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Transcript of STRAIGHT - EAA Vintagemembers.eaavintage.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/VA-Vol... · 2013-02-25 ·...
STRAIGHT AND LEVEL
by Bob Lickteig
On Friday November 20 1987 just 11 months after its historical flight the Voyager has become the newest attracshytion at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC
As we well remember from its two visshyits to Oshkosh the Voyager is a large aircraft with a wing span of 110ft about the same as a Boeing 727 airshyliner Suspending this huge aircraft preshysented some problems as the gallery it was destined for is only 105 ft wide This required positioning the Voyager in a slight bank which gives the viewer a sense that it is making a graceful turn inside the Independence Avenue enshytrance to the Museum The Voyager is displayed without its winglets as the record flight of 25000 plus miles was made without them The one on the right wing blew away on take off and the pilots maneuvered the aircraft to cause the left winglet to tear away in flight
The Voyager was not a government or big business project The Voyager was more like a typical EAA homebuilt project EAA members were involved in contributing and soliciting money parts material and equipment from wherever they could to keep the project alive This project was a dream and a challenge
VOYAGER shyNOW PUBLIC DOMAIN
and the only way to accomplish it was the EAA way - design build test change redo and make do The total project did not cost $2 million like it might have had the government been involved In fact if the government had been involved that amount probably would have been spent just to estimate what the cost would be
We of EAA have seen so much sucshycessful work from Burt Rutan the Voyshyagers designer that we knew structurshyally the project was possible I am sure most of us would admit that this proshyposed flight was a long shot though when you consider the factors of weathshyer fuel mechanical failures and human fatigue The master of long distance flights Max Conrad never considered an eight-day endurance flight of any kind And thats not even considering the cramped quarters the Voyager crew had to endure - Max would never have had room to bring along his guitar
The flight of the Voyager was a pershy
fect example of courageous and daring people willing to test and gamble perhaps life itself for a chance to do something no one has done before All EAA members should stand tall at this success for the part they played in it
The Voyager is now the second homebuilt aircraft on display at the Nashytional Air and Space Museum It joins Steve Wittmans Bonzo
Many stories books and a motion picture have been written covering the Voyager odyssey Now the Voyager itshyself is on display in the center of US aviation history These are all fitting trishybutes to the Voyager its gallant crew Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager and its designer Burt Rutan
The Voyager now belongs to the pubshylic In its proud position at the National Air and Space Museum it will continue to inspire and thrill over 7 million visitors a year
Were better together Welcome aboard join us and you have it all bull
2 NOVEMBER 1987
PUBLICATION STAFF PUBLISHER
Tom Poberezny
VICE-PRESIDENT MARKETING amp COMMUNICATIONS
Dick Matt
CREATIVE ART DIRECTOR Mike Drucks
MANAGING EDITORADVERTISING Mary Jones
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Norman Petersen
Dick Cavin
FEATURE WRITERS George A Hardie Jr
Dennis Parks
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Carol Krone
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jim Koepnick Carl Schuppel
Jeff Isom
EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC_
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JANUARY 1988 Vol 16 No1 Copyright 1988 by the EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc All rights reserved
Contents 2 Straight and Levelby Bob Lickteig 4 AlC Newsby Norm Petersen 5 Vintage Literatureby Dennis Parks 6 Ed Wegners Fairchild 24
by Norm Petersen 9 Members Projectsby Norm Petersen
10 The Time Capsuleby Jack Cox 12 Vintage Seaplanesby Norm Petersen 13 Type Club Activitiesby Norm Petersen 14 Harry amp Sherrys Taylorcraft BC-12D
by Harry Miltner 19 Out of the Past In Photos
by Ray L Johnson 20 Fly Out to Shawanoby Bob Lumley 22 Interesting Members - Jay Vieaux
by Bob Brauer 23 Prop Tips 24 Just Another Grass Landing Strip __
Not Anymoreby Joyce Helser 26 Welcome New Members 28 Mystery Planeby George A Hardie Jr 28 Letters to the Editor 29 Vintage Trader
Page 6
Page 10
Page 22
FRONT COVER Flying over the green Wisconsin countryside is Ed Wegner of Plymouth WI in his award-winning Ranger-powered 1941 Fairchild 24 which employs a certified Beech electric propeller For the full story on this custom restoration see page 6
(Carl Schuppel Photo)
BACK COVER Keystone-Loening K-84 Commuter Introduced in 1929 NX9781 was the prototype 300 hp amphibian of which 40 were built (EAA Photo Archives Kurt Collection)
The words EAA ULTRALIGHT FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC EAA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB INC WARBIRDS OF AMERICA INC are registered trademarks THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION INC and EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION are trademarks of the above associations and their use by any person other than the above associations is strictly prohibited
Editorial Policy Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor Material should be sent to Editor The VINTAGE AIRPLANE Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone 414426-4800
The VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc of the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc and is published monthly at Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903shy3086 Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh WI 54901 and additional mailing offices Membership rates for EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc are $1800 for current EAA members for 12 month period of which $1200 is for the publication of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation
ADVERTISING - AntiqueClassic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through our advertisshying We invite constructive criticism and welcome any repOrt of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken
Postmaster Send address changes to EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
Gene Chase contemplates retirement on his last day at his EAA desk These multishytalented hands have flown more than 287 different types of airplanes and written ~merous airplane articles
Compiled by Norm Petersen
GENE CHASE RETIRES
After 14-1 12 years at EAA Headquarshyters in various capacities including editor of The Vintage Airplane since Deshycember 1979 Gene Chase jumped on the retirement bandwagon as of
November 1 1987 Not one to worry as to what he would be keeping busy with Gene admitted he has many projects that need work including his model shop in his home and two airplanes in his hangar - a 1933 Davis D-1-W and a 1935 Taylor E-2 Cub
Gene came to work at EAA from a corporate pilot position at Standard Oil Company in Tulsa Oklahoma where he had flown a Lockheed Lodestar for a number of years In addition Gene has maintained a CFI rating for over 40 years and plans on continuing dual inshystruction in the future At present he is busy checking out a new owner in his Cessna 195 powered with a 450 hp PampWengine
Having the desire to fly since his early childhood Gene has actively pursued aviation since entering the Naval Aviashytion Cadet program during WW II Addishytional military flight time was added as Gene flew in the Navy Reserve for a number of years which included the changeover from propellers to jets
At present Genes logbook shows some 287 different types of aircraft over the years a feat that puts him among a very select few He has flown the gamut from ultralights to four-engine recips and jets
A member of the exclusive Caterpilshylar Club by virtue of bailing out of a flaming airplane Gene has one more take off than landing in his book While flying a Grumman F3F-2 biplane fighter during Oshkosh 71 the nose of the airplane caught fire (a broken fuel line was suspect) and forced Gene and his passenger 18-year-old Randy Beloff to bailout over open country southwest of Oshkosh near Pickett Wisconsin Both parachutists landed safely howshyever Gene was severely burned on his hands arms and neck and spent conshysiderable time healing
The F3F-2 (which at one time was Leroy Grummans personal airplane) slammed into the ground on the Clyde Brey farm and was demolished Surshy
prisingly the exact spot is easy to find as Clyde and Karen Brey report that to this very day every time they plow the ground some additional silver grey and green fabric comes to the surface
Gene and his wife Dorothy donated their Church Midwing to the EAA Air Museum where it proudly hangs in the Racing Section along with some pretty fast company They totally restored the tiny yellow and black racer when they lived in Tulsa and Gene flew it on numerous occasions It is powered with a four-cylinder Heath Henderson enshygine of approximately 26 hp Genes 150 lb frame would just fit in the tiny cockpit Luckily Genes other two airplanes the Davis and Taylor Cub are also black and yellow so Gene has to inventory only two colors of paint
Perhaps it is called progress howshyever we miss the happy smile that Gene would bring to EAA on a daily basis His friendly attitude merely comshyplimented that exceptional aircraft mind that was our constant resource for information A man of exceptional organizational ability Gene grew with EAA and the AntiqueClassic Division As Senior Editor he discharged his duties in a faithful manner over the many years and the membership was the benefactor
A most happy retirement Gene and dont forget to drag out the flute and piccolo once in a while
Hans Lohman Rasmussen
Roger Lorenzen propeller maker of Heath Parasol fame inquired of Bill Schlapman another Heath Parasol owner about his old friend Hans Rasshymussen who had worked with Roger at
the Heath factory in the early 30s Hans had returned to his native Denmark in 1935 and Roger thought he might still be living in Odense Denmark - up in his eighties
Bill Schlapman asked if I knew any Danes in Odense It just happened that Carl Erik Gimbel (EAA 146080) of Holmstrupvej 9 5250 Odense SV Denshymark not only lived there but was comshying to Oshkosh 87 Photo copies of pages 296A 297 A and 298A of Volume I The Golden Age of Air Racingwhich tells the story of Hans Rasmussen and his Skippy racer were sent to Carl Erik with the words Try and locate this man
A check of the phone book revealed Hans Rasmussen lived only a short disshytance from Carl Erik and in no time he was located and gave Carl Erik the enshytire story of his aviation activities in the US Carl Erik brought greetings along to Oshkosh 87 where he met with Roger Lorenzen and gave him the full story on Hans Rasmussen now 83 years old
Returning to Denmark after five full days at Oshkosh 87 Carl Erik Gimbel sat down and wrote the story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen and his Skippy racer for the Danish antique airplane magazine published by the KZ and Vetshyeranfly Klubben (EAA Chapter 655) The story along with pictures was pubshylished in this third quarter issue of the magazine and is very nicely done It carefully explains how Hans Rasmusshysen (who uses the name Lohman Rasshymussen in Denmark for easier identifishycation) built not only the airframe for Skippy but the engine as well
(Continued on Page 23)
4 JANUARY 1988
VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2Arul2~ by Dennis Parks
The Post-War Emergence of the Lightplane
43 Private Planes Certified by CAA Aviation News February 26 1945 Lightplane Production Obstacles Loom Despite WPBs Go-Ahead Aviation News May 21 1945 Low-Price plane potentials Aero Digest July 1945 and similar articles were some of the harbinshygers of the post-war boom expected for the lightplane industry
The 43 Private Planes mentioned in the first articles not only reflected the return of private flying but also foreshyshadowed one of the problems with the expected boom- they were surplus milshyitary aircraft They included Ryan STs Fairchild M-62s and Taylorcraft DCOs They were among the 18500 primary trainers and liaison types declared surplus in 1945 more than 80 percent of which were sold
The predictions at this time period were for a very healthy market In fact today it is hard to believe that they were taken seriously Victor Pero chief of the Industry War Board had estimated that 2800000 of the nations families would in the next decade have enough purshychasing power to buy their own plane but that Only 1000000 of them will hanker after private planes
As reported in the March 1946 issue of AERO DIGEST A recent survey by one of the leading popular magazines turned up 300000 urban families in the higher income brackets who listed a plane as either their first or second purshychase contemplated
Added to this estimate was the possishybility that rural families would wish to own their own planes adding another 100000 prospective buyers That total of 400000 matched other estimates of the time
That these expectations for the rural population remained high in the followshying year was reflected in the Sepshytember 1946 article in AERO DIGEST Flying Farmers Will Account for 60 of the Lightplanes The article provided coverage of the first annual convention of the National Flying Farmers Associashy
tion held in Stillwater Oklahoma The 250 members attending the Conshy
vention were told by Art Boreman chairman of the CAA non-scheduled flight committee Farmers an~tBanchshymen of the United States are expected to purchase 60 of all the lightplanes produced during 1947-50 That means that flying farmers will be a constantly
growing influence in the development of olJr civil aviation
The CAA in its report Civil Aviation and the National Economy had preshydicted that by 1955 the aircraft registrashytion would reach 400000 of which 320000 would be for personal and busshyiness use
The outlook looked good in early 1946 The March issue of AERO 01shyGESTstated A survey of editors of 132 publications completed recently by the Associated Business Papers organizashytion reveals that twenty-one manufacshyturers have a total of 53000 orders on their books
The aviation magazines were full of articles on lightplanes The INDUSshyTRIAL ARTS INDEX for 1945 listed 85 articles on lightplanes and in 1946 110 were listed During this same time isshysues of FLYING and SKYWA YS magazines had as many as 16 pages of full-page ads for personal planes
Trying to reach a broader audience outside the aviation journals Piper
Beech and others were advertising to readers in BUSINESS WEEK LIFE and BETTER HOME AND GARDENS among others
