by Edward H. Phillips.
The history of the Stearman Aircraft Company is about American entrepreneurship, aeronautical innovation, and the sheer determination to design and manufacture custom-built airplanes that set a standard for the competition to follow.
In his new book Stearman Aircraft, author Edward Phillips follows the career of Lloyd Carlton Stearman from his work on the New Swallow biplane to the expansion of Stearman facilities into Boeing Airplane Company plants. In between was the Travel Air years, out of which came the Model A, B, CH, CW, BW, and Type 5000. The book also pays special attention to Stearman’s rare C1 and C2 biplanes, as well as later upgraded C2s, the C3 series, the M-2, the LT-1, the luxurious CAB-1, the Model 6 Cloudboy, and others.
During World War II, Boeing’s sprawling facilities churned out thousands of Kaydet biplanes to train fledgling aviators, more than 1,600 B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers to pound Japan into submission, as well as a steady stream of critical airframe assemblies for the famed B-17 Flying Fortress to reduce Hitler’s Third Reich to rubble. For its work on these great aircraft, Boeing’s Wichita Division earned six Army-Navy “E” awards for excellence in manufacturing and production.
about the author
Edward H. Phillips has a passion for the vintage airplanes and companies in Wichita, KS, that have contributed so significantly to the birth and growth of commercial aviation in America. During the past 25 years, Phillips, who holds a journalism degree from the University of North Dakota, has researched and written eight books covering the history of airframe manufacturers that made their home, fame, and fortunes in Wichita. He is the author of ‘Laird Airplanes: A Legacy of Speed’ (SpecialtyPress, ISBN 1-58007-070-1). He has also written history articles that have appeared in Wings and Airpower magazines, Aviation History, and the American Historical Society Journal.