Va Vol 47 no 5 Sep Oct 2019

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2019

CHERISHED CRUISEMASTER WHERE THE FUN IS! STEED FAMILY CUB

D azzling DGA Tom morris’ 1943 HowArD

THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS COMPLETELY RE-ENERGIZED MY WAY OF THINKING. IF YOU WOULD’VE ASKED ME ABOUT THIS CAPABILITY IN THE ’90S, IT WOULD’VE BEEN UNFORESEEABLE, BECAUSE IT WAS ALL SCI-FI THEN. BUT NOW WE’RE LIVING IT, AND IT MAKES THE LITTLE KID IN ME SMILE. – MICHAEL SMITH, FORD DESIGN MANAGER

MICHAEL SMITH AND JORDAN BECKLEY, DESIGN MANAGERS AT THE FORD PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CENTER, ARE DESIGNING VEHICLES FOR THE CITIES OF TOMORROW THAT PUT CONSUMERS FIRST. TO DO SO, THEY ARE USING SOME OF THE MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY — GRAVITY SKETCH. THIS TRANSFORMATIVE NEW DESIGN TOOL HELPS FORD MAKE ITS PRODUCTS MORE HUMAN-CENTRIC BY ALLOWING THE VIRTUAL DESIGN OF 3D VEHICLES — TO SCALE — WHILE THE DESIGNERS ARE INSIDE. THIS HELPS FORD BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW A CONSUMER WOULD

ACTUALLY INTERACT WITH THE VEHICLE, SO PROBLEM AREAS CAN BE ADDRESSED BEFORE PRODUCTION. WITH THE CAPABILITY OF CO-CREATION, THE FORD GLOBAL DESIGN STUDIOS CAN WORK TOGETHER IN REAL TIME AND COLLABORATE BETTER. FORD IS THE FIRST AUTOMAKER TO USE GRAVITY SKETCH, WHICH HAS REDUCED DESIGN TIME FROM WEEKS TO HOURS BY ELIMINATING THE 2D DESIGN PHASE. IT’S JUST ANOTHER WAY FORD IS FOSTERING INNOVATION AND GOING FURTHER!

The Privilege of Partnership EAA members are eligible for special pricing on Ford Motor Company vehicles through Ford’s Partner Recognition Program. To learn more about this exclusive opportunity for EAA members to save on a new Ford or Lincoln vehicle, please visit www.eaa.org/ford.

Message From the President

September/October 2019

SUSAN DUSENBURY, VAA PRESIDENT

STAFF

AirVenture Success

Publisher: Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO and Chairman of the Board Editor: Jim Busha / jbusha@eaa.org

ANOTHER FUN AND EXCITING EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH is now an

array of fond memories, full of good times with good friends, exciting events, and of course, those beautiful and sometimes exotic airplanes as well as the pilots who fly them.

What a great year! It was not, though, without a glitch or two — the weather just before the convention being the main challenge for the entire event. Rain, along with some pretty serious thunderstorms, marched onto Wittman Regional Airport with a vengeance both Friday and Saturday nights before AirVenture.

(The actual forecast was even worse!) EAA bused campers from all over the airport to the museum for shelter. It was a fun “night at the museum” for displaced campers in their pajamas admiring the museum displays — or so the rumor mill goes. At Vintage, we opened our buildings for displaced campers. The Vintage Hangar, Tall Pines Café, the judges building, and the president’s office (where I hosted a weather-frightened camper until the weather cleared at some time around 1:30 a.m.) were all open. For the most part, the campers were back to enjoying AirVenture by morning. The grass aircraft parking and taxiing areas at Vintage, in general, were just too wet from the massive amounts of rain for airplanes to use. We were able to get a very limited number of planes into certain areas, but the Vintage arrivals and parking did not fully open until Tuesday (of the convention) at noon. So, what does the future hold for these areas where mainly the taxiways at Vintage were impacted? Plans are now being made for upcoming

work on these taxiways to ensure that they will be usable during a particularly wet year such as 2019.

2019 marked the last year that Vintage operated Aeromart, which was started in 1992 as a “swap meet – consignment sale” where individuals such as you and I could sell our aircraft parts that we did not need as well as any other aviationrelated items for which we did not have a use. Initially, this highly popular venue was operated by a dedicated group of volunteers from several different Wisconsin EAA chapters. VAA started operating Aeromart eight years ago. It has been a successful project for Vintage under the leadership of VAA Aeromart Chairman Paul Kyle and his team of truly talented and dedicated volunteers. In all honesty, they were ready for a change and ready to tackle some other volunteer work that is not quite as demanding. So, thanks to all of you at Vintage who worked to make VAA’s Aeromart as successful as it was. Thanks, too, to Paul Kyle for his capable leadership. Paul will be serving in the much needed and newly created chairman position for VAA Convention Finance.

Thank you, Paul, for your willingness to take on this new position.

By the way, Paul is a licensed CPA currently working in the accounting field, so he is perfect for this new position.

This year marked the completion of the full restoration of our flagship building, the Red Barn. In 2018, as part of a two-step process, we completed the hospitality side of the Red Barn, and in 2019, we restored the Red Barn Store side of

Senior Copy Editor: Colleen Walsh Proofreader: Jennifer Knaack Graphic Designer: Cordell Walker

ADVERTISING Vice President of Business Development: Dave Chaimson / dchaimson@eaa.org Advertising Manager: Sue Anderson / sanderson@eaa.org Mailing Address: VAA, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903 Website: www.vintageaircraft.org Email: vintageaircraft@eaa.org

Visit www.vintageaircraft.org for the latest in information and news and for the electronic newsletter: VINTAGE AIRMAIL

Current EAA members may join the Vintage Aircraft Association and receive VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an additional $45/year.

EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine and one-year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association are available for $55 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included).

(Add $7 for International Postage.)

Foreign Memberships Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars. Add required Foreign Postage amount for each membership.

Membership Service PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM—6:00 PM CST Join/Renew 800-564-6322 membership@eaa.org EAA AirVenture Oshkosh www.eaa.org/airventure

CONTINUED ON PAGE 64

888-322-4636

www.vintageaircraft.org

1

Contents F E ATUR E S

14 Family Cruisemaster The last of the taildragger triple tails

By Hal Bryan

24 Tenacity, Toil, and Triumph!

Tom Morris’ Howard DGA

By Sparky Barnes Sargent

36 Soul Sisters Jill Manka and her Champ called Lucy

By Jim Busha

44 Continuing a Family Tradition James Haas curates a 1966 Cessna 310K

By Budd Davisson

52

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

The Saga of Paw-Paw’s Bub

Send your thoughts to the Vintage Editor at: jbusha@eaa.org

A 1946 Piper Cub

For missing or replacement magazines, or any other membership-related questions, please call EAA Member Services at 800-JOIN-EAA (564-6322).

By Sparky Barnes Sargent

2

September/October 2019

September/October 2019 / Vol. 47, No. 5

C OLUMN S 01

Message From the President

By Susan Dusenbury

04

Friends of the Red Barn

06

VAA News

10

How To? Select and Use Aircraft Screws

By Robert G. Lock

12

Good Old Days

60

The Vintage Mechanic Some Thoughts on Restoration and Airworthiness

By Robert G. Lock

63

VAA New Members

C OV E R S Front Tom Morris’ Howard DGA tucks up close to the EAA photo plane.

Photo by Chris Miller

Back The calm before the storm.

Alan Howell catches a beautiful DC-3 against a powerful backdrop.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MILLER

www.vintageaircraft.org 3

Friends of the

RED BARN DEAR FRIENDS,

For one week every year a temporary city of about 50,000 people is created in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on the grounds of Wittman Regional Airport. We call the temporary city EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. During this one week, EAA and our communities, including the Vintage Aircraft Association, host more than 500,000 pilots and aviation enthusiasts along with their families and friends.

With the support of the very capable VAA officers, directors, and more than 600 volunteers, the Vintage Aircraft Association annually welcomes more than 1,100 vintage showplanes throughout the week of AirVenture on our nearly 1.3-mile flightline. We continue to work to bring an array of valuable services and interesting programs to the VAA membership and to all of our Vintage Village visitors during this magical week. Across Wittman Road and in front of our flagship building, the VAA Red Barn, we will feature some really interesting airplanes, including the beautiful past Vintage Grand Champions, an array of Fun and Affordable aircraft, and some exciting rare and seldom seen aircraft. In Vintage Village proper we have a hospitality service, a bookstore, a general store (the Red Barn Store), youth programs, educational forums, and much more.

As you can imagine, creating the infrastructure to support these displays as well as the programs offered during the week is both time consuming and costly, but they are made possible thanks to donations from our wonderful members.

In 2018, thanks to your support, we were able to dedicate the Charles W. Harris Memorial Park complete with a “back porch” and picnic tables for the enjoyment of the guests at Vintage Village. In 2018 we also began a multi-year landscaping project for the entire Vintage Village area, which should be complete by AirVenture 2019. As I write this the final phase of the Red Barn renovation is underway for the grand reopening of our Red Barn Store.

As your president, I am inviting you on behalf of the Vintage Aircraft Association to join our association’s once a year fundraising campaign — Friends of the Red Barn (FORB).

The services and programs that we provide for our members and guests during AirVenture are made possible through our FORB fundraising efforts.

A donation from you — no matter how large or small — supports the dream of aviation for aviators and aviation enthusiasts of all ages and levels of involvement. We invite you to join us in supporting this dream through the Friends of the Red Barn.

I thank you in advance for your continued support of the Vintage Aircraft Association as we move this premier organization forward on behalf of our membership and the vintage aircraft movement.

I am looking forward to seeing you all in July, If you have already made a 2019 FORB contribution, thank you for your dedication and support of the vintage aircraft movement.

I look forward to seeing you all in July !

SUSAN DUSENBURY, PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

4 September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACK FLEETWOOD, CONNOR MADISON

C A L L F O R V I N TA G E A I R CR A F T A S S O CI AT I O N

Nominate your favorite vintage aviator for the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame. A great honor could be bestowed upon that man or woman working next to you on your airplane, sitting next to you in the chapter meeting, or walking next to you at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Think about the people in your circle of aviation friends: the mechanic, historian, photographer, or pilot who has shared innumerable tips with you and with many others. They could be the next VAA Hall of Fame inductee — but only if they are nominated.

The person you nominate can be a citizen of any country and may be living or deceased; his or her involvement in vintage aviation must have occurred between 1950 and

the present day. His or her contribution can be in the areas of flying, design, mechanical or aerodynamic developments, administration, writing, some other vital and relevant field, or any combination of fields that support aviation. The person you nominate must be or have been a member of the Vintage Aircraft Association or the Antique/Classic Division of EAA, and preference is given to those whose actions have contributed to the VAA in some way, perhaps as a volunteer, a restorer who shares his expertise with others, a writer, a photographer, or a pilot sharing stories, preserving aviation history, and encouraging new pilots and enthusiasts.

To nominate someone is easy. It just takes a little time and a little reminiscing on your part.

•Think of a person; think of his or her contributions to vintage aviation.

•Write those contributions in the various categories of the nomination form.

•Write a simple letter highlighting these attributes and contributions. Make copies of newspaper or magazine articles that may substantiate your view.

•If at all possible, have another individual (or more) complete a form or write a letter about this person, confirming why the person is a good candidate for induction.

We would like to take this opportunity to mention that if you have nominated someone for the VAA Hall of Fame, nominations for the honor are kept on file for three years, after which the nomination must be resubmitted.

Mail nominating materials to: VAA Hall of Fame, c/o Amy Lemke VAA PO Box 3086 Oshkosh, WI 54903 Email: alemke@eaa.org

Find the nomination form at www.VintageAircraft.org, or call the VAA office for a copy (920-426-6110), or on your own sheet of paper, simply include the following information: •Date submitted.

•Name of person nominated.

•Address and phone number of nominee.

•Email address of nominee.

•Date of birth of nominee. If deceased, date of death.

•Name and relationship of nominee’s closest living relative.

•Address and phone of nominee’s closest living relative.

•VAA and EAA number, if known. (Nominee must have been or is a VAA member.)

•Time span (dates) of the nominee’s contributions to vintage aviation.

(Must be between 1950 to present day.)

•Area(s) of contributions to aviation.

•Describe the event(s) or nature of activities the nominee has undertaken in aviation to be worthy of induction into the VAA Hall of Fame.

•Describe achievements the nominee has made in other related fields in aviation.

•Has the nominee already been honored for his or her involvement in aviation and/or the contribution you are stating in this petition? If yes, please explain the nature of the honor and/or award the nominee has received.

•Any additional supporting information.

•Submitter’s address and phone number, plus email address.

•Include any supporting material with your petition.

VAA News 2019 AIRCRAFT AWARD WINNERS ANTIQUE (THROUGH AUGUST 1945) World War II Military Trainer/Liaison Aircraft - Outstanding Robert Swint Geneseo, Illinois 1943 Boeing A75N1, N63806

World War II Military Trainer/Liaison Aircraft - Runner-Up Thomas Murray Poplar Grove, Illinois 1942 Ryan ST-3KR, N48608

Silver Age (1928-1936) Runner-Up Michael Maniatis Milton, New York 1928 de Havilland Gipsy Moth, NC431

World War II Military Trainer/Liaison Aircraft Champion - Bronze Lindy John Parish Tullahoma, Tennessee 1941 Boeing A75N1, N44JP

Transport Category Champion - Bronze Lindy Transport Category - Runner-Up H.S. Wright Seattle, Washington 1929 Travel Air S-6000B, N9084

Scott Glover Mount Pleasant, Texas 1936 Stinson A, N15165

Customized Aircraft Champion - Bronze Lindy Customized Aircraft - Runner-Up Mark Holt Clear Lake, Iowa 1941 Waco UPF-7, N32049

Christine Stoecklein Stanwood, Washington 1941 Waco UPF-7, NC32157

World War II Era (1942-1945) Champion - Bronze Lindy Bronze Age (1937-1941) Outstanding ClosedCockpit Monoplane Lonnie Autry Hollister, California 1940 Spartan Executive, NC17665

Bronze Age (1937-1941) Runner-Up Buck Korol High River, Alberta, Canada 1938 Luscombe Model 4, N1337

Silver Age (1928-1936) Outstanding ClosedCockpit Monoplane Harry Ballance Atlanta, Georgia 1934 Stinson SR-5, NC14572 James Savage, 1939 Spartan 7W

Granger Haugh Scottsdale, Arizona 1944 Beech D17S, N582

Bronze Age (1937-1941) Champion - Bronze Lindy Steve Givens Pendleton, Indiana 1941 Fleet 16B, N39622

Silver Age (1928-1936) Champion - Bronze Lindy David Lunsford Bayfield, Colorado 1936 Stinson SR-8B, N81E

Antique Reserve Grand Champion - Silver Lindy James Savage Gibsonia, Pennsylvania 1939 Spartan 7W, NC17634

Antique Grand Champion - Gold Lindy James Kreutzfeld Castle Rock, Colorado 1943 Howard DGA-15P, NC1785H

6 September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS

CHECK OUT THE DIGITAL EDITION of Vintage for a photo gallery of the award winners.

