Curtis Pitts And His Airplanes Changed Sport Flying Forever

REAL TIME UPDATE: 1725 EDT -- EAA President Tom Poberezny received a call from the Curtis Pitts family late Friday morning to inform EAA that the legendary aircraft designer had passed away at the age of 89.

According to the EAA, Tom shared with family members the impact Curtis had on his personal life, most notably flying a Pitts Special in his years with the Red Devils aerobatic team as well as flying a Pitts while competing in the World Aerobatic Championships. All told, Tom has more than 3,300 hours piloting Pitts aircraft.

"More important was his personality and willingness to share so much with those who were in pursuit of aviation as a career, recreation, or aerobatic performer," he said. "As we mourn, we should take this opportunity to celebrate his life and contributions to the aviation community."

"I only intended to build one airplane - for myself," Pitts, who lived in Homestead, FL, told the Dothan, AL, Eagle in 2003. Selfish intentions aside, Pitts' aircraft soon became synonymous with aerobatic flying.

He loved to watch the sport, often attending fly-ins as a special guest or regular visitor. "It's better than watching TV," he said. "... I wanted to retire, but it seems like these people won't let me."

In 1990, a group of aerobatic pilots from all over the world gathered in Florida to help Curtis Pitts celebrate his birthday. Here's what they had to say about his contribution to aerobatics:

Curtis didn't invent aerobatics. He didn't invent biplanes. He didn't invent the concept of small planes with big engines. He did, however, re-invent all of those factors and mold them into the image we now know as modern aerobatics. He and his little airplanes completely rewrote the aerobatic history books and opened the world of serious aerobatics and pure high performance to the masses. As a result of his efforts, an individual with dedication and a yearning for the third dimension could take a roll of drawings and convert them into a rag and tube ball of lightning that would never fail to take their breath away.

There's a sticker that you'll often see on the flight bags and airplanes of aerobatic pilots that says, "A Pitts is something special." And that doesn’t just refer to the airplane.

Curtis Pitts has gone west, where flying is fun and perfection a passion. For those of us left behind, he'll always be "something special."

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