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Smithsonian Inductions

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum recently opened its "Aerobatic Champions" exhibit.
  • The exhibit features two iconic aerobatic aircraft: the newly restored Pitts S-1C Little Stinker and the Loudenslager Laser 200.
  • The Little Stinker is renowned for Betty Skelton's historic inverted ribbon cut, while the highly modified Laser 200 allowed Leo Loudenslager to perform increasingly difficult maneuvers.
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||| |—|—| | | | In October, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum opened its “Aerobatic Champions” exhibit, which features the newly restored Pitts S-1C Little Stinker and the Loudenslager Laser 200.

Little Stinker (shown), hand built by designer Curtis Pitts, was small and lightweight, with a short wingspan allowing for extreme agility. The S-1 made Betty Skelton famous-in it, she became the first woman to perform the inverted ribbon cut maneuver.

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