VA-Vol-32-No-1-Jan-2004

VOL. 32, No. 1

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VAA NEWS/H .G. Fra utschy

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AEROMAIL

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MYSTERY PLANE/H. G. Frautschy

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2003 VINTAGE HALL OF FAME ALFRED KELCH/H. G. Frautsch y

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PASS IT TO BUCK/Buck Hilbert

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JOHN MILLER RECALLS TWO CLOSE ONES/Joh n M. Mi ller

JANUARY 2004

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THE MICHIGAN AIR TOUR BOYHOOD DREAMS NEVER TRULY DIE Bruce H. Carmich ael

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THE ALLEN 'S ASO WACO WHAT TO DO WHEN THE BASKET IS MOSTLY EMPTY /Budd Davisson

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THE 2003 NATIONAL AIR TOUR THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME John Coussens an d H.G. Fra utschy

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THE 47TH ANNUAL TULSA REGIONAL FLY-IN SEPTEMBER 19-20, 2003, BARTLESVILLE, OKLAHOMA Charles W. Harris

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THE VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR GPS GLITCHES BETWEEN THE EARS/Doug Stewart

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NEW MEMBERS

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CLASSIFIED ADS

~1FA~W EAA PUBLIC:ATIONS

Publish er Editor路in路Chief Executive Editor News Edito r Ph otography Staff Advertising Coordinator Advertising Sales Ad vertising/ Editorial Assistant Copy Editing

TOM POBEREZNY SPANGLER MIKE DIFRISCO RIC REYNOLDS JIM KOEPNICK LEEANN ABRAMS TRISHA LUNDQUIST JULIE RUSSO LOY HICKMAN 913-268-6646 ISABELLE WISKE COLLEEN WALSH KATHLEEN WITMAN

scon

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Executive Director, Editor VAA Administrative Assistant Contributing Editors

HENRY G. FRAUTSCHY THERESA BOOKS JOHN UNDERWOOD BUDD DAVISSON

Front Cover:

Jeanne and Dave Allen cruise past the EAA camera ship in the new ly restored Waco ASO they rebuilt and then flew on th e 2003 National Air Tou r. For more on the Allen's restoration, see the article starting on page 12, th en flip to page 16 for more on the NAT. EAA photo by chief photogra pher Jim Koepnick. EAA Cessna 210 phot o plane flown by Bruce Moore.

Back Cover:

In a scene that hasn't been captured on film since the documen颅 tary days of Martin and Osa Johnson , Thomas Schrade ' s Sikorsky S-38 , "The Spi rit of Osa ," flown by Waldo Anderson, is fl anked by Dick and Patsy Jackson ' s Sikorsky 5-39 , " The Spirit of Igor" as they f ly north . Our thanks to photographer Gil les Auliard of I.A.P.A. in Newington, Connecticut for many of the images, including thi s one that helped us fi ll out the NAT coverage. You can reach Gilles at IAPA@att.net.

STRAIGHT Be LEVEL ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE PRESIDENT, VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

Kicking off 2004 'm putting my thoughts down on paper just before Norma and I depart for Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, the site of the Wright Brothers National Memorial. The weather looks good, the Flyer built by The Wright Experience for EAA is set to lift off the launching rail, and 35,000 people are expected to be there for the celebration. I'm sure there will be plenty of coverage of the event, and we'll have an arti­ cle here in the pages of Vintage Airplane in the February issue. Writing for publication is one of the skills I've had to work on while serving as your president. To some, like the late Winston Churchill, it comes easily. Recently, I was reading an article about Churchill's writing and speaking abilities. He gave his first speech at age 13, and his last in 1963, two years before his death at age 90. His collected speeches fill eight volumes. He was said to have spent an hour preparing each minute of a speech. He once wrote about his enjoyment of writing: "Writing is an adventure," he said. "To begin with, it is a toy and amusement. Then it becomes a mis­ tress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public." He could really knock out the words in quick fashion, too. One of the stories highlighted in the article I read illustrated his enjoyment of the task. One evening after dinner, he realized he had not finished an article. He went off by himself for two hours and composed 3,000 words. I was in awe! Sometimes it

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takes me half a day to put together 600 words for this column! His prodigious and well-written output is quite an inspiration! As we start 2004, the state of the Vintage Aircraft Association is good. This condition is a combination of all of the hard work and dedication of EAA's staff, VAA's own H.G. Frautschy and Theresa Books, the officers and directors, volunteers, and those very kind and dedicated individuals who help VAA by contributing to the "Friends of the Red Barn" fund. Our membership has remained solid, but has not increased as the staff and I had hoped this year. Besides the downturn in the econ­ omy, one of the reasons that has contributed to us remaining steady in our total membership numbers is the simple fact that we have an older membership base than other avia­ tion associations. None of us like to admit it, but we're all mortal, and some of our stalwart members have aged out this past year. To keep our membership num­ bers solid, and avoid a downturn, our membership committee has made a great effort in gaining new members this past year. So you can see that maybe just a suggestion to a friend that has a vintage aircraft to join up with us as a member would be a great benefit to your Vintage Aircraft Association. If we had each of our 8,700 mem­ bers help us gain new members during this next 12-month period, our membership would grow a great deal. Increased membership num­ bers means a great base of people from which to draw expertise and guidance, and we'd be able to add more to your magazine, Vintage Air­

plane. The magazine is a great bene­

fit to you as a member. It's the only publication devoted to vintage air­ craft that is published 12 times a year for your information and enter­ tainment. Sure, you can read "feel good" articles in other magazines, but how many of these large publi­ cations really get down to the nitty-gritty, such as the recent article on "How to keep your Tailwheel from Shimmying," or how to fly a tail wheel airplane. In 1991, your Vintage Aircraft Association had the vision to put together an aviation insurance program with the help of AUA Inc. For the past 13 years, AUA has guided this program through a number of different companies that are no longer in business because of the consolidation of aviation insur­ ance companies. By holding this program together during this hard­ ening of the insurance market, vintage aircraft can still be insured in this insurance program. When it comes to aging aircraft issues with the FAA, your VAA is there, working closely with EAA, talking for all of the vintage aircraft. We look forward to continued progress in this area. You can see there is a need for the Vintage Aircraft Association to be around for the good of all of us who love older aircraft, and we can help to keep them flying. Ask a friend to join; it will be good for you, too! Let's all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation. Remember, we are better together. Join us and have it all. Butch VINTAGE AIRPLANE

VAA NEWS

EAA Sport Pilot & Light­ Sport Aircraft Magazine Debuts in April For half a century EAA has dedi­ cated itself to making recreational aviation more affordable to the av­ erage person, and it's launching its sixth decade in this effort with a new magazine, EAA Sport Pilot & Light-Sport Aircraft. Serving its namesake audience, the 64-page all-color magazine begins its pub­ lishing life with its April 2004 issue. "The sport pilot and light-sport aircraft rules will offer a great op­ portunity to revitalize personal recreational flying," said EAA Pres­ ident Tom Poberezny. "SP/LSA will remove the barriers of time and money that have prevented many people from earning a pilot certifi­ cate or continuing their flying activities. The new LSA category will offer enthusiasts the opportu­ nity to purchase more-affordable ready-to-fly aircraft and aircraft kits. This magazine, along with programs and services that we're developing, represents EAA's con­ tinuing commitment to make flying for fun more accessible." With the publication of the new magazine, EAA will retire Experi­ menter magazine, and its readers will receive EAA Sport Pilot & Light­ Sport Aircraft. Experimenter Editor Mary Jones will edit EAA Sport Pi­ lot, and the new magazine will continue to serve the interests and needs of those who enjoyed Exper­ imenter magazine.

One Dues, Pick a Magazine Because EAA Sport Aviation and EAA Sport Pilot & Light-Sport Air­ craft are equally important membership benefits that focus on different aviation interests, to better serve members more effi­ ciently, EAA is launching "one dues, pick a magazine" with EAA Sport Pilot. Starting in April, when people join EAA or renew their 2

JANUARY 2004

GOOGLE SEARCHES VAA MEMBERS SITE Thanks to the staff in EAA's web depart­ ment, we continue to add design features and capabilities to www.vintageaircra(t.org. Now you can "Google" your way around .. _,------_.... the site with the world's most popular ._---"':':!.."':!.-­ search engine. Or expand your search to the World Wide Web by clicking on Ii.iiiij;"~~ "Search WWW" on the same page. This handy search engine is also a part of the members-only section of www.eaa.org. Starting early next year, VAA members will have access to a members­ only section of the VAA website, which will include a variety of archived articles from the pages of Vintage Airplane magazine.

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Nominations for EAA Directors Pursuant to the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc. bylaws, the presi­ dent has appointed six members in good standing to act as the Nominating Committee to receive nominations for Class III directors (three-year terms) to replace those whose terms expire during 2004, and for a Class IV direc­ tor (three-year term) to replace the director whose term expires during 2004. Such nominations shall be sent to Committee Chairman Ron Scott at N8708 Sky Lane, Rt. I, East Troy, WI 53120. The terms of five Class III directors and one Class IV director as listed be­ low will expire at the 2004 annual business meeting held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and successors to these directors will be elected at that meet­ ing. Such directors may succeed themselves. Class III Directors: Susan Dusenbury, Bill Eickhoff, Bob Gyllenswan, Vern Raburn, Barry Valentine Class IV Director: Louis Andrew According to the EAA Restated Articles of Incorporation, the Class IV di­ rector must reside within 50 miles of the location of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Nominations shall be made on official nomination forms available from Experimental Aircraft Association Inc., c/o Tom Poberezny, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, or e-mail jreader@eaa.org. The nomination peti­ tion shall include a recent photo of the candidate and a brief resume of his or her background and experience. Candidates must have been an EAA mem­ ber for the previous three consecutive years. Each petition requires a minimum of 25 signatures of EAA members in good standing with their EAA number and expiration date. Nomination petitions must be submitted to the chairman of the Nom­ inating Committee, Ron Scott, c/o EAA Headquarters, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, no later than March 3, 2004. Voting instruc­ tions and procedures will be published in a forthcoming issue of EAA Sport Aviation. Alan Shackleton, Secretary Experimental Aircraft Association Inc. The annual business meeting and election will be held at the Theater in the Woods at 1 p.m. CDT on Sunday, August I, 2004, at Wittman Re­ gional Airport, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, to be held July 27 through August 2, 2004.

memberships they will pay the annual dues of $40 and select the magazine they wish to receive. Whether it's a powered para­ chute, trike, or fixed-wing, if you're interested in buying, flying, and maintaining light-sport aircraft and their regulatory equivalents and FAR Part 103 ultralights, EAA Sport Pilot & Light-Sport Aircraft is for you, said EAA Editor in Chief Scott M. Spangler. If you're inter­ ested in flying, building, and restoring aircraft of all types, EAA Sport Aviation is your maga­ zine of choice. If members want both maga­ zines they can add the other for $20. What's more, EAAers can add either EAA Sport Pilot or EAA Sport Aviation at any time during their annual membership and the sub­ scription will be prorated based on the time left before their mem­ bership is due for renewal. In other words, the magazines and memberships will all be aligned to a single expiration date. One dues, pick a magazine does not apply to members who belong to EAA's divisions and affiliate. However, to provide all members with streamlined, efficient serv­ ice, over the coming year division memberships (and magazines) will be aligned with the expira­ tion of the EAA membership. EAA's membership department is putting the final touches on the system now, and we'll have more details here next month.

Material Substitution Advisory Circular In a follow-up to the series of meetings that produced the Best Practices Guide for Maintaining Ag­ ing General Aviation Airplanes, EAA staffers Earl Lawrence and Daryl Lenz represented EAA and VAA during a meeting with the members of the ad hoc FAA/in­ dustry committee. In an ongoing

2003 VAA Volunteers of the Year For many years, the VAA has specially recognized a pair of volun­ teers who, by virtue of their unselfish service to their fellow members, have been singled out to receive a special award. More than 400 volun­ teers put in weeks of work for the VAA and its members. They served meals to hungry flight line volunteers, or perhaps they parked air­ planes in the South 40. They were behind the counter at the Red Barn, or worked in the Volunteer and Membership booths out on the flight line. Perhaps they helped out in the Type Club or Workshop tents, or were out judging airplanes. Wherever you find them, take a moment and say, "Thanks!"

