11`1,1,1`11`11,`11,11`1`1`,1,,111`

8L
vl-880S:~ NIN
C:l31.S83M
H1S!766l£
)f)OH:>
ILd lS lLOUIOlI1
Olt"vL
98L';/
88099101910"'S
•••••••••••••••••••••.•
: •••
M.iS
or :3lAOO
1"1'1,1"",1'11'1"""1"",'11,11'1"'1""'"",1",,"111',
The restored
By Jim
Stearman
today
Hanson
After
you read through
you will understand why
It's funny - often I
slory, and it takes twists
slory bears only a slighl
this document,
I chose this title.
stan out 10 wrile a
and turns, and the
resemblance
to my
original goal. I slarted out to write astor)'
ubout a remarkable
airplane
reslOralioll.
Those arc "informational"
slOries - and
we've all read those kinds of stories in aviation magazines.
There's a good reason for Ihat - they arc casy
to do. Describe the airplane - get some good photos - end of
story,
Everybody
likes to look at nice airplanes. :ll1d the story
itself is prcuy slraighlforward.
Magazine editors like that.
This SIOI)', though, lOok somc unexpected
tUI1lS. I'd heard
about this Stearman reSlOration in progress - there was a low
undercurrent
and buzz about it in the aviation underground
network. It was reputed to be very good. and very cosily. It involved
Chuck Doyle's ••ircraft - and anybody that has been around
Minnesota aviation for a while knew both Chuck lind the aircraft.
There W:IS an expectation
lhat this would be special.
This Spring, I'd heard that the uircraft had flown - and not
long afterward, I received:ll1 e-mail from Chuck Doyle. Jr. asking
if I 'd like 10 see it and cover it. Of course I would~
THE DOYLE'S
"Do you kilOII' Chllck Doyle? He'!,' (III airline pi/VI - a
mechanic -- flies aerobatics - owns a bUllch of all/iqlle airplanes
- beellflyin8
~'ince he wm-a kid." Those Slatements could apply
10 Doyle Senior OR Junior.
Chuck Doyle Sr. was bom
1916.
He first new
4 Minnesota
at what
Flyer
in SI. Louis
is
1I0W
• July 2012
Park, tvlinnesota
Minneapolis
International
The Stearman
during its "working"
life, preparing
to depart
the
old Southport airport to tow a banner over the Vikings game in
Metropolitan Stadium in 1969.
airpol1 - back in the duys when it still contained lhe remnants of
lhe speedway.
It was in:1I1 old Navy trainer. He fell in love with
airplanes,
riding his beloved mOlorcycle to the airpon, and did
whatever he could 10 be around airplanes - trading working on
airplanes 6 days a week for Ij minutes of flying time (and you
rlwllgll/flying
lI'ase.\pellsil'e
TODAY!). He soloed an OX-j powered Waco in 1933 - al the age of 17. Shonly afterward,
he
bought an OX-j powered Tr.l\'el Air biplane - restoring both the
engine and airframe
- all while still in high school.
He was
expelled from high school for too many unexcused absences visiting the airport.
Wanting 10 pursue his aviation career, Doyle exchanged
the
old engine on his Travel Air for a more modern Wright "Whirlwind"
engine.
He took up advel1ising with the airplane - skywriting
and banner lowing - learning it from some of the originators of
in
See
DOYLE,
page 5
DOYLE
Continued
from
page
4
the art form.
He also wanted
become part
Thrill Show"
of the "Avialion
circuil - pilots
that
SlUllIS -
and somelime
death
was
1101
would
defied.
walking.
parachuting,
mock aerial banles.
airplane-to-airplane
and vehicle-to-airplane
stock in trade of the shows.
to
do dealh-defying
Acrobatics.
wingintentional
lransfers
crashes.
were the
;
Doyle oblained entrance as a I>crformer by making a pamchute jump from an airplane - sonlClhing he did with no training.
He wem on to do all of the stunts in the show repertoire.
Always
looking to add addition:ll excilement
to Ihe thrill show. Doyle
took on ground·based
acts - including motorcycle jumps. cras,hing Ihrough blaz.ing ho~scs and barriers. and car crashes whtle
str:lpj:>ed 10 the hood of a vehicle. Doyle always seemed to escape
unscmhed.
