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Visitors look at a Boeing-Stearman N2S-5 Kaydet aircraft as they depart the display of 1920s and 1930s military aircraft following the directional arrows on the floor and under a protective walkway. Sections of the hangar are temporarily closed with aircraft protected by plastic due to outside roof work taking place. (Smithsonian Photo by Jim Preston)
[NASM2020-08966]
This photo is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use: www.si.edu/termsofuse
Stearman trainer biplanes were built in quantity (over 8,000) throughout World War II, and as "primary" trainers were the first aircraft encountered by thousands of prospective pilots. Befitting this mission, they were rugged and simple, with fixed landing gear, a fixed propeller, and no flaps; as built, I don't think they even had radios. Although displayed in Navy training colors of yellow with red stripes, this airplane originated with the U.S. Army Air Force (serial 41-25254,) who painted their trainers bright blue with yellow wings - at crowded training fields in the United States, camouflage was the least of anyone's concerns, better to announce you were coming from a mile away for all the other student pilots!
Breitling (AeroSuperBatics)
Boeing N2S-3 Kaydet (B75N1)
SE-BOG / 4 (cn 75-7128)
Photographed at RIAT 2011. Fairford (FFD / EGVA)
UK - England.
16.July.2011.
This N2S-1 Steaarman was once flown by President George H. W. Bush when he was a naval cadet training at Naval Air Station Minneapolis in 1943. In this shot, the ground crewman has just engaged the starter and the properllor begins to turn over. It is started via an inertial starter as it has no exlectrical system or battery. The aircraft is part of the new Wings of the North Air Museum at Flying Cloud Aiport in Eden Prairie, MN.
In United States Navy markings as 5369/41
United States Naval Aviation Museum, NAS Pensacola, Florida, 26 February 2007
An excellent "diorama" presentation at the Mustang Day fly-in at the Nut Tree on October 8, 2011. This is former Navy 43139 painted in Army Air Corps colors.
Breitling (AeroSuperBatics)
Boeing N2S-3 Kaydet (B75N1)
N74189 / 2 (cn 75-717)
Photographed at RIAT 2011. Fairford (FFD / EGVA)
UK - England.
16.July.2011.
Somehow doing a Stearman into Kodachrome just feels right, unique and avgeekjoe. I hope you approve.
Photo of Boeing N2S-3 Stearman N4580N is from the 17 October 2015 HFM Fly Day. Please visit the album for more photos please. I take and share these photos for your entertainment and hopefully inspiration.
PHOTO CREDIT: Joe A. Kunzler Photo, AvgeekJoe Productions, growlernoise-AT-gmail-DOT-com
1942 Boeing N2S-4 Stearman Kaydet c/n 75-3644, USN BuNo 37897, N69264, Fremont County, CO, Airport Open House Air Show.
Catalog #: 01_00091265
Title: Stearman, N2S
Corporation Name: Stearman Aircraft Company
Designation: N2S
Additional Information: USA
Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
Tags: Stearman, N2S
Sola Airshow 2022 at Stavanger Airport, Sola (SVG/ENZV) on June 11, 2022. Private Boeing A75N1 Stearman LN-VAR (cn 75-7073). This former United States Navy two-seat trainer aircraft was originally designated Boeing N2S-3 Kaydet (BuNo 97469).
Following their widespread use as primary trainers during World War II, many Stearman N2S biplanes were purchased by private owners for use as crop dusters. In 1990, with President George Herbert Walker Bush in office, various parties initiated a search to locate any crop dusters still in existence that in their previous military service may have been flown by the Commander in Chief during his time as an aviation cadet and naval aviator. Cross-checking the President's log book entries with the records of various federal agencies revealed that five N2S-3 aircraft flown by Bush at Naval Air Station (NAS) Minneapolis, Minnesota still existed in private hands. Among them was the aircraft owned by former World War II and Korean War pilot and retired TWA Captain Jack Parker of Essex, Connecticut. His aircraft logged two flights with the Aviation Cadet George H.W. Bush at the controls in January 1943 and finished the war with 2,860 flight hours on the airframe. After the war, it operated with Terry's Aircraft Sales and Surplus and after purchase by Parker, towed banners and flew at warbird gatherings.
Acquired by the museum from Parker in 1992, the aircraft was painted in standard wartime Navy markings (Parker has operated it in Army Air Forces livery) and is currently in indoor static display.
Notes It was perhaps the most produced biplane in all of aviation history with 10,346 examples rolling off the production line of the Stearman Aircraft Company between 1934 and 1945. And though the company christened the trainer with the name "Kaydet," those who flew and maintained it universally called it the Stearman. Initially designed as an entry into a procurement contest for a new Army Air Corps trainer, the Stearman served extensively in the Navy as well, with the sea service accepting the first of 4,318 examples of the biplane in the late-1930s. The earliest version was called the NS by the Navy, with later versions designated N2S. By the time of World War II, both Army and Navy operated standardized versions of the aircraft with interchangeable parts, unique in an era in which joint operations was not standard. No matter the uniform they wore, those associated with the Stearman respected it for its ruggedness, ease of maintenance, low operational costs, and flight characteristics. Challenging to an inexperienced pilot was its tendency to ground-loop in crosswind landings.
