Landing BLIND at 100 MPH! - zero forward vis - Pitts S2B - Flight Training VLOG

[@simplegreen4929]

I can’t believe this video. Your first landing in the Pitts was unbelievable. I can’t believe you can fly the airplane like that so well with very little time. It shows you are very good at getting the feel for new airplanes since you transition from airplane to airplane all the time. Keep it up!

[@FlightChops]

I appreciate the feedback here - I don't have a ton of total time, but I have been very lucky to get a lot of great training in many different types - Luke instilled total confidence and allowed me to relax (relatively :) and really figure this thing out safely.

[@steveo1kinevo]

I blame all my bumpy landings on the runway. lol Enjoyed the Vid! 👍🏼

[@justinsmith833]

steveo1kinevo me too lol

[@bartgoins1782]

That's always been my excuse.

[@markelliott585]

Steveo...The plane was just angry he didn't drag his butt first! I mean why else is his Johnson so long?

[@GaryMCurran]

You really need to start flying more taildragger and taking videos of that. That mini airliner you fly helps to make you look really good, but a taildragger will bring out the real pilot in all of us! :) :p

[@bryanbarnett9688]

I'm stealing that excuse!

[@rv-ation9603]

Fun to watch and brought back memories. I owned and flew an S1-S for several years and a few hundred hours. I do hate to be a spoilsport for egos, but the Pitts has an undeserved reputation for being hard to handle. They are honest airplanes and easy to fly (yes, even the landing). Of course, all this assumes you have solid basic tailwheel skills! I used to get tired of people talking about how "hard" it is to fly, then you find out most people have never flown one! 100mph approach is fast for a Pitts, they don't have a high stall speed (60'ish MPH). Most people tend to fly them fast to give better forward visibility. I always like 80-85 over the fence, but to each his own. The faster you touch down, the more energy you have to burn during the rollout. Your "hop" on touchdown is because the stick wasn't in your gut (you can see in the video that when the elevator finally comes up it stops the hop). Pitts love to oscillate like that if you don't get the stick in your gut once the tailwheel is down (most taildraggers will do that for that matter). Love your vids!

[@samuel-jq9wl]

Damn chops, you got me at 2:40. Good one

[@theofficialcraigsmith23]

Lucas Rumpus he gets to punch us all

[@ashsmitty2244]

I love coming back and rewatching these episodes.

[@JasonM74]

“You’re a natural tail wheel pilot”, what a great compliment! Keep it up Chops.

[@blancolirio]

Git that stick back! No more bouncy bouncy…;-) Good Stuff Steve!

[@TheFinerPoints]

Great video! I love that hold the triangle/pie concept -- that is amazing training for your skills in any airplane -- you nailed it at 7:36! :)

[@johnbolin7098]

The camera angles were perfect. The editing perfect. Chops, you really know how to put together an awesome show. Oh, and by the way, your piloting skills are amazing. Humble, safe and always learning. You truly get it.

[@FlightChops]

Thanks John! It is rewarding to receive this feedback as I do try really hard to make the films as tight and engaging as I can. I am lucky to have access to a wide variety of great instructors and diverse aircraft to sharpen my fundamentals; It is my pleasure to share the process.

[@aoifemariamolloyagainstisl399]

John Bolin chops humility is incredible and for a man it's endearing i would feel safe with him quicker than a guy who has ego issues and thinks he is an alpha guy and the big "i am"

[@aoifemariamolloyagainstisl399]

FlightChops your humility is endearing and deeply touching to me THANK you so much for NOT acting all macho and egotistical and for NOT acting all alpha hard guy Watching you transition from aircraft to aircraft in the endeavour of learning and bettering yourself and your piloting skills is inspiring me as a survivor of abuse and at 40 and only four ft 11 inches in height i long to learn to ferry fly i know i need a ppl/atpl but you and matt guthmiller are two incredibly inspirational young men who are feeding my longing and desire to become a female pilot who could ferry fly planes

[@310Pilot]

Nicely done! I had a couple acro lessons in a S2B several years ago but never attempted the landing. You made what I know is a hard plane to land look easy.

[@darksidefloyd1]

Great episode. Appreciate your editing. Love watching and feel so excited for you and how great it must feel to do so well with the Pitts and having that tail wheel experience carry over and give you a leg up.

[@Didgeridoobidrewbi]

Are you serious! This is my home airport! Never thought i would see Chops flying here! So cool! Great flying by the way, always a pleasure watching.

