GALESBURG, IL – What attracts people to Stearman biplanes?

“The Stearman is rare enough to be a valued American treasure,” explains Stearman pilot and restorer David Burroughs of El Paso, IL, “but common enough that many Americans have relatives who had some connection to them over the years.”

“The ruggedly handsome Stearman airplane played three historically rich and important roles in American history,” says Burroughs, the owner of a yellow Navy N2S-3. “And it’s still going. And it’s still attracting crowds who want to look, touch, and experience the emotion associated with it.”

GALESBURG, IL -- The Stearman introduced more of World War II’s “Greatest Generation” to flight than any other airplane.

The popular name for the Army Air Corps’ version was “The Kaydet.”

For the U.S. Navy, it was the “Yellow Peril.”

And some of the survivors – they are between 60 and 70 years old – make their way to the Galesburg Municipal Airport for their annual reunion every year during the National Stearman Fly-In.

GALESBURG, IL -- Jim Leahy of Galesburg and Tom Lowe, of Crystal Lake, IL, first met at the Antique Airplane Association’s National Fly-In at Ottumwa, IA,  in 1969. Over the next few years their friendship grew as they attended various fly-ins together in their Stearmans. Every time they met they would say to each other, “We ought to get the Stearmans together.” Eventually, in the winter of 1972, Jim telephoned Tom and informed him that he was going to have a Stearman Fly-In at Galesburg and he needed some help. Thus, a partnership was born.

Jim undertook the task of organizing the fly-in at Galesburg and Tom laboriously dug out the names and addresses of all the Stearman owners from the FAA Aircraft Register, a very large book with extremely small print (pre-computer days). Over 2.000 letters were mailed out to begin the publicity for the planned event. Tom had also just assumed the position as President of the Stearman Restorers Association and subsequently the SRA became a prominent and important participant at the NSFI, a relationship which continues to the present day.

GALESBURG, IL -- The Boeing/Stearman Model 75 primary trainer is probably the best known bi-plane in aviation history. Commonly referred to as the Stearman PT-17, it was manufactured by the Stearman Aircraft Co. in Wichita, KS, from 1934 through 1945. Boeing publicity claims a total of 10,346 Stearman “Kaydet” trainers built, but this figure includes equivalent spare parts. The actual total of Model 75s that were completed from the prototype X-75 to the final E75 built in 1945 was 8428.

In 1938 the Stearman Aircraft Co. became the Stearman Aircraft Division of the Boeing Aircraft Co., so in actuality, the majority of the airplanes manufactured were designated as Boeings. However, they are still almost universally known as Stearmans.

GALESBURG, IL — Many people called the Stearman Model 75 the “Pilot
Maker,” and for good reason. The biplane introduced more of World War II’s
“Greatest Generation” to flight than any other airplane.
 
The popular name for the U.S. Navy’s version of the Model 75 was the “Yellow
Peril.”
 
The Army Air Corps’ Stearman planes were called “The Kaydet.”