The fall of 1945 saw the Type Certifishycation of the first of the new post-war lightplanes when the Aeronca 7AC Champion received Type number 759 on 18 October By the end of 1946 18 more lightplanes would be certified These included the Aeronca Chief Globe Swift Stinson Voyager Cessna 120 and the Ercoupe
These aircraft were well received in the various aviation magazines From March 1945 to December 1946 lightshyplanes graced the covers of 46 issues of AIR FACTS FL YING and SKYshyWAYS
The first pilot report on the new planes appeared in the November 1945 issue of AIR FACTS This flight test was of the Stinson Voyager The first pilot report to appear in SKYWA YS was in February 1946 and the first for FL YING was in May 1946 These were both of the Stinson Voyager
From November 1945 till December 1946 these three magazines which apshypealed to the personal pilot carried out 31 flight tests on 20 different lightshyplanes No plane besides the Voyager was covered in all three journals Others covered in two of the three inshycluded the Aeronca Champion Beech Bonanza Cessna 140 Swift Navion and the Piper Super Cruiser
Another indicator in the lightplane boom was the lAS (Institue for Aeronaushy
tical Sciences) National Light Aircraft Meeting held in Detroit during the sumshymer of 1946 This two-day meeting atshytended by over 200 aeronautical enshygineers included papers by Grover Loening - Noise Reduction Carl Doman chief engineer of Aircooled Motors - Simplified Design for Enshygines George Weitz of CAA - Mainteshynance Problems of the Personal Airplane and J Gwinn of Convair The Effect of Center ot Gravity Moveshyment of Safety of Personal Aircraft (Reshymember the Gwinn Aircar)
November 1946 probably saw the highwater mark of the lightplane boom with the holding of the first National Airshycraft Show in Cleveland From the Deshycember 1946 issue of A VIA nON
The one word Big is the best single adjective to apply to the nations first postwar National Aircraft Show held in the huge wartime bomber plant at Cleveland Airport
First it was the biggest show in the industrys history from the standpoint of participation with more than 155 exhibitors
Second it attracted the largest audishyence to ever view an indoor aircraft disshy
(Continued on Page 12)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
bull bull bull ED WEGNERS Fairchild 24
(Transcribed from Gene Chases Intershyview with Ed Wegner at Oshkosh 87)
Most airplane folks will agree that one of the outstanding authorities on Fairshychild aircraft is Ed Wegner of Plymouth Wisconsin His dedication to the marshyque is known the world over and if you need an answer to a question about Fairchilds Ed will most likely be able to provide the correct answer Perhaps the term walking encyclopedia describes Ed better than any other
Ed whose full name is Edward C Wegner (EAA 33887 AlC 136) resides at 10 Stafford Street Plymouth WI 53073 has been heavily involved in anshytique restorations for many many years His latest project is a 1941 Fairshychild 24W-41 A NC28690 SIN W41 Ashy111 which earned the Grand Champion Custom Antique award at EAA Oshkosh 87
The project began when Ed along with his son Randy bought a couple of
Cruising above the waters of Lake Winnebago Ed Wegners Fairchild 24 presents a pretty picture with its long nose and fully-faired landing gear The paint scheme is very complimentary to the airplane 6 JANUARY 1988
by Norm Petersen
Intake side of the big 440 cuin Ranger engine with its hanging bed-type mount Note Marvel-Schebler carb with attendant plumbing and remote oil tank on firewall This is a very sanitary installation
24 airframes that had been Warner powered from the factory Being partial to Ranger engines (and an expert on the intricacies of same) Ed decided to convert the best airframe to Ranger inshyline power He had a factory engine mount so the hunt for cowl pieces began Success was partially achieved on a trip to New Jersey and Solberg Airport (Ed Wegners eyes beam with excitement when he describes walking through rooms adjacent to an old hangar with Ranger parts stacked from floor to ceiling many in original cartons The collection remaining after the elder Solberg had died was one of the most mind-boggling experiences Ed had ever come across)
Using some new Solberg cowl blanks and making a new top cowl worked very nicely A nosebowl from a PT-19 was modified to conform to the Beech elecshytric propeller spinner With this prop the pilot can set the propeller for whatever
pitch he wants Ed says this prop makes NC28690 the goingest 24 he has ever owned even better than the Aeromatic on his previous Fairchild 24 NC25323 - the red and cream Ranger-powered bird that had so many of us drooling for years
Eds latest edition is covered with Stits Dacron four coats of nitrate four coats of butyrate - nontautening and six coats of nontautening silver sanded periodically and then a final light sandshying Ed says We used a non-sanding sealer over the silver to give better adhesion when we applied the Deltron paint which is a pure urethane We let it sit for about a week and then ultra fine sanded the fuselage the cloth parts and then buffed it to get away from some of the really high lustre that the enamel would have This way it looks more like buffed butyrate
The instrument panel was built new more or less in the configuration of the Fairchild panel but the hump was elimishynated It was used mainly for the old GE radio Modern wiring and circuit breakshyers brought it up to a near IFR panel although its not certified as such The panel was then wood-grained and a coat of clear urethane was applied to protect the wood grain The result is a better appearing panel than the original
Leading edge landing lights were inshystalled along with strobes on the wingtips for better visibility A King KXshy160 radio with VOR head along with a transponder (under the panel) are the necessary radio items for normal flying
The engine is a 200 hp Ranger that was purchased new in the crate Howshyever these military engines were built with too large of tolerances so it was disassembled and totally rebuilt New main bearings that are 010 under were installed and then the case was line bored for a perfect close fit on the
mains The rods were bored out to the same dimensions as the mains shyroughly 002 to 003 instead of the 004 to 006 that the military had Along with new guides and seals plus some modifishycations to the oil galley holes resulted in an engine that burns very little oil
Besides maintaining excellent cyl inshyder head temperatures and good oil temperatures the rebuilt engine has been running very well for the near forty hours it has accumulated to date At 21 square it uses about a pint of oil per hour however if it is run hard about a quart per hour is normal consumption Cruise speed at 21 square is 115 mph at a fuel burn of about 10 gallons per hour Using the approved Marvel Scheshybier carburetor instead of the original Stromberg gives much better perforshymance and uses about one gallon per hour less fuel
The idea of using a Beech electric propeller on a Fairchild 24 had been dancing through Ed Wegners fertile mind for some time He discovered that Beech had not only certified the prop on the early Model 35 Bonanza but also on the 200 hp Ranger as used in the Fairchild 24 Since many of the early Bonanzas have been converted from the Beech electric prop to the hydraulic Hartzell the supply of Beech electric props just laying around is very good
Ed located a Beech prop and promptly put it in top condition Its a laminated wooden-bladed propeller with a little gear box run by an electric motor It works just great on this engine airframe combination The rate of climb increased by almost 200 ft lminute over any other 24 that I had with an Aeromashytic however the cruise speed stayed about the same
How a pair of aluminum wheel pants could have withstood over 40 years of pounding and still be in letter perfect
The master rebuilder Ed Wegner with his familiar Fairchild hat stands by his pride and joy NC28690 At a slim and trim 62 Ed looks in as good a shape as his airplane
shape elicited the next answer from Ed Augie Wegner (EAA 85671 NC 7581) found them for me in Michigan The airplane they had been on burned up in 49 or 50 and the wheelpants had been saved since then They were brand new
Ed Wegner explains the wood work on the airplane as such The wings are all new The only thing we used over were the truss wires all the fittings and the bellcranks The ailerons of course and the elevator and rudder are a comshybination of aluminum and steel so it was just a matter of cleaning them up The stringers and formers on the fuselage plus new doors and door frames were built from new wood All the sheet metal was replaced I found a new firewall at Solbergs Airport in New Jersey The horizontal tail was reskinned with new
Beautiful custom-built instrument panel is nearly identical to the original except for the missing hump where the comshypass sits Stick grips are custom made
With the Ranger engine turning the Beech electric prop at a good clip the two exhaust from walnut Note Fairchild logo on left pipes are devoid of any smoke or carbon - the sign of a very healthy engine The fairing side brake pedals of the spinner into the modified nosebowl is especially well done
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
The full interior is shown in this photo with the custom door panels and other fine pOints of Jeff Bell s work really looking good Note crank down windows and passenger assist straps a typical Fairchild trademark
The most easily recognized feature of a Fairchild 24 is the outrigger landing gear with the beautifully faired wheelpants Note the strict attenshytion to detail and the close fit of the various pieces - a Wegner trademark The aluminum casting on the cabin step is another Fairchild Pegasus logo
8 JANUARY 1988
plywood along with the vertical fin The basic paint color is Porsche red
which was chosen because it had the least amount of orange in it so it would stand up well The trim color is a dark Ford red with an orange separator stripe between the two The exceptional quality of the paint scheme and its pershyfect detailing is a tribute to Ed Wegner and his son Randy who have been in the automotive body business for more years than Ed cares to remember A very close look at the painting workshymanship on this Fairchild has sent many an antiquer walking away shaking his head in absolute wonderment shymuttering How do they do it so pershyfectly
The material used on the upholstery is very close to the original that Fairchild used although it is a modern type fabric which is flame retardant The color and texture of the fabric is from an early Hudson Terraplane and closely matches the original Ed did add a little more vinyl on the side door kick panels for better durability The work was done by Jeff Bell of Sheboygan Wisconsin son of Charlie Bell (EAA 49475 AlC 7923) who had the Grand Champion Fairchild 24W at Oshkosh 83
Ed Wegner learned to fly at the age of 16 at the Kohler Wisconsin Airport from Melvin Thompson Ed was able to get a job as a line boy to help with exshypenses After receiving his Private
license he signed up for the service bull and went through the cadet program
which included college training We were just into flying Stearmans when the war ended in 45 and they cut off our program With the military career over Ed returned to Kohler airport and jumped into the surplus airplane joyride We bought six or seven PT-19s and PT-23s from Fayetteville Arkansas and ferried them home one at a time That was really a fun time I only wish I had known then what I know now
Many AntiqueClassic Division memshybers will remember the 1975 Grand Champion Antique American Eagle which Ed had restored over a 4-1 2 year period Nicknamed Tempus Fugit the silver-colored biplane was eventually sold to a museum in Athol Idaho where it was destroyed in a hangar fire a year later
Other restorations by Ed Wegner have been more fortunate and are still flying today including a Swift an early Funk a Waco DOC a Waco VKS-7F a Spartan C-3 biplane which Ed still flies and a Spartan Model 12 a low wing all metal tri-gear airplane with a 500 hp PampW engine up front It was a 450 hp (R-985) with a 12 to 1 blower system that boosted the horsepower to 500 Weighing over 3300 Ibs empty it needed the extra horsepower As Ed says It was a well-designed nice flying airplane It just came out at the wrong period of time in 1946
After so many airplanes over such a long period of time Ed feels he should sit back and take it a bit easy on the airplane work Let some of the younger Telling Ed Wegner to stop rebuilding he shouldnt go for a walk Its tough to ones take over he says airplanes is like telling an old mailman do bull
Tail surfaces of the Fairchild are spruce and plywood ahead of the hinge line and steel and fabric behind Note the Fairchild logo on the fin and the beautiful job of rib-stitching on the rudder
MEMBERS PROTECTS u
by Norm Petersen -------------------------- Making its initial flight on October 111987 was Turkey Red a
homebuilt two-place biplane designed and built by Jim Soares (EAA 104408 AlC 2243) of 7093 Dry Creek Road Belgrade Montana 59714 With a steel tube fuselage and wood wings Turkey Red is powered by a converted Model A Ford engine swinging an aluminum alloy propeller Jim reports that October 11th was quite some day It felt like 1915 - everything in slow motion Note the brass radiator which Jim built from scratchbull
Stinson Flying Station Wagon 108-3 SIN 108-3941 owned by 26shyyear-old Jon EckriclI (EAA 297550) 7623 Deansville Road Marshyshall WI 53559 Both Jons father and grandfather flew a 108-3 so it is only right that Jon continues with the tradition Rebuilt in 1975 N1000M has some 500 hours on it now and is almost IFR certified Jon reports the Stinson has a full complement of King radios inshycluding a Loran-C receiver
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
The Time Capsule 8yJack Cox Photographs are time capsules a fleeting instant frozen forever preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers or their estates who attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes passing through These priceless peeks at aviations Golden Age deserve to be seen and we intend to present a few of them each month in this new feature Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed This month s photos are from the Schrade Radtke Collection
I I
Left This brawny beast is R189M the Seversky 2-PA-L variously described as an export fighter and a 2-seat convoy fighter Powered by a 1000 hp Wright GR-1830-G3 Cyclone it was apparently a company prototype of many uses As X189M the airframe was previously the PampW R-1340 powered Model X-BT Radtke Collection 869