[@FlyAV8R]

Can definitely relate to this! A great video sharing the experience. And you're right with the camera viewpoint being able to see a lot more.

[@whymistamista5614]

I feel bad, I've been gone for to long. Glad to start watching again. It's been like 3 months.

[@FlightChops]

Welcome back - I think there were about 8 new episodes in the past 3 months :)

[@PutterersFolly]

Via email you convinced me to do my primary training in a J3 Cub. Many times I thought I'd never land that plane smoothly, until I accepted the fact that flying backseat in a tailwheel is challenging for even the seasoned pilots. Fun to watch, and actually builds my confidence that it's not me, it truly is that challenging!!!

[@garydell2023]

Great job flying the Pitts. Your getting familiar with so many different types of planes. I never got to fly one of those but I did manage a right seat in a Beechcraft Stagerwing. Keep flying safely this year.

[@FlightChops]

Stagerwing would be amazing! I have yet to get into one of them

[@nathanchetram287]

That quotation about the pitts only caring about the next landing applies to any plane really, but with a plane as challenging as the pitts I guess it's good to remember it. Keep up the amazing content!

[@Nate_Higgins]

What a sweet instructor. That guy is excellent.

[@ae3usedtobe]

Amazing Amazing Job! I am looking to start training in a Pitts this summer. This video has certainly helped me get stoked and a little mentally prepared. Great Job Again!

[@FlightChops]

Very cool! Happy to help. Please report back after your training to let us know how it went, and if you were able to apply what you learned here.

[@mx1man]

Wow that looks super cool to fly. I have a friend that flys a Pitts he loves it. I have to get with him to experience it. Thanks for the ride. Love your stuff.

[@Graemehatz]

Tremendous video. Absolutely my favorite.

[@KerboOnYT]

Great stuff and nice flying, thanks for taking us along

[@smaze1782]

147k subs?? Outstanding. You have come a long way FC. Congrats on your continued success. Another great video here to add to the collection.

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

One of the most interesting airplanes ever. I like that glide ratio comment.. just throw out a brick and follow it. With a skilled pilot, they are a sight to behold.

[@jimarcher5255]

I liken my biplane as having the glide slope the same as a manhole cover.

[@KnowledgePerformance7]

Man the editing is incredible!

[@FlightChops]

Thanks! I spent a lot of time cutting this one - glad you appreciated the work.

[@SimonHollandfilms]

yes...looks good from a fellow Editor and Pilot.

[@robertszelestey4529]

Congrats, Steve. I gotta believe that if you can land a Pitts, you can land anything!

[@psyrixx]

Good job Chops! Crosswinds are hard and all of these landings looked really good (even the bumpy ones!)

[@FlightChops]

Thanks!

[@ruston1200]

You are making the best GA vids on KZbin Mr Flightchops! Top Notch!

[@ThomasMarrow]

This channel is truly inspiring and has started so many in depth conversations with my instructor here in South Africa. Would love to build up the GA community here in South Africa and I believe awareness about your channel is the perfect place for people to start. Keep up all the good work man and will share your stuff as much as I possibly can.

[@bazwabat1]

Your tail dragger training and experience is certainly showing in this video. No beads! Man 95 over the numbers? Waaaay out of my comfort zone! Well done. :-)

[@HIllCarver]

love the pitts footage steve! Looks like such a challenging airplane to fly!

[@Alex-us2vw]

There’s a Pitts at the airport I fly at and often on the weekends he runs a few circuits to keep fresh. It’s such a strange thing to watch land since without flaps it comes in low and fast. Where a 172 would still have a couple hundred feet of altitude on final the Pitts looks like it’s skimming the trees. Looks like a lot of fun to fly though so it’s worth the extra effort to land. Was just looking at a used one and wanted to see some videos on flying it. But it looks like a handful and probably best left for when I have more hours under my belt.

[@Tiwow]

Last one was stellar!

[@alianjohnson6035]

as always, love the video. always learn something. the Pitts is the first aircraft i fell in love with - a great little machine. keep 'em coming. cheers

[@stevecastro22]

Great job Steve, looks like fun to me.....

[@joshualandry3160]

Awesome video! Really makes you wonder what a bush pilot short field would look like the Pitts!

[@Bentz5000]

Like button smashed.

[@reckemroysrc3764]

CHOPS. you are getting some skills. that was a great video

[@VilleMaunu]

Very good handling...

