The Stearman C1 (or Stearman Sport Commercial Model 1) was the first type of

airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

manufactured by the Stearman Aircraft Corporation. Only one example was manufactured, at the original Stearman factory in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

, flying for the first time in March 1927.

Design and development

The aircraft was a sesquiwing type of

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

with its fuselage frame manufactured from thin-walled steel tubing, as were the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, the elevators and rudder. The wings had

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

spars SPARS was the authorized nickname for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve. The nickname was derived from the USCG's motto, "—"Always Ready" (''SPAR''). The Women's Reserve was established by law in November 1942 during Wor ...

. The aircraft had two tandem open

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

s with the pilot in the aft cockpit and two passengers in the forward cockpit.

Aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...

s were installed on the upper wings only. The upper wing span was 38 feet, while the lower wing span was 35 feet. Overall length was 24 feet, at a height of 9 feet. Empty weight was 1500 pounds. The landing gear had a split-axle design, with hydraulic struts and rubber bungee cords.

Drum brake A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of Brake shoe, shoes or Brake pad, pads that press outward against a rotating bowl-shaped part called a brake drum. The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press o ...

s were a standard installation. First flight was in March 1927. Initially powered by a Curtiss OX-5, in the summer 1927 it was replaced by a French Salmson 9Z water cooled

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

and designated the C1X. C1 Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1927 {{aero-1920s-stub