Page 29 - Volume 13 Number 4

defunct Cessna Aircraft Company from the incumbent board of directors. They were successful, and in January 1934 the two men forged ahead with plans to reopen the factory and manufacture the Cessna Model C-34 monoplane. Although the Beech, Cessna and Stearman companies were competitors, their leaders knew full well that it was in the best interest of them all to keep Wichita at the forefront of the country’s struggling but viable light airplane manufacturing segment.
In the wake of company founder and President Lloyd C. Stearman’s resignation in 1931, Walter P. Innes, Jr., took the reins of leadership until 1933 when Julius E. Schaefer was elected. The company remained a subsidiary of the powerful United Aircraft & Transport Corporation (UA&TC), which probably saved the business from extinction at the hands of the Great Depression.
In addition to contracts building target gliders for the Army Air Corps, the company was rebuilding 34 Boeing Model 40 cabin biplanes that had been decommissioned by United Air Lines when it began operating the Boeing 247 airliner. Schaefer planned to sell the airplanes to mining companies in Mexico, South America, small airlines in the Latin American region, as well as private individuals.
Amid all the contract work for the Army and Boeing, late in 1933 Stearman Chief Engineer Mac Short and his staff were busy completing the design of a new training biplane that company officials hoped would appeal to the United States Army Air Corps and the U.S. Navy. It was not the first time that the company had been interested in building military trainers. During 1932-1933 there was little or no business prospects for building new commercial airplanes, but the Army’s aging fleet of Consolidated PT-3 biplanes needed replacement.
More than 460 of the stout ships had been built and the type had rendered excellent service since the mid-1920s. Before his departure in 1931, however, Lloyd Stearman had designed the Model 6 Cloudboy – a utilitarian, two- place, open-cockpit biplane intended to be the company’s entry-level product. The Model 6 met all of the Army’s requirements, but only four (designated YPT-9) were built for evaluation and service testing. Unfortunately, the YPT-9 was rejected, along with other competitors, in favor of the Consolidated YPT-11.
Despite failure to secure its first military contract, the Stearman Aircraft Company, Julius Schaefer and Mac Short had learned valuable lessons that would soon help pave the way for future business with the U.S. Army and Navy. The new design, designated Model 70, was conceived on speculation and without any funding from the federal government. Although debate still rages within the ranks of Stearman aficionados as to exactly who designed the Model 70, the most likely scenario includes Short and two other engineers, Harold W. Zipp and J. Jack Clark. The trio took the Spartan Model 6
APRIL 2019
Pilots N Paws®
is an online meeting place for pilots and
other volunteers
who help to transport rescue animals by air. The mission of the site is to provide a user- friendly communication venue between those that rescue, shelter, and foster animals; and pilots and plane owners willing to assist with the transportation of these animals.
A general aviation transport
requires just one pilot volunteer
and is far more efficient and
dependable than time-consuming ground transportation for these animals who are often in danger of euthanization. Volunteer pilots retain complete authority of their planning and flights, and can give as much or as little time as they like. Flights are tax deductible 501c3.
SIMPLE AS 1-2-3
No bothersome paperwork required! If you love to fly, and you love animals, please join us now! It’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s extremely rewarding. Joining is easy and takes just
a minute of your time.
1. Go to www.pilotsnpaws.org and register
2. Post your information and read other posts
®
3. Wait for contacts /make contact with others
®
Pilots N Paws
www.pilotsnpaws.org
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 27