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GEOFF ROB IS ON PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOC IATI ON

Spring means fly-ins!

Finally, April has arrived! I re­ cently read that this past winter, those of us here in the Midwest ex­ perienced the second-longest sus­ tained period of low temperatures in all recorded history. I believe every bit of that. It was the first week in March before I was actually able to raise the hangar door and work com­ fortably inside the hangar. That's the best indication that spring is on its way. I never really believed much in that shadowy, groggy-eyed ground­ hog test anyway. Along with spring and its milder weather, it's time again to prepare the trusty old steed for flight. Be sure to take a close look at the old aerial buggy, and don't just kick it in the tires. Give it a bath, rub its belly, and talk sweet to it so it's in the right mood to get you through to the next annual. An hour or so with your fa­ vorite instructor is in order if it's been awhile since you've been aloft. Good luck, and be safe! Once April starts, it seems many of us get serious about planning which flying events we want to put on our personal aviation events cal­ endar. The efforts to plan for yet an­ other great EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2007 find us attempting to figure out how we will ever top the previous year's event. We are now only 100­ plus days from opening day. Be as­ sured, we are well into formulating and developing a number of new and interesting ideas for this year's event in the Vintage area. One such item of interest is our plan, in conjunction with EAA, to host a special display of the Beech line of aircraft. The idea is to prominently display one example

of each pre-1968 model that Beech has produced over all these years. As you may know, this is also the 60th anniversary of the classic Beech Bo­ nanza. As many of you are aware, the first Beech straight-tail actually flew in December of 1945, but it wasn't type certificated until March of 1947, followed shortly thereafter by the first Model 35 V-Tail Bonanza that same year. The Beech Bonanza holds a re­ markable record for being the longest continuously produced aircraft model in aviation history. The Vintage Air­ craft Association Type Club Parking Committee is also planning a special "Iimited" camping area in the Type Club parking area for those qualified Bonanza attendees looking to park/ camp together in celebration of this landmark anniversary. We hope to see you there with your tent and your pre-'68 Bonanza. Later this month [ plan to attend Sun 'n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland, Flor­ ida. Although [ am not often able to attend this event, when I do it's very fun, filled with an abundance of laid-back Southern hospitality. It's a really welcome opportunity to visit with a lot of my Oshkosh avia ­ tion friends, without all the hustle and bustle of my responsibilities at Oshkosh. These folks put on a great event, so be sure to check them out at www.Sun-N-FlIn.org. Remember, it's never too early to begin planning your next visit to Oshkosh. Stay tuned to the ever­ changing events and attractions at EAA/VAA. Visit us regularly at www. AirVenture.org and www. Vintage Aircraft@.org. AirVenture is the premier avia­

tion event of the year. So keep in mind that if you're tired of just be­ ing an observer and you want to be a part of the action in the Vintage area at AirVenture, you can step right up to the VAA Vol unteer Reg­ istration Booth adjacent to the Vin ­ tage entry archway near the VAA Red Barn. You can volunteer and be part of the EAA experience. When you go home this year, you won't just say, "l was at Oshkosh, you'll say, "I was a part of Oshkosh!" You can even pick your pleasures as a VAA volunteer. Whether it's parking aircraft, flipping pancakes, or helping out in the metal-shaping shop, I'll bet you'll find plenty of interesting activ­ ities in which to participate. Again we remind you that the various AirVenture Vintage Red Barn programs are underwritten by the VANs annual Friends of the Red Barn program. Please give strong consideration to supporting this important VAA financial initiative. Learn more about the Friends of the Red Barn and how you can help at www. Vi ntageA i rcraft. org/programs/ redbarn.html. Hope to see you there! EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2007, The World's Greatest Aviation Cel­ ebration, is July 23-29. VAA is about participation: Be a member! Be a volunteer! Be there! Let's all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation. Remember, we are better together. Join us and have it all. II

VOL. 35, No. 4

N E 2007

APR I L

CONTENTS

IFe

Straight & Level Spring means fly-ins! by Geoff Robison

2

News

6

Restoration Corner Certification Requirements, Inspection, and Run-up by Dan Neuman

8

Can lJust Make Mine Experimental? Unfortunately it's not that simple by Joe Norris

9

Bringing New Horizons Into Focus The Aeronca Kids by Sparky Barnes Sargent

14

Dashing and Darting Through the Sky The diminutive Culver Dart Model LCA by Sparky Barnes Sargent

20

The Curtiss Model J The beginning of the famous Curtiss J series by Wesley Smith

24

EAA's Pioneer Airport Skiplane Fly-In Finally, snow! Real snow! by Ric Reynolds and H.G. Frautschy

26

The Vintage Instructor "Does that seem weird to you?" by Doug Stewart

30

Pass It to Buck Ever wonder how the Cessna Company got into the liaison aircraft business? by Buck Hilbert

32

Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy

38

Calendar

40

Classified Ads

COVERS

FRONT COVER: Tom Wathen's work to revitalize the Flabob Airport in Los Angeles reaches far out足 side the boundaries of the airport grounds. The Wathen Foundation created a program to restore a vintage airplane to teach youth in the surrounding neighborhoods that there were alternatives to the poor lifestyle choices made by some of their peers. Read more about this remarkable project in the article starting on page 9. EAA photo by Bonnie Kratz, EAA photo plane flown by Bruce Moore. BACK COVER: I'd wager that anyone who saw a purple and cream Culver Dart go zipping by would remember the event, and that certainly was the case for 9-year-old Mark Trimble in 1940. Sixty-five years later, Mark can re-create that scene anytime he wants, since he 's now restored that same Culver to just the way it was when he saw it at the Kansas City Municipal Airport. See the article starting on page 14. Photo courtesy Kelly Trimble.

STAFF

EAA Publisher Executive Director/Editor Executive Assistant Managing Editor News Editor Photography

Advertising Coordinator Classified Ad Coordinator Copy Editor Director of Advertising

Tom Poberezny H.G. Frautschy Jillian Rooker Kathleen Witman Ric Reynolds Jim Koepnick Bonnie Kratz Sue Anderson Daphene VanHullum Colleen Walsh Katrina Bradshaw

Display Advertising Representatives: Northeast: Allen Murray Phone 856-220-7180, FAX 856-229-7258, e-mail: nilelllllurray(dJrlli/ulsprillg.colII Southeast: Chester Baumgartner Phone 727-532-4640, FAX 727-532-4630, e-mail: (ballllllll@milldsprillg.com Central: Todd Reese Phone 800-444-9932, FAX 816-741-6458, e-mail: todd@Spc-mng.com Mountain & Pacific: John Gibson Phone 916-784-9593, e-mail: jOllI1gibsOIr@Spc-lIlag.com Europe: Willi Tacke Phone +498969340213, FAX +498969340214, e-mail: willi@flyillg-pages.com

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

EAA Appeals for Release of Abandoned Aircraft Data Should a former airplane manufac­ turer that, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists be allowed to deny the release of essentially abandoned aircraft data to a private restorer for an airplane built more that 70 years ago? Attorneys from the EAA Legal Advi­ sory Council were in Federal Appeals Court in Washington, D.C., in early February arguing that very pOint on behalf of Brent Taylor (EAA 576868). Taylor, who is executive director of the Antique Airplane Association, is seeking access to the original data for a Fairchild 45, which was designed and built in the late 1930s. Taylor's attempt to obtain the plans through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was denied in U.S. District Court. EAA Legal Advisory Council attorney Michael Pangia, arguing on behalf of Taylor, asked the appeals court to refer the case back to the dis­ trict court for an evidentiary hearing, which, if granted, could pave the way for release of aircraft data needed for the preservation of aviation heritage. The Fairchild Corporation, formed in 1990, claims that it is the legiti­ mate owner of the type "certificate, although its name does not appear in any FAA records. "FAA regulations require that transfers of aircraft type certificates, like transfers of aircraft, must be recorded in FAA records," Pangia said. However, he noted the Fairchild Corporation appears no­ where in the FAA records. The FAA sided with the new company, taking the pOSition in court that compliance to the regulation by this company does not matter, offering no legal rea­ son for that position. Pangia argued that the original company, the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, released the Fairchild 45 data to the public in 1955, but the 1990-formed Fairchild Corpo­ ration contends that it withdrew that disclosure when the recent request for 2

APRIL 2007

F45 data was made. The FAA agreed, although no such withdrawal appears anywhere in the FAA records pertain­ ing to this type certificate. Pangia further argued that it was evident that this new company did not even know of the existence of an F45 aircraft until informed by the FAA of Mr. Taylor's request. "To have a trade secret, you should know you have a trade secret," Pangia said. Harry Riggs, EAA Legal Advisory Council chairman, filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief on behalf of EAA, asking the court to re­ fer the case back to the U.S. District Court for an evidentiary hearing . "There never was such a hearing on whether or not Fairchild had aban­ doned the trade secret or confidenti­ ality, which they claim exempts them from having to give up the plans un­ der the FOIA," Riggs said. The FAA has historically refused to re­ lease abandoned aircraft data when the holder of the type certificate is known and does not give permission to do so, a contention where EAA disagrees. Taylor commented, "I think it's a far-reaching case that we would like to see resolved so people can still get the drawings they need to simply pre­ serve aviation heritage." A decision is expected to occur in late spring to mid-summer. Meanwhile, as EAA recently re­ ported, the FAA has proposed legisla­ tion that would allow the release of abandoned type certificate (TC) or sup­ plemental type certificate data (includ­ ing blueprints) to individuals upon request, so they can maintain the air­ worthiness of their Vintage aircraft. This would remedy the current "catch-22" surrounding orphaned TCs, where owners are legally re­ quired to maintain and modify their aircraft using approved data, even though the data is unavailable be­ cause the owner of the type certifi­ cate cannot be found or is no longer in existence.

We All Need to Work Together to Defeat User Fee Proposal If we're to be successful in the fight against the government's user fee proposal, general aviation (GA) has to continue to stand together and work through the U.S. Congress to defeat it. And although it was reassuring to hear broad skepticism and bipartisan opposition to the Bush Administra­ tion's plan during the initial House Aviation Subcommittee hearing, it's clearly going to be a tough battle. "We're extremely pleased that sev­ eral members of the aviation subcom­ mittee share our opposition to the administration's proposed new fund­ ing scheme," said EAA's Earl Lawrence, vice president of industry and regula­ tory affairs. "They realize, as do EAA and the other GA organizations, that this proposal would be incredibly harmful to our nation's aviation in­ frastructure. We'll continue to stand united to keep aviation affordable, less complex, and more accessible for all." Bipartisan comments heard from the subcommittee members: Chairman Jerry F. Costello (D­ Illinois) cited figures showing the new proposal would hypothetically yield approximately $600 million less in FY2008 than maintaining the current tax structure and more than $900 million less from FY2009 to FY2012. "I question the wisdom of moving to a new financing system that will not generate as much revenue as the cur­ rent tax structure when we clearly need to make critical investments now to ensure that our nation's air traffic con­ trol infrastructure is robust for the fu­ ture," Costello said. Rep. Robin Hayes (R-North Caro­ lina) called the 300 percent tax hike on GA fuels (from 21 to 70 cents per gallon) "deadly" and felt there was "no way user fees are fair, equitable, and are going to work." Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) used the terms "unfair" and "un­ continued on page 4

200';'

AIHVENTUHE

OSHKOSH

~

AIRVENTURE NEWS

Special arrival rules apply a day earlier this year than past years.

EAA AirVenture Flight Rules Start a Day Earlier This Year During EAA AirVenture, Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh becomes the busi­ est airport in the world, requiring the FAA to use special staffing and procedures to handle the high volume of air traffic. This year, those special arrival and departure procedures (outlined in the annual AirVenture NOTAM) will start on Friday, July 20, a day earlier than in the past. Pilots arriving before July 20 should use normal airport arrival procedures. All pi­ lots operating to or from the Oshkosh area from July 20-29 must have a copy of the

Visit the AirVenture Website for Continuing Updates Find out everything you need to know about The World's Greatest Avi­ ation Celebration at www.AirVenture. org. Look for continual updates on this year's special events and attrac­ tions, forums and workshops, accom­ modations, traveling to Oshkosh, and more. And don 't forget to check out the biweekly EAA AvCast, audio pre­ sentations featuring aviation people, events and issues, and EAA AirVen­ ture Updates at www.EAA.org/podcast.

Join EAA at the

World's

Greatest

Aviation

Celebration

2007 AirVenture Notice to Airmen (NOTAM). We expect to have NOTAMs available for order and download in May, but you can pre-order the printed copy now at www. AirVenture. orgj200 7jflyingjindex.html.

Vote for the Greatest Aviation Movie of All Time More than 750 EAA members submitted more than 140 movie titles dur­ ing our recent online effort to select the top 10 aviation movies of all time. Now you can vote to determine which one we'll show on the big screen at the EAA Fly-In Theater, sponsored by Eclipse and Ford Motor Co., during the week of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2007. The top 10 movies are Twelve 0' Clock High (1949); The High and the Mighty (1954); The Spirit ofSt. Louis (1957); The Flight of the Phoenix (1965); Those Magnificent M en in Their Flying Machines (1965); The Blue Max (1966); Battle ofBritain (1969); The Great Waldo Pepper (1975); Top Gun (1986); and Memphis Belle (1990).

July 23·29

Visit www.AirVenture.org/movie between now and May 2, 2007, and cast your vote! VINTAGE AIRPLANE

3

wise, " calling for members to Usit to­ gether and work this out." His Michigan colleague from across the aisle, Republican Vern Ehlers (EAA 685118), went a step further, pro­ nouncing the proposal uDead on ar­ rival," also advocating a need to "sit down together and work out long­ range solutions." Rep . Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) noted the proposed 300 percent fuel tax hike (56.4 cents for air traffic con­ trol, 13.6 cents for the trust fund) would udepress GA activity and at best result in lower revenue." And Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri), EAA 619761 and an annual AirVen­ ture attendee, is terribly disturbed by this proposal. "I don't even know where to start," he said. 'II understand that you come in on opposite sides and work toward the middle, but even the middle is unacceptable. I don't see anything but bad news with this." What can EAA members do? EAA has created www.EAA.org/govt/ index.html, a special section that ex­ plains the issue from GA's perspec­ tive and tells how you can help. The bottom line: Write your congressman and senators and let them know your staunch opposition to user fees.

Poberezny, Petri Discuss

Funding Proposal

EAA President Tom Poberezny had an opportunity to discuss the admin­ istration's funding proposal with Con­ gressman Tom Petri, ranking member of the House Aviation Subcommittee, during the congressman's recent visit to Oshkosh. Petri (R-Wisconsin) rep­ resents the state's 6th congressional district, home to EAA headquarters. UCongressman Petri is well aware of EAA and general aviation's united opposition to the administration's proposal and the potential conse­ quences it would have on aviation," Poberezny said. "Our pOSition is that th e present system works. The Air­ port and Airway Trust Fund is collect­ ing record revenues and is projected to continue to do so. The new system as proposed would initially result in less revenue collected, compromise the much-needed growth in the gen4

APRIL 2007

eral aviation community, and result in less congressional oversight and more influence on the national air­ space system by the airline industry." Petri reiterated his support for gen­ eral aviation and said that the future funding needs for the national air­ space system need to be determined before deciding on a new funding mechanism. His objective in the re­ authorization bill is to ensure that the United States remains the world leader in aviation.

EAA Efforts Contribute to Improve Medical Certification Processes EAA's ongOing efforts on airman medical certification issues have helped create significant improvement in the FAA special issuance medical certification process. It was not long ago that a huge backlog of special is­ suance medical certificate applications meant waits of six months or more. EAAers should be heartened to know they've played a role in reduc­ ing the average processing time for a special issuance medical certificate to 24 days. Your voices were heard during Marion Blakey's Meet the Adminis­ trator Q&A session at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005. The administrator heard from several members about long waits for special issuance medi­ cal certificates, leading her to com­ ment, "It's time to do an assessment. We will be taking a look at both the procedures and the resources." In December 2005, the EAA Aero­ medical Advisory Council submitted a list of recommendations to the FAA. Within three months the council was in Washington, D.C., discussing those rec­ ommendations with senior FAA staff. While in Washington, D.C., re­ cently, EAA President Tom Poberezny and senior members of EAA's Industry and Regulatory Affairs staff met with Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton to discuss ongOing certification issues, as well as to follow up on those EAA Aero­ medical Advisory Council recommen­ dations. Tilton reviewed each of EAA's recommendations and reported what the FAA has been doing in response.

