The Smith Termite
Picture of the Smith Termite prototype above.
Thank you for your interest in the Smith Termite. We are very happy to be able to own and support this beautiful Wilber Smith designed aircraft and to have this design available to the homebuilt aircraft community once again. We are very pleased to add this great design to our stable of aircraft. The purchase of the Smith Termite design rights culminates a 23-year desire to own and support this design. In 2001, a friend and I had heard that the rights to the Smith Termite were coming available. We discussed the idea of purchasing the rights to this design, but for some reason we were unable to do so at the time. Thankfully the Smith family maintained the rights until just recently and we were able to obtain them directly from the individual they had passed them on to on December 17, 2024. It is exciting and such an honor for us to carry on the legacy of Wilbur Smith and his family and to support the builders and owners of this great looking and affordable homebuilt experimental aircraft. We look forward with great anticipation to keeping this aircraft plans set available and supported for the aircraft homebuilders to come.
The Smith Termite is a classic homebuilt aircraft designed and built by Wilbur L. Smith from Bloomington Illinois. The maiden flight was on February 10, 1957, and the "Smith Special" as "Smitty" called it at the time, happily exceeded all expectations. The aircraft is a braced parasol wing monoplane and is of all wood construction. The exception being that the motor mount, struts and landing gear are made out of steel. It was designed to use an engine from an Aeronca aircraft. Spruce was used as the structural material with birch plywood covering. The spars for the prototype were taken from an Aeronca K and the controls were modified from a Piper Cub. The prototype Termite aircraft did not have brakes or a tailwheel and the installation of these are not depicted in the drawings. However, since the prototype was first built, both brakes and a tailwheel had been added without any issue as were all of the Smith Termites that followed.
The original 12-page plans set was laboriously cleaned up resulting in a near pristine set of drawings. The latest plans set from Adams Aeronautics consists of a beautiful cover page with the original Smith Termite logo added back to preserve the legacy and integrity of the design and the drawings. This set of drawings are the original pages which were commissioned by Wilbur Smith to Mr. Robert "Bob" Stephenson to create. We have increased the total number of drawings to 17 to add additional information which was not included in the original set. A full-size wing rib drawing which was created in 2023, has been included in the plans set. With this drawing, the builder doesn't have to cut up DWG 3 (Sheet 3) and tape it together to make the template for the ribs. No cutting, measuring or taping required, set the rib drawing in the wing rib jig and cover with a protective plastic or similar material and you are ready to build your ribs. It also allows the builder to use a more modern-day method for producing the nose rib sections of the airfoil. The original airfoil drawing is still included, and it can still be traced, cut and taped into the full-size rib drawing. With the new rib design, we are happy to be able to provide another method of building the ribs.
We have also added a top view that has dimensions and a bottom view drawing to the plans set. These drawings were previously available only as part of the Smith Termite information package. We modified the original top view drawing by adding additional dimensions that we thought were helpful. We redrew these pages and scaled them to be the same size (18" x 24") as to compliment the plans package. These drawings make it easy to visualize the plane and to see the dimensions in scale. We have also included a resized and redrawn technical drawing from 1958. This redrawn image has some great detail but was not included in the original Termite or revisions that followed. Below is a copy of the updated plans cover page. Click on this link to view the full-size image.
The construction manual has been revised and completely updated for 2025 and beyond. The construction manual contains 26 illustration figures (Figure 1 - 26) that are used to detail everything from the fuselage layout on the work bench, motor mounts - both top and bottom, scaled full-size wing rib, wing plan, aileron details, gear attachment, control stick, etc, etc. The illustrations provide clarity where there is some ambiguity to help the builder see what parts should look like. We also added helpful information on finishing, glues, props, metal prep, AN hardware and tires & brakes. We added a section called "Flying the Termite" which was written by Wilbur and was used as promotional material in the information manual that he sold. This story by Wilbur was never added to the construction manual and it is not known how widely distributed this story has been. It is our desire that this 68-page document (original was 21 pages) will truly be a vital source of information to be used to build the Smith Termite. We hope to keep this a living document by adding additional helpful information as time goes by.
Original 1958 Handwritten Builder Manual (Click here to see the manual).
A pdf copy of the original construction manual is available in the link above. However, this manual is extremely difficult to read at best. Unfortunately, the surviving print copies are missing page #9, but the set included two page #10s. There are references made to wood compression members that are not found anywhere on the drawings. The above referenced 2025 construction manual addresses this and includes CAD illustrations and information for fabricating steel members. Although the original construction manual is interesting to read to learn how the designer and builders were thinking 70 years ago, the information that it contains is very lacking in details. However, it is still a good historical reference for Wilbur's thoughts, and we decided to keep it available.
The Smith Termite plans may be purchased for $140.00 USD per set plus shipping cost.
