Agree with Stik; you cannot have too many Pitts.
Converting from Trikes to conventional u/c is an unpredictable process and rather depends on the quality of the intructor, the type of surface (bumpy ruted grass runways are hard work because of the bounce factor!) andyour own skill/ natural giftedness. I have known people convert to an S2A in a couple of hours with no previous tailwheel experince, and others who seem utterly incapable however long the do it.
I had no previous tail wheel experince and onlyabout 120 hour tt when I first flew a Pitts, and it took me about 6 hours to get it on the ground consistently with fear of damage! It took about 100 hours total Pitts time before I was entirely comfortable with every thing the thing could do to be on the ground and in the air.
A few words of warning however:
IMHE there is more b%&&*£%cks talked about Pitts Special's than just about any other aircraft, usually by people who have never flown one, or by ego charged instructors trying to hype up the difficulty of the thing. IGNORE THEM. It is the best thing you can fly in terms of bang for your buck. It goes exactly where you point it untill you tellit to do something else. People rant about the difficulty of controlling them on the ground, and how squirrelly they are - more &&*^*%cks, there are no squirrelly Pitts jsut Squirelly pilots. Remember to use your feet, The rudder bars are there for a purpose, not like most training aircraft when they are just a convienient foot rest.
Finally, the Pitts Grin. After your first sortie I bet you have a stupid great grin across your face and an istant desire/ need to buy a Pitts.
