VA-Vol-24-No-8-Aug-1996

EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher

Tom Poberezny

Editor-in-Chief

Jack Cox

Vol. 24, No.8

August 1996

Editor

Henry G. Frautschy

Managing Editor

CONTENTS

Golda Cox

Art Director

Mike Drucks

1 Straight & Levell Espie "Butch" Joyce

Assistant Art Director

Sara AOtto

2 AlC NewslH.G. Frautschy

Computer Graphic Specialists

Olivia L. Phillip

5 AlC 25th Anniversary ­ Part V/Norm Petersen 10 Major or Memorexl Roy Redman

Norm Petersen

Feature Writer

Dennis Parks

Page 12

Mike Steineke

Ken Lichtenburg

Advertising/ Editorial Assistant

Isabelle Wiske

17 Member's Projects from Around the World/ Norm Petersen

EAA ANTIQUE/ CLASSIC DIVISION, INC. OFFICERS

21 Stearman Reunion/ Richard T. Hansen Page 17

24 Amazing Float Recovery/ David Mathison

President Espie 'Butch" Joyce P.O. Box 35584 Greensboro. NC 27425 910/393-0044

Vice-President George Daubner 2448 Lough Lone Hartford, WI 53027

414/673-5885

Secretary Steve Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Leo , MN stJ:fJ7 507/373-1674

Treasurer E.E. "Buck" Hilbert P.O. Box 424 Union,lL 60180 815/923-4591

DIRECTORS

24 From Our Members 26 Mystery Plane/H .G. Frautschy 28 Calendar 28 Welcome New Members 30 Vintage Trader

Staff Photographers

Jim Koepnick Carl Schuppel

12 Rowe's Aeronca HAC/ H.G. Frautschy

23 Pass it to Buckl E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

Jennifer Larsen

Associate Editor

Page 24

FRONT COVER . .. Mark and Pete Rowe cruise along in the Sun 'n Fun '96 Grand Champion · Custo m Classic award w inner, a 1946 Aeronca 11AC Chief restored by the father a nd son team at their homes in on Eagle Nest Estates in Midlothian , TX. EM Photo by Phil High. Shot with a Canon EOS·1 n equipped with on 80-200 mm lens. 1/250 sec @ f9 on Fuji Sensia 100 slide film . Cessna 210 photo plane flown

by Bruce Moore.

BACK COVER . .. "Flying and Flapjacks' is the title of this Sam Lyons pointing entered in this year' s editio n of the Sport Aviation Art Competition. the longest running a viation art competition in the wo rld. Sam's pointing was awarded a Merit ribbon.

For more information on this artwork. see A/C News on page 2.

Copyright © 1996 by the EAA Antique/Classic Division Inc. All rights reserved.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Antique/Classic Division. Inc. of Ihe Experimenlal AircraH Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center. 3000 Poberezny Rd.• P.O. Box 3086. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086.

Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at add~iOll3l mailing offICes. The membership rate lor EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. is $27.00 for current EAA members for 12 month period of which $15.00 is for the publication of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two monlhs for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surtace mail.

ADVERTISING - Antique/Classic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We inv~e constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

EDITORIAIL POLICY: Readers are encouraged to subm~ stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibil~ for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No renumeration is made.

Materia should be sent to: Ed~or , VINTAGE AIRPLANE, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 414/426-4800.

The words EAA, ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM, SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EAA, EAA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INTERNATIONAIL AEROBATIC CLUB, WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are ® registered trademarks. THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION and EAA ULTRAILIGHT CONVENTION are trademarks of the above associations and their use by any person other than the above association is strictly prohib~ed .

John Berendt

7645 Echo Point Rd.

Connon Falls. MN 55009

507/263-2414

Gene Chase

2159 Carlton Rd.

Oshkosh. WI 54904

414/ 231-5002

Robert C. "Bob" ikOU8f

9345 S. Hoyne

Chicago. IL 60620

312/779-2105

John S. Copeland

28-3 Williamsbur8 Ct.

Shrewsbury. MA 1545

fIJ8/ 842-7867

Phil Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr.

Lawton. MI 49065

616/624-649Q

Stan Gomoll

1042 90th Lane. NE

Minneopolis. MN 55434

612/784-1172

Cha~es

Harris

Jeannie HIli

P.O. Box 328

Harvard. IL 60033

815/943-7205

Robert D. ' Bob" Lumley

1265 South 124th SI.

Brookfield. WI 53005

414/782-2633

7215 East 46th St.

Tulsa. OK 74145

918/622-8400

Dale A_Gustafson

7724 Shady Hill Dr.

Indianapolis. IN 46278

317/ 293-4430

Robert Ucktelg

1708 Boy Oaks Dr.

Albert Leo. MN stJ:fJ7

507/ 373-2922

11SC Steve Court. R.R. 2

Roanoke. TX 76262

817/491 -9110

Geoff Robison

1521 E. MacGregor Dr.

New Hoven. IN 46774

219/ 493-4724

George York

181 SlobodaAv.

Mansfield. OH 44906

419/529-4378

Gene Morris

SoH. OWes" Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue Wauwatosa . WI 53213 414/771 - 1545

DIRECTOR EMERITUS S.J. WIttman 1904-1995

ADVISORS Joe Dickey 55 Oakey Av. Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 812/537-9354 SIeve Krog 930 Tara HL E Hartford. WI 53027 414/ 966-7627

RagerGomoll 3238 Vicoria St. N St Paul. MN 55126 612/ 484-2303 Dean Richardson 6701 Colony Dr. Madison. WI 53717 608/833-1291

STRAIGHT & LEVEL

by Espie "Butch" Joyce

I am writing this some five days before leaving for the Oshkosh Convention. I have been totally occupied for the past month with the details needing attention while preparing for the operation of the Antique/Classic area. A number of your officers, directors and great volunteers who live close enough to Oshkosh have spent several months improving the grounds of the Antique/Classic area for your enjoyment. A new addition to the A/C Head­ quarters building is now a reality , and we can thank A/C Directors Bob Lumley and Bob Brauer for taking the lead on that project. I think that you will be surprised when you see the efforts of all these people who work for you.

We certainly try to make every person 's visit to the An­ tique/Classic area a pleasant one. If there's something you see that could stand improving, we are willing to listen to any constructive suggestion you might have to make it bet­ ter for you and your fellow members.

I have been volunteering at Oshkosh for some 23 years now. The first several years I averaged only 10 hours during the Convention. Doing this small amount of vol­ unteer work, I found the Convention much more fun - I felt that 1 had become a part of what was happening.

What's the difference between volunteering and standing on the sidelines watching? It's like standing on the ramp and watching an airplane takeoff or making the choice to open the cockpit door and go for a ride. Try it, you might like it!

In your Antique/Classic area during the Convention there are around 70 Chairmen and 400 individual volun­ teers who work many hours to try and make the Oshkosh Convention the best. One thing I can count on during the show is there will be several people who will come by and say Oshkosh has gotten "TOO BIG ." I have never really known how to take this statement. Oshkosh is big! We work hard all year long organizing the Convention to al­ low more people to get involved each year. I think every­ one who shows up wants to be part of the show, or they would not have made the trip. We will do everything that we can to make the newcomer as welcome as the old-timer who's been showing up for years.

You will see things at Oshkosh that you will not see at

other fly-ins - a couple of examples from past years include Steve Pitcairn, flying his PCA-2 Autogiro , eight Jennies flying together, and other rare aircraft. If you do not make the Convention this year, we look forward to seeing you in 1997. I guess you can tell that I am proud to be a part of this happening and you, as a member, can be too.

Moving on to other items of business, the Antique/Clas­ sic Hall of Fame is once again asking the membership to submit nominations of deserving individuals. Your An­ tique/Classic Director Charles Harris, 7215 East 46th Street, Tulsa, OK 74145, is the Hall of Fame Chairman and your nomination should be directed to him.

I hope everyone has enjoyed Gene Chase's history of the EAA Antique/Classic Division. This month Associate Editor Norm Petersen will give the history of the Division from 1985 to date. The Division has been fortunate to have many wonderful volunteers take up the mantle of re­ sponsibility over the years, and you've seen many of their names mentioned over the last 25 years. We look forward to working with those who will come to work with us in the future.

There are a number of interesting members of the Divi­ sion; one of those is Sam Burgess, whom you read about in last month 's VINTAGE AIRPLANE. I would like to add that Sam calls from time to time to make suggestions that help all of us. Sam has the most energy of anybody T know, and can complete a project in record time; he is now building a Knight Twister. I can ' t wait to see what he hangs on the front of that airplane.

Each of you please be extra careful out there; we cannot afford to lose any of you. Ask a friend to join the An­ tique/Classic Division so they, too, can enjoy the benefits of being a member and receive their own monthly publica­ tion , VINTAGE AIRPLANE. The Antique/Classic Division is 25 years strong this year and we look forward to another great 25 years. Our 50th anniversary will be in the year 2021 - let's all get to­ gether for that one.

Let 's all pull in the same direction for the good of avia­ tion. Remember we are better together. Join us and have ital!. ..

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

A/C NEWS compiled by H.G. Frautschy ABOUT THE BACK COVER ...

AIC DIVISION ON THE W EB?

Sam Lyons ' painting , " Flying and Flapjacks" depicts an original, restored Globe Swift at a typical summer Satur­ day morning pancake breakfast fly-in at a local field. For those of us here in the central Wisconsin area, it really is a local airport , for Sam has chosen the Wild Rose Idlewild airport , located just west of Lake Poygan, as the place for his painting. The acrylic on canvas artwork was inspired by the many EAA Chapter sponsored eve nts promoting aviation across the country which the artist has attended.

Sam Lyons, 4600 Kings Crossing Dr. , Kennesaw, GA 30144, phone 770/928­ 8050, has been painting aircraft full time since 1985, when he closed his hobby shop and began to pursue his dream of becoming an internationally respected aviation artist. With artwork gracing the Pentagon, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and many others locations and galleries worldwide, Sam's work in the photo realist style has captured the eye of many aviation enthusiasts.

A sailplane pilot working on his power ticket in his recently acquired Stinson 108-3, he keeps close to aviation as his avocation , an inspiration he has carried throughout his lifetime - his fa­ ther was a B-24 pilot during WW II.

Sometime in the future it is antici­ pated that the Antique/Classic Division will have it 's own page within EAA 's web site on the World Wide Web. Be­ sides the obvious membership informa­ tion , what types of information would Antique/Classic aviation computer users like to see? One thought is to have the basic judging guidelines pub­ lished on the Web, but I'm certain there must be other items that are of interest to computer literate members. Feel free to fax your replies with suggestions for the content of the Antique/Classic page to me at 414/426-4828. If you ' d rather e-mail , the address is vintage @eaa.org or th e web site is at http

:llwww.eaa.org .

EAA FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIEN TS SELECTED The 1996 EAA Aviation Foundation Scholarship recipients have been se­ lected. They are: For the EAAlTeledyne Continental Aviation Excellence scholarship , in the amount of $500 is presented to Angela M. Psket of Cudahy, WI, who attends Milwaukee General Aviation School.

For a EAA Aviation Achievement

A NEW POLYFIBER MANUAL Jon Goldenbaum, the president of Poly Fiber, has released an new version of the "How To" manual used by thousands over the years while covering their air­ planes with the Stits Poly-Fiber system. Jon, with assistance from Norm Douthit and Richard Kunc, has rewritten the manual with a light, easy to read style that is refreshing and makes the covering process fun to learn. Complete with photos and drawings to illustrate the process, you' ll soon get a complete education in this particular STC'd covering system. If you 're undecided as to what you want to do regarding covering your airplane, be sure and obtain a copy of " How To Cover An Aircraft Using the Poly-Fiber System." Cost is five bucks, and you can obtain one from Poly Fiber Aircraft Coatings, Box 3129, Riverside, CA 92519, phone 1-800/362-3490.

If your heart is set on a ni­ trate/butyrate finish, ask about their Classic Aero finishing system for Ceconite polyester fabric.

2 AUGUST 1996

scholarship, $500 is awarded to Corey M. Alexander of Winnemucca , NV , who is attending Dixie College.

For a EAA Aviation Achievement scholarship, $500 is awarded to Alex A. Temple of Indianapolis, IN. The Herbert L. Cox Memorial schol­ arship in the amount of $500 is awarded to Maria G. Battista of Indianapolis, IN attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

The Richard Lee Vernon Aviation $550 scholarship is presented to Marcia G . Fleck of Indianapolis, IN attending St. Cloud State University.

Finally, the Spartan School of Aero­ nautics Pilot Training in the amount of $1,000 went to Eddie D . Carney of Ocean Springs, MS. Congratulations to all of the scholar­ ship recipients!

UNIVAIR O N THE WORLD WIDE W EB For you computer users out there who enjoy accessing aviation users via the World Wide Web or e-mail, here 's the addresses for Univair: The web site is at www.univair.com and you can e­ mail at info@univair.com.

A FITTING TRIBUTE From the Funk Flyer newsletter, we picked up this short letter from Leroy Seigfreid. We were touched that a big company such a Goodyear Tire and Rubber would take the time to honor an employee from their airship days.

See if you don't agree : "Dear R uth, We lost another Funk aviator. My father, Emerson A. Seigfreid, went to be with the Lord on April 3, 1996. He lived his 88 years to the fullest.

"My Dad's department at Goodyear had made the blimp cars and control surfaces dating back to the early 1940s, so Goodyear brought out the Goodyear blimp for his funeral. The blimp hov­ ered over the church until the family came outside. Then it flew to the front of the church , turned 90 ° and did a salute by raising and lowering the front of the blimp . We were all deeply touched by this wonderful gesture.

"Before World War II , my father was part owner of Flink No. N24116 .

That airplane is now in the EAA mu­ seum in Oshkosh, WI. It was donated to the museum by Gus Limbach. " In the 1980s my Dad donated the nu mber one Funk motor to the Funk twins. The motor is on display in the Coffeyville, KS museum."

Leroy Siegfreid, Willard, OH

KIMBALL/EICHER GEE BEE Z As mentioned in last month ' s A IC News , the Gee Bee model Z replica en­ gineered by Kevin Kimball and built by him and Jeff Eicher has bee flown with high time Gee Bee pilot Delmar Ben­ jamin at the controls (Delmar now has in excess of 700 hours in his Gee Bee R-I , making him the the man with more hours in a Gee Bee than anyone, EVER). The flights took place on June 24 and 25, and over 15 landings and takeoffs were done by him during the initial flights . It stalls

UPCOMING flY-INS As we head into the fall (already?) fly­ in season, some of the year's nicest flying weather will be coupled with great fly-ins.

East coasters may wish to take in the Ha­ garstown Aviation Heritage Weekend Fly-In, celebrating those aircraft manu­ factured in Hagarstown, MD . Taking

at 75 mph indicated , a nd shows a maximum speed of 250+ mph , with a cr ui se of 210 mph initially .

Kevin 's pretty sure that number will go up as the engine 's ind uction sys­ tem is refined. The P& W R-9 85 was not turning up to fu ll static RPM for the first flights , and while well within the power requirements for flight, it should be able to turn up a bit quicker for a higher cruise speed.

The future plans for the " Z" are still open , and with a requirement for 40 hours that sti ll need to be flown off of the experime nta l airplane , it wi ll not be at an y airshows soon , but keep your dial tuned to Vintage Airplane and we'll keep you posted.

place the weekend of September 718 at Washington Count y Airport , the fly-in begins at 7 a. m.

One of the larger events is the Cop­ perstate Regional EAA Fly-In, held Oc­ tober 10-13 at Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa , AZ. They ' re a lso celebrating their 25th Anniversary, a nd plan o n all manner of fly-in activities including work-

Our thanks to Kevin and Jeff for sendi n g us these beautiful photos to share with our readers.