Shipping:
U.S.P.S. mail to Continental US: $15.00
U.S.P.S. mail to Alaska: $20.00
U.S.P.S. mail to Hawaii: $25.00
U.S.P.S. mail to foreign countries: Contact us for shipping costs.
The plans set will be shipped out insured and placed in a mailing tube for protection. You may use cash, personal checks (must clear both banks), US Postal Money Order, or Certified Check for payment purposes. Note: Georgia residents must add 7% sales tax.
If you wish to purchase online, please use PayPal as your option, this will allow you to use:
Click on the PayPal image below to go to the PayPal website. Use "contact @ adamsaero dot com" for the recipient ("To") e-mail address. Remember to add the appropriate shipping amount plus tax if applicable to the plans total. Please e-mail "kenneth.l.adams.jr @ gmail dot com" or call 404.219.7326 when you use PayPal, we have had issues with their notification process.
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About the designer and builder of the original Smith Termite:
Wilbur Louis Smith was an aviation pioneer, inventor, aircraft builder/restorer, mentor and founding member of two Illinois EAA Chapters. He earned his private pilot license in 1939 and in 1942 enlisted in the Army Air Corp. Being 28, he was deemed too old to fly overseas, so he was commissioned to train younger men. At the end of the war, he returned home to Bloomington, Illinois.
A retail store manager by trade, his hobby was designing and building aircraft. He was a master woodworker. He had helped his friends build a Pietenpol Sky Scout, so it was natural that once Paul Poberezny founded the Experimental Aircraft Association in 1953, Wilbur would become involved.
Wilbur designed and built his first his first experimental all wood aircraft in the family basement. He later flew his airplane to EAA events in Milwaukee to share his woodworking skills with others. He regularly attended the national EAA events, volunteering and sharing his knowledge of aircraft design and construction at member seminars. The aircraft that Smith designed became known as the Smith Termite. Smith sold plans for the Termite and built wing and tail assemblies for it as well. These items were sold mostly to other EAA members through his small company, "Wilbur Smith's Termite Aircraft". The original Termite is on display at the Oregon Space Museum in Eugene Oregon.
Wilbur began the construction of his new aircraft he called the Termite in 1956. On February 10, 1957, the "Smith Special" made its first flight and exceeded all of Smitty's expectations. The plane trimmed out with only minor adjustments and cruised 78 mph at 2250 rpm with the Aeronca E-113C 36 hp engine. Top speed at 2400 rpm was clocked at 93 mph. After a short takeoff run, the "Termite" climbed out at 450 ft/min with the 155 lb. designer and builder on board. What a wonderful accomplishment and first flight this was. The reasons Wilbur stated for building the Termite were basic and down to earth. Wilbur wanted a design that could be cheaply and easily built. Wilbur also wanted an airplane that would be easy and inexpensive to fly! Wilbur’s long and diverse flying experience dictated that the Termite must also be not only durable but be built and designed to last a lifetime. A Termite has a 10-g positive, and a 5-g negative safety factor designed in it. Wilbur built his first Termite for approximately $850, including the AERONCA E-113-C engine that he obtained.
Also in 1956 Wilbur, along with other aviation friends, felt a need to establish a local EAA chapter. In March of 1957, EAA Chapter 29 based in Champaign, Illinois was approved. Smith was a charter member and later served as president of the chapter. As a founding member, he also served as a lead volunteer with the chapter events including pancake breakfasts, fly-ins and fly-outs. When there was a chapter event, Smith was there to help. From 1959 until the late 1990's Wilbur volunteered each year to help with planning, setup, fly-in activity and seminars at EAA Air Venture.
Many of the EAA chapter 29 members lived in Bloomington and regularly traveled to Champaign for chapter events and meetings. In 1962, Wilbur and others from the Bloomington area fulfilled EAA requirements to start a Bloomington EAA chapter. It was designated as EAA Chapter 129. Wilbur was their first president and served in all leadership positions over the next 40 years.
In the 1980's Wilbur, along with Marion McClure, Bob Ryburn and fellow EAA members volunteered their time and expertise to restore the Tilbury Flash Midget Air Racer that had been owned by Art Carnahan. The Flash was designed by Owen Tilbury, a Bloomington Engineer, and with Art Carnahan flying it, took second place in the 1933 Chicago American Air Races. The aircraft was later found stored in a barn in McLean County. Smith was selected to restore the wings because of his expertise in woodworking. The beautifully restored Tilbury Flash now hangs from the ceiling of the terminal building at Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington.
The Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame honors the memory of Wilbur Louis Smith for exemplifying the spirit of the EAA by designing, building and restoring aircraft, sharing his skills and mentoring others, and supporting aviation events both locally and nationally.
This information is subject to change without notice.