N1617N

N1617N is a Funk Aircraft Company B-85C, a single-engine piston aircraft operated by TIPPIT LARRY J. SkyMeter has tracked 94 flights totalling 42 hours of airtime via ADS-B across 2 callsigns. The most frequent segment is KGPM to KGPM. Service window in our records spans 259 days. Of those flights, 10 (10.6%) carry at least one detected incident — go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Funk Aircraft Company B-85C has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,750 lb, light wake category.

About the Funk Aircraft Company B-85C

The Funk B-85C is a charming relic of American general aviation's formative years, designed by brothers Joe and Howard Funk in the late 1930s and produced through the 1940s in Coffeyville, Kansas. Built as an affordable two-seat side-by-side trainer and personal aircraft, the Funk featured fabric-covered steel tube construction and a distinctive high-wing configuration that made it popular with flight schools and private owners during and immediately after World War II. Powered by variants of the Continental or Lycoming flat-four engine producing 65 to 85 horsepower, the B-85C was known for its docile handling, rugged construction, and forgiving flight characteristics—qualities that endeared it to student pilots and weekend flyers alike.

Though production ceased in the early 1950s and only a few hundred were built across all variants, the Funk remains a beloved type among vintage aircraft enthusiasts, with a small but dedicated community keeping survivors airworthy. Its gentle stall speed of 38 knots and never-exceed speed of 140 knots reflect the leisurely pace of pre-war light aviation, when cross-country flights were measured in hours rather than minutes and the journey mattered as much as the destination. SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.