[@texas-flygirl]

I fly a single place Pitts and all you see is what the front seat in that 2 place Pitts. So ya, not as easy as a cub, but it's worth learning how to since it is sooooooo fun in the air!.

[@menohaveaname]

HEY! I've ridden in that plane with an aero show pilot! That thing is amazing!

[@SuperAero]

Dude! Great episode. Really appreciate the in depth approach you take on these. The Pitts definitely freaks me out after knowing how even a simple tailwheel aircraft like a J-3 can bite you sometimes. Still want to fly one though!

[@FlightChops]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@SkylordNiko]

This really reminded me of horse riding and lining up into a jump, i wonder if some judgement or other abstract skills carry over from riding to flying and vica verca

[@anandeeppannu]

Nice training video - will show it to my students. I think I have the answer for all your bumps - I noticed you didn't have the stick all the way back hard to the stop after landing, if you leave the stick even slightly forward, you are experiencing a small PIO below stall speed. Try holding it all the way back once you have landed and are sure you are not going to fly again, and bumpy runways or not you will not be bouncing around like that.

[@iflyc77]

Awesome video as always Steve!!! I think Luke is the best instructor I have seen here yet

[@markthibault8579]

Awesome job. The Pitts has a reputation for being tricky to land.

[@slikrx]

Awesome vid.

[@chrismarkovic3211]

Just starting my multi ifr with Harvs. They seem like a standup outfit. Chops you should come do a seminar at one of our Rust Removers 😛

[@anggatpm3183]

Amazing video as usual :-) btw hi from indonesia

[@j.vincenttaylor8916]

Thanks for the great content!

[@DoctorDARKSIDE]

This was sensational, loved every bit of it!

[@regressmenot]

I'm only at 7:34 and I'm already so stressed lol. Kudos to this instructor, his teaching style is very easy to understand immediately. I'm curious, do you find that flying in all these different aircraft make it easier or harder to get back into a Cessna and fly well?

[@FlightChops]

Agreed that Like is awesome! And honestly, there is some sort of abstract / intangible effect of flying so many types - the fundamentals are really solidified.

[@GaryMCurran]

Like anything you do, more experience leads to a better understanding. Since you are mostly flying GA aircraft the different types you fly gives you a lot of experience in different ways, and it all comes together to make you a better pilot. Whether it's a Pitts or a Seneca, they all add to you being a better pilot.

[@Veritas1992]

Gary C The other thing is it speaks to is the understanding & application of the basics. For example if you solidly understand aerodynamics & apply that do different airfoils will make you a more rounded pilot.

[@bolivaralexgarcia1172]

Nicely done to both Aviators ! Keep it safe and Fly on 😁

[@SmittySmithsonite]

What a challenging flight that must've been! I know I wouldn't be comfortable with the limited visibility. At 5'4", you can bet I would have my work cut out for me in that thing! :D Nice job!

[@siglavikingbeach6680]

I drive by St Andrews quite frequently and I have never seen this airplane. (I'm not a flyer but have been watching these vids out of curiosity)

[@-_captain_lyle_-]

It seems like no aspect of aviation will evade you, Steve!

[@FlightChops]

I'm trying to find and face all aspects of flying :)

[@GaryMCurran]

Yeah, well, I'm still waiting for the video where you fly a water bomber! One of those Martin ones. :D

[@iesikhaty]

100MPH on short final!? Whoa! What's next? Flying CF-18's? Actually, that's not so far fetched is it? Great instructor. Dude, you're jumping into fairly complex environments for a PPL holder; great to see you're up to the challenge; keep it up!

[@djphilippa]

Hi Steve, was there any reason why on roll out you don’t nail the tail down by full back stick? That’s something I do in the Citabria which helps with stopping tail wheel shimmy. Nice work though mate. Cheers.

[@schlehrbear]

Super awesome, Super hard, wow props to you.

[@josephliptak]

The Pitts sure is a sporty looking plane. It looks like it wants to be flown with authority even when parked and standing still.

[@justinsmith833]

Dude you videos are just amazing

[@FlightChops]

Thanks!

[@RoadglideST117]

Very nice man! You made it look easy :)

[@gvrose1]

Scarry stuff! Great video..

[@jasoncascone5369]

Keep up the good videos

[@clearofcloud2038]

+ 1 for the question about the stick on roll-out. Would it have helped a little with the runway undulation or does the Pitts not like the extra load of full stick back? Enjoyed this - the Pitts is another one on the list to get checked out on :-)

[@FlightChops]

Cool yeah. In this Case pulling back made the tail bounce more - the tail wheel is pretty springy - so once the bouncing starts, relaxing the stick seemed to be the only fix - Luke actually instructs me to do so during one of the roll outs and yo can see it fixes it.

