Well I have decided that 2017 is the year for the Stearman. I have added a little bit of business to keep me interested and flying the Baron, but I am not getting any younger so it is now or never. I figure that It wont cost me much out of pocket other than to keep it, I have the cash available to buy one under 100AMU's and I have the time to fool with it once it gets warm out. It was 11 Deg.F here this morning so not likely I would have been flying it anyway.
I put out some messages to 3 of the 7 possible candidates in TAP today and got nothing back. They probably figure I am a tire kicker so they cant be bothered to at least reply to an inquiry.
I have a few questions to those of you who fly/flew the Model 75. PT-17/PT-13/ N2S .....

What do you figure is the time it would take to transition into one. I don't have much--almost none--tail wheel time, but I figure that it is a primary trainer and cant be that hard to fly. The one I flew was nice and seemed to have good manners. You have to fly it of course and it is not exactly a Baron either from a handling stand point,

I did approach TailWheels etc who suggested that I spend some time in a Citabria and then take a few hours in their Stearman, which is not a bad idea I guess. However I figure that If I buy one, It is going to cost me a lot less to get a tail wheel endorsement and some flight time in my own plane. Also, If I buy one from far enough away, I could pay an instructor to fly me home and we would have enough stops along the way to master a few dozen landings and TO's plus a whole bunch of CC time.

While the plane looks big, the dimensions are such that it will fit in a standard Tee Hangar I guess. I already have a big hangar and could put the Baron into a Tee hangar if that was an issue.

What are some of the Gotcha's on these planes. I know most have been rebuilt from scratch and have probably been wrecked at one time or another. What would be the big items to look for on a Pre-purchase.

Is there a Type Club? I know that there is a big gathereing out in Kansas or Missouri fairly regularly, but are they organized as well as BT ?

I spent a lot of time on line but am not finding what seem to be many for sale other than the ones on TAP. Any other sources for shopping around? Type club web site etc??

There is one in California that looks pretty good. Anyone want to fly to Buffalo with me this summer and teach me how to fly it? I will pay the costs and an airline ticket home to someone who might be qualified to do so. I am always up for an adventure but not in the cold.

The funny thing about this whole business is that my wife said I will get in the back of that thing just as often as I did on the back of your old motorcycle-- Just once. But at least she is not complaining about me laying out some serious money for a fun ride

Your guys have lots to say about a lot of things. Help me out a little here. I know there are a few of you with Stearmans. PM me if you are interested in selling. My preference is a N2S, but the Army colors would be fine too. I just don't want to be working on a "project plane" I know the pitfalls of old stuff, but this is new territory for me. I have been pushing around a Baron for 25 years and flying for close to 50. It is time to have some real fun before the medical runs out or my mind goes. I never saw anyone put bundles of money in a coffin, and my kids don't need it. Besides, if I take good care of it, how much is the value going to change anyway. I figure it is just a re-location ofvalue on my net worth statement, and as long as I insure it that wouldn't change the equation much.

Your comments are truly appreciated

Pete Lane

I don't know anything about Stearmans but I love the idea.

Good luck, I'll be watching with interest.

Jack

Paging Rick Beliveau, please pick up the while courtesy phone.

Rick is a BT member, lives in Southern California, owns a Baron and bought a Stearman a couple of years ago.

If he does not pick up, I am sure he would be open to talk with you.

I have seen the plane, man I am jealous of both of you guys!

Hi Pete, I scratched that itch back in 1997. It was a ton of fun. I personally bought a basket case and had it restored. That is a long road and I would not recommend it but the good news for me was the almost 8 years I flew it I had zero issues as far as maintenance. I had a PT-17 and I did the 300 Lycoming conversion and was very happy with that. The 300 hp engine is a good combination for that airframe in my opinion.

Stearman Restorers Association is a very good "club" with a bunch of good guys. I still belong even haven sold my Stearman years back because I still enjoy reading about it.

Tim Preston is one top notch tailwheel instructor and has many many hours instructing in Stearmans. There are several good Stearman CFI's but Tim is a good one for sure. His website is flytailwheel.com and his cell is (352) 589-1111. I finished up my airplane in the Orlando area so had Tim knock the rust off for me and really enjoyed flying with him.

Interesting how we all think. We had our first grandchild and needed an airplane to go visit her so sold the Stearman and got a C-185. Last year we sold our C-185 and have been on the Baron hunt.

Good luck with the Stearman search. You won't be disappointed!!

Grant Metsger

Hi Pete-

Just a few quick comments to get you started, while you wait for some of the real experts to check in.

The primary type club seems to be the Stearman Restorers Association.
http://www.stearman.net/

While it is true that the Stearman is a primary trainer, when it was used for that purpose the students were operating from grass fields, generally with the ability to takeoff or land in any direction. Crosswinds were not a big issue in that environment, but operating on a hard surface in a stiff crosswind will definitely get your attention.

