Eh, what a decent man, what an American, what a humble genius. He's probably got the angels flying inverted by now.
Even as the high-powered Eastern European monoplanes (and their western siblings like the CAP 232 and Zivko Edge) blew the Pittses out of the upper classes, Pitts Specials rock on. I never heard of anybody buying an Edge 540 for the sheer hell of it; but what's the most common reason for shelling out for a single-seat Pitts? "Cause I wanna!" -- and somewhere in Valhalla, I hope Curtis is grinning.
And his designs hae been great for others to improvise upon -- there's scarcely a stock S-1 in the sky -- and he's given a livelihood to hundreds, including the workers at Aviat in Afton, WY, and many others.
The Kimballs are building a single-seat, ultra-lightweight version of the Model 12 that they call the "Pitts Python." It looks like an S-1S in plan or side view (but has that big radial). Part of the plan is to develop data that can be used towards an unlimited aerobatic monoplane built on Model 12 technology. "A biplane will never match the roll rate of a monoplane. There's too much mass to get going," Kevin Kimball says. "But I prefer the biplane."
It was a classic from the first one that Curtis built, and it will be a classic fifty years from now when the cutting-edge unlimited aerobatic mounts of today are of interest only to historians.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Here here!
Thank you for writing that monologue about Curtis. I am one of the lucky ones - to be able to own and fly a little Pitts Special is a priviledge. Those of us who love them are a tight knit bunch and we share our lust for life and inverted flight.
It sounds like you know your way around the Aresti Code.
FReepmail me if you are interested in sharing more information. Including - what the heck does "d.o.l." mean?!
Dasher