Harry Crosbys CR-4 racer being run up at the Cleveland Air Races probably in 1938 All metal it was about the absolute minimum airframe that could be built behind a Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer The fuselage was 215 ft long but the highly tapered wings spanned just 16 feet Quite innovative the tiny bird had oil tanks in the leading edges of the wing provision for dry ice cooling and the rough looking side cowl was a surface or skin type oil cooler Engine and landing gear problems kept the airplane from reaching its full development Its best finish was fourth in the 1939 Thompson Trophy race at 244522 mph Crosby died during World War II in the crash of an experiemental Northrop flying wing the XP-79B Flying Ram Radtke Collection 257
r
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937 It was demonstrated there by Frank Hawks who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd The Aircar was a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile It had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle A brake and a clutch pedal on the floor completed the auto look The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until at 55 mph the clutch was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled on take-off with full aft wheel The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel Frank Hawks favorite ploy was to take his hand off the wheel and let it land itself Unfortunately Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on take-off from a polo field on a private estate This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company Two Aircars were built the Model 1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy) Hawks crashed in the Model II The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated Afterwards it was reported to have been donated to a school and has never been heard from since Radtke Collection 558
Heres a little mystery according to Revolution In The Sky the book on the early Lockheeds this Sirius was wrecked in 1935 and never repaired yet here it is at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking pretty fit This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C Sport Cabin Sirius a special model with tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just behind the PampW Wasp C The name under the canopy is S R Sague Pilot Radtke 689
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
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MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
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VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
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CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
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SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
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FEATURE WRITERS George A Hardie Jr
Dennis Parks
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JANUARY 1988 Vol 16 No1 Copyright 1988 by the EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc All rights reserved
Contents 2 Straight and Levelby Bob Lickteig 4 AlC Newsby Norm Petersen 5 Vintage Literatureby Dennis Parks 6 Ed Wegners Fairchild 24
by Norm Petersen 9 Members Projectsby Norm Petersen
10 The Time Capsuleby Jack Cox 12 Vintage Seaplanesby Norm Petersen 13 Type Club Activitiesby Norm Petersen 14 Harry amp Sherrys Taylorcraft BC-12D
by Harry Miltner 19 Out of the Past In Photos
by Ray L Johnson 20 Fly Out to Shawanoby Bob Lumley 22 Interesting Members - Jay Vieaux
by Bob Brauer 23 Prop Tips 24 Just Another Grass Landing Strip __
Not Anymoreby Joyce Helser 26 Welcome New Members 28 Mystery Planeby George A Hardie Jr 28 Letters to the Editor 29 Vintage Trader
Page 6
Page 10
Page 22
FRONT COVER Flying over the green Wisconsin countryside is Ed Wegner of Plymouth WI in his award-winning Ranger-powered 1941 Fairchild 24 which employs a certified Beech electric propeller For the full story on this custom restoration see page 6
(Carl Schuppel Photo)
BACK COVER Keystone-Loening K-84 Commuter Introduced in 1929 NX9781 was the prototype 300 hp amphibian of which 40 were built (EAA Photo Archives Kurt Collection)
The words EAA ULTRALIGHT FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC EAA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB INC WARBIRDS OF AMERICA INC are registered trademarks THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION INC and EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION are trademarks of the above associations and their use by any person other than the above associations is strictly prohibited
Editorial Policy Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor Material should be sent to Editor The VINTAGE AIRPLANE Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone 414426-4800
The VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc of the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc and is published monthly at Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903shy3086 Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh WI 54901 and additional mailing offices Membership rates for EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc are $1800 for current EAA members for 12 month period of which $1200 is for the publication of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation
ADVERTISING - AntiqueClassic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through our advertisshying We invite constructive criticism and welcome any repOrt of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken
Postmaster Send address changes to EAA AntiqueClassic Division Inc Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
Gene Chase contemplates retirement on his last day at his EAA desk These multishytalented hands have flown more than 287 different types of airplanes and written ~merous airplane articles
Compiled by Norm Petersen
GENE CHASE RETIRES
After 14-1 12 years at EAA Headquarshyters in various capacities including editor of The Vintage Airplane since Deshycember 1979 Gene Chase jumped on the retirement bandwagon as of
November 1 1987 Not one to worry as to what he would be keeping busy with Gene admitted he has many projects that need work including his model shop in his home and two airplanes in his hangar - a 1933 Davis D-1-W and a 1935 Taylor E-2 Cub
Gene came to work at EAA from a corporate pilot position at Standard Oil Company in Tulsa Oklahoma where he had flown a Lockheed Lodestar for a number of years In addition Gene has maintained a CFI rating for over 40 years and plans on continuing dual inshystruction in the future At present he is busy checking out a new owner in his Cessna 195 powered with a 450 hp PampWengine
Having the desire to fly since his early childhood Gene has actively pursued aviation since entering the Naval Aviashytion Cadet program during WW II Addishytional military flight time was added as Gene flew in the Navy Reserve for a number of years which included the changeover from propellers to jets
At present Genes logbook shows some 287 different types of aircraft over the years a feat that puts him among a very select few He has flown the gamut from ultralights to four-engine recips and jets
A member of the exclusive Caterpilshylar Club by virtue of bailing out of a flaming airplane Gene has one more take off than landing in his book While flying a Grumman F3F-2 biplane fighter during Oshkosh 71 the nose of the airplane caught fire (a broken fuel line was suspect) and forced Gene and his passenger 18-year-old Randy Beloff to bailout over open country southwest of Oshkosh near Pickett Wisconsin Both parachutists landed safely howshyever Gene was severely burned on his hands arms and neck and spent conshysiderable time healing
The F3F-2 (which at one time was Leroy Grummans personal airplane) slammed into the ground on the Clyde Brey farm and was demolished Surshy
prisingly the exact spot is easy to find as Clyde and Karen Brey report that to this very day every time they plow the ground some additional silver grey and green fabric comes to the surface
Gene and his wife Dorothy donated their Church Midwing to the EAA Air Museum where it proudly hangs in the Racing Section along with some pretty fast company They totally restored the tiny yellow and black racer when they lived in Tulsa and Gene flew it on numerous occasions It is powered with a four-cylinder Heath Henderson enshygine of approximately 26 hp Genes 150 lb frame would just fit in the tiny cockpit Luckily Genes other two airplanes the Davis and Taylor Cub are also black and yellow so Gene has to inventory only two colors of paint
Perhaps it is called progress howshyever we miss the happy smile that Gene would bring to EAA on a daily basis His friendly attitude merely comshyplimented that exceptional aircraft mind that was our constant resource for information A man of exceptional organizational ability Gene grew with EAA and the AntiqueClassic Division As Senior Editor he discharged his duties in a faithful manner over the many years and the membership was the benefactor
A most happy retirement Gene and dont forget to drag out the flute and piccolo once in a while
Hans Lohman Rasmussen
Roger Lorenzen propeller maker of Heath Parasol fame inquired of Bill Schlapman another Heath Parasol owner about his old friend Hans Rasshymussen who had worked with Roger at
the Heath factory in the early 30s Hans had returned to his native Denmark in 1935 and Roger thought he might still be living in Odense Denmark - up in his eighties
Bill Schlapman asked if I knew any Danes in Odense It just happened that Carl Erik Gimbel (EAA 146080) of Holmstrupvej 9 5250 Odense SV Denshymark not only lived there but was comshying to Oshkosh 87 Photo copies of pages 296A 297 A and 298A of Volume I The Golden Age of Air Racingwhich tells the story of Hans Rasmussen and his Skippy racer were sent to Carl Erik with the words Try and locate this man
A check of the phone book revealed Hans Rasmussen lived only a short disshytance from Carl Erik and in no time he was located and gave Carl Erik the enshytire story of his aviation activities in the US Carl Erik brought greetings along to Oshkosh 87 where he met with Roger Lorenzen and gave him the full story on Hans Rasmussen now 83 years old
Returning to Denmark after five full days at Oshkosh 87 Carl Erik Gimbel sat down and wrote the story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen and his Skippy racer for the Danish antique airplane magazine published by the KZ and Vetshyeranfly Klubben (EAA Chapter 655) The story along with pictures was pubshylished in this third quarter issue of the magazine and is very nicely done It carefully explains how Hans Rasmusshysen (who uses the name Lohman Rasshymussen in Denmark for easier identifishycation) built not only the airframe for Skippy but the engine as well
(Continued on Page 23)
4 JANUARY 1988
VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2Arul2~ by Dennis Parks
The Post-War Emergence of the Lightplane
43 Private Planes Certified by CAA Aviation News February 26 1945 Lightplane Production Obstacles Loom Despite WPBs Go-Ahead Aviation News May 21 1945 Low-Price plane potentials Aero Digest July 1945 and similar articles were some of the harbinshygers of the post-war boom expected for the lightplane industry
The 43 Private Planes mentioned in the first articles not only reflected the return of private flying but also foreshyshadowed one of the problems with the expected boom- they were surplus milshyitary aircraft They included Ryan STs Fairchild M-62s and Taylorcraft DCOs They were among the 18500 primary trainers and liaison types declared surplus in 1945 more than 80 percent of which were sold
The predictions at this time period were for a very healthy market In fact today it is hard to believe that they were taken seriously Victor Pero chief of the Industry War Board had estimated that 2800000 of the nations families would in the next decade have enough purshychasing power to buy their own plane but that Only 1000000 of them will hanker after private planes
As reported in the March 1946 issue of AERO DIGEST A recent survey by one of the leading popular magazines turned up 300000 urban families in the higher income brackets who listed a plane as either their first or second purshychase contemplated
Added to this estimate was the possishybility that rural families would wish to own their own planes adding another 100000 prospective buyers That total of 400000 matched other estimates of the time
That these expectations for the rural population remained high in the followshying year was reflected in the Sepshytember 1946 article in AERO DIGEST Flying Farmers Will Account for 60 of the Lightplanes The article provided coverage of the first annual convention of the National Flying Farmers Associashy
tion held in Stillwater Oklahoma The 250 members attending the Conshy
vention were told by Art Boreman chairman of the CAA non-scheduled flight committee Farmers an~tBanchshymen of the United States are expected to purchase 60 of all the lightplanes produced during 1947-50 That means that flying farmers will be a constantly
growing influence in the development of olJr civil aviation
The CAA in its report Civil Aviation and the National Economy had preshydicted that by 1955 the aircraft registrashytion would reach 400000 of which 320000 would be for personal and busshyiness use
The outlook looked good in early 1946 The March issue of AERO 01shyGESTstated A survey of editors of 132 publications completed recently by the Associated Business Papers organizashytion reveals that twenty-one manufacshyturers have a total of 53000 orders on their books
The aviation magazines were full of articles on lightplanes The INDUSshyTRIAL ARTS INDEX for 1945 listed 85 articles on lightplanes and in 1946 110 were listed During this same time isshysues of FLYING and SKYWA YS magazines had as many as 16 pages of full-page ads for personal planes
Trying to reach a broader audience outside the aviation journals Piper
Beech and others were advertising to readers in BUSINESS WEEK LIFE and BETTER HOME AND GARDENS among others
The fall of 1945 saw the Type Certifishycation of the first of the new post-war lightplanes when the Aeronca 7AC Champion received Type number 759 on 18 October By the end of 1946 18 more lightplanes would be certified These included the Aeronca Chief Globe Swift Stinson Voyager Cessna 120 and the Ercoupe
These aircraft were well received in the various aviation magazines From March 1945 to December 1946 lightshyplanes graced the covers of 46 issues of AIR FACTS FL YING and SKYshyWAYS
The first pilot report on the new planes appeared in the November 1945 issue of AIR FACTS This flight test was of the Stinson Voyager The first pilot report to appear in SKYWA YS was in February 1946 and the first for FL YING was in May 1946 These were both of the Stinson Voyager
From November 1945 till December 1946 these three magazines which apshypealed to the personal pilot carried out 31 flight tests on 20 different lightshyplanes No plane besides the Voyager was covered in all three journals Others covered in two of the three inshycluded the Aeronca Champion Beech Bonanza Cessna 140 Swift Navion and the Piper Super Cruiser
