The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s.

Stearman Aircraft Stearman Aircraft Corporation was an aircraft manufacturer in Wichita, Kansas. Although the company designed a range of other aircraft, it is most known for producing the Model 75, which is commonly known simply as the "Stearman" or "Boeing ...

became a subsidiary of

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman, or Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

(as the NS and N2S), and with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

as the Kaydet throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After the conflict was over, thousands of surplus aircraft were sold on the civilian market. In the immediate postwar years, they became popular as crop dusters and sports planes, and for aerobatic and

wing walking Wing walking is the act of moving along the wings of an aeroplane (most commonly a biplane) during flight, sometimes transferring between planes. It originated as a daredevil stunt in the aerial barnstorming shows of the 1920s, and became the sub ...

use in air shows.

Design and development

The Kaydet was a conventional biplane of rugged construction, with a large, fixed tailwheel undercarriage, and accommodation for the student and instructor in open cockpits in tandem. The radial engine was usually not cowled, although some Stearman operators choose to cowl the engine, most notably the Red Baron Stearman Squadron.

Operational history

Post-war usage

After World War II, thousands of surplus PT-17s were auctioned off to civilians and former military pilots. Many were modified for cropdusting use, with a hopper for pesticide or fertilizer fitted in place of the front cockpit. Additional equipment included pumps, spray bars, and nozzles mounted below the lower wings. A popular approved modification to increase the maximum takeoff weight and climb performance involved fitting a larger

Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior The Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior is a series of nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aircraft engines built by the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company from the 1930s to the 1950s. These engines have a displacement of ; initial versions produced ...

engine and a

constant-speed propeller In aeronautics, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller (airscrew) with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. A controllable-pitch propeller is one where the pitch is controlled manually by the p ...

Variants

''Data from:''United States Navy aircraft since 1911, Boeing aircraft since 1916 8,584 Model 70s, 75s and 76s were built, with additional "spares" bringing the number up to the sometimes quoted 10,346.

USAAC/USAAF designations

The U.S. Army Air Forces Model 75 Kaydet had three different designations, PT-13, PT-17 and PT-18, depending on which type of radial engine was installed. ;PT-13: Initial production version with Lycoming R-680-B4B engine, 26 built in 1936 ::PT-13A Model A75 with R-680-7 engine, 92 delivered from 1937 to 1938. ::PT-13B R-680-11 engine, 255 delivered from 1939 to 1941. ::PT-13C Six PT-13Bs modified for instrument flying. ::PT-13D Model E75 with R-680-17 engine, 793 delivered ;PT-17: Version with

Continental R-670 The Continental R-670 (factory designation W670) was a seven-cylinder four-cycle radial aircraft engine produced by Continental displacing 668 cubic inches (11 litres) and a dry weight of . Horsepower varied from 210 to 240 at 2,200 rpm. The en ...

-5 engine, 2,942 delivered. ::PT-17A 136 PT-17s modified with blind-flying instrumentation. ::PT-17B Three PT-17s modified with agricultural spraying equipment for pest control near army bases. ::PT-17C Single PT-17 conversion with standardized Army-Navy equipment. ;PT-18 :Version with

Jacobs R-755 The Jacobs R-755 (company designation L-4) is a seven-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft manufactured in the United States by the Jacobs Aircraft Engine Company. Design and development The R-755 was first run in 1933 and was sti ...

-7 engine, 150 built. Further production was cancelled as the engines were needed for other types of trainers. ::PT-18A Six PT-18s modified with blind-flying instrumentation. ;PT-27 :USAAF paperwork designation given to 300 D75N1/PT-17 aircraft supplied under Lend-Lease to the

US Navy designations

;NS :Up to 61 Model 73B1 delivered, powered by Wright J-5/R-790 Whirlwind radialsBowers 1989, pp. 252–253. ;N2S :Known colloquially as the "Yellow Peril" from its overall-yellow paint scheme. ::N2S-1 Model A75N1 with Continental R-670-14 engine, 250 delivered. ::N2S-2 Model B75 with Lycoming R-680-8 engine, 125 delivered in 1941. ::N2S-3 Model B75N1 with Continental R-670-4 engine, 1,875 delivered. ::N2S-4 Model A75N1 with Continental R-670-4 and -5 engines, 457 delivered of 579 ordered, including 99 PT-17s diverted from U.S. Army orders. ::N2S-5 Model E75 with Lycoming R-680-17 engine, 1,450 delivered.

