Bill Barber conceived, designed and built three members of the Snark family with no outside assistance. The first Barber Snark was a single place Snark HA 1.

Snark HA 2 ZK-FYE (c/n MAANZ 450) was Bill Barber’s first attempt at a two-seat aircraft and it was first registered to him on 30/5/91.

The HA 2 was literally designed on the back of an envelope but is an efficient carbon fibre and Kevlar design with the cockpit/main undercarriage/engine mount structural area being very compact with only a single bulkhead. The cockpit layout gives both the pilot and passenger almost helicopter-like visibility. The HA 2 model was powered by a Rotax 503 engine. It also had a retractable front wheel which Bill found to make no appreciable difference to the performance so his later Snarks have fixed front wheels. It was sold to JM Young of Wanaka on 24/4/98. It crashed on take off from a strip near Wanaka on 3/2/01.

The damaged aircraft was sold to GD McMillan of Invercargill on 26/3/01. He employed Bill Barber to rebuild the aircraft and he re-registered it as ZK-DQL on 16/11/01.

It is photo’d here at Queenstown on 10/9/05 where it can be seen that an addition had been made to the upper fin.

Bill Barber built the Mark II Special NZ Flag Anniversary Version repowered with a 93 HP two stroke engine, offering very smooth acceleration right up to 120MPH using a variable speed prop along with communications gear, Ballistic Shute and F16 cockpit seating arrangement. The extensive wing and low aspect ratio allows for low speed approaches recorded at only 20 MPH under full 4 notches of flaps. The wing leading edge and full composite body with carbon back end tail boom strut offers very high strength and low weight ratios to enable full in flight soaring and thermal lift comparable to a low end glider. The take off angle can be close on 65 degrees with such a low stall speed. The lift off rotation is achieved at 30mph in limited space at 6,700 revs. Full rear brakes and castoring nose wheel, hi-strength aluminum sprung undercarriage are on cast wheels on new rubber tubed tyres

Snark 2 was the prototype and the Snark 3 machine (registered ZK-JEK) is a much more swept up development with a different wing, altered tail and different construction. All three have made extensive use of composite materials, Snark 3 being entirely of composite – mainly carbon and kevlar.

ZK-JEK (c/n 001) originally had the c/n of MAANZ/528, and was first registered to Bill Barber on 20/3/95. This aircraft was the first HA 3 model and was powered by a Suzuki G 13 engine. It had less wing area than ZK-FYE and it had full span flaperons. It was sold to MC Hopper of Otautau on 1/1/03, and he later moved to Whitianga and based the aircraft there. Later he replaced the 1300cc G 13 Suzuki engine with a twin carburettor 1500cc Suzuki engine, and the performance was spectacular. J & C Dale of Papakura purchased the aircraft on 31/10/12, and it was based at Ardmore.

It is photo’d above at Ardmore on 20/7/13. It was destroyed at Ardmore on 4/1/14 when it suffered an engine fire. Fortunately, it made it back to the runway for the occupants to get out before the fire completely destroyed the aircraft. It was cancelled on 28/4/14.

The second HA 3, ZK-PIE (c/n 002) was built by David Laing of Dunedin from moulds supplied by Bill Barber. It was registered to the Duncan Laing Trust of Dunedin on 28/2/96.

ZK-PIE also was powered by a Suzuki G 13 engine, but it had slotted flaps and ailerons instead of flaperons – as all subsequent Snarks have had. ZK-PIE suffered an engine failure on take-off on a test flight from Taieri on 25/1/98 and went through a fence.

It was repaired as seen in a hangar at Timaru on 6/10/99. It was sold to JR Lissington of Otorohanga on 1/11/99.

Above at the 2009 Black Sands flyin at Raglan on 7/11/09. Finally, it was sold to J & C Dale of Papakura on 23/3/14 to replace their departed ZK-JEK.

ZK-JIU (c/n 003) is a HA 3B model and was first registered to Bill Blair on 12/11/97. It had a Suzuki G 13-GTI engine. It was sold to P Dunn of Mildura in Australia and its registration was cancelled on 19/2/99 and transferred to the Australian microlight register as 19-3116. It was sold to B Cooper of Melbourne in 2005, and still registered in Australia.

Snark HA 3C model ZK-JPS (c/n 004) was registered to Bill Barber on 10/7/03. It is powered by a Rotax 912 engine which is 30 kg lighter than the Suzuki. Bill has based his aircraft at Cromwell and flown it locally. It is shown at the 2014 Wings Over Wanaka airshow, on 18/4/14.

The Snark was flown and reviewed by experienced UK general aviation and microlight pilot Tim Cripps for Today’s Pilot Magazine where he stated “This is the most enjoyable of the many aircraft I have flown – and that includes the Hunter”. There were plans for UK production but those have not come to fruition.

Gallery

Snark HA/2
Engine: Suzuki 1300 water cooled, EFI & ignition.
Prop: ground adjustable.
Seats: 2.
Construction: all composite.

Snark HA/2B
Engine: Rotax 503.
Cruise: 80 mph.
Stall: 20 mph.

Snark HA 3
Engine: Rotax 912
Wingspan: 9.3 m / 30 ft 6 in
Length: 6.24 m / 20 ft 4 in
Height: 2.43 m / 7 ft 9 in
Empty weight: 263 kg / 580 lb
MAUW: 450 kg / 992 lb
Cruise: 104 kt
Stall: 32 kt

Snark HA/3
Wingspan: 30 ft.
MTOW: 900lb.
Stall: 40 mph.
Cruise: 110 mph.
Seats: 2.

Snark HA/3B
Engine: 4 stroke.
Cruise: 120 mph.
Stall: 40 mph.
Range: 600 miles.
Seats: 2.

Snark HA/3C