The National Stearman Fly-In at Galesburg and the biggest biplane party in the world

The National Stearman Fly-In in Galesburg, Illinois is the largest gathering of a single type of vintage aircraft in the United States. Held each September at Galesburg Municipal Airport (GBG), the event draws between 100 and 200 Boeing Stearmans to a small Midwestern city halfway between Peoria and the Quad Cities. It is one of American aviation’s most distinctive and deeply personal fly-in events.

What Is the National Stearman Fly-In?

The fly-in started in 1999 when a group of Stearman owners decided they needed a dedicated gathering. Galesburg — both the city and the airport — embraced the event from the beginning and has hosted it for over 25 years.

This is not Oshkosh. It is not Sun ’n Fun. There are no rope lines separating spectators from aircraft. Attendees walk the grass between the airplanes, talk directly to the owners who fly and maintain them, and participate in the culture rather than observe it from a distance. At Oshkosh, you are one of ten thousand airplanes. At Galesburg, people remember your name, your airplane, and your landing from last year.

The Boeing Stearman: A Brief History

The Stearman is properly designated the Boeing Model 75. Most people know it as the PT-17 (Army Air Corps) or the N2S (Navy), depending on which military branch operated it. The Army variants were the PT-13 and PT-17. The Navy variants were the N2S-3, N2S-4, and N2S-5. All are essentially the same airplane: a large, tandem-seat, open-cockpit biplane built as a primary trainer.

Boeing produced more than 10,000 Stearmans between the late 1930s and 1945. That volume is exactly why so many survive today. After the war, surplus Stearmans sold for as little as $200 to $500. Farmers converted them for crop dusting. Barnstormers used them for wing-walking acts. Flight schools kept them operating for decades. Today, they rank among the most beloved vintage aircraft in the world.

What Happens During Fly-In Week?

The daily schedule is deliberately loose.

Mornings are for walking the flight line and inspecting restorations up close. The range is remarkable. One end of the spectrum features museum-quality rebuilds — a Navy N2S-3 finished in original silver-and-yellow training colors with nine years of restoration work documented in binders. The other end features working airplanes with crop-dusting spray boom attachment points still visible, flown every single week by owners who prize function over cosmetics. Both are equally welcome. If it is a Stearman and it flies, it belongs.

Late mornings bring formation flying. Flights build from four-ship to eight-ship, then push toward 12, 16, or 20-plus Stearmans in formation, flying low over the runway. The sound — a wall of radial engine thunder from Continental W-670s, Lycoming R-680s, and Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasps on the big-horsepower conversions — is something you feel physically. A missing man formation is flown each year to honor members of the Stearman community who have passed since the previous gathering.

Afternoons are open flying. Rides, hops, and endless pattern work on the grass. Every Stearman handles differently — some bounce, some wheel it on, some three-point with a chirp — and watching from a lawn chair on the field is an afternoon well spent.

Evenings center on a hangar dinner with long tables and stories that run until midnight. The guy who landed his Stearman in a field behind a church for his daughter’s wedding. The couple who met at Galesburg fifteen years ago and have flown in together every year since. The mechanic who rebuilt his first Stearman in a barn with a manual and flew it out through the barn doors.

Who Attends the Stearman Fly-In?

The Stearman community has been getting younger in recent years. New builders and restorers in their thirties and forties are discovering these airplanes and falling in love the same way previous generations did. One owner, a 34-year-old woman from outside Wichita, bought a complete basket case — wings off, engine in crates, fabric stripped — and spent four years rebuilding it in her garage, teaching herself fabric covering through videos and online mentorship from experienced builders. She flew it to Galesburg on its first real cross-country.

Veteran owners are equally present. One Kansas pilot has been flying the same Stearman for 31 years, making the trip to Galesburg in an open cockpit at roughly 100 miles per hour across the Great Plains with goggles, a leather cap, and a compass.

The Stearman Restorers Association supports the event, and their technical forums during fly-in week are among the most valuable resources available. Rigging flying wires, diagnosing a rough-idling Continental, sourcing hard-to-find parts — the expertise is deep, specific, and freely shared.

Vendors and the Fly-In Market

The vendor area is specialized, not commercial expo-scale. These are the people who manufacture Stearman-specific parts: exhaust stacks, bungee cords for the landing gear, windscreen clips, and hand-carved wooden propellers. One vendor makes custom leather flying helmets and goggles — gear that half the attendees at Galesburg actually use in the cockpit, not as costumes.

How to Get to Galesburg Municipal Airport

Galesburg Municipal Airport (GBG) has a 4,348-foot hard-surface runway (36/18) with ample grass parking. The FBO staff has supported the fly-in for over 25 years and the operation is well-organized. Fuel and on-field camping are both available — many owners sleep under the wing of their Stearman with a lawn chair, a cooler, and a small grill.

For those arriving by car, Galesburg sits along Interstate 74, making it accessible from most of the Midwest. For pilots, approaches from the south offer views of the Illinois River winding through farmland; from the north, it is a grid of corn and soybeans. Expect the CTAF to come alive within 20 miles as Stearmans converge from every direction.

The 2026 Fly-In

The 2026 National Stearman Fly-In is expected to continue the event’s steady growth. For current dates and details, check with the Stearman Restorers Association or the Galesburg airport directly.

Key Takeaways

The National Stearman Fly-In in Galesburg, Illinois is the largest single-type vintage aircraft gathering in the United States, drawing 100–200 Stearmans each September.
Boeing built over 10,000 Stearmans between the late 1930s and 1945, making it one of the most prolific and accessible vintage aircraft types still flying.
The event is defined by its participatory, family-like culture — no rope lines, direct access to aircraft and owners, and a community that spans generations.
Galesburg Municipal Airport (GBG) offers a 4,348-foot runway, grass parking, fuel, and on-field camping.
The Stearman community is actively growing younger, with new builders and restorers in their 30s and 40s joining the ranks alongside decades-long veterans.