'lOur visit to Washington provided an excellent opportunity to review the progress the FAA has made on medical certification issues," Pober­ ezny said. liThe agency has worked hard to address these matters, and we applaud them for their efforts." Along with the good news on spe­ cial issuance medical certificates, Til­ ton reported: - The FAA is moving toward pro­ viding certain clinics and aviation medical examiners (AMEs) the au­ thority to review special issuance cer­ tificates and make recommendations to the FAA's Aerospace Medical Certi­ fication Office in Oklahoma City. The FAA would then expedite its review based on those recommendations. While this falls short of EAA's "Super AME" proposal that would allow ap­ proval authority to individual AMEs, it represents progress toward prevent­ ing future backlogs. - Implementing electronic medi­ cal records has led to permanent in­ tegration of regional flight surgeons into the medical review process. The regional flight surgeons are now part of the Oklahoma City workflow pro­ cess and can be summoned to allevi­ ate backlogs. Regional flight surgeons also now process medicals from pilots in their regions. - EAA also confirmed that extend­ ing the duration of third- and first­ class medical certificates, announced by Blakey at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006, is moving forward. A notice of proposed rulemaking, which would extend the duration of a third-class medical certificate to five years for pi­ lots under age 40 and one full year for first-class medicals for pilots under age 40, awaits her final approval. - Medical self-certification via a valid driver's license for recreational pilots, a proposal that EAA first made nearly 20 years ago and has supported since, is unlikely to move forward soon . EAA expects that current and future data gathered from sport pilots and other pilots operating under the privileges of a sport pilot, who use a driver's license in lieu of a medical, will support such a system for recre­ ational pilot certificates as well.

Dilamond Plus $1250 Ken Kotik Aviation Art Print

*

Close Auto Parking

Full Week

Two Tickets to VAA Picnic

2lickets

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2lickets

1Person/Full Wk

2People/Full Wk

2People/Full Wk

2People/Full Wk

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Tri Motor Certificate Breakfast at Tall Pines Cafe Special FORB Cap Two Passes to VAA Volunteer Party Special FORB Badge Access to Volunteeer Center Donor Appreciation Certificate Name listed: Vintage Airplane Magazine, Website and Sign at Red Bam

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VINTA G E AIRPLA N E

5

Editor's Notes: This tenth installment of the "Restoration Corner" is by Dan Neuman, A&P 16234 IA. Dan covers the all-important Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) paperwork plus proper and legal aircraft markings, inspection of the newly com­ pleted restoration and the first run-up of the engine. At EAA Oshkosh '80, his newly restored Buhl LA-l Bull Pup was named Grand Champion Antique. Dan, a retired Northwest Airlines captain, owns several other antique aircraft and also served on the then An­ tique/Classic board of directors ... Gene R. Chase. Written 20 years ago, much has changed with regard to the willingness of the FAA to issue experimental-exhibition airworthiness certificates for vintage aircraft, and the past 20 years have also seen the retirement of many of the most knowledgeable FAA inspectors, particularly those with expertise in older civilian designs. We've reviewed this article and revised it extensively to reflect those changes, as well as the current regulations for markings on the air­ craft. - H.G. Frautschy, March 2007

Certification Requirements, Inspection, and Run-up BY DAN NEUMAN

EAA 871, Ale 325

Certification Requirements, Standard-Normal Category The owner/restorer of an antique or classic aircraft who desires to ob­ tain a standard airworthiness certifi­ cate (assuming that it doesn't already have a permanent airworthiness cer­ tificate) for his aircraft in the nor­ mal category (U.S. registered) will be governed by Federal Air Regulations (FAR) Part 21, Subpart H. Once is­ sued, the certificate will be effective as long as the maintenance, preven­ tive maintenance, and the alterations are performed in accordance with Part 43 and Part 91, and the aircraft is registered in the U.S. Your airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic will prove to be indispensable in helping to complete the application for an airworthiness certificate and ensure that all required data is submitted to your local FAA flight standards dis­ trict office (FSDO). Following a complete restoration, an FSDO FAA inspector will inspect your aircraft before certification to determine that it conforms to the type design and is in condition for safe operation. FAR 21.183 (d) (2) (iii)

requires that an A&P mechanic will have previously performed a 100­ hour inspection on your aircraft and found it airworthy. Many FAA maintenance inspectors possess extensive knowledge and ex­ perience with a wide variety of aircraft. Therefore you can often expect their help and advice when they inspect your aircraft and process your application for an airworthiness certificate. It is sug­ gested that you review the list of all re­ quired items with your A&P mechanic before applying to your FAA FSDO.

Certification Requirements, Experimental Category FAR Part 21 outlines the require­ ments for obtaining an experimen­ tal certificate on an aircraft. Listed are nine different experimental purposes. This author licensed an antique air­ craft under FAR 21.191 (d), which is the Experimental/Exhibition category. The applicant for an experimental cer­ tificate must submit a letter to his local FAA FSDO with a request and include pertinent information pertaining to his aircraft and intended operation, as outlined in FAR 21.193. The local FAA

REPRINTED FROM

6

APRIL 2007

Vintage Airplane

FSDO will issue the certificate after in­ specting and approving the aircraft and will establish operating limita­ tions as deemed appropriate. It should be mentioned that cur­ rently (2007) the FAA does not rou­ tinely issue experimental/exhibition airworthiness certificates, and when it does so, the aircraft often has sig­ nificant operating limitations. Op­ erating limitations are part of any experimental certificates, and those limitations must be taken into ac­ count when making a determination as to whether it makes sense to pur­ sue such an airworthiness certificate.

Identification and Registration Markings FAR Part 4S prescribes the require­ ments for identification of certifi­ cated aircraft and components. This part also prescribes the nationality and registration marking of U.S. reg­ istered aircraft. Your antique or classic aircraft markings will need to conform to these requirements. In general, all aircraft and aircraft engines, propellers and propeller

DECEMBER 1986

Appendix A of Part 43 lists major alterations, major repairs, and pre ­ ventive maintenance. Inspecting your aircraft for conformity with air­ worthiness standards and compliance with applicable FAA regulations will be expedited if all work is done using approved data such as manufacturer'~ maintenance and overhaul manuals, pertinent FAA data, etc.

Run-Up

Dan Neuman in his 1931 Buhl LA-I Bull Pup, N348Y. This aircraft was named Grand Champion Antique at EAA Oshkosh '80. blades and hubs, critical components and approved modification parts must be identified in accordance with the methods prescribed in this section. Nationality and registration marks are described in FAR Part 45 Subpart c. The location and size of registration marks may vary according to the in­ tended use and age of the aircraft. FAR 45.21 through 45.33 describe in detail the various requirements . Special rules apply to exhibition, an­ tique , and other aircraft. An inter­ esting provision (45.22) allows the operation of these aircraft without displaying these marks anywhere on the aircraft, under certain condi­ tions. Another provision allows air­ craft built at least 30 years ago to be operated with the 2-inch-high reg­ istration marks as described in this section. However, the special rules do not allow the operation of this air­ craft in an air defense identification zone, in a foreign country (unless that country consents with the opera­ tion), or in certain other operations, such as charter, scheduled airline ser­ vice, etc.

Inspection Previous articles in "Restoration Corner" have emphasized the need for obtaining the assistance of an A&P mechanic, if you're not so licensed yourself. Your A&P mechanic can su­ pervis e your work and he is autho­ rized to perform certain inspections, such as lOO-hour inspections. Annual

inspections on standard - normal cat­ egory aircraft are authorized by A&P mechanics who hold an inspection authorization. Your local EAA chap­ ter can usually refer you to a suitable A&P mechanic if you don't already have one available.

The location and size of registration marks may vary according to the intended use and age of the aircraft.

FAR Part 43, which includes main­ tenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, and alterations, can be used as a guide for setting up your inspection programs. Appendix D of Part 43 contains an itemi zed list of all required inspections. It is es­ sential that rebuilding and alteration records can be completed, recorded, and made use of in accordance with FAR 43.11. FAA Form 337, Repair and Alterations, will have to be com­ pleted as appropriate.

Following a major or top engine overhaul, a complete inspection of the engine and installation in the aircraft shou ld be performed. The engine manufacturer's recommen ­ dations should be followed with regard to proper engine oil, and cool­ ant for liquid-cooled engines. When necessary, reliable engine overhaul agencies can also be consulted. Non­ detergent engine oil is usually recom­ mended for break-in and a specified number of hours. Before starting the engine, take all necessary precautions to ensure safety. Ensure that no one will be near the propeller or exhaust. Engine noise may also be a consideration. A suitable fire extinguisher should be handy. Wheel chocks should be in place and breaks set, as appropriate. The tail should be secured if there is any possibility of a nose-over. Only properly qualified people should be allowed to hand­ prop the engine if it's not equipped with a starter. Likewise, only a quali­ fied person should be allowed to oper­ ate the throttle and engine controls. Some of the older engine overhaul manuals contained procedures for breaking in after overhaul. These pro­ cedures involved extended ground run time. Many present-day experts agree that minimum time should be spent with ground run-up before takeoff and that for proper cooling the initial run-in should be in flight. Much depends on the initial start and run-up of the engine, so pay close attention to all recommende~ tolerances with regard to tempera ­ tures, pressures, rpm, etc., as listed in FAA Engine SpeCifications, Type Cer­ tificate Data Sheets, approved operat­ ing manuals, etc., as applicable. V I NTAGE AI RPLANE

7

Can I Just Make Mine Experimental?

Unfortunately, it's not that simple BY JOE NORRIS

EAA AVIATION SERVICES

On a regular basis here at EAA head­ quarters, members ask us if there is any advantage to converting their air­ plane to the Experimental category. Many aircraft owners have the idea that they will save money if they switch their factory-built aircraft from Standard cat­ egory to Experimental. This notion no doubt stems from the fact that they see owners of homebuilt aircraft doing their own maintenance, repairs, and inspec­ tions or using more modern auto-engine conversions. This brings forth the idea that if they converted their Standard category aircraft to Experimental, they could save money by reducing main­ tenance expenses and/or taking ad­ vantage of modern engine technology. Actually, it's not that simple. The fact is, there isn't just one Exper­ imental category. Rather, there are sev­ eral purposes for which the FAA might issue an experimental airworthiness certificate. One of those purposes is for "operating an amateur-built aircraft." This is the certificate under which homebuilt aircraft are operated. There are several other purposes for which an experimental airworthiness certificate can be issued. These include research and development, crew training, exhibi­ tion, air racing, market survey, and oth­ ers. Each purpose has its own unique characteristics and limitations. In truth, there is little benefit to changing from Standard to Experimental category. Here's why. Since the aircraft is factory-built and certificated in Stan­ dard category, it would not be eligible for experimental/amateur-built status. The FAA defines amateur-built aircraft as "aircraft in which the major portion has been fabricated and assembled by a person(s) who undertook the con­ struction process solely for their own education or recreation." A factory-built aircraft does not meet this definition. Also, amateur-built aircraft cannot have been previously certificated in an­ other category. This means that the 8

APRIL 2007

aircraft would have to have been certifi­ cated within one of the other experimen­ tal purposes. The least restrictive of the available purposes would be exhibition, but this purpose still places significant restrictions on the use of the aircraft. FAA Order 8130.2F outlines the pro­ cedures for certificating aircraft and related products, and it contains the definition and limitations of various cer­ tification categories. Chapter 4, section 10 covers operation of aircraft under the experimental purpose of exhibition and air racing. The description of this certification purpose reads: "A certificate for experimental exhi­ bition shall only be issued when an air­ craft is to be used for valid exhibition purposes. Included in those purposes are organized air shows, organized air races , organized fly-in activities, or­ ganized exhibitions, youth education events, shopping maIl/school/simi­ lar static displays, organized aerobatic competition, sail plane fly-ins or com­ petitive races or meets , and movie or television productions." You'll notice that recreational and cross-<:ountry flying are not mentioned. Experimental/Exhibition category is further broken down into four groups, identified by Roman numerals I through IV. Aircraft that were formerly certifi­ cated in Standard category fall into Group IV. Group IV aircraft will be is­ sued operating limitations that include the following: "The proficiency area is limited to nonstop flight that begins and ends at the airport where the aircraft is based, with sufficient fuel reserve to meet the applicable operating rules of Part 91. An alternate airport selection is not available for aircraft in this group. " (Ital­ ics ours.) This means you cannot fly the air­ craft to any other airports unless it is to an exhibition registered in advance with the FAA. You need to submit a "pro­ gram letter" to the FAA that lists the ex-

hibitions you wish to attend, and you must contact the FAA in advance to fly to an exhibition that is not listed in your program letter. Any flight that is not to, from, or at one of these exhibitions is a "proficiency flight " and must be con­ ducted only from your home field, and you can land only at your home field­ no $100 hamburger trips for pleasure . "Only FAA-<:ertificated mechanics with appropriate ratings as authorized by FAR 43.3 may perform inspections required by these operating limitations." Unlike the Amateur-Built category, where the builder can apply for a repair­ man certificate that authorizes him/her to do condition inspections (basically equivalent to an annual), you will not be authorized to do so on your exhibition aircraft. You would need to find a certifi­ cated mechanic to do the inspections. Further, because your aircraft previously held a different category airworthiness certificate, al/ of the maintenance re­ quirements of FAR Part 43 still apply. That means you must have an A&P me­ chanic do the required maintenance or supervise you while you do the mainte­ nance on your aircraft, just like when it was in Standard category. As you can see, the Experimental/ Exhibition category places significant restrictions on the operation of the air­ craft, which in turn limits the utility of the aircraft while offering little, if any, opportunity for cost savings. These lim­ itations also significantly reduce the market value of the aircraft should the owner ever want to sell it. And once an aircraft is removed from Standard cate­ gory it is difficult and expensive to move it back. For these reasons, we do not recommend that you change the certifi­ cation category of a Standard category aircraft unless you truly meet the re­ quirements of Experimental/Exhibition category and the purpose . Reference: FAA Order 8130.2F, avail­ able for download from the FAA at www. faa.gov. .....

Bringi

New

Horizons Into Focus The Aeronca Kids BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

Th eyE~:::,~~;~~:

on Saturdays and idly spending time with friends during the previous six years. In­ stead, these young boys and girls decided to invest their time and energies into a special project at Flabob Airport in Riverside, Cal­ ifornia. Most of them are former Young Eagles partiCipants, and one by one they were presented with the opportunity to sacrifice three Saturdays a month in order to breathe new life into a dilapidated, weather-beaten Aeronca.

Aeronca Kids The Aeronca Kids project, as it has been affectionately dubbed, had its genesis when the Thomas W. Wathen Foundation purchased Flabob Airport in 2000 to save it from development and preserve its rich history. Subse­ quently, one forlorn and abandoned Aeronca Super Chief, which had be­ come a fixture of sorts on the flight­ line, was rescued as well. Retired Air Force Col. Al Gester recognized in it the potential for a unique sort of res­ toration project, which would help achieve the foundation's goal of "ed­ ucation through aviation." The intent of the project wasn't to

start an A&P school to train student mechanics. It was to develop a pro­ gram that would build character in young people while promoting team­ work and communication via the technical process of aircraft restora­ tion, with an additional emphasis on citizenship and leadership. "It was John Lyon, Tom Wathen, and Al Gester who started the pro­ gram," explains Roger Farnes, add­ ing, "AI wasn't an A&P, so he asked me to help him out. After about a year and a half he had to move to England and left the program in my charge. I've been with it ever since, and Ken Brown is our IA. Of course, VINTAGE AIRPLANE

9

Roger Farnes and Travis Kingsley.

the rule was that the kids-who ranged in ages from 14 to 18-had to do all the work. And then their work time counted toward a scholarship system to help them pay for flying lessons. They also helped with the Young Eagles program once a month at Flabob."

