This aircraft must be banned.
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This aircraft must be banned.
It's far too good. 
As some of you may know, I've been doing basic aeros in a Robin 2160. On Wednesday, I did my first Pitts flight.
To compare the two aircraft is unfair. The Robin is a refined two seat trainer, as comfortable doing loops as rolls as it is making cross country trips, with all the instruments, range and comfort to make that a easy proposition. It's outstanding visibility, balance and good manners make it feel safe too. In all, the Robin is a nice little package.
The Pitts however is a mutant beast with horns, and everyone should fly one at least once.
So, err, down to comparing the incomparable:
Some things were expected. The silly roll rate, the point and shoot handling, the spartan instruments. Some things were bananas. Want to get out of balance? Make a plane drive like a car with flat turns! Daft, but after that you start to wonder if there's anything it can't do.
In one of Mike Goulian's books, there's the phrase "if you've got enough wrist action to stir a coffee, you can roll a Pitts". Confirmed. Having slightly barreled an aileron roll by inadvertantly pulling a bit, I tried a new stick technique. Thumb and forefinger only. Oh joy. I suspect you could probably even pull it off just by pressing the stick with one finger alone!
So what else? Is it as easy to fly as everyone says? Yes and no. Yes, somethings feel like a complete doddle. I've never flown a good slow roll in the Robin, but in the Pitts it was a pleasure, as were most of the other basic figures. But there's a price to pay for the ridiculous power to weight ration, and sometimes you start paying that price just when you're mind is already rather occupied. Stall turns were going to need more than my pull, check upline, kick at 60 etc series of inputs. There was alot more going on in quite a few axis at the top, in rapid succession. I suspect that inverted spins are just around the corner when a Pitts is in the wrong hands.
Other things. The 7 point Hooker harness may be de-riguer equipment, but the nature of the seat means you can still 'slop' around a bit, even having ratcheted to just above doing 'fuel shutoff' to your legs. The 5 pointer on the Robin, combined with the bucket seating, really does bind you to the aircraft in a way that I wasn't in the S2.
All in all though it's a rock and roll aeroplane. The Pitts advert sums it up nicely.
PYSCHO
THERAPY
Of which I'll be getting more of in just over a week
As some of you may know, I've been doing basic aeros in a Robin 2160. On Wednesday, I did my first Pitts flight.
To compare the two aircraft is unfair. The Robin is a refined two seat trainer, as comfortable doing loops as rolls as it is making cross country trips, with all the instruments, range and comfort to make that a easy proposition. It's outstanding visibility, balance and good manners make it feel safe too. In all, the Robin is a nice little package.
The Pitts however is a mutant beast with horns, and everyone should fly one at least once.
So, err, down to comparing the incomparable:
Some things were expected. The silly roll rate, the point and shoot handling, the spartan instruments. Some things were bananas. Want to get out of balance? Make a plane drive like a car with flat turns! Daft, but after that you start to wonder if there's anything it can't do.
In one of Mike Goulian's books, there's the phrase "if you've got enough wrist action to stir a coffee, you can roll a Pitts". Confirmed. Having slightly barreled an aileron roll by inadvertantly pulling a bit, I tried a new stick technique. Thumb and forefinger only. Oh joy. I suspect you could probably even pull it off just by pressing the stick with one finger alone!
So what else? Is it as easy to fly as everyone says? Yes and no. Yes, somethings feel like a complete doddle. I've never flown a good slow roll in the Robin, but in the Pitts it was a pleasure, as were most of the other basic figures. But there's a price to pay for the ridiculous power to weight ration, and sometimes you start paying that price just when you're mind is already rather occupied. Stall turns were going to need more than my pull, check upline, kick at 60 etc series of inputs. There was alot more going on in quite a few axis at the top, in rapid succession. I suspect that inverted spins are just around the corner when a Pitts is in the wrong hands.
Other things. The 7 point Hooker harness may be de-riguer equipment, but the nature of the seat means you can still 'slop' around a bit, even having ratcheted to just above doing 'fuel shutoff' to your legs. The 5 pointer on the Robin, combined with the bucket seating, really does bind you to the aircraft in a way that I wasn't in the S2.
