Stearman aircraft

Wow! They didn't look that good from the factory.

"903" has a Shakey Jake 245 hp on it, which is pseudo-stock. Only a couple hundred of the 10,000 were made with the Jacobs, but most have been converted since they're more available than the Continentals and Lycomings. The control stick is like a baseball bat and they fly like a truss bridge. Climb, cruise and dive are all at 100 mph. Few experiences top flying an open cockpit biplane.

"46" started out with a Lycoming, but she's got a 450hp Pratt on her now and that's quite something.

- Charlie
 
Very Nice. Great photos, Great airplane. In a way the Stearman is a bit like a Leica M3. The only replacement for a Stearman is another Stearman and the only replacement for an M3 is another M3. Joe
 
Thanks. The story on these four is that they were all restored by the same fellow but have four different owners. They were in town to do a flyover of the Texas A&M-Mizzou football game, the last of the season. Last time I checked the score, the Ags were pounding Mizzou. :)
 
What can you say,great pic's of a bygone era,I can't imagine the adventure of
flying something like these,and they really are great pics.
Regards,Peter
 
Since I know that it is sometimes very hard to take a good picture of this aircraft, yours are fantastic!

What camera/focal length did you use and coukd you post the color-versions?
 
Now I have a quandary... I have some photos that would really complement these stunners but.... not a modern 120 camera and not a rangefinder! Whatever shall I do?:confused:

I've been lucky enough to see two Ryan PT22s in the air (similar job to the Stearman, but a monoplane with a truss bridge of an undercarriage), they have a five-cylinder radial that doesn't rev very fast so they sound just like a sewing machine built by Motorhead.

Adrian
 
Ryans were west coast planes. That airframe can oddly be one of the ugliest and the most beautiful.

Beautiful: http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/5/1/7/1459715.jpg

Al Menasco built the inline engines for these in California. Interesting stories around them.

Most of the PT-22s had Kinners, which aren't too reliable. I have a friend with a Brunner Winkle "Bird" (which were built in Brooklyn!) powered by a K5 who carries a complete jug in the front cockpit when he travels. He often needs it.

Don't get me started. Antique planes are a passion.


-C
 
JSU said:
Kenny--

Just noticed you're in CS, are these done at Easterwood? If so, what was the occasion?

--Steve Ueckert '76

ps: we put a whuppin' on Mizzou today, whoop for Johnny Football!
Click to expand...

Steve, as I responded earlier in the thread, they were doing a flyover of the game at Kyle Field. They flew into Coulter Field over in Bryan.

Markus said:
Since I know that it is sometimes very hard to take a good picture of this aircraft, yours are fantastic!

What camera/focal length did you use and coukd you post the color-versions?
Click to expand...

A medium format Fuji GA645 w/60mm f4 Fujinon. Here are a few of the colors:


Stearman aircraft by kenj8246, on Flickr


Stearman aircraft by kenj8246, on Flickr

Muggins said:
Now I have a quandary... I have some photos that would really complement these stunners but.... not a modern 120 camera and not a rangefinder! Whatever shall I do?:confused:

I've been lucky enough to see two Ryan PT22s in the air (similar job to the Stearman, but a monoplane with a truss bridge of an undercarriage), they have a five-cylinder radial that doesn't rev very fast so they sound just like a sewing machine built by Motorhead.

Adrian
Click to expand...

Not suggesting anything, Adrian, but we have many fora here, some for non-RF. Do a little looking around.
 
Kenj8246 said:
Not suggesting anything, Adrian, but we have many fora here, some for non-RF. Do a little looking around.
Click to expand...

I was teasing a little, though there are several threads that would fit just right! I'll just post one here, and pop the others somewhere more fitting, I think.

On this side of the pond, we have these beauties:

Silver Wings by gray1720, on Flickr

Taken with a 1911 Kodak No2 Folding pocket Brownie Model B (oh, those catchy model names, they just roll off the tongue!) on Adox ART-CHS 50, and IIRC semi-stand developed in Rodinal 1:50. Had a pig of a job getting the film onto the spools, which I suspect has a lot to do with the processing artefacts up that one edge.

It's the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden, England (where I saw the PT22s), the near aircraft is a Hawker Demon fighter, a Hind bomber behind and in the distance you can just see a Polikarpov Po2. If old 'planes are your thing, and you are ever on this side of the pond, it's a must-see.

Adrian
 
It's a bad idea to call someone's children or airplanes ugly. The PT-22 is 'ungainly' or 'gangly'. The STA though is sublime, particularly for a 1934 design.

Adrian: Wonderful Hawkers. There is nothing quite like the remarkable Shuttleworth. The annual flight of the collection in September is on my must-do list.

Charlie
 
Love the black/white Stearman photos. Thought I really love their pre-war yellow and blue color schemes too. Beautiful aircraft.

Great shot of the Hawkers too, Muggins.
 
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