(Left) Just a few short years ago, this was the structure of the Gee Bee Z replica at the Kimball shop in Zellwood, FL. An aeronautical engineering stu­ dent, Kevin and Jeff have created the drawings used on the "Z" using a com­ puter CAD system. Now you know why the wing root fair­ ings are so deep - that wing center section carry-through structure that Kevin is point­ ing out is massive! It has to be, carrying both flight and landing gear loads. And look at the size of the tubing used, even in the aft fuse­ lage. This airplane is meant to take a lot.

shops, airshows and homebuilt kit manu­ facturer displays. There are reduced fuel prices during the fly-in, and should you desire, camping is permitted on the field.

You may wish to inquire about shower fa­ cilities. For more information call 602/827-4700 or yo u can reach them via the computer at: http://www .primenet. com-eaa_airzl

'*

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

fAA Antique/Classic Division

25th Anniversary PART V -

The Past Ten Years

by Norm Petersen

Th e 15 th Anni ve rsa r y o f th e An ­ tique/Classic Divisio n, held in conjuctio n with the 1986 E AA Conventio n, was in­ de e d a fes tive occas ion with som e 24 A /C c ha irm e n lea din g th e vo luntee rs throu ghout the wee k. 1986 will be lo ng re me mbe red as the only O shkosh pe r­ fo rm a nce o f th e te n-pl a ne It a li a n J e t Ae roba tic Tea m ca ll ed "Frecce Tri co l­ o ri. " In additio n, th e e ntire crowd , in ­ cludin g th e jubil a nt Antiqu e/C lass ic group, was in compl ete awe of the sights a nd so unds o f th e mag nifi ce nt Pitca irn PC A-2 a ut ogyro - flown by Steve Pit ­ cairn , th e son o f the m a nufactur e r , H a ro ld Pit ca irn . Fe w a tt e nd ees will ever fo rget the sound of the PCA-2 as it passed by, the big Wright e ngine growl­ ing away as the huge roto r blades made their soft beat at 120 rpm.

Unde r the adm inistration of AlC Pres­ ident, Robert "Dobbie" Licktieg, the A n­ tique/C lass ic Divi sion had ma de grea t strides the past yea r in new membershi ps, ne w activiti es, new serv ices , a nd even a bra nd new cup a lo o n th e fa mo us R ed Barn , courtesy of Sta n G omoll and Jo hn Fogerty.

A lo ng with th e la rge c ro wd s c a me ma ny a ir pl a nes , th e Antiqu e/C lass ic group registe rin g 140 antiqu es and 654 classics, for a total of 794 showplanes. To go a lo ng with the numbers, the excelle nt weather for the 1986 gathering was a we l­ com e treat. The 1986 Gra nd Champio n Antique Lind y was awa rded to Ri cha rd Packe r of Radn o r, Ohio, fo r his incredi­ ble restoration of a Boeing Stearman PT­ 17. Finished up in pre-'43 tra iner colors with "s ta rs & b a rs," th e PT-17 was as nicely resto red inside as o utside and the e ntire Packer fami ly of fo ur was involved in the seven-yea r restoratio n effort.

Th e R ese rve Gra nd C ha mpion An ­ tiqu e Lind y was ta ke n ho m e by Ga r y Rud o lph of Vincenn es , IN , with hi s re­ mark abl e Hea th LNA-40 Parasol. Pow­ e red with a Continental A-40 engine, the pre tt y cre am wi th re d trimm e d H ea th was in a cl ass of workm a nship by itse lf.

(Thi s ve r y H eat h Par aso l, N1 28 14 , is presently on display in the E AA Air Ad­ ventu re Museum .)

E liciting kind comme nts fr o m " th ose wh o kn o w," th e 1986 C lass ic Gr a nd Champio n Lindy was ga rnered by David

-

(Above) Steve Pitcairn taxies the PCA-2 Autogyro, Miss Champion, to the line for the 1986 Antique/Classic Fly-By. (Right) A skill seldom seen anymore - oiling the rocker arms on Ken Hyde's OX-5 prior to flight at the 1987 fly-in.

4 AUGUST 1996

J o rge nse n o f Ri ve rs id e , C A , wit h hi s beaui ful Stinson 108-2, all nice ly finished in an original Stinson Sa nd color that set it apart from th e crowd . Ma ny o ld tim e A/C me mbe rs co uld pl ai nl y re me mber the o ri gin al Sa nd colo r from bac k in the late fo rties - and D avid Jorgensen's Stin­ son brought tears to their eyes.

Th e 1986 Rese rve Gra nd Champio n Lindy was captured by To m a nd Ei lee n Macario of West Chester, PA , with their sharp looking Pipe r J-3 C65 Cub (incl ud­ ing matching ye ll ow T-s hirts o n the two resto rers).

Besides the pleasure of seeing the only fl ying Pitcairn PCA -2 autogyro, the 1986 ga th e rin g a lso includ e d th e sights a nd sounds of a fl ying replica of the Menasco­ powe red Miles & Atwood racer fro m the 1930's flown by Bill Turner of Cali fo rn ia.

In a ddit io n, a ra re Fl ee twin gs Sea bi rd sta inl ess stee l a mphib ian was fl own to O shkosh by Channin g Clark of Ca lifo r­ ni a. All in all , it was qui te a year for the A ntique/Classic Division.

1987 Antique/Classic Gathering at Oshkosh H ea t was o ne of th e watc hwords in 1987 . T he th er mo me ter bump ed we ll above the 90 degree mark fo r the opening wee kend , and wa ter was flow ing from the bu b bl e rs in great q u a n tity. St ill , t he O shk os h Co nven tion goers were not a b o ut to let a li tt le thin g lik e weat her keep the m from getting their sport avia­ tion fix for the year.

1987 was the year of celebration for the successful flight of the Voyager around the world - non-stop. This amaz­ ing feat by the Rutan brothers, Jeanna Yeager and a host of supporting people was enough to stir even the most sedate aviator. The long and fragile aircraft was trucked across the country with an impor­ tant stop at EAA Oshksosh '87 where the celebration of victory was held among the throngs of people. It was quite a mo­ ment in time. Following the convention, the Voyager was taken east to its even­ tual home in the Smithsonian.

The award for the most noise at Oshkosh '87 was taken by a flight of 11 jump-jet Harriers that came in and made a hover landing in front of the crowd.

Seldom, if ever, have so many decibles been produced in one spot, just for the crowd . Awesome.

Winner of the 1987 Antique Grand Champion Lindy was none other than Ken Hyde, Warrenton, VA, with his beautifully restored 1918 Curtiss IN-4D Jenny which made the most quiet passes down the crowd line that people had ever heard. The slow-turning OX-5 engine and large propeller was a beautiful reve­ lation to the ears of the gathered crowd.

(This was a forerunner to the 1989 gath­ ering of six Jennies.)

The Reserve Grand Champion Lindy was taken home by veteran antiquer, Marion "Curly" Havelaar of Rapid City, SD with his 1931 Waco QCF biplane, the factory prototype that carried an NX11241 registration number.

On the Classic side of the ledger, 1987 was the year of Clyde Smith, Jr. , and his Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser that ran off with all the marbles in the Classic competi­ tion. This Grand Champion Classic Lindy award winner cranked the competition level to new heights in restoration activity.

(Clyde Smith, Jr. , has since become a rec­ ognized authority on Cub restorations throught the land.) The 1987 Reserve Grand Champion Lindy was awarded to Angelo Fraboni of Monona, WI , for his beautiful all-metal Cessna 140A restora­ tion of NI40AB. 1987 was the year that a converted Piper Pacer taxied into the Antique/ Clas­ sic area for parking and the pilot ex­ plained it was a 1956 model with a set of 1955 wings. Wh en the question was re­ ferred to "Operation Bellringer" for clar­ ification as to year of manufacture , vet­ eran Parking Chairman Art Morgan came forth over the radio with the classic reply, "Park the wings and send the fuselage up north! " And that, folks, is " Oshkosh Hu­ mor" in its purest form.

1988 Antique/ Classic Gathering at Oshkosh Perhaps the easiest item to remember about the 1988 gathering was the unre­

(Above) Returning to their parking spot after the 1988 Antique/Classic Fly- By are Ray Johnson in his Aeronca Chief and Fred Cohen in his Aeronca Sedan.

(R ight) The Di vision ' s first logo , which was de ­ signed by Jack Cox, featured the Wright Flyer and the EAA Circle logo. The colors and shape were in­ corporated into the current logo.

lenting heat that hit 100 degrees on nu­ merous days. The newly elected A/C President , Espie " Butch" Joyce, com­ mented on the fact that he saw people wearing shorts for the first time - and saw legs he had never seen before! However, in spite of the heat and dry conditions , the crowds were better than ever and the number of showplanes in the antique/clas­ sic area totalled 132 antiques and 818 classics, both new records.

Retiring A/C President, Robert "Dob­ bie" Licktieg, was awarded a special plaque and gavel for outstanding service and dedication to the Antique/Classic Di­ vision during his tenure.

1988 will long be remembered for the continuous arrival of 163 Cessna 120/140/140A airplanes - arriving in trail formation - from Monticello, Iowa . This masterful piece of engineering began as a special "88 in '88" effort, only to produce nearly twice that number of airplanes for the mass fly-in at Oshkosh '88. It was quite a sight to watch these pretty two­ placers arrive, one after another, for forty minutes! And all without incident. The fine people of Monticello, lA, will be for­ ever remembered for their many kind deeds in helping the huge gathering of Cessnas complete their mass fly-in.

The Antique/ Grand Champion Lindy was garnered by a superbly restored 1940 Piper J-3C-65 Cub flown to Oshkosh by its restorer, Barbara Fidler, Alva, Florida, and her co-pilot, Marcia Sullivan. These two lovely ladies wore yellow Cub T­ shirts with the inscription on the back, "Two Fast Women in a Slow Cub." Dur­ ing the week at Oshkosh, a gentleman

from Illinois gave Barbara an offer she couldn't refuse , so the ladies delivered the pretty yellow Cub to Illinois after the convention and took an airliner home ­ carefully cradling the precious Grand Championship trophy in their arms.

Close behind the Grand Champion Antique was the Reserve Grand Cham­ pion Stearman PT-17 which brought the Lindy home for Fred Nelson of Glen El­ lyn, lL. Running off with the Classic Grand Champion Lindy was an immaculately re­ stored 1949 Piper PA-16 Clipper that was flown to Oshkosh , with the paint drying on the way, by the father/son team of James (Jim) Stanton, Sr. and Jr. of Stroudsburg, PA. Their excellent work­ manship and attention to detail really caught the judges' eye on this classic four­ placer.

The Classic Reserve Grand Champion Lindy was taken home by Jack Shahan of Stone Mountain, Georgia, with his beau­ tiful all-metal Cessna 140A all finished off in the factory optional cream and red paint scheme. Complete with original metal wheel pants, it was indeed a sharp looking airplane.

As VINTAGE AIRPLANE editor , Mark Phelps, commented in the maga­ zine, "The best evidence of this year's Convention is that there was enough good news to compose an entire column without once mentioning the heat!"

1989 Antique/Classic Convention Few aviation people will ever forget the 1989 Convention due to the sheer size VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

(Above) This 1989 photo shows heavy traffic and numerous aircraft in front of the famous Red Barn, home of the An­ tique/Classic Division during the fly-in.

(Below) Winner of the 1990 Grand Cham­ pion Antique award was this immaculate 1943 Boeing Stearman PT-17 being flown by owner, Fred Nelson, of Glen Ellyn, IL.

of the Russian AN-124 jet that arrived in Oshkosh with two Sukhoi SU-26 aero­ batic airplanes in its hold. The sight of this huge airplane taxiing in front of the crowd with an American flag held high from the co-pilot's window was a sure sign the Cold War was over.

Perhaps the greatest surprise of all happened when the visiting Russians were taken on a tour of the local K-Mart store and Fleet Farm store. Never in his­ tory , have you seen such large eyes on grown men! They had no idea such places existed and the expressions on their faces told it all.

In the Antique/Classic area, history

was made as no less than six Curtiss IN-4 Jennies arrived from all over the country, led by master craftsman, Ken Hyde.

These large, graceful biplanes made in­ delible impressions on the minds of the huge crowd as they quietly flew by, their OX-5 engines making a soft purr as they slowly flew past. Many in the audience had never heard the sound of an OX-5 e ngine - say nothing of several in close formation! It was an unforgettable expe­ rience.

With the judging committees working at a feverish pace to handle all the a ir­ planes, the final result saw Bill Halvorson of Bloomington , MN, take the Antique Grand Champion Lindbergh trophy with his magnificient Beechcraft G 17S Stag­ gerwing. All finis hed up in a dark red paint scheme with red leather interior the Staggerwing showed mute evidenc~ of its 12-year dedicated restoration by Bill and his lovely wife, Fran.

The 1989 Antique Reserve Grand Champion Lindy was awarded to Fred

Nelson of Glen Ellyn , IL, for his out­ standing Boeing Stearman PT-17 finished off in pre-1943 Army Air Corps colors with stars and bars.

On the Classic side, the Grand Cham­ pion "Lindy" was garnered by Charles Hoover of St. Paul, MN , with his dedi­ cated restoration of an 85 hp Globe GC­ lA Swift. Polished top and bottom, the brilliant shine of the aluminum skin was absolutely stunning in the sunlight and turned heads whenever it flew past.

Charles worked hard for a numb er of years to bring the pretty two-placer to championship caliber and earn the top award at Oshkosh.

The Reserve Grand Champion Classic Lindy was earned by Clyde Baryton of Angleton, TX, for his beautifully restored Luscombe llA Sedan - a rare bird in­ deed. ' Pioneer Age Champion (Prior to 1918) was awarded to Chet Peek of Norman OK, for his 1917 Curtiss IN-4D. The run~ ner-up spot was taken by Wally Olson, Vancouver , WA , with his 1917 Curtiss IN-4D and the Outstanding Award was awarded to Skeeter Carlson, Spokane , WA , with his rare 1917 Curtiss IN-4 Canuck.

In addition to the above Jennies, Ray Folsom of California brought his "movie star" IN-4D flown by Bill Turner, Kermit Weeks of Miami, FL, had his IN-4D at Oshkosh, having purchased it from Dan Neuman while it was displayed in the EAA Museum, and lastly, Ken Hyde of Warrenton, VA, flew his 1987 Grand Champion Jenny to Oshkosh to partake in the special Convention program enti­ tled, "From Jennies to Jets. " It was a program like none other and will be long remembered.

1990 Anti~ue/Classic Fly-In

at Oshkosll This was the year of the Concorde, the Junkers JU-52 , the Ford Trimotor the Stinson Trimotor, the Lockheed COI;stel­ lation and the F-l17A Stealth fight er. In addition, the anniversary of the Battle of Britain was highlighted by Jaguar Motor Cars of England. Featuring some of the finest convention weather in years, the 1990 gathering was easy on both people and airplanes.

The crew at the Re d Barn was in tip top shape this year and the pl ace was busy with Antique/Classic people coming and going. The volunteers were once again doing a fabulous job at all their many tasks - usually without so much as a thank you - they just plain love their jobs.

Through diligence and hard work, Fred Nelson of Glen Ellyn, IL , finally e~rned the Grand Champion Antique LlI1dy trophy with his beautiful Boeing Stearman PT-17 finished in pre-1943 col­ ors. A previous awa rd winner on several 6 AUGUST 1996

occasions, Fred kept improving his air­ pl a ne year after year. In 1990, persis­ te nce finally pai d off with th e big, well earned trophy. The Reserve Grand Champion Antique Lindy was tak en by Bud and Connie Dake of St. Louis, MO , with their immaculate Monocoupe 90AL. This "true blue" aviation couple has re­ store d a numb e r of antique airpl a nes, each one a winner by itself.

