When people think of the classic aerobatic plane, many think first of the Pitts Special. And for good reason too… originally conceived in the mid-40’s, the timeless design of the Pitts has survived for over six decades. As an icon of aerobatic and sport aviation, the Pitts S-2B seen here is a fitting subject for a permanent honor as a tattoo.

The design of the Pitts Special was first created by Curtis Pitts in 1943-1944 and the original homebuilt prototype flew in 1944.  Though the General Aviation community all but halted during WWII, Pitts still was able to envision a lightweight, agile, and strong aerobatic biplane that would rival the maneuverability of the powerful monoplane fighters of the era. 

Pitts manufactured a limited number of single seat S-1 aircraft in the late 40’s and 50’s, including one bought and popularized by legendary aerobatic performer Betty Skelton as the “Lil’ Stinker” in her act.  Despite the direct production by Pitts, many more were built as homebuilts during this era from hand-drawn plans Curtis Pitts had released.  In 1962 Pitts produced far more detailed and professional plans and then its homebuilt production of S-1 variants skyrocketed. 

After several years of design, the two-seat Pitts S-2 named “Big Stinker” flew in 1967.  It’s production type certificate was gained in 1971 and factory-built S-2 aircraft (and later joined in 1973 by the 1-seat S-1S) were produced in Afton, WY by Aerotek. The 1971 US National Aerobatic Team won the world championships by flying Pitts aircraft exclusively.

Today the Pitts remains extremely popular in the sport aviation market in production as the S-2C from Aviat Aircraft in Afton, WY.  Homebuilt plans for the S1-S are sold through Aviat and S1-C, S1-SS, and the new radial-engined Model 14 plans and kits are supplied by Steen Aero Lab in Palm Bay, FL.  Jim Kimball Enterprises in Zellwood, FL also produces kits and custom-builds of the radial-engined Pitts Model 12.

Noted aviation author and editor of Flight Journal magazine, Budd Davisson is a big fan of the Pitts and has owned and instructed in the type for over 37 years… and still does so as Plus 5 Aviation in Scottsdale, AZ.

Betty Skelton’s “Lil’ Stinker” Pitts S1-C built by Curtis Pitts now hangs on public display in the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum located at Dulles International Airport.

This colorful upper chest tattoo was created by Rob Figueroa of Refined Tattoos (MySpace site) in Palm Bay, FL – the home of Pitts kit distributor Steen Aero Lab… leaves one to wonder if the wearer works for them!

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To celebrate the first anniversary of Tattoos In Flight, I thought it would be fitting to post the first successful powered aircraft, the 1903 Flyer built and first flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright from the dunes at Kitty Hawk, NC on December 17, 1903.  The brothers from Dayton, OH owned a bicycle shop, The Wright Cycle Company, by trade, but were consummate inventors and began experimenting with aeronautics at the turn of the century.

The brothers built and conducted glider experiments at Kitty Hawk from 1900 through 1902 and tested various designs and means of control… including turning control via the concept of wing warping.  These elements were incorporated into the 1903 Flyer along with the ingenious and light four-cylinder inline, gravity-fed engine engineered and constructed by their shop mechanic Charlie Taylor in only six-weeks.

Wilbur Wright was the first to attempt flying the aircraft on December 14th 1903, resulting in a three-second attempt where the aircraft stalled after takeoff and was slightly damaged as it hit the ground.

After the machine was repaired, Orville made the next attempt.  Against a freezing headwind gusting to 27 mph, Orville set down the takeoff rail and made the first controllable flight of a heavier-than-air craft… a 12 second flight covering 120 feet.  Two more flights that day by Wilbur and Orville respectively, covered 175 and 200 feet. The fourth flight of the day by Wilbur covered the longest distance… 852 feet over 59 seconds.  Unfortunately the aircraft was significantly damaged by a gust of wind as it was being taken back from the fourth flight and the aircraft never flew again.

The aircraft was shipped back to Dayton and was eventually restored years later by Orville before it toured to various locations in the U.S. and eventually was placed on display at a British museum – and eventually was displayed at the Smithsonian Institution as of 1948 after a long-standing conflict over the Wright claim as first in flight and a similar claim of Samuel Langley, Secretary of the Smithsonian from 1896 to 1906, who unsuccessfully attempted flight in October and December of 1903 using his own craft, the Aerodrome.  For more information on this odd controversy, follow this link.

