In 1952 Ray Stits designed and built the single-place Stits SA-3A Playboy. It was his third aircraft design. A subsequent variation was the two-place, side-by-side Stits SA-3B Playboy (his fifth design) in 1954.

One of the more popular designs by Ray Stits, the Playboy was designed for backyard builders to construct from easy-¬to-follow plans or simple-to-do work kits. The Playboy can handle any one of several four-cyclinder engines in the 85- to 160-hp class. Probably the most common is the 85-hp Con¬tinental. Construction is mixed, with wooden wings and a steel-tube fuselage. All surfaces are fabric covered. The Playboy is easily recognizable because of its sliding canopy and strut-braced low-wing design.

The Playboy is rated for aerobatics, but it doesn’t have inverted fuel or oil, so you’d have to stay with positive Gs, and with 65 horses there are limits to what it can do. It’s responsive, but yet not light on the controls, but the tail is extremely light, so even on run up you have to be careful to hold the tail down, or she’ll want to nose over.

The original Playboy N38K has been rebuilt and now resides in the EAA museum.

The Stits SA-3A Playboy served as a catalyst for Richard VanGrunsven, who, after modifying and improving the Playboy in 1965 (and calling it an RV-1), was further inspired to build an airplane of his own design — the RV-3.

Gallery

SA-3A
Engines: 65-90hp Continental
Wingspan 22’2”
Length 17’4”
Height: 6 ft 4 in
Gross Wt. 902 lbs
Empty Wt. 600 lbs
Top speed 135 mph
Cruise 125 mph
Stall: 38 mph
Ceiling: 12,000′
Climb rate 1050 fpm
Range 400 sm
Seats: 1

SA-3B Playboy
Engine: 115hp Lycoming, 100-180hp Continental
Wingspan: 24’2″
Length: 17’10”
Useful load: 655 lb
Seats: 2

The two-seat Flut-R-Bug was designed in 1955 by Ray Stits for homebuilding projects. The improved SA-6B model was built in considerable numbers including two in Australia where they were to act as prototypes for a local version known as the Hamilton Jackaroo. This never eventuated. The steel-tube fuselage and wooden wings are fabric-covered. Fitted with a tricycle undercarriage and with a 75 hp motor the Flut-R-Bug can cruise at 135 km/h for about 400 km.

The first Flut-R-Bug was the Model SA-5A, followed by the SA-5B. Stits also designed tandem versions (SA-6A and SA-6B) and then the two-place, side-by-side SA-6C. The Flut-R-Bug was typically powered by either a small Continental or Lycoming engine.

There were possibly two aircraft (VH-ULA & ULB) built in Australia by Norman Hamilton with a view to producing them commercially. Further production did not eventuate. VH-ULB written off in a ground accident in 1984.

Ray Stits built his first small plane in 1948, the Junior. The incentive to build “Junior”, the monoplane, came from a discussion about the world’s smallest airplane. Someone mentioned Steve Wittman’s little racer with a 13’ span and Ray Stits queried whether or not he could fly something with a 10’10” wingspan. One of the participants in that conversation said it wouldn’t be possible and that was all it took. Ray started building. He’d actually been thinking about it for a long time and proceeded with a 40hp engine from an Aeronca. That got changed to a 65 hp Continental. The plane was a handful and after the third crash on the fifth test flight, Ray shortened the wings to 8’10” and attached tip gates to generate more lift and better aileron control. He found a new pilot, Bob Starr, a former P-51 pilot. In 1950, Junior was a big hit in airshows. He began thinking about a larger sport plane that would be easy to build and fly, but he got side-tracked with another design: his quest to create the world’s smallest biplane.

Junior wound up on a scrap heap after an off airport landing.

Engine: 65 hp
Wingspan: 8 ft 10 in
Length: 11 ft 4 in
Empty weight: 393 lb