[@clearofcloud2038]

Seems reasonable - add /remove as much as the conditions require !! Looks like the Pitts really makes you work for good landing. !

[@VenturiLife]

Hard aircraft to learn... Instructor is excellent.

[@saravanan.m488]

great job man!

[@MX304]

It looks like you were about to fall out of the parachute shoulder straps. Might want to look at that before you need it.

[@yru435]

Great job. Were the landing approaches you had to do similar to what the Corsair pilots learned to do when they were landing on carriers? Why does that plane not glide, it has so much wing??

[@quebeckilo7347]

Hey! I wanna be a natural tailwheel pilot too, lol! So Steve, watching all these videos, I can't help wonder if this is part of a master plan to get you into a Spitfire. You've said that's a goal - can you estimate where you are on that path at the moment? Thanks for another awesome video!

[@Mrcaffinebean]

Wow I have to think this airplane is difficult you’ve flown yet! Great video!

[@engiflight]

Hey I was curious about the comfort of the head mount. I am looking at using that for some of my flying (specifically aerobatics). Always enjoy your channel and have learned a lot watching many of your videos! It's amazing what you have done so far!

[@kilfoylea]

Welcome back to CYAV!

[@shortribslongbow5312]

Very interesting video, thanks for sharing.

[@45631063]

Thank you very much video .

[@daugbret]

The "no smoking" sticker is by far the best part.

[@markelliott585]

High Rocky Mountains greetings and huge kudos and thanks for sharing a ballsy stretch forward and major outreach with what seemed to be your heart up in your throat a couple of times. Your Pitts experience here definitely fulfills part of my Walter Mitty persona. As such I've dived into the Patreon Land Of A Lotta Dollar Bills! Anyone who loves what he does will never work a day in a life. Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious...

[@jackmurphy9610]

Awesome FlightChops

[@279seb]

Wow what a cool headed instructor. Maybe its your skills, maybe its Maybelline.

[@GregsZenithSTOLCH750]

Well done, Steve! I can't imagine landing with no forward visibility.

[@cmscoby]

Looks like fun. Are there no acrobatic areas closer to home?

[@FlightChops]

No Luke closer to home :)

[@SomeGuyInSandy]

Wow, the visibility is horrible out of a Pitts! Great flying!

[@FlightChops]

Yerp :)

[@ronmoore5827]

Awesome video Steve, that Pitts is a hand full I can tell from my chair! Was wondering if you ever read a book called No Parachute by a guy Named Arthur Gould Lee. He flew in the First World War and his descriptions of flying those airplanes are great. He talks about guys being sent up to the front line with like 20 hrs time total, only 7 or 8 solo. If you get a chance check it out I think you would enjoy it. keep those videos coming sir.

[@tom7601]

Cool! That's a twitchy little bugger, not unlike a thoroughbred race horse; always on the edge...

[@onthebeaches]

Nice job BRO! PEACE OUT!

[@brianbarker4739]

Pitts is not made for takeoffs and landings although with out them you have no or short aerobatic career. It is really fun to make it do funny things in the air.

[@airbusisawesome]

Definitely not going to be the first person to comment because I got too excited and got distracted watching the video but it was pretty exciting to click on a FlightChops video with 3 views, no comments, and no ratings! I'm only halfway through but I'm really enjoying it so far :) Edit: have now finished the video. Loved it! I'm really hoping to get my PPL someday and your vids let me live vicariously :) Keep up the great work!

[@moosegaming7654]

This was a cool video I love all your vids

[@FlightChops]

Appreciated!

[@moosegaming7654]

Your welcome

[@Mysemantics]

"Blind landing" indeed, but why not install a forward-looking video cam to stream the forward view the pilot is missing? Wouldn't that be helpful?

[@jacobinalberta]

Great video, as always. I have a question regarding Luke's recommendation about the speed on final. He wants to see the speed continuously creeping back until you reach the "over the fence" speed as you're crossing the threshold, rather than establishing a stable approach speed earlier, and I'm curious why that is. In my mind, if your speed gives you a decent margin over stall (i.e. at least 1.3 Vso) then why would it be any worse to establish that speed early on in the approach, such as just after turning final? After all, a stall at 50 feet is not any less dangerous than a stall at 300 feet, probably more so. Anyway, great work and keep them coming. I recently went through a similar learning experience with a new-to-me Mustang 2. It's not as fast or blind as the Pitts, but very sensitive on all the controls and especially the rudder.

