VA-Vol-32-No-3-March-2004

MARCH 2004

VOL. 32 , NO . 3

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VAA NEWS /H.G . Frautschy

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AEROMAIL

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JOHN MILLER RECALLS AN AIRCRAFT FOR THE MULTITUDES?/John M . M iller

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NAVIGATING WITH A HANDHELD NAV/COMM Evan McCombs

10 THE VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR A NEW SET OF SKILLS/ Doug Stewart

12 REUBEN FLEET'S AIRPLANE AS INTERPRETED BY TERRY BOLGER/Budd Davisson

16 THE CENTENNIAL OF FLIGHT HONORING THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE CENTURY H .G. Frautschy

22 PASS IT TO BUCK SKIPLANE FLY-IN / Buck Hilbert

25 MYSTERY PLANE/H.G. Frautschy 27

NEW MEMBERS

28 CLASSIFIED ADS 29 CALENDAR

Publisher Editor-in-Ch ief Executive Ed itor News Editor Photography Staff Advertising Coordinator Advertising Sales Advertisin g/ Ed itorial Assistant Copy Ed iting

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

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Executive Director, Editor VAA Admin istrative Assistant Con tributing Editors

HENRY G. FRAUTSCHY THERESA BOOKS BUDD DAVISSON DOUG STEWART JOHN MILLER

Front Cover: With a determined look on his face, Dr. Kevin Kochersberger does his best to lift EAA's 1903 Wright Flyer off the launching rail during the first flight attempt on December 17 , 2003. As witnessed by Edsel Ford II (left) and Erik Lindbergh, the Flyer just barely flew off the launching truck . The Wright Experience built the new Flyer to exactly reproduce the airplane built by the Wright Brothers, and so it's performance also paralleled the original-which meant at least 10-12 knots of headwind was needed to launch off a rail of limit足 ed length. Just as the airplane was released , the meager headwind fell off to less than 6 knots , far less than was needed to fly the Flyer more that a few feet. VAA photo by H.G. Frautschy, shot with a Canon EOS 060 and a Canon 80-200 IS lens . Back Cover: Terry Bolger's Fleet biplane is resp lendent in its bright red and cream color scheme. Powered by a 125 hp Kinner B-5, the Fl eet needed a total restoration to be brought up to the condition members saw during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2003 . EAA photo by Jim Koepnick. EAA photo plane flown by Bruce Moore .

STRAIGHT

Be

EL

ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE

PRESIDENT, VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

Luscombes and Sun Old man winter is still keeping me from painting the interior of the Luscombe. The gentleman who is doing the radio and other wiring for me has completed all that he can do until I can move forward on my end. The good thing is that at long last it seems to me that everything is moving in the right direction. I'm sure many of you have ex­ perienced many of the same feelings. When you have a project, and, for whatever reason you get away from it for a time, it can be difficult getting back into it. Years ago I was very blessed to have Piedmont Aviation Inc. only a short drive or flying distance away in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It began as Camel Flying Service, and was founded by Tom Davis. The restored Piedmont DC­ 3 and some of the original group were featured in the AUA ad in last month's issue of Vintage Airplane. This was the FBO from which Pied­ mont Airlines was founded. They were Piper and Beechcraft dealers. They also had a very well-known engine overhaul shop and a highly regarded aircraft repair shop. My father was a customer of Piedmont's, and bought a number of aircraft from them over the years. The last was a brand new 1956 150-hp Tri-Pacer in which I "cut my teeth" flying. I soloed this airplane on my 16th birthday, when it had less than 150 hours total time on it. Up to that time, my training had been in Piper J-3s, with most of my time in J-5s . By the time I soloed, I had more fly­ ing time than the Tri-Pacer! As I continued to fly, I put over 1,200

hours of this Tri-Pacer's time into my logbook while getting my pri­ vate and commercial pilot'S certificates. We sold N7006B to a contractor in Ring Gold, Virginia, around 1968.

If that's the kind of thing you like to do, then you're in luck, since next month you

will be able to do exactly that if you plan on attending the first major fly-in of 2004. Getting back to my story, one of the best parts about Piedmont Avi­ ation was their huge aircraft parts department. They kept wind­ shields, props, ribs, fabric, dope, instruments, and hardware for all sorts of airplanes. I got to know all of the guys over the years, and they would just let me come behind the counter to pick out what ever I needed to use on my projects. I had to pay for it all, but it sure was handy to go rummaging around to pick out the good stuff. Today, ordering parts over the Internet with credit card is great. It's a whole lot better than having to mail an order and wait for the check to clear. I feel privi­ leged to have known these times and the people at the original Pied­

mont Aviation. To all of them, thanks for the good times. I guess the next best thing to be­ ing able to go behind the counter is to visit with all of the vendors in the exhibit buildings and outside in the display areas during a major fly-in. It is here that you can feel, touch, and ask those questions that have been on your mind. If that 's the kind of thing you like to do, then you're in luck, since next month you will be able to do exactly that if you plan on attending the first major fly-in of 2004 . This of course is the Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In, starting April 13. This will be my 20th year (give or take a year) attending. It's great being in the Vintage area, visiting with members throughout the week. Those of you who have been to this great event know how much fun it can be. If you haven't had a chance to go in the past, now would be a great time to head south and enjoy great weather and nice airplanes. Be sure to bring your shorts and sunscreen! I like it so much I'm going down a bit early. Do your part ask a friend to join up with us-we need the company and their support. Let's all pull in the same direc­ tion for the good of aviation. Remember we are better together. Join us and have it all.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

VAA N EWS

Sun 'n Fun Vintage Parking It is once again time to think

about going to the Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In in sunny Florida. The dates this year are April 13-19. If your airplane was built before 1968, you are welcome to park in the Vintage area. If your airplane won an award in past years, please plan to come back and park in the first two rows. These rows are set aside for past award-winning airplanes. Row 3 will be for the Antiques, Row 4 will be all C-195s, and Row 5 is reserved for the SWifts. Plan to visit with all of them; what beau­ ties these are! Camping is allowed under your wing, but tell the parkers that you will be camping; you pay for camping when you register at Vin­ tage Headquarters. We invite you to plan to watch the night air show Saturday evening, and attend the Annual Fish Fry, but get your ticket early at Vintage Headquarters. The An­ nual Fish Fry is a sell-out every year. Also plan to watch the bal­ loon launch on Sunday morning, weather permitting. We had more than 30 balloons last year. What a beautiful sight! If you have any questions, please fax me after March 1st at Sun 'n Fun, 863/644-9737. Hope to see you there. Roy Olcott, Chairman Vintage Parking

An EAA AirVenture Place to Stay Traditionally, reservations at Oshkosh hotels for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh fill early, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to find someplace to stay during your visit. If you're planning your first pilgrimage to EAA AirVenture, the best place to discover your options is at the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCVB), which runs the EAA Housing Hotline 2

MARCH 2004

(920-235-3007)

and

website

(www.oshkoshcvb.org/eaa.c{m).

In addition to Oshkosh hotels, options include dormitories at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; hotels, motels, and bed & break­ fasts in communities up to 100 miles or more away; private resi­ dences in the same area; and there's always room for EAA mem­ bers at AirVenture's Camp Scholler. Housing inquires are picking up, said Gloria Erickson of the OCVB. "People are starting to call about private residential housing, but we tell them to call back after March 1 when we begin giving out phone numbers for private residents who wish to rent their homes, campers, and RVs for the week." Here is ad­ ditional information for EAA AirVenture: Oshkosh hot els: Fully booked, although there are cancellations, which occur the week of the con-

vention. OCVB makes continuous checks with all Oshkosh hotels throughout the week. UW-Oshkosh dorms: Some current availability. To check their status, call 92-424-3226. Area hotels, motels, and bed N breakfasts: The OCVB website continuously updates listings, in­ cluding private area campgrounds, for facilities from 10 to 100 miles away from convention grounds. Private housing: Starting March I, call the EAA Housing Hotline at 920/235-3007 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Central time to check on availability of private housing (ranging from a bedroom to an entire house) located within 10 miles of convention grounds. EAA Camp Scholler: For EAA members only, there is a three­ night mlOlmum and no preregistrations are accepted (first come, first served). Camp Scholler

Celebrating the Life of Steve WiHman The EAA AirVenture Museum will mark the 100th birthday of aviation leg­ end S.}. "Steve" Wittman on April 3-5. A champion air racer, airplane designer and builder, airport manager, flight in­ structor, and early EAA member, Steve inspired thousands in the EAA family and around the aviation world. Built and dedicated in his memory, Pioneer Airport's Wittman Hangar will be open each day for guided tours on April 3-5. On April 5, the 100th anniver­ sary of Steve's birth, the museum will hold a special evening program, Memo­ ries of Steve. Adding to images from EAA's Wittman movie and video archive, a number of Wittman's closest friends will be on hand to share their memories, including his biographer Aaron King and EAA Founder and Chairman Paul H. Poberezny. This event will be broadcast live over the Internet via the EAA website (www.eaa.org), beginning at 6:30 p.m. Central time. The broadcast is made possible thanks to generous assistance from the Wright Family Fund, a charitable foundation administered by the de­ scendants of the Wright brothers that provided the installation of equipment for live video broadcast of EAA AirVenture Museum pro­ grams over the Internet.

opens July I, 2004. For more information, be sure to visit the EAA AirVenture web­ site, www.airventure.org.

Aerobatic Legend Duane Cole Passes Away Longtime EAA member, air show performer, and aerobatic in­ structor Duane Cole passed away of natural causes on February 3 in Burleson, Texas, at age 89. Duane, who held membership card EAA 8, earned his private ticket in 1938 and his instructor rating in 1940. That year he flew his first air show and for the next 15 years taught aerobatics to Civilian Pilot Train-

ing Program students, Royal Air Force Cadets, and U.S. Army Air Force Cadets. He was inducted to the International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame in 1987 and the In­ ternational Council of Air Shows (ICAS) Hall of Fame in 1995. "Duane Cole's legacy and im­ pact on aviation, aerobatic training, and safety will be re­ membered," said EAA President Tom Poberezny. "His decades of contributions came not only in the air, but his nine books will leave a lasting legacy for many years to come." Duane was a longtime friend and colleague of EAA Founder and

FI RST FLI GHT DECEMBER 17, 1903; 10:35 A.M. 12 SECONDS. 120 FEET

Chairman Paul Poberezny. "I've known Duane for 53 years, and he's been a longtime supporter of EAA," Paul said. "He was involved in the early years of EAA and flew a lot of air shows-I would say the majority of the EAA air shows over the years up until 10 years ago when he lost his medical. Du­ ane was an inspiration to a lot of people in the air show business; it's all he did all his life." Duane's Taylorcraft is enshrined at the EAA AirVenture Museum. Duane is survived by his wife, Judy, who performed as his wing rider. Awards over the years in­ clude the 1962 and 1964 U.S. National Aerobatics Champi­ onship . He also was involved in the Reno National Championship Air Races where he served as di­ rector. Duane has been on nearly 1,500 airports (a world record) in 47 states, 10 foreign countries, and two U.S. territories. He lec­ tured throughout the country and had more than 30,000 hours of flight time. ......

