Stits SA-2A Sky Baby
name: label: Manufacturer
content: Ray Stits
notes: label: Physical Description
content: Wingspan: 2.2 m (7 ft 2 in)
label: Physical Description
content: Length: 3.0 m (9 ft 10in)
label: Physical Description
content: Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
label: Physical Description
content: Weights: Empty, 205.5 kg (452 lb)
label: Physical Description
content: Gross, 302.7 kg (666 lb)
label: Physical Description
content: Engine: Continental four-cylinder, four-cycle, 85 horsepower
label: Summary
content: On a dare from another pilot, Ray Stits designed and built the Sky Baby at his home in Riverside, California, to prove that he could build the world's smallest man-carrying airplane. To test fly the tiny aircraft, Stits hired Robert H. Starr who took off on the first flight in April 1952. During the spring and summer, Starr flew the SA-2A at air shows around the nation before Stits retired the airplane in November. Starr reported that the Sky Baby could top 299 kph (185 mph) at full speed and touched down for landing at about 129 kph (80 mph).
label: Summary
content: To keep the overall dimensions of the SA-2A as small as possible, Stits chose a biplane layout with negative-stagger, full-cantilever wings, and a conventional, cruciform empennage. No one disputed Stits's claim until the 1980s when Starr, the man who flew the SA-2A, announced that he had built an aircraft that was smaller than the Sky Baby. Ray's son, Donald, responded by designing the world's smallest monoplane. September 2002, the "Guiness Book of Records" acknowledged the "Bumble Bee II," built by Starr, as the world's smallest biplane, and the "Baby Bird," designed by Donald Stits, as the smallest monoplane.
label: Long Description
content: On a dare from another pilot, Ray Stits designed and built the Sky Baby at his home in Riverside, California, to prove that he could build the world's smallest man-carrying airplane. To test fly the tiny aircraft, Stits hired Robert H. Starr who took off on the first flight in April 1952. During the spring and summer, Starr flew the SA-2A at air shows around the nation before Stits retired the airplane in November. Starr reported that the Sky Baby could top 299 km/h (185 mph) at full speed and touched down for landing at about 129 km/h (80 mph).
label: Long Description
content: To keep the overall dimensions of the SA-2A as small as possible, Stits chose a biplane layout with negative-stagger, full-cantilever wings, and a conventional, cruciform empennage. He crafted the fuselage by welding together lengths of steel tubing, and he built the wings from spruce wood, then covered the entire airframe with fabric. Stits built only one SA-2A.
label: Long Description
content: No one disputed Stits's claim until the 1980s when Starr, the man who flew the SA-2A, announced that he had built an aircraft that was smaller than the Sky Baby. Ray's son, Donald, responded by designing the world's smallest monoplane. September 2002, the "Guiness Book of Records" acknowledged the "Bumble Bee II," built by Starr, as the world's smallest biplane, and the "Baby Bird," designed by Donald Stits, as the smallest monoplane. Ray Stits donated the Sky Baby to the National Air and Space Museum in 1972. NASM staff moved the Sky Baby in 2014 to the Udvar-Hazy Center and then placed it on display in the aviation hanger.
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
label: Location
content: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA
label: Exhibit Station
content: Sport Aviation
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Ray Stits.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A19730248000
objectType: label: Type
content: CRAFT-Aircraft
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Steel alloy- “Chromoly”, ferrous alloy, clear plastic, wood, fabric, rubber, paint
label: Dimensions
content: Other: 60 x 118 x 86 in., 205kg (152.4 x 299.7 x 218.5cm, 452lb.)