Super Chief

The teenagers built all-new ribs, stringers, and formers for the airplane. 10

APRIL 2007

As the project progressed, the teen足 agers began to realize that NC33712 really would fly again, as it did for the first time in early 1941 after it rolled off The Aeronautical Corporation of America's production line at the Mu足 nicipal Airport in Middletown, Ohio. The company advertised it as being "designed with an eye to the present and an ear to the future"-yet who would have imagined just how far into the future this particular prewar Aeronca would survive? But this time around, NC33712 would roll off a de足 cidedly different type of "production line," becoming airworthy again only through the collective efforts of 35 teenagers and several adult volunteer instructors whom Gester and Farnes recruited for the program. Andrew Blaize of Perris, California, is one of the young recruits. He wasn't interested in airplanes until he had his first Young Eagles flight at Flabob. "I t hought it was cool, and I was in a little air academy there and I kind of got hooked on aviation. The idea

Andrew Blaize, Hal Nemer, Anthony Ward, and Roger Farnes with the Super Chief at AirVenture.

of bringing an airplane back to life appealed to me because I like build­ ing things . I actually teach a class at Flabob now on how to build model rockets," he says, and adds with de­ termination, "and I'm working on my private-I'm almost there." Anthony Ward of Riverside, Cal­ ifornia, another participant, has already earned his private pilot cer­ tificate . "I was asked by Al Gester to join the program, and I said, 'Of course, sign me up!' I built models, but I didn't realize how detailed (a real airplane) was going to be," he ex­ plains with a smile, adding, "we had an original photo of it before we re­ stored it, so we did have a sense of what it would look like."

Challenges Technical hurdles and personal challenges seem to be part of any aircraft restoration, and the Aeronca Kids and their mentors encountered their share of them. Farnes says one of the first challenges he had was stepping into the project after the Aeronca had already been disassem ­ bled. Some of the parts had been la­ beled, but not all of them, and the old fabric had been discarded. Farnes quickly put his knowledge and expe­ rience to good use, identifying the myriad pieces of that Aeronca jigsaw puzzle and evaluating the parts that were usable or required rebuilding.

Roger Farnes discusses the Aeronca's engine in­ stallation with an intrigued AirVenture attendee.

Brandishing a hearty smile, he pro­ claims that one of the big personal challenges for himself and the other mechanics was simply "keeping our hands in our pockets and letting them do the work-you know how impossible that is for an A&P, not to work on an airplane?" The teenagers developed their skills, hands-on, under the close su­ pervision of their mechanic men­ tors, who didn't hesitate to make them do something over if it didn't pass inspection. Among other tech­ nical tasks, they learned how to use jigs to build ribs, stringers, and form­ ers; work with sheet metal to create a new nose; and rebuild a Continen­ tal A-65. When it came time to learn about fabric installation, Jon Gold­ enbaum and Poly-Fiber were integral to the project. Farnes explains that "Poly-Fiber donated all the materi­ als for the fabric covering, and they also came over and gave the kids a lesson, and the kids now are certified for rib stitching and fabric covering by Poly-Fiber." Throughout the six-year project, "the girls were just as involved as the boys, " comments Farnes, adding, "we had 23 boys and 12 girls in the pro­ gram, and one of the girls who has gone on to college still comes back to visit us. One of the young ladies put in the headliner, because it's very fine work up in there with a needle, and

the guys couldn't have gotten up in there and done it if they wanted to!" Ward , reflecting on the entire ex­ perience, says that rib stitching was challenging, as was learning how to work as part of a team. "And we just kept on building and building the ribs. We thought it would never end! It took a year and a half alone to do the ribs," he says, "but I liked building them . Sometimes we were questioning if the project was ever going to get done, but the last cou­ ple of years it started looking like an airplane , and that was our motiva­ tion. We knew it was going to get done then." Blaize agrees with Ward about the teamwork aspect, elaborating "we had to learn to work with each other, and that was challenging at times, with someone saying 'you're doing this wrong!' My favorite part was probably the woodwork. I thought airplanes were all metal. And the rib stitching was fun. That was proba­ bly the best part of the project, every­ body sitting over there with the wing, sewing. If your dream is aviation, and you want to build an airplane, this is your chance right here. "

Aeronca Aloft That ultimate goal of airworthi­ ness was finally achieved on July 5, 2006. With its golden-yellow fuse­ lage and dark-blue wings, NC33712 VINTAGE AIRPLANE

11

Side view of the restored Super Chief, as seen early one morning at AirVenture.

r

Close-up view of NC33712's Spartan instrument panel.

The interior was neatly designed, and the headliner was installed by one of the female participants in the program.

The wheelpants add a nice finishing touch to the Super Chief.

was a handsome representative of an Aeronca marketing slogan from yesteryear, which praised the Super Chief as "a beauty on wings and as good as it looks." Flabob's EAA Chapter One flight advisor, Hal Nemer, happily accepted the honorable duty of test pilot, and shares his account of the Super Chief's first flight after restoration: 12

APRIL 2007

"I must say the test flight went off very smoothly. The only complaint I had was that it was idling a little too fast. It flew beautifully, and they just did a fantastic job of rebuilding this airplane. The supervision must have been outstanding, too, because you don 't get this kind of a product by not supervising inexperienced people very well." Farnes was delighted, as were the Aeronca Kids, to see the airplane in the sky. "For me, the first flight is al­ ways the best part of a restoration project," he says, elaborating with a knowing smile, "Hal did a high-speed taxi, and he got it off the ground­ and then it just started climbing." It wasn't long before it was time to reach for the next goal-flying the Aeronca to EAA AirVenture. Nemer agreed to make the flight, providing

Close-up view of NC33712's tail.

that longtime friend, experienced pi­ lot, and fellow EAA flight advisor Ron Caraway would make the journey as well, enabling them to take turns flying the Aeronca and the Wathen Foundation'S Ercoupe. After a few fin­ ishing touches on the Super Chief, Nemer and Ward situated their flight gear on the baggage shelf and climbed aboard, while Caraway and Blaize si­ multaneously readied the Ercoupe for the first day of the adventure. During the long cross-country, Nemer demonstrated the finer points of pilotage to Ward, while Caraway taught Blaize about GPS navigation. "At first we tried switch­ ing aircraft after each flight leg, but that entailed moving gear between aircraft," explains Nemer, "so af­ ter the first day we flew the same aircraft all day and switched the

following day. We kept the same 'cadet' on the trip to Oshkosh and switched for the return trip." Support crews were also an im­ portant part of the cross-country adventure, and EAA Chapter One Vice President Jerry Cortez provided much-appreciated assistance along the way. "Jerry flew his Cessna 150 along with them," says Farnes, add­ ing, "of course, he was a little bit faster, so he's the one who would usually wind up at the airport first and get the tiedown area, find the fuel, and get things ready for us. We also had a ground crew of three peo­ ple, and I was part of that. We fol­ lowed in an SUV with all the tools and baggage." According to Nemer, the flight was "long, hot, and over some very deso­ late country, and it was good to have airplanes flying together over those areas. But there was never any con­ cern that the engine wasn't going to work right; it's just a very strong 65­ horsepower Continental." Blaize says the 31-hour flight was flown in five days' time, and when it first began he felt some trepidation at the prospect. ''It was like, are we actu­ ally doing this? Are we going to fly all the way there? But we made it, and it was fun," he smiles, explaining, "I got to see a lot of the United States I'd never seen. That was interesting. I've flown in jetliners, and you fly so high you can't even see anything. It was an accomplishment for me; it was kind of overwhelming." Ward also had a cautionary thought about the flight, and laughs when he recalls "when we were taking off the first time, I had it go through my mind, Did I build this wing rib right? And it flew, so I guess I did it right! I love traveling, and this was my first official long cross-country. I enjoyed it. It was great!"

Real Rewards The Flabob Aeronca Kids received the Special Achievement Award dur­ ing AirVenture 2006 for their resto­ ration of the 1941 Aeronca Super Chief, but there's no doubt that the most significant rewards of the pro­

gram were the changes in the teen­ agers' actions and attitudes, which eloquently convey the Wathen Foun­ dation's mission. "The kids learned a lot, their grades improved, and their parents say they're much better peo­ ple," says Farnes.

"If I did not come to the program, I have no idea where I'd be right now." -Andrew Blaize Ward agrees wholeheartedly. "It's true, it happened. We improved­ mainly because of the communica­ tion and teamwork and the bonding. I never had an opportunity anywhere else to do that." Blaize echoes that re­ sponse, explaining, "It motivated us to work harder in other areas. Before this, I did not like working with any­ one, so this program really taught me how to work well with people. [ will take that on to later in life. So it was quite a lesson that I got. It was worth giving up three Saturdays a month even though at first I was, like, 'Sat­ urday? It's my free day.' Then toward the end, it was okay." Both agree that if they hadn't been part of the project, they would have been sleeping in or just spending time with friends. "If I did not come to the program, I have no idea where I'd be right now," reflects Blaize, adding, "['d probably end up being a couch potato or working at McDonald's."

New Horizons New aspirations are often born of such inspirational experiences, and when those experiences are shared with others they can become a cat­ alyst for change. Step by step, the teenagers embraced the restoration challenge with a youthful pioneer­ ing spirit, learning the intricacies of rebuilding an airplane while building the confidence and skills to follow new directions in their lives. Ward plans to earn his commer­ cial certificate "and hopefully fly for the airlines someday." Blaize has fo­ cused on a different direction. After

he receives his private pilot certif­ icate, he wants to "get my A&P li­ cense and then try to go to Cal-Poly and get my bachelor's in aeronauti­ cal engineering." As for the Super Chief, it will even­ tually wind up in the Wathen Mu­ seum, according to Farnes. But for now, it will be flying in the skies over Flabob, providing the teenagers with the opportunity to learn how to fly it (since most have been learning to fly in nosewheel aircraft), and obtain their tailwheel endorsements. Farnes says he's already been con­ tacted by numerous people who want to know how they can become in­ volved with the program. "So every­ body's going to pitch in and see if we can get other programs set up to do the same thing, all over the coun­ try," explains Farnes, adding, "in fact, there's a gentleman from Canada that wants to do the same thing in his country-so it's growing." For those who read success in num­ bers, these should tell the story: Of 35 young people involved in the pro­ gram, 27 took flying lessons, 19 have soloed, and 10 have earned their pri­ vate pilot certificates. One is now at­ tending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, several have gone on to college, and another has joined the United States Marine Corps. Nemer beams with joy as he sums up the success of the program, pro­ claiming, "it's been a marvelous ex­ perience! The part I enjoyed so much is the first time I asked them, 'what turned you on to aviation?' Most of them, without hesitation, would say, 'our Young Eagles ride-that did it. ' If a program can produce young people like that, there are going to be young­ sters to replace us older fellows." Now that the Aeronca Kids have succeeded in creating new horizons for themselves and one old Super Chief, the Stinson Kids will be fol­ lowing suit as they restore a Stinson 108-3 that was donated for the pur­ pose. For more information on the continuing program, visit www.{labob. org online or call the Thomas W. Wa­ then Foundation at 951-683-2309, ext. 104. ~ VINTAGE AIRPLANE

13

/'ing a~?orfing

-

KELLY TRIMBLE

The diminutive Culver Dart Model LCA BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

The summer of 1940 found 9­ year-old Mark Trimble at the Kansas City Municipal Airport, watching in boyish awe as a tiny purple airplane streaked past the windsock. "I never saw anything move like that," he says, fondly describing the occasion. "It went by like a shot, and he did a big duster turn and put the gear down and came in. It was like a spaceship landed. There was a crowd of people around that airplane." That airplane was Culver Aircraft Corp.'s Dart Model LCA-a dashing new design by Al Mooney. The sight of this sensational flying machine did more than catch young Trim14

APRIL2007

ble's eye. It was at that moment that he began cultivating a lifetime af­ finity for Culver aircraft. The Model LCA flew for the first time in early December 1939, and though it was christened a Dart, its name was soon changed to Cadet, and it received Approved Type Certificate No. 730 in September of 1940. Knight Culver's company, located in Port Columbus, Ohio, was already known for its production of various radial-powered Dart models when this new Continental A-75-powered airplane made its public debut in the spring of 1940. Late that year, the company moved to Wichita, Kansas,

where it flourished. By the follow­ ing year, Walter Beech and Charles "Pappy" Yankey acquired controlling interest in the company and were ac­ tively managing it, with Al Mooney and his brother Art continuing their impressive work there. Culver Air­ craft went on to produce several more models-including target drones for the military-with the Culver V-2 be­ ing its last in 1947.

Aheod o/tk I~fr!l The sprightly Culver was consid­ ered years ahead of the industry, not only by Culver Aircraft, but also by its customers. It measured 17 feet 8

inches from nose to tail, and its canti­

lever, wood wings spanned nearly 27

feet. Elliptical-shaped wings and tail

gave it a chic look while its curved

doors blended right into its stream­

lined fuselage. The aircraft featured

semi-monocoque construction, which

a company advertisement of the era

described as "plywood bonded to­

gether with plastic resins, which form

a stressed skin shell," which was then

dipped in a chemically treated sealer

"to make it impervious to moisture."

Advertised as lithe world 's fast­ z>­UJ

'" ~~:;::~~----------~~ (J)

UJ

Z

a:

~ ~

a:

It (J)

NC20949's dataplate reveals the airplane's early manufacture, while Culver Air­ craft was still located in Ohio.

· ' r

est light airplane for a given horse­ power," the peti te Model LCA weighed 750 pounds empty, with a

----------------.. ". --------------11 I =

gross weight of 1,305 pounds. Pilot and passenger sat side by side on its ~ . bench seat and were allowed a total I - ~ of 50 pounds of baggage. It carried -.;;;;;;;;= 0 0 ~ ... 20 gallons of fuel and cruised at 120 iL>.-.~~ -'-1 mph when powered by a 75-hp Continental with a Freedman Burnham Three-view from the Aircraft Yearbook adjustable propeller, for a range of for 1940. 500 miles. Landings were softened by

~______

I

air-oil shock struts and a set of steel leaf springs mounted on the gear by the wheel. Hydraulic brakes provided adequate stopping power. The price tag at the factory was $2,395, and al­ though it was quite capable of aero­ batic maneuvers, it was apt "to lose its wings when suddenly pulled out of a high-speed dive," explains Trim­ ble. Therefore, the following placard was required: "Intentional acrobatics and instrument flight prohibited. "

~towa!l Oulver

''Ididnt realize unfiloller I

oIreodg bought the ~one thot this is the some oi~onethot

I

SI'Af/

in

J 940/·

-Mark Trimble Mark Trimble

Trimble became intimately ac­ quainted with flying a Culver V while attending college in the early 1950s. In fact, it was his chosen transporta­ tion between his Missouri home and the University of Arkansas. He thor­ oughly enjoyed the airplane's speed and responsiveness. Nearly four decades later, Trim­ ble happened to be visiting the West Plains, Missouri, airport one day in 1991, where h e discovered a partially dismantled Cadet concealed in a di­ lapidated hangar. He soon telephoned the owner, engaging him in friendly conversation, and then asked him if he'd have any interest in selling the

Cadet. "After a moment's hesitation, "

recalls Trimble, "he said, 'Well, yeah,

I really should sell it. I have too many

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

15

Close-up view of the control stick (left), the pool-ball handle atop the gear lock lever, and chrome wheel, which are used to manually retract and lower the landing gear.

Wingspan was nearly 27 feet, and its landing gear is retractable.

The Model LCA's cockpit. Note the clear windows in the floor panel for viewing the gear position.

airplanes. Come over and talk to me.' So I flew over there and we looked the airplane over, and I wrote him a check for it." No sooner had the check changed hands than the man told him that NC20949 (s/n 102) was the oldest known Model LCA, and that it origi­ nally wore the factory colors of pur­ ple and cream. Upon hearing that, Trimble was even more delighted with his purchase. Brandishing a boy­ ish smile, he says, "I didn't realize un­ til after I already bought the plane 16

APR I L2007

that this is the same airp lane that I saw in 1940!"

R!lAwa!l It was time to take the Culver to its new home near Branson, Missouri. The previous owner assured Trimble that, once reassembled, it wou ld be safe to fly-but he warned him not to lift the tail immediately during take­ off or he'd be sightseeing off the left side of the paved runway. Trimble wasn't too concerned, though, and didn't heed the gentleman'S advice.

The tail features a fabric gap seal between the horizontal stabilizer and elevator.

He pushed throttle and stick forward , and as soon as the Culver's light­ weight tail was off the ground he and the airplane headed left for the grass. "I pulled the power off, straightened it out, and I realized what he said is

A close-up view of the steel leaf springs on the main gear.

righ t. This particular airplane has the worst P-factor of any plane I ever flew," he says, laughing heartily. "So there's a technique to taking off in it. You hold the stick back until it gets so light it's about to fly, and then you let the tail up. The rudder is working at that pOint, and you have control."

