| Starduster | |
|---|---|
| Stolp-Adams Starduster, amateur-built in 1966, at Long Beach Airport, California, in 1971 | |
| Role | Single seat sport aircraft |
| National origin | USA |
| Manufacturer | Stolp Aircraft, Corona |
| Designer | Louis A Stolp and George M Adams |
| First flight | November 1957 |
| Variants | Stolp Starduster Too |
The Stolp-Adams SA-100 Starduster is a U.S. single seat sport biplane designed to be built from plans. Though the first flight was in 1957, Stardusters continue to be built and flown.
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The SA-100 Starduster was designed by Louis A Stolp and George M Adams as a light sports aircraft for homebuilding from plans. It is a single bay biplane with fabric covered, wooden framed staggered wings, each pair braced by a single, wide chord interplane strut aided by flying wires. A total of eight centre section struts join the upper wing to the fuselage, basically two pairs in N-form but with the forward strut doubled. The lower wing is unswept and has 1.5° of dihedral; the upper wing has 6° of sweep on its leading edge, no dihedral and a greater span. There are ailerons on the lower wings only, but no flaps.[1]
The fuselage and tail unit have a fabric covered steel tube structure, with the open cockpit positioned just behind the swept upper wing trailing edge which has a rounded cut-out for upward visibility. There is a long and prominent faired headrest behind the cockpit, on top of the curved upper fuselage surface. The Starduster has a conventional tail unit, with a wire braced tailplane and straight tapered, round topped fin and rudder, the latter extending to the keel between split elevators. Both rudder and elevators are horn balanced.[1]
The Starduster is usually powered by a four cylinder, horizontally opposed, 125 hp (93 kw) Lycoming O-290-D-1,[1] though more powerful engines of up to 200 hp (150 kW) have been fitted.[2] It has a conventional tailwheel undercarriage. The mainwheels are mounted on V-struts hinged from the lower fuselage longeron, with rubber shock absorbers on diagonal extension struts between wheel and a short, central, under fuselage V-form mounting bracket. The main legs are often partially or completely faired and the wheels enclosed in spats.[1]
Starduster plans remain available more than 50 years after the first flight and homebuilding building continues.[3] A Starduster register[4] currently shows 27 SA-100 Stardusters and 3 SA-101 Super Stardusters built and building. The FAA register shows 64 SA-100s and 1 SA-101, though not all are assigned and some further Stardusters appear without a type number.[5]
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1966/7, p.331,[1] Aerofiles[7]
General characteristics
Performance
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