STEARMAN
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My Stearman retired from
the military and was promptly converted to a duster. It worked as such in Florida
until a young pilot crashed it into some trees and walked away without pay. I traded
a Bellanca 14-13 Cruisaire for the project in 1984 and my airplane flew off to Florida and
all I had was a box of instruments. The rest of the project came in a 20' X 4"
sq. box. The engine came from Oklahoma and the new wood wing kits from Big Sky in
Oregon. It was a ground-up restoration, as most of my projects are, and took 5 years
to complete. It first flew in May of 1989 and with 4 hours on it, we went to the
Merced Fly-In where we received an award for our efforts. We have gone to this
Fly-In every year since, and have brought home an award every year. |
I should mention my
credentials here to give you an idea of the type of work I do. I have restored quite
a variety of aircraft over the last 17 years and I will on mention a few that have gotten
awards at Fly-Ins/Airshows. I have restored no less than 7 Stearmans of which 6 have
gotten awards, 2 N3Ns, an L-5, a PT-23, 4 Piper J-3s, Fairchild 24, Porterfield...
Back to the Stearman.
The frame is painted a dark green enamel. All bearings, cables and moving
parts are new or were regreased to like-new. All aluminum parts were zinc chromated
before assembly. Layout of instrument panels are as original. An electrical
panel was added on the right side of the rear cockpit. It houses master switch,
start switch, nav lights switch, 2 breakers, ammeter and radio. The radio is a
hand-held that slides into a panel-mount tray to connect the antenna and intercom leads.
Intercom is a Soft-Com as are the headsets. The A/C has a Jasco Alternator
and is a 24 Volt system that works great. I gave away the cloth helmets as they are
not needed with the canopy. I fly with a ball cap and even with the rear slider all
the way back you won't lose your hat.
About the canopy:
there are only two in the world (that I know of) that are flying. A gentleman in
Pennsylvania sent me his so I could build him a front slider. In the process I came
across the remnants of another canopy, so he has a rebuilt canopy with new glass, and I
have one that is all new with new glass. A short history on the canopy: the
Canadians wanted these for the Stearmans the US sent on Lend-Lease. By the time
Boeing got around to building them, the Canadians sent all the Stearmans back. Only
14 more were made, and those contracted by Piper Aircraft Co. and these went onto
N2Ss.
The wings and center
section were built using all new wood. All the fittings were chromated before
installation. The airplane was covered and finished using the Stits Process.
HS90 fabric was used and the finish is Aerothane Enamel all over. The red is Santa
Fe red and is almost maroon. Trim is black with hand-pin-stroped gold.
The engine has 170 hrs.
since overhaul and runs good. I installed an Airwolf oil filtration system last year
and it makes oil changes a lot less messy. The propeller is a Falcon wood prop and
seems to work just fine. Cruise is about 85 mph indicated @ 12 gph.
I sell adapter rings for the 10 S.C. tailwheel so a person
can run the cheap 10 X 4 tire and tube. I have had these on my airplane for a couple
of years now and the installation works OK, too.
There are only a couple of
spots on the plane that have been damaged (minor), but I'd rather include them here than
have you find them later, should you decide to buy. Last year, on landing, the right
rudder idler arm broke and put a couple of small cuts in the lower right fuselage aft of
the trailing edge of the wing. Repair was simple, but in the light, a person can see
these areas (if you're looking for them). Also, on the top of both wings (not
visible from the ground), I had to patch two small areas where the airplane scraped the
bottom of the hangar door. The door wasn't up far enough!
| I can't think of
much more, except that this has been a FUN airplane to fly and with the
canopy you can have fun all year long when the other guys can't because it's too cold!
Oh yeah, there is a winter front on the front of the engine to keep the engine oil
warm. I leave it on year-round as it doesn't seem to make it run hot in the summer,
but it makes a BIG difference in the winter.
That's it...if you want further
details or specifics like copies of the log books or whatever, let me know.
Another note: the airplane comes
with the windshields and baggage door and manuals (E&M, parts, pilot handbook, etc). |
|
If you are serious about
this airplane, you'd better come prepared to fly it home...it won't be here long at $100k
!
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