Compiled by'

The World's Biggest Plones Brief History

of the World's
Smollest Plqnes
There ore only five world's smollest plones built
ATRBUS 4380 ,l948.
since Young Roy Stits built two midgei
plones: Stits Junior of wing spon B ft I O inch in
I 948 qnd 4 yeors loter he built the bi-plone the
Sky Boby, 7 ft 2 inch to beot his own record.
Both plones were test piloted by Bob Stqrr, his
close friend. The Pilot's weight hod to be 160 Lb.
H 7 Hercules 2 "Spruce Goose

ln l9B0 Bob Storr broke off from Roy Stits qnd

To this dqte, the world's biggest possenger plone is the AIRBUS 4380. built his own world's smollest plone, the Bumble
Everyone knows obout it, Bee (6ft 6inch) ond flew it himself to clinch the
Likewise, the world's biggest corgo plone is the Russion title. Thus long time friends becqme rivols
AN 225 MRIYA ond the Americon H-4 Hercules 2 "Spruce Goose" in the
l93Os. Some know obout them. ln l9B7 Roy's son Don Stits built the Boby Bird
(6ft 3inch), thus beot Bob's record. Thot moiden
When mentioned the world's smollest plone - very very few oviotors con , flight is in the Guinness Book of Records.
nome it or know obout it. ln foct, there ore five of them beoting eoch other to
cloim the World's Smollest Plqne since 1948, ie 60 yeors ogo in Americo. ln I 9BB Bob Stqrr constructed the Bumble Bee
"o
'"' (wing spon 5ft 6inch) with the hope of getting
Turn to next poge to find out more of eoch of them.
bock into the Records. During the flight the
oircroft croshed qnd Bob Storr wos neorly killed.
The World's Smollest Plones dote, Don Stits still holds the title in the
To this
Guinness Book of Record with his Boby Bird.
STITS JR.
These world's smollest plones ore not production
plones. Only one of eqch built wos to clinch
the title os the World's Smollest Plone wiih the
shortest wing spon.
 STITS JUNIOR 1948
The three Stits oircroft, nomely: ")uniot", "SkyBoby" ond
"Boby Bird" ore title holders of World's Smollest Plones won
,l952
respectively in 1948, ond 1987 by designer-builder
Roy Stits ond his son Don Stits of Americo.
The humble write-up of the World's Smollest Aircrqft
is to commemorote STITS AIRCRAFT 60th ANNIVERSARY
11948 - 2008) ond their greotest ochievements in the lost
60 yeors of midget oviotion history.
Pleose reqd on the humour os well os the serious
flying side of the "Pigmy" plones.
It moy be the tiniest on existence, but no little time ond
effort went into its mokeup. lts creotor, Roymond Stits,
olwoys wonted to build o midget rocing plone. When
he finolly got oround to storting one lwo yeors ogo, he
decided he would moke it the world's smqllest. For more
thqn 360 hours, Stits sweqted qnd lobored over his
brqinchild qnd now it hqs been completed...qnd it flies.
Totol investment: US$5,500.
Jr.'s wing spon is Bft. lOin. ond it hqs o length of I lft.
4in. lts cockpit is only l6 in. wide, q bit nqrrow for Stits
who weighs 185 pounds ond is 6ft. toll. Therefore most
of the test flying is done by 25 yeor-old Bob Storr who is
smoller but hos plenty of flying experience... over 40OO
hours in the post nine yeors. He's flown everything from
Culver Codet to o Joponese Zero, but he likes Jr. best.
Stits hopes to morket it some doy. He soys it should cosi
US$ I 600 moss-produced.
 Aeriol Holf-Pint by Joseph srocker
Amid ieers of hls friends, oviotion
mechonic Roy Stits designed ond built
the smollest oirplone in the world in
1948.
Roymond Stits is o young oviotion
mechqnic o nd self+oug ht oeronouticol
designer who loves lo confound the
skeptics. And he's been doing iust
thot for the post couple of yeors or
more.
When he let it be known ot Kellogg
Field in Bottle Creek, Michigon, thot
he wos going to build the world's
smqllest oirplone, the skeptics colled
it "Rqy Stits' folly." But the plone got
built. Then the wise guys soid it would
never fly. lt flew. Well, O.K. soid the
know-it-olls, but it won't fly very high.
Whereupon Roy's pilot wriggled into
the cockpit ond took the mite up to
3,300 feet.
