Adkisson SJ-1 Head Skinner

The SJ-1 Head Skinner was a single-seat, gull-wing sports plane built in the US by brothers Earl and Jerry Adkisson of Tuscola, Illinois in 1957.

SJ-1 Headskinner
General information
Type	Homebuilt aircraft
National origin	United States of America
Designer	Earl and Jerry Adkisson
Number built	1
History
First flight	1957
Developed from	Luscombe 8A

Design and development

Earl ("Skeezix") and Jerry Adkisson, two brothers at Tuscola airport, joined the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in 1955 and began gathering material for their construction project in the Autumn of that year. Their aircraft would be patterned after the P.Z.L. P.24, a popular Polish gull-winged fighter aircraft of World War II.

Using wings from a 1946 Luscombe 8, cut and re-formed into the gull-wing configuration, the cabin and forward fuselage section were formed of steel tubes. A Luscombe tailcone was attached to the aft end of the steel-tube frame, and standard Luscombe tail surfaces were adapted, with their tips squared off. The spring-steel main landing gear was taken from a Cessna. The planned engine was a 125 to 145 hp (93 to 108 kW) Warner radial engine, but settled for a 65 hp (48 kW) Continental A65 driving a Beech-Robey controllable propeller in the initial installation.

Specifications (SJ-1 Head Skinner)

Data from Aerofiles

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 300 lb (136 kg)
• Length: 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
• Wingspan: 24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
• Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-290-G4 4-cyl air-cooled horizontally opposed piston engine, 125 hp (93 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 160 kn (180 mph, 290 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 130 kn (150 mph, 240 km/h)
• Stall speed: 52 kn (60 mph, 97 km/h)
• Range: 260 nmi (300 mi, 480 km)

References

Eckland, K.O. "AIRCRAFT Ab to Ak". Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012.