Power andPainf' NC20949 started life with a 75-hp Continental A-75-8 engine (Model LCA), but had also been powered by

an 80-hp Franklin 4AC-176-F3 at one time (Model LFA-both engines are listed on Aircraft Specification No. A­ 730). When Trimble purchased it, it had a C-90-12F installed. It flew fine with 90 horses, but Trimble figured more horsepower just might make it even better. So, although the Culver was airworthy, he had a few enhance­ ments in mind for it. With the help of Kenny Blalock of Conway, Arkan­ sas, the Culver was soon sporting a Continental 0-200 engine, a new fi­ berglass cowling in place of the worn aluminum cowling, and Air-Tech fab­ ric and paint. He matched the pur­ ple to his mind's eye from 1940, and was helped by a picture of an early Culver Cadet on a vintage Wings Cigarette pack collector's card . Addi­ tionally, a new panel accommodated a few extra instruments, including a rate-of-climb indicator and mani­ fold pressure gauge. A new Cleveland brake system was also installed.

ReI'raata6le Gear Serial No. 102 has some quirky op­ erating characteristics, which Trim­ ble attributes to its being "hand-built, and there are a lot of things on it that really don't work as well as the later

production models." One such ex­ ample entails the art of manual gear retraction and extension, which re­ quires two hands . That necessitates gripping the control stick between the knees, because the spirited little airplane, being pitch sensitive with its light stick pressure, quickly dis­ plays its unstable tendency as soon as its pilot lets go of the stick. See­ through panels in the floorboard pro­ vide a handy visual check to confirm the gear position-but apparently that's the only easy part. "You trim the plane carefully be­ fore you begin the process, but you end up flying all over the sky while you ' re pulling the gear up," laughs Trimble . "First you pull up on the gear lock, move the wheel, and then put the lock over to the first notch. It's a ratchet system, and the gear comes up one notch at a time. You have to keep pulling the wheel hard-it takes both hands­ until you get to the last notch. Then you have to jerk on it, but it finally works . Now when you want to get the gear down, you have to unload the ratchet by pulling as hard as you can on that wheel. At the same time you pull up on the gear lock and put VINTAGE A I RP L A N E

17

Rear view of Trimble's 1940 Culver Dart Model LCA, between the horizontal stabilizer and elevator.

it over to the free position. Then the weight of the gear dropping will jerk the wheel out of your hand, so you have to grab the wheel again quickly to keep them from slamming down. Just as the gear hits bottom, you immediately slam the gear lock to the left and try to get the lock pins seated . If it doesn't work, you just keep trying until it does!"

In. Flight While this Culver offers a chal­ lenge when it comes to picking up and lowering its "feet," its climb and cruise rate are quite pleasing to its owner, who indicates that it will reach 1,000 fpm climb in a hurry. It's not uncommon for Trimble to take it up to 10,000 feet on a cross-country flight. Of course, the climb rate is hampered by a full load, but he main­ tains that it's still a good performer and was so even when it had its origi­ nal 75-hp Continental. Replace that 75 hp with 100 hp and the tiny Culver really zips through the sky. Trimble can easily cruise at 140 mph while burning only 5.8 gph. He says he "normally runs around 21­ 1/2 or 22 inches of manifold pressure, which is 55-60 percent power, and it'll show 130 mph. If I move it up a little, it'll show 140 mph." Equally pleasing is the airplane's 18

APRIL 2007

surprisingly benign stalling charac­ teristics, attributed to its leading-edge wing slots, which facilitate airflow over the ailerons while flying at high angles of attack. It can also be fairly

+porentlg

N020949

exemplifiedthe f!~ny's odverlising

slogan,

"Its Oulver

lOr OrDss-Oounfrg:' docile when it comes to landing. Trim­ ble finds that NC20949 responds bet­ ter to touching down in a three-point attitude, as opposed to a wheel land­ ing. "If you fly it on and touch the main gear, it'll jerk hard to the right," he says, explaining another of its idio­ syncrasies. "This one's gear is canted slightly to the right, so it'll jerk hard in that direction, and there's no adjust­ ment for toe-in. But it touches down around 45 mph, so it's really not a hot airplane on the ground at all."

While out flying on an afternoon jaunt one day, Trimble discovered NC20949's most surprising perfor­ mance feature. He was flying at 4,500 feet over the scenic, forested moun­ tains just a couple of miles north of Branson when suddenly the little Culver decelerated rapidly. "The mo­ tor just died like a heart attack," says Trimble, shaking his head as he re­ lives the moment, "and I thought, uh oh, I'm in trouble here. The airport was on the south side of town, and a divided road went right through the town. I decided to head to the airport, and if I had to, I'd take one lane of that road. I glided all the way across Branson, and I couldn't believe the glide ratio that airplane had!" Trimble, who has experienced a total of six engine failures while he's been pilot-in-command, re­ mained calm as he and the Culver flew silently over Branson. Amaz­ ingly enough, by the time he crossed the center of the airport, he still had 1,200 feet of altitude. "I turned left downwind for runway 29, but that was a little bit downwind, so I glided on around the airport and entered the downwind for runway 11. So I turned into the pattern, and as I was going downwind, another airplane came in behind me and I said, 'Cul­

An efficient design allows the Culver to slice cleanly through the air. The racy little Culver Model LCA created quite a sen­ sation among pilots when it was first introduced in 1940. ver 949 turning base with the engine out.' I touched the numbers when I landed and stopped in the middle of the runway-and I'm not bragging, because I'm not that skillful a pilot. I was just lucky to have enough alti­ tude! That other guy came in and saw me and said, 'You weren't kidding, were you?' I said, 'No, the engine was out and had been for a while.' That was an interesting ride. That was one of the most impressive things about the airplane to me, was how far I got with a dead engine."

Oro.tt-Oountr!l Apparently NC20949 exempli­ fied the company's advertising slo­ gan, li lt's Culver for Cross-Country," on at least one historic flight. Trim­ ble cites newspaper accounts that credit his Culver with a record-set­ ting flight more than six decades ago, and he's adorned the Culver's fuse­ lage with a tribute to that event: "O n June 5, 1940 this airplane was flown from Columbus, OH to Santa Monica, CA in the daylight hours of one day, thereby es tablishing a cross country re­ cord for light aircraft that still stands today. Total flying time was 16:40.

Refueling stops were made at Tulsa, OK and Winslow AZ. Total fuel cost was $15.48." Trimble admits that he 's ponder­ ing the possibility of duplicating that flight but remains noncommit­ tal. "I'm 75 years old now; maybe J'll wait until I' m 80," he says with a lingering smile. Elaborating upon the feasibility of such a flight, he reflects that "june 5th is close to the longest day of the year, and you gain two hours going west from Ohio to California. A high-pressure system might give you tail winds along the way. But I think (on that record flight) the pilot must have put a fuel tank in the passenger seat, because he went from Columbus to Tulsa. That's 750 miles, and beyond its normal range. And from Tulsa to Winslow is 800 miles." As for the pilot who made that re­ cord flight, Trimble says, "I under­ stand that it was 'Pop' johnson, the same pilot who flew this as a factory demonstrator. After flying this air­ plane as many hours as he did, he knew where this plane fell short and tried to correct those things in the Swift design. So this particular air­

plane was forerunner of the very first prewar Swift (the 1941 Globe GC-1, NX17688). just look at a Swift and you'll see the similarities."

AIlinif!llOr Oulvers Even with its quirky operating characteristics-or maybe because of them-Trimble has a fondness for Se­ rial No. 102. But that's not the only Culver he keeps in his hangar. Nes­ tled between Wacos, a Fairchild 24, a Grumman Widgeon, and various other aircraft in his unique collection are a 1938 Culver Dart GK and a post­ war Culver V ("V" for Victory). The most recent addition to his fleet is a 1946 Culver V, which he describes as li the Superior Satellite, which is the last mutation of the Culver v." (Supe­ rior Aircraft Co. of Wichita, Kansas, is the type certificate holder.) Trimble delights in flying his air­ craft on a regular basis and is rather partial to his Culver models. So per­ haps one day soon, when he 's fly­ ing NC20949, there will be another young boy who will be inspired by the sight of a small purple Culver dashing through the sky, just as he was many years ago. ....... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

19

THE CURTISS MODEL J

The beginning of the famous Curtiss] series

BY WESLEY SMITH

he Model J was actually designed by B. Douglas Thomas, an Eng­ lishman. Thomas was originally an employee of the Avro Co. and then of the Sopwith Aviation Co. Ltd. Thomas' encounter with Glenn Cur­ tiss during Curtiss' 1913 visit to Sop­ with eventually led to his designing the Model] in a tent set up in Thomas' yard during the winter of 1913-14. Thomas had apparently followed C urtis s through the Sopwith shop during his visit, but he was reputedly too shy to speak to him. Conversation between the two occurred only after a second chance encounter with Curtiss at a Lon­ don shop during a downpour on that same day. Thomas then accompanied Curtiss on a trip to Paris, where CurtiSS suggested that Thomas design an air­ craft after resigning from Sopwith. Early in 1914, Thomas sent his de­ sign, inclusive of a stress analysis and a list of materials, to Curtiss at Hammond­ sport (a surviving original drawing for

T

20

APRIL2007

the Model J is dated 12 March 1914). Curtiss then apparently demanded that Thomas come to America to oversee the design by way of a terse telegram that simply stated: "Come over." As originally built, the Model J was a two-bay tractor biplane with equal­ span wings of a 30-foot spread and ai­ lerons on both the upper and lower wings. It was ready for testing by 12 April 1914 (it had possibly been under construction even before Thomas' ar­ rival in the United States). The exact se­ quence of events is somewhat difficult to determine, but the aircraft was ap­ parently built at the Hammondsport, New York, factory before being moved to Lake Keuka for assembly and initial flight testing. A photo of the Model J with a large communal cockpit exists that shows the aircraft fitted out as a hydroaeroplane (that is, a seaplane or floatplane). This same photo shows that the original 30-foot span wings with ai­ lerons in all four positions were used.

The original tailskid was also fitted; it was a lengthy affair that gave the air­ craft a rather ungainly stance. While it's uncertain, it does seem that the Model J was first tested as a hy­ dro before removing the large central float (and wingtip floats) and fitting a wheeled undercarriage. The photo that appears in Vintage Airplane may have been taken at this juncture, before re­ verting to floats for a second time (see below). At some pOint, the side of the fuselage was e mblazoned with the name "CURTISS" in large lettering. By the time the aircraft was converted to a landplane, the large communal cockpit had been divided into two individual cockpits for the pilot (rear) and ob­ server (front). The contention for the Model J first being flown as a hydro is supported by the notion that it was an untested machine and that the landing field at Lake Keuka was much shorter than the lake. It would make perfect sense to first test the machine in this

manner, gradually increasing the flight lengths . Curtiss is known to have tested aircraft as hydros on the lake, or on the ice of Lake Keuka, before test­ ing them as genuine land-based aircraft (the prototype Model R, for instance, was flown from the ice with a conven­ tional-wheeled undercarriage). At any rate, the span of the upper wing was increased to 40 feet 2 inches before the aircraft was converted back into a hydroaeroplane, with a large cen­ tral float and wingtip outrigger floats on the lower wings. On the revised wings, the ailerons were deleted from the lower wings, and king posts were added to the dorsal side of the upper wing, above the outer interplane struts, to allow for brac­ ing wires to reinforce the upper wing extensions. It is somewhat curious that the fuselage legend was now removed, the aircraft reverting to natural fabric with the light color extending onto the duraluminum cowling. (If this was not the case, then the original 30-foot span wings must have been reinstalled before the Model J was tested with wheels.) In some photos, a Curtiss Model F flying boat is seen accompanying the Model J hydro over Lake Keuka, apparently act­ ing in the role of a modern-day chase plane. Following this, the aircraft was eventually converted back to its land­ plane configuration, retaining the re­ vised wing planform. The chord of both wings was 5 feet, the ailerons of the ex­ tended upper wing Model J measuring 10 feet in overall span, by a maximum 2-foot chord (the ailerons were inversely tapered toward the wingtips). The span and chord of the ailerons fitted to the 30-foot wing appears to have been 7 feet by 2 feet. Length of the Model J was 26 feet 4 inches in its land plane form. The weight was 1,075 pounds (empty) and the maximum loaded weight was 1,345 pounds (1,635 pounds according to one source, but this may possibly re­ fer to the hydro version). Only two Model ]'S were built. They were both sold to the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The first as S.c. No. 29 un­ der Signal Corps Order No. 653 (dated 30 April 1914, Contract No. 627). S.c. No. 29, apparently the rebuilt proto­ type, was delivered to North Island at San Diego, California, on 24 June 1914

for $6,500 ($6,725 f.o.b. to San Diego). This was approximately one month later than the planned delivery date, and another source (Louis S. Casey in Curtiss: The Hammondsport Era 1907­

1915, pg 177) claims the delivery date was 28 July 1914. Following its arrival, S.c. No. 29 was assembled by Lt. Lewis Goodier JL, and Sgt. Ocker, pending the arrival of Curtiss pilot (and agent) Raymond V. Morris. Sgt. Winter also participated in the Model J's assembly, installing the 90-hp Curtiss OX V-8 en­ gine on the airframe. The OX was, of course, an evolution of the earlier 75-hp Curtiss Model O.

THIS CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO SPIRAL FARTHER AND FARTHER OUT TO SEA. TAKING HIS CHANCE, GOODIER THROTTLED THE ENGINE BACK AND TIMED HIS "LANDING" TO COINCIDE WITH CROSSING NORTH ISLAND. By the time No. 29 was reassembled, the airframe was conSiderably different from its original form. The new lou­ vered cowling (containing nine verti­ cal louvers) extended as far back as the firewall. Curtiss yoke-type aileron con­ trols (standard Curtiss controls at this time consisted of shoulder-yoke-oper­ ated ailerons and a centralized wheel that operated the elevators and verti­ cal rudder) were now installed in both cockpits, the cockpit cutouts were deep­ ened somewhat, and the rear fuselage

decking was raised and rounded off. A thick corduroy padding was added to the edges of the cockpit coaming at some point. The undercarriage was also revised, with six struts instead of four supporting the lengthened main land­ ing gear. The wheels and tires were also increased in size (the tires were pos­ Sibly 26 inches by 5 inches), and the rear tailskid was shortened and rein­ forced with side-bracing struts. The prominent nose-over skids attached to the main landing gear struts were now shortened, and the revised cowl­ ing was painted a dark color that ex­ tended onto the dorsal cockpit decking as far aft as the rear cockpit. S.c. No. 30, ordered under Signal Corps Order No . 916 (dated 16 June 1914, Contract No . 634), was finally shipped sometime after 27 June, arriv­ ing at North Island in early August. S.c. No. 30 differed from No. 29 in that it had no "instrument board," but it was otherwise nearly identical to No. 29. However, the undercarriage of No. 30 was slightly different, with the main wheels being moved roughly 6 inches aft of their location on No. 29. The ad­ ditional tailskid bracing used on No. 29 was deleted; however, No. 30 also had a dark color applied to the cowling and cockpit decking as far aft as the rear cockpit, as did No. 29. Shortly after arriving at North Island, the First Aero Squadron was formed in September 1914. At that time it con­ sisted of the two Model]'s and four Bur­ gess Model H tractor biplanes. At about the same time, the Model J made its first detailed appearance in the aero­ nautical periodicals of the day. A de­ tailed description (and photo) of the prototype appeared in the 15 September 1914 issue of Aeronautics (NY. V 15 N 5. "Curtiss Model J Tractor Biplane," pg 69). Eleven days later on 26 Septem­ ber 1914, one of the Model j's appeared on the cover of Aero and Hydro (V 8 N 26), with the caption "Bringing Amer­ ica again to the fore. The splendid new Curtiss Military Tractor Biplane, which with 2 people up and 5 hours of fuel , has a speed range of 86 - 41 1/2 miles per hOUL" An additional photo of the Model J appeared in Flying (V 3 N 9. Oc­ tober 1914, pg 266). The caption incorVINTAGE AIRPLANE