Another indicator in the lightplane boom was the lAS (Institue for Aeronaushy
tical Sciences) National Light Aircraft Meeting held in Detroit during the sumshymer of 1946 This two-day meeting atshytended by over 200 aeronautical enshygineers included papers by Grover Loening - Noise Reduction Carl Doman chief engineer of Aircooled Motors - Simplified Design for Enshygines George Weitz of CAA - Mainteshynance Problems of the Personal Airplane and J Gwinn of Convair The Effect of Center ot Gravity Moveshyment of Safety of Personal Aircraft (Reshymember the Gwinn Aircar)
November 1946 probably saw the highwater mark of the lightplane boom with the holding of the first National Airshycraft Show in Cleveland From the Deshycember 1946 issue of A VIA nON
The one word Big is the best single adjective to apply to the nations first postwar National Aircraft Show held in the huge wartime bomber plant at Cleveland Airport
First it was the biggest show in the industrys history from the standpoint of participation with more than 155 exhibitors
Second it attracted the largest audishyence to ever view an indoor aircraft disshy
(Continued on Page 12)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
bull bull bull ED WEGNERS Fairchild 24
(Transcribed from Gene Chases Intershyview with Ed Wegner at Oshkosh 87)
Most airplane folks will agree that one of the outstanding authorities on Fairshychild aircraft is Ed Wegner of Plymouth Wisconsin His dedication to the marshyque is known the world over and if you need an answer to a question about Fairchilds Ed will most likely be able to provide the correct answer Perhaps the term walking encyclopedia describes Ed better than any other
Ed whose full name is Edward C Wegner (EAA 33887 AlC 136) resides at 10 Stafford Street Plymouth WI 53073 has been heavily involved in anshytique restorations for many many years His latest project is a 1941 Fairshychild 24W-41 A NC28690 SIN W41 Ashy111 which earned the Grand Champion Custom Antique award at EAA Oshkosh 87
The project began when Ed along with his son Randy bought a couple of
Cruising above the waters of Lake Winnebago Ed Wegners Fairchild 24 presents a pretty picture with its long nose and fully-faired landing gear The paint scheme is very complimentary to the airplane 6 JANUARY 1988
by Norm Petersen
Intake side of the big 440 cuin Ranger engine with its hanging bed-type mount Note Marvel-Schebler carb with attendant plumbing and remote oil tank on firewall This is a very sanitary installation
24 airframes that had been Warner powered from the factory Being partial to Ranger engines (and an expert on the intricacies of same) Ed decided to convert the best airframe to Ranger inshyline power He had a factory engine mount so the hunt for cowl pieces began Success was partially achieved on a trip to New Jersey and Solberg Airport (Ed Wegners eyes beam with excitement when he describes walking through rooms adjacent to an old hangar with Ranger parts stacked from floor to ceiling many in original cartons The collection remaining after the elder Solberg had died was one of the most mind-boggling experiences Ed had ever come across)
Using some new Solberg cowl blanks and making a new top cowl worked very nicely A nosebowl from a PT-19 was modified to conform to the Beech elecshytric propeller spinner With this prop the pilot can set the propeller for whatever
pitch he wants Ed says this prop makes NC28690 the goingest 24 he has ever owned even better than the Aeromatic on his previous Fairchild 24 NC25323 - the red and cream Ranger-powered bird that had so many of us drooling for years
Eds latest edition is covered with Stits Dacron four coats of nitrate four coats of butyrate - nontautening and six coats of nontautening silver sanded periodically and then a final light sandshying Ed says We used a non-sanding sealer over the silver to give better adhesion when we applied the Deltron paint which is a pure urethane We let it sit for about a week and then ultra fine sanded the fuselage the cloth parts and then buffed it to get away from some of the really high lustre that the enamel would have This way it looks more like buffed butyrate
The instrument panel was built new more or less in the configuration of the Fairchild panel but the hump was elimishynated It was used mainly for the old GE radio Modern wiring and circuit breakshyers brought it up to a near IFR panel although its not certified as such The panel was then wood-grained and a coat of clear urethane was applied to protect the wood grain The result is a better appearing panel than the original
Leading edge landing lights were inshystalled along with strobes on the wingtips for better visibility A King KXshy160 radio with VOR head along with a transponder (under the panel) are the necessary radio items for normal flying
The engine is a 200 hp Ranger that was purchased new in the crate Howshyever these military engines were built with too large of tolerances so it was disassembled and totally rebuilt New main bearings that are 010 under were installed and then the case was line bored for a perfect close fit on the
mains The rods were bored out to the same dimensions as the mains shyroughly 002 to 003 instead of the 004 to 006 that the military had Along with new guides and seals plus some modifishycations to the oil galley holes resulted in an engine that burns very little oil
Besides maintaining excellent cyl inshyder head temperatures and good oil temperatures the rebuilt engine has been running very well for the near forty hours it has accumulated to date At 21 square it uses about a pint of oil per hour however if it is run hard about a quart per hour is normal consumption Cruise speed at 21 square is 115 mph at a fuel burn of about 10 gallons per hour Using the approved Marvel Scheshybier carburetor instead of the original Stromberg gives much better perforshymance and uses about one gallon per hour less fuel
The idea of using a Beech electric propeller on a Fairchild 24 had been dancing through Ed Wegners fertile mind for some time He discovered that Beech had not only certified the prop on the early Model 35 Bonanza but also on the 200 hp Ranger as used in the Fairchild 24 Since many of the early Bonanzas have been converted from the Beech electric prop to the hydraulic Hartzell the supply of Beech electric props just laying around is very good
Ed located a Beech prop and promptly put it in top condition Its a laminated wooden-bladed propeller with a little gear box run by an electric motor It works just great on this engine airframe combination The rate of climb increased by almost 200 ft lminute over any other 24 that I had with an Aeromashytic however the cruise speed stayed about the same
How a pair of aluminum wheel pants could have withstood over 40 years of pounding and still be in letter perfect
The master rebuilder Ed Wegner with his familiar Fairchild hat stands by his pride and joy NC28690 At a slim and trim 62 Ed looks in as good a shape as his airplane
shape elicited the next answer from Ed Augie Wegner (EAA 85671 NC 7581) found them for me in Michigan The airplane they had been on burned up in 49 or 50 and the wheelpants had been saved since then They were brand new
Ed Wegner explains the wood work on the airplane as such The wings are all new The only thing we used over were the truss wires all the fittings and the bellcranks The ailerons of course and the elevator and rudder are a comshybination of aluminum and steel so it was just a matter of cleaning them up The stringers and formers on the fuselage plus new doors and door frames were built from new wood All the sheet metal was replaced I found a new firewall at Solbergs Airport in New Jersey The horizontal tail was reskinned with new
Beautiful custom-built instrument panel is nearly identical to the original except for the missing hump where the comshypass sits Stick grips are custom made
With the Ranger engine turning the Beech electric prop at a good clip the two exhaust from walnut Note Fairchild logo on left pipes are devoid of any smoke or carbon - the sign of a very healthy engine The fairing side brake pedals of the spinner into the modified nosebowl is especially well done
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
The full interior is shown in this photo with the custom door panels and other fine pOints of Jeff Bell s work really looking good Note crank down windows and passenger assist straps a typical Fairchild trademark
The most easily recognized feature of a Fairchild 24 is the outrigger landing gear with the beautifully faired wheelpants Note the strict attenshytion to detail and the close fit of the various pieces - a Wegner trademark The aluminum casting on the cabin step is another Fairchild Pegasus logo
8 JANUARY 1988
plywood along with the vertical fin The basic paint color is Porsche red
which was chosen because it had the least amount of orange in it so it would stand up well The trim color is a dark Ford red with an orange separator stripe between the two The exceptional quality of the paint scheme and its pershyfect detailing is a tribute to Ed Wegner and his son Randy who have been in the automotive body business for more years than Ed cares to remember A very close look at the painting workshymanship on this Fairchild has sent many an antiquer walking away shaking his head in absolute wonderment shymuttering How do they do it so pershyfectly
The material used on the upholstery is very close to the original that Fairchild used although it is a modern type fabric which is flame retardant The color and texture of the fabric is from an early Hudson Terraplane and closely matches the original Ed did add a little more vinyl on the side door kick panels for better durability The work was done by Jeff Bell of Sheboygan Wisconsin son of Charlie Bell (EAA 49475 AlC 7923) who had the Grand Champion Fairchild 24W at Oshkosh 83
Ed Wegner learned to fly at the age of 16 at the Kohler Wisconsin Airport from Melvin Thompson Ed was able to get a job as a line boy to help with exshypenses After receiving his Private
license he signed up for the service bull and went through the cadet program
which included college training We were just into flying Stearmans when the war ended in 45 and they cut off our program With the military career over Ed returned to Kohler airport and jumped into the surplus airplane joyride We bought six or seven PT-19s and PT-23s from Fayetteville Arkansas and ferried them home one at a time That was really a fun time I only wish I had known then what I know now
Many AntiqueClassic Division memshybers will remember the 1975 Grand Champion Antique American Eagle which Ed had restored over a 4-1 2 year period Nicknamed Tempus Fugit the silver-colored biplane was eventually sold to a museum in Athol Idaho where it was destroyed in a hangar fire a year later
Other restorations by Ed Wegner have been more fortunate and are still flying today including a Swift an early Funk a Waco DOC a Waco VKS-7F a Spartan C-3 biplane which Ed still flies and a Spartan Model 12 a low wing all metal tri-gear airplane with a 500 hp PampW engine up front It was a 450 hp (R-985) with a 12 to 1 blower system that boosted the horsepower to 500 Weighing over 3300 Ibs empty it needed the extra horsepower As Ed says It was a well-designed nice flying airplane It just came out at the wrong period of time in 1946
After so many airplanes over such a long period of time Ed feels he should sit back and take it a bit easy on the airplane work Let some of the younger Telling Ed Wegner to stop rebuilding he shouldnt go for a walk Its tough to ones take over he says airplanes is like telling an old mailman do bull
Tail surfaces of the Fairchild are spruce and plywood ahead of the hinge line and steel and fabric behind Note the Fairchild logo on the fin and the beautiful job of rib-stitching on the rudder
MEMBERS PROTECTS u
by Norm Petersen -------------------------- Making its initial flight on October 111987 was Turkey Red a
homebuilt two-place biplane designed and built by Jim Soares (EAA 104408 AlC 2243) of 7093 Dry Creek Road Belgrade Montana 59714 With a steel tube fuselage and wood wings Turkey Red is powered by a converted Model A Ford engine swinging an aluminum alloy propeller Jim reports that October 11th was quite some day It felt like 1915 - everything in slow motion Note the brass radiator which Jim built from scratchbull
Stinson Flying Station Wagon 108-3 SIN 108-3941 owned by 26shyyear-old Jon EckriclI (EAA 297550) 7623 Deansville Road Marshyshall WI 53559 Both Jons father and grandfather flew a 108-3 so it is only right that Jon continues with the tradition Rebuilt in 1975 N1000M has some 500 hours on it now and is almost IFR certified Jon reports the Stinson has a full complement of King radios inshycluding a Loran-C receiver
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
The Time Capsule 8yJack Cox Photographs are time capsules a fleeting instant frozen forever preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers or their estates who attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes passing through These priceless peeks at aviations Golden Age deserve to be seen and we intend to present a few of them each month in this new feature Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed This month s photos are from the Schrade Radtke Collection
I I
Left This brawny beast is R189M the Seversky 2-PA-L variously described as an export fighter and a 2-seat convoy fighter Powered by a 1000 hp Wright GR-1830-G3 Cyclone it was apparently a company prototype of many uses As X189M the airframe was previously the PampW R-1340 powered Model X-BT Radtke Collection 869
Harry Crosbys CR-4 racer being run up at the Cleveland Air Races probably in 1938 All metal it was about the absolute minimum airframe that could be built behind a Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer The fuselage was 215 ft long but the highly tapered wings spanned just 16 feet Quite innovative the tiny bird had oil tanks in the leading edges of the wing provision for dry ice cooling and the rough looking side cowl was a surface or skin type oil cooler Engine and landing gear problems kept the airplane from reaching its full development Its best finish was fourth in the 1939 Thompson Trophy race at 244522 mph Crosby died during World War II in the crash of an experiemental Northrop flying wing the XP-79B Flying Ram Radtke Collection 257
r
