Has anyone here owned or flown a Stearman?

[Habu]

I just wondered what they are like. Fun to fly or not?

[Stringer]

Flown one.  Very fun to fly.

Of course, cars will beat you to any destination, but that's not why it's fun to fly them anyway.

[VWE]

Flown, fun though a little mundane...

[Dago]

Have flown an N3N, pretty similar but the N3N has 4 ailerons instead of two, and an all metal structure.

Fun to fly, not exciting, but great in the summer when the wind isn't too strong.  

Flew one evening as the sun was starting to set along the St. Croix river, 1000ft AGL, gentle flight wagging wings to the boats below, was a perfect flight.

This is a picture of my oldest son standing in front of the aircraft.



dago

[Toad]

There's 3 Primary Trainers of note from WW2. The Stearman, the Fairchild PT-19 and the Ryan PT-22.

I've got a lot of time in the Fairchild, some time in the Ryan and just a flight in a Stearman.

If you're thinking of buying or just a flight, go with the Ryan or the Fairchild.

All of them are built to meet the performance specs the Army laid out, so they all are about the same in speed and climb and such. Minor differences only. They're about like a C-172 at best.

Biggest part of it for me was the view. The Ryan and Fairchild are low wing monoplanes. You can see forever; it's a like flying a convertible.

The Stearman is all wings and struts and wires and stuff obstructing the view. Bleah.

Plus, for some unknown reason, Stearmans cost way more than either Ryans or Fairchilds. Performance is the same, so beauty must be in the eye  of the beholder.

The Ryan has a tiny little cockpit and my head stuck up way above the windscreens. That's why I went Fairchild when I bought.

Enjoy, though, they are al lfun.

[VWE]

Plus, for some unknown reason, Stearmans cost way more than either Ryans or Fairchilds. Performance is the same, so beauty must be in the eye of the beholder.

One word aerobatics...

[Toad]

Both the Fairchild and the Ryan are fully aerobatic.

I don't know the G-limits for the three but they'll be very close due to the Army specs.

I can tell you this; the Stearman feels like a dump truck compared to the controls of either the Fairchild or Ryan.

And yes, I've done loop, roll, spin, lazy eight, split S in them.

The one thing that never will change is that you can't see shirt out of a Stearman compared to a Ryan or Fairchild. Whoever gets stuck in the front seat of a Stearman REALLY can't see shirt.

Stearman is much trickier in a strong crosswind too. Important if you're not good at wingtip/fabric work yourself.  

[Toad]

Personally, I think the Ryan is the "looker".



Next would be the Fairchild.

[texace]

My mother's father used to fly the old PT-22 that a friend of his owned up in Denton, Texas. I got to ride in it long ago...it was quite fun. That was before an accident wrecked the thing.

My dad's father has been hard at work restoring a Stearman. I'll be going up in that once it's done.

[Bluefish]

I flew in a Stearman and the best way to describe how it felt, especially as compared to even marginal acro planes like the Great Lakes, was, ummmm, stately.  It will do most positive G acro maneuvers (including so I've heard a lomcevak), but on its own terms, which generally means very slowly.  For a similar speed, wind in the hair and song in the wires kind of biplane experience, I'd take the Great Lakes or even an experimental like a Starduster, but of course that wouldn't involve "living history" like a Stearman.

For a great read, try Steven Coonts' "The Cannibal Queen"; it describes a trip across, around and through the US in a Stearman.  Coonts, btw, is the formal Naval aviator who wrote "Flight of the Intruder"

[Toad]

Texace, was that Don Singleton's Ryan? He was further East than Denton, though. At least his farm hangar was. Heard the motor quit on him and it was pranged pretty hard in a muddy field.

[texace]

It may have been, Toad. The only thing I remember about the aircraft was that up until the accident it was hangered at the Hanger 10 Flying Museum at Denton Muni, owned by Dr. Jim Almand. He's the same man that own one of the last flying Lockheed L-10 Electras.

As far as I know the aircraft was flown on a regular basis up until the accident when the motor quit on take-off and it crashed into a field. As far as I know the aircraft is still in Hanger 10, missing the wings and tail. New wings were supposed to go on but I lost track of the aircraft once I started college.

[Toad]

Probably not the same aircraft then. Don kept his at his farm over NE of Dallas. He was flying it down to Addison to get the annual done when he had engine problems. He tried to get it down but the field was muddy and it didn't roll when it touched down, it stuck.

Interesting though... I didn't know there was one at Denton. I flew that Cub they used to rent out at Denton and I knew a guy there with a Globe Swift that was pretty neat. Didn't know there was a Ryan on the field though.

When I was looking for a Ryan, I knew where most of them were. There was only about 40 of them airworthy at the time. I went to the 50th reunion at Hemet and saw most of those. It was a great time.

[Furball]

Originally posted by Toad
There's 3 Primary Trainers of note from WW2. The Stearman, the Fairchild PT-19 and the Ryan PT-22.
 

3 Primary American Trainers of note?

Tiger Moth looks awesome to fly



As does the German Bucker Jungmann

[Habu]

I am 6' 7" so a small cockpit is definetly not a viable option for me.  I have found a pretty good deal on a Stearman that is located on the west coast but it is the wrong time of year to fly out there in my Cessna to check it out. There is a local one near me that I can go and see but I don't know if I will be able to fly it. The guy that owns it is a collector and it mostly sits in his hanger unused.

I have never even considered a Fairchild before but I am going to read up on them today. One of my major concerns is cost of maintanance and the Stearman is not too bad in that department. There are enough of them around that you can still get engines and other things for a fairly resonable price.

Very interesting to read the comments in this thread so far. Keep them up. Your experiences and opinions are very interesting.