Stits DS-1
| DS-1 "Baby Bird" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Baby Bird | |
| Role | Homebuilt aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Designer | Don Stits |
| First flight | 1984 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Unit cost |
$5,000 in 1984 |
The Stits DS-1 Baby Bird is a homebuilt aircraft built to achieve a "world's smallest" status. The Baby Bird is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “Smallest Airplane in the World.” as of 1984. The title was later defined as "world's smallest monoplane" to acknowledge The Robert Star Bumble Bee as the world's smallest biplane.[1]
Development
The DS-1 is a single-engine, single-seat highwing aircraft. Development started in 1980 to beat Ray Stits' record for World's smallest aircraft, the Stits SA-2A Sky Baby. The fuselage is welded steel tubing with fabric covering. The wing is all-wood construction.[2]
Operational history
Thirty-four flights took place in 1984 with United States Navy pilot Harold Nemer at the controls.[3]
Specifications (DS-1)
Data from EAA
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 11 ft (3.4 m)
- Wingspan: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
- Height: 5 ft (1.5 m)
- Empty weight: 252 lb (114 kg)
- Gross weight: 425 lb (193 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Hirth 2 Cylinder, 55 hp (41 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed
Performance
- Maximum speed: 96 kn; 177 km/h (110 mph)
- Stall speed: 61 kn; 113 km/h (70 mph)
See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stits DS-1 Baby Bird. |
- ↑ "Stits SA-2A". Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ↑ "Stits DS-1". Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ↑ "The Baby Bird Flies". The Montreal Gazette. 13 September 1986.