Beechcraft Skipper
Two seat fixed gear general aviation aircraft
title: "Beechcraft Skipper" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["beechcraft-aircraft", "1970s-united-states-civil-trainer-aircraft", "1970s-united-states-civil-utility-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft", "low-wing-aircraft", "t-tail-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1978", "aircraft-with-fixed-tricycle-landing-gear", "single-engined-piston-aircraft"] description: "Two seat fixed gear general aviation aircraft" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Skipper" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Two seat fixed gear general aviation aircraft ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Model 77 Skipper |
| image | Beechcraft77Skipper01A.jpg |
| caption | |
| type | Light utility aircraft |
| manufacturer | Beech Aircraft Corporation |
| first_flight | September 12, 1978 |
| introduction | 1979 |
| more_users | |
| produced | 1979-1983 |
| number_built | 312 |
| :: |
|name= Model 77 Skipper |image=Beechcraft77Skipper01A.jpg |caption= |type=Light utility aircraft |manufacturer=Beech Aircraft Corporation |designer= |first_flight=September 12, 1978 |introduction=1979 |retired= |status= |primary_user= |more_users= |produced=1979-1983 |number_built=312 |variants=
The Beechcraft Model 77 Skipper is a two-seat, fixed tricycle gear general aviation airplane, originally designed for flight training but also used for touring and personal flying.
Design and development
The Skipper was conceived with the design goals of creating a low cost primary trainer with an emphasis on ease of maintenance and low operating costs.
Design work on the Skipper began in 1974 as the PD 285, which made its maiden flight on February 6, 1975. The Skipper was Beechcraft's attempt to enter the two-place trainer market with an aircraft capable of competing with the popular Cessna 150 line of trainer aircraft. Though the aircraft first flew with a standard tail configuration, by the time it entered production, a T-tail configuration had been adopted, giving it an appearance very similar to its close competitor, the Piper PA-38 Tomahawk introduced in 1978.
Like the Cessna and Piper trainers which were its primary competition, the Skipper utilizes the Lycoming O-235 engine and features side-by-side configuration seating. Production was handled at the Liberal (Kansas) Division, where the Beechcraft Duchess and Musketeer were produced.
The Skipper wing utilizes a GA(W)-1 airfoil, specifically developed for low-speed aviation applications, based on 1970s NASA research. The aircraft was certified for intentional spins. While it is an all-metal design, the Skipper incorporated a number of innovative construction techniques, including tubular spars and aluminum honeycomb construction with metal-to-metal bonding, a technique inherited from the Musketeer family. The flaps and ailerons are actuated by torque tubes, rather than cables. The landing gear is mounted to the fuselage/wing junction, but has a 5.17 ft wide wheelbase, giving it a "spraddle-legged" appearance on the ground.
Operational history
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/VH-HBJ_Beechcraft_77_Skipper_Hempels_Aviation_(9173247274).jpg" caption="Beechcraft Skipper"] ::
The Skipper had the misfortune of being introduced at the beginning of a severe downturn in general aviation aircraft production in the United States. During its first year 1979, 47 were built, 140 in 1980, and 125 in 1981. A total of 312 aircraft were built.
Most of the production run was initially delivered to Beechcraft's flight school network, the Beech Aero Centers, where they were used as primary trainers. A handful of Skippers are still in use as trainers. Others are in the hands of private owners who use them as touring aircraft.
Specifications
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Skipper_WA-39.jpg" caption="Beechcraft 77 Skipper"] ::
|prime units?=kts |ref=Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1980–81 and Observer's Book of Aircraft 1981
|crew=2 |length ft=24 |length in=0 |length m=7.32 |span ft=30 |span in=0 |span m=9.14 |height ft=7 |height in=11 |height m=2.41 |wing area sqft=129.8 |wing area sqm=12.1 |airfoil=GA(W)-1 |empty weight lb=1,100 |empty weight kg=499 |max takeoff weight lb=1,675 |max takeoff weight kg=760 |eng1 name=Lycoming O-235-L2C |eng1 type=four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed, piston aero engine |eng1 number=1 |eng1 hp=115 |eng1 kw=86
|cruise speed kts=105 |cruise speed mph=121 |cruise speed kmh=195 |stall speed kts= 47 |stall speed mph=54 |stall speed kmh=87 |stall speed note= (flaps down) |range nmi=412 |range miles=475 |range km=764 |range note=at 8,500 ft (2,600 m) (econ cruise) |ceiling ft=12,900 |ceiling m=3,930 |climb rate ftmin=720 |climb rate ms=3.65
References
;Notes ;Bibliography
- "Airdata File: Beechcraft PD 285". Air Enthusiast, December 1975, Vol 9 No 6. p. 312.
- Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1980–81. London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1980. .
- Federal Aviation Administration, Rev 8.pdf Type certificate data sheet no. A30CE, Revision 8, (November 27, 2017)
References
- Montgomery, M.R. and Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplanes, Second Edition'', page 26. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. {{ISBN. 0-395-62888-1
- Green, William: ''Observers Aircraft'', pages 40-41. Frederick Warne Publishing, 1981. {{ISBN. 0-7232-1618-5
- [[Edward H. Phillips. Phillips, Edward H.]], ''Beechcraft - Staggerwing to Starship''. Flying Books, 1987. {{ISBN. 0-911139-06-0.
- ''Air Enthusiast'' December 1975, p. 312.
- (8 June 2018). "The "Baby Beechcraft" - Part Two". KingAir Magazine.
- (18 February 1985). "Beech Plans to Close Plant at Liberal, Kan.". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- Taylor 1980, p. 265.
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