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Ray Luttrell, IAC 824, was actually my main Mentor when I got into Pitts in the late 70’s. I helped him take his out of a farm field after a mishap, and fell in love with it, ultimately causing me to get my first Pitts S-1C. 

 

I was self-taught in the S-1, which was also my first tailwheel, but could not have done it without Ray watching my every move. He critiqued me and offered valuable advise not only on my flying but also in rigging and maintenance items.

 

As I remember, that [Ray's] plane did the first Knife Edge Loop, by adding a “Flap” to the “I strut”. His Nitrous System was insane. Self-designed. Ridiculous power, vertical rolls too numerous to count. He even added a water tank into the tail to start his routine with an aft CG so it would Snap Roll/Spin like crazy, and it had a dump valve out of a toilet in it so he could then dump it and finish the routine normally. We helped each other often when extra hands were needed, or when there was a challenging issue.

 

Not until very late in life did he add a starter. I hand propped him at many airshows, and with 12:1 compression it was quite the task. It even had external Mag Switches on the wingtip side he could do it solo. 

 

As a pilot, he flew the heck out of it- doing ribbon cuts long before many did, including flying under the ribbons inverted. He had two incidents as I remember,  and I think had 3 engines come apart/fail. Rebuilt and got back flying again and again. He flew shows all over North America for decades. Rumor has it that the EAA would not let him fly OSH because he was too “unconventional”. Actually, he was well ahead of his time.

 

When he passed, (January 18, 2019) I recommended to the family that they donate it or sell it for parts, as it was way too radical for normal consumption- which they eventually did.

Illinois Aviation Museum website: https://illinoisaviationmuseum.org/ and Instagram:Illinois Aviation Museum Instagram page

 

I believe the engine has been sold off, and the plane is now hung from the ceiling. I knew him my whole adult life, quite the guy. When I fly my Pitts, I often think of him.