Encyclopedia - Pitts Special

Curtiss Pitts built the first Pitts Special in 1947 for US aerobatic display pilot Betty Skelton. After only selling a small number of aircraft he made the plans available to amateur aircraft builders who had the patience and skill to build an aircraft for themselves. In 1976 he sold all the rights and in 1977 a new company, Pitts Aerobatics, was founded at Afton, Wyoming to continue selling the plans and kits for amateur builders. Pitts Aerobatics also started manufacturing these aircraft for those who wish to have factory-built aircraft.

The Pitts Special is an aerobatic biplane aircraft. It features fixed tailwheel type undercarriage and is generally powered by Lycoming piston engines. Inverted fuel and oil systems are standard features on the Pitts Special. The Pitts S-1S Special is a single-seat aircraft powered by the Avco Lycoming IO-360-B4A flat-four piston engine, and since 1981 has been improved to the S-1T Special with the Avco Lycoming AEIO-360-A1E engine driving a constant-speed propeller.

A slightly larger two-seat version is available as the S-2A Special. The S-2B is powered by the Avco Lycoming AEIO-540 flat-six piston engine rated at 194kW (260hp). This version is capable of unlimited aerobatics with two up.

The Pitts S-2S Special is similar to the S-2A, having a shortened fuselage only being a single seater. It is powered by the same engine as the S-2B.

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