In honor of this historic aircraft and historic flight, this beautiful black and gray inner arm tattoo was created by tattoo artist Hoffa at Ascension Tattoo in Orlando, FL.  Ironically Hoffa is also from Dayton, OH himself.

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In the early days of the 20th Century — in the years right after World War I, the airplane went through a time of “teenage rebellion” when barnstorming and flying circuses swept over the United States.  Barely two decades old, the airplane was still something of a rarity to see in the air.  For people in rural communities, the appearance of an airplane could be the biggest occurrence for months.  Because of this, pilots from WWI with an entrepreneurial spirit set out in surplus military aircraft and toured the country — selling airplane rides and operating from impromptu airfields mowed from farm pastures.

The most common aircraft used by barnstormers was the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny - a common biplane trainer used during the war and sold for as little as $200 (the aircraft was purchased $5000 new) after the end of the war. The Jenny was a sturdy and relatively simple aircraft and was well suited for the abuse it could suffer “on the road”.

When barnstormers started partnering up to create larger shows or “flying circuses”, the aerial antics became more and more daring.  Aerobatics, wing walking, performers jumping from a moving car into an airplane in flight, and even, as illustrated by this tattoo, performers moving from one aircraft to another in flight.  Because pilots and touring groups were always trying to out-shine and outperform each other, the stunts became more and more daring and risky.  Many pilots lost their lives in these unregulated, free-for-all days of flying because of this.

With the passage of the Air Commerce Act on May 20, 1926, the basis of federal regulation of aviation was established under the newly formed Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce.  Over the next several decades and name changes, federal regulation became the responsibility of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).  That organization gave birth to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1958 that placed all elements of aviation and airspace regulation and safety under the one agency.

This black and gray tattoo on the back of a calf commemorating the early days of flight was created by tattoo artist apprentice Christel Perkins currently apprenticing at Mile High Tattoo in Denver, CO.

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Besides the fact that this tattoo includes the famous Curtiss JN-4 Jenny — one of the first practical training aircraft built for U.S. Army service, this tattoo also depicts one of the most famous stamps in the world, The Inverted Jenny.

First let’s talk about the aircraft. The Curtiss JN line of biplane trainer aircraft started production in 1915, but the early models were plagued with shoddy construction and inadequate power for flight.  The JN-4, improved with the Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine, was an improvement and found itself ideal for training pilots.  The 90hp engine gave the JN-4 a top speed of 75 mph and a ceiling of 6,500 feet. About 6,813 JNs were built and hundreds were sold off after military service and became the early backbone of aviation in the 20’s.  Many of the planes could be seen in the hands of barnstormers, stunt pilots, and sport pilots in traveling flying circuses.

The stamp, known as the Inverted Jenny or Jenny Invert to those familiar with American philately, is one of the rarest known to exist.  Issued on 10 May 1918, the stamp was an error due to a rush to get stamps made for the inauguration of Airmail service between New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Since the stamp was two colors, the sheets of stamps needed to be printed on twice… an error prone process.  It is believed that three sheets with the inversion error were caught during printing and destroyed, but one sheet of 100 somehow slipped through and in the ensuing decades, have become something of a “White Stag” to stamp collectors.  A single stamp sold at auction in November 2007 fetched $977,500 and a block of four sold at auction in 2005 for $2.7 Million.

This unique tattoo of the rare stamp was created by artist Margaret Bushell of The Painted Lady tattoo studio in Harrisonburg, VA and was done on her husband.

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The biplane is one of the earliest airplane designs — in fact, from 1914 through 1925, almost every aircraft design was a biplane.  Despite the logical thought that two wings creates twice the lift, this isn’t so.  In reality, a biplane only produces about 20% more lift than wings of a similar planform. For those of you who are math and science enthusiasts, you know that each wing negatively interferes with the aerodynamics of both and it considerably increases drag without creating as much lift as a monoplane of the same wing area as the combined wings.  What is an advantage with a biplane is the strength of the structure without complicated bracing — much like a box girder.

Because of this, biplane designs are still found in light aerobatic aircraft and agricultural aircraft — both of which need strength without weight.

The tattoo below — roughly designed after a Waco UPF-7 (tail) and a PT-17 Stearman (landing gear) was created by Tim Beck of Freedom Ink. Tattoo Company in Peoria, IL.

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