Pitts Special S1

This Pitts Special is owned and operated by member Kevin Fearey.

Curtis Pitts built his first Pitts Special in 1944, powered by a little Continental C-90 engine. By the mid 1960s the aerobatic aces had come to realise what a strong and manoeuvrable little aeroplane it was, fitting it with bigger and bigger engines, and later, with a symmetrical-section wing and four ailerons for even better inverted and rolling performance. For more than a decade Pitts' led the field in advanced and unlimited aerobatics.

A two-seat derivative, the S-2 was developed in 1967. In the 1970s Pitts went from selling plans into aircraft production, and hundreds of Pittses were sold in the next couple of decades. Curtis (Pappy) Pitts died in early 2005.

Kevin Fearey's Pitts is an S-1C with the original Munk M5 aerofoil and a 200 horsepower, fuel injected Lycoming O-360 engine.