PlaneFox tracks 1 Spartan 7W Executive aircraft for sale and re-reads every one of them from the broker and dealer sites it watches, so the figures below move when the market moves. Every number on this page is measured from those live listings, not taken from a published price guide.
A Spartan 7W Executive flies about 870 nm, roughly 1,611 km, which is about 4 h 41 min in still air at typical cruise.
A Spartan 7W Executive costs about EUR 3,842 a month to run, or about EUR 419 for every flight hour when it is flown 150 hours a year.
The Spartan 7W Executive is a prewar American cabin monoplane built by Spartan Aircraft Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It first flew in 1936 and production ran in small numbers through about 1940, with only a few dozen completed. The aircraft was conceived as a fast, refined business transport for private owners and corporate operators, not as a trainer or utility type. Its importance comes from its advanced specification for the period: all metal construction, retractable landing gear, a streamlined low wing layout and an enclosed executive cabin at a time when many comparable aircraft were still slower, fixed gear designs.
Performance varies by restoration standard, engine condition and operating technique, but the Spartan 7W Executive is generally associated with cruise speeds around 180 to 200 knots. Published historical data commonly place range at roughly 850 to 1,000 nautical miles, depending on fuel, payload and power setting. The aircraft has a useful load in the region of 1,700 lb, based on typical empty and gross weight figures, and a published service ceiling of about 24,000 feet. Power is supplied by the Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior, a 450 hp nine cylinder radial engine, a major factor in both the aircraft’s performance and its continuing maintainability among vintage radial operators.
The cabin is typically arranged for one pilot and up to four passengers, with a period executive interior that emphasizes width, visibility and comfort rather than modern pressurization or stand up space. Buyers should expect significant variation among surviving examples, as many have been restored individually. Original Spartan 7W Executive aircraft did not have integrated glass cockpits such as Garmin Perspective or G1000. Modern examples may carry discreet avionics upgrades, commonly including Garmin navigation or communication radios, transponder, ADS-B equipment, audio panel, engine monitoring and sometimes IFR approved GPS, while retaining a largely vintage panel appearance.
The Spartan 7W Executive sits in the used market as a rare, collectible vintage executive aircraft rather than a conventional transportation purchase. Condition, provenance and restoration quality dominate value. Important review items include complete logbooks, corrosion history, gear system condition, fuel system integrity, control surface fabric, engine and propeller times, parts support, field approvals and the quality of any avionics or electrical modifications. Common upgrades include modern radios, ADS-B compliance, improved lighting, overhauled brakes, updated interiors and engine instrumentation. Originality can add value, but operational buyers may place equal weight on reliability and documentation.