The Stits SA-2A Sky Baby 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 ...
designed for the challenge of claiming the title of "The World's Smallest".
Design and development
The Sky Baby was designed by Ray Stits and built with
Robert H. Starr as a follow-on to the
Stits Junior midget racer. The aircraft is an enclosed single engine negative staggered cantilevered
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
with
conventional landing gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...
. The
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
is constructed of welded steel tubing with
aircraft fabric covering
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...
. The upper wings have
flaps, the lower wings have
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...
s. Most aircraft use a flat firewall between the engine and pilot's feet, the Skybaby is configured with the pilot sitting with the engine close to the lap, and rudder pedals located under the oil sump toward the front of the cowling.
The powerplant was sourced from an
ERCO Ercoupe
The ERCO Ercoupe is an American low-wing monoplane aircraft that was first flown in 1937. It was originally manufactured by the Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) shortly before World War II; several other manufacturers continued its ...
, modified with water injection to produce .
Operational history

The aircraft was test flown by
Robert H. Starr on 26 May 1952 at
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
. The short coupled aircraft was originally built with
tricycle landing 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 ...
, which was dropped in favor of the lighter
tailwheel arrangement. The aircraft required a pilot to remain within the center of gravity and was only flown by pilots Robert H. Starr and Lester Cole that met the criteria. The landing procedure uses entry patterns, with on final approach, and touchdown speeds. The aircraft performed publicity flights to promote an airshow act. It was retired in October 1952 after 25 hours of flight time.
The aircraft was eventually donated to the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...
for display.
Ray Stits was a mechanic and
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
fighter pilot, but claimed he was not an engineer. He went on to develop several home-built designs, including the
Stits SA-3A Playboy, which would be the basis for the
VanGrunsven RV-1 and thousands of
Van's Aircraft
Van's Aircraft, Inc. is an American Homebuilt aircraft, kit aircraft manufacturer founded by Richard VanGrunsven in 1973. The Van's RV series aircraft are all-aluminum, low-wing monoplanes of monocoque construction. In 2023, over 11,000 Van's a ...
.
Aircraft on display
The Sky Baby was on display at the
EAA Airventure Museum
The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...
in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...
on loan from the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...
. In 2014, the Sky Baby was moved to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...
, and placed on display there.
Specifications (SA-2A)
See also
References
{{Stits aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Biplanes with negative stagger
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1952
1950s United States experimental aircraft
SA-2A
Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear
Single-engined piston aircraft