Slingsby T66 Nipper

Developed in 1952 by Ernest Oscar Tips, the Tipsy Nipper was designed as an easy to fly, plus cheap to buy and maintain, whilst being fully aerobatic. Named after Ernest’s granddaughter's nickname, the design was also suited to both factory production and home building. Avions Fairey originally produced 59 complete aircraft and 78 kits however, production then ended in order to facilitate the assembly of the F-104G Starfighter for the Belgian Air Force. A further 18 Nippers were produced by Cobelavia in 1962 as the D-158. 

In 1966, the license was sold to Nipper Aircraft Ltd and the Mk.3 was produced by Slingsby Sailplanes. Production ended in 1968 when the factory was hit by fire and Slingsby went bankrupt. The Nipper is rapidly becoming a rare aircraft; in 2010 34 existed on the UK civil register but by 2017 there were just 19.  

This popular light aerobatic aircraft will return to RIAT26 for static display. 

Photo Credit: Stuart Freer