The Pitts Samson was an
aerobatic
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
designed by
Curtis Pitts
Curtis Pitts (December 9, 1915 – June 10, 2005) of Stillmore, Georgia, was an American designer of a series of popular aerobatic biplanes, known as the Pitts Special.
Career
Pitts grew up in Americus, Georgia and his first airplane was a Wa ...
in 1948.
Design and development
The Samson was designed for aerobatic pilot Jess Bristow.
It was a larger variant of the earlier
Pitts Special
The Pitts Special (company designations S-1 and S-2) 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 ae ...
, built using war surplus parts. It had an open cockpit and was powered by a single
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military aviat ...
R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
.
Operational history
In 1952, the sole Samson,
registered N52137, suffered a
mid-air collision
In aviation, a mid-air collision is an aviation accident, accident in which two or more aircraft come into unplanned contact during flight. Owing to the relatively high velocities involved and the likelihood of subsequent impact with the ground o ...
and crash landed, being destroyed in the resulting fire. Pilot Buddy Rogers was uninjured.
Replicas
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.
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", 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.
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
The Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing is an American biplane with an atypical negative wing stagger (the lower wing is farther forward than the upper wing). It first flew in 1932.
Development
At the height of the Great Depression, aircra ...
, and the control surfaces of a
Pitts Model 11 "Super Stinker". It was powered by a
fuel injected
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All compr ...
R-985 Wasp Junior which drove a
MT propeller
MT-Propeller Entwicklung GmbH, founded in 1980 by Gerd Muehlbauer, is a manufacturer of composite propellers for single and twin engine aircraft, airships, wind tunnels and other special applications.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircr ...
. 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
The Australian International Airshow, also called the Avalon Airshow, is a large air show held biennially at Avalon Airport, between Melbourne and Geelong in Victoria.
The event has a strong focus on military aviation, featuring aircraft from ...
, destroying the aircraft and killing Borrman.
Specifications (Samson)
See also
References
{{Aircraft designed by Curtis Pitts
Pitts aircraft
1940s United States sport aircraft
Aerobatic aircraft
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1948
Conventional landing gear