The world's oldest Stearman will fly again with Big Sky wings.

One of the luckiest guys alive is Larry Tobin of Spokane, WA. After flying his 1928 Stearman C3 7,000 miles across America and back in formation with Addison Pemberton's Boeing 40, recreating the first transcontinental mail route, he experienced an engine failure in the Columbia River Gorge of the Pacific NW. It is one of the wildest places imaginable to consider a forced landing. Turning into 20kt tailwind he was able to aim at a small clearing. With precision he nailed a tree on the left wing at touchdown in order to stop short of hitting a building. Miraculously unhurt, he was able to call Addison and tell him he was OK. Larry finished the last 2 hours of the transcontinental flight as a pasenger in the Boeing 40.

Larry has committed on rebuilding the C3 and Big Sky is building a set of new wings for him. Perhaps next spring we will see the world's oldest Stearman once again in the air where it belongs.