In the 1940s, Boeing built around 9,000 220-horsepower Stearman biplanes as basic trainers for the U.S. Army Air Corps and the Navy. They were rugged, dependable and forgiving – all important qualities when you were taking average joes off the street and turning them into pilots in just 10 weeks' time.
After the war, hundreds of the Stearmans were sold off as cropdusters and hobby horses. Seven made their way into the hands of the Red Baron pizza company, which added uprated engines, more control surfaces and radios, turning the aged, 100-miles-per-hour trainers into 180-miles-per-hour barnstormers and sent them around the country to promote those yummy yummy pizzas.
If you want a tiny taste of what World War I fighter jockeys experienced as they braved unforgiving physics and a determined enemy in their desperate fights for the air, hitch a ride with the Red Barons next time they're in town. I promise you you'll walk away with new respect for aviators, especially those whose mounts were little more than canvas wings attached to big tractor engines. I flew with the pizza pilots during their stop at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort on Thursday. At the same airshow, on Saturday, a Navy Blue Angels pilot died in a tragic crash, reminding us that aerobatics are as dangerous as they are thrilling.
Cross-posted at Ares