[@FlightChops]

I'm gonna ask Luke to have a look at this one, as I am definitely not qualified to answer...

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

jacobinalberta This is good question to ask. I promote this method for a few reasons but of course, there are other useable methods that can be used to a successful outcome. I suggest turning 1 mile slant file at about 120mph because thats a reasonable speed to be coming out of the downwind leg (It takes a fairly low power setting to fly this speed in an S2B, in the neighbourhood of 17-18 inches of Manifold pressure). This is a more manageable speed to fly a downwind when you’re dealing with other slower training aircraft that are also in the circuit with you. Given some of the unique flying qualities of a Pitts like its horrendous glide performance with its only 20 foot wingspan and no flaps of course...speed is your friend, especially when low to the ground in case of an engine failure (Vg is around 120mph hence the initial higher approach speed. Through slight pitch changes, the airspeed is very easy to manage with a little bit of practice as Steve demonstrated towards to later stages of his checkout . So even though Vs on an S2B is a mere 61mph, you are actually around 1.6 times that over the fence because of how quickly the speed decays after you pull off the power... it’s only a few seconds before the airplane is ready to touch down so any slower than 95-100mph and for someone learning to land the plane, it doesn’t give you much time to get sorted out in the flare (wings level, zero-drift ,flaring at the right height). Finally, its certainly possible to power way back on downwind so that you can hit 100mph during that turn to slant final but there is just no need for it, and you’re going to throw away a little bit more of your already limited forward visibility and you would have to trade some of your limited altitude while pitching for your glide speed in the case of an engine failure. Bottom line, the S2B is a lot more pleasant and safer to fly with a little more speed on approach, slowing to Vref progressively from inside that turn to final is the way to go I believe. Great question though! :)

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

jacobinalberta kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaitgHqlo55ob6c I made this video a while back showing this particular approach technique. Cheers

[@jacobinalberta]

+Luke Penner Aerobatics Luke, thanks for the thorough reply. Your explanation makes perfect sense, taking into account the flying qualities of the Pitts. Thinking back on it, this isn't much different than what I was taught on the Super Decathlon, just in that case the instructor recommended speed reductions in steps, rather than a continuous process. I've always wanted to try a Pitts and I'm in Manitoba for the next few months so maybe I'll come out your school and give it a go sometime. Cheers!

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

jacobinalberta you’d be more than welcome to! Except I recently replaced the Pitts with an Extra 300L that we’ll be operating through the school the same we did with the Pitts :)

[@bf1255]

On our Windows 95 Packard Bell we had a simulator called “Flight Unlimited” and ever since I turn into an 8 year old again whenever I see a Pitts.

[@FlightChops]

TOTALLY! I played the hell out of that sim - it was the best looking scenery at the time in my opinion. I used to like landing on mountain tops :)

[@darksidefloyd1]

Man that brings back memories for me too. I had to go look for it and I still have it in the jewel case.

[@pierrelang479]

Exactly ! I loved this simulator, my favorite was the pink sukhoi

[@acammer]

YESS!!! Flight Unlimited - I logged hundreds of hours on that game. Built a life-long love of the Pitts for sure!

[@Channelscruf]

I own a Pitts. As he mentioned , view and visibility is less than shown due to the camera being a few inches above his line of sight. It’s like driving a Buick on the freeway with the hood up.

[@paradoxaviation]

Great video!!! Thanks for posting!!! We subscribed :) Paradox Aviation

[@1bizjets]

It doesn't matter how many good Pitts landings you have....it will get you on the next one. LOL

[@Saltysteele]

With all the technology available today, why don't they have a visualization system (at the least, for safety when taxiing)? A small camera mounted on the front of the plane and a tablet or screen of some sort. Just curious :)

[@nikolaus2688]

Is there an aphoirism in aviation, that the right time for a go-around is the first time you think about going around, like there is in sailing for reefing?

[@scottnathan2912]

I been flying aerobatics, with this Pitts plane in Microsoft Flight Simulator. What is the manifold pressure and prom RPMs usually set to?

[@EngineeringVignettes]

Great job. - Eddy

[@Mike-01234]

Does landing the pitts ever become 2nd nature, or is it always stressful to land.

[@od9898]

Awesome episode, how many hours of tailwheel have you got now?