Preceptor Stinger
The Preceptor Stinger is an American homebuilt aircraft that was designed and produced by Preceptor Aircraft of Rutherfordton, North Carolina. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as plans or as a kit for amateur construction. The company appears to have gone out of business in 2012 and production curtailed. Design and development. The Stinger is a development of the Preceptor N3 Pup. It features a strut-braced parasol wing, a single-seat, open cockpit, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration. The aircraft is made from welded steel tubing covered in doped  aircraft fabric. Its span wing is the same as used on the Pup and has a wing area of . The wing is supported by cabane struts and "V" struts, with jury struts. The cockpit width is . The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is the Volkswagen 1600cc, four cylinder, air-cooled, four stroke automotive conversion powerplant. The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off with a engine is and the landing roll is . The aircraft has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the  payload for the pilot and baggage is . The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit as 450 hours and the cost to complete the aircraft at US$22,000-26,000 in 2011. Operational history. By 1998 the company reported that three kits had been sold and one aircraft had been completed and was flying. By 2011 the company reported that two were flying.