21

rectly gives the span of the upper wing as 42 feet 2 inches but correctly lists the lower wingspan as 30 feet. The text goes on to mention an endurance of four hours and gives the rate of climb as 4,000 feet in 10.5 minutes. Indeed, the in-depth Aeronautics ar­ ticle does give somewhat different per­ formance figures for the Model J, in addition to giving data of the Model J-2 single-place tractor biplane version of the Model J, which was never built. The speed range given for the Model J in the Aeronautics article is stated to be 40­ 90 mph. The Model OX engine horse­ power is also listed as 90-100 hp. By thi s time, Goodier had been able to climb No. 30 in a lightly loaded condi­ tion to 1,000 feet in one minute and 2,000 feet in six minutes. This was fol­ lowed up by Capt. H. LeRoy Muller, who set an American altitude record with No. 30 on 8 October, climbing to 1,000 feet in one minute, reaching 4,000 feet in six minutes, and continuing on to 17,441 fee t in 107 minutes (16 , 790 feet according to Aero Club of Amer­ ica records) . During the record climb, Muller was forced to reach forward from the observer's seat and manually lean the carburetor at 12,500 feet to prevent a further decrease in rpm (there was no mixture adjustment as there is on mod­ ern carburetors). Muller also had to con­ tend with extreme turbulence between 16,000 feet and 17,000 feet. During the flight , Muller burned 14.5 gallons of fuel and 7 pints of oil over a period of two hours and 27 minutes (about 5.91 gph). A nice photo of No. 30 appears in the pages of Aircraft (V 5 N 9. November 1914, pg 381). The caption states that it depicts No. 30 at North Island as it ap­ peared when flown by Muller during his record-setting flight. The gross wing area of the Model J was about 50 square feet higher with the 40-foot 2-inch upper wing (approx­ imately 350 square feet) as opposed to approximately 300 square feet with the original 30-foot wings. The dimen­ sions of the overbalanced vertical rud­ der was 30 inches high by 36 inches wide, or about 7.5 square feet in area. The area of the horizontal stabilizers is given as 30 square feet, and the el­ evators are listed in the Aeronautics 22

APRIL 2007

article as having an area of 16 square feet. The Aeronautics text also gives a fuselage maximum width of 26 inches with a maximum height of 35 inches. The laminated ash and spruce engine mounts (support beams) for the OX engine are stated to measure 2 inches by 3 inches, and the firewall is stated to have been made of 3/32-inch steel. A contradictory climb figure of 400 fpm and a speed range of 45-75 mph is also given. The price, f.o.b., is listed as $7,500, conSiderably more ($775) than the U.S. Army paid for its two ma­ chines, unless this is a misprint. By an odd coincidence, the publica­ tion of the issue of Aero and Hydro that sported the Model J on its cover was dated as the same day (26 September) that Goodier had a rather unfortunate experience with No. 29. Taking off alone from North Island, a turnbuckle that had not been safetied unscrewed itself, which then jammed the control wheel and forced the vertical rudder into a "hard over" position. This caused the aircraft to spiral farther and farther out to sea. Taking his chance, Goodier throttled the engine back and timed his "landing" to coincide with cross­ ing North Island. Luckily, Goodier was not injured in the resultant nose-over landing, only the undercarriage and propeller suffered damage . However, the tribulations of the Model J were only just beginning. On 21 December 1914, both Model j's, the Burgess Model H's, and a Mar­ tin IT of the First Aero Squadron be­ gan their flights to compete for the Mackay Trophy, intending to fly from North Island to Los Angeles. Unfor­ tunately, conditions were not terribly good for cross-country flying, and only one Burgess Model H completed the planned flight. Flying No . 30, Lts. Car­ berry and Christie were forced down with a broken fuel line at Pacific Beach. It was repaired , but the aircraft was forced down again with an engine mal­ function at Oceanside, covering only about 40 miles before being forced to give up. No. 29, flown by Muller and Lt. Frederick J. Gerstner, proceeded along the same route but encountered severe turbulence near Encinitas. An uncon­ trolled sideslip cost them 300 feet of

altitude, and another gust forced the aircraft into an uncontrollable vertical dive, from which Muller was able to re­ cover, but not before the aircraft sharply stalled and lost another 1,000 feet. Muller recovered again, but was unable to avoid a partial loop. By this time, No. 29 had suffered damage to the eleva­ tor control cables, some of which had snapped. The throttle had also become stuck, and following two more semi­ controlled loops, which brought them perilously close to the ocean, Muller was able to cut the ignition (after kick­ ing the throttle quadrant loose) and ex­ ecute a crash-landing, causing relatively little damage to the aircraft. After the off-shore emergency land­ ing, Muller was able to pull Gerst­ ner from the front cockpit, which was now underwater. The beach being about Vz mile away, Gerstner attempted to swim for help but returned at Mull­ er's urging. On a second attempt, Ger­ stner became entangled in a growth of kelp and drowned. Lts. Milling and Pat­ terson , having been forced down ear­ lier in their Burgess Model H (S.c. No. 24), witnessed the ordeal of No. 29 and sprung into action. Patterson was able to hitch a ride to San Onofre, and two boats were sent to rescue Muller, suc­ cessfully completing the task an hour and quarter later. One boat attempted to salvage No. 29 but was unsuccessful. By this time, the torpedo boat destroyer USS Truxtun had been dispatched to rescue No. 29 and the pilots. When it arrived, the Truxtun attempted to save No. 29, but it was unable to do more than save the engine, the rest of the air­ craft being a write-off after six hours in heavy seas. Following the loss of No . 29, No . 30 continued to be flown through­ out 1915. On 8 February Lt. Thomas S. Bowen severely damaged No. 30 in an accident in which he lost control and the aircraft completely turned over. Bowen was apparently unharmed, and No. 30 was repaired . Later in the year, Lt. B.Q. Jones began using the Model J for aerobatic experiments, and on 8 June, Lt. Morrow flew No. 30 over the Panama-Pacific International Expo­ sition at night. An additional $2,790 worth of spares was purchased for No.

3D, and on 1 July the aircraft was re­ turned to service in fully refurbished condition. Late in its service, No. 30's undercarriage was again modified, the nose-over skids being removed from the main landing gear struts. No. 30's career came to an end on 11 October 1915 when Lt. W.R. Taliaferro fatally wrecked the aircraft following a half-loop from which the machine nosed into a vertical dive and crashed into San Diego Bay. Talia­ ferro's body was recovered, and dur­ ing World War I a training field was named after him in Texas. It was the end of the line for the Model J, but not for the subsequent Curtiss aircraft designs on which it was based. Curtiss pursued the Model J design, which evolved into the Model N-8 and, finally, the ModelJN-2, which was used in quantity (eight total) by the First Aero Squadron in Mexico. Cur­ tiss IN-3s and R-2s were also used as part of Gen. John]. Pershing's Mexican Expeditionary Force, (MEF) in the at­ tempt to rout Pancho Villa's raids into the United States. The design evolved into the IN-2, through the IN-3, the IN-4/6 series UN-4/ A/B/C/Can./D/H/ HB/HG-l/2/D/6H/6-HG-l/2/D-2, and Twin IN), the beloved Jenny, and the OX series of engines (OX/OX-2/3/s and OXX-6) . The successor designs of the Model J flew on for many years, with some still flying today. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps were also not strangers to the IN series, operating the IN-4/B/H/6H/HG-l series (postwar as the JNS-l) and the N-9/H series of floatplanes that were strongly based on the Jenny. The U.S. Navy also op­ erated two Twin JNs as floatplanes as AH-64 (later, A-93) and A-198. A U.S. National Archives listing of early U.S. Navy types supplied by the noted na­ val aviation historian Hal Andrews confirms this fact. There is debate as to whether aJN-1, IN-1S, or IN-l W existed or not. My re­ search indicates there could have been such an animal, apparently intended for sale to Spain. However, the evi­ dence for this is anecdotal, at best. To my knowledge, no extant company re­ cords, or other official records, mention a Model IN or IN-l. That said, photo­

graphs do exist of the Model J hydro, or IN type, which show a three-blade propeller and other slight differences compared to the known Model J hy­ dro photos. Further evidence can be found in the pages of Aerial Age Weekly (V 1 N 2. March 29, 1915. "Foreign Aeronautical News:" Spain, pg 41). In the weekly column, written by Robert Pkyum and Ladislas d'Orcy, mention is made of negotiations for the possi­ ble purchase of 12 Curtiss machines with OX engines, six being fitted with wheeled undercarriages and six with floats. Other uses of the designation IN-l, particularly those with reference to use by the U.S. Navy, and U.S. Army, are apocryphal. Early IN-4s operated by the U.S. Navy were serialed A-ls7 to A-1s9 UN-4B, OXX engine) and A­ 388 to A-389 UN-4, OX-2 engine); all five aircraft entered service in 1917. Incidentally, my late father, Jack Smith, learned to fly in a IN-4D during the mid-1930s. It is, perhaps, a bit hum­ bling to think that it all began in late 1913 with a somewhat introverted Eng­

lish aircraft designer and an extroverted American businessman. Serious students of the Jenny, and other early Curtiss aircraft, are referred to the excellent series of books (seven total volumes) written by Robert B. Casari, titled Encyclopedia of u.s. Mili­ tary Aircraft 1908 to April 6, 1917, (four volumes). And, Encyclopedia of u.s. Military Aircraft: The World War 1 Pro­ duction Program (three volumes). Un­ fortunately, these titles are long out of print; nevertheless, a great deal of the information in this article is derived from volume three of the first series (Subtitled: Curtiss I, N, IN-2, IN-3, and N-8). Other quality books that contain information about the Curtiss Model J (and subsequent Curtiss types) are Cur­ tiss Aircraft 1907-1947, by the late, great Peter M. Bowers, and Curtiss: The Ham­ mondsport Era 1907-1915, by Louis S. Casey, a former curator at the National Air and Space Museum . The Bowers' book, inCidentally, also contains a nice three-view drawing of the Model J, in its late 1914 incarnation. .......

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

23

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Finally, snow! Real snow!, .~

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More than 200 people braved th e wintry W.isconsin " "~ '. ' weather for EAA's Skiplane Fly-In Saturday, Jan4ar,Y. 27, af Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh. Cl~e to!tWOf(n e~' il'irp'lanes, ranging from Cubs and ces s Fla s\.r~~~k~Wior~"a'nd Kitfox, arrived from throughou~lhe~i;f~Dd ' away as Michigan and Illinois ," snow" skiplane fl y-in dates , ~we of crystal1ine dry sn0Wto ,slide Several wheeled aircr~ft flew ;.N~"""Ml*~m-,:;

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BY R IC R EYNOLDS AND

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In one of EAA's Pioneer Airport h'a n~ars, Joh'gtt)ut fast- -::.:.'. moving lirtes formed for piI?iri1t,hot ch!li a~«( horr;einad~'::c ~ chicken sou.p. ,.F9 r dess erf).. y o~ ~ ould have a pi.\(e . oj-~f birthday ~ aJ.e)it honor of ~ d'i~y Poberezny, who~'wa s , celeb~.ti ~g <1"fl Qther 1/3 9th "' 9\t~h\tay; 1/39 and l1 old1'n g," . . .~~ ~ ~\ .}~ '" -~- . she saitl, ;: ';':(­ . \ , \:., ~ijot Ri~l<~' Kluver, lon!diin ~~A~edrom Belvidei~" ~::/, \ ' • '-\ . ·" · W~.' " ~ with his Ces~a\ {~ t~-al,on . warmer day~~ " '~ ith floats. I/If I'~-d)-~~l~~V~:h~ri:twater or 'so~'

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to the west prevented but not the ground the ramp in fro~t of Pionp~'r ' Lodge lots, with othe J;S access road past Fergus

Above: Bill Weber's LycomingoO-320-powered 1 70CB Is seen regularly at the annual skjpla!le event. Bill hails from Rockford, Illinois. rt~.,;:

Audrey Poberezny's birthday falls within a couple it'Clays of ... skiplane fly-in, so it's a handy excuse for a winter party.

Above: An 9verview of the parking area shows a nice mix of Cessnas, Aeroncas, Pipers, and at least one homebuilt (it's AV~---'!::Io"":. ,the yelloW,. Super,Cuby) among the nearly two dozen airplanes flown in t~ EM's'Skiplanfi-Fly-ln: .

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Gary Conger flew his Lycoming足 powered Aeronca Sedan down from Green Bay. The airplane was restored in Connecticut by Mike Milligan, and Gary's addition of the retractable wheel skis hcMI:.: proven handy.

H.G. FRAUTSCHY

BY DOUG STEWART

"Does that seem weird to you?"

In last month 's article, I commented on the crash of Comair Flight 5191 at the Lexington, Kentucky, Blue Grass Airport, on August 27, 2006. I discussed a couple of things that we could learn from this accident, and showed how to apply those things to the flying we do in our vintage aircraft. But there are some things to discuss other than completing a "HAT" check (or similar check) prior to takeoff and maintaining a "sterile cockpit" when in an airport environment-things that can hopefully lead to our being safer pilots. In the transcripts and tapes released by th e NTSB in its investigation of the crash, which killed 49 of the 50 people onboard, the cockpit voice recorder showed that the copilot, James Polehinke, who was the lone survivor, noted that the runway lights were off as the jet sped down th e wrong runway. "That is weird with no lights," he said, and Capt. Jeffrey Clay responded, "yeah." Seconds later, Clay said "whoa," and then the impact was heard. I couldn't help but wonder as I read the transcripts what the two pilots were thinking as they continued their takeoff roll. Didn't the fact that things were "weird" make them think about aborting the takeoff? I know from my observations of pilots over the years that for some it's as if there were sirens singing their alluring song from the sky tempting them to go flying. I know that I have written before of the "kick the tires, light the fires " kind of pilot who rushes through a preflight inspection and engine run-up and gets into troubl e shortly thereafter. In fact, I actually once flew with a pilot who announced , "scan the glass and grab your assumptions" (well, actually the last word of the

phrase was a little abbreviated) as we transitioned from taxi to takeoff with nary a pre-takeoff check. It was only a short time later that oil started to cover the windshield of th e Cess na 175 Skylark we were fl ying as it leaked from the propeller gearbox. I am confident that had we taken the time to conduct an engine ground check prior to our takeoff, we might very well have noticed that there were problems lurking. Too often pilots launch into the air even though there are obvious indications that they will encounter problems. For instance, the pilot who finds his engine running ro ugh and backfiring during the run足 up may think, "Oh, it's probably a fouled plug" and try to "burn" it clean by adding power and aggressiv e ly leaning. Even when that fails to yield a smooth-running engine, with rpm drops within acceptable limits, he will stil l take off thinking that once he 's airborne he'll be able to "clean it out." The only problem is, what's causing the backfiring and engine roughness is not a fo uled spark plug but a plugged injector, and now he's forced to suck up his seat with a major pucker factor as he limps around the pattern (if he's lucky enough to be able to) and tries to land without parking his airplane in the weeds. I think we are all familiar with the saying lilt's much better to be down here, wishing we were up there, than up there, wishing we were down here," yet too often I see pilots setting themselves up for just that scenario. They take off without ever checking that they have oil pressure and that the airspeed indicator is alive. More than once I have had to coach a pilot back to the ground when shortly after departure he announces over the UNICOM that his

... I expect to hear them call out "we have oil pressureairspeed alive" prior to rotation.

