Beechcraft Skipper

The Beechcraft Model 77 Skipper is a two-seat, fixed tricycle gear general aviation airplane, designed originally for flight training but also used for touring and personal flying. Design work began in 1974 as the PD 285, which first flew on 6 February 1975, as Beechcraft's attempt to enter the two-place trainer market against the popular Cessna 150 line. It entered production with a T-tail, uses side-by-side seating and a Lycoming O-235 engine, and is an all-metal design with tubular spars and a wing airfoil developed from 1970s NASA research. It was built at the Liberal, Kansas division alongside the Duchess and the Musketeer, and was introduced at the start of a severe downturn in United States general aviation. Production stopped in 1983 after 312 aircraft, most delivered to the Beech Aero Centers flight schools.