DanielslWright Poster Available Many VAA members have expressed an interest in having an un­ folded copy of the poster of the Daniels/Wright photograph we included in your December 2003 issue of Vintage Airplane. We're pleased to announce that a limited run of unfolded 10- by IS-inch copies of the poster are now available The Daniels/Wright photo of the moment of liftoff during the first flight of the Wright Brothers' Flyer became one of the most fa­ mous photographic images of all time. Our offset press print is made from a scan of the original negative, and shows detail often lost in prints made from multiple-generation copy negatives. We've also taken care to include the left side of the image, which shows the left (starting) end of the launching rail, and the broken corner in the lower left. By not cropping out the lower part of the image, the viewer gets a better sense of the activity around the Flyer prior to the first flight. For your unfolded copy of the First Flight poster, contact EAA Member Services at 800-843-3612. The cost is $6 each, plus tax, postage, and handling. Each poster will be mailed unfolded in a tube. There are fewer that 250 of the posters available at this time, so act quickly!

the appetite ofevery aspiring pilot who dreams of being another Charles Lindbergh. " -James A. Lovell, Jr., ApoOo XIII Inquire about an autographed copy.

128-page book filled with vintage photos,

aviation stories (barnstorming , test pilots,

early airliners) and legendary figures

(Curtiss, Lindbergh, Earhart, etc.)

from the pilot who was part of

aviation's Golden Age.

$50 + S&H. To order, call the American Bonanza Society (316-945-1700), or order online <www.bonanza.org> VINTAGE AIRPLANE

3

tery Oil for a long time. It has al­ ways worked well for me. I can recall only one time that a friend of mine had a problem with a plug fouling and had a dead cylinder. We came to the conclusion that it wasn't mixed properly. We have not found out what the formula is. We think that it has a lot of kerosene and red dye, also some perfume. It does work well if you have a sticky valve. I have found a product that I think is better than MMO, and that it mixes better with the fuel. The product is made for Bom­ bardier Rotax. It is for 2-cycle and is a pre-mix oil-a good synthetic oil and leaves no deposits and has better lubrication. Here is just another tip that I would like to pass along. If you are flying an airplane with an Aero­ Matic prop and are having a hard time finding oil for the hubs: For quite some time, we have been us­ ing GM synthetic gear lube . It makes the Aero-Matic shift better. Cold weather does not affect the viscosity. You must clean the hub well before using the synthetic gear lube. Hope that this will help some of you. Edward C. Wegner Plymouth, Wisconsin

AEROMAIL

MORE ON MMO I can attest to Mr. Hurry's claims of the profound effect Marvel Mys­ tery Oil (MMO) does to the performance and maintenance of our aircraft. I too have had great success with MMO by adding it to my 100LL fuel since 1993 in Miss Pearl that has a 0-320B2B Ly­ coming power plant. The engine now has approximately 1,200 hours. With the ratio of 4 ounces/lO gallons of avgas, the valves have never stuck and the compression tests over the ensuing years have been a constant 80/80. I doubted these figures and per­ formed the same test with a different tester-the results were the same . In addition, I use the STC'd Avblend (automotive Zmax) in the engine oil which is changed every 40 hours. (1.5 quarts oil us­ age between oil changes.) An oil analysis is performed every other oil change by Blackstone Labs of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and the results are always normal to below nor­ mal in all categories of metal wear. As for the adding of MMO to the tank at fill up time, pump the gas and add the MMO at the same time to get a uniform mix. In addi­ tion, the 1985 Maxima I bought new indicates close to 300,000 miles on the engine using the same MMO regimen. (Substitute 1 quart MMO for motor oil.) Frank Sperandeo Fayetteville, Arkansas I enjoyed the nice letter from Lee Hurry. I haven't heard from Lee in quite some time. I have been using Marvel Mys4

MARCH 2004

SEPTEMBER MYSTERY PLANE EXTRA From My Files on Each and Every Ryan/Mahoney Airplane Ryan B-1 "Brougham," sin 158, registra t ion number NC7211. Manufacturing date September 4, 1928. Engine Wright J-5A "Whirl­ wind" of 220 horsepower. Engine sin B-9135. Manufactured by the B.P. Ma­ honey Aircraft Corp, San Diego, California. This airplane had been tested on Edo Model E floats in 1928. First owner appears to have been W. H. Royle of Oakland, California. It went t hrough several owners in the Bay area, then down to Yu ma, Arizona, and other Arizona

locations, and then over to Louisiana in about 1934. The CAA license was removed in October 1934. No reason given. Possible ac­ cident at Hodge, Louisiana. It was at New Orleans for a while. I have a small Xerox copy of a photo taken at Alameda, Califor­ nia, in its all-silver color scheme. The NC7211 clearly shown on the top of the rudder. The picture is part of an advertisement for the Anchor Post Fence Company of Baltimore, Maryland. The B-1 is easy to spot, with the lower side window of the cockpit, and the similar landing gear strut configu ration to the Spirit of St. Louis. Also the vertical fin and rud­ der shapes, although there were design changes in the Brougham series during their production years. That includes all from the B­ I, through the B-3, B-5, B-7, and later C-1. Do any of our members live near Hodge, Lo uiSiana, who may have in formation on the reported acci­ dent and if any of the airplane parts survive today? Ev Cassagneres Cheshire, Connecticut EYEWITNESS TO A MIDAIR Letter to Russell L. Farris from Charles E. Lee, Bartlesville, Oklahoma A few nights ago I was surfing the web, just trying to find any­ thing interesting that might come my way. I went to Google and typed in "Dewey Highway Air­ port." The search returned a hit, which was the August 2003 Vin­ tage Airplane magazine article about your Cessna 170, NBI43A. My interest in the Highway airport is that is where I learned to fly in 1957. I was surprised to see the ar­ ticle since I have a connection with it ... I was there. I am assuming that the day was a Saturday or a Sunday, because at that time I was a Civil Air Patrol cadet and spent every weekend getting flights with my adult continued on page 26

betwmt there were great hopes that flxed-wing light air­ planes would be developed. I don't consider the future development of the autogiro to be a retrograde, but a needed advancement. We are obviously never going to get the public to take on fixed­ wing aircraft. I have been surrounded by hundreds ofnearby neighbors here for 83 years, but NONE will consider airplanes, although they have seen me flying safely for years. A new direction has to be taken. This article is not a de­ traction of the Bonanza or any other aircraft, but a solution to the problem ofgetting more people into the air. (John) Many World War I surplus air­ planes and engines were used during the 1920s, but a few slightly more modern open cockpit biplanes were developed in those times before avi­ ation regulations were adopted in 1927, and they provided design standards for aircraft and rules for training and certification of pilots and mechanics. The engineers began graduating from their fixation on the old bi­ plane types and began to build monoplanes of the cabin types, some following the path of pioneer Anthony Fokker's stressed-skin type monoplane wings, but in alu­ minum alloy instead of wood veneer and plywood, and his welded steel tube structures. Few aviation people now are even aware of the influence Fokker's ideas had on airplane design. However, aviation did not gain wide acceptance by the public, partly

to it§ expense, limlted ness, dangers, lack of adequa airfields, and the absence of advan­ tages that are common now, including air navigation aids, air­ ports, and many other conveniences. Of course, the severe depression of the 1930s was disastrous to general aviation.

THE AUTOGIRO, WITH ITS OUTSTANDING FEATURE (SAFETY ABOVE ALL ELSE) HAS BEEN SITTING IN THE SHADOW OF ITS HELICOPTER OFFSPRING, WAITING TO BE REMEMBERED AND REVIVED. The airlines did expand rapidly in the later 1930s, especially with the stimulus of virtual subsidies in the form of airmail contracts and the advent of the modern airliners such as the Boeing 247, Douglas DC-2 and DC-3, all of very advanced all­ metal designs. Of course, World War II accelerated aircraft design rapidly, and general aviation has inherited much of that. However, general aviation still has not been widely accepted by the public. Fixed-wing aircraft are very expensive to own and to oper­

ate. It is also very expensive and in­ volved to get the necessary training to fly them safely and usefully, and then it is necessary to drive to and from the airport and to pay high hangar rentals. It is obvious that the majority of people do not either have the real need for fast long-range transporta­ tion or the adventurous spirit it takes to fly fixed-wing airplanes. They are afraid of the idea of a single engine. In my opinion they are jus­ tified, when one considers the skill (and luck) it takes to make a success­ ful emergency landing without power, especially in rough terrain. Many people assume that a twin­ engine airplane would be much safer than they really are in the hands of a nonprofessional pilot. The records indicate the opposite. One type of aircraft that would be of great value for personal trans­ portation is the helicopter, but it is far too expensive for wide personal use, although very successful in many commercial applications. So it has been a disappOintment as a per­ sonal aircraft. Its landings must normally be made with power. No­ power landings require high skill and are hazardous on anything other than smooth terrain, due to the forward speed required. THE AUTOGIRO

It is obvious to me that there is one type of aircraft that has been sadly neglected since the 1930s that could fulfill the needs of many peoVINTAGE AIRPLANE

5

pIe, if further devel­ opment could resume on it. That aircraft is the autogiro, from which the helicopter evolved. The auto­ giro, with its out­ standing feature (safety above all else) has been sitting in the shadow of its helicop­ ter offspring, waiting to be remembered and revived. Why has this ob­ scurity happened? In deciding on the usefulness of an aircraft, there are several items that must be con­ sidered. If the aircraft is to be commercially viable, it must not be too expensive to purchase and oper­ ate, must carry a good load, have long range and high speed. That leaves safety as the last con­ sideration, because without those first factors, there is no use in ac­ quiring the aircraft. On the contrary, the autogiro was actually devised with safety as the first considera­ tion, and so leaves the other items in secondary consideration. To the present time, the autogiro, with its remarkable safety record, has been lying in oblivion. The more adventurous people are happy with their fixed-wing airplanes, with their speed, range and load, whereas there may be 100 times as many people who would be interested in an aircraft without those features if it were totally stall-proof, easier to fly, could land and take off in a much smaller space, could descend and land or crash reasonably gently and survivably, similar to a para­ chute, could carry two or four people and have some reasonable speed and convenience for travel to beat the automobile for commuting, and finally, would not have to be confined to busy airports. The autogiro can fulfill all of those features, plus more. It is cheaper to manufacture than an air­ plane and only a small fraction of the cost of a helicopter. Above all, it is inherently safe, cannot be stalled, 6

