Beechcraft Skipper

Short description: Two seat fixed gear general aviation aircraft

Model 77 Skipper

General information
Manufacturer| Beech Aircraft Corporation
Number built| 312
History
Manufactured| 1979-1983
Introduction date| 1979
First flight| September 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

* 1 Design and development
* 2 Operational history
* 3 Specifications
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## 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

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

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 four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed, piston aero 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

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

* Cessna 150
* Cessna 152
* Grumman American AA-1
* Liberty XL2
* Piper PA-38 Tomahawk
* Symphony SA-160
* Whitney Boomerang

## References

Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 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. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Green, William: Observers Aircraft, pages 40-41. Frederick Warne Publishing, 1981. ISBN 0-7232-1618-5
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Phillips, Edward H., Beechcraft - Staggerwing to Starship. Flying Books, 1987. ISBN 0-911139-06-0.
4. ↑ Air Enthusiast December 1975, p. 312.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Phillips, Edward (8 June 2018). "The "Baby Beechcraft" - Part Two". KingAir Magazine. http://www.kingairmagazine.com/article/2465/. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
6. ↑ "Beech Plans to Close Plant at Liberal, Kan.". Aviation Week & Space Technology: 27. 18 February 1985.
7. ↑ Taylor 1980, p. 265.

Bibliography

* "Airdata File: Beechcraft PD 285". Air Enthusiast, December 1975, Vol 9 No 6. p. 312.
* Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1980–81. London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1980. ISBN 0-7106-0705-9.
* Federal Aviation Administration, Rev 8.pdf Type certificate data sheet no. A30CE, Revision 8 , (November 27, 2017)

## External links

* Beechcraft website

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