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Stits-Besler Executive

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Stits-Besler Executive
Role Homebuilt aircraft
National origin United States of America
Designer Ray Stits
Introduction 1955
Number built 1
Developed from Stits Playboy

The Stits-Besler Executive is a three place homebuilt aircraft designed by Ray Stits, as the Stits SA-4A Executive.[1]

Development

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The project was initiated when William Besler of Besler Corp. contracted Ray Stits to design a three-place homebuilt aircraft with folding wings.[2] Besler was an early aviation experimenter, who had mounted a steam engine of his own design on a Travel Air 2000 in 1933.

Design

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The wings on the Executive fold aft and upward. Fuel tanks are embedded in the non-folding wing roots. The fuselage is welded steel tube with fabric covering. The ailerons are mounted in the center of the wing rather than the tips.

Operational history

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The sole Executive, (registration no. N36K), has been used as a test bed for Besler-designed engines; a 150 hp (112 kW) steam engine and a two cycle, four cylinder Vee rated at 100 hp (75 kW).[3]

Specifications (Stits-Besler Executive)

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Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1955–56[4]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1 pilot
  • Capacity: 2 passengers
  • Length: 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
  • Wingspan: 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
  • Width: 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) (with wings folded)
  • Height: 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) (wings folded)
  • Wing area: 120 sq ft (11 m2)
  • Empty weight: 800 lb (363 kg)
  • Gross weight: 1,450 lb (658 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 24 US gal (20 imp gal; 91 L)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-320 air-cooled flat-four, 150 hp (110 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 143 kn (165 mph, 266 km/h)
  • Cruise speed: 130 kn (150 mph, 240 km/h)
  • Stall speed: 43 kn (50 mph, 80 km/h)
  • Rate of climb: 2,500 ft/min (13 m/s)

See also

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Related development

Notes

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  1. ^ "American airplanes: st - sz". Aerofiles.com. 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
  2. ^ "Stits-Besler Executive". Experimenter. March 1955.
  3. ^ Leo J. Kuhn (April 1955). "Our Friend Ray Stits". Experimenter: 6.
  4. ^ Bridgman 1955, p. 316

References

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  • Bridgman, Leonard (1955). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1955–56. New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.
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