N3N Biplane Training
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- My Biplane Journey
Its all starts here in Lincoln CA., with Andy Bibber.
He owns a flight school and offers all sorts of instruction from basic private pilot courses to advanced specialty aircraft type training.
This is where i'm starting my journey to fly a biplane.
At this point I have never even been in a biplane let alone fly one. My knowledge here in the beginning is zero. It's at a preschool level. I have zero experience with radial engines and quite honestly I am extremely timid on all of the above.
You will see me gaining knowledge by the second. The quest for knowledge and an educated opinion on what it is I'm looking for exactly is unknown at this point. All I know is that I think I want a Stearman but not having been in any of these old warbird trainers, I begin my quest for an educated understanding on what it is I'm looking for.
I have had a balsa wood Stearman model hanging above my head since childhood from my grandfather. That same model now hangs above my sons head in his room today.
Now at almost 51 years old, I'm finally in a position in my life to potentially own one of the historic aircraft but first, I must immerse myself in training and education. Here we go. Make sure to follow along here as we begin a mini series with "My Biplane Journey". We start here with the Navy version of the Stearman. The N3N. Its a much larger and heavier aircraft I come to learn and its a beast to fly! Its a joy like no other. I have a lot of respect for the pilots that flew these aircraft and those that are currently flying these aircraft today.
![ARGENTINA vs. CHILE [3-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 7](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/De3AWmXzhuA/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey Kevin, 1700 hours here behind the Wright R-1820 flying T-28's and Grumman S-2's in the Navy. I was one of the last of Navy pilots who flew the old round engines burning 115/145 purple avgas. The T-28 had a 2 speed supercharger that we would shift to high blower at around 12,000 ft, and was rated at 1425 hp. The S-2 had the same engine except just a single speed blower and was rated at 1525 hp; one on each wing of course. I never had one of those 1820's so much as burp on me. Very reliable design which dated back to the late 20's or early 30's, I think. Operating a radial seemed more of an art to me, and it was a trick cranking those on cold winter mornings without getting a backfire on start-up. You had to be very slow and deliberate increasing throttle after it started hitting on all the cylinders or it would backfire. If it did then you would have to shut down and inspect the carburetor boot. The trick on a cold start was to continue with intermittent priming (electric primer switch) after the mixture was pushed from idle cutoff to rich so that you had an overly rich mixture until you got some heat in the cylinders. Have fun taming that beast! Stinson guy.
That's for your comment! I'm in full education mode now about 30 hoursinto my radial life 🤘🏽
When you started it reminded me of the movie "Flight of the Phoenix" trying to start the engine.
Crop dusted in one of these. 985, two speed prop. Great way to spend the day. To get the full effect I recommend you remove the starter.
Awesome! If you haven't read them, I highly recommend all of Richard Bach's books about flying. His first biplane ownership started out a LOT worse than yours! Congrats...
im jealous congrats on a super cool accomplishment
Wow, you got a 1944 Stearman-Boeing Model 75 biplane. OMG, that's amazing, Kevin. 290 is a beautiful aircraft. I love the Navy color scheme. That's a real dream aircraft come true. Your wife won't be mad. She'll be the one out washing it a babying it. You are now the proud owner of a real piece of history, and you're now a warbird pilot. Congratulations Kevin.
I keep telling myself that. It's simply an amazing aircraft and piece of history. Feel very lucky to call it mine. Thanks for your comment 🙏
you have a new plane congratulations I'm very happy for you now you get to walk around with Stearman head with the open cockpit and all. congratulations :-)
Oh wow. Haven't seen that kind of view since the Starduster Too I told you about in the email. Too dang short tho, Kevin, yer teasing us, LOL.
The sweaty palms deal is funny, but good I think. Can you imagine being a 17 yr old kid learning to fly that machine, knowing combat was not far in your future?
Oh man! Just imagine'
No I can not imagine! I was a student pilot at 20 yo only worried about safe aircraft operation of a C 172. Thank goodness for the maturity of those young men so long ago.
Another great video, thank you!
A trick: you can watch movies at Flixzone. I've been using it for watching a lot of movies recently.
@Darius Tristen yea, been watching on Flixzone for years myself :)
Kevin, I saw in Trent's latest video you bought a Stearman not far from my hometown in Coeur d'Alene. Congratulations and welcome to the Stearman "club". 45 years of flying and about 60 types, and it's my all time favorite. I'm guessing from Trent's video it is one of the AirRepair restorations and that looks like the 275 Jacob on it?. Mine was number 111 from AirRepair with the stock 220 Continental. They are an absolute blast to fly and a piece of cake on the grass......pavement's a little different story as you've seen by now. Don't be dissuaded by the comments about radial engines. They are better than flat engines in my opinion and will keep running when a flat engine would give out. Sure, they need a little more care and attention, but that's part of the fun.
Thanks for your comment Greg. Absolutely love it. About 30 hours in and 300 plus landings now. Such a cool piece of history.. Such a joy! You nailed it on all of the above. Pete Jones, 275 etc. it's as clean as it can get. Engine is tight no leaks, etc. Only have had 1 landing in it on a bench above the Snake River that had to be landed on that was off airport. All the others have been pavement. That will change once the smoke clears but it's great practice. Gotta keep this one clean!
@@Bigtirepilot Thanks for writing back, Kevin. Pete Jones Stearmans are the best of the best in my opinion and the 275 Jacobs is the perfect engine for it.. I’m looking forward to seeing some great Stearman videos!
Magic
Wow, respect Kevin!!! Another lifetime experience to add to your logbook! Great video, looking forward to much more of this!!
