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#2011

IAI Arava

🇮🇱 Israel ·first flew 1969· light stol transport aircraft

📦 cargo 2× turboprop retired
8 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. Honduras Air Force Arava OJEV: Oscar Josué Elvir Vasquez· GFDL 1.2
  2. 2. IAI Arava RTAF: Z3144228· CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 3. ARAVA FAM: Zahpo75· Public domain
  4. 4. IAI Arava en la pista de aterrizaje de Jardín América, Provincia de Misiones, Argentina: Horacio Cambeiro· CC BY-SA 4.0
  5. 5. IAI Arava TAM-???, La Paz, Bolivia Sep94 (50637250742): Peter Garwood· CC BY 4.0
  6. 6. IAI Arava Venezuelan Army (7459433652): Aeroprints.com· CC BY-SA 3.0
  7. 7. The Air Force youth Gadna students, boarding an Israeli made Arava military passengers aircraft on their way to Germany as part of an exchange of youth groups between the two countries (FL61561468): IPPA photographer· CC BY 4.0
  8. 8. Tripulación de la Dirección General de Aeronáutica de Misiones (Di.G.A.M) para la Línea Aérea Misionera (L.A.M.) junto a uno de los dos IAI Arava traídos en vuelo desde Israel: Horacio Cambeiro· CC BY-SA 4.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
IAI Arava, photo 1 of 8
1/8 Oscar Josué Elvir Vasquez· GFDL 1.2

what is it?

The Israeli Aircraft Industries Arava (Hebrew: עֲרָבָה, "Willow" or "Steppe" or "Desert", named after the Aravah of the Jordan Rift Valley) is a light STOL utility transport aircraft developed and produced by Israeli aerospace company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is IAI's first originally developed aircraft design to enter production. The Arava had been developed during the 1960s, during which time it was intended to be adopted in large numbers by international customers in both the military and civil markets.

How to recognise it: 2 turboprops · shoulder wing · fixed tricycle gear · 21 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 326 km/htop speed
  • range 1,056 kmwithout refuelling
  • seats 24passengers
  • size 6,804 kgmax take-off weight
  • built 103made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 57 years ago, in 1969.
  • Top speed is 2.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 21 m: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Range of 1,056 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight
1969-11-27
introduced
1972
status
retired
number built
103
role
light stol transport aircraft
origin
🇮🇱 Israel
makers
Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd
engines
2× Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34
crew
2
passengers
24
length
13 m
wingspan
21 m
height
5.2 m
max take-off weight
6,804 kg
top speed
326 km/h
cruise speed
311 km/h
range
1,056 km
ceiling
7,620 m
wings
shoulder wing
landing gear
fixed tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q373807, Wikipedia: IAI Arava (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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