Stearman
N2S
Kaydet
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Photo: Robert Deering 6/15/2013
Denton Municipal Airport (DTO)
Denton, Texas

Photo: Robert Deering 8/13/2010
Pacific Aviation Museum
Honolulu, Hawaii

Photo: Robert Deering 4/26/2014
NAS Fort Worth JRB (NFW)
Fort Worth, Texas

Photo: Robert Deering 10/28/2016
Executive Airport (RBD)
Dallas, Texas

Photo: Robert Deering 10/23/2006
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Chantilly, Virginia

The N2S was perhaps the most-produced biplane ever with 10,346 examples rolling off the production line between 1934 and 1945. Though the company christened the trainer with the name "Kaydet," those who flew and maintained it universally called it the Stearman.

Initially designed as an Army Air Corps PT-13 trainer, the Stearman served extensively in the Navy. In the late-1930s the sea service accepted the first of 4,318 of them. By World War II, both Army and Navy operated standardized versions of the aircraft with interchangeable parts, unique in an era when joint operation were far from standard.

When former Naval Aviator George H.W. Bush became Commander in Chief, the records of surviving N2Ss were canvassed for any that he flew. Logbooks of five N2S-3s indicated that they had been flown by Bush during his training at Naval Air Station (NAS) Minneapolis, Minnesota. The (Navy) Museum's example (Bureau Number 05369), once owned by World War II/Korean War pilot and retired airline captain Jack Parker, logged two flights with Aviation Cadet George H.W. Bush at the controls at NAS Minneapolis during January 1943. The airplane finished the war with 2,860 flight hours. Acquired by the Museum in 1992, it is painted in standard wartime Navy markings.


Photo: Robert Deering 4/18/2015
National Museum of Naval Avaiation
Pensacola, Florida

Photo: Robert Deering 5/27/2017
Cavanaugh Flight Museum (ADS)
Addison, Texas
SPECIFICATIONS: PERFORMANCE:
Span: Wingspan: 32 ft., 2 in
Length:  Length: 25 ft., 4 in.
Height:  Height: 9 ft., 2 in.
Empty Weight:  1,940 lb

Gross Weight:  2,717 lb.
Crew:
Instructor and student
Maximum speed: 124 mph
Cruising speed:
Range: 505 miles
Service ceiling:
11,200 f
Engines: One 220 horsepower Continental R-670-4 engine
   
SOURCE: National Museum of Naval Aviation  
VARIANTS:

PT-13
Kaydet

PT-17
Kaydet