Stearman Aircraft Corporation was an

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology indust ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

. 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 Stearman".

History

Lloyd Stearman Lloyd Carlton Stearman (October 26, 1898 – April 3, 1975) was an American aviator, aircraft designer, and early aviation entrepreneur. Biography Stearman was born in Wellsford, Kansas. From 1917 – 1918, he attended Kansas State Coll ...

established the Stearman Aircraft Corporation in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

. Initially, the company was founded as Stearman Aircraft Corporation in October 1926 at

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 ...

, where four C1 and C2 biplanes were built before production halted for financial reasons. On 27 September 1927, a new Stearman Aircraft Corporation was founded. The factory was then established in

, with financing of Walter Innes, where the new model

Stearman C3 Stearman is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Lloyd Stearman (1898–1975), American aviation pioneer * Richard Stearman (born 1987), English footballer * William Stearman (1813–1846) English cricketer * William L. Stearman (b ...

and Stearman 4 Speedmail were constructed. Two years later, he sold it to the

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, ...

. The Northrop Aircraft Corporation was merged into Stearman in July 1931. In September 1934,

antitrust legislation In the United States, antitrust law is a collection of mostly federal laws that regulate the conduct and organization of businesses to promote competition and prevent unjustified monopolies. The three main U.S. antitrust statutes are the Sherm ...

forced United to separate its

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

and aircraft manufacturing operations. At this time,

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

, which had been part of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, became a separate business once again, and Stearman was made a subsidiary of it. About the same time the Stearman plant created its most successful and enduring product, the Model 75 Kaydet. The Kaydet became the primary

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

for the United States military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Stearman operated as a division until September 1941, when it became the Wichita Division, Boeing Airplane Company. In 2005, Boeing sold the civil portion of the former Stearman operations to Onex, forming

Spirit AeroSystems Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc., based in Wichita, Kansas, is the world's largest first-tier aerostructures manufacturer. The company builds several important pieces of Boeing aircraft, including the fuselage of the 737, portions of the 787 fu ...

, although it retained the military operations.

Aircraft

References

Footnotes

Notes

Bibliography

* Boeing Company. ''Pedigree of Champions: Boeing Since 1916'', Third Edition. Seattle, WA: The Boeing Company, 1969. * Bowers, Peter M. ''Boeing aircraft since 1916.'' London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1989. . * Simpson, Rod. ''Airlife's World Aircraft.'' London: Airlife Publishing Ltd. 2001. .

External links

{{Stearman Aircraft Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Boeing mergers and acquisitions 1929 mergers and acquisitions