MARCH 2004

with the added ability to descend like a parachute if necessary. It is im­ possible to stall the rotor or for it to stop in the air, if a fixed-pitch rotor is used. Loss of speed below a certain minimum merely means a rate of descent begins, and at zero forward speed the descent is at about the rate of a parachute. What else can be asked of an air­ craft? It has its own "parachute," the rotor, instantly ready and open at all times for emergency power-off land­ ings without roll, even in rough or muddy terrain. The rotor of an autogiro rotates due only to aerodynamic forces, re­ gardless of forward speed to zero; it even backslides, with the rotor not by being driven by the engine. The complex aerodynamics are too in­ volved to explain here. Once power-started and in the air, a fixed­ pitch autogiro rotor keeps running, no matter what; it simply will not stop! It does not make any differ­ ence, high speed or zero speed, backward slide or Sideways in­ cluded-a fixed-pitch autogiro rotor cannot stop in the air. It perSists in rotating and providing lift, even at zero airspeed in a vertical descent. The parachute-type landing tech­ nique requires a little explanation. In the first place, in an extreme emergency, the descent can be made straight down, without any flare possible . Of course, that would wreck the aircraft, but I have not ever heard of anyone injured in a number of such cases, which were inadvertent by untrained pilots.

The power-off bird­ like flare landings that I developed in 1931 and used con­ Sistently for years (including some 5,000 takeoffs and landings during my one-year airmail ex­ perimental contract to and from the roof of the post office building in the center of Philadelphia in 1939-40), look just like the landings made in the new airfoil parachutes developed since World War II. The autogiro is put into a power­ off steep descent with an airspeed of about 20 mph. As it approaches the ground at about 200 feet, the nose is lowered 3 to 5 degrees, which in­ creases the rate of descent from about 1,800 fpm to a higher rate, some 200 or 300 feet faster. As the autogiro gets down to about 100 feet above the ground, a flare is started, which puts a higher load on the rotor and increases its rotational speed, reducing both the rate of de­ scent and the forward speed. The tail wheel touches down first with the front wheels still about 2 feet high. The backward tilt of the rotor has stopped the forward mo­ tion. The front wheels then drop on down to the ground, with the rotor still holding most of the weight, and the autogiro is landed gently. The struts compress less than 1 inch. Due to the flare, the forward mo­ tion has stopped . On a smooth surface, the idling propeller may cause a slight forward roll. The land­ ing can be made with the brakes on, but it is not necessary and not good judgment, usually. It is a beautiful landing, similar to that of a bird and of the new airfoil parachutes. I have a TV tape showing these landings, the only one ever taken as far as I know. Only two pilots (friends) came to the roof to see me fly. One was EAL Capt. M.A.C. John­ son and the other was Benny Howard, the well-known racing pi­

lot and UAL captain. Johnson had a 16 mm camera with the newly developed color film. It really startles airplane pi­ lots when they first see such landings. But it changes their prejudice about the autogiro, pronto. Similar landings are now used by the new parachutes. But the rotor is always ready for instant use, so there is no need to exit the aircraft and wait for a chute to open. And re­ member, there is no stall, spin or dive when speed is lost. Back in the 1930s, the Pitcairn Autogiro Co. was developing a two­ place autogiro that was roadable, that is, it could be driven on the road and kept at home. It had a three-blade rotor that could be quickly folded back over the tail and then it could be driven on the road with the tractor propeller stopped. It could be flown to and from a small grass field and then driven home! World War II put an end to that experimental development, and then after the war it was over­ shadowed by the phenomenal development of the helicopter. It is now the time to reconsider and develop it. As far as I know, that experimen­ tal autogiro is now obscurely hidden in storage at the Smithson­ ian's National Air and Space Museum, and the Pitcairn Autogiro Co. and the Kellett Autogiro Co. are long gone. This experimental auto­ giro was a very successful aircraft as far as it went and should be revived. If built in simple form with a fixed­ pitch rotor to prevent accidental mishandling of collective pitch control in case of engine failure, it should provide safe and useful transportation for many people. The safety record of the Pitcairn and Kellett autogiros was phenome­

nal. In the tens of thousands of hours of flying, there were inevitable crashes, mostly by pilots who did not have proper transitional train­ ing from fixed-wing aircraft, but I know of no more than very slight injuries with one exception, which happened when a student pilot struck a power line. The autogiro rotor is, in my opinion, the most important air­ craft safety device ever invented and it is inexcusable to fail to use it. Juan de la Cierva, the inventor, made the first successful flights with it in 1923, at Madrid, Spain, the very year of my first solo. I have followed and participated in their development much of the time since then and flown them thousands of hours, all over the lower 48 states, demonstrating them, even including aerobatics to convince the detractors. A revival of development of the autogiro­ type aircraft is not a retrograde, but a needed advancement of a re­ markable type of aircraft. In my opinion, the autogiro is the only type/classification of aircraft that will be accepted by any appre­ ciable portion of the general public. It is still an aircraft with a propeller and a rotor that can be dangerous to nearby persons, so the pilot must be qualified suffiCiently to minimize such risks.

With modern navigation systems having moving maps, terrain depictions and warnings, cou­ pled to autopilots, amateur pilots could find their ways to desired destinations as simply as they now operate their personal computers and automobiles. At low altitudes and vi­ sual flying, they should be of little danger to fixed­ wing controlled traffic. There are now night vision goggles available, and terrain de­ pictions reflected on look-through windshields are under develop­ ment. Such things are in the future but are inevitable. Only when the people are as­ sured that violent danger is unlikely or eliminated in case of power failure, by the nonstall and parachute-like ability of the auto­ giro rotor, will larger numbers of people accept private flying. One important item that must be developed is a simpler and longer-life engine, and I am con­ fident it will be the Wankel type, fueled with ordinary automobile gasoline, or pOSSibly using a Diesel cycle and fuel. Of course, I am predicting the future when I will be gone to the forever and won't see it, I'm sorry to say. Reprinted from the September 2003

ABS magazine, with permission from the American Bonanza Society,

www.bonanza.org. John welcomes comments. Write him at 201 Kingwood Park, Pough­ keepsie, New York, 12601. A wonderful compilation ofJohn's stories is available in the book Flying Stories. The cost of$50 provides funds for the ABS nonprofit Air Safety Foun­ dation. It is available from the ABS Company Store, 316-945-1700. It's a great coffee table page-turner. ...... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

7

N~vig~ting Wit~ ~ H~nd~eld

N~v/(omm

EVAN M CCOMBS

EVAN'S AIRe RAIT BODY SHOP, PEYTON, COLORADO

enjoyed reading Paul Gould's and H.G. Frautschy's articles about hidden comm antennas in their Aeroncas, and I agree that if you can use a hidden antenna in any antique, classic, contempo­ rary, or homebuilt airplane and it works in an acceptable manner, it's worth the extra time to experi­ ment with and flight test. After some additional discussion with other VAAers, the question came up about using both a comm and a nav antenna connected to a switch box and switching between antennas . This system would be used with a handheld nav/comm. At the same time the question arose about how effective and ac­ curate navigation is with one of these handheld radios. This was just the excuse I needed for more flight testing. Flight test No . I-The first test was to see how far the navigation system of an Icom IC-A22 would work with the rubber ducky an­ tenna. While holding the radio above the instrument panel inside the windshield, the usable naviga­ tional distance was only about 10 miles. You could find yourself if you were close to the station. Flight test No.2-My airplane already has a VOR antenna in­ stalled. I then installed a diplexer in the VOR antenna coaxial cable and hooked up the Icom radio to the diplexer in place of the rubber ducky antenna . After takeoff, I tuned in to Black Forest VORTAC and set the OBS to 086 degrees to track outbound on V-108 to Hugo VORTAC, which is 56 miles away. Twenty-eight miles out I changed

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MARCH 2004

the frequency to the Hugo VOR­ TAC and continued inbound. After crossing over the Hugo station, I circled the area and tuned in to Thurman VORTAC, which is 65 miles away and was able to receive a signal good enough to identify the station, but not good enough to navigate with. 1 then tuned in to Pueblo VORTAC, which is 57 miles away and received a strong signal and was able to navigate with it. At this point I figured that I was about 54 miles from the Black Forest VORTAC, so 1 tuned it in and cruised inbound at about 2,500 feet AGL. This test proved the VOR function worked wonder­ fully, and is accurate when compared to the VOR receiver in­ stalled in the panel. Flight test No. 3-1 made up a switch box with three surface­ mount BNC connectors and a slide

switch in an aluminum project box; all the coax shielding was grounded to the box . This switch box was installed in my airplane. I then connected both the comm and nav antennas and a jumper coax from the switch box to the Icom antenna connection. After takeoff, and while using the comm antenna, 1 tuned in to the super UNICOM at Meadow Lake Airport and made two radio checks. The first radio check was with an old hand mic. It worked good enough for use in the traffic pattern. The second radio check was with the boom mic on my pilot communi­ cations headset. It worked very well. I then tuned in to the Black Forest VORTAC and flew outbound on the 065-degree radial. At 20 to 21 miles out, the signal became too weak to navigate with, and the Morse code identifier had lots of

The [com radio mounted on my instrument paneL with the switch box mounted beside the radio.

noise and static as I listened with my headset. Then when I switched to the nav antenna on th e switch box, the signal became clear and the OBS and cor started working again. Remember that h orizontal polarization of nav signals requires horizontal orientation of the nav antenna. I must ca uti on anyone w h o wants to try this system that these handheld radios must have an an­ tenna hooked up at all times. Please don't use a switch with a center off position! Th e swi t c h may be left in the off position by mistake, and your radio co uld be damaged. However, a coax jumper wire connected to the radio and to the switch box may preclude an y damage to the radio, but why take the chance? As a footnote-on the last test flight, while using the comm an­ tenna , I switched to th e weat her

COAX INPUT (FROM RADIO)

The antenna switch box. The lettering on the box refers to the switch posi­ tion, not the BNe input and outputs.

function to li sten to the NOAA weather broadcast. On the ground I received th e broadcast only on Channe l 3. In the air I could re­ ceive seven of the 10 channels, including th e wea th er broadcast from the National Weather Service NOTE: SEE PHOTO FOR SHIELDING ROUTING. BRAIDED COAX SHIELDING IS JOINED NEAR SWITCH TERMINALS. AS SHOWN, DIAGRAM DEPICTS CIRCUIT CONFIGURATION ONLY.

