N317WS

N317WS is a Piper Aircraft PA-15, a single-engine piston aircraft operated by WOOD STEVEN J. SkyMeter has tracked 72 flights totalling 45 hours of airtime via ADS-B across 2 callsigns. The most frequent segment is 7IS9 to H49. Service window in our records spans 460 days. Of those flights, 8 (11.1%) carry at least one detected incident: a go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Piper Aircraft PA-15 has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,500 lb, light wake category.

About the Piper Aircraft PA-15

The Piper PA-15 Vagabond was a no-frills, two-seat trainer built between 1948 and 1950 as Piper's economy answer to post-war flying clubs and budget-conscious private pilots. Powered by a modest 65-horsepower Lycoming O-145 engine, the Vagabond seated pilot and passenger in tandem under a fabric-covered fuselage and featured a distinctive side-by-side door arrangement that made entry easier than many taildraggers of the era. With a maximum takeoff weight of just 1,500 pounds and a cruise speed around 90 knots, it was never fast, but it was affordable and forgiving, qualities that made it popular with flight schools and weekend flyers in the immediate postwar boom.

Piper built approximately 387 Vagabonds before discontinuing the model in favor of the more refined PA-17 Vagabond Trainer, which added a second door and minor improvements. Today the PA-15 is a sought-after vintage type among tailwheel enthusiasts, prized for its simplicity, low operating costs, and classic tube-and-fabric construction. The UK registrations in the sample data reflect a small but active community of owners who maintain these 75-year-old aircraft in airworthy condition, often for recreational flying and vintage rallies.

SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.