The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum-continuing its yearlong 25th anniversary celebration-showcases two remarkable aircraft, the newly restored Pitts S-1C Little Stinker and the Loundenslager Laser 200, in "Aerobatic Champions," an exhibition opening to the public on Thursday, Oct. 4.
Little Stinker-hand built by designer Curtis Pitts-is now the oldest Pitts aircraft in existence. Revolutionary because of its very small size, minimal weight, short wingspan and extreme agility, the S-1 would dominate the unlimited aerobatic competition category in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
In August 1948 Little Stinker was purchased by Betty Skelton, who flew it to victory in the 1949 and 1950 Feminine International Aerobatic Championship at the Miami All American Air Maneuvers. As one of the few women aerobatic pilots of the day, Skelton's impressive flying proficiency heightened awareness of aerobatics and the Pitts design. Flying upside-down, she became the first woman to perform the inverted ribbon cut maneuver. She was the first woman inducted into the International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame, which, in 1988, established the Betty Skelton First Lady of Aerobatics Trophy, awarded to the highest scoring woman in national competition.
Skelton sold Little Stinker in 1951, when she traded flying records for automobile speed records. She and husband, Don Frankman, later reacquired the airplane and donated it to the Smithsonian in 1985. Volunteers at the museum's Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility restored it between 1996 and 2001.
Inspired by the flights of legends Duane Cole and Bob Hoover at the 1964 Reno Air Races, Leo Loudenslager became an airline pilot and, later, an aerobatic competitor. By 1975 Loudenslager had modified the airfoil, wing, forward fuselage, tail, instrument panel and propeller of his Stephens Akro, which enabled him to perform sharper and more difficult maneuvers with seemingly endless rolls. Renamed the Laser 200, the airplane could fly more than 386 kilometers (230 miles) per hour and endure gravity forces up to 9Gs.
These refinements would change the course of competitive aircraft design. According to Dorothy Cochrane, curator of the "Aerobatic Champions" exhibition, "His airplane knocked biplanes out of the unlimited category for good, as its basic design led to today's dominant Extra line and other powerful and strong monoplanes."
Winning his first U.S. National Championship in 1975 and six others in subsequent years, Loudenslager also won the 1980 World Aerobatic title. Fellow aerobatic champion and judge Clint
McHenry once said that he had seen only two perfect aerobatic routines, and both had been flown by Leo Loudenslager. From 1971 until his death in a motorcycle accident in 1997, Loudenslager brought the excitement of aerobatic flight before millions of people.
The Pitts S-1C Little Stinker is the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Frankman. The Loudenslager Laser 200 is the gift of Carolyn and Kelly Loudenslager. The exhibition was made possible through the generous support of Kathy Ilyin and Loudenslager Enterprises.
"Aerobatic Champions" will be on display in the museum's west end.
The National Air and Space Museum, located at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W., is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Closed Christmas Day.) Admission is free.
For further information, visit www.nasm.si.edu/aerobaticchampions.