Just curious. I’m not planning on buying on. I’m hoping to find a comprehensive list of companies, located anywhere in the world, that make FAA certified general aviation piston single-engine aircraft. A lot of the lists of manufacturers I’ve found online include makers of non-certified experimental airplane kits, and a lot of lists include defunct companies. So far I’ve come up with these:
American Champion
Aviat Aircraft
Beech / Beechcraft (part of Raytheon)
Cessna (part of Textron, Inc.)
Cirrus Design
Columbia Aircraft (part of Lancair?)
Diamond Aircraft Industries
Gippsland Aeronautics (based in Australia?)
Maule Air
Mooney Aircraft
New Piper Aircraft
Socata (based in France)
Symphony Aircraft (based in Canada)
Taylorcraft
Did I miss any? Do any of the above not belong on the list?
For extra credit, what is the least expenisve new FAA certified single-engine aircraft on the market today? Not all the websites advertise prices, and others make you hunt around. The least expensive I’ve seen is Taylorcraft’s “Taylor Sport” model with a list price of $59,995.
The new FAA Sport Pilot License recently created a need for new planes with a max gross takeoff weight of 1232 lbs. Several new companies have been created to fill this gap. Among these are Flight Design in CT and Czech Aircraft Works that already have planes produced and certified. There are several other companies also getting ready for production and certification. Now is probably one of the most confusing times in the last 50 years to compile a comprehesive list because the status of various sport aircraft is constantly changing.
Liberty Aircraft AMD
are two I can think of. Try searching List of Aircraft Manufacturers in Wikipedia. It’s international but may have a few you’ve missed. One worth investigating is Eagle Aircraft Australia - not sure if they’re still in business or if they’ve moved their operation to Indonesia, but the Eagle 150 is a unique design that is US certified. They used to distribute them out of Augusta, KS but I haven’t seen one in the states since the last time I flew one. Rans aircraft in Hays, KS has certified a design that they sell kits of, but haven’t heard if they’re selling certified versions of to the public. Good luck!
