11 June 2005
Legendary U.S. aircraft designer Curtis Pitts has died at his Florida home at the age of 89.
As the boss of a crop dusting company he set out to build just one aircraft for himself in the early 1940’s. His original 45hp Special wasn’t finished until shortly after the war ended in 1945.
The second Pitts Special was powered by an 85hp engine and was later sold to Betty Skelton who used it to win the Women’s International Championship in 1949 and 1950.
In the early 1960’s American amateur aerobatic pilots convinced Curtis Pitts to produce a set of detailed drawings of the Special so they could build their own.
By the late 1960s the Pitts Special was a common sight at U.S. air shows and by 1972 both the Men’s and Women’s Individual World champions were Americans flying Pitts Specials.
The aircraft are currently produced by Aviat.
Today, the aircraft Pitts designed 60 years ago is considered the most recognized and successful American-built aerobatic design.
