Curtis H. Pitts began the design of the Pitts Special in 1942 in Jacksonville, Florida. The first Pitts Special aircraft, powered by a 90hp Franklin engine, flew in 1944. For the following 25 years, the Pitts Special was constructed as a homebuilt only. During this period, the design was continually refined to improve aerobatic performance. By 1962, the standard engine had been increased to 180 hp, and in 1966 a symmetrical airfoil was added to make inverted flight characteristics similar to normal upright flight characteristics.
In 1970, a manufacturing operation known as Pitts Aerobatics was started in Afton, Wyoming. The first Pitts Special S-2A was produced in Afton in 1971. During the 1970's, most Pitts Special versions were Type-Certified under the requirements of FAR Part 23 in the Acrobatic Category. Since then, the Pitts Special S-2A, S2B an S2C have received Type-Certification and has become the most popular version of the Pitts Special line in current production.
|