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937 It was demonstrated there by Frank Hawks who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd The Aircar was a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile It had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle A brake and a clutch pedal on the floor completed the auto look The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until at 55 mph the clutch was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled on take-off with full aft wheel The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel Frank Hawks favorite ploy was to take his hand off the wheel and let it land itself Unfortunately Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on take-off from a polo field on a private estate This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company Two Aircars were built the Model 1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy) Hawks crashed in the Model II The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated Afterwards it was reported to have been donated to a school and has never been heard from since Radtke Collection 558
Heres a little mystery according to Revolution In The Sky the book on the early Lockheeds this Sirius was wrecked in 1935 and never repaired yet here it is at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking pretty fit This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C Sport Cabin Sirius a special model with tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just behind the PampW Wasp C The name under the canopy is S R Sague Pilot Radtke 689
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
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VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
Gene Chase contemplates retirement on his last day at his EAA desk These multishytalented hands have flown more than 287 different types of airplanes and written ~merous airplane articles
Compiled by Norm Petersen
GENE CHASE RETIRES
After 14-1 12 years at EAA Headquarshyters in various capacities including editor of The Vintage Airplane since Deshycember 1979 Gene Chase jumped on the retirement bandwagon as of
November 1 1987 Not one to worry as to what he would be keeping busy with Gene admitted he has many projects that need work including his model shop in his home and two airplanes in his hangar - a 1933 Davis D-1-W and a 1935 Taylor E-2 Cub
Gene came to work at EAA from a corporate pilot position at Standard Oil Company in Tulsa Oklahoma where he had flown a Lockheed Lodestar for a number of years In addition Gene has maintained a CFI rating for over 40 years and plans on continuing dual inshystruction in the future At present he is busy checking out a new owner in his Cessna 195 powered with a 450 hp PampWengine
Having the desire to fly since his early childhood Gene has actively pursued aviation since entering the Naval Aviashytion Cadet program during WW II Addishytional military flight time was added as Gene flew in the Navy Reserve for a number of years which included the changeover from propellers to jets
At present Genes logbook shows some 287 different types of aircraft over the years a feat that puts him among a very select few He has flown the gamut from ultralights to four-engine recips and jets
A member of the exclusive Caterpilshylar Club by virtue of bailing out of a flaming airplane Gene has one more take off than landing in his book While flying a Grumman F3F-2 biplane fighter during Oshkosh 71 the nose of the airplane caught fire (a broken fuel line was suspect) and forced Gene and his passenger 18-year-old Randy Beloff to bailout over open country southwest of Oshkosh near Pickett Wisconsin Both parachutists landed safely howshyever Gene was severely burned on his hands arms and neck and spent conshysiderable time healing
The F3F-2 (which at one time was Leroy Grummans personal airplane) slammed into the ground on the Clyde Brey farm and was demolished Surshy
prisingly the exact spot is easy to find as Clyde and Karen Brey report that to this very day every time they plow the ground some additional silver grey and green fabric comes to the surface
Gene and his wife Dorothy donated their Church Midwing to the EAA Air Museum where it proudly hangs in the Racing Section along with some pretty fast company They totally restored the tiny yellow and black racer when they lived in Tulsa and Gene flew it on numerous occasions It is powered with a four-cylinder Heath Henderson enshygine of approximately 26 hp Genes 150 lb frame would just fit in the tiny cockpit Luckily Genes other two airplanes the Davis and Taylor Cub are also black and yellow so Gene has to inventory only two colors of paint
Perhaps it is called progress howshyever we miss the happy smile that Gene would bring to EAA on a daily basis His friendly attitude merely comshyplimented that exceptional aircraft mind that was our constant resource for information A man of exceptional organizational ability Gene grew with EAA and the AntiqueClassic Division As Senior Editor he discharged his duties in a faithful manner over the many years and the membership was the benefactor
A most happy retirement Gene and dont forget to drag out the flute and piccolo once in a while
Hans Lohman Rasmussen
Roger Lorenzen propeller maker of Heath Parasol fame inquired of Bill Schlapman another Heath Parasol owner about his old friend Hans Rasshymussen who had worked with Roger at
the Heath factory in the early 30s Hans had returned to his native Denmark in 1935 and Roger thought he might still be living in Odense Denmark - up in his eighties
Bill Schlapman asked if I knew any Danes in Odense It just happened that Carl Erik Gimbel (EAA 146080) of Holmstrupvej 9 5250 Odense SV Denshymark not only lived there but was comshying to Oshkosh 87 Photo copies of pages 296A 297 A and 298A of Volume I The Golden Age of Air Racingwhich tells the story of Hans Rasmussen and his Skippy racer were sent to Carl Erik with the words Try and locate this man
A check of the phone book revealed Hans Rasmussen lived only a short disshytance from Carl Erik and in no time he was located and gave Carl Erik the enshytire story of his aviation activities in the US Carl Erik brought greetings along to Oshkosh 87 where he met with Roger Lorenzen and gave him the full story on Hans Rasmussen now 83 years old
Returning to Denmark after five full days at Oshkosh 87 Carl Erik Gimbel sat down and wrote the story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen and his Skippy racer for the Danish antique airplane magazine published by the KZ and Vetshyeranfly Klubben (EAA Chapter 655) The story along with pictures was pubshylished in this third quarter issue of the magazine and is very nicely done It carefully explains how Hans Rasmusshysen (who uses the name Lohman Rasshymussen in Denmark for easier identifishycation) built not only the airframe for Skippy but the engine as well
(Continued on Page 23)
4 JANUARY 1988
VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2Arul2~ by Dennis Parks
The Post-War Emergence of the Lightplane
43 Private Planes Certified by CAA Aviation News February 26 1945 Lightplane Production Obstacles Loom Despite WPBs Go-Ahead Aviation News May 21 1945 Low-Price plane potentials Aero Digest July 1945 and similar articles were some of the harbinshygers of the post-war boom expected for the lightplane industry
The 43 Private Planes mentioned in the first articles not only reflected the return of private flying but also foreshyshadowed one of the problems with the expected boom- they were surplus milshyitary aircraft They included Ryan STs Fairchild M-62s and Taylorcraft DCOs They were among the 18500 primary trainers and liaison types declared surplus in 1945 more than 80 percent of which were sold
The predictions at this time period were for a very healthy market In fact today it is hard to believe that they were taken seriously Victor Pero chief of the Industry War Board had estimated that 2800000 of the nations families would in the next decade have enough purshychasing power to buy their own plane but that Only 1000000 of them will hanker after private planes
As reported in the March 1946 issue of AERO DIGEST A recent survey by one of the leading popular magazines turned up 300000 urban families in the higher income brackets who listed a plane as either their first or second purshychase contemplated
Added to this estimate was the possishybility that rural families would wish to own their own planes adding another 100000 prospective buyers That total of 400000 matched other estimates of the time
That these expectations for the rural population remained high in the followshying year was reflected in the Sepshytember 1946 article in AERO DIGEST Flying Farmers Will Account for 60 of the Lightplanes The article provided coverage of the first annual convention of the National Flying Farmers Associashy
tion held in Stillwater Oklahoma The 250 members attending the Conshy
vention were told by Art Boreman chairman of the CAA non-scheduled flight committee Farmers an~tBanchshymen of the United States are expected to purchase 60 of all the lightplanes produced during 1947-50 That means that flying farmers will be a constantly
growing influence in the development of olJr civil aviation
The CAA in its report Civil Aviation and the National Economy had preshydicted that by 1955 the aircraft registrashytion would reach 400000 of which 320000 would be for personal and busshyiness use
The outlook looked good in early 1946 The March issue of AERO 01shyGESTstated A survey of editors of 132 publications completed recently by the Associated Business Papers organizashytion reveals that twenty-one manufacshyturers have a total of 53000 orders on their books
The aviation magazines were full of articles on lightplanes The INDUSshyTRIAL ARTS INDEX for 1945 listed 85 articles on lightplanes and in 1946 110 were listed During this same time isshysues of FLYING and SKYWA YS magazines had as many as 16 pages of full-page ads for personal planes
Trying to reach a broader audience outside the aviation journals Piper
Beech and others were advertising to readers in BUSINESS WEEK LIFE and BETTER HOME AND GARDENS among others
The fall of 1945 saw the Type Certifishycation of the first of the new post-war lightplanes when the Aeronca 7AC Champion received Type number 759 on 18 October By the end of 1946 18 more lightplanes would be certified These included the Aeronca Chief Globe Swift Stinson Voyager Cessna 120 and the Ercoupe
These aircraft were well received in the various aviation magazines From March 1945 to December 1946 lightshyplanes graced the covers of 46 issues of AIR FACTS FL YING and SKYshyWAYS
The first pilot report on the new planes appeared in the November 1945 issue of AIR FACTS This flight test was of the Stinson Voyager The first pilot report to appear in SKYWA YS was in February 1946 and the first for FL YING was in May 1946 These were both of the Stinson Voyager
From November 1945 till December 1946 these three magazines which apshypealed to the personal pilot carried out 31 flight tests on 20 different lightshyplanes No plane besides the Voyager was covered in all three journals Others covered in two of the three inshycluded the Aeronca Champion Beech Bonanza Cessna 140 Swift Navion and the Piper Super Cruiser
Another indicator in the lightplane boom was the lAS (Institue for Aeronaushy
tical Sciences) National Light Aircraft Meeting held in Detroit during the sumshymer of 1946 This two-day meeting atshytended by over 200 aeronautical enshygineers included papers by Grover Loening - Noise Reduction Carl Doman chief engineer of Aircooled Motors - Simplified Design for Enshygines George Weitz of CAA - Mainteshynance Problems of the Personal Airplane and J Gwinn of Convair The Effect of Center ot Gravity Moveshyment of Safety of Personal Aircraft (Reshymember the Gwinn Aircar)
November 1946 probably saw the highwater mark of the lightplane boom with the holding of the first National Airshycraft Show in Cleveland From the Deshycember 1946 issue of A VIA nON
The one word Big is the best single adjective to apply to the nations first postwar National Aircraft Show held in the huge wartime bomber plant at Cleveland Airport
First it was the biggest show in the industrys history from the standpoint of participation with more than 155 exhibitors
Second it attracted the largest audishyence to ever view an indoor aircraft disshy
(Continued on Page 12)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
bull bull bull ED WEGNERS Fairchild 24
(Transcribed from Gene Chases Intershyview with Ed Wegner at Oshkosh 87)
Most airplane folks will agree that one of the outstanding authorities on Fairshychild aircraft is Ed Wegner of Plymouth Wisconsin His dedication to the marshyque is known the world over and if you need an answer to a question about Fairchilds Ed will most likely be able to provide the correct answer Perhaps the term walking encyclopedia describes Ed better than any other
Ed whose full name is Edward C Wegner (EAA 33887 AlC 136) resides at 10 Stafford Street Plymouth WI 53073 has been heavily involved in anshytique restorations for many many years His latest project is a 1941 Fairshychild 24W-41 A NC28690 SIN W41 Ashy111 which earned the Grand Champion Custom Antique award at EAA Oshkosh 87
The project began when Ed along with his son Randy bought a couple of
Cruising above the waters of Lake Winnebago Ed Wegners Fairchild 24 presents a pretty picture with its long nose and fully-faired landing gear The paint scheme is very complimentary to the airplane 6 JANUARY 1988
by Norm Petersen
Intake side of the big 440 cuin Ranger engine with its hanging bed-type mount Note Marvel-Schebler carb with attendant plumbing and remote oil tank on firewall This is a very sanitary installation
24 airframes that had been Warner powered from the factory Being partial to Ranger engines (and an expert on the intricacies of same) Ed decided to convert the best airframe to Ranger inshyline power He had a factory engine mount so the hunt for cowl pieces began Success was partially achieved on a trip to New Jersey and Solberg Airport (Ed Wegners eyes beam with excitement when he describes walking through rooms adjacent to an old hangar with Ranger parts stacked from floor to ceiling many in original cartons The collection remaining after the elder Solberg had died was one of the most mind-boggling experiences Ed had ever come across)
Using some new Solberg cowl blanks and making a new top cowl worked very nicely A nosebowl from a PT-19 was modified to conform to the Beech elecshytric propeller spinner With this prop the pilot can set the propeller for whatever
pitch he wants Ed says this prop makes NC28690 the goingest 24 he has ever owned even better than the Aeromatic on his previous Fairchild 24 NC25323 - the red and cream Ranger-powered bird that had so many of us drooling for years
Eds latest edition is covered with Stits Dacron four coats of nitrate four coats of butyrate - nontautening and six coats of nontautening silver sanded periodically and then a final light sandshying Ed says We used a non-sanding sealer over the silver to give better adhesion when we applied the Deltron paint which is a pure urethane We let it sit for about a week and then ultra fine sanded the fuselage the cloth parts and then buffed it to get away from some of the really high lustre that the enamel would have This way it looks more like buffed butyrate