CLASSIC (SEPTEMBER 1945-1955) Outstanding Cessna 170 - Small Plaque Keith Eisberg Keytesville, Missouri 1952 Cessna 170B, N2455D

Harry Ballance, 1934 Stinson SR-5

Outstanding Ercoupe - Small Plaque Derk Kingrey Brookville, Ohio 1946 Ercoupe 415-C, N2853H

Preservation - Small Plaque Outstanding Navion - Small Plaque Phil Cook Zeeland, Michigan 1948 Ryan Navion A, N4210K

Michael Larson Erie, Colorado 1949 Cessna 195A, N9857A

Most Unique Classic - Small Plaque Outstanding Stinson - Small Plaque Dennis Sparks Poulsbo, Washington 1948 Stinson 108-3, N616C

Charles Ross Cross Plains, Texas 1954 Helio H-391B, N100HC

Custom Class A (0-85 hp) - Small Plaque Outstanding Swift - Small Plaque Jeffrey Smith Asheboro, North Carolina 1948 Temco GC-1B, N3849K

Brent Hohman Fulton, South Dakota 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D, N96841

Custom Class B (86-150 hp) - Small Plaque Outstanding Taylorcraft - Small Plaque Timothy Newell Beach City, Ohio 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D, N43754

Gary Hess Dexter, Michigan 1955 Piper PA-22-150, N2748P

Custom Class C (151-235 hp) - Small Plaque Outstanding Limited Production - Small Plaque Ryan Newell Canton, Ohio 1953 Taylorcraft 15A, N23JW

Carl Geisert Chandler, Arizona 1953 Cessna 180, N1564C

Custom Class D (236-plus hp) - Small Plaque Alan Sickinger New Philadelphia, Ohio 1947 North American Navion A, N285TC

Best Customized Runner-Up - Large Plaque George Stanley Richland, Washington 1946 Globe GC-1B, N78104

Class I (0-85 hp) - Bronze Lindy H.S. Wright, 1929 Travel Air S-6000B

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAURIE GOOSSENS, LYLE JANSMA

Robert Stegman St. Peters, Missouri 1946 Luscombe 8A, N45896

www.vintageaircraft.org

7

VAA News

CLICK HERE

TO SEE A FLICKR GALLERY OF THE AWARD WINNERS

Class II (86-150 hp) - Bronze Lindy Brian Crull Noblesville, Indiana 1947 Piper PA-12, N4122M

Class III (151-235 hp) - Bronze Lindy William Addison Colorado Springs, Colorado 1955 Cessna 180, N9916

Champion Customized Classic - Bronze Lindy Kyle Hook Petaluma, California 1946 Globe GC-1A, N90383

Reserve Grand Champion - Silver Lindy Outstanding Cessna 180/182/185/210 - Outstanding in Type

Mark Sell Woodbury, Pennsylvania 1946 Aeronca 7AC, N2388E

Grand Champion - Gold Lindy Scott McFadden Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D, CFCLR

Nicholas Howell Englewood, Colorado 1967 Cessna A185E, N3373L

Outstanding Cessna Multiengine - Outstanding in Type Arlen Stauffer New Smyrna Beach, Florida 1964 Cessna 310I, N4AS Scott Glover, 1936 Stinson A

Outstanding Piper PA-24 Comanche - Outstanding in Type John Gowins New Philadelphia, Ohio 1961 Piper PA-24-250, N7321P

Outstanding Piper PA-28/PA-32 Cherokee - Outstanding in Type James Reagan Hockessin, Delaware 1965 Piper PA-28-180, N8887J

CONTEMPORARY (1956-1970) Outstanding Beech Single-Engine - Outstanding in Type David Nazem Carrollton, Texas 1966 Beech V35, N5724V

Outstanding Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche - Outstanding in Type Ric Burnette Pompano, Florida 1967 Piper PA-30, N30XT

Preservation Award - Outstanding in Type Lee Hussey Martinsville, Virginia 1964 Piper PA-24-400, N8455P

Outstanding Beech Multiengine - Outstanding in Type

Class II Single-Engine (161-230 hp) - Bronze Lindy

Bill Schutzller Applegate, Michigan 1961 Beech D50E, N1961

John Breda Needham, Massachusetts 1968 Mooney M20F, N954N

8 September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT GERMAIN, LAURIE GOOSSENS, MARIANO ROSALES

Celebrating Our 73rd Year

Dennis Ozment, 1955 Cessna 172

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Outstanding Customized - Bronze Lindy Bruce Mayes Honolulu, Hawaii 1962 Meyers 200B, N34393

Reserve Grand Champion Customized - Silver Lindy Joseph Weaver Flower Mound, Texas 1957 Beech H35, N64JW

Reserve Grand Champion - Silver Lindy Edward Maxwell Louisville, Kentucky 1967 Piper PA-28-140, N7369J

Grand Champion - Gold Lindy Dennis Ozment Quincy, Illinois 1968 Cessna 150H, N23232

Michael Maniatis, 1928 de Havilland Gipsy Moth

www.vintageaircraft.org

9

How To? ROBERT G. LOCK

Select and Use Aircraft Screws

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

THERE ARE SEVERAL TYPES OF SCREWS available for aircraft use; however, two of the most popular are the AN525 washer head and the AN526 screw. Both are protruding-head screws and can be purchased as either slotted or Phillips head. All the older aircraft used slotted-head screws because the Phillips head was not invented yet.

The AN525 is a structural screw, being made from 2330 nickel steel and then heat-treated, just like the bolts. After heat-treating, the screws are plated with cadmium for corrosion protection.

Common sizes are the No. 8 and No. 10.

The AN526 is a non-structural, truss-head screw made from low-carbon (1020) steel. It is not hardened by heat-treating because there is not enough carbon in the alloy. These screws are commonly used for attaching a cowling, fairings, etc. Do not substitute these screws in any structural application. Figure 1 is a sketch of these screws.

FIGURE 1

10 September/October 2019

When driving screws into structure it is wise to use a washer under the head to protect a painted surface or to keep from scratching polished aluminum. For the size 10 screws you can use an AN90-10L steel washer or a No. 10 fiber washer. Either is commonly used.

Screw code sizes are difficult to remember, so I always refer to a catalog or my trusty Standard Aircraft Handbook for reference.

The standard No. 10 screw will take an AN365-1032A fiber locknut, which is normally used. Or an AN366 winged nut plate can be riveted to the structure to make the removal and installation job easier. Figure 2 shows the AN366 nut plate.

The Phillips-head screws are easier to install and remove because the screwdriver fits well into the slots, so when using a slotted-head screw, be careful and hold the screwdriver firmly to keep it from slipping out of the slot and damaging the finish.

FIGURE 2

AN520B round-head screw that comes in sizes 6-32, 8-32, and 10-32. Head types are either slotted or Phillips (recessed). Figure 4 shows a brass screw.

Special nut plates are available that fit into instrument holes and make mounting much easier. You must order these special mounting nuts by paying attention to the length of the ears that insert into the instrument. When using this type of mounting nut, the only thread size available is 6-32; therefore, the only brass screw that can be used would be a 6-32. Figure 5 is a sketch of an instrument mounting nut plate.

There are flush-head countersunk machine screws available for aircraft use. These screws carry code AN510 and have an 82-degree included angle between the taper.

Like most all other machine screws, they come in slotted and recessed-head styles.

Finally, there are fillister-head screws that have a hole for safety wire drilled through the head. These screws carry the code AN502. They are manufactured from 2330 nickel steel and are heat-treated and cadmium-plated.

FIGURE 3

Sheet metal screws may be used for attaching non-structural parts on the aircraft. These screws come in truss heads similar to the above machine screws and can be purchased in either Phillips or slotted heads. Type A screws have a point on the end of the threads, while type B screws are flat on the bottom of the threads. They are normally secured by Tinnerman nut plates that carry the NAS395 code and come in various types from A-E and H. The Tinnerman nut plates come in screw sizes No. 6, No. 8, and No. 10.

Figure 3 is a Tinnerman Type NAS 144 nut plate that can be flush riveted to a structure. This type of nut plate readily will accept any coarse-threaded sheet metal screws — just secure the correct size when ordering.

Brass screws are used for installing instruments because they are non-magnetic. The common screw to use is the

FIGURE 5

FIGURE 4

www.vintageaircraft.org

11

Good Old Days

12

September/October 2019

From the pages of what was ...

Take a quick look through history by enjoying images pulled from publications past.

www.vintageaircraft.org 13

F A M

“I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT if you like a good-flying airplane, a smooth-flying airplane,” said Matt Koblenzer of Fox Point, Wisconsin, EAA 487337/VAA 27602. “It’s a very stable airplane, and it doesn’t know what turbulence is.”

The airplane he’s talking about is N7691B, a 1957 Bellanca 14-19-2 Cruisemaster that he’s recently passed on to his son, Andrew.

Representing the ultimate evolution of the taildragger triple tails, the Cruisemaster traces its roots all the way back to Sicily in the late 19th century.

14

September/October 2019

GIUSEPPE

Designer Giuseppe Bellanca was born in Sicily in 1886. His educational background was in teaching mathematics, but he eventually fell in love with aviation. After he graduated from the Technical Institute in Milan, he partnered with Paolo Invernizzi and Enea Bossi on what became the first wholly Italian-designed and -built aircraft in history. That airplane flew in December of 1909 and was followed by a second Bellanca design that was never flown.

I L Y

THE LAST OF THE TAILDRAGGER TRIPLE TAILS

BY HAL BRYAN

Bellanca came to the United States in 1911 and set to work on his third design, a parasol that he flew successfully out of what would become Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York. Once he’d mastered the airplane, Bellanca opened a flying school that he operated from 1912 through 1916. One of his students, future bomber pilot and future legendary New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia, taught Bellanca to drive in exchange for flying lessons.

Bellanca’s next two designs, biplane trainers known as the CD and the CE, were built under contract for the Maryland Pressed Steel Company

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

in Maryland during 1917. After a deal with some investors fell through, a motorcycle dealer named Victor Roos came forward and supported Bellanca’s design and construction of the CF, a five-seat monoplane that first flew in 1922. While the airplane was innovative and highly regarded, it simply couldn’t compete economically with surplus Curtiss Jennys in the early post-World War I years. Over the next few years, Bellanca did some design work, including coming up with upgraded wings for the government’s DH-4 mail planes, but only a few of them were modified.

His next design was the CG, which became the Wright-Bellanca WB-1 after Bellanca went to work for the Wright Aeronautical Corporation. The stout high-wing monoplane was powered by a Wright Whirlwind engine and was used for racing until it was destroyed during preparation for an endurance record attempt in 1926.

Bellanca left Wright and briefly partnered with another investor to work on his next project. The subsequent design — the WB-2, eventually renamed Columbia — went on to set multiple records and caught the eye of Charles Lindbergh, who expressed

www.vintageaircraft.org

15

F A M I L Y

The Cruisemaster was preceded by a number of triple tails, including the popular and capable 14-13 Cruisair Senior series.

interest in using it for his New York-to-Paris flight but was turned down. Lindbergh went on, of course, to change history, but the Columbia, flown by Clarence Chamberlin, made a trans-Atlantic crossing of its own just a week later, flying from New York all the way to Eisleben, Germany.

This feat landed Bellanca on the cover of Time magazine in July of 1927.

At this point, Bellanca started his own company, the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of America, in rented facilities on Staten Island, New York, and then moved to New Castle, Delaware, the following year. Through the 1930s, the company produced a series of aircraft in mostly smaller production runs, most notably the rugged Pacemaker and Skyrocket series, as well as the substantial Aircruiser. In 1937, the company turned its attention to smaller threeand-four-seat personal airplanes, with the advent of the 14-7 Cruisair Junior, a fixed-gear, three-seat, low-wing taildragger powered by a LeBlond radial engine. While the prototype flew with a traditional single vertical fin, the type quickly evolved into the 14-9, a retractable-gear variant powered by a 90-hp Ken Royce radial with two supplemental vertical stabilizers on the outboard edges of the horizontal stabilizer — a distinctive look that would set the line apart for decades.

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September/October 2019

In 1941, the company built the 14-12 and started testing Franklin engines. After a hiatus due to the company’s work as a defense contractor during World War II, the 14-13 Cruisair Senior, a four-seater powered by a 150-hp, sixcylinder Franklin 6A4-150 engine, made its first flight in November of 1945 and went into production soon thereafter. The airplane — described in Alan Abel and Drina Welch Abel’s book, Bellanca’s Golden Age, as flying as slow as a Cub and as fast as a Bonanza — proved popular, and nearly 500 were built over the next three years. Then in 1949, it was time for an upgrade.

The fuselage was retooled and expanded to allow more cabin space, the Cruisair’s hand-cranked landing gear was replaced with hydraulics, and the Franklin gave way to a 190-hp Lycoming O-435 engine turning a controllable-pitch prop. The new design, the 14-19 Cruisemaster, had a gross weight of 2,600 pounds, boasted a range of 700 miles, a cruise speed of about 180 mph, and a VNE of 226 mph, the fastest of any airplane in its class at the time.

Like its predecessors, the Cruisemaster was built with a steel-tube, fabric-covered fuselage, and wood wing, consisting of a spruce spar, wood ribs, and a laminated wood skin that gives the wings an almost impossibly slick surface. The interior was decked out with all mod cons, including large cabin windows, vents, a dome light, and naturally, ashtrays.

Approximately 100 14-19s were built through 1951. In the early 1950s, the company’s business was impacted by the Korean War, and it turned once again to the world of defense subcontracting. At this point, the company took on a group of aggressive investors, and after some sadly typical legal wrangling, Bellanca resigned from the company that bore his name. It folded soon thereafter in 1956.

All of the company’s assets, including tooling and intellectual property, were sold to Frank Piasecki of helicopter fame, except for the Cruisemaster, which was sold to newly formed Northern Aircraft in Alexandria, Minnesota. The company revived the type and produced about 100 14-19-2s, upgraded with 230-hp Continental O-470K engines and updated avionics, in 1957 and 1958. The very last of the triple tails, the tricycle-gear 14-19-3, was introduced in 1959, as the company changed its name to Downer Aircraft. Across multiple models and variants and two different companies, the distinctive triple tails were produced for more than 30 years, ultimately earning the type’s nickname, “Cardboard Constellation,” even though the Bellancas predated Lockheed’s airliner by several years.

