The Aircraft: Marchetti SF-260
 The
SF-260 was designed by the Italian Dott Ing. Stelio Frati. 'SF'
stands for SIAI Marchetti (builder) and Frati. '260' denotes the
hp. The aircraft was certified in April 1966.
Twenty seven Air Forces fly approximately 1000 SF 260's and the
USAF has considered the aircraft for its new EFS (Enhanced Flight
Screener). Less than 100 (some new, some ex-military) have been
imported to the U.S. Others have been used as fighter trainers
by NATO forces and as fighters by some under developed countries.
 Under
wing hard points can be equipped to carry rockets and guns. Although
it is a piston single, it flies like a small jet with small wings
and speed. Like a jet's wings, the 260's are machete thin and
perfectly taper in chord and thickness. With small laminar flow
wings it doesn't leap off the ground so every takeoff is made
with 20 degrees of flap.
It is flown from the right seat with your left hand on the throttle
and your right hand on the stick - fighter-jock-style if flying
alone.
| The SF-260 is capable of doing aerobatics with full fuel
(tips and mains) and two people wearing parachutes. |
Most 260's are painted military gray and matte black. With flush
riveting, swept fin, sharp wings, tip tanks, sliding canopy and
potent cowl it proclaims some sort of aeronautical aristocracy.
If you load up too many g's in a steep turn the wing signals
with a sharp buffet, relax the back pressure a fraction and it's
flying again, smoothly and instantly. 30-degree bank turns can
be made via aileron, and feet on the floor. Stall and spins are
classical with clean straight breaks. The 260 is either flying
or it's not flying, with no hint of mush or slop separating the
two.
The wing loading, coupled with the geometry of the stablizing
surfaces, gives it a faultless response to turbulence. Many an
airplane stays flustered for a second or two after an encounter
with bumps, with a swift jolt that passes instantly, due not to
any form of artificial stability augmentation but the superb design
of Frati at the drawing board 26 years ago.
Complete Aircraft Specifications
Note: The above was based on an article in "Flying"
magazine September 1991.
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