On the second floor of the Kansas Aviation Museum’s west wing sits the world’s newest restored Stearman Model 4D.
Forty of the planes were built in Wichita from 1929 through 1931, and only 14 still exist. This one was built in 1931 and sold to Texaco. On Tuesday night, the “Texaco 11” was scheduled to be dedicated to the museum. Volunteers who helped restore it and donors who funded the project also were set to be recognized.
“It took nine years to restore,” Walt House, historian of the Kansas Aviation Museum, said Tuesday. “It took a lot of painstaking work. Restoring an old airplane like this, we went back to the original type of cotton fabric.”
For the complete story by Beccy Tanner of The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, click here.
Photo by Travis Heying of The Wichita Eagle