He performed nationwide.
In a strange irony, given the dangerous
nalure of his profession. World War II may ha\'e saved Doyle's life!
In January.
1942. Doyle was offered a job with Northwest
Airlines, flying
copilot on Dc.3s.
Doyle worked with the Mayo Clinic on
research on the effect of high altiludes on night crewmcmbers.
Doyle also took a leave from Northwest to work temporarily
on the war effort as an aeronaulical
consultant
- helping build
the 1500+ troop carrying gliders produced in Minneapolis (see the
sl!ries Oil COIISlrIIClillg ,he Uhco gliders ill Millnesota Flyer lIIag{lVI/e. Mayllulle/Jllly
2010). Going back to Northwesl. he helped
pioneer the routc.~ 10 Alaska and the Aleutian Isl::mds. In only
three months, he became a Captain on the airline - a member of
the Air Transport Command
- civilian airline pilots flying mili!:lry transports.
He continued 10 fly for Northwest until reaching
mandatory retirement age in 1976 - flying all of the great piston
airliners - the 4-engine turboprop Electra, and the Boeing 727.
During his airline c:treer. Doyle "moonlighted"
with buying.
restoring. selling. and operating llircraft - oftcn milit<lry surplus
<lircraft like P-51 s, P·40s. Slearman traincrs. BT-13s. T·6s, helicopIers, and even airliners and heavy bombcrs - as well as civil
aircraft.
One of lhe aircmfl he purchascd "way buck whcn" was
this very same Stearman,
Doylc modificd the Slearman with u 450 horsepower
engine
tnlllsplanted
frOIll a BT·]3, whecl pants, dorsal fin, and prop spinner, For skywriting, II 50 gallon oil lank was installcd in the from
cockpit and a sllloke-oil
injector was fabricaled
for a spccial
smoke-generating
lailpipe.
Sincc Doyle regularly towed banners
over Vikings fOOlb:llI games at lhe old outdoor
Metropolitan
Stadium in the autumn mOlllhs. a canopy was installed in deference to the cold Minnesota
weather.
The much-modified
Stcannan
beeame
a Minnesota
aviation
icon.
Chuck Doyle
Senior flew it until passing away in 2008.
Chuck OOJle Junior
litcrally grew up wilh aviation.
Chuck
says"Oneofmyearliestntemories
was at the age of six. My Dad
was flying an airline trip 011 a Lockheed Electr.J IUrboprop - and
told the co-pilot 'I think it's time that Chuck gets some flying time'
- so I stood up behind the control yoke of the Electr.J and 'Oew'
the airplane (with a load of passengers!)
as Dad watched the controls. I recall h:lving the sense of control - and told him 'This
isn't so hard - and it would be easier if I could sec out (he
front!'"
super
the
detail.
was
were
restoration
is
attention
to
The aft seat
restored.
as
all of the indio
vidual small parts.
Note that the tubing has been painted and
finished prior to covering--detail
that most people will never see,
but indicative of a quality restorarion.
Chuck flew more with his Dad over thc years from the /150
foot family farm airstrip in Apple Vallcy. lrnd soloed a Supcr Cub
his 16th binhday,
He did lill of the non-glamorous
work associated wilh maintaining
lrnd operaling old airplancs - the main011
tenance work - cleaning thc shop - adding fucl and oil. asscmbling bmlllcrs, and holding thc pickup pole (or thc ground banner
pickups as the big-cngined
Stearrnlll1 flashed by inchcs away
overhead.
Though he could fly himself, Chuck was alwllYs a bit disappoinled thaI he didn'l get 10 low Ihc banners or do lhe skywriting
himself.
"Dad wouldn't
let me do il," he said, "and I rcsented it." II
wasn't umilmuch
later Ihat he explained to his son thm he didn't
want his son flying at the edge of a stall, towing banners above
thousands of people :1I the State Fair or spons
no place nearby to make a forced landing.
sladiums
-
with
I asked him if :Ind when he was able to fly the famous SUI>cr
Sleamlan,
.. It wns al Holman Field in the 1970s:' he said. "The
last day of towing at the State Fair. I was 17 or 18. and I had been
working hard selling up txlllners.
