pitts info

[Sonny Crockett]

32K for an S-1S with a high time motor is a little on the high side.

Check on who built it. I have seen some crazy stuff come out of people's hangars.

Good luck and let us know how it works out?

 

[topdawg]

aASDFASDF

 

[mach3matt]

found a 1994 S1-S for sale. 1576 SMOH on a 2000 TBO IO-360. 405 TTAF. 1996 stits paint.

they're asking $32K negotiable. anyone have a ballpark for a reasonable price? anyone with any info of what to look for?

supposedly only been flown sportsman and intermediate with no hard acro. not sure if it's homebuilt or factory.

I own a Pitts S-1S. I purchased it for 29000 in 2004 with less than 100 SMOH. Most IO-360's flown in aerobatics will need an overhaul around 800-1000 hours. S-1S's in particular are prone to a lower overhaul time because of the lack of a constant speed prop. I can assure you it takes alot of discipline to keep the engine within RPM limits while flying even a Sportsmans level sequence.

S-1S's average around 30k with a midtime ( 400hrs for an aerobatic engine ) engine and airframe.

Briefly- 32K is at least 15-20k to high for this aircraft. Figure 30k minus an overhaul.

Best of luck finding a good Pitts. I got really screwed on mine in different ways. Learn from me if you have more questions. They're a ton of fun if you get a good one.

 

[mach3matt]

32k is not a low price.

Aerobatic engines easily make TBO. If they sit a lot, then there is a problem. There isn't much "throttle jockeying" in aerobatics. There is two positions of the throttle - aerobatics, and spin FWIW, people that I know run the S-1S wide open all the time and make TBO no problem.

Does it have a composite prop? That would be a requirement for me...

The fabric is 13 years old and will need to be replaced. I would consider intermediate "hard acro". Your doing +6 even in sportsman if you want to win... (in a -B anyway). DEFINITELY have any airplane inspected prior to purchase. There are specific things to look for in a pitts that will require small inspection cuts in the fabric. Check out airbum.com for an article on what to look for in a pitts.

Get an S-1S if you are competing. Don't bother with a -C. An -S will take you to advanced easily...

Beg to differ on the throttle jockeying. It seems your flying a "B" as in S-2B. Lucky for you. An S-1S has a fixed pitch prop. If you aren't throttling back on just about every downline or bottom half of a looping figure you will see RPM's well in excess 3000. Not great for engine life. Neither is throttle jockeying- which you must do in order to stay within RPM limits, and is why S-1T's (or 2B's ) were made. Which is also why aerobatic engines with a fixed-pitch prop are much less likely to make TBO.

 

[d.fitz]

Try reading this for a pitts purchase:

http://www.airbum.com/Pitts/ThePittsSpecial.html

 

[d.fitz]

Beg to differ on the throttle jockeying. It seems your flying a "B" as in S-2B. Lucky for you. An S-1S has a fixed pitch prop. If you aren't throttling back on just about every downline or bottom half of a looping figure you will see RPM's well in excess 3000. Not great for engine life. Neither is throttle jockeying- which you must do in order to stay within RPM limits, and is why S-1T's (or 2B's ) were made. Which is also why aerobatic engines with a fixed-pitch prop are much less likely to make TBO.

Sorry man. It may not be recommended but I know quite a few people that run an -S wide open all the time. 3500 RPM's on the down line competing in advanced. All make TBO with no problem.

 

[PUNISHER]

Sorry man. It may not be recommended but I know quite a few people that run an -S wide open all the time. 3500 RPM's on the down line competing in advanced. All make TBO with no problem.

Maybe if your TBO is 500 hours.

 

[d.fitz]

Maybe if your TBO is 500 hours.

Considering these guys have about ten times your total time, I think they know what they are talking about.

 

[PUNISHER]

Considering these guys have about ten times your total time, I think they know what they are talking about.

Maybe they do, but do you know what your talking about? Or are you just pulling 10g's out of your azz.
There are to many people on this board that tend to embellish and exaggerate actual figures and numbers.

 

[mach3matt]

Sorry man. It may not be recommended but I know quite a few people that run an -S wide open all the time. 3500 RPM's on the down line competing in advanced. All make TBO with no problem.

Okay, I would love to know the secret of these advanced catagory competitors "all" making TBO. Any chance one could send me an email?

[email protected]