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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
SIAI-Marchetti's Italian SF.260 combined a compact light-aircraft design with military training and aerobatic roles. JRollon and SimCoders developed its simulator product, with their respective credits and system descriptions recorded in the product documentation.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗An owner’s racing aircraft also takes his wife on holiday
Boot’s enthusiasm grew through mock-combat flying and racing a borrowed SF.260 before he found his own camouflaged W model at Shobdon. Bringing it onto the UK register took time and money, but ownership eventually supplied hundreds of hours of flying and a collection of racing successes. The aircraft offered a different sort of pleasure after years with a larger Cessna twin.
General Aviation · October 2010. Seven-year ownership retrospective concerning Boot’s SF260W; earlier flights in another owner’s D model are separate experiences.
General Aviation / IAOPA Europe · Read more ↗Each livery keeps its own condition
Aircraft state persists separately for each livery, with cumulative damage. The maintenance report provides condition checks and repairs; the damage and maintenance system can be disabled.
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 with REP · JRollon / SimCoders · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
SimCoders · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Marc Ulm · 4 min ·
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 WL - Cockpi Take off, Inflight, Landing
A flight in an SF.260 WL, including departure, mountain flying and landing.
Real aircraft · SIAI-Marchetti SF.260
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet SIAI-Marchetti SF.260
SIAI-Marchetti's Italian SF.260 combined a compact light-aircraft design with military training and aerobatic roles. JRollon and SimCoders developed its simulator product, with their respective credits and system descriptions recorded in the product documentation.
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260
SIAI-Marchetti → · Explore the family →
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260
Wikipedia contributors · SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 ↗JRollon / SimCoders · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
From Frati’s F.250 to the SF.260
Marc Cook traces the design to Stelio Frati and the Aviamilano-built F.250 prototypes. SIAI-Marchetti took it into production as the SF.260A. Some American aircraft were marketed as Waco Meteors, explaining the different name used in early US pilot reports.
AOPA Pilot · SIAI-Marchetti Aermacchi SF.260 ↗Historical overview published in July 2000; no present corporate ownership claim
Development milestones
Designer: Stelio Frati
First flight: 15 July 1964
Wikipedia contributors · SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 ↗SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1365944308
Pilot accounts
An owner’s racing aircraft also takes his wife on holiday
Boot’s enthusiasm grew through mock-combat flying and racing a borrowed SF.260 before he found his own camouflaged W model at Shobdon. Bringing it onto the UK register took time and money, but ownership eventually supplied hundreds of hours of flying and a collection of racing successes. The aircraft offered a different sort of pleasure after years with a larger Cessna twin.
He also used it for holidays with his wife Suzie, including trips to Menorca. Those journeys exposed less glamorous details: the seats became uncomfortable after several hours, and a hot canopy could make immersion suits decidedly unpleasant. Boot’s affection survives those compromises.
General Aviation · October 2010. Seven-year ownership retrospective concerning Boot’s SF260W; earlier flights in another owner’s D model are separate experiences.
Read the full account · General Aviation / IAOPA Europe ↗A familiar hangar neighbour still demands respect
Davisson knew the local Waco Meteors well enough that their owners had to move his Pitts to get them out of the hangar. He had travelled and flown with them before receiving a more deliberate checkout, which gave him time to explore the aircraft’s strengths and awkward points. He preferred the right seat, where the stick and throttle fell into the hands he expected.
The speed and flowing aerobatics made a strong impression, but landing the aircraft was another matter. Davisson found smooth arrivals unusually demanding and described learning from the owner’s guidance. His enthusiasm is tempered by that experience and by the machines’ individual modifications.
Air Progress · September 1977, preserved on Airbum. Early US Waco Meteor aircraft modified for airshow work; these individual machines differ from later production variants.
Read the full account · Airbum / Air Progress ↗Mock combat supplies a lesson in humility
Cox remembered an Air Combat USA flight that made the SF.260’s appeal unusually immediate. With an instructor alongside him, he tried to outmanoeuvre another aircraft in a simulated encounter. His enthusiasm led to increasingly forceful control inputs, buffet and narrowing vision, while the opponent repeatedly found the better position. The exercise became sweaty and demanding.
Only later did Cox learn more about the pilot who had beaten him: an airline captain with earlier Phantom experience in Vietnam. That discovery put the result in perspective. The memory stayed with him as an encounter with both a capable little aircraft and someone who knew how to use it.
Plane & Pilot · January 2008. Recollection of an Air Combat USA session at Fullerton roughly fifteen years earlier, with an instructor aboard; simulated combat, without live weapons.
