An information exchange column with input from readers. by E. E. "Buck" Hilbert (EAA 21, Ale 5) P.O. Box 145 Union, IL 60180 815/923-4591
At the recent Aeronca Reunion at Middletown, Ohio, several of the Aeronca group asked me why I wasn' t writing anymore. Believe me , after about the fifth one I began to wonder if maybe I ought to try again. I'm tryin ' ! But this column is supposed to be an exchange of maintenance tips that would benefit all of us Antique/Classic types and maybe a few of the modems too . But it requires questions and an swers from you guys out there in the field . In fact, Snap On Tools has a con test going for maintenance tips. See THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE May , 1988 page 14. We simply must have some input from YOU and YOU, but I hate dragging it out of you guys per sonally . Put it on a post card or a note with a pencil sketch if it's hard to ex plain . Our editor, Mark Phelps, and I will clean it up and print it so everyone can share either your question or your "Easy Does It" and we'll all be the better for it.
the engine and firewall so he could get at the fuel tank and the wiring and the back of the instrument panel as well as the brake system and whatever else down by the floor boards. Well , Roger, like most of us, was a little afraid of the maze of wires, tubes , lines and cables. Like looking at a wir ing diagram all at once , it looks very complicated and not at all inviting. Know what this guy did? He con structed a mockup of the firewall, at tached a broomstick engine mount and then mocked up all the wires, cables and controls on the model in the same positions as the original he was dis mantling. How about that? I don't advocate this for everyone. If you are the patient one who did this to teach himself, like Roger, that's fine, but a camera will preserve a lot of this stuff for future reference, and sketches and notes will do the same. But it's a great idea. And Roger has a working model right there he can refer to anytime he has doubts.
FOR EXAMPLE ...
TESTY TUBES
A recent visit to the nation ' s capital included a visit with Roger Theil , (Ryan SCW) . Roger has had his machine for several years now, and has a job on his hands trying to undo the "mods" that the enterprising former owner installed either for convenience or for whimsical reasons . I must admit that some of them were very neat and functional , but they are not in keeping with the originality that Roger wants . And pay attention now cause this is really cool; Roger wanted to remove
Two years ago, John Kuranz asked me to see that his Aeronca C-3 NC123557, made it home from Osh kosh. John had an unavoidable busi ness meeting out in San Francisco and left me with his airplane . Having three airplanes to fly home from Oshkosh is tough, unless of course, you have friends like Don Toeppen. Don, as many of you know , conceived the Air line Pilots Tent at Oshkosh and mans it faithfully all through the Conven tion. Don does all kinds of things for
22 AUGUST 1988
E. E. "Buck" Hilbert
all kinds of people . He helped a lot on the restoration of the Foundation's Ford Trimotor, and he is very active as a corporate pilot, examiner and all kinds of stuff like that. He also is one of the founding sponsors of the Airline Pilots Foundation and does a lot for his church. Well , not to bore you , but Don is one enthusiastic aviator. And a darned good one at that . I'm prone to pat myself on the back occasionally thinking I'm pretty good , versatile, and otherwise able to "luck out" more often than most aviators, too . But this guy , Don Toeppen , makes me feel like a kid trying his best to keep up with the big boys. In other words, he is what is sometimes referred to as, "a pilot's pilot!" I asked him , and he volunteered to fly John' s airplane here to Buck's Funny Farm where I'd keep it until John had time to pick it up . Now Don has flown my C-3 several times. Once to the Museum of Science and Fic tion 's 50th Anniversary celebration down in Chicago. That time we landed four airplanes on Lake Shore Drive near the museum and taxied onto the front lawn where they were displayed for a long weekend. This whole caper proved to be so successful in 1983 that the museum elected to do it again in 1988, but I'm wandering away from my story. Don has flown a C-3 before. We launched together and to shorten the rest of the story and conserve space, we made it home just fine , ex cept when we landed here , Don had a