Salvay-Stark Skyhopper
| Salvay-Stark Skyhopper | |
|---|---|
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| |
| Role | Homebuilt sport aircraft |
| National origin | United States of America |
| Manufacturer | Salvay-Stark Aircraft Company, Skyhopper Airplanes Inc.[1] |
| Designer | Gene Salvay and George A. Stark |
| First flight | March 1945 |
The Salvay-Stark Skyhopper I is a low-wing single-place homebuilt aircraft designed in 1944.[2][3]
Development[edit]
The Skyhopper design was started in 1944 by two North American Aviation engineers from Kansas City. They had previously partnered on the Commonwealth Skyranger and worked on the B-25 program. It was engineered to the then current Civil Aeronautics Administration CAR-04 standards criteria of the time. As a light aircraft under construction during wartime, permission needed to be granted for tools and materials by the CAA.
Design[edit]
The single-seat low-wing aircraft was intended to be open cockpit, but was redesigned to have a full canopy. The fuselage is welded steel tubing. The wings use spruce wood spars and ribs with fabric covering. The controls are actuated with push/pull tubes. The stabilizers are covered with mahogany plywood.[4] The Skyhopper I is the plans built version of the prototype introduced in 1958.
Operational history[edit]
The prototype was test flown from Fairfax Airport in Kansas City in March 1945. In 1946, The effort to produce the aircraft as a production certified aircraft under the company name Aviation Boosters Inc.[5] was dropped, but Gene Salvay retained the rights to the aircraft where it could be built as a homebuilt aircraft.[6]
Variants[edit]
- Skyhopper I - original version of the skyhopper. Continental 50 hp engine.
- Skyhopper II - designed in 1962 to sit two passengers side by side via a 14 in (36 cm) widening of the Skyhopper 10 fuselage design. It was built by Ralph Thenhaus of Van Nuys, California.[7]
- A two-seat tandem modification of the Skyhopper was built using a Continental O-200 engine.[8]
- Trefethen Sport-Aire II - A wider fuselage tricycle gear version based on Stark's Super Skyhopper jigs. Built by Stark, Art Thistle and Al Trefethen. Other changes made were a swept tail, a tapered wing, and a Lycoming O-295 engine.[9][10]
Specifications (Salvay-Stark Skyhopper I)[edit]
Data from experimenter
General characteristics
- Length: 18 ft 7 in (5.66 m)
- Wingspan: 25 ft (7.6 m)
- Wing area: 100 sq ft (9.3 m2)
- Airfoil: 23015 (root) 23012 (tip)
- Empty weight: 650 lb (295 kg)
- Gross weight: 950 lb (431 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 1,170 lb (531 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 15 US gallons (57 litres)
- Powerplant: 1 × Continental A-65[11] , 65 hp (48 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 110 kn (130 mph, 210 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 100 kn (120 mph, 190 km/h)
- Stall speed: 36 kn (42 mph, 68 km/h)
- Range: 350 nmi (400 mi, 640 km)
References[edit]
- ^ John W. Underwood, Aero Publishers, inc. World aircraft illustrated, Volume 1.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Model Airplane News. June 1959.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "American airplanes: sa - si". Aerofiles.com. 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ^ Experimenter. September 1957.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Flying Magazine: 78. August 1945.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "EAA Fly-In". Flying Magazine: 36. November 1960.
- ^ Sport Aviation. January 1992.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "N5045K, A highly modified Skyhopper". Retrieved 9 April 2011.
- ^ "The Sport-Aire Model 2". Sport Aviation. March 1960.
- ^ "Sport Aire Perfection". Sport Aviation: 120. March 2015.
- ^ Flight International. 10 July 1975.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
External links[edit]
