Kolb Aircraft Firefly (KFAB)
ICAO KFAB Light Piston

Kolb Aircraft Firefly

Single Piston

The Kolb Firefly is an American ultralight and light sport aircraft designed for recreational flying, built by Kolb Aircraft Company of Pennsylvania. First introduced in the early 1990s as a successor to earlier Kolb designs, the Firefly is a high-wing, strut-braced aircraft typically sold as a kit for amateur construction, featuring tube-and-fabric construction that keeps empty weight below 600 pounds. Its slow-flight characteristics and short-field performance make it popular among bush pilots and backcountry enthusiasts who value its ability to operate from unimproved strips and tight spaces. The Firefly's docile handling and stall speed below 30 knots allow it to qualify under both US ultralight regulations (Part 103) and the UK's deregulated microlight category, depending on configuration and installed equipment. With a cruise speed around 70-80 knots and a never-exceed speed of 120 knots, it occupies the lower end of the performance spectrum but offers exceptional visibility from its tandem or side-by-side cockpit and remarkably low operating costs. SkyMeter has tracked 1 flights across 1 airframes and 1 operators, with distinct routes observed.

✈
ACTIVE AIRFRAMES
1
last 7 days
🏢
OPERATORS
1
unique airlines
📊
FLIGHTS
1
tracked
⏱
AVG DURATION
44m
per flight
⚠
INCIDENT RATE
0.0%
0 flagged
ⓘ

Safety in context

The incident rate counts flights with ANY safety event detected by SkyMeter: go-arounds (a routine response, not a failure), unstable-approach gate flags (advisory thresholds), rejected takeoffs (the system working as designed), and runway events. It is NOT an accident rate or fatality rate. For accident statistics, refer to the NTSB Aviation Accident Database (USA) or the Aviation Safety Network. See methodology for what each event type measures.

Performance

Speed envelope & approach

Vref
40 kt
Vref range
—
Vmo
—
Mmo
—
Vne
120 kt
Vno
90 kt
Vs1 (clean)
32 kt
Vs0 (landing)
28 kt
Vfe
65 kt
Approach category
—

Dimensions

Airframe geometry

Wingspan
—
Length
—
Tail height
—
Wheelbase
—
Gear width
—
Wake category
L

Weight & identification

Operating limits

MTOW
1,320 lb
MALW
—
Manufacturer model
Firefly
FAA designator
—
Registered
—

Top operators

By fleet size · last 7 days

0

No operator data available.

Safety profile

Flagged flights · last 7 days

Family

Related variants

1

Recent incidents

Flagged flights of KFAB

1
7/12/2026
2h 43m
△ Low approach-stability score

Recent flights

Real flights of KFAB · airborne ≥ 20 min

30
10/27/2026
29m
No alerts
10/17/2026
1h 6m
No alerts
10/12/2026
24m
No alerts
10/6/2026
25m
No alerts
9/29/2026
28m
No alerts
9/28/2026
21m
No alerts
9/23/2026
32m
No alerts
9/15/2026
34m
No alerts
9/11/2026
55m
No alerts
9/10/2026
40m
No alerts
9/6/2026
49m
No alerts
9/6/2026
1h 19m
No alerts
8/28/2026
31m
No alerts
8/16/2026
52m
No alerts
8/16/2026
1h 2m
No alerts
8/13/2026
31m
No alerts
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© SkyMeter · All flight data subject to ODbL attribution · Tracking window: 7 days (free tier)