The Saab 91 Safir (Swedish for sapphire) is a three (91A, B, B-2) or four (91C, D) seater, single engine trainer aircraft. The Safir was built by Saab AB in Linköping, Sweden (203 aircraft) and by De Schelde in Dordrecht, Netherlands (120 aircraft).
Development of the Safir began in 1944 as part of a plan to compensate for reductions in orders for military aircraft when the Second World War finally ended. Three major civil programmes were planned, the Type 90 Scandia airliner, the Type 91 Safir light aircraft and the Saab 92 motor car. The Safir was designed by Anders J. Andersson, who had previously worked for Bücker, where he had designed the all-wood Bücker Bü 181 “Bestmann”. The Safir thus shared many conceptual design features with the Bestmann. It was primarily of metal construction, although it did have fabric-covered control surfaces. Development was slowed by the need to concentrate on more urgent military work, and by industrial action in suppliers. The Safir’s first flight took place on 20 November 1945.
Saab 91D Safir PH-RLS was delivered to the Dutch State Flying School (Rijksluchtvaartschool or RLS) in 1962. It was issued with a Certificate of Registration on 08-03-1962. At that time it was registered PH-RLY with serial number 91.436.
The aircraft served as a secondary trainer between 1962 and 1973. On 27-09-1973 the markings were removed from the Dutch Register with the aircraft being exported to the United Kingdom as G-BCFV. It was painted in the colours of the Swedish Air Force as Fv50000/09.
The British buyer sold the Safir in 1976 to Westcountry Aircraft Sales. They sold it to a private buyer in 1978 and he sold it to yet another private individual in 1979. It was flown until 1983 when it was sold to the USA where it was registered as N91SB.
Remarkably it was registered as an experimental aircraft in the USA. The reasons for this are not known, most likely the Saab 91D did not hold an FAA type certificate. The American owner had the aircraft until 2018 when it was exported to Belgium. In the mean time the US owner repainted the Safir in its original RLS colours.
Specifications:
| Type: | SAAB 91D Safir |
| Aircraft Registration: | PH-RLS |
| Manufacturer Serial Number: | 91.436 |
| Maximum Take-Off Mass: | 1205 kg |
| Year of Manufacturing: | 1962 |
| Total Time on Airframe: | 3616 |
| Engines: | 1x Avco Lycoming O-360-A1A |
| Engine Power: | 180 hp |
| Total Time on Engines: | 237 |
| Propellers: | McCauley 2D36C14 Constant speed, 2-bladed |
| Total Time on Propellers: | 84 |
| Avionics: | Garmin GPS Map 296 |
| Interior: | Black leather seats and refurbished belts in excellent condition (9/10) |
| Exterior: | Rijksluchtvaartschool Holland (the original user back in 1962) livery in excellent condition (9/10) |
| Options: | Fire extinguisher |
| Price: | € 60.000 (VAT Free) |