Forum: Civil and General Aviation

Hey fellows

In youre opinion what is the best aerobatic plane today? Civilian that is.
Estra300,Yak,etc?

Thanks

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Extra 300's my pick (Patty Wagstaff can't be wrong). Although Sukoi makes a pretty nimble little minx, or so I'm told.

Are we sticking to production aircraft? If we include one-offs, I'd have to go with Sean D. Tucker's aircraft, the "Challenger" Very Happy

! I can't believe some of the stuff he does at airshows Drool

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One time I actually had the pleasure of watching that RUSSIAN THUNDER guy. Man he was good. I believe that he was flying some new Sukhoi. That plane was pretty darn good.

If you're on a budget, go with a pitts, S2-T, single seat, 260hp, CS prop, have fun landing it!!!! If you get killed, at least you won't take anyone with you. They're all decent, get some lessons in a super-decathelon first, though.

The Pitts is definitely a capable airplane, no doubt about that Very Happy

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I think I might like a Cessna Aerobat for a really good reason - it looks just like a normal, average Cessna! It would be the perfect thing for taking unsuspecting friends up in for a joy ride Laughing

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It is Parrothead, excellent roll-rate, probably just as fast as a dual aileron pitts, I've flown it. It is an excellent intro airplane! I've taken cadets up in it, and as usual, they blew cookies....

By the way Parrothead, did you happen to fly at MacDill, 72nd TFTS? "Pax per auxilla Paratta", - People for helping the Parrot???? 80's vintage????

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It is Parrothead, excellent roll-rate, probably just as fast as a dual aileron pitts, I've flown it. It is an excellent intro airplane! I've taken cadets up in it, and as usual, they blew cookies...

Love it

! I'll have to start looking around online for prices Wink

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By the way Parrothead, did you happen to fly at MacDill, 72nd TFTS? "Pax per auxilla Paratta", - People for helping the Parrot???? 80's vintage???

Sorry, but no, I'm not a pilot Crying or Very sad

. My screen name is merely a reference to my fanatical devotion to Jimmy Buffett, his music, and the lifestyle in the songs Wink

. Actually, I'm only 28 Very Happy

! Sorry if this is a bit of a let down.

Extra 300 is an amazing aircraft to watch fly. I've had the distinct pleasure of watching Patty Wagstaff fly about 4 times (will be 5 this summer). She puts on one of the best routines that I've seen, military or civilian!

The Extra can pull so many G's, both negative and positive, that it could kill the pilot before it kills the plane. It's something like 7- and 23+ Gs? Shocked

If those aren't the exact numbers then it's close.

Sean Tucker's Pitts Special is another awesome and incredibly maneuverable plane. Only thing that weirds me out about the Pitts was that it was the plane Art Scholl was killed in.

Of course, he put his plane in an inverted flat spin, so it was pretty much his fault, not really the fault of the aircraft.

BTW, always did love the 72nd's motto! Parrots need love too! Wink

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

Art Scholl was carrying a load of cameras for the film "Top Gun". The changed aerodynamics or weight and balance may have prevented the spin recovery. Pitts recover well from flat spins otherwise.

The top competitors in the world today generally fly either Sukhois - 26 or 31 - or Cap 232. The Russian Thunder is a Yak-54 - sort of an all-metal Sukhoi-29. A senior USAF officer was killed in one a few years ago, which hasn't really helped the sales - less than a dozen, sold, I believe.
Extra is less in use at Unlimited competition level, but still a fantastic machine though - limits are +/- 10g. Pitts gives the authentic biplane experience that many people want but are outclassed by the monoplanes at Unlimited level. They are also a "challenge" to land - which I suppose is half the [Link pending approval]!

I've just bought a Pitts S-2C, if that says anything about my choice. Available for joyrides in Sydney, Australia, from June.

HappyJack wrote:

A senior USAF officer was killed in one a few years ago, which hasn't really helped the sales - less than a dozen, sold, I believe.

Sounds kinda like the case of the BD-10J supersonic homebuilt. I knew the AF officer (he was retired) who was killed flight testing one out near Vegas. That was Col. "Smokin'" Joe Henderson. Helluva great pilot, but he departed while inverted and couldn't recover. Sad deal.

Jim Bedee still hasn't sold many of the kits and production was halted in the late '90s.

He has, however, restarted production on his other death trap, the BD-5. Wonder how many more pilots will go to the happy hunting grounds with that one?

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

TC, I know the BD-5 doesn't have the world's best record, but I still think it would be a really fun jet to fly Very Happy

! Small, unusual, and just neat to look at Smile

. I've always one of those, but it's just a bit impractical, even for me. Aside from being a single place aircraft, I think the range on it is so short that I'd have to stop in Palm Springs for gas if I wanted to fly it to San Diego. Now, the turboprop version would be cool, too and has a much longer range, but it doesn't have the performance of the pure jet. What to do Shrug

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I think I'd have to go with something like an Extra if I wanted a pure acro ship Thumb

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I'd only go up in the BD-5 if one of the following 3 pilots was flying:

Bobby Bishop (fmr. leader of the Coors Light "Silver Bullets" flying team)

Corkey Fornoff (flew the profile for the opening sequence of "Octopussy")

Bill "Burner" Beardsley (fmr. Blue Angel turned civilian show pilot)

Those three men are the most prolific BD-5 pilots that I can think of. They've all flown the MicroJet for over 20 years without buying it, so they've gotta be doing something right.

I can think of less expensive ways to commit suicide rather than owning a Bedee jet. Pistol in the mouth always seems to do the trick. Wink

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

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I can think of less expensive ways to commit suicide rather than owning a Bedee jet. Pistol in the mouth always seems to do the trick. Wink

TC, TC, TC... what are we ever going to do with you LMAO

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I think Bobby, Corkey, and Burner have shown that it's the pilot, not the jet Wink

. I think a team of them, say four to six would be a great attraction at airshows! It would sure get attention, could travel in a single semi truck, and would probably cost less than operating a single Starfighter Very Happy

! Waddya say, TC, care to join up on the ground crew if the team ever gets off the ground Laughing

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Forum: Civil and General Aviation

Best aerobatic plane today?