Birth of the Super Stearman
Almost nothing really bad happens when you add more horsepower to a proven aircraft design. The 450 Stearman, often referred to as the “Super Stearman,” is a great case in point. Originally powered with a 220HP, Continental W-670 radial engine, the classic military primary trainer was a natural for an R-985 Pratt and Whitney upgrade. And with 450 horsepower bolted on, the PT-17 develops an entirely new personality. The polite cadet friendly School Marm became a true fire-breathing show plane
Really this 450hp upgrade was bound to happen. The post war years were literally flush with thousands of surplus Stearmans and BT-13 Vultee trainers. They were just sitting around at
bargain basement prices. The cheap Stearman was ideal for crop dusting, but were a bit underpowered. Take the 450hp Pratt & Whitney and propeller from a Vultee and graft it to the Stearman’s nose and you had something that agpilots loved.
Airshow pilots were right on the heels of the happy crop dusters. But to improve the airplane’s roll performance, an extra set of ailerons were added to the top wings slaved to the bottom ones. Now, the old airplane could not only leap off the ground with increased vertical performance, but it could now roll with more authority.
—Budd Davisson (visit Budd online at airbum.com)
MAN: How is the big Stearman as a competition plane?
CS: It’s no secret, that to improve your flight scores, you definitely have to practice—A Lot! I perform maneuver that are not difficult for a Stearman and I particularly like the Hammerhead turn around maneuver. Here’s what’s included in my flight routine.
1. Takeoff, 2. High Speed Pass,
3. Low Speed Pass, 4. Roll, 5. Hammerhead (offset to the side), 6. Missed Approach (to practice the landing approach), and split the Touch & Go into to items 7 and 8, and then 9. Landing. I always try to keep all maneuvers and setup for maneuvers as smooth as possible to maximize 10. Realism of Flight.
MAN: Do you have any advice for someone wanting to build a giant Stearman?
CS: Well, first of all, maintenance is important and with a big model like this one, it can be overwhelming at times. There’s a lot of little things that you need to keep your eyes on. You need to be prepared to take the time to regularly check and fix the small things. It really is a wonderful airplane, but if you are going to build your own from the kit, I would highly recommend reinforcing the attachment points for the interplane struts in the wing panels.
As far as the flying goes, I would recommend the 1/3-scale Balsa USA Stearman for any experienced RC pilot with intermediate flying skills. As I mentioned before, the important thing to remember is that the big Stearman is a heavy giant scale biplane that will slow down quickly. Mind your power settings during the landing approach and while setting up your touchdown. Apply power smoothly to control the torque during slow speed flight. The Stearman really is an honest, fun to fly biplane.