Raceair Lil Bitts

Last updated
Lil Bitts
RaceairLilBitts.jpg
Role Homebuilt aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Raceair Designs
DesignerEd Fisher
First flight2007
Introduction2007
Number built1
Unit cost
$19,900 for a engineless kit in 2007
Developed from Green Sky Adventures Micro Mong

The Racair Lil Bitts is a modification of the Micro Mong light biplane to resemble a Pitts Special marketed by Raceair Designs of Gilbert, South Carolina. [1] The aircraft was also supplied by Wings Of Freedom., [2] but by late 2019 the company website had been taken down and it is likely that production had ended. [3]

Contents

Development

Ed Fisher developed the Micro Mong in 1993. The Lil Bitts fuselage was welded at the same time with slight modification to resemble a Pitts Special. The project was sold and bought back several times before completion in 2007. The basis for the name Lil Bitts is a combination of 'Pitts' Special, and 'Lil Stinker', the Pitts Special flown by aerobatic performer Betty Skelton. The plans for the aircraft are currently marketed by Raceair. [4]

Design

The Lil Bitts is a single seat biplane with conventional landing gear constructed from welded steel tubing with aircraft fabric covering. The wing spars are constructed of aluminum tubing with aluminum ribs and fabric covering.

Operational history

The Lil Bitts prototype won Experimental-Class Best Fabric award at Sun 'n Fun 2007. [5]

Specifications (Lil Bitts)

Data from EAA Experimenter

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related Research Articles

Aviat Eagle II

The Christen Eagle II, which later became the Aviat Eagle II in the mid-1990s, is an aerobatic sporting biplane aircraft that has been produced in the United States since the late 1970s.

EAA Biplane

The EAA Biplane is a recreational aircraft that was designed in the United States in the late 1950s and marketed as plans for homebuilding.

The Wings of Freedom Flitplane is an American single-seat, high-wing, single-engine ultralight aircraft that is available as a kit aircraft or as plans for amateur construction from Wings of Freedom of Hubbard, Ohio.

Murphy Renegade

The Murphy Renegade is a family of Canadian two-seats-in-tandem, single engine, conventional landing gear, biplanes, produced by Murphy Aircraft and intended for amateur construction.

The Kolb Ultrastar is an American single seat, high wing, strut-braced, single engine, pusher configuration, conventional landing gear-equipped ultralight aircraft that was produced in kit form by Kolb Aircraft of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and intended for amateur construction.

RagWing RW2 Special I

The RagWing RW2 Special I is a family of biplane, single engine homebuilt aircraft designed by Roger Mann and sold as plans by RagWing Aircraft Designs for amateur construction.

Green Sky Adventures Micro Mong

The Green Sky Adventures Micro Mong is an ultralight biplane based on the Mong MS1 Sport.

Mong MS1 Sport

The Mong MS1 Sport is an early original homebuilt biplane design from the 1950s. Over 400 sets of plans for the aircraft have been sold.

The Townsend Thunderbird is a homebuilt design created by the experienced cropduster Gid Townsend and built in 1956 with assistance of Curtis Pitts.

The Westfall Sport is a single seat biplane modeled after the Waco F2.

Marquart MA-5 Charger

The Marquart MA-5 Charger is a homebuilt two place biplane.

Pitts Model 12

The Pitts Model 12) is a high performance aerobatic biplane designed around the Vedeneyev M14P/PF engine. The aircraft can be built from plans or as a kitplane; or can be bought ready-to-fly from the factory.

Raceair Skylite

The Raceair Skylite is an American ultralight aircraft that was designed by Ed Fisher and made available in the form of plans for amateur construction, by Raceair Designs.

Stits SA-11A Playmate

The Stits SA-11A Playmate is a homebuilt aircraft design that features a rapid wing-folding mechanism for trailering or storage.

Meyers <i>Little Toot</i>

Meyer's Little Toot is a homebuilt biplane that was designed by George W. Meyer (1916–1982) of Corpus Christi, Texas.

Stits SA-5 Flut-R-Bug

The Stits SA-5 Flut-R-Bug is a homebuilt aircraft designed by Ray Stits.

Stits SA-2A Sky Baby

The Stits SA-2A Sky Baby was a homebuilt aircraft designed for the challenge of claiming the title of "The World's Smallest".

Stits DS-1

The Stits DS-1 Baby Bird is a homebuilt aircraft built to achieve a "world's smallest" status. The Baby Bird is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “Smallest Airplane in the World.” as of 1984. The title was later defined as "world's smallest monoplane" to acknowledge Robert H. Starr's Bumble Bee as the world's smallest biplane.

The Rayner Pusher is a homebuilt version of the Curtiss Pusher.

Rans S-20 Raven

The Rans S-20 Raven is an American homebuilt aircraft that was designed by Randy Schlitter and is produced by Rans Designs of Hays, Kansas, introduced at AirVenture in August 2013. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction and it is anticipated that it will later be offered as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft in the light-sport aircraft category.

References

  1. Ed Fisher (July 2009). "Raceair Designs' Lil Bitts Biplane". EAA Experimenter.
  2. Wings Of Freedom. "Lil Bitts" . Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  3. Wings of Freedom. "Wings of Freedom". www.wingsoffreedomaviation.com. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  4. "Update on Raceair Designs and Lil' Bitts" . Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  5. Ed Fisher. "Raceair Designs' Lil Bitts Biplane". EAA Experimenter.