See incredible footage of renowned pilot Rich Goodwin performing in his Pitts Special here in Eastbourne. This year Rich will be back with his Jet Pitts and added jet turbines!
Find out more about the modification of Rich's G-JPIT 'Jet Pitts'...
Things that are truly a one off are very rare, and G-JPIT is a one off, there are no others in the world, this is the only Jet powered Pitts Special in existence, the only one ever designed, and built. When talking about STEM, this has been a real adventure for the team and a true passion project.
Part of the modification process involved building a new wing designed by Eddie Sauernman. They are unique, with massive ailerons and more wing area giving it a phenomenal roll rate and better low speed handling. The wing build was started in 2014 and half way through the 4 year build Rich decided to build a complete new aircraft which is now known as the Jet Pitts- G-JPIT.
The aim was to design, build and fly an Airshow aircraft with two sources of propulsion giving it a unique capability for Aerial Entertainment at Air Shows throughout UK, Europe and beyond.
The two ATM Lynx Jet turbines run on Sustainable Aviation Fuel and deliver 700lbs thrust, in combination with the 8.5 ltr Lycoming, giving a total thrust of 1700lbs. The aircraft weighs only 1550 lbs. G-JPIT was successfully test flown in 2019 and displayed in 2020 to 2022 seasons.
Testing with turbines was completed in January 2023, paving the way for a busy display season and making its debut Jet display in the summer, demonstrating its impressive power-to-weight ratio and incredible performance with all three engines running. Now the team continue to develop the display and performance gaining a greater understanding of the aircraft capability.
