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Beechcraft Skipper

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Model 77 Skipper
General information
TypeLight utility aircraft
ManufacturerBeech 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]

Design and development

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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

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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

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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

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)
  • Wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
  • Height: 7 ft 11 in (2.41 m)
  • Wing area: 129.8 sq ft (12.1 m2)
  • Airfoil: GA(W)-1
  • Empty weight: 1,100 lb (499 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 1,675 lb (760 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-235-L2C flat-4 engine, 115 hp (86 kW)

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 105 kn (121 mph, 195 km/h)
  • Stall speed: 47 kn (54 mph, 87 km/h) (flaps down)
  • Range: 412 nmi (475 mi, 764 km) at 8,500 ft (2,600 m) (econ cruise)
  • Service ceiling: 12,900 ft (3,930 m)
  • Rate of climb: 720 ft/min (3.65 m/s)

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

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Notes
  1. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c d e f g h Green, William: Observers Aircraft, pages 40-41. Frederick Warne Publishing, 1981. ISBN 0-7232-1618-5
  3. ^ a b c d Phillips, Edward H., Beechcraft - Staggerwing to Starship. Flying Books, 1987. ISBN 0-911139-06-0.
  4. ^ Air Enthusiast December 1975, p. 312.
  5. ^ a b 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
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