Autothrust Blue
“If you jump on my shift, that’s just rude, man.”
This is absolutely fantastic. Good luck on your labor of love 
Okie_Pilot's Pitts S1S Build Thread
- Thread starter Okie_Pilot
- Start date
Okie_Pilot
Pitts Builder
Hey guys, not much has been done lately. We're in the middle of a patrol, so flying and working is the main concern right now. The new wings are on the 172 (see other thread).
We did get a new dynafocal ring in for the engine mount, and we're in the process of ordering some Lord engine mounts. Then we'll be welding up the engine mount.
:beer:
We did get a new dynafocal ring in for the engine mount, and we're in the process of ordering some Lord engine mounts. Then we'll be welding up the engine mount.
:beer:
Pilotforhire587
Lycra Man
good to hear man... Can't wait to see the more pics!
Matt13C
Well-Known Member
Subscribing, thanks for allowing us to follow the build.
Just curious, when making mods like this to an already certified aircraft(assuming it was anyway), do you have to have it completely re-certified? Or is it like an addition on a house, get the changes approved and you're good to go?
Just curious, when making mods like this to an already certified aircraft(assuming it was anyway), do you have to have it completely re-certified? Or is it like an addition on a house, get the changes approved and you're good to go?
Okie_Pilot
Pitts Builder
I believe this plane was already in the "Experimental" category when we picked it up. Since we've done so much work to the fuselage itself, such as tubing additions and modifications for the Grove gear and aerodynamic boost for the rudder, we're going to file for a new experimental build under our name. Other additions are the carbon fiber cowling, the upgraded engine accessories, MT composite prop, Aviation Products tailwheel, C.F. instrument panel, light-weight gel battery etc. etc.
There's no way you'd get an STC/Field approval for those items on a certified airplane unfortunately. For being a single-seater Pitts, there really wouldn't be no benefit to trying to get it into the certified category. Now if it was a two-seater where you wanted to give rides or possible training with profit, you'd have to have it in the Certified category.
Thanks for following along guys! Not too much has been changed recently. We're getting the Aviation Products tailwheel and tailwheel mount on the plane. The EXPENSIVE Lord mounts came in yesterday. We went out with the new dynafocal ring and Lord engine mounts and put them on the engine and they fit just like a glove.... Unlike the other mounts... Then we fit up the cowling around the engine on the stand and it fit like it was suppose to. I was pretty excited after all of that!
So now the next step is building a jig for the engine so we can weld the support tubing and engine mounts! I'll definitely be taking pictures of that!
:beer:
KSCessnaDriver
Well-Known Member
Okie, not to crash your thread, but you look like the man to ask about the S1. I've been casually looking around at different things and thought well, a Pitts would be cool. I'm not big on acro, but I've got other aspirations, which an S1 would work well for. So my question is, how big of a pilot can fit in to an S1? We talking midgets or can a guy 6'1" fit in one comfortably enough to actually fly?
Okie_Pilot
Pitts Builder
Hey guys! No pictures yet, maybe some here in a week or so. We've made the jig/stand for the dynafocal ring to start welding up our engine mount. Today we compared the standard Pitts firewall to another Steve Wolf firewall and was delighted to find out that the Carbon Fiber cowling fits like a glove inside a standard firewall. So tonight we ordered some stainless for our new firewall and some more for the side panels/skin. Everything is starting to come together slowly but surely!
There was another minor bump in our road. We had a pretty good sliding canopy and windscreen to go on our Pitts, but the dog managed to bust it into pieces.... I'm a little unhappy that it's another expense we have, but I'm happy that we'll have a brand new, clear canopy to go on our new Pitts. I'm trying to persuade the other half to get a "flat-wrap" windscreen and canopy to put on it, instead of the standard bubble. Flat-wrap is sleeker, faster, and looks more modern. But we'll see...
You THOUGHT a Pitts would be cool? Ha! It's about the coolest one can get! Lol. I'm 6' myself and don't have a problem getting into it. We've moved the rudder/brake assembly forward an inch or so when we did the Grove gear modification. I also acquired a "parachute seat-back" from York Aircraft in Canada. It's a carbon fiber seat back that is "dished" out some that holds your parachute in place but also gives you a little bit more room in there. At 6' 1" I don't see you having any problems. You can find S1C's out there for some bargain prices. It's more of an airplane than 90% of pilots will be able to handle in quite some time...
Here's a thread over on the biplane forum about 6' tall guys flying Pitts:
http://www.biplaneforum.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4580&KW=height
:beer:
There was another minor bump in our road. We had a pretty good sliding canopy and windscreen to go on our Pitts, but the dog managed to bust it into pieces.... I'm a little unhappy that it's another expense we have, but I'm happy that we'll have a brand new, clear canopy to go on our new Pitts. I'm trying to persuade the other half to get a "flat-wrap" windscreen and canopy to put on it, instead of the standard bubble. Flat-wrap is sleeker, faster, and looks more modern. But we'll see...
