Pitts Samson | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Wolf Samson II, a modernized Pitts Samson replica | |
Role | Aerobatic biplane |
National origin | United States |
Designer | Curtis Pitts |
First flight | 1948 |
Status | Destroyed |
Number built | 1 |
Developed from | Pitts Special |
The Pitts Samson was an aerobatic biplane designed by Curtis Pitts in 1948.
The Samson was designed for aerobatic pilot Jess Bristow. [1] It was a larger variant of the earlier Pitts Special, built using war surplus parts. It had an open cockpit and was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine. [2]
In 1952, the sole Samson, registered N52137, suffered a mid-air collision and crash landed, being destroyed in the resulting fire. Pilot Buddy Rogers was uninjured. [1] [2]
Wolf Aircraft built a replica of the Samson in 1985. Like the original, the replica was powered by a 450 hp R-985 Wasp Junior. This aircraft was also destroyed in a mid-air collision in 2005, killing pilot Bobby Younkin and his airshow partner Jimmy Franklin. [3] [4]
Wolf Aircraft built a second Samson replica in 2005 for the company's founder, Steve Wolf, who sold it to a German pilot shortly after it was completed. The aircraft, referred to as "Samson II", [5] is of a modified design, with the fuselage being a foot shorter than the original and featuring ailerons on the top wing. The aircraft was eventually bought by American pilot Tim Just under the registration N985TJ, and was reportedly involved in an accident on May 20, 2018, in which it lost control on landing and came to rest inverted, though the pilot was uninjured. [4] [6]
B & R Aviation began construction of a Samson replica for Pip Borrman in 2000. This replica was of a modernized design, featuring metal and carbon fiber construction, the airfoil of a Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing, and the control surfaces of a Pitts Model 11 "Super Stinker". It was powered by a fuel injected R-985 Wasp Junior which drove a MT propeller. The aircraft, registered VH-EAB, was completed in 2008. At approximately 14:30 on February 25, 2009, Borrman's Samson suffered an engine failure and crashed while practicing for the following month's Australian International Airshow, destroying the aircraft and killing Borrman. [2] [7]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
The Laird LC-DW300 and LC-DW500 Super Solution aka "Sky Buzzard" was a racing biplane built in the early 1930s by Matty Laird for the Cleveland Speed Foundation, Laird was already famous in the air racing circuit. It had a large radial engine and an extremely faired windshield. Other than being a biplane, it was similar in appearance to the Gee Bee, a more famous racer from the period. It was an advanced design for the time because of the relatively clean aerodynamic construction and tight engine cowling.
The Pitts Special is a series of light aerobatic biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts biplanes dominated world aerobatic competition in the 1960s and 1970s and, even today, remain potent competition aircraft in the lower categories.
The Grumman G-73 Mallard is a medium, twin-engined amphibious aircraft. Many have been modified by replacing the original Pratt & Whitney Wasp H radial engines with modern turboprop engines. Manufactured from 1946 to 1951, production ended when Grumman's larger SA-16 Albatross was introduced.
The Grumman F2F was a single-engine, biplane fighter aircraft with retractable undercarriage, serving as the standard fighter for the United States Navy between 1936 and 1940. It was designed for both carrier- and land-based operations.
The Grumman F3F is a biplane fighter aircraft produced by the Grumman aircraft for the United States Navy during the mid-1930s. Designed as an improvement on the F2F, it entered service in 1936 as the last biplane to be delivered to any American military air arm. It was retired from front line squadrons at the end of 1941 before it could serve in World War II, and replaced by the Brewster F2A Buffalo. The F3F, which inherited the Leroy Grumman-designed retractable main landing gear configuration first used on the Grumman FF, served as the basis for a biplane design ultimately developed into the much more successful F4F Wildcat that succeeded the subpar Buffalo.
The Vought SBU-1 Corsair was a two-seat, all-metal biplane dive bomber built by Vought Aircraft Company of Dallas, Texas for the US Navy. Its design was based upon the F3U-1 two-seat fighter that was abandoned when the Navy decided not to obtain any more two-seat fighters.
Wayne Handley is an American airshow performer, former naval aviator, agricultural pilot, Aerobatic Competency Evaluator (ACE), and coach for upcoming and current airshow stars. Handley and his wife Karen are former residents of the Salinas Valley of California, who currently reside in Groveland, California.
The Christen Eagle, which later became the Aviat Eagle in the mid-1990s, is an aerobatic sporting biplane aircraft that has been produced in the United States since the late 1970s.
The Berliner-Joyce OJ was an American biplane observation floatplane developed by the Berliner-Joyce Aircraft for the United States Navy during the early 1930s.
The Steen Skybolt is an American homebuilt aerobatic biplane. Designed by teacher Lamar Steen as a high school engineering project, the prototype first flew in October 1970.
The Short S.27 and its derivative, the Short Improved S.27, were a series of early British aircraft built by Short Brothers. They were used by the Admiralty and Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps for training the Royal Navy's first pilots as well as for early naval aviation experiments. An Improved S.27 was used by C.R. Samson to make the first successful take-off from a moving ship on 9 May 1912.
The Waco E series is a small family of American-built cabin biplanes built between 1939 and 1942, which differed primarily by engine installation.
The Griffon Lionheart is an American single-engined, six-seat biplane designed and produced in kit form for home building by Griffon Aerospace of Harvest, Alabama.
The Ultimate Aircraft 10 Dash is a Canadian single-seat sport and aerobatic biplane designed and built by Ultimate Aircraft Corporation of Guelph, Ontario.
William Lewis "Skip" Stewart, better known as Skip Stewart, is an aerobatic and commercial pilot from the United States. Stewart flies in airshows in the United States and abroad, in his two highly modified Pitts muscle biplanes.
The BAT F.K.27 was a two-seater sporting biplane designed by Frederick Koolhoven and built by the British Aerial Transport Company Limited (BAT) in 1918.
The Demon-1 is a custom-built biplane for aerobatic flying.
The Vancil Spitz S1 is an American homebuilt aircraft that was designed and produced by A. Vancil of Belton, South Carolina, introduced in the late 1990s. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit and also in the form of plans for amateur construction.
The Loening XS2L was an American biplane scout amphibian developed by Keystone-Loening, for the United States Navy during the early 1930s.