Giuseppe Bellanca died of leukemia at age 74 in December of 1960, six years after leaving the company he’d founded. Arguably one of the most underrated aircraft designers of the first half of the 20th century, Bellanca’s triple tails never quite had the commercial success they likely deserved, but they maintain as devoted a following as any other vintage type. And their legacy lived on through the Viking series, which saw peak manufacturing in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF EAA ARCHIVES

MATT

“My dad and I have done everything together,” Matt said.

“Everything that’s fun to do, he’s taught me.” That includes flying, as Matt’s dad decided he wanted to learn to fly when he retired, so he bought a Luscombe that Matt soloed at age 16.

As his flight training progressed, Matt went on to Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio, got his degree in business and finance, and then joined the U.S. Navy after graduating in 1969. After flight training, he went on to fly Douglas A-4 Skyhawks aboard the USS Lexington (CV-16), an aircraft carrier that was launched in 1942 and ultimately retired and turned into a museum nearly 50 years later.

Matt spent a lot of his seven-year Navy career flying VIP transports, the North American (later Rockwell) T-39 Sabreliner, and the McDonnell Douglas C-9B Skytrain II, the military version of the DC-9. Because the nature of his role necessitated a lot of flights to and from commercial airports, Matt obtained an ATP alongside his Navy qualifications.

One of his favorite things to fly in the service was a bit of a throwback, though, as he was trained in and flew the Douglas C-117D, the Navy’s redesignation of the R4D-8 Super DC-3, for about 175 hours.

“For somebody of my generation to be able to get qualified in a DC-3 was something … especially since I’d only flown jets,” he said. “We had a lot of fun with it.”

Matt’s three-and-a-half-year commitment to the Navy turned into seven years, after which he quickly and easily leveraged his experience to get a job with United Airlines.

He started there in 1978 and flew Boeing 727s, 737s, and 777s along with the Airbus A320. There was a two-and-ahalf-year furlough in the mix when he went to TRW in Cleveland, Ohio, to fly Sabreliners, and then it was back to United for the rest of his career until he retired in 2007.

During that time, he didn’t do much GA flying, citing a concern about the liability of risking his professional career should he make a mistake flying personally. But that break didn’t last long, though, and he eventually started flying gliders out of Fun Country Soaring near Cleveland in his

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

downtime. He bought an Eiri-Avion PIK-20D sailplane with a 15-meter wing and flew it for years until he sold it in 2016. He also spotted a powered airplane that caught his eye.

“In 1994, I decided that if I get a light-enough airplane, I can’t do too much damage,” he said. “So I bought a 1940 Porterfield.” He restored and revitalized that airplane, a CP-65 Collegiate, and still has it to this day. A friend of his that helped with the Porterfield restoration would eventually lead him to the Bellanca.

“It all started with a fellow named Scott Thomas, who lived here in Milwaukee,” he said. “He owned a 14-13. I looked at that and thought it was kind of neat.” Like any good vintage aircraft owner, Scott was an effective evangelist for the type. He’d worked on a few triple-tail restorations, and the more he talked, the more interested Matt became. The two of them looked at four or five that came up for sale over the next two years, but none of them quite fit the bill.

Then he made a fateful trip to the SUN ’n FUN International Fly-In & Expo in 2006, and that’s when he first saw N7691B. “We’re walking around, and we see this airplane,” Matt said. “And we talked to the owner, and he says, ‘Yeah, I love the airplane.’ ‘Well, I’ve been looking for one, and yours is really nice. So if you’re ever interested in selling it, let us know.’”

The owner was Dave Leigh, and he didn’t want to sell, at least not at first. Then while Matt was away at work, his wife got a phone call.

“So I go on a trip,” Matt said, “and when I come back … my wife says, ‘Well, I don’t know if I should give you this message or not.’” The message was from Dave, and he was ready to sell.

“It was kind of a heartbreaking deal,” Matt said. “He didn’t really want to sell it, but he had to.” The deal included giving Dave first right of refusal for five years, in case Matt decided to sell the airplane. Dave went on to buy an Ercoupe.

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CHECK OUT THE DIGITAL EDITION of Vintage for a photo gallery of the Cruisemaster.

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September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

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F A M I L Y Matt took delivery of the airplane, and Scott got him all checked out in it.

“I was really pleased with having a unique airplane, an old airplane,” Matt said. But as much as he loved the airplane’s vintage flavor, he made a few changes during his time with it.

“I wanted a complex airplane — I wanted a traveling airplane,” he said. “It was a good IFR airplane with a handheld GPS when I got it, but I upgraded it. Just for a lark, I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I put an Aspen [EFD1000] HSI in it, and then I put a Garmin 300XL GPS in it to go with that.” He considered putting in an Aspen primary flight display but never got around to it. He looked at autopilots for quite a while but didn’t find one he liked that could be easily approved for installation. The rest of the panel is mostly analog and original, with the exception of an Electronics International combined EGT/CHT gauge with a data recorder and a fuel computer, also from EI. “I put that in there because the fuel gauges were so inaccurate,” he said. “Like they say, they’re only good when they show empty. I wanted to see fuel flow. I’ve never filled it up

Better Buy Bellanca!

20

September/October 2019

and not come up with the same number that the computer said we used. It was very impressive.”

But the most noticeable upgrade Matt made to the airplane was the prop. The original McCauley two-bladed propeller was due for an overhaul, so Matt shopped around and ultimately selected a 52-inch, three-bladed prop from MT. The installation was straightforward, but the paperwork wasn’t.

“We spent over a year getting it field-approved,” he said.

“But there was one other Bellanca out in Arizona … he had put one on it and gotten it done, and so I went with the same DAR. “Fuelwise, it’s about as efficient as a two-bladed prop.

We’re not sure if we gained any speed, but we think we gained some takeoff performance … With two people and full fuel, it climbs at 1,000 fpm-plus.” Matt would plan for 165 mph in cruise at 8,000 to 9,000 feet, burning about 11.5 gph at 24 squared. With a total of 50 gallons (48 usable) of fuel on board — 18 in each wing and 14 in an auxiliary tank — the airplane has a slightly less-than-four-hour endurance with a VFR reserve.

On takeoff, Matt said that the tail comes up quickly and flies off easily at about 50 mph, climbing out at about 70.

Matt generally made zero-flap takeoffs, but former Cruisemaster owner and vintage aircraft aficionado Rob Bach recommends setting the flaps to about 25 percent by lowering them until their angle matches the down aileron when the controls are deflected fully left or right. Cruise descents are impressive, and it’s easy to see the airspeed creep right up to 200 mph before you know it. The airplane’s clean lines and slippery performance are a blessing until it comes time to land.

“The airplane will not slow down,” Matt said. “The hardest thing was getting it down into the pattern …. The gear speed is about 120. Flap speed is 80.” Once the gear comes out, followed eventually by the flaps, it will decelerate fairly quickly.

Matt described full flaps as “barn doors,” and they help the airplane get down to 65 mph on base, and then down to 55 on short final before touching down in a three-point somewhere around 45 mph.

A couple of years ago, Matt made the decision to transition to flying as a sport pilot, which meant the Cruisemaster had to go, but he recommends the type with enthusiasm as long as you’re willing to take care of it.

“I don’t think there’s anything unusual about the airplane as far as maintenance is concerned,” he said. “It’s just that you have to be aware of it, and you can’t just take it to a shop. You have to be involved in the airplane.”

Matt passed the Cruisemaster along to his son, Andrew, but still enjoys looking back on his roughly 10 years with it.

“I just loved the airplane,” he said. “It was so much fun to land in small airports. It’s such a versatile airplane, landing about 35 mph, still doing about 160-170 at the top end. I had a friend with a Mooney Ovation, and I could almost keep up with him.”

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF EAA ARCHIVES

ANDREW

Andrew had some interest in aviation as a kid; he did some glider flying and soloed as a young teenager.

Then school, life, and a career in merchant shipping came along, and flying was set aside for a while. But when he was 40, his wife bought him a life-changing gift — an introductory flying lesson. He took that lesson in New Hampshire in a Cessna 150, only to find out after the fact that his CFI went to high school with Matt — just one example of many that the aviation world is a small one.

Andrew got his private and did a lot of flying around New England in 172s and Champs. And then his career took him to Houston. From there, the timing seemed to click, and it was time for him to get his own airplane.

“Flying for me is about a little bit of romance,” he said. “It’s about tradition. It’s about enjoying the flight, the learning, and some of the history, and I think that’s what attracted me to the Bellanca. I mean, even my father was like, ‘Be careful. This is a plane you don’t want to just accept. You have to want to have it.’ … It turned out to be a great complement for me.”

Andrew worked with Rob in Wisconsin to get a checkout, along with his complex and high-performance endorsements, and then he flew it home to Houston.

“I enjoy working on it and inspecting it and taking care of it and learning about it,” Andrew said. “I enjoy how it attracts the people that are very sincere and interested in flight versus technology and speed, I guess. That probably comes off wrong, but I enjoy being around the people that just really look at the craftsmanship and are interested in the romance of flying.”

Like just about any pilot who’s flown one, Andrew has nothing but praise for how the airplane flies.

“It just feels like she launches into the air, she kind of goes into kind of a short sprint as she climbs, and then after that, in cruise, it’s just like an arrow,” he said. “It wants to cut through the air … Once you get it trimmed in, it just stays right on point and just takes a few rudder controls to keep it on track.”

And when it comes to turbulence? “You just don’t feel the jar,” he said. “She handles like a sports car, but she has the glide of a Lincoln.”

Other than the trip home from Wisconsin, Andrew’s flying has mostly been limited to two-hour cross-countries around Texas, but his range is steadily expanding as he continues exploring both the area and the airplane itself.

Andrew’s story with the Cruisemaster is only beginning, but thanks to the careful stewardship of Matt, David, and the others before them, he’s sure to be enjoying the fruits of Giuseppe Bellanca’s design efforts for many years to come.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

Three tails, clean lines, and sleek skin make it fast and smooth, while the surprisingly roomy cockpit and cabin make the Cruisemaster a comfortable and capable cross-country machine.

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F A M I L Y

The airplane embodies a certain grace from any angle.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

MY FIRST TIME

I’ve been in love with triple-tail Bellancas since I was about 10 years old. Back then, my family lived at a place called Evergreen Sky Ranch (51WA), a private airpark southeast of Seattle, Washington. We were hosting a fly-in breakfast, and I woke up to the sound of an early arrival taxiing up and parking just outside my bedroom window. I opened the curtains and saw this beautiful little taildragger that caught my eye, not only because of the smooth lines and the fact that it was my favorite color — red — but also because I didn’t know what it was. As a lifelong aviation geek, that was a painful admission, even then.

I know now that it was a rare 1941 14-12-F3, owned by the Cawley family at nearby South Prairie Airport (02WA) and now owned by noted collector and Bellanca historian Dan Cullman, EAA Lifetime 58058/VAA Lifetime 814.

Something about the overall look reminded me of a scaled-down single-engine version of the family airplane, a (red, naturally) Cessna T-50, only with extra tails. As the baby of the family, I was always drawn to the small stuff.

My brothers had HO-scale trains while mine were N-gauge, etc. Anyway, from that first glimpse, a lifelong affection was born. As I got older, I collected every magazine I could find that had anything about the type, I joined the Bellanca-Champion Club and saved every newsletter, and I talked to owners and pilots and snapped pictures of every example I saw at every fly-in. When I was about 25

TIME TO DUST OFF THE OLD NEWSLETTERS, DIG OUT THE OLD SNAPSHOTS, TAKE A LONG, HARD LOOK AT MY CHECKING ACCOUNT, AND SEE ABOUT TRANSFORMING AN OLD DREAM INTO MY NEW REALITY.

CLICK HERE

TO SEE A FLICKR GALLERY OF THE CRUISEMASTER

years old, I “almost” bought a beautifully restored, bigfinned 1946 14-13 Cruisair, but at that point in my life, I could barely afford the $3 issue of Trade-A-Plane in which it was advertised, much less the now-heartbreaking $16,000 asking price.

That was half my life ago, and in the intervening time, I’ve been extraordinarily lucky to fly and get checked out in a variety of types, thanks to either the “demands” of my job or the kindness of friends or both. But somehow, the tripletail Bellanca family has quietly eluded me until last fall when my editor-in-chief assigned me to write this piece.

I got together with my dear friend Rob Bach, and we met up at Brodhead, Wisconsin, for a checkout in the 14-19-2 that’s featured in this piece. Matt and Andrew already have done a great job describing how the airplane flies, so I’ll just add that everything I’ve ever read — devoured — about the smooth handling and overall “just-rightness” of the airplane was true. It was pure joy, start to finish. I wasn’t necessarily proud of my first landing, but Giuseppe would have been proud at how gracefully his design handled it. After 40-plus years of idle wishing on my part, the airplane would have been forgiven for disappointing me, but it didn’t. It was absolutely worth the wait.

Time to dust off the old newsletters, dig out the old snapshots, take a long, hard look at my checking account, and see about transforming an old dream into my new reality.

HAL BRYAN, EAA Lifetime 638979/VAA 714005, is senior editor for EAA digital and print content and publications, co-author of two books, and a lifelong pilot and aviation geek. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at halbryan or email him at hbryan@eaa.org.

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TENACITY,

TRIU

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September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS

TOIL, AND

MPH! TOM MORRIS’ HOWARD DGA

BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

www.vintageaircraft.org

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F YOU ASK TOM MORRIS OF SONOMA,

California, which he likes better — restoring airplanes or flying them — he responds with a contagious grin and a resounding “Yes!” Tom is one of a rare breed who genuinely loves doing both, and his restoration of NC68231 is an eye-catching reflection of that passion. The 1943 Howard DGA is the sixth airplane that he has personally restored, and it’s all decked out in a snazzy 1930s-style paint scheme. Relaxing under the wing during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Tom said, “I just love flying; I have a gig on weekends where I bounce rides in a Stearman or T-6 for a friend of mine and his Vintage Aircraft Company at North Bay Air Museum.

We fly all weekend, and it’s great fun.”

Tom caught the aviation bug early on since his father was a pilot, and by age 13, Tom was happily washing and fueling airplanes at his local airport. “I worked for flying time, not for money — and that was fun! I took my first lesson when I was 13, soloed at 16 in a Cherokee 140, and got my license when I was 17. I have my commercial single-engine land certificate, and I don’t have an instrument rating because I don’t like flying at night or flying in the clouds. I’m a fair-weather flyer!”

