The Stits-Besler Executive is a three place
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 by
Ray Stits, as the Stits SA-4A Executive.
Development
The project was initiated when William Besler of
Besler Corp. contracted Ray Stits to design a three-place homebuilt aircraft with folding wings. Besler was an early aviation experimenter, who had mounted a steam engine of his own design on a
Travel Air 2000
The Travel Air 2000/3000/4000 (originally, the Model A, Model B and Model BH were open-cockpit biplane aircraft produced in the United States in the late 1920s by the Travel Air Manufacturing Company. During the period from 1924–1929, Tr ...
in 1933.
Design
The wings on the Executive fold aft and upward. Fuel tanks are embedded in the non-folding wing roots. The
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
is welded steel tube with
fabric covering. The
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 arou ...
s are mounted in the center of the wing rather than the tips.
Operational history
The sole Executive, (registration no. N36K), has been used as a test bed for Besler-designed engines; a
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be ...
and a two cycle, four cylinder Vee rated at .
Specifications (Stits-Besler Executive)
See also
Notes
References
*
External links
1000 aircraft photos
{{Stits aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1955
Low-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear
1950s United States sport aircraft
Executive