2-839-670 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

N15696. Single-engine aerobatic and military trainer biplane. Warner Scarab engine, 185 hp. Flown by Alex Papana, Mike Murphy, and Bevo Howard. The Bücker Jungmeister dominated the aerobatic scene in Europe and the United States from the mid-1930s through the 1940s. Introduced in 1935 by Carl Bücker as a single-seat version of the Bü 131 A Jungmann, a two-place advanced aerobatic trainer, the Jungmeister became a favorite of European flying clubs. Romanian pilot Alex Papana brought this Jungmeister to the United States crated in the airship Hindenburg and flew it at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races. Mike Murphy reregistered the airplane as his own and flew it to win the 1938 and '40 American Aerobatic Championships. Beverly "Bevo" Howard then bought it and won the '46 and '47 championships. Howard was killed in an accident in this airplane in 1971, but his estate restored the Jungmeister and donated it to the Smithsonian in 1973.