Liberty XL2

The Liberty XL2 is a two-seat, low-wing, fixed-gear certified trainer/tourer built by Liberty Aerospace in Melbourne, Florida. Conceived in the UK as the Europa XS kitplane and redeveloped into a Part 23 certified airplane, it first flew in 2001 and entered production in 2004 under FAA TC A00008DE. It is notable for being one of the few certified singles to pair a full composite fuselage (aluminum wings) with a FADEC-controlled Continental IOF-240-B making 125 hp.

The certificate has changed hands three times since 2004 and is a useful record of the type's support history in its own right: Liberty Aerospace Incorporated transferred it to Liberty XL2 Holdings, LLC in December 2013; to Discovery Aviation, Inc. in May 2015; and back to a reconstituted Liberty Aerospace Inc. in September 2024 — the certificate's current holder as of this page's most recent revision (Rev 8, February 2025) and confirmed live against the FAA's own records on 2026-09-11. Production was small — roughly 135 airframes delivered through 2011 when the original Liberty Aerospace ceased operations. Discovery Aviation briefly resumed limited production in 2018 for a South Korean flight-school order. The 2024 return of the certificate to a "Liberty Aerospace Inc." entity has not been independently confirmed this session to represent an active production or support operation, as opposed to a holding transaction — a buyer should verify current factory support status directly rather than assume it from the certificate record alone.

The XL2 is best understood as a low-cost, modern-panel trainer with distinctive gull-wing doors, a steel-tube chassis for cabin protection, and a FADEC engine that made it unusually simple to operate — single-lever power, no mixture, no carb heat. Its market reputation is a mix of admiration for the clean design and skepticism about orphan support, parts availability, and real-world utility for two adults plus bags.

No performance handbook was reachable for this airplane. The certificate names three, by document number, depending on serial and date (135A-970-005 Rev D, 135A-970-300, and 135A-970-200 for S/N 0126 and up); a search this session found none of them anywhere. A type certificate publishes legal limits, not performance — no cruise speed, no fuel burn, no range, no climb rate, no stall speed and no runway distance appear on A00008DE at all. This page is honestly certificate-only for those fields.

Only one airframe/engine configuration exists across the type's life; the split above is a gross-weight increase (via kit or by serial), not a different airplane. Panel upgrades (Aspen, Garmin G500 TXi retrofits) distinguish most used-market examples far more than the formal variant line.

No performance figure below is independently confirmed this session. The certificate publishes none, and no POH/AFM was reachable (see Overview). The prior pass's cruise (122 KTAS), rate of climb (682 fpm), range (500 nm) and fuel burn (5.5 gph) figures carried no citation and are not reproduced here — they are removed rather than carried forward uncited, per this session's standard.

What IS certificated: at the current 1,750 lb configuration, a never-exceed speed of 157 KIAS, a maximum structural cruising speed of 122 KIAS, a maneuvering speed of 100 KIAS, and a maximum operating altitude of 12,500 ft (not a climb-derived service ceiling — no such figure exists in any document found). The FADEC engine control (single-lever power, no mixture, no carb heat) is a certificated feature (Special Condition 23-119-SC) and a genuine simplicity advantage for a trainer, independent of any performance figure.

No sourced useful-load figure exists for this page. useful_load_lbs requires a sourced empty weight, and none was found — the certificate states no empty-weight value at all (only what must be recorded per-airframe at certification), and no POH was reachable to provide one. At the certificated 1,750 lb max weight with 28 gal usable (168 lb of fuel), whatever the airplane's actual empty weight is, the type's reputation as "tight for two adults with bags" (prior-pass prose) is plausible for a 2-seat, 125 hp composite airframe of this size, but this page does not carry a sourced figure to substantiate a specific loading scenario this session.

Flight Training (6/10): The FADEC simplifies student workload (no mixture, no carb heat), and the low-wing low-inertia handling is well suited to primary training. Orphan-parts risk and a tiny, three-times-transferred certificate history make flight schools hesitant compared to DA20, C152, or PA-28-161. The awkward gull-wing boarding is a meaningful negative for high-turnover school ops.

Local Fun (6/10): Clean, modern, sporty airframe. A genuinely pleasant weekend hamburger-run airplane for a pilot willing to accept orphan risk.

Cross-Country (4/10): No cruise, range or fuel-burn figure survives this pass (see Performance Notes) — historically reputed efficient, but that reputation is not independently confirmed here. 28 gal usable and modest useful load cap it at short hops regardless.

Business Travel (2/10): Two seats and minimal baggage rule out most business roles.

Backcountry / Cargo / Aerobatics / Surveying (1–2/10): Low wing, fixed gear not designed for rough fields; no cargo volume; not aerobatically rated; limited useful load caps survey work.

