The Stearman C3B was the first aircraft to roll off the Stearman line in Wichita in 1927. The open-cockpit mail plane helped cement Lloyd StearmanÕs reputation as one of the worldÕs leading aeronautical engineers. While delivering a C3 on Jan. 15, 1928, Stearman chief test pilot Fred Hoyt bailed out over Idaho and froze to death in a blizzard. About 136 Stearman C3Bs, powered by 200-horsepower Wright J-5 engines, were built between 1927 and 1929 in Wichita. In 1929, Stearman Aircraft was bought by the company that became Boeing.