Stearman Aircraft

Stearman Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer in Wichita, Kansas. Although the company designed a range of other aircraft, it is most known for producing the Model 75, which is commonly known simply as the "Stearman" or "Boeing Stearman".

History

Lloyd Stearman established the Stearman Aircraft Corporation in 1927. Initially, the company was founded as Stearman Aircraft Corporation in October 1926 at Venice, California, where four C1 and C2 biplanes were built before production halted for financial reasons. On 27 September 1927 a new Stearman Aircraft Corporation was founded. The factory was then established in Wichita, Kansas with financing of Walter Innes where the new model Stearman C3 and Stearman 4 Speedmail were constructed. Two years later, he sold it to the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation.

In September 1934, United was forced to separate its airline and aircraft manufacturing operations. At this time, Boeing became a separate business once again, and Stearman was made a subsidiary of it. Stearman officially ceased to operate as a brand at this point, but it was at this same time that the Stearman plant created its most successful and enduring product, the Model 75 "Kaydet". The Kaydet would become the primary trainer aircraft for the US military during World War II.

Boeing-Stearman Model 75

The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s.Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman or Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the USAAF, the USN (as the NS & N2S), and with the RCAF as the Kaydet throughout World War II. After the conflict was over, thousands of surplus aircraft were sold on the civilian market. In the immediate postwar years they became popular as crop dusters, sports planes, and for aerobatic and wing walking use in airshows.

Design and development

The Kaydet was a conventional biplane of rugged construction with large, fixed tailwheel undercarriage, and accommodation for the student and instructor in open cockpits in tandem. The radial engine was usually uncowled, although some Stearman operators choose to cowl the engine, most notably the Red Baron Stearman Squadron.