If you have a grass runway readily available, then doing your initial tailwheel work in a Stearman is certainly feasible, but if you have an opportunity to get some tailwheel time in another plane in the meantime, it will be money in the bank. Actually, it will help if you exercise discipline flying your Baron and develop a sensitivity for tracking along and alignment with the runway. You should refuse to accept even the slightest and most trivial sideways motion or misalignment with the runway at touchdown.

The Stearman is great fun, both from a flying aspect and from the people that you meet as part of the experience. Good luck with your quest. I wish I had more to say about things to look for, but my Dad's is the only one I really have any experience with, and he has it maintained by Dacy's in Harvard, IL so I really don't have much direct maintenance experience with the Stearman.

Regards,

Bob

Sounds like fun Pete!

I have about 1/2 hour in the back of a Stearman, but that's the extent of my knowledge. Only recommendation would be to talk with Andover Flight Academy - They have a Stearman on the line and I've heard really good things about Damien as a tailwheel instructor.

http://www.andoverflight.com/information_tailwheel.html

Robert

I've got some Stearman, C-180 and 185 time, some Pitts time as well, Luscombe and J3. All tailwheel aircraft are a little bit different. With the Stearman the challenge is more on the ground, once you realize how big it is, how to taxi it to avoid running over anything, it's a real blast to operate. Take off is time to focus, landing is a bit of a challenge, at least for me, I found the biggest issue to be visibility from the pilots seat. You do need a good qualified instructor with ample Stearman experience, so don't skimp on that, find the right guy and get the right training, then go have a ton of fun! Don't let the airplane intimidate you, but don't get complacent either, it will bite you. And practice, practice, practice! Nothing better than a big round engine Stearman out there making the pretty sound!

"What do you figure is the time it would take to transition into one. I don't have much--almost none--tail wheel time, but I figure that it is a primary trainer and cant be that hard to fly". QUOTE



Not to hurt your feelings, but the fact that it was a primary trainer in a time gone by is not relevant today.

If you had zero flight time in nose wheels and had flown nothing but a J3 from the back seat it would easier to predict your transition time to a Stearman. You have nose wheel skills that you will fall back on in tight spots and they will not necessarily serve you well in a Stearman. You MUST develop a new set of skills and senses/feels. Your feet must come to life and with landing gear in front of the cg the airplane will not tolerate anything but total control from you. It will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER fly itself or forgive you on the ground. You will master it every time or it will master you. A big part of flying a Stearman is knowing when and where not to fly a Stearman.

Your insurance will set a minimum. Whether you can do it in that time depends on you.
It could take 20 hours. It could take another 20 hours. It is possible your are not cut out for it. Not trying to be a prick or discourage you, just stating the facts.

I really think that some hours in the back seat of a CUB would serve you better than any other airplane. After you are 100% proficient and 100% consistent in a Cub backseat the Stearman's personality will be much easier to deal with.

There's yaller ones and blue ones and civvy ones. There's wood props and metal props. There's tricked out ones with modern day advancements like starters, electrical systems and even radios. And then there are those that you wind up like a kid's toy, fire it off and away you go - not talking to nuttin or nobody. My choices were Continental 220, McCauley prop, period instruments, with a modern radio/transponder. Navy Scheme. Before that, I had one that was in Army colors with a lot of modern instruments and an Ag Cat prop on the -220. I loved 'em both, but I can hear out of the radio on the new one so that's my favorite. YMMV

Pro tip 1: Get a guru. Mine is Robbie Vajdos. Keep said guru on speed dial for random questions, trade up opportunities, part sourcing etc. I can give you his number.

Pro tip 2: You don't want to deal with engines or fabric restorations. You want to fly! So get one that is done right and treated well. There ain't a whole lot can go wrong on a Stearman, maintenance wise, so if you get it dialed in early or bought right, it goes and goes and goes.

Pro tip 3: On landing, keep it straight please and understand where the wind is coming from and how much. It will try mightily to betray your caring and trust for three to five seconds. If you show it who's boss you're rewarded with the happy putt putt up to the FBO and the admiration of lesser souls who count their manhoods cheap in the presence of your greatness. If you are into modern parenting and let it decide things for itself, it will publicly de-nut you in a hail of dust, divots of grass, squalling tires, grinding metal and splintering wood. YouTube is a good resource for these little displays of momentary inattention. Have TW skills in order, or get them that way when you come to the airplane. Respect it. Be humble.

