Roland Garlinghouse at his hangar in Arkansas with the Stearman that was built with a heart to serve. Already a beauty, this 1943 Stearman was purchased using funds raised by a group of volunteers in Wisconsin. Restored by Dream Flights volunteers and named the Spirit of Wisconsin, it would become the fourth in a fleet of Stearmans operated by Dream Flights.

A Stearman Flies Full-Circle to Give Back to Those Who Gave

For 27 years, aviator and Stearman enthusiast Roland Garlinghouse owned and flew the biplane that would later be named the Spirit of Wisconsin. But before the Stearman settled into civilian life in Arkansas with Roland and his family, it was stationed at the Minneapolis Saint Paul Joint Air Reserve Station during World War II to train military aviators. The year was 1943.

After about six months in the Midwest’s frigid temperatures, the plane was transferred to the heat of Corpus Christi, Texas, where it continued to train aviators until the war ended. After, the plane was put on surplus and transferred to the Naval Air Station in Memphis.

In 1947, the Stearman was moved to Hayti, Missouri; destined, it seemed, for life as a duster and sprayer. Instead, the plane remained in storage until it was purchased by a civilian pilot in North Carolina.

Roland purchased the plane in 1991 and restored it as close as possible to its former glory, noting it was a special plane from the start. This Stearman runs on a 9-cylinder engine, rather than the typical 7-cylinder. “It was the same engine used in General Patton’s tanks,” he said, which made it easier for him to find surplus military parts.

Garlinghouse used the Stearman to travel locally and to vintage aircraft gatherings, taking off from a grass strip located at his home in Arkansas, and landing in places as far away as upstate New York. In later years, he gave rides to retired Naval aviators who lived nearby. Unknowingly, he was preparing the Stearman for Dream Flights mission of ‘giving back to those who gave.”

“Stearman owners never really feel like they own their airplane. We’re just stewards,” Garlinghouse said. “When I heard about Dream Flights and that Darryl was looking for a Stearman, it struck me that Dream Flights might be a great place for my plane.”

Dream Flights founder Darryl Fisher and a group of volunteers restored the plane at Fisher’s small hangar located just outside Carson City, Nev. On June 19 at Stevens Point Municipal Airport, Dream Flights dedicated the Spirit of Wisconsin and gave the inaugural Dream Flight to Eddie Lamken, the World War II veteran who inspired a family and a community to raise funds to purchase the 1943 Stearman.