EAA Sport Aviation - March 2012

I did a little research and found the most suitable and available engine was an Aeronca two-cylinder, horizontally-opposed E113C, with single ignition, rated at 40 hp. I decided the airplane would be a low-wing, and to keep the wing loading low I needed a lightweight pilot. A small 120-pound pilot volunteered for the job, so I designed the center of gravity for a 120-pound pilot and a 15-inch-wide cockpit.

THE JUNIOR

I built the airplane that I named the Stits Junior in 90 days and made fast taxi tests to check the engine and directional control with a 3-inch tail wheel; however, my 200- pound weight prevented me from lifting the tail to check for rudder control.

The airplane was ready for a test flight the day before Thanksgiving 1948, and the pilot lifted off after a short run and flew down the runway at about a 10-foot altitude, over controlled in the flare, and dropped the airplane in and broke the landing gear and prop.

While repairing the damage, I installed a 65-hp Continental engine, because there was too much engine vibration with no shock-absorbing mounts used on the two-cylinder Aeronca.

The heavier engine moved the center of gravity forward and raised the maximum pilot weight to 170 pounds, but required a 35-pound sack of rocks in the seat to prevent nosing over when the pilot stepped out. I did not want to move the landing gear forward because it was in the right location when the pilot was in the seat.

The second and third flights at about 10
feet down the runway were successful; how-
ever, the fourth flight at about 50 feet ended
in a high flare and second crash landing.
After the second crash landing, the pilot sug-
gested more rudder was needed for better
directional control when the tail wheel was
off the runway, so I added 6 inches to the
rudder, which increased the length to 11 feet
4 inches. Repairs were made, and the fifth
test flight was about 15 minutes around the
airport and ended with a high flare and third
crash landing. After the third crash landing I
removed the wingtip bows and added end
plates to give more lift and provide more
aileron response, which reduced the wing-
span to 8 feet 10 inches.

“Stits, you can’t do it.”
That put-down was all
the incentive I needed
to finally start.

An airport friend, Norm Walker, said he knew a pilot weighing about 170 pounds who may be willing to fly Junior at air shows. A few days later Bob Starr showed up at the airport and, after a briefing, climbed in Junior and flew around the pattern with several landings. We made an agreement that he would fly it at air shows as the World’s Smallest Aircraft act, and we’d split the pay 50/50.

In January 1950 Junior flew in a big air show called the Miami All-American Air Maneuvers at Opa-Locka, Florida, which resulted in worldwide publicity and many requests for blueprints to build a duplicate of Junior, which indicated there was a ready market, and possibly a kit for a little larger sport plane.

I started laying out the basic design for
the proposed new aircraft in the summer of
1950, and we did air shows within 400

miles of Battle Creek, pulling Junior on a trailer and doing flight demonstrations for magazines. Bert Fox, the owner of Battle Creek Flying School, also flew Junior in formation with Bill Haddock in his AT- 10 for aerial photos.

HEADING WEST

I decided to move back to my hometown, Phoenix, Arizona, where winter weather and politics was not a major obstacle to aircraft operations. Bob Starr decided to sell his crop-dusting business and also move to Phoenix and fly Junior in air shows in the west.

During my travels with an 8-foot 10-inch wingspan airplane on a trailer, I was often stopped by sheriffs who had read about Junior and wanted a close look at the airplane. The wingspan exceeded the maximum vehicle width in all states, but the extra width was never mentioned.

By the time I moved to Tucson a few months later the design for the new sport plane was complete. I started to collect materials to build the aircraft I named the Playboy and found that aircraft quality materials, such as 4130 chromoly tubing, aircraft grade spruce, plywood, and aircraft hardware, had to be shipped from Los Angeles because there were no aircraft material distributors in Tucson. If I was going to build aircraft, I should move closer to the source of materials.

In early February 1951 Bob and I drove to Riverside, California, to check it out. We first went to a private airport called Arlington Riverside, now Riverside Municipal. There was just one hangar, and the atmosphere was not friendly. We then went to another private airport across the river, called West Riverside, and found a friendlier atmosphere. The airport had four hangars and one small cement block office building. One hangar was vacant, and it was offered to me for $15 per month. On the first day of March 1951 I put Junior in my hangar at West Riverside Airport, later renamed Flabob Airport.