Beech Skipper

frfly172

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Oct 22, 2008
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mass fla
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Display name:
ron keating
Was wondering,can the o235,on the skipper be upgraded to 125 HP ?
 
Doubt it. But the Skipper is a sweet flying little plane, nicer than 152, traumahawk, but yes, it could use more power.
 
Don't know, but the Skipper is a great little airplane. Approved for spins too.
 
A quick check of google found a Tomahawk 125 hp STC, but not a skipper STC (with the same engine). I’m not sure why (maybe it’s not economically feasible due to less skippers/more tomahawks).
 
The Skipper has a roomy cockpit (for a trainer) and a nice, light touch on the controls. But when the stall breaks, it BREAKS. In a quick moment all you’ll see outside is dirt, and a wing dropping into incipient spin. It will have your attention.
 
The Skipper has a roomy cockpit (for a trainer) and a nice, light touch on the controls. But when the stall breaks, it BREAKS. In a quick moment all you’ll see outside is dirt, and a wing dropping into incipient spin. It will have your attention.

The Skipper and Tomahawk both use the GAW-1 airfoil which is known for that. In fact the story goes that Piper picked it on purpose for that reason after a survey of flight instructors revealed a disdain for other trainers that were too easy to recover from a stall or spin. Unfortunately the Piper factory also decided to cut lightening holes in the spar and drastically reduce the number of ribs, making the wing much softer and less predictable than the prototypes that were used for type certfication.
 
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