Samson Biplane Replica to Return to the Airshow Circuit

A beautiful Wolf Samson biplane, a larger version of the Pitts and the only one flying today, returned to the skies over the weekend. The airplane is owned by Tim Just of Apple Valley, California, who recently imported the airplane from Germany where it has lived since it was built by renowned airplane-builder Steve Wolf in 2005. “I’m the caretaker of a piece of art that Steve Wolf built,” Just said.

While a stunning design, the airplane has had an unfortunate history. Samson was designed by Curtis Pitts in the late 1940s. The airplane, which is powered by a 450-horsepower radial engine, was built as a one-off for airshow performer Jess Bristow. Bristow sold it and the airplane was later totaled when it collided with an Ercoupe during a landing in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

The first Samson replica was built by Steve Wolf in 1985. The airplane became famous as Bobby Younkin flew it in various airshows as a solo performer and as part of a thrilling airshow act called Masters of Disaster. Tragically, that airplane also succumbed to a mid-air during an airshow in 2005 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, in Canada, as Younkin and his airshow partner Jimmy Franklin performed together. Both Younkin and Franklin died in the accident.

With this second Samson replica, Wolf made some modifications to the original design. He added ailerons to the top wing and made the fuselage one foot shorter.

Just said that Wolf built this one for himself, but a pilot in Germany bought it shortly after it was completed. Before Just bought the airplane it had changed ownership once while in Europe, but the airplane has fewer than 100 hours on it since Wolf flew it in 2005.

For his first flight, Just flew from Santa Paula, California, on Friday with another airshow pilot, Sammy Mason, as his chase pilot in a Pitts S1-S. Having Mason as his chase pilot was helpful, Just said, as his airspeed calibration was way off, particularly at slower speeds. Mason also helped with radio communication and scanned for traffic so that Just could concentrate on flying. Just did the first landing at Camarillo airport (CMA), which has a long, wide runway, before returning to SZP, where the runway is only 2,713 feet long 60 feet wide.

Now Just hopes to turn around the misfortunes of this beautiful airplane design. The airplane will be on display at Chino this weekend and Just is planning on flying several airshows this year. Just formerly flew an Extra 300 both in airshows and aerobatic competitions. He is a three-time member of the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team.