Famous Author Reunites with Legendary Stearman Biplane
(Philadelphia, April 2008)

Best Selling Adventure Author Steven Coonts visits the legendary Cannibal Queen, a vintage 1942 open-cockpit Stearman Biplane that was the subject of his book.

(Philadelphia, April 2008) In the summer of 1991, Steven Coonts spent three glorious months touring America from the cockpit of the Cannibal Queen; and recounted the trip in his non-fiction book The Cannibal Queen™. Steven will be visiting the legendary Queen for the first time in years and agreed to share his experience with fellow aviation enthusiasts at 6pm on Tuesday May 13th at the North Philadelphia Jet Center, Northeast Philadelphia Airport. Information and directions

In December of 2002, a group of aviation enthusiasts brought this historic plane to Philadelphia. Jim Lonergan, the plane’s owner, and his crew refer to themselves as “the Queen’s current caretakers”, and they share the joy of flying with the community by giving memorable flights over Philadelphia and the New Jersey Beaches. The front cockpit can accommodate two passengers sitting side-by-side. “You just can’t imagine the sensation of flying in an open cockpit airplane until you’ve done it.” said recent passenger Sean Kelley. “It’s the closest thing to being a bird any of us will ever feel.”

The Cannibal Queen™, built by Boeing in the Summer of 1942 in Wichita Kansas, was one of 300 planes manufactured that summer as a primary trainer for the Royal Canadian Air Force. The US Army purchased the plane in the fall of 1942 and the Cannibal Queen served her country for the remainder of the War. She then spent over thirty years as n agricultural spray plane before being lovingly restored in 1987.

Testimonials

In The News