TYPICAL TWO­ POSITION SPDT SWITCH.

COAX OUTPUT (NAV ANTENNA*)

SHORT GROUNDING

COAX OUTPUT (COMM ANTENNA*)

*NOTE: ACTUAL COAX OUTPUT POSITION WILL DEPEND ON CONFIGURATION OF SWITCH USED.

The wiring inside the antenna switch box. While just one side of a double­ pole, double throw slide (DPDT) switch was used, a single pole, double throw (SPDT) switch would also work fine.

transmitter in Dodge City, Kansas, which is more than 250 miles away. It would be interesting to lis­ ten to the weather broadcast on a cross-county flight, although it would take some time to figure out what city you are listening to. As always, if you install one of the handheld comms or nav/ comms in your airplane, please do lots of test flying. It's fun! Now if only I could find a way to hide the antennas inside the steel tubing fuselage and aluminum wing struc­ ture, I'd be happy. Remember, any excuse to fly! Keep 'em safe and keep 'em flying. Editor's Note: A cursory review of this article by an avionics technician was done to be sure we were not doing any harm to any system. His only comment was the mention of the pos­ sibility of some significant signal loss within the box, which cou ld vary widely depend ing on the coax us ed and the techniques used by the builder. If the signals being received seem weaker, eliminate the switch box before assuming the problem lies with the radio or antenna. ...... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

9

T

NST

A new set of skills

DOUG STEWART

IIN

no, no ... you're Why would someone

pulling back on the stick. That's want to go flying

why the nose is dropping ." The expecting to get a

voice in my headset was helping to make my head feel as if my brains stomach that churns

were going to melt and start drip­ more than the

ping out my ears. Worse yet my stomach felt as if it were getting bottom of a roll cloud in you have just done. No ... he has you sequence from one ma­ ready to display the contents of my advance of a neuver to the next with very few light breakfast in my lap. breaks. Un less, of course, that "You've got to start coming for­ thunderstorm, and a you mess up, or get disoriented, ward with the stick as you head that throbs greater which is real easy to do. transition from knife edge to in­ He ' ll have you fly a loop, fol­ verted, or that nose wi ll drop. I've than a round engine? lowed immediately by an aileron got it . .. let me show you again," Stan said as we ro lled, yet again, through one more roll, then dive to gain the energy for a half-Cuban­ eight to reverse course, coming out of that into a four­ four-point roll. We had been flying aerobatic maneuvers for close point roll , sequ encing to a barrel roll. Now reverse to an hour at this point and my fun meter was just course with a hammerhead. Then perhaps two or three about pegged out. I had reached that saturation point aileron rolls in sequence (that one can really get my where my performance was going to be all downhill stomach going) and a course reversal with an Immel­ from this point on . It was a good thing we were going man. Are you starting to get the picture? You certa inl y get your money's worth with Stan. to be descending for the airport in just a short time. In the back seat of the Super Decathlon we were After an hour of tra in ing (if you can last that long) you could easily fly over forty maneuvers . With flying was Stan Segalla, known to many as "Th e Fly­ ing Farmer." He regularly thrills the crowds at the Old some aerobatic instructors you might only get to fly Rhinebeck Aerodrome every Sunday with his hilarious ten or fifteen maneuvers in an hour. That's not so routine in a PA-ll Piper Cub. One would not th ink with Stan. And one of the amazing things is that that a Piper Cub could do the things that Stan does Stan is more than 70 years old. He just doesn't get with it. I would call it absolute mastery of uncoordi­ tired at all. Period. Many pilots would wonder why anyone would nated flight. At the end of the act he shows masterly perfection by coming to a stop, after a dead stick land­ want to subject th emselves to the physical stress of ing, directly beside his farmer's straw hat that had aerobatic flight, or why anyone wou ld subject oneself "blown" out of the cockpit as he took off. to the G loads incurred in flight other than straight And now he was encouraging me to strive for and level. Why wou ld someone want to go flying ex­ that same type of perfection in the air. Not that I pecting to get a stomach that churns more than the was preparing for an air show performance. I was bottom of a roll cloud in advance of a thunderstorm, just taking recurrent aerobatic training to keep my and a head that throbs greater than a round engine? Well, for some it's just plain (or should I spell that skills sharp. Stan is a h ard taskmaster. He doesn't have you fly one maneuver and then fly straight 'plane') fun. After a few hours of aerobatic flight most and level for five minutes while yo u discuss what pilots will adapt to the G loading and no longer find

0,

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MARCH 2004

themselves getting queasy or having headaches. It cer­ more than one pilot, finding their airplane inverted tainly is a challenge to fly around the axes' with after a wake turbulence encounter, had opted to split­ enough situational awareness to even know which S out of the upset, only to become much more upset way is up, but when one can start to gain precision in when the wings departed the aircraft as a result of the these maneuvers one also gains a wonderful sense of speeds well in excess of VNE that were reached before control was regained. But if a pilot has never had aer­ accomplishment. I know that for me, one of the most rewarding obatic training would they know that the roll is the things about flying is that there is a/ways something safest way to recover from the upset? And would they more to learn, something more to perfect. I love the know to roll to the left (assuming an American engine challenge of always trying to make my flying better. I up front)? Would they know that the split-S would think that if I ever get to the point where I can say lead to excessively high airspeeds, and that if they did that there is nothing more to learn or perfect in my keep the wings on the airplane, they might very well flying, it will be time to hand in my certificates and impact the ground if the upset occurred on the latter take up crocheting. So for me seeking that ever-elu­ stages of an ILS? sive perfection in my flying gets even more difficult The only way that we as pilots can gain the some­ times counter intuitive skills one needs to recover when the blue side is no longer necessarily up. But there is also another reason for every pilot to get from these kinds of upsets is through aerobatic, or up­ some aerobatic training. Even if you are a pilot that set recovery, training. Might one experience some dislikes banks in excess of 30 degrees , even if you motion sickness during the training? Yup! Is the never pitch up or down beyond 10 degrees , there adrenalin valve going to be wide open? You betcha! might very well come a time in your flying when the But even if you only receive one hour of aerobatic blue side is down, not up. And it probably didn't get training you will be much better prepared to recover from an upset, if it ever happens to you. You will there because of something you did on purpose. I remember when I was taking my initial Mal­ know how to get the blue side back on top if you ever ibu/Mirage training with Attitudes International. It find it down. And you will be taking yet another step was my final day of training. The simulator that I in the transition from good pilot to grea t pilot. Read more about Doug's work at www.dsf/ight.com.........

was "flying" was not a motion sim, but was a full cockpit mockup, with projection on a screen that , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ­ wrapped around outside the cockpit windows. The instructor asked me to shut my eyes; we were going to do some recoveries from unusual attitudes. So I dutifully shut my eyes and waited for instructions to open them and recover from whatever attitude I found myself in. Of course the instructor could not disorient me in this simulator bolted to the floor, as I do when per­ forming this maneuver with students in the air, so I sat there in a nonmoving cockpit waiting to open ~~ ~(Jffle ~ my eyes and quickly interpret the instruments and then recover as appropriate. When I was told to ()~ 7etd ~ ~ tM 'It 7-- 7er11t open my eyes, I quickly scanned the instruments Welcomes All VAA Members To and responded: "You've got to be kidding me." "No I'm not! Recover from th e attitude. NOW!" the in­ Sun-n-Fun structor commanded. Looking at the attitude indicator first, I saw that 2004! the blue side was down. Scanning to the airspeed in­ dicator I saw that the airspeed was trending up. Yup! (0) (863) 647-3911 Unicorn 122.95 No doubt about it. Even though I wasn't hanging from my seatbelt this Mirage was inverted. But now 100LL JET-A the moment the instructor was waiting for. How would I recover? Would I pull back on the yoke and split-S (a maneuver that pulls from inverted through the second half of a loop) back to right side up ... or Check our web site for the latest news, would I add some forward pressure and th en full left discounts, fuel prices, and more! yoke with left rudder in an aileron roll back to straight and level? This maneuver had been added to the syllabus after

Lakeland Air Service tk tk r/(,tiattYt " s__

www.lakelandairservice.net

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

11

Reuben Fleet's

As Interpreted by Terry Bolger

BUDD DAVISSON

t really would have been fun to be a fly on the wall during the 1928-29 meetings of Consoli­ dated Aircraft's board of directors. Then based in Buffalo, New York, they took a couple of "interesting" side steps that must have resulted in some pretty intense internal discussions. Consolidated was founded by Reuben Fleet when he combined Gallaudet and Dayton-Wright air­ craft companies in 1923. In short order, the new company was gain­ ing a reputation for both its fIying boats and its trainers like the PT-l. However, in 1928 the board of di­ rectors apparently decided to stop messing around with "little" air­ planes like the trainers and concentrate on big ones, where the real money lay. So, they put their trainer line up for sale. The decision must not have played well in Buffalo because Reuben Fleet himself formed a sep­ arate company, Fleet Aircraft, to purchase the trainer line for the express purpose of supplying train­ ers to both the civilian and military markets. Reuben must have known what he was doing because a year later Consolidated bought Fleet Aircraft and set it up as a separate division to build trainers. It's not known whether this gave Reuben steady employment or put him out on the street but it would appear that there had been some serious "What does Reuben know that we don't" boardroom head scratching going on.

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Regardless of what happened to Reuben, his company flourished and a branch was opened north of the border and named Fleet Air­ craft of Canada. Fleet Aircraft disappeared from the official Con­ solidated organizational chart in 1939 and Fleet Aircraft of Canada ceased operations in 1957. Although 1929 wasn't the ideal time to launch a new airplane com­ pany, Fleet produced a surprising number of little two-place biplanes. With an average wingspan of only 28 feet, they bucked the trend to­ ward big biplanes (Waco, Travel Air, etc.) and were powered by smaller engines-Kinners and Warners with a range of power from 90 to 160 horsepower. Fleet produced Terry Bolger's air­ plane, NC788V, in 1929, the year before Fleet of Canada was formed, which makes his bird a Buffalo Fleet. Terry, who is now from Elk Grove Village, Illinois, develops and leases shopping centers in his day job, and was your prototypical airplane guy from day one. "I was attending Northern Illi­ nois University at DeKalb when I started flying. The airplane was a nearly new 7AC Champ and I was hard pressed to come up with enough cash to fly very often. Eventually I was making $13 a week driving a school bus and, as soon as I got my paycheck, I was off to the airport. I literally could­ n't wait to spend all of that money on fIying.