He’s logged about 4,000 hours’ total time now and has enjoyed opportunities to fly more than 80 makes and models. Most of his flight time is in old airplanes, including a Hisso-powered Jenny. So, restoring this prewar Howard DGA was a natural choice.

BIT OF HISTORY

Howard DGAs have a commanding, impressive presence, and there’s good reason for that. The 1939 “Howard Aircrafter” brochure describes the production Howard as being “developed from Ben O. Howard’s Mister Mulligan in which he won both the Bendix Transcontinental and Thompson Trophy awards at the National Air Races in Cleveland in 1935 … Howard airplanes are veterans and especially noted for ruggedness and strength … yet the superior basic design makes for lighter weight with consequent greater load-carrying ability. Fast, yet superbly smooth in rough air, the new Howard gives a restful ride in motor car spaciousness and is surprisingly easy to land because of super-stable wings and effective flaps combined with wide tread gear and long-stroke shock absorbers.”

Howard DGA-15s were manufactured by Howard Aircraft Corporation at Chicago, Illinois, from 1939 to 1944. During World War II, the company built hundreds of the airplanes to the U.S. Navy’s specifications. (Additionally, the Army Air Forces also used Howards.) The Navy’s GH-1 was a personnel transport and was outfitted with wheel fairings and a spinner. The GH-2 had an extra door and could accommodate two litters to transport the wounded; it could serve as either an ambulance or a personnel/cargo transport. The NH-1 was a blind flying instrument trainer, and the GH-3 was basically an NH-1 converted to carry personnel.

CHECK OUT THE DIGITAL EDITION of Vintage for a photo gallery of Tom Morris’ Howard DGA.

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September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MILLER

“THE HOWARD WAS LIKE A JIGSAW PUZZLE, SO IT GOT BUILT TWO OR THREE TIMES!”

— TOM MORRIS

The GH-2 had a 24-volt electrical system and a fuel capacity of 151 gallons in three belly-mounted tanks, with an endurance of more than seven hours at a normal cruising speed of 150 mph, translating to a range of about 1,000 miles. The other models had a 12-volt electrical system, and the NH-1 and GH-3 carried only 122 gallons of fuel.

CHAIN OF OWNERS

NC68231 (serial No. 1734) was built for the Navy as a model GH-2 (identification number 32368) and was stationed at Alameda Naval Air Station for its military career. That’s less than 30 miles from Tom’s home base of Schellville (0Q3), California. So, in a geographic sense, this Howard has come full circle now. It entered civilian life in 1946 when it was sold by the War Assets administrator as surplus property for $2,000 to George William Edmond of Albany, California.

He sold it to Lightning Aero Service at Buchanan Field in

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

Concord, California, in late 1947, and it sold the plane in 1950. The Howard changed hands once more before flying to Fairbanks.

Once in Alaska, the airplane flew freight for Byers Airways and then wound up in the hands of James S. Magoffin (author of Triumph Over Turbulence: Alaska’s Luckiest Bush Pilot) for more than a dozen years. Jimmie Ruckman of Fairbanks bought it in 1972 and changed the registration number to NC166JR. The next bill of sale was to Betty Martelli of Anchorage in 1996; she changed the registration number to NC544AK. She sold it to Jim “JR” Ruckman Jr. of Anchorage in 2000.

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“The airplane was listed for sale in a Howard Aircraft Foundation newsletter in late 2007,” Tom said, “and one of my Howard buddies sent me a note and said, ‘Check this out.’ So we went up to John Burton’s shop at Beagle Field in Medford, Oregon. We looked at it, bought it, and hauled it home.”

Tom started work on it right away and soon discovered the Howard’s original registration number was fortuitously still available. He submitted his request to the FAA Registry to have the number changed back to NC68231.

CONUNDRUM

Tom’s professional experience as a civil engineer in charge of construction projects has no doubt facilitated his methodical and organized approach to airplane restorations. Fueled by a passionate tenacity to see projects through to successful completion, he’s gained a lot of experience by restoring a Starduster II, a Piper Pacer, a PT-26, a Cessna 195, and a Stearman. He also built an airplane with his father and built his own Starduster II. But each project offers its own challenges, and since the Howard was in a state of disassembly when Tom first saw it, he had quite a conundrum to conquer. He said, “I wasn’t there when the airplane was taken apart, so figuring out where everything went and how it fit together was a challenge. Drawings weren’t as available as they are now, now that they’re online for Howard club members. The group of Howard owners [Howard Aircraft Foundation] is just great, and they’ve all been very helpful during the restoration. Overall, I think the most challenging thing about the Howard is that it’s just so big, and there’s so much of it! I did have to do an inventory just to see what I had and what was missing. I have to say that JR did a really good job keeping everything together, and John Burton was really helpful to identify what was missing. The Howard was like a jigsaw puzzle, so it got built two or three times!”

“The old sheet metal was in bad shape because it had been a freighter in Alaska, and they weren’t very careful with the airplane,” Tom said. “But I was able to use the old metal for patterns, by rolling it out flat and seeing how it went together.” Additionally, new stainless-steel control cables were made by using the original cables as patterns, in accordance with Howard Erection and Maintenance Instructions for the Model GH-2.

One of the most time-consuming tasks involved the wings. “They were rebuilt by Jack Swartz, and I reskinned some of them,” Tom said. “They were good structurally, but there wasn’t a lot of time spent with fit and finish to make them nice and smooth. He didn’t use nail strips, so all the nails were left in the wings.

So I pulled all the nails and filled the holes; I had some help with that task because there are thousands of nails. I also replaced the closure strip on the trailing edge of the ailerons and flaps. That strip is normally a type of aluminum that is fastened to the top of the wings with wood screws. So I did the mod that most of the guys do and replaced it with a smooth wood strip, which doesn’t have a tendency to work loose and become a spoiler like the aluminum strip has done on some airplanes. So the wings were a lot of work. The whole airplane is pretty complex for a 1930s design, and the sheer size of it is daunting.”

The original wheels, brakes, and master cylinders were replaced with a Cleveland conversion kit (199-61) without modifying the axles or backing plates. Wheelpants add a touch of handsome elegance to the brawny Howard, and Tom installed a pair made of Fiberglas. “I did put the stiffeners in them like the metal ones have, so I can stand on them,” Tom said. “But I didn’t put steps on them because I like the scallops so much! I installed the beefed-up main landing gear tie struts that came with the project; JR made me promise to put those on, or he wouldn’t sell me the airplane.”

HANDS-ON RESTORATION

FABRIC, FINISH, AND INTERIOR

Tom commenced work on the project in his well-equipped shop, tackling all aspects of the restoration with a prevailing cheerful gusto. The steel tubing of the fuselage and empennage was bead blasted, inspected, and coated with epoxy. All of the wood in the wings, flaps, and ailerons was varnished with clear-gloss Poly-Fiber Stits epoxy varnish EV-400. New wood formers, stringers, and floorboards were fabricated, and original parts served as patterns for fabricating new instrument panels and the engine cowling from 0.032 2024 T3 aluminum.

Tom covered the airframe using Poly Fiber 3.5-ounce heavy-weight fabric on the steel tube components and the lighter-weight fabric over the wood-skinned wings. He applied Aerothane for the finish color coats, using a high-volume low pressure paint gun. As for the scalloped trim scheme, which is strikingly different from many other Howards, Tom said, “I saw a picture of a clipped-wing Monocoupe that had a paint scheme similar to this, and I thought, ‘You know, I bet that’d look good on a Howard, and Benny [Howard] would approve.”

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September/October 2019

RESTORING ONE OF A KIND

Figuring out the fit of parts and pieces made the Howard project seem like a jigsaw puzzle.

Seth Severson helps with prepping the fabric-covered fuselage for painting.

Tom works on the fabric-covered fuselage.

Work in progress on the control yokes and instrument panel.

Installing the main landing gear.

Tom is pleased with Covington’s work on the Pratt & Whitney R-985.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF TOM MORRIS

One wing finished in its scalloped paint scheme.

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SPECS 1943 Howard DGA-15P

Manufactured under ATC A-717.

Not eligible to be flown by a sport pilot.

WINGSPAN:

38 feet

WING CHORD:

72 inches

LENGTH:

24 feet, 10 inches

HEIGHT:

8 feet, 5 inches

EMPTY WEIGHT:

3,000 pounds

USEFUL LOAD:

1,500 pounds

GROSS WEIGHT:

4,500 pounds

ENGINE:

450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985

FUEL:

151 gallons

OIL:

8 gallons

MAX SPEED:

270 mph

CRUISING SPEED:

165-170 mph true airspeed at 10,000 feet

LANDING SPEED:

75 mph

RATE OF CLIMB:

1,500 fpm

SERVICE CEILING:

22,500 feet

CRUISING RANGE:

984 miles

BAGGAGE CAPACITY:

125 pounds

Derived from Joseph Juptner’s U.S. Civil Aircraft and aircraft records.

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September/October 2019

Knowing he wanted a comfortable and reliable airplane, Tom’s goal for the project wasn’t to return the Howard to its original Navy GH-2 configuration but rather to return it to a civilian DGA-15P model. So he made it a little plusher, devoting time and attention to small but important details along the way.

While the front seat frames are stock, Tom had to make the rear bench seat because there wasn’t one with the project. He had the seats and side panel upholstery sewn by a local auto shop, using Townsend leather in a classic embossed desert floor pattern, and installed an Airtex sandalwood-colored headliner and blue carpets. The original military-style control yokes were restored and neatly wrapped in black leather.

He also ordered a replacement windshield and windows from LP Aero Plastics Inc. The side windows are trimmed with metal window frames that match the instrument panel. They look like high-gloss wood, but they aren’t. “It’s a finishing process called hydrographics,” Tom said. “They float a decal on water and spray a solution on it that turns into a gel. Then you dip the metal part through it, and it clings to it and coats it — no matter what the shape is. It’s really pretty neat. I worked with the guy doing it, and I had painted the metal pieces orange. And he said, ‘Why orange?’ I said, ‘The coating you’ll be putting on is transparent, and I want it to pop!’ He said it wouldn’t work.

Well, I’m the customer, so we did it. And we put orange tint in the clear coat, too, and that made it real brilliant.”

EXTRAS

It takes a perceptive person who’s very familiar with Howards to notice some of the finer details that Tom included in his restoration. He patiently took the time to work on several extras to enhance form and function. For one, he addressed the gaps between the tail surfaces. “You could stick your finger through the gaps — they were so wide. I closed all that up with a wood filler strip before I covered the control surfaces, and I closed up the gap between the rudder and elevator hinges with a piece of doweling before I covered them; it just made everything nice and tight,” Tom said. “I made little removable access covers at the hinges so you could service them if necessary.

I also moved the fuel vents so they don’t stick out the top of the wing; they’re on the bottom of the fairing, so it’s all flush and nice.”

Additionally, Tom decided to use flush rivets instead of round-head rivets on the airplane’s exterior sheet metal.

“The sides of the fuselage were 0.020 originally, but I used 0.032 aluminum because the 0.020 looked terrible,” Tom said. “The nose bowl was actually in really good shape, and the rest of it is brand new. That wrap behind the nose bowl around the engine is 11 feet long, and it’s not straight; it’s curved because it’s bigger in the back than it is in the front.

So it always takes longer than you think to make new parts!”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MILLER

“THE WHOLE AIRPLANE IS PRETTY COMPLEX FOR A 1930S DESIGN, AND THE SHEER SIZE OF IT IS DAUNTING.” — TOM MORRIS AVIONICS

In an effort to keep the Howard close to an original-type civilian configuration, Tom used a stock layout for the instrument panel that includes a directional gyro, artificial horizon, turn and bank, and cylinder head temperature gauge. Modern equipment includes a Garmin GTR 225 transceiver, GTX 345 ADS-B transponder, and a PS Engineering PM1200 intercom system mounted in the left portion of the panel. An EBC 502 emergency locator transmitter is mounted aft of the rear baggage bulkhead, with a pilot test switch and indicators mounted on the left side of the panel. The transceiver antenna is inside the left wing, and the transponder antenna is inside the right wing.

The original 24-volt electrical system had a large resistor to drop the voltage to 12 volts for the fuel, trim, and flap mechanisms.

The resistor was replaced with a Lone Star Aviation Corp. DC-24to-12-volt converter. Two convenient power accessory plugs were added in the cabin, and Tom made the wiring harness per the original Howard drawings. A Concorde RG 24-12 battery was installed in one of the original two 12-volt battery mounts.

Helping hands are always appreciated: (L-R) Larry Fisher, Dennis Jones, Dave Mace, Tom Morris, George Perez, Mike Gillman, Dan Gillman, and Jeff (LNU) were among the crew who helped with the move and final assembly.

FUEL AND FIRE

UPWARD AND ONWARD

The Howard project didn’t come with an engine, so Tom bought a Pratt & Whitney R-985 that had been overhauled in 1991 and was still in its shipping crate. “I sent the engine to Covington, and they determined that it had two cracked heads, the bores were out of tolerance, and the rings were used,” he said. “Basically, it was a mess. So they fixed it. The good news is that I got a really good deal on it and the Hamilton Standard 2D30 prop, so I still came out okay. The engine is running perfectly; Covington does good work.”

Three fuel tanks quench the R-985’s thirst; at 25 inches and 1850 rpm, it burns 20 gph. The main tank holds 88 gallons, the front holds 33 gallons, and the rear holds 30 gallons. Fortunately, the original tanks were in decent condition and only required some minor repairs. The original type Howard G-1 fuel valve was replaced with an Andair fuel valve that uses the same porting and fittings as the original valve and was handily installed on the original mounting plate. “This was done with a 337 as there were a couple of other Howards that had previously approved fuel valve installations like this,” Tom said.

At long last, Tom had the Howard ready to fly for the first time on March 1, 2018. “I flew the test flight because I earned it!” he said. “It went really well; it’s a great airplane. There were some little trim issues, but it flew well. And of course I made the mandatory 200-mph pass!

Tom’s efforts were lauded by the AirVenture 2018 judges, who awarded NC68231 with the World War II Era (1942-1945) Champion – Bronze Lindy. “It feels really good to have it finished and flying. I have to say that when I went out in my shop after the Howard went to the hangar, it was kind of lonely out there without an airplane in it. So I’m taking my N3N home so I can start on it!”

When Tom’s not working on his N3N, he’ll likely be flying his Howard, accompanied by his

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF TOM MORRIS

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September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MILLER

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS

The instrument panel combines traditional and modern avionics.