Life hos been full of such delights ond
sotisfoctions since Roy ond his pilot,
Bob Storr, begon to corve o thin
swoth ocross the country - from oir
show to oir show - with the Lillipution
oircroft which Roy colls the "Stits Jr."
There seems to be no doubt ot oll
thot it is indeed the world's smollest
oirplone. Roy hos checked
every possible source ond found none
other even to compore with it. Just to
give you on ideo of its minuteness,
here ore some of the dimensions of
the Stits Jr.:
,l0"
Wingspreod - B' (iust o little
over the spon of o mon's outstretched
orms). Overoll length - I l' 4".
Weight - 398 pounds. Height -
4' 4" loboul os high os o mon's ribs).
lf stotistics still don't quite convey the
ideq, consider the foct thot the pilot
of the Stits Jr. con reqch out to either
side from his cockpit ond touch the
oilerons. Or he con reoch bockword
ond touch the toil surfoces. Given
extro-long orms, he might even be
oble to reqch down from the cockpit
ond touch the ground.
But the performonce of the Stits Jr.
wholly belies its holf-pint dimensions.
As Roy puts it, os though he himself
must morvel o little ot whot he hos
wrought, "lt isn't supposed to fly but
it does." And, on B5-horsepower
Continentol engine-clips off o top
speed of 17O miles per hour. lt
cruises ot 150, lqnds ond tokes off
ot 60. "Thot's whot ostounds people
the most," soys Roy. "lt stolls out ot
85 insteod of 12O. lt comes in like
o rock."
The plone tokes off in 500 feet, londs
in 800 ond hqs on 85OJeet-o-minute
rote of climb. Roy cloims o service
ceiling of 12,000 feet for his pygmy,
but the ship hos never tried for the
ceiling becouse it corries only 4 1/z
gollons of fuel - enough for no more
thon qn hour of flying time.
Although the plone is sturdily built (two
men con stond on eoch tiny wing to
demonstrote its stress), the foctors of
weight ond bolonce ore exceedingly
delicote. The pilot corries no chute. A
chute weighs 25 pounds, ond thot's
iust 25 pounds too much. When the
ship is porked in the honger, Roy
keeps o bog of rocks in the cockpit.
This is becouse she hos o tendency
to be nose-heovy on the ground ond
someone leoning thoughtlessly on the
prop could couse her to kneel over
ond kiss the cement.
The elfin wings hove no tips. They're
chopped off squore. With wing tips,
soys Roy, "there would be extro drog
ond no extro lift, ond with this thing
you need oll the lift you con get." To
provide more lift, Roy ottoched tip
plotes to the wing-ends. They prevent
the flow of oir off the wing-ends ond
the effect hos been to cut londing
Bononza pilot: "Egod, mon, but
those radio<ontrolled models sure do
look reolistic! Looko thot figure in the
cockpit, looks olmost reol."
speed by 5 mph.
The rodio is on AirboyJr., for receiving
only. lt's holf the size of o cigor box
ond is clomped neor the floorboord,
between the rudder pedols. The
instrument ponel is simplicity itself
- nothing more thon o temperoture
gouge, oirspeed indicotor, oil
pressure, oltimeter ond tochometer.
Why wos the midget built in the first
ploce? No porticulor reoson, except
thot Roy Stits, besides being the kind
of guy who loves to confound the
skeptics, is olso the kind of guy who
loves to toke o dore.
"Everybody wos cloiming to hove
built the world's smollest oirplone,"
he soys. "So I decided l'd reolly built
the smollest. I decided l'd show them
how smoll o plone could be ond
srill fly."
ln 1948, while he wos working ot
Kellogg Field, Roy storted building
the Stits Jr. in his spore time. He used
old cost-off fuseloge moteriol. For
the londing geor, he got two BT-13
toilwheels, l0 inches in diometer.
He converted o bicycle broke into o
toil brqke, controlled from o level on
the stick.
The prop wos o problem. lt hod to
be iust so. Roy osked the Hortzell
Propeller Co. of Piquo, Ohio, to
design one speciolly for the Stits Jr.
The Hortzell people weren't quite
sure whqt it wqs oll obout, but they
filled the bill. The prop - ground
odiustoble for pitch - is only 60
inches in diometer.