"When I graduated, my flying slowed down conSiderably, which is probably a very common situa­ tion, since that's about the time most of us start a family and get our careers going. I immediately got into real estate, first buying and rebuilding residential dwellings, then shifted over to commercial where I am today. "I finally earned my private cer­ tificate in '78 and bought a new Turbo Lance II. However, at some point, and I'm not exactly sure when, I found myself looking more and more at older airplanes. The Champ I'd trained in probably set that hook. liThe Lance was great for trans­ portation but it was missing the fun factor that was so evident in the Champ. So, I began looking around for something with more character. "I ran into a 220-hp Stearman for sale that wasn't too far from me and figured that's the way I'd go. Of course, I had to learn to fly a tail­ wheel all over again. It took about 15 hours to get me back up to speed, but when I got there, I stayed there. I've put over 1,000 hours on the Stearman and I'm a LONG way from being finished with it." Terry's Stearman isn't just any Stearman. All of them have a certain amount of fame attached to them, but there aren't many like Terry's. liMy Stearman came out of the military and while it was still in a box went to Paul Mantz. He had it in storage for a number of years be­ fore finally pulling it out and putting

it in the air. Last year at Oshkosh I met the mechanic who worked with Mantz in 1950 to pull it out of the box and put it together./I In another curious connection, Mantz used an airplane virtually identical to Terry's Model Seven Fleet to set a world record of 150 consecutive outside loops! The Fleet came along in 1996 and that's where Terry earned his spurs in aircraft restoration. liMy other airplanes were in fly足 ing condition when I bought them, but not the Fleet. It had been in storage for over 30 years and before that had been half way restored. Be足 sides the fact that the work was quite old, it wasn't very well done. I poked around on it a little and de足 cided to take it all the way down and start over again./I It's always a painful decision to take an airplane that is "almost flyVINTAGE AIRPLANE

13

Terry Bolger

Sitting on the grass, as it was designed by ...~u.~, Buffalo, New York, it's been to the West

Basic VFR, 1929 style. Neither cockpit is overly endowed with instruments. Back then, and even today, the wind on your face tells you far more than the needles on the gauges. able" apart and start a process you know is go­ ing to ground it for a really long time. But, con­ sidering what Terry found inside his Fleet, it's a good thing he decided to do it right. A lot of the tubing was in bad shape. Really bad shape. It had the traditional rear fuselage moisture dam­ age and most of the lower rear longerons were re­ /I

placed. Same thing for some of the cross tubes. However, considering that the air­ plane was nearly 70 years old at the time, you'd have to expect that kind of thing. "In general, my wings had to be completely re­ built because there were so many things wrong. It had cracked spars, fabric nails were rusty, the ailerons were falling apart, most of the ribs were trashed and many of the fittings were rusting. So, we just took every­ thing apart and literally built new wings." The Fleet uses a different type of wing construction than most of its peers in that it has traditional wood spars, but the ribs are aluminum with stamped, hat-section caps. "First, let me say I would have been unable to restore the airplane without the help of local restorers and the International Fleet Club. They shared their knowledge, time and tools. The ribs are an excellent case-jn-point. "The ribs use a special 3/64-inch rivet and are hard to work on with­ out some sort of jig. I borrowed International Fleet Club President Sandy Brown's jig. He gave me a supply of the necessary 3/64-inch rivets and the special tool to set them. I was glad when that task was behind me." Once the aluminum ribs were done it was time to tackle the wood­

work and there was lots of that to be tackled. "The lower spars were cracked so they had to go. As far as that goes, most of the wood had to be re­ placed. The ailerons were good for patterns only and are completely new. The top wing main spars were okay and I reused those but every­ thing else had to be replaced, so all of the wood up there is new, too. "The aluminum leading edge was rolled for me by Wag Aero who had an old machine that was made specifically for this kind of work. They did it in 6-foot sections, which I flush riveted to the ribs. "The drag-anti-drag wires are ca­ bles, not threaded rod, and the ends are pulled through the fittings, lapped back on themselves then wrapped with wire. They were a major pain to do that way, but I was doing my best to make the air­ plane as original as practical. "The fuel tank, which had been manufactured on the East Coast years ago, looked pretty good. Un­ fortunately, I had the airplane finished and the weight and bal­ ance done and we were fueling it for its first flight when we found it leaked. Not a little, but a lot. "I took the upper wing off, pulled the tank, and sent it to Wag Aero to weld the leaking seams and all rivet heads. Then I started re­ covering the 28-foot wing again." Once all the major parts were fin­ ished (wings, fuselage) it was time to start working on the myriad of small parts and the control system.

"The control system was actually in pretty good condition. I bead blasted all of the parts and painted them. I did all of the control cable runs just like Fleet did it in 1929, which means no Nicopress fittings. The cables were all spliced the same way they do ropes on a boat. There are very few people who still know how to do that, but Andrew King of Lovettsville, Virginia, came to my rescue." The Fleet airplanes are known for high system friction, something Terry confirms. "The problem with the aileron control system is that it uses all push-rods, no cables, and none of the connections have bearings. So, you have dozens of bolts just going through steel fittings and push rods running in greased phenolic guide blocks. In flight the airplane is much more responsive than a Stear­ man but the system friction makes it feel as if you ' re working harder for what you get. Still, that's the way it was done back then and that's the way I did it." When it came time to work on the fun stuff, the panel, windshield, etc., Terry was pretty much on his own because he had little with which to work. "The instrument panels were nothing but junk. They weren't even good for patterns because they had been so badly butchered. I used factory photos as our guide and made new panels for both cockpits. The good news, however, was that I had some of the original instru­ ments with the airplane, so, other than replacing a nonsensitive al­ timeter with a two-needle unit, we have original looking panels that function perfectly. "In the interest of safety, I moved the magneto switch from its original mounting under the instrument panel because, at 6 feet S inches, I fill the cockpit up so much that my knee would hit the switch and shut it off. "The windshield was fabricated exactly to the original plan we ob­ tained from the late Tony Farhat in California. The windshield chan­ nels are all hammered into shape

and I'm proud to say we got it right the first time. "I had all the leather for the air­ plane, including the combing, seats, and the boots around wires and stuff made by a local motorcycle clothing shop." Terry says the mechanical brakes inside the big 8-1/2-by-1S-inch wheels were fairly easy to rebuild because he was fortunate to find enough of the right parts that he didn't have to fabricate anything. "The engine, which is a 12S-hp Kinner B-SR with the rear exhaust, had supposedly been overhauled, but I didn't trust it and it turned out I had good reason not to. I sent it down to Al Ball at Antique Engines in Santa Paula, California. He's a wizard with old engines and he found a lot of stuff wrong, including a main bearing installed crooked, unairworthy pistons of questionable origins, magnetos infested with bead blasting material and valve guides and seats installed and reamed crooked. Large amounts of abrasive material had already caused severe damage to most of the mov­ ing parts. It was a failure just waiting to happen." Terry made an effort to learn as much about the airplane's history as possible. "We know the airplane was used as a test airplane by the Army to de­ termine the suitability of Fleets for their aerobatic program. I don ' t know if it ever had a YPT deSigna­ tion attached to it. It was at Roosevelt Field in New York in the CPT program during WWII and in 19S0 was towing banners in Jack­ sonville, Florida. "It was towing banners when Navy lieutenant Charles Keating bought it. When he was discharged, he flew it home to California, where he went on to fly for Pan American Airlines. He's retired now but dur­ ing the five years I was restoring the airplane, we kept in close touch. Pe­ riodically, I'd send him pictures of the work in progress. "At Oshkosh last year, I had the continued on page 24 VINTAGE AIRPLANE

15

.,ltl~mence

(lower center right, without hat) explains some of the drive­ the Countdown to Kitty Hawk pavilion. The pavilion was often packed, the thousands ofpeople who came to take part in the festivities.

• •IM

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

17

Six ofthe ancestors ofthe original witnesses from the Kitty Hawk Life-Saving Station were on hand to take part in the celebration. John Wesley Daniels, great-grandson of us Life Saving Service Surfrnan John T. Daniels, was there and posed with this period box camera, which was used to re足 create the famolls "Daniels photograph" of the first flight.

Dr. Kevin Kochersberger stands by as the Flyer is readied for the first flight recreation attempt on December 17th.

Scott Rawlings of The Wright Experience works to remove one of the propellers from the Flyer as it is prepared for the flight attempts on the 17th. 18

MARCH 2004

1S-year-old high school sophomore Andrew Grant from German Valley, fllinois, was the 1 millionth Young Eagle flown. Andrew and his family were brought to Kitty Hawk by EAA to represent each ofthe youngsters who participated in the program. The weather didn't cooperate and allow General Chuck Yeager, shown here with An足 drew, to fly on December 17th. A few weeks later, General Yeage" the Young Eagles program's Honorary Chairman, and Andrew flew together in California.

Scott Crossfield, experienced test pi足 lot, was responsible for the pilot training of the pilots who flew the 1903 Flyer reproduction.

George W Bush, president of the United States, spoke during the morning cere足 monies honoring the Wrights.

U.s. Air Force Academy Cadet Mike Heddinger holds Aurora, one of the Academy's mascot falcons. Aurora is a rare white Gyr falcon, one offive species offalcons in North America. The Academy's presence at the Cen足 tennial ofFIight celebration was just one ofmany organizations that highlighted the width and breadth ofaviation. Terry Queijo, one of the two pilots who flew the repro Flyer at the Kill Devil Hills site prior to December 17th, chats with a young lady who was interested in learning more about the airplane. Terry did not fly on the 17th, choosing instead to act in a supporting role for the attempted flights on the 100th anniversary offlight. The Wright brothers' great-grandniece Amanda Wright Lane and great-grandnephew Steven Wright are with Dr. Kevin Kochersberger, who piloted the Flyer on two of the three flights made prior to December 17th, and on the flight attempt that morning. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

19

Lee Greenwood sang a rousing rendition of his hit, "God Bless the USA." At the climax of the song, an eagle was re足 leased from the base of the Wright Brothers Memorial, and it gracefully flew down to the center of the flight circle.

The Wright Experience did their best to precisely duplicate the hardware used by the Wrights . Here, laying up足 side down, is the reproduction of the truck used to support the aft end of the Flyer as it rolled down the metal足 topped rail during its takeoff run.