CLICK HERE

TO SEE A FLICKR GALLERY OF TOM MORRIS’ HOWARD DGA

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September/October 2019

wife, Debbie. “She was a big help during the restoration and is always encouraging and ready to lend a hand when two are just not enough,” Tom said. “It’s great to have somebody who understands my passion for airplanes and is so supportive of it. Debbie has no desire to become a pilot but loves to fly and always enjoys our trips.”

Tom and Debbie are already enjoying the ultimate triumph of more than a decade’s worth of tenacity, toil, and tribulations. They’ve flown the Howard to Idaho, Oshkosh, and Southern California in 2017 and have many more flying jaunts in the works.

“The Howard is built to travel, and it does so in comfort and style at some pretty good speeds,” Tom said. “It will true at 170 mph at altitude in smooth, quiet comfort unrivaled by most any single-engine airplane, whether antique or modern. I spent better than 10 years restoring 231, working evenings and weekends while still holding down my regular job. I’m retired now, and I plan to enjoy my Howard for many years to come. It is a joy to fly and share — and the ‘Howard grin’ on the face of passengers is pretty impressive, too! While it is a master at cross-country, it is also challenging enough to fly (land) to keep my interest.”

FROM TRIKES TO TAILDRAGGERS

Jill Manka, EAA 1179193, of Lakeland, Florida, is no stranger to taking in orphaned JILL MANKA AND HER CHAMP CALLED LUCY

BY JIM BUSHA

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September/October 2019

waifs. Her adopted dog Vega is a prime example of the inner beauty Jill sees in strays.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK

www.vintageaircraft.org

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SOUL SISTERS Short and squat, with mainly snow-white fur and brown specs, she resembles the Winnie Mae, the around-the-world, globe-trotting Lockheed Vega made famous by Wiley Post. So, it was no surprise when Jill spotted a derelict frame of an Aeronca Champ, lying forlorn among the rafters of a hangar in Michigan, that she knew she had to rescue the plane. But that’s getting way ahead of the story.

You see, Jill herself did not pursue aviation until a wayward barnstormer named Rob “Waldo” Lock pursued her. Smitten with the lanky flyer, Jill packed her bags and moved to Florida from her home state of Illinois and joined Waldo Wright’s Flying Service at Gilbert Field (KGIF) in Winter Haven, Florida. Jill quickly realized the joys that flying brings out in people from all walks of life and wanted to be a bigger part of aviation. But in order to step into the cockpits of Stearmans, New Standards, or Travel Airs, Jill knew she had to earn her wings.

“I started out in a Cessna 172,” Jill said. “And a light bulb went off, and I’m, like, the tailwheel aircraft I’m going to be flying are going to be much lighter than a 172. So, I stepped down to a Cessna 152 because I wanted to feel everything, like how the wind pushes and pulls you in different directions as I developed my flying skills. But I also realized that in order to be a stick and rudder pilot, what I really needed to do was fly tailwheel airplanes to develop so

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many more senses like hand-eye coordination, proper rudder control, and a more seat-of-the-pants type flying. That was the big draw for me in tailwheel flying.

I wanted to feel everything. I wanted to be a participant in the flight experience.”

Jill had been flying with Rob in his Stearman before she ever flew the 172, so her heart naturally was always in tailwheel flying. Jill recognized that both the 172 and 152 helped her with the initial comfortability of flying, but she admits that even in the 172 and 152, she hated the feeling of a nosewheel airplane at touchdown.

“I was always concerned about a prop strike,” said Jill. “To me, the tailwheel attitude when you come in and flare felt more natural in both a wheel landing and a three-point. It felt more appropriate to me. That little nosewheel versus tailwheel feeling of angle when you land, for me, was a big connection point. I think when it comes to lighter horsepower aircraft, you need to do what’s fun and do what’s best for you.”

Another challenge Jill encountered as a student pilot after she had soloed the 172 was her realization that “I don’t have anything to fly once I finish this process. And I have no idea what one I want to fly.” So, she put her flight instruction on hold and went searching for a tailwheel airplane with its own personality. Jill admits it’s unclear who found whom, and in reality, it doesn’t matter all that much. What mattered was that the two became soul sisters and experienced a journey of a lifetime.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK

“So, to be able to have my mother along with me in Lucy and to fly over the church where she got married, the farmland that her family had nurtured for so many years, I will never forget her saying, ‘I remember growing up and everything seemed so far away, and if I would’ve seen it from this perspective, it’s so close together. We’re not that far apart from each other.’”

— JILL MANKA

CHECK OUT THE DIGITAL EDITION of Vintage for a photo gallery of Jill Manka’s Champ Lucy.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA

www.vintageaircraft.org

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RESTORATION THERAPY

SPECS Aircraft make and model: Aeronca 7AC Champion

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LENGTH:

21 feet, 6 inches

WINGSPAN:

35 feet

HEIGHT:

7 feet

EMPTY WEIGHT:

740 pounds

GROSS WEIGHT:

1,220 pounds

SEATS:

2

POWERPLANT:

Continental C85-8

PROPELLER:

Sensenich

HORSEPOWER:

85

CRUISE SPEED (65 PERCENT POWER):

75 mph

MAXIMUM SPEED:

100 mph

RANGE:

260 miles

September/October 2019

In 2009 Jill came in contact with a 1946 Aeronca Champ, serial No. 1888, that was hanging in some rafters at a friend’s hangar in Mason, Michigan. The Champ was far from a flyer, and even though the skeletal remains were covered in a fine coating of dust, Jill saw the potential beauty of what could be.

“With the Champ, I knew I wanted a tailwheel aircraft,” Jill said. “But I didn’t know what type, so I went a nontraditional route. I started asking a lot of the people I’d considered senior in tailwheel flying or professionals in tailwheel flying or mentors in tailwheel flying, and 95 percent of them learned in Champs. To me, that was quite an endorsement. If I would’ve had a lot of mixed recommendations, I would’ve definitely had a tougher time picking the airplane, but to have these recommendations from these people that I considered to be very well-respected air show pilots and professionals in the aviation field, that was kind of my nod. Then to see this thing staring at me from the rafters, it’s, like, hello! And it just connected.

“The frame was up there, and it didn’t have any wings on it.

And it just looked so lonely up there. I made him an offer for the project and pulled it out of its resting place.”

Jill always refers to herself as a kind of a woodshop girl and enjoys working with her hands. Although she had never restored an airplane before, she wasn’t intimidated with the process. She also knew she could lean on her aviation friends to help guide her forward. In addition, she liked the instant gratification of a project where she would work a little on it and slowly see the results develop in front of her. One of the Champ’s wings was original,

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK

The Champ was far from a flyer, and even though the skeletal remains were covered in a fine coating of dust, Jill saw the potential beauty of what could be. but the other one had to be rebuilt due to a previous ground loop. According to Jill, the woodwork that was done on the original spars was flawless.

“You could see the splicing, and it was impeccaimpecca ble,” Jill said. “Those folks are truly craftsmen.

Their artistry was magnanimous, but I will say we worked with Rainbow Flying Service of Moses Lake, Washington, on rebuilding the right wing.

Their work was equally as beautiful. Rainbow had some beautiful spars that they sent us, so we were honored to have the Rainbow spars on the wing, as well. I also had a wonderful chance to read Jon Goldenbaum’s — president of Poly-Fiber Aircraft Coatings — book, How to Cover an Aircraft. It helped me as I was going through my fabrication of the Champ.”

As a brand-new pilot in training, restoring the Champ also gave Jill additional confidence for the plane in which she would eventually earn her private pilot certificate. From the restoration side of it, Jill

SOUL SISTERS knew she wasn’t flying someone else’s problem along with knowing she wasn’t flying something for which she had a lack of knowledge about the systems, because she was the one who built all of the systems.

“I knew exactly how the controls were put together, how the rudder pedal cables were assembled, and how the engine worked,” Jill said. “I put the accessory case, crankshaft, camshaft all back together under the watchful eye of an A&P so I knew how it worked. I saw the push valve housings and the pistons, and I learned very intimately not only what was in my airplane but more importantly what made it tick.”

On May 3, 2015, after countless hours of sanding, turning wrenches, painting, and more sanding, Jill was finished with the restoration of her Champ. Sitting on the ramp, with its fresh coat of forest green and Diana cream colors, Jill knew she had to call the airplane something other than Champ.

“Her name’s Lucy,” Jill said. “When I looked at it, that’s what she looked like. Also, it was just kind of a nod to the era of the aircraft — 1940s, ’50s, and a little Lucille Ball nod, a kind of comical genius. I was hoping that I would have an aeronautical genius that could help me along with getting familiar with tailwheel aircraft and making sure we had fun, as well.”

Jill eventually earned her private pilot certificate in Lucy. As a trainer, the Champ was a perfect airplane for Jill. With the aircraft weighing only 800 pounds, Jill said she can maneuver it on her own. “I can just push it out of the hangar, fire it up, and go have some fun and tuck her back in the hangar when we are all done.”

For power, Jill chose a Continental C85-8 engine for the Champ instead of the standard A65. Jill worried about the density altitude in Florida. And as a taller pilot, she also wanted to make sure that she had a little extra giddy-up, especially if she

CLICK HERE

TO SEE A FLICKR GALLERY OF JILL MANKA’S CHAMP LUCY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA

www.vintageaircraft.org

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had another guest on board. Swinging a wood Sensenich propeller, Jill has to hand-prop Lucy; she finds it will start on the first blade or two every time.

“The Champ is bare-bones basics, but she’s a lovely piece of equipment,” Jill said. “And with the lighter horsepower, it’s more affordable. It’s a whole lot of fun, especially when you’re practicing landings, and you might be doing a wheel landing. And you maybe think, ‘Okay, I’m doing really good at these wheel landings. Maybe I’ll try, like, one wheel. I’ll do it on the left side. Then I’ll do it the right side, just to play.’”

TRAVELING BUDDIES

Jill confessed that her favorite time with Lucy is on long cross-countries. She has taken Lucy from Florida to Michigan three times now. Like a migratory bird, Jill will fly up to Michigan every May, and every October, Jill will bring her back to Florida.

“When I’m in Michigan, I’ve flown her into Oshkosh twice,” Jill said. “I’ve also had a chance to take her to Blakesburg, Iowa, once.

I’ve taken her to the Champ fly-in in Middletown [Ohio] once and to Poplar Grove, Illinois, for the Ladies Love Taildraggers Fly-In. I love taking the Champ places.”

Even in her adopted home state of Florida, Jill can get in Lucy and fly 45 minutes down the road to Venice.

“It’s an airport on the beach,” Jill said. “I can go down there, have lunch, hang out at the beach for a little bit, come back home. Nice little day trips. I have a 13-gallon main tank and one 5-1/2-gallon wing tank. When I restored the other wing, I left a space for another 5-1/2-gallon tank. So far, I don’t think I need it, because my range is three and a half hours. I usually stop after two and a half hours just because your heinie starts to hurt. But it’s been a wonderful cross-country airplane.”

When Jill and Lucy fly north, she will fly over the Smokies, over the southern route, south of Chattanooga, with its rolling hills and valleys. Jill likes to flight-plan typically between 800 feet AGL and 1,200 feet AGL. “I don’t like to go much higher than that,” Jill said. “I like to see things when I fly, and for me, that’s part of the reason why I like cross-countries.

You can peek in people’s backyards or see the world from a different perspective and take in the topography of nature. When you’re coming up on the Smokies and you go over the first ridge, you’re at maybe 2,100 feet AGL, and you’re still maybe 500 or 600 feet above the treetops. And then that

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first ridge hits the valley, and suddenly below you, the ground drops 1,200 feet. So now you’re 1,600 feet above the treetops. That, to me, is such a magical experience, and it feels so incredible.”

But one of Jill’s most memorable and fun experiences was when she was back home in Illinois. Jill always flies in and keeps Lucy at Frasca Field, near where she grew up.

“My mother, Barb Manka, had never flown with me before,” Jill said. “She had never flown over her family farm before. So, to be able to have my mother along with me in Lucy and to fly over the church where she got married, the farmland that her family had nurtured for so many years, I will never forget her saying, ‘I remember growing up and everything seemed so far away, and if I would’ve seen it from this perspective, it’s so close together. We’re not that far apart from each other.’”

Jill also enjoys sharing the experience of Lucy with other young women and other people. Jill assures any first-time flyer that they will not be breaking any speed records with Lucy.

“It’s an introductory flight for people who’ve never flown before or have had a curiosity about aviation,” Jill said. “The Champ is a very simple airplane with basic instrumentation. And people can understand that the stick’s a big pointer, and wherever you point the stick, that’s where the airplane’s going to go. It helps them kind of feel comfortable, as well.”

sit somewhere passively and have a computer tell me what’s going on. I have no interest in an instrument rating. I have no interest in a multiengine rating or going somewhere fast. I still scratch the high-power itch because I will be flying Stearmans and Travel Airs. But those are still pretty low and slow aircraft that have a rumble feeling, and they’re fun. I would also add that part of aviation is being able to constantly challenge yourself. That’s why the tailwheel experience, I believe, is, for me, a true experience with flight. Not to say that nosewheel is not true, but I think if you’re on the fence, you should really try both. Don’t let a tailwheel intimidate you, because at the end of the day, it’s all technique. And just like you learned your nosewheel technique, you have to learn your tailwheel technique, and you learn about your airplane and its limitations. The approach is exactly the same as nosewheel, in my opinion. So just try both and see if you’re comfortable with one over the other.

“There’s no right answer. That’s the beauty of aviation — it’s whatever you feel is your journey and your passion. So I think as long as you get in an airplane and you’re flying, that’s the whole point, but for me personally, the tailwheel is just a more honest approach to it.

It’s the type of flying that touches your soul and always creates a big smile across my face.”

FRIENDLY ADVICE

I asked Jill what advice she would give somebody sitting on a fence who doesn’t know what route to take but wants to get into flying for the same reasons she had: mainly to have fun.

“Low and slow’s the way to go,” Jill said. “That’s why I got into flying. I wanted to be an active participant as a pilot. I don’t want to

www.vintageaircraft.org 43

The business end of a very business-like airplane that is now a contemporary classic.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MILLER

g n i u n i t n o C n o i t i d ra T y l i m a aF

JAMES HAAS CURATES A 1966 CESSNA 310K

BY BUDD DAVISSON

THERE ARE THREE FACTS that have slipped past many longtime EAA members unnoticed. First, as of 2019, the organization itself is 66 years old.

