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Meet the aircraft
Curtis Pitts's biplane first flew in 1944 and became established in competition aerobatics. Its short fuselage and closely stacked wings were developed through versions with different engines, seating and airframe details.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A familiar Pitts feeling survives a very unfamiliar fitting
Davisson’s introduction to the Super Stinker included a telephone warning from Curtis Pitts about its quick, sensitive controls. A more immediate problem appeared in the cockpit: his footwear did not fit the brake arrangement properly. He handed his boots and socks out to Pat Ledford and made the flight barefoot, an unusual detail of this particular evaluation.
Sport Aviation / Airbum · May 1994. Original Super Stinker S-1-11 at Homestead; an experimental development aircraft, distinct from the stock simulator’s S-1S and S-2S.
Airbum / Sport Aviation · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube RetroAcro3 · 4 min ·
Pitts Cockpit View
Cockpit footage from the single-seat Pitts S-1S.
Related variant · single-seat Pitts S-1S
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Pitts Special
Curtis Pitts's biplane first flew in 1944 and became established in competition aerobatics. Its short fuselage and closely stacked wings were developed through versions with different engines, seating and airframe details.
The S-1 is single-seat; the larger S-2 has tandem seats. Cockpit views, proportions and equipment differ between the two branches.
Pitts Special
Pitts → · Explore the family →
Pitts S-1
Wikipedia contributors · Pitts Special ↗Pitts S-1S
Wikipedia contributors · Pitts Special ↗Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024 →Pitts S-2
Wikipedia contributors · Pitts Special ↗Pitts S-2S
Wikipedia contributors · Pitts Special ↗Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024 →Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020 →Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Betty Skelton helps establish the little biplane’s reputation
AOPA’s anniversary history recalls Betty Skelton winning three consecutive U.S. women’s aerobatic titles in her Pitts, from 1948 to 1950. The design subsequently spread through homebuilding plans and factory-built variants, with both single-seat competition and two-seat training roles.
AOPA · Airplanes we love: The Pitts Special at 75 ↗Historical overview published for the design’s seventy-fifth anniversary
Development milestones
Designer: Curtis Pitts
First flight: September 1944
Wikipedia contributors · Pitts Special ↗Pitts Special · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1288828118
Pilot accounts
A familiar Pitts feeling survives a very unfamiliar fitting
Davisson’s introduction to the Super Stinker included a telephone warning from Curtis Pitts about its quick, sensitive controls. A more immediate problem appeared in the cockpit: his footwear did not fit the brake arrangement properly. He handed his boots and socks out to Pat Ledford and made the flight barefoot, an unusual detail of this particular evaluation.
After takeoff, the aircraft soon supplied a recognisable Pitts feeling, with precision and responsiveness that he greatly enjoyed. Landing required more adjustment as he learned its approach and firm landing gear. Two short flights left him enthusiastic, but the report retains those moments of unfamiliarity alongside the praise. Better-fitting shoes subsequently resolved the practical problem that had made the first departure so memorable.
Sport Aviation / Airbum · May 1994. Original Super Stinker S-1-11 at Homestead; an experimental development aircraft, distinct from the stock simulator’s S-1S and S-2S.
Read the full account · Airbum / Sport Aviation ↗An aerobatic lesson ends with a greeting to the designer
Marsh found that fitting himself and the straps into the Pitts cockpit was part of the lesson before departure. With Ed Saurenman in front, he began getting used to the restricted forward view and the aircraft’s responses. Aerobatic demonstrations supplied more dramatic sensations, including his first experience of a tumbling lomcovák.
The landings were less uniformly polished: an initially soft arrival was followed by bouncier attempts as he continued learning. A later photographic flight over the Florida Keys added a quieter pleasure to the evaluation. They also flew past Curtis Pitts’s home, where flashing house lights acknowledged the visitors. That small exchange connected a day of flying a new development with the designer whose name it carried.
AOPA · April 1998. February evaluation of the then-uncertified Pitts S-2C with engineer Ed Saurenman at Homestead, Florida; not an S-2S test.
Read the full account · AOPA ↗A working mechanic takes an ageing Pitts into competition
Armstrong began with a homebuilt S-1C powered by a relatively modest engine, an aircraft already behind newer designs in international competition. Working as a mechanic, he kept improving what he had, eventually fitting more power and altering the airframe to make servicing easier. Appearance received less attention than getting the machine to do the job.
That well-used Pitts carried him far enough to join the U.S. team in 1992. Its looks also prompted a memorable exchange with fellow competitors: Christian Schweizer struggled to find a polite description, and Phil Knight supplied the nickname Road Kill.
Interview in Alton K. Marsh’s AOPA article · July 1996. Recollections of Armstrong’s homebuilt S-1C and 1992 U.S. team selection; later Streaker and Super Stinker developments are separate aircraft.
Read the full account · AOPA ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024Pitts Special S1S
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Pitts Special S1S
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2024Pitts Special S2S
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Pitts Special S2S
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020Pitts Special S2S
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Pitts Special S2S
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Pilot account
A familiar Pitts feeling survives a very unfamiliar fittingSport Aviation / Airbum · May 1994. Original Super Stinker S-1-11 at Homestead; an experimental development aircraft, distinct from the stock simulator’s S-1S and S-2S.
Davisson’s introduction to the Super Stinker included a telephone warning from Curtis Pitts about its quick, sensitive controls. A more immediate problem appeared in the cockpit: his footwear did not fit the brake arrangement properly. He handed his boots and socks out to Pat Ledford and made the flight barefoot, an unusual detail of this particular evaluation. After takeoff, the aircraft soon supplied a recognisable Pitts feeling, with precision and responsiveness that he greatly enjoyed.
Budd Davisson
Airbum / Sport Aviation · Read the source ↗An aerobatic lesson ends with a greeting to the designerAOPA · April 1998. February evaluation of the then-uncertified Pitts S-2C with engineer Ed Saurenman at Homestead, Florida; not an S-2S test.
Marsh found that fitting himself and the straps into the Pitts cockpit was part of the lesson before departure. With Ed Saurenman in front, he began getting used to the restricted forward view and the aircraft’s responses. Aerobatic demonstrations supplied more dramatic sensations, including his first experience of a tumbling lomcovák. The landings were less uniformly polished: an initially soft arrival was followed by bouncier attempts as he continued learning.
Alton K. Marsh
AOPA · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Pitts SpecialWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1288828118 · retrieved 2026-09-12 Airplanes we love: The Pitts Special at 75AOPA · July 2020 historical overviewResource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoft MSFS 2020 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 3 profile choices
Pitts S-1S
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Review pending
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Pitts S-1S: The spring and load supply the selected aerobatic axis balance.
Pitts S-2S
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Review pending
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
Pitts S-2S: The spring and load supply the selected aerobatic axis balance.
Orbx Paul Bennet Wolf Pitts Pro
Orbx · Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020
A compact aerobatic biplane family with both single-seat and tandem-seat branches.
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