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.[1] [2]
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,[3] which made its maiden flight on February 6, 1975.[4] 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.[5]
The Skipper wing utilizes a GA(W)-1 airfoil,[3] specifically developed for low-speed aviation applications, based on 1970s NASA research. The aircraft was certified for intentional spins.[3] 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 5.170NaN0 wide wheelbase, giving it a "spraddle-legged" appearance on the ground.
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.[3] Production stopped in 1983.[6] 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.