Shark.Aero Shark

The Shark is a two-seat tandem, low-wing, all-composite ultralight designed by Jaroslav Dostal and Vlado Pekar and built by Shark.Aero in Senica, Slovakia (with airframe work in the Czech Republic). It first flew on 19 August 2009 and entered production in mid-2011. It is one of the fastest airframes ever built inside a 472.5 kg European ultralight limit: retractable trailing-link gear, a constant-speed propeller, Fowler flaps and a very clean carbon fuselage let a 100 HP Rotax 912ULS true out around 150 KTAS on roughly 5.5 GPH, which is Bonanza-class cruise on Cessna 152 fuel.

Two things make the Shark unusually relevant to a US buyer right now. First, it is the airframe Zara Rutherford flew solo around the world in 2021-22 (youngest woman to circumnavigate in a microlight) and Mack Rutherford flew in 2022 (youngest person, at 17) — a genuinely proven long-distance airplane, not a show queen. Second, in spring 2026 Austrian authorities certified the Shark 600 to fly with Turbulence Cancelling from Turbulence Solutions of Vienna, making it the first aircraft in its class approved for active turbulence suppression. See the Systems section below.

The catch is the US regulatory position. The Shark has never been an accepted S-LSA here — the planned "SportShark" was announced in 2011 and never approved — so American Sharks are registered Experimental Exhibition, which carries real operating limitations. Prices have also risen dramatically: AOPA flew one in 2017 at $127,000 base and $150,000 as tested; new examples now order out near $400,000.

Note: "600" refers to the 600 kg gross weight, not a model year. A 600 kg Shark is the one worth buying — the extra 127.5 kg of gross is the difference between a legal two-adults-and-fuel airplane and a paper one.

AOPA's flight test of a Shark UL measured 140 KTAS at 70% power on 5.5 GPH, 127 KTAS at 55% on 4.5 GPH, and 159 KTAS maximum level speed. The factory quotes 300 km/h (162 KTAS) maximum cruise, which is a full-throttle low-altitude number rather than a sustainable one. A realistic planning figure for a 600 kg Shark with a constant-speed prop is 150 KTAS at 75% on 5.5-6.0 GPH, and that is genuinely remarkable for 100 horsepower.

Climb is about 1,300 FPM at sea level at light weights (Wikipedia cites 1,460 FPM for the lighter UL; AOPA measured 1,200). Service ceiling is 13,500 ft on the normally-aspirated 912ULS — the Turbo 600 is the variant to buy if you actually want the high teens, where the airframe's low drag pays off most.

Stall speeds scale with the gross weight you are flying. At 472.5 kg the book figure is 35 KIAS with flaps; at 600 kg expect roughly 40 KIAS VS0 and 45 KIAS VS1. Takeoff ground roll is around 600 ft and landing rollout around 500 ft, which is short-field capable in absolute terms but should not be read as a rough-field capability — see Mission Suitability.

Range with the standard 27 gallon (24 usable) tanks is about 700 NM at high cruise with reserves. The optional 40 gallon (37 usable) tanks push that past 1,300 NM at economy settings, which is how the circumnavigation flights were flown.

With about 661 lb empty and 1,323 lb gross (600 kg variant), useful load is roughly 662 lb:

• Full standard fuel (27 gal / 162 lb) + two 190 lb adults: 500 lb of the 662 lb useful load, leaving about 120 lb for baggage — which is far more than the tandem fuselage can physically hold. Volume, not weight, is the binding constraint.
• Full long-range fuel (40 gal / 240 lb) + two adults: 620 lb, leaving roughly 40 lb. Legal, and this is the configuration the record flights used, but it is a two-people-and-toothbrushes airplane at that point.
• Solo with long-range tanks: the interesting case. One 190 lb pilot and 240 lb of fuel is 430 lb against 662 lb available, giving well over 1,300 NM of range at economy cruise. This is what the airplane is genuinely exceptional at.
• On the 472.5 kg UL airframe (1,042 lb gross, 606 lb empty) useful load falls to about 436 lb. Two adults and full standard fuel is 542 lb — over gross. This is why the 600 kg variant matters so much, and why you should weigh any specific airframe rather than trusting the brochure.

For the cross-country mission this airplane is built around see Cross-Country Flying; for the fun-flying mission it also excels at see Local Fun Flying. The closest catalogue comparison is the Porto Aviation Risen, which trades the Shark's tandem seating for a 48-inch side-by-side cabin and considerably more power.

• Local fun flying (9): A 100 HP airplane that cruises at 150 knots with a bubble canopy and a sidestick. Handling is reported as precise and genuinely enjoyable.
• Cross-country (8): The core mission and a proven one. Two people circumnavigated the planet in this airframe. Marked down only for VFR-only operation, small baggage, and the support problems below.
• Business travel (5): The speed is real and the fuel burn is trivial, but Experimental Exhibition operating limitations, VFR-only, tandem seating and near-zero baggage make it a poor tool for showing up somewhere on a schedule.
• Surveying (5): Outstanding visibility from the bubble canopy and long endurance at low power help; low wing and high minimum speeds hurt.
• Flight training (2): Not a trainer. Retractable, constant-speed, slippery, expensive, and effectively uninsurable for a student.
• Aerobatics (2): +4/-2 G structural envelope; not approved or stressed for aerobatics.
• Backcountry (1): Composite belly, small wheels, retractable gear, low wing. The short book distances are for smooth pavement.
• Cargo hauling (1): Tandem seating means there is no cabin volume to speak of. Baggage is measured in soft bags.

