The Stearman is a biplane developed for the United States military for training pilots. It has since gone on to become a hugely popular general aviation warbird.
The Model 75, popularly known as the “Stearman Biplane,” is a single-engine, piston-driven biplane produced by Stearman Aircraft and Boeing. Introduced in 1934 and used as a trainer for pilots of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army Air Forces, and the Royal Canadian Air Force, more than 10,000 of the rugged biplanes were built. After retirement from military use, many Model 75s were used privately, as sport aircraft, for crop dusting, and for aerobatics.
The Model 75 is 24 feet, 9 inches long, features a fixed tailwheel undercarriage, and has a traditional empennage. The wings, each with straight leading and trailing edges, have spans of 32 feet, 2 inches. The Stearman has two open cockpits, in tandem configuration, providing unobstructed 360-degree views.
The biplane is powered by a single Continental 7-cylinder, air cooled R-670-5 radial engine that produces 220 horsepower and drives a fixed-pitch, two-blade propeller. It has a cruise speed of 96 miles per hour, a top speed of 124 mph, and a service ceiling of over 13,000 feet above sea level.
One of the great classics of military aviation, the Boeing-Stearman Model 75 is a legendary performer that moves through the air with grace and purpose. Aviators, of all skill levels, will never tire of this classic beauty, which is as much a natural for slow, easy, and straight travel as it is for buzzing and barnstorming.
