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World War II trainer graces Pittsburg sky
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Pilot and retired USAF Lt. Col. Jeff Klosky poses with his passenger Douglas Joseph in front of “Grandpa’s Plane,” a 1940 Stearman biplane, at the Atkinson Municipal Airport in Pittsburg on Friday. - photo by Darrel Cook / Dream Flights
PITTSBURG, Kan. — Early Friday afternoon, the sky above Pittsburg was host to a trio of old veterans, the oldest of which served during the Second World War as a trainer for countless American pilots. Christened “Grandpa’s Plane,” the Stearman biplane was built in Wichita in 1940, and served as a training aircraft in Missouri, Arizona, and California during the war. It was purchased in 1946 by William Fisher and has been in his family for four generations.