Celebrating 85 Years of Winnie: The Remarkable Story of Our 1941 Boeing Stearman

85 years young and still turning heads! ❤️✈️

On 3 September 2026, our beautiful Winnie celebrated a very special milestone - her 85th birthday.

Built in 1941, Winnie has spent the past eight and a half decades writing an extraordinary story. From training military pilots during the Second World War to working as a crop duster, travelling across the world and eventually finding her home in Bunbury, Western Australia, she's certainly lived a life most aircraft could only dream of.

Today, Winnie continues doing what she was built to do - flying. Only now, instead of preparing young military pilots for war, she's sharing the magic of open-cockpit aviation with passengers who want to experience a little piece of history for themselves.

At Open Air Adventure Flights, we feel incredibly privileged to be the custodians of this remarkable Boeing Stearman. Keeping an 85-year-old aircraft flying is no small undertaking, but there's something truly special about knowing that every time Winnie takes to the sky, another chapter is added to her story.

While her birthday has come and gone, we couldn't let such an incredible milestone pass without celebrating the aircraft that makes everything we do possible.

Where It All Began: 1941

To appreciate just how remarkable Winnie's 85th birthday is, we need to travel back to where her story began.

The year was 1941. The world was in the midst of the Second World War, aviation technology was advancing rapidly, and thousands of young men were learning to fly in preparation for military service.

Among the aircraft helping prepare these pilots was the Boeing Stearman, a sturdy American-built biplane that would become one of the most recognisable military training aircraft in aviation history.

With its distinctive double wings, exposed radial engine, fixed landing gear and two open cockpits, the Stearman was designed to teach pilots the fundamentals of flying.

There were no sophisticated computer systems, digital displays or modern comforts. Pilots learned through experience, developing an understanding of how an aircraft behaved by feeling every movement through the controls.

The wind, the engine, the vibrations and the elements were all part of the experience.

Winnie was built during this extraordinary chapter of aviation history, beginning her life as a military trainer at a time when learning to fly was about much more than adventure.

It was about preparing for an uncertain world.

More than eight decades later, those same features that once made the Stearman such an effective training aircraft are what make flying aboard Winnie so unforgettable today.

From Military Service to a Life of Adventure

When the Second World War ended, thousands of military aircraft were no longer needed for their original purpose.

Many were sold into civilian ownership, and the Boeing Stearman proved particularly well suited to a second career.

Its strong construction, dependable radial engine and excellent flying characteristics made it popular with agricultural operators, who converted many of these former military trainers into crop dusters.

Winnie was one of them.

After her time as a military training aircraft, she went on to work in agricultural aviation, taking on a completely different role from the one she was originally built for.

It's quite something to imagine the different landscapes Winnie must have seen over the decades, from military airfields to agricultural fields and eventually the coastlines of Western Australia.

Her journey later took her into private ownership in California, where she became a treasured vintage aircraft rather than a working agricultural machine.

From there, Winnie travelled to New Zealand, spending time at Omaka, an airfield renowned for its connection to historic aviation.

Known in New Zealand by the registration ZK-KJO, she continued her journey through the world of vintage aircraft enthusiasts before eventually making her way to Australia.

And that's where the next chapter of her story began.

Finding Her Way to Bunbury, Western Australia

Every aircraft has a story, but some are fortunate enough to find people who are determined to keep that story going.

For Winnie, one of those people is Open Air Adventure Flights founder and pilot, Johan Strydom.

Johan's passion for aviation began long before Winnie entered his life. Growing up around his grandfather, he developed a fascination with aeroplanes, their history and the remarkable engineering behind them.

Becoming a pilot was always the dream, but owning an aircraft was something he once believed was reserved for the wealthy.

An aeroplane of his own seemed out of reach, let alone a beautiful vintage Boeing Stearman.

Yet today, Winnie proudly calls Bunbury Airport home, where Johan has the privilege of flying her and introducing others to an era of aviation that most people have only ever seen in photographs, museums or old films.

Winnie is also a particularly personal aircraft for Johan. Her name was inspired by his grandmother, Winifred, adding another layer of meaning to an already remarkable story.

With her beautiful blue fuselage, distinctive yellow wings and vintage nose art, Winnie is a wonderful sight whether she's parked outside the hangar or soaring above the Bunbury coastline.

And while she may be 85 years old, she still has an incredible ability to stop people in their tracks.

Why Keeping an 85-Year-Old Aircraft Flying Matters

It's easy to admire a vintage aircraft for its appearance, but preserving aviation history involves so much more than keeping an aeroplane looking beautiful.

Aircraft like Winnie represent an important chapter in the development of modern aviation. They tell the story of the people who designed, built, maintained and flew them, often during some of the most challenging periods in history.

Every rivet, every instrument and every mechanical component reflects the engineering and craftsmanship of another era.

Keeping an aircraft of this age airworthy requires ongoing care, maintenance, inspections and a genuine understanding of its unique characteristics.

It's a responsibility that comes with being the custodian of a historic aircraft, and one that Johan takes incredibly seriously.

