Steve McQueen’s Boeing Stearman N3188 shown in the background with his 1957 Jaguar XK-SS, a version of the legendary D-Type racecar (Photo Courtesy Car Guy Chronicles)
Recently, Car Show Safari visited the San Diego Automotive Museum and particularly enjoyed their exhibit showing the famous actor and “King of Cool” Steve McQueen racing motorcycles in the early 1970s.
While we were familiar with Steve McQueen as a car guy, bike guy, and racer, we also learned from a museum docent that Steve was a licensed pilot with a taste for unusual airplanes.
In fact, at another San Diego area location the Allen Airways Museum on Gillespie Field has one of two vintage biplanes that Steve owned, in this case a 1945 Boeing B75N1 Stearman. Fully restored and flyable, the plane is registered as N3188, significant in that this number was allegedly Steve’s identification in reform school.
Steve’s aviation interests also included ownership of a very rare Pitcairn PA-8 as well as a modified WWII-era Piper Cub that he gave to his wife. And movie fans may remember that Steve piloted a glider in 1968’s “The Thomas Crown Affair”, for which he reportedly took lessons and flew all of the scenes.
For more information about Steve McQueen’s life, cars, and passion for aircraft, here are some sites to visit:
Steve McQueen’s life as average Joe (Los Angeles Times)
Remembering Steve McQueen (Airport Journals)
Steve McQueen’s Mean Machines | The 1957 Jaguar XK-SS “Green Rat” (THE SELVEDGE YARD)
Steve McQueen’s Pitcairn Flys Again (Elizabeth Pitcairn courtesy of Barbara McQueen)-PDF