Running off with the Grand Cham­ pion Classic Lindbergh trophy was Tom Hull of Hollywood, MD , with his magni­ ficient Cessna 195, all done up in o riginal colors of off-white and deep red. Featur­ ing orig inal wheelpants and spi nn er, Tom's big five-place "Businessliner" was detailed to the nth degree which caught the judges eye. The R eserve Grand Champion Classic was garnered by Sam James and D avid Slovachek of Colgate, WI , with their bea utifull y restored Beechcraft C-35 Bonanza.

The Budd D avisso n designed and Jim Clevanger built replica Wedell-Williams racer No. 44 gave the crowd a taste of py­ lon racing from the 1930's as it sped down the flightline, sounding much like ripping ca nvas. There was littl e doubt that the crowds really enjoyed it. Look for more of these in the future.

Two weeks after the convention , this author discovered the pilot of the F-117 A Stealth fighter was Capt. Scott Stimpert.

Scott grew up two blocks from my home in St. James, MN, and I gave him his very first airplane ride when he was te n years old. (Small world dept.)

1991 Antique/Classic Gathering at Oshkosh Once again, the weather Gods smi led on the Antique/Classic crowds during the 1990 fly-in with cool temperatures and a small amount of rain on Sunday. In addi­ tion to beautiful weather, the turnout of peop le and airplanes was excellent with 150 Antiques a nd 705 Classics on th e showplane line.

A major attraction for the 1991 con­ vention was a Salute to D ese rt Storm, with many of the aircraft that were used in that conflict being displayed. In addi­ tion, many of the Desert Storm pilots and crew were in attendance , including two POWs who had survived at the ha nds of the Iraqi guards. For the second year in a row, the sinister looki ng F-117A Stealth was in attendance, flown by Wisconsin native , Capt. Rob Don aldson. A huge B-52 bomber made a low pass down Run­ way 18 with everythin g hangi ng out - it stirred a lot of air.

The busy crew at the R ed Ba rn had pretty airplanes and good people all over the place. A record 855 antique and clas­ sic aircraft were regis tere d thi s yea r , keeping the judges extremely busy.

Whe n all the sho uting wa s over, the

Antique Grand Champion Lindy was awarded to Harold and Bob Armstrong of R awlings, MD, who flew their rare, OX-5 powered, 1927 Pitcairn Fleetwing PA-4 biplane all the way to Oshkosh. No strangers to winning ways, the father/son team of Armstrongs hav e had prev ious Grand Champs and R eserve Grand Champs. Their PC-4 (the sole sur­ vivor of its kind) bore evidence of maste r workman ship a nd extreme a tte ntion to detail. To say that the OX-5 e ngine ran like a Swiss watch would be an unde rstatement. Their PC-4 was the first airplane in EAA history to score a perfect 100 points in antique ai rcraft judging.

The R eserve Grand Cha mpion Antique " Lindy " was ta ke n home

by Bob Lindley of Zellwood, FL, for his immaculate restoration of a 1936 Stinson SR-8E Gullwing. This rare (one of four on the register) cabin class Stinson displayed some beauti­ ful restoration craftsmanship on be­ half of its rebuilder.

Moving up the Classic ladder from the previo us year R eserve Champion award was the twoso me of D a vid Slovach e k a nd Sam J a mes of Colgate , WI , takin g home the Classic Grand Champion Lindy with their constantly improv e d Beechcraft C-35 Bon a nza. Thi s tim e, their several years of hard work finally paid off as they took hom e the heavy hardware in their bright yellow and blue Bon a nza . The Rese rve Grand Cham­ pion Classic Lindy was awarded to Jack Shahan of Stone Mountasin , GA , for his immaculate Cessna 140A. Jack has con­ sistently won an awa rd every year with this little two-place jewel of an airplane.

In just a short time, a new Contempo­ rary Class was be a dded to the Antique/Classic Divi sion that includ ed the years of manufacture - 1956 to 1960.

This new class will ma ke the fly-ins eve n more exciting and expand the horizons of Antique/Classic pilots and restorers.

1992 Anti~ue/Classic Fly-In at Oshkosti Veteran EAA convention goers will long remember the 1992 fly-in for its near perfect cool , cl ea r weather that alm ost had p eop le del e ri o us. Sure , the big Au ss ie 747 came in with nearly 400 on board a nd sure, tw o audacious flyers from South Africa named "Chalkie" Sto­ bbart and Pete r H e ngst fl ew a Warner­ powered Fairchild 24 all the way fro m South Africa to Oshkosh, and sure, a spe­ cial salute to the WW II fig hter pilots was enjoyed by all, however, the supreme joy of cool , clear , perfect weather for the convention was the bes t med icin e ever.

It was scrumptious.

The 1992 Antique Grand Champion

Running away with the 1991 Antique Grand Champion trophy were Harold and Bob Armstrong of Rawlings, MD, whose 1927 Pitcairn PA-4, powered with an OX-5 engine, scored the first ever 100 points (perfect) in judging at Oshkosh.

Lindy was awarded to Jim Porter of Hinsdal e, IL , for his stunning 1943 Beechcraft D17S Staggerwing that was in a class by itself. Restored in the shop of Bern " Doc" Yocke of Sandwich, IL, the beautifully finished speedster was don e up in an off white paint scheme with the factory trim in a deep red. Right behind the Grand Champion wa s the R eserve Grand Champion Antique Lindy th a t was garnered by lon gtim e EAA me m­ ber, Steve Pitcairn of Bryn Athyn, PA , who flew in with his 1930 Pitcairn PA-7 Mailwing. The big Wright-e ngined bi­ plane wa s finished in U. S. Mail live ry with yellow wings and tail with a black fuselage. The superb workmanship of Steve and his crew was evident through­ out the restoration.

Over on th e Classic side, the Grand Champion Classic Lindy was taken home by a happy D e nsel Willi ams of Jackson , MI , with his immac ulate Aeronca llCC Super Chief that was restored by Densel and a huge bunch of Chapter 304 mem­ bers in Jackson, MI. The results of their cumlative efforts were outstanding and th e " tru e gri t " a nd d eter min a tion in ­ vo lve d in the re storati on is a fantastic story in itse lf. This is wh at winners are made of.

The Reserve Grand Champion Classic was awarded to D e lton Perry of Lawre nceb urg, TN, for his outstanding Pipe r PA-22 Tri-Pacer that was restored to original condition by D elton and Joe Fleeman. Flown to Oshkosh '92 by Joe VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

(Above) A happy threesome consist­ ing of David Siovachek, Brian Slo­ vachek and Sam James, savor the Grand Champion Classic trophy for 1991, which they were awarded for the beautiful Beechcraft C-35 Bo­ nanza which they restored.

(Left) The EAA Chapter 304 gang who helped Densel Williams (extreme left, back row) restore Densel's 1947 Aeronca 11 CC Super Chief to the point where it absconded with the 1992 Grand Champion Classic trophy.

Check out their Aeronca shirts!

Fleeman , the restoration was primarily a mechanical job by Perry and a covering job by Fleeman that resulted in a beauti­ ful piece of restoration work that ran off with the Reserve Grand Champ marbles.

For the very firs t time, Conte mporary Class airp lanes (1956 to 1960) were parked on the Antique/Classic gro und s and the mechanisms fo r judging them in 1993 were established. Need less the say, the owners of th ese beautiful airp lanes were quite excited to see the new class be ing established a nd they were anx ious to enter competition.

1993 Antique/Classic/ Contemporary Fly-In at Oshkosh If th e past conven tions fea tured good weather, 1993 wou ld go down in hi story as the year of the big water. For months prior to the big gathering, the rains came - and came - and came! With floods a ll over the midwest, the EAA gro unds be­ came completely saturated and with only two weeks to go be fore conven tion , con­ sid eration was given to s upply each campe r with his own water bed! As if some devine providence stepped in , t he rains ceased just in the nick of time and the grou nds dried up to where airplanes could still be parked. The balance of the convention weather was fi ne except for a s harp s torm that blew throu g h th e 8 AUGUST 1996

gro unds o n Tuesday, damagin g seve ra l airplanes. (Note: Tiedowns are only as strong as their anchors.)

On the flying fro nt , the big news fo r '93 was Kermit Weeks ' 4-engined Short Sunderland flying boat that he flew in from Eng land to Oshkosh , la ndin g in Lake Winnebago. The graceful fly-bys of the huge flyin g boat each day of the con­ ve ntion were observed by everyone - the so und of the four P&W 1830 engi nes makin g beautiful music as Kermit brought t h e bi g flyin g boat down the showline.

Th e to p award in t he Anti qu e cl ass was tak e n hom e by Jack Steen of Ada, MI, with his immaculate 1931 Driggs Sky­ lark biplane powered with the original American Cirrus Hi-Drive e ngine. The near unbeli evable quality of the restora­ tion , which was begun years ago by his fa­ th er, Les Steen , was duly noted by the judges and in the fine hairs that are some­ times the determining facto r, the Driggs Skylark came out on top with the Grand Champion Lindy award.

T he 1993 R ese rve Grand C ha mpi on Lindy was taken by a 1933 DeHavilland DH-83 Fox Moth , brought to Oshkosh by Roger Fiennes of London , England . This sup erb restoration was do ne in New Zealand and the a irplane was on its way to London . O f royal lineage, the exquis­ ite Fox Moth featured a bea utiful cabin

for three and the most immaculate alu­ minum whee Ipants that had been hand­ made by a real craftsman.

The Grand Champion Classic Lind­ bergh Trophy was awarded to Vern Flacksbarth a nd Durbe r Allen of Min­ nea polis, MN , for their remark ab le restoration of a single-place Mooney M­ 18C Mite - the very first time in hi story such a plane has been so honored. The on ly problem being th at both winners cannot fly in the airplane at th e same time.

The Reserve Grand Champion Classic Lindy was take n by George Willford of Wate rville , OH, with his very a uth ent ic Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser. Restored over a period of time by George and his father, the PA-12 showed super attention to detail and lot s of dedicated e lbow grease.

In the new Contemorary Class th e Grand Champion Lindy was garnered by Jerry Ross of Weatherford , OK, with his bea uti ful 1959 Piper PA-24 Commanche powered with a Lycoming 0-360 of 180 hp. T he original paint scheme on this re­ tractable was a thing to behold and scored well with the judges. The Reserve Grand Champion Contemporary Lind y was take n home by Arthur Bastian of New­ ton, NJ , with his nicely restored 1956 Cessna 310 (straight tail) fi nished off in an original paint scheme of white, turq uoise and black trim .

Perhaps one more unforgettable item from 1993 was the appearance of Ra lph Rosanik ' s ma gnificent replica Curtiss Hawk P-6E , which , although it had not flown , just the sound of the V-12 Curtiss Conqueror e ngine as it taxied by on its way to the display ramp, was an immense thrill in itself. This 30-year effort by a very determined builder is presently on display in th e EAA's Eagle Hangar for all to see.

1994 Antique/Classic/ Contemporary Fly-In The return of the supersonic Con­ co rd e marked the 1994 fly-in with the customary lo ud noises as it blasted off on a " local " trip with a cabin fu ll of passe n­ gers. In addition, 1994 was noted for the "Salute to Appollo" which proved to be a very popular program , the astronauts themselves being very comfortable on the stage amo ng fellow aviation people.

If blue is your favorite color, you would have liked the choice for the An­ tique Grand Champion Lindy as Tom Baker, J r. of Effingham , IL ran off with all the marb les with his blu e and si lver 1941 Taylorcraft BL-65. A brilliant piece of restoration , the Taylorcraft, complete with round contro l wheels and la rge tachometer, was fin ished down to the last nut and bolt by this young restore r. In ­ deed, Tom comes by his aviation interest

honestly as his father, Tom Baker, Sr. is a long time rebuilder and restorer who taught his son well.

The Reserve Grand Champion Lindy was taken by Gerald Hanson of Las Ve­ gas, NV , with his spectacular 1942 Beechcraft G-17S Staggerwing which was finished off in a bright yellow paint scheme with dark blue trim. To say that this cabin class airplane, which used to be flown by Walter Beech, himself, was a real jewel among some really fine air­ planes would be an understatement. It was outstanding.

In the Classic arena, the Grand Cham­ pion Lindy was well earned by Roy Fox­ worthy of Columbus, IN, with his magnif­ icently restored Johnson Rocket 185.

This rare airplane , one of only four or fiv e remaining, was totally restored over a period of dedicated effort to where it outscored all Classics at the convention.

The amazing history behind this airplane is just as fascinating as the airplane itself.

The Reserve Grand Champion Classic Lindy was awarded to John Preiss of Ger­ mantown, WI, for his outstanding Cessna 195, all polished to the nth degree . The restoration work on this beautiful five­ place airplane was something to behold.

For the second year of the Contempo­ rary Class, the Grand Champion Lindy was garnered by Lee Maples of Belle , MO, for his outstanding 1960 twin Beechcraft G18S which was flown to Oshkosh on a whim, just to see what wou ld happen! Lee was quite surprised to learn he had won the Grand Champion Lindy.

The Reserve Grand Champion Co n­ temporary Lindy was taken home by Gary Granfors of Webster, MN, with his remarkably restored 1960 Cessna 172 that is actually owned with several other pi­ lots. Together, they have done an exce l­ lent job of bringing the 172 back to origi­ nal condition.

For the first time in history, a Grand Champion Seaplane Lindy was awarded to Buzz Kaplan of Owatonna, MN, for his superbly restored 1929 Curtiss Robin mounted on a set of Edo 2665 floats.

This was the oldest seaplane to ever visit the Brennand/Vette Seaplane base since EAA moved to Oshkosh in 1970.

Attendance at the Antique/Classic area was higher than ever with some 900 aircraft registered and aficianadoes all over the place. It was the year of the Waco as 44 of the beautiful biplanes lined up, courtesy of a big push by the Ameri­ can Waco C lub . In addition, the Beech Bonanza folks brought in 132 V-tails and straight tails - all in a continual line from Rockford, IL. For the first time ever, a BUcker Jung­ meister garnered the Antique Grand Champion Lindy award for its owner, E. T. "Woody" Woodward of Franklin , TN. Immacu lately restored by J oe Fleeman , the winning Jungmeister was the first one off the production line in Switzerland in 1937 and feat ured the original Swiss paint scheme in yellow with red bands, white crosses and black trim .

The Reserve Grand Champion An­ tique was taken home by Alan Buchner of Fresno, CA, with his beautiful 1932 Waco QDC cabin biplane. The superb restoration of this ga llant veteran of the

(Above) A really rare treat at the 1992 Fly-In was this Fairchild 24W that was flown all the way to Oshkosh from South Africa by "Chalkie" Stobbart and Peter Hengst.

(Below) Who could ever forget the mag­ nificient Curtiss Hawk P-6E that was replicated over a thirty year period by Ralph Rosanik of Omaha, NE, and was brought to the 1993 convention.

1930's was extremely well done, right down to the polished cowling.

Working their way upward from sev­ eral earlier awards were Gene and Carol Engelskirger of Hinckley, OH, whose to­ tally restored 1954Cessna 170B earned them the Classic Grand Champion Lindy at the '95 convention . It was the steady improvement in the overall airpla ne con­ dition and detailing that ca ught the judge's eye to score enough points to win the big one.

Continued on page 37

1995 AntiquelClassicl Contemporary Fly-In at Oshkosh Very few people who were in atten­ dance at the '95 convention will ever for­ get the huge "Tribute to Valor" fly-overs of WW II aircraft. On Saturday and Sun­ day , there were over 200 aircraft in the air at one time with some f1y-bys being conducted at five different levels at one time! Many remarked they had never seen the huge crowd as quiet as they were when the hundreds of aircraft were going by. It was a most impressive two days.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

Majoror

biage to the word "overhaul." They also address other terms such as "rebuilt" and "remanufacture," but first we should study just what an "overhaul" is by regu­ lation. Let's look at the FAR 43.2 words in detail.