That’s a long time! Second, a 1966 Cessna 310, such as that which James Haas had at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018 and is universally considered to be a truly modern piece of transportation, is 53 years old! Unbelievable! The type first flew in 1953! It’s the same year the EAA

was founded. More amazing, the following fact slipped past almost unnoticed: The 310 — the everlasting standard for high-performance personal transportation — went out of production in 1980, just short of 40 years ago! Many members may ask, “How can that possibly be?” One of the few aviation factors that passes us faster than a C-310 is time. It moves lightning quick and never slows down.

www.vintageaircraft.org

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THE CESSNA 310: A VINTAGE PASSION

or lots of reasons, we don’t think of a 1966 310K as being a vintage airplane. Its lines are as modern as today. Certainly, its cruise speed of over 200 mph is right up there with the most modern of A-to-B, nonturbine aircraft. It started as the short-nosed, straight-tail version with vertical tip tanks, dubbed “tuna tanks,” with which Sky King replaced his World War II Bamboo Bomber. Over its lifetime, however, the 310 mutated into a sleek, sweptback, long-nose bird that visually embodies the very essence of speed while still parked on the ramp. The airplane has a way of working its way into a certain type of pilot’s mind, and one of those pilots is James Haas of Frisco, Texas. However, his 310K is more than simply an airplane. It is a repository of memories and emotion that spans two families, something he values highly and strives to protect. His family is only the second family to own the 53-year-old airplane, and he has only owned it for two years. What does that say about the first family that owned it?

James developed his passion for the 310 differently than most. “My dad was a journeyman lineman but got his PPL [private pilot certificate] when he was 32,” James said, “and he’s owned a few aircraft since, including an RV-6. I was 12 years old when he took me on my first flight, and that was in a C-172. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world and decided that’s

what I wanted to do with my life. I went the solo-at16-PPL-at-17 route and got my CFI while in college. I flew quite a bit while in school, then started flying cargo in a Cessna 402 and giving training in 310Bs and -D’s. That’s where I came to like and respect that particular airplane. Many years later, when I was flying for the airlines, a strange thing happened regarding 310s.

“Periodically at work, I’d fly with David Smither, also from Texas, whose family had a 310K, so we’d be constantly talking about the type,” he said. “We became friends right away. And I quickly found out that David was totally enamored with the airplane because this particular 310K, a ’66 model, had been part of the family almost since he was born. His dad had bought it in ’67 and flew it for business. It was also the family long-range taxi.”

After hearing Dave talk about the airplane for several years, James knew he had to fly with Dave in his outstanding aircraft. “Over the years, his family spared no expense in keeping the airplane up,” James said.

“More than that, they had no interest in modifying the airplane in any way that wasn’t driven strictly by function. They maintained it but didn’t restore it. They didn’t have to restore it because it basically never deteriorated from what it was when new. They’d replace a part when it needed replacing. If something

The Cessna 310K makes 1966 look very modern.

Hard to believe it’s 53 years old!

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September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS

wore out, they’d repair it or replace it with factory original. They did renew the upholstery in 2008, and it got a new paint job. But both were done to 1966 Cessna standards. Again, they were just maintaining, not restoring.”

Fifty years is a long time in any industry, and during that period, lots of technical advancements occurred in aviation, almost none of which impacted the way in which family members looked at the airplane. If a new technology worked and didn’t detract from the airplane’s originality, they included it. That approach included a new instrument panel that reorganized the instruments to modern standards and new avionics, and it happened in the ’90s. Long before that, in the ’70s, they installed radar because they often flew serious IFR. Jack Smither, the father, flew bombers during WWII, so he was thoroughly capable of handling such flying.

It helps if we remember that we’re talking about an airplane that has been in the same hangar and flown regularly by the same people for half a century. That said, it is also worth noting

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF EAA ARCHIVES

that the owners included two generations of pilots. Jack flew into his late 70s, a total of 59 years before, as he put it.

“I want to quit a winner,” he said after his last flight in the airplane.

However, his 310K is more than simply an airplane. It is a repository of memories and emotion that spans two families, something he values highly and strives to protect. www.vintageaircraft.org

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CHECK OUT THE DIGITAL EDITION of Vintage for a photo gallery of James’ Cessna 310K.

A SURPRISE OFFER

The Cessna 310K was a workhorse for the Smither family. “There were six Smither kids, all of which flew in the airplane, and the three boys went on to became pilots, two of which went into the airlines,” James said.

“Also, two grandkids learned to fly in recent years after getting their start in the 310. Eventually, the airplane was passed down to one of the sons, David, who dearly loved the airplane.

Every single time he got in and fired it up, I think he probably pictured his father sitting in the other seat.

That’s why I was really surprised when we were on a trip together, and he asked me point-blank if I’d be interested in buying the airplane. At first, I didn’t know whether to believe him or not. After all, it’s not hyperbole to say that the airplane was literally part of the Smither family. And it was being offered to me. I was flattered but a little sad at the same time.

“I’m into muscle cars from the ’60s, and this airplane has a little of that kind of feel. It sounds wonderful from the inside.”

— JAMES HAAS

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September/October 2019

“David explained that neither he nor anyone else in the family could fly the airplane enough to keep it from deteriorating, which they just didn’t want to happen,” he said.

“They also didn’t want the airplane to leave Texas if they could help it. Since they knew me fairly well, David didn’t feel as if they were letting a stranger have it and that I’d treat it the same as they did. And he was right. As far as I’m concerned, it’s as if I’m just borrowing the airplane from Jack Smither. David has told me that as far as he is concerned, it’ll always be his father’s airplane, and that is exactly my thought as well.”

THE PERSONALITY OF A WELL-LOVED TWIN

“When I started flying the airplane, I remembered why I love 310s, and especially this variation,” James said. “I’m into muscle cars from the ’60s, and this airplane has a little of that kind of feel. It sounds wonderful from the inside.

Sort of a throaty rumble put out by the 260-hp IO-470-V Continentals, but in reality, it isn’t very loud. I’ve taken a lot of people up in it, some who fly Bonanzas and Pipers, and they all comment on how quiet it is. That, of course, is mostly because there is no engine right in front of them.

However, I love the authoritative sound that does make it into the cockpit. It has a very strong presence that is hard to describe.

“There is also something about the airplane that is very solid feeling. This is especially noticeable on takeoff and landing. It has VGs [vortex generators], which probably help when it is slow, but it has a very B-737 feel to it at those points.

On takeoff, I leave the nose on the ground until it hits 90 mph, then lift it off and hold a slightly nosehigh attitude, letting it run on the mains and make the takeoff itself, which usually happens about 105.

It takes only seconds for it to hit a climb speed of 140 mph. I’m usually flying with one of my kids or a friend, and with two on board, it shows a solid 1,600 fpm climb.

However, even when loaded, it’s close to that.”

There is a reason the 310 has such a strong reputation as a traveling machine. Besides being comfortable, it has 130 gallons of fuel in four tanks (50 in each tip tank), and James said he flightplans 210 mph at 13 gallons per side, which gives a range of about 800 miles with reserves. Also, its

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS

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TOP LEFT: The 310K was state of the art for the time.

TOP RIGHT: As things began to show wear, factory-type maintenance, including the upholstery/paint, was conducted.

BOTTOM: The airplane was awarded a Gold Lindy even though it had never been restored; it was just meticulously maintained.

CLICK HERE

TO SEE A FLICKR GALLERY OF JAMES’ CESSNA 310K

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September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS, CHRIS MILLER

higher wing loading and the way the new slanted tip tanks help control tip vortices, as well as giving a little more lift, result in a smooth ride.

“It sounds a little strange, but this is the first airplane I’ve actually owned,” James said. “I didn’t build up to it with a series of single-engine airplanes, so I was climbing a fairly steep learning curve. Being a pilot is one thing, but being an airplane owner is something else. I can always call David if I have a question, but the Twin Cessna Flyer website is a gold mine of information. Plus, it makes me part of a community that totally understands the 310 and puts me in contact with a lot of pilots who have been maintaining 310s for decades. It’s like I have a bank of experts in my cellphone, all of them ready to help.”

KEEPING THE FAMILY TRADITION GOING

“My two boys, Gavin and Ian, help in many ways with the 310, including frequent cleanings, touch-ups, and packing for trips,” James said. “My oldest son has been in love with this airplane since day one, and he enjoys every minute at the controls and then enjoys cleaning the bugs off when we get home. Pride in ownership is very evident. I’d like to also thank my wife, Marlene, for the hours I get to spend with my boys flying together and simply hanging out around small airports.

We get to travel around the country, seeing new sights and meeting people.

It’s a wonderful time together.

“It is sometimes hard for me to believe that I’m flying an airplane that is older than I am, because it feels like I’m flying a thoroughly modern business aircraft. It’s almost jetlike in that area. So, when I was directed to parking in the vintage aircraft area at AirVenture in 2018, it just felt wrong. Like I was a modern interloper crashing an oldies party.

“The airplane had only been to AirVenture twice before, and when there in 2011, one of David’s sons kept bugging him to put a ‘Judge Me’ placard on one of the props,” James said. “He grumbled a little but figured, ‘Why not?’

The result was that they went home with a Contemporary Grand Champion – Gold Lindy. This speaks volumes for the owners of a 53-year-old airplane that had never been restored and was never intended to be judged. The airplane I bought was the mechanical poster child for the term ‘meticulous maintenance.’

Also, I have a difficult time thinking of N3845X as an airplane. Just as dog lovers think that calling their dog a pet trivializes the relationship, somehow calling this 310 an airplane trivializes what it represents. The Smithers’ DNA is so solidly infused into the airframe that it has given up some of its mechanical nature and become just a little bit human.

“It’s hard to imagine how many wonderful family experiences N3845X generated over the last half-century and how many memories are anchored in that cockpit. The airplane is a memory maker, and I am going to do my best to live up to that legacy.”

The C-310K’s styling high points totally hide the fact that it is only a few years short of being a senior citizen.

www.vintageaircraft.org

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September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

THE SAGA OF

PAW-PAW’S

Bub A 1946 PIPER CUB

BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

www.vintageaircraft.org

53

PAW-PAW’S BUB

he vivid memory of a Piper Cub flying low over a cotton field enchanted native Arkansan Jim Steed from his childhood in the late 1930s until the mid-1970s. The pilot gave young Jim a friendly wave, and Jim couldn’t resist jumping up and down and waving to let the pilot know he’d seen him. But Jim paid a sore price for his enthusiasm when his father whipped him for being distracted from his hoeing chores. Right then and there, his backside still stinging, Jim promised himself that one day he’d own and fly one of those yellow Cubs.

PERSEVERANCE WINS

The years ticked by as Jim became a young man.

Wedding bells chimed in 1947, and then a baby boy, Terry, joined the family in 1952. Jim tried to hold fast to his promise by attempting to buy a handful of Cub projects through the ensuing years. But each time, his wife disapproved, and the deal was off.

Perseverance may be the most significant facet of achieving one’s dream; it certainly was for Jim. In April 1967, his wife reluctantly acquiesced, and Jim purchased an old yellow Cub for $650 from Ravenswood Air (a flight school) near Des Plaines, Illinois. NC70935 was manufactured by Piper Aircraft on June 12, 1946, and had survived a handful of owners through the years and its share of mishaps.

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September/October 2019

FATHER AND SON

The Cub was a project airplane, supposedly ready for fabric covering. The seller agreed to haul the project to Arkansas, but sometime during the trip, the front wing spars were damaged. Although the seller promised to repair them, that was the last Jim ever heard from him. Stuck with what seemed an insurmountable project and almost completely disheartened, Jim asked a local mechanic to have a look at the project.

Harold Bessie came over, looked at the rusted airframe, and agreed to guide and supervise the restoration of the Cub, providing that Jim and Terry would follow his instructions.

“So we put the Cub together,” Terry said. “It was our fatherand-son project when I was in junior high and high school. It took four years to complete the restoration. We covered it in Grade A cotton with 24 hand-rubbed coats of dope.”

Filled with pride and joy from their success, Terry fully expected his father to take flying lessons in the Cub while Terry was away at college. But when Terry came home at the end of his first semester, his father told him to drive right out and meet Harold Bessie (who was also a flight instructor) at the Almyra Airport (M73) and start his flying lessons. Terry weakly protested because he knew his family couldn’t simultaneously afford flight instruction for both him and his father. But he heeded his father and went to the airport. “My dad would park his old F-100 Ford pickup at the end of the runway and lean on the hood, watching me take lessons. He’d laugh like crazy if I bounced it on landings! I ended up getting my private in it.”

“It was an absolute dream come true for me to sit in that plane and fly it around on that first flight.”

— Terry Steed About a year later, a man who had seen the Steeds’ Cub offered Jim $5,000 for it. The going rate for an airworthy Cub at that time was around $1,500. Jim’s wife heard the offer and realized they could pay off their home mortgage with the money, so she told Jim to sell it. Terry overheard the conversation and was crushed. “I didn’t say a word,” he said. “But my tears were flowing like a river because I just knew that the Cub was gone. Then Dad looked at me and grinned and told the man, ‘Sir, thank you so much for the greatest compliment that my son and I could have gotten for our restoration. But there is simply not enough money in Texas to buy our J-3!’ My mother got so mad; we didn’t get a hot meal for two weeks!”

REBUILD, TAKE TWO … AND THEN SOME

Sadly, there are times when unforeseen twists of fate can abbreviate the longevity of “living the dream.”

The Steeds’ treasured Cub was taken from them by the tremendous forces of Mother Nature in May 1973, when a tornado damaged the hangar in which the Cub was kept. “The plane was torn all to pieces,” Terry said. “Dad and I started the second rebuild, and he and my Uncle Lloyd Toll repaired the fuselage during the fall when I was in college. Uncle Lloyd got involved in EAA in 1965, and he let me read his Sport Aviation magazines. And he took me to Oshkosh for the first time in 1974. He was a premier welder and built the superstructure for the Brown Arch, and also welded the steel components for the EAA’s Spirit of St. Louis replica from a set of prints.”

In November 1974, tragedy struck again when Jim passed away without warning. “Dad was only 47, and he had flown many happy hours with an instructor in the Cub,” Terry said. “He was close to getting his private just before he passed away, and I knew that one day I simply had to finish the second restoration in honor of him. After Dad died, Uncle Lloyd gave me an EAA membership for Christmas that year.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

Specs 1946 Piper J-3 Cub Manufactured under ATC 691 (J3C-65).

Eligible to be flown by a sport pilot.