26

APRIL 2007

airspeed indicator isn't working. As he taxis in ] usuaJly see the pitot cover hanging from the pitot tube . Not only did he miss seeing that the cover was still in place as he conducted his preflight inspection, he also never noticed that his airspeed indicator wasn't working on the takeoff roll. If he had noticed an inoperative AI I would like to think that he would have aborted the takeoff. But as I said before, the lure of the sky and the mentality of "we're going flying" takes over and, whether the anoma ly is noticed or not, the pilot continues the takeoff roll. A favorite training scenario that I use when working with clients on my PC-based simulator is to "fail" the oil pressure prior to takeoff. We'll be taking off into a 200足 foot overcast ceiling, with the tops well above 10,000 feet. Very, very few of my clients notice that they have no oil pressure as they start their takeoff roll. And yet not once has a client aborted the takeoff, even if he did notice the lack of oil pressure. Needless to say, the engine seizes prior to reaching our assigned altitude. This scenario has yet to fail to teach the necessity of making sure all is well before launching into the air. All of my clients know that I expect to hear them ca Jl out "we have oil pressure-airspeed alive" prior to rotation, or the takeoff is aborted. They also know that I fully expect them to really check the gauges and not just make the call out robotically. Last year a friend of mine noticed that his airplane was not climbing out of the pattern as well as it normally did. At first he attributed it to the higher-than-normal density altitude. But then he checked his oil pressure gauge and saw the needle sitting on zero. A quick turn back to the airport got him there before his engine seized. An oil line had come loose, as evidenced by a puddle of oil where he had conducted his run-up. But though he had gone through the motions of an engine ground check, and had made the call "oil pressure-okay," he had never really checked the gauge until realizing his problem once airborne. Being diligent in our preflight inspections and engine ground checks is essential to our safety, but be aware that anything that happens outside the realm of the expected should be considered as cause to abort the takeoff. I remember once when I was preparing to depart Islip, Long Island, with two clients on one of my instrument足 training trips. It was raining quite heavily and the ceilings were hovering around 300 feet, with the winds relatively light. As a Southwest 737 landed in front of us we were given a position and hold clearance. Once the 737 cleared the runway we were cleared for takeoff. My client flying from the left seat applied takeoff power and soon after called out the requisite oil and airspeed mantra. But prior to rotation all three of us smelled the unmistakable odor of burning rubber. Without a second's hesitation my client pulled the throttle to idle, aborting the takeoff. We announced to the tower that we were aborting the takeoff as we smelled smoke in the cockpit, and cleared the runway at the next taxiway. Within what seemed

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like a few short moments there was a giant yellow firetruck rushing toward us. The smell of burning wires was no longer present in the cockpit and I rather sheepishly realized that the smell of burning rubber had come from the tires of the 737 as it touched down on the runway. Without any wind present, the smoke had lingered over the runway and had come into our cockpit as we accelerated for takeoff. It took about 20 minutes to complete all the paperwork that we had to fill out as a result of the firetrucks scrambling, but throughout the process I kept thinking that even though we hadn't had a fire, what if we had been complacent, rationalizing the smell of rubber burning, and taken off into the clag? What if there had indeed been a fire and we had taken off? Finding ourselves surrounded by thick clouds and heavy rain, what would we have done? I'll say it again. Much better to be down here, wishing I was up there, even when having to fill out reams of paperwork before a chuckling fireman, than being up there, in the wet, rain-laden clouds, wishing I was down here. Almost everyone of us pilots is easy prey to the siren song of the sky. It is difficult to resist the allure of flight, especially when you are already rolling down the runway. But we need to lash ourselves to the mast of good aeronautical decision-making. Please, if things seem "weird," consider aborting the takeoff if there is sufficient runway remaining. Please don't ignore or rationalize away all the many indications that might be shouting at you to stay on the ground-even when there are blue skies and tail winds calling you skyward. Doug Stewart is the 2004 National CFT of the Year, a NAFT Master In structor, and a designated pilot examiner. He operates DSFI Inc. (www. DSFlight.com) based at the Columbia County Airport (lEl) near Hudson , New York. .......

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LINCOLN

MERCURY

JAGUAR

BY BUCK HILBERT

Ever wonder how the Cessna Company got into the liaison aircraft business? I've come across a Cessna inter足 office memo , dated 22 September 1955, where a company historian, J.H. Gertieis, answers questions in a general way from a Dario Politella. He was apparently assigned to write Mr. Ploitella. Here are some of the facts I thought the Cessna 170-1S0 people would find interesting. The L-19 was the first airplane Cessna ever presented to the Army. There had been previous discussions with the Army about the possibility of using the 140 or 170, with no success. Now to digress here a bit. This is Army aviation. Prior to the formation of Army aviation there was the United States Army Air Force and, later, the United States Air Force , but after a long debate the Armywas finally able to get the specific mission-type aircraft the it needed . The war-time Cessna Bobcat, or UC-7S, or AT-19, was a World War II product and used for training long before Army aviation was born. In August of 1949 the Army laid down specifications that called for an airplane with an empty weight of 1,200 pounds and the ability to operate from a 600-foot strip or smaller. The specs pretty well described a small airplane. Cessna didn't think it could design anything that light, with the thinking 30

APRIL 2007

In olive drab garb, this is a Cessna L-19A-CE, AF Serial No. 51-4829G. This aircraft was the third one built on August 6, 1951, at the Cessna Pawnee plant and was soon shipped off to Korea. that it should be all metal so it would be more durable. Cessna sent engineers and designers to consult with the Army and see exactly what it had in mind. The original specifications were a bit vague. It became obvious that the Army wanted an airplane that could carry a reasonable amount of radio equipment, was relatively fool-proof to maintain, and would have outstanding take-off and landing characteristics. Starting September S, the Cessna IS-man engineering department accepted the challenge and began with the components on hand. It

laid out a new fuselage to go with the existing Cessna 170 wings and 195 tail surfaces, and immediately began searching for a suitable power plant. The choice here was the Continental 0-470-13, which was specifically designed and tailored to meet the need. Just three months later, the prototype came out the door on December S, 1949. A brief flight test was made, and then it was flown to Wright Field for evaluation . The total cost for the prototype was approximately 2,500 hours. The usual preproduction mechanical bugs were eliminated, and

Two views of the original Cessna model 305, later designated the L-19 by the U.S. Army. With the wings from the 170 design, and the tail surfaces from the 195, the prototype for what would become one of the most successful liaison plane designs ever built shows off its distinctive swayback fuselage.

there were no basic flight problems. The biggest problem was the rather high sink rate with 60 degrees of flap. A three-point landing required an exceptional amount of judgment. The flare didn 't always stop the sink rate in time , resulting in a bounce and with such force that the spring landing gear (Steve Wittman's design) would flex to the point of letting the prop strike the ground and even catching grass shards on the belly. There were never any landing gear failures, but they did have to replace several props! This was really the only serious problem until the proper landing technique was developed for landing over a 50-foot obstacle

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and within the 500-foot limit. The airplane was then sent to Ft. Bragg for further evaluation. Ten pilots put five hours each on the four aircraft: a Piper, Luscombe , Taylorcraft, and the L-19. There is no reference as to how the evaluation by the various pilots went , but Cessna received a verbal notification of an intended contract. The initial order for 418 aircraft started a real scramble at Cessna, since the prototype had been built from parts on hand and now all the production engineering had to be accomplished. Some 25 engineers began work on the project. Then came July of 1950 and the Korean War. This changed everyone's p lans; the Army asked for accelerated production. A second prototype was constructed and the certification process was begun, along with changes to the original design requested by the military. The resultant production was more than 3,000 airplanes. ThePrimary customers were the U.S. Army; the National Guard got some; the French got 50 of them; and the U.S. Marine Corps was immediately issued 37 of them, which, while identical to the L足 19, were designated as 01-Es. Cessna licensed the Japanese to build some as late as 1958. The L-19 and its genre were deployed to military units all over the world. And the civilian model, designated the Cessna 305, found markets as fish spotters, cattle ranch hands, and various civilian roles. Many of the L-19s came into civilian life after being surplused out, and quite a few were used as glider tugs and for towing banners. That's the short story of the development of the L-19. Born from the loins of the Cessna 170 and 195, it went on to become one of the most versatile and loved military airplanes of the century. And with that, and as an old Bird Dog driver, it's Over to you, ((

V I NTAGE AIRPLANE

3 1

BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY

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

VAA

MEMBER WESLEY SMITH.

Send yo ur answer to EAA, Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs to be in no later than May 10 for inclusion in the]uly 2007 issue of

Vintage Airplane. You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your answer to mysteryplane@eaa.org. Be sure to include your name, city, and state in the body of your not e, and put "(Month) Mystery Plane" in the subj ect line.

JANUA RY ' S MYSTERY ANSWER

Joe Stamm of Or足 ange Village, Ohio, was the first to e-mail in his correct response: The January 2007 Mystery Plane is a 1918 Curtiss-Kirkham 18-T-2 Straight Wings. The same picture of the plane is shown in The Speed Seekers by Thomas G. Foxworth, who also provides a detailed history of the aircraft on pages 187-192 of his inter足 esting book. Thomas H. Lym足 burn, Minneapolis, Minnesota, sent in this response: 32

APRIL 2007

For January 2007's Mystery Plane one might ask, "How many wings, what wing span, wheels or floats, and how many records?" The aircraft is the Curtiss 18-T "Wasp" tri­ plane, known as "Whistling Benny." It was also known as the Curtiss-Kirkham after designer Charles B. Kirkham, who worked out the 400-hp K-12 engine that was lighter and smaller than the Liberty. This engine was later developed into the Curtiss 0-12 and the larger Conqueror. The Wasp (named after the sound the engine made) was a two-seater with two forward-firing Marlin machine guns, two Lewis guns on a Scarff ring, and another Lewis in a ventral slot. The aircraft had been ordered for the Navy on March 30, 1918. The Army borrowed the prototype for tests in August 1918. It was claimed to have top speed of 163 mph, a world record. Later, the Army ordered two triplanes (delivered in January and February 1919) and two Model 18-B "Hornet" biplanes (delivered inJune 1919). An 18-T-2 was used to set an American altitude record on September 19, 1919, when Roland Rohlfs reached 34,610 feet. Because of its speed, it became a racer, but the Navy's attempt to use a pair of Wasps in the 1920 Pulitzer Trophy Race at Mitchell Field fell through due to cooling problems. They tried again in 1922, with float versions, in the Curtiss Marine Trophy Race. In 1923, the Navy's A332S and A3326 were flown at the National Air Races in St. Louis, but were lost in crashes. Aerofiles.com shows your photo as the prototype (serial A332S) on loan from the Navy to the Army (possible serial number AS4006S). One 18-T was built for civilian use, but sold to Bolivia in 1920. Although a promising design, no pro­ duction occurred due to the Armistice. It was an aircraft with potential that came out at the wrong time. Wesley Smith of Springfield, Illinois, has really out­ done himself again with a complete history of the Curtiss­ Kirkham. Enjoy: The January 2007 Mystery Plane is the prototype 1918 Curtiss-Kirkham 18-T triplane (U.S.N. A332S), as origi­ nally built with relatively unswept (actually 0.5 degree sweep) wings. Also known as the Wasp, the 18-T is sometimes called "Whistling Rufus" or "Whistling Benny" (depending on which source one chooses to believe.) The aircraft went through a number of modifications and was specifically de­ signed to take full advantage of the Kirkham K-12 engine also designed by Charles B. Kirkham. Later postwar versions of the Wasp are the Model 18-T-1 (single-bay, with 5 degrees of wing sweep) and the Model 18-T-2 with longer two-bay wings. There was also a biplane version of the Model 18 known as the Model 18-B (biplane), or Hornet. Many years later, Cur­ tiss retroactively redesignated the Model 18-T variants as the Model 15 and the Model 18-B became the ModellSA. Well before the Great War, Kirkham had a long association with Glenn H. Curtiss, going back to Kirkham's design for a two-cylinder motorcycle engine in 1902, which he supplied to Curtiss until October of 1905, when Curtiss began to man­ ufacture his own engines at Hammondsport, New York. Prior

to this, Kirkham had worked with his brothers Clarence and Percy and relocated the company to Bath, New York. During 1904, Kirkham had begun the production of a four-cylinder automobile engine, which was followed by a six-cylinder en­ gine built for the Pullman Car Co. from 1906-10 (actually, the York, Pennsylvania, company was named Broomell, Schmidt &. Steacy, 1903-05; the York Motor Car Co., 1905-09; and fi­ nally, the Pullman Motor Car Co., 1909-17). Interestingly, the first A.P. Broomell automobile was an impractical six-wheel affair named after the famous Pullman railroad cars. In 1905, the model name of the company auto was changed to York, and a conventional four-wheel chassis was adopted. The first Kirkham engines to be used in an airplane were those that were sold to The Canadian Aerodrome Co., which was an outgrowth of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell's Aerial Ex­ periment Association (A.E.A.). Both the Baddeck No.1 and Baddeck No.2 used Six-cylinder, 40-hp Kirkham engines, as did the Hubbard "Mike" Monoplane, built by the Canadian Aerodrome Co. in the winter of 1910 for prominent Boston architect Gardiner Greene Hubbard II. The "Mike" made sev­ eral short flights, and was displayed at the Boston Aero Show later that year. I have an account (Parkin, J.H. Bell and Bald­ win, pp. 278-282), which appears to indicate that the A.E.A. Silver Dart was temporarily fitted with the Kirkham engine intended for Baddeck No.1 when it made the first two-place aircraft flight in Canada at Petawawa a short time after 5 a.m. on August 2, 1909. The Silver Dart was destroyed during these flights as the result of a landing accident, however the engine, the pilot, John A. Douglas O.A.D.) McCurdy, and his passenger, Frederick W. "Casey" Baldwin, escaped relatively unscathed by the incident. (The poor Silver Dart, however, was destroyed .) After the accident, the Kirkham engine was then installed in the Baddeck No. 1. At any rate, Charles B. Kirkham began the manufacture of aircraft engines at Savona, New York, in 1910. His first engine to go into an American aircraft was one of his modified 22-hp automobile engines sold to William T. Thomas. In November of 1909, Thomas began construction of his pusher biplane at Hammondsport, New York, but it did not fly until the spring of 1910 at Page Farm, Hornell, New York, with Bert Chambers acting as pilot. W.T. Thomas was born of English parentage in Rosario, Argentina, during his father's foreign service and was schooled in England before coming to the United States to work as a draftsman for the original Herring-Curtiss Co. His brother Oliver soon joined him, and in 1912 the Thomas brothers opened the Thomas School of Aviation. In fact, from the original 1910 pusher biplane through the 1911 Model TA pusher biplane, 1912 Model TA tractor bi­ plane, the 1913 "nacelle pusher biplane," and the 1913 Model E pusher biplane, Thomas exclusively used Kirkham engines (the sole exception being the 1913 tractor monoplane, which used a Maximotor engine). In 1913, the Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Co. Inc. was officially formed at Bath, New York. The following year, the company was relocated to Ithaca, New York, occupying the vacant E.G. Wyckoff factory. The English aircraft designer Benjamin Douglas (B.D.) Thomas VINTAGE AIRPLANE

33

(no relation) was associated with the Thomas brothers by this time. When Thomas received their first order from the Brit­ ish government in 1914, it was for 24 T-2 tractor biplanes, designed by B.D. Thomas. The T-2 was broadly based on B.D. Thomas' earlier design of the Curtiss Model j (December 2006 Mystery Plane). At Ithaca, New York, a peach orchard near Cayuga Lake served as the flying grounds for the Thomas Brothers Aero­ plane Co. This gradually evolved into what is today the mu­ nicipal airport at Ithaca. In 1915, Frank 1. Morse of the Morse Chain Co. became president of the new Thomas Aeromotor Corp., with W.T. Thomas as vice president. The new com­ pany was named The Thomas-Morse Aircraft Co. in 1917, with B.D. Thomas continuing to design aircraft for the company. With its demise, Thomas-Morse eventually merged into what became General Dynamics, the remaining assets of Thomas-Morse being sold to Consolidated on August 5, 1929. Yet despite its greatly diminished importance, Thomas­ Morse continued to exist until around 1935 as part of the Consolidated Corp. B.D. Thomas, who was responsible for all Thomas-Morse designs except the S-7, retired to La jolla, Cali­ fornia, in 1933 after last working on the unsuccessful Con­ solidated XB2Y-1 experimental dive bomber. Kirkham's early aircraft engine designs included the B-4, a four-cylinder, water-cooled inline of 40.4 hp. This was fol­ lowed by the six-cylinder B-6 (54.5 hp at 1,300 rpm) and the B-G-6, a six-cylinder, water-cooled, geared vertical in­ line of 70 hp (1,680 rpm, reduced to 960 rpm at the output shaft). He also introduced an interesting tractor biplane early in 1912 ("The New Kirkham Tractor," Aeronautics, volume 10, No. I, january 1912, pp. 15-16; "The Kirkham Tractor Biplane," Aircraft, volume 2, No. II, january 1912, p. 391), which had a conventional fuselage, horizontal stabilizer and elevator, but also incorporated a monoplane canard ahead of the tractor propeller. This biplane was offered with either the B-6 or B-G-6. Kirkham is reputed to have been the first engine manufacturer to use adjustable valve tappets. His aero en­ gines used a unique concentric valve arrangement, with the airflow past the outer intake valve being used to cool the in­ ner exhaust valve. By August of 1914, Kirkham's business was drawing its last breath and for a short time he joined the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Co. of Keyport, New jersey, as chief engineer. At about this same time, Curtiss was having difficulty with his OX series of engines, which the British government refused to accept due to their unreliable nature. Curtiss sought Kirkham out to solve the weaknesses of that engine and what soon emerged was the OX-2, which with some further modifica­ tions became the OX-5 engine used in the Curtiss "jenny." By this time, World War I had grown to epic proportions, with Curtiss obtaining large aircraft orders from the UK, Russia, and eventually the United States. With America's entry into the war, aircraft production and technology was given a high priority, and as a response to production of the Wright­ Martin Hispano-Suiza, Curtiss established an experimental engine department at Garden City, New York, in early 1917. By April, the new Kirkham V-12, known as the AB, was 34

