It isn't a Stearman

Flight Journal, Dec 2001 by Jones, Geoffrey P

Lonnie Autry owns one of the most original Naval Aircraft Factory N3Ns of the estimated 40 or so survivors. "Philadelphia Canary" is one name coined for this 1935 product of the U.S. Naval Aircraft Factory. The 1934 Vinson-Trammel Act passed by Congress attempted to establish a "modern" U.S. Navy and to ensure that suppliers weren't ripping the Navy off. As a result, the Navy decided to design and construct some of its own primary training aircraft.

In August 1935, the prototype XN3N-1, powered by a Wright J-5 radial engine, flew; 179 were then built before the obsolete J-5 engine was replaced by the "modern" and powerful Wright R-760 Whirlwind. This version, the N3N-3, was ordered into production in 1940, and 816 were built between 1940 and 1942. More than 100 were delivered as floatplanes.

A competitor of the N3N-and often what it is mistaken for-was the Boeing Stearman biplane. In Navy use, it was designated "N2S." Noble though the aspirations of the Vinson-Trammel Act were, the price of a Stearman at $9,000 was a snip compared with the $25,000 cost of an N3N!

Lonnie's N3N-3 (BuNo 2762 and now N6396T) was built in 1941 and was officially accepted by the Navy on March 5. It served until 1959, including a stint at Pensacola NAS in Florida; its main role was as a civilian pilot trainer. The green band around the rear fuselage designates it as an instrument instructor's airplane, and the circular "duck" motif is a genuine squadron badge from one of the single-float-equipped N3N outfits. Its military career ended at Annapolis, Maryland, with 2,043 hours flown.

Many N3Ns were sold off as crop-dusters. In 1960, this aircraft was one of six based at Willows near Santa Rosa, California. Gene Brashear owned it from 1961 to August 1980 and hangared it at Watsonville, California. It was here that Lonnie Autry found it and paid $16,000 for it, and he has owned it ever since. He keeps it in his family hangar at Frazier Lake, California, alongside his restored 1929 Travel Air 4000 and a pair of Piper J-3 Cubs owned by his sons.

It's unlikely this aircraft ever flew on floats because corrosion in the fuselage structure is not an issue. The fabric on the top wing and rudder is original Navy cotton, the old Navy markings still visible through the paint on the rudder (buzz number 43). The rest of the fabric was replaced in 1966 and is still good today. --Geoffrey P. Jones