Pitts S-1s
Adam Makin
As you may recall me mentioning in my UMX Pitts review, that little Pitts just flies absolutely epicly! Well, drooling over E-Flite's 850mm Pitts Biplane I couldn't hold off any longer and I ordered one. I knew that if it flew anything like the UMX, it would be an incredible little airplane! Well, the good news is it shares much of the magic flying pretty darn close to the UMX...knife edge passes FTW!
The pitts is such an iconic aerobatic aircraft design that's unmistakable and this E-Flite airplane captures it perfectly. Plus having flown the UMX one, it's really fostered a love for the Pitts. It's such a great looking biplane design.
Assembly of the E-flite Pitts I found pretty enjoyable. Taking the airplane out of the box, one thing became apparent to me pretty quickly and that was that the finish on the airplane was incredible! As I inspected the parts, it really was hard to tell that this was in fact a foam airplane. It was really impressive and is without a doubt the smoothest EPO foam airplane I've seen to date!
With the airplane completed, you're awarded with a beautiful recreation of the iconic pitts airframe. I'll be honest, the finish and smoothness of the foam is unreal. It legitimately is difficult to tell that it's a foam airplane it's that smooth. One thing to note is that there are some carbon rods supplied for optional flying wires which I would have liked to have used, but that didn't quite work out as the receivers shown in the instructions didn't seem to make it into the final production design, so there didn't seem to be an obvious place to put them. Kind of a bummer, but they're only for looks anyhow.
Setting up the airplane was pretty straight forward. Being a biplane, there's really only elevator, aileron, and rudder to setup. The rates in the manual are plenty sufficient and I'm actually flying the airplane with the recommended high rate rudder and elevator and then low rate ailerons. It can be touchy on the ailerons depending on how you set it up, so be aware of that. The Bind N Fly airplane does have SAFE, so, be aware of the two different bind procedures whether you want that on or off (see my discussion on SAFE here). This is an aerobatic airplane, so flying with SAFE seems to kind of defeat the purpose in my mind a bit, but having it on a switch, it can help you get out of trouble if that happens. In terms of throws, here's what I'm using:
For the CG, I'm flying the airplane per the manual at about 86mm as measured from the top wing leading edge root aft. Interestingly this is right at about where the wing pins are, so basically you have a built in CG fixture for you. The airplane is level when I pick it up with my finger tips at this location and it feels good in the air. It's nimble but still statically stable to avoid getting into too much trouble. I'm using a 3s Roaring Top 35c 2200 mah pack and I find that this provides plenty of power. There's a removable tray for the battery and I set the battery at the rear most location on it. Personally, I really like the power of the 3s battery, but you can go up to 4s if you want and I can imagine it would have insane power! If you're wanting to 3d with the airplane, that would be the way to go.
In terms of flying, I've really been enjoying this little airplane. It took a couple flights to get things tuned, but after that, the airplane just locked in super solid and flies great. IT's extremely nimble and aerobatic, but at the same time cruises around easily and looks great doing it. I'm not the greatest aerobatic pilot, but I had a blast doing snap rolls, knife edges and anything else I could think of to try. The airplane has fantastic scale like power on 3s which I was really happy with. It'll do big scale vertical maneuvers and nice crisp rolls easily enough and that knife edge is killer. For takeoff, I recommend bringing the power up rapidly to avoid ground looping. IT's a pitts which means a narrow gear track, so applying the power quickly will help get the tail up quicker. The most difficulty I did have initially was in sorting out the landings. If you come in flat like a typical taildragger approach for a two wheel touch down, you will end up hot in the flare. I bent the gear a couple times finding this out. I discovered that the airplane really wants to land 3 point with what is similar to a jet approach. I set the aircraft to a nose up attitude and then control the descent with the power. This really slows the airplane down and then avoids those hot touchdowns that inevitably get you hopping down the runway. Once I sorted that out, it really made things much more user friendly on landings. The airplane will really slow down well if you let it and are comfortable with that.
