flyersfan31 said:
The answer to every problem in life is found in a biplane, as far as I can tell. I want one. A Stearman, well, that would pretty much be it. Painted Blue/Yellow preferably, but Yellow Peril Yellow would suffice. A Waco (old one, not one of those new ones) would be nice. Heck, i don't know, anything with two wings, except maybe a Pitts from what i can tell.
I don't know if I'd really want a Stearman. Yeah, they're cool, but with an open cockpit it's going to be sitting for much of the year (until you retire and move to FL). I really enjoyed flying it, but I think even if I did have a twin go-places airplane, I'd want something else for the single fun plane. Like maybe a Husky - You flown one of those yet? I know, it's only one wing, but... It's fun.
After flying a Stearman, my hair hurt - Part of it wasn't confined beneath the helmet. Don't get me wrong, it was very cool, but it wasn't one of those "This is so cool I'd want to do it every day" type of things. And since it's open cockpit you have one PTT for the intercom and another for the radios.
As far as the flight characteristics, it was very... Graceful. Nothing happens fast in a Stearman. We went upside down a few times (Loops, barrel rolls, positive G stuff). It was very well-mannered for the most part.
I have a few minutes in a Stearman. I liked the way it flew, but it is definitely "graceful."
I was surprised at how physically uncomfortable the experience was. There was a huge draft in the forward pit. I took a photo over my shoulder of my buddy flying the thing, and in the picture, he looks pretty miserable. He eventually sold it for a Stinson 108. If you flew without a helmet, I
bet your hair hurt. I always wear a helmet, except for short flights on really hot days.
I've never owned a biplane, or even acted as PIC of one, but I have flown open-cockpit almost exclusively for the past 20 years (except for an 18 months dalliance with my own Stinson about 12 years ago).
You don't have to live in Florida or any of the other southern states for year-round open-cockpit flying, but it really does depend on your own tolerance, your preparation, and how the cockpit is designed. I fly year-round in the Seattle area, including when the temperature goes below freezing. Here's a shot of my plane on one such trip a few years back...notice the icicles hanging off the Agwagon.
When it gets THIS cold, it does take a bit of preparation I have a sliding "dress code" depending on temperature, and when it gets below freezing I wear thermal undies, a ski mask, heavy socks, and my B-3 flying jacket. On the flight above, I hadn't gotten the B-3 yet and was wearing an A-2 with a sweatshirt...warn enough, but a bit harder to move around in.
I'm an ol' North Dakota boy, who used to walk his paper route on January mornings in -40 weather then go ride snowmobiles for a couple of hours, so I perhaps tolerate it a bit better than some. I will admit, when it gets below freezing, that my face gets a bit stiff and it's tougher to talk on the radio.
The plane I fly (Bowers Fly Baby homebuilt) has nice, snug, fairly draft-free cockpit. Mine has a heater, which does keep my left big toe warm.
Unfortunately, I think the draft problem is pretty common in two-seat open cockpit airplanes, since the blast can go IN one cockpit and come out the other. I've been told that the downdraft from the upper wing on biplanes is also a source of discomfort in some designs.
The Fly Baby is really unusual in that it can be built as a monoplane, a biplane, or even a "Convertible"...change from the monoplane configuration to biplane in an hour (if you own both sets of wings, of course). A rather cool-looking Fly Baby biplane with a WWI paint job just changed hands for about $13,000.
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/pix/gutow_bipe1.jpg
If you've really got a biplane jones, keep your eyes open for some of the homebuilt biplanes...Skybolts, Stardusters, Baby Great Lakes, etc. Antiques like the Stearman and Wacos are MUCH more expensive to operate. I'm glad I'm feeding a 85 HP Continental instead of a 220 HP radial, and the insurance on my $10,000 Fly Baby is a lot cheaper than a $100,000 Waco.
Ron Wanttaja
