1944 Grumman G-21A Goose, c/n B-101, CF-VFU, FIFT. Dockside somewhere up Knight Inlet, B.C., Canada in spring 1969.

[1959 Kodak Retina IIIS (Type 027) rangefinder 35-mm roll film camera, s/n 86125, with Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon 50-mm f/1.9 Synchro Compur lens, s/n 6841319; Kodak Plus-X Pan (ISO 125/22°) 36-exposure black & white negative film]


© Copyright photograph by Uwe Kündrunar Scharnberg, 1969 / Stephan Alexander Scharnberg, March 2011





“The whole history of the Canadian North can be divided into two periods—before and after the aeroplane.”
Hugh L. Keenleyside, Deputy Canadian Minister of Mines and Resources, October 1949




Friday, May 27, 2016

1936 Stearman PT-13 Kaydet (Model 75), c/n 75-003, N68492

Kevin Maher (sometimes pilot of 1954 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver Mk. I, c/n 713, C-GHPG, Metasoft Systems Inc.) invited me into his hangar to see his pride and joy, the third oldest of this model in existence: 1936 Stearman PT-13 Kaydet (Model 75), c/n 75-003, N68492 in a private hangar at Duncan Airport (DUQ/CAM3), Duncan, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada on Tuesday, July 9, 2013 at 14:02 PDT.

