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

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (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 variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurat ...

manufactured by the

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 ...

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. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...

, flying for the first time in March 1927.

Design and development

The aircraft was a sesquiwing type of biplane with its fuselage frame manufactured from thin-walled steel tubing. The wings had spruce spars. The aircraft had two tandem open cockpits with the pilot in the aft cockpit and two passengers in the forward cockpit. Ailerons were installed on the upper wings only. Brakes were a standard installation. It was initially powered by a Curtiss OX-5 liquid-cooled engine but was later fitted with a French Salmson 9Z water cooled

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

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