Page 26 - Volume 13 Number 2

George Lyle (left), Lloyd Stearman (center) and Fred Day Hoyt posed with the new Commercial Sport Model C1 after the first flight in March 1927. The Curtiss OX-5 engine was later removed and replaced with a static, air-cooled radial powerplant. (Edward H. Phillips Collection)
to bear the name Stearman began late that month. The location was only a short distance from Clover Field and the Lyle-Hoyt Aircraft Corporation’s hangar. The Santa Monica Evening Outlook reported that “several orders had been received for open-cockpit biplanes, and future plans called for building an enclosed cabin ship powered by a Wright Whirlwind static, air-cooled radial engine. Lloyd informed reporters that he intended to build one airplane each week when operations were fully underway and that standard-equipped airplane would cost about $3,000.
Fortunately for Lloyd, he was able to hire a few men who had worked for Donald Douglas and his aircraft company and had the skills necessary to build flying machines. His tiny workforce, however, lacked a chief engineer, but Stearman knew that his old friend Mac Short was the best man for the job. Lloyd easily persuaded Short to leave the ivy halls of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology and go west.
Throughout the winter of 1926-1927 Lloyd completed design work on a three-place, single-bay biplane designated the Stearman Sport Commercial Model 1, or simply the C1. It featured a welded steel tube fuselage and wood wings, with the upper two panels spanning 38 feet and the lower panels 35 feet. The fixed, outrigger- type landing gear featured a hydraulic shock strut in
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combination with rubber bungee cords to absorb taxi, takeoff and landing loads. Mechanical, cable-operated brakes were fitted to the wheels and were adequate for an aircraft of the C1’s size and weight.
To reduce costs, Stearman and Short chose the ubiquitous Curtiss OX-5 engine to power the biplane, and it was enclosed in a cowling that blended seamlessly into the airframe and complemented the graceful lines of the fuselage. The water radiator was another example of Lloyd’s innovative spirit: It was integrated into the front of the cowling to reduce drag, and water temperature could be controlled from the cockpit by a series of shutters that adjusted airflow.
The C1 made its successful first flight late in March 1927, and soon after that momentous event, Fred Hoyt flew the ship to various airports in Southern California. He was accompanied that day by Hoyt’s friend, Frank E. Samuels. His interesting comments about flying in the C1 are presented in full:
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