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Encyclopedia > Beechcraft Skipper
Beechcraft Model 77 Skipper
Type Light utility aircraft
Manufacturer Beech Aircraft Corporation
Maiden flight 1975
Produced 1979-1981
Number built 312

The Beechcraft Model 77 Skipper is a two-seat, fixed tricycle gear general aviation airplane, originally designed for flight training, and later used as well for touring and personal flying. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... The Beech Aircraft Corporation, purchased by Raytheon Aircraft on February 8, 1980, and often called Beechcraft after the name they give their aircraft, is a manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... A Cessna 152 with a tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear describes a kind of aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. ... General aviation (abbr. ... An Air France Boeing 777, a modern passenger jet. ... Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. ...


The Skipper, first manufactured in 1979, was Beechcraft's attempt to enter the two-place trainer market with an aircraft capable of competing with the popular Cessna 150/152 line of trainer aircraft. Design work on the Skipper was begun in 1973, with the first flight in 1975. Though the aircraft first flew with a standard tail configuration, by the time it entered production, a T-tail configuration had been adopted. The Beech Aircraft Corporation, purchased by Raytheon Aircraft on February 8, 1980, and often called Beechcraft after the name they give their aircraft, is a manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. ... Cessna 150s produced before 1964, such as this 1962 Cessna 150B, had square fins and no rear window A 1965 Cessna 150E. The 1964 model 150D and the 150E had an Omni-Vision rear window, but retained the square fin of the earlier 150 1965 Cessna 150E 1967 Cessna F150G... 1985 Cessna 152 Cessna 152 panel The Cessna 152 is a two-seat, fixed tricycle gear general aviation airplane, primarily used for flight training. ... In aircraft a T-tail is an arrangement of the tail control surfaces with the horizontal surfaces (tailplane and elevators) mounted to the top of the fin, rather than the more common location on the fuselage at the base of the fin. ...


Design similarities between the Skipper and the Piper Tomahawk led to speculation about whether industrial espionage was responsible for the significant parallels. (Both were low wing, used a bubble cabin design, and had a T-tail configuration.) There was never proven to be any substance to the suspicions. The PA-38 Tomahawk was Pipers attempt at creating an affordable two-place trainer. ... Industrial espionage and corporate espionage are phrases used to describe espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of national security purposes. ...

Contents

Development

Like the Cessna and Piper trainers which were its primary competition, the Skipper utilizes the Lycoming O-235 engine and features side-by-side seating. A number of the design features of the Skipper respond to perceived shortcomings of other trainer aircraft. The cabin of the Skipper is 42.75 in (1.09 m) wide, compared to the 39.75 in (1.01 m) of the Cessna 152. The bubble design of the cabin and the large windows, combined with the low wing, give good visibility. Cessna Aircraft Company, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, from small two-seat, single-engine aircraft to business jets. ... The New Piper Aircraft, Inc. ... A Lycomiing O-235-C2C engine mounted in an American Aviation AA-1 Yankee light aircraft The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally-opposed aircraft engines that produce between 100 and 135 hp. ...


The Skipper wing utilizes a GA(W)-1 airfoil, especially engineered for general aviation applications, based on 1970s NASA research. While it is an all-metal design, the Skipper incorporates a number of innovative construction techniques, including honeycomb bonding, tubular spars, and a hot-bonded wing structure. Various components of the airfoil. ... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States Government, responsible for that nations public space program. ...


The Skipper employed both a throttle quadrant and an instrument panel layout similar in design to the Sundowner, Sierra, and Duchess, with the intention of easing students' transitions to the more advanced trainers. Among its line of light aircraft, Beech only used the T-tail on the Skipper and on the four-place, twin-engine Duchess trainer. Beechcraft A23 Musketeer Beechcraft B19 Musketeer Beechcraft B24 Sierra Beechcraft B24 Sierra main landing gear showing the characteristic trailing idler link landing gear Beechcraft CT 134A Musketeers - the Canadian military version of the Model 23. ... Beechcraft A23 Musketeer Beechcraft B19 Musketeer Beechcraft B24 Sierra Beechcraft B24 Sierra main landing gear showing the characteristic trailing idler link landing gear Beechcraft CT 134A Musketeers - the Canadian military version of the Model 23. ... The Beechcraft 76 Duchess was a twin-engine development of the Beechcraft Musketeer, and was designed as an economical twin-engine trainer to compete with the successful Piper Seminole. ...


Operational history

The Skipper had the misfortune of being introduced at the beginning of a severe downturn in general aviation aircraft production in the United States. It was produced only through 1981, with a total of 312 being built.


Most of the production run was initially delivered to Beech Aero Centers, where they were used as primary trainers. A handful of Skippers are still in use as trainers. Many others are in the hands of private owners who use them as touring aircraft.


Specifications (1979 Skipper)

Beechcraft 77 Skipper in flight
Beechcraft 77 Skipper in flight

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 1 passenger
  • Length: 24 ft (7.3 m)
  • Wingspan: 30 ft (9.1 m)
  • Height: 6 ft 11.1 in (1.81 m)
  • Wing area: 129.8 ft² (12.1 m²)
  • Airfoil: GA(W)-1
  • Empty weight: 1,100 lb (500 kg)
  • Useful load: 580 lb (260 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 1,675 lb (760 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1× Lycoming O-235-L2C flat-4 engine, 115 hp (86 kW)

Performance

Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... Various components of the airfoil. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... A Lycomiing O-235-C2C engine mounted in an American Aviation AA-1 Yankee light aircraft The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally-opposed aircraft engines that produce between 100 and 135 hp. ... A flat-4 is a four cylinder internal combustion engine where the cylinders are arranged in a flat configuration, also referred to as horizontally opposed. ... An aircrafts Vne is the velocity that should never be exceeded. ... Airspeed Indicator in a light aircraft The VC of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of cruising. ... Stall speed is an aerodynamic term. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing as limited by its fuel capacity. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... Power-to-weight ratio is a measure commonly used when comparing various vehicles (or engines), including automobiles, motorcycles and aircraft. ...

External link

Aircraft type clubs exist to provide information and support to a single aircraft type or a group of aircraft types from the same manufacturer or family of aircraft. ...

Related content

 

Comparable aircraft

Designation sequence

Related lists

  • List of utility aircraft

 


  Results from FactBites:
 
Beechcraft Skipper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (499 words)
The Beechcraft Model 77 Skipper is a two-seat, fixed tricycle gear general aviation airplane, originally designed for flight training, and later used as well for touring and personal flying.
The Skipper, first manufactured in 1979, was Beechcraft's attempt to enter the two-place trainer market with an aircraft capable of competing with the popular Cessna 150/152 line of trainer aircraft.
The Skipper employed both a throttle quadrant and an instrument panel layout similar in design to the Sundowner, Sierra, and Duchess, with the intention of easing students' transitions to the more advanced trainers.
Beechcraft Skipper - Flightopedia (434 words)
The Beechcraft Skipper 77 is a two-seat, fixed tricycle gear general aviation airplane, originally designed for flight training.
The Skipper, first manufactured in 1979, was Beech Aircraft Corporation’s attempt to enter the two-place trainer market with an aircraft capable of competing with the popular Cessna 150/152 line of trainer aircraft.
Design work on the Skipper was begun in 1973, with the first flight in 1975.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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