APRIL 2007

ready for testing. With some modification, the engine be­ came the K-12. Kirkham insisted that the new engine de­ served an airframe worthy of his new creation and thus the design of the Curtiss-Kirkham Model 18 was begun. (The K­ 12 may have not been Kirkham's first foray into V-12 design territory. According to the late Thomas G. Foxworth's excel­ lent book The Speed Seekers [po 188], Kirkham also designed a 120-hp V-12 during the time he was building aircraft engines on his own. I cannot confirm this). A complete description of the K-12 appeared in Aerial Age Weekly (volume 8, No. 25, March 3, 1919, p. 1244). According to the text, the construc­ tion of the K-12, and its six-cylinder variant, the K-6, allowed for a lighter weight, and therefore an improved horsepower­ per-pound rating than other engine types. In fact, the new 400-hp (397 hp at 2,250 rpm) engine was considerably lighter (dry weight, 678.5 pounds) than the comparable Liberty 12-A (dry weight, 844 pounds), being 165.5 pounds lighter (with­ out coolant, which weighed an additional 38.25 pounds). The K-12 used a six-throw crankshaft (supported by five plain bearings), which was also used in the 150-hp K-6. The block of the K-12 was aluminum. The cylinder heads were fitted with six steel cylinder barrels and combustion chambers ma­ chined from steel forgings and screwed into each aluminum cylinder head block. The displacement was 1145.09 cubic inches, also far less than the Liberty's 1,648.92 cubic inches. The K-12 had its cylinders arranged in a 60-degree V arrange­ ment and the K-6 was an inline vertical. Two Ball and Ball duplex carburetors supplied the fuel to each bank of six cylinders, with the dual half of each carbu­ retor supplying an intake manifold for three cylinders. Dual ignition was supplied by two high-tension Berling 0-66 mag­ netos . The internally ribbed aluminum pistons were con­ nected to "H" section articulated connecting rods, with the linked rod forked at each crankpin. Fuel consumption was re­ ported to be 0.499 pounds per hp-hour (36.7 gph) and the oil consumption was 0.053 pounds per hp-hour. Ample cooling for the K-12 was supplied by two "box" radiators mounted to either side of the fuselage between the middle and lower wing (there was already a long history of side-mounted radia­ tors in Germany, and in the U.S.). The length of the K-12 was only about 60 inches from the starting crank on the magneto to the end of the propeller hub. It was 40.125 inches high by 27.875 inches wide. Completing the engine's design, the pro­ peller shaft was driven at 60 percent of the crankshaft rpm through a "herringbone tooth" gear reduction. Thus the K-12 packed a lot of power (and torque) into a fairly small, and relatively low-weight, power plant. With the K-12 complete, Kirkham turned his attention to the Model 18 and used the latest technology, designing the fu­ selage to be a laminated three-ply monocoque structure that was formed over a mold. Pfalz, in Germany, had begun using this technology, and in the United States, Lowe, Willard and Fowler (L.W.F. used a play on its company acronym to ac­ centuate the virtues of their new construction technique, by referring to the use of a "laminated wood fuselage"; both the L.W.F. Model V and G used this type of construction), Berck­ mans ("Speed Scout"), Pomilio (an Italian designer who built

Jack Kearbey Tulsa, OK

• First flight in England (1951) while serving in USAF • Hired by Oklahoma Air National Guard in 1956 to run their . instrument and autopilot shop • Qualified in 1980 as an ATP; also obtained A&P license

• Currently building his fourth full­ scale aircraft-a Sopwith Pup

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the FVL-S fighter in the U.S.), Heinrich ("Victor" advanced trainer), and Le Pere (a French designer, also working in the U.S.) had either been experimenting with a similar concept or had already built aircraft using that technique. The empennage surfaces of the Model lS-T were cov­ ered in cedar, and the wings were built up of seven spars, with numerous "cap strip-like" wing ribs in place of conventional wing ribs. This resulted in a wing that was very strong, light, and thin. Like the K-12, the Model IS was first described in the pages of Aerial Age Weekly (liThe Curtiss Model IS-T Tri­ plane," volume 9, No.3, March 31, 1919, pp. 154-155). As originally built, the ModellS-T had three equal-span wings of 31 feet, 11 inches span and 42 inches chord. The gap between the upper and middle wing was also 42 inches, but the gap between the middle and lower wing was reduced to 35-9/16 inches. The incidence of the wings was 2-1/2 degrees, and the wings were swept 0.5 of a degree aft. The airfoil was derived from a Sloane profile, and the wing area totaled 309 square feet. There was no dihedral. The 14.3-square-foot horizontal stabilizer of the Model IS-T was built with a 0.5, degree incidence, and the elevators totaled 13.02 square feet of surface area. The vertical stabilizer consisted of a triangular surface of 5.2 square feet and the vertical rudder had an area of S.66 square feet. Overall, the ModellS-T had a length of 23 feet, 3-3/16 inches and a height of 9 feet, 1O-3/S inches. The fuel capacity of the Model IS-T was 67 gallons (listed as 400 pounds, it would actually be 402 pounds) and the oil capacity of the K-12's crank­ case 6 gallons (45 pounds). The pilot and observer weight was given as 331 pounds, with an additional 301 pounds useful load. Government-furnished equipment (GFE) of the Model IS-T included two forward-firing .30-caliber Marlin machine guns. One source states that the observer was to be supplied with three .30-caliber Lewis guns (two seems far more likely). As such, the total useful load was 1,076 pounds. Combined with the I,S25 pounds empty weight of the aircraft, the gross weight was 2,901 pounds. The wing loading was 9.4 pounds per square foot. With a price of $55,400 (less Government-furnished equip­ ment [GFEJ) and with the end of World War I at hand, orders for the Model IS-T were sparse. The first two aircraft were ordered by the U.S.N. (A3325, the prototype, and A3326, or­ dered under contract 37372, dated March 30, 1915). The U.S. Army also ordered two Model IS-T triplanes and two Model IS-B biplanes in August of 1915 (all four under contract CS-152) . The Army triplanes were issued serials S.c. 40065 and S.c. 40066, however only 40065 was actually delivered as a static-test aircraft to McCook Field in February of 1919. The Model IS-Bs (S.c. 40054 and S.c. 4005S) were eventu­ ally delivered in June of 1919. Also known as the "Experi­ mental 510," or the Hornet, the Model IS-B biplane differed

considerably from its triplane brethren. The equal-span bi­ plane wings had a span of 37 feet, 5-3/4 inches, and a gross wing area 322.5 square feet. The weight of the Model IS-B was also higher than the Model IS-T, being 3,001 pounds. Otherwise, the ModellS-B had the identical engine, em pen­ nage, fuselage, and GFE of the Model IS-T. Of the two Model IS-Bs, only S.c. 4005S was assembled and flown, S.c. 40054 being the static-test article. S.c. 4005S was also assigned the McCook Field project number: "P 36." It crashed soon after beginning flight testing and the eventual disposition of the remaining Army Wasp and Hornet is unknown to this writer. In contrast to the fate of the Army Model ISs , the U.S.N. machines fared far better. As originally built, the pro­ totype Model IS-T incorporated a four-blade propeller, but this was soon replaced by a conventional two-blade propel­ ler. Delivered only three months after the signing of the con­ tract, Curtiss test pilot Roland Rohlfs took A3325 on its initial flight on July 5, 1915. With a climb rate of over 2,000 fpm, the Model IS-T demonstrated a spectacular rate of climb performance but it suffered from tail-heaviness as the result of the center of gravity be­ ing too far aft. This was subsequently

rectified by sweeping the wings aft by

5 full degrees. In this form, the postwar

Model IS-T became known as the Model

IS-T-l (the "-I" indicating single-bay

wings). In its new form, the Model 1S­ T-I possibly had a slightly greater span, increasing by 1 inch to an even 32 feet. The height was also possibly some­ what greater, being increased to 10 feet, 2 inches. (This increase in height may actually apply to the later seaplane version of the Model IS-T-l.) The wing area was apparently about the same, being around 2SS square feet (without ailerons). Like the Model IS-T, ailerons were fitted to all three wings. The empty weight of the Model IS-T-l was now 1,9S0 pounds and the gross weight was increased to 3,050 pounds. The climb rate of the Model IS-T-1 was 12,500 feet in 10 minutes, with a service ceiling of 23,000 feet and an endurance of 5.9 hours. Now fully ready for trials, the Model 1S-T set an unoffi­ cial world speed record of 163 mph on August 19, 1915. The high-pitched whine of the wings gave the Wasp the unofficial nickname of "Whistling Benny" or "Whistling Rufus" (source information varies on this point) . More was yet to come in 1919. Fitted with new longer-span, two-bay wings (40 feet, 7-1/2 inches, 400-square-foot wing area), the Model 1S-T was designated the Model IS-T-2. With the wing modifications complete, Rohlfs now took full advantage of the phenomenal climb rate to establish the full altitude potential of the Model 1S-T and the K-12 engine. Beginning in March of 1919, Rohlfs burned out three K-12 engines during climb trails because the oil sys­ tem did not function well at the steep climb angle of the Model IS-T-2. In addition to the oiling dilemma, Rohlfs

With the wing modifications complete Rohlfs now took full advantage

of the phenomenal

climb rate to establish the full altitude potential of the Model 18-T and the K-12 engine.

36 APRIL 2007

suffered from hypoxia during one trial and barely escaped after a lO,OOO-foot dive. However, by the summer of 1919 things were going well, and on July 25 he was able to coax the triplane to 30,100 feet. This was followed by a second suc­ cessful climb to an unofficial world altitude record of 34,610 feet. On all of his high-altitude flights, the aircraft was fitted with a K-12. Reaching such extreme altitudes with an engine that lacked a supercharger was no simple feat, and that part of Rohlfs' record altitude flights stood for some years. The high-altitude flights had not escaped international no­ tice and in late 1919, Bolivia ordered a Model 18-T-2. Specula­ tion has it that the aircraft was actually the undelivered U.S. Army triplane. Regardless of its origin, Donald Hudson was soon demonstrating the aircraft in Bolivia, successfully taking off from El Alto field at La Paz (13,500 feet altitude). Hudson was soon showered with the laurels of the Bolivian govern­ ment and on May 19,1920 successfully crossed the Andes, pass­ ing over the 21,185-foot peak of Mount Illimani at an altitude of over 30,000 feet, setting a South American altitude record. A crash the following day ended Hudson's welcome, and for a time ended Bolivia's ambitions for an air arm. Whatever the truth about the origins of the Bolivian Model 18-T-2, it appears as though four or five Model18s were built during 1918-19. In 1920, Curtiss tested A3325 as a seaplane, with a single main float and wingtip outrigger floats of a Curtiss N-9. In this form, Rohlfs flew the Model 18-T-2 to a speed of 138 mph at Rockaway Beach in April (climb rate of the Model 18-T-2 was recorded as 10,400 feet in 10 minutes on this occasion). In this configuration, the seaplane Wasp may have had an empty weight of 2,417 pounds and a gross weight of 3,572 pounds. It is unclear if these weights apply to the seaplane or land plane form of the Model 18-T-2, but the stated height of 12 feet al­ most certainly applies to the seaplane variant of the Wasp. In any case, due to the main float projecting well beyond the fu­ selage, the overall length of the Model 18-T-2 seaplane variant increased to 28 feet, 3-7/8 inches. Converted back to land plane form with Model 18-T-1 sin­ gle-bay wings, both A3325 and A3326 soldiered on as racers in the 1920 Pulitzer and were piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Willis B. Haviland (U.S.N.) and 2nd. Lt. W.D. Cuthbertson (U.S. Ma­ rine Corps), respectively. Unfortunately, both aircraft suffered engine malfunctions that prevented them from complet­ ing the race. By now, Kirkham had left Curtiss and develop­ ment of the K-12 continued as the new Curtiss C-12 under the direction of Finlay R. Porter. A year later in 1921, Clem­ ent M. Keys developed the geared C-12 into the direct-drive CD-12. Refitted with a four-blade Charvay propeller and CD­ 12 engines, both Model 18-T-1s were returned to service as seaplanes, with a new set of floats specifically designed for the aircraft. With the new main float, the overall length of the Model 18-T-1s approximated that of the float-equipped Model 18-T-2. A further modification was the addition of a new ventral fin and rudder for added stability and control. Fitted with the new floats, and entered in the Curtiss Ma­ rine Trophy Race in the summer of 1922, the Wasps found themselves in the midst of an event that was plagued by high winds and rain. Unfortunately, A3325 (painted green

and given the race number "5"), flown by Rutledge Irvine, was damaged in an out-of-control takeoff and rough bounce, which tore the left wingtip float loose. Rutledge flew on, on the verge of losing control, until he crash-landed in a pile of coal near the Detroit Edison power plant. Fortunately, he was unhurt, but A3325 was demolished. A3326 (painted yellow and assigned the race number "4"), flown by U.S. Marine Corps pilot Lawson H. Sanderson, did much better, taking the lead near the end of the race. However, fate once again cheated the Model 18s, as on the final lap Sanderson ran out of fuel with the finish line in sight. The end of the Model 18-T-1 came during the 1923 Liberty Engine Builders' race. Now painted orange overall and given the race number "3," A3326 was flown by Ensign D.C. Allen, with Chief Machinist's Mate 1.G. Hughes occupying the observer's seat as mechanic. Flown at Lambert Field in St. Louis, the crankshaft of the CD-12 fractured near the end of the first lap. Allen made an emergency landing on a nearby muddy field but the Wasp flipped over on its back. Both men were again uninjured, but the A3326 was completely wrecked, thus closing the story on a forgotten but nevertheless interesting, and Significant, airplane. Charles B. Kirkham went on to other things after leaving Curtiss (reputedly, he was not on good terms with Curtiss at the time of his departure). He briefly opened an aviation con­ sulting concern in New York City before going to Germany in 1920, where he oversaw the completion of all 20 Junkers-Larsen JL-6 Ounkers F 13) all-metal monoplanes that were imported to the United States. He then founded Kirkham Products at the old James V. Martin facility at Garden City, New York, where he undertook the subcontracting and manufacture of various machining projects. With Harry 1. Booth and Michael Thur­ ston, Kirkham produced several unique aircraft for such notable people as pioneer aviator Leonard W. Bonney (creator of the unique 1927 Bonney Gull). Kirkham moved his business to the Fairchild plant in Farmingdale, New York, and then to the site of the old Fulton Motor Co. in 1934. During 1938, Kirkham went into partnership with Robert Simon, forming the Liberty Products Corp., but left the company in 1940 to do consulting work. He continued to live in Montgomery, New York, until he passed away at the age of 88 on New Year's Eve 1969. Roland Rohlfs, who had flown the Model 18-T so bril­ liantly in 1918 and 1919, went on to become operations manager of Aeromarine Airways in the early 1920s before forming Aerial Advertising, flying neon light-equipped air­ craft at night that displayed various messages. The Great De­ pression killed Rohlfs' business venture but he continued to fly on the East Coast before joining the CAA in 1938 and fi­ nally retiring in 1953. Rohlfs nevertheless remained active in aviation for many years before passing away. Other correct answers were received from Rob Waring, Dumfries, Virginia; Ralph Riedesel, Paton, Iowa; Jack Erick­ son, State College, Pennsylvania; Charles F. Schultz, Louis­ ville, Kentucky; Wayne Van Valkenburgh, Jasper, Georgia; and C.E. Hesser, St. Augustine, Florida. Also, while we missed mentioning it in the March issue, Wayne Van Val ken burgh correctly answered the December Mystery Plane. .... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