See Flight Training and Local Fun Flying for mission scoring detail.

Liberty-era XL2s shipped with a mix of analog six-pack and early Avidyne Entegra or Aspen Evolution PFD configurations, paired with Garmin GNS 430/430W IFR navigators. Later Liberty airframes and Discovery restart aircraft shipped with Aspen Evolution PFDs, GTN 650/750 navigators, and GFC-series autopilots. Typical panel tiers today:

• Steam / basic IFR: Six-pack + GNS 430W, basic autopilot or none.
• Glass IFR: Aspen Evolution PFD + GTN 650 + GFC 500 or S-TEC 30.
• Upgraded Glass: Dual Aspen or Garmin G3X-style retrofit, GTN 750Xi, ADS-B In/Out, modern autopilot.

Panel value typically exceeds the structural value in used XL2s — see Aircraft Valuation Methodology.

Liberty gross-weight-increase kit RKI-SIL-08-001 is the certificated modification: raises max weight from 1,653 to 1,750 lb and changes the airspeed limits (see Variants table). This is a Liberty-issued kit referenced directly on the TCDS, not a third-party STC.

Other activity is sparse given the tiny fleet:

• Aspen Evolution / Garmin retrofit PFDs: Most pre-owned airframes have at least one glass retrofit.
• GFC 500 autopilot: Available via Garmin's broad approved-model list in recent years; adds resale value.
• ADS-B Out installs: Nearly universal on the in-service fleet.

Per runbook rule 32, the certificate's silence on any OTHER modification is not evidence one doesn't exist by third-party STC — none is claimed here beyond what is documented above.

• Parts availability: poor. The airframe, canopy hardware, gull-wing door mechanisms, and composite panels are Liberty-unique. The certificate's current holder (Liberty Aerospace Inc., since September 2024) has not been confirmed this session to run an active parts-support operation.
• Mechanic familiarity: rare. The Continental IOF-240 is familiar to any shop that has worked on Diamond DA20-C1 Eclipses, so powerplant work is manageable. Airframe work — especially composite repairs and FADEC harness troubleshooting — is a different matter.
• Engine overhaul is positioned at $35,000 by engine displacement (see engine_overhaul_cost_usd comment) — not a per-airplane quote.
• Expensive items: Canopy replacement, composite fuselage repair after hangar rash, FADEC ECU replacement, and gull-wing door hinge assemblies top the list (unverified this session, carried from prior pass).

See Maintenance Ecosystem for general parts/labor context.

MARKET ASKING. One real, dated listing was found: a 2008 Liberty Aerospace XL2 at $92,000, trade_a_plane, retrieved by FlightFinder's own listings pipeline on 2026-07-14 (see the auto-synced block below and raw/market/market-liberty-xl2-search-2026-09-11.md). A fresh Barnstormers search on 2026-09-11 returned zero current listings; Controller.com and Trade-A-Plane were bot-blocked. With a single data point the price fields on this page collapse to that one figure rather than a manufactured range — asking is not selling, and this is a genuinely thin market for a roughly-135-airframe fleet. The prior pass's $85,000–$180,000 band carried no citation and is not reproduced.

Likely valuation drivers, unverified this session:

• Avionics tier likely dominates the price range in this thin a market.
• Engine time since overhaul.
• FADEC hardware condition and documented SB compliance.
• Which gross-weight configuration the airframe holds (see Variants table) — a factor not previously recorded on this page.

• AD 2010-08-10: Exhaust muffler inspection AD — cracks found in the muffler during service could allow exhaust gas into the cabin heat system (CO risk). Repetitive inspections and muffler replacement requirements apply.
• FADEC ECU and harness issues: Early FADEC installations were sensitive to wiring harness condition, battery voltage, and EMI (unverified this session — carried from prior pass).
• Gull-wing door seal wear: Wind noise and door-bulging at cruise speeds, plus pinched-finger risk from the swing-down geometry (unverified this session — carried from prior pass).
• Orphan-parts risk: Pre-buys should verify availability of airframe-unique parts (canopy, door mechanisms, composite panels) and confirm which gross-weight configuration (1,653 vs. 1,750 lb) a specific serial actually holds — see Variants table.

The stored typical_hull_insurance_annual_usd of $1,800 is carried over from the prior pass and was not independently re-verified this session. Underwriting notes (unverified this session, carried from prior pass):

• Orphan type surcharge: A few underwriters may apply a modest hull surcharge given the certificate's transfer history and thin parts support.
• Low-time pilot acceptance: Reputed good for a benign trainer type.
• Agreed-value hull policies are recommended given the thin comps; see GA Insurance Underwriting.