Steve Peters, Columbia City, Indi­ ana, shakes Geoff's hand as he accepts the VAA Behind the Scenes Volunteer of the Year award. In addition to his work during the day, Steve can also be seen (and heard on the radio!) during most of the overnight hours, as he helps VAA Security ensure everyone stays safe and secure. process to make the maintenance of older aircraft easier, progress is being made to create a new advi­ sory circular that will provide guidance material for the substi­ tution of parts and materials for vintage planes built more than 30 years ago and weighing less than 12,500 pounds. Issues that have to be addressed include 1) the engineering data that is avail­ able to allow a determination as to fitness of purpose, and 2) ap­ plication substitution examples

Dyle Wilson, Trenton, Missouri, accepts the Flightline Volunteer of the Year award from VAA Director and Co-chairman ofAircraft Park­ ing Geoff Robison. Dyle has been a volunteer for more than a decade, most of that time spent in helping EAA and VAA members park their aircraft in showplane parking and camping. such as hoses, plastic transparen­ cies, wheel bearings, batteries, welded tubing, alternators, gen­ erators, regulators, and fabrics and glues. If you have examples of ma­ terials you'd like to see on the list, and can provide engineer­ ing justification (or at least direction where that material can be obtained), send us an e­ mail at vintage@eaa.org and we'll be sure to add it to the consideration list. ...... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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AEROMAIL

Chapter Newsletters Paul Poberezny Sir, I received your letter yesterday, and I wanted to let you know how much we appreciated getting it. Your comments on our newsletter were perfectly timed. Keith Newman and I have been talking about the newslet­ ter the past few weeks, and he was concerned if he was on the right track with it. I felt he was. When he read your letter, he was quite pleased. I told him that he had his answer for sure . Keith's love of flying and his concerns for keeping our freedom to fly is reflected in his editorials and his newsletter work in general. I appreciate your offer for snow. It is a real novelty here in southeast Texas, and just a little bit of it brings everything to a halt. I'll be watching the skies. Thank you again for your letter, and thank you for bringing us to where we are today. Clark Morong President, VAA 2

Many ofus here at EAA headquarters, including our founder and chairman of the board, Paul Poberezny, spend time each month reading Chapter newsletters. We encourage each Chapter to send us a copy of your newsletter each month so we can better understand what issues are important to the members. -Editor

MMO Within Robert Lock's article on ra­ dial engines in the August 2003 issue h e incl uded a reference to having "used Marvel Mystery Oil in the fuel for a time." MMO does not readily mix with fuel and can even settle 4

JANUARY 2004

Dennis Smith, a VAA member from Houston, Texas, enjoys taking all sorts offolks for a ride. Here he's giving Faye Reimer, 76, ofHempstead, Texas, her first airplane ride over her hometown of Waller, Texas. They flew out of the Skylakes airport. out in the tank, which would be dis­ astrous. Other knowledgeable operators generally mix it with fuel in a shaken 12-gallon can and add it to the tank immediately before [fill­ ing the] tank (usually d u sters or sprayers) . MMO is best used as an upper cylinder lube when drawn into the intake manifold from a nee­ dle valve regulated container at 1 quart per 1,000 auto miles. This ratio actually increases available horse­ power by virtue of the lubricity added to the upper cylinder and pis­ tons as well as the valves and seats. Additionally, its naphtha base dis­ solves and removes carbon, including old, hard material. This loosens the rings and valves, conse­ quently there's no more sticking. I opened up my 60,OOO-mile flat-head six in our '42 Dodge after I had been operating it with a homemade top oiler for several thousand miles and found all the carbon was gone, hav­ ing been dissolved by the MMO. Some [of the carbon] blackened the oil, but most went out the exhaust. There was none in the heads and the rings were as loose as new, as were the valves. I now have a factory device made by Ampco in 1951, and still available from Vaco Corp., 413/586-0978. I'm certain MMO will remove/or vent the lOOLL crud accu­ mulation Mr. Lock is experiencing, especially if it's used in the top oiler device. Mixed with the engine oil, it

is far less efficient, but will he lp. I run this in all eight of my collector (and new) cars, and if I were still fly­ ing, my 1936 Fairchild 24 would sure have a unit on the Ranger. Many years ago the CAA did this on a new 0-235-C1 Lycoming, running it to its TBO, and after finding no discern­ able wear, the CAA approved it for aircraft use, but most unfortunately, I cannot locate this in my files. Lee Hurry Hopkins, Minnesota

Lee Hurry's letter has an interesting tidbit. Do any ofour members recall the CAA "approval" mentioned by Lee? If so, we'd love to hear about it. We have no record ofit here at EAA . Lee also included a few pages ofdata and a rough sketch ofhis upper cylinder oiler for automobiles. There's too much data to publish here, but if you'd like a copy, we'd be happy to send it to you . Please send an SASE to us here at EAA H~ and we'll pop a copy in the mail. No e-mail requests, please. You can contact Lee at collector­ cars@yahoo.com. -Editor IF YOU'D LIKE TO DROP

US A LINE, SEND YOUR

LETTERS TO:

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

P.O. Box 3086 OSHKOSH , WI 54903-3086 OR E-MAIL US AT VINTAGE@EAA.ORG.

BY

H.G.

lot Augy Pedlar from Michigan, navigator Vilas Knope, and passen­ ger Mildred Doran took off in fog and worse, soon returned for mo­ tor adjusting, and left again to "Go West" into the foul weather over the Pacific. Excellent Dole race coverage with aircraft photos, crew, and even colors is shown in Aloha by Martin Jensen with the 1927 "Album" series by Russell Plehinger in June 1967 EAA Sport Aviation, continuing in December 1967 [issue]. Russ Brown Lyndhurst, Ohio

FRAUTSCHY

OCTOBE R'S MYSTERY ANSWER

Our October Mystery Plane is a pretty well-known antique. Its un­ usual sesquiplane configuration is distinctive. Here's our note: October's Mystery Plane is the Wright WhirlwindJS powered five­ place Buhl Airsedan CA-SA in

factory color trim. Ill-fated Buhl Airsedan N-X 291S, Miss Doran, with red wings and nose, white teardrop fuselage trim, and blue tail was entered in the infamous 1927 Dole Pineapple Co. Air Race from mainland San Francisco to Honolulu, Hawaii. Pi­

A number of other members were able to correctly identify not only the airplane type, but also the exact example built. They were as follows: John Pugliese, Fresno, Cal­ ifornia; James Sturber, Mercer Island, Washington; Thomas Lym­ burn, Princeton, Minnesota; John Mader, Calgary, Alberta; and Charles F. Schultz, Louisville, Ken­ tucky. Other correct answers were received from Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Clarence Hesser, St. Augustine, Florida; Ed Kastner, Elma, New York; Ed Gar­ ber, Fayetteville, North Carolina; Doug Rounds, Zebulon, Georgia; and Walter Albert and John Bishop, Ocala, Florida. .......

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY

PLANE COMES TO US FROM

JAMES BAYS OF GARLAND,

TEXAS. ACCORDING TO ONE

ARTICLE HE REFERENCES,

IT DID FLY AT LEAST ONCE.

EM, VINTAGE AIR­ 3086 , OSHKOSH, WI

SEND YOUR ANSWER TO: PLANE, P. O . Box

54903-3086. YOUR ANSWER NEEDS TO BE IN NO LATER THAN FEBRUARY 5, 2004 , FOR IN­ CLUSION IN THE APRIL

2004 ISSUE OF Vintage

Airplane . YOU CAN ALSO SEN D YO U R RESPONSE VIA E-M Ai l. S E ND YOU R ANS W ER TO

vintage@eaa.org . B E SURE TO INCLUDE BOT H YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS (ESPECIA L LY YOUR CITY AND STATE!) IN THE BODY OF YOUR NOTE A N D PUT "( M ONTH) M YSTERY PLANE" IN THE SUBJECT LINE. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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2003 VINTAGE

HALL OF FAME

H.G. FRAUTSCHY

ALFRED KELCH om in 1918, Alfred Kelch became enamored with air­ planes and aviators at age 6 when his uncle Percy Bricker bought a war surplus Cur­ tiss Jenny and flew it to AI's hometown of Lake View, Iowa. Even uncle Percy's crash landing of the Jenny didn't dampen his en­ thusiasm, although little Al was perturbed with his uncle for wreck­ ing "his" Jenny. He followed every report of Lindbergh's Atlantic crossing, lis­ tening with headphones to the family radio. While Al was in jun­ ior high school, his uncle returned to town with a Curtiss Robin, and Al was given his first flight lesson. A lifelong love affair with all things mechanical has kept Al Kelch involved in automobile restoration, antique boats, and, of course, airplanes. A career mixing his talents in art and mechanical

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engineering resulted in the found­ ing of Kelch Manufacturing, a company that pioneered a number of plastic innovations, including the first plastic steering wheel for the automotive trade. During that time, Al met and, when he cou ld finally afford it, married the lady who would be his partner in all his endeavors, Lois. As his business grew, Al was able to squeeze a few dollars out of the budget and begin his collection of antique airplanes. He purchased a Piper Cub for $250, and has since restored more than a dozen air­ planes, most of which he flew from his rural home and airstrip in Mequon, Wisconsin, where he and Lois hosted many years of antique airplane fly-ins. AI's interest in Lindbergh led him to collect memorabilia, and one of the pieces he collected was a small bronze statuette of the famed pilot. Its resemblance to the Oscar statues given in the film industry inspired Al to create the

A constant in his life, AI's Piper Cub. He also owns the "Num­ ber One Cub," powered by a Salmson radial engine.

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JANUARY 2004

Al Kelch designed the original Lindbergh trophy used by EAA for the top awards at EAA AirVenture. On the left is the bronze statue from the 1920s that served as the basis for the first prototype Lindy shown here on the right. That first Lindy was cast using dense armor bronze, and the finished product was very heavy. EAA Lindy trophy we all recognize today as one of aviation's most prestigious awards for aircraft con­ struction or restoration. Al was one of the earliest mem­ bers of the Antique/Classic division, and became lifetime member num­ ber 6. In the mid-1970s,

~he ~ther constant in his Ii e hzs vzvacious w·F, L' ft., Al and I, e, OIS.

AI's uncle Percy brought a Jenny to town, but man­ aged to crash it on Main Street. Little Al (far right, in coat and hat) was annoyed with his uncle for crashing "his" Jenny!

he and Lois edited the division's magazine, Vintage Airplane, and he also served as the chairman of the Judging Committee. He and chief judge Claude Gray created the core rules for judging vintage airplanes, a set of rules that we continue to use to this day. He also founded the "Grand Champion Circle" in a successful effort to invite top award winners to the EAA convention. While serving as the president of the Travel Air club, a visit to the Parish's in Tullahoma, Tennessee, inspired Al to add a porch to the convention headquarters of the di­ vision, the Red Barn. With the design help of Pat Packard and the carpentry skills of Bob Lumley and other volunteers, the porch was added and continues to serve as a resting and gathering spot for members during EAA AirVenture. Al serves on a number of boards with aviation interests, in­ cluding the Sun 'n Fun board, and is affiliated with the Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York, and the Old Rhin e beck Aerodrome museum . He contin­ u es to actively work on his collection of aircraft kept at the Brodhead, Wisconsin, airport. His most recent restoration project is a Travel Air 4000 formerly owned by Robertson Aircraft and flown by Charles Lindbergh. ~

In add·ti I on to countless art fi . annual antique fly-in F; mrs, A l and Lois were hosts to an ,or many years.

Al loves rare, unusual airplanes. Here's his Welch OW8M.

Al at work restoring his rare Curtiss- Wright Travel Air 12Q.