Company designations

;Stearman 70 :Company designation for prototype, powered by Lycoming radial engine, designated XPT-943 for evaluationBowers 1989, pp. 251–252. ;Model 73 :Initial production version, 61 built for U.S. Navy as NS plus export variants :;Model 73L3 ::Version for the Philippines, powered by R-680-4 or R-680C1 engines, seven builtBowers 1989, p. 253. :;Model A73B1 ::Seven aircraft for

Cuban Air Force The Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force ( es, Defensa Anti-Aérea y Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria) commonly abbreviated to DAAFAR in both Spanish and English, is the air force of Cuba. History Background The Cuban Army Air Force was ...

Wright R-790 Whirlwind The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about and around . These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirl ...

, delivered 1939–1940 :;Model A73L3 ::Improved version for the Philippines, three builtBowers 1989, p. 254. ;Stearman 75 :(or X75) Evaluated by the U.S. Army as a primary trainer, the X75L3 became the PT-13 prototype. Variants of the 75 formed the PT-17 family. ;Stearman 76 :Export trainer and armed version of the 75 with a gun ring and one or two fixed forward firing machine guns. :;A76B4: 5 built for Venezuela. :;A76C3: 15 built for Brazil. :;B76C3: 15 built with cameras for Brazil. :;76D1: 16 built for Argentina and three for Philippines as BT-1. :;S76D1: seaplane version of 76D1 for Argentina :;76D3: 24 built for Philippine Constabulary as BT-1 armed advanced trainer, and 24 built for Cuba.

Other designations

;Stearman XPT-943 :Designation assigned to the X70 evaluated at Wright Field ;Stearman Kaydet :Name used for aircraft in Royal Canadian Air Force service ; American Airmotive NA-75 : Single-seat agricultural conversion of Model 75, fitted with new, high-lift wingsTaylor 1965, p. 178.

Operators

; *

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falkl ...

* Argentine Navy received 16 Model 76D1s 1936 to 1937Bowers 1989, p. 268. and 60 N2S Kaydet post-war; all were retired by the early 1960s ; *

Bolivian Air Force The Bolivian Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Boliviana or 'FAB') is the air force of Bolivia and branch of the Bolivian Armed Forces. History By 1938 the Bolivian air force consisted of about 60 aircraft (Curtiss Hawk fighters, Curtiss T-32 Co ...

Andrade 1979, p. 159 ; : Brazilian Air Force Model A75L3 and 76.Andrade 1979, p. 158 ; :

received 301 PT-27s under Lend Lease.Bowers 1989, p. 265. ; :

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...

received 150 PT-17s under Lend-Lease,Bowers 1989, p. 262. and 104 refurbished aircraft post war in Taiwan. The ROCAF used them until 1958.Bowers 1989, pp. 260–261. ; :

Colombian Air Force , "We are the Force" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Colombian Air Force Hymn , mascot = Capitan Paz , anniversaries = 8 November , ...

Andrade 1979, p. 159 ; *

Andrade 1979, p. 159 ; * Dominican Air ForceAndrade 1979, p. 159 ; *

Hellenic Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 8 November , equipment = , equipment_label ...

; *

Guatemalan Air Force The Guatemalan Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Guatemalteca or ''FAG'') is a small air force composed mostly of U.S.-made aircraft throughout its history. The FAG is a subordinate to the Guatemalan Military and its commanding officer reports to th ...

Andrade 1979, p. 159 ; *

Honduran Air Force The Honduras Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Hondureña, sometimes abbreviated to FAH in English) is the air force of Honduras. As such it is the air power arm of the Honduras Armed Forces. History The first Honduras military flying took place ...

; :

Imperial Iranian Air Force The history of the Iranian Air Force, currently known as the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, can be divided into two phases—before the Islamic Revolution, and after it. Imperial era The Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) was a branch ...

; :

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...

purchased 20 PT-17s.Nordeen 1991, p. 27. ; :

Mexican Air Force The Mexican Air Force (FAM; es, Fuerza Aérea Mexicana) is the primary aerial warfare service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat ( SEDENA). The objective of ...

; :

Nicaraguan Air Force The Nicaraguan Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Nicaragüense) is the air defense branch of the armed forces of Nicaragua. It continues the former Sandinista air units. Before 1979 the Nicaraguan National Guard had some air units (). Air force In 19 ...

; :

Paraguayan Air Force The Armed forces of Paraguay ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de Paraguay) consist of the Paraguayan army, navy (including naval aviation and marine corps) and air force. The constitution of Paraguay establishes the president of Paraguay as the commander- ...

Andrade 1979, p. 159 ; :

Peruvian Air Force The Peruvian Air Force ( es, link=no, Fuerza Aérea del Perú, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguardin ...

; :

Philippine Army Air Corps The Philippine Army Air Corps ( fil, Pulutong Himpapawid ng Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas; es, Cuerpo Aéreo del Ejercito Filipino) was created in 1935 as the air component of the Philippine Army. It was the predecessor of the Philippine Air F ...

: Philippine Air Force ; :

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

; :

Venezuelan Air Force , colours = Bleu celeste , colours_label = , march = , "Hymn of the National Military Aviation" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December (Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , battle_honou ...

; :

Yugoslav Air Force The Air Force and Air Defence ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana ; abbr. sh-Cyrl-Latn, label=none, separator=/, РВ и ПВ� ...

Surviving aircraft

A considerable number of Stearmans remain in flying condition throughout the world, as the type remains a popular sport plane and

warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or th ...

Argentina

* 308 – N2S-5 airworthy at the Argentine Naval Aviation Museum in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires.

Australia

* 75-6488 – B75N1 registered as VH-EYC, airworthy, owned by Steven Bradley, Southern Australia 5134 * 75-8314 – E75 Registered as VH-USE, airworthy, owned by Raalin, Western Australia 6208

Austria

* 75-5032 – PT-17 Registered as OE-AMM, airworthy at

Hangar-7 Hangar-7 is a building in Salzburg, Austria, hosting a collection of historical airplanes, helicopters and Formula One racing cars, and serving as home for the Flying Bulls, a private aircraft fleet stationed in Salzburg. Hangar-7 is owned by R ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Brazil

* K-132 – A75L3 on display at the

Museu Aeroespacial Museu Aeroespacial is a national aviation museum located in the West Side of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the Administrative Region of Realengo. The place is known as "the Brazilian Aviation cradle".Ogden (2008) Address Av. Marechal Fontenelle, 2000 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

* K-210 – A76C3 on display at the Museu Aeroespacial in Rio de Janeiro * 38010 – N2S-3 on display at the

TAM Museum The TAM Museum ( pt, Museu TAM), also known as the Museu Asas de um Sonho (Wings of a Dream Museum), was an aviation museum in the city of São Carlos, within the state of State of São Paulo, Brazil. The museum was located from central São Carl ...

in São Carlos, São Paulo

Canada

* 41-8621 – PT-17 airworthy at the

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is an aviation museum located at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Mount Hope, Ontario, Canada. The museum has 47 military jets and propeller-driven aircraft on display. Displayed is a ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

. * 42-17456 – PT-13D owned by Daniel Jones of Lacombe, Alberta. * 5284 – N2S-3 under restoration to airworthy with Daniel Jones of

Lacombe, Alberta Lacombe ( ) is a city in central Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately north of Red Deer, the nearest major city, and south of Edmonton, the nearest metropolitan area. The city is set in the rolling parkland of central Alberta, between t ...

* 5293 – N2S-3 owned by J. Kurtin of

Collingwood, Ontario Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay. Collingwood is well known as a tourist destination, for its skiing in the winter, and limestone caves along the Nia ...

* 30083 – N2S-4 on display at the

Reynolds-Alberta Museum The Reynolds-Alberta Museum is an agricultural, industrial, and transportation museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. The museum is situated on an property containing the main museum building, an aviation display hangar, and its storage facility. ...

Wetaskiwin, Alberta Wetaskiwin ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located south of the provincial capital of Edmonton. The city name comes from the Cree word ''wītaskiwinihk'', meaning "the hills where peace was made". Wetaskiwin is ...

* 61105 – N2S-5 with Bruce Bond of Sarnia, Ontario * 75-3498 – PT-17 airworthy owned by Great River Aviation Ltd. of

Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

o/a Klondike Airways.

Colombia

* FAC-62 – PT-17 airworthy * FAC-1995 – PT-17 airworthy

Iceland

* T5-1556 – PT-17 is airworthy with Erling Pétur Erlingsson in Hafnarfjörður, Capital Region. It is the oldest airplane in Iceland. It was brought to the country in 1941 by the aircraft carrier and damaged in an accident in 1943.

Indonesia

*PT-13D is on display at Dirgantara Mandala Museum in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

. The aircraft is painted in Taloa Academy of Aeronautics livery.

Israel

* 2752 – PT-17 is airworthy at the

Israeli Air Force Museum The Israeli Air Force Museum is located at Hatzerim Airbase in the Negev desert. The museum was established in 1977 and has been open to the public since 1991. The museum displays a variety of Israeli Air Force and foreign aircraft, as well as a ...

Hatzerim Hatzerim ( he, חֲצֵרִים, ''lit.'' Farmyards) is a kibbutz located 8 kilometers west of Beersheba in the Negev desert in Israel. It is named after the Bible (Deuteronomy 2:23), mentioning a site nearby: "the Avvites who lived in farmyards ...

Mexico

* EPS-6084 – PT-17 on display at the in Santa Lucía, Zumpango.

Netherlands

* 75-7027 – PT-13B is airworthy, registered as PH-TOX, owned by Joe Brewer and based at Oostwold Airport. * 75-7213 – N2S-3 is airworthy, registered as N9912H, owned by the Nordsiek family and based at Breda International Airport.

New Zealand

* 75-647 – PT-17 airworthy with R. J. S. Jenkins in

Ardmore, Auckland Ardmore is a large rural locality of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the south-east of Auckland CBD, just 27 km away. The suburb is in the Franklin Ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland, and is under local governa ...

. * 75-2055 – PT-17 airworthy with R. B. Mackley in Milford. * 75-2100 – PT-17 airworthy with Classic Aircraft Sales Limited in Blenheim. * 75-2724 – PT-17 airworthy with B. L. Govenlock in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

. * 75-3132 – PT-17 airworthy with the Antonievich Family Trust in

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. ...

. * 75-3655 – PT-17 airworthy with M. P. Cantlon in

Mount Maunganui Mount Maunganui (, ) is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of the Tauranga metropolitan area, located on a peninsula to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre. It was an independent town from Tauranga until the completio ...

. * 75-4245 – PT-17 airworthy with the Strome Farm Trust in Drury. * 75-5064 – PT-13D airworthy with the Stearman Syndicate in Drury. * 75-5907 – PT-13D airworthy with Stearman 03 Limited in Mount Maunganui. * 75-8025A – N2S-3 airworthy with M. J. Dean in Mount Maunganui.

Peru

* PT-17 is on display at the Instituto de Estudios Históricos Aeroespaciales del Perú, Miraflores, Lima.

Spain

* PT-13 on display at the in Cuatro Vientos, Madrid. * PT-17 on display at the Fundación Infante de Orleans in Cuatro Vientos, Madrid.

Switzerland

* 75-5436 – PT-13D is airworthy, registered as HB-RBG, and based at the Fliegermuseum

Altenrhein Thal is a village and municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Besides the village of Thal itself, the municipality also includes the villages of Altenrhein, Buechen, Buriet and Sta ...

. Built in 1943 and restored to airworthiness in 1989 after sustaining considerable damage during an emergency landing in the grounds of the Stadler Rail factory in Altenrhein due to engine failure.

Taiwan

* PT-17 is on static display at the Aviation Education Exhibition Hall in Gangshan District, Kaohsiung City.

United States

* Model 70 is airworthy at the

Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum The Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) is located in Hood River, Oregon, United States, adjacent to the Ken Jernstedt Memorial Airport. WAAAM is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization committed to the preservation of, and educatio ...

Hood River, Oregon The city of Hood River is the seat of Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is a port on the Columbia River, and is named for the nearby Hood River. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,313. It is the only city in Oregon whe ...

. It is the original prototype of the Model 75. * 37-0099 – PT-13A is on static display at the

Museum of Flight The Museum of Flight is a private non-profit air and space museum in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is located at the southern end of King County International Airport (Boeing Field) in the city of Tukwila, immediately south of Seattle. ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. * 41-7960 – PT-17 is airworthy at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi. It is used as a research aircraft and glider tow-plane. * 41-8786 – PT-17 is in storage at the

New England Air Museum The New England Air Museum (NEAM) is an American aerospace museum located adjacent to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The museum consists of three display hangars with additional storage and restoration hangars. Its co ...

Windsor Locks, Connecticut Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,613. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region and occupies approxi ...

. * 41-8882 – PT-17 on static display at the

Pima Air and Space Museum The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m²) on a campus occ ...

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. * 41-25254 – PT-17 is airworthy at the

Military Aviation Museum The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to one of the world's largest collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from ...

in Pungo, Virginia. * 41-25284 – PT-17 is on static display at the

Hill Aerospace Museum Hill Aerospace Museum is a military aviation museum located at Hill Air Force Base in Roy, Utah. It is dedicated to the history of the base and aviation in Utah. History Preparations for a museum began in 1984, when ground was broken on an "Ae ...

Roy, Utah Roy is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States, located on the west side of Interstate 15. The population estimate in 2019 was 39,613, an increase of 5.8% from 36,884 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Ogden− Clearfield, Utah Metropo ...

. * 41-25588 – PT-17 is airworthy at the Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...

. * 41-25623 – PT-17 is on display at

Patriots Point Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at the mouth of the Cooper River on the Charleston Harbor, across from Charleston. Museum ships and exhibits Patriots Point is home to two museum ships: * , ...

in Charleston, South Carolina. * 42-15687 – PT-27 is on display at the

Vintage Flying Museum The Vintage Flying Museum is a non-profit aviation museum located at Meacham International Airport, Fort Worth, Texas. The primary mission of the museum is to preserve America's flying heritage in word, deed and action. History In October 2010, t ...

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

. * 42-16365 – PT-17 is on static display at the Museum of Aviation in

Warner Robins, Georgia Warner Robins (typically ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston and Peach counties in the central part of the state. It is currently Georgia's eleventh-largest incorporated city, with an estimated population of 80,308 in t ...

. * 42-16388 – PT-17D is on static display at the

March Field Air Museum The March Field Air Museum is an aviation museum near Moreno Valley and Riverside, California, adjacent to March Air Reserve Base. History The museum was founded in 1979 as March Air Force Base Museum. One of the first exhibits at the museum was ...

near

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. * 42-16691 – PT-17 is on static display at the

Castle Air Museum Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to Castle Airport, a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed in 1995, after the end of the Cold War. It ...

Atwater, California Atwater is a city on State Route 99 in Merced County, California, United States. Atwater is west-northwest of Merced, at an elevation of . The population as of the 2020 census was 31,970, up from 28,168 in 2010. Geography Atwater is in northe ...

. * 42-17591 – PT-13D is on static display at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in

Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chi ...

. * 42-17724 – PT-13D is on static display at the

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. It was used in 1944 to train members of the Tuskegee Airmen. * 42-17763 – PT-13D is on static display at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in

Valle, Arizona Valle (''Grand Canyon Junction'') is a census-designated place in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 US Census the population of Valle was 832. It lies at an altitude of , at the junction of U.S. Route 180 and State Route ...

. * 42-17800 – PT-13D is on static display at the

National Museum of the United States Air Force The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

. This aircraft is the 63rd to last aircraft built and was donated to the museum in 1959 by the

Boeing Aircraft Company The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

, which purchased the Stearman Company in 1934. * 3514 – N2S-3 is airworthy with Neil Alan Raaz in

Colleyville, Texas Colleyville is a city in northeastern Tarrant County, Texas, United States, centrally located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. A wealthy suburb of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Colleyville was originally a small farm town in the 19th century. Th ...

. * 3558 – N2S-2 is under restoration to airworthy at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California. * 5369 – N2S-3 is on static display at the

National Naval Aviation Museum The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its cur ...

in Pensacola, Florida. It was flown by George H. W. Bush during his initial training as a naval pilot. * 7591 – N2S-3 is airworthy at the

Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum The Valiant Air Command, Inc. Warbird Museum (VAC) is located at the Space Coast Regional Airport in Brevard County, just south of Titusville, Florida. The VAC contains vintage aircraft and a hangar with a restoration area. The VAC also has a M ...

Titusville, Florida Titusville is a city in eastern Florida and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census. Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and ...

. * 7718 – N2S-3 is airworthy at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston, Texas. * 15923 – N2S is on static display at the

Carolinas Aviation Museum The Carolinas Aviation Museum is an aviation museum on the grounds of Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is one of a few aviation museums located at an airport which serves as a major hub (Charlotte is the ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. * 29981 – N2S-4 is on display at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan. * 38278 – N2S-3 is airworthy at the Tri-State Warbird Museum in Batavia, Ohio. * 38490 – N2S-5 is airworthy at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston, Texas. * 43197 – N2S-5 is under restoration to airworthy condition with the Commemorative Air Force Utah Wing in

Heber City, Utah Heber City is a city and county seat of Wasatch County, Utah, United States. The population was 11,362 at the time of the 2010 census. It is located 43 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. History Heber City was first settled in 1859 by Robert ...

. * 61064 – N2S-5 on static display at the

Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous ...

of the National Air and Space Museum in

Chantilly, Virginia Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the ...

. * 92468 – N2S-3 is on static display at the

Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (formerly the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor) is a non-profit founded in 1999 to develop an aviation museum in Hawaii. Part of Senator Daniel Inouye's vision for a rebirth of Ford Island, the museum hosts a vari ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. It was flown by George H. W. Bush during his initial training as a naval pilot. * N2S-3 is on display at the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon.

Specifications (PT-17)

In popular culture

An iconic movie image is a Stearman cropduster chasing Cary Grant across a field in ''

North by Northwest ''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture ...

'' (the airplane that chased Grant was actually a Naval Aircraft Factory N3N Canary; the plane that hits the truck is a Stearman). A heavily modified PT-17 variant was used as the Tornado in the Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Film.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Andrade, John. ''U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909'', Midland Counties Publications, 1979, * Avis, Jim and Bowman, Martin. ''Stearman: A Pictorial History''. Motorbooks, 1997. . * Bowers, Peter M. ''Boeing Aircraft since 1916''. London:Putnam, 1989. . * Nordeen, Lon. ''Fighters Over Israel''. London: Guild Publishing, 1991. * Phillips, Edward H. ''Stearman Aircraft: A Detailed History ''. Specialty Press, 2006. . * * Swanborough, F.G. and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Military Aircraft since 1909''. London: Putnam, 1963. * Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965–66''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1965. *

Videography

* Stearman, Lloyd. ''Stearmans, You Gotta Love Them''. Lap Records, 2005. (

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

Format)

External links

Interview with Boeing PT-17 air show pilot John Mohr.

Netherlander Hans Nordsiek's "The Storyteller" homepage, featuring his "Old Crow" Stearman biplane

FAA Type Certificate
{{Wright Field project numbers 1930s United States military trainer aircraft Stearman Stearman aircraft Aerobatic aircraft Biplanes World War II trainer aircraft of the United States Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1934