The original crankcase of the 1903 Flyer is displayed in the visitor's cen足 ter at the Wright Brothers National Historic Site in Kill Devil Hills. The crankcase was badly damaged after the fourth flight on December 17th, when a strong wind gust tumbled the Flyer over and over. 20

MARCH 2004

A number ofEAA volunteers shared their expertise with visitors to the Countdown to Kitty Hawk pavilion who tried out the Microsoft Flight Simulators. This lucky lady reacts to her successful landing ofEAA's Ford Tri-Motor as Cody Welch, one ofEAA's Ford Tri-Motor captains, coaches her through the process.

Addie Tate and her husband, William, the postmaster ofKitty Hawk, hosted the Wrights when they arrived for the first time in the fall of 1900. As they assembled their first glider in front of the Tate's austere home, Addie allowed Wilbur to use her sewing machine, one of the few luxuries among the hearty band of Outer Bankers living on that part of North Carolina's shoreline. This is that very machine, now on display in the visitor's center.

Also on display at the visitor's center is this modified bicycle hub, which served as the front "wheel" ofthe original Flyer.

The frame home of the Tates burned to the ground early in the last century, but its location is marked by this obelisk, first dedicated in 1928, and then rededicated with a new marker in 1989. It's on the west side ofMoor Shore road, just south ofKitty Hawk Road in Kitty Hawk, about 4-1/2 miles north ofthe National Memorial site.

These two photographs capture the first flight attempt, when the Flyer left the rail briefly. In the first shot, Terry Queijo stands in for Wilbur Wright as she runs alongside to steady the wingtip of the Flyer. Unfortunately, the wind, which had been blowing at about 10 knots, fell off to about 6 knots after the Flyer started down the rail. To fly, the Flyer needed at least 10 knots ofheadwind to lift off the rail and fly any distance. The brief leap was the best the day's weather would allow, as the wind con足 ditions didn't improve enough later in the day to permit a second attempt.

Harry B. Combs, noted aviator, historian, author, and businessman, do足 nated this new reproduction of the 1903 Flyer to the National Park Service. It too was built by The Wright Experience, and will be placed on display in the visitor's center at the Wright Brothers National Historic Memorial. In Harry's remarks at the dedication of his gift to the NPS, he said. '"'It has been my joy that I have been able to live my life in the rarefied field of aviation, and I am proud to be able to give this gift to the American peo足 ple...I trust that it will endure for generations for all those whose hearts and souls are above the clouds." After returning home to Colorado, Harry Combs passed away at age 90 on December 27,2003.

CK

SIT

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

Skiplane fly-in PHOTOS BY JIM KOEPNICK

shkosh weather: Next to per­ fect. Visibility: Awesome! Seventy­ five miles or better. Temperature: Brutal, single digits. Wind: NW at about 10. Just enough snow cover to do the job. What a beautiful day for the event. I had the skis installed on the Cessna 120, Number three son, Lee, was spring loaded with his Champ, and as the snow began the day be­ fore, we thought we had it made. Then with little more than an in ch accumulation, the wind switched. We lost our lake effect snow showers, and the wind blew what little snow we had away. There we were, with too little cov­ erage to get airborne on skis. Son Lee proved one thing; tenacity will win in the end. He and his fellow Champ owners did the unbelievable. They flew over to a nearby frozen lake on wheels, landed on the ice, and then in near-zero weather they installed the skis. How about that? Meanwhile, I got a call from an RV-6 owner who wanted to go, but h e had a slight problem. His air­ plane, fresh out of annual, still had not been put back together. Could I come over, help him finish the job, and then fly with him to Wittman Regiona l Airport to attend the skiplane fly-in? Of course, his heated hangar and the thought of a free ride afterward did the trick. We finished the annual, checked the weather again, and launched in an attempt to rendezvous with the Cha mps, which were already en route. We figured with our 165

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MARCH 2004

-­

...- ­ Mark Holiday flew over (romT ake Elmo, Minnesota, with his recently acquired Piper PA-20 Pacer. [mph?] cruise speed we'd catch them before they got halfway there. Ha! Think again. We never saw them, and when we arrived at Wittman and were greeted at Basler Flight Service by a super friendly line boy who then gave us a ride over to Pioneer Air­ port behind the EAA AirVenture Museum, we knew we were in the right place.

Cold it was, about 8°F even with the sun shining. With the air so clean, it was a joy to be there. When we got to the hangar, we found hot coffee, sweet rolls, juice, and warmth. [ think it was several minutes after imbibing and having something sweet that I began to realize there were several dozen other people in the hangar. The hunger and the cold will make a

'lM''An·jIi·son-tn-law, arrived at the Cessna 170A. More more people drove in, and the three Champs from home came slipping in . Pretty soon there was a pretty good lineup of

Champs, two Maules, a of 1 70s , a co up le of Piper types, maybe 30 or 40 cars, and maybe 80 to 100 people. Audrey Po berez n y arrived about 11:00. A presentation was made to EAA by the Minnesota group, Audrey was introduced, and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to Audrey. Paul , unfortunately, was home nursing a cold. I know a while back I was com­ plaining about the lost camaraderie

Part of the volunteer ground crew from EAA Chapter 237, Bla~ne, Min?esota, gets. ready for another arri:val.

T HE JOURNAL OF TH E EARLY AEROPLAN E Leonard E. Opdycke,Editor

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had a grand time. I must have talked to 30 or 40 different peo­ ple, sometimes all at once. I was in avia­ tion heaven with my kind of fellow avia­ tion people , and we really made the best of it. After the birthday Audrey Poberezny enjoys the rousing birthday song being song, it was eatin' time . We had chili sung by the assembled crowd at EAA's Pioneer Airport. (hot or mild), tomato soup, all the bread, crackers, and good­ ies, cookies, coffee, soft drinks, and plenty of cake. Norm Petersen, who origi­ nated this event several years before he retired from EAA and his job in Avia­ tion Information Services, claimed one of the three cakes as All the comforts of camp. Bill Weber's Champ fea­ his very own, and the tures a pair offoxes for prop covers, and a small rest of us shared the portable Honda EX lODe generator is energizing the engine pre-heater to keep the oil hot while Bill enjoys other two. There was plenty! Wh e n you some chili and cake. have a cake that 's about 3 feet by 2 feet, three like that go a long way. Now with the fires stoked , I put on my insulated coveralls and snow boots, went outside to watch the airplanes, and savored the day. :., .... It was just bee-yooty­ . t .. .... ...". -­ full! The airplanes were better than the Lee Hilbert went to the trouble of taking offon wheels in Illinois, landing on a frozen lake, putting the skis on, icing on the cake, and then flying on to Oshkosh. Now that's dedication! and everyone was in a festive mood. The around the airport-the loss of the wind had died to a whisper, and small talk and the feeling of belong­ with the sun shining so brightly ing. Well, all that took a back seat that the sunglasses wouldn 't help, here. With people from Texas, Min­ there was a great feeling of com­ nesota, Indiana, some local and far fort and well-being. There we were, distant Cheeseheads as well, Illinois, among friends , and among air­ Ohio, Michigan, and a good show­ planes. What more could one ask? ing of Vintage members from who -;::;2. 1_· Over to you, (( c.!{.-/~CJCknows where (even Colorado!), we

.

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24

MARCH 2004

Reuben Flee~~ continued from page 15 pleasure of meeting Keating for the first time. He told me wonder­ ful stories about his flight from Florida to California in a very beat up, ex-banner towing Fleet without a functioning airspeed or altimeter. "At one point during the trip, he got caught on top, low on gas, and not sure where he was. He did the airmail pilot trick of spinning down through the overcast, hop­ ing for a reasonable ceiling. He popped out at 500 feet agl, broke the spin, and landed in a farmer's field. He says it took him 45 min­ utes to get his bladder back under control. "At Oshkosh he climbed into the airplane and sat in it for the first time in SO years. A lot of pic­ tures were clicked as we told people of the historic meeting of the pilot and his old airplane./1 After all the hard work, Terry says he's happy with the final re­ sult. "It cruises at about 85 mph , which doesn't exactly make it a speed demon, but you don 't fly airplanes like this to go places. You fly it for fun. "I bring it down final at 60-65 mph and it's like most old biplanes in that it bleeds off speed quickly as you bring the nose up to flair. Ground handling is excellent be­ cause of its huge rudder, which is almost as big as a Stearman's. It is quick and responsive in crosswind landings. It flies about 10 mph slower than a Stearman but will out-climb it and uses a lot less stick and rudder travel to control it. Af­ ter flying the Fleet for several weeks, the Stearman looks and feels as big as a 747./1 Having been bit hard by the restoration bug, Terry is now restor­ ing a 1946 7AC Champ. So, he has come full circle to the type that got him started in the first place. ....

BY

H.G.

FRAUTSCHY

DECEMBER'S MYSTERY ANSWER

Our December Mystery Plane was not very well known, and as a result we only had two responses, one from Ed Kastner, Elma, New York, and the other from Wayne Muxlow of Minneapolis, Min足 nesota.

The biplane in the photograph sent by Peter Wiggin is a Thomas Morse 0-19. Thomas-Morse had been working on aircraft built with metal structures since 1919. The 0-19 was built with a metal frame covered in fabric, with the move-

able control surfaces covered in corrugated aluminum. Built be足 tween 1928 and 1931 , the 0-19 had a variety of engines installed, including the Pratt & Whitney Hornet and the Curtiss H-1640-1 Chieftain.

THIS MONTH' S MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO US FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE

TRAPANI COLLECTION OF THE EAA AERONAUTICAL LIBRARY

SEND YOUR ANSWER TO:

EAA, VINTAGE

AIRPLANE, P.O. Box

3086, OSHKOSH, WI 54903-3086. YOUR ANSWER NEEDS TO BE IN NO LATER THAN APRIL 5, 2004, FOR INCLUSION IN THE JUNE 2004 ISSUE OF Vintage Airplane. You CAN ALSO SEND YOUR RESPONSE VIA E-MAIL.

SEND YOUR ANSWER TO

vintage@eaa. org .

