This 1941 Boeing/Stearman PT-17 Is a Tough, Two-Winged ‘Aircraft For Sale’ Top Pick

Today’s Top Pick is a 1941 Boeing​/​Stearman PT-17.

Many pilots dream of owning a vintage biplane, complete with open cockpits, fabric covering, bracing wires, and other details that characterize the classics.

In the end, though, they decide that such aircraft, lightly built with thin struts and spindly landing gear, are too delicate to be practical. While this notion might hold true for many biplanes designed during aviation’s golden age between World Wars I and II, it does not apply to the Boeing/Stearman PT-17.

Stearman Aircraft Inc. began turning out biplanes for commercial and personal use during the 1920s and by the mid-1930s had the eye of the U.S. Army Air Corps, which was looking for a new primary trainer.

The Stearman A75, later known as the PT-17 was a near-perfect candidate for the job because it was generally easy to fly yet still demanding enough to differentiate aspiring pilots with potential from those who would be better off pursuing a different specialty.

Perhaps most important was the aircraft’s ruggedness. This is one well-built biplane that was capable of bouncing back from the many mistakes that student pilots make.

The characteristics that made the Stearman a great trainer more than 80 years ago make it a wonderful personal airplane today.

The 1941 model for sale here offers pilots a window into aviation’s past, when airplanes had round engines and fabric covering. It also gives us a new way to see those familiar stretches of earth that we fly over regularly—from an open cockpit.

This 1941 Stearman has 3,749 hours on the airframe, 330 hours on its Continental W670-6A radial engine since overhaul, and 210 hours on its Sensenich propeller since overhaul. The VFR panel includes a King KLX 135 digital GPS/Comm, KT 76C transponder and intercom in addition to traditional analog flight and engine instruments

Pilots searching for a vintage biplane that is robust enough to handle frequent modern-day sorties including fly-ins, vacation getaways, and occasional formation flying with the owner’s club should consider this 1941 Boeing/Stearman PT-17, which is available for $155,000 on AircraftForSale.

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