C3B The Original Stearman

WHEN THE NAME STEARMAN IS MENTIONED in aviation circles, the first thought that comes to mind is of the popular World War II PT-13, PT-17 and N2S biplane military primary training planes that introduced thousands of military pilots to flying.

- BY FRANK B. MORMILLO

However, for the most part, those airplanes were actually Boeing Model 75 Kaydets.

The C3B Stearman is only vaguely related to the much more familiar PT-17 Stearman, that was actually a Model 75 Boeing. The early C3B was much larger and was intended for sportsman pilots and mail service. Previously owned by Ron Alexander, N8835 is flown here by Brian Newman who oversaw and did much of the restoration.

The Stearman Aircraft Company was founded by Lloyd Stearman at Venice, California, in 1927 and then re-organized a year later in Wichita, Kansas. However, in 1934, the Stearman Aircraft Company became a subsidiary of the Boeing Airplane Company, and in 1939 it became known as the Wichita Division of the Boeing Airplane Company. Thus, the Stearman Model 75 which first flew in 1936, eventually became the Boeing PT-13/PT-17/N2S Kaydet. With over 10,000 being manufactured, the Kaydet was probably the most widely produced biplane in the world.