Adaptive General Aviation Aircraft Guide

Independent aviation research

Explore aircraft through the lens of accessibility

A practical, source-based guide to general aviation aircraft, flight controls, hand-operated service brakes, rudder systems, and documented adaptations.

70 aircraft families · Manufacturer sources · Variant-specific evidence

Tomark Viper SD4 aircraft exterior — Tomark Viper SD4 · Lestocq · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cessna 172 Skyhawk aircraft exterior — Cessna 172 · Oleg Yunakov · CC BY-SA 4.0

Find aircraft

Explore and compare aircraft families, performance, and documented flight-control configurations.

Understand controls

Distinguish service brakes from parking brakes, and factory equipment from options or individual modifications.

Follow the evidence

Read source references, aircraft-specific caveats, and manufacturer documentation before drawing conclusions.

Research guide only. Verify the POH/AFM, equipment, approvals, and condition of each individual aircraft. No claim of suitability for a particular pilot.

Interactive preview — search and filters work offline. Research inventory, not an airworthiness or adaptive suitability determination. Priority models have sourced performance metrics, including the Sky Arrow manufacturer POH; other technical entries are provisional. A documented adaptation on one aircraft does not mean every example has it, or that it is currently available for sale.

Wing Seats Documented adaptive examples / systems onlyHand service brake Documented hand rudder

70 matching aircraft families

seats	wing	classification	engine	horsepower	fuel total us gal approx
2	High	Certified	Continental O-200	100	22.5–35
2	High	Certified	Lycoming O-235	110	26–39
4	High	Certified	Lycoming/Continental	145–180	42–56+
4	High	Certified	Continental GO-300	175	52
4	High	Certified	Lycoming O-320/O-360	150–180	49–60
4	High	Certified	Continental/Lycoming	230	~88
2	High	Certified	Continental C-85	85	~25
4	High	Certified	Continental C-145	145	~42
2/4	Low	Certified	Lycoming O-320	140–150	~50
4	Low	Certified	Lycoming O-360	180	~50
4	Low	Certified	Lycoming O-360	180	50
4	Low	Certified	Lycoming O-320	150–160	50
4	Low	Certified	Lycoming O-540	235	~72
4	High	Certified	Lycoming/Continental	125–160	~36
2	High	Certified	Lycoming/Continental	90–180	~36
2	High	Certified	Continental/Lycoming	65–85	~12
2	Low	Certified	Continental C-75/C-85	75–85	24
2	Low	Certified	Continental C-90	90	24
2	Low	Certified	Continental C-90	90	24
2	Low	Certified	Continental C-90	90	~24
2	High	LSA	Continental O-200-D	100	28.1
2	Low	LSA / certified variant	Rotax 912	100	~26
2	High	LSA	Rotax 912	100	~26
2	Low	LSA	Rotax 912 ULS	100	~30
2	Low	LSA / Experimental	Rotax 912 ULS/iS	100	20
2	Low	Experimental	Lycoming variants	150–180	~38
2	Low	Experimental	Lycoming variants	160–200	~42
2	Low	Experimental	Lycoming variants	118–160	~36
4	Low	Experimental	Lycoming IO-540	260	~60
2	High	LSA	Rotax 912	100	~34
2	High	LSA / certified variants	Rotax 912iS	100	~30
2	High	LSA	Rotax 912	80–100	~24
2	Low	LSA	Rotax 912	100	~26
2	High	LSA	Rotax 912	100	~29
4	High	Certified	Lycoming/Continental	180–215	~63
2	Low	Certified	Continental IO-240	125	24
4	Low	Certified	Lycoming/Austro	168–180	~41–50
4/5	Low	Certified	Continental IO-360	200–215	~56
4/5	Low	Certified	Continental IO-550	310	~81–92
2	Low	Experimental / LSA	Rotax 912	100	~39
4	Low	Experimental	Rotax 915 iS	141	~45
4	High	Experimental	Rotax 915/916	141–160	~50
2	High	Experimental	Rotax / variants	80–100	~20
2	High	Experimental	Rotax / Continental / variants	80–130	~24
2	Low	Experimental	Rotax / Corvair / variants	100–130	~24
2	High	Experimental	Rotax/Titan variants	100–180	~30
2	High	Experimental / LSA	Rotax 912	100	~26
2	Low	LSA / Experimental	Rotax 912	100	~32
2	Low	Certified variants	Rotax 912S3	100	~32
2	High	LSA / Experimental	Jabiru 3300	120	~35
2	Low	Experimental	AeroVee/Jabiru variants	80–120	~16
2	Low	Certified	Lycoming O-235	108–115	~22
4	Low	Certified	Lycoming O-360	180	~52
2	High	Certified	Continental A-65	65	~13
2	High	Certified	Lycoming O-320	150–160	~35
2	High	Certified	Lycoming AEIO-360	180	~40
2	High	Certified	Lycoming O-360	180	~35
4	High	Certified	Lycoming / variants	180–235	~73
4	High	Experimental	Lycoming IO-390 / variants	180–210	~50
2	High	Experimental / LSA	Rotax variants	100–160	~27
2	High	Experimental	Rotax / variants	100+	~18
2	High	LSA	Rotax 912	100	~24
2	High	LSA	Rotax 912	100	~24
2	Low	LSA	Rotax 912	100	~32
2	Low	LSA	Rotax 912	100	~32
2	High	LSA	Rotax 912	80	~13
2	High	LSA / certified variants	Rotax 912	100	~26
2	High	LSA / Experimental	Rotax 912	80	~26
2	Low	LSA	Rotax 912	100	~20
2	High	LSA	Rotax 912	100	~26