The instrument panel was built new more or less in the configuration of the Fairchild panel but the hump was elimishynated It was used mainly for the old GE radio Modern wiring and circuit breakshyers brought it up to a near IFR panel although its not certified as such The panel was then wood-grained and a coat of clear urethane was applied to protect the wood grain The result is a better appearing panel than the original
Leading edge landing lights were inshystalled along with strobes on the wingtips for better visibility A King KXshy160 radio with VOR head along with a transponder (under the panel) are the necessary radio items for normal flying
The engine is a 200 hp Ranger that was purchased new in the crate Howshyever these military engines were built with too large of tolerances so it was disassembled and totally rebuilt New main bearings that are 010 under were installed and then the case was line bored for a perfect close fit on the
mains The rods were bored out to the same dimensions as the mains shyroughly 002 to 003 instead of the 004 to 006 that the military had Along with new guides and seals plus some modifishycations to the oil galley holes resulted in an engine that burns very little oil
Besides maintaining excellent cyl inshyder head temperatures and good oil temperatures the rebuilt engine has been running very well for the near forty hours it has accumulated to date At 21 square it uses about a pint of oil per hour however if it is run hard about a quart per hour is normal consumption Cruise speed at 21 square is 115 mph at a fuel burn of about 10 gallons per hour Using the approved Marvel Scheshybier carburetor instead of the original Stromberg gives much better perforshymance and uses about one gallon per hour less fuel
The idea of using a Beech electric propeller on a Fairchild 24 had been dancing through Ed Wegners fertile mind for some time He discovered that Beech had not only certified the prop on the early Model 35 Bonanza but also on the 200 hp Ranger as used in the Fairchild 24 Since many of the early Bonanzas have been converted from the Beech electric prop to the hydraulic Hartzell the supply of Beech electric props just laying around is very good
Ed located a Beech prop and promptly put it in top condition Its a laminated wooden-bladed propeller with a little gear box run by an electric motor It works just great on this engine airframe combination The rate of climb increased by almost 200 ft lminute over any other 24 that I had with an Aeromashytic however the cruise speed stayed about the same
How a pair of aluminum wheel pants could have withstood over 40 years of pounding and still be in letter perfect
The master rebuilder Ed Wegner with his familiar Fairchild hat stands by his pride and joy NC28690 At a slim and trim 62 Ed looks in as good a shape as his airplane
shape elicited the next answer from Ed Augie Wegner (EAA 85671 NC 7581) found them for me in Michigan The airplane they had been on burned up in 49 or 50 and the wheelpants had been saved since then They were brand new
Ed Wegner explains the wood work on the airplane as such The wings are all new The only thing we used over were the truss wires all the fittings and the bellcranks The ailerons of course and the elevator and rudder are a comshybination of aluminum and steel so it was just a matter of cleaning them up The stringers and formers on the fuselage plus new doors and door frames were built from new wood All the sheet metal was replaced I found a new firewall at Solbergs Airport in New Jersey The horizontal tail was reskinned with new
Beautiful custom-built instrument panel is nearly identical to the original except for the missing hump where the comshypass sits Stick grips are custom made
With the Ranger engine turning the Beech electric prop at a good clip the two exhaust from walnut Note Fairchild logo on left pipes are devoid of any smoke or carbon - the sign of a very healthy engine The fairing side brake pedals of the spinner into the modified nosebowl is especially well done
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
The full interior is shown in this photo with the custom door panels and other fine pOints of Jeff Bell s work really looking good Note crank down windows and passenger assist straps a typical Fairchild trademark
The most easily recognized feature of a Fairchild 24 is the outrigger landing gear with the beautifully faired wheelpants Note the strict attenshytion to detail and the close fit of the various pieces - a Wegner trademark The aluminum casting on the cabin step is another Fairchild Pegasus logo
8 JANUARY 1988
plywood along with the vertical fin The basic paint color is Porsche red
which was chosen because it had the least amount of orange in it so it would stand up well The trim color is a dark Ford red with an orange separator stripe between the two The exceptional quality of the paint scheme and its pershyfect detailing is a tribute to Ed Wegner and his son Randy who have been in the automotive body business for more years than Ed cares to remember A very close look at the painting workshymanship on this Fairchild has sent many an antiquer walking away shaking his head in absolute wonderment shymuttering How do they do it so pershyfectly
The material used on the upholstery is very close to the original that Fairchild used although it is a modern type fabric which is flame retardant The color and texture of the fabric is from an early Hudson Terraplane and closely matches the original Ed did add a little more vinyl on the side door kick panels for better durability The work was done by Jeff Bell of Sheboygan Wisconsin son of Charlie Bell (EAA 49475 AlC 7923) who had the Grand Champion Fairchild 24W at Oshkosh 83
Ed Wegner learned to fly at the age of 16 at the Kohler Wisconsin Airport from Melvin Thompson Ed was able to get a job as a line boy to help with exshypenses After receiving his Private
license he signed up for the service bull and went through the cadet program
which included college training We were just into flying Stearmans when the war ended in 45 and they cut off our program With the military career over Ed returned to Kohler airport and jumped into the surplus airplane joyride We bought six or seven PT-19s and PT-23s from Fayetteville Arkansas and ferried them home one at a time That was really a fun time I only wish I had known then what I know now
Many AntiqueClassic Division memshybers will remember the 1975 Grand Champion Antique American Eagle which Ed had restored over a 4-1 2 year period Nicknamed Tempus Fugit the silver-colored biplane was eventually sold to a museum in Athol Idaho where it was destroyed in a hangar fire a year later
Other restorations by Ed Wegner have been more fortunate and are still flying today including a Swift an early Funk a Waco DOC a Waco VKS-7F a Spartan C-3 biplane which Ed still flies and a Spartan Model 12 a low wing all metal tri-gear airplane with a 500 hp PampW engine up front It was a 450 hp (R-985) with a 12 to 1 blower system that boosted the horsepower to 500 Weighing over 3300 Ibs empty it needed the extra horsepower As Ed says It was a well-designed nice flying airplane It just came out at the wrong period of time in 1946
After so many airplanes over such a long period of time Ed feels he should sit back and take it a bit easy on the airplane work Let some of the younger Telling Ed Wegner to stop rebuilding he shouldnt go for a walk Its tough to ones take over he says airplanes is like telling an old mailman do bull
Tail surfaces of the Fairchild are spruce and plywood ahead of the hinge line and steel and fabric behind Note the Fairchild logo on the fin and the beautiful job of rib-stitching on the rudder
MEMBERS PROTECTS u
by Norm Petersen -------------------------- Making its initial flight on October 111987 was Turkey Red a
homebuilt two-place biplane designed and built by Jim Soares (EAA 104408 AlC 2243) of 7093 Dry Creek Road Belgrade Montana 59714 With a steel tube fuselage and wood wings Turkey Red is powered by a converted Model A Ford engine swinging an aluminum alloy propeller Jim reports that October 11th was quite some day It felt like 1915 - everything in slow motion Note the brass radiator which Jim built from scratchbull
Stinson Flying Station Wagon 108-3 SIN 108-3941 owned by 26shyyear-old Jon EckriclI (EAA 297550) 7623 Deansville Road Marshyshall WI 53559 Both Jons father and grandfather flew a 108-3 so it is only right that Jon continues with the tradition Rebuilt in 1975 N1000M has some 500 hours on it now and is almost IFR certified Jon reports the Stinson has a full complement of King radios inshycluding a Loran-C receiver
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
The Time Capsule 8yJack Cox Photographs are time capsules a fleeting instant frozen forever preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers or their estates who attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes passing through These priceless peeks at aviations Golden Age deserve to be seen and we intend to present a few of them each month in this new feature Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed This month s photos are from the Schrade Radtke Collection
I I
Left This brawny beast is R189M the Seversky 2-PA-L variously described as an export fighter and a 2-seat convoy fighter Powered by a 1000 hp Wright GR-1830-G3 Cyclone it was apparently a company prototype of many uses As X189M the airframe was previously the PampW R-1340 powered Model X-BT Radtke Collection 869
Harry Crosbys CR-4 racer being run up at the Cleveland Air Races probably in 1938 All metal it was about the absolute minimum airframe that could be built behind a Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer The fuselage was 215 ft long but the highly tapered wings spanned just 16 feet Quite innovative the tiny bird had oil tanks in the leading edges of the wing provision for dry ice cooling and the rough looking side cowl was a surface or skin type oil cooler Engine and landing gear problems kept the airplane from reaching its full development Its best finish was fourth in the 1939 Thompson Trophy race at 244522 mph Crosby died during World War II in the crash of an experiemental Northrop flying wing the XP-79B Flying Ram Radtke Collection 257
r
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937 It was demonstrated there by Frank Hawks who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd The Aircar was a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile It had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle A brake and a clutch pedal on the floor completed the auto look The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until at 55 mph the clutch was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled on take-off with full aft wheel The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel Frank Hawks favorite ploy was to take his hand off the wheel and let it land itself Unfortunately Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on take-off from a polo field on a private estate This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company Two Aircars were built the Model 1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy) Hawks crashed in the Model II The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated Afterwards it was reported to have been donated to a school and has never been heard from since Radtke Collection 558
Heres a little mystery according to Revolution In The Sky the book on the early Lockheeds this Sirius was wrecked in 1935 and never repaired yet here it is at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking pretty fit This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C Sport Cabin Sirius a special model with tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just behind the PampW Wasp C The name under the canopy is S R Sague Pilot Radtke 689
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
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VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
VI~TA(3~ LIT~I2Arul2~ by Dennis Parks
The Post-War Emergence of the Lightplane
43 Private Planes Certified by CAA Aviation News February 26 1945 Lightplane Production Obstacles Loom Despite WPBs Go-Ahead Aviation News May 21 1945 Low-Price plane potentials Aero Digest July 1945 and similar articles were some of the harbinshygers of the post-war boom expected for the lightplane industry
The 43 Private Planes mentioned in the first articles not only reflected the return of private flying but also foreshyshadowed one of the problems with the expected boom- they were surplus milshyitary aircraft They included Ryan STs Fairchild M-62s and Taylorcraft DCOs They were among the 18500 primary trainers and liaison types declared surplus in 1945 more than 80 percent of which were sold
The predictions at this time period were for a very healthy market In fact today it is hard to believe that they were taken seriously Victor Pero chief of the Industry War Board had estimated that 2800000 of the nations families would in the next decade have enough purshychasing power to buy their own plane but that Only 1000000 of them will hanker after private planes
As reported in the March 1946 issue of AERO DIGEST A recent survey by one of the leading popular magazines turned up 300000 urban families in the higher income brackets who listed a plane as either their first or second purshychase contemplated
Added to this estimate was the possishybility that rural families would wish to own their own planes adding another 100000 prospective buyers That total of 400000 matched other estimates of the time
That these expectations for the rural population remained high in the followshying year was reflected in the Sepshytember 1946 article in AERO DIGEST Flying Farmers Will Account for 60 of the Lightplanes The article provided coverage of the first annual convention of the National Flying Farmers Associashy
tion held in Stillwater Oklahoma The 250 members attending the Conshy
vention were told by Art Boreman chairman of the CAA non-scheduled flight committee Farmers an~tBanchshymen of the United States are expected to purchase 60 of all the lightplanes produced during 1947-50 That means that flying farmers will be a constantly
growing influence in the development of olJr civil aviation
The CAA in its report Civil Aviation and the National Economy had preshydicted that by 1955 the aircraft registrashytion would reach 400000 of which 320000 would be for personal and busshyiness use
The outlook looked good in early 1946 The March issue of AERO 01shyGESTstated A survey of editors of 132 publications completed recently by the Associated Business Papers organizashytion reveals that twenty-one manufacshyturers have a total of 53000 orders on their books
The aviation magazines were full of articles on lightplanes The INDUSshyTRIAL ARTS INDEX for 1945 listed 85 articles on lightplanes and in 1946 110 were listed During this same time isshysues of FLYING and SKYWA YS magazines had as many as 16 pages of full-page ads for personal planes