The N2S-3 on display was flown twice by President George H.W. Bush on solo flights during his training at Naval Air Station (NAS) Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was acquired after serving as a crop duster. Another N2S-5 in the museum collection was donated by Apollo Astronaut Eugene Cernan and is on display at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field, Florida.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Stearman Aircraft Company
Dimensions: Length: 25 ft., 4 in.; Height: 9 ft., 2 in.; Wingspan: 32 ft., 2 in.
Weights: Empty: 1,940 lb.; Gross: 2,717 lb.
Power Plant: One 220 horsepower Continental R-670-4 engine
Performance: Maximum Speed: 124 M.P.H.; Service Ceiling: 11,200 ft.; Range: 505 miles
Armament: None
Crew: Instructor and student
In the post-World War I boom for cropdusters, war surplus aircraft such as the venerable JR-7 Jenny were in high demand. In 1933, Lloyd Stearman designed a dedicated cropduster and aerobatic aircraft, the Model 70. The aircraft was meant to be easy to fly, robust, and maneuverable. Stearman sold the company soon thereafter, first to United Aircraft (later United Airlines), which in turn sold it to Boeing. The Stearman name remained associated with the aircraft, and subsequent models were often known simply as “Stearmans.”
While the Model 70 sold well on the civilian market, its viceless handling characteristics led the US Army Air Corps to purchase it as a primary trainer, designating it PT-13. Production switched to the PT-17 in 1938, which differed from the PT-13 only in that it had a Continental rather than Lycoming engine. The design of the propeller gave the Stearman a distinctive sound no matter what engine it used.
With the outbreak of World War II, PT-17s were Lend-Leased to the Royal Canadian Air Force, also as primary trainers, and were nicknamed Kaydet by the Canadians. Once the United States was involved in the war, PT-13s, PT-17s, and Navy N2S “Yellow Peril” trainers were usually the first aircraft a prospective pilot saw, flew in, and soloed in, with the instructor sitting behind the student. They performed quietly and superbly, and eventually over 10,000 were produced in various marks for the Allies, training thousands of pilots (and washing out thousands more) before the trainees moved on to more powerful aircraft, such as the T-6 Texan and AT-11 Kansan.
At the end of World War II, with air forces beginning the switch to jets, the Kaydet was seen as no longer necessary and sold off, often at ridiculously low prices, as war surplus. Thousands were bought by private citizens and returned to their original role of cropdusters, or used as aerobatic aircraft, or just used for casual flying. As a result, several hundred still exist today as flyable aircraft. Some militaries continued to use them as trainers well into the modern era: Colombia retired their PT-17s around 2005, while the Mexican Air Force retains four on official strength as demonstration aircraft.
Though some PT-17s are painted as N2S aircraft in US Navy service, this aircraft is actually a N2S-4, delivered as Bureau Number 55657 during World War II. Its service record is hard to find, but it served throughout the war as a trainer and was, like most Kaydets, declared surplus at the end of the war. The historic record goes a bit cold between 1945 and 1977, when it was registered as N52558. In 1996, it was bought by the Commemorative Air Force's Arizona Wing and painted as a Navy training aircraft. It was involved in a serious crash at Mesa in 1999, but was quickly repaired and back on the airshow circuit a year later.
I got this picture in May 2019 at the CAF Arizona Wing's restoration hangar. 55657 has been repainted from the overall yellow scheme to a prewar gray and yellow, with a new registration. USAAC PT-17s are pretty common, but Navy N2S-4s aren't, so I couldn't resist getting a picture of this fine restoration.
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) (IATA: NKX, ICAO: KNKX, FAA LID: NKX)
Photo: Tomás Del Coro
Miramar Air Show 2014
October 4, 2014
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) (IATA: NKX, ICAO: KNKX, FAA LID: NKX)
Photo: Tomás Del Coro
Miramar Air Show 2014
October 4, 2014
Serial Number 75-4894
MFR Year 1943
N2S Known colloquially as the "Yellow Peril" from its overall-yellow paint scheme.
N2S-1 R-670-14 engine. 250 delivered to the US Navy.
N2S-2 R-680-8 engine. 125 delivered to the US Navy.
N2S-3 R-670-4 engine. 1,875 delivered to the US Navy.
N2S-4 99 US Army aircraft diverted to the US Navy, plus 577 new-build aircraft.
N2S-5 R-680-17 engine. 1,450 delivered to the US Navy.
Boeing N2S Stearman at the 2016 Planes of Fame Airshow held in Chino, California April 29-May 1, 2016.