1936 Stearman PT-13 Kaydet (Model 75), c/n 75-003, N68492 (CF-KTE reserved), Kevin Maher, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada, based at Duncan Airport (DUQ/CAM3), Duncan, Vancouver Island, B.C.
  • powered by one 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-14B Wasp Junior supercharged nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial piston engine with constant-speed two-blade Hamilton Standard propeller and propeller spinner
  • tandem instructor and student, military biplane primary trainer for USAAC
  • biplane, positive stagger wings; outboard aileron on each lower wing; no flaps
  • open cockpits, windscreen for front cockpit, windscreen for rear cockpit, baggage compartment behind rear seat
  • fixed conventional landing gear with steerable tailwheel
History:
  • built by Stearman Aircraft Division, The Boeing Aircraft Company, Wichita, Kansas, USA at Stearman Plant, Wichita Municipal Airport, Wichita, Kansas (BW)
  • Stearman Aircraft Company purchased by The Boeing Aircraft Company in September 1934
  • Stearman Aircraft Division renamed as Wichita Division in 1939
  • built as PT-13, powered by one 225-hp Lycoming R-680-B4B nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial piston engine with fixed-pitch two-blade Sensenich wood propeller
  • third in Model 75’s initial production run of 26 (order no. 36-026: c/n 75-001 to c/n 75-026, s/n 36-2 to s/n 36-27) !
  • the third oldest Model 75 in existence
  • the oldest is c/n 75-001, s/n 36-2, N75001, William B. Field Trustee, Pleasanton, California, USA in a private collection at Bud Field Aviation, Hayward Executive Airport (HWD/KHWD), Hayward, California, USA (certificate of airworthiness issued on April 18, 1974 and expired on June 30, 2013)
  • the second oldest is c/n 75-002, s/n 36-3, N4900V, Jack Ellis, El Centro, California, USA (cancelled on August 8, 2012)
  • all initial Model 75 manufacturer plates had no mention of “Boeing” printed on them as well as some, if not all, of the PT-13As
  • PT-13 had the vertical format plate riveted to the rear instrument panel base on the starboard side, PT-13 had unique instrument panels, the floating portions of the panels were different shaped from all the other aircraft and had different shock mount locations than the rest of the aircraft; they aren’t interchangeable
  • delivered as s/n 36-4 to USAAC on October 26, 1936
  • ferried by Deed Levy to Parks Air College, Parks College Airfield, Cahokia, Illinois, USA in late October 1936
  • to Air Corps Training Center, USAAC
  • based at Randolph Field, Bexar County, near San Antonio,Texas, USA
  • markings in yellow on fuselage & in black on lower wings; coded 502 on forward fuselage and on rear fuselage; titled ARMY on lower surface on lower port wing and U.S. on lower surface on lower starboard wing; USAAC roundel (August 1919–May 1942) on upper surfaces on each upper wing and on lower surfaces on each lower wing; overall gloss light blue (23) finish with gloss yellow (4) on upper and lower surfaces on each wing, horizontal stabilizer, & vertical stabilizer, gloss light blue (23) wheel covers, wing struts, & landing gear legs, and dark blue vertical band at rudder hinge with thirteen alternating red & white horizontal tail stripes on rudder; in USAAC colour scheme (pre-1939)
  • fixed conventional landing gear with steerable tailwheel
  • assigned to 46th School Squadron, redesignated as 46th Basic Flying Training Squadron; 47th School Squadron, redesignated as 47th Basic Flying Training Squadron; 52nd School Squadron, redesignated as 52nd Basic Flying Training Squadron; or 53rd School Squadron, redesignated as 53rd Basic Flying Training Squadron; all redesignated on September 1, 1940
  • Air Corps Training Center, USAAC redesignated as Gulf Coast Air Corps Training Center, USAAC on August 22, 1940
  • Gulf Coast Air Corps Training Center, USAAF redesignated as Gulf Coast Training Center, USAAF on March 15, 1942
  • assigned to Air Corps Flying Training Command, USAAF on January 23, 1942
  • assigned to Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, USAAF on March 15, 1942
  • PT-13, PT-13A, and PT-13B redesignated as PT-13 Kaydet, PT-13A Kaydet, and PT-13B Kaydet in 1941
  • USAAC (United States Army Air Corps) became the USAAF (United States Army Air Force) on June 20, 1941
  • served there until accident in 1943 when flipped over on landing
  • after a rebuild six months later, sent to Ontario AAF (Army Airfield), Ontario, California, USA
  • USAAF surplus in 1946 with tt 3,000 airframe hours
  • sold to Agair Inc. at Eagle Field, Dos Palos, California, USA
  • converted to American Airmotive NA-75, agricultural sprayer, single-seat open cockpit with front seat replaced by chemical hopper, unequal-span positive staggered high-lift wings with outboard ailerons on upper and lower wings, spray bars on wing trailing edges, metal fuselage, and a 55 US-gallon fuel tank, either remanufactured by or converted via a conversion kit sold by National Aircraft Division, American Airmotive Corporation, Miami, Florida, USA sometime after 1956
  • N68492, “10”, Agair Inc., Dos Palos, California, USA
  • based at Eagle Field, Fresno County, near Dos Palos, California
  • the 225-hp Lycoming R-680-B4B was replaced with a 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-14B Wasp Junior, then a 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp SC, and finally back to a 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-14B Wasp Junior
  • its working days ended in 1987 with tt 8,500 hours, finally being replaced by an Air Tractor AT-301
  • N68492, William L. Young, Temple City, California, USA on January 12, 1990 and cancelled on February 24, 1993
  • purchased by Kevin Maher in 1994
  • imported in 1994
  • long, slow restoration process with many life-driven interruptions but Kevin Maher hopes to return the Stearman to the skies within a few years
  • he says it has been a wonderful life-altering experience restoring it
  • the predecessor to his employer Air Canada, Trans-Canada Air Lines (Trans-Canada Air Lines Ltd.), Montréal, Québec, Canada, operated one Stearman: 1930 Stearman 4-EM Senior Speedmail, c/n 4010, CF-ASF, “20”, previously owned and operated by Canadian Airways
  • Canadian Airways (Canadian Airways Limited), Montréal, Québec, Canada operated four Stearmans: 1930 Stearman 4-EM Senior Speedmail, c/n 4016, CF-AMB; 1930 Stearman 4-EM Senior Speedmail, c/n 4017, CF-AMC; 1932 Stearman 4-EM Senior Speedmail, c/n 4028, CF-ASE; and CF-ASF on its airmail routes in Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Québec in the early 1930s
  • he was hoping to secure the registration marks from one of those aircraft, but, unable to do so, s/n 75-003 will fly again as CF-KTE (Kevin, wife Tracy, and son Evan; or KiTE for short)
  • N68492 (CF-KTE reserved), Kevin Maher, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada in 1994
  • based at Duncan Airport (DUQ/CAM3), Duncan, Vancouver Island, B.C.
  • Kevin Maher pilots Boeing 777s for Air Canada
  • currently undergoing long, thorough, detailed, complete restoration

At 14:04 PDT.



































At 14:13 PDT.



































At 14:36 PDT.

[2010 Nikon D3100 14.2 megapixel DX-format DSLR Nikon F-mount camera, s/n 5119118; Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens, s/n 53867376, with 52mm UV(C) filter]
  
© Copyright photographs by Stephan Alexander Scharnberg, June 2013

1 comment:

  1. Hi Stephan. I just stumbled upon your blog. I am interested in Stearmans that sprayed for budworm in eastern Canada, especially New Brunswick (https://chrisforestprotectionstearmans.wordpress.com/), some of which also operated in northern Ontario in the 1960s. There is an obscure nw Ontario forestry journal that shows the last 18 Stearman ever to spray there on its cover. I had this and lost it! The year was 1968, and after that, the number of Stearman sprayers was only 2 or 3 until the early 70s. If you can help with this, I would sure appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete