Up until the mid'60's, if you wanted to have fun flying, you took to the skies in an old Champ or Cub. Airport coffee shops were happening places on weekends. Three corporate pilots from the Chicago area decided that there had to be some way to squeeze more fun out of flying. Most general aviation and recreational pilots were happy just to log a few hours every weekend, but Charles Roloff, Carl Unger, and Bob Liposky had something more extreme in mind. That is how they invented the Breezy.
A friend of theirs had a pair of wings from a wrecked PA-12. They sourced a tail section and a nose wheel fork from other aircraft. Unger was an expert welder, so they set about building an airframe to connect the parts together.
With the money saved by salvaging used parts, they bought a new C90 with a special pusher crank and bolted it behind the wing. The airframe was a simple truss, uncomplicated by the need to enclose the passengers and systems. Everything bolted to the outside, and the pilot perched on the nose.
They flew their creation all over the mid-west, having a blast and raising eyebrows everywhere they went. Someone asked them if it was a little breezy sitting out in the open, and the name "Breezy" stuck.
At the'65 Rockford EAA fly-in they introduced the aircraft to the public. The Breezy spent the entire weekend giving rides to enthusiastic passengers.
After returning from the fly-in and much to their surprise, they began receiving a large volume of mail asking for plans from which to build their own Breezy aircraft. They hadn't drawn any plans while they were building the plane, so they reverse-engineered a set. Since then they have sold over 1,000 copies of the simple drawings.
Although the Breezy had outstanding performance for its power, some thought that it could be improved upon. Always up for new challenges, Yakima Aerosport decided to do just that. They were already building the Super' Turbo Cub and a Super Cub using the Dakota Cub slotted wing. It made a big improvement in the STOL performance of the Super Cub, so it was natural to assume that it would do the same for a "Super Breezy."
Equipped with a 200HP fuel-injected engine, the Super Breezy boasts performance comparable to a Super Cub. Everyone who flies in it comes back to earth with a desire to own one and repeat the experience as many times as possible.
A friend of theirs had a pair of wings from a wrecked PA-12. They sourced a tail section and a nose wheel fork from other aircraft. Unger was an expert welder, so they set about building an airframe to connect the parts together.
With the money saved by salvaging used parts, they bought a new C90 with a special pusher crank and bolted it behind the wing. The airframe was a simple truss, uncomplicated by the need to enclose the passengers and systems. Everything bolted to the outside, and the pilot perched on the nose.
They flew their creation all over the mid-west, having a blast and raising eyebrows everywhere they went. Someone asked them if it was a little breezy sitting out in the open, and the name "Breezy" stuck.
At the'65 Rockford EAA fly-in they introduced the aircraft to the public. The Breezy spent the entire weekend giving rides to enthusiastic passengers.
After returning from the fly-in and much to their surprise, they began receiving a large volume of mail asking for plans from which to build their own Breezy aircraft. They hadn't drawn any plans while they were building the plane, so they reverse-engineered a set. Since then they have sold over 1,000 copies of the simple drawings.
Although the Breezy had outstanding performance for its power, some thought that it could be improved upon. Always up for new challenges, Yakima Aerosport decided to do just that. They were already building the Super' Turbo Cub and a Super Cub using the Dakota Cub slotted wing. It made a big improvement in the STOL performance of the Super Cub, so it was natural to assume that it would do the same for a "Super Breezy."
Equipped with a 200HP fuel-injected engine, the Super Breezy boasts performance comparable to a Super Cub. Everyone who flies in it comes back to earth with a desire to own one and repeat the experience as many times as possible.
About the Author:
The Yakima Aerosport Super Breezy is the only STOL breezy aircraft in the air today. Thousands of man hours went into the design, construction, and test phases. The end result was a breezy aircraft that boasts Super Cub performance making it a joy to fly. Contact Yakima Aerosport for more details on this modern take of an old concept and see what all the hype is about.
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