"So why are Pitts Special's so cheap? A friend of mine said he saw one the other day for £20k. Thats Cesspit money. And I'm staring at an ad for an S1S with only 65 airframe hours on sale for £30k. There must be a catch surely?"
As with all things you get what you pay for.
Pitts aren't especially cheap to build despite their size - for one thing there are a lot of expensive bearings and other specialist fittings which add to the cost. not to mention engine life.
Some Pitts of seemingly the same type are not as well built - especially if they are imported US homebuilts for example.
Also - like a TVR - you need to be wary of the history of some Pitts - especially those which have been hammered round the competition circuit for decades. You may find cracked longerons/broken ribs etc
A £20k Pitts is probably priced to sell knowing it needs a rebuild for example.
The best thing is to get someone who knows Pitts to adivse on the specific example.
Having said all that
They are the best bang for bucks you'll ever get, the performance and cost to run are both very satisfying, and they look brilliant.
It is possible to convince yourself that your 30 mins high energy sortie you just did has only cost about 25 quid
- I have a beautiful american homebuilt S-1S and a brand new Ultimate wing version with every concievable mod/fairing nearly completed
I can't imagine paying the massive extra premium for (a) a Cof A aeroplane (b) a monoplane with a big engine (c) a VP prop or even (d) a two seater
PeteS1S