Tell Me Your Stearman Story

[PeterA]

PeterA-

When I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath back in the 90's there was a fellow named Jim at Swanton Morely that was restoring Stearman's and there were several there... was fortunate to do some Stearman flying out of SWanton Morely (which by the way was the airfield that supported the first raid by the USAAF on Fortress Europa on July 4, 1942). The whole thing eventually broke up... two or three of those airplanes ended up at another former RAF base south of Norwich as I recall... can't remember the name of the field right now... but one of your TV personalities had a Stearman, a red one, as late as 2005 based at this field... great place, with a restaurant over looking the runways. I think all of that is still there... the USAAF Stearman went to Belgium.... limited opportunity in the UK yes... but some still around... there were a couple of other cool fields as I recall... Headcorn in Kent (an ex Battle of Britain field)... and another just west of London... very clubby atmosphere.... I really liked it there.

gunny

That sounds like Jim Avis, Old Buckenham and Martin Shaw the actor.

Yes, places in the Uk to fly in a Stearman but not to stooge around at 150'.

PeterA.

Last edited by PeterA on Tue Nov 01, 2011 5:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

[gunnyperdue]

Yep, those are the names and places. What's the name of the club airfield west of London... White something?

Where you there in the 90's... Ed Boulter is a very good friend of mine

gunny

[PeterA]

Yep, those are the names and places. What's the name of the club airfield west of London... White something?

Where you there in the 90's... Ed Boulter is a very good friend of mine

gunny

White Waltham.

[gunnyperdue]

Thanks... my memory fails me. I miss the UK.... don't miss the winters... but the summers are fantastic...

gunny

[mustangdriver]

Kind of a funny story. Many years ago A friend of mine at Beaver County Airport asked me if I wanted to go for a Stearman ride. Of course I jumped on the chance. I kept thinking of flying in an open cockpit and how cool it was going to be. He came over to get me and said "Ok she is all ready to go outside." So we walked out to the aircraft, and I couldn't believe my eyes. It had A canopy on it! We went for the ride, and it was really cool, but part of me was bummed out as it was not open cockpit. This Stearman was restored as it was built for the RCAF and had a canopy on it. It wasn't for another couple of years that I would get to fly in an open cockpit Stearman.

[tom d. friedman]

chris i can relate to your disapointment!!

[Mike Halbrook]

@ Peter A, Thanks for getting back to me with the location. I used to fly North of King City out of Hollister, CA. There are several Stearmans there, though mostly I was flying an AT-6. I was just up this Sunday in a Pitts S-2B over the Snake River, the country looks very much the same out here. I flew with Eddie in the Super Stearman before he put the enclosed canopy on it. He also had a standard Stearman, I flew in that twice, once with his son.

[Mike Halbrook]

A local pilot just bought a Stearman project with a 300 Hp Jacobs engine. He's not sure how he will build it up, but he expects about 5 years or more to complete it. I suggested he restore it as a crop duster, as there will be few, if any, doing that task by then and they represent an important part of the Stearman's post war life. I also know of some past Stearman rebuilds where large parts of the airframe had to be discarded because of the amount of poison on and in them.

[Dan Jones]

Kind of a funny story. Many years ago A friend of mine at Beaver County Airport asked me if I wanted to go for a Stearman ride. Of course I jumped on the chance. I kept thinking of flying in an open cockpit and how cool it was going to be. He came over to get me and said "Ok she is all ready to go outside." So we walked out to the aircraft, and I couldn't believe my eyes. It had A canopy on it! We went for the ride, and it was really cool, but part of me was bummed out as it was not open cockpit. This Stearman was restored as it was built for the RCAF and had a canopy on it. It wasn't for another couple of years that I would get to fly in an open cockpit Stearman.

Just as an aside to your story Chris, only the last Stearman received up here in Canada had a canopy, none of the others did. They were supposed to, but for various bureaucratic reasons it never happened. Not just the canopy either, but in fact none of the "Canadian/winter" mods were done to any of them, only the last one. If you look at old, wartime photos of the canopied, Canadian Stearmans you'll see that the pictures are always of FK108. And once it got cold up here, which unfortunately it's about to do again, they all ended up parked while the Tiger Moths and Cornells took over. I think over the course of the whole Lend-Lease program the Stearman had the dubious distinction of being the only aircraft returned to it's "owners" - in this case the USAAF - as being unsuitable. They started to be returned in December of '42, the last one leaving in April of '43 (presumably after some repairs had been completed.) Interestingly, a quick look at the FAA's website and a fast Google finds FK108 alive and well as N60821 in Eagle, Alaska, flying around in her original RCAF paint scheme.

