07/31/2012. Remarks by Walter van Tilborg: "The Baby Bird was an original design, built purely to regain the title of the world's smallest airplane. The one-of-a-kind aircraft, which featured a mixed steel tube (fuselage) and wood (wings) construction, was designed and built by Donald Stits, son of Ray Stits, who during the 1950s had already built several diminutive aircraft for the same purpose (Junior, Sky Baby).

The Baby Bird first flew on August 25, 1984, powered by a 55 hp Hirth two-stroke engine. It was mentioned in the 1984 Guiness Book of World Records as the world's smallest aircraft. The DS-1 was retired in 1989 after some 35 flights and was donated to the EAA Museum in Oshkosh the same year."