It took l4
months to design ond built
the Stits Jr. ond it costs Roy $5,500,
counting his lobor. When it wos
finished, his trouble still hod only
begun. Now come the iob of getting
it into the oir, which involved - first
of oll -, the iob of finding someone to
fly it. Roy wos o licensed pilot but too
heovy (180) for the Stits Jr. He tried
to toke off ond couldn't even get the
toil wheel up.
Bononzo pilot: "Egod, mon, but
those rodio-controlled models sure do
look reolistic! Looko thot figure in the
cockpit, looks olmost reol."
He finolly found o pilot. The pilot took
the Stits Jr. off the ground five times
- ond crocked up three. He wolked
owoy from eoch crock-up, but Roy
hod to rebuild the ship. "l'll give him
credit for hoving the guts to try it,
though," soys Roy.
Then he heord obout Bob Storr. Bob
wos o young crop duster ot Lonsing
- o P-5.l veteron of the Chino-Burmo-
lndio Theoter, He'd ioined the
Coterpillor Club over the Chino coqst
when he ron into Joponese ground
fire ond boiled out 400 miles south
of Shonghoi. Since the wqr he hod
been doing q lot of oir show work
besides his crop dusting. He hod
5,000 hours of flying time ond - of
no less importonce - he weighed
only 160 pounds.
When their boby wos well shoken
down, Roy ond Bob took her on the
oir show circuit, corting her oround
on o troiler. Recently they tronsferred
their bose of operotions from Bottle
Creek to Phoenix, Arizono, which
is Roy's hometown. Phoenix, with
its yeor round flying weother, gives
them o chonce to put the Stits Jr. in
the oir ony time they feel like it.
Roy's oeriol smidgin, licensed
now os on experimentol ship ond
restricted only ogoinst operotions
over congested oreos, is the stor of
every show it enters. lt's usuolly the
lost item on the bill, by which time
the crowd, hoving exomined the
sprite, is rother evenly divided on the
burning question of the doy: Will it
fly or won't it?
Most people, soys Roy, "wont to
see it fly before they'll believe it."
Mony demond to know where the
"rest of the wing" is. An occosionol
disbeliever, spying the Stits Jr.'s rodio
ontenno thinks thot's the missing piece
in the puzzle. "Shucks" he soys, "l'll
bet it's rodio-controlled." Roy's reply
is stroight-foced: Yes, but we hove
to send o mon olong to control the
rodio.
The Stits Jr.'s oir show routine is
sweet, quick ond simple - o few turns
qround the field, some stroight ond
level flying ondbuzz the crowd. Bob
stoys up no more thon o holf-hour ot
o time, keeping o holf-hour of fuel in
reserve. And no oerobotics, becouse,
of course, no chute.
The ship is so sensitive thot Bob flies
her literolly with two fingers - his
thumb ond index - brocing his wrist
on one knee. "ln ony other plone
you con sit up there, trim her up ond
fly olong thinking obout your girl or
something," he soys. "With this ;ob
you think obout flying it oll the iime."
But the Stits Jr. is still sturdy enough
not to require perfect flying
conditions. At the Miomi (Flo.) All-
Americon Moneuvers the wind wos
hot ond gusly, ond severol octs hod
to be cqnceled. But the little iob come
through without foltering. On onother
occosion it flew with wings iced over.
Only once hos Bob Storr hod to moke
o forced londing. At o Michigon
show his engine conked. He deod-
sticked in without mishop.
Not unnqturolly, the Stits Jr. holds
boundless fqscinoiion for curiosity-
seekers. "Everybody hos to touch it."
Soys Bob. "lf the locol sheriff stepped
up iust before I toke off ot on oir
show, he could get the fingerprints of
everybody in the country."
To cosuol on lookers such os these,
the Stits Jr. is doubtless o freqk.
But to its designer ond builder it is
for more thon thot. He believes the
trend in privote oviqtion is towqrd
smoller ships. And he is convinced
thot his mighty midget incorporotes
innovotions of design ond structure
which point the woy to o new type of
smoll, fost sports pone - in o word,
the qeriol hot rod of tomorrow.
Thot Roy Stits isn't olone in this ideo
moy be deduced from the foct thot
o compony expressed on inlerest in
moss-producing the Stits Jr. But Roy
intends to go it solo. He hos olreody
stqrted construction of onother ship
- not quite os smoll os the Stits Jr. but
still smoller thon o Club - which he
intends os the prototype of o speedy
little sports plone to be monufoctured
by his own firm. The test pilot for the
firm? Bob Storr, of course.