BE SURE TO INCLUDE BOTH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS (ESPECIALLY YOUR CITY AND STATE!) IN THE BODY OF YOUR NOTE AND PUT "(MONTH) M YSTERY PLANE" IN THE SUBJECT LINE. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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A continued from page 4

friends in the local CAP squadron's Piper PA-18. On that day I was fly­ ing with William S. Johnson, who is now deceased, and we were land­ ing at the Bartlesville airport, south bound on final to runway 17. Just as soon as we touched down, the "tower" (Bartlesville is an un-tow­ ered airport, however, Phillips Petroleum Company at that time had a person on hand that gave traffic advisories) gave us a red light with the biscuit gun. The aircraft we were in had a radio, and it was on, however he just gave us contin­ uous flashing reds, so we pulled off the active runway immediately af­ ter touchdown and proceeded on the taxiway to a parking area at the terminal. Just as we were pulling into the tie down spot, I noticed a DC-3 on rollout about mid-field , and my first glance at it told me something 26

MARCH 2004

was wrong; however, it wasn't read­ ily apparent. (I sometimes "look" but do not "see.") A second glance made me realize that the horizontal stabilizer and elevator were "shred­ ded." I was immediately distracted from the DC-3 when this silver Cessna 170 with red trim pulled into the tie down spot to our right. Here again, first glance said some­ thing was wrong. The aircraft did not have the top part of the engine cowl. And as the door opened, the guy that stepped out looked very shook up. At first, seeing an aircraft without the cowl and taxiing on the airport, my first reaction was that he had perhaps been working on his engine, and just taxied into the parking spot. Second glance showed that the aircraft was full of children, and if I remember cor­ rectly they were very upset, perhaps crying or hysterical. I spoke to the pilot and asked, "What's going on?" or something to that effect. The reply was some­ thing like "He (pointing to the DC-3) ran over me!" At that point a second look at the DC-3 , which was pulling into one of the Phillips corporate hangars south of the ter­ minal, indicated that it was indeed damaged. I didn't go down to where the DC-3 was, but as the people got off it appeared that it was nearly full. I didn't have any further conversation with the pilot of the Cessna, and within a few minutes a few people started gath­ ering at the airport, one of which was a person that recovered the cowling from the yard of the Jane Phillips Elementary School, which was evidently the point at which the two aircraft collided and would have been on the downwind leg of a left approach to runway 17. That is essentially all I know of the incident. I'm sure there was an account of it in the local paper, but I don't remember it. That has been a number of years ago for me. I was 15 at the time, and today I am near­ ing my 63rd birthday. A few years later, in the early '60s I was a student at Oklahoma State

University at Stillwater. I remember one day I was just "surfing" the University library, picking up any book that looked remotely interest­ ing, with absolutely nothing in mind. I found a book detailing vari­ ous aviation accidents over the years and was flipping through the pages when something caught my eye. It was a diagram showing a map of Bartlesville. I quickly recog­ nized it and turned back to it. It was an account of this accident. To the best of my knowledge, it said that the DC-3 was northbound on the downwind leg for runway 17 at pattern altitude. It said the fellow flying your Cess na was a "relative from out of town" who was showing these children their house from the air. He was flying in a circle at the time of the collision, banking around a pOint. My recol­ lection of the explanation of the accident was that neither aircraft saw the other, the Cessna because of the wing low attitude, and the DC-3 because of the restricted visi­ bility from the cockpit. One year later in July of 1957 at age 16, I started taking flight in­ struction at Dewey Highway Airport and in Septe mber of that year, soloed in a Piper J-3. Over the years I flew other Piper and Cessna aircraft, but never took a checkride for a private license. I guess at my age now, I probably never will. I just thought that you would be interested in what little I knew about this incident. As you obvi­ ously are aware, the potential for a real tragedy was never greater, but it was a miracle no one was hurt. I am glad that you own this plane now, and it has survived all these years. (As a side note, I'm a collec­ tor of military firearms, and I like them just as you like your aircraft, original and "un-messed with." Original examples like your aircraft are extremely rare.) I'm also pleased to know that the DC-3 is also "alive and well." Sincerely, Charles E. Lee Bartlesville, Oklahoma .......

NEW MEMBERS

Nathan Townsend .......... Northmead, NSW, Australia

Tom Vodarek ... .. ...... . . .... Rockwood, ON, Canada

Dirk Dobbelaere ...... . . . . . Rijswijk 2281, Netherlands

Michael Shepard ........ . .... ..... .... Pine Bluff, AR

Dave Bell . ........... ...... .. ...... .. . Torrance, CA

Hugh Bennett ... .. . . . . ... ... . . ... ... . San Diego, CA

Steve P. Bentley. . . . .. . . . . .... . . . ........ San Jose, CA

Harry Hirschman .... . . . .. .. . ......... . Palo Alto, CA

Wilfred Laycock . . ..................... . . Hemet, CA

Adli Yacoub . .. . ................... San Francisco, CA

Leon Koller . . .................. Colorado Springs, CO

Andrew C. Moffat ..... . . .... . .... .... .... . Delta, CO

Dale W. Matheson . ............. . . .... .. Simsbury, CT

Jerry Russell .... . ... . . ........... . ..... Titusville, FL

Kenneth Raymond Lilja ..... . ........... Snellville, GA

Clarence Carlson ..... ..... .. ... .... . ... . .. Joyce, IA

Bill Weyers ... .... . ... . . ... . . . ......... . . . Clive, IA

Arlen Woodbridge ........... . ....... . . . .. Rupert, ID

Robert Anderson ... . . . . ..... .... Arlington Heights, IL

Carl Culver ........................... Crestwood, IL

Charles Jansen . ...... . . . . . ....... . Machesney Park, IL

Mark 1. Yerkes ........ . ...... .. ...... ..... Worth, IL

Ron Huddleston ... ... .... ... . . ... .. North Vernon, IN

John Atkin ...... . ........... .. ... . . Yates Center, KS

David Grantham . .... . ............. . .. Covington, LA

David Landry .. .. . ... .. .. ... . .. . ...... . Franklin, LA

Bruce R. Underwood ................... Alexandria, LA

Gary Riddell .. ..... . ..... ... ...... .. South Lyon, MI

Edsel H. Aswegan ... .... ... . .. .. . . . . Minneapolis, MN

Douglas Boyd .. ..... .. .... . . ... . .. .... Pinetown, NC

Joseph Holladay . . .. . .... .... ... .. Winston Salem, NC

Terry Jevne ... . .. . ... . . ... .. .......... Lansford, NO

Raymond E. Anderson .. .... ............ Papillion, NE

Hubert]. Brunk ... . ... ........ ... . . ..... Lincoln, NE

Michael Josi. ........ .. ........... .. ..... .. Wall, NJ

Nicholas Kapotes .............. . . . Pompton Plains, NJ

Mark E. Pfunke .......................... Califon, NJ

Ralph Stechow .............. . . ..... . . Old Tappan, NJ

Cole Hedden .... ... . ... . . .... . . .... Cedar Crest, NM

Justin M. Johnson ... . . .............. Gardnerville, NV

Robert G. Dart ............ . ... . . . . . . . .. Mayville, NY

Mark Rzadca . .. .. .. ......... . . ... . . . . . . Fairport, NY

Jon Bartell .. . . . ... ........ . ... . . . . .. Springfield, OH

Wes Jones ... . . . .. ...................... Orient, OH

Thomas G. MatowitzJr. . ............. . . . . Mentor, OH

Jenny Rasor . .... ... .... ........... .. .. Clayton, OH

John F. Spain . .. . .. ...... ..... ......... . Dayton, OH

Kenneth B. Coughlin, Jr. ... . ...... . Oklahoma City, OK

Ronald Hazlett ... . .. . .... . .... ... ......... Enid, OK

Douglas Fava ..... ............ ... ...... Lebanon, PA

Jim Haunstein . ............... ...... .. Marysville, PA

Jack Holgate .... . .. . . ...... .. . ........ Hartsville, SC

Gary Bain ................ .. ...... . . . .. Humble, TX

Timothy D. Hahn . .. ... ............. ... . Tomball, TX

Stan Price . . .... .... ... ..... .. . ....... Grapevine, TX

Alain Proteau . . . . .. ..... . . . .. .. . ...... . .. Hurst, TX

Gene W. Titus .......... ..... ......... Greenville, TX

Robert Orr .................... ... .... .. . Fairfax, VA

Thomas J. Anderson ..... ... . .. ...... . .. Spokane, WA

Carol A. Goodsole .. ...... .... . .. ....... Spokane, WA

Marc Lange. ...... ....... . . .... . . ...... Garfield, WA

Eric Newhouse ........... ... . ... .... .. . Tacoma, WA

Karl Schaefer ..... . .... . .. . ...... . . ..... Everett, WA

Robert Skowronski . .. ......... . ...... Moses Lake, WA

Jack Jasinski ................... ... ..... Necedah, WI

Wade S. Pennau ................... . ... Wautoma, WI

Gary Fisher . .. . ......... .. . .. . . .... Parkersburg, WV

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Something to buy, sell or trade? Classified Wo rd Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum, with boldface lead-in on first line. Classified Display Ads: One column wide

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(2.167 inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. B lack 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). VAA 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 (c1as­ sads@eaa.org) using credit card payment (ali cards accepted). Include name on card, complete ad­ dress, type of card, card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA. Address ad­ vertising correspondence to EAA 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@aol.com Website www.ramengine.com VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS, N. 604 FREYA ST., SPOKANE, WA 99202.

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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.

WORKSHOPS

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YOU CAN BUILD IT! LET EAA TEACH YOU HOW. 28

MARCH 2004

Flying wires available. 1994 pricing . Vi sit www.f1yingwires.com or call 800-517-9278. For Sale - 1939 Spartan Executive, 3500TT, 10 sMOH. 214-354-6418.

FLY-IN CALENDAR

r

~.:........~~~..-____ "

.,.

,j'MIIE_

The following list ofcoming events is furnished to our readers as a matter of information only and does not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, control or direction ofany event (fly­ in , semin ars, fl y mark et, etc.) listed. To submit an ev e nt , pl ease log on t o www. eaa.org/e vents/events .asp. Only if Internet access is unava ilable should you send the information via mail to:, Att: Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Information should be received four months prior to the event date.

