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The Fly Baby was the winning entry in the 1962 Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Design Contest. Designed and built by Seattle resident Peter Bowers, the little plane specifically met EAA's requirements for a low-cost, folding wing plane that could be towed or trailered and is easy to build and fly. A popular design with many homebuilt aircraft enthusiasts, the Fly Baby's plans sold for about $65. The finished airplane could fit in a standard garage and could also be built in biplane and twin-float seaplane versions. Although not intended for heavy aerobatics, the little Fly Baby can do simple loops, barrel rolls, and spins.
A life-long aviation enthusiast, Bowers wrote his first aviation article as a high school student in 1938. He became one of the world's most respected aviation historians, with numerous books and hundreds of articles to his credit. Never far from a camera, Bowers also amassed one of the United States' largest collections of aviation prints and negatives, now held in The Museum of Flight's archives.
The Museum's Fly Baby is the original prototype, built by Peter Bowers himself. Bowers labored 720 hours to construct the aircraft, at a cost of $1,050. It first flew on July 27, 1960 (the EAA contest was postponed to 1962 due to initial lack of entries). Following a crash by another pilot in April 1962, the fuselage was replaced. It was later obtained by Bob and Diane Dempster. The Museum acquired the aircraft from the Dempsters in 2004.
The Fly Baby was the winning entry in the 1962 Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Design Contest. Designed and built by Seattle resident Peter Bowers, the little plane specifically met EAA's requirements for a low-cost, folding wing plane that could be towed or trailered and is easy to build and fly. A popular design with many homebuilt aircraft enthusiasts, the Fly Baby's plans sold for about $65. The finished airplane could fit in a standard garage and could also be built in biplane and twin-float seaplane versions. Although not intended for heavy aerobatics, the little Fly Baby can do simple loops, barrel rolls, and spins.
A life-long aviation enthusiast, Bowers wrote his first aviation article as a high school student in 1938. He became one of the world's most respected aviation historians, with numerous books and hundreds of articles to his credit. Never far from a camera, Bowers also amassed one of the United States' largest collections of aviation prints and negatives, now held in The Museum of Flight's archives.
The Museum's Fly Baby is the original prototype, built by Peter Bowers himself. Bowers labored 720 hours to construct the aircraft, at a cost of $1,050. It first flew on July 27, 1960 (the EAA contest was postponed to 1962 due to initial lack of entries). Following a crash by another pilot in April 1962, the fuselage was replaced. It was later obtained by Bob and Diane Dempster. The Museum acquired the aircraft from the Dempsters in 2004.
