| BOEING STEARMAN | Childhood sweetheart y Ken Haenlein returned to his first love B Y J I L L W. TA L L M A N P H OT O G R A P H Y B Y C H R I S R O S E ou should be able to get your neat toys when you're younger, so you can enjoy them. That's what Ken Haenlein believes. Haenlein learned to fly in Stearman biplanes in New York in the 1960s, and nothing else he has flown in the ensuing decades-which includes Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters and Beechcraft King Airs-can top the iconic World War II trainer. He eventually bought a Beechcraft Bonanza that he flies frequently for personal and business travel, but he could never stop thinking about Stearmans. A few years ago, obsession gelled into action, and the search was on. 50 | AOPA PILOT September 2018