Paragraph 43.2 Records of overhaul and rebuilding. (a) No person may de­ scribe in any required maintenance entry or form an aircraft, airframe, aircraft en­ gine, propeller, appliance, or component part as being overhauled unless (1) Us­ ing methods, techniques , and practices acceptab le to the Administrator, it has been disassembled, cleaned, inspected, repaired as necessary, and reassembled; and (2) It has been tested in accordance with approved standards and technical data, or in accordance with current stan­ dards and technical data approved by the Administrator, which have been devel­ oped and documented by the holder of the type certificate, supplemental type certificate, or a material, part, process, or app li ance approval under paragraph 21.305 of this chapter. (b) No person may describe in any required mainte­ nance entry or form an aircraft, airframe, aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, or component part as being rebuilt unless it

Memorex® ?

by Roy Redman,

Ale 6600

Sometimes You Need to Question Your judgement Several years ago a cassette tape company ran a national TV campaign.

The focus of these ads was that you couldn 't tell if you were listening to the real thing or to a recorded version. They showed a clip of a concert hall per­ former and then alluded to the fact that the sound you were hearing was really coming from a Memorex cassette. The caption was "Is it live or is it Memo­ rex?"

The engine overhaul is something that most airplane owners understand , or at least think they understand. When it's time for an overhaul you unbolt the en­ gine, send it away, send gobs of cash and get back an "overhauled" engine and a bunch of writing in the logbook. Sounds simple enough, but is it really? What do you get for your outlay of $10,000 to $15,000 or more? More to the point, what should you get? Do you get a "Ma­ jor" or do you get "Memorex?"

The mechanical portion of an over­ haul is certainly a primary consideration and could fill volumes of printed matter.

What we are going to investigate here, however, is the paperwork side-the le­ gality and the words. What is required?

What do the words mean? Who is re­ sponsible? And just what is an overhaul by regulations, and what is not?

An examination of what the FARs say about overhau ls will get us started and serve as a framework for discussion.

We find most of the pertinent informa­ tion in FAR Part 43, entitled Mainte­ nance, Preventive Maintenance, Re­ building, and Alteration. There are also Advisory Circulars on the subject, iden­ tified by the prefix" AC." These are considered acceptable data and are given the same credence by the FAA as regulation if applicable. A prime exam­ ple is AC 43.13-1A and 2A. Note that the first number following the letters "AC" refer to the subject part of the 10 AUGUST 1996

FAR , hence Advisory Circu lar AC 43.13 obviously covers maintenance.

AC 43-11, entitled Reciprocating En­ gine Overhaul Terminology and Stan­ dards, is an important reference. We should note here that this AC comments on some Part 91 references in addition to the maintenance issues . Part 91 is enti­ tled General Operating and Flight Rules.

With regard to maintenance, this part outlines owner/operator responsibilities.

Keep in mind as we progress that the re­ sponsibility for the records entries and record keeping is shared by the owner/operator, as well as the person or agency performing the work.

The FARs go to great pains to define "major" and "minor" repairs. FAR 43, Appendix A covers nearly every repair or alteration you can think of, but does not address the common use of the word "major" in an overhaul. It refers to split­ ting the case or cra nkshaft of a super­ charged engine, a geared (other than spur type) engine, or special repairs such as welding, plating or metalizing. In this context, the inclusion of any of these op­ erations in an overhaul requires a form 337 since they constitute "major" repairs.

The common use of the word "major" with the word "overhaul" is addressed only in AC 43-11 paragraph 5b (1) and (2). This paragraph calls the words "ma­ jor" and "top" an identification of the degree of work done on the engine. The defining paragraphs (1) and (2) say what most of us know-that a "major" identi­ fies complete disassembly and "top" identifies work outside the crankcase only. The word " major," therefore, has nothing to do with the standards of the work. It only identifies what parts were disassembled. And most important, it does not define whether or not the en­ gine was overhauled . The word we re­ ally need to understand is "overhaul."

The FARs devote considerable ver­

The engine overhaul is something that most airplane owners understand, or at least think they understand. When it's time for an overhaul you unbolt the engine, send it away, send gobs of cash and get back an "overhauled" engine and a bunch of writing in the logbook.

Sounds simple enough, but is it really? has been disassembled, cleaned, in­ spected, repaired as necessary, reassem­ bled, and tested to the same tolerances and limits as a new item, using either new parts or used parts that either con­ form to new part tolerances and limits, or to approved oversized or undersized dimensions. (Note: Underlining is ours for emphasis.)

What this tells us is that it isn't an overhaul unless it is tested, and the stan­ dard for this is the manufacturers' over­ haul manual (approved standards and technical data) or in accordance with­ technical data that is "approved by the Administrator." Paragraph (b) goes on to define " rebuilt" as meaning the use of new standards, and again testing is men­ tioned as a requirement. (It is probably appropriate to mention, since we just read the FAR, that there isn't much dif­ ference between "overhauled" and "re­ built." You can see that an overhaul to new limits could be the same as a re­ build.)

While we're nea r th e subject we should m ention something about the term "remanufacture" although it has lit­ tle or no applicability to our old engines.

This term actually has no specific mean­ ing in the FARs. It is , however, widely used by engine overhaul facilities and also manufacturers to describe an engine that has been "rebuilt" and granted zero time by the manufacturer or an approved agency (Ref. AC 43-11 paragraph 7).

Well , OK. So it has to be tested to perfect the overhaul. What does that mean? It means that the engine has to be run. The F ARs address this in a couple of ways. First of all, AC 43.13-1A, Chapter 14, paragraph 679 e, "A pproval for re­ turnin g Engine to Service" says in (2) "Test run the engine to determine that the engine, propeller, and accessories are functioning properly. " (The lead para­ graph here, #679, refers to sudden stop­ page. However, the reassembly and re­ turn to service would be the same as an overhaul. The only difference would be the application of the overhaul standards in FAR 43 .2.) Further, in addition to dis­ cussing definitions of "major" and "top," AC 43-11 paragraph 5b (1) states that "A major overhaul consists of the complete disassembly of an engine, inspected and repaired as necessary , reassembled, tested, and approved for return to ser­ vice." (Bold type is ours for emphasis.)

This brings us to the next step, the re­ turn to service. FAR 43.5 states: No person may return to service any aircraft, airframe, aircraft engine, propeller or ap­ pliance that has undergone maintenance, preventative maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration unless-(a) The maintenance record entry required by paragraph 43.9 or paragraph 43.11 has been made. Para­ graphs 43 .9 and 43.11 speak to the con­ tent, form and disposition of mainte­ nance records. This means logbooks.

So now we have come full circle. We assume that we are entering into a "ma­ jor" but understand that this term refers to degree of work. And in order to be an "overhaul" a variety of things have to be accomplished, including a test run. Then the required logbook entry has to be made that not only includes the word "overhaul" but also the familiar words " ... approved for return to service."

When all of this is accomplished, the air­ plane can be returned to service merely with an entry in the airframe log that the engine has qeen installed.

When the engine is approved for re­ turn to service by the overhaul facility, no further entry is necessary in the en­ gine log. The engine just has to be con­ nected on paper to the airframe in the airframe logbook. A notation of this in­ stallation also in the engine log is com­ mon, but isn't required.

Well, you say, I know good 01' so-and­ so who does engines and he really knows

his stuff, but he doesn't have test run facil­ ities. Now most of the engines we operate on our antiques and classics are getting pretty long of tooth- upwards to 60 years or so. And the parts availability comes from outside the ne twork that many es­ tablished shops are familiar with . Yes , there are fortunately a number of estab­ lished engine shops that continue to ser­ vice the old engines, but a cottage industry of "good 01' so-and-so" guys is growing.

Great! We need the support, and the availability of engines. But when you pay the price you should hear the fat lady sing in person, and not on Memorex tape.

When you pay for an overhaul , that's what you should get-and it should be run and returned to service. And what if it's not? Well, it might work out just fine, and I'm sure the "good 01' so-and­ so" will give you lots of evidence that it will. But just understand the position you're in . You have a shiny new engine and you've paid the bill, which probably was market price for an overhaul. You have a logbook with an impressive en­ try-but nowhere do the words "over­ haul" or "approved for return to service" appear. There 's a signature under the entry, but all that really says is that the parts were assembled.

You get your engine home, and have an A&P install it. Either he has to run it and add the words "approved for return to service," or your IA has to do thi s when he completes the installation or the annual. Now one or both of these guys is certifying the airworthiness, and the crit­ ical first couple of hours of run-in is on their shoulders. The best of all worlds is that everything goes just fine , and it usu­ ally does. But if it doesn 't? Human na­ ture steps in with all its vagaries. The en­ gi ne builder assumes that the installer did some thing wrong, ran it in improp­ er ly , etc. The installer assumes that somethin g wasn ' t done right in the as­ sembly. And you're in the middle. Any they 're probably on the phone a lot try­ ing to solve the problem. Assuming the best from all concerned, it probably works out in the end. But it could go an­ other direction.

Consider this-we were expecting an engine from a respected engine shop to meet a deadline for a customer. On the promised ship day we got a call. The en­ gine had flunked the run-in . After two hours of test stand running there was suspicious metal in the oil. The shop owner felt that a teardown was in order.

I won 't go into chapter and verse on the problem but will just say that it was something that could happen to the best-a nd it did . People all over the country are flying behind engines from that shop with pride and confidence, and rightly so. The engine arrived two weeks late, but no one minded the delay. The clear lesson is that the first couple of

hours belong on the test stand. The good shops won't have it any other way.

Before we conclude we need to take another short visit to the FAA data. AC 43-11, paragraph 8 covers overhaul facili­ ties and the FARs they are required to comply with; FAR 43.13 a. and 43.13 b.

(-but don't confuse these with AC 43.13-1A and 2A). In brief, these para­ graphs require practices, tools and test equipment consistent with industry stan­ dard as well as those recommended by the manufacturer (found in the overhaul manual). Paragraph b . addresses owner/operator responsibilities as out­ lined in FAR 91.405 and 91.417. These paragraphs point out among other things, that the owner/operator " Shall ensure that maintenance personnel make appro­ priate entries ...indicating the aircraft has been returned to service" and also the responsibility for keeping the aircraft records and detail required therein.

So now you're going to have your en­ gine overhauled-or you want one over­ hauled for that new restoration. Despite the age of our engines, there are many respected engine shops out there. And there are several "good 01' so-and-sos" working in their hangars or home shops who deserve a shot and do great work .

Select the situation that feels comfort­ able to you. Here's some suggestions. 1.

When interviewing your shop or engine builder, ask the critical questions: Will it be test run? And will you sign off ap­ proval for return to service? Usually if the first is affirmative the second will be as well. 2. Determine if the overhaul will be to service limits or to new stan­ dards. We didn ' t touch on this in order to not ge t into the mechanical details, but you should know what you will be gett ing for your buck. This can affect the cost, and definitely the longevity of your e ngine . Then after you have se­ lected yo ur engine shop - 3. Get a copy of AC 43-11 from your FSDO and re­ view it carefully . It isn't too long and has some good information . (Part 91 has been revised since it was printed and the references should read 91.405, 91.417 and 91.421.) 4. A stroll through FAR Part 43 will help , specifically the para­ graphs I mentioned and also those refer­ enced in AC 43-11. (You don 't have to become a regulations freak! There isn't that much , and they specifically address your concerns.) 5. When you get ready to pay the bill, read the logbook entry carefully. If you've absorbed the Part 91 references you will know what your re­ sponsibilities are and what you need to see in the entry.

More than likely the answers to your questions will be positive , and your con­ cerns welcome. Our hobby and our in­ dustry is full of good folks and skilled craftsmen. I'm sure all will agree that in today's world, you can 't be too careful. ...

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Custom Chief Pete and Mark Rowe

gussie up a old post-war favorite.

by H.G. Frautschy

If you can tear yourself away from the photos and that American LaFrance Fire Engine Red finish, I'll tell you all about it.

Last month I wrote about a very original Aeronca, Buck Hilbert's 15AC Sedan.

N ow here's the other end of the spec­ trum, a custom airplane with plenty of neat features.

Pete and Mark Rowe (Pete is the dad, Mark is his son), Midlothian, TX, liked what they had seen in other recent Chief restorations. Densel Williams' Aeronca llCC Super Chief, winner of the Grand Champion Classic trophy at EAA OSHKOSH '92, was mentioned by them as one of the nicest airplanes they had seen, but they wanted to head in a differ­ ent direction when they started their restoration. From the outset, Pete and Mark weren't looking to go trophy hunt­ ing, so an original airplane wasn't re­ quired. They just wanted a super nice looking airplane they could fly. Since they both live in the same fly-in commu­ nity, Eagle's Nest Estates, it wouldn't be too difficult to split up the project be­ tween the two houses.

In 1992 Mark's wife Dana saw an ad in the Dallas newspaper for a side-by-side airplane. She liked flying during the evening in Mark 's "cheap Champ" and the thought of an airplane in which she could sit next to Mark appealed to her.

He charged off to look at the airplane, and decided to buy it. They acquired the non-flying Chief project after it had been covered , but after looking at the work­ manship, they felt they could do better, so the cover job came off. A close inspec­ tion of the fuselage frame was made after bead blasting and no tubing replacement was needed. A complete job of priming and painting the tubing was done before the rest of the work was started on the fuselage . The tubing is finished with a 12 AUGUST 1996

new Sherwin-Williams paint, and happens to be a Mac Truck Cream, one of only about a half dozen colors Mac uses.

The firewall was still in good shape, and new cowl fasteners were secured in place. Already, changes were being planned . The upper engine cowl piece was held in place on the original airplane with Dzus fasteners. As a retired army pilot, Pete had his fill of the screw head style quick turn fasteners, so he decided to secure the cowling with screws , and create a new oil fill access/inspection hole similar to one you see on a Cessna 150 or 172. The door neatly fits in a recess made with a flange that is flush riveted to the upper cowl, and it locks in place with a Hartwell latch.

One of the reasons they wanted to start from scratch restoring the airplane was the way the lower fuselage looked when they brought it home. The plywood fuselage formers had deteriorated so badly that the covering had a baggy look to it, detracting from the lines of the Chief. After the covering was removed, an inspection of all the formers showed that the plywood had been crushed and splintered, particularly in the area where the brass Waterbury eyelets secured each former to the fuselage tabs. A trip to the wood shop saw the creation of the new set of formers and stringers. As is so com­ mon these days , the new set of formers were secured with bolts and washers. To save a little weight (every little bit helps, since there are 31 bolts used) I have seen a number of Champ and Chief restorers use aluminum bolts, washers and nuts to secure the formers.

Waterbury eyelets, Nos. 9889 and 10120, used to be made by the Waterbury Brass Corp. in Waterbury , CT. Eleven years ago, after I moved to Connecticut, I went looking to find a source for the eye-

lets, and was disappointed to find that Waterbury Brass had gone out of busi­ ness. The eyelets called out in the blue­ prints were no longer available, so like everybody else, it's time for a revision to my Chief restoration plans.

The metal nose bowl wasn't too bad , and it was retained. To add the finishing touch , a spun aluminum spinner blank from Bob Carr was finished off by the Rowes. Using old copies of factory blue­ prints , Bob has carefully matched the contour of the original spinner for his blank, which the Chief restorer can then finish to suit his installation of a metal or wood prop . You can reach Bob at 506 Heavitree Garth, Servena Park, MD 21146 for more information on his blanks.

The project didn't come with wheel­ pants, and while they could have searched for a pair of metal ones, a set of fiberglass wheel fairings would be more durable, es­ pecially around young kids . Toughness meant more than originality in this re­ gard!

Still, they maintained an original look by covering the landing gear A-frames with fabric. Many Aeroncas are missing the fairings used at the landing gear/fuse­ lage juncture, and that's a shame - they do a lot for lessening intersection drag (an area that a Champ or Chief could stand some improvement , particularly at the strut attach points) . Since the project didn't come with the fairings, they made theirs up by making a pattern out of card­ board and trimming it until they had a shape they liked . Only then did they whittle a new set out of aluminum.

