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license from Hispano-Suiza – a famous company long
renowned for building exquisite automobiles both before
and after the war. As with the Wright J4 radial engine,
Stearman also had experience with the Hispano-Suiza
during his years with the Travel Air Manufacturing
Company. The engine was installed in a small number
of biplanes designated Type 3000, but the company
did not keep those engines in stock because of their
high cost – it was the responsibility of the customer to
provide the engine.
After only a year in California, Lloyd Stearman was
doing well and as of August 1927, he had a three-month
backlog of orders but was struggling to complete and
deliver the ships to impatient customers. What Stearman
needed was more capital to fuel his business. He required
the money to expand the enterprise and sought local
funding, including a group of businessmen in Venice,
California, to help meet demand for his airplanes.
Fortunately for Lloyd, his friends back in Wichita,
Kansas, were well aware of his situation and made him
an offer he could not refuse – they raised about $60,000
and proposed that Stearman relocate to Wichita.
Lloyd had to make a decision: stay in California and
hope that new investors would be found, or relocate
men, equipment and materials 1,500 miles eastward
and start from scratch all over again. He chose Kansas.
Lloyd ceased operations and sent his “factory” and
workforce to Wichita by rail. As for his customers,
he offered them a choice: return money deposited for
aircraft on order or wait until production resumed in
Kansas. The majority of customers chose to wait but
others reclaimed their deposits.
In the summer of 1927 Mac Short relocated to California and
joined his longtime friend Lloyd Stearman in the design and
manufacture of rugged biplanes. Short was a native Kansan
and became a highly respected aeronautical engineer during
his 10-year association with the Stearman Aircraft Company.
(Wichita State University Libraries and Archives, Department of Special Collections)
Lloyd had always liked the West Coast, and California
in particular. After arriving in Wichita with his family
on September 30, he told reporters, “I have always been
impressed with Wichita, but I cannot say that I don’t like
California, for I do and I have lots of friends out there.
Stearman and Mac Short designed the C2M to be a
workhorse airplane for pioneer airmail operators such as
Walter Varney and his Varney Air Lines. To increase fuel
capacity, the wing center section was enlarged to
accommodate four tanks. Note “Stearman Aircraft, Inc.”
on the rudder and “Venice, California.”
(Wichita State University Libraries and Archives, Department of Special Collections)
MARCH 2019 KING AIR MAGAZINE •
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