Skyhigh Sky Baby

Single-seat single-engined high-wing monoplane with conventional three-axis control. Wing has unswept leading and trailing edges, and constant chord; conventional tail. Pitch control by elevator on tail; yaw control by fin-mounted rudder; roll control by half-span ailerons; control inputs through stick for pitch/roll and pedals for yaw. Wing braced from above by kingpost and cables, from below by cables; wing profile; double-surface. Undercarriage has three wheels in tail-dragger formation; suspension on tailwheel and bungee suspension on main wheels. Push-right go-right tailwheel steering connected to yaw control. No brakes. Aluminium tube/wood/steel-tube fuselage partially enclosed. Engine mounted below wing driving pusher propeller.

The single-seat Skybaby is aimed at homebuilders and is therefore only sold as sets of plans. It is intended to have a McCulloch Mc101 engine developing 12.5 hp at 9000rpm or, for heavier pilots, the Yamaha KT100S of 15 hp at 10,000 rpm. Certain parts are available from Skyhigh Ultralights, for example the landing gear, controls, reduction drive, seat etc.

The price of the plans was $55 in 1982. According to Skyhigh, the construction time for the Skybaby should not exceed 200h.

Engine: McCulloch Mc-101, 12.5hp at 9000rpm
Power per unit area 0.09hp/sq.ft, 1.1 hp/sq.m
Fuel capacity 3.0 US gal, 2.5 Imp gal, 11.4 litre
Length overall 17.0 ft, 5.18 m
Height overall 5.0ft, 1.52m
Wing span 32.0ft, 9.75m
Constant chord 4.0 ft, 1.22 m
Sweepback 0 deg
Total wing area 128 sq.ft, 11.9sq.m
Wing aspect ratio 8.0/1
Empty weight 155 lb, 70kg
Max take-off weight 360 lb, 163kg
Payload 205 lb, 93kg
Max wing loading 2.81 lb/sq.ft, 13.7 kg/sq.m
Max power loading 28.8 lb/hp, 13.0kg/hp
Load factors; +5.0, -3.0 ultimate
Max level speed 40 mph, 64 kph
Never exceed speed 50 mph, 80kph
Max cruising speed 35mph, 56kph
Stalling speed 24 mph, 39 kph
Max climb rate at sea level 225 ft/min, 1.1 m/s
Best glide ratio with power off 9/1
Take-off distance 200 ft, 60 m
Landing distance 100 ft, 30 m