Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA8102 Boeing Stearman N2S-2 “KAYDET” Naval Air Station Corpus Christi Texas 1943 “401”

1/48 scale pre-finished Die-cast metal with a minimum of plastic. Professionally painted. All markings pad applied for superb results. Comes with a pilot that can be removed. Comes with display stand.

The Stearman Aircraft Company produced a bi-plane trainer-aircraft called the Model 70. In 1935 the USN ordered the Model 70 with a Wright J-5 Whirlwind engine designated the NS-1. Boeing Aircraft Company bought Stearman and gave the Model 70 a Lycoming R-680-5 radial engine making it a Model 75. In 1936 the U.S. Army Air Corps placed an order for the Model 75 and designated it PT-13. With a Continental R-670-5 engine it became the PT-17. The RCAF labeled it PT-27 Kaydet with Kaydet becoming the universally accepted name.

It was determined that there was a lack of training facilities for naval pilots so on March12, 1941 NAS Corpus Christi, Texas was commissioned with training starting on May 5, 1941. In the first year of operation 800 instructors trained 300 students per month and by December 7, 1941 this rate had doubled. When WWII had ended more than 35,000 naval pilots received their wings. In June of 1943 course 3 graduated including former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, the youngest pilot to ever graduate from Corpus Christi.

Specifications Boeing PT-17 Kaydet Stearman Crew - 2 x Student Pilot and Instructor PT-17 Produced - 3,500 + Number of all variants produced - 10,000 +

Performance 1 x Continental R-670-5 7 cylinder radial engine producing 220 hp Maximum Speed - 124 mph Climb Rate - 840 ft/min Service Ceiling - 11,200 ft Range - 505 miles Dimensions Length - 24 ft 3 in Wingspan - 32 ft 2 in Height - 9 ft 2 in Weight Empty - 1,936 lbs Maximum Takeoff - 2,717 lbs