Vancil Spitz S1

The Vancil Spitz S1 is an American homebuilt aircraft that was designed and produced by A. Vancil of Belton, South Carolina, introduced in the late 1990s. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit and also in the form of plans for amateur construction.

Design and development
The Spitz S1 is an ultralight replica of the Pitts S-1 aerobatic biplane. It features a biplane layout, a single-seat open cockpit, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The aircraft was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of 254 lb. The aircraft has a standard empty weight of 254 lb. It can also be placed in the Experimental - Amateur-built category.

The Spitz S1 is made from metal tubing and wood, with its flying surfaces and tail covered in doped aircraft fabric and the fuselage covered in sheet aluminium. Its 18.27 ft span wing has a wing area of 116 sqft. The standard engine used is the 48 hp Christine Aero powerplant.

The aircraft has a typical empty weight of 254 lb and a gross weight of 475 lb, giving a useful load of 221 lb. With full fuel of 5 u.s.gal the payload for the pilot and baggage is 191 lb.

Variants

 * S1 ultralight version
 * With a maximum speed of 90 mph.


 * S1 homebuilt version
 * With a maximum speed of 120 mph.