Love it! Never stop chasing your Dreams Brother.
Awesome .... one of your best videos looking forward to the next.
Great video Kevin! Once you get the bug for biplanes, it's sure tough to shake!! I flew a guy in the Waco this morning from South Africa who owns an RV-10. He had it in his mind that he would be capable of landing if allowed the opportunity. Haha!! Little does he know the challenges of landing a biplane blind. He has no tailwheel experience either. I'm looking forward to following your series of training videos! Thanks for sharing with us!
Open cockpit biplanes are the bomb! Former Starduster Too owner here. Have fun!
OMG that looks so complicated, But so much fun. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment.
Thank you for sharing this with us. What kicked off my private pilot journey was a ride in a Stearman that my wife bought me from the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas. I've had a lot of fun adventures earning my PPL since then but it honestly all pales in comparison to that open cockpit ride. There's just something about it ...
Man what a small world. Andy Bibber was my flight instructor back in the 90's. Got my PP with him in October of 93 From Limington Harmon Airport in Maine. Does he still fly bare foot????
Hey Kevin, my dad had a share in an N3N in the UK for a number of years and I got about 20 hours on it before we had to let her go. I always wondered what the Steaman would be like in comparison to fly and handle. Great to see you expanding the experiences of the likes of Trent Palmer ....!!!!
Very nice, this is going to be fun!
Saturday can not arrive soon enough!!! I'll be looping this video to soak in what I can in advance of then!!!
Oh Jesus, that sounds so sweet!
Man she looks like a hand full! Love it
Its been awhile Kevin , I recall now,I'd just repaired the gen. so, she was On the Pipe,checking & re-charging. She did rundown low & smooth, only got 4hrs in her before.. life clipped my wings. I'm coming back buddy, back to LIFE via Stick & Rudder. HSF sure helped too lol
very cool when i was a kid growing up my dad had a stearman and a j3 cub he would strap me in the back i couldnt see out and i absolutly loved it same with the j3 untill i was about 10yrs old my dad said he could hear me laughing in the headset lol great video brings back memories STUDENT PILOT ED
haha- Awesome! Definitely on the list!
Always learning, always improving....
Holy crap! You’re nearly 51?!?!! Never woulda thunk that 🤙🏼
51 in October! I will try to stay young forever 🤘🏽
Kevin Quinn - Flying Cowboy - Stol Pilot - I’m staring down the barrel of the big five-oh. Terrified. You’re an inspiration brother. How good is open cockpit flying!!
Love the Star Wars intro.
Great video! I really appreciate your sharing. In 59 years as an active pilot, I haven’t been in a Stearman since I was ten years old riding in my dad’s lap in his Duster. I think I’ll have to go out Lincoln. Thank you.
Andy Bibber has a N3N in Lincoln. Go see him. Chris Miller has a Stearman in Columbia. And I have one in Truckee now. Love to give ya ride
Thank you for the information and the gracious offer. I think your decision to purchase the Stearman was a great one. As my mom told me when I was a young and asked her what she thought of my buying a Starduster Too I had just seen for sale at the Van Nuys airport. She replied the only thing she regretted in her life were the things she hadn’t done. I had a great time owning and flying the Starduster Too for five years.
This is a whole new can of worms Kevin... lot to take on board. Much as I love radials, not sure I'd ever manage to trust them enough. For sure, great 'romance' attached to old style bipes. This is going to be a very interesting series.
Love That Radial Engine.
I hate radial engines. Too many problems. I have flown many Stearmans and it's way too easy to over rev the prop and engine in aerobatics. And they hold like 12 gallons of oil which takes forever to warm up before you take off. And too much fuel burn.
great intro and music ! - R
Catapult rain season bass operation
Bi plane would be a blast
Can't wait for more! You gonna take us all the way through with Chris too?
Yep!!!
7:24 a teleporting car!
2500 ft! You’ll get a headspin way up there mate!
That's were you practice. 1500 Agl is minimum requirement for recoveries. Stalls, etc.
Biplanes rule. Nice job. Although next time buy the best. Buy a Pitts Special.
This is one of the very best / cleanest Stearmans on the planet 🤘🏽😎
Looks fun! I’ve been thinking about an old bi-plane too. How was the transition from the cub?
That is awesome Kevin! I hope you get one. Check out John Mohr aerobatics on YT. Stock Stearman...best energy management I've ever seen...
Pretty certain I have watched every one of his videos! Just awesome!
Yes sir it is. He does things with a stock Stearman that are way more impressive than any Stearman 450 airshow I've seen. I rekon talent beats horsepower...but horsepower is nice. Nice to see a Flying Cowboy looking at warbirds. 185, Carbon Cub, and a Stearman. That would be a badass hangar!
And I have a Stearman now!
Awesome!!! Looking forward to more videos on it!!
Oh man, she is beautiful. I know she is a she because you got sweaty palms. Magnificent.
The last time I was in a Stearman the guy did a slow roll without warning me. I couldn't help but grab on to the sides of the cockpit regardless of being strapped in. Still gives me the eebeejeebies. (Is that how you spell it?)
Prop back for starting? Is that to route oil into the main bearing instead of the propeller? I took a ride in a T6 once, and they pulled the prop back before shutdown to move the oil into the main bearing I think..
Six blades not six rotations before mags.
Drinking from a firehouse.
I wonder if it could land at High Sierra?
What's the fuel burn on this beast?
This one 15/20gph per mission of the moment
Wheres the machine gun? I'm out! Nah, I'm watching.....