The SITAR GY‑90 Mowgli was a French two‑seat light aircraft designed in the late 1960s by Yves Gardan and marketed by the Société Industrielle de Travaux Aéronautiques Réunis (SITAR) for homebuilding. It was intended as a smaller, simpler counterpart to Gardan’s earlier Bagheera design.
Design and development
The Mowgli was a conventional low‑wing, cantilever monoplane with a fixed tricycle undercarriage and a fully enclosed cabin. Construction was of metal throughout. Unlike the Bagheera, which could accommodate up to four occupants in a 2 + 2 layout, the Mowgli provided a single rear seat, carrying a pilot and one passenger with luggage space behind the seats. The aircraft was designed to accept either a 67 kW (90 hp) or 75 kW (100 hp) Continental flat‑four engine.
Plans and kits for the aircraft were sold to amateur builders, and the availability of these materials continued after SITAR ceased operations in 1972. The first prototype was expected to fly in 1970.
Naming
The model names in the SITAR series were drawn from characters in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book: the Bagheera, the Mowgli, and the later GY‑110 Sher Khan.
Specifications (as designed, with 67 kW engine)
| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
| Capacity | 1 passenger |
| Wingspan | 7.20 m (23 ft 7 in) |
| Wing area | 10.00 m² (107.6 sq ft) |
| Aspect ratio | 5.2:1 |
| Empty weight | 380 kg (838 lb) |
| Maximum take‑off weight | 630 kg (1 389 lb) |
| Powerplant | 1 × Continental air‑cooled flat‑four, 67 kW (90 hp) |
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Maximum speed | 225 km/h (140 mph, 121 kn) at sea level (75 % power) |
| Range | 800 km (500 mi, 430 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 4 000 m (13 000 ft) |
| Rate of climb | 4 m/s (790 ft/min) |
The GY‑90 Mowgli was part of SITAR’s brief portfolio of home‑built aircraft, which also included the four‑seat GY‑100 Bagheera and the larger GY‑110 Sher Khan.