Trying to reach a broader audience outside the aviation journals Piper
Beech and others were advertising to readers in BUSINESS WEEK LIFE and BETTER HOME AND GARDENS among others
The fall of 1945 saw the Type Certifishycation of the first of the new post-war lightplanes when the Aeronca 7AC Champion received Type number 759 on 18 October By the end of 1946 18 more lightplanes would be certified These included the Aeronca Chief Globe Swift Stinson Voyager Cessna 120 and the Ercoupe
These aircraft were well received in the various aviation magazines From March 1945 to December 1946 lightshyplanes graced the covers of 46 issues of AIR FACTS FL YING and SKYshyWAYS
The first pilot report on the new planes appeared in the November 1945 issue of AIR FACTS This flight test was of the Stinson Voyager The first pilot report to appear in SKYWA YS was in February 1946 and the first for FL YING was in May 1946 These were both of the Stinson Voyager
From November 1945 till December 1946 these three magazines which apshypealed to the personal pilot carried out 31 flight tests on 20 different lightshyplanes No plane besides the Voyager was covered in all three journals Others covered in two of the three inshycluded the Aeronca Champion Beech Bonanza Cessna 140 Swift Navion and the Piper Super Cruiser
Another indicator in the lightplane boom was the lAS (Institue for Aeronaushy
tical Sciences) National Light Aircraft Meeting held in Detroit during the sumshymer of 1946 This two-day meeting atshytended by over 200 aeronautical enshygineers included papers by Grover Loening - Noise Reduction Carl Doman chief engineer of Aircooled Motors - Simplified Design for Enshygines George Weitz of CAA - Mainteshynance Problems of the Personal Airplane and J Gwinn of Convair The Effect of Center ot Gravity Moveshyment of Safety of Personal Aircraft (Reshymember the Gwinn Aircar)
November 1946 probably saw the highwater mark of the lightplane boom with the holding of the first National Airshycraft Show in Cleveland From the Deshycember 1946 issue of A VIA nON
The one word Big is the best single adjective to apply to the nations first postwar National Aircraft Show held in the huge wartime bomber plant at Cleveland Airport
First it was the biggest show in the industrys history from the standpoint of participation with more than 155 exhibitors
Second it attracted the largest audishyence to ever view an indoor aircraft disshy
(Continued on Page 12)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
bull bull bull ED WEGNERS Fairchild 24
(Transcribed from Gene Chases Intershyview with Ed Wegner at Oshkosh 87)
Most airplane folks will agree that one of the outstanding authorities on Fairshychild aircraft is Ed Wegner of Plymouth Wisconsin His dedication to the marshyque is known the world over and if you need an answer to a question about Fairchilds Ed will most likely be able to provide the correct answer Perhaps the term walking encyclopedia describes Ed better than any other
Ed whose full name is Edward C Wegner (EAA 33887 AlC 136) resides at 10 Stafford Street Plymouth WI 53073 has been heavily involved in anshytique restorations for many many years His latest project is a 1941 Fairshychild 24W-41 A NC28690 SIN W41 Ashy111 which earned the Grand Champion Custom Antique award at EAA Oshkosh 87
The project began when Ed along with his son Randy bought a couple of
Cruising above the waters of Lake Winnebago Ed Wegners Fairchild 24 presents a pretty picture with its long nose and fully-faired landing gear The paint scheme is very complimentary to the airplane 6 JANUARY 1988
by Norm Petersen
Intake side of the big 440 cuin Ranger engine with its hanging bed-type mount Note Marvel-Schebler carb with attendant plumbing and remote oil tank on firewall This is a very sanitary installation
24 airframes that had been Warner powered from the factory Being partial to Ranger engines (and an expert on the intricacies of same) Ed decided to convert the best airframe to Ranger inshyline power He had a factory engine mount so the hunt for cowl pieces began Success was partially achieved on a trip to New Jersey and Solberg Airport (Ed Wegners eyes beam with excitement when he describes walking through rooms adjacent to an old hangar with Ranger parts stacked from floor to ceiling many in original cartons The collection remaining after the elder Solberg had died was one of the most mind-boggling experiences Ed had ever come across)
Using some new Solberg cowl blanks and making a new top cowl worked very nicely A nosebowl from a PT-19 was modified to conform to the Beech elecshytric propeller spinner With this prop the pilot can set the propeller for whatever
pitch he wants Ed says this prop makes NC28690 the goingest 24 he has ever owned even better than the Aeromatic on his previous Fairchild 24 NC25323 - the red and cream Ranger-powered bird that had so many of us drooling for years
Eds latest edition is covered with Stits Dacron four coats of nitrate four coats of butyrate - nontautening and six coats of nontautening silver sanded periodically and then a final light sandshying Ed says We used a non-sanding sealer over the silver to give better adhesion when we applied the Deltron paint which is a pure urethane We let it sit for about a week and then ultra fine sanded the fuselage the cloth parts and then buffed it to get away from some of the really high lustre that the enamel would have This way it looks more like buffed butyrate
The instrument panel was built new more or less in the configuration of the Fairchild panel but the hump was elimishynated It was used mainly for the old GE radio Modern wiring and circuit breakshyers brought it up to a near IFR panel although its not certified as such The panel was then wood-grained and a coat of clear urethane was applied to protect the wood grain The result is a better appearing panel than the original
Leading edge landing lights were inshystalled along with strobes on the wingtips for better visibility A King KXshy160 radio with VOR head along with a transponder (under the panel) are the necessary radio items for normal flying
The engine is a 200 hp Ranger that was purchased new in the crate Howshyever these military engines were built with too large of tolerances so it was disassembled and totally rebuilt New main bearings that are 010 under were installed and then the case was line bored for a perfect close fit on the
mains The rods were bored out to the same dimensions as the mains shyroughly 002 to 003 instead of the 004 to 006 that the military had Along with new guides and seals plus some modifishycations to the oil galley holes resulted in an engine that burns very little oil
Besides maintaining excellent cyl inshyder head temperatures and good oil temperatures the rebuilt engine has been running very well for the near forty hours it has accumulated to date At 21 square it uses about a pint of oil per hour however if it is run hard about a quart per hour is normal consumption Cruise speed at 21 square is 115 mph at a fuel burn of about 10 gallons per hour Using the approved Marvel Scheshybier carburetor instead of the original Stromberg gives much better perforshymance and uses about one gallon per hour less fuel
The idea of using a Beech electric propeller on a Fairchild 24 had been dancing through Ed Wegners fertile mind for some time He discovered that Beech had not only certified the prop on the early Model 35 Bonanza but also on the 200 hp Ranger as used in the Fairchild 24 Since many of the early Bonanzas have been converted from the Beech electric prop to the hydraulic Hartzell the supply of Beech electric props just laying around is very good
Ed located a Beech prop and promptly put it in top condition Its a laminated wooden-bladed propeller with a little gear box run by an electric motor It works just great on this engine airframe combination The rate of climb increased by almost 200 ft lminute over any other 24 that I had with an Aeromashytic however the cruise speed stayed about the same
How a pair of aluminum wheel pants could have withstood over 40 years of pounding and still be in letter perfect
The master rebuilder Ed Wegner with his familiar Fairchild hat stands by his pride and joy NC28690 At a slim and trim 62 Ed looks in as good a shape as his airplane
shape elicited the next answer from Ed Augie Wegner (EAA 85671 NC 7581) found them for me in Michigan The airplane they had been on burned up in 49 or 50 and the wheelpants had been saved since then They were brand new
Ed Wegner explains the wood work on the airplane as such The wings are all new The only thing we used over were the truss wires all the fittings and the bellcranks The ailerons of course and the elevator and rudder are a comshybination of aluminum and steel so it was just a matter of cleaning them up The stringers and formers on the fuselage plus new doors and door frames were built from new wood All the sheet metal was replaced I found a new firewall at Solbergs Airport in New Jersey The horizontal tail was reskinned with new
Beautiful custom-built instrument panel is nearly identical to the original except for the missing hump where the comshypass sits Stick grips are custom made
With the Ranger engine turning the Beech electric prop at a good clip the two exhaust from walnut Note Fairchild logo on left pipes are devoid of any smoke or carbon - the sign of a very healthy engine The fairing side brake pedals of the spinner into the modified nosebowl is especially well done
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
The full interior is shown in this photo with the custom door panels and other fine pOints of Jeff Bell s work really looking good Note crank down windows and passenger assist straps a typical Fairchild trademark
The most easily recognized feature of a Fairchild 24 is the outrigger landing gear with the beautifully faired wheelpants Note the strict attenshytion to detail and the close fit of the various pieces - a Wegner trademark The aluminum casting on the cabin step is another Fairchild Pegasus logo
8 JANUARY 1988
plywood along with the vertical fin The basic paint color is Porsche red
which was chosen because it had the least amount of orange in it so it would stand up well The trim color is a dark Ford red with an orange separator stripe between the two The exceptional quality of the paint scheme and its pershyfect detailing is a tribute to Ed Wegner and his son Randy who have been in the automotive body business for more years than Ed cares to remember A very close look at the painting workshymanship on this Fairchild has sent many an antiquer walking away shaking his head in absolute wonderment shymuttering How do they do it so pershyfectly
The material used on the upholstery is very close to the original that Fairchild used although it is a modern type fabric which is flame retardant The color and texture of the fabric is from an early Hudson Terraplane and closely matches the original Ed did add a little more vinyl on the side door kick panels for better durability The work was done by Jeff Bell of Sheboygan Wisconsin son of Charlie Bell (EAA 49475 AlC 7923) who had the Grand Champion Fairchild 24W at Oshkosh 83
Ed Wegner learned to fly at the age of 16 at the Kohler Wisconsin Airport from Melvin Thompson Ed was able to get a job as a line boy to help with exshypenses After receiving his Private
license he signed up for the service bull and went through the cadet program
which included college training We were just into flying Stearmans when the war ended in 45 and they cut off our program With the military career over Ed returned to Kohler airport and jumped into the surplus airplane joyride We bought six or seven PT-19s and PT-23s from Fayetteville Arkansas and ferried them home one at a time That was really a fun time I only wish I had known then what I know now
Many AntiqueClassic Division memshybers will remember the 1975 Grand Champion Antique American Eagle which Ed had restored over a 4-1 2 year period Nicknamed Tempus Fugit the silver-colored biplane was eventually sold to a museum in Athol Idaho where it was destroyed in a hangar fire a year later
Other restorations by Ed Wegner have been more fortunate and are still flying today including a Swift an early Funk a Waco DOC a Waco VKS-7F a Spartan C-3 biplane which Ed still flies and a Spartan Model 12 a low wing all metal tri-gear airplane with a 500 hp PampW engine up front It was a 450 hp (R-985) with a 12 to 1 blower system that boosted the horsepower to 500 Weighing over 3300 Ibs empty it needed the extra horsepower As Ed says It was a well-designed nice flying airplane It just came out at the wrong period of time in 1946
After so many airplanes over such a long period of time Ed feels he should sit back and take it a bit easy on the airplane work Let some of the younger Telling Ed Wegner to stop rebuilding he shouldnt go for a walk Its tough to ones take over he says airplanes is like telling an old mailman do bull
Tail surfaces of the Fairchild are spruce and plywood ahead of the hinge line and steel and fabric behind Note the Fairchild logo on the fin and the beautiful job of rib-stitching on the rudder
MEMBERS PROTECTS u
by Norm Petersen -------------------------- Making its initial flight on October 111987 was Turkey Red a
homebuilt two-place biplane designed and built by Jim Soares (EAA 104408 AlC 2243) of 7093 Dry Creek Road Belgrade Montana 59714 With a steel tube fuselage and wood wings Turkey Red is powered by a converted Model A Ford engine swinging an aluminum alloy propeller Jim reports that October 11th was quite some day It felt like 1915 - everything in slow motion Note the brass radiator which Jim built from scratchbull
Stinson Flying Station Wagon 108-3 SIN 108-3941 owned by 26shyyear-old Jon EckriclI (EAA 297550) 7623 Deansville Road Marshyshall WI 53559 Both Jons father and grandfather flew a 108-3 so it is only right that Jon continues with the tradition Rebuilt in 1975 N1000M has some 500 hours on it now and is almost IFR certified Jon reports the Stinson has a full complement of King radios inshycluding a Loran-C receiver
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
The Time Capsule 8yJack Cox Photographs are time capsules a fleeting instant frozen forever preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers or their estates who attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes passing through These priceless peeks at aviations Golden Age deserve to be seen and we intend to present a few of them each month in this new feature Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed This month s photos are from the Schrade Radtke Collection
I I
Left This brawny beast is R189M the Seversky 2-PA-L variously described as an export fighter and a 2-seat convoy fighter Powered by a 1000 hp Wright GR-1830-G3 Cyclone it was apparently a company prototype of many uses As X189M the airframe was previously the PampW R-1340 powered Model X-BT Radtke Collection 869
