Sorrell Aviation
American aircraft manufacturer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sorrell Aviation was an American aircraft manufacturer based in Tenino, Washington, founded by Hobart C. Sorrell and sons John, Mark and Tim in about 1958. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of light aircraft in the form of plans and kits for amateur construction including for the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules.[1][2][3]
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | circa 1958 |
| Founder | Hobart C Sorrell and sons John, Mark and Tim |
| Defunct | circa 1983 |
| Fate | Out of business |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Kit aircraft |
The company's first design was the Sorrell Dr.1, a single seat, 3/4 scale replica of the First World War Fokker Dr.1 triplane that was produced in 1957.[3]
Well known for designing negative-stagger cabin biplanes, the company produced the single seat homebuilt Sorrell Guppy, first flying in 1967. The aerobatic Sorrell Hiperbipe was introduced in 1973. A later design of the company was the 1983 single-seat Sorrell SNS-8 Hiperlight design for the US FAR 103 ultralight category. It was sold initially by Sunrise Aircraft of Sheridan, Oregon and was still in production by Thunderbird Aviation of Ray, Michigan in 2015.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
The company's final design was the 1985 two seat version of the SNS-8, the Sorrell SNS-9 Hiperlight, which also remained in production in 2015 by Thunderbird Aviation.[3][8]
Aircraft
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sorrell Dr.1 | 1957 | 1 | Single seat homebuilt aircraft, 3/4 scale replica of the World War I Fokker Dr.1 triplane. |
| Sorrell DFG-1 | 1958 | 1 | Single seat homebuilt aircraft |
| Sorrell Nieuport 17 | 1961 | 1 | Single seat homebuilt aircraft, 3/4 scale replica of the World War I Nieuport 17 biplane. |
| Sorrell Biggy Rat | 1967 | 1 | Single seat homebuilt aircraft |
| Sorrell Golden Condor | homebuilt aircraft | ||
| Sorrell Intruder | homebuilt aircraft | ||
| Sorrell Guppy | 1967 | Single seat biplane homebuilt aircraft | |
| Sorrell SNS-4 | 1970 | 1 | Two seat biplane homebuilt aircraft |
| Sorrell Robinson Wenoso | 1970s | 1 | Single seat biplane homebuilt aircraft |
| Sorrell Hiperbipe | 1973 | Two seat biplane homebuilt aircraft | |
| Sorrell SNS-8 Hiperlight | 1982 | 603 (SNS-8, Dec 2011) | Single seat biplane ultralight aircraft |
| Sorrell SNS-9 Hiperlight | 1985 | 26 (SNS-9, Dec 2011) | Two seat biplane homebuilt aircraft |