ENGINE:

65-hp Continental

GROSS WEIGHT:

1,100 pounds

EMPTY WEIGHT:

640 pounds

USEFUL LOAD:

460 pounds

WINGSPAN:

35 feet, 3 inches

WING CHORD:

63 inches

WING AREA:

178 square feet

LENGTH:

22 feet, 3 inches

HEIGHT:

6 feet, 8 inches

BAGGAGE:

20 pounds

FUEL:

12 gallons

OIL:

5 quarts

MAX SPEED (LEVEL OR CLIMB):

90 mph

MAX SPEED (GLIDE OR DIVE):

122 mph

CRUISE:

82 mph

LANDING:

50 mph

STALL:

35 mph

TAKEOFF RUN:

less than 600 feet

CLIMB:

575 fpm

CEILING:

12,000 feet

CRUISING RANGE:

250 miles at 4 gph

Derived from Joseph Juptner’s U.S. Civil Aircraft.

FAMILY FIRST

AIRFRAME AND ENGINE

Terry lived on the proverbial shoestring budget while he finished college, and he struggled to find the time and resources to work on the damaged Cub. Then there was another unforeseen event — this time, Cupid shot an arrow straight into Terry’s heart.

“A long-haired blonde in a black leather miniskirt and 5-inch heels walked by and looked over her shoulder and winked at me one day at the student union,” Terry said.

“Beverly and I have been married 42 years now. The Cub was on the back burner while we raised three daughters. I didn’t have the money to fly through the years; I learned from Dad that you take care of your family and their needs first, and eventually you take care of your own. But my wife gave me Cub parts for birthdays and Christmas through the years, so I was steadily getting stuff that I needed to restore the airplane. Six years ago, Beverly suggested I go ahead and start restoring my dad’s Cub.”

Terry, a member of EAA (EAA 83905, VAA 6883) and the Cub Club, found that other members of those organizations facilitated his long-term quest for various Cub components and information. He said, “I found the cabin fresh air scoop in Kansas — those are harder to find than hen’s teeth! And one of the neatest things about restoring the wings was getting a blueprint from the Cub Club. The print was 6 feet long and had very detailed information; it was a Piper drawing just loaded with data. I rebuilt the wing panels and used Dakota Cub ribs (per STC), leading edges, and trailing edges. I would call Dave Henderson of Delaware when I was working on the wings, and he gave me guidance. In fact, this 65-hp Continental was going to be for his own personal airplane, but he sold it to me, along with the cowling and exhaust. Dave made the eyebrows, too, and I’m so blessed that he was able to help me; my friendship with him is more valuable than gold to me.”

By the time Terry had cleaned up the fuselage, he was at a point where he needed professional help. “So I ended up taking the project to a gentleman in 2008, but not much was done for a couple of years,” Terry said. “Then I was lucky enough to find cousins Robbie and Brian Staton who own Central Arkansas Aircraft Repair at Lonoke, Arkansas, to help me complete the second restoration of Dad’s Cub. They finished it using Ceconite 102 fabric and the Airtech Coatings system — and Robbie and his wife, Janice, actually bought the Airtech business close to the time they finished the Cub. Brian did most of the work on the Cub.”

Terry Steed and his granddaughter, Harper Arnold (inset).

AIRTECH

The Statons have been using Airtech for years, and PawPaw’s Bub is a shining example of their work. “The results of our J-3 when it rolled out of the shop were breathtaking,” Terry said. “Robbie and Brian wanted to display the Cub at their Airtech outdoor booth during Oshkosh, and I had a lot of good compliments during the show. I’m tickled to death with the airplane!”

Robbie and Brian have been around aviation since they were young boys building and flying model airplanes on a farm in Arkansas. They earned their private pilot certificates early on — despite not being surrounded by aviation-type families. Then Robbie decided to purchase a Cub that needed some TLC, which became his and Brian’s segue into learning about fabric covering and vintage aircraft. The two cousins soon formed a fast friendship with Kenny Blalock of Special Products Aviation at Conway, Arkansas. Kenny became their mentor and taught Robbie and Brian the requisite techniques and skills for restoring

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September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

fabric-covered aircraft. Robbie and Brian went on to acquire their airframe and powerplant certificates and inspection authorizations. Relying mostly upon word of mouth for their informal business, they completed 18 restorations from the ground up and also worked with and for Kenny on several projects. Robbie and Brian established Central Arkansas Aircraft Repair and opened their doors to the public in 2010. When Mack Hogan decided to sell Airtech, the natural choice was to offer it first to Robbie and his wife, Janice, because they knew the system so well.

Robbie built a new Airtech facility right next door to Central Arkansas Aircraft Repair.

Brian said, “We’ve used the Airtech system more than anything else for many years now. So it’s a good fit, and we like the system because we get good results out of it.

Basically, you glue the fabric on, do the stitching and the finishing tapes, then spray three coats of Airtech’s PFU1030 urethane-based primer (with UV blocker) on. Then you spray two coats of ATCHSM flexible polyurethane color on. So that’s it, except for sanding the primer and color coats as needed.”

The initial testing for Airtech coatings was conducted in the harsh environment of the agricultural world in the early 1980s. Airtech coatings are lightweight, flexible, easy to repair, and yield a high-gloss “wet-look” finish. “I use a DeVilbiss LVLP gun that sprays 40 pounds at the cap, and it breaks the droplets up a little finer,” Brian said. “It creates more of a mist that lays out and flows together. But the product works fine with an HVLP gun if thinned properly.”

Jim Steed with his long-awaited Piper Cub in the early 1970s.

The fuselage after four decades of storage.

MODS AND FINISHING TOUCHES

Robbie and Brian also assembled and installed various airframe components on Paw-Paw’s Bub, including modifications such as the 12-gallon fuel tank in the left wing, per Clarence W. Witte’s STC. Other STC installations include Grove disc brakes, Brackett Aero Filter, and Steve’s Aircraft gascolator. Additionally, an emergency locator transmitter and an internal antenna were installed.

“I made the baggage compartment just a little bit larger,” Terry said, “and my dad built the tail wheel out of parts we had. The hub cap has Cub stamped on it instead of Scott. A gentleman in Guam makes them, and I hand painted the Cub lettering in black and sealed it with clear paint. I also restored the Piper emblems on the cowling and the metal covers for the carburetor heat, fuel cutoff, and trim tab control. I had the valve covers powder coated, and then I sanded them for hours to get that shine and shot them with high-temp clear coat. So I did as much as I could with all the small stuff.”

Work in progress at Central Arkansas Aircraft Repair.

At home in the sky after 45 years on the ground.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF JAMES STEED

www.vintageaircraft.org 57

PAW-PAW’S BUB

One day Terry discovered a set of “Especially made for Piper” propeller decals on eBay. “I saw those decals on a Cub prop in a picture taken at Lock Haven a week after my Cub was built in 1946,” Terry said. So he bought the decals and took the propeller to Sensenich in Plant City, Florida, where they were carefully applied to the prop.

There was one more finishing touch that Terry included to make NC70935 unmistakably Jim Steed’s Cub — the floorboards. “I was with my brother-in-law at an exotic lumber company in Little Rock, and they had rejects from the Falcon jet factory. Mike said, ‘You ought to put that in your dad’s plane.’ The manager came over while we were talking, and I told him I’d like to have a sheet of that wood for my dad’s J-3 Cub. He kind of grinned at me a little bit and said, ‘It’ll cost you $5 plus tax.’ They made the floorboards from 1/4-inch birch plywood with a sheet of ‘waterfall bubinga’ veneer glued to them, and shot them with 22 clear coats — they are very scratch resistant.”

PAW-PAW’S ‘BUB’

There’s a short story behind the moniker for this Cub. One day Terry picked up his 23-month-old grandson to show him an old framed photograph of Jim and the Cub. Terry said, “He was learning how to talk, and I pointed at the plane and asked him, ‘What is that?’ He said, ‘Paw-Paw’s Bub.’ Of course, he was trying to say Cub. I was telling that story to a gentleman out in California who was a graphic artist, and 10 minutes later, this logo comes over the internet to me!”

OSHKOSH BOUND

Yet another unexpected turn of events almost curtailed the grand finale of the restoration. Just a few months before EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018, Terry nearly died from a bacterial infection that caused significant blood loss.

Fortunately, he fully recovered after receiving treatment in the hospital and was able to fly Paw-Paw’s Bub three weeks prior to AirVenture 2018. “It was an absolute dream come true for me to sit in that plane and fly it around on that first flight,” Terry said. “The overall performance of this aircraft is great; it’s unbelievable to me. It had been grounded 45 years, and flying it brought back lots of memories. After that flight, my daughter, Shelly, told me, ‘Dad, you have been trying to finish Grandpa’s Cub my entire life. Just look, there it is — it’s been in the air!’ And I totally lost it.”

Terry, accompanied by Dane Pruitt, flew in to Wittman Regional Airport on Thursday, July 19, 2018. “The emotional feelings were overwhelming,” Terry said. “I had flown Dad’s J-3 Cub to the big show. Then on Friday the judges pulled up on a golf cart in front of the Cub. All of them had grins on their faces, and I was informed that NC70935 was an award-winning vintage airplane! What a

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September/October 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

journey it has been to achieve this as a memorial to my dad, and how humbling it was to stand in front of my peers and accept a Bronze Lindy for the Best Classic Aircraft – Class l (0-85 hp) at AirVenture 2018. For those who helped this miracle to happen, I am so thankful.”

ANGEL ON HIS SHOULDER

With a lump in his throat, Terry said, “I fulfilled my life’s ambition when I hit the blue dot on Runway 18. Now I’m going to cut out a little bitty piece of grass from right here under the Cub, and I’m going to take it home to my dad’s grave.”

There’s no doubt Terry feels an angel on his shoulder whenever he flies Paw-Paw’s Bub.

Sept 6-8 | Port Clinton, OH * Sept 12-15 | wooster, OH * Sept 12-15 | Springfield, IL Sept 19-22 | Anderson, IN Sept 26-29 | Franklin, PA oct 3-6 | Lancaster, NY oct 10-13 | Fairfield, NJ oct 17-20 | Harrisburg, PA *indicates a liberty tri-motor tour stop

Visit FLYTHEFORD.org for a complete schedule!

Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT property of

Visit flytheford.org or call 1-877-952-5395 to reserve your flight. www.vintageaircraft.org 59

The Vintage Mechanic ROBERT G. LOCK

Some Thoughts on Restoration and Airworthiness

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

AS THE AVIATION INDUSTRY continued to grow in the middle 1920s, Congress, in an attempt to create a uniform set of regulations governing aviation, created the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce. The Aeronautics Branch (renamed the Bureau of Air Commerce in 1934) began to create new documents, one of which was Aeronautics Bulletin 7H (photo below). This document spelled out the first published data on making repairs to certificated aircraft in the United States.

The publication date was January 1, 1936. This was the first data published to aid mechanics in accomplishing repairs and alterations of aircraft.

By 1938 the government continued to evolve its oversight of aviation by creating the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA). It created the Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) and Civil Aviation Manuals (CAM).

Requirements for approved type certificates (ATC) were now contained in the CARs; CAR 3 was certification requirements for small aircraft. Also to appear was the “mechanic’s bible,” CAM 18 (right), which spelled out requirements for maintenance, repair, and alterations to airframes, powerplants, propellers, and appliances. CAM 18 was an expansion of Aeronautics Bulletin 7H and may

Aeronautics Bulletin 7H

60 September/October 2019

have first appeared in 1941. This publication was to eventually evolve into the present FAA Advisory Circular AC43.13-1B that gives advisory data on major repairs to aircraft structure.

Annual relicensing of aircraft was required and a new airworthiness certificate was issued to the owner after the airplane was approved for returnto-service. These certificates expired after 12 calendar months and were subsequently reissued. Figure 1 shows the old renewable airworthiness certificate.

Today, if an old aircraft was never inspected for issuance of a permanent airworthiness certificate, then upon the restoration of that aircraft, application would be made to the FAA and a conformity inspection would have to be completed before a new permanent certificate could be issued.

As the workload for CAA inspectors increased, a new method of licensing was created. The designated airworthiness maintenance inspector (DAMI) was selected as a means to license aircraft annually. These selected DAMIs were well-experienced, certificated Aircraft and Engine (A&E) mechanics who were handselected by local CAA maintenance inspectors. The airworthiness certificate was still reissued every 12 calendar months, but in the middle 1950s, about the time the CAA evolved into the FAA (Federal Aviation Agency), things began to change for airworthiness certificates. They became permanent. The aircraft could be relicensed every year by the DAMI. When the CAA evolved into the FAA, regulations changed to create an “authorized inspector.” The designation A&E was also changed to airframe and powerplant mechanic; thus the A&P with inspection

CAM 18 was effective until the current FAA created the Advisory Circular system.

authorization (A&P/IA) was created.

So today, the A&P/IA can return-toservice annual inspections, many major repairs, and some major alterations. An A&P mechanic was eligible for the IA after three years of active experience and by taking a comprehensive written test. I remember my IA test lasted seven hours!

Congress created the Federal Aviation Agency in 1958, and soon after, the word “Agency” was dropped in favor of “Administration.” And that is what it is today, the Federal Aviation Administration. Government control and bureaucracy continues to grow ever larger.

While we are on the subject of the FAA and airworthiness, perhaps an easy method to distinguish differences between a major repair and a major alteration is to apply the following: 1) If the repair returns the aircraft to its original type certificate, affects airworthiness, and cannot be done using elementary techniques, then it is a major repair; 2) If the repair (or

FIGURE 1. This illustration above is a copy taken from the NC9125 FAA airworthiness paperwork file. The original registration number, NC150M, has been assigned to another airplane due to inactivity. These early airworthiness certificates were issued annually and therefore had an expiration date. Note that the airworthiness certificate is signed by a CAA inspector, as mechanics could not relicense aircraft in those days.

modification) alters conformity to the original type certificate, then it is a major alteration.

If an A&P mechanic cannot approve a major repair or alteration, then a “field approval” by an FAA maintenance inspector must be obtained. At times it may be beneficial to solicit the aid of a DER (designated engineering representative) or a DAR (designated airworthiness representative) to speed the process. An alternative to this, in the case of a major alteration, would be to obtain a supplemental type certificate (STC).

I have an STC on my Command-Aire biplane for an engine change. It took almost four years and many aspirin tablets to quell the massive headaches associated with this process. Note that the date of application was January 1, 1986, and the date of issuance was July 16, 1990. Perhaps a future story on FAA field approvals could prove interesting.

This STC is a one-time approval for installation of a Wright R-760-8 engine in NC997E. The STC required an engine mount pull test to 7.44g’s; I believe this

was beyond the limits of design in 1929.

But it was either do the test or cancel the STC application, so I did the test! Figure 2 shows the Wright engine installation in my Command-Aire.

The FAA required an engine mount pull test. I constructed a very simple “I” beam arrangement and made the problem into a weight-and-balance solution.

By calculating the amount of pull to be exerted on the engine mount structure, I used the axle centerline as a fulcrum point and determined how much weight to place on a plywood mount I had fabricated at the horizontal stabilizer attach points.

