RE: midwest super stearman
Quite frankly-no. To get any performance out of this biplane you'll need at least a Saito 1.50. Preferably a 1.80.
Your best bet would be a YS 1.20-1.40. It needs a lot of weight and power up front, and the saitos are simply too light. I've seen it flown with a YS 1.20. It was marginal at best. The YS 1.40 would do the trick.
Of couse some people enjoy really slow, non-manuverable airplanes. Personally, I need at least enough power to pull a loop without fear that it will fall out of the sky-IMHO.