Salvay-Stark Skyhopper
Salvay-Stark · United States · first flew 1945 · light aircraft
The Salvay-Stark Skyhopper I is a low-wing single-place homebuilt aircraft designed in 1944.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Welded steel tube fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Single-seat low-wing aircraft with a full canopy
- Welded steel tube fuselage
- Wings with spruce spars and ribs, fabric-covered, and plywood-covered stabilisers
It was intended to have an open cockpit but was redesigned with a full canopy. The controls are actuated by push-pull tubes.
Specifications
- The Salvay-Stark Skyhopper has a length of 5.66 m (19 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 7.6 m (25 ft).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Two North American Aviation engineers from Kansas City, who had worked on the B-25 programme, started the design in 1944. The prototype was test flown from Fairfax Airport in Kansas City in March 1945.
Variants
The Skyhopper II was designed in 1962 to seat two side by side. A two-seat tandem modification was built with a Continental O-200, and the Trefethen Sport-Aire II was a wider tricycle-gear version.
Where you'll see it
In 1946 the effort to produce it as a certified production aircraft under the name Aviation Boosters Inc. was dropped. Gene Salvay retained the rights, so it could be built as a homebuilt aircraft.
Related aircraft
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