One ofAI's many aviation friends , Ted Koston took this pretty shot ofAl in his Curtiss- Wright Travel Air 12Q next to the pond at A I's airstrip and home. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

7

PASS

IT TO BUCK

BY E.E. "BUCK" HILBERT, EAA #21 VAA #5 P.O. Box 424 , UNION , IL 60180

Winter and whatnot

The phone rings, and it's our friendly editor, H.G., bugging me about a column. By the time you read this, we'll be in the grips of another winter session. No preaching to the choir. If you aren't well informed as to the what, how, and when of winter flying, then you just don't read or listen to all the things that have been written and told about it over the years when it comes to the precautions and preparations for winter flying. Me, I' m looking forward to some fun times. I just came in from the hangar where I've been looking at the skis for the Champ. It's time, I said, as I looked at the weather report for the next couple of days. The weather guys are promising 3 to 6 inches of snow. It's coming! Walking in from the hangar, the little flurries are evident with the promise of a lot more. The temperature is hovering right at the freezing level, and we are waiting expectantly. There is a lot to be said for winter flying. The air is nice and thick and fluid, making the engine, the prop, and the airfoils behave beautifully. The performance is really enhanced with the cold air. The airplane just sort of leaps off the snow, and climbs like a homesick angel. The air is so smooth, the scenery so bright and beautiful, everything so clean, that you want to live forever. Provided, of course, that you are suitably dressed in warm clothing, the airplane heater is cooking, and you have your sunglasses on under your earmuffs. All the preparations fade into the background as the pure pleasure of the flight soaks in. I recall after a conversation with Norm Petersen, a Minnesota snow 8

JANUARY 2004

lover, his talking about flying his open-cockpit Starduster Too on skis in the dead of winter. I asked him how cold it was. His reply was, "Don't make any difference. Once it gets down to zero it just don't get any colder, and the flying doesn't get any better than this!" I'm also reminded of a couple I know who spend their summer in up­ per Ontario, Canada. They go south for the winter. All the way to Duluth, Minnesota. It's all in your mind, they tell me. Make up your mind that you're going to have fun and enjoy, and then it's a piece of cake. I tend to agree. Being on skis gives one the freedom you never have on wheels or floats. Every field that's big enough becomes an airport. You can fraternize with neighbors like never before, and often when I flop in on one of my neighbors and after giving them a ride, I'm invited in for hot cocoa, or even something stronger. Everyone seems to be in an exhilarated mood, exuberant, and full of Christmas spirit. When the ice is nice and thick, it's also fun to ski and skim along the icy surfaces. That summer place becomes even more accessible now, because you can land on the iced-over lake and taxi right up to the lakeshore frontage. Watch out for the ice fisher­ men; be sure you clear the area; and before landing, watch for those crazy fun-loving snowmobilers. That's enough of a caveat for now. Join your fellow aviators in the lo­ cal skiplane activity: the chili and bean fests and, if you can make it, the Pioneer Airport skiplane fly-in on Jan­ uary 24. That's a special one, where we also celebrate Audrey Poberez ny's birthday. You know her, our most fa­

mous EAA Hall of Fame person. The wonderful gal who has been right there since before and ever since EAA started . Come on out and wish h er well! If you want to fly your skiplane into Pioneer, you have to make prior arrangements. This thing fills up quickly, since we have only so many slots available for arrivals. You need to contact Sean Elliott, who heads up EAA's Flight Department. E-mail him at selliott@eaa.org, or call his office at 920-426-6801. Here's one of the things I learned about winter flying: Carry a spare set of socks in your jacket pocket. If your feet get cold, it's because your socks are damp. As unseemly as it may look, pull off your boots and put on the dry pair of socks. Your feet will warm up quickly. Tuck the other pair back in your jacket pocket, and they'll be ready if you have to repeat the process. The increased performance of your aircraft will really amaze you. Carefully pre-heat the engine like the books say, and take it easy so as not to overboost. It can be done. Some years back when I was flying in and out of Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska, for United, our DC-8 takeoff data did not show temperature accountability below -SO·F. There were mornings when we had to wait, believe it or not, for the temperature to warm up before we could take off. Engineering was insistent that we could do dam­ age to our engines if we overboosted them because of the extreme density of the air at those very low tempera­ tures. Isn't that one for the books? Put your snuggies on, get the heat up on your attitude, and it's, Over to you, '- I(

(( ~tJ.C)C-

ne evening in 1933 I was returning from a trip in my New Standard D-25 biplane and flying into the old Valley Stream, Long Island, New York, airport. There was no ra­ dio at that time, either on the ground or in the airplanes, so I did not have any information about the wind except what I could judge from the windsock. It showed a good stiff south sea breeze. I entered a left downwind, de­ scending for a south landing and arrived at about 1,000 feet at about midfield and about 70 mph lAS. As I started to descend, the airplane suddenly dived. A glance at the airspeed indicator showed only about 35 mph. I let the plane dive and opened the throttle wide until enough airspeed was re­ gained, then leveled off with barely safe clearance above ground. To say the very least, I was surprised and puzzled. After landing, I took off again and repeated the downwind de­ scent at a much higher airspeed. Sure enough, there was a very strong warm north land breeze above the strong cooler south sea breeze, with a remarkably smooth line of separation between the two opposite winds. When flying to the north against that strong north wind and d esce nding suddenly into the strong south cool sea­ breeze, the airspeed of the airplane quickly dropped at least 40 mph. I learned there had previously been a fatal crash of a CommandAir biplane that had suddenly dived into the ground without any appar-

O

I LEARNED

THERE HAD

ent reason at that same location. Then one day in 1935 when I was a member of the Marine PREVIOUSLY Corps Reserve Squadron at Floyd Bennett Field, there was a huge bank of sea fog just offshore, BEEN A

south of the field. We were flying Grumman SF-2 biplanes. I was FATAL CRASH number three in a formation take­ off to the south, right toward that bank of clouds. The leader mis­ OF A

judged the distance to the bank of clouds and flew right into it. COMMANDAIR Number two pilot and I tucked in close to the leader to keep for­ mation in the dense fog. The BIPLANE

leader made a beautiful left climb­ ing turn and we followed him THAT HAD

through 180 degrees and back out of the fog. I spoke on the radio to compli­ SUDDENLY

ment him on his great smooth, climbing turn. He said that he did DIVED INTO not even know he had been turn­ ing because his turn indicator-the only instrumentation in the air­ THE GROUND

plane-was dead as a doornail! He had thought he was going WITHOUT ANY to climb out of the top of the fog bank, straight ahead. We had en­ APPARENT tered the fog at less than 500 feet! Fortunately, he held his climb air­ speed, so did not descend into the REASON AT water, and he did not have time to get vertigo with that dead turn THAT SAME indicator faultily assuring him that he was straight ahead. I had run out of numbers for LOCATION.

my close calis, even before that one. ~ VINTAGE AIRPLANE

9

The Michigan

Air Tour

Boyhood dreams never truly die BRUCE

H.

CARMICHAEL

I LLUSTRATIONS BY THE LATE WILLIAM HAGER

O

ne spring morning in 1969 I stood at the edge of th e Crystal Fa lls airport in the Upper Peninsula of Michi­ gan. The field was knee-deep in weeds, and a tattered windsock hung from its rusting ring. The sin­ gle cinder block hangar was fill ed with road equipment, countering the Haight Memorial Airport sign above the door. My thoughts drifted back to the early 1930s and the mar­ velous Stinson old Doc Haight kept in that hangar. I was sad to see the fragile interest in aviation that had existed here was now gone. As I gazed across the weed-choked field, a third of a century rolled away, and I was once again an 8-year-old boy. Filled with anticipation, I was riding in an ancient Cadillac touring car on my way to see the airplanes of the Michigan Air Tour visiting this field. In a gesture of defiance to the crushing Depression that gripped the country, my flamboyant neigh­ bor, Todd Webb, had lovingly restored the ancient car, a dapper symbol of a happier time. Donning a duster and goggles, h e rounded up the neighborhood kids and pro­ ceeded to the air show. How can I portray the contrast of the poverty of the times with the hope and excitement generated by the sight of those early aircraft? How can I explain to my children, raised in affluence, what it was like 10

JANUARY 2004

to have the life-s ustaining iron mines close down, leaving a vil­ lage of able-bodied men o ut of work? A town with two out of thre e storefronts boarded up, kids who could not afford to go to the movies even when the price was reduced to a nickel. At the same time, th ere was exci tement in the air! Men, alone and in small groups,

had been working to fashion the fabulous airplanes in which our boyhood heroes charted the air trails. There was an innocence and faith in that time, telling us that hard work and ingenuity was bound to payoff. The amazing accomplish­ ments of a small group of daring aviators easily captured our youth­ ful imaginations.

As we neared the field we saw Wacos, Travel Airs, Gypsy Moths, Stinsons, Bellancas, Fairchilds, and Stearmans roar around the circuit, land, and taxi into neat rows along the fence. A tiny wire-braced mono­ plane with its belly dragging on the ground turned out to be the Aeronca C-3, predecessor to the light plane, which would soon dis­ place the powerful biplanes of the 1920s as the private pilot's mount. The fragile beauty of an autogiro in steep descent against the northern sky brought a look of wonder to up­ turned faces. Suddenly a gasp arose from the crowd. "He has lost his landing gear." A few of us wore su­ perior smiles as we recognized the sleek Lockheed Orion lap the field with unbelievable speed. The crowd sighed as the wheels dropped down. The pilot of the Detroit News cam­ era plane barely had time to chop power before we surged around him. I touched the cool smooth

leading edge of this streamlined beauty and touched the future. The pilots were demigods to us. Standing, talking, smoking, and chew­ ing gum with faces tanned by count­ less hours in wind and sun. Thin, wiry, sun-wrinkled, a breed apart. I was the airplane nut of our vil­ lage who studied airplanes from morning until night. I remember

standing in the drugstore asking for the latest copy of Flying Aces magazine. Old Mr. Sheffer would always go through the same ritual, peering myopically at the rack and muttering, "Fly Aces, Fly Aces." Pretending he couldn't see it. He would peer down over his glasses and say, "Perhaps it isn't in yet./I I would point it out to him, and he would hand it down. I would stand rooted to the counter, thumbing through the exciting pages. Once I glanced up and saw his understanding, tender smile. He knew an airplane nut when he saw one. There were other mem­ ories of that bygone era. The joy of the first airplane model one had built that actually flew! The many airplane sketches that festooned school papers. The smoothness of the air after takeoff from a sod field on one's first airplane ride. The Michigan Air Tour, however, will always hold a special place in my memory. Slowly the past slipped away, and the deserted air­ field once again came into focus. How strange this remi­ niscing would sound to most people, I thought. But then, those children of the Depres­ sion who became infatuated with aviation during the Great Depression will re­ member and say, "Yes, that is just how it was. Where did the magic go?/I Many happenings tended to dim and cloud that magic. One by one our heroes, the pioneering long-range fliers, were lost pointing the way to today's air travel. Bert Hinkler of Australia hit a mountain in the Alps. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, first across the Pacific, lost in a typhoon in the Timor Sea. Round-the-world Amer­ ican flier Wiley Post lost in a crash with Will Rogers near Point Bar­

row, Alaska. Jean Mermoz, French Aeropostal pilot, was lost in the South Atlantic; the Italian De Pinedo in a fiery takeoff crash in New York; and Levanevsky, the Russian Lindbergh, "Lost between the North Pole and Alaska./I My closest high school friend van­ ished in his exploding P-38 when gunners in a flack tower hit it dur­ ing World War II. After the war, so many colleagues lost in dangerous test flying, including Dr. August Raspet, who gave me my start in flight test. In spite of it all, the magic remains. If today you should attend a model airplane meet, a sailplane meet, an Experimental Aircraft As­ sociation fly-in, an air race, an air museum, or especially an antique aircraft gathering, there you will see hundreds of boys. But these are the boys of the 1930s, their h a ir thin and graying, but look at the light in their eyes! Yes, boys still. The magic has not gone for us. As long as old airplanes are restored and flown to air meets, the surviv­ ing children of the Depression will be there patting the airplanes , retelling the old legends, bringing back once more that special time and the memory of our boyhood heroes. Bless them all. ...... VINTAGE AIRPLAN E

11

THE ALLENS'

What to Do When the Basket Is Mostly Empty

BUDD DAVISSON

D

ave and Jeanne Allen don't know how to do things the easy way. They also have this thing about Wacos. And then there's their runway at Elbert, Colorado: it's at 7,050 feet MSL and on ly 36 feet wide. Like we said, they do nothing the easy way. A major indication that the Aliens don't let logic stop them from doing enormous projects is the fact that they built their last Waco, a Taper­ wing, from a homebuilt kit. " Beginning wi th a welded up fuse­ lage, a bunch of wood, and a pile of drawings, they just kept on keepin ' II

12

JANUARY 2004

on until they had a beautiful Taper­ wing that you'd have to look at the documentation to know it wasn't an original. But they didn't want a Ta­ perwing. What they really wanted was an ASO, straight-wing. "Whe n we started the Taper­ wing," Dave explains, "We knew we really wanted a straight wing but there weren't any to be had. Not in our price range anyway. We thought about building one, but didn't know if we could do a scratch-built project like that, so we did the Taperwing because there was a basic kit already available for it. To us, the Taperwing was nothing more than practice for

the Straightwing project we knew we'd eventually be doing." Got that? They built a Taperwing Waco for practice! I guess one reason we weren't afraid of such a big project is that we really didn't know any better," and he laughs his often-heard self-effac­ ing laugh. Incidentally, Dave looks so much like Walter Matthau that you some­ times have trouble looking him in the face and, we apparently aren't the first to notice the similarity. When we commented on it, he used his usual reply, "Oh, really! Most people mistake me for Tom Cruise." II

Dave has been a round-motor bi­ plane freak since he was in diapers. liMy mother said I used to sit astrad­ dle a couple of boards arranged like an airplane and make airplane sounds," he says. "I used to race the local crop dusters around Fresno on my bike. I'd be running down along side the fields with them and constantly hanging out at their operation. "Eventually, they put me to work and at 11 years old I was flagging fields for them. I stayed with them for the

when there was a lot for a young Air Force pilot to do. "I was put into Special Opera­ tions, initially flying a Helio, and a buddy and I started volunteering to go to Vietnam. Again, I didn't know any better. We were young and in love with the Skyraider and we wanted to be Sandy pilots. As hard as we tried, however, we couldn't get orders to 'Nam. They were sending all sorts of officers over who had families, but they ignored a couple of footloose Lieutenants. It didn't make any sense then and it doesn't now." Everything seems to hap­ pen for a reason and when Lt. Allen was assigned to fly C130s on rescue missions in England, it allowed him to make one of the most impor­ tant decisions of his life. "I had met Jeanne before I went to the Academy and we pretty much knew we were going to get married. But, I couldn't ask her to marry me if I was going to Vietnam . When I found I was going to England, however, I said something to the effect of 'How'd you like to go to England . And, oh by the way, would you like to get married?'" The Allens come as a pair, and you can find nothing, from their air­ plane registrations to the card on their propeller at fly-ins that say "Dave Allen." It is always "Dave and Jeanne Allen." "She's the other half of me. She's hands-down the best thing that has ever happened to me and if it weren't for her, I doubt if I would have done any of the things I've done. We're partners all the way through. She goes well past being supportive. She encourages me and works right along with me getting things done, regardless of what it is." When it comes to airplanes Dave says, "I never really outgrew the round motor biplane thing and, when our two boys grew up and stopped asking for money, we de­ cided it was time to do something about a biplane.

