Bird’s-eye view of the restored cockpit
and instrument panel.
with it or fly in rough air, it is not too
long before it becomes a two-handed
airplane. But to me, flying the Stear-
man is about enjoying the wind in
my face while the smells from the
engine waft by me.”
Mike’s Stearman won Reserve
Grand Champion Warbird at the
2008 Sun ’n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland,
Florida, narrowly being beaten by a
North American P-51D Mustang, but
what means more to him is how the
project changed his relationship with
his father: his mentor. “We became
closer working on this project than
we ever have been before. There were
a lot of conversations that occurred
during this project that would never
have happened otherwise. I think
that was the best thing that ever hap-
pened to me.”
An avid pilot and longtime contributor
to EAA publications, Jim Busha is the
editor of Warbirds magazine and the
owner of a 1943 Aeronca L- 3.
