By Mike Davenport, Langley, British Columbia
The Skybolt, designed by Lamar Steen in the 1970s in order to meet the needs of larger pilots than was the case with Pitts of the day, is not only roomier but larger overall. The airplane could even be called an early “composite” as the construction included a welded tube fuselage and wooden wings covered with fabric, each requiring a multitude of skills. The prototype was built by the designer’s students in their high school shop class and was powered by a 180-hp Lycoming.
John Watt, a Toronto-based airline pilot and amateur aircraft builder built not one but two Skybolts. His workmanship was exemplary and was confirmed in 1976 when one of them was an Oshkosh Lindy trophy winner in its first outing as Reserve Grand Champion and Best Canadian Homebuilt.
C-GDJM is currently owned and meticulously maintained by Peter Dreyer, who makes his home in southern British Columba. As a former airline pilot with experience in both air show and competitive aerobatics, he enjoys sharing the Skybolt’s capabilities.
The aircraft had been in storage for some time when Peter purchased it from an estate in the Okanagan. He has since refurbished it, including an overhaul of the AEIO 360 Lycoming (now somewhere north of 200 hp) as well as the installation of a new MT 3-blade propeller. Included in the list of updates is the replacement of most of the “steam gauges” with their updated digital counterparts, thus creating an IFR-capable biplane. The only other major modification that Peter has made was the addition of a full canopy, covering both front and rear seats. The original had a canopy for the rear seat only with a windshield to keep a passenger out of the breeze. Remarkably, the Skybolt’s fabric and immaculate paint job was not part of the refurbishment but is the original coating applied 50 years ago.
