With form following function, the STOL CH 801 kit aircraft looks like the sport utility aircraft it is designed to be. Not designed to be just another pretty aircraft, the STOL CH 801 was developed to provide maximum short-field performance while being easy to build and maintain.
The STOL CH 801 is a four-seat sport utility kit aircraft based on the successful two-seat STOL CH 701 design developed by aeronautical engineer Chris Heintz in the mid eighties. Since its introduction in 1986, more than 400 short take-off and landing STOL CH 701 aircraft have been successfully built and flown around the world, many being used for light utility purposes.
"The two-place STOL CH 701 has been a success story largely unnoticed in the U.S.," wrote EAA Sport Aviation magazine is its April 1998 issue. "More than 400 have been completed worldwide but only 100 of them have emerged from homebuilder's shops in the U.S. Usually that ratio would be reversed, but the real world use of the airplane has dictated otherwise. A significant number of those being used in Africa and other under-developed areas of the world rarely or never see a paved runway... or any sort of formal runway, for that matter."
The larger STOL CH 801 has been developed to expand the utility of the STOL CH 701 model by increasing the useful load from 225 kg. (500 lbs) to 450 kg. (1,000 lbs) while retaining the original design's short and rough field capability. While the two designs share many similarities in appearance, they actually do not share any airframe parts due to the significantly larger size of the STOL CH 801.
The STOL CH 801 is a four-seat sport utility kit aircraft based on the successful two-seat STOL CH 701 design developed by aeronautical engineer Chris Heintz in the mid eighties. Since its introduction in 1986, more than 400 short take-off and landing STOL CH 701 aircraft have been successfully built and flown around the world, many being used for light utility purposes.
"The two-place STOL CH 701 has been a success story largely unnoticed in the U.S.," wrote EAA Sport Aviation magazine is its April 1998 issue. "More than 400 have been completed worldwide but only 100 of them have emerged from homebuilder's shops in the U.S. Usually that ratio would be reversed, but the real world use of the airplane has dictated otherwise. A significant number of those being used in Africa and other under-developed areas of the world rarely or never see a paved runway... or any sort of formal runway, for that matter."
The larger STOL CH 801 has been developed to expand the utility of the STOL CH 701 model by increasing the useful load from 225 kg. (500 lbs) to 450 kg. (1,000 lbs) while retaining the original design's short and rough field capability. While the two designs share many similarities in appearance, they actually do not share any airframe parts due to the significantly larger size of the STOL CH 801.
