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builders and air enthusiasts, few large military contracts have been awarded factories here. The big order accorded the Stearman plant is thought to have broken down this barrier and to point the way to national recognition of Wichita as capital of the air whether in peace or war.”1
It is interesting to note here that before the Navy contract was announced, Julius E. Schaefer, president of the Stearman company, was becoming increasingly con- cerned about the ramifications of the federal government’s attempts to break up large holding companies such as Stearman Aircraft’s parent company, United Aircraft & Transport Corporation (UA&TC). President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration believed that UA&TC and similar organizations were monopolistic and threatened to dominate entire industries.
In response, Congress passed the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act in 1934. The Clayton Act prohibited stock acquisitions that could lessen competition between the acquitting and acquired corporations, whereas the Federal Trade Commission was empowered to prevent companies from engaging in unfair methods of competition. As a result of these new laws, UA&TC renamed the Boeing Airplane Company as the Boeing Aircraft Company and placed Stearman Aircraft under its corporate umbrella. It was a fortuitous decision that would not only propel Wichita into the national spotlight, but cement Boeing’s stake in the City of the Plains.
As for the Navy contract, Schae- fer explained that existing facilities would be large enough to accom- modate the Navy’s order and there would be no need to expand the
campus nor the workforce at that time. The same hand-picked group of men that built the Model 70 also built the first production NS-1 that was rolled out of the factory into the Kansas sunlight early in December 1934 – 11 months after first flight of the Model 70.
Hot on the heels of the Navy’s order, the Army Air Corps was seeking a new primary training airplane. During the summer of 1934 the engineering department refined the Navy’s Model 73 into the Army’s Model 75. A prototype aircraft designated X75 was evaluated by the Air Corps as the XPT-945 that was powered by a seven-cylinder Wright R-760 static, air-cooled radial engine rated at 225 horsepower. Later that powerplant was exchanged for a nine-cylinder Lycoming R-680 that also produced 225 horsepower. Further flight testing by the Air Corps was completed but no orders
Formation flying was among the many skills a naval aviator had to learn, and these cadets are keeping a close eye on their leader (foreground). The NS-1 proved to be a reliable and rugged aircraft for the primary training mission. (Archives of the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce)
FEBRUARY 2020
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 33