In the air, however, it is an underpowered pussycat (unless you get a 450hp version, in which case we all count our manhoods cheap). It will teach you good energy management in the pattern and you WILL become a good aerobatic pilot. Or else you will consistently send stream of colorful language into the wind as you split-s out of yet another barrel roll while eyeballing another face full of Mother Earth and your now-fuel-starved Continental spitting and cussing and belching fire and wanting to go back to the barn and have a cigarette. It ain't for nothing that Bob Hoover polished his adolescent flying chops in a stock Stearman and why those of us who *know* used to put down our soda cans and corn dogs and slowly gravitate to the airshow fences when the adenoidal whine of the oversexed Extras died down and ol' John Mohr cranked up his stocker and headed off to do a low-level routine. YouTube him and you'll see the master at work. Owning a stock Stearman won't make you John Mohr, but it will make you a better pilot in every respect.

Get a good checkout. Get a good helmet. Make sure you fly it (or ride in it) from the back cockpit before you buy. The back and front and two different experiences wind-wise. A vortex comes off the front windshield, bounces off the top wing and aims a jet blast of wind and noise right at your ear canal and down your neck. If it is 68 degrees, this blast is icy cold. If it is 70 degrees, it is withering hot. But in between there, it is just great. Some folks hate it back there. But the view is great and you get to look around at all those wings and struts (and at the wacko grin of your front passenger in the little mirror on the top wing) and realize, "Hey, I'm flying a Stearman, just how cool is this life that I've made, here?"...

So, there's that. Happy to chat. I've PM'd you my number. Feel free to call and if you're anywhere near Dallas anytime soon, I'd love to take you up and let you play with mine.

Provided it is 69 degrees, that is.

Edited to add a picture. Every Stearman post should have a picture. That's the rule.

+++++ on Robbie Vajdos. If you call him "Buford" he will know you have been talking to someone from a small group of friends.

He is the "South Texas Guru"

This gem in came while I was typing my little epistle above. LISTEN TO THIS MAN! True words above. You will slowly, over time, learn to handle crosswinds and gusts and all that. But these are not to be tried until you've got the sight pictures down and the spider sense honed up good. And the true fact is that you'll learn pretty quick how to take chicken s**t and turn it into chicken salad.

It ain't about making a good landing in a Stearman. Any blind hog can find an acorn now and then. It is really all about how to fix a bad one...

I'll second what others have said about landing particularly what Bob II said. That %#$@# cat becomes a big hairy beast when it's landing in a crosswind on pavement. If you PM your email to me, I can send you a copy of the Navy primary manual. There's a lot of great information in it.

I had the privilege of helping to restore one of the Stearman's that Bush Sr learned to fly in at NAS Minneapolis during the winter of 1942/43. They are fun and simple planes to work on. Only problem is they have two many parts! I have never seen an airplane with some many clamps! Plus it has two wings! We finished that Stearman just as it was delivered, with no electrical system (hand crank start) and un-shielded ignition.

http://www.projects.aircorpsaviation.com/stearman-buno-3347/

I hope to have the chance to fly one some day. From what I hear some of the ground handling problems come from the fuel tank being in the upper wing (CG is up high) and the large side profile that crosswinds can push against. Add in slightly narrow gear, limited forward visibility from the rear cockpit, and it will keep you on your toes. Anybody have one they will check me out in?

Go for it! Definitely buy a fully-functional aircraft that's ready to be used. Then get a great CFI who really knows his tail wheels and can teach. Consider Jim Alsip and his Citabria at Indiantown FL. It's warm there now and he has a 6000ft grass runway which will forgive a lot of your early mistakes (I did the same with Jim). Do all this BEFORE you look at, or get in, any nice biplane If you bend a newly-bought Stearman, you will kick yourself for the rest of your life.

I won't mention the Waco. Wouldn't be fair. I sold mine to CKLee (I agree with every word he posted) and he had his way with my lady and traded that beauty for a Stearman.

We aren't speaking.

Hi all and thank you for your candid advice. I have a few PMs to follow up on which I will do. I agree with the training at Andover. That is a fairly short hop for me, even though the strip is a bit short for my tastes in the Baron, even though I operate out of one only 600 feet longer plus the obstacles. Our runway has a parallel green space that can be used for a turf strip if I can convince the owner to mow it more frequently, and maybe roll it if I can find a roller.
Fred, a buddy has a Waco UPF7 but it is out of my realm of reality. I need to talk with him though about getting some dual in it if he has an instructor available. He lost his medical a few years ago but is hoping to get it back,so he still keeps the Waco. Still too cold up here to be thinking about that right now.
As I formulate a plan I will keep it updated. In the mean time if anyone has a good candidate plane pop up that is not in the listings, let me know. My budget is about 100 Amu so if one in the 80's pops up that will leave me some room for inspection, flight test and delivery from just about anywhere in the lower 48. That is not to say that if a really nice one appears I can't go for it, but I want to be somewhat realistic in my aspirations.
Pl