FlightSource - Aviation Photo Database

Description:

Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway.

The Starr Bumble Bee N83WS was designed and built for the sole purpose of taking the record for the world's smallest aircraft. Robert Starr had been involved as pilot and designer in two previous record holding smallest aircraft dating back to 1949. Feeling that he had not received the amount of credit he was due for his participation in those efforts he decided to take the record for himself. In 1979, he began work on the Bumble Bee and after five years of design and construction the tiny aircraft was ready for flight.

The first flights of the Bumble Bee were on January 28, 1984 at Marana, Arizona and the aircraft was credited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest aircraft ever flown. The record stood until August of that year when one of Starr's former partners built and flew an even smaller aircraft. The records were modified slightly to give Starr the record for the smallest biplane while the other contestant took the record for the smallest monoplane. Starr broke his own biplane record in 1988 with the Bumble Bee II. Unfortunately, that aircraft was destroyed in a crash not long after setting the record. Robert Starr donated the original Bumble Bee to the Pima Air & Space Museum in 1990.

Technical Specifications

Wingspan 6 ft 6 in

Length 9 ft 4 in

Height 4 ft 1 in

Weight 725 lbs (loaded)

Maximum Speed 180 mph

Service Ceiling 3,000 ft

Range 20 miles

Engines 1 Continental C-85, 85 hp

Crew 1

Keywords:

Starr, Bumble, Bee, N83WS, world's, smallest, aircraft

Date:

19.12.2010 17:55

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