In the mid 1930’s, the world was heating up as nations postured for another war. Despite
aiming for neutrality and isolationism, the United States government still took great strides to
ensure the armed forces would be ready for war. To ensure top readiness, the United States
wanted a new trainer aircraft to train Army and Navy pilots. The Model 75 proved to be a useful
as an all-around trainer for just about any aircraft in use at the time. The Model 75 proved to be
so popular that the Navy ordered 20 of the new Stearman to accompany their earlier models
while the Army ordered 108. The Stearman Aircraft Company also received orders from
Argentina, Brazil, and the Philippines.
Early models of the Stearman were popular enough. With cantilever landing gear
adjustable elevator trim tabs, the Model 70 was a great training aircraft as these aspects made
landing and take off much smoother and easier. In 1934 the Model 75 would be born. The
original design was ramped up from 210 horsepower to 225 using one of two engines, the Wright
R-760 or the Lycoming R-680. The Reason for having two different engines was because
demand for the new aircraft was so high that the Stearman Aircraft Company could not fulfill the
orders without getting their engines from two different manufacturers.
Throughout the 1930’s and 1940’s, the Stearman Model 75 fulfilled its purpose without
any notable problems. By 1944, the Stearman Aircraft Company had delivered over 10,000
trainer trainers. After World War II, thousands of surplus PT-17’s were auctioned off into the
civilian sector. They were popular among farmers because they were easy to modify into crop
dusters. Many farmers swapped the old engines out far the Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior.
This modification gave the aircraft improved takeoff weight and climb performance to help
counter the additional weight created by the crop dusting equipment.
Comments