Dad had Innded at Holman.
walked over to me and sighed"Oo
you want to Oy the SteamlanT'
I was tired. and reully didn't wanl to - but I knew what he was
offering. and I would neyer pass up that opportunity.
""Tell the lower that you walll 10 stay in the pallern and shoot
a couple of landings:'
he said. It was my first takeoff and landing
at a tower-controlled
airpon.
I shot some landings - they came
out prelly well. Afterward
- my Dad just left (he aircraft at
See DOYLE, page 6
July 2012 • Minnesota
flyer
5
The logbooks were complete. and RARE Aircraft was able to work from the detailed drawings of the previous modifications
to come
up with an exact configuration
(left). The wings were constructed
new--not
rebuilt. as this center section shows. The rest of the
panels show [he Stout construction
of the Stearman wings. and the craftsmanship
going into the building of 'these new wings.
DOYLE
Continued
Holman,
from
are shon on spoken
page
5
prnisc -
you've mctlheir slandards have said aloud - a mUlual
and took me out and
bought mc a bccr."
I know what Chuck
was
talking aboul - somc Fathers
but when they do acknowledge
that
it
is better than anything the)' could
and unspoken
acknowledgemelll.
You've
also shared an airplane.:\
beer.thc
sky, and an adventure.
Though Chuck didn't dwcll on it, he seems to havc the same
mixed relationship
that mOSI childrcn of famous pcople have for
their parcnts - somelimes rejection or denial - then acceptance
of thc special circumstances
they grew up with - then a real
appreciation
for their parent's contributions.
One of Chuck's tales
about growing up in Ihe a\'iation household is illustrative,
"I took Dad's Slits Playboy for a flight," he related,
My
friends were there. and I made a pass o\'er the field at bam altitude, and did three rolls before landing.
Dad stormed up to me
and said 'I dOIl't kllOw how mall}' times rl'e "all 10 tell JOlllhm I
dOli"' \\'(11/1JOu doillg thm ill myairIJl(lIIe!'
he thundered.
'8l1t by
the way, ,lie thinl roll was the lwsl!' II was only later that I real·
ized that his sometimes crilical treatment of me was because he
had seen thc consequences
of even small mistakes in his business
- and he didn't want that 10 happcllto
me."
Chuck continued
to ny. :llld obtained
his Airfr:ulle
and
Powerplant Repairman's
Ccniticate.
Like so many other children
of successful
business owners, he moved away from lhe family
business
6
Minnesota
Flyer·
July 2012
and established
his independence
by slar1ing:1Il aUlOmoSee DOYLE, page 7
DOYLE
Continued
RARE Aircmft
OLD airplancs
tivc
from
page 6
parts
and
machinc
shop,
Likc so many of us, :lviation
kept calling him back - and he
went to work for Roy Redman at
in 1994. It was a chance 10 work on :lirpl:lI1es - the kind of airplanes that he grew lip with -
and he found he likcd it.
Hc also flew those old airplanes.
He finally bowed to the
inevitable, and joined Sun Count!)' Airlines as a Flight Engineer
on the Boeing 727 - a chance to use both his mechanic and pilot
skills. Today, he is a Captain for Sun Country, and gets to cnjoy
See DOYLE, page 8
The aircraft was covered using the poly-fibre covering process. as requested
by Chuck.
The fuselage cover is laid out, trimmed, and
attached -- then shrunk and tightened up. Darker reinforcing tape covers the ribs and around the inspection
panels. The fabric is
attached to the wing ribs using long needles and thread, a process called "rib-stitching."
The control suriaces are' done in the same
manner. The wings are finished in "silver" to block out harmful light before receiving the finishing coats of paint. This aircraft received
several coats of Aero-thane
paint--to produce the high-gloss finish, and to keep the covering light for good aerobatic periormance.
There's a Stearman in_this photo, as all of the pieces Start to come together.
July
2012·
Minnesota
Flyer
7
While the large pieces are being painted, the small pieces are being detailed -- some of the most difficult work of all -- and the part
of the restoration
that everyone sees. The small pieces are individually painted before assembly so there will be no paint gaps or
overspray. The signature "checkerboard"
rudder was masked
and detailed. The "sunburst" on the wings is laid out and painted. In
the meantime, new instrument
panels were constructed
and readied for installation (instrument
panel). The original instrUmenu
were
sent out for overhaul, and a new pitotlstatic
system fabricated.
DOYLE
Continued
both ends of the aviation
from
page
7
spec-
trum - the lalest lechnology
glass-cockpit
jets. anti the simple pleasure of nying visually
with lillie more Ihan the sound of Ihe wind in Ihe wires. Today,
in addition 10 the Super Stearman. Chuck owns that S-1me Stits
Playboy (restored IWO years ago). a Super Decathalon.
a 1929
Travel Air
4000.
a Twin Beech. and a Waco F-2.
II has been said that "No man becomes a man until his fmher
dies." That's true - especially when you arc the son of a famous
person - you will alwnys be compared with your fnther. Chuck
Junior has come to tenus with that comparison
- he is his own
person - famous in his own right - and comfonable
with living
with his D:ld's memol')' while adding his own accomplishments.
His building. restoration, and ownership of the Ste:lm\:ln is someIhing th:lt he shares with Chuck Senior.
It is a way to ad.:nowledge, honor, and perpetuate the bond they sh:lre.
Life/OIlg pi/Of, mechanic, reSlOrer of o!llllirpllll1es.
mll/ell/llrer,
(/erobmic pi/Of, airline pilOf - that's the Do)'les-BOTH
OF
THEM!
THE AIRCRAFT
I met with Chuck Junior. along with Roy Redman from RARE
Aircraft - the people thnt did Ihe restoration.
I wanted information on the airplane.
My vel')' first question:
"\VHY THE
TURQUOISE PAIIVT' COLOR?"
Chuck chuckled - he's obviously been asked this bcfore. "Dad wllllted a paint job that would
stand oul. Originally,
hc had a rcd lind cream paint job - lhcll
purple and cream. Those were very 'Firty-ish' paint colors - and
cvcn auto manufaclUrcrs
were adopting lhem. He wanted SOIllCIhing green,
8 Minnesota
Flyer·
July 2012
in lribule
10 his Irish herila~~e-D~~~~.
'~aRg~E~
DOYLE
Continued
from
page 8
grecn' - so hc sculcd on
turquoise.
Hc paintcd
EVERYTHING
turquoisc
- the Stcarman, thc P-51,
the house and hangar, thc motorcycle,
even the toilet and the
Corvelle.
It W<lSDad's tradition, and he loved to get teased about
ii, and I wanted
out!
to carry thm on."
I h<lve to admit,
it DOES stand
.
I asked Roy and Chuck to tell me about thc aircr.lft, <lnd thcy
laid out all of the documents on the table and said "Ask away!" I
asked if the aircraft was airworthy when Ihey startcd the projcct,
and thcy responded
with "It was ferriable.
You
stand - this was a working aircrafl, and it was
Restricted
category becausc of all of the mods
systcm installed in the front seal. Since Ihis was a
my brother Brian and
Ihc aircr.tft appr.tiscd.
it restored.
I wanted
could take passengers
to Standard catcgory
have to underlicensed in the
and the smoke
family treasure,
sistcr Shannon agreed thai we should havc
and I would buy alii their shares :ll1d havc
a Stearman that I could usc - somcthing
I
in. It would take a lot of work to get it back
- and cven then, it wouldn't
look good.
The only way to do that was to do a completc rcstoration."
I asked why Chuck - with his background
with the aircraft
- his background
in working with RARE Aircraft, his A&P
Certificate,
and his appreciation
of old aircmft -- didn't do the
work himself. Chuck smiled and answered in his forthright way:
"I spent eight years restoring the Travel Aire.
and I spend summers goofing off and llying.
I lly for a living,
I decided to let
someonc else do it. The restor.llion started off with someone else.
