Boeing PT-17B Kaydet

The Boeing Stearman must be the world’s mostly known biplane. More than 8500 airplanes were build, and the „Model 75“ has been used to train an uncountable number of military pilots in the late 1930s and 1940s.

Where? Ingolstadt area, Bavaria
When? 09/2021

Nowadays, the bright yellow biplane is still a pilot’s favorite! And flown in private hands all around the world. As a two-seater, the fun of flying in an open cockpit can be shared. And the bright yellow markings, which were originally the paint scheme of US Navy training aircraft, are still a favorite nowadays.

The Boeing Stearman – a real warbird

With its bright yellow wings, the Boeing PT-17B Kaydet – construction number 75-12351 and registered as N351AH – also fits perfectly into the autumn-colored Bavarian landscape. The American biplane, built in 1943, was part of a private collection in Mnichovo Hradiště in the Czech Republic until a few years ago, but was bought by a group of German owners in 2019 and has been stationed at Ingolstadt-Manching airfield ever since.

Compared to other Boeing Stearman, this aircraft is powered by a rather strong Pratt & Whitney R-985 9-cylinder radial engine. 450PS guarantee a lot of fun when flying this historic biplane, but it also asks a little bit of extra caution and delicate handling during ground operations.

A fun flying biplane

Pictured in this photo series is pilot Alex as he uses one of the last sunny days in autumn. It was his last take off with this Stearman before the aircraft disappeared into the hangar for the following months during its winter break. Temperatures around freezing point are neither the best for such a rare biplane, nor for the pilot in the open cockpit, who might actually be the limiting factor of winter operations for such a type of aircraft.

So rather than flying the Stearman, various maintenance work is being performed during winter in order to have the aircraft ready to fly again once the first warm rays of sunshine come up again in spring.

Boeing Stearman Air-Air photo gallery

Thanks a lot to Jürgen for flying the photoship that day!
Airframe history taken from: https://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=23952