<!-- This article is a part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft. Please see Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout. --> {{Infobox aircraft | name = EA-260 | logo = | logo_size = | image = File:Extra 260.jpg | alt = | caption = Extra 260 at the National Air and Space Museum | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Aerobatic aircraft | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = Germany | manufacturer = Extra Flugzeugbau | design_group = | designer = Walter Extra | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 1(4) (by 2021) | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = 1986 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = Extra EA-230 | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = }}
The '''Extra EA-260''' is a hand-built, single-seat aerobatic aircraft derived from the Extra 230 and first flown in 1986. Designed by aerobatic pilot Walter Extra based on the layout of the Extra 230, the Extra 260 is a higher performance version of its predecessor with 60% more power and 18% increase in weight. The first EA-260 was flown by Patty Wagstaff to victory in two U.S. National Aerobatic Championships, in 1991 and 1992, and then retired to the Smithsonian Institution when she obtained an Extra 300S.<ref name="NAM">{{cite web|title=Extra 260|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/extra-260/nasm_A19930401000|website=airandspace.si.edu|access-date= 23 November 2020|author= Smithsonian Institution|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201024155127/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/extra-260/nasm_A19930401000|archive-date= 24 October 2020|url-status= live}}</ref>
==Design== The prototype Extra 260 is based on the design of the Extra EA-230, and the two aircraft share many similarities. The Extra 260 has a welded steel tube fuselage covered in fabric with a carbon/glass hybrid composite empennage (i.e., the tail assembly, including the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, elevators, and rudder), and a bubble canopy. The monocoque wings have a Polish pine wood spar with birch plywood skins. A symmetrical airfoil, mounted with a zero angle of incidence, provides equal performance in both upright and inverted flight. The landing gear is fixed taildragger style with composite main legs and fiberglass wheel pants. The piston-engined powerplant is a fuel-injected Lycoming AEIO-540-D4A5 and has a 4-bladed constant-speed MT composite propeller.<ref name="NAM"/>
==Operational history== The first EA260 built, Walter Extra's personal airplane and prototype, was donated to the Smithsonian Institution where it was at one time on display. Patty Wagstaff had ordered and paid for another plane just like the EA260, but the plane delivered was not the same and she declined it. This newer plane, larger and different, was the basis for versions of the EA260 referred to as the EA320 by Patty Wagstaff in her book Fire and Air. She arranged for a deal to trade the new plane and her old EA230 for Walter's personal plane.<ref>Fire and Air: A Life on the Edge: Wagstaff, Patty & Cooper,Ann Lewis pages 215-220 ISBN 1556523106</ref> These are registered with the Federal Aviation Administration in the US, one registered in the United Kingdom with the Civil Aviation Authority and one registered in France with the Directorate General for Civil Aviation, for a total of four.<ref name="NAM"/><ref name="FAAReg">{{cite web|url = https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/MakeModelInquiry|title = Make / Model Inquiry|accessdate = 13 January 2021|author = Federal Aviation Administration|author-link = Federal Aviation Administration|date = 13 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="GINFO">{{cite web|url = https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/|title = G-INFO Search|accessdate = 13 January 2021|author = Civil Aviation Authority|author-link = Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom)|date = 13 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="France">{{cite web|url = https://immat.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/immat/servlet/aeronef_detail.html?CTRL_ID=15770927_f1fa8d15&CTX=1nnuF5A-NHqt0wSsna8ZkHgpj00LpSW0HQc5sOIvrT6biBaXXSsXDON051zh1mnPWqGC00aO02cnlOMH6OMDqRt9900bqQ79bSsXlR6HuS3z00000000CTmW0000G00000NG01aHFKrz9H7Do015gONPXBcnXRcSkIMvqPMTbSXBYeAJtWOSu0W01IG05Tc5iTMLuSW0GQc5sOIviOMvdBavrRM9bSeQibHqBbE2B0W00U70008kJU000|title = Fiche avion Immatriculation: F-AYJD|language=FR |accessdate = 14 January 2021|author = Directorate General for Civil Aviation|author-link = Directorate General for Civil Aviation (France)|date = 14 January 2021|archive-url= https://archive.today/20210114134801/https://immat.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/immat/servlet/aeronef_detail.html?CTRL_ID=15770927_f1fa8d15&CTX=1nnuF5A-NHqt0wSsna8ZkHgpj00LpSW0HQc5sOIvrT6biBaXXSsXDON051zh1mnPWqGC00aO02cnlOMH6OMDqRt9900bqQ79bSsXlR6HuS3z00000000CTmW0000G00000NG01aHFKrz9H7Do015gONPXBcnXRcSkIMvqPMTbSXBYeAJtWOSu0W01IG05Tc5iTMLuSW0GQc5sOIviOMvdBavrRM9bSeQibHqBbE2B0W00U70008kJU000|archive-date= 14 January 2021|url-status= live}}</ref>
==Specifications (EA-260)== {{Aircraft specs |ref=<!-- reference -->Smithsonian Air and Space Extra 260<ref name="NAM"/> |prime units?=met <!-- General characteristics --> |genhide=
|crew=1 |length m=6 |span m=7.6 |height m=1.8 |wing area sqm= |aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes --> |airfoil= |empty weight kg=522 |gross weight kg=778 |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general= <!-- Powerplant --> |eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Lycoming AEIO-540-D4A5 |eng1 type=6-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine |eng1 hp=320
|prop blade number=4 |prop name=MT constant-speed composite propeller |prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft --> |prop dia ft=<!-- propeller aircraft --> |prop dia in=<!-- propeller aircraft --> |prop dia note= <!-- Performance --> |perfhide=
|max speed kmh=405 |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph= |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh= |stall speed mph= |stall speed kts= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed kts= |never exceed speed note= |range km= |range miles= |range nmi= |range note= |combat range km= |combat range miles= |combat range nmi= |combat range note= |ferry range km= |ferry range miles= |ferry range nmi= |ferry range note= |endurance=<!-- if range unknown --> |ceiling m= |ceiling ft= |ceiling note= |g limits=<!-- aerobatic --> |roll rate=<!-- aerobatic --> |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin= |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |fuel consumption kg/km= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass= |thrust/weight=
|more performance=
|avionics= }}
<!-- ==See also== --> {{aircontent <!-- include as many lines are appropriate. additional lines/entries with carriage return. --> |see also= |related=<!-- related developments --> |similar aircraft=<!-- similar or comparable aircraft --> |lists=<!-- related lists --> }}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline}} {{Extra aircraft}} {{aerobatics}}
Category:1980s German sport aircraft EA-260 Category:Aerobatic aircraft Category:Mid-wing aircraft Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1986 Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Category:Single-engined piston aircraft