By Mike Davenport, Langley, British Columbia
A long time ago and not very far away, there was a tall skinny teenager hanging out at Delta Airpark. Kevin Maher rode his bike along the well-known grass strip from his home in Ladner and spent his weekends caging rides on anything with wings. These rides were usually in some kind of warbird, such as Harvards, Chipmunks, and, of course, a Stearman.
Many years have gone by, and today he is a senior captain and training officer for a major Canadian airline (not the one with the seating concerns). He has a love for warbirds. His tenacity and sense of purpose in all things led him to start and complete what became a 30-year project: the restoration of a 1936 Model 75 Boeing Stearman, serial number 003, now registered as CF-TCQ.
He purchased the remains of a hardworking aircraft in 1995, one that after a military career had spent much of its working life as a crop duster. Work didn’t start right way as it spent the first three years in a container before Kevin began the epic restoration, most of the early work taking place in the evenings between 9 and 12. Most of the work was done at home except for the distinctive painting that was completed by him in a rented shop spray booth. It is important to note that both Transport Canada in Ottawa and Boeing in Seattle were very helpful during the project. Once a rigorous flight testing program was completed, he flew the aircraft from Vancouver Island to Boundary Bay airport where he invited friends to the unveiling.
Today the aircraft is once again in the air and moving to a new home in the Okanagan Valley. From there, Kevin plans to demonstrate the Stearman’s capabilities at air shows and fly-ins both in British Columbia and Alberta.