Y BUILT

PERWING o FOR

CTICE!

Jeanne and Dave Allen

next four or five years and they were even going to teach me to fly. Myavi­ ation career got short circuited, however, when I was 16 and loading chemicals. I got poisoned and was so sick that my mom and dad said that was it for me and aviation." Although he got the bug, so to speak, at Lawton Cropdusters in Fresno, he didn't actually get to fly until some years later. "In high school I figured that my way into the air to be sports and good grades. I figured if I did well, I could get a scholarship and then learn to fly." That worked big time and he was awarded an appointment to the Air Force Academy. "I don't normally talk about the Academy becau se I' m about as far from being a ring knocker as you can get. ] just wanted to fly and that seemed to be the way to do it." He graduated and went directly to flight training. In 1969 he earned his wings and that was a period of time

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

13

wouldn't, just write a check and buy one. "For one thing, I was just an old ex-Air Force guy. There was simply no way I could spend that kind of money on an airplane. Then, when I went with the airlines, I kept getting furloughed and one year, betwee n Jeanne and I, we had nine W-2 forms, we had worked so many jobs. Besides, I really like building stuff. I'm an old-time mod e l airplane builder and there are times up here, when it's snowing and you're snug­ gled down in your warm shop building something, that it's really fun. I guess you could say that's my comfort zone. "We figured we could build or re­ build an airplane because we Mmmm, leather. That looks like a pretty Keeping the original style 4-inch instru­ wouldn't have to write one big nice place to sit for a 4,OOO-mile odyssey ments was high on the list ofthe check. We could go into it a little at a through the Midwest and east coast. Aliens. time and, when the money slowed =::--~~---~---------------------------. down, we'd slow down too. When we had money, we'd buy the big stuff. When you're building or re­ building from scratch, you buy some materi­ als, then you spent six months or a year working on it barely spending a dime. It's a good way to control the cash out-flow./I The first airplane project was the Nu­ WACO Taperwing kit that was being pro­ duced by Ernie Bodie. "The kit had a fully welded fuselage, which is what I wanted be­ cause I don't weld. It's one of those things I keep saying I'm The Aliens chose to have a Wright 1-6 going to learn, but I haven't yet. The power their A50, which technically makes kit had all the wood for wings, but it it a C50. Relatively speaking, the 1-6 is was very much a scratch built kind easier to support and maintain than the I­ of project and I spent a long tim e S. The large number on the fin is the making parts./I ship's National Air Tour number. "In the back of my mind I always "Around here the phrase 'round tude and 450s seem a little too knew the Taperwing was the wrong motored biplane' translated as 'Stear­ brutish for me. That's when I started airplane for our runway and, when I man,' but somehow they didn't quite looking at Wacos./I got it flying, I turned out to be right. make the grade for me. The 220 Although there were a number of When you're coming over the Stearmans couldn't handle the alti­ Wacos for sale, Dave couldn't, and threshold at 100 mph at a density al­ 14

JANUARY 2004

titude of 9,000-10,000 feet, the zigs and zags get really close together and that 36-foot runway becomes a side­ walk. Landings in the Taperw ing were always a cottonmouth affair. "We knew a Straightwing, like an ASO, would be much better for us. In fact, we had been looking for one for sometime. We eventually bought what would have to be called not a 'basket case,' but an 'envelope case' because basically all we had was an envelope which contained the pa­ perwork for a 1930 ASO Waco." Not having an airframe for a pat­ tern, the Aliens were going to have to be creative, resourceful, and most of all, determined. "We got almost complete draw­ ings for the wings from the Smithsonian. For the fuselage, how­ ever, we worked with Mike Strong up in Powell, Wyoming, who had a pat­ tern Waco 10 fuselage to be used in building a jig. He was already build­ ing one for himself and asked if we wanted one too, so we worked with him on it." With a basic fuselage and wing draWings in hand, the Aliens were well on their way to having their Straightwing. However, since Dave was "weldingphobic," he sent the fuselage up to a Waco fabrication speCialist to have the landing gear and tail built in their hard jigs. "The wing drawings were actually pretty good, plus I borrowed a wing panel from Mike Strong to use as ref­ erence. Tim Bode made the metal fittings for me, which let me concen­ trate on the wood. "Compared to something like a jungmann, Waco wings are actually pretty crude. The spars are just big chunks of lumber, so building the wings was a big project but wasn't par­ ticularly difficult. It took us about a year and a half to finish them all and that includes the center section, which I patterned after an original [ had. "Truth is, after doing the Taperwing wings, these were actually pretty easy because everything was square./I ASOs originally used the j-5 Wright as a power plant, but that early engine conflicted with the goals the Aliens

had set for the airplane. "What we wanted above every­ thing else was a reliable airplane that we could fly witho u t worrying too much about it. This airplane was def­ initely not going t o be a hangar queen. We wanted to fly it as if it was a 'normal' airplane and take it just about anywhere in the country. "A]-5 is just too hard to support and we'd always be worrying about it. So, we installed a ]-6, which tech­ nically makes our airplane a CSO, not an ASO. The j-6, however, is much easier to support because parts are more available. Plus, it's a more reliable engine. [t may not be a mod­ ern engine, but it's as c lose as we could get on this kind of airplane. "Dan Murray up in Longmont did the engine for us and we h ung it on a mount made by Don Gene." "Scott Gregerson up in Pocotello, Idaho, is an expert in sheet metal and had some original Waco parts that he duplicated for us . That included the headrest and the tail cone. Dan did the compound curved piece on the top of the forward fuselage but we did most of the rest. john Cournoyer of Creve Coeur, Missouri, made the alu­ minum fuel tank. "A lot of the sheet metal, like the pieces between the cylinders, are wire rolled and [ couldn't find any­ one to do it. So I located one of the elusive Pexto 322 wire rollers and taught myself how to do it. I was re­ ally worried about some of the parts because they were supposed to be compound curves and I expected them to give me real heartburn. Af­ ter I rolled them, however, I found they took on a compound shape on their own and I actually had to flat­ ten them out a little. "The lower wing fairings are some­ thing we're proud of. It t u rns out that Waco actually had a drawing and a part number for them, but you seldom see them on an airplane. Dr. john Patterson and his son had made a set for their Waco and I borrowed their patterns and made the fairings out of .032. When it came time to do the cock­ pits and especially the rear

instrument panel, the Allens had some serious decisions to make. "We had a bunch of factory pho­ tos and wanted to be as original as pOSS ible, while still making the air­ plane usable. We had a few original instruments we overhauled but we refaced some modern instruments too. The altimeter, for one, however, had to be an original because it was one of the old four-inch, nonsensi­ tive types and a newer altimeter would have looked out of place. "We weren't looking forward to flying with a single-needle altimeter in some of the controlled airspaces we'd be flying into, but we didn't want to make that big of a change in the appearance of the cockpit. It turns out we shouldn't have worried. "We made the main panel look as original as we could but we mounted a little bitty 2-1/4" Becker radio and transponder in small side panels down by my knees. The transponder took care of our concerns about the altimeter because in one of its modes it will display a correct altitude to the foot. It's really pretty neat." Almost every antique project of any kind involves a photo or two of a specific airplane that becomes the model for that project. This was par­ ticularly true when it came to the Allen's ASO. "We decided early to replicate the Wacos flown by Art Davis and johnny Livingston in various races and the 1929 Air Tour. That's where some of the fairings came from and continued on page 26

With the 2003 edition of the National Air Tour now history, Dave and Jeanne are just as enthusiastic as when they started. At the end, as they gathered for their goodbyes, Dave reflected on his and Jeanne's experience: "This has truly been a magical history tour-not only for the people who've been following us on the Web and have come out to see us land and experience these magnificent air· planes, but also for the pilots who've met the outstanding people along the route." For more on the National Air Tour, please see the article starting on page 16. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

15

4iiiiiiiiiiI~~The 2003 National Air Tour

The chance of a lifetime JOHN COUSSENS RE-CREATING TilE 192'j-I931

NA.TIONAL AIR TOURS

h roughout life I have learned that we never rec­ ognize the most significant moments in our lives until they've passed. When a man named Greg Herrick introduced himself to me at AirVenture 2002 and invited me to fly my 1928 Travel Air 4000 biplane in the 2003 National Air Tour, I felt flattered. It sounded like a fun event. Looking back now, I re­ alize how thos e few minutes with Greg changed my life forever. Thirteen months lat er, loaded with camping gear, cameras, and more than a little trepidation, I headed east from my home airport in Arlington, Washington. Ahead of me lay an 8,600-mile odyssey, with over half that distance needed just for the round trip to the tour's start­ ing pOint at Willow Run airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan. After two days flying, I reached western Nebraska, leaving the Cascades, Rockies, and high plains of Wyoming far behind me. After two more days, I joined up with fellow tour pilots Hank Galpin and Clay Adams at Brodhead, Wis­ consin, for the final flight into Willow Run. The sight of the ramp at Willow Run, filled with antiques from across North America, gave just a brief glimpse of the incredible journey to

T

16

JANUARY 2004

come. When starting day dawned, electricity filled the air as I ate break­ fast and headed to the airport. Low fog heightened the drama as I walked among ancient aircraft on the eerily silent ramp. During start­ ing ceremonies, we all listened intently as Edsel Ford II and Erik Lindbergh spoke of the history and value of our coming event. The first minutes of the tour are etched in my mind through the sights and sounds of history relived. Over 30 radial eng in es including Wrights, Pratts, Lycomings, and Con­ tinentals loafed their idle songs as I sat in my Travel Air, at the back of the ramp, watching dozens of pro­ peller blades spin lazily in the brilliant sunshine. One by one: 26 planes with legendary names, iike Stinson, Fokker, Waco, Travel Air, Stearman and Sikorsky, staged on the taxiway. Edsel Ford II, whose grand­ father started the original tours, waved the starting flag for every plane. Lifting from the pavement at Willow Run left me speechless, as I fi­ nally began the tour after over a year of personal planning, coordination, and sacrifice. In that moment every sacrifice paled, every hurdle dropped from memory, every fear of failure to start the tour fell away. Now I just had to finish ....

