Who should join the Stearman Restorers Association and what do members get?

The Stearman Restorers Association (SRA) is a fit for anyone with a serious interest in Stearman biplanes — veterans, pilots, historians, mechanics, and general aviation enthusiasts. Membership runs for one year, three years, or a lifetime, and it includes a quarterly magazine plus access to a members-only section of the site with forums, a knowledge archive, merchandise, and classified ads.

Who the SRA is for

The association describes itself as an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and safe flying of Stearman aircraft through education of both members and the public. It states that it is passionate about all models of Stearman biplanes.

According to the site, the SRA has over 1,000 members across 25 countries. The organization explicitly invites "thousands of veterans, pilots, historians, mechanics, and enthusiasts" to join.

You are likely a good fit if any of these describe you:

• You own, fly, maintain, or are restoring a Stearman.
• You are interested in aviation history and biplanes generally.
• You stop at airshows or fly-ins whenever a biplane is on the field.
• You want to learn from people who fly and restore these aircraft rather than from general aviation sources.

If your interest is in aviation broadly but not in Stearman aircraft specifically, the value of membership is narrower, since the magazine, archive, and classifieds are centered on this type.

What membership includes

The magazine is the core recurring benefit: it is where the historical material and restoration/flying tips are published, and it arrives four times a year. The members-only area is the second pillar — the forums and Knowledge Archive are where member-to-member knowledge exchange happens, while the Classified Ads section is relevant if you are buying, selling, or sourcing parts and aircraft.

How to join

1. Go to stearman.net.
2. Select the Join tab in the site menu.
3. Choose your membership term — one year, three years, or lifetime — and complete the sign-up.

The site notes that it has recently moved to a new site and that existing members should look for the posted "important log-in information" before signing in. If you are a returning member and your credentials do not work, that notice is the first thing to check rather than creating a new account.

Practical notes before you decide

• Log-in options: The site supports signing in with Google, Microsoft, or Apple, alongside a standard email/password log-in with a "remember me" option and a password reset link.
• Platform: The site runs on Wild Apricot membership software, which is why membership terms and the members-only area are handled through an account rather than a one-off purchase.
• Pricing: The site's public pages do not state membership prices. Check the Join page for current rates before committing to a term.
• Event context: The 50th National Stearman Fly-In drew more than 150 Stearmans, which gives a sense of the scale of the community you would be joining.

A reasonable way to decide

If you want the quarterly magazine and ongoing access to the forums, archive, and classifieds, a one-year membership is the low-commitment way to test whether the content matches your interests. If you are already deep into Stearman ownership, restoration, or research, the three-year or lifetime options avoid renewing repeatedly. If you mainly want to attend fly-ins and look at aircraft, the public event coverage may be enough without joining — membership pays off when you want the written material and the member community.