Waco Aircraft Company Ymf

Single Piston

The Waco YMF represents a remarkable resurrection of golden-age aviation, a modern reproduction of the classic open-cockpit biplanes that defined American barnstorming in the 1930s. When the Waco Aircraft Company was reestablished in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1983, it began hand-building faithful recreations of the legendary YMF series using contemporary materials and powerplants—typically a 275-hp Jacobs R-755 radial engine—while preserving the aesthetic and flying characteristics that made the original Wacos beloved. Each aircraft is essentially custom-built to customer specifications, with fabric-covered steel tube fuselages, wooden wing structures, and the unmistakable profile of staggered biplane wings. These aren't museum pieces but genuinely capable sport aircraft, certificated under FAA Type Certificate A-694 and flown regularly for aerobatics, formation flying, and pure recreational aviation. The YMF cruises around 105 knots and climbs at roughly 1,000 feet per minute, offering performance that would have been considered excellent in 1935 and remains perfectly adequate for the mission today. The tandem open cockpits—pilot in back, passenger up front—deliver an unfiltered flying experience that modern enclosed aircraft simply cannot match, complete with wind, engine roar, and an unobstructed view of the world passing beneath fabric-covered wings. Production has been limited and intermittent, with perhaps 150-200 YMFs built since the 1980s revival, making them rare sights even at vintage aircraft gatherings. Owners tend to be passionate about the type, often flying them to airshows and fly-ins where the big radial engine and classic lines draw crowds. SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.