XtremeAir XA42 Sbach 342

The XtremeAir XA42 Sbach 342 is a German-built, carbon-fiber, two-seat unlimited-aerobatic monoplane designed by Philipp Steinbach (with Albert Mylius) and produced by XtremeAir GmbH in Cochstedt, Germany. The "Sbach" name is a portmanteau of "Steinbach" and traces back to the original XA41 single-seat Sbach 300 of 2004. The XA42 is the tandem two-seat version of the family, first certificated in Germany/EASA in 2011 and validated by the FAA under TC A00064CE on November 5, 2012. XtremeAir GmbH — the certificate's original holder — remains its holder of record, confirmed against the FAA's own records on 2026-09-11; there is no transfer history on this certificate, unlike the Liberty XL2 and Adam A500 pages re-sourced alongside this one.

This certificate has exactly one category: Acrobatic — not a three-way Normal/Utility/Aerobatic split. Within that single category, the FAA data sheet splits the airplane into two weight/envelope configurations, in its own vocabulary: "full acro" at 1,874 lb (an unrestricted aerobatic envelope) and "limited acro" at 2,200 lb (more weight, in exchange for a reduced maneuvering envelope the certificate does not itemize further). This page's frontmatter stores the 2,200 lb "limited acro" figure — see Variants and Performance Notes for exactly what a buyer trades away at that weight, and do not assume the airplane can be flown to full aerobatic limits at 2,200 lb.

The airplane is built entirely of carbon composite — fuselage, wings, and control surfaces — giving it an exceptionally high strength-to-weight ratio. Operators include airshow performers, unlimited-category competition pilots, and a small number of well-heeled private owners who want a certificated ride instead of an experimental. Production has been limited — around 37+ airframes built through the mid-2020s per prior, unverified-this-session reporting — making the Sbach a relatively rare sight compared to its chief certified rival, the Extra 200/300/330 Series.

No performance handbook was reachable for this airplane. The certificate names one — XtremeAir document AFM-XA42-0040-002-C.01, dated 16 October 2012 — but a search this session (DuckDuckGo Lite, this repo's own tooling, and a check for type-club or reseller copies) found no copy 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 A00064CE at all. This is expected for a low-volume, largely European-market type, and this page is honestly certificate-only for those fields rather than filled from an unsourced generated figure.

Both configurations share the same airspeed limits (VNE 225 / VNO 185 / VO 174 KIAS) and the same 15,000 ft maximum operating altitude — only the weight and the aerobatic envelope differ. Baggage (22 lb total) is prohibited during acrobatic maneuvers in EITHER configuration.

Related family members on the same manufacturer's line, not on this certificate: the single-seat XA41 Sbach 300 (2004+) and the "XA42 Gold" premium-trim package — neither independently confirmed against a certificate this session.

No performance figure below is independently confirmed this session. The certificate publishes none, and no AFM was reachable (see Overview). The prior pass's cruise (185 KTAS), climb (3,266 fpm), range (700 nm) and fuel burn (18.0 gph) carried no citation and are not reproduced here.

What IS certificated, and applies at BOTH weight configurations: VNE 225 KIAS, VNO 185 KIAS, and a certificate-labeled "VO" of 174 KIAS (stored in this page's va_kias field as the nearest schema equivalent — the certificate does not use the term "Va"). Maximum operating altitude is 15,000 ft, which is a certificate ceiling, not a climb-derived service ceiling. Fuel is 72.6 gal total across three tanks (two 27.7 gal wing tanks, one 17.2 gal tank nearer the CG), 72.1 gal usable — an unusually small unusable-fuel margin. The prior page's claim of a "15 gallon acro tank" is close to, but does not exactly match, the certificate's 17.2 gal center tank; whether the aerobatic-legal usable fuel in that tank is smaller than its physical capacity is an AFM question this session could not answer.

Buying-decision-relevant: full acro vs. limited acro is a real trade-off, not a rounding difference. A buyer whose mission is genuinely unlimited-category competition or airshow work should confirm which configuration a specific airframe is normally flown and insured at, since the 2,200 lb figure this page stores is NOT the unrestricted-aerobatic weight.

No sourced useful-load figure exists for this page. useful_load_lbs requires a sourced empty weight, and the certificate states only a MAXIMUM empty weight (1,477 lb) — a ceiling on the type design, not a typical delivered airframe's actual weight. No AFM was reachable to provide one. What IS certain: at either weight configuration, baggage is capped at 22 lb total and is prohibited outright during acrobatic maneuvers, and the 2,200 lb "limited acro" configuration this page describes trades weight capacity for a reduced maneuvering envelope rather than for cross-country payload in the way a touring airplane's higher gross weight would.

Related pages: Extra 200/300/330 Series, Mudry CAP 10B, Christen Eagle II, Great Lakes 2T-1A-2 Sport Trainer, Yakovlev Yak-52, aerobatics, Aircraft Valuation Methodology, GA Insurance Underwriting, Maintenance Ecosystem, Avionics Pricing Reference.