You THOUGHT a Pitts would be cool? Ha! It's about the coolest one can get! Lol. I'm 6' myself and don't have a problem getting into it. We've moved the rudder/brake assembly forward an inch or so when we did the Grove gear modification. I also acquired a "parachute seat-back" from York Aircraft in Canada. It's a carbon fiber seat back that is "dished" out some that holds your parachute in place but also gives you a little bit more room in there. At 6' 1" I don't see you having any problems. You can find S1C's out there for some bargain prices. It's more of an airplane than 90% of pilots will be able to handle in quite some time...
Here's a thread over on the biplane forum about 6' tall guys flying Pitts:
http://www.biplaneforum.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4580&KW=height
:beer:
Inverted25
Well-Known Member
You should get the single canopy like sean Tucker has that is all one piece with the fiberglass frame
KSCessnaDriver
Well-Known Member
Good to know man. I'm not really all that interested in acro honestly. It might be fun once in a great while, I just want something that I can fly for decent money and maybe make a run to Reno once or twice, if you know what I mean.
CFI A&P
Exploring the world one toilet at a time.
Not quite the same as a single hole, but for what it's worth, at 6' 2" I'm flying a Pitts S2-A with plenty of room. Also have been in a S1-D with plenty of room.
Depending on your height, you could switch from a seat-cushion to seat-back pack parachute or use foam blocks on the seat. With a variety of foam blocks I can get anyone from 5' to 6' 2" in it with room to spare.
Okie, That build is looking nice.
For anyone wondering there are plenty of single seat Pitts out there for under $30k right now. Cheap, easy fun. Easily capable of Primary through intermediate. Or just to fly inverted occasionally.
Okie_Pilot
Pitts Builder
Yeah, I hear ya. If your thinking about racing, then look into the S1C. The flat-bottom wings are faster than the symmetrical wings. They only have 2 ailerons instead of 4, so that cuts down on the drag. You'd want a normal sized, or even smaller rudder to decrease the drag too.... and it'd still do all the acro you wanted it to do.
If your looking for a fun plane that's easy to fly and you look good in, look into a Super Decathlon or Citabria. I've got about 20 hours or so in the Boss' and absolutely love it. It's a taildragger, it looks good, and it's FUN to fly. You can take it to grass strips and fly-ins, take a buddy upside down and spin them or do whatever. I really can't say enough good about the Super Decathlon.
KSCessnaDriver
Well-Known Member
S1C's are cheaper too! I'm at the point where I could buy a plane, but really would only get to fly it 4 weeks a year or so. I'd love to go to Reno, but I don't know if flying an airplane for 4 weeks a year would leave me proficient enough to even consider going out there.
Okie_Pilot
Pitts Builder
Hey guys, planning to do some work this weekend. Hopefully get some welding done on the engine mount and maybe have the firewall cut out and made. That is, if the horse doesn't reach over and grab the box and decide to tear it open and trample on a perfectly good sheet of stainless like he did with the last one... 
I'll post some pictures if we get some good things going.
:beer:
I'll post some pictures if we get some good things going.
:beer:
Okie_Pilot
Pitts Builder
Heyy youuu guyyyss!! Got some work done!
Here's a new Dynafocal ring we had fabricated and sent to us. The engine mount rings are for the "new" larger engine mounts instead of the smaller ones. The ring is sitting on some aluminum stock we fabricated to hold the ring exactly 7 7/8" off the firewall as it calls for in the plans.
Here's an aluminum sheet we got to mount to the plane for our engine mount jig.
After locating the exact centerline and locating where everything goes, we mounted the dynafocal ring and aluminum stands to the plate. We were then able to start cutting tubing and placing them where they go.
Showing how well the coping has turned out. We'll get some more tubing cut and coped tomorrow, then will go around and tack them, then place it on the engine to make sure nothing has gone askew.
A picture of the engine mount plans.
I'm really excited at how well and quick this has went along in the past day or so. We would have had the firewall cut out, but the manufacturer sent us the wrong dimension we asked for. So we have to send it back and wait for the correct order. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll have the rest of the tubing cut and coped and tacked or maybe fully welded in!
:beer:
Here's a new Dynafocal ring we had fabricated and sent to us. The engine mount rings are for the "new" larger engine mounts instead of the smaller ones. The ring is sitting on some aluminum stock we fabricated to hold the ring exactly 7 7/8" off the firewall as it calls for in the plans.
Here's an aluminum sheet we got to mount to the plane for our engine mount jig.
After locating the exact centerline and locating where everything goes, we mounted the dynafocal ring and aluminum stands to the plate. We were then able to start cutting tubing and placing them where they go.
Showing how well the coping has turned out. We'll get some more tubing cut and coped tomorrow, then will go around and tack them, then place it on the engine to make sure nothing has gone askew.
A picture of the engine mount plans.
I'm really excited at how well and quick this has went along in the past day or so. We would have had the firewall cut out, but the manufacturer sent us the wrong dimension we asked for. So we have to send it back and wait for the correct order. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll have the rest of the tubing cut and coped and tacked or maybe fully welded in!
:beer:
KSCessnaDriver
Well-Known Member
Every time I see this thread, it reminds me of 2 things. 1: How much I need to find an S2 to go up in and see how they fly and 2: I need to get a tailwheel endorsement to consider buying an S1C