So I hit on this forum for the first time and at the top of the page I see a picture of a red and white Skybolt that looks much like one I used to own. Upon closer inspection I see that it is not only my old plane, but it is a picture that I took myself back in 2003. Does anybody know how that picture got on this site? Just a brief history behind the plane. It was built by Hale Wallace (Steen Aerolab founder who is no longer with us) back in the 70's. It was his first Skybolt and originally carried HW1 in its tail number. It was owned by many different people all over the country and at one time was owned by Bill Bennett the Las Vegas casino owner. During Bill's ownership he had an emergency landing in the desert that caused some structural damage. The plane was rebuilt and given the new tail number of 41BB for obvious reasons. It was then displayed in the casino as a prize for one of the gambling games. It eventually was purchased by a man in Miami who restores aircraft at his farm. He converted the plane from the original 0-360 to an IO-540. He and Curtis Pitts also analyzed the airframe and made some modifications to beef it up. That picture was taken at his farm just before I purchased the plane from him. The plane was fitted with the Steen Aerolab removable canopy and brought to Reno, NV. I flew acro in the plane for about a year and really enjoyed the beauty and capabilities. On St. Patrick's Day 2004 I was up practicing early in the morning when the wings snapped off during an outside loop. The upper wing smashed the canopy and hit me in the head leaving me unconcious for a brief period. Luck was with me that day as I woke up in a violent negative G tumble that shot me from the falling wreckage as I released my 5 point Hooker. I pulled my rip cord at about a hundred feet, which didn't allow time to fully deploy the chute, but certainly slowed me way down. I survived with a broken back and various other minor injuries. And that is why my fellow IAC members gave me the name "Lucky". After the accident I purchased a Laser 230, which I recently damaged in an off airport emergency landing. I am trying to get the Laser rebuilt, but in the meantime I have decided to purchase a Starduster SA-100 to keep me up in the sky. And that is what brought me to this site.
Does anybody have any performance specs for a Starduster SA-100? I am particularly interested in design and ultimate loads.
Does anybody have any performance specs for a Starduster SA-100? I am particularly interested in design and ultimate loads.
