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Love Affair with a Stearman
The primary reason I fly a jet is because I need to get where I am going quickly. Is it fun to fly? Absolutely! But what if I didn't need to go anywhere? What airplane would I fly? I, like most pilots, have a very long list. Some I have rented or 'borrowed,' and some I have owned, flown for a while, had a little fun with, then passed them on to their next 'caretaker.' I have always had a soft spot for airplanes with round engines and lots of character. I am a World War…Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
There is a biplane flight of 4 planes, ready at your service at the Museum of Flight, Boeing Field, Seattle. With just a day or two notice the pilot, "Ken," will bring his Stearman to the field for a flight over Seattle. He has a couple other planes there for daily use, but the Stearman "PT-17" is available.
I had a couple of Stearman rides in the front seat long ago. Seems we climbed out, cruised, rolled and looped and landed around 85 knots, maybe slower. My stick time was minimal and after flying some in a Citabria the first upside down in a an open cockpit was breathtaking as the harness slack of very little was achieved. A lot of airplane. Wind in the wires is a hoot!
I have a friend here in South Carolina who has one in mint condition. It is beautiful. He offers flights fo sightseeing or photography. Man you talk about a thrill ride he will also do rolls if you want. I also have the pleasure of knowing a pilot who learned to fly and earned his wing in a stearman, he went on to become a test pilot for the Air Force. You talk about some stories to be told, he has them. His name is Curly, he lives in Charleston SC. I could listen to him all day talking about his journey.
My Grandfather trained in a Stearman, PT-19, I believe. They owned an airport in North Philadelphia (Boulevard Airport) in the 30s-40s. When the war started, he and his dad moved to Gettysburg and started the Gettysburg College School of Aviation, training hundreds of cadets to go to war. I have so many photos and newspaper clippings from that time (Granddad saved everything) that I feel like I was there - and wish I had that time machine for real - just to experience that era. Thank you for this article - just makes it more real. And one day I want to finish my private, find a Stearman, and feel it the way they did.
...he also said, "There is no excuse for a ground loop in a Stearman. Think of your rudder pedals as a wedge under your wing. If you start one just push a wedge under the wing that drops."
I never had a ground loop either.
I never had a ground loop either.
As a Navy cadet in 1943 my instructor landed the Stearman at a grass field, left the engine running, set the brake, and we climbed out for a cigarette and talk. "Cadet Brown," he said, "that is probably the safest plane ever built, but if you try hard enough it will kill you."
I miss those stalls, loops, inverted spins, snap rolls, night flying, crosswind landings in that honest bird.
I miss those stalls, loops, inverted spins, snap rolls, night flying, crosswind landings in that honest bird.