The National Stearman Fly-In at Galesburg and three hundred yellow biplanes painting the Illinois sky

Every September, roughly 300 Boeing Stearman biplanes converge on Galesburg Municipal Airport (GBG) in western Illinois for the National Stearman Fly-In, the largest gathering of Stearmans anywhere in the world. Now in its 40th year, the week-long event transforms a quiet two-runway field in corn country into something resembling a 1942 primary flight training base — complete with radial engine smoke, grass-strip landings, and pilots camping under their wings.

What Is the National Stearman Fly-In?

The National Stearman Fly-In is a week-long annual event held in early September at Galesburg Municipal Airport, located roughly halfway between Peoria and the Quad Cities. For 51 weeks a year, GBG is a quiet general aviation field. For one week, it hosts the planet’s largest concentration of a single warbird type.

Stearmans begin arriving days before the official start. By midweek, the transient ramp is packed wingtip to wingtip with the iconic yellow biplanes, and the sound of Continental and Lycoming radials firing up becomes a near-constant backdrop.

Why the Boeing Stearman Still Matters

The Boeing/Stearman Model 75 was the primary trainer for both the Army Air Corps (designated the Kaydet) and the Navy (the N2S) during World War II. More than 10,000 were built, and nearly every American military pilot who flew in the war — fighters, bombers, transports — learned to fly in one of these open-cockpit biplanes.

The Stearman’s postwar survival rate is remarkable. Unlike many WWII trainers that were scrapped, Stearmans found second careers as crop dusters, barnstorming performers, and sport aircraft. An estimated 1,000 remain airworthy today, making the Stearman community one of the largest warbird fleets in existence. Many airframes still carry their original spruce structures from the 1940s, re-covered and repainted but fundamentally the same airplanes that trained a generation of military aviators.

What Happens During the Fly-In

Morning Formation Flights

Each morning begins at sunrise with preflights on the dewy grass and the staggered bark of radial engines coming to life across the field. The signature event is the daily formation flight, where 20 to 40 Stearmans take off in sequence from the grass runway and form up over the surrounding cornfields. From the ground, the formation looks like a swarm of golden shapes against the sky. From inside, pilots report looking left and right at identical yellow biplanes bouncing gently in morning thermals — a living connection to 1941.

Ramp Walking and Airplane Stories

Afternoons belong to the flight line. Every airplane on the ramp carries its own history. One was a crop duster in Arkansas for 30 years. Another was discovered in a Nebraska barn with chickens roosting on the upper wing. A retired airline captain spent seven years restoring his in a Minnesota garage, doing every stitch of fabric work himself.

The variety goes beyond standard Training Yellow. Custom paint schemes include Navy blue with 1943 markings, polished aluminum cowlings, and Royal Canadian Air Force colors. Then there are the hot rods — Stearmans with engine swaps from the original 220-horsepower Continental to a 450-horsepower Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior, turning a 2,700-pound biplane into something that climbs like it’s on a cable.

Flour Bombing and STOL Competitions

The flour bombing competition is exactly what it sounds like: fly over a ground target and drop a bag of flour on the bullseye from an open cockpit, with no bombsight and plenty of wind. Accuracy varies wildly, from dead-center hits to bags landing in the next county.

The short takeoff and landing competition pushes pilots to extract bush-plane performance from an airframe never designed for it. The Stearman’s 32-foot upper wingspan and inherent drag work against short-field technique, but experienced pilots manage stopping distances that earn respect. The winner takes home a trophy and bragging rights that expire at the next year’s fly-in.

Evenings Under the Wings

When the flying stops, the community comes alive on the ground. Many pilots camp under their Stearmans for the week — staking down the wings, rolling out a sleeping bag beneath the fuselage, and pulling lawn chairs into campfire circles at the edge of the field. The stories shared at night are the kind that only surface when people who’ve spent decades flying the same type of airplane sit together — tales of ice forming on flying wires over Kansas, of singing wire pitch shifting with ice diameter, of navigating by ear until breaking out below the weather.

A Community Passing Knowledge to a New Generation

The Stearman community is experiencing a demographic shift. Long dominated by owners who had flown their airplanes for decades, the fly-in is now drawing pilots in their twenties and thirties. New owners arrive with project Stearmans and questions about rigging flying wires, mixing fabric dope, and timing Continental radials.

The knowledge transfer happens in real time on the flight line. Veteran mechanics spend 45 minutes showing newcomers how to safety-wire an oil screen cover. The teaching is patient, hands-on, and deliberate — airplane to airplane, generation to generation, on a grass field in Illinois.

What Pilots Should Know Before Attending

You don’t need to own a Stearman to attend. Drive in, walk the ramp, talk to owners, and eat the pancake breakfast. If flying in, keep these operational details in mind:

Ramp space fills up fast. Arriving early in the week improves your chances of a good spot.
The grass can get soft after rain. Plan accordingly for taxi and parking.
Fuel is available at GBG, but with 300 radial engines in town, topping off before arrival is smart.
The CTAF gets busy. Expect continuous Stearman traffic calls and be prepared to sequence behind biplanes doing 70 knots on final. Volunteer traffic advisors manage the flow at this non-towered field, and patience is the operating standard.

Key Takeaways

The National Stearman Fly-In is the world’s largest gathering of Boeing Stearman biplanes, held annually in early September at Galesburg Municipal Airport (GBG) in western Illinois.
Roughly 300 Stearmans attend, drawn from an estimated 1,000 airworthy examples still flying — survivors of more than 10,000 built as WWII primary trainers.
Daily events include mass formation flights, flour bombing, STOL competitions, and open ramp access to walk the flight line.
The event is entering its 40th year and growing, with younger pilots increasingly joining the community and learning hands-on maintenance skills from veteran owners.
No Stearman required — the fly-in welcomes spectators, fly-in visitors in any aircraft, and drive-in attendees alike.