VARGA 2150/2180 "KACHINA"

1977’1982

Plane & Pilot

Tuesday, November 30, 1999 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: Omar Filipović

Key Takeaways:

The Kachina is a tandem two-seater sport plane originally conceived by William Morrisey after WWII to appeal to returning military pilots.
Its development and marketing involved Clifford Shinn and later George Varga, who renamed and marketed it as the Kachina.
The aircraft features a chrome moly tubing fuselage with removable metal panels for easy inspection and an accessible cockpit canopy.
The Kachina's main appeal is its reasonable cost and the fun of flying, with a more powerful 180-hp variant offered in its later production years.

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Veteran Douglas test pilot William Morrisey guessed that the thousands of returning World War II pilots would be eager to climb into a tandem sport plane that had all the charisma of a military trainer. After battling the FAA’s red tape for some years, Morrisey sold out to Clifford Shinn, who built some 35 planes before quitting. The tandem two-seater was renamed Kachina and marketed by George Varga. The fuselage is built of chrome moly tubing with removable metal side and bottom panels for quick inspection. The left side of the greenhouse canopy swings open for entrance to the cockpit. The Kachina’s big appeal is not only reasonable cost but sheer fun of flying.

In its last three years of production, Varga offered the more powerful 180-hp variant.