The vision of oirports oll over the
country o-sworm with these oeriol
gnots moy seem for-fetched. But don't
bet your money thqt it won't hoppen.
Roy Stits, if you'll remember, is o guy
who loves to put the skeptics in their
ploce.
Junior Sensotion
The Stits Junior wos his first born. A
low wing monoplone with on B' I0"

wingspon it coused quite o sensotion
in 1949. He hod to rebuild it neorly
every time it flew until he looked up
Storr qnd tolked him into flying it.
Storr flew Musiongs ond P-4Os in
Burmo during the Wor ond loter built
up o lot of Cub hours dusting oround
Moson, Michigon. Stits chose him
for his combinqtion of light plone
ond high power, high wing looding
experience ond exploined corefully
to him thot chopping off the power
ot low speed hod the sqme effect on
Stits Junior os chopping off the wings.
With Storr, the "every londing is o
crqsh lqnding" ended.
sTrTS SKY BABY l19s2l
The portners moved to.l950s
Colifornio
from Michigon in eorly ond
took iobs os flight line inspectors ot
Pocific Airmotive Corp., Chino. They
work on DC-4's ot night ond on Sky
Boby during the doy.
Asked how Mrs. Storr likes holding
their yeor-old son in her orms,
wotching her husbond fly Sky Boby,
Storr soys, "Oh, she oll right, she hos
o lot of foith in my flying." "And o lot
of foith in my design," odds Stits. "l
corry o lot of insuronce," continues Slr's tlr sna/ltst
Storr. "Of course," Stits points out rrtrd tlt ttltst-
eornestly, "she wouldn't wont him to Ab.v., Piint li6il 9.t. aucl SllL l l-ll:,5!
fly onything dongerousl" ,!id.off t.cm h!,ii*.id
t..r.oid ron. Ar riqht .
photogr,pier .nich.r !
io.fl.p, {1r.. poill i,Dd.
iir. Fl"pr .r. o^ urF:,
*h9,.il.roi' o' tr,.r.
5ly B.by i!1.!
tl.po, D.:;9ne,5ritt
.ptii.t m.riirg t.pc in
p..p.r.lion f.r 3! c..t
.1 h..d.,!bbrd p.jit.
Courtesy of Roy Stits
Sky Bobywos constructed ot Riverside,
CA over o period of j 3 monihs in
19 51 -52, os on experimentql oircroft
to cloim the title of the world's smollest
oirplone ond no further development
or reproduction wos plonned.
li is now owed by
the Notionol Air
Museum Division
of the Smithsonion
lnstitute ond
is on loon to
qnd disployed
ot the FAA
Aviotion Museum
ot Oshkosh,
Wisconsin.
Totol flying time wos opproximotely
t hours, with 5 to 15 minute flights
over o period of 6 months ending in
October 1952.
Spend l0 minutes oround Sky Boby,
smollest oirplone in the world, ond
invoriobly you'll heor I O people osk
the some question. "You meon thot
thing flies?" Midget rocer pilots, DC-
4 test pilots, mechonics ond cosuol
possers-by qsk it with the some
omozement. When they see her
sitting on the ground, looking os if
someone hod cut off her wings ot the
elbows, it doesn't seem possible; but
fly she does, ond over 200 miles per
hour.
Designer Roy Stits qnd Pilot Bob Storr
built the tiny wood, fobric ond steel
tubing biplone in on old T-honger
ocross the streel from the West
Riverside, Colifornio oirport.
Some people questioned whether
their former "world's smollest," the
Stits Junior, wos reolly the smollest.
Rother thot orgue, Stits, on A & E but
not on engineer,
designed Sky
Boby.
She meosures Z'
2" tip-to-tip, 9'
I O" hub-to-flipper
ond stonds 60"
high. the power
plont is q second-
hond 85 horse
Continentol, originolly out of on
Ercoupe. A good overhoul, o nitroted
crqnkshoft ond the oddition of o
third volve spring converted it to o
stondord rocing engine. With woter
in jection it will develop 1 12 hp ot
3,800 rpm, giving Sky Boby o power
looding comporoble to World Wor ll
fighters.
Sky Boby weighs 666 pounds fully
looded, including five gollons of gos
ond 160-pound Bob Storr with o holf-
dollor qnd o commerciol ticket in his
pocket. Dry weight is 452 pounds.
