# Stits Playboy > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Stits_Playboy > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Stits_Playboy.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stits_Playboy > Source revision: 1347401966 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) The **Stits SA-3A Playboy** (sometimes called the **Stitts SA-3A Playboy**) is a single seat, [strut-braced](/source/Strut) low-wing [monoplane](/source/Monoplane) that was designed by [Ray Stits](/source/Ray_Stits) for [amateur construction](/source/Homebuilt_aircraft). The aircraft was designed and the prototype was completed in a three-month period during 1952. The design went on to become one of the most influential in the post-war boom in aircraft homebuilding.[1][2][3] A side-by-side two seat version is known as the SA-3B.[4] ## Design and development The Playboy was the third of fifteen different aircraft designs created by Stits, who migrated in the 1960s from selling plans to developing the *[Polyfiber](/source/Polyfiber)* line of aircraft coverings and related paint formulas.[citation needed] The Playboy was designed to be constructed from either plans or from a series of partial kits. The construction is mixed with the fuselage made from welded steel and the wings built from wood. The aircraft is [fabric-covered](/source/Aircraft_fabric_covering) and incorporates a sliding [canopy](/source/Aircraft_canopy). The aircraft is unusual in that the low wings are [strut-braced](/source/Strut).[1] The engine range is from 85 to 160 hp (63 to 119 kW) with the 85 hp (63 kW) [Continental C85](/source/Continental_C85) the most commonly used.[1] The first in the series of [Van's Aircraft](/source/Van's_Aircraft) designed by [Richard VanGrunsven](/source/Richard_VanGrunsven), the [Van's Aircraft RV-1](/source/Van's_Aircraft_RV-1) was a modified Playboy and directly led to the [Van's Aircraft RV-3](/source/Van's_Aircraft_RV-3) and the highly successful RV line of aircraft. ## Operational history Having been sold in 1955, the prototype Playboy passed through several owners' hands before being donated to the [Experimental Aircraft Association](/source/Experimental_Aircraft_Association). Ray Stits was the first member of Chapter 1. That plane is now in the [EAA Airventure Museum](/source/EAA_Airventure_Museum) in [Oshkosh, Wisconsin](/source/Oshkosh,_Wisconsin).[3] [Canada](/source/Canada)'s first licensed amateur-built aircraft was a highly modified Playboy that was built by Keith S. Hopkinson. Hopkinson used the basic Playboy design and incorporated a [Piper J-3](/source/Piper_J-3) cowling, a [Cessna 170](/source/Cessna_170) propeller spinner, [de Havilland Tiger Moth](/source/De_Havilland_Tiger_Moth) wing struts, [Cessna 140](/source/Cessna_140) [conventional landing gear](/source/Conventional_landing_gear) and [Stinson 108](/source/Stinson_108) [wheel pants](/source/Aircraft_fairing).[2] In March 2010 there were still 41 Playboys registered in the US, six in Canada and two in the UK.[5][6][7] ## Variants **SA-3A**- Single seat version, powered by an 85 hp (63 kW) [Continental C85](/source/Continental_C85)[1] **SA-3B**- Two seats in side-by-side configuration version, powered by a 115 hp (86 kW) [Lycoming O-235](/source/Lycoming_O-235)[4] **Super Playboy**- A one-off design with two foot wing extensions powered by a 150 hp (112 kW) Franklin[8] **[VanGrunsven RV-1](/source/VanGrunsven_RV-1)**- A 125 hp (93 kW) [Lycoming O-290G](/source/Lycoming_O-290G) powered, cantilever aluminium winged modification of an SA-3A. ## Aircraft on display - [Canada Aviation Museum](/source/Canada_Aviation_Museum) - first Canadian homebuilt aircraft, modified Playboy C-FRAD[2] - [EAA AirVenture Museum](/source/EAA_AirVenture_Museum) - prototype Playboy N8KK[3] ## References 1. Plane & Pilot: *1978 Aircraft Directory*, page 155. Werner & Werner, 1978. ISBN 0-918312-00-0 1. [Canada Aviation Museum](/source/Canada_Aviation_Museum) (n.d.). ["Stitts SA-3A Playboy"](http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/artifacts/aircraft/StittsSA-3APlayboy/). Retrieved 2010-03-06. 1. [Experimental Aircraft Association](/source/Experimental_Aircraft_Association) (2010). ["Stits SA-3A Playboy – N8KK"](http://www.airventuremuseum.org/collection/aircraft/Stits%20SA-3A%20Playboy.asp). Retrieved 2010-03-12. 1. Dupas, Ron (1976). ["No. 953. Stits SA-3B Playboy (C-FSHM)"](http://www.1000aircraftphotos.com/AmateurBuilt/953.htm). Retrieved 2010-03-13. 1. [Federal Aviation Administration](/source/Federal_Aviation_Administration) (March 2010). ["FAA Registry Make/Model Inquiry Results"](http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=PLAYBOY&PageNo=1). Retrieved 2010-03-13. 1. [Transport Canada](/source/Transport_Canada) (March 2010). ["Civil Aircraft Register"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110718042755/http://wwwapps2.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/2/ccarcs/aspscripts/en/quicksearch.asp). Archived from [the original](http://wwwapps2.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/2/ccarcs/aspscripts/en/quicksearch.asp) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved 2010-03-13. 1. [Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom)](/source/Civil_Aviation_Authority_(United_Kingdom)) (March 2010). ["GINFO Search Results Summary"](http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=summary&aircrafttype=Playboy). Retrieved 2010-03-13. 1. "Renfro's Super Playboy". *Sport Aviation*. January 1959. ## External links - [Photo of a Stits Playboy](http://www.1000aircraftphotos.com/AmateurBuilt/954.htm) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stits Playboy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stits_Playboy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stits_Playboy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.