All in all though it's a rock and roll aeroplane. The Pitts advert sums it up nicely.
PYSCHO
THERAPY
Of which I'll be getting more of in just over a week
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Buy one? Now it's just a case of which one and when.
I need to be able to fly it first though. It's a strange thing on the ground. Well, it is when it finally stays there.
I need to be able to fly it first though. It's a strange thing on the ground. Well, it is when it finally stays there.
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I'm glad that you enjoyed it and you will probably understand why many of us are totally devoted to them!
I know that I will never be an able/adept enough pilot to fully explore the Pitts envelope but you can bet that I have fun in mine.
I've been exploring vertical rolls and torque rolls this week and have been falling out of them all ways up!
You are doing exactly the right thing by obtaining quality instruction. Once used to being inverted I found the inverted spin no big deal really but the cross-over spin is a wild and despite being ratcheted down quite a bruising ride so I don't intend to do many more of those! (I used to say that about inverted spins and flick-rolls, mind!)
The slow roll in the S1 seemed more difficult to keep axial than in the S2 but by applying more fwd stick in the inverted section I seem better able to hit the sweet points on the sacred circle.
Because things happen almost instantaneously and it does exactly what you tell it until you tell it something different, I have a little rule and that is that I never fly aeros in mine unless I am feeling 100%. ie, not tired, stressed or recovering from anything!
Keep having fun and you don't need to compare it to the Robin. They are both quite capable machines - just that one is a lot more fun than the other!
Stik
I know that I will never be an able/adept enough pilot to fully explore the Pitts envelope but you can bet that I have fun in mine.
I've been exploring vertical rolls and torque rolls this week and have been falling out of them all ways up!
You are doing exactly the right thing by obtaining quality instruction. Once used to being inverted I found the inverted spin no big deal really but the cross-over spin is a wild and despite being ratcheted down quite a bruising ride so I don't intend to do many more of those! (I used to say that about inverted spins and flick-rolls, mind!)
The slow roll in the S1 seemed more difficult to keep axial than in the S2 but by applying more fwd stick in the inverted section I seem better able to hit the sweet points on the sacred circle.
Because things happen almost instantaneously and it does exactly what you tell it until you tell it something different, I have a little rule and that is that I never fly aeros in mine unless I am feeling 100%. ie, not tired, stressed or recovering from anything!
Keep having fun and you don't need to compare it to the Robin. They are both quite capable machines - just that one is a lot more fun than the other!
Stik
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Good chap. Welcome to the fraternity. From here on in you will not fly the Robin thing, and you will sneer knowingly at people who talk about aerobatic cessna's Robins et el as you my friend now know the true meaning of the word aerobatic.
S n R I see you intend to strutt your stuff at the next competetion, well done you, may well see you there, MT allowing.
F
S n R I see you intend to strutt your stuff at the next competetion, well done you, may well see you there, MT allowing.
F
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Pitts is GREAT when you can do aeros, but IMHO ist is much better to learn the basics in a machine that does not fly them as easily, so the Robin THEN the Pitts was the right way to do it.
As far as the inverted spin goes - one of my favourite manouvers displaying a Stampe was - half vertical roll, stall turn, flick on the way down. First time I tried this in the Pitts I decided to convert the half roll to a full one, did not get enough speed, or pull hard enough - flicked off the top with forward c.c., I suspect you can guess the rest!
As far as the inverted spin goes - one of my favourite manouvers displaying a Stampe was - half vertical roll, stall turn, flick on the way down. First time I tried this in the Pitts I decided to convert the half roll to a full one, did not get enough speed, or pull hard enough - flicked off the top with forward c.c., I suspect you can guess the rest!
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Cheers guys. I need to get to the point where I'm confident that I can get myself out of any messes I'm likely to get into. Intentional inverted spins are prohibited in the Robin, so that one's going to be new to me. Cross over spins? I'm feeling ill already.
I'll probably go up to Sherburn for some of the proceedings... most likely the Saturday. You staying on for the next day stik?
I'll probably go up to Sherburn for some of the proceedings... most likely the Saturday. You staying on for the next day stik?