Another area they gave detailed atten­ tion to were the exit points for the control cables - ABS plastic control exits made for large scale radio controlled model air­ planes were used , resulting in a neat , clean installation. They softened them up with methyl ethyl ketone during the cov­ ering process, and both restorers were pleased with the level of adhesion the ABS plastic exhibited.

Aeronca oleo landing gear struts need attention during their lifetime, and during a restoration it's a good idea to take them completely apart for inspection. While removing the piston from the cylinder re­ quires the services of a machine shop (a lathe and a torch are some of the tools re­ quired) the rest of the working parts of the landing gear can be easily inspected.

Many years ago an AD was issued to en­ sure that any phenolic pistons were re­ moved from service, but every now and then one still shows up and must be re­ placed. Pete and Mark disassembled the gear by removing the oleo from the case frame, driving the pin out of the spring re­ tainer and inspecting the spring itself and the piston. Peering through the oil fill hole with the piston bottomed out will re­ veal if the piston is aluminum or the out­ lawed ph e nolic . A close look revea led

one strut had been repl aced , since it bore the U ni va ir name and PMA stamp. For­ t un a te ly th e pisto n shafts were in good sha pe, so a new gra phite imp reg nat e d rope seal was insta lled and the struts re­ assembled and filled with hydraulic oil.

On the other e nd of the fuselage , they still had an ori gin al Scott stee rab le, no n­ swivel tailwhee l, comple te with a " Made Fo r A e ro nca by Sco tt " br ass p la te . It needed. a new bushing, which a friend who is a profess ional machinist was able to re­ place for the Rowes. While the non-swivel configuratio n ca n make ma ne uve ring by hand on the gro und a bit mo re cha lle ng­ ing, it is still one o f the lightest tailwheels yo u ca n install on the Chief. Tha t far aft of the c.G ., every pound counts.

The wings presented a completely dif­ fe re nt situ a ti o n . Man y of th e sta mp ed a luminum rib s ha d bee n be nt and /or crac ked , but fo rtun a te ly, a ll four spa rs 14 AUGUST 1996

were fo und to be in goo d sha pe afte r a complete inspectio n. One wing at a time was completely disassembled at a time, so that the other could be used fo r reference in co nj uncti o n with th e blu e print s a nd service manual. All of the steel a nd alu­ minum fittin gs we re checke d for crac ks and corrosion and then the wings we re re­ asse mbl e d. Each o f th e m too k abo ut 5 months of part time work to finish and be ready fo r covering.

T he sheet metal fo r the forw a rd fu se­ lage needed to be replaced , a nd they did no t have a wind shi e ld fl a nge re t a in e r strip. Out ca me the meta l working ha m­ mers and a pine wood block carved with a close a pproxim at io n of th e curve of a n old, beat up retainer they found , and after a fe w tries (six, to be exact), they came up with two retainers they were able to use.

They even put the ir sheet metal ham­ mering skills to use making up a new set

o f heat muffs for th e exhaust stacks. Us­ ing an original set of muffs as a mold , they built a ha mm eri ng mo ld o ut of plaster.

Surprisingly, because they made the mold at least two inches thick, the plaster did n' t crac k while they we re po unding away o n the dead soft aluminum used for the new muffs . In fact, another frie nd is now usi ng the molds to make his own heat mu ffs for his project!

The Continental A-65 engine itself was in pre tty good shape, with only 11 hours on it since a majo r overhaul. All of the accessories we re stri pped off the engi ne a nd o ve rh a ule d. Beca use it had sat for quite a while, it was reassembled wit h all new rubbe r induction tube couple rs a nd any oth e r gasket o r hose o n the o utside was also replaced with new items.

The exha ust pipes shin e with th e un ­ mistakable sheen of stai nless steel, yet the sta ck s th e mse lv es a re still th e o ri gin a l

(Above) Mark and Pete Rowe (I-r), father and son restorers, take a spin in their spec足 tacular Chief.

(Right) All of the interior sheet metal was beautifully finished in wood grain by Pete Rowe. The interior was finished in the spirit of the original, but in a way you might have seen if Aeronca offered a "super deluxe" version of the Chief.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

mild steel. How co uld that be? Clever Mark wanted a good looking set of stacks, so he dressed up the origi nal style stacks wit h a pair of stain less stee l tube cuffs that slip over the mild steel stacks and are secured with a thro ugh bolt.

A set of overhau led Bendix-Scintilla magnetos supply the ignition power through unshielded leads. A metal whip antenna and an lcom hand-he ld radio with a noise blanking circuit seem to work fine with the unshielded ignition, allowing communications over a 50 mile range.

The interior work was one area where the Rowes paid close attention to the lit­ tle things. The headliner was supplied by A lexander Aerop lane (now Aircraft Spruce East). Neatly pull-tied into place, a light mist of water shrunk the liner in place. A very professional looking job, even the holes for the aileron cables were trimmed in a clever way - so often, they're just run through a slit cut in the headliner.

Pete's wife Barbara Jean did it differ­ ently, and it really looks nice . After fit­ ting the headliner, she used the button­ hole stitch on her automatic sewing machine to put in a pair of large button­ holes on a couple of pieces of leftover scraps for the aileron cables to exit. Sewn in place with some cording used to finish the edges , it's neat, simple, and because of their close proximity to the edge of the headliner, their position was fairly simple to plan out.

Another neatness item was the use of blind tacking cording to cover the edges of the windows. Using single edge cord­

(Above) Here ' s more of the woodgrain work done by Pete Rowe. (left) Even the stuff you don 't usually see was well taken care of during the restoration. You can also see the beautif ul pol­ ished stainless steel heel plates, installed with hook and loop fas­ teners.

16 AUGUST 1996

ing doesn't look as neat, since the sma ll brads used to secure the cording sti ll show after installation. The sma ll diameter double cording is installed by spread ing the cords apart, nailing a tack through the fabric between the cords and then allow­ ing the cords to fold over the tack, hiding it from view. It makes for a very clean looking installation.

While you can have a Chief instrument panel refinished using the original wood­ graining method , Pete decided on doing the painting. A coat of flat, oil based paint was first painted on the panels (in­ cluding the rudder cable cover in the cockpit and the top of the baggage cover).

He then " flogged" the paint surface be­ fore the paint dried to give the base coat some texture to it. After waiting a day, a coat of glaze tinted with burnt umber was used as the "grain," which was created us­ ing a painter's woodgraining tool, along with some small paintbrushes and feath­ ers. After allowing that to dry for four or five days, 10 coats of automotive clear coat enamel was applied.

The pa nel you see now is actually the second time he did the work - the first time , he clear coated the finished panel using a lacquer , and was heartbroken when t he other paint was lifted and ru­ ined. Whi le he says the first time was a better job, I can't see how that's possible ­

his work on the second panel is a very pretty custom panel for a Chief, keeping the spirit of the original but adding some­ th ing personal to it.

All sorts of little things catch your eye as you look the airplane over. One of the neatly done items in the cockpit is on the floor. A pretty set of stainless steel heel plates were made by bending the edges, filling the corners with silver solder and then polishing them to a high luster. You hate to think of them being touched by a shoe or boot. Maybe it's best flown wear­ ing a pair of bedroom slippers!

The standard Aeronca tail logo didn't meet with Pete's approval either. He wanted something different, and he found it on the cover of the airplane's service manual. On the cover was a stylized logo that looked sharp. Blowing it up to twice its original size, coupled with a little work with a pen and french curve, gave him something he could take to the sign­ maker's shop. Scanned on a computer, it was then run through a program that drove a cutter, creating a vinyl mask. The mask was then used to spray paint the logo on the fin. Neat!

Fuel gauges are always a challenge for Aeronca restorers. The original gauges used a hollow copper ball float soldered on a pivoting arm, moving a sector gear meshing with a pinion gear mounted on a rotating drum. Did you follow all that? As the unbushed pivot points would wear in the cast aluminum , the gears wou ld fail to mesh, and the ga uge would become even more inaccurate. It's always been true that something cheap to build in the first place can be maddeningly diffi­ cult to rebuild. The gauges used in the Champ and Chief are no excep­ tion, req uiring extensive machine work to rebui ld them . Fortunately for the Rowes, their aft fuel gauge for the 8 ga llon auxiliary tank was in good condition.

Continued on page 27

MEMBERS PROJECTS around the world

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - by

Norm Petersen

Bucker Jungmeister Bu 133C in Germany This magnificent 1937 Blicker Jung­ meister Bli 133C, SIN 5, registered D­ EKRE in Germany (ex . U-58, ex . HB­ MKF in Switzerland), was restored from a basket case over a period of nine years by Erich Reichart (EAA 153889) of Babenhausen, Germany. Powered with a Siemens & Halske SH-14a en­ gine of 160 hp using two carburetors and swinging a Hoffman propeller, the Jungemeister is capable of unrestricted aerobatics and is in a class by itself for control feel. Erich , who is a retired Lufthansa 747 Captain, purchased the airplan e from the late , lege ndary , Al­ bert Ruesch of Switzerland, an aero­ batic instructor for fifty years. At pre­ sent , Erich reports , there is only one remaining overhauler of the SH-14a en­ gines in Germany and a major overhaul costs about 60,000 DM (about $40,000).

Erich Reichart is pictured flying the Blicker over the green fields of so uth central Germany. Photo taken from a Blicker Jungman.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Macchi M.B. 308 in Argentina This photo of an Italian-built 1948 Mac­ chi M.B. 308, registered LV-RZF in Ar­ gent in a, was sent in by owner Gustavo Daniel Martinez (EAA 394889, A/C 18166) of Merlo, Argentina, South America. Con­ structed primarily of wood, the two-place, side-by-side M.B. 308 features a full can­ tilever wing and tail group, tricycle landing gear with a steerable nosewheel and dual swing-up doors on the cabin. A single fuel tank above the baggage compartment (and behind the rear wing spar) is either 60 or 80 liters, depending on engine. Built in Milan, Italy, the M.B. 308 is powered with a Conti­ nental A-65, C-85 or C-90 engine swinging a wooden propeller. With a C-85, the empty weight is 858 Ibs. , gross is 1364 Ibs. and norm al cruise is 108 mph with a 40 mph landing speed. Slotted flaps use 15 degrees for takeoff, 60 degrees for a normal landing and 75 degrees for a braked land­ ing. The M.B. 308 was also built as a twin float seaplane with a C-90 , being able to take off from the water in 240 yards.

Auster J/1 Autocrat in Denmark From Vamdrup, Denmark, comes this neat photo of a 1946 English-built Auster J/1 Autocrat, registered OY-AUY in Denmark, and owned by Leif Nissen of Kolding, Denmark.

(The beautiful scale model in the foreground was built by Tommy Olsen.) Powered with an inverted four-cylinder Blackburn Cirrus Minor ITA of 100 hp, the Auster can carry three people (two in front and one crossways in the aft seat) at a cruise speed of 100 mph. Empty weight is 1052 Ibs. and

18 AUGUST 1996

gross is 1850 Ibs. for a useful load of about 800 Ibs. Sharp­ eyed readers will note the Taylorcraft influence in the design of the landing gear, the wings (NACA 23012 airfoi l), struts and tail surfaces as the Auster firm evolved from the license building of American Taylorcrafts. Leif Nissen is a bricklayer by trade, enjoys flying the Auster on weekends, and is an ac­ itve member of the Danish KZ & Veteran fly Klubb (EAA Chapter 655).

Spanish Bucker Jungmann CASA 1.131 in Chandler, Al This photo of a CAS A 1.131 Jungmann , N595BJ , SIN E313-595BJ, was contributed by the engine installer, Joe Kry­ bus (EAA 140019), of Santa Paula , CA. Seated in the cock­ pit is ownerlrestorer Mike Christine (EAA 398889, A /C 20372) of Chandler, AZ. Mike, who is a Northwest Airlines 727 Captain , and Joe Krybus complete ly restored the Jung­ mann over an eight-month period in 1994 following a col­ lapsed landing gear accident on the way home from EAA

Oshkosh '93. Included in the restoration was th e prototype installation of the Chech-built LOM four-cylinde r in-line en­ gine of 140 hp in addition to the new cowlings and propeller (Note the le ft-hand turning prop). Mike re ports th e paint scheme is exact ly as the airplane wore while in Spanish Air Force training service. To the full credit of the restorers, the restored Jungmann has won trophies at EAA Oshkosh ' 95 and Sun ' n Fun '96.

Golden Oldie, August 21 1949 - Stinson 108-3 This vintage photo of a 1948 Stinson 108-3 , NC6197M, SIN 108-4197, was taken at Bar Har­ bor Airport , Trenton , Maine , on August 21 , 1949. The pilot, Ralph Mower, is now a retired Delta Captain. The photo was taken by a Ban­ gor Daily News staff photographer during a breakfast flight gathering. 01' 87M was finally sold to a man in "down east" Maine , then through a series of owners in New England , Missouri, Texas and Florida before being pur­ chased by Damascus, MD, resident, John Baker (EAA 94082, A /C 14103) and his wife in 1986.

They flew the Stinson for nearly a decade be­ fore taking it down for a complete restoration.

After replacing over twenty feet of tubing and sandb la sti ng the fuselage, the four-placer is starting to go back together again. John Baker would enjoy hearing from other Stinson owners and is especially interested in a source for Stin­ son parts - such as a dash-3 rudder and eleva­ tors. Call John at 301-253-1071(Home) or 301­ 253-5105 (Work). John's address is 25904 Reva Drive, Damascus, MD 20872.

Working on a project of your own? Send your photos along with a short story about your airplane to: H.G. Frautschy, EAA, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Stearman Reunion

Richard Hansen wit h a recovered boy­ hood memory - the fuselage of a Stear­ man he had seen fly past his home when he was eleven years old.

by Richa rd T. Hansen

Ale 1961 9

And you thought finding one in a barn was tough!

O ctob e r 24, 1941 - Fifty mil es east of Fres no , CA , three P -40s di sappea r in a storm at night in the central Sierras.

A few days late r, on October 29, 1941 22 pl a nes we re se nt o n a sea rch mi ss ion for th e Curtiss fi ghters. One of th em was a PT-17 Stearman piloted by Lt. James E. Mil es, Jr. with Corp . A . S. T ay lor as ob­ se rve r. As a youn gste r, I'd seen the Lieu­ tenant and Corporal fly by at low level as they headed up a valley.

It had bee n 47 yea rs since, as a boy of 11 years old, I had been back to th e site of where the biplane had crash-landed.

On June 9,1 988, while on a fishin g trip on Dinkey Creek ab ove Balch Camp with some fri ends of mine, I took a side trip up th e r avin e t o wh e re th e a irpl a n e had crashed. The fishing trail crosses the lower e nd o f thi s rav in e , but sin ce it is a ve ry steep climb with lots of brush and no trails to fo ll ow, and h avi ng hea rd a t th e time that the Army had come in, removed what they could from th e airplane and then dy­ namited what was left , I never went back.

It 's funn y how tim e plays tricks o n yo ur mem o ry, but I sho uld go back 47 yea rs and start at the beginning.

Balch Camp sets in th e fork of Dinkey C ree k a nd the no rth fork o f th e Kin gs River in the foothills of th e central Sierras about 1200 feet elevati on and 50 miles east of Fres no , Califo rni a. The re is a Pac ific G as & El ec tric Co mpany powe rhouse th e r e, a nd mo st p eo pl e who live th e re work in the powerh o use or in some other 20 AUGUST 1996

way for Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

I moved there when I was ten years old with my brother and my mother, a school teache r. There was an elementary school th ere th at consisted of e ight grades. My mother taught all e ight grades. The total enrollment was six boys and three girls. It was a great place for a ten yea r old boy to li ve . Summe rs we re fill e d with fi shin g, swimming and explorin g the mountains.