Her 36 7z squore feet of octuol wing
give Sky Boby o wing looding of
obout I 9 pounds.
On the mqiden flight ot Polm Springs,
'1952,
Moy 26 Storr hod to use
everything he hod leorned in 6,000
hours ofpiloting everything from
midgets to Mustongs to get sofely
qirborne with Sky Boby in one piece.
Although she will toke off in obout 600
feet, Storr held her on the ground until
he got to the photogrophers woiting
ot the intersection for o close-up of the
first tqke-off. They neorly got o shot
of the crosh Storr thinks they were
expecting becouse o little roughness
in the runwoy olmost skittered Sky
Boby out of control.
l seconds; ot 3,20O rpm stroight
Rudder trovel is only three inches from
neutrol to full ond the mechonicol toe-
brqkes qre extremely sensitives; Sky
Boby hos o shorter wheelbose thon o
Jeep. Anyone who hos iried driving
o Jeep 60 mph over o rough rood
with his feet con reqlize Storr hos his
honds - or rother his feet - full.
Once oirborne, while extremely
sensitive on the controls, especiolly
the oilerons, she feels very much like
on oirplone. However, she needs 5*
of flops to keep her from being toil-
heovy ot low speeds. As in o Mustong
with full fuseloge tonk, Storr hos to
use forword pressure in turns. Above
,l40
she trims out very nicely.
Center of grovity is o tough problem
in on oirplone designed, like Sky
Boby, strictly to be smoll. The pilot
must necessorily sit behind the c/g
I for the simple reoson thot o pilot hos
legs.
l
At full rudder, the pilot's foot is pressed
ogoinst ihe cowl - within three or four
inches of the propeller. The engine is
obove his legs with the oil tonk ond
corburetor between his knees. fhe c/
g is iust oft of the engine. Weighing
190 pounds, Stits could never iockey
his own broinchild, ond, with only
500 pilot hours, he soys he hosn't
enough experience to try it onywoy.
Stqrr flies Sky Boby without o
porochute to sove thot 30 pounds oft
of the center of grovity.
From deod stop, Sky Boby tokes
off ond climbs to '1,000 feet in 35
qnd level her old BT-1 3oir speed
,l80
indicotor reods with her present
butter poddle test prop. Storr hos
brought her over the runwoy for the
photogrophers ot 2l O ofter o shollow
dive. She should do 2OO eosily ot
3,800 rpm ond perform still better
with q speciol prop.
Storr climbs ond mokes his turn onto
finol ot obout 125 indicotes ond
figures to come over the end of the
runwoy ot 80. Sky Boby touches
down ot 55. He doesn't cut the throttle
until qfter touch down the oirplone
is so close-coupled thot oll controls
ond most of the wing ore directly in
the prop blost. Sky Boby probobly
would drop like o rock without ihe
prop blost unless Storr brought her in
much foster. So for he hosn't used full
flops except for slowing down on the
runwqy becouse they might spoil the
oirflow over the elevotor.
Quick Fit
All these things o shorp pilot con
get used to. Despite the limitotions
imposed by the close-coupling for
tininess she is o well-engineered
oirplone. The negotive ports on Sky Boby.
stogger ond one- Otherwise, she is hond
piece windshield give built from scrotch.
excellent visibility. The
cockpit orrongement is Stoee ond Stits plon to
comfortoble if spore. recover their $2,500
Toilored to Stqrr like out-of-pocket (includ i ng
o suit of clothes, the honger rent) ond I 3
20" cockpit give months' spore time
him elbow room lobor by exhibiting
to operote throttle her qt oir shows. Stits
ond woter jection
in hos o bornstorming
button simultoneously broinstorm for the
with his left hqnd flying oct. He wonts
ond to operote the to sei up two poles 10
mechonicolly feet oport with o cross
connected flops. No bor l0 feei off the
chonging of the stick ground ond hove Storr
is required. Spoce fly her through without
ond plocement ore knocking down the
corefully plonned poles - or teoring off
so thqt Storr cqn the wings. Storr isn't so
get full trovel of oll sure thqt stunt is going
controls under oll in the oct. He thinks q
circumstonces. Sky foot qnd q holf loterol
Boby boosts shoulder ond two feet verticol
strops, emergency cleoronce either woy
door releqse qnd is isn't quite enough ot
study enough to hold together in o 2l O mph. d
forced londing.
