Article by Steen Staff Steen would like to congratulate Chuck Gant of Ozark, AL. his beautiful Pitts Special S2-E (the experimental version of the S2) won the "Best Of Show - Pitts" trophy at the Pitts Fly-In in November 2004. This trophy was sponsored by Steen Aero Lab and though it must have been very [...]
December 2004 Article by Mike Whaley We have created a throttle quadrant using (mostly) flat aluminum parts cut on the waterjet. Both cockpits will have throttle and prop controls. This assembly is a lightweight and clean design.
December 2004 Article by Mike Whaley The wings are progressing. During the hurricane period when there was a very limited amount of work that could be done, we did what we could... John made some durable female molds of the wingtips. We will be offering lightweight and durable fiberglass wingtips (all wingtips will be identical [...]
December 2004 Article by Mike Whaley Here are some more details about the adjustable seats.
November 5 - 7, 2004 Article by Mike Whaley [fullwidth background_color="" background_image="" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_position="left top" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_webm="" video_mp4="" video_ogv="" video_preview_image="" overlay_color="" overlay_opacity="0.5" video_mute="yes" video_loop="yes" fade="no" border_size="0px" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="20" padding_bottom="20" padding_left="25" padding_right="25" hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" hide_on_mobile="no" menu_anchor="" class="" id=""][separator style_type="single" top_margin="" bottom_margin="20" sep_color="#8c8c8c" border_size="5px" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="" alignment="center" class="" id=""]2004 Ozark Fly-In [...]
Article by Steen Staff You can now purchase items online from the new Steen Aero Online Store! For now, we're offering our plans, Info-Packs, and Enthusiast items (shirts, hats, mugs, videos, etc.) Other products will be added later on. The ordering process is easy, and your information is kept secure during the process. Check it [...]
Online video now available Article by Mike Whaley Steen Aero Lab's time machine has been working overtime lately so that we could bring you a video of the very first flight of the very first Pitts Special back in 1945! Check it out here.
3rd hurricane in 5 weeks doesn't do much damage to Steen Article by Mike Whaley After getting hit by Hurricane Jeanne, the fifth hurricane in five weeks, we are back up and running. Power and phones were restored on the morning of Tuesday 9/28/04... only 3 days after the storm. (Hurricane Frances took power out [...]
Updated: Monday 9/13/04 6PM EDT Article by Mike Whaley We are happy to report that power and phone service to Steen Aero Lab was restored around noon on Monday 9/13/04... service was down since Hurricane Frances hit on 9/4/04 due to a downed power line that feeds our neihborhood. Fortunately, we had very little damage [...]
Article by Mike Whaley The 2004 Reno Air Races are over, and the Pitts Specials did pretty well in the biplane class. Pitts Special variants comprised 15 out of the 21 planes entered in the class. Norman Way's Pitts S1 "Magic" hit 214.9 mph in the final race, taking third place, while many other Pitts [...]
Ethan William Goetsch born 8/17/04 Article by Steen Staff Congratulations to Steen president Paul Goetsch and his wife Sherry on the birth of Ethan William Goetsch on August 17th. Ethan was 8lbs. 2oz. and 21 inches long, and boy, is he CUTE! Mommy, daddy, and baby are all doing well. It won't be long before [...]
Article by Steen Staff With all the great airplanes at AirVenture 2004, it isn't easy to really stand out from the crowd to wow the judges. But that's just what Peter Clinton of Erie, CO did when he won a Plaque for Outstanding Workmanship (Plans-Built) for his beautiful green and white Skybolt, N864P. Although it's [...]
May 2003 Article by Mike Whaley We often get inquiries from potential builders along the lines of "Hi, I'm 6 foot 8... can I fit in a Skybolt?" or occasionally we also get "I'm really short, do I need to modify the plane in any way?" As we looked at the seat setup, we made [...]
July 27 - August 2, 2004 Article by Steen Staff [fullwidth background_color="" background_image="" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_position="left top" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_webm="" video_mp4="" video_ogv="" video_preview_image="" overlay_color="" overlay_opacity="0.5" video_mute="yes" video_loop="yes" fade="no" border_size="0px" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="20" padding_bottom="20" padding_left="25" padding_right="25" hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" hide_on_mobile="no" menu_anchor="" class="" id=""][separator style_type="single" top_margin="" bottom_margin="20" sep_color="#8c8c8c" border_size="5px" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="" alignment="center" class="" id=""]We're heading [...]
Article by Steen Staff While we are at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh (July 27-August 2) the Steen crew will be providing live reports about what's goin on. Please check the Event Reports section regularly for details!
4th week of June 2004 Article by Mike Whaley The last part of June got busy as we got to the point that we had to get the airframe cleaned up and ready to roll to Oshkosh. Barrett added some additional reinforcements to the inside of the side panels, using special adhesives to bond the [...]
June 2004 Article by Mike Whaley In the first part of June, we evaluated several options for the turtledeck and ultimately decided on an all aluminum structure which is held together with a combination of rivets and epoxy adhesives. Despite the size of the assembly (it's a very tall turtledeck compared to many biplanes) it [...]
May 2004 Article by Mike Whaley We are now moving into the "details" stage of development. The "big stuff" is mostly done - the basic structure of the wings and fuselage and hanging the engine on the mount. Now we are focusing on the myriad of detailed parts - instrument panels, linkages, adjustable seats, etc. [...]
April 13 - 19, 2004 Article by Mike Whaley [fullwidth background_color="" background_image="" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_position="left top" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_webm="" video_mp4="" video_ogv="" video_preview_image="" overlay_color="" overlay_opacity="0.5" video_mute="yes" video_loop="yes" fade="no" border_size="0px" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="20" padding_bottom="20" padding_left="25" padding_right="25" hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" hide_on_mobile="no" menu_anchor="" class="" id=""][separator style_type="single" top_margin="" bottom_margin="20" sep_color="#8c8c8c" border_size="5px" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="" alignment="center" class="" id=""]Anticipation... Sun 'N [...]
Article by Mike Whaley While we are at Sun 'N Fun (April 13-19) we will be regularly posting updates and pictures. See our new Event Reports section for details, and check back often!
Article by Steen Staff We are continuing to compile lots photos and narrative to chronicle the continuing progress of the Pitts Model 14 project. Interest in the Model 14 is intense and we're very excited about the progress. Check it out on our Project Logs page!
April 2004 Article by Mike Whaley April was dominated by Sun N Fun in Lakeland. The Model 14 was there, and recieved a great deal of attention. Curtis spent time with us, as did Caro Bayley and other aerobatic notables. Check out the SNF 2004 Event Report for the full story (and lot of photos).
March 2004 Article by Mike Whaley Curtis paid us a visit at the beginning of March. Work continued on the side panels, mostly, finishing touches. The inner panels which protect the wing root area and provide for a more aesthetically-pleasing appearance in the cockpit area came out well. We continued to make a lot of [...]
February 2004 Article by Mike Whaley February saw us continuing with the construction of the fuselage skin panels and the creation of fiberglass wing-root fairings. These were built by attaching the lower wings and making a very rough sub-frame to support the fillet using blue foam and scrap plywood. The wooden sheeting in the wing [...]
January 2004 Article by Mike Whaley We are happy with the fuselage skin design. It has been a lot of work to get it right, but the benefit to our builders will be great. The side panels are aluminum and are piano-hinged along the top longeron and are secured along the sides and bottom with [...]
