Jim Keen's "Stearman's" (and others based at Liverpool)

[stearman]

Can anyone help me with a couple of queries, regarding the stearman's that have been operated by Keenair..

G-BAVN, registered on 13-Apr-73, to Keenair Services, what color scheme was it in ?, and better still anyone have a photo, that they would be prepared to part with ?.

also G-BAVO, registered on 18-Aug-75, to Keenair Services, what color scheme was it in ?, and better still anyone have a photo, that they would be prepared to part with ?.

Regards

David Chadwick

[viscount]

Working mainly from an article I wrote in late 1985 coupled with a little further research, information about Liverpool based Stearman.

Jim Keen actually had a total of 4 Stearman at various times: G-BAVN, G-BAVO, G-BDCF & G-BHUW. A futher two have been operated at Liverpool by private owners: G-AZLE & G-BRUJ, but have hangared their aircraft with Keenair.

G-BAVN As 4X-AMT arrived Liverpool 8.3.73 by air. UK f/f 11.5.73. From summer '73 to mid '79 flown in a white overall scheme with red regn and cheat. Sold locally by Jim Keen to R.T.A. Smith summer '75 and flown only rarely over the next few years. In mid '79 resprayed into the 'classic' yellow and blue US Navy training scheme, soon after sold and left Liverpool en route for Sandown 7.11.79. After several further UK owners, G-BAVN was cancelled as exported to Sweden October 1984.

G-BAVO As 4X-AIH arrived Liverpool 8.3.73 by air. UK f/f 2.8.73. From summer 73 to mid '81 in an overall dark mid-blue scheme with white trim and a winged KAS crest on the fin. Between summer '77 and summer '80 owned by A.A.Hodgson, but remained Liverpool based. Sold back to Jim Keen/Keenair.
In summer '81 (f/f as such 23.8.81) resprayed in 'classic' USAAC training blue & yellow scheme, with the side-code '26' and no external regn. The blue is of a much darker shade than that typically seen on USAAC Stearman schemes. Sold again to A.A.Hodgson spring '87. Remained at Liverpool until departed to his Bryngwyn Bach farmstrip in North Wales on 5.6.88. Sometime around September 1989 he sold 'VO to a new owner in Devon. For a while was owned and flown by actor Martin Shaw from a Norfolk airfield. It has, since around October 2017 been owned by a resident of Borden, Kent.

G-BDCF Arrived at Liverpool from USA in a crate 26.6.75. UK f/f 31.7.75. Already in a USAAF 'classic' blue & yellow scheme. During an air show routine in thunderous weather, crashed when failed to recover from a spin at Barton 17.7.77. Remains to Liverpool for spares recovery. The construction plate identity and maybe more possibly used for a rebuild project in the USA.

G-AZLE Arrived from Booker 25.6.76 and operated by Mr Talbot-Smith. Rarely flew and sold, departing to Blackbushe 9.8.78. As far as I can recall, was in 'classic' Stearman blue/yellow with the UK regn on fin. The '102' scheme to be found on a 'Google' has been applied since leaving Liverpool. Anyone have a decent photo of G-AZLE at Liverpool to post? Since December 2017 G-AZLE has been registered to DH Heritage Flights at Crompton Abbas airfield.

G-BHUW Arrived at Liverpool from the USA in a crate 22.5.80. UK f/f 23.8.80. An attractive orange and white 'sunburst' scheme made a change from the usual 'classic' US wartime training schemes. Sold and departed to Booker 12.2.81. The aircraft was subsequently exported to West Germany in December 1983.