Dan

Last edited by Dan Jones on Tue Nov 01, 2011 2:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[tom d. friedman]

interesting info!!

[stearmann4]

My father and his partner had a Stearman (N2S-3) growing up in Galesburg, IL. grass strip. In 1969 Dad sold his half to his partner Jim Leahy, but we still remained close and he gave me my first airplane ride in it at the age of 5 on his lap from that plane.

Jim went on to co-found the national Stearman Fly-in with Tom Lowe in that Stearman (Navy 404) in 1972. Dad passed away in 1983 when I was 12 Jim took me with him and we spread his ashes over the airport at Galesburg. That Stearman was the center of my little world, I remember saying at the time "some day I'm going to own that Stearman."

Fast forward, joined the military at 19, now going on 22 years as an Army helicopter pilot, have 2 wonderful young sons, a J-3 and a Schweizer 2-22E glider. Out of curiosity, I contacted the current owner of Dad's Stearman about 9 years ago, and we really hit it off, him being a retired USMC A-4 pilot. We've kept in touch a couple of times a year and he always reminded me that when he decided to stop flying he would give me the first right of refusal on the Stearman.

Well, I got that call a few weeks ago and through the amazing and selfess efforts of a good number of folks, my family and I are now the proud owners our Stearman once again. For us, it doesn't get any better than knowing my sons will be the 3rd generation to sit in that same cockpit.

Sometimes it actually works out...

Mike-

[sdennison]

My father and his partner had a Stearman (N2S-3) growing up in Galesburg, IL. grass strip. In 1969 Dad sold his half to his partner Jim Leahy, but we still remained close and he gave me my first airplane ride in it at the age of 5 on his lap from that plane.

Jim went on to co-found the national Stearman Fly-in with Tom Lowe in that Stearman (Navy 404) in 1972. Dad passed away in 1983 when I was 12 Jim took me with him and we spread his ashes over the airport at Galesburg. That Stearman was the center of my little world, I remember saying at the time "some day I'm going to own that Stearman."

Fast forward, joined the military at 19, now going on 22 years as an Army helicopter pilot, have 2 wonderful young sons, a J-3 and a Schweizer 2-22E glider. Out of curiosity, I contacted the current owner of Dad's Stearman about 9 years ago, and we really hit it off, him being a retired USMC A-4 pilot. We've kept in touch a couple of times a year and he always reminded me that when he decided to stop flying he would give me the first right of refusal on the Stearman.

Well, I got that call a few weeks ago and through the amazing and selfess efforts of a good number of folks, my family and I are now the proud owners our Stearman once again. For us, it doesn't get any better than knowing my sons will be the 3rd generation to sit in that same cockpit.

Sometimes it actually works out...

Mike-

Best post yet! Very cool.

[sdennison]

So who has pictures of FK108?

[N3Njeff]

My father and his partner had a Stearman (N2S-3) growing up in Galesburg, IL. grass strip. In 1969 Dad sold his half to his partner Jim Leahy, but we still remained close and he gave me my first airplane ride in it at the age of 5 on his lap from that plane.

Jim went on to co-found the national Stearman Fly-in with Tom Lowe in that Stearman (Navy 404) in 1972. Dad passed away in 1983 when I was 12 Jim took me with him and we spread his ashes over the airport at Galesburg. That Stearman was the center of my little world, I remember saying at the time "some day I'm going to own that Stearman."

Fast forward, joined the military at 19, now going on 22 years as an Army helicopter pilot, have 2 wonderful young sons, a J-3 and a Schweizer 2-22E glider. Out of curiosity, I contacted the current owner of Dad's Stearman about 9 years ago, and we really hit it off, him being a retired USMC A-4 pilot. We've kept in touch a couple of times a year and he always reminded me that when he decided to stop flying he would give me the first right of refusal on the Stearman.

Well, I got that call a few weeks ago and through the amazing and selfess efforts of a good number of folks, my family and I are now the proud owners our Stearman once again. For us, it doesn't get any better than knowing my sons will be the 3rd generation to sit in that same cockpit.

Sometimes it actually works out...

Mike-

You know, this is a first for me......................"Thats the NICEST thing I have ever read about a Stearman" CONGRATS!!! Post a pic of "Dad's Stearman"

[Dan Jones]

That is a great story, Mike. Congratulations!

FK108:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Boeing-P ... d59c2c328c