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About the Panzl S-330 Aircraft

The Panzl aircraft is named after its builder, Greg Panzl. His company, Wingtip to Wingtip is located in Onsted, Michigan. Greg Panzl began working on airplanes at an early age. He helped restore a Piper Tri-Pacer with his father, Bruce Panzl, when he was 13, motivated by the desire to learn to fly. Greg began building race cars in high school, started restoring antique and classic airplanes and eventually earned and A&P certificate. He became interested in the Staudacher design while attending aerobatic contests in Bay City, Michigan where Jon Staudacher is based. “We got to see his airplanes and I fell in love with the shape and the size. The profile of the airplane just looks monstrous. I really like the look. I bought an airplane from Jon and my brother, Chris, also ordered one that was built at the same time. I flew that for a couple years and just loved it. I was always a builder and loved working on airplanes. One day Jon mentioned that he wasn’t interested in building the same airplane over and over and we talked about not wanting to let the design go away because it’s a great airplane. I worked out a deal with Jon and started in building the first airplane.” Greg has a private strip with a large hangar plus a big shop to fabricate the airplanes, although he’s not interested in doing mass production. “I like doing custom airplanes and I want to support this airplane. When they leave they’re still my airplanes!

The Panzl’s fuselage is constructed with 4130 tubing. Fabric covers the area behind the cockpit with a removable turtle deck that’s made out of carbon fiber. The front panels and cowling are carbon fiber. All fuselage panels are removable for maintenance making it easy to inspect. The heart of the airplane, the wing, is the same as John Staudacher’s design and is one piece construction using a combination of Sitka spruce and carbon fiber. .The wing skin is 1/8-inch plywood covered with fabric.The ailerons are made using wood ribs and are covered with fabric. The ailerons are approximately 8 feet long each and hinged in 3 places. The main fuel tank is located ahead of the pilot’s seat.. The aircraft sits on solid aluminum gear. The pilot’s position is aft of the wing affording a view straight down, excellent for seeing aerobatic box markers The tail feathers are tubular construction covered with fabric and braced with flying wires. Spades on the rudder make it really light with good centering characteristics. Greg builds everything in-house with the wheels, canopy, and flying wires outsourced.

Greg also builds the Lycoming IO-540-G1D5 that powers the Panzl. This is an angle valve Lycoming engine that was used commercially in the Aerostar twin engine aircraft. It produces an honest 330 hp and is equipped with 10 to 1 pistons. Dual engine oil coolers and some modifications to the oiling system help keep things cool during the rigors of aerobatic flight. An MT propeller is mounted in front of the stout Lycoming.

Photos of Panzl during construction: Panzl Photo Gallery

Panzl S330 Specifications
Wing Span: 24' 4"	Length: 21 feet, 9-1/2 inches	Height: 5 feet, 11 inches
Wing Area: 110.8 square feet	Empty Weight: 1,289 lbs.	Gross Aerobatic Weight: 1,600 lbs.
Engine: Lycoming IO-540-G1D5 rated at 330 HP		Propeller: MT HTV-9-B-C three bladed composite construction
Vso (Stall) Speed: 59 MPH		Vne (never exceed) Speed: 250 MPH
Roll Rate: In excess of 420 degrees per second
Fuel Capacity: 65 gallons ( 23 gallons in main tank located forward of pilot, and 21 gallons in each wing tank) Note: Wing tank fuel for cross country flight only!