| Luscombe 8 | |
|---|---|
 1946-built Luscombe 8E | |
| General information | |
| Type | civilian |
| Manufacturer | Luscombe Aircraft |
| Designer | |
| Number built | 5,867 (1960) [1] |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1937 – c. 1940s |
| First flight | December 17, 1937 |
The Luscombe 8 is a series of high-wing, side-by-side-seating monoplanes with conventional landing gear, designed in 1937 and built by Luscombe Aircraft.
The XT8E was developed in 1947 to compete for an U.S. Air Force contract, but lost to the Aeronca L-16. It was then modified and sold as the T8F. [2] It was again entered in a competition in 1950 as the T8F-L, but lost to the Cessna L-19. [3]
After building 5,743 [4] Model 8 airplanes, the original Luscombe Aircraft closed in 1949, with its assets purchased by Temco Aircraft. [5] Temco built about 50 Silvaires in Dallas, Texas, before selling the rights to the Silvaire Aircraft Corporation in 1955. [6]
When Temco discontinued production, Otis Massey headed up a new corporation that purchased the Luscombe tooling, parts, and other assets. Massey had been a Luscombe dealer since the 1930s. His new venture opened in Fort Collins, Colorado as Silvaire Uranium and Aircraft Corp (later renamed Silvaire Aircraft Corp). From 1956 to 1961, this firm produced 80 aircraft. The make and model for all 80 was Silvaire 8F, with "Luscombe" shown in quotation marks in company literature.
The Colorado firm's first airplane was built in 1956. This aircraft was constructed from spares or Material Review Board (MRB) parts that were serviceable but remained from Temco's prior production. The Temco parts supplied Silvaire Aircraft Corp. with enough inventory to complete approximately four aircraft. N9900C (equipped with wheel pants [7] and flaps [8] ) first flew on September 10, 1956. According to Swick, one other airplane was built in 1956. Six aircraft were built in 1957, with two of them being shipped to Buenos Aires, Argentina. [7]
After building eighty airplanes, the Silvaire Aircraft Company closed down. The last airplane was completed on May 17, 1960. [7]
Moody Larsen of Belleville, Michigan acquired the tooling, parts, and type certificate on December 6, 1963. In 1965 Larsen developed and acquired a supplemental type certificate to install 150hp Lycoming engines in existing Luscombe 8s. In 1968 Larsen sold his Luscombe intellectual interests to a Georgia group which incorporated as the Luscombe Aircraft Corporation. The tooling remained, exposed to the weather, in Michigan. [7]
The assets, including parts, tools, jigs, and the FAA-type certificate (A-694) of the legacy Luscombe companies, were acquired by Testrake Aviation in 2019. The company intended to restart production of the Luscombe 8. [9]
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1961–62 [6]
General characteristics
Performance
Sub-Model T8F has tandem seating but is generally similar in dimension, Sprayer version approved for Restricted category operations can have higher Gross Weight with operational limits.
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
