Air Show Thrill Seeker

In late 1926, Lloyd Stearman, Fred Hoyt, and George Lyle chartered Stearman Aircraft, Inc., with fabrication in Venice, California, with final assembly and test flights taking place at Clover Field, modern-day Santa Monica Airport. Established in 1927, Stearman Aircraft Corporation had a vital role in the fields of military and general aviation. Wichita, Kansas, was a hub for aircraft manufacturing of the era, and Stearman moved his company there by the late 1930s, now the site of Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. Stearman operated as a Boeing division until September 1941, when it was redesignated the Wichita Division, Boeing Aircraft Company.

Arguably, the most famous Stearman was the Model 75 (Navy PT-17), introduced in the early 1930s. More than 10,600 were built. The biplane became the primary trainer for both the United States Army Air Corps and the United States Navy through the 1940s. In the immediate postwar years, they became trusted crop dusters, the ubiquitous aerobatic performer, and the ride for wing walkers at air shows. Many by this time had installed a larger Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior engine and a constant-speed propeller to increase the maximum takeoff weight and climb performance. Many Stearmans are still active today on the air show circuit.

A Game-Changer

 

On this day in 1964, the last of 732 Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers was delivered to the United States Air Force and assigned to the 380th Air Refueling Squadron at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in January. The KC-135 was developed to replace Boeing's slower, piston-engined KC-97 tanker and improve efficiency with Boeing's B-52 bomber. The Model 367-80 “Dash Eighty served as proof-of-concept prototype and is very similar in appearance to the Model 707 and 720 airliners but is structurally a different aircraft. It is also shorter than the 707 and has a smaller diameter fuselage. The newest Stratotanker in service is KC-135R 64-14840 at 56 years old. It is presently assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing, Ohio Air National Guard.

The Stratojet Sunset

 

After being returned to flyable condition, B-47E Stratojet serial number 52-166, made the very last flight of the type on this day in 1986. It was flown by Major General John D. Moore and Lieutenant Colonel Dale E. Wolfe, U.S. Air Force, from the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in Southern California to Castle Air Force Base and placed on static display. The Boeing developed B-47 was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company at Air Force Plant No. 3, Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1952. 52-166 had not been flown in twenty years, having sat in the Mojave Desert serving as a radar target. Because 52-166 had not been through a complete overhaul prior to the ferry flight, it was decided to leave the landing gear extended in case an emergency landing might be needed.

Revolutionizing World Air Travel

Flying in the lap of luxury was the hype for Pan American World Airways's Boeing 377 Stratocruiser with its lower-level lounge. The Stratocruiser's first flight was in 1947 and Pan American took charge of 29 in 1949, twenty years before they bought the Boeing 747. Pan American was the first operational airline of both types and each became game-changers. 

The large long-range airliner was developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress. Advanced for its day, its innovative features included two passenger decks and a relatively new feature on transport aircraft, a pressurized cabin. Though larger than the Douglas DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation competition, it cost more to buy and operate and the reliability of its complex Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial engines had issues. Its dominance was short-lived as Boeing's own 707 jet airliner overwhelmed the 377's performance in less than a decade.

The Honolulu to Honolulu Flight

 

On this day in 1989, a United Airlines Boeing 747-100, flight 811, took off from Honolulu International Airport en route to Auckland International Airport then onward to Sydney, Australia. 16 minutes after takeoff, about 60 miles south of Honolulu, the 747's cargo door exploded outward with decompression blowing a huge hole in the fuselage and carrying away ten seats and nine passengers. Every flight attendant suffered some injury. Further plane damage resulted in the loss of some controls yet the plane landed safely back in Honolulu. The cause of the cargo door failure was determined to be a faulty design, combined with a short in the 747’s electrical system.