2-840-050 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

On a dare from another pilot, Ray Stits designed and built the Sky Baby at his home in Riverside, California, to prove that he could build the world's smallest man-carrying airplane. To test fly the tiny aircraft, Stits hired Robert H. Starr who took off on the first flight in April 1952. During the spring and summer, Starr flew the SA-2A at air shows around the nation before Stits retired the airplane in November. Starr reported that the Sky Baby could top 299 kph (185 mph) at full speed and touched down for landing at about 129 kph (80 mph).