Eheu fugaces......!
Pilot looks jolly good for 51 !
Stearman looks jolly good for 71 !
Did 60 hours on them in '41 on the "Arnold Scheme" (Class of 42C) - with no ASI in the cockpit - instructor in front had one, of course ! I'd never flown before (nor had my classmates), so we felt no pain - what you've never had, you never miss. It was a wonderful idea, for we learned to fly "by the seat of our pants".
What have they done with this one ? The original 220hp Continental has been replaced by a Wasp Junior (?) with a 2-speed prop (lifted out of an old BT-13 ?). Should go like ###t off a shovel now. It was a tough old bird.
All the old open cockpit tail draggers had this visibilty problem. You had a good look round before climbing in, and then zig-zagged along when you got moving, poking your head out like an old steam loco driver. Accidents of this kind have happened before, and they'll happen again.
Happy days over the Everglades,
Danny42C