The Stits SA-3A Playboy (sometimes called the Stitts SA-3A Playboy) is a single seat,

strut-braced In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...

low-wing

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 ...

that was designed by

Ray Stits Raymond M. Stits (20 June 1921 - 8 June 2015) was an American inventor, homebuilt aircraft designer, aircraft mechanic and pilot. He designed the Stits SA-2A Sky Baby, which was the world's smallest aircraft in 1952, developed the Poly-Fiber ai ...

for amateur construction. The aircraft was designed and the prototype was completed in a three-month period during 1952. The design went on to become one of the most influential in the post-war boom in aircraft homebuilding.Plane & Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 155. Werner & Werner, 1978. A side-by-side two seat version is known as the SA-3B.

Design and development

The Playboy was the third of fifteen different aircraft designs created by Stits, who migrated in the 1960s from selling plans to developing the '' Polyfiber'' line of aircraft coverings and related paint formulas. The Playboy was designed to be constructed from either plans or from a series of partial kits. The construction is mixed with the fuselage made from welded steel and the wings built from wood. The aircraft is fabric-covered and incorporates a sliding

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

. The aircraft is unusual in that the low wings are

. The engine range is from with the

Continental C85 The Continental O-190 (Company designations C75 and C85) is a series of engines made by Continental Motors beginning in the 1940s. Of flat-four configuration, the engines produced 75 hp (56 kW) or 85 hp (63 kW) respectively ...

the most commonly used. The first in the series 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 ...

Richard VanGrunsven Richard E. "Dick" VanGrunsven (born 1939) is an American aircraft designer and Homebuilt aircraft, kit plane manufacturer. The number of VanGrunsven-designed homebuilt aircraft produced each year in North America exceeds the production of all com ...

, the Van's Aircraft RV-1 was a modified Playboy and directly led to the

Van's Aircraft RV-3 The Van's RV-3 is a single-seat, single-engine, low-wing kit aircraft sold by Van's Aircraft.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 74. Belvoir Publications. Unlike ma ...

and the highly successful RV line of aircraft.

Operational history

Having been sold in 1955, the prototype Playboy passed through several owners' hands before being donated to the

Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 300,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. ...

. Ray Stits was the first member of Chapter 1. That plane is now in 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 ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

's first licensed amateur-built aircraft was a highly modified Playboy that was built by Keith S. Hopkinson. Hopkinson used the basic Playboy design and incorporated a

Piper J-3 The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

cowling, a

Cessna 170 The Cessna 170 is an American single-engine, four seat, general aviation aircraft produced by the Cessna Aircraft Company between 1948 and 1956. It is the predecessor of the Cessna 172, the most produced aircraft in history, which repla ...

propeller spinner,

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary traine ...

wing struts,

Cessna 140 The Cessna 120, 140, and 140A, are single-engine, two-seat, conventional landing gear (tailwheel), light general aviation aircraft that were first produced in 1946, immediately following the end of World War II. Production ended in 1951, and ...

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 ...

and

Stinson 108 The Stinson 108 is a popular single-engine, four-seat, light general aviation aircraft produced by the Stinson Aircraft Company, Stinson division of the United States, American airplane company Consolidated Vultee, from immediately after World ...

wheel pants An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...

. In March 2010 there were still 41 Playboys registered in the US, six in Canada and two in the UK.

Variants

;SA-3A :Single seat version, powered by an

;SA-3B :Two seats in side-by-side configuration version, powered by a

Lycoming O-235 The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed, piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine.Textron Lycoming: ''Operator's Manual, Textron Lycoming Aircraft Engines, Series O-2 ...

;Super Playboy :A one-off design with two foot wing extensions powered by a Franklin ;

VanGrunsven RV-1 The RV-1 is a Stits Playboy that was constructed with modifications by Richard VanGrunsven. The aircraft was the first of a series of Van's aircraft that became the most popular homebuilt aircraft produced. Design and development The first RV ...

:A Lycoming O-290G powered, cantilever aluminium winged modification of an SA-3A.

Aircraft on display

Canada Aviation Museum The Canada Aviation and Space Museum () (formerly the Canada Aviation Museum (''Musée de l'aviation du Canada'') and National Aeronautical Collection (''Collection aéronautique nationale'')) is Canada's national aviation history museum. The m ...

- first Canadian homebuilt aircraft, modified Playboy C-FRAD *

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 ...

- prototype Playboy N8KK

Specifications (SA-3A)

References

External links

Photo of a Stits Playboy
{{Stits aircraft 1950s United States sport aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1952 Single-engined tractor aircraft

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft