Lloyd Carlton Stearman (October 26, 1898 – April 3, 1975) was an American

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

, aircraft designer, and early aviation entrepreneur.

Biography

Stearman was born in Wellsford, Kansas. From 1917 – 1918, he attended Kansas State College (later renamed

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

) in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

, where he studied

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

. In 1918, he left school to enlist in the U.S. Naval Reserve in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

; while there he learned to fly Curtiss N-9

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

s. During the mid-1920s Matty Laird, designer of the Laird Swallow aircraft, hired Stearman as a mechanic, giving him his first exposure to

fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generate ...

manufacturing. In 1925, Stearman and

Walter Beech Walter Herschel Beech (January 30, 1891 – November 29, 1950) was an American aviator and early aviation entrepreneur who co-founded the Beech Aircraft Company (now called Beechcraft) in 1932 with his wife, Olive Ann Beech, and a team of three ...

teamed up with Clyde Cessna to form the Travel Air Manufacturing Company. In 1926, Stearman left to form his own manufacturing company in California, Stearman Aircraft. In 1927, he moved the company back to Wichita. Following World War II, many Stearman PT-13 primary trainers were converted to agricultural aircraft; In 1948 more than 4,345 Stearman aircraft were used in agricultural flying. In 1929, Stearman Aircraft merged with Boeing Airplane Co., Boeing Aircraft of Canada, Varney Airlines, National Air Transport, Pacific Air Transport, Boeing Air Transport, Hamilton Standard Propeller, Sikorsky, Pratt & Whitney, Chance Vought, Northrop and United Airports of Connecticut to become

United Aircraft and Transport Corporation The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed in 1929, when William Boeing of Boeing Airplane & Transport Corporation teamed up with Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney to form a large, vertically-integrated, amalgamated firm, ...

, owned by William Boeing. Stearman held the position of President of the Stearman Division until 1930, followed by his resignation in 1931. In 1932, Stearman, Robert Gross,

Walter Varney Walter Thomas Varney (December 26, 1888 – January 25, 1967) which combined under United Continental Holdings in 2010, long after his death in 1967. Varney was also one of the most prominent airmail contractors of the early 20th century. Varne ...

and others, bought Lockheed Aircraft Company. Stearman was named president and Carl B. Squier vice president. In 1935, Stearman resigned from Lockheed, and from 1936 through 1938, partnered with Dean Hammond to form the Stearman-Hammond Aircraft Corporation to produce the

Stearman-Hammond Y-1 The Stearman-Hammond Y-1 is a 1930s United States, American utility monoplane built by the Stearman-Hammond Aircraft Corporation and evaluated by the United States Navy and the United Kingdom, British Royal Air Force. Development In the early 1 ...

. In 1955, Stearman rejoined Lockheed as an engineer, where he retired in 1968. Stearman died of cancer on April 3, 1975, at home in

Northridge, Los Angeles Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named Zelzah by settlers in 1908, the ...

Legacy

In recognition of his contributions to the aircraft industry, Lloyd Stearman was inducted into the

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

in July 1989.

References

External links

Lloyd Stearman-Aviator, Engineer and Kansan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stearman, Lloyd 1898 births 1975 deaths American aviation businesspeople Aviators from Kansas American aviation pioneers Kansas State University alumni People from Wellsville, Kansas National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees United States Navy personnel of World War I Deaths from cancer in California United States Navy reservists Kansas Business Hall of Fame inductees