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Andreas' plane is beautiful, to say the least!
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This looks like a very idyllic setting, doesn't it!
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This shot shows the Skybolt's graceful lines well.
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Distinctive nose art. Look closely at how neatly Andreas made the cutouts in the sheetmetal where the cabane struts come through. This is typical of the attention he's put into the details of this project!
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The upper tank has a tried and true sight glass fuel indicator. When the fuel level in the wing tank drops to near empty, a float in the tank also drops with it, and an indicator comes into view in the glass tube.
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Nice hand-painted nose art. Andreas used Ceconite and Randolph coatings.
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Close-up of the rear of the plane.
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This is where biplanes were meant to be... a beautiful grass field.
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The Skybolt has an elegant outline.
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This view shows the bungee gear well. The constant-speed prop and governor are custom-made by MT for aerobatic use.
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The Skybolt during construction.
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The pilot's cockpit is well appointed. Andreas opted to install a clear panel at the bottom of the cockpit.
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The cockpit during construction. Note the great attention paid to detail everywhere you look! The seats are covered in leather.
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The passenger (front) seat only has the basic instruments... airspeed, altitude, and tachometer... and throttle, prop, and mixture controls. You can easily see the landing gear's bungee installation and the main fuel tank here as well. In the upper left, you can see the pop-up air vent which is accessed by reaching under the dash.
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The Skybolt during oconstruction. The registration hasn't been added yet.
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It would be pretty hard to miss this engine! It's a Lycoming O-540-B2B5 that has been reworked into a 300hp AEIO-540.
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Detail work on the engine. Nice!
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The engine installation is neatly done. Andreas' plane reflects a high standard for quality both inside and out.
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The right-side cowl area.
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The front of the airplane before the propeller was installed. You can see the oil cooler inside the cowl, to the right side of the photo.
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Andreas Kranz, a really nice guy who also happens to be Steen's representative for Germany and Europe, sent along these great photos of his newly-completed and very beautiful Skybolt. Andreas began his project in 1992 and spent around 3800 to 4000 spare-time hours to complete it, with help from his good friend Werner Enk. All the components were purchased from Steen Aero Lab. ("The quality is very good and they work great. I build my Skybolt exact to the information and plans from Steen Aero Lab.", he says.) The engine is a Lycoming O-540-B2B5, built to a 280hp AEIO-540 (300hp with the Ram Air system.) It has a Christen oil system, Air Wolf oil filter, and a B+C alternator and starter. The engine drives a hydraulic constant-speed MT propeller which is specially made for the Skybolt and planes like the Pitts. Low pitch is 9 degrees, high pitch is 30 degrees. The prop governor is also a special item from MT, which works 1.5 times faster than a normal governor. Andreas installed a Steen smoke system as well.
The Skybolt's empty weight is 1370 lb (623 kg) and the gross weight is about 1900-2000 lb (940kg) with 41.2 gallons of 100LL between the main and wing tanks. The plane is covered with Ceconite using Randolph chemicals and color coats. The cockpits are trimmed with leather and Andeas points out that the aluminum is the same as used in Germany's Tornado fighter jet, and he elected to install Steen's bubble canopy for comfort and visibility.
If you look at the photos closely, you can see many outstanding details - such as the rubber coaming around the holes in the upper fuselage sheet metal where the cabanes exit. All in all, this is truly a first-class project all the way. If you get a chance to see this plane up close, you're in for a real treat!
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