OVERVIEW

The Pitts Model 12 wings use traditional spruce ribs with mahogony ply, and douglas fir spars for additional "G" capability. The wing bays consist of thick, full plywood sheeted compression ribs, cross-braced by steel drag and anti-drag wires, with thinner truss ribs in between. The wings are then fabric covered with the latest synthetic fabrics and coatings. The lower wings are bolted to the lower fuselage longerons, and the upper wing is held up with 4130 steel cabane struts to the upper fuselage longerons. There are 4130 interplane struts between the upper and lower wings that are bolted through the aft and forward spars. Both wings are held in proper rig and are cross-braced with stainless steel streamlined flying and landing wires.

   

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The original "plans" wings designed by Curtis Pitts are 23 feet in span and are distinguished by their rounded tips, wood 2-hinge ailerons and an externally ribbed center fuel tank section on the top wing.

The more common and higher performing 22 foot span Kimball HP kit wings have fiberglass tips, and aluminum 3-hinge ailerons that extend one rib bay inboard for increased roll rate. The Kimball HP top wing also has a smooth external center fuel tank section because it is internally braced. The HP rib airfoil and spar cross sectional dimensions are very slightly different from the plans version, so mixing parts between the two must be done carefully. Before building, its best to pick one design and stick with it.

Lastly, there have been several subsequent wings designed by Kevin Kimball with almost full span ailerons and special hinges, these wings have been used on the custom high performance single seat turn-key airplanes JKE has produced. If you absolutely must have the highest roll rate possible, bulk up your checkbook and give Kevin a call!

Basic construction process starts with building the ribs, then sliding them onto the spars and adding the needed doublers, hardware etc.