Wicked Old Birds Present Unique Flying Experience

There's nothing like the charismatic blend of vice, virtue, and vintage aircraft.

Friday, February 07, 2025 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Instructor Joe Soligoy captured this image of Sam Weigel enjoying the fun of open-cockpit flying in a Stearman. [Courtesy: Sam Weigel and Joe Soligoy]

Key Takeaways:

The 1943 Boeing-Stearman is an aircraft that is simple to fly in the air but notoriously challenging on the ground due to poor visibility and twitchy handling, a difficulty intentionally designed to filter out less capable WWII pilot candidates.
The author, an airline pilot, actively seeks out vintage aircraft like the Stearman to intentionally challenge and hone his fundamental "stick-and-rudder" flying skills, which are often underutilized in modern, automated cockpits.
Vintage aircraft, despite their ergonomic flaws and demanding nature, are highly valued for developing a pilot's core abilities, instilling humility, and providing a direct connection to aviation history.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to take several instructional flights in a 1943 Boeing-Stearman Model 75 (U.S. Navy designation N2S-3 Kaydet). This is my first formal training in anything of the biplane, open-cockpit, radial-engine, or warbird varieties, and it’s been a very interesting experience.

As World War II warbirds go, the Stearman is simple in the extreme, and there are no great procedural challenges to mastering the airplane. In the air, it is basically a big J-3 Cub, and as I have about a hundred hours in that venerable type, the control feel and response is comfortably familiar. Maneuvers and stalls are a joy, and takes all of about 10 minutes to learn well for anyone used to older ships with a lot of adverse yaw.