There we have the E-flite 850mm Pitts for you. What a gorgeous little model that flies awesome. This thing is all about aerobatics and it will perform anything you throw at it, so most definitely have some fun with it. You know, the little UMX pitts really spawned a love for this airplane and this e-flite pitts just makes that love grow even more. It's such a cool looking airplane that is so nimble in the air that knife edges like a beast and I've been having a blast with it. Having an aerobatic airplane like this in the hangar is a much welcomed change for me since I'm usually flying warbirds or jets. I'm not the most proficient aerobatic pilot, so this'll give me a chance to work on those skills more. Until next time, I'll see you at the field!
There is one negative on the OD. It takes a lot more fwd pressure to fly
inverted than a Pitts does. This makes it unbalanced in feel.
Paul Donner flew the OD at the nationals this year as his Pitts was
being repaired. I was not there, but I talked to a friend who talked
to Paul at the contest and he said he would be glad to get his Pitts back
as he did not like the inverted/outside handling of the OD.
The OD also has a strange wing in that if you apply back pressure too fast
it shudders (stalls). If you load it up progressively, then all is OK.
Many people that have flown the OD do not like this feature. Some think
I will kill some low time acro pilots.
The Pitts S1S has been quoted by people like Charlie Hillard and Gene Soucy
as being the best handling aerobatic plane they have ever flown.
It is probably a one design as well, but many have been modified in one way
or another to get the extra ounce of performance out of it. One thing that I don't like is that I see lots of people that want to build
a OD and they have no aerobatic experience. I hope they get some real training
before flying the OD. Several have even discussed here building the OD
for a Xcountry AC. They like it because it looks good. I think you only
build the OD if you want to fly aerobatics. It is single place, limitted
fuel, small wing area, etc. The same goes for the Pitts. Structurally, I "think" the OD is OK, but it is not proven like the Pitts
is. There are a few problem areas to watch in the Pitts but they are well
known or have been fixed. I would feel much better about the OD (that goes
for any new AC) after a number are flying and we have a few 1,000 hours on
them. If you build the OD now, you are a bit of a pioneer (they are the ones
with the arrows in their backs :))
The good news is that Dan R. has worked on a number of designs before so
he does know what he is doing. Things I do like about the OD are its good looks, the cockpit seating
(seat back is adjustable and it has more leg room than the pitts.
It rolls nice, but my Ultimate wing Pitts has approx the same roll rate.
Both have limitted view over the nose in landing.
I have a Pitts S1 with Ultimate wings that I fly in Intermediate now.
I practice Advanced level stuff and hope to fly Advanced level soon.
I flew the OD a year ago at nationals before Dan did some fine tuning on it.
The handling has been well documentedin various reports. This is a hard decision. If you really want to do aerobatics now, I think
you can buy a good flying Pitts for less than you could build a OD or a Pitts
for. If you really want to build or can not afford to buy now, but can
pay as you go if you build, then the OD has more appeal. It is a more modern
AC and can probably be built in less time for probably the same or a little
less money than a Pitts. The resale value may also be higher for the OD as it
is new and there are people that want one that don't want to build it.
In either case, if you have the money, you can
buy factory parts. Starting with a factory fuselage in either case is
highly recommended. You can get a OD 'factory' fuselage now from several people.
If you have a factory fuselage from Pitts, then you
can buy any other part from them and it will fit. It will also help the
resale value. I would not care to do serious acro in either plane that
was welded up in someones garage as their first welding project. It also
ensures it is straight as they are jig welded. Many homebuilts have a
number of problems with gear allignment, twisted or warped, etc.
This goes for buying a used one. Find a Pitts with a factory fuselage if
possible. But so it goes, before long you have big bucks in it and it
is a long way from flying. I have been building a RV4 now for 6 years.
It is all done except for painting and a few details. Having the Pitts
has not helped as it is more fun to fly aerobatics. One last point.
If you buy a flying AC (even if you have to finance it), it is a known
quanity and you can always resell it (usually for more than you paid for it).
Some of these projects go on for years and then get sold off for much
less that was invested in it. You really have to get it flying before
it is worth more than you put into it.