G-BRUJ Arrived at Liverpool by road from Staverton 27.4.93 in a non-airworthy state following import from the USA during 1990. A mark A75N1. UK f/f 23.12.94, undertaken at Liverpool Airport. Initially owned by M.Walker, ownership changed locally late '04 to R.M.Hughes and again August 2016 to Stamp Aviation of the IoM. Since respray prior to first UK flight, has been in a yellow/silver US Navy training scheme, marked type N2S-3 and regn 6136 on tail, and coded 205 (UK civil regn not externally carried). The aircraft departed for Halfpenny Green on 20th August 2014 and subsequently sold in September 2016 by Stamp Aviation to RL McDonald of Edinburgh. Since October 2019 it has been owned by Tatramarket Poprad sro of Poprad in the Slovak Republic.

Hope the detail provided here helps "Stearman" with his request. Think I have all the Liverpool based Stearman covered, I've no doubt I'll be reminded fairly quickly if I've left any out!

For information about subsequent ownership changes use www.caa.co.uk and their G-INFO database.

I'm sure that others will post their photos here soon, but there may be a delay as they search their transparency/prints collection and scan them to digital.
Further detail added in to this post October 2021.

[ronturner]

I flew G-BAVN from Speke, 17/11/73.
I remember it well.

It was generally dark blue with white or grey silver cheat lines. I have a photo somewhere and will look for it when I have time.

[viscount]

Well it has only taken 12 years to fully reply to the opening post request! Actually in 2009 I did post a few images loaded via "Beemer" which then were now obscured by Photobucket's watermark. To bring the restored images together and with a number of images to add, I've created a new post and deleted the older ones.





G-BAVN displaying at the 1973 Liverpool Airshow, not that long after being imported from Israel by Jim Keen.
Anyone have G-BAVN while briefly in USAAF blue/yellow scheme at Liverpool mid/late 1979?






G-BAVO in the initial smart 'Keenair Services Ltd' blue overall with white trim and markings scheme.





Jim Keen was always a great supporter of any Merseyside flying event. Here seen delighting the crowds in his Stearman '26' (G-BAVO) at Liverpool Air Display, June 1982.





G-BAVO in its later blue and yellow WWII colours, the only external identity being code '26'. The shade of blue is considerably darker than that used on most WWII marked Stearman aircraft.




G-BDCF What the photo does not show clearly as that the British registration is displayed in large yellow letters on the fuselage sides.




G-AZLE As I have no photo in my collections, this is a Ken Ellis photo used on a MAS Flypast photopage May 1977 and shows G-BDCF and G-AZLE on the Western Apron, outside of Hangar No.4 on 16th April 1977. If I cannot find my own image then cheat. Actually I'm surprised how well the tiny dot matrix printed image (8 to an A4 side) comes out when enlarged to screen size.




G-BHUW on 12th October 1980 outside No.4 hangar






The unusual angle is due to being taken from the Speke Hall 'bund' embankment as the aircraft taxis around the 'link' taxiway between the north and south airfields



G-BRUJ

Interesting how this former 'zombie' thread between 2009 and 2021 has collected 3,700 views and now promoted no doubt will gather many more.


Images needing to be replaced with 'clean ones', just need to locate the originals and remove the dust marks.

G-BAVO Boeing A75N1 Stearman @ Jurby IOM.

G-BAVO JurbyI-O-M-1 by Beemer328i, on Flickr

G-BAVO Boeing A75N1 Stearman

G-BAVO 26PT-17 by Beemer328i, on Flickr

[Airbus A346]

From a recently discovered K126 slide .........

G-BAVO by MARTIN CHELL, on Flickr

[Beemer]

G-BRUJ Stearman A75N PT-17 Kaydet seen at Manchester Barton 2014. To think I won a flight in it but never got it as it was under mtce., no pilot, etc.


G-BRUJ by Brian Thompson, on Flickr

[Beemer]

A few taken at LJLA between 2003 and 2008. It now resides at Dubova, Slovak Republic as OM-WAR.


G-BRUJ by Beemer328i, on Flickr


G-BRUJ by Beemer328i, on Flickr


G-BRUJ by Beemer328i, on Flickr


G-BRUJ by Beemer328i, on Flickr