We left the lakeshore fog of De­ troit behind us and headed west toward Kalamazoo, my Travel Air as­ signed to the slowest group of planes. That group included the two Sikorsky Amphibions, and the awe I felt join­ ing those two majestic birds in formation simply defies description. Across the first four days, we landed in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, and at each stop we were treated like visit­ ing heroes. Young and old alike asked for our autographs on programs and Air Tour posters, and hosts at each airport threw open both their hangars and their hospitality. Those first few legs held surprises and challenges, too, with winds caus­ ing a few pilots to delay departures, and a fuel tank support breaking on one of the Ford Tri-Motors as it left Anoka, Minnesota. Time for re­ pairs delayed that Ford for several hours and resulted in the plane getting more than a little muddy when it reached Des Moines .... Thunderstorms stood like sentinels just west of Interstate 3S for our en­ tire trip south from Anoka, and forced us to stay in Des Moines that night rather than continue to Kansas City per our schedule. A radar snapshot, showing storms in a solid band stretching from Canada

clear to the Gulf of Mexico, con足 firmed the wisdom of stopping short. Craig Schiller, Greg Herrick's righthand man, saved our bacon in Des Moines, arranging hotels for over 80 people and hangars for most of the planes at that first of several unplanned overnighters. Throughout the Tour, weather continued to alter our plans. During a scheduled free day in Wichita, the Stearman owners had arranged to fly to McConnell Air Force base to visit the very hangar in which their planes were built. Concurrently, I had planned to get all the Travel Airs to their birthplace at Beech Field, and possibly visit the original Travel Air factory buildings that still stand within the Beech complex. Steady rains that eased occasionally but soaked us throughout the day scuttled both trips. Although the rains of Wichita gave way to beautiful skies from Kansas to Georgia, Hurricane Isabel lurked ominously in the Atlantic. Even as early as our first night in Kansas, Isabel's track looked likely to hit Kitty Hawk only a day before we planned to arrive. We watched TV weather each night and hoped for a reprieve. It never came. When we reached Peachtree, Georgia, the fearsome power of Is足 abel stood in our path . No pilot in the group felt willing to push its boundaries, so by unanimous vote we delayed in Peachtree to let the storm pass. But before the sun had set, our first day in Georgia took on an ominous hue. Miss Veedol slewed Sideways in fickle winds through a wrenching ground loop that col足 lapsed the left main gear up through her floorboards. OnJy a miracle saved its two pilots from injury. Our delay was the Miss Veedol crew's blessing, however, as several pilots pitched in and spent the entire extra day disassembling their once proud bird for her ignoble truck ride home. Two days after the hurrican e passed, we arrived at Wilson, North Carolina. Scarcely 130 miles from Kitty Hawk, Wilson was not only a scheduled stop on the tour, but also

Erik Lindbergh recalls the fact that his grandfather had planned on flying in one of the original air tours, but bad weather kept him from the start.

Edsel Ford waves the starter's flag for each aircraft and NAT organizer Greg Herrick and author Tim 0'足 Callaghan give a "thumbs up" as they taxi out for departure.

Typical of the vast majority of the tour stops, the local community of Wausau, Wisconsin, did their best to make the tour pilots and crew welcome. A terrific lunch was put on in one of the hangars, and mayor Linda Lawrence and local Chamber of Commerce members gave a short welcoming speech.

A great sounding rag-tag ramp band was entertaining at various stops along the route. The band was composed of members of the NAT crew and pilots. Roger Gomoll, tuba, and Craig Schiller, drums, with Chris Grotewohl on banjo and Pat Courtemanche and Ryan Mohr on guitars. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

17

Greg Herrick is pleasantly surprised by Edsel B. Ford II, as Ford presents him with the family's "Spirit ofFord" award for his work in recreating the National Air Tour. Greg's vision of the three-week long event as one that would educate the public was borne out at each stop as hundreds ofpeople (and in a couple places, even thousands!) came out to look at the vintage air­ planes on the tour.

The NAT planes line up for the first takeoff of the tour from Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Clark Seaborn and his Fokker Uni­ versal crew.

E-4000.

Clark Seaborn got a workout at each stop, hand cranking the inertia starter on the Pratt & Whitney mounted on the nose ofthe Fokker Super Universal.

At each stop, the crowds had to wait for just a while so that each aircraft could be serviced with fuel and oil. Then the crowds were allowed to min­ gle with the airplanes and aviators until it was time to leave.

to fly out and circle the Wright Brothers Memorial. Roughly half of our planes made that journey. I was the only pilot to travel clear from the West Coast, and circling Kill Devil Hills felt like reaching the top of Everest. Viewing damage to the Outer Banks that ranged from mild to unspeakable, however, made that flight bittersweet. Through the last four days back to Ypsilanti, the spirit of the tour changed for me. [ had reached my

furthest goal, if only overhead, and now [ was heading home. Even so, on landing back at Willow Run, the rush of accomplishment overwhelmed me as nearly a dozen of my fellow pilots shook my hand before I could even climb from my cockpit. In the 18 days we spent together, our group of 80 pilots, mechanics, and volunteers grew from "you" and "me" and "them" to "WE." We caIne from Washington and Maine, Geor­ gia, and Minnesota and everywhere

Ted Davis Flies NAT 27, a Travel Air

Travel Air NAT 2, flown by John Coussens.

Is this guy having fun or what? Dick Jackson cruises along in the Sikorsky S­ 39 that took him and his wife, Patsy, as well as an army of friends and volun­ teers, over 40 years to restore. the furthest east we could travel where hotels were available and elec­ tricity was still on. Even though a TFR over Kitty Hawk had been can­ celed, the airstrips at both Kill Devil Hills and nearby Manteo were closed to non-emergency traffic. Although landing was out of the question, lo­ cal authorities blessed our proposal 18

JANUARY 2004

The Lock family's pair ofNew Standards rest for a moment before start­ ing the day's labors. Both big biplanes hopped rides at the tour stops, often arriving ahead ofthe tour and stimulating interest in the event.

Ted Beckwith and his wife Bev flew what would be known as the small­ est airplane on the tour, their newly restored Great Lakes 2T-1A .

The grand Champion Antique of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2003 was on the tour. Here's Ben Scott and his spectacular Stearman 4E Speedmail.

A pair of 1928 monoplanes. Hank Galpin in his Travel Air 6000 flies off the right wing of the Aviation History Founda­ tion's Fairchild FC-2W2.

A pair of Tri-Motors, a Stin­ son 6000-B, and the Skyways Ford pass in review paying their respects to the Wright brothers as they pass by the granite monument at Kill Devil Hills, North Car­ olina, only days after Hurricane Isabel slashed through the Outer Banks.

Before being permanently retired, the FAA's DC-3, N34, participated in the tour. Used to check airway beacons and instrument approach systems, N34 was once a common sight.

The largest formation oftrimotors in many years pays their respects to Meigs Field, even as the bulldozers tear it up below.

The reproduction of the "Spirit of We­ natchee," the 1929 Bellanca Skyrocket built by EAA Chapter 424, was on the tour. Unfor­ tunately, the left main gear folded during some gusty crosswinds, so the Bellanca had to be trucked home to Washington state for re­ pairs. We wish them well, and if you'd like to know more about this adventurous project, log on to www.spiritofwenatchee.org.

Waldo Anderson shep­ herds Thomas Schrade's Sikorsky S-38 around the midwestern skies of southern Michigan.

Kim Sailor was one of the pilots and during the overnight stop at Lansing, Illinois, she was privileged to wear a dress designed by Amelia Earhart, nor­ mally displayed at the Amelia Earhart Birth­ place Museum in Atchison, Kansas. Join­ ing Kim at the tour stop was her fian ce, Tom Williamson.

The sight ofan­ other Sikorsky Amphibion off the wingtip was enough to put goose bumps on anyone. Dick and Patsy Jackson's Sikorsky S-39 is fram ed by the tail of the S-38 "Spirit ofOsa."

Clay Adams, Travel Air pilot. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

19

NAT Diary

byH.G. Frautschy

Echoing John's comments, joining the

flew by at 500 feet. The group of Friends of

National Air Tour, if only for a few days,

Meigs Field supporters and their banner

was the chance of a lifetime. I jumped at

held high were clearly visible, and I'm sure

the opportunity to hop in the second

all of us felt the same frustration at the

Sikorsky 5-38 built by the late Buzz Ka­

ability of one man to destroy such a valu­

plan's company, Born Again Restorations.

able asset to the city of Chicago. We had all

Owned by Buzz's partner in the project,

looked forward to landing at that great

Thomas Schrade of Las Vegas, the plane

field, but Mayor Daley's destruction of

was being flown on the first portion of the

Meigs made that impossible.

tour by the amiable Waldo Anderson. We

It was an extraordinarily hazy day as we

waddled down the taxiway past a beam­

flew north, and as I flew loose formation

ing pair of starters, Greg Herrick and the

with the 5-38 along the lakeshore, there

flag-waving Edsel Ford. Ford clearly en­

was no discernable horizon unless you

joyed his immersion in vintage aviation, if

looked inland. Both Dick and I were mes­

only for the morning.

merized by the same vision, as we could

Over 20 years ago, I spent the very start

see only the 5-38 framed in the windshield

of my professional career at Sikorsky Air­

frame and struts. No lake, no shore, just

craft and had a black and white photograph

the haze tapering up to a bit of blue the fur­

of the Sikorsky 5-40 Pan American Am­

ther up you looked. The engine noise

phibion hanging by my desk. Never in my

seemed to be far in the background, and

wildest imaginings would I have believed

the two Amphibions were just suspended in

we'd be seeing its two predecessors in the

midair. It felt eerie. It truly was an amazing

air together, let alone me flying one, and

sight, one that none of us will forget.

then later the other. Flying magazine

The next day's leg to Wausau, Wiscon­

columnist Lane Wallace and I traded the

sin, was with Ted Davis in John Coussens'

right seat of the 5-38, and we both mar­

Travel Air, which gave me a great opportu­

veled at the airplane's capabilities. With its

nity to look at a number of the other ships

hull suspended below the wing, and the

in the NAT flight. The lunch in Wausau,

twin outrigger booms stretching back to

hosted by the Chamber of Commerce (in­

the twin fins, it seemed that the parts were

cluding VAA member Madonna McMahon)

flying in formation with the hull! Even more

was wonderful. Wausau was an original

amazing was looking out the window and

stop in 1928, and the home field of the

seeing Dick Jackson's incredible Sikorsky

winner of that year's tour, John P. Wood.

5-39 restoration flying in formation. The

Again, the people who turned out were fas­

two Sikorskys were paired from the start

cinated with the visit, and wanted to know

until the 5-38 had to leave the tour be­

as many details as we could relate about

cause of a commitment to fly the airplane

each aircraft. Greg Herrick's vision for the

for a movie (it served as a stand-in for

tour was vindicated each time we educated the public about these grand airplanes.

Howard Hughes' 5-43). It seemed every direction you looked,

Far too soon I, joined by my two chil­

there was one of the tour's airplanes within

dren, Alden and Jenny, headed home in

sight, and at each stop, there were times when it was hard to get away from the air­

to take a day off of school and fly to

plane for a few necessary moments, as the

Wausau in the 5-38, including time spent

groups of enthusiastic visitors would crowd

standing up in the open hatch in the aft

EAA's Ford Tri-Motor. They had been able

around and pepper you with questions.

part of the cabin, enjoying the wind blast

What fun!

and the spectacular view. Before we de­

H it was possible, the next day was just

parted, we watched the tour flyaway,

as incredible. I flew with Dick and Patsy

raising great clouds of dust as the aircraft

Jackson in their 5-39 from Lansing, Illinois,

roared off (well, some just purr instead of

to Milwaukee, via the Lake Michigan shore­

roar) towards Minneapolis. At the risk of

line. Certainly the saddest segment of that

making Greg and the NAT staff apoplectic,

leg was flying by the site of Meigs Field,

I have to ask:

which they were actually bulldozing as we 20

JANUARY 2004

"Can we do it again?"

Even the spectators got in on the fun! Ruth Coulson dressed up in period garb for the tour's stop in Kalamazoo, Michi­ gan. Ruth and her husband, Phil, later joined the tour with the Waldo's Flying Service New Standards, which flew the tour and hopped rides at each stop. in between. We were doctors, lawyers, engineers, airline pilots, and contractors. Our camaraderie grew not from our occupations or hometowns, but rather from the common love of antique aircraft that made us willing to give nearly a month of our lives in order to fly the tour. Nearly all of us made it back to where we'd started, success­ fully traveling over 4 ,000 miles across 21 states, and we did it all to­ gether. Yet suddenly it was over. Leaving Willow Run after th e tour, the sky was strangely void of friends surrounding me. For the first time in my life, flying felt odd and empty and sad; the lump in my throat stayed with me clear into Iowa as I mourned the end of such a grand adventure. The next day, though, off by my­ self in the middle of Iowa, I smiled. I thought back to gaggles of biplanes around me, to flying formation with the New Standards, to framing two Sikorskys between my struts as we crossed the Chicago skyline .... Greg Herrick, along with thousands of peo­ ple across the country, I want to thank you for dreaming so big. You were right: flying the National Air Tour truly was the chance of a lifetime. P.S. If you missed the tour, check www.nationalairtour.org and read the e-mail updates! You'll get to share the tour as it happened! ......

Don Pellegrino's original 1936 Rose Parakeet A-1. It is powered by a Continental C-90. Don flew 260 cold miles from Rhome, Texas.

Bill Byars of Okmulgee flew his rare Luscombe T8F to Bartlesville. It's powered by a Lycoming 0235 of 135 hp.

