Forum: Civil and General Aviation

Habu, some designs allow you to fly aerobatics, others require more attention to fly precisely, that is keep you from skidding and slipping all over the place. To keep the nose on the Horizon, (at a point that is) well, thats tough!

Whoever it was that flew in the 300, when you did a barrel roll did you have the ball centered in the inclonometer? This is what separates the men from the boys, the Pitts Special any model - is the World's Premeire Aerobatic Airplane. Doesn't matter which model, they are all almost dynamically divergent. The others you've mentioned are nice airplanes, and I'm glad somebody got to fly the "300". The Zevko Edge and other monoplanes are all inherently stable, very forgiving, the Pitts will kill you if you're out of the MAC, which varies 1.25" to 3.25" depending on the model. The Super Decathelon, another very stable aerobatic airplane, check out the bow below the fuselage and that low CG and big MAC and high wings!! Nice airplane!! Yet a toy.

I'll be test flying the Pitts S-2B this weekend IAW ANA chp 4. Will post w/pics as soon as possible, freakin' weather permitting!! Cool

Jan - The Cessna Aerobat? Gee Whiz!! Rolling Eyes

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Not saying the Pitts isn't world class. And maybe it does seperate the men from the boys. I'm sure it's someone's sweetheart as much as it's their nemesis. But the simple fact is it does match the power of the other three. Do i want to fly a Pitts? Oh hell yeah. Would I want to comete in one when I get to the Advanced or Unlimited category skill level? Probably not.

He he he... The Pitts first flew in 1944. Attached is a pic of an S2, you know what you see when you look out the front of a Pitts? Braces, wires, struts, two wings, and maybe you can see a wee bit of what's in front of you, but that's not too likely. Look at this pic at all the crap in front of the pit. The Pitts is a very fun a/c to fly, no doubt. But it's still a 60 year old airplane. Of course the name CAP is once again under investigation with the recent Cap 232 In-Flight Breakup at the French Championship of Aerobatics.

JR - This an S-2C, I believe. Get in one, please, you'll be surprised! It's not a Zipper, but it kicks butt! Cheers

OK, it is indeed an S-2C.

Yep, S-2C.

He he he. Yup, and here's an S2-B, for everyone else in the audience look at the vertical tail and rudder to instantly see the difference, but the view out the same is the front.

Allen,

I’ve got six or seven flights that we came back with bruises from doing Lomcovak’s in the S2-B. I’ve even flown it in a 2-ship with a T-28B with his board hanging so we could keep up. Trust me I wouldn’t have talked about the vis if I hadn’t spent hours thinking I hope we don’t hit something in front of us. One of our team IP’s did when some dimwit taxied out in front of him while he was base to final and as you know you can’t see squat out the front/below… Knocked the gear out from under the Pitts when he hit the C-172. His son said it was pretty exciting watching all the sparks pass underneath looking through the plastic floor panels.

Haven't flown it, but the Edge 540 is a capable unlimited type of aerobatic aircraft. And, it's American made.

I know about the visibility JR, I do believe you about the bruises, the Lomcovak is a very violent maneuver, never done one but will eventually. The S-2B is what I have been flying. I'm glad you have indeed flown the Pitts. As with most tail-draggers, you must zig-zag while taxing to see whats in front of you.

By the way, did not get to do the test flight I promised everyone, the weather was beautiful, but the airplane was down. Next week for sure.

Huggy, can you post a picture of the Edge 540?

Here's two of em! Single and two-seater:

Thank you Habu, nice pictures. I'm starting to reconsider of one day owning one of these vs a Pitts. Any idea on the price? By the way the test flight I promised to post this past Sunday went bad. No airplane to fly that day, will try again this Saturday, 09/10/05.

Well you can buy them as kits for $57,000. But they come without an engine, instruments, etc... just an airframe.
Built, all-up you're lookin at the $200k+ class, as usual.

That's actually a very reasonable price Habu, would you happen to know the BHP of both the A and B models? Any empty weights and/or MAC info? Where can I get stats on this aircraft? Shrug

Just do a google search dude, that's what I did Wink

Though the pic above I took at Reno last year.

On aerobatics, just watched the navy display team Thunderbirds on TV. Before they fly, they all sit around a table, close their eyes, hold a pen in one hand as the "stick" and an imaginary throttle in the other. They then go through the ENTIRE routine using all the comms` they will use. It all looks very bizarre seeing them do this!!!!!!

It is apparently an indispensible way to do things and really works!!!! They formation fly by just looking a spot of paint on the aircraft next to them, man that is some kind of trust in your buddies! That is SOME uniform they wear!!!!!

Umm dude....the Thunderbirds are USAF, not USN. You're thinking of the Blue Angels, those are the USN team.

Forum: Civil and General Aviation

Best aerobatic plane today?