Plettenberg Bay News - The sky over Plettenberg Bay was a splash of yellow on Friday 28 June when onlookers were treated to the buzz of a "pretty" World War II training biplane as it rumbled through the air.

The 1942 Boeing Stearman, flown in WWII as a primary trainer, was piloted by Knysna aircraft enthusiast and pilot Duran de Villiers.

De Villiers has fully restored and cared for this iconic plane and it proudly displays its original and distinct yellow livery, with its blue-white and red star on top of the left upper wing - and it still has its original engine.

Flying US Navy 349 has been a revelation for De Villiers.

"I went from being a pilot, to an aviator," he says when he first flew the Stearman.

Hundreds, if not more, student pilots did their training on this aircraft 82 years ago during World War II, to prepare for moving up to the bigger fighter and bomber aircraft.

'Distinctive rumble'

"Built by Boeing, and imported from the United Stated into South Africa, the Boeing Stearman is an exceptionally iconic aircraft, and very easy to spot and hear with its distinctive rumble of the seven-cylinder Continental engine.

"It produces only 220hp, and with the biplane configuration, is also one of the prettiest, if not THE prettiest aircraft flying today," says De Villiers proudly.

De Villiers also flies various other aircraft around the Knysna/Plett area.

"The Stearman is the initial step pilots would take before flying the more complex aircraft, thus it also has a more natural and 'raw' flight feel to it, unlike anything else.

'Proper flying'

"It is not an easy plane to land due to lack of forward visibility. She is also a big girl, but once airborne, it's incredibly smooth and solid - you can feel the weight and momentum, the conservation of energy. Raw, real, proper flying," says De Villiers.