Smith Miniplane DSA-1
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The Smith Miniplane is Frank Smith's single-seat open-cockpit biplane of 1956, a 17 ft span steel-tube-and-wood design sold as plans for seventy years: 616 lb empty, 1,000 lb gross, Continentals and Lycomings of 65-125 hp, and 1977 directory figures of 122 mph cruise, a 56 mph stall and 1,600 fpm on an O-235.
The Miniplane is a small, strong, straightforward biplane for one person and it is bought for the fun of flying a biplane cheaply rather than for going anywhere; the 56 mph stall is high for the size, and a short-coupled tailwheel biplane with the runway hidden by the nose asks for a current pilot, with no two-seat version to learn in. Plans-built over seven decades, so welding, spruce spars, ribs, rigging and fabric are the inspection and the builder's log the history, and engines from an A-65 to an O-290 have been fitted with the weight following; the aircraft's weight-and-balance is the number to trust. The owner may maintain it and the condition inspection needs an A&P or the repairman certificate; plans and some parts remain available.
Variants of the Smith Miniplane
- Miniplane DSA-1 · 1956 · 70 active · this page
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Partial: 8.7 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)
Among 1–2 seat pistons (319 models)
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Put Smith Miniplane DSA-1 side by side with up to three other models.
- Smith Miniplane DSA-1
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What it is
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tailwheel |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Lycoming O-235-C (108 hp; 65-125 hp Continentals and Lycomings fitted) |
| Horsepower | 108 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 1956 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 106 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 261 nm |
| Service ceiling | 13,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,600 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 49 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 384 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,000 lb |
| Empty weight | 616 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 244 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 70 |
| Median year built | 1968 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 28.57 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 28.57 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 3 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 4.29 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 2 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 70 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 70 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 70 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 3.8 of 103 |
| Support | 4.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.3 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | Partial: 8.7 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)6 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 319 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.33.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 79.
- Liquidity: class median 19.91.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30