THE 47TH ANNUAL TULSA REGIONAL FLY-IN

September 19-20, 2003, Bartlesville, Oklahoma CHARLES W. HARRIS, SR. CO-CHAIRMAN could not have been better if one had set out to write the perfect script and then implemented that mythical, impossibly perfect plan. The weather was beyond belief.. .simply be­ yond the ability to conceive; absolutely sheer clear cloudless skies in virtually total calm, overlooking manicured acres of thick grass parking; two incomparable Oklahoma Indian summer 60- to 75-degree days, back to back; what could more perfectly set the stage for the Tulsa EAA Chapters to host the 47th Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In. A turnout of 323 grand grass-roots airplanes came from near and far. The variety was seemingly infinite! How is it possible to park a 1929 OX-5 Command-Aire bathtub cockpit biplane next to the most beautiful, highly pol­ ished 1938 Spartan 7W; which is parked next to an Executive parked next to a Grand Champion level 1936 SR-8C Gull Wing Stinson, which is, in turn, parked next to an equally spectacular 1937 SR-9E Gullwing, which is in turn parked next to a pristine and rare 1931 Davis D1­ W? These beauties were placed on the west perimeter of the Frank Phillips Field Ramp as Jim Younkin's stark white DGA-6 Mulligan and u.S. Senator Jim Inhofe's brand­ spanking new RV-8, sporting the insignia of the U.S.

Senate, occupied the front and center space. On the south side of the ramp parked right in the middle of all this fin­ ery was Steve Patterson's gorgeous 1979 Aero L-39C Czech-Russian jet trainer whose camouflage paint had been polished to a high-gloss sheen. That's the way the ramp was parked, if you don't count the two glistening T­ 6s that were parked just west of Mulligan, or the C)-6 and the Yak 52 parked just behind the T-6s. The T-6s and the CJ-6 and Yak had arrived in the closest of practiced forma­ tion, further exciting the several thousand aviation fans on the field admiring the show airplanes. But the showcase ramp airplanes were just the tip of the iceberg. While we had a few airplanes on Thursday the 18th, Friday the 19th saw a healthy number arrive and by Friday evening, we had nearly 100 aircraft in and grouped into their respective categories. The body of the iceberg came into full view on Saturday as the airplanes began to arrive in big numbers even before 8:00 a.m. The enjoyable and pleasantly cool 60-degree temps and crystal clear skies coupled with near total calm brought the airplanes into Frank Phillips Field like flies to a mid-summer outdoor picnic table. And come they did, seemingly every make and model that one can imagine-from Art and Betsy

Ken Clark of Tulsa shows us his rare 145-hp Wamer­ powered Fleet 1.

Ken and Lorraine Morris arrive from Poplar Grove, flli­ nois, in their championship-level Spartan Executive.

U

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

21

Knowles' rare bathtub cockpit­ brings the great music of the Big 47th Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In configured 1929 Command-Aire Band Era as background to the Balloted Grand Champions open biplane to Tom Gutmann's Grand Champion, Antique fly-in activities when Bill is not two brand new, fresh out of the 1938 Spartan 7W Executive , NC 17616 live on the microphone. box, European-import super slick Bill kept everyone alerted to Ken & Lorraine Morri s , Poplar Grove , IL composite 12S-hp CT2Ks, two of Grand Champion, Classic the high-profile arrivals, both as only three in the entire United to the personalities and airplanes. 1953 Piper PA 20 Pacer States. And they were all at There aren't many fly-ins that Frank Sperandeo, Fayetteville, AR have the great fortune of an­ Bartlesville! The display of fine Grand Champion, Contemporary nouncing arrivals such as Ken show planes was impressive. 1967 Grumman Widgeon, N 4453 and Lorraine Morris in their 7W While we do not have a hard Mark Trimble, Holl ister, MO Spartan, or Jim Younkin in his count on all affinity type air­ Grand Champion, Experimental fabulous DGA-6 Mulligan, or Art planes, we know we had 16 1961 Corben Baby Ace, N 385T and Betsy Knowles in their OX-S Luscombes, 14 Short Wing Pipers, Jim Eck, Ponca City, OK powered Command-Aire biplane, 13 Cubs, four or five Swifts, etc. Grand Champion, UltralightlSport Aircraft or, of all things in landlocked There was a batch of RVs, I would 1998 Team Air Bike , NX 61453 northeastern Oklahoma, Mark guess 12-1S, bu t we d idn't get a Pau l Fiebich , Derby, KS Trimble in his flaming red twin good count or a good count on Grand Champion, Warbinl 300-hp Lycoming radial-powered the 120/140s, 170s, 19Ss, but 1943 Fairchild M-62A, PT-19, N 54712 Grumman Widgeon amphibian! there were a goodly number of Alan Brakefield, Goldsby, OK And there are even fewer fly­ each group. Obviously, when 323 Chainnan's Choice ins that can announce forum airplanes attend, there was a lot of 1943 Howard DGA-15P N 9599H everything on hand. schedules, especially forums Joe Dudley, Allen , OK, & Don Sharp, There are few, if any, fly-ins that include the chief of the en­ Pauls Valley, OK that keep their guests, patrons, tire FAA medical section, Dr. and staff as well-informed like the newcomers who might not know the Warren Silberman, who is t he best thing tha t has happened to civil annual Tulsa classic does. The pub­ history of sport aviation, its people, lic address system is up and its airplanes, and its lore . Bill pro­ aviation regulatory medical matters. operating early on so Bill Hare can vides the fly-in patrons with a He is a champion and without ques­ keep everyone informed on impor­ constant array of up to the moment tion, the best the FAA has ever had. tant happenings. Bill's vast reservoir information to assist the guests in The forums included sessions on current during the show. It is the already mentioned FAA medical staying of aeronautical knowledge is a golden matters, aviation oils and lubricants, resource to all, but most especially to this same sound system that also

John Smith of Greensboro, Georgia, flew his 210-hp custom Swift 760 miles to Bartlesville.

Terry Wallace ofBedford, Texas, owns this extremely rare 1931 Davis D1-W It is powered by a 125-hp Warner.

A pair of fire-breathing 300-hp Ly­ comings powered Mark Trimble's fire red 1967 Grumman Widgeon. It was the Contemporary Grand Champion.

There are few custom Stearmans as fine as Ruth and Dwight Hill's 450-hp 1942 Boeing Model 75. The Hills are from McPherson, Kansas.

Jerry Chappell ofPlains, Kansas, has re-powered his 1950 Cessna 190 with a 360-hp Russian radial en­ gine. It goes!

Joe Dudley ofAllen, Oklahoma, parks his 1943 Howard DGA -15P. It was the fly-in's Chairman's Choice award winner.

22

JANUARY 2004

Cessna 120/140s, Cessna 170s, Cessna 195s, the Luscombe 8 series, Swifts, Cubs, short-wing Pipers, Mooney Mites and Culvers, experi­ mental autopilots, the RV series of experimental airplanes, ultralights, and light-sport aircraft, as well as a forum on Getting Your Experimental Certificated. The big Phillips hangar south of the FBO office was filled with people all day Saturday buying things of in­ terest to airplane people. In this area we owe FBO David Harding a huge vote of thanks for the use of the hangar and the great Phillips avgas discounted to $1.99/gallon. And, speaking of Phillips 66, we were pleasantly and singularly hon­ ored on Saturday morning by the visit to the busy ramp by newly ap­ pOinted Phillips Aviation Manager Steven McCullough, his lovely wife, and their two children. They are new residents of Bartlesville and we were thrilled to have them out on the ramp to enjoy the wonderful Okla­ homa weather, the people, and of course the airplanes. We showed Steve the Ken and Lorraine Morris perfectly polished 1938 Spartan Ex­ ecutive, which Steve had trouble believing was manufactured long be­ fore he was born! Please, everyone, remember Phillips is EAA's invalu­ able partner in fuel support for the Young Eagles program. Can you be­ lieve it has been 10 years since we initiated this Phillips 66-Young Ea­ gles Fuel program for EAA? Then Aviation Manager Jack Hammond was very gracious and warmly recep­ tive to our efforts. Later Aviation Managers Jill Bogan and Mark Wag­ ner were highly supportive of the world of sport aviation. Steven Mc­ Collough represents a whole new fresh and inspired generation for Conoco Phillips Aviation Sales and will do extremely well; he is in­ volved! And, Allen Bretz, director, General Aviation Sales, has been there all the way! Thank you Phillips 66! What a huge support program this has been to now over 1,000,000 Young Eagles flights! By mid-afternoon, the forums had

concluded and some of the airplanes, which had been parked all the way from the FBO ramp south to the ter­ minal building ramp, began to depart; we counted the ballots and determined our winners. We held the awards dinner in the large lion the field" tent; the food was excellent, the band and vocalists outstanding, and the award winners very deserving. The 47th Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In had come to a conclusion. It was a picture perfect fly-in under ab­ solutely ideal conditions in a superb location. This is one show we don't have to take on the road six weeks to get right! The 47th was in the finest tradi­ tion of all of its predecessors. The planning and organizing committee is already at work on the 48th, sched­ uled for Bartlesville on September 17 and 18, 2004; hold your breath! Our deepest thanks to the 200­ plus volunteers whose unreserved talent, dedication, and passion for airplanes and airplane people made ...... this happen. Thanks!

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Steve McGuire's Mooney Mite is all dressed up in RAF garb, including a fun set of radio call letters. Steve flew combat patrol over the fly-in to ensure its safety. He's from Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Allen Brakefield, a fly-in regular from Goldsby, Oklahoma, was honored when his PT-19 was named "Best Warbird./I VINTAGE AIRPLANE

23

GPS glitches

between the ears

DOUG STEWART "Cleared for takeoff, left turn on course approved," the tower instructed me. Looking to the right to ensure that no one was on final (never trust any­ one ... not even the tower controller), I taxied onto the runway. I applied full power, and as the rudder gained re­ sponsiveness I lifted the tail. Shortly thereafter the mains left the runway, and I was on my way back home after dropping my son off to return to school after a weekend home. Observing local noise abatement procedures, I climbed through 1,000 feet MSL before turning left on course. This route was be­ coming quite familiar to me, now that my son was attending school on the other side of the state from where we lived. I was getting to know all the landmarks that defined the route like the back of my hand. It wasn't a long trip, just less than 100 miles by 1 mile, but it always took a lot longer go­ ing back home into the westerly winds. Back when I used to fly the Mirage for my boss to this same airport, the trip home usually took a little under half an hour. In my Super Cruiser it was more like an hour and a half trip. Thus I was somewhat shocked when my GPS said the ETE (estimated time en route) was more than 12 hours. I also noted that the CD! (course deviation indicator) was starting to drift off to the right, yet looking out the win­ dow showed that I was right on course, directly over the highway intersection that lay under the course line on my chart. I checked the bearing to fly, and the GPS said 300 degrees. Hmm ... I thought my memory was starting to go ... (those of you that know me, no comments!) . .. Wasn't the course home a little west of that? More like 286 degrees? While I was looking at the "distance remaining" on the GPS the dawn of recognition started to light up in my brain as the sun started to settle to the horizon out in front of me. The GPS said I had 743 nautical miles to go until I would be landing. As I mentioned earlier the distance from KOWD to KGBR is only 99 nautical miles. The next data field to check on the GPS was the waypoint field. Sure

Thus I was somewhat shocked when my GPS said the ETE (estimated time en route) was more than 12 hours.

