I have recently started doing a bit in a Tiger Moth.
Lots of people talk about it’s poor handling, poor performance, lack of speed, comfort,
and practicality. The negatives go on…
BUT….I love it. The view between the wings of a biplane is one of the true pleasures of flying.
Anyone else agree or am I on my own?
If I had the money, I would buy a Great Lakes tomorrow. Only 15h on type, but I utterly adore it!
Aerobatics in an open cockpit are one of the great joys of flight.
A friend has (among others) an Hornet Moth. I have never enjoyed a flight as I enjoyed the one with him. It was the best ever .
One idea I’m toying with is to buy an old AN-2 and refurbish it into a flying motorhome.
In my limited experience I’ve found aerobatics to be more fun in a biplane, with the view framed by the wings. I’ve yet to become entirely comfortable with having no part of the aircraft visible when viewing the ground through a canopy… Aerobatics from the front seat of a glider was ummm…. Interesting for me!
The most visceral plane I’ve flown (actually ‘flown in’ because I didn’t land it) was a Pitts S2-C. I really loved it regardless of its relevance to modern advanced aerobatics.
To me the charm of open cockpit flying , the view of the wings, and the rather different skills required to land the darn thing make the experience.
Flying in balance, and pulling off a decent 3 point landing with no forward view are very satisfying.
In deference to the 75 year old airframe aerobatics are not on the agenda but I don’t care.
My only biplane experience is an hour lesson with Alan Cassidy in his Pitts. Great fun and I would like to do a lot more in the way of aeros.
After my FAA IR in Arizona in 2006 I had a chance to fly in this
but after doing 2 flights a day for 2 weeks in the PA28, partial panel, in AZ turbulence, I was totally shagged 
Peter, that is an S2-C, the particular model of Pitts I mentioned and an awesome aircraft in several senses of the word… An S2-A is attractive to me, a milder four cylinder version that still comes across like flying a pre-war fighter. To me they are the airborne analogy of a high performance motorcycle, and relatively inexpensive to buy. The Christen Eagles are even less.
PS Among the other performance attributes I notice the S2-C has a 29,500 ft service ceiling S2-C Specs