Fa ll was for t o uch fo o tball , b as ke tball , hunting and listening to Notre D ame foot­ ball games on th e radio. Winters were for ma kin g mod e l a irplan es, and airpl a nes were an exciting thing to me.

I s p e nt hundre ds o f hour s buildin g mo de ls a nd rea din g e ve rythin g I could about a irplan es, a lso liste nin g to stori es my mother would tell me about my fath er, Ea rl e E . H anse n, who was a we ll -known pilot.

I rea lly don ' t rem e mb e r much about my fa th e r as I was ve ry young wh e n my parents separated. I do, however, have his scrapbook with clippings and pictures o f his man y exploits.

He was a test pilot, a well-known racing pilot , ba rnstorme r , airline pi lot and a ir­ plane designer. The re is an article in th e December, 1939 issue of Popular Aviation th at tells about a n airplane that he and a fe llow na med Con Ellin gs ton d e signed and built. You may recall it was the Mys­ tery Plane here in Vintage Airplane a few month s ago . Y o u coul d te lesco pe seven feet off the wings whi le the airplane was in

fli ght and with a 90 hp LeBlond air-cooled e ngin e a nd its t op speed was just und e r 170 mph. Then, extending the wings while in fli ght, it would land at less than 40 mph.

On e of th e st o ri es my m o th e r t o ld m e abo ut my fath e r was about wh en he was working on this airplane, my mother would se nd him mon ey to eat on , but he wo uld put the money into the airplane. He would th en steal milk off of doorsteps to live by.

My fa th er was killed in an airplane cras h while in th e service in 1942.

One day, October 29, 1941 to be exact, th e stor y o f th e St e arm a n b egin s. It is ama zing to me how clear my memory is of some of th e events that foll owed, and just as amazing how I remembe r some thin gs differently. There was an article in the pa­ per at th e time stating that th e re aso n for th e crash was engine trouble. That was Lt. Mi les' story. This is th e story as I remem­ b e r it. It differs from Lt. Mile s' sto ry , partly beca use I later became a pilot and because I kn ow the co untry so well , I could see e xactly what h a ppen e d and exac tl y wh y Lt. Miles got into trouble.

I was o utside whe n th e a irplane ca me ov e r Balch Camp . It was very lo w, and here is where my memory pl ays tricks on me. I remember it being blue and ye llow, whi ch it was; but I had it pi ctur ed in my mind as a low wing, single wing airplane.

Both the pilot and obse rver were grin­ ning and waving to us. They were having fun , and I think at th e time the las t thin g on th e ir minds was looking for d own ed

aircraft. We watched as the airplane dis­ appeared up Dinkey Creek. It was late the next day that the pilot and his observer found th e ir way down to Balch Camp .

They had crash-landed in a rav ine. Nei­ ther the pilot or his observer were hurt in the crash. The area where they crashed is very rugged country, and unless you were fa miliar with the area, it would be very dif­ ficult to find your way out. There are no roads and the only trails a re dee r trails.

At th at time the re was a man nam ed Ed Ki ely who lived at Balch Camp. Ed was very familiar with that particular area, and from Lt. Miles and A. S. Taylor's descrip­ tion of the area of the crash site , he was able to retrace their footsteps and locate the airplane. It was a simple thing for my brothe r and I to find the airplane as Ed Kiely, after finding it, had tied white rags on the bushes leading to the crash site so that the Army could follow them.

The airplane was sitting in a very nar­ row ravine just below a small cliff and was facing back down the ravine. I remember that day very clearly. To a n 11 year old boy who loved airplanes, this was the best thing that could have happened. H ere was this airplane th at you could get close to ; you could stare at it, touch it, crawl all over it, and sit in the cockpit. My brother and I took the sta r insignia off th e wing and removed the sea ts (why the seats, I d o n 't know) and carried th e m back to B alch Camp, re turning after dark . We had plans to go back and get the propeller, but we heard the Army was going in to take what they co uld from the airplane and that they were looking for the ones who took the seats. Well , it 's pretty easy to scare an 11 year old and a 13 year old, so we didn ' t go back, probably figuring that we were lucky we weren't in jail.

The Army, according to an a rticle in th e pap er, did take 17 me n, le d by Ed Ki ely, to the crash site to carry out what they could. Because of the ruggedness of the country, and there being no other way at the time , everything taken from the air­ plane had to be carried out by the men. It was at this time that I heard that the air­ plane had been dynamited and that there was nothing left.

Upo n completion of grammar school, I left Balch Camp and moved to Fresno to start high school, but I have never lost my love for the mo unt ai ns and have been back to that area fishing many times. I'd always been curi o us as to what, if a ny­ thing, might have been left of the airplane.

Still , since it is a long, steep climb from the fishi ng trail and not expecting there to be anyt hing left, I never went back until the fishing trip of the 9th of June.

This time I needed, once and for all, to satisfy my curiosity abo ut the airpla ne.

Dropping our packs on the trail, we started up the ravine. I tried to go back in time and remember t he ravine. Some of it looked familiar and some of it didn't. I re­

me mbered the ravine being very narrow of room, and faced with the possibility of a nd th e a irpl a ne came to res t und e r a going straight into the mountain , e lected small ro ck cliff, and th at the re we re two to turn up this ravi ne. small pine trees that the airplane hit as it There is no question that the airplane came down . We came upon a nd passe d could not climb out of the ravine. Because two rock cliffs that I knew we ren ' t th e of the steepness of the terrain , and with ones th a t we were lookin g for , and I rid ges on both s id es , the cras h was in­ started to doubt my memory as to whether evitable. The airplane must have stalled this was the right ravine. However, co n­ just above the ground, judging by the small tinuin g on, the ravine started to narrow amount of damage that was done. It ap­ and in the distance I could see a small rock peared to set down almost flat, rather than cliff that did look familiar. As I climbed going in on its nose. I remember that the toward the cliff, the first part of the air­ wooden propeller was unbroken and that plane I came upon was the center section most of th e damage was to one wing and of the top wing. It had washed down the the bottom of the fuselage. At the time ravine and there was just a frame laying in that was the only damage that I re mem­ the rocks and brush. ber.

There was a feeling of relief. After all I took some pictures of th e airpl a ne that time I had found my way back to the where it lay . It was almost hidden with crash site. I also had a feeling of di sap­ poison oak growing up throu gh the fuse­ pointment, though, because maybe what I lage and parts scattered under the trees. I had heard about the airplane having been t hought that see ing th e airplane again dynamited was true ; but 50 feet further, would satisfy my curiosity and that I would still under the rock cliff, was the airplane. be able to wa lk away from it , happ y to It had not been dynamited as I had been have seen it again and happy that it hadn't told, but it had been completely disassem­ been dynamited. bled , with parts scattered all around. The But as I walked back down the ravi ne fuselage was intact with very little damage toward Dinkey Creek, I couldn't ge t the and incre dibly , after laying out in th e airplane out of my mind . See ing it agai n weather all that time, there was very little had opened up too many memories and I rust. The airplane had bee n strippe d of knew then that this would not be the last most everything that could be carried out, time that I would see the airplane. including e ngin e, prop , wh ee ls , in stru­ Upon returning to Fresno, I contacted me nts, and much more. However, all the cowlings , the t a il surfaces, all th e wing Rory Rogers of Rogers Helicopters flies a hardware (most of th e wood had rotte d company Hughes (now McDonnell Dou ­ away) and the landing gear, although dam­ glas) SOOE, with the fuselage of the Stear­ aged, was still there. man slung below. One more tri p was made to collect the other major airframe It 's lik e I had stepped back in time. parts.

With the exception of the pine trees that were missing, it was exactl y as I ha d re­ membered it - sitting in a small open .-------- - - - - -------'7'""1 area under the rock cliff with steep ridges on both sides. I could picture the airplane the way it was the day I had first see it: tail high, with one wing resting on the ground and the other side in a tree.

I must ex plain my ea rli e r com­ ment of what I think happe ned and why Lt . Mil es go t into trouble .

Wh e n Lt. Mi les came over Balch Camp, he was very low, probably no more than 200 feet. The Dink ey Creek Canyon is fairly wide at this point, but it starts climbing rapidly from Balch Camp and the canyon narrows. There is a bend in th e creek about four miles above Balch Camp. You can ' t see aro und the bend, a nd the ter rai n goes from brush and scrub oak below the bend to pine trees above it. There is a rapid ascent in e levat io n which is evident by the increase in waterfalls and white water in the creek itself.

I'm sure that Lt. Miles, especiall y if he was flying with little a ltitud e, rather than en te r this area tried to turn aroun d in the ca nyo n, ran out VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

Rogers Helicopters to find out if it would be possible to get the airplane out. Find­ ing out that it was possible meant another long wa lk back to the crash si te to pull everyt hing o ut in the open and bundle it up to where it could be airlifted out. I also talked to H arold Kindsvater who restores German airplanes, and he was interested in my story and the photographs that I showed him. At this point I was still sure that this was a single wing, low wing air­ plane , but Harold was able to determine from the pictures that it was a PT-17 Stear­ man. Now when I search my memory I do remember taking the star insignia off the top wing , but I had, all those years, re­ membered that part wrong.

I was aware that a number of people had been looking for the ai rpl ane for the last two years . It gets very hot in the canyon in the summer. There are a lot of rattlesnakes and the country is thick with poison oak. This, along with the unlikely The rugged Stearman airframe helped Lt. Miles and Corp. Taylor survive what must have been an exciting slide down the side of the hill and through these rocks. As seen here, some of the parts had been repositioned by the Army salvage crew sent in to remove what could be packed out, and to destroy the rest. Fortunately, they didn't really dynamite the airframe, allowing for its eventual recovery.

spot the airplane was in and the rugged­ ness of the terrain , probably prevented its discovery.

I don't know just when I made the deci­ sion to ge t th e airp la ne . Maybe it was when I realized that others were looking for it an d so me how it just didn't seem right th at anyone else should have it. It just seemed right that thi s a irpl ane was more special to me because I had sat in it as a boy and dreamed of someday flying an airplane like that. Then all of a sudden I realized that just maybe this ai rpl ane could be put back together and fly again and I could fulfill that dream I had when I was 11 years old.

On th e 3rd of July , Don Huston , a frie nd, Phil Raymer, my son-in-law and I returned to th e crash site to see a ll that was there and to see just how much dam­ age was done in the crash. We spent about three hours clearing all the brush and poi­ son oak away from the fuselage, gathering all the parts we co uld find , and moving everything out into the ope n so that it could be ai rlifted out. It was dishearten­ ing because there was a lo t of damage done by the Army when they had disas­ semb led the airp lane , a long with more damage in the crash than I had remem­ bered . I star ted to have doubts as t o whether all of this was really worth it. Re­ turning home to Fresno, I found out some of the people who had been looking for the airpla ne had gotten very close to the Here's what Richard found when he hiked back to the site of a crashed Stearman he had visited as a lad, shortly after the air­ plane went down with Lt. James E. Miles, Jr., and Corporal A.S. Taylor as observer.

Both survived the accident and walked out of the valley to the town of Balch Camp in the foothills of the central Sierra mountains in California. The elevator and stabilizer lie next to a boulder, while the stripped fuselage is overgrown with brush and trees in the background.

cras h site, so a decision had to be made and I decided to get the airplane. Again I contacted Rogers Helicopters and talked to Rory Rogers and we made plans to re­ trieve the airplane.

There is a helicopter pad at Balch Camp which , by helicopter, is only about four or five miles from the crash site. On the morning of July 14, Don Huston and I drove there with a 21 foot flatbed trailer.

Rory, flying a Hughes SOOE helicopter , and with my son-in-law, Phil Raymer as a passenger, met us there at 8:00 a.m., pick­ ing me up at the pad. Rory dropped us off at the crash site.

I have to say that Rory did an incredi­ ble job. Dropping us off within 30 feet of the airp la ne , and holding the ' copter agai nst the mountain with one skid while we climbed out, he then dropped us slings and a cargo net. It only took a few min­ utes to hook up the fuselage and Rory re­ turned with the fuselage to the pad where he set it down on the trailer with Don Huston unhooking the slings.

By the time Rory returned , Phil and I had the rest of the airplane in the cargo net and Rory took it back to the pad . H e then returned to pick us up again with one skid on the top of the small rock cliff.

When we got back with the airplane set­ ting on the trailer, the whole ope ration had taken less than 40 minutes and went off perfectly, but that was due to som e outstanding flying by Rory Rogers.

That was a very e xciting day for me , and in the two hours it took to drive home, I must have looked in the rear view mirror 100 times. Wh e n th e airplane wa s un­ loaded from the trailer and we partially re­ assembled what we had, the airframe with a pe rfe ct rudd e r and all the cowlin gs in place, it was an incredible feeling.

I haven't been able to contact Lt. Miles or A . S. Taylor. I know that they , or for that matter any of the 17 men who went in to retrieve the airplane, could add to this story . A s for th e airpl a ne itself, it was built June 10, 1941 and cras hed on Octo­ be r 29, 1941. The airplane had 309 hours on it a nd re ma rk s on th e hi stor y card stated bluntly: Wrecked 10-29-41, Balch Camp, Cali f.

James E . Miles Jr. , 2nd Lt. fo rced landing, mo unt a in s, underc a rria ge, and win gs wrecked, complete wreck.

This story that started 47 years ago is no t ove r. It wo n' t be until this a irpl ane flies again. It needs lots of parts and many hours of work. But the story can end when this airpl ane , ho pe full y fl ow n by me , can fly over Balch Camp, down canyon, wiggle its wings and give some othe r 11 yea r old boy living at Balch Camp the thrill that it ... gave me 47 years ago.

Next Month­ Bringing the Stearman back from the trash.

22 AUGUST 1996

PASS db

BUCK

by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert EAA #21 NC #5 P.O. Box 424, Union, IL 60180

The phone rings, and without even an introduction the question is "Did you see it? " I didn't bother to ask "What? " This is probably the fourth or fifth call I've had and the subject is the cover airplane for the July Vintage Airplane. H.G., our editor, wrote a really nice article about the background and the restoration of this beautiful Aeronca Sedan. If you hadn't already noticed, he r'eally gets his aviating jollies over this airplane (Shucks, I've been found out! - HCF). I have an ul­ terior motive in letting him use it. When I get it back, it's all cleaned up and shin­ ing like a new dollar bill.

When you get this issue, if you were in Oshkosh for the big show, you'll be relax­ ing after an event filled convention, and our twenty-fifth anniversary will be his­ tory. If you've just received this copy when you signed up for the Division while at Oshkosh, welcome! I'm hoping that many of the original founding members will be there. We're awarding memorial plaques to each of them as they come up on stage Monday night at the Theater in the Woods program. This promises to be an Antique and Classic year all during Oshkosh, with Parades of Flight , a dis­ play of Past Champions, an bulletin board More Aeronca goodies from John Houser. Does your Sedan need a bit more oomph to climb out of that short strip or pond? Then why not give the "twin Sedan" a try? This was an experiment tried in 1950 with the first Sedan, NC39800. (It was given an NX designation during these tests.) Buck says the smaller Conti­ nental in the nacelle is a trolling mo­ tor for overwate r flights!

Also , note the small hole in the left wing root fairing, presumably for cabin fresh air, similar to a Cessna .

Another change from the production Sedans was also tried on this airplane at the same time. Can you spot the difference?

of letters from some of these original members, bull sessions, interviews and programs all illustrating how much the Division contributes to the overall EAA picture . Material examples that can be actually seen and fe lt include the Ford Trimotor, the new Wittman Hangar, and the system for judging of aircraft that was pioneered by the Division as well as the Antique/Classic Hall of Fame.