• Aerobatics (10/10): Certificated Acrobatic category, carbon-composite airframe, a favored airshow and competition platform. See Performance Notes for the full-acro/limited-acro weight distinction a buyer must understand before assuming full ±G capability at any loaded weight.
• Local Fun (8/10): Tandem seating for sharing rides and a certificated (not experimental) airframe make this appealing for an owner who wants aerobatic capability without homebuilt paperwork — cost of ownership is the limiting factor, not capability.
• Cross-Country (5/10): No cruise, range or fuel-burn figure survives this pass (see Performance Notes). VFR-day only (certificated — "Approved for VFR-day only," per the TCDS) rules out any IFR cross-country use regardless of equipment.
• Flight Training (3/10): Can be used for advanced aerobatic and upset training with a qualified instructor; acquisition and insurance costs rule it out as a primary trainer.
• Business Travel / Cargo / Surveying / Backcountry (1–2/10): Wrong tool entirely — tandem seats, a 22 lb baggage limit, VFR-day-only certification, and expensive-to-operate carbon airframe with prop-strike exposure on rough strips.

The XA42 is delivered and typically operated as a VFR/day-aerobatic airplane, consistent with its VFR-day-only certification. Common panel configurations (unverified this session, carried from prior pass):

• Competition-stripped: Single analog airspeed/altimeter/VSI, G-meter, engine monitor, handheld GPS.
• Standard factory panel: Garmin G3X Touch, GTN 650Xi or GNC 355 GPS/nav/com, GTR 225 backup com, GTX 345 ADS-B In/Out transponder.

See Avionics Pricing Reference for typical install costs.

No STC activity was confirmed this session. Per runbook rule 32, a TCDS never lists an STC by design, so the certificate's silence here is not evidence one does not exist — none is specifically claimed on this page beyond factory options already noted in prior-pass prose (smoke system, glider tow hook, propeller options), which are unverified this session.

• Parts availability: fair. Airframe spares flow from XtremeAir GmbH in Germany; lead times on composite components can be weeks to months. Lycoming AEIO-580 parts are available through normal Lycoming channels, though aerobatic-spec accessories (inverted oil, fuel pickup) are specialized.
• Mechanic familiarity: specialist. Composite aerobatic airframes require a specialist shop; most A&Ps have not worked on one.
• Certificate holder: XtremeAir GmbH, unchanged since original issuance, confirmed against the FAA's records on 2026-09-11 — this is a going manufacturer, not an orphan in the sense the Adam A500 or Liberty XL2 are, though it is still a low-volume European type from a US buyer's parts-support perspective.
• Engine overhaul is positioned at $65,000 by engine displacement (see engine_overhaul_cost_usd comment) — not a per-airplane quote.

See Maintenance Ecosystem for comparative context.

No price is stored for this airplane. A documented search on 2026-09-11 — Barnstormers keyword searches for "Sbach 342" and "XtremeAir" (both zero results), Controller.com and Trade-A-Plane (bot-blocked) — found no current asking-price listing anywhere reachable. That is a plausible result for a 37-airframe, largely European-market type, not a search failure.

This is a genuine catalogue gap, left visible with this disclosure rather than filled with an unsourced figure. If a listing surfaces, this page should be updated with a dated, sourced band per runbook rule 27 rather than the previous pass's uncited $270,000–$600,000 estimate.

Likely price drivers, if and when a real transaction surfaces (unverified reasoning, not a sourced claim): engine time remaining on the AEIO-580, prop time, engine-mount AD compliance history, panel modernity, and hours in aerobatic vs. utility service.

The dominant known issue reported in prior, unverified-this-session coverage is engine-mount diagonal-strut cracking on the XA41/XA42 family (EASA AD 2018-0079 / FAA AD 2018-07-15, superseded by FAA AD 2020-11-19), which reportedly led to a temporary prohibition on aerobatic flight for the type while an engineering fix was validated. This is retained as prior reporting, not independently re-confirmed against the AD itself this session — a buyer should verify current compliance status directly against the FAA/EASA AD registries and XtremeAir Service Bulletin SB-XA42-2019-008 before purchase.

Other pre-buy items (unverified this session, carried from prior pass): carbon composite delamination or damage history, AEIO-580 cylinder wear (worked hard in aerobatic service), canopy crazing, G-meter/peak-g logs, and prop strike history.

The XA42 sits in the high-performance aerobatic insurance bucket alongside the Extra 330/300 family. The stored typical_hull_insurance_annual_usd of $9,500 is carried over from the prior pass and was not independently re-verified this session. Underwriting factors (unverified this session, carried from prior pass): pilot aerobatic experience is the dominant factor, tailwheel transition and type-specific dual are typically required before solo coverage, and commercial airshow/instructional use requires specialized coverage.

See GA Insurance Underwriting for the category framework.