Read the full account · Plane & Pilot ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 with REP
JRollon / SimCoders · Released
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 with REP
JRollon / SimCoders · Released
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024SF-260
Sim Skunk Works · Released
SF-260
Sim Skunk Works · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 7.10 m (23 ft 4 in) |
| Wingspan | 8.35 m (27 ft 5 in) over tip-tanks |
| Height | 2.41 m (7 ft 11 in) |
| Wing area | 10.10 m² (108.7 sq ft) |
| Empty weight | 755 kg (1,664 lb) |
| Gross weight | 1,140 kg (2,513 lb) |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,200 kg (2,646 lb) |
| Powerplant | 1 × Textron Lycoming O-540-E4A5 / Textron Lycoming AEIO-540-D4A5 6-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine, 190 kW (260 hp) |
| Propellers | 2-bladed Hartzell HC-C2YK-1BF/8477-8R constant-speed propeller , 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) diameter |
| Maximum speed | 333 km/h (207 mph, 180 kn) at sea level |
| Cruise speed | 300 km/h (190 mph, 160 kn) at 75% power at 1,500 m (4,900 ft) |
| Stall speed | 126 km/h (78 mph, 68 kn) flaps and landing gear down |
| Range | 1,650 km (1,030 mi, 890 nmi) 2 crew, with maximum fuel |
| Service ceiling | 4,700 m (15,300 ft) |
| Rate of climb | 7.6 m/s (1,500 ft/min) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Each livery keeps its own conditionSIAI-Marchetti SF.260 with REP · JRollon / SimCoders · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
Aircraft state persists separately for each livery, with cumulative damage. The maintenance report provides condition checks and repairs; the damage and maintenance system can be disabled.
SimCoders product documentation
SimCoders · Read the source ↗Fuel-system differences follow the selected modelSIAI-Marchetti SF.260 with REP · JRollon / SimCoders · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
The civilian version uses a fuel selector and mechanical feed. The military version adds electric and mechanical feed with transfer pumps.
SimCoders product documentation; model-specific system distinction
SimCoders · Read the source ↗Ground handling includes a hand-towing modeSIAI-Marchetti SF.260 with REP · JRollon / SimCoders · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
A preflight and postflight walkaround is included. In hand-towing mode, joystick movement is used to push, pull and steer the aircraft on the ground.
SimCoders product documentation
SimCoders · Read the source ↗Three models pair different cockpits and enginesSIAI-Marchetti SF.260 with REP · JRollon / SimCoders · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
The package lists civilian analogue and G1000 models with a carburetted O-540, plus a military analogue model with a fuel-injected IO-540.
JRollon / SimCoders SF.260 product documentation
SimCoders · Read the source ↗Released product and variantsSIAI-Marchetti SF.260 with REP · JRollon / SimCoders · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
JRollon’s SF.260 is supplied as a complete aircraft with SimCoders’ Reality Expansion Pack included. It is not a standalone REP purchase requiring a separate SF.260. The current store lists X-Plane 11 and 12 and REP 5.
Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14
SimCoders · Read the source ↗Pilot account
An owner’s racing aircraft also takes his wife on holidayGeneral Aviation · October 2010. Seven-year ownership retrospective concerning Boot’s SF260W; earlier flights in another owner’s D model are separate experiences.
Boot’s enthusiasm grew through mock-combat flying and racing a borrowed SF.260 before he found his own camouflaged W model at Shobdon. Bringing it onto the UK register took time and money, but ownership eventually supplied hundreds of hours of flying and a collection of racing successes. The aircraft offered a different sort of pleasure after years with a larger Cessna twin. He also used it for holidays with his wife Suzie, including trips to Menorca.
Geoffrey Boot
General Aviation / IAOPA Europe · Read the source ↗A familiar hangar neighbour still demands respectAir Progress · September 1977, preserved on Airbum. Early US Waco Meteor aircraft modified for airshow work; these individual machines differ from later production variants.
Davisson knew the local Waco Meteors well enough that their owners had to move his Pitts to get them out of the hangar. He had travelled and flown with them before receiving a more deliberate checkout, which gave him time to explore the aircraft’s strengths and awkward points. He preferred the right seat, where the stick and throttle fell into the hands he expected. The speed and flowing aerobatics made a strong impression, but landing the aircraft was another matter.
Budd Davisson
Airbum / Air Progress · Read the source ↗Developer documentation
SF-260 — product listingSF-260 · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
www.justflight.com · Read the source ↗SF-260 — product listingSF-260 · MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
www.justflight.com · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Aircraft background
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260Wikipedia contributors · Research background · retrieved 2026-09-12 SIAI-Marchetti Aermacchi SF.260AOPA Pilot · Marc Cook · 5 July 2000Product
Reality Expansion Pack · SIAI-Marchetti SF.260SimCoders · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12 Just Flight - Sim Skunk Works SF-260 (MSFS 2020)www.justflight.com · Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue Just Flight - Sim Skunk Works SF-260 (MSFS 2024)www.justflight.com · Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogueDeveloper documentation
SIAI-Marchetti SF-260 -JRollon-SF260SimCoders · Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 3 profile choices
JRollon / SimCoders SF.260
JRollon / SimCoders · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
JRollon / SimCoders SF.260: The selected response supplies the aerobatic trainer’s axis balance.
Sim Skunk Works SF.260SF
Sim Skunk Works · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020
Sim Skunk Works SF.260SF: The selected response supplies the aerobatic trainer’s axis balance.
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260: The selected response supplies the aerobatic trainer’s axis balance.
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