Sharks are experimental and wear experimental panels. Typical fits:

• As delivered (factory standard): 10" Dynon SkyView HDX PFD/MFD with graphical engine monitoring, a second SkyView screen in the rear seat frame, Becker or Trig COM, and a Mode S transponder. Garmin G3X Touch is the common alternative. See Avionics Pricing Reference.
• Typical upgrade path ($15-30k): Second 10" screen, two-axis autopilot, ADS-B In/Out that satisfies US rules (European deliveries frequently arrive without a US-compliant 1090ES or UAT solution — budget for this).
• What you will not find: IFR certification. The airframe's certification basis does not support it in any country, and the Experimental Exhibition US registration makes it moot. Treat the Shark as a VFR airplane and buy accordingly.

See Maintenance Ecosystem. This is the airplane's weakest area in the US:

• Parts availability: poor. Everything structural comes from Slovakia, in euros, with customs and multi-month lead times on canopies, panels and gear components. There is no US parts depot.
• Mechanic familiarity: specialist. The Rotax 912 half is easy — any Rotax-capable shop can service it. The airframe half is not: retractable composite airframes with a BRS need an A&P who is comfortable with all three, and there is no US type community to lean on.
• Annual condition inspection: $1,500-2,500 if clean, more when the gear needs rigging.
• Typical annual operating cost: roughly $18,500 at 100 hours — approximately $3,300 fuel, $9,000-10,000 insurance, $3,600 hangar, $1,500-2,500 inspection, and $1,500 reserves. Insurance, not fuel, is the dominant cost of owning this airplane, which is the opposite of what its Rotax fuel burn leads buyers to expect.
• Expensive items: BRS rocket and canopy replacement ($4,000-6,000), one-piece canopy ($6,000+ and slow), gear actuator and uplock components, Rotax gearbox coupling (~$1,500), constant-speed prop overhaul (~$2,500).
• Reserves: budget $10-12/hr engine, $3-4/hr airframe and gear, plus a sinking fund for the BRS.

See Aircraft Valuation Methodology. The Shark's price history is unusual and you must not anchor on old numbers:

• 2017: $127,000 base, $150,000 as tested (AOPA).
• 2026: new orders land near $400,000 depending on options and build services; the used market averages around $348,000 on a thin sample.
• Price tiers: early fixed-gear LS or high-time UL $175-240k; well-equipped UL with glass and long-range tanks $240-320k; late Shark 600 with constant-speed prop $320-400k; new Turbo 600 with Turbulence Cancelling $400k+.
• The 600 kg gross weight is worth real money over a 472.5 kg airframe — it is the difference between a usable useful load and a compromised one.
• Turbo vs normally aspirated: the EPti turbo commands a large premium and is the variant that justifies the airplane's altitude capability. A Germany-market Turbo was listed at €310,000 including 19% VAT (roughly €260,000 ex-VAT).
• Long-range tanks: $6-10k value add and the reason this airframe can do what it does.
• US Experimental Exhibition paperwork: a clean, current, transferable set of operating limitations is worth more than buyers realize. A messy or lapsed program letter is a genuine discount.
• Thin market: very few US examples exist. Both buying and selling take time, and comparable sales are scarce enough that appraisals are weak. Expect wide bid-ask spreads.

Experimental aircraft receive no FAA Airworthiness Directives, but there are factory service bulletins and well-known wear items:

• Rotax 912 gearbox — 1,000-hour rubber coupling and slipper clutch inspection, mandatory regardless of airframe.
• Retraction system — the gear is the most complex thing on the airplane and the most common squawk. Check for correct rigging, uplock/downlock microswitch function, and any history of a gear-up.
• Ballistic parachute currency — the Magnum 620 has a rocket and a canopy with finite lives. A time-expired BRS is a $4,000-6,000 item and is routinely overlooked in a pre-buy.
• Canopy latch and gas strut wear — a one-piece side-hinged canopy is a large, expensive, single-source part. Inspect the latch mechanism and hinges carefully.
• Composite bond lines at the wing root and spar joint — the two-piece dismountable spar is a design strength, but any delamination history there is disqualifying without a factory-supervised repair.
• Nosewheel shimmy and trailing-link bushing wear — routine, cheap, but a symptom of hard use.
• Aileron control forces — AOPA's test aircraft had deliberately heavy aileron rigging and the reviewer found it objectionable. Rigging varies between airframes; fly the specific aircraft.

Pre-buy red flags: any gear-up landing, any delamination repair not done by the factory, a time-expired BRS, missing or vague Experimental Exhibition operating limitations, and European avionics that will not satisfy US ADS-B rules.

See GA Insurance Underwriting. The Shark is one of the harder GA risks to place:

• Hull: roughly $8,000-10,000/year on a $300,000 hull (about 3% of hull value), reflecting a rare composite type, retractable gear, high approach speeds and near-total-loss claim behavior.
• Liability: $1,000-1,500/year for $1M smooth.
• Underwriting quirks: expect requirements for 500+ hours total time, meaningful retractable-gear time, and a type checkout that is genuinely hard to obtain in the US because so few airframes and no instructors exist. Low-time applicants are commonly declined outright rather than surcharged.
• Experimental Exhibition penalty: some carriers will not write the category at all. Confirm you can actually place coverage before you sign a purchase agreement.
• Rare-type penalty: no US adjuster has seen a damaged Shark. Minor damage tends to be settled as a total loss.