Katherine Stinson, “The Flying Schoolgirl,” entertained people around the world with her aerobatic feats. She flew the Curtiss Stinson Special on tours across North America in 1917 and 1918, visiting Edmonton both times. During the 1918 tour, she used the Special to carry bags of mail between Calgary and Edmonton, the first airmail flight in western Canada.
Specifications
- Wingspan: 9.75 m
- Length: 6.91 m
- Powerplant: 1x Curtiss OXX-6 V8 engine (75 kW)
- Maximum Speed: 165 km/h
- Cruise Speed: 112 km/h
- Range: 1000 km
Excerpt from Alberta Aviation Museum – 30 Years of Progress
At 26 years old in 1917, Katherine Stinson was already a veteran pilot. She knew what she wanted out of a plane, and who could build it for her. Stinson approached the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company to custom-build an aircraft for her flying demonstrations, which famously incorporated the loop.
The Alberta Aviation Museum’s dedicated volunteer restoration team pored over dozens of archival photographs and studied other Curtiss blueprints to design this accurate replica. Between 2002-2006 they invested over 20,000 hours building this one-of-a-kind replica of a one-of-a-kind plane.
You can learn more about this aircraft by purchasing a copy of our 30th Anniversary Souvenir Book or by visiting the museum today!
