N69RJ was built from plans in 1972 by Adrian Hieronimus. The serial number is 2H so this is implicitly his second airplane. He allegedly was able to plagarize the first set of symmetrical wings custom built for international competition prior to their covering. Interestingly enough, that included symmetrical ailerons, not the friese asymmetrical ailerons used on S1C’s, D’s, and S’s. A subsequent rebuild confirmed that the wings are off standard S1S dimensions in subtle ways. One notable difference is that the rib truss is more robust than stock: There’s an extra cross-member.

According to the second owner, there is a photo of N69RJ towing a glider. Other fun facts; the only wing damage was from a tornado. The wings were off the airplane and a Debonair was thrown on top of them. Yet only one rib was crushed. Tough stuff. The only other damage was from a broken center section trailing-edge rib (whacked it with my knee shortly after buying the plane) and the 1997 flutter incident. The airplane has never been groundlooped.

N69RJ started life as N22JR .But when famous car racer Junior Johnson wanted that number for his 22^nd airplane (rough) and she ended up N69RJ (named after owner #2’s father Robert Johnson).The airplane also has a distinguished career as Race #28 G-Whiz, but that’s another story. The FAA database says N22RJ now belongs to a Mooney in Wisconsin that belongs to an LLC. Junior are you there??.

The log book says the O-360-A4A engine came out of a Piper Cherokee in 1974. Round wings were installed in 1974. It flew very little for many years, and was sold to the second owner Dave Johnson in 198x. Dave put a ton of work into it, making it unlimited capable. Engine mods, recover (Stitts/Polytone), prop, rudder, wobble, lexan, firewall, cowl, spring gear. Dave had built an Eagle, so was familiar with issues like spring gear reinforcement. Another interesting chapter: Dave’s little sister Shiela was an akro prodigy and flew it in the Unlimited Nationals at the age of 16.

I purchased it in 1991 with plans to get into competition. Flying it coast to coast was a blast and I highly recommend it. First project was gear root-cuffs to solve an awful airflow problem. I also ended up having drawn out problems with fuel leaks from the Ultimate fuel tank. Removal of the tank required removal of the top wing, making it a major project. Normal Pitts with stock tanks are designed so tanks can be removed without removal of the wing. Neither my plane nor the tank were normal. After 4 unsuccessful attempts at TIG welding and/or sealing, I threw it away. I finally settled for a completely stock setup and have never been happier. KISS works!

In 1995 I began a 2 year rebuild/recover for several reasons. A) One loose piece of spruce convinced me the uppers were falling apart B) Nails had been working out, C) I didn’t like the flat shine of Polytone and D) I wanted bigger ailerons and square tips. It turns out the wings were in awesome shape and the loose spruce was broken loose from the handhold area, which is not particularly structurally important. I keep that little piece of wood as a reminder not to take things apart that don’t really need it!

Ailerons were built from a kit provided by Pete Grove in Canada (now focusing on One Design stuff). Ribs were laser-cut plywood, spar was 5/8” spruce, LE was doubled plywood glued to shape in a mold and the the TE was mohagony strips with spruce. Heavy, but rigid. 3 hinge points and one bay extended. Covering is now Ceconite and Randolph dope: Insignia Blue, White, Tennessee Red.

I have flown the follofing aircraft. [Not much brag about I know, but fun to keep track of anyway]: J3, C150, C152, C150 Aerobat, C172, C182, Citabria 7ECA, 7KCAB, Decathlon, J-3 Cub, Tomahawk, Warrior, Arrow, Apache, Lancair 320, Lancair 360, Bonanza G35, Grob G115, ASK-21 Sailplane, KR21 Bird, Pilatus PC7, Luscombe, Christen Eagle, Falcon XP, Pitts S2A, Pitts S2B, Pitts S1S, Pitts S1T, Stearman PT-13.