24

JANUARY 2004

enough, there was the problem. In­ stead of saying KGBR (Great Barrington, Massachusetts) it said KGRB (Green Bay, Wisconsin). Apparently a little bit of dyslexia had crept in as I programmed my GPS for the flight home. And for those of you who might ask "Were you in a hurry when you programmed the GPS?" the answer would have to be in the affirmative. Had I not been familiar with the route I might not have noticed the problem as quickly, and might have found myself well off course, and perhaps even violating some airspace. Herein lies one of the traps of GPS usage ... and there are many traps. Whether because of haste, dyslexia, or a myr­ iad of other reasons it is quite easy to incorrectly enter a waypoint into our GPS. If we do not have a chart with a course line drawn on it, and if we have not plotted our true course and converted it to a magnetic course, we might find ourselves rivaling Mr. Corrigan for "wrong way" honors. Now, although I was in some rather congested airspace underlying the Boston Class B area, I would have to keep my eyes in the cockpit while I reprogrammed the "direct to" waypoint in my GPS. Fortunately I am rather intimately familiar with the use of my GPS, and this would not take long to do, but it would have my eyes inside the cockpit for longer than I like when flying in busy airspace. This is another problem that GPS can create. The prob­ lem of too much "heads down" time. Even when a pilot is familiar and conversant with the operation of a GPS, the time it takes to program and edit the GPS takes away from time when our eyes should be looking out the window for that embedded aluminum. And if the unit is new to you, it

is all too easy to hit the wrong button and become totally "lost" as you try to get back to the screen you were origi­ nally viewing. (For those who know what buttons to push, it's also very easy to hit the wrong one when the turbulence starts to kick up.) Another problem that GPS has created is that of more frequent airspace incursion. Wait, you say, doesn't GPS give us much better situational awareness? Indeed it does. But if we blindly accept what the GPS says without backing that up with a chart, and if we are using a less expensive unit without a moving map, or have our moving map scaled down to a small scale (to give better clarity to the map), we might not see that we are about to (or perhaps already have) bust some airspace. Believe me, it is happening all too often. At the seminars I give on GPS usage I like to ask the au­ dience the following questions. Please answer for yourself, as well. 1. How many of you have a handheld or panel-mounted GPS? Many hands usually go up for this one. 2. How many of you know how to program a "direct­ to" waypoint? Usually the same number of hands is held high. 3. How many of you know how to program a route on your GPS? For this question the number of hands held up is reduced by typically 50 percent to 75 percent. 4. And how many of you who know how to program a route also know how to edit the route? At this point there are usually only a few hands being held up. I would like to say that if you cannot answer the last question in the affir­ mative, you still have a great deal to learn about your GPS. I would like to offer a few tips for better, and safer, use of GPS navigation systems. If the unit is new to you, take it home and learn how to use it in the "simulator" mode in the comfort and safety of your favorite easy chair. In the cockpit, in flight, is not the time to be learning how to use your GPS! If using a handheld unit, program your route be­ fore engine start. (In the winter it might be better to program after engine start, but before taxiing, while the en­ gine warms up.) Whether you have a handheld or panel-mounted GPS, do not attempt to program your GPS while you are taxiing. Too many runway incursions have happened as a result of this, and taxi collisions have oc­ curred when a pilot busy programming a GPS fails to see the aircraft in front has stopped. Do not neglect to have current charts available and ac­ cessible in the cockpit, and use them. And last, but not least, if you are a VFR pilot, do not get fooled into flying in visibil­ ity conditions that would challenge you if you did not have the security of your GPS. Remember, batteries die, external power connections fail, and satellite reception can be lost. If you couldn't fly in the weather conditions with just a chart, a compass, and a watch, then you shouldn't be flying in those conditions with the GPS as your crutch. GPS is certainly becoming the navigation system of to­ day. Learning the proper and safe usage of this system will be one more way of making the transition from good pilot to great pilot! .......

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FLY-IN CALENDAR

ASO WA C 0

that's the airplane our paint job is designed to duplicate. At some point every airplane project approaches completion, which means it's time to start thinking about getting the airplane certified and registered . Sometimes that's as big a project as the airplane was. "We don't know how this project would have turned out if we hadn't had Richard Brandiger, a DAR, helping us work out way through the certification maze. He 's an ex-FAA employee and not only knew the system, but also was a never-ending source of how-to infor­ mation. At every turn he was telling us how we could do this thing, not how we couldn't do it. "By the time we got all our paper­ work in order we had gotten approvals for exactly twenty 337s, some of which you wouldn't think you'd need a 337 for. For instance, we used some Taperwing parts and de­ signs but had to 337 them because they weren't original to the ASO." "We don't know where to start thanking people, but the American Waco Club has to be right on the top of the list. They were amazing in not only the support of the project but in the in­ formation they freely gave us. "And then there's our friend Ron Hasz who is the go-to-guy for all things mechanical. He has a way of knowing everything about everything and was a real guiding hand on this project." When they got the airplane flying in the spring of 2003, they say it was everything they hoped it would be and more. "We're coming over the fence at least 20 miles per hour slower and visi­ bility is much better because the fuselage isn't barreled out like the Ta­ perwing is. I'm still nervous as a cat on landing, but nothing like it was with the other airplane. You'd think that just getting such a monstrous project finished would be excitement enough, but there was still a lot to come for the AlIens. "When Greg Herrick announced his plans for the Air Tour we thought 'Hey, we have an airplane with an Air II

:.....,;~~-~

..."'"¥

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter of information only and does 1I0t con­ stitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, control or direction of any event (fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. To submit an event, please log on to www.eaa.org/evenrs/events. asp. Only if Internet ac­ cess is unavailable should you send the information via mail to :, AU: Vintage Airplan e, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. infomJation should be received four months prior to the event date.

June 16-19, 2004-Lock Haven, Pa­ 19th Annual Sentimental Journey to Cub Haven 2004. Fly-in, drive­ in, camp. Info: 570-893-4200 or

j2cub@kenet.oTg July 27-August 2, 2004-EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (KOSH) . www.airventuTe.oTg

JUNE 18-20

Golden West EAA Regional FJy-Jn

Marysville, CA (MYV)

www.goldenwestflyin.org

JUNE 26--27 Rocky Mountain EM Regional Fly-In Longmont, CO (2V2) www.rmrfi.org

JULY 7·11

Northwest EM Fly-In

Arlington, WA (AWO)

www.nweaa.org

JULY 27·AUGUST 2

EM AirVenture Oshkosh

Oshkosh, WI (OSH)

www.airventure.org

AUGUST 27·29

Mid-Eastern EM Fly-In

Marion, OH (MNN)

www.eaa.orgj communicationsj eaanewsj 030S22_merfi.html

SEPTEMBER 18-19

Virginia State EAA Fly-In

Petersburg, VA (PTS)

www.vaeaa.org

OCTOBER 1·3

Southeast EM Regional Fly-In

Evergreen, AL (GZH)

www.serfi.org

OCTOBER 7-10

Copperstate EM Regional Fly-In

Phoenix, AZ (A39)

www.copperstate.org 26

JANUARY 2004

continued from page 15

II

Tour paint job and we'd love to be in something like that.' But, we didn't re­ ally have any contacts or know anyone who could vouch for us and get us included. So, we just called Greg cold and told him what we had and that we'd like to come along. Just like that, he said, yes. "We're literally on cloud nine. First, the airplane is exactly what we want but the Air Tour puts us in contact with some really heavy hitters and we have to pinch ourselves, it's so unbelievable./I Was the humungous project worth all the effort? To hear Dave talk about it, it was. "Every so often I'll be on short final and I'll hear a little voice in the back of my head say, 'Hey, you did it. You're flying your own Waco,' and I have to tell you it just doesn't get any better than that." If you spend long enough with Dave and Jeanne for their euphoric grins to soften enough to allow them to philosophize, you'll find that be­ neath it all, they think their big blue Waco is carrying a message. "None of us are getting any younger and on top of that the number of fly­ able, or even restorable, antiques are getting harder to come by, and they're definitely not getting cheaper. A lot of folks are getting priced out of the game. We don't see any younger folks coming into our part of the aviation commu­ nity and that shouldn't be . If we , a husband and wife, can do it, others can too. We did it the hard way, but I hope others can see that there's a way you can get in to big antiques without hav­ ing to spend a fortune . You'll spend a small fortune maybe, but not a big one. We've proven that. We wanted a big bi­ plane, couldn't afford it, but found a way to do it. "On seeing our airplane, so many people say"... gee I wish I could, but I can't ... " and the way I see it, if you say you can't, you can't. But, believe me, if we can, anyone can . If there is one thing I hope people take away from visiting with our airplane, and us, it is that it can be done. Simple as that. Nicely said. ........

II

~a 路

.

:.;;

TM

NEW MEMBERS

Dave Miller .... . . .. . ..... . . Comox, BC, Canada

Ian Sutcliffe ............ Unionville, ON, Canada

Allessandro Spiritelli ........... San Giorgio, Italy

Michael K. Armstrong ............. Fairbanks, AK

Laurence R. Hunt .. . ......... . .. .. .. Lillian, AL

Mark Nowell .... . ......... .. . .... .. Ozark, AL

Ralph A. Baxter . .... .. .. .. . Rolling Hills Esta, CA

Dean C. Frost ..................... Phelan, CA

Bruce McLemen ... .. . ... . .. ..... Camarillo, CA

Larry Rose ..... . .. . ..... ....... Bakersfield, CA

Jack H. Wismeyer ................. Montara, CA

Charley William Zurian ... . . ..... . Ca marillo, CA

Joshua Burger ............. . ..... Lafayette, CO

Robert E. Lackey .... . .. . . ... .. . .... Aurora, CO

Peter Ludke ..................... Durango, CO

Jim Shuey . . ...... . .. .. ... .. . . ... .. Parker, CO

Benjamin Carpenter ............. Pawcatuck, CT

Salvador Sanlley .......... . .. .. ..... Miami, FL

Charles H. Silcox .. . .. . .. . .. . .... Clearwater, FL

William D. Bracewell ................ Rentz, GA

Patrick Godbey . . .. . .. . .. . . St Simons Island, GA

Coy L. Goff ....... . ............. Pinehurst, GA

Victor Roberts .. . . .. ........... . . . Roswell, GA

Brad Wilkinson . ....... ........ . Savannah, GA

William R. Gross ........ . .. . . .. . . Clear Lake, IA

Charles Pottenger . .. . ........ . .... Lewiston, ID

Robert A. Kuhns . . . ...... ...... . . .. Geneseo, IL

Warren D. Myers ............... Bolingbrook, IL

Steven D. Peters ..... . .. . ..... Columbia City, IN

Mark Strasser ........................ . Leo, IN

Marion Holmes ......... ..... .. . River Ridge, LA

William Johnson . .. .............. Littleton, MA

Jeffrey R. Melzack .............. ... Walpole, MA

John Mici ..... .... .. . .. . .. .. .... Bedford, MA

John A. Pardee .................. Westboro, MA

Th omas W. Guthrie ............... Worton, MD

Winston T. Mann ............. Adamstown, MD

Gerry Bryce ........... . .. ..... Shelby Twp., MI

Michael J. Mauer ........... . .. . ... Davison, MI

Bernard T. Strong . .. . .......... Traverse City, MI

Ross O. Warner .............. Benton Harbor, MI

Donald M. Larson . ........... . Zimmerman, MN

Steve Undis . . . . ... . ....... .. . . .. Excelsior, MN

Robert Sneberger . .. ......... ... .. Alberton, MT

John S. Thomas . . .......... . .... Pinehurst, NC

Jack Meyer ........................ Dover, NH

Jon T. Daffer ................. AJbuquerque, NM

William Jakobleff . .. .... . ..... . ... Ashland, NY

Jeff Morrow .............. . . Mount Vernon, NY

Robert S. Storms ............. .. .. Rochester, NY

Dylan Sujet .................. .. . . Clinton, NY

Steve Garcia ..... .... .. .. ... . .. Columbus, OH

Daniel Mapp ................ .. ... Dayton, OH

Peter Petersen, IV ......... . .... Chesterland, OH

Jim Black ..... ........ .. .. .... Bartlesville, OK

Darrell Lynch ...... ............... Lawton, OK

Ron Coffman ... .. .. . ...... . . Central Point, OR

James R. Ott .. .. . ... ... ... .. ....... .. Bath, PA

Steve D. Lewis . . . ............ . Elizabethton, TN

John C. Parker . . ...... . ... .. ...... Hixson, TN

James Allison ...................... Marfa, TX

Bobby Coyle ............. .. .. .... ... Rice, TX

Aaron C. Cummins . .. ...... . . ... . Midland, TX

Mark E. Eaton ................... Seabrook, TX

Chris Freeland . .. ......... ..... .... . Early, TX

Louis W. Hastings ............ ... ... Boerne, TX

David W. Mason . .................. Reklaw, TX

Van Rippstein .. ..... . ... ... . New Braunfels, TX

Jack Smith ........ .. ... .. . ..... . Big Sandy, TX

Tim O. Snow ..... .......... .. .. Huntsville, TX

Robert W. Walters MD ........ . . San Antonio, TX

Tracy A. Ake . ... .. ... .......... Centerville, VA

John J. Ziegler ................ Williamsburg, VA

Cuteill Young ........ .... ...... . St. Thomas, VI

George C. Wright, Jr.. ... ... . ......... Derby, VT

Wil Byers .................. West Richland, WA

Scott Holland .................... Graham, WA

John Ireton ...... . .. ........... Anacortes, WA

Jim S. Moss ................... .. . Buckley, WA

Gregory J. Books .......... .. ... .... . Omro, WI

Ryan Books . . ............... . ... .. . Omro, WI

Sarah J. Books .... ... .... .. .. ....... Omro, WI

David j. Courtney.... .. .... ....... Hartford, WI

Tye Hammerle ... .. ... .. .. .... .. . Kenosha, WI

Mark Alan Heusdens.. ... . ..... . . . Rochester, WI

Joe McNally . . ................... Janesville, WI

William G . Tuchscherer .... ........ Oshkosh, WI

Ken Whyte ... . ............ ... .. Brookfield, WI

David J. Humphreys ........ Shepherdstown, WV

Michael Lakin ................ . Charleston, WV

Joe Hutchison ........ .. ... ....... APO, AE, US

~ VINTAGE AIRPLANE

27

VINTAGE

TRADER

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TAKE SOME OF THE EXPERIMENTING

