Breitling Wingwalker ‘Bird’ waving to the crowd after the display at AIR14, Payerne Switzerland
Stearman (Boeing) N2S-1/R985 Kaydet (A75N1) N707TJ / 3 (cn 75-950) with Wingwalker Danielle Hughes, nickname 'Bird' after the performance at AIR14 (Swiss Air Force 100th Anniversary), Payerne Switzerland (picture 2566-1).
The (original) Boeing Stearman 75
The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman or Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the USAAF, the USN (as the NS & N2S), and with the RCAF as the Kaydet throughout World War II. 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, sports planes, and for aerobatic and wing walking use in airshows.
The ‘Super Stearman’
The airplanes that make up the Breitling Wingwalking team are not stock Stearmans, though. There are no controls in the forward cockpit because the wingwalkers need to climb out and up – unimpeded by a control column - onto the upper wing before they can begin their act. And although the ladies of the team are breathtaking in their elegant athleticism, in aerodynamic terms they are giant air brakes - their bodies create a great deal of ‘drag.’ So the engines are considerably boosted to punch that assembly of wings, wires, struts and ladies through the air.
Standard Stearmans have a 220 horsepower engine. The ‘Super Stearmans’ of the Breitling Wingwalking team are driven by 450 hp radials. That mighty extra power means the pilots don’t need to gain energy for manoeuvres by continually diving, then climbing for altitude in order to dive again. All the energy they need is bolted to the front of the aircraft. And in order to improve the roll speed of the aircraft an extra pair of ailerons are fitted to the upper biplane wings, slaved to the ones on the lower wings.
sources:
www.aerosuperbatics.com/thehanger
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing-Stearman_Model_75
Breitling Wingwalker ‘Bird’ waving to the crowd after the display at AIR14, Payerne Switzerland
Stearman (Boeing) N2S-1/R985 Kaydet (A75N1) N707TJ / 3 (cn 75-950) with Wingwalker Danielle Hughes, nickname 'Bird' after the performance at AIR14 (Swiss Air Force 100th Anniversary), Payerne Switzerland (picture 2566-1).
The (original) Boeing Stearman 75
The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman or Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the USAAF, the USN (as the NS & N2S), and with the RCAF as the Kaydet throughout World War II. 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, sports planes, and for aerobatic and wing walking use in airshows.
The ‘Super Stearman’
The airplanes that make up the Breitling Wingwalking team are not stock Stearmans, though. There are no controls in the forward cockpit because the wingwalkers need to climb out and up – unimpeded by a control column - onto the upper wing before they can begin their act. And although the ladies of the team are breathtaking in their elegant athleticism, in aerodynamic terms they are giant air brakes - their bodies create a great deal of ‘drag.’ So the engines are considerably boosted to punch that assembly of wings, wires, struts and ladies through the air.
Standard Stearmans have a 220 horsepower engine. The ‘Super Stearmans’ of the Breitling Wingwalking team are driven by 450 hp radials. That mighty extra power means the pilots don’t need to gain energy for manoeuvres by continually diving, then climbing for altitude in order to dive again. All the energy they need is bolted to the front of the aircraft. And in order to improve the roll speed of the aircraft an extra pair of ailerons are fitted to the upper biplane wings, slaved to the ones on the lower wings.
sources:
www.aerosuperbatics.com/thehanger
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing-Stearman_Model_75