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MISSION STATEMENT
Legacy Biplane LLC is dedicated to providing skilled tailwheel and aerobatic flight instruction while sharing the golden age of open cockpit flying and highlighting the unique benefits of training in the Stearman biplane. Our mission is to safely fulfill our customers goals of achieving flying proficiency as well as promoting the growth of General Aviation through carefully crafted introductory Discovery Flight options modeled after the U.S. Navy Primary Flight Training programs of WWII. Additionally, Legacy Biplane LLC provides authentic open-cockpit sightseeing experiences in the WACO YMF-5 biplane under FAR Part 91.147, offering the public a safe and immersive connection to historic aviation while upholding the highest standards of professionalism and operational safety.
ABOUT YOUR PILOT:
BRIAN ROSENSTEIN
Brian has had his head in the clouds since he was born. According to his mother, his first word was actually “plane”. At the age of 14, Brian attended an airshow called the Flying Circus in Bealeton Virginia, a weekly barnstorming style airshow that has operated since 1971. Brian went back to every week until he was hired to sweep out hangars and take out the trash. He then began his flying lessons in many of the old airplanes there, which cemented his passion for biplanes and the golden age of aviation.
After earning his Private, Instrument, Commercial & Multi-Engine ratings, Brian became a Certified Flight Instructor at the age of 19, and has remained current as a CFI ever since. He worked his way up from the ground crew to ride and airshow pilot at the Flying Circus, flying numerous antique aircraft. He has also towed banners, dropped skydivers, performed aerial mapping for the USDA, ferried aircraft around the country, flew traffic reporters around the Washington D.C. beltway, and started a wing-walking airshow business. He graduated with honors from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a Bachelor's in Aviation Science.
Now an airline pilot, Brian lives in Denver NC and is currently a Captain on the Airbus 319/320/321 aircraft. He has flown sightseeing, aerobatic, and instructional flights in biplanes for more than 30 years and has logged over 18,000 hours in the air. He also won 1st place in the Aerobatic Competition at the 2015, 2022, & 2023 Nat'l Stearman Fly-Ins.
ABOUT YOUR PILOT:
ARMANDO CARRION
Armando Carrion brings decades of aviation experience and a deep commitment to excellence to Legacy Biplane. A lifelong aviator who learned to fly in Gray’s Creek, North Carolina, he served over 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, specializing in light tactical fixed-wing and special mission operations. Throughout his career, he has served as aircrew on 26 different aircraft, from heavy military transports to nimble general aviation aircraft, and has volunteered for more than 25 years in search-and-rescue, disaster relief, and counter-drug missions, demonstrating his skill and commitment to service, above all.
Armando holds an FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with multiple type ratings, including for aircraft such as the DC-3 and Hawker series corporate jet aircraft. He has owned an Experimental Lancair, Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, Hatz CB-1 Biplane, and the WACO YMF-5. His dedication to proficiency, precision airmanship, and passion for the legacy of flight make him uniquely suited to guide passengers on romantic, scenic journeys aboard Clara Rose.
Armando currently lives in Concord, NC and is a corporate pilot, Yet he is known for his engaging personality and dedication to spreading the joy of aviation with others, by mentoring, community involvement, and sharing the romance of flying classic aircraft.
ABOUT OUR BIPLANE:
1943 STEARMAN N2S-5
"Sweet Caroline"
Interestingly, she began her civilian life right here in Charlotte, having been sold to the North Carolina Wing of the Civil Air Patrol for the sum of $550 in 1948. She spent 8 years teaching CAP cadets to fly out of what is now the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, and the Gastonia Municipal Airport. In 1956, she was sold to an agricultural service in Liberal Kansas and modified to perform Crop Dusting. She was then leased to an agricultural operation in New Brunswick Canada and damaged in an accident in June 1957. She was sold around as a project to numerous people and was finally restored to her original military configuration in 1980 in San Jose, California. She was recovered with all new fabric and paint again in 1998. Today, she is a truly beloved member of our family and is lovingly known to us as "Sweet Caroline". In December, 2025, she went to Tallahassee Florida for another complete restoration and will return to us at Legacy Biplane in the Fall of 2026 in spectacular, better-than--new condition! Stay tuned for the reveal of her NEW PAINT SCHEME!​
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Construction of our Stearman N2S-5 was completed by the Boeing Aircraft Company at the Stearman Aircraft Division factory in Wichita Kansas on September 20, 1943. She was purchased by the U.S. Army for the U.S. Navy for $9,120, and accepted into service on September 22, 1943 as BuNo. 43426.
She was then flown to Naval Air Station (NAS) Memphis in Millington Tennessee where she remained until April of 1946. Then she was transferred to NAS Corpus Christi Texas where she was overhauled and reconditioned. In July of 1947, she was assigned to NAS Weeksville in Elizabeth City North Carolina and placed in storage until being stricken from the Navy inventory & transferred back to the US Air Force , which allocated the aircraft for use by the Civil Air Patrol in 1948.
ABOUT OUR BIPLANE:
2008 WACO YMF-5
"Clara Rose"
The YMF-5 traces its lineage to the Weaver Aircraft Company (WACO), founded in 1920 in Lorain Ohio during the Golden Age of Aviation. WACO quickly became one of the most successful civil aircraft manufacturers of the interwar period, producing a wide range of biplanes that were known for their style, reliability and performance. In 1934, the company introduced the YMF as part of its F-series, featuring a longer fuselage, improved handling characteristics, and powerful radial engine. The YMF became one of WACO’s most recognizable models, widely used for sport flying, training, and utility work. It remains an enduring symbol of classic American open-cockpit aviation.
Modern reproduction of the aircraft began in 1986 under WACO Classic Aircraft Corporation, which revived the design using the original type certificate rather than producing it as a replica. Today’s YMF-5 maintains the traditional construction methods of the 1930s aircraft, including a welded steel tube fuselage and wooden wings, built from Sitka spruce, and covered in fabric. While preserving its vintage appearance and flying qualities, the aircraft incorporates modern improvements such as updated instruments and avionics, improved braking system, and optional enhancements like navigational systems and some are even put on floats. Each aircraft is largely hand-built, blending historic craftsmanship with contemporary standards, making the YMF-5 a rare example of a continuously produced, FAA-certified biplane. "Clara Rose" was built in 2008 at the WACO Classic Aircraft factory in Battle Creek, Michigan and is the 119th YMF-5 built since production resumed in 1986.