But there's also something wonderful about preserving an aircraft in a way that allows people to experience it.

Rather than sitting silently in a museum, Winnie continues to take to the skies, allowing passengers to hear the unmistakable sound of her radial engine, feel the wind in the open cockpit and experience flight in much the same way pilots did generations ago.

For us, that's what keeping aviation history alive is all about.

It's not simply remembering the past.

It's allowing people to become part of it.

85 Years Later, She's Still Making Memories

One of the greatest joys of operating Open Air Adventure Flights is seeing the different reasons people choose to fly aboard Winnie.

For some, it's a lifelong dream.

For others, it's a milestone birthday, an anniversary, a special gift or an adventure they've been wanting to experience for years.

We've welcomed aviation enthusiasts who know every detail of the Boeing Stearman, as well as passengers who have never been particularly interested in aeroplanes but simply want to try something extraordinary.

And that's part of Winnie's magic.

She has a way of connecting people with aviation, regardless of their age or background.

There's something special about arriving at Bunbury Airport, seeing a beautifully restored 1941 biplane waiting on the apron and realising that you're about to climb aboard an aircraft that has been flying for 85 years.

Once fitted with a leather flying helmet and goggles, passengers settle into the front cockpit while Johan prepares for departure.

Then comes the sound of the radial engine, the anticipation of taxiing towards the runway and the moment Winnie lifts into the air.

Suddenly, you're experiencing the world from an entirely different perspective.

No enclosed cabin separating you from the elements. Just the wind, the sound of the engine, the wings around you and the beautiful Western Australian landscape below.

It's an experience that reminds us why people fell in love with flying in the first place.

And after 85 years, Winnie is still creating those memories.

Inspiring the Next Generation of Aviators

While celebrating Winnie's past is important, we're equally excited about the role she can play in the future.

One of the driving motivations behind Open Air Adventure Flights is the opportunity to introduce younger generations to aviation and inspire them to dream big.

For Johan, becoming a pilot was a childhood ambition that eventually became his career. Owning a vintage aircraft once seemed impossible, but today he's living a dream he never imagined would become reality.

It's a story we hope encourages others, particularly young people who look up at an aeroplane and wonder what it might be like to fly.

Perhaps seeing Winnie take off from Bunbury Airport will spark an interest in aviation.

Perhaps climbing aboard for the first time will inspire someone to begin flying lessons.

Or perhaps a young aviation enthusiast will simply walk away with a memory that stays with them for the rest of their life.

We may never know exactly where that inspiration will lead, but we love knowing Winnie has the potential to play a small part in someone's journey.

After all, every pilot starts somewhere.

And sometimes, all it takes is one aeroplane to capture the imagination.

A Very Special Year for Winnie and Open Air Adventure Flights

Winnie's 85th birthday comes during an exciting year for Open Air Adventure Flights.

After years of planning, preparation and hard work, we officially began welcoming passengers aboard Winnie in April 2026.

Just a few months later, Open Air Adventure Flights was recognised as the winner of the Emerging Business category at the 2026 Bunbury Geographe Business Excellence Awards.

It was an incredibly proud moment and a wonderful recognition of the dedication involved in building a business around something as unique as a historic aircraft.

But while awards and milestones are exciting, the greatest reward remains the opportunity to share Winnie with others.

Every passenger who climbs aboard becomes part of her continuing story, and every flight is another reminder of why preserving aircraft like her matters.

To think that an aeroplane built in 1941 is still bringing joy to people in 2026 is something we find pretty remarkable.

Here's to the Next Chapter, Winnie!

When Winnie first took to the skies in 1941, nobody could have imagined the journey that lay ahead of her.

From military training to agricultural work, private ownership, international adventures and now her home in Bunbury, Western Australia, she's certainly earned the right to celebrate 85 incredible years.

She's witnessed enormous changes in aviation, from the era of open-cockpit biplanes to modern jet aircraft capable of crossing the world in a matter of hours.

Yet despite all those advancements, there's still something about the simplicity and character of an aircraft like Winnie that continues to capture people's hearts.

As her custodians, we're incredibly proud to play a small part in preserving her history and ensuring that future generations have the opportunity to experience the golden age of aviation.

There are still so many stories to share, passengers to welcome, memories to create and adventures waiting just beyond the horizon.

So here's to Winnie.

85 years of aviation history. 85 years of adventure. And hopefully many more years of blue skies ahead.

Happy 85th birthday, Winnie! 💙💛

With love from the Open Air Adventure Flights team.

Become Part of Winnie's Story

Have you ever dreamed of flying in a vintage open-cockpit biplane?

Based at Bunbury Airport in Western Australia, Open Air Adventure Flights offers unforgettable aviation experiences aboard Winnie, our beautifully restored 1941 Boeing Stearman.

Whether you're celebrating a special occasion, surprising someone with a memorable gift or simply looking to experience the golden age of aviation for yourself, we'd love to welcome you aboard.

Explore our flight experiences and discover the magic of flying aboard Winnie.

All flights are subject to suitable weather and operational conditions.