MAY 7-9-Burlington, NC-Ala­ mance County Airport (BUY) VAA Ch. 3 Annual Spring Fly­ In. All Classes welcome. Info: Jim 843-753-7138 or eiwi lson@homeexpressway.net MAY 16-Romeoville, IL-Lewis University Airport (LOT) 33rd An­ nual EAA Ch. 15 Fly-In Breakfast, 7am-Noon,. Adults $5, under twelve $3. Info: 630-243-8213 JUNE 4-S-Bartlesville, OK-18th Annual Biplane Expo. All aircraft and airplane enthusiasts are wel­ come. Static displays, forums, seminars, & exhibits. Info: Charlie Harris 918-622-8400. JUNE 4-6-Columbia, CA-Bellanca­ Champion Club West Coast Fly-In, (022). Camping, ho­ tel/motel facilities, Friday BBQ, Saturday steak dinner/mtg. Ad­ vance registration strongly encouraged. Info: 518-731-6800, Robert@beiianca-championciub.com or www.bellanca-championclub.com. JUNE 5-6-Washington, lA-Fly Iowa 2004 & Diamond Anniver­ sary of D-Day, usa Show-Dance Evening of 5th. All aircraft wel­ come. Info:www.flyiowa2004.com JUNE 11-13-Gainesville, TX­ Texas Ch . Antique Airplane Association 41st Annual Fly-In, Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE). Info: Jim 817-468-157l. JUNE 12-Ghent, NY-Klinekill Airport (NYl ), EAA Ch. 146 Sum­ mer Fly-In Pancake Breakfast, 8:30-noon, $5. Fly-in or drive-in, all welcome. (Gas available at Co­ lumbia County Airport, IBl.) Rain date 6/13. Info: 518-758­ 6355 or www.eaa146.org. JUNE 16-19-Lock Haven, PA-19th Annual Sentimental Journey to Cub Haven 2004. Fly in, drive in, camp. Info: 570-893-4200 or j2cub@kcnet.org.

AUGUST 13-15-Alliance, OH-6th

Annual Ohio Aeronca Aviators Fly-In, Alliance-Barber Airport (2Dl). Breakfast Sat & Sun. 7­ llam by EAA Ch. 82. Primitive camping on field, local lodging available. All welcome. Info: 216-337-5643, www.oaafly-in.com or bwmatzllac@yahoo.com. SEPTEMBER 4 -Marion, IN-14th Annual Fly-In Cruise-In, Mar­ ion Municipal Airport. Event features antique, classic, con­ temporary, homebuilt, ultralight, & warbird aircraft and vintage cars, trucks, mo­ torcycles, and tractors. Pancake Breakfast. Info: www.FlylnCruiseln.com or rayjohnson@FlylnCruiseln.com. SEPTEMBER 6-12-Galesburg, IL­ Galesburg Municipal Airport (GBG) 33rd Nat'l Stearman Fly­ In. Everything Stearman! Fun and camaraderie. Aerobatic, formation , short-field takeoff and spot-landing contests. Air­ craft judging and awards. Technical seminars. Aircraft parts & souvenirs for sale. Dawn patrol and breakfast. Lunch-time fIyouts. Pizza party. U.S.O. show. annual banquet. Info: Betty 309-343-6409, stearman@stearmanflyin.com, or www.stearmanflyin.com. SEPTEMBER IS-Bartlesville, OK­ 48th Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In. Info: Charlie Harris 918­ 622-8400. SEPTEMBER IS-Ghent, NY­ Klinekill Airport (NYl ), EAA Ch. 146 Fall Fly-In Pancake Breakfast, 8:30-noon, $5. Fly­ in or drive-in, all welcome. (Gas available at Columbia County Airport, IBl. ) Rain date 9/19. Info: 518-758-6355 or www. eaa146.org.

MAY 14-15 Southwest EM Regional Ay-In New Braunfels, TX (KBAZ) www.swrfi.org

JUNE 18-20 Golden West EM Regional Ay-In Marysville, CA (MYV) www.goldenwestflyin.org

JUNE 26-27 Rocky Mountain EM Regional Ay-In Front Range Airport (FTG) Watkins, CO www.rmrfi.org

JULY 7-11 Northwest EM Fly-In

Arlingto n, WA (AWO)

www.nweaa.org

JULY 27-AUGUST 2 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

Oshkosh, WI (OSH)

www.airventure.org

SEPTEMBER 18-19 Virginia State EM Fly-In

Petersburg, VA (PTB)

www.vaeaa.org

OCTOBER 1-3 Southeast EM Regional Fly-In Evergreen , AL (GZH) www.serfi.org

OCTOBER 7-10 Copperstate EM Region al Fly-In Phoeni x, AZ (A39 ) www. copperstate.org

OCTOBER 1-3-Pottstown, PA-Bel­

lanca-Champion Club East Coast Fly-In, Pottstown Munic­ ipal Airport (N47). Info: 518-731-6800, Robert@beiianca-championclub.com, or www.bellanca-championclub.com. OCTOBER 2-3-Midland, TX-AIR­ SHO 2004, Midland Int'l Airport, Commemorative Air Force HQ. Info: 432-563-1000, est. 2231 or publicrelations@cafhq·org.

VINTAGE AI RPLAN E

29

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Membership Services Director~

VINTAGE

AIRCRAFT ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND THE EAA VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION

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

OFFICERS President Espie "Butch" Joyce 704 N. Regional Rd. Greensboro, NC 27409 336-668-3650 windsock@aol.com Secretary

Steve Nesse 2009 H.ighland Ave. Albert Lea, MN 56007 507-373-1674 stnes@deskmedia.com

Vice-Preside nt

George Daubner 2448 Lough Lane Hartford, WI 53027 262-673-5885 vaaOylx>y@msn.com

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

cwh@hvsu.com

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

Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hills Dr. Indianapolis, IN 46278 317-293-4430

sstlO@comcast.net

dalefaye@msn.com

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

Jeannie Hill

P.O. Box 328

Harvard, IL 60033-0328

815-943-7205

dinghao@owc.net

John Berendt

7645 Echo Point Rd.

Cannon Falls, MN 55009

507-263-2414

fchld@n:onnect.com

Steve Krog

1002 Heather Ln.

Hartford, WI 53027

262-966-7627

sskrog@aol.com

Robert C. "Bob" Brauer

9345 S. Hoyne

Chicago, [L 60620

773-779-2105

photopiJot@aol.com

Robert D. "Bob" Lumley

1265 South 124th SI.

Brookfield, WI 53005

262-782-2633

lumpel@execpc.com

Dave Clark

635 Vestal Lane

Plainfield, IN 46168

317-839-4500

davecpd@iquest.net

5936 Steve Court Roanoke, TX 76262 817-491-9110 n03capt@flash.net

Jobn S. Copeland

lA Deacon Street Northborough, MA 01532

508-393-4775

copelandl@juno.com

Phil Coulson

28415 Springbrook Dr.

Lawton, MI 49065

269-624-6490

rcouJson516@cs.com

Roger Gomoll

8891 Airport Rd, Box C2

Blaine, MN 55449

763-786-3342

pledgedrive@msncom

Gene Morris

Dean Richardson 1429 Kings Lynn Rd Stoughton, WI 53589 608-877-8485

da.r@aprilalre.com Geoff Robison

1521 E. MacGregor Dr.

New Haven, IN 46774

260-493-4724

chief7025@aol.com

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

DIRECTORS

EMERITUS

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

Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873

Web Site: http://www.eaa.org and http://www.airventure.org E-Mail: vintage @ eaa.org

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

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 (NAFl) • Address changes • Merchandise sales • Gift memberships

CSn

Programs and Activities EAA AirVenture Fax-On-Demand Directory · ..... .. .................... 732-885-6711 Auto Fuel SICs ... .. ........ .. 920-426-4843 Build/ restore information .... .. 920-426-4821 Chapters: locating/organizing .. 920-426-4876 Education ..... __ .... . . ... _.. 920-426-68] 5 • EAA Air Academy • EAA Scholarships

Flight Advisors information .... 920-426-6522 Flight Instmctor 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 • AdvertiSing information 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 AVIATION. 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.)

AVIATION magaZine not included) . (A dd $15 for Foreign Postage.)

WARBIRDS

Current EAA members may join the EAA War­ birds of America Divisiolland receive WARBlRDS magazine for an additional $<10 per year. EAA Membership, WARBIRDS magaZine and one yea r membership in the Warbirds Divi­ VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION sion is avai lable for $50 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $7 for Current EAA members may join the Vintage Foreign Postage.) Aircraft Associaton and receive VINTAGE AIR­ PLANE magazine for an additional $36 per year. EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE EAA EXPERIMENTER magazine and one year membership in the EAA Current EAA members may receive EAA Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $46 EXPERIMENTER maga zin e for an addi­ per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not i n­ tional $20 per year. cluded). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage.) EAA Membership and EAA EXPERIMENTER magazine is available for $30 per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not included). (Add $8 for lAC Foreign Postage.) Current EAA members may join the Interna­ tional Aerobatic Club, Inc. Division and receive SPORT AEROBATICS magazi ne for an addi­ tional $45 per year. EAA Membership, SPORT AEROBATICS magazine and one year membership in the lAC DiviSion is ava ilable for $55 per yea r (SPORT

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

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

Copyright ©2004 by the EAA Vintage AircraH Association All rights reserved. VINTAGE AIRPLANE OSSN 0091-&)43) IPM 40032445 is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage AircraH Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center. 3000 Poberezny Rd., P.O. Box 3088. Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, P.O. Box 3088, Oshkosh. WI 54903-3086. Return Canadian issues to Station A. PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surtace mail. ADVERTISI NG - Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invtte constructive critk:ism and wek;ome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken. EDITORIAL POLICY: Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely witI1 the contributor. No renumeration is made. Material should be sent to: Edttor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE. P.O. Box 3088. Oshkosh, Wi 54903-3088. Phone 9201426-4000. EAAe and SPORT AViATIO~. the EAA Logoe and AeronauticaN are registered trademar1<s. trademar1<s. and service marks of the Experimental AircraH Association, Inc. The use of these trademarl<s and service marks without the pennissioo of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited. The EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION Logo is a trademarl< of the EAA Aviation Foundation, Inc. The use of this trademark wtthout the pennission of the EAA Aviation Foundation, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

31

_ Delta Airlines pilot/line check airman/instructor 7970足 2002 _ Current/}' flying a 7945 G35 Bonanza and a 7932 Great Lakes _ Restoring a 7937 Aeronca K

/I

AUA has always met our insurance needs with flexibility and a very pleasant attitude. Their response to our some足 times unique requirements has always been timely and professional. I continue to recommend AUA to all my flying friends ./I

- Ted Beckwith

AUA~

Exclusive Ej\A Vintage Aircraft Association Insurance Program

Lowe liability ane! hull premiums Medical payments included - Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft carrying all risk coverages - No hano-propping exclusion No age pepalty - No component parts endorsements - Discounts for claim-free rene'tlals carrying alt risk coverages

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

800-727-3823 Fly fly AUA with the pros ...

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Heated and Cooled Front Seats'

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Rear-Seat DVD Entertainment System-

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Vehicle Discount