Not to be forgotten either are the ones who played an important part in our for­ mative years, but who have "Gone West" as the QBs say, or others who for per­ sona l reasons, physical and otherwise who can ' t be there in person. We will send plaques to the ones still living, and enshrine in our history book the ones no longer with us.

Your Division "Has it all" as Butch Joyce says, and I hope every­ one enjoys that thought as much as I do!

The aviation Rules Groups (ARAC) are sort of in limbo with the shake-ups occurring in the FAA. As usual, we are looking at new faces and places as the shakeup takes away those we were working with. Again and again the whole

process will stand still for a while until re­ education takes place. I just hope we don't lose all the work and effort that has gone before . Charlie Schuck and I will hang in there and since we have been ac­ tive from the beginning, maybe we can be part of that re-education process , and show the newcomers what the EAA and its members are all about.

Finally, we have had some nice weather here in the Midwest. I'm going out and dirty up the Sedan for H.G. to clean up. Look out bugs, here I come!

Over to you,

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AMAZING

FLOAT RECOVERY

by David Mathieson Reproduced with permission from Tra nsport Canada's "Aviation Safety Letter.

II

The following incredible story speaks volumes about what can be accomplished when one can remain calm during a critica l emergency. To all those involved in bringing a crippled aircraft back to a safe landing, a hearty "Well Done. II However, the story rais­ es a critical question about aircraft maintenance - Leif Schonberg, Editor, Aviation Safety Letter.

This is a brief description of the occurrence which took place between Grace Lake, Ontario and Ear Falls on June 8, 1994, involving aircraft C­ FKLJ , a float-equipped Cessna 180. I was pilot-in-command and was alone in the aircraft.

I boarded th e aircraft at approxi­ mately 11 :30 a.m. local time at Grace Lake for a flight of approximately 57 nm south to Ear Falls. The pre-take­ off checks did not indicate any prob­ lems . I retracted the water rudders and advanced the throttle to takeoff power. The aircraft accelerated and I put the aircraft on step with the use of trim and forward pressure of the control column. When the aircraft had accelerated to 40 knots, I ro ll ed the starboard float out of the water 24 AUGUST 1996

using the ailerons and everything ap­ peared normal. As I rolled the port float out of the water with the use of the ailerons, the control column felt as though it had broken free .

At 55 knots indicated airspeed, the aircraft pitch e d up to a high nose-up attitude and began a fast roll to the left. I applied full right rudder, which stopped the roll but did not correct the wing-down attitude. The aircraft was now in an extreme nose-high at­ titude and banked left about 70 de­ grees. I spun the trim wheel forward, and just at the point of stalling, the aircraft nosed down , sti ll banked to the left , and started to acce lerate.

T he nose dipped below the horizon and conti n ued down even tho ugh I spun the trim wheel back up.

I ca ll ed a Mayday while still spin­ ning the trim wheel with my right hand . My recollection of the Mayday call is as follows, " Mayday , Mayday , KLJ is going in the bush just off Grace Lake." I throttled back, still applying full right rudder , and as I did so the wings began to level. As the wings slowly leveled the aircraft started to gently pull out of th e dive , avoiding the trees by 10 or 20 feet.

Mr. Ted Tripper responded to my Mayday call and asked me what the problem was. I told him that I had lost all elevator and aileron control.

He advised me to do what I could with the aircraft and to put it down as slow ly and as gently as possible. I to ld him that I now had the wings leve l and was going to climb higher

"Mayday, Mayday, KLJ is going in the bush just off Grace Lake."

I throttled back, still applying full right rudder, and as I did so the wings began to level. As the wings slowly leveled the aircraft started to gently pull out of the dive, avoiding the trees by 10 or 20 feet. to assess the situation. I then heard Mr. Ferre n Buckler who said that he was over Okanse Lake and that he would try to find me and give me some assistance.

I initiated a gentle skid to the right to turn from a heading of west to a heading of south. Mr. Buckler joined me over Okanse Lake and asked what I planned to do. I told him that the aircraft now seemed more stable un­ der reduced power, and so I was going to try to make it back to base at Ear Falls. The wind was out of the east, and there was a long stretch of water lying east-west at Ear Falls. Mr. Fer­ ren suggested I put on my life jacket, which I did. I explained the situation to Mr. Ferren in detail and told him that I was alone and was not carrying any freight. Mr. Ferren called Red Lake radio to set up whatever ground support was available in Ear Falls.

The flight back took approxi-

mate ly 50 minutes. I aimed the air­ craft about 10 miles to the west of the base in order to make the turn into the wind as gently as possible .

Mr. Ferren asked if I could reach the control column under the instrument panel. I found that I could reach it, but it was too far forward for me to look outside while holding the con­ trol column. I believe Mr. Ferren suggested that I cut the passenger seat belt and wrap it around the con­ trol column. This would provide some back pressure in the event the float dug in on landing. I cut the seat belt off, but was not ab le to fas­ ten it to the control column. Some­ one e lse suggested that I use the belt from around my waist, and I was successful in attachi n g this to the control column.

During the descent the aircraft be­ came more and more unstable , so I slowed to 90 knots . Again, the slower

speed seemed to help stabilize the aircraft. I gently pulled 10 degrees of flap with my right hand and turned the trim wheel forward with my left hand under my right leg.

Mr. Peter Kay, my employer, using a hand held radio , told me that he was out on the lake at the base, and told me the best place to land. I had my belt wrapped around the control column and my left hand , and I con­ trolled the throttle with my right hand. The approach was smooth and , with minor power-setting adjust­ ments and a lot of trim and rudder in­ puts, the aircraft landed on the water in a near normal fashion. After land­ ing , I did not make any sudden changes to the controls, and the a ir­ craft came off step almost normally.

I shut the engine off and Peter helped me into the boat. Once in the boat , I began to hyperventilate and was disoriented for a short time. The aircraft was towed to the dock and I made a statement to the fire and po­ lice personnel who were at the dock.

Editor's note: The post-incident in­ vestigation revealed that the bolt an­ choring the control column had become ... disconnected.

From Our Members ...

GOLDEN OLDIE

From 1946 comes this photo of joe Gibson (fAA 32825) on the left and Bill Brennand (fAA 13087, NC 4061) on the right. joe had purchased the Stearman from the War Assets Administration for $749 with 22 hours total time on it. They were going to practive inverted spins in the Stearman and had obtained two parachutes from Steve Wittman. Steve had given them a stern warning, "ff you use the chutes, you pay for the re-pack!" The Stearman was registered NC60016 and is no longer on the register. Both men live in Oshkosh, WI, today.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

side of the hull. Twin beams carried the triple tail surfaces combin­ ing the distinctive features of the future Lockheed planes of the 1940's, the P-38 and the Constellation.

"The company had hoped to sell the F-1 to the U.s. Navy, how­ ever, the end of WW I in November, 1918 ended that hope and the pLane was converted to the F-1A land based version.

"The Mystery Plane photo is Lockheed Aircraft Co. photo No. 76198 which I have in my files. I was employed by Lockheed in Bur­ bank for forty years from 1937 until I retired as a Marketing Direc­ tor in 1977. I have extensive historical fiLes on Lockheed excerpts from which are enclosed to veriftJ the identity of the F-1 photo."

And from B ill Hare, Mission, KS (EAA 125725, Ale 4011) came this note:

by H.G. Frautschy The Aug ust Mystery P lane comes to us from Howard Jung, Monterey Park, eA. While not an " airp lane," it was an interesting aircraft built during the development of the helicopter. Answers need to be in no later t han September 25,1996 so they can be included in the No­ vember issue of Vintage Airplane.

The May Mystery Plane was known to many mem­ bers, including a number of responses from first time re­ sponders to the Mystery P lane colum n. David Kenyon, Eugene, OR (EAA 493585 , Ale 25098) sent in this re­ sponse:

"The subject airplane is the one and only F-1 twin-engine seaplane built by the Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Co. in March, 1918 in Santa Barbara, CA. The company founded by the Loughead brothers, Allan and Malcom later became the Lockheed Aircraft Company, now the Lockheed Martin Corporation.

"This plane was powered by two Hall-Scott water cooled 160 hp engines installed between the bi-plane wing on either 26 AUGUST 1996

"The Mystery PLane pictured in the May, 1996 issue of Vintage Airplane is a Loughead F-1. The upper wing had a span of 74 feet,

Loughead F-l

the lower 47 feet. Two Hall-Scott liquid cooled engines of 160 hp drove twin pro­ pellers and gave the machine a cruising speed of 70 mph . The flying boat weighed 7300 pounds and carried a 31 00 pound payload in a 35 foot hull. The plans called for a passenger capacity of ten.

"The Loughead brothers manufactured this aircraft at Santa Barbara, CA. Allen Loughead was the pilot on its initial flight, March 28, 1918. At the time the F-1 was the largest seaplane in the world.

"A young self-taught engineer, John K. Northrop , had convinced the Lough­ heads he understood stress analysis and was hired to shape the hull. He played a major role in the development of the F-1 .

"Although the Navy was interested in the F-1 (Flying Boat No. 1) and retained it for a period of three months for testing, they didn't buy one. The machine was used for passenger and charter service, plus the early testing of aerial cameras.

The Lougheads converted the F-1 into a land plane by adding a set of dual wheels on each hear leg, adding a tail skid and removing the wing floats. During an at­ tempt at a cross cou ntry record there was a serious crash in A rizona. The ship was rebuilt as a flying boat and in this config­ uration ended its career as a 'sta r' in some early flying movies.

"About the time the F-1 was manufac­ tured, the Loughead brothers changed the company name to Lockheed. The correct pronunciation of Loughead was Lockheed, but everyone, at the time, called it 'Loug­ head.' The brothers changed the spelling to fit the correct pronunciation.

"Thank you for your effort in produc­ ing a very enjoyable column ."

Just to f urth er define the " Lou g­ head" then "Lockheed " name change, th e r ev ised spelling can be pinned down after the failure of the Loughead Aircraft M a nufact uring Co. in 1921.

The failure of the pretty little S-1 Sport Biplane to penetrate a market glutted by surplus J ennys mea nt the company had to close its doors. In November of 1926, a n ew Lockheed Aircraft Co. was incorporating, picking up the name change already m ade b y Mal­ com and in use for hi s successful h y­ draulic brake manufacturing company.

As far as the family was concerned, they made a legal change in their name in 1934.

Other answers were received from Richard Alt (who used to own the Crosby CR-4 racer, currently being re­ stored by Morton Lester and his crew in North Carolina) Carso n City, NY; c.J. Grevera, Sunnyvale, CA; M . Bub Borman , Dalla s, TX; Frank Strnad, Northport, LI , NY ; Roy Cagle, Presco tt , AR ; Frank Abar , Livoni a, MI and Charley Hayes, N e w Lenox, IL. ~

Custom Chief

Continued from page 16

Th e forward gauge o n Pe te a nd suit a bilit y. Mark a nd Pete chose that Mark's airpl ane was a different configu­ route based on the results of the test sam­ ration, id e ntic a l to the Ford mod e l A ples. We'll be interested to see how well unit. A number of these ga uges are in it works for them , a nd wish them the use, si nce they neatly fit in the same hole best. Besides the fire engine red, the trim as the original. T he Ford gauge is simply is Sherwin Williams Flame Red, with a a cork float on one end of a wire, a pivot gold pinstripe dividing the two colors.

By the time Mark and Pete had ar­ point soldered across the wire further up, with the other end of the wire from the rived at Sun ' n Fun '96, they had a grand float attached to a metal card that is mag­ total of20 hours on the restoration. Their nified through a sight glass, which is re­ arrival was fun to watch, with heads snap­ tained by a nut with an internal star. The ping to attention all over the AlC grounds star nut is removed with a special wrench, as they taxied in to park. After the grass and the glass and gaskets, along with the clippin gs had sett led from th e judges special tools, are available fro m Bratton's tramping the turf around th e ai rpl ane , Antique Auto Parts, Inc., 9410 Watkins the awards ceremony saw th e personal RD , Gaithersburg, MD 20882, phone a irplane res tored by P e te an d Mark 800/255 -1929, fax 8001774-1930. An an­ Rowe presented with the Grand Cham­ tiqu e a utomotive supply hou se, th ey pion - Custom Classic trophy. carry a wide variety of items th at could Two months later, the Rowes flew the be useful to an old airplane restorer. Us­ Chief all the way to Middletown , OH for ing a rebuild set from Bratton 's and the the International Aeronca Association 's correct wre nch , Mark re built the old convention held next to the Aeronca fac­ gauge so it looks brand new. tory. It was again an attention getter, Covering th e airplane wa s don e at and was picked as the Best In Class - Post home, as was the final painting, inside a War Aeronca Chief. It seems the bright wooden frame paint booth covered with little side-by-side Chief ge ts attention polyethylene. The 6 mil poly was stapled wherever it goes. You can 't help but let and sea led in place (using latex caulk). it capture your eye as it flies by! ~ After th e top was h u ng from the ceiling with hemp (Right) The cowl is now firmly ropes, the sides were built attached with screws, necessi­ up , th e poly was draped tating the installation of a oil down and duct taped to the fill access door. The door fits flush with the surface of the floor , to prevent the plastic upper cowl and is secured from being blown out when with a Hartwell latch. the fans were turned on. A pair of box fans with cheap (Below) Even the pitot tube furnace filters were used to cover got close attention, as blow air into th e p a int did the pit ot t ube itself. booth , and mor e furnace filters were stapled in place to cap­ ture the ex hausting paint particles.

When Mark painted the airpl a ne, he use d a full body coverall a nd sea led face mask with outside air source.

One of Mark and Pete 's neigh­ bors is a paint expert who worked for Sherwin Williams. Test samples of polyester STC'd fabric were painted and subj ected to fl ex tests, exposure to the elements, and any­ thin g e lse he co uld think of. The new Sherwin William s Acryl-Plus paint was sai d to be exceptionally flexible and durabl e, so Mark and Pete went ahead and used it on the air pl a ne over an STC'd covering system.

Using a paint process for the fi­ na l finish , outside of the STC, can be argued to be fraught with pe rij, since only time will tell the tail of its VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

WELCOME

NEW MEMBERS

Fly-In Calendar

The following list of coming events is furnished to our readers as a matter of

information only and does not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, control

or direction of any event (fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. Please send the

information to fAA, Att: Golda Cox, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Information

should be received four months prior to the event date.

AUGUST 18 - BROOKFIELD, WI- Capital Airport. EAA NC Chapter 11 Vintage Aircraft Display and Ice Cream Social, Noon - 5 pm. Midwest Antique Airplane Club meeting as well. For info call Capital Airport at 414/781-9550.

AUGUST 18 - EAST TROY, WI - Inti. Cessna 120/140 Assoc. Wisconsin Brat and Com Roast. Arrive at 11 a.m., eat at 12:30 p.m. Bring a dish to pass and a buck. Call Matt and Carole Rybarczyk, 414/767­ 0920.

AUGUST 25 - BELMOND, IA - NC Chapter 13 annual picnic. Call 515/444-3631 for info.

AUGUST 26 - WEYBRIDGE, SURRY, ENGLAND Brooklands Museum. " Biplanes and Vintage Aircrah" Fly-In. Contact: julian C. Temple or Peter Edmunds, Brooklands Museum Trust, 01932857381 or FAX 01932 855465.

AUGUST 27-29 - YOUNGSTOWN, OH ­ BARTLESVILLE, OK AND EL CAJON, CA Staggerwing Beech Commem-orative Tour. Call William Thaden, 207/ 439-1161 for info.

AUGUS T 30 -3 1 - HAYWARD, CA - EAA Antique/Classic Chapter 29 Fourth Annual Antique Fly-In and Airshow. Free Early Bird Dinner to all dis­ play aircraft on Friday. This is a northern California points event. Contact Bud Field at 510/455-2300.

AUGUST 30 - SEPT. 1 - PROSSER, WA - EAA Chapter 391 25th Anniversary Fly-In at Prosser airport. Call Cormac Thompson for info: 509/786-1034.

