Stephens Akro
The Stephens Akro is an American single-seat aerobatic monoplane designed by Clayton Stephens, begun in July 1966 for aerobatic champion Margaret Ritchie and first flown in 1967. Its fabric-covered steel-tube fuselage and wooden wings look delicate but are stressed to +12/-11 g, and derivatives of the design won seven US national championships and a world aerobatic title between 1975 and 1982. Most Akros fly with a 180-horsepower Lycoming, though builders fitted engines up to 230 horsepower. The airframe's mid-wing layout directly shaped later aerobatic designs, including the Laser and Raven, and ultimately the Extra 230 and 300 family.
Did you know?
The Stephens Akro, begun for aerobatic champion Margaret Ritchie, is the mid-wing aerobatic design that shaped the Laser, the Raven and the Extra family.
Specifications
| Length | 5.8 m (19 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 7.6 m (25 ft) |
| Height | 1.8 m (6 ft) |
| Persons on board | 1 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 0.6 t |
| Range | 350 NM (648 km) |
| Stall speed | 47 kt (87 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 15,000 ft (4,572 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 10,000 ft (3,048 m) |
| Rate of climb | 2,100 ft/min (10.7 m/s) |
| Units built | 13 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Stephens Akro starts as a Rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Stephens, the Akro family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
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