Beechcraft Skipper

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Model 77 Skipper
Beechcraft77Skipper01A.jpg
General information
TypeLight utility aircraft
Manufacturer Beech Aircraft Corporation
Number built312
History
Manufactured1979-1983
Introduction date1979
First flightSeptember 12, 1978

The Beechcraft Model 77 Skipper is a two-seat, fixed tricycle gear general aviation airplane, originally designed for flight training but also used for touring and personal flying. [1] [2]

Contents

Design and development

The Skipper was conceived with the design goals of creating a low cost primary trainer with an emphasis on ease of maintenance and low operating costs. [2]

Design work on the Skipper began in 1974 as the PD 285, [3] which made its maiden flight on February 6, 1975. [2] [4] The Skipper was Beechcraft's attempt to enter the two-place trainer market with an aircraft capable of competing with the popular Cessna 150 line of trainer aircraft. Though the aircraft first flew with a standard tail configuration, by the time it entered production, a T-tail configuration had been adopted, giving it an appearance very similar to its close competitor, the Piper PA-38 Tomahawk introduced in 1978. [1] [2]

Like the Cessna and Piper trainers which were its primary competition, the Skipper utilizes the Lycoming O-235 engine and features side-by-side configuration seating. [2] Production was handled at the Liberal (Kansas) Division, where the Beechcraft Duchess and Musketeer were produced. [5]

The Skipper wing utilizes a GA(W)-1 airfoil, [3] specifically developed for low-speed aviation applications, based on 1970s NASA research. [2] The aircraft was certified for intentional spins. [3] While it is an all-metal design, the Skipper incorporated a number of innovative construction techniques, including tubular spars and aluminum honeycomb construction with metal-to-metal bonding, a technique inherited from the Musketeer family. [5] The flaps and ailerons are actuated by torque tubes, rather than cables. [2] The landing gear is mounted to the fuselage/wing junction, but has a 5.17 ft (2 m) wide wheelbase, giving it a "spraddle-legged" appearance on the ground. [1]

Operational history

Beechcraft Skipper VH-HBJ Beechcraft 77 Skipper Hempels Aviation (9173247274).jpg
Beechcraft Skipper

The Skipper had the misfortune of being introduced at the beginning of a severe downturn in general aviation aircraft production in the United States. During its first year 1979, 47 were built, 140 in 1980, and 125 in 1981. [3] Production stopped in 1983. [6] A total of 312 aircraft were built.

Most of the production run was initially delivered to Beechcraft's flight school network, the Beech Aero Centers, where they were used as primary trainers. [1] A handful of Skippers are still in use as trainers. Others are in the hands of private owners who use them as touring aircraft.

Specifications

Beechcraft 77 Skipper Skipper WA-39.jpg
Beechcraft 77 Skipper

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1980–81 [7] and Observer's Book of Aircraft 1981 [2]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

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References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 Montgomery, M.R. and Gerald Foster: A Field Guide to Airplanes, Second Edition, page 26. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. ISBN   0-395-62888-1
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Green, William: Observers Aircraft, pages 40-41. Frederick Warne Publishing, 1981. ISBN   0-7232-1618-5
  3. 1 2 3 4 Phillips, Edward H., Beechcraft - Staggerwing to Starship. Flying Books, 1987. ISBN   0-911139-06-0.
  4. Air Enthusiast December 1975, p. 312.
  5. 1 2 Phillips, Edward (June 8, 2018). "The "Baby Beechcraft" - Part Two". KingAir Magazine. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  6. "Beech Plans to Close Plant at Liberal, Kan". Aviation Week & Space Technology: 27. February 18, 1985.
  7. Taylor 1980, p. 265.
Bibliography