N540FA

N540FA is a Stearman Aircraft PT-17 Kaydet, a single-engine piston aircraft. SkyMeter has tracked 172 flights totalling 41 hours of airtime via ADS-B across 2 callsigns. The most frequent segment is L52 to KSBP. Service window in our records spans 371 days. Of those flights, 14 (8.1%) carry at least one detected incident: a go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Stearman Aircraft PT-17 Kaydet has a maximum takeoff weight of 2,950 lb, light wake category.

About the Stearman Aircraft PT-17 Kaydet

The Boeing-Stearman Model 75, known to the U.S. military as the PT-17 Kaydet, is the iconic yellow biplane that trained tens of thousands of Allied pilots during World War II. Built by Stearman Aircraft (a Boeing subsidiary) from 1934 through 1945, more than 10,000 were produced, making it the most widely used primary trainer of the war.

Its rugged steel-tube fuselage, fabric-covered wings, and forgiving flight characteristics made it ideal for teaching basic aerobatics and carrier landings. Many Navy pilots soloed in Stearmans before moving on to fighters and dive bombers. The open-cockpit design and radial engine gave student pilots an authentic stick-and-rudder education in an era before tricycle gear and glass panels.

After the war, thousands of surplus Kaydets flooded the civilian market, where they found new life as crop dusters, airshow performers, and recreational warbirds. Today the Stearman is a fixture at fly-ins and aerobatic displays, prized for its classic lines, honest handling, and the unmistakable sound of a radial engine at full throttle. The type remains one of the most accessible vintage military aircraft for private owners, with an active community maintaining these 80-year-old trainers in flying condition.

SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.