HISTORY
All
Pitts
Specials are variations on
the basic design from 1944.
Pitts produced limited
numbers of aircraft during
the 1940s and 1950s. It is
widely accepted that the
Pitts Special is the
standard by which all other
aerobatic aircraft are
judged. After a number of
home-built aircraft were
produced from rough
hand-drawn plans produced by
Pitts, more professionally
drawn plans went on sale in
1962. The design's
popularity grew
significantly following Bob
Herendeen's participation on
the USA Aerobatic Team in a
Pitts Special in the World
Aerobatic Competition in
Moscow, Russia in 1966.
In 1972, the US National
Aerobatic Team won the World
Championships flying only
Pitts biplanes.
In 1977 Curtis Pitts sold
his interests in the Pitts
S1 & S2 to Doyle Child.
Child later sold the rights
in 1981 to Frank
Christenson, who continued
production at the Afton
plant under the guise of
Christen Industries.
The rights for home-built
versions of the Pitts were
sold in 1994 to Steen Aero
Lab,
with the Afton factory and
production rights being
transferred to Aviat.
Curtis Pitts died in 2005 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, two-seat biplane
designed for unlimited
aerobatics powered by the
400 horsepower
Vedeneyev M14P
radial engine. The rights to
the Pitts name is currently
owned by Aviat which also
owns the similar model to
the Pitts in the Christen
Eagle.
Certified versions of the
compact Pitts are now
produced by Aviat in Afton,
Wyoming. It is available as
an S1 single-seater with up
to 200 hp (150 kW) flat-4
Lycoming engine and a 17 ft
4 in (5.28 m) wingspan, or
as an S2 two-seater variant
featuring a 260 hp (194 kW)
flat-6 Lycoming and a 20 ft
(6.1 m) wingspan. Pitts
Specials have been equipped
with engines of up to 450 hp
(338 kW).
The Pitts 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
air show 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
S1-S plans are available
from Aviat Aircraft. The
S1-C and derivative S1-SS
plans and kits are supplied
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.
Source:
Wikipedia
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