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The Pitts Special is a light aerobatics biplane designed by Curtis Pitts, which has accumulated more competition wins than any other aircraft since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts Special dominated world aerobatic competition in the 1960s and 1970s and even today, remains a potent competition aircraft in the lower categories.
Certified versions of the compact Pitts Special are now produced by Aviat in Afton, Wyoming. It is available as a S1 single seater with a 200 horsepower (150 kW) flat-4 Lycoming engine and a 17' wingspan or as a S2 two seater variant featuring a 260 hp (194 kW) flat-6 Lycoming and a 20 ft (6 m) wingspan. The Pitts Special held sway over the aerobatic world championships until the rise of the monoplane, though it remains very competitive in all levels of competition and remains a favorite of airshow performers worldwide. The first monoplane to topple the Pitts from the top of unlimited aerobatic competition was the Russian built and designed Yak-50
Today, the single-seat Pitts Special S1-C and S1-SS designs are still offered in the form of plans and all necessary components by Steen Aero Lab in Palm Bay, Florida. The S1 continues to provide extremely high performance at a relatively low cost. Many hundreds of homebuilders have successfully completed and flown the Pitts since plans became available in 1960.
It is widely accepted that the Pitts Special is the standard by which all other aerobatic planes are judged. The design has been refined continuously since the prototype's first flight in 1944, however, the current Pitts Specials still remain quite close to the original in concept and in design. Pitts also built several monoplane racing planes in the 1940s-50s, the most famous of which was the Pitts Pellet or "Lil' Monster". He also built a two-seat sport monoplane called the "Big Hickey".
Several of the planes that Curtis built had a picture of a skunk on them and were called Stinkers. The second plane that Curtis built was called Lil' Stinker by Betty Skelton after she bought it. The prototype S-2A, which was the first 2 seat Pitts, was Big Stinker. The prototype S1-11B was Super Stinker. The prototype Model 12 was the Macho Stinker.
Curtis Pitts died at age 89. At the time of his death, he was working with Steen on the prototype of the new Pitts Model 14, a brand-new, 2-seat aerobatic biplane powered by the 400 hp Vendenyev radial engine. The Model 14 is designed for unlimited aerobatics. The rights to the Pitts name is now currently owned by Aviat which also owns the similar model to the Pitts in the Christen Eagle.
Designations
- All single seat (S1n) and two seat (S2n) are high performance biplanes with variations of a design that started in 1944. The design was popularized by Betty Skelton, Caro Bayley, and other performers, which lead to the offering of plans around 1960.
- S-1C = Plans built aircraft, flat bottom wing, two aileron, single seat engine was normally anything from an 85 hp continental to a 180 hp Lycoming, fixed pitch prop
- S-1D = Just an S-1C but with 4 ailerons
- S-1E Like S1-S, but homebuilt (E for Experimental) symmetrical wing.
- S-1S = 180 - 200+ hp, single seat, factory or homebuilt, symmetrical wing, 4 ailerons, fixed pitch prop.
- S-1T = 200 hp Lycoming AEIO-360, 4 aileron, single seat, factory built, symmetrical wing, constant speed 2 blade Hartzell prop.
- S-1-11B = 300+ hp Lycoming, 4 aileron, single seat, experimental-plans or factory built and factory component parts, symmetric airfoil, 3 blade constant speed prop rolls better than 400 degree/s, climbs better than 4000 ft/min
- S-2 = 180 hp Lycoming, 4 aileron, 2 seat, factory built prototype, symmetrical airfoil, fixed pitch prop
- S-2A = 200 hp Lycoming, 4 aileron, 2 seat, factory built, symmetrical airfoil, constant speed 2 blade Hartzell prop
- S-2B = 260 hp Lycoming, 4 aileron, 2 seat (larger fuselage than S2-A), factory built, symmetric airfoil, constant speed 2 blade Hartzell prop with options for a 3 blade MT or 3 blade Hartzell composite prop.
- S-2C = 260 hp Lycoming, 4 aileron, 2 seat, factory built, symmetric airfoil, constant speed 3 blade prop , current production model. Improved version of S-2B, with improved ailerons and rudder.
- S-2E = basically a kit built S-2 (maybe a few plans built) (most built to S-2A or S-2B standards)
- S-2S = 260 hp Lycoming IO540, 4 aileron, single seat, factory built, symmetrical wing, constant speed prop, 2 blade Hartzell prop...derivative of the S-2A, factory built, often used by airshow performers such as Jim LeRoy of Bulldog Airshows.
- Model 12 - 360 hp M14P Russian radial engine, 2-blade or 3 blade MT propellor, plans built, component parts available. Developed by Jim Kimball Enterprises (www.jimkimballenterprises.com) in Florida.
- Model 13 - a "coupe" type monoplane design. It was never built.
- Model 14 - A new design being built by Steen Aero Lab (www.steenaero.com) Two-place, 400hp M14.
- Model 15 - Reported as a light sport type monoplane aircraft being developed by Steen Aero Lab.
- Raptor- Based on the Model 12, a monoplane version of the aircraft, marketed by Jim Kimball Enterprises.
Military Operators
- Chile, Jordan, Venezuela.
External links
"Pitts Special"