Ever since '47, when he helped to
ri
i{**
Stits hos respect for corburelor ice ond build o midget rocer, Stits hos hqd
Sky Boby hos goi only o corburetor the midget bug. He decided building #ffi
heqter but on old Lunkenheimer midgets wos so eosy he would lry for
tl .'*\" :f"
primer hooked up to squirt olcohol
into oir intoke below the corburetor
for emergency deicing.
the smollest in the world ond begon
reoding everything he could get his
honds on obout qerodynomics ond
theory of flight. Denying thqt his home '
h,
"f."
,{r
Thqt old primer, the instruments ond study quolifies him os on engineer,
the BT-l 3 tqil wheels ground out for he will odmit io being o "dorn good .&h
the brqke drums ore the only stondord mechon ic". *r**k
AI RCRAFT SPECI FICATIONS
STARR BUMBLE BEE I9BO
ST|TS"JUNIOR" - Former "World's Smollest Airplone" - I g4B .l955,
Wing Spon 8' 10" (end plotes instolled) ln I moved my fomily to Tempe, Chqnnel Ten here in Phoenix, flew
Length 11',4', Arizonq, where I mei q mon nqmed down to Morono, Arizonq, where
Height 50" Orviile Lloyd. He wos designing with the help of my son Bob, I hod
Net weight 393 lbs.
ond storting to build experimentol been testing the Bumble Bee. Len
Power looding 6.86 lbs / H.P.
iwo-ploce biplone. He cqlled it Liberty ond his crew shot some iope of me
Power C-85 Continentol
Wing Areo 35 sq. ft. Sport. I helped him build it ond did the flying the little mochine. l've got lots
Wing Looding 15.3 lbs / sq.ft. flight testing on it. I enioyed working of greot footoge on VCR tope of
Moximum pilot weight 150 lbs on thqt proiect with me flying the
Top speed IZ5 MPH him. Orville lived Bumble Bee.
Cruise I50 MPH Mesq, Arizonq, but
Londing speed 5B MPH eventuolly moved The originol
Rote of climb Over 8OO FPM to Solt Loke Utoh. Bumble Bee
Fuel 4 lz gols. I understond thot hqd on empty
CONSTRUCI'ON he built qnother weight of
Fuseloge ond Toil Chromoly tubing, fobric covered bi-plone ofter 520 pounds. I

Wings Spruce ond plywood, fobric covered Liberty Sport. knew I would
Designed ond built by Roy Stits of Bottle Creek, Michigon, for development, reseorch be oble to
ond exhibition. I hod olreody improve on my
decided to build o smoller oirplone first record, so in I 9BB, I built ond
STITS "SKY BABY" - "World's Smallest Airplone" - 1952
thon the record holder, Sky Boby. successfully flew on even smoller
Wing Spon7'2"
Length g', 10" After oll, I wos the co-builder ond ond lighter (only 396 pounds)
Height 5', the only one thot ever flew Sky Boby, oirplone nomed the Bumble Bee
Net weight 45216s. I
consequently knew whqt hqd to ll. lt holds "The World's Smollest"
Power C-85 Continentol "rocing" engine be done to creote o lighter, more record in the Guinness World Book
Power looding /
6.6 lbs H.P {@ 100 H.P} dynomic oirfrome. of Records.
Wing oreo 36.5 sq. ft.
Wing looding 18.3 lbs / sq. ft
So, in I980, I begon building the The Bumble Bee is on permonent
Flops Upper wing
Slots Both wings world's smollest, After numerous disploy ot the Pimo Air Museum in
Top speed I85 MPH test flights, I flew it for the record in Tucson, Arizono..
.l984.
Cruise I65 MPH lt wos quite o chollenge to fly,
Londing speed 80 MPH but even ot the oge of 60, I still hod At present, I hove over fifteen
Rote of climb Over 500 FPM the edge. I
nomed it Bumble Bee. thousond hours of stick time.
Fuel 5 gols. Appropriotely so, for noture's bumble Thousonds o[ this wos done crop
CONSTRUCilON bee doesn't hove enough wing oreq dusting. lhqve flown everything
Fuseloge Chromoly tubing, fobric covered to fly, but it hos never been told this, from the smollest plone to the F-86
Wings qnd Toil Spruce, fobric covered so it proceeds to fly onywoy. At lost, Sobor Jet.
