37 National Stearman Fly-In Brings People, Planes to Galesburg
Prepared Sept. 10, 2008

GALESBURG, IL – The youngest pilot was 28.

The oldest pilot was 86.

And two pilots flew 2,000 miles from Spokane, WA, to reach the 37th National Stearman Fly-In and win the “tired butt” award for the greatest distance flown (direct route) to the annual event at Galesburg Municipal Airport.

The oldest – or “most vintage’ – pilot who flew to Galesburg in 2008 in a Stearman was Edgar Read, 86, of Henry, IL.

The youngest pilot was Michael Porter, 28, of East Liverpool, Ohio. Porter also won the “early bird” award, landing at the airport at 3 p.m. Aug. 26. That’s six days before the start of the week-long event, which began Sept. 1 and ended Sept. 7. Porter has claimed the first arrival prize for five consecutive years.

One of the planes coming the greatest distance to the Fly-In was a 1927 Stearman C3B flown by Larry Tobin, Spokane, WA. Claiming a share of the title was Terry Middaugh, also of Spokane, in a Stearman PT-17.

The C3B was the last produced at Lloyd Stearman’s plant in Venice, CA, before he moved operations to Wichita, KS.

Middaugh’s PT-17 is representative of the nearly 8,428 primary trainers, plus enough spare parts to assemble another 2,000, built by the Stearman company in Wichita between 1935 and 1945.

Most of the 71 Stearmans registered at the 2008 Fly-In saw service as Army Air Corps and Navy primary trainers just before and during World War II. More military pilots learned to fly in this series of aircraft than any other built.

Tobin’s C3B was honored with three of the Fly-In’s most significant awards – Best Civilian Award, Deed Levy Award and Silver Legacy Award.

The Best Civilian Award is made for excellence in restoration of civilian Stearmans.

The Deed Levy Award is presented to Stearmans documented to have been flown by pilots of historic significance, the beginning or ending serial number of a model series, and rare color markings. The award is named for the late Deed Levy, who was Stearman’s chief test pilot for many years.

The Silver Legacy Award is made “In recognition of Stearman’s civilian history. This award is presented to aircraft restored to replicate or preserve the historic accuracy as used in pre- and post-war civilian aviation. Specifically, Stearman played important roles in commerce, civilian training, crop dusting, and air shows.”

Judges selected Stearman N79650, owned by David Groh, Mason, MI, as winner of the Best Army Stearman or “Kaydet” award.

Stearman N48784, owned by Les Heikkila, Chesterfield, MO, was chosen winner of the Best Navy Stearman or “Yellow Peril” award. Heikkila’s Stearman is painted as a “Recall” plane – white fuselage and wings with distinctive dark blue stripes. The World War II-era trainers did not have radios, and the “Recall” plane was launched to signal student pilots to immediately return to base.

During the week-long Fly-In, pilots compete for a variety of awards while demonstrating their aviation skills.

Among the most sought-after award is first-place in the Formation Flying Contest. Four teams, consisting of four planes in each, were entered in this year’s competition.

The winning team in 2008 was “Square One,” led by David Burroughs, Normal, IL. The other team members were Tonya Hodson, Marion, KS, Bill Austin, Danville, CA, and Carey Hardin, Starkville, MS.

“Square One” was an appropriate name for the winning team. After practicing formations for most of the week leading up to Saturday afternoon’s contest, one of the team’s planes was grounded with magneto problems in Burlington, IA, after the Fly-In’s annual Dawn Patrol flight. Contest officials, noting the event was more about fun than competition, allowed the team to substitute another plane and pilot. With no practice with the substitute, the team renamed itself “Square One” but still managed to pull off a victory.

Rain forced cancellation of most Fly-In activities, except indoor dinners and seminars, on Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 3) and all day Thursday (Sept. 4). The aerobatic and rescue drop – also called “flour bombing” – contests were moved to Friday and Saturday mornings.

Complete contest results are listed on the National Stearman Fly-In’s Web site.

A total of 71 Stearmans were registered at the 2008 Fly-In, a decrease from the past several years.

The planes came from 22 states and Alberta, Canada. States represented were California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Jeanne Conlon, president of the Fly-In’s board of directors, attributed this year’s reduced attendance to a number of factors, with weather – remnants of Hurricane Gustav soaked the airport Wednesday and Thursday – probably being the most significant. A number of pilots who had planned to come to Galesburg called to say they were unable to make the trip because of poor conditions, she said.

The first Fly-In attracted 27 planes. The record was set on the event’s 25th anniversary in 1997, with 141 planes. The turnout in 2007 was 124 planes.

Conlon said the 38th National Stearman Fly-In will be held Sept. 7-13, 2009.