I was promised thaI I'd have the aircraft in one year. Along the
way, as I looked at the progress (or lack thercol), it was apparent
that it wouldn't
be rcstored thc way I wanted it. I wanted the
VERY BEST Stcaml:ln I could have - not something
cobbled
togethcr or 'good cnough.' This was my DAD'S aircraft - onc
of n kind. I made up my mind to pull lhe project.
It was messy,
and it was costly, but I wasn't going to throw good money after
b:.d. Enough said."
Chuck brought the Stcarman to RARE Aircraft.
RARE specializcs
in the VERY BEST restorations.
From his previous
employmclll
wilh RARE Aircraft, Chuck knew thM the finishcd
product would be expensivc
- bul that it would be thc VERY
BEST. RARE Aircmft consistently
turns out award-winning
aircmft, so I asked Chuck if he was going to have the aircraft judged
at Oshkosh.
BOlh Chuck and Roy smiled. "No - we could have buill the
aircraft back to standard - but that isn't what I wanted.
This
aircraft was a family pel - but it was also a working aircraftmuch modified from the original.
Judgcs look for the sm<lllest
infmctions and deviations
from the origin ••l specifications.
How
would you judgc this aircraft?
It has dozens of moos - the covcr
See DOYLE page 10
Rigging a biplane is a VERY difficult JOD -- all angles, incidences, and tensions have to be juS( right. The process starts out with a "hightech" device -- a plumb bob. The entire wing and the control surfaces must be installed prior to covering and painting -- rigging
adjusted, then disassembled,
covered, painted, and re-assembled.
The result!
On the test flight, Doyle reported
"It ,flew perfectly -hands off--stalled straight -- perfect!"
July
2012 • MInnesota
flyer
9
With all of the parts ready to go, and the pre-assembly
done, it's time for the airplane to go together. The paru are laid out. and the
fuselage is still on the building fixture.
It isn't All work. though - since the fuselage is still on the fixture, and the Stearman IS
designed for inverted flight. Ben Redman gets the first ~roll" on the new restoration.
The center section is mounted and the wings
are joined. The tail feathers are mounted, the engine installed, and the gear goes on.
DOYLE
Continued
over the front pit for thc smoke
from
page
9
oil - the engine and prop the turtlcded:
- thc paint - 4
ailerons. thc brakes, the faired
in wing access for the frolll cockpit, the Serv·Aero enginc mount
for aerob:ltics, the fuel injection system, the smoke exh;lUst stack,
the inverted fuel and oil systems. This is a 'one of a kind' aircraft.
I wanted a safc and reliable aircraft to fly for fun. I w3nted lhe
aircrafl to look jusl as I remember it. I wantcd lhe VERY BEST
Stearman I could have."
RARE AIRCRAFT
RARE Aircraft W:lS founded in 1991 by Roy Redman.
"has
:llways been u family·owned
operation,
and from Ihe very first.
has been committed to only the very best restoration
nance. That level of mailllenance comes at a price -
and mainte·
lalking wilh
Roy. Ben. or Jeremy Redman, you may feci a bit like lalking to
Ihc head of maintenance
of a high·end automobile
maintenance
department
- a Rolls·Royce
or Mercedes·Benz
•• Ihere will BE
no compromises
- only Ihe VERY BEST - and it is well there
should not be compromises.
These aircraft are worth $250.000 or
more - they should be maintained
accordingly.
That doesn'l
mean Ihat regular m:linlenance
should be expensive.
Ihough.
Aircraft oflhisera
are simple, and robust. They were buill to take
a 101 of punishmem
from operating
from open fields and the
primitive airports. They were BUILTto be mailllained in Ihe field
- that means they-arc easily repairable.
You have to remember.
10 Minnesota flyer· July2012
though, thai sollle of Ihese aircraft are 70 years old or more - at
some lime. they have to be completely
remanufaelured.
Other
than that - these airplanes don'l require.a 101 of expensive maintenance and inspection - evel)'lhing is OUI in the open for inspec·
tion. and any Airworthiness
Directivcs
should havc long-since
been issued and complied wilh.
I asked Roy and Chuck what makes thc difference betwcen a
"good cnough" restoration and the VERY BEST. The answer was
simplc - --ClXX/ Ello/lgl, - is NOT good enough."
He elabo·
rated - " When you havc an aircraft like this. you should nevcr
have 10 worry about it while doing acrobatics or nomlal operations. With our restorations
- every bit of hardware is replaccd.
All four wings on the aircmft wcre built ncw, as well as the center
section.
A new engine mount was installed for acrobatics
- an
inverted fuel and oil systelll was installed. a different smoke sys(em and exhauSI installed. different oil cooler and vent, the cutout
above the front cockpit was faired over 10 eliminale lurbulence
and improve perfomtance.
Ihe front cockpit was faired over (but
can be converted
in only 20 minutes),
modcm
brakes were
installed, the p:lIlcl re-worked, the list goes on and on."
With all of those changes in mind. I asked whal remained of
Ihe original Steamlan.
"The fuselage and landing gear arc original. The engine, cowling, and prop from a BT·13 that Chuck Sr.
inslalled almosl60
years ago are intact. We sent the engine down
to Tulsa Aircrafl
Engines.
The teardown
report showed the
See
DOYLE,
page
II
Doyle
Continued
engine
from page 10
to be in excellent
shape
- but in keeping with wanting
the VERY BEST, it is now Zero
since major overhaul.
With all of the modificntions
over the years - and the new
modific:ltions
during the restoration,
I asked about the aircmft
p:lperwork and documentation.
Roy pulled out the file - "All
logbooks are complete.
The aircmft has only 1212 hours tOlal
time since new, and as of this writing, 12 hours since restoration.
JUSt LOOK :It these logs - they re:ld like a "Who's Who" of
Minnesota
aircraft
lumill:lries.
The mimes include
Bolduc,
Fllimoulh,
Ken Mllxwell,
Doyle, Wiplinger,
Shanks, DePOllii.
Lysdalc, Mohr, (and Redman).
Time and time again, we were
told "You can't do that!" by various suppliers - it hadn't been
done all a Stearm'lIl before."
Time and again. RARE Aircrnft had to spend thc1time (and
timc is moncy) 10 work through the approval proccss.
Roy noted
that as the project progressed, the FAA actually became more and
more accommodating
- il seemed that THEY wanted this air-
We had Ben Redman flying chase in the Decathalon.
We had a
prescribed
flight check c<lrd and procedure.
We had people
alongside the runway with fire extinguishers.
We even had our
ground people practice getting me out of the :lircraft.
Now
THAT'S prepared!
Chuck said that the first flight C<lme off witholl! :l hitch.
"Everything
- and I mean EVERYTHING
worked perfectly," he
exclaimed.
"There wasn't one thing in the aircraft that didn't
work. The aircr"ft was in perfect trim - it stalled at the correct
speed and S1raight ahead. I couldn't be happier!"
And that's exactly what Chuck Doyle wanted - and RARE
Aircmft delivered!
)jm Hal/mil
jim i.~·correcl
original goa[)"ou would like
at his airp0rl
diu.com
is the long-time FBO at Alberl Lea, MillllesoUl.
IIwI MOST of his stories do 1101folloll' their
but thm IUW1't ~"1Oppe(1him from writing Iheml If
TO Kuille jim back 011 track. )"011can collfacl/zim
ill
office
-
(507) 373-0608.
or jimhansol/@deskme-
craft reslOrmioll accomplished,
too! The FAA engaged in many
inspections.
discussions,
and suggestions.
Ask any aircmft
restorer - having the FAA sign off on approv:lls can be the hardest part of accomplishing
a restoration.
If a restorer h"s done
something before, the FAA feels beller about the documelliation
and procedure
- something to think about when selecting a restoration shop.
I asked who made the first post-restoration
flighl-:lnd
Chuck
'I
replied "There is NO WAY that I was going to let anyone else do
it!" Chuck described
RARE Airemft's
procedures
for the first
flight - including an initial safcty briefing.
"We h<ld Google
E"nh projections of the airport, so if we had a problem anywhere
around the airport, we already knew where we were going to go.
First Flight
The trademark
Shamrock for the Doyle's.
It brought luck to
Chuck Senior through his life of adventure - may it do the same
for Chuck Junior and anybody else that flies this beauty!
July
2012 •
Minnesota
Flyer
II