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| The Pitts Special biplane has enlivened many an air show with stunning aerobatic qualities and inverted flying since its appearance in the 1970s. It has its origins in aerobatic designs by Curtis Pitts
dating back to 1947. Pitts also made plans available to amateur builders, particularly for the S1. In 1971 the Pitts moved in with an agricultural aircraft facility at Afton Wyoming; the newly designed S2A was produced thereon in certified form. The two-seat S2A could be used in either aerobatic or aerobatic training roles and was a major leap forward for American aerobatic design. Aviat Inc. acquired the facility in 1991 and the S2C version remains available to date.
Robert Jackson "The Encyclopedia of Aircraft", 2004
| MODEL | S-2A Special |
| CREW | 1-2 |
| PASSENGERS | 2 |
| ENGINE | 1 x 200hp Avco Lycoming IO-360-AIA flat-four piston engine |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 1355 kg | 2987 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 6.10 m | 20 ft 0 in |
| Length | 5.41 m | 18 ft 9 in |
| Height | 1.94 m | 6 ft 4 in |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 253 km/h | 157 mph |
| Ceiling | 6125 m | 20100 ft |
| Range | 552 km | 343 miles |
| Bruce Maurice Ramsay, e-mail, 08.09.2024 23:57 Help needed to establish that a Pitts S2A is in fact that model.
Do the certified Pitts S2A , have an aircraft data plate and where is it located please? reply | | Alexi, 03.06.2020 18:55 This IS the Pitts reply | | Jeffrey Lo, e-mail, 09.02.2015 03:41 Pat, I owned N8L for a stretch about 20 years ago. I even raced it at Reno in 1995. Great airplane, I wish I still had it. reply | | Bob Kusterer, e-mail, 20.05.2014 21:29 I used to own an S-1S and an S-2A. (N73D and N31456) Did air shows in the S-1 and taught aerobatics in the S-2. I have a nice picture on my wall of my two Pitts's in formation over Cape Cod with Nobska Lighthouse in the background. Those were the days; lots of fun. reply | |
| | Patrick Ledford, e-mail, 04.02.2014 20:19 I KNEW CURTIS PITTS VERY WELL, LIVING HERE IN HOMESTEAD, FL.
WHERE HE LIVED AND OWNED A CROP DUSTING BUSINESS. When he was
encouraged to make the plans available for the S-1. I built
the first plans built S-1, N8L, still flying in Calif.50 years now. Great little aerobatic Plane.I also did all the welding on the first S-2, another great trainer and airshow plane.When Curtis passed, I lost my best friend. Pat Ledford reply |
| Richard Schmidt, e-mail, 21.05.2012 03:01 I built N76RS in 1976 and it is still flying aerobatic competition. It is on its fourth owner and still going strong. What a great little airplane!! reply | | Richard Eckerle, e-mail, 04.10.2011 16:59 I built two Pitts specials in the seventies. First one N11RE bieng an S1 with 180 Hp Lycoming. The second N2DE
s1
I built two Pitts Specials in the seventies. The first one N11RE an S1 with Lycoming 0360 180 HP. Followed by the second one an S1S N2DE with Lycoming 0360 180 HP. I was a low time pilot with a couple hundred hours of tail drager time. It was quite a thrill on the first flight. I used these Pitts for recreational aerobatics.
In later years I restored A factory S2A pitts N33RS. These have been my very pick of all aircraft flown. I miss all of them greatly. reply | | Don P. Simons, e-mail, 17.06.2011 05:54 Roger is right! The Pitts can make an average aerobatic pilot look good. I few two. One was a homebuilt, built by a friend. His changes from the plans were not good and a slow roll with full aileron was really a slow slow roll.
Another friend was Drexel Scott who got Betty Skelton's "Little Stinker". I got to fly Little Stinker - N22E- several times and it was a honey. It had single ailerons, detuned 180 HP Lycoming (170 HP) flop tube and inverted oil for a limited time. Having flown my Smith Miniplane for many years the Pitts was just fun! Betty got it back and restored the paint job as it was when I first flew it - Drex changed the paint scheme after his reworking. It now hangs in the Smithsonian in and inverted attitude - very appropriate. reply | | Bill Dicus, e-mail, 11.01.2011 01:02 I've owned one of these since 1981 and can say it's a great airplane, especially in terms of fun to fly! Your take off weight is very wrong. The real max gross wt for aerobatic flight (+6-3 g's) is 1500 pounds or about 682 Kg. Utility category max gross is 1575 pounds. Maintenance over 29 yrs of vigorous use has been minimal. reply | | lclindenberg@gmail.com, e-mail, 14.12.2010 23:41 I owned N14CB for a number of years. I could never tell any one how great it flew. A person just had to fly it.
It was the first production 2 place built. The Cole brother had it First, Then one of the Thunderbirds owned it and flew with Joe Hughes and Art. I was honored to fly formation aerobatics with Joe and teach aerobatics at Arts School. reply | | sandppppr, e-mail, 22.01.2010 01:49 The Pitt's Special is currently being built by Aviat Aircraft, Inc. in Afton, WY along with two other aircraft: the Husky, a two place bush style aircraft and a kit for the Christen Eagle (two planes that will hopefully, someday be included in your very lengthly listings. reply | | Roger Moore, e-mail, 26.06.2008 21:49 The Pitt's Special is a great aircraft and makes an average aerobatic pilot look good, myself being the example. My first snap roll was near perfect and the spin is realetivly docile. Landing is not bad if the aircraft is setup right. reply |
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Patrick Ledford
Pat
I also knew and admired Curtis He was a benchmark for aerobatic pilots to dream about and never to be forgotteMy Dad had fondest regards for.Curtis and his abilities to develope the Pitts Special ,,
Sincerely Rusty Heard Jr..
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