Figure 3 shows my notes on how to conduct the pull test. Adding 50-pound bags of glass beads provided a down load in the aft fuselage, thus causing a downward pull on the engine mount structure. It worked and the fuselage supported 7.44g’s!

So much for the engine mount pull test. It was one of the most difficult tasks I’ve ever undertaken in the aviation business. To this day there is a very slight bow in the lower longerons

between clusters, no doubt caused by the tremendous load during the pull test.

If an aircraft never had a permanent airworthiness certificate, then one must be obtained. Here again, the FAA issues the certificate. As I mentioned before, to obtain that treasured piece of paper, you must submit an application and prove the airplane “conforms to its original type certificate.” Sometimes this is very difficult, especially if the original type design data is missing. At the FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C., I have seen file cabinets with drawers containing type design data. Just like in Joe Juptner’s U.S. Civil Aircraft books, each drawer had folders with the original ATC number at the top.

Some of the folders contained data; some folders were empty. When the folder was empty, the FAA has no type design data other than the data that is published in Aircraft, Engine and Propeller Listing, which is very limited.

Just what is type design data, you ask?

Upon original granting of the ATC to Command-Aire for my airplane in March 1927, type design data was in the form of

FIGURE 2. The Wright engine installation in my Command-Aire.

www.vintageaircraft.org

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The Vintage Mechanic ROBERT G. LOCK

FIGURE 3.

Stacks of 50-pound glass bead bags to gain mechanical advantage during pull test.

62 September/October 2019

drawings, engineering data, photographs, and any other type of data required by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department, and later the CAA, for manufacturing approval of a particular model of aircraft.

For the coveted permanent airworthiness certificate, an FAA representative will conduct a conformity inspection.

Basis for the inspection could be one or more of the following: •FAA Aircraft, Engine and Propeller Listing or specification sheets microfiche (now CD-ROM) of original records containing airworthiness and registration data.

•Factory drawings (if available).

•Aircraft and engine operation limitations.

In addition, a current weight-and-balance report with critical forward and aft center of gravity loading, a loading schedule (if required), and appropriate placarding must be included. A list of required, optional, and special equipment must accompany the weight-and-balance data. And lastly, FAA Form 337 (Major Repair and Major Alteration) must be completed by the supervising A&P/IA. Aircraft and engine logbooks must have appropriate entries made by authorized individuals, and registration data must be shown.

After many months (or should I say years) of restoration work, perhaps that small piece of paper that says PERMANENT AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATE—STANDARD is now in

Nearing the end of a very long day and a successful engine mount pull test. That’s me to the left (not looking very happy) and my father, Leonard, to the right. In the center is FAA inspector Al Strickfaden. If we look slightly overheated, it was due to a temperature of over 100°F in my shop when we completed the test in late afternoon.

your hand. Categories of the Airworthiness Certificate are: NORMAL, UTILITY, and ACROBATIC. Types of certificates are: STANDARD (NC), RESTRICTED (NR), LIMITED (NL), and EXPERIMENTAL (NX).

ATC data is also known as type design data. Type design data can be found in the Aircraft Listing, Engine Listing and Propeller Listing, an FAA publication for fewer than 50 airplanes registered, and the Aircraft, Engine and Propeller Specifications for the “middle-aged” aircraft, with more than 50 airplanes registered.

For the older vintage airplanes the above is the only type design data available. If you are really lucky there may be copies of original factory drawings available as a valuable supplement. However, most of the factory drawings for many antique aircraft have been destroyed or the FAA will not release them. For the Waco and Boeing Stearman restorers, factory drawings are available. The Waco drawings are available at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Boeing Stearman drawings are available on CD from private individuals. Drawings are most valuable when restoring or repairing aircraft. I searched for the Command-Aire drawings, but I have determined that they have been destroyed. However, in my search I did locate some valuable type design data from a most unusual source, which might fuel another story someday.

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KENTUCKY Ron Redmon (VAA 728163), Taylorsville MAINE William Swartz (VAA 728164), Cumberland Foreside MARYLAND G Ackland (VAA 728080), Walkersville MASSACHUSETTS Christopher Tarbell (VAA 728097), East Longmeadow James Antes (VAA 728069), Northfield Roman Montano (VAA 727986), North Egremont MICHIGAN Thomas Aardema (VAA 728079), Kalamazoo Michael Cyrus (VAA 728099), Houghton Mark Fullmer (VAA 728086), Macomb Brian Heidt (VAA 728005), Owosso Martin Hulka (VAA 728107), Muskegon Robert Consie (VAA 727984), Ironwood Richard Mentz (VAA 728101), Kingston MINNESOTA Robert Wiplinger (VAA 728007), Inver Grove Heights Daniel Bredvold (VAA 727974), Mendota Hts MISSOURI Daniel Williams (VAA 728015), Blue Springs Steve Tompkin (VAA 728060), Saint Charles Alan Heisner (VAA 728128), Mount Vernon MONTANA Russell Cameron (VAA 728006), Fort Benton NEVADA Dean Hackbarth (VAA 728084), Henderson

NEW YORK John Voninski (VAA 728048), Manlius James Suggs (VAA 728100), Horseheads Richard Wasnik (VAA 728091), Munnsville

OHIO William Hayes (VAA 728098), Perrysburg John Gowins (VAA 728120), New Philadelphia William James (VAA 728026), Canton Ron Hutcheson (VAA 728130), Beloit Joseph Rehm (VAA 728028), Perrysburg Kent Koch (VAA 727983), Worthington OKLAHOMA Monte Jestes (VAA 728061), Stillwater Scott Quisenberry (VAA 728066), Marietta PENNSYLVANIA Jonathan Fink (VAA 728102), Philadelphia Edward Bednarik (VAA 728068), Morgantown RHODE ISLAND Lauren Lee (VAA 728110), West Greenwich CJ Stumpf (VAA 728002), Westerly SOUTH CAROLINA Brett Gilmore (VAA 728093), Easley Jeff Cassens (VAA 727991), Summerville TENNESSEE Steven Foldenauer (VAA 728147), Somerville David Jones (VAA 728129), Memphis Donnie Underwood (VAA 728001), Columbia Carl Rose (VAA 727987), Westmoreland John Bosse (VAA 728116), Murfreesboro Jerry Slaven (VAA 727988), Oneida Adam Strachn (VAA 728020), Crossville TEXAS Hank Clark (VAA 728137), Huntsville Paul Britton (VAA 728141), San Marcos James Ivey (VAA 728151), Dobbin Greg Childress (VAA 728144), Dallas Dean Clinard (VAA 727973), Fort Worth Steve Adams (VAA 728062), Ranger Clark Thompson (VAA 728073), Rosharon

Mark Littlestar (VAA 728053), Fair Oaks Ranch David Smith (VAA 728108), Granbury Steven Heckler (VAA 728112), Montgomery Brandon Ayers (VAA 728085), Gainesville LuAnn Pfeifer (VAA 728013), Houston VIRGINIA Austin Gunder (VAA 728146), Virginia Beach Richard Landis (VAA 728094), Stuart William Sgarrella (VAA 728076), Lovettsville WASHINGTON Radford Goodloe (VAA 728022), Kent Mark Burcar (VAA 728025), Gig Harbor Kathryn MacVeigh (VAA 728010), Seattle WEST VIRGINIA Nils Heinke (VAA 728154), Elkins WISCONSIN Sara Nisler (VAA 728160), Oshkosh Adam McCracken (VAA 728140), Bloomer Kevin Kaminski (VAA 728033), Hustisford Joseph Domenico (VAA 728125), Saint Germain Joel Timblin (VAA 728089), Boyceville Todd Masephol (VAA 728127), Athens Kris Burns (VAA 727980), Green Bay Robert Burdick (VAA 727981), Stevens Point Charles Kaminski (VAA 728034), Hustisford Noah Reid (VAA 728113), Oconomowoc Trever Otto (VAA 728126), Verona Mike Halron (VAA 728058), Oshkosh AUSTRALIA Neil Graham (VAA 728159), Burwood, Victoria BRAZIL Wiliam Rady (VAA 728077), Sao Paulo CANADA Jeff Deuchar (VAA 728044), Wetaskiwin, Alberta Darryl Wolter (VAA 728012), Red Deer, Alberta Dennis Fox (VAA 728019), Three Hills, Alberta Rick Johnson (VAA 728082), New Westminster, British Columbia Kenneth Johnson (VAA 728083), Aldergrove, British Columbia Doug Zahody (VAA 728104), Orleans, Ontario Paul Marot (VAA 728042), Oakville, Ontario GERMANY Robin Doelp (VAA 728047), Erzhausen Sebastian Ruffer (VAA 728043), Groß-Mackenstedt NEW ZEALAND John Gemmell (VAA 728054), Auckland Barry Payne (VAA 728057), Taupo

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION (Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685). 1. Title of Publication: Vintage Airplane. 2. Publication No.: 062-750. 3. Filing Date: 09/01/2019. 4. Issue Frequency: Bi-Monthly. 5. No. of Issues Published Annually: 6. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $42.00 in U.S. 7. Known Office of Publication: EAA, 3000 Poberezny Road, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Contact Person: Ron Lindgren, Telephone: 920426-6571. 8. Headquarters or General Business Office of the Publisher: Same address as above. 9. Publisher: Jack Pelton, EAA P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Editor: Jim Busha, c/o EAA, 3000 Poberezny Road, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Managing Editor: None. 10. Owner: Experimental Aircraft Association, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amounts of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: None. 12. Tax Status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months. 13. Publication Title: Vintage Airplane. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: Sep/ Oct 2019. 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months/ No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date): a. Total No. of Copies Printed (6993/8172) b. Paid Circulation (By Mail and Outside the Mail): 1. Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies) (5655/5583). 2. Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies) (0/0). 3. Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS (348/340). 4. Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail through the USPS (e.g., First-Class Mail) (5/6). c. Total Paid Distribution (Sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4)) (6007/5929). d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail): 1. Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 (0/0). 2. Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 (0/0). 3. Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail) (0/0). 4. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution outside the Mail (Carriers or other means) (0/0). e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3), and (4) (0/0). f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e) (6007/5929). g. Copies Not Distributed (See Instructions to Publishers #4 (page 3)) (986/2243). h. Total (Sum of 15f and g) (6993/8172). i. Percent Paid (15c divided by 15f times 100) (100%/100%). 16. Publication of Statement of Ownership: Publication required. Will be printed in the September/October 2019 issue of this publication. 17. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties). Jim Busha, Publisher, 08/01/19. PS Form 3526, August 2019.

www.vintageaircraft.org

63

Message From the President SUSAN DUSENBURY, VAA PRESIDENT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

the building. This work included much needed structural repairs to the walls, an all-new electrical system, and a new roof, which included repitching the roofline to avoid further water damage to the building. No more wood rot and no more leaking roof! With regard to infrastructure repairs and maintenance, we are still working our way forward to get things done. If you will remember, last year we had the entire interior of the Vintage Hangar painted to make it easier to see everything going on inside as well as to give the hangar an improved and cleaner look. Still on our list is some type of roof venting to ease those high temperatures that we have all experienced in the Vintage Hangar on hot days. I am happy to say that a donor has stepped forward, and plans are now in the making to get this work done for AirVenture 2020!

Also, in 2020, all of the landscaping is scheduled to be completed.

This remodeling has been a threeyear transformation of the Vintage Village, along with the creation of Charlie’s Park, to what

I now see as the most beautiful and inviting area on Wittman field. We still have several areas to

tackle with regard to infrastructure.

This endeavor is the proverbial onebite-at-a-time type of task!

In closing, I would like to say that all of the follow-up from AirVenture 2019 is either complete or in the process of being completed, and that we are already moving forward and tackling those next projects that include all areas of interest for VAA. Blue skies!

Flymart & Classifieds

AIRCRAFT APPRAISALS I Specialize in Aircraft NOT found in any price guide. Desktop or Full On-Site Appraisal for ANY Aircraft. JetValues-Jeremy LLC www.jetvaluesjeremy.com +1.636.751.3987

COPYRIGHT © 2019 BY T HE E AA VIN TAGE AIRCR AF T A SSOCIAT ION. ALL RIGHT S RESERVED. VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published bi-monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086, email: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 6 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $45 per year for EAA members and $55 for nonEAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54902 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. CPC #40612608. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES—Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING — Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800.

EAA® and EAA SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and Aeronautica™ are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

DIRECTORY OFFICERS President Susan Dusenbury 1374 Brook Cove Road Walnut Cove, NC 27052 336-591-3931 sr6sue@aol.com

Secretary Steve Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Lea, MN 56007 507-373-1674 stnes2009@live.com

Vice-President Tim Popp 60568 Springhaven Ct. Lawton, MI 49065 269-760-1544 tlpopp@frontier.com

Treasurer Jerry Brown 4605 Hickory Wood Row Greenwood, IN 46143 317-627-9428 lbrown4906@aol.com

DIRECTORS Dave Clark 635 Vestal Lane Plainfield, IN 46168 317-839-4500 davecpd@att.net

Ray L. Johnson 347 South 500 East Marion, IN 46953 765-669-3544 rayjohnson@indy.rr.com

George Daubner N57W34837 Pondview Ln Oconomowoc, WI 53066 262-560-1949 gdaubner@eaa.org

Dan Knutson 106 Tena Marie Circle Lodi, WI 53555 608-354-6101 lodicub@charter.net

Jon Goldenbaum PO Box 190 Warner Springs, CA 92086 951-203-0190 jon@conaircraft.com

Robert D. “Bob” Lumley 1265 South 124th St. Brookfield, WI 53005 262-782-2633 rlumley1@wi.rr.com

John Hofmann 548 W James St Columbus, WI 53925 608-239-0903 john@cubclub.org

Earl Nicholas 219 Woodland Rd Libertyville, IL 60048 847-367-9667 eman46@gmail.com

Joe Norris 264 Old Oregon Rd. Oshkosh, WI 54902 pilotjoe@ntd.net 920-688-2977

ADVISORS Paul Kyle 1273 Troy Ct. Mason, OH 45040

Kevin McKenzie 40550 La Colima Rd Temecula, CA 92591

Dan Wood fly170@gmail.com

DIRECTORS EMERITUS David Bennett antiquer@inreach.com

Ronald C. Fritz itzfray@gmail.com

Robert C. Brauer photopilot@aol.com

Gene Morris genemorris@charter.net

Phil Coulson rcoulson516@cs.com

S.H. “Wes” Schmid shschmid@gmail.com

John Turgyan jrturgyan4@aol.com

64 September/October 2019

© 2016 Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc.

THE

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