The PA-23 Apache N114DA was produced in 1954 as the 13th production unit but superstition intervened and it was given serial number 14. Piedmont Aviation, the Piper Regional Dealer located in Winston Salem, North Carolina, initially used it as a demonstrator until William Davenport purchased it in 1956. Davenport planned commuter airline service out of Byrd Field in Richmond, Virginia. Davenport c
The prototype was sold to Eastern Air Transport, which used it profitably through 1934. It averaged about 500 flying hours per year, an exceptionally high utilization rate for the period. It was then converted to carry passengers, beginning an odyssey through the hands of seven different owners before being repurchased by John Halliburton of Eastern Air Lines, Inc. Halliburton lec a group that res
The Pitcairn-Brewer Model F engine was developed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during 1927 and 1928. This engine was designed by Captain Robert W. A. Brewer and sponsored by Harold F. Pitcairn. The objective was an engine that was more reliable and lighter than existing engines, specifically, a replacement for the Curtiss OX-5 that could power Pitcairn Aircraft, Inc. and other aircraft as well. T
In 1951, Betty Skelton retired from aerobatic competition and air shows and sold Little Stinker to Bob Davis. She went on to automobile racing including setting Feminine Land Speed records. Subsequently George Young, Paul Lehman, and Drexell Scott owned the aircraft until Skelton repurchased it in 1967. In 1976, Betty and her husband Don Frankman lent the aircraft for display (in a new paint schem
The S-1S competition version has four ailerons (to boost the roll rate), symmetrical airfoils (allowing the aircraft to perform maneuvers from any attitude) and generally, a 180-hp Lycoming engine for more power. The S-1S gave U.S. aerobatic pilots the equipment they needed to compete successfully in international contests. Five members of the winning 1972 U.S. Aerobatic Team flew the S-1S and two