Warbird Information Exchange

Years ago I heard it cost about $100k to build a set of wings for the Stearman. Do you know if that sounds close to correct JohnB?

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

Big Sky Stearman has a price list that covers various levels of completion.

You're probably looking at ~$25K to build a set (through cover and paint) yourself. The starting point would be the wood kit for $18K which includes all of the wood. You provide the metal fittings and covering.

Assembled (not covered) is about $50K. You could probably cover 'em (DIY) through paint for another $10K on top of the assembled price.

Covered through silver is about $100K.

In all cases, you have to provide usable metal fittings and components.

These prices are on their website.

https://www.bigskystearman.com/pricing

But totaled just means the insurance company isn't willing to pay more than X to restore it. That does NOT mean they won't sell the remains for $5000 to someone who wants a project.

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

Thanks Kyleb!

_________________
He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

I’ve seen several videos of this incident now and this is a major head scratcher. Being a pilot myself I’m at a loss how this was approved. Not a single angle I’ve seen shows safety was a concern. This was a bad idea and it sadly it was proven. Luckily it seems no one got hurt. Tragic and preventable loss of a Stearman.

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[Thread title is ridiculous btw]

question for aircraft owners/operators out there. Would insurance coverage be voided since the pilot was attemting a take off off-airport?

Depends on the policy.

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

Probably not. The typical underwriter questions have to do with”routinely used off-airport”. At least from what I’ve seen. And none of my policies have ever had a prohibition against off-airport use.

But do the average aircraft policies have a prohibition of "wrecking an airplane by doing some ill-considered stunt"?

I feel sorry for the guy, and I've never taken off a Stearman, but on the surface, a takeoff from that location seems a bit unwise.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

There are no "stupid mistake" stipulations in most insurance policies. That's why you buy insurance - we all make stupid mistakes.

And a lot of the time we get away with them.

More experienced pilots (and drivers and....) usually get better insurance rates because it is assumed their seasoning reduces their chances of making a dumb mistake. Probably true. But age/experience doesn't eliminate the risk.

It's the old book numbers vs real world. It sure looks like if he'd maintained directional precision, both the excursion onto the grass, and the subsequent pole strike might have been avoided. It would seem to me that both are directionally related, and if directional precision had been tighter, the plane should've cleared the wires. Of course the Stearman's rudder isn't as effective as some, and perhaps he took a gust of wind that he and the plane just couldn't handle. That's when too much optimism about your book numbers, and your own capabilities, is a bad, bad thing. This takeoff looks to have had about 5 feet of margin for error.

The other sad thing is now all the other Stearman owners are going to get to "help" pay for this seemingly avoidable disaster via increased insurance premiums.

_________________
Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

Stearman rudder is effective on takeoff and is certainly very effective in flight (does great slips!).

https://www.cafutahwing.org/uploads/1/0 ... rudder.pdf
Not ineffective totally, for sure, but the diversion to the left is classic missed control input, or lack of authority, and I'm guessing he got the tail up as soon as he could trying to keep it straight in that tight space - perhaps the airspeed was still a bit low for a crosswind gust?

_________________
Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

There are “stupid mistakes” like forgetting to put the gear down and wrecking a nice Mooney. Then there are “stupid mistakes” like this one. Taking off from a street with tight margins and no room for error. It doesn’t seem fair to me that an insurance co would have to pay for a stearman, a light pole and some traffic signals. Also the recovery towing/ops.

Think about these examples:

Let's say you're driving under the influence and have an accident. Does your auto insurance pay?

Let's say you close the garage door on your new Porsche. Does your insurance pay to have the door and the Porsche fixed?

Let's say you screw up with one of those turkey fryers and burn your house to the ground. Does your homeowner's pay?

Let's say you chop your fingers off with your tablesaw. Does your medical insurance pay?

Same thing with an airplane. Your track record is indicative of your inherent risk. Good track record in the air means you're relatively low risk and enjoy a relatively low premium. The opposite also applies. But the insurance company is gonna pay up when you prang the airplane, even if you make a dumb mistake (be it a physical mistake or a mental mistake).