37

2007 MAJOR The following list of coming events is furnisfl ed to our readers as a matter of information only and does not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, control, or direction of any event (fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. To submit an event, send the information via mail to: Vintage Airplane, PO. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Or e-mail tfle information to: vintageaircraft@eaa .org. In­ formation shollid be received four months prior to the eVel1t date. APRIL 27-28-Waco, TX-Texas State Technical College(TSTC). 5th Texas Aviation EXPO 2007 presented by The Texas Aviation Association . Rve acres of ramp static display. A robust agenda of 60 hours of safety seminars, vast assortments of vendors showcasing their products and services, anticipating 700 to 1000 attendees, speakers George D. "Pinky" Nelson, former NASA Astronaut and J.w. "Corkey" FornoL movie stunt aviation character. COME SHARE THE ADVENTURE! www.txaa.org MAY 4-6-Burlington , NC-Alamance County Airport (KBUY). VAA Chapter 3 Spring Fly-In. All classes welcome . BBQ on field Fri. Evening, EAA judging all classes Sat., Banquet Sat. Nite. Info: Jim Wilson 843­ 753-7138 or eiwilson@homexpressway.net MAY 6-Lock Haven, PA-William T. Piper Memorial Airport (LHV) Pancake Breakfast Fly-In to Benefit Sentimental Journey Fly-In 8 am-12 pm. All you care to eat pancake breakfast $5 Adults, $3 chi ldren under age 10. Piper Aviation Museum open for tours. Call 570-893-4200 or 748-5123 for more information. j3cub@kcnet.org www.

sentimentaljourneyfly-in .com MAY 19-5an Martin CA-Annual Wings of History Aircraft Museum and South County Airport Fly-in and Open House . Food, old­ time tractors, airplanes, EAA Chapter 62 Young Eagles flights and free museum tours . 8am-4pm . Peggy Jones, Event Director, Wings of History Air Museum

plj4peggy@aol.com 831-663-6935 MAY 20-Warwick, NY(N72)-EAA Chapter 501 Annual Fly-In, 10:00 AM- 4:00 PM, all classes welcome, Registration for judging closes @1:00 PM, food & beverages available, for info:973-838-7485, 201­ 444-1524, or e-rnail flyin07@eaa501 .org MAY 3l-JUNE 2-Bartlesville, OK-Frank Phillips Field (BVO). 21st Annual Biplane Expo. Info: Charlie Harris 918-622-8400

www.biplaneexpo.com JUNE SolO-Union, IL-Poplar Grove Airport Army Wings and Wheels . Info Vintage Wings & Wheels Museum 815-547-3115 Tom Murray hiwheel@sbcgloba/.net JUNE l4-17-St. Louis, MO-Dauster Flying Field Creve Coeur Airport (lHO). American Waco Club Fly-In . Info: Phil Coulson 269­ 624-6490 or rcoulson516@cs .com www.

americanwacoclub.com JUNE 20-23--Lock Haven, PA-William T. Piper Memorial Airport (LHV) Sentirnental Journey Fly-In. Family oriented fly-in featuring antique and classic aircraft of all makes and models, especially PIPERS! Seminars, vendors, food, camping, and entertainment daily. Come for the day or the week! Call 570-893-4200 or 748­ 5123 for more information . j3cub@kcnet.

org www.sentimentaljourneyfly-in.com JUNE 2l-24-Mt Vernon Ohio-Wynkoop 38

APR I L 2007

FLy-INS

For details on EM Chapter fly-ins and other local aviation events, visit www.eaa.orgjevents Sun 'n Fun Fly-In EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL), Wittman Regional Airport (OSH), Oshkosh , WI Lakeland, FL July 23-29, 2007 April 17-23, 2007 www.AirVenture.org

www.Sun-N-Fun.org EAA Southwest Regional-The Texas Fly-In Hondo Municipal Airport (HDO), Hondo, TX June 1-2, 2007

www.SWRFI.org Golden West EAA Regional Fly-In Yuba County Airport (MYV), Marysville, CA June 29-July 1, 2007

www.GoldenWestRyln.org Rocky Mountain EAA Regional Fly-In Front Range Airport (FTG), Watkins, CO June 23-24, 2007

www.RMRFI.org Arlington EAA Fly-In Arlington Municipal Airport (AWOl. Arlington, WA July 11-15, 2007

EAA Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Mansfield Lahm Airport, Mansfield, OH August 25-26, 2007

http://MERR.info Virginia Regional EAA Fly-In Dinwiddie County Airport (PTB), Petersburg, VA October 6-7, 2007

www.VAEAA.org EAA Southeast Regional Fly-In Middleton Reid Airport (GZH), Evergreen, AL October 12-14, 2007

www.SERFI.org Copperstate Regional EAA Fly-In Casa Grande (Arizona) Municipal Airport (CGZ) October 25-28, 2007

www.copperstate.org

www.NWEAA.org Airport (6G4) 48th Annual National Waco Club Reunion . Check www. nationalwacoclub.com for more information and contact information. Or email/call Andy Heins, 937 313 5931

wacoaso@aol.com JUNE 30-Chetek, WI-The Chetek WI (Y23) 9AM car show, craft fair and show, a professional horse pull and a water ski show. Plenty of food and drink available throughout the day. For more info contact Chuck Harrison 715-456-8415 fixdent@ chibardun.net or Tim Knutson 715-237­

2477 n3nknut@citizens-tel.net JULY 6-S-Alliance, Oh (2Dl)-Taylorcraft and Ohio Aeronca Aviator's Fly-In. See the airplanes built in Alliance, OH & Middletown, OH and the people that built them. Camping, motels, food all day. fbarber@alliancelink.com

330823-1168 bwmatzllac@yahoo.com 216337-5643 http://www.oaafly-in.com. see www.barberaircraft.com for airport diagrams. Breakfast served Sat & Sun 7AM to 11AM by EAA Chapter # 82 AUGUST 5-Queen City, MO-Applegate Airport (15MO). 20th Annual Watermelon Ry-In & BBQ. 2pm 'til dark. Come and see grass roots aviation at it's best. Info: 660-766-2644 AUGUST 5-Chetek, WI-Southworth Municipal airport (Y23). BBQ Fly-In . 10:30am Warbird displays, antique and unique airplanes, antique & collector car displays, and raffles for airplane rides. Procedes will be given to local charities . Info: Chuck Harrison - Office 715-924­ 4501, Cell 715-456-8415, fixdent@ chibardun.net; Tim Knutson - Home 715-237-2477, Cell 651-308-2839,

n3nknut@citizens-tel.net AUGUST IS-Forest Lake, MN-(25D)-Airport Fly-in and Open House lOam - 4pm. 24­ hour gas and 24-hour grass: 3000-foot 31/13. Forest Lake Lions serve brats, corn-on-the-cob and ice cream . 100LL is available John Schmidt EAA 250021 St. Paul , Minnesota 651 776 1717 AUGUST 17-l9--McMinnville, OR-25th Annual West Coast Travel Air Reunion Come Celebrate the Rebirth of the Travel Air. Expected to be

the largest gathering of Vintage Travel Airs in recent times. Held in conjunction with the Northwest Antique Airplane Club Event. Info: Bruce McElhoe 559-638-3746 AUGUST 19-Brookfield, WI-Capitol Ai rport (02C). Ice Cream Social and vintage Aircraft Display, VAA Chapter 11. Dean London, 262-442-4622 SEPTEMBER I -Marion , IN-Marion Municipal Airport (MZZ). 17th Annual Fly-In Cruise-In. 7:00am until 2:00pm . This annual event features antique , classic , homebuilt, ultralight and warbird aircraft as well as vintage cars, trucks , motorcycles, and tractors. An all-you-can­ eat Pancake Breakfast is served , with all proceeds going to the local Marion High Schoo l March ing Band . www. FlylnCruiseln .com Info: Ray Johnson (765) 664-2588 or rjohnson@indy.rr.com SEPTEMBER 2-Mondovi, WI-21st Annual Log Cabin Airport Ry-In. Doug Ward , Owner/ Operator, 715-287-4205. Lunch @ noon. SEPTEMBER 8-Newark, Ohio-Newark­ Heath Airport (VTA) Annual Fly-In/Drive-In Breakfast "Pancakes and More, " Young Eagles Flights, Vintage Airplanes, Classic Cars, Tom McFadden 740-587-2312 ; email : EAA402@adelphia.net SEPTEMBER 2l-22-Bartlesville, OK-Frank Phillips Field (BVO). 51st Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In . Antiques, Classics, Light Sport, Warbirds, Forum , Type Clubs. Info: Charlie Harris 918-622-8400 www.

tulsaflyin.com OCTOBER 5-7-Camden, SC-Kershaw County Airport (KC DN) . VAA Chapter 3 Fall Fly-In . All classes welcome . BBQ on field Fri. Evening. EAA judging all classes Sat. Banquet Sat. Nite. Info: Jim Wilson 843-753-7138 or eiwilson@

homexpressway. net October 5-7-St. Louis, MO-Creve Coeur Airport (lHO) The Monocoupe Club Fly-In & Reunion www.monocoupe.com October lO-l4-Tuliahoma, TN-"Beech Birthday Party 2007" Staggerwing, Twin Beech 18, Bonanza, Baron, Beech owners& enthusiasts. Info 931-455-1974

Membershi~ Services VINTAGE

AIRCRAFT

ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND

ASSOCIATION EAA's VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION OFFICERS President Geoff Robison 1521 E. MacGregor Dr. New Haven, IN 46774 260·493·4724 cllie(7025@aol.cOlll Sec retary

Steve Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Lea, M N 56007 507·373·1674 stll('s(g'deskmeaia.co11l

Vice· President

George Daubner

2448 Lough Lane

Hartford, WI 53027

262·673·5885 vaa(lyboyCiVrnsn.coln

Treasurer Charles W. Harri s 7215 East 46th Sl.

Tu lsa, OK 7414 7

918·622·8400

cwh@hvsu.com

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

Jeannie Hill P.O. Box 328 Harva rd, IL 600]3·0]28 815·943·7205

sstlO@Comca st.llet

dingJwo@o wc,lIel

David Bennett 375 Killeleer Ct Lincoln, CA 95648 9 16·645·8370

Espie " Butch" Joyce 704 N. Regional Rd. Greensboro, NC 27409 336·668·3650

antiqllcr@';I,reacll .com

w;t1dsock(tiaol.com

John Berendt

Steve Krog 1002 Heather Ln. Hartford, WI 53027 262·966·7627

7645 Echo Point Rd. Cannon Falls, MN 55009 507·263·2414 mjbfchfd@TcOl" ,ect. coll1

Directory

~

EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone (920) 426-4800

Fax (920) 426-4873

Web Sites: www.vintageaircraft.org, www.airventure,org, www.eaa.org/memberbenefits

E-Mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org

EAA and Division Membership Services Flying Start Program ............ 920-426-6847

800-843·3612 ............. FAX 920·426-6761 Library Services/Research ........ 920-426-4848

(8:00 AM-7:00 PM Medical Questions .............. 920-426-6112

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(Vintage Aircraft Association, lAC, Warbirds), ational Association of Flight Instructors Benefits (NA FJ)

AUA Vintage Insurance Plan ..... 800-727-3823 -Address changes

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sskrug@au[,(oltl

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davccpd@iqllest.lld

lllmper@execpc. com

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Gene Morris 5936 Steve Cou rt Roanoke, TX 76262 8 17·491·9 110

copt'land l @lj ullo.com

gem: morris@Clw rter.net

Phil Coulson 28415 Springbroo k Dr. Lawton, M I 49065 269·624·6490 rco II{sol,516@cs.(om

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

Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hills Dr. Indianapolis, IN 46278 3 17·293·4430 dalefay('(tPmsll .cum

S.H. "Wes" Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue Wauwatosa, WI 53213 414·77 1· 1545

dllr(tf!aprilaire.col1l

shs(/Imid@milwpc.com

DIRECTORS

EMERITUS

Gene Ch ase 2 159 Carlton Hd. Oshkosh, WI 54904 920·23 1·5002

LE. " Buck " Hilbert

GRCHA@.'thartt'f.IJet

bllck7ac@dls.t1et

8102 Leech Rd. Union, IL 60 180 815·923·4591

Ronald C. Fritz

15401 Sparta Ave.

Kent City, MI 49330

616·678·5012

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION EAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft ASSOCiation, Inc. is $40 for one year, includ­ ing 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. Family membership is 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,)

EAA SPORT PILOT Current EAA members may add EAA SPORT PILOT magazine for an additiona l $20 per year. EAA Membership and EAA SPORT PILOT magazine is available for $40 per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not in­ cluded). (Add $16 for Foreign Postage,)

VINTAGE AIRCRAfT ASSOCIATION C urrent EAA members may join the Vintage Aircraft Association and receive VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an ad­ ditional $36 per year. EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine and one year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $46 per year (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not in­ cluded). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage,)

lAC

Current EAA members may join the International Aerobatic Club, Inc. Divi­ sion and receive SPORT AEROBATICS magazine for an additional $45 per year, EAA Membership, SPORT AEROBAT­ I CS magaZine and one year membership in the lAC Division is available for S55 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $18 for Foreign

Postage)

WARBIRDS Current EAA m embers may join the EAA Warbirds of America Division and receive WARBIRDS magazine for an additional $45 per year. EAA Membership, WARBIRDS maga­ zine and one year membership in the Warbirds Division is available for $55 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not in­ cluded). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage_)

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

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Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions Copyright ©2007 by the EAA Vintage Aircra~ Association, All rights reserved. VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062·750; ISSN 0091·6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vinlage Aircra~ Association of the EXperimental Aircra~ Association and is published monthly al EAA Avia· lion Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd. , PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903·3086, e·mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $36 per year lor EAA members and $46 for non·EAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at addilional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Airplane. PO Box 3086, Oshkosh. WI 54903·3086. PM 40032445 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to World Distribution Services, Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5, e·mail: cpcrelurns@Wdsmail.com. FOR· EIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least !WO monlhs lor delivery 01 VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surlace mail. ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken. EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirety with the contributor. No remuneralion is made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903·3086. Phone 920·426·4800. EM® and EM SPORT AVIATION®, the EM Logo® and Aeronautica™ are registered trademarks , trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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Imported for Skat Blast, this economical cabinet assembles in 2-3 hours. Connect air hose from your compressor and add Glass Beads or other abrasive. Aim trigger power gun (in­ cluded) at part and remove rust and paint FAST! 22"d, 33'12'w, 22"h work area. 12" x 24" lens. Requires 7-20 cfm @ 80 psi and shop vac.

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Airplane T-Shirts 150 Different Airplanes Available WE PROBABLY HAVE YOUR AIRPLANE! www.airplanetshirts.com 1-800-645-7739 Flying wires available. 1994 pricing. Visit www.flyingwires.com or call 800-517 -9278. THERE'S JUST NOTHING LIKE IT

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www.aircraftnotes.com: Aircraft review! Research and Contribute knowledge about aircraft. What kind of experiences have been had by others with a specific aircraft? Add your comments on aircraft here 40

APRIL 2007

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Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum, with boldface lead-in on first line. Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2.167 inches) by 1 , 2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black and white only, and no frequency 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 reserves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its pOlicies. Rates cover one insertion per issue. Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must accompany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (c/assads@eaa.orm using credit card payment (all cards accepted). Include name on card, complete address , type of card, card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA. Address advertising correspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O. Box 3086 , Oshkosh , WI 54903-3086. LET BRENCO HELP YOU GET YOUR IA CERTIFICATE-Brenco has a 25 year history of training A&P's to obtain their Inspection Authorization . Courses are offered every year in Battle Creek MI, Columbus OH, Kenosha WI and Rockford IL. Call 1-800-584-1392 for additional information

CUSTOM PRINTED T-SHIRTS for your flying club, flight shop, museum. Free samples . Call 1-800-645-7739 or 1­ 828-654-9711 BABBITT BEARING SERVICE - rod bearings,main bearings, bushings, master rods, valves, piston rings. Call us Toll Free 1-800-233-6934, e-mail ramremfg@ ao/.com Website www.ramengine.com VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS, N. 604 FREYA ST., SPOKANE, WA 99202 1946 C-140 3500TT, 450 TSMOH , Metal wings, many mods, paint 9, int 7, comm, atc/enc. $22.500.00 918-809­ 5509 cwdenton1@cox.net