Pitts biplanes dominated U.S. and international aerobatic competition in the 1960s and 1970s before eventually being eclipsed by bigger, faster, more powerful monoplanes in the late 1980s and beyond. Now that their glory days are over, however, stubby Pitts single-seaters are being discovered by sport flying enthusiasts who prize their lively handling, mechanical simplicity, unique place in aviation history, and affordability. Two-aileron Pitts S-lCs are available on the used market with prices beginning in the low $20,000s, and four-aileron S-1D, S-1E, and S-1S models can be purchased in the low to mid $30s. That seems a bargain for airplanes so iconic that one-formerly owned and flown by the late aerobatic champion and airshow performer Betty Skelton-hangs over the entrance to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center, and three more (the former Red Devils) are enshrined at the EAA Museum.
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