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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Pitts-S1S-in-flight: Wikimedia Commons· Attribution
- 2. PITTS -S2B: 5erK· Public domain
- 3. Pitts.s-1e.g-okay.arp: Arpingstone· Public domain
- 4. Pitts.s-2a.n74dc.arp: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
- 5. Pitts Curtis S1C: Ad Meskens· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 6. Pitts S1-11a Lg: Wikimedia Commons· Attribution
- 7. Pitts S1S-b Lg: Wikimedia Commons· Attribution
- 8. Pitts Special S-1T C-GZRO 02: Ahunt· Public domain
- 9. Pitts Specials ‘G-SWON’ & ‘G-STUI’ (51547688785): Alan Wilson from Peterborough, Cambs, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 10. 1947 Curtis Pitts with S-1 N86401: F18shack· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The Pitts Special (company designations S-1 and S-2) is a series of light aerobatic biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts biplanes dominated world aerobatic competition in the 1960s and 1970s and, even today, remain potent competition aircraft in the lower categories.
How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 5.3 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 82 years ago, in 1944.
- Top speed is 1.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1944
- status
- in production
- number built
- —
- role
- aerobatic biplane
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Aviat Aircraft Inc.
- engines
- 1× Lycoming IO-360-B4A
- length
- 4.7 m
- wingspan
- 5.3 m
- height
- 1.6 m
- max take-off weight
- 499 kg
- top speed
- 251 km/h
- cruise speed
- 225 km/h
- range
- 648 km
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1262007, Wikipedia: Pitts Special (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.