AUGUST 30-31 - MOCKSVILLE, NC - Tara Airbase (5NC1) 11th Annual "Anything That Flies" Fly-In. Private Fly-In - attendance at your own risk. For info call 704/284-2161 or 910/764-0007.

AUGUST 3 1 - MARION, IN - Sixth Annual Fly­ In/Cruise-In breakfast sponsored by the Marion High school Band 800sters. Antiques, Classics, home­ builts, and Antique, classic and custom cars wel­ comed. For information, contact Ray johnson at 317/664-2588.

SEPT 1 - ZANESVILLE, OH - Riverside Airport. EAA Chapter 425 Labor Day Weekend Fly-In, Drive-In Breakfast. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sandwiches, etc. from noon to clOSing.

SEPT. 7 - OSCEOLA , WI - Simenstad Field. 16th Annual Wheels and Wings Air Fair. Train rides, pan­ cake breakfast fly-in. Free event shuttle bus. Pilots check class 0 NOTAMS for special airport condi­ tions. For info call 715/755-3300.

SEPT. 13-15 - URBANA, IL - Frasca Field. Byron Smith Memorial Stinson Reunion Fly-In. Call 708/904­ 6964 for info.

SEPT. 13-15 - JACKSONVILLE, IL - Ercoupe Fly-In. Call 217/546-0585 for info.

SEPT. 20-21 - BARTLESVILLE, IL - Frank Phillips Field.

39th Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In sponsored by EAA NC Chapter 10, AAA Chapter 2, EAA Chapter 10, 28

AUGUST 1996

EAA lAC Chapter 10 and the Green Country Ultralight Flyers. Call Charlie Harris for info: 918/622-8400.

SEPT. 21-22 - ROCK FALLS, IL - Whiteside County Airport. (SQI). North Central EAA "Old Fashioned" Fly-In. Fly market, camping and food on field. Call Gregg Erikson, 708/513-0641 or Dave Christianson at 815/625-6556. Pancake breakfast Sept. 22 - 0700 - 1100.

SEPT. 22 - WEYBRIDGE, SURRY, ENGLAND Brooklands Museum Fly-In. Contact: julian C. Temple or Peter Edmunds, Brooklands Museum Trust, 01932857381 or FAX 01932855465.

SEPT_22 - AURORA, IL - Fox Valley EAA Chapter 579 annual Fly-In and Open House. EAA's B-17 "Aluminum Overcast" and Ford Trimotor are sched­ uled to appear, plus other antique, classic warbird and 110mebuilt aircraft. Pancake breakfast 7-noon, lunch from noon 'til 3 p.m. Pilots flying in with a full airplane receive free breakfast, and pilots participat­ ing in the flight demos receive a fuel discount. For info call Alan Shackleton, 708/466-4579.

SEPT. 27-28 - SANTA YNEZ, CA - 8th Annual Western Waco Assoc. Reunion. Call jon Aldrich, 209/962­ 6121 or Barry Branin, 714/ 545-1476 for info.

SEPT. 28-29 - ZANESVILLE, OH - john 's Landing Airfield 5th Annual Fall Fly-In sponsored by EAA NC Chapter 22 of Ohio, Hog roast on the 28th, breakfast both days. Antique, classic, homebuilts, warbirds welcome. For more info call Virginia at 614/453­ 6889.

SEPT. 28-29 - LEXINGTON, TN - Tennessee Taildraggers 12th Annual Fly-In. 901/ 968-2864 or 901/968-4022 for info.

OCTOBER 4-6 - REDDING, CA - Benton Field. EAA Chaper 157 Oktoberfest. Contacts: Bruce Taylor, 916/ 275-6456 or Armal Owens, 916/ 243-4382.

OCTOBER 13 - TOWANDA, PA - Towanda airport (N27) Fly-In Breakfast - all you can eat. Eggs, sausage, pancakes, 100% pure maple syrup. 7 a.m. ­ 1 p.m.

OCT. 13 - ZANESVILLE, OH - Riverside Airport. EAA Chapter 425 and the ARTHRITIS FOUNDA nON Hog Roast. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Contact Don Wahl at 614/ 454-0003.

OCTOBER 13 - WEYBRIDGE, SURRY, ENGLAND Brooklands Museum Fly-In. Contact: julian C. Temple or Peter Edmunds, 8rooklands Museum Trust, 01932857381 or FAX 01932855465.

OCT. 18-20 - KERRVILLE, TX - Southwest Regional Fly­ In. For info call 800/221-7958. Vendors should call 210/914-3746.

JANUARY 1, 1997 - NAPPANEE, IN - EAA Chapter 938 5th annual New Years Day Hangar Over Party/Fly-In. 11 :00 a.m. - 2 p.m.. For info call "Fast Eddie" Milleman, 219/546-4997.

Frank V. Abbate ....................... Burlington, WI

Noel Anderson ..............................Canaan, CT

AI Baumgartner ........................ Bridoeville, PA

Charles M. Beasley ............. Dixon Springs, TN

Jesse W. Black ...................... Maplewood. MN

Steve D. Borba ........................ .woodland, CA

Robert N. Bransom ......................Burieson, TX

Ca lvin Brown .. . .. ................De Land, FL

Ron Buccarelli .........................Hollywood, FL

C. Kurt Canon ..........................Foster City, CA

Robert E. Christie ............ Farmington Hills, MI

James V. Cocuzza .......................... Hilton, NY

Alan J. Cooper ...........Chatham, Kent, England

Carl Crandall ..............................Concord, CA

D. Clark Dechant ......................5audi Aarabia

Owen W. L. Dorsey ........_........ .... .5eattle, WA

Larry D. Farmer .................._............Salina, KS

Bill Faust.. .......................... ...........Novato, CA

Cliff Fullhart ...........................Carol Stream, IL

William F. Galiagher .................Falmouth, MA

Paul Gapen ..............................Cheyenne, WY

Bob Golay .................................. Spearfish, SD

C. J. Grevera ........ ... ..................Sunnyvale, CA

Scott A. Gross ...................Mechanicsville, VA

Mark H. Gu lbrandson ...............Lakeville, MN

Robert R. Hafer ..........................Palo Alto, CA

Don K. Hansen ...................... Rocky Ford, CO

Mitchell W. Hendrix ................ Newporat, MN

Karl L. Henning .... ......................Burr Ridge, IL

Edward O. High .............................. Ovedo, FL

Fritz Hilfiker ................................... Merrill, WI

Richard K. Holbrook ........................ Irvine, KY

Daniel E. Julian ................................Bend, OR

Paul Kates .................. .................. Tomball, TX

Archie Lane ..................................Cypress, CA

Geale Peter Lawrence .................Topenga, CA

Zeke Linton ..............................Long View, TX

Chester J. Mackiewicz ............... Hillsboro, OR

Tom A. Manzari .....................5acramento, CA

Daniel E. Marino ...........................Carver, MA

Robert B. McConnell .................. Naperville, IL

Leon McGuire ........................... Southbury, CT

J. P. McNeice

.. ............ Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada

Joel C. Miller .....................................Solon, IA

Fred L. Mundinger .... ................ Clearvvater, FL

Robert Newhouse ..........................Tucson, AZ

George H. Nichols .................. Quartz Hill, CA

Lorne Penner ....... Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

Robert Pripps .............................Park Falls, WI

Eugene M. Reardon ..................Bay Shore, NY

Jeffrey W. Robb ....................... Greenville, NC

P. Donald Sanborn .....................Chardon, OH

Katie A. Schroth ...................... ..Attleboro, MA

Patrick C. Scofield ............................Mesa, AZ

David M. Sheehan ...................Haymarket, VA

Jack Soldano .................................Ramsey, NJ

Larry R. Strong .......................Cumberiand, WI

Richard M. Stroud .................. New Market, AL

Gary D. Tharp .............................Houston, TX

Ivan R. Timmons ...... .............. .Don iphan, MO

J. C. Tupling ....................................Miami, FL

Earl Urfer ................................ Fayetteville, AR

Robert F. Wardrop ........ ..... ........Pinehurst, NC

David Warne .......................... Cave Creek, AZ

End the Oil Mess < <

---~ ~

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MEMBERSHIP

INFORMATION

EAA

Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is $35 for one year, including 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. Family membership is available for an additional $10 annually. Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $20 annually. All major credit cards accepted for membership.

Something to buy, sell or trade? An inexpensive ad in the Vintage Trader may be just the answer to obtaining that elusive part. .40¢ per word, $6.00 minimum charge. Send your ad and payment to: Vintage Trader, fAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC Aviation Center, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, or fax your ad and your credit card number to 414/426-4828. Ads must be received by Current EAA members may join the Antique/ the 20th of the month for insertion in the issue the second month following Classic Division and receive VINTAGE AIR­ PLANE magazine for an additional $27 per year. (e.g., October 20th for the December issue.)

EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE mag­ azine and one year membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Division is available for $37 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included).

lAC

AIRCRAFT Current EAA members may join the International Aerobatic Club, Inc. Division and receive SPORT Wanted - J-3 Cub with good logs for AEROBATICS magazine for an additional $35 per year. restoration. 3521787-2636 night. (0791) fAA Membership, SPORT AEROBATICS maga­ zine and one year membership in the lAC For Sale - 1941 Rearwin Cloudster with Division is available for $45 per year (SPORT 125 hp Warner, 15 hrs ., TT&AE since AVIATION magazine not included). restoration, new annual, $28 ,500.

3521787 -2636 night. (0791)

FREE CATALOG - Aviation books and videos. How to, building and restoration tips, historic , flying and entertainment titles. Call for a free catalog. EAA, 1­ 800-843-3612.

RARE PROP! Curtiss Reed , SAE 20 Current EAA members may join the EAA spline, original condition . Call 815/385­ Warbirds of America Division and receive WAR­ 8404. (0942) BIRDS magazine for an additional $30 per year.

EAA Membership, WARBIRDS magazine and one year membership in the Warbirds Division is available for $40 per year (SPORT AVIATION I MISCElLANEOUS magazine not included).

V-8 350 CHEVROLET CONVERSION WITH GEAR REDUCTION DRIVE .

REPLACES ANY CURTISS V-8 , OX- 5.

IDEAL PACKAGE FOR EXPERMENTAL OR REPLICA AIRCRAFT. VIDEO INFO PACK $20.00 REFUNDABLE WITH ANY UNIT PURCHASE . BUD ROGERS 407/324-9433. (0740)

WARBIRDS

EAA EXPERIMENTER Current EAA members may receive EAA EXPERIMENTER magazine for an additional $18 per year.

EAA Membership and EAA EXPERIMENTER magazine is available for $28 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included).

FOREIGN

MEMBERSHIPS

Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars. Add $13 postage for SPORT AVIATION magazine and/or $6 postage for any of the other magazines.

EAA AVIATION CENTER

P.O. box 3086

Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086

WEB SITE http://www.eaa.org

E-MAIL Vintage @ eaa.org

PHONE (414) 426-4800

FAX (414) 426-4873

OFFICE HOURS:

8:15-5:00 monAri.

1-800-843-3612

MEMBERSHIP DUES TO EAA AND

ITS DIVISIONS ARE NOT TAX

DEDUCTIBLE AS CHARITABLE

CONTRIBUTIONS.

30 AUGUST 1996

SUPER CUB PA-18 FUSELAGES ­ New manufacture , STC-PMA-d , 4130 chromoly tubing throughout, also com­ plete fuselage repair. ROCKY MOUN­ TAIN AIRFRAME INC. (J. Soares, Pres.), 7093 Dry Creek Road, Belgrade, Montana 59714 , 406/388-6069, FAX 406/ 388-0170. Repair station No .

QK5R148N . (0387) Original Brass Tip Spark Plugs C-26 Champion , new $19.00; military recon­ ditioned $7.50 to $12 .00. Tom , 770/ 478­ 2310. (0359) Wanted - Piper J-5C paperwork, infor­ mation, articles, pictures and parts for the Piper J - 5C Model. Bob , Sr., 800/224-5522 , Evenings 810/ 644-9081.

(0747) The Luscombe Foundation supports Luscombes with full service factory data. " WIN ME" restored Luscombe tickets $40 each or 3/$100. Most parts and fac­ tory support services available. Will meet or beat all legitimate commercial sources in price, selection and quality.

All proceeds preserve the Luscombe heritage through development of a museum & archives. 602/917-0969, P. O . Box 63581 , Phoenix, AZ 85082.

(0657)

Ragwing Replicas - Ultralight legal Aircamper, Heath , Pitts, Duster, Triplane.

Plans $52. Brochure $3. P. O. Box 39, Townville, SC 29689. (0400)

ANTIQUE AIRCRAFT ENGINE - 1914 BARREL TYPE , OPERATED PROTO­ TYPE FOR INVESTORS IN SAN FRAN­ CISCO, $15,000, (206)363-8358. (0823)

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Ale HISTORY Continued from page 9

The Rese rve Grand Champion Clas­ sic Lindy was awarded to Orlo Maxfield of Northville, MI, fo r his beautiful yel­ low and red Fun k B-85C that has been in his fa mily since leav ing th e factory.

Flown by his son , John , the pretty two­ pl ace machin e is prob a bl y in b e tt e r shape today than whe n it le ft th e fac ­ tory.

A sta ndo ut in a nyo ne's league, th e G rand Champion Contemporary Lindy was taken by a 1958 Cessna 150 to ta lly res to red by Craig R o be rts of A urora, OR. Not your everyday, run-of-the-mill Cessna, this particular airpl ane was the very first production Cessna 150 in 1958, setting a long term manufacturing trend for Cessna.

A well deserve d Gr a nd Cha mpi o n Sea pl a ne Lind y was a ward ed to A l No rd gre n of Troutd a le, OR , for hi s beautifully restored 1943 Grumman G44 Widgeon. A McKinnon conve rsion, th e Wid geo n h ad se rv ed in Lan a Kurtzer's operatio n in Seattle, W A , for many years.

And so in 1996, we join all Antique/ Classic/Conte mpor a ry folk s in ce le­ bra tin g th e 25th Ann ive rsa ry o f th e

Antiq ue/C las sic Div ision . Ve ry fe w peop le wo ul d ha ve pred icte d such a sustai ned growth in the division - today we are over 10,000 active members and

growing. A very special "T hank You "

should be given to the hard working di­ vision leade rs and especia lly the many volu ntee rs. Many t ho usands of olde r (and precious) aircraft have been saved fo r poste rity because of th e me mbe rs ' efforts. Pe r haps t he bes t trib ute wi ll be when our grandchildren thank us for

The 1994 Contemporary Reserve Grand Champion trophy was taken by this im­ maCUlate 1960 Cessna 172 flown in by Gary Granfors of Webster, MN.

preservi ng historical airplanes so they,

too, may enjoy seeing and hearing them

fl y. Pe rhap s, on e day , we wi ll hea r

t h o se fa mou s tw o word s, " T h a nk s,

Grampa. " On to the next 25 years of the E AA Antique/Classic Division! ...

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Fabric Selection Gu ide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials: $3.00.

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Geoffrey de Havilland designed the C omet racer in 1934. A few years later it became the phenomenal Mosquito fighter-bomber.

Tom Wathen's replica chose Poly-Fiber for its Aug ust 24 & 25 Sacramento CA

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Formerly Scies

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Try it yourself at one of our Learn-to-Cover Work­ shops, held nationwide.

They're hands on and just $ 150 a person. And look for us at the Oshkosh and Lakeland fly-ins, too.

Oct 10 thru 13 Mesa AZ.

Nov 2 & 3

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AUAis

The staff at AUA, Inc . would like to congratulate the EAA Antique

& Classic Division

on their 25th Anniversary.

To become an

EAA Antique &

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AUA would also like to thank their customers

exclusive fAA Antique/Classic Division Insurance Program and

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