The Halsted BH-1 Saffire is a

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

design introduced in the early 1990s.

Design and development

Barry Halsted is an aircraft engineer who has also been an author for R/C Modeler Magazine, developing model aircraft plans. While Saffire was originally concepted in 1972, the actual design began in 1980 and construction started in 1982. First flight occurred in November, 1990. Saffire is a two-place,

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

seat, low-wing, retractable

tricycle gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

. The wing is aluminum and the fuselage features a steel tube structure forward of the rear seat. The canopy is mounted on tracks allowing it to slide open.

Operational history

Testing identified flutter in the elevator and rudder at higher speeds. Increasing the radius of the

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

of the

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

and adding an internal stiffener in the rudder corrected the issue. Saffire won a Silver Lindy award at

AirVenture EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at the Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wiscon ...

in 1991 and the Paul H. Poberezney award for best homebuilt aircraft over 20 years old in 2011.

Specifications (BH-1 Saffire)

References

{{reflist Homebuilt aircraft