"SKY BABY" wos designed ond built by Roy Stits ol Riverside, Colifornia, ihe record wqs minel
in Life hqs been full ond interesting for
1952 os o research proiect ond to clqim the title of "World's Smo//est
Airplone." ln 1986, Len Clements, who is o me. And mostly, becouse of my love

No b/ueprinfs distributed on either oircroft.

reporter ond o helicopter pilot for of flying.
 The flighr of ...
BABY BIRD 1987
The Bumble Bees
Designed, built ond flown by Robert H. Storr
Don Stits of Newbury, CA hqs heod of the Aviqtion Requirements
At first glonce, most engineers qnd professionol pilots moke ihe stotement, clqimed the record of the "World's Brqnch qt the Novy's Point Mugu
"l don't believe it con fly." Both Bumble Bees flew well, olthough ihey were smollesi oirplone" with his Boby Bird, supply Deportment.
chollenging for Mr. Storr to pilot, they were both oerodynomicolly sound. o tiny tri-geor, high wing monoplone
with q spon of only 6 feet 3 inches.
4,b', Weighing ivst 252 pounds, it hos

{91
*-*
&
*_,rft$)
'% }. \d
I been flown 35 times by retired Novy
commonder Horold Nemer... who
Sfits "Baby Bird"
(tike Fofher Like son)
quolified both in flying experience
j
qnd in physicol size. The Boby Bird Woy bock in 1952, well
wos designed for o 5 ft.7 in., known EAAer, Roy stits
lr i rt:1r., l40 pound pilot, which of Riverside, Cqliforniq,
eliminoted its designer proceeded to build
-#w'"- il qnd builder, Don Stits, who
-cD
M'
0
f is both toller ond heovier. All
whot wqs then known
os the "world's Smollest
the flights hove been stroight Airplone". This tiny, single-
down the Comorillo, CA Airport ploce, negotive stogger biplone,
I,q.
/ta? I
runwo, to oltitudes of l5 to 25 feet. qffectionotely colled "Sky Boby", hod
Since the qircrqft is intended for no o wingspon of 7 feel, 2 inches qnd
other purpose thon to be "the world's wqs powered with o Contineniol C-
smollest". Don sees no need for it to 85 engine. lt wqs flown on numerous
fly more extensively - so it hos now occqsions by pilot, Bob Storr, who
been retired ond will only be on stotic 'l85
reported o top speed of mph ond
disploy in the future. on opprooch speed of 1 I O mphl The
Courtesv of Bob Storr
tiny oirplone wos feqtured in Zqck
Powered by o 55hp 2-cycle Mosley's "Smith Jock" comic strip on
SPECIFICATIONS: snowmobile engine, the Boby Jonuory 4, 1953 ond qlso mqde the
Bumble Bee I Bumble Bee ll Bird hos o length of I 1 ft. the fuel front cover of FLYING mogozine in
Wing Spon: 6 ft. 6 in. Wing Spon: 5 ft. 6 in. copocity is just 1-172 gollons. A long November 1952.
Length: 9ft.4in. Length: B ft. lO in. time EAA member. Don Stits is the
,l50 .l50 son of Roy Stits who once held the Once Sky Boby hod occomplished its
Cruising Speed: MPH Cruising Speed: MPH
.l90 "world's smqllest" tiile with his Sky gool, it wqs donoted to the Nqtionol
Top Speed: I B0 MPH Top Speed: MPH
Boby, whlch is on disploy in the EAA Air qnd spoce Museum which, in
Stqlling Speed: Z5 KTS Stolllng Speed: Z5 KTS Museum. The record wos broken q turn, ploced the tiny oirplone on long
Gross Weight: 256 Obl. Empry Weighr: 396 Obl. couple of yeors ogo by bob Storr in term loon to the EAA Air Adventure
Engine: C-85 Engine: C-85 his bumblebee -but now the Boby Museum where it hos been viewed
Fuel Copocity: 3 gol. Fuel Copocity: 3 gol. Bird holds the title. Don Stits is the by mony thousonds of visitors.