OUT OF HOMEBUILDING

Feb 6-8

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Feb 20-22 Feb 21-22

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Feb 27-29

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March 6-7

Dallas, TX

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Composite Construction 8ectrical Systems, Wiring, & Avionics Fabric Covering • Sheet Metal Basics Introduction to Aircraft Building • Gas Welding

Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum , with boldface lead -in on first line. Classified Display Ads : One column wide (2 .167 inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black and white only, and no fre­ quency discounts. Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to desired issue date (i.e., January 10 is the closing date for the March issue). VM re­ serves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion per is­ sue. Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must accompany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (clas­ satis@eaa.org) using credit card payment (all cards accepted). Include name on card, complete ad­ dress, type of card , card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EM. Address ad­ vertising correspondence to EM Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 BABBITT BEARING SERVICE - rod bearings, main bearings, bushings, master rods, valves, piston rings. Call us Toll Free 1/800/233-6934, e-mail ramremfg@aof.com Website www.ramengine.com VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS , N. 604 FREYA ST., SPOKANE, WA 99202. Airplane T-Shirts

150 Different Airplanes Available

WE PROBABLY HAVE YOUR AIRPLANE!

www.airplanetshirts.com 1-800-645-7739 THERE'S JUST NOTHING LIKE IT

ONTHEWEBI!

www.aviation-giftshop.com A Website With The Pilot In Mind (and those who love airplanes) Warner engines. Two 165s, one fresh O.H., one low time on Fairchild 24 mount with all accessories. Also a fresh O.H. 145, 1938 Fleet 1OF, Helton Lark, and Aeronca C-3. Find my name and address in the Officers and Directors listing and call evenings. E. E. "Buck" Hilbert. Flying wires available. 1994 pricing. Visit www.f/yingwires.com or call 800-517-9278. For Sale - 1939 Spartan Executive, 3500TT, 10 SMOH. 214-354-6418. 1942 AERONCA L3B: AWARD WINNING AN­ TIQUE WARBIRD TAILDRAGGER. METICULOUSLY RESTORED. RECENT RECOVER. TSMOH 146.63. $35,000. 860­

455-9929

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746 YOU CAN BUILD IT! LET EAA TEACH YOU HOW. 28

JANUARY 2004

FOR SALE: 1941 AERONCA CHIEF. 1398 nAF, 115 SMOH, CONT. A65-8, SUPERIOR AIR PARTS MILLENNIUM CYLINDERS, SENSENICH WOOD PROp, scon 2000 TAILWHEEL, SHIELDED IGNITION, TANIS ENGINE HEATER, SLICK MAGS, AMERI-KING ELT, W/AERO M2000 SKIS. $25,000. 715-362-4732

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Directory'­

~

EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

OFFICERS President Espie ' Butch' Joyce 704 . Regional Rd. Greensboro, NC 27425 336-668·3650 windsock@aoLcom

Vice-Preside nt George Daubner 2448 Lough Lane

Hartford, WI 53027

262-673·5885 vaaflyboy@msn.com

Secretary

Treasurer Charles W. Harris 7215 East 46th St. Tulsa, OK 74147 918·622·8400

Steve Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Lea, MN 56007 507·373·1674

stnes@deskmedia.com

cwh@hvsu.com

DIRECTORS Steve Bender 85 Brush Hill Road Sherborn, MA 01770 508·653·7557

sstlO@comcast.net

Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hills Dr. Indianapolis, IN 46278 317·293·4430 dalefaye@msn.com

David Bennett P.O. Box 1188 Roseville, CA 95678 916-645-8370 antlqueI@inreach.com

jeannle Hill P.O. Box 328 Harvard, IL 60033'()328 815·943·7205

dinghao@owc.net

john Berendt 7645 Echo POint Rd. Cannon Falls, MN 55009 507·263·2414 fchld@rronnect.com

Steve Krog

1002 Heather Ln.

Hartford, WI 53027

262-966-7627

sskrog@ao\.com

Robert C. "Bob" Brauer

9345 S. Hoyne Chicago, II. 60620 773·779·2105 photopilot@aol.com

Robert D. "Bob" Lumley 1265 South 124th St. Brookfield, WI 53005 262·782-2633 lumper@execpc.com

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

Gene Morris

5936 Steve Court

Roanoke, TX 76262

817·491·9110

n03capt@flash.net

john S. Copelaod Northborough, MA 01532 508·393·4775 cope1andl@juno.com

Dean Richardson

1429 Kings Lynn Rd

Stoughton, WI 53589

608·877·8485

dar@aprilalre.com

Phil Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr. Lawton, MI 49065 269·624·6490 IcouLson516@cs.com

Geoff Robison 1521 E. MacGregor Dr. New Haven, IN 46774 260·493·4724 chief7025@ao\.com

Roger GomoU 8891 Airport Rd, Box C2 Blaine, MN 55449 763-786-3342 pledgedrive@msncom

S.H. "Wes" Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue Wauwatosa, WI 53213 414-771·1545 shschmid@milwpc.com

lA Deacon Street

Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873 Web Site: http://www_eaa_org and http://www_airventure_org E-Mail: vintage @ eaa_org

EAA and Division Membership Services 800-843-3612 .. ........... FAX 920-426-6761 Monday-Friday (8:00 AM-7:00 PM • New/renew memberships: EAA, Divisions (Vintage Aircraft Association, lAC, Warbirds), National Association of Flight Instructors

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Programs and Activities EAA AirVenture Fax-On-Demand Directory ....................... . .... 732·885-6711 Auto Fuel STCs ...... ......... 920-426-4843 Build/ restore information ...... 920-426-4821 Chapters: locating/organizing . . 920-426-4876 Education . ............ ... ... 920-426-6815 • EAA Air Academy • EAA Scholarships

Gene Chase

2159 Carlton Rd. Oshkosh, WI 54904 920-231·5002 GRCHA@Charter.net

E.E. "Buck" Hilbert P.O. Box 424 Union, 11 60180 815·923·4591 buck7aC@mc.net

EAA Aviation Foundation Artifact Donations ........... 920-426-4877 Financial Support ........... . 800-236-1025

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

EAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associ­ ation, Inc. is $40 for one year, including 12 issues of SPORT AVlA110N. Family membership is available for an additional $10 annually. Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $23 annually. All major credit cards accepted for membership. (Add $16 for Foreign Postage.)

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Cu rrent EAA members may join the Vintage Aircraft Associaton and receive VINTAGE AIR · PlANE magazine for an additional $36 per year. EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE magaZine and one year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $46 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not in­ cluded). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage.)

lAC

DIRECTORS

EMERITUS

Flight Advisors information .... 920-426-6522 Flight Instructor information ... 920-426-6801 Flying Start Program .. . ....... 920-426-6847 Library Services/Research ...... 920-426-4848 Medical Questions .. ... .. . .. . . 920-426-4821 Technical Counselors .... .. .... 920-426-4821 Young Eagles ... ............. . 920-426-4831 Benefits AUA ...... .. .. . ............ 800-727·3823 EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan ... 866-647-4322 Term Life and Accidental ...... 800·241·6103 Death Insurance (Harvey Watt & Company) Editorial .. .................. 920-426-4825 .. ..... ..... ...... .. .... FAX 920-426-4828 • Submitting article/photo • Ad vertising information

Current EAA members may join the interna­ tional Aerobatic Club, Inc. Division and receive SPORT AEROBATICS magaZin e for an addi­ tional $45 per year. EAA Membership, SPORT AEROBATICS magaZine and one year membership in the lAC Divi sion is available for $55 per year (SPORT

AVIATION magaZine not included). (Add S15 for Foreign Postage.)

WARBIRDS Current EAA members may join the EAA War­ birds of America Division and receive WARBlRDS magazine for an additional $40 per year. EAA Membership, WARBIRDS magazine and one year membership in the Warbirds Divi­ sion is available for $50 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add S7 for Foreign Postage.)

EAA EXPERIMENTER Current EAA members may receive EAA EXPERIMENTER maga zi n e for an addi ­ tional $20 per year. EAA Membership and EAA EXPERIMENTER magazine is available for $30 per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not included). (Add S8 for Foreign Postage.)

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Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions.

Copyright ©2004 by the EM Vintage Aircraft Association All rights reserved. VINTAGE AIRPlANE (ISSN 0091-6943) IPM 40032445 is published and owned exclusively by the EM Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EM Aviation Center. 3000 Poberezny Rd.• P.O. Box 3086. Oshkosh. WlSCOOsin 54903-3086. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh. Wisconsin 54901 and at additiooal mailing offICeS. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EM Vintage Aircraft Association. P.O. Box 3086. Oshkosh. WI 54903-3086. Return Canadian issues to Station A. PO Box 54 . WindSQ(. ON N9A 6JS. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months fOf delive<y of VINTAGE AIRPlANE to foreign and APO addresses via SUlface mail. ADVERTlSING - Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee Of endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken. EDITORIAL POLICY: Readers are encouraged to subm~ stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility fOf accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributOf. No renumeration is made. Material should be sent to: Ed~Of. VINTAGE AIRPlANE. P.O. Box 3086. Oshkosh. WI 54903·3086. Phone 9201426-4800. EMe and SPORT AVIATION", the EM Logo" and Aeronautica~ are registered trademarks. trademarks. and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Inc. is strictly prohi b~ed . The EM AVIATION FOUNDATION Logo is a trademark of the EM Aviation Foundation. Inc. The use of this trademark without the permission of the EM Aviation Foundation. Inc. is strictly prohibited.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

29

Order Online:

http://shop.eaa.org

Forest Navy MA-1 Jacket Stay warm in this great looking jacket with the Vintage logo. This jacket has a bright orange lining and comes in youth and adult sizes

Adult md Adult 19 Adult xl Adult 2x

VlOl02 .. $42.95 Vl0l03 Vl0l04 Vl0l05

Youth sm Youth md Youth 19 Youth xl

Polo . . ... $21.95

This 100% cotton polo with a tone足 on-tone VAA logo is so versatile it can be worn for business casual or just plain fun.

Sm ............... .... Vl1442

Md ................... V07041

Lg .................. V07042

Xl ............ ... V07043

V00605 .. $38.95 V00606 V00607 V00608

Pilot Bear Bank .... $12.95 There is no doubt that this cute resin bear is an aviation buff. He sits approxi足 mately 6inches high holding his favorite toy.

Bank

V5l479

Black

.......... $39.95

This black pocket polo has a tan bird's-eye trim and the Vintage logo in tone-on-tone.

sm .... ..... .. . . ... ... Vl1438 md ................... V07044 19 ........ .... ....... V07045 xl .. ....... .......... V07046

Picture Frame Weather Vane . . V00711

$45.95

Beautifully crafted wooden frame in three sizes. 4x6 .. ... V01207 ..... $23.99 5x7 ..... V01220 ... . . $24.99 8xl0 .... . V01222 ..... $28.99

Traveler Print Bag . ....... $39.95

Take your essentials or throw together a days necessities into this 12x14 travel companion. Choose a vertical bag with cloth handles or a horizontal bag with black handles.

Bag . .......... V01168

Blue Trim Polo . ....... $39.95

Three-piece Baby Outfit ~ Set includes a soft t-shirt appliqued with an airplane, pants and hat. State color choice of blues or pinks.

6 month size . .... V03130 12 month size .... V03131

Butter cream in color with two blue stripes on the collar and sleeve edge, this polo is made of 100% combed cotton.

Sm . ................... V11437

Md . ................... V07027

19 ..... .. ............. V07028

Xl ...... . ............. V07029

John Reynolds Jonesville, WI

• Home bose: Poplor Grove, IL • Most notable flight: EAA Ford Trimotor Ground Schoo/, October 2000 • Presently working on glider rating

"The security of AUA insurance is priceless and the Safe Flying Discount on insurance rates can't be beat."

- John Reynolds

t

AUA is Vintage Aircraft Association approved. To become a member of VAA call 800·843·36 J2.

The best is affordable. Give AUA a call - it's FREE!

800-727-3823

Fly with the pros... fly with AUA Inc.

~~QualitYCheCked

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~ .( Manufacturer's 6-year / 75,OOO-mile powertrain limited warranty backed by Ford -( 115-point inspection -( 24-hour roadside assistance

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Manufacturer's 6-year /75,OOO-mile , powertrain limited warranty backed by Ford 115-point inspection 24-hour roadside assistance

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For a certified pre-owned dealer and special financing options, visit www.fordcpo.com or call 866-222-6798.