The Steen Skybolt 250, the Homebuilt Biplane That Still Teaches Stick and Rudder the Hard Way

A 1994 Steen Skybolt powered by a 250-horsepower engine has earned a spot on Flying Magazine’s “AircraftForSale” top pick list. The Skybolt is a two-seat, fully aerobatic homebuilt biplane - welded steel tube, wood, and fabric - that rewards genuine stick-and-rudder skill and forgives very little. For pilots raised on glass cockpits and tricycle gear, it’s a reminder of what flying once demanded of the person holding the stick.

What Is the Steen Skybolt?

The Steen Skybolt is a two-seat aerobatic biplane designed in the early 1960s by Lamar Steen, a high school shop teacher in Denver. That origin defines the airplane: Steen drew it up as a hands-on project for students to build by hand in a classroom, rib by rib. It was never meant for an assembly line - it was meant to teach the craft of construction.

The airframe is a welded steel tube fuselage, wood wing spars, and fabric covering, with two open cockpits arranged in tandem. It rides on conventional gear - a tailwheel, not a nosewheel. That single detail changes everything about how you fly it.

Why the 250-HP Engine Matters

The airplane in this listing is a homebuilt completed in 1994 and fitted with a 250-horsepower engine. Stock Skybolts were commonly built around a Lycoming in the 180-to-260-horsepower range, so 250 horses sits near the top of that band.

Bolt that much power to an airframe this light and you get a power-to-weight ratio most factory airplanes cannot match. The result is a biplane that climbs hard, responds crisply, and has light controls - the kind of airplane where you think about a maneuver and it’s already halfway through it.

Why “Back-to-Basics” Doesn’t Mean Easy

When Flying calls this a “nimble, back-to-basics” airplane, the word “basic” is carrying a lot of quiet weight. Basic does not mean easy. It means the airplane hides nothing and forgives little.

A Skybolt has no autopilot, no glass panel, and no envelope protection. What it offers instead is a stick, a rudder you will absolutely need, and a direct mechanical link between your hands and the control surfaces. If you learned to fly in a Cessna 172 or a Cirrus and have never flown behind a tailwheel, the skills this airplane demands are the skills that made pilots in the first place.

Why the Tailwheel Changes How You Fly

Conventional gear places the main wheels ahead of the center of gravity. On landing, that geometry wants to swap ends on you the moment you get lazy with your feet - the dreaded ground loop, which has embarrassed far better pilots than most of us will ever be.

Flying a taildragger means your feet never stop working. You fly the airplane until it’s tied down, dancing on the rudder pedals through the entire rollout, and you learn to read a crosswind as a live opponent rather than a nuisance.

That discipline is the payoff. An airplane like the Skybolt makes you sharper in every other airplane you fly. Stick-and-rudder habits transfer. Flying the airplane all the way to a stop transfers. Respect for the wind transfers.

Can You Do Aerobatics in a Skybolt?

Yes - this is a fully aerobatic airframe capable of loops, rolls, hammerheads, and the full vocabulary of basic and intermediate aerobatics. But a plain warning belongs here: if you buy an airplane like this and have never flown aerobatics, do not teach yourself.

Get proper instruction. Find an aerobatic instructor, wear a parachute, learn the maneuvers correctly, and understand both your limits and the airplane’s before you pull G in an open cockpit. The airplane will do it all day. The real question is whether the pilot is ready. Honest airplanes tell you when you’ve made a mistake.

What to Know Before Buying an Experimental Homebuilt

A 1994 homebuilt is a very different animal from a certified airplane. This is an experimental amateur-built aircraft, a category defined by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) that carries real advantages and real responsibilities.

The advantage: if you hold the repairman certificate for an airplane you built, you can perform a great deal of your own maintenance. Experimentals give owners latitude on parts, modifications, and avionics that certified airplanes do not.

The catch for buyers: if you didn’t build it, the repairman certificate does not transfer to you. You’ll need an airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic for your condition inspections - the experimental equivalent of an annual. Factor that into your ownership math before you fall in love.

Do your homework on any homebuilt: who built it, how many hours are on the airframe and engine, and what the build quality looks like under the fabric. Get a pre-buy inspection from someone who specifically knows tube-and-fabric aerobatic airplanes. A Skybolt built well is a treasure; a Skybolt built poorly is a project wearing the disguise of an airplane. Know which one you’re looking at.

Who Is This Airplane For?

Two open cockpits mean you fly in the weather you’re actually in - wind in your face, the smell of the airport, the engine right there in front of you. You give up instrumentation and comfort. What you get back is the pure, unfiltered act of flying.

This airplane is for the pilot who wants to be challenged, who’s tired of automation flying the airplane and wants to feel it again, and who has - or is willing to earn - real tailwheel and aerobatic proficiency. It is not a first airplane, and it is not a passive one. For the right pilot, this nimble, powerful, honest 250-horsepower Skybolt is about as much fun as you can strap into.

Key Takeaways

• A 1994 Steen Skybolt with a 250-horsepower engine made Flying Magazine’s “AircraftForSale” top pick list.
• The Skybolt is a two-seat aerobatic biplane designed in the early 1960s by Denver shop teacher Lamar Steen as a student build project.
• Its tailwheel configuration and lack of automation demand - and build - genuine stick-and-rudder skill.
• As an experimental amateur-built aircraft, the repairman certificate doesn’t transfer to buyers; you’ll need an A&P for condition inspections.
• Always get aerobatic instruction and a specialist pre-buy inspection before flying or buying one.