Now comes the interesting port. Roy
Stits hqd o son, Donold who grew
up with oirplone "stuff" oll over the
house ond the smell of oirplone
dope tintilloting his nostrils. Like his
fother before him, Don liked things
oeronouticol ond promptly begon
studying the theories of light oircrqft
in flight. Often thinking of the tiny
Sky Boby, Don developed his own
ideos on how smoll oircroft should be
constructed. The die wos cost.
ln I9BO, the first plons were drown
for "Boby Bird", o tiny (very) single-
ploce, high-wing oircroft ihot
employed o tricycle londing geor ond
o lighweight Germon-mode Hirth
engine of 55hp on the front end of on
I I foot fuseloge. Constructed of steel
tubing in the fuseloge ond o wooden
wing of only 6 feet, 3 inches in totol
wingspon, the "Boby Bird" required
o pilot of smoll stoture to fit in the tiny
cobin ond remoin inside the weight
remember the Boby Bird con be ln 1987, the Boby Bird wos registered
troilered os is, with no dismontling, os in the Guinness book of world os the
it is 6' 3" wide.) Following extensive "Smollest Airplone in the World". lt
toxi tests by pilot Horold Nemer, o hos now been donoted to the EAA
retired Novy pilot of oppropriote Aviotion foundotion by Don qnd Lori
stoture, the Boby Bird wos deemed Stits of Newbury Pork, Coliforniq ond
reody for flight. ln August of 1984, token its rightful ploce on the floor of
Hqrold Nemer took to the oir with the EAA Air Adventure Museum, right
the tiny oirplone ond proceeded to next to the Sky Boby built by Roy Stits,
discover o neot flying little bird (pun Don's fother.
intended). Top speed wos registered
ot I l0 mph ond over the course of As I soid in the beginning, "Like
time, some 35 flights were mode by fother, like son!"
pilot Horold Nemer. - Articles contribuled by Roy Stits
Courtesy of Don Stits
envelope. With on empty weight of
252 lbs. And o gross of 425 16s.,
only 123 lbs. wos qvoiloble for fuel
ond pilot.
Boby Bird Dofo Sheef
With the help of his wife, Lori, ond
their two children, the little tri-geor
monoplone begon to toke shope, the
one-piece wing with its neorly flot- Designer / Builder Don Sttits of Newbury Pork, Colifornio (USA)
bottomed oirfoil, corefully instolled Construction Crew Lori Stits, son Roy Stits, ond doughter Jennie Stits.
obove the tiny cobin. (The wing
Pilot Horold Nemer of Riverside, Colifornio (USA)
cobin juncture uses only eight inches
of lifting oreo) Aircrqft Nome Boby Bird
Wing Type Monoplone
The engine is o twin-cyclinder, oir-
cooled, two-stroke thot feotures duol
Wing Spon 6 feet 3 inches (25 inches)
corburettors ond duol ignition to Length I I feet
produce 55 horsepower. lt swings ErpV Weight 252 pounds
o ground - odiustoble wooden
propeller of 44 inches in length.
Gross Weight 425 pounds
Engine 55 HP Mirth 2 Cylinder
By the summer of 1984, the "Boby I IO MPH
Top speed
Bird" wos reody for toxi tests, so it wos
tronsported to the Comorillo oirporl Point Scheme Miomi Blue with Silver trim
ot Comorillo, Colifornio. (Pleose Designed by Lori stits
 Flying Scole Model Plones
Obsess With The World's Smollest Plones. Compliments from Roy ond Don Stits
To Construction The Scole Model Plones of Them
Hoving supports from Mr. Roy Stits ond his son Don Stits, I begon to enlorge
3 view drowings of their plones Stits Junior, Sky Boby ond Boby Bird, ond
'construci
}ItrMO 2"*''{b&
them into scole models of 1/4. 1/2 ond full sizes for the post seven "tt'tt'*'.,t
yeors qs shown in the phoios below.
.t/t,,, .\t; t.,
-s
| /4 Scole Boby Bird W,f Match 6,
2OOO

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| /2 Scale Boby Bird, Sky Boby & Sfits Junior
' "il '
o{ ll'( / Bulrdins
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v:ur very successfur
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"no'rq "krlr*,-, ""0 enrhu. ra6o ,o ou'"tnt on
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to be rravinJ
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Full Size Scole Stits Junior with Powerplont sponsored by \ ;
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My Ultimote possion is to build oll the World's Smqllest Plones in Full Sizes ISBN: 978-98I -08-0043-Z
ond fly them; ond perhops to cloim in them os the biggest model plones in
All rights reserved. No port of this orticle moy be reproduced including photocopying, recording
the Guinness Book of Records. without lhe prior consent of the writers.
Pleose fox/phone (65) 6386 7568 or emoil: leo.yewchiot@yohoo.com for further informotion.

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