takes some learning
Niner_Mike wrote:
Would there be interest by private individuals?
Yes, you will always find a Siai aficionado able and willing to shell out for a 260… but don’t expect a queue in front of your office door These aircraft are getting old, more and more SEPs have caught up in the speed dept, less and less people enjoy the old avionics or flying from the right seat… But, as for the Falco, or any mythical craft, you will always find a buyer. Perseverance usually rewards
Niner_Mike wrote:
How is the market for ex-military SF260s here in Europe and in the US? Would there be interest by private individuals?
Speaking for the US market, a fair number of ex-military SF260s and are owned and operated by individuals. For example one local to me is ex-Libyan, and others come from other places. One guy in the US has imported a number of them from forces worldwide but if you’re thinking of sending some ex-Belgian planes this way, a little competition might be good The ex-military status of some SF260s is not a major issue for the US civilian market, they operate under Experimental Exhibition which entails some annual paperwork but which also eases FAA maintenance regulation to a degree.
In 2009 (a few months after this event) I visited the base at Latina, Italy where 70-45 (the orange one in the photo above) once operated before being sold to the US where I was happy to fly in it once or twice. The base commander at that time seemed intrigued by that, perhaps more so because his wife was American.
How is the market for ex-military SF260s here in Europe and in the US? Would there be interest by private individuals?
Speaking of which….look what I found last Sunday upon landing back at LESB!
