The ProYo Stunt Pilot 3 in 1 (often abbreviated as the SP3) from Playmaxx was one of the first yo-yos developed specifically for offstring play, which at the time of its release was a relatively new style. The first prototypes were made and tested in 1998 before the finalized retail version was released in December 1999.
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The Stunt Pilot was famous for its aviation-inspired design, including spinning propellers with protruding rounded tips on the hubs, allowing it to act as a spin top when thrown horizontally. Similar in shape to the Turbo Bumble Bee GT, the Stunt Pilot was designed with a notch in the inside of the outer rim, allowing one to affix the end of the string into this notch in order to wind up the yo-yo for offstring or spin top play.
Also released was an optional "Barnstormer" attachment that allowed the user to extend the propeller heads even further than what the standard propeller caps allowed. Unlike the Turbo Bumble Bee GT, the SP3 used a thinner variety of Brake Pads. These were half the thickness of the standard pads, and did not last nearly as long, causing string slippage issues when worn out from extensive use. The later release of the Stunt Pilot featured O-rings under the spacers to create a twist-adjustable string gap.
The Stunt Pilot was made of a durable plastic branded "ProYonium," allowing it to take more punishment without breaking (this was necessary for offstring play). ProYonium was advertised as an incredible, space-age memory-healing plastic. The first Stunt Pilot prototype, made in March 1998, was originally made of plastic, but Playmaxx figured out right away that it wasn't durable enough for the rigors of offstring play. This lead to the implementation of ProYonium in the finalized production model, after a test run of Albino Bee GTs that used the material in its natural color. In recent years, it was revealed that ProYonium is in fact, a variety of Celcon. In a famous test, a Stunt Pilot yo-yo was shot using a .45 caliber Winchester lever-action rifle from a distance of 15 feet. Though the projectile had passed through the plastic with ease, it was shown that the bullet hole had "healed" over time.
http://www.yoyomuseum.com/images/profiles/sp3-bullet.jpg
Duncan did not continue to produce the Stunt Pilot after buying out Playmaxx. Although, at one point in 2007, Duncan distributed a new-old stock (NOS) of Stunt Pilot yo-yos, which sat in a warehouse somewhere for a long time.
See Also[]
- P213 - A yo-yo design concept by Doctor Popular in the form of a combination yo-yo/spin top
- YO2 Delta - Spin top/yo-yo hybrid produced by Active People as part of the YO2 line.
- Dif-e-Yo Spike-Fly - A variant of the Dif-Fly with YoYoJam spin top bearing tips on the sides, also creating a yo-yo/spin top hybrid.
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