Resources: FAA approval pathways for aircraft modifications

Adaptive hand brakes, hand rudder controls, relocated switches and other alterations require an aircraft-specific review of the applicable airworthiness rules and approved or acceptable technical data. These terms describe different parts of the process, not interchangeable approvals.

Item	Who provides it?	What it does	Key limitation
STC (Supplemental Type Certificate)	FAA approves the changed type design; STC is held by its applicant/owner	Approves a modification design for aircraft covered by its eligibility/applicability	Installation still requires proper authorization, conformity, documentation and return-to-service steps; not automatically applicable to every model or serial number
STC permission / authorization letter (sometimes called an LOA)	STC holder	Authorizes another person to use the holder's STC data for an eligible installation	Does not itself constitute FAA approval or establish aircraft eligibility; “LOA” has other FAA meanings, so identify the specific document
FAA Form 337	Prepared/signed by authorized persons and filed as required; FAA may separately approve data when applicable	Records a major repair or major alteration on a particular aircraft	The form alone is not approval of the modification design; approved data and the applicable maintenance/inspection signoffs may also be required

Example: A hand-brake conversion covered by an applicable STC may require the STC holder's permission and an appropriately documented installation, potentially including Form 337. A one-off hand-control alteration without an applicable STC needs its own appropriate technical-data and approval pathway. Do not assume an installation on another aircraft establishes eligibility for yours.

Regulatory starting points: 14 CFR §21.113 (STCs), §21.120 (STC holder permission), §43.9 (maintenance record entries), §43.7 and Appendix B to Part 43 (Form 337 requirements), and §43.13 (performance rules). Classification, certification category, and individual aircraft circumstances matter; obtain advice from an appropriately qualified A&P/IA and the relevant FAA office before installation.

FAA: Supplemental Type Certificates ↗ · FAA Form 337 ↗ · 14 CFR Part 21, Subpart E ↗ · 14 CFR Part 43 ↗

Performance comparison: how to read the numbers

Phase 1 adds sourced reference configurations for 11 priority aircraft families. Speeds are explicitly labeled KTAS, KIAS or KCAS; these are not interchangeable. Takeoff and landing distances distinguish ground roll from total distance over a 50-foot obstacle wherever published. Range figures use different reserves, power settings and fuel options: open an aircraft profile for assumptions and source links. Useful load varies with installed equipment and individual weight-and-balance records. Unverified cells remain marked as such. These figures are not a flight-planning substitute for the applicable aircraft POH/AFM.

About the project

The Adaptive General Aviation Aircraft Guide is an independent, freely accessible research resource for pilots, instructors and others exploring general aviation aircraft and adaptive flight controls. Founded and edited by Mani Kavuru, M.D., a private pilot with firsthand experience navigating physical limitations in aviation, the project organizes aircraft specifications, cockpit accessibility considerations, control configurations and links to primary sources.

The guide distinguishes documented factory equipment, aircraft-specific adaptations and unresolved questions. It is a developing research reference, not an FAA approval, flight-training recommendation, medical assessment or determination that any aircraft is suitable for an individual pilot. Contributors and manufacturers will be credited for material they provide, and photographs are linked rather than reproduced unless reuse rights are established.

Evidence and photo policy

Aircraft model-level information is not a substitute for the POH/AFM, equipment list, FAA airworthiness records, or physical inspection. Cockpit and exterior photographs will be added only when the aircraft variant and image reuse rights are verified. Pricing, headquarters, exact fuel capacity, parking brake, and accessibility dimensions remain research tasks. Performance values apply to the named reference variant and may not match earlier models or modified airframes.

Master CSV is included in the full research package.