Cessna FRA150L Aerobat G-AZOZ

We don’t have to give this 130hp Reims Aerobat a hard sell, because it’s already been on the front cover of Flyer Magazine and thoroughly air tested. The Reims Aerobat is a French improvement of the already rare Cessna 150 Aerobat. To put in context just how rare they are, if you see 50x Cessna 150’s lined up, only one of them will be a 130hp Reims Aerobat. There were only 545 FRA150L & M models ever produced, out of a total run of 24,384.

The short history lesson is that Cessna copied Beechcraft, and made a sportsman aerobatic capable aircraft to satisfy market demand. They made many changes to make it +6g/-3G capable, and you will notice all the cues like wide chord struts, skylights, cowl blisters, quick-release doors, four-point harnesses, beefed up wings/empennage, 193mph VNE markings and a G-meter. The Cessna test pilots noted how the French 130hp version could perform Loops and Immelman turns from level flight. Cessna gave prominent Airshow pilots of the time aircraft to make up routines from, and the best of them could make triple snap rolls work within the confines of the envelope. The bible for tyro aerobatic pilots - “The Basic Aerobatic Manual” by Bill Kershner, was both written about the Aerobat, and taught in person at his school in an Aerobat.

This very aeroplane had a careful and expensive restoration in 2013, where it received new paint, interior, aerobatic harnesses, propeller and engine strip by an enthusiast owner. It then changed hands in 2016, where there is a documented folder of over €100,000 of invoices for its upkeep.

Since OZ has graced the pages of Flyer, it received a Garmin stack comprising of GMA 340 Audio Panel, GNS 430 with GI-106 ILS Indicator, GTX 328 Mode S, along with a full set of late model wheel fairings. The aircraft has just been fitted with a new Concorde sealed battery and has the all-important lightweight starter mod, which eliminates the starter clutch issues on early aircraft.

We know who’s been minding their aeroplanes, it’s all we look at all day. The previous owners have tech log pages going back to 2013, every half quart of oil that’s been put in it has been documented, and there are Workpacks going back to 1992. The aircraft has been maintained for the last 8 years by Aero Anglia, and its annual is next due in May 2026. The current airframe time is 11,268hrs TTAF, and the engine has 1482hrs SMOH at October 2003 by Richard Issenberg. In February 2013, the engine received a strip and rebuild by Arrow Aviation, and it’s flown 650hrs since. At that time, the propeller was factory New, and this propeller was overhauled in October 2019 by General Aero Services and currently has 290hrs SPOH.

We have been enjoying flying her from some short microlight strips, turning the world upside down and plenty of VMC on top using the GNS430 to guide us home. If someone said-  you can only fly this aeroplane for the rest of your days, until men stop using internal combustion engines for pleasure - then you would be happy to fly G-AZOZ until the end.

Price €60,000 (VAT Paid – EU or UK Supplied)