Smyth Sidewinder

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The Smyth Model S Sidewinder is a US-made, all-metal, two-seat side-by-side, low-wing homebuilt aircraft designed by Jerry Smyth. Smyth began the design in 1958, and the prototype’s construction started in January 1967, taking about two years to complete. Smyth even crafted the first component himself—a wooden control stick grip he said the plane was built around. Plans and kits for homebuilders were sold to build this aircraft.

The Sidewinder uses a welded steel-tube frame with aluminum skin and has all-aluminum wings, stressed to plus or minus 9g for aerobatics. Engine options run from about 90 to 180 horsepower, with engines weighing up to about 310 pounds and enclosed in a fiberglass cowling. It features a sliding canopy, conventional controls, and an all-flying tailplane for pitch control, plus an unusual under-fuselage spoiler for approach control. The original design shared the windscreen with a Thorp T-18. The prototype won the Outstanding Design Award at the 1969 Experimental Aircraft Association convention in Rockford, Illinois. Today, the rights to the Sidewinder are held by EU-Wish, which continues to market the design. By 1972, about 290 sets of plans had been sold, and at least 46 examples were registered and flying.