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| Ray Stits | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ray Stits |
| Birth date | 1911 |
| Birth place | Orange, California |
| Death date | 1994 |
| Occupation | Aircraft designer, engineer, entrepreneur |
Ray Stits Ray Stits was an American aircraft designer and homebuilt aviation pioneer whose work influenced experimental aircraft, light aircraft, and amateur-built aviation communities. He developed fabric covering systems and a series of kit and plans-built aircraft, contributing to postwar general aviation, light sport aircraft movements, and aircraft homebuilding organizations. His career intersected with notable figures and institutions across aerospace, design, and pilot communities.
Born in Orange, California, Stits grew up amid Southern California aviation activity linked to Long Beach Airport, El Segundo, and the rise of companies such as Lockheed Corporation, Douglas Aircraft Company, and Northrop Corporation. He pursued technical training and practical apprenticeship paths reflecting influences from Aero Club of Southern California, regional flying schools, and wartime production centers like Burbank, California and Palmdale, California. Early contacts with engineers from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base-era research and local mechanics shaped his self-directed education in aircraft structures, materials, and engines.
Stits's aviation career spanned roles as mechanic, fabricator, and designer interacting with communities around Federal Aviation Administration, Civil Aeronautics Administration, and grassroots groups such as the Experimental Aircraft Association and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He worked on maintenance and modification projects connected to operators at Hawthorne Municipal Airport and bespoke restorations for owners of Cessna, Piper Aircraft, and Beechcraft types. His practical work paralleled developments at institutions like National Air and Space Museum and collaborations with pilots associated with Air Racing circuits and barnstorming traditions tied to Charles Lindbergh-era popular aviation.
Stits developed multiple designs and technical innovations, notably fabric systems and light airframe concepts that influenced kitplane culture alongside designers such as Burt Rutan, Ken Rand, and Paul Poberezny. He created a line of small aircraft with designations that became familiar to homebuilders, using methods compatible with engines from Continental Motors, Lycoming Engines, and conversion practices influenced by Warner Scarab-era radial work. His innovations in fabric covering competed conceptually with systems used by Ceconite, Poly-Fiber, and traditional dopes, and his emphasis on simplicity resonated with movements promoted by Homebuilt Aircraft Association advocates. Stits's approach touched on aerodynamic issues addressed in texts by NASA researchers and academic programs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology.
He founded Stits Aircraft, a business interacting with suppliers and associations such as Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Company, Wicks Aircraft Supply, and regulatory bodies including Federal Aviation Administration certification pathways for amateur-built aircraft. Stits Aircraft marketed plans and kits in a market that included competitors like RANS Inc., Van's Aircraft, and Christavia. The company served customers in regions from Pacific Coast hangars to Midwest builders influenced by events like EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and exhibitions at venues such as Sun 'n Fun and PALM BEACH AIRSHOW-style gatherings. His commercial activities engaged with insurers, maintenance facilities near Santa Ana, and pilot communities using airports such as John Wayne Airport (SNA) and Ontario International Airport.
Stits received recognition from amateur aviation and community organizations, being honored in contexts similar to awards granted by Experimental Aircraft Association, National Aviation Hall of Fame, and regional aviation heritage groups in Orange County. His contributions were noted alongside pioneers recognized by Smithsonian Institution exhibits, and his innovations were referenced in publications produced by Flying (magazine), AOPA Pilot, and technical bulletins circulated through Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association channels. He participated in commemorations and gatherings attended by figures from general aviation history, preservationists associated with Commemorative Air Force, and museum curators from institutions like Museum of Flight.
Stits's personal life reflected deep involvement with pilot communities, builder networks, and local aviation clubs centered in Southern California, connecting to personalities from biplane restorations to contemporary experimental aircraft advocates. His legacy endures through surviving aircraft, the continued use of fabric covering practices inspired by his methods, and the cultural impact on kitplane proliferation seen at events such as EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and regional fly-ins. Preservation efforts by organizations like National Aviation Heritage Invitational and private collectors keep his designs in flying condition, influencing new generations of designers and builders associated with institutions such as Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University.
Category:Aircraft designers Category:People from Orange, California Category:1911 births Category:1994 deaths