Hunting Mustangs with a Stearman

[Eric Friedebach]

I received an email from an individual doing a book on the Wild Mustang (the horse).

At one time the Wild Mustang was hunted from the air in Nevada, and it was thought that Stearmans were used for this. Does anyone have some more background on this?

I do recall the Hollywood film “The Misfits” from the early 1960’s in which a biplane was used to round up herds. It’s been some time since I’ve seen the movie, but I cannot recall if that was a Stearman or perhaps a N3N.

Any ideas?

[Elwyn]

I believe it was a Meyers OTW. Possibly N34350.

[Rob Mears]

I saw that film just a couple of weeks ago. It was in fact a Meyers. The N number was prominently displayed, which inevitably led to my checking the FAA registry. As luck would have it, the plane is still around and owned by someone in California I believe.

As for rounding up Mustangs using aircraft, it would seem like a very logical method as portrayed in the movie. I know cattlement have been known to use helicopters in more recent years.

[Eric Friedebach]

Thanks guys!

I’m still trying to get some more background. The person who contacted me mentioned they had a picture, so I’ll see if I can get a digital copy here.