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Listen: The World ProgramRow of Stearman PT-17 planes used during primary flight training at Dorr Field in Arcadia, Florida.
Image Number
Photographer
Date
Rights
Collection
Geographic Term
Subject Term
Flight schools--Florida--Arcadia
World War, 1939-1945
World War II
WWII
Aviation
Airports--Florida--Arcadia
Air bases--Florida--Arcadia
Military education--Florida--Arcadia
Aeronautics, Military--Study and teaching
Flight training
Armed Forces--Training of
Propeller-driven aircraft
Multiplanes
Biplanes
Government aircraft
Airplanes, Military--United States
Training planes
Stearman PT-17 (Training plane)
Air pilots, Military--Training of
Corporate Subject
Physical Description
General Note
Dorr Field, named after pilot Stephen Dorr Jr., was located 11 miles east of Arcadia. It was established during WWI to support flight training operations at nearby Carlstrom Field and subsequently closed at the end of the war. Dorr Field was reopened in 1942 by John Riddle and operated as a civilian contract school for training Army aviators. It was one square mile and had no runways. After WWII, both Carlstrom and Dorr Fields were sold to the State of Florida for a dollar. The site of Dorr Field was later reused as the site of the minimum security DeSoto County Correctional Institution.
The Stearman PT-17 was a fabric-covered biplane with two open cockpits and a 220 horsepower motor. The student sat in front and the instructor in back.
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