Steve Freeman's 1942 Classic Shines In The AirVenture Sun

Robbie Culver

Steve Freeman knows all about what the term "Labor of Love" means. When you own a 1942 classic Ryan PT-22 with a polished exterior, you have lot of time to contemplate the labor, and the love, involved. Freeman, based in Bartlett, TN, has owned the aircraft 23 years. He arrived Tuesday July 28th with friend Mark Warren, after 5 legs of 1 1/2 hour flying involving 5 stops spread out over 9 hours. In other words, at 100MPH, they "got to see how pretty Wisconsin is from the air."

For Freeman, owning the aircraft has been a real adventure. starting with his first flight. "It was delivered from Long Beach, CA to Camarillo, CA where I was based. We filled it with gas, took off, and 4 minutes later we were upside down in a field." No one was hurt in the incident, which resulted from an engine failure, but Freeman said that it took nearly 14 months to rebuild the aircraft.

Fresh from another restoration, Aero-News found Freeman and Warren applying NuVite to the airplane. This most recent restoration was, according to Freeman, "the result of letting a friend fly the airplane. I forgot to tell him about the drainage ditch, and he soon found it. Oh well, it needed restoring anyhow." Freeman obviously has a good nature to suffer through two such incidents. This last rebuild took 7 years of part-time work, and the results are stunning.

Freeman has "over 1000 hours in the airplane, so it gets used." He previously owned a Stinson 108, and bought the PT after flying a Stearman from Emporia, KS to Tuscon, AZ, which made him decide to purchase an open-cockpit airplane. It didn't hurt that Freeman had flown in one as a child, polishing the old PT's at his local airport in exchange for rides. Freeman is also restoring a Waco UPF7 and a Curtiss-Wright Junior that should be completed this year.

FMI: www.pioneerflightmuseum.org