Kimball Pitts S-1 single-seat (S-1S / S-1C / S-1T / S-1D / S-1E)
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
'Pitts S-1' on a registration covers the whole single-seat biplane line Curtis Pitts drew in 1944 and sold as plans from the 1960s: the flat-wing S-1C, the symmetrical-wing 180 hp S-1S, the 200 hp constant-speed S-1T, the plans-built D and E and later hybrids, all around a 17 ft 4 in upper wing and a 1,150 lb gross weight. Steen's plans sheet puts a 180 hp aircraft at 154 mph cruise, a 57 mph stall and 2,650 fpm.
Establish which Pitts it is before anything else, because an 85 hp plans-built S-1C and a 200 hp S-1T share a name and little else in price, performance or insurability. Then remember it is a homebuilt: wings may be from any of several plan sets or Gordon Price's Ultimate wings, the engine anything from an O-290 to an angle-valve IO-360 or an IO-390, the gear spring or bungee, and the whole thing built by someone whose workmanship the logbooks and a biplane-literate inspector have to vouch for; the figures here describe a typical 180 hp build and not the aeroplane in front of you. It lands blind at a high descent rate and there is no two-seat version of itself to train in, so the checkout happens in an S-2 and insurers want it. Condition inspections need an A&P, not an IA, and the owner may do the work.
Variants of the Pitts S-1 Special (single-seat)
- Pitts S-1 single-seat (S-1S / S-1C / S-1T / S-1D / S-1E) · 1962 · 107 active · this page
- Pitts Special S-1S · 1973 · 30 active
- Pitts S-1T · 1975 · 14 active
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Partial: 12 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)
Among 1–2 seat pistons (319 models)
Compare with…
Put Kimball Pitts S-1 single-seat (S-1S / S-1C / S-1T / S-1D / S-1E) side by side with up to three other models.
- Kimball Pitts S-1 single-seat (S-1S / S-1C / S-1T / S-1D / S-1E)
Open Kimball Pitts S-1 single-seat (S-1S / S-1C / S-1T / S-1D / S-1E) in Compare
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What it is
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tailwheel |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Lycoming O-360 / IO-360 (85-200 hp fitted) |
| Horsepower | 180 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 1962 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 134 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | — |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | 2,650 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 50 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 430 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,150 lb |
| Empty weight | 720 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $45,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $53,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 213 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 107 |
| Median year built | 1983 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 37.381 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 28.042 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 18 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 16.823 |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 107 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 107 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 107 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 2.3 of 103 |
| Support | 6.1 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.6 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | Partial: 12 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)6 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 319 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.33.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 79.
- Liquidity: class median 19.91.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30