Harry Crosbys CR-4 racer being run up at the Cleveland Air Races probably in 1938 All metal it was about the absolute minimum airframe that could be built behind a Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer The fuselage was 215 ft long but the highly tapered wings spanned just 16 feet Quite innovative the tiny bird had oil tanks in the leading edges of the wing provision for dry ice cooling and the rough looking side cowl was a surface or skin type oil cooler Engine and landing gear problems kept the airplane from reaching its full development Its best finish was fourth in the 1939 Thompson Trophy race at 244522 mph Crosby died during World War II in the crash of an experiemental Northrop flying wing the XP-79B Flying Ram Radtke Collection 257
r
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937 It was demonstrated there by Frank Hawks who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd The Aircar was a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile It had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle A brake and a clutch pedal on the floor completed the auto look The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until at 55 mph the clutch was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled on take-off with full aft wheel The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel Frank Hawks favorite ploy was to take his hand off the wheel and let it land itself Unfortunately Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on take-off from a polo field on a private estate This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company Two Aircars were built the Model 1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy) Hawks crashed in the Model II The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated Afterwards it was reported to have been donated to a school and has never been heard from since Radtke Collection 558
Heres a little mystery according to Revolution In The Sky the book on the early Lockheeds this Sirius was wrecked in 1935 and never repaired yet here it is at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking pretty fit This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C Sport Cabin Sirius a special model with tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just behind the PampW Wasp C The name under the canopy is S R Sague Pilot Radtke 689
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
bull bull bull ED WEGNERS Fairchild 24
(Transcribed from Gene Chases Intershyview with Ed Wegner at Oshkosh 87)
Most airplane folks will agree that one of the outstanding authorities on Fairshychild aircraft is Ed Wegner of Plymouth Wisconsin His dedication to the marshyque is known the world over and if you need an answer to a question about Fairchilds Ed will most likely be able to provide the correct answer Perhaps the term walking encyclopedia describes Ed better than any other
Ed whose full name is Edward C Wegner (EAA 33887 AlC 136) resides at 10 Stafford Street Plymouth WI 53073 has been heavily involved in anshytique restorations for many many years His latest project is a 1941 Fairshychild 24W-41 A NC28690 SIN W41 Ashy111 which earned the Grand Champion Custom Antique award at EAA Oshkosh 87
The project began when Ed along with his son Randy bought a couple of
Cruising above the waters of Lake Winnebago Ed Wegners Fairchild 24 presents a pretty picture with its long nose and fully-faired landing gear The paint scheme is very complimentary to the airplane 6 JANUARY 1988
by Norm Petersen
Intake side of the big 440 cuin Ranger engine with its hanging bed-type mount Note Marvel-Schebler carb with attendant plumbing and remote oil tank on firewall This is a very sanitary installation
24 airframes that had been Warner powered from the factory Being partial to Ranger engines (and an expert on the intricacies of same) Ed decided to convert the best airframe to Ranger inshyline power He had a factory engine mount so the hunt for cowl pieces began Success was partially achieved on a trip to New Jersey and Solberg Airport (Ed Wegners eyes beam with excitement when he describes walking through rooms adjacent to an old hangar with Ranger parts stacked from floor to ceiling many in original cartons The collection remaining after the elder Solberg had died was one of the most mind-boggling experiences Ed had ever come across)
Using some new Solberg cowl blanks and making a new top cowl worked very nicely A nosebowl from a PT-19 was modified to conform to the Beech elecshytric propeller spinner With this prop the pilot can set the propeller for whatever
pitch he wants Ed says this prop makes NC28690 the goingest 24 he has ever owned even better than the Aeromatic on his previous Fairchild 24 NC25323 - the red and cream Ranger-powered bird that had so many of us drooling for years
Eds latest edition is covered with Stits Dacron four coats of nitrate four coats of butyrate - nontautening and six coats of nontautening silver sanded periodically and then a final light sandshying Ed says We used a non-sanding sealer over the silver to give better adhesion when we applied the Deltron paint which is a pure urethane We let it sit for about a week and then ultra fine sanded the fuselage the cloth parts and then buffed it to get away from some of the really high lustre that the enamel would have This way it looks more like buffed butyrate
The instrument panel was built new more or less in the configuration of the Fairchild panel but the hump was elimishynated It was used mainly for the old GE radio Modern wiring and circuit breakshyers brought it up to a near IFR panel although its not certified as such The panel was then wood-grained and a coat of clear urethane was applied to protect the wood grain The result is a better appearing panel than the original
Leading edge landing lights were inshystalled along with strobes on the wingtips for better visibility A King KXshy160 radio with VOR head along with a transponder (under the panel) are the necessary radio items for normal flying
The engine is a 200 hp Ranger that was purchased new in the crate Howshyever these military engines were built with too large of tolerances so it was disassembled and totally rebuilt New main bearings that are 010 under were installed and then the case was line bored for a perfect close fit on the
mains The rods were bored out to the same dimensions as the mains shyroughly 002 to 003 instead of the 004 to 006 that the military had Along with new guides and seals plus some modifishycations to the oil galley holes resulted in an engine that burns very little oil
Besides maintaining excellent cyl inshyder head temperatures and good oil temperatures the rebuilt engine has been running very well for the near forty hours it has accumulated to date At 21 square it uses about a pint of oil per hour however if it is run hard about a quart per hour is normal consumption Cruise speed at 21 square is 115 mph at a fuel burn of about 10 gallons per hour Using the approved Marvel Scheshybier carburetor instead of the original Stromberg gives much better perforshymance and uses about one gallon per hour less fuel
The idea of using a Beech electric propeller on a Fairchild 24 had been dancing through Ed Wegners fertile mind for some time He discovered that Beech had not only certified the prop on the early Model 35 Bonanza but also on the 200 hp Ranger as used in the Fairchild 24 Since many of the early Bonanzas have been converted from the Beech electric prop to the hydraulic Hartzell the supply of Beech electric props just laying around is very good
Ed located a Beech prop and promptly put it in top condition Its a laminated wooden-bladed propeller with a little gear box run by an electric motor It works just great on this engine airframe combination The rate of climb increased by almost 200 ft lminute over any other 24 that I had with an Aeromashytic however the cruise speed stayed about the same
How a pair of aluminum wheel pants could have withstood over 40 years of pounding and still be in letter perfect
The master rebuilder Ed Wegner with his familiar Fairchild hat stands by his pride and joy NC28690 At a slim and trim 62 Ed looks in as good a shape as his airplane
shape elicited the next answer from Ed Augie Wegner (EAA 85671 NC 7581) found them for me in Michigan The airplane they had been on burned up in 49 or 50 and the wheelpants had been saved since then They were brand new
Ed Wegner explains the wood work on the airplane as such The wings are all new The only thing we used over were the truss wires all the fittings and the bellcranks The ailerons of course and the elevator and rudder are a comshybination of aluminum and steel so it was just a matter of cleaning them up The stringers and formers on the fuselage plus new doors and door frames were built from new wood All the sheet metal was replaced I found a new firewall at Solbergs Airport in New Jersey The horizontal tail was reskinned with new
Beautiful custom-built instrument panel is nearly identical to the original except for the missing hump where the comshypass sits Stick grips are custom made
With the Ranger engine turning the Beech electric prop at a good clip the two exhaust from walnut Note Fairchild logo on left pipes are devoid of any smoke or carbon - the sign of a very healthy engine The fairing side brake pedals of the spinner into the modified nosebowl is especially well done
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
The full interior is shown in this photo with the custom door panels and other fine pOints of Jeff Bell s work really looking good Note crank down windows and passenger assist straps a typical Fairchild trademark
The most easily recognized feature of a Fairchild 24 is the outrigger landing gear with the beautifully faired wheelpants Note the strict attenshytion to detail and the close fit of the various pieces - a Wegner trademark The aluminum casting on the cabin step is another Fairchild Pegasus logo
8 JANUARY 1988
plywood along with the vertical fin The basic paint color is Porsche red
which was chosen because it had the least amount of orange in it so it would stand up well The trim color is a dark Ford red with an orange separator stripe between the two The exceptional quality of the paint scheme and its pershyfect detailing is a tribute to Ed Wegner and his son Randy who have been in the automotive body business for more years than Ed cares to remember A very close look at the painting workshymanship on this Fairchild has sent many an antiquer walking away shaking his head in absolute wonderment shymuttering How do they do it so pershyfectly
The material used on the upholstery is very close to the original that Fairchild used although it is a modern type fabric which is flame retardant The color and texture of the fabric is from an early Hudson Terraplane and closely matches the original Ed did add a little more vinyl on the side door kick panels for better durability The work was done by Jeff Bell of Sheboygan Wisconsin son of Charlie Bell (EAA 49475 AlC 7923) who had the Grand Champion Fairchild 24W at Oshkosh 83
Ed Wegner learned to fly at the age of 16 at the Kohler Wisconsin Airport from Melvin Thompson Ed was able to get a job as a line boy to help with exshypenses After receiving his Private
license he signed up for the service bull and went through the cadet program
which included college training We were just into flying Stearmans when the war ended in 45 and they cut off our program With the military career over Ed returned to Kohler airport and jumped into the surplus airplane joyride We bought six or seven PT-19s and PT-23s from Fayetteville Arkansas and ferried them home one at a time That was really a fun time I only wish I had known then what I know now
Many AntiqueClassic Division memshybers will remember the 1975 Grand Champion Antique American Eagle which Ed had restored over a 4-1 2 year period Nicknamed Tempus Fugit the silver-colored biplane was eventually sold to a museum in Athol Idaho where it was destroyed in a hangar fire a year later
Other restorations by Ed Wegner have been more fortunate and are still flying today including a Swift an early Funk a Waco DOC a Waco VKS-7F a Spartan C-3 biplane which Ed still flies and a Spartan Model 12 a low wing all metal tri-gear airplane with a 500 hp PampW engine up front It was a 450 hp (R-985) with a 12 to 1 blower system that boosted the horsepower to 500 Weighing over 3300 Ibs empty it needed the extra horsepower As Ed says It was a well-designed nice flying airplane It just came out at the wrong period of time in 1946
After so many airplanes over such a long period of time Ed feels he should sit back and take it a bit easy on the airplane work Let some of the younger Telling Ed Wegner to stop rebuilding he shouldnt go for a walk Its tough to ones take over he says airplanes is like telling an old mailman do bull
Tail surfaces of the Fairchild are spruce and plywood ahead of the hinge line and steel and fabric behind Note the Fairchild logo on the fin and the beautiful job of rib-stitching on the rudder
MEMBERS PROTECTS u
by Norm Petersen -------------------------- Making its initial flight on October 111987 was Turkey Red a
homebuilt two-place biplane designed and built by Jim Soares (EAA 104408 AlC 2243) of 7093 Dry Creek Road Belgrade Montana 59714 With a steel tube fuselage and wood wings Turkey Red is powered by a converted Model A Ford engine swinging an aluminum alloy propeller Jim reports that October 11th was quite some day It felt like 1915 - everything in slow motion Note the brass radiator which Jim built from scratchbull
Stinson Flying Station Wagon 108-3 SIN 108-3941 owned by 26shyyear-old Jon EckriclI (EAA 297550) 7623 Deansville Road Marshyshall WI 53559 Both Jons father and grandfather flew a 108-3 so it is only right that Jon continues with the tradition Rebuilt in 1975 N1000M has some 500 hours on it now and is almost IFR certified Jon reports the Stinson has a full complement of King radios inshycluding a Loran-C receiver
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
The Time Capsule 8yJack Cox Photographs are time capsules a fleeting instant frozen forever preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers or their estates who attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes passing through These priceless peeks at aviations Golden Age deserve to be seen and we intend to present a few of them each month in this new feature Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed This month s photos are from the Schrade Radtke Collection
I I
Left This brawny beast is R189M the Seversky 2-PA-L variously described as an export fighter and a 2-seat convoy fighter Powered by a 1000 hp Wright GR-1830-G3 Cyclone it was apparently a company prototype of many uses As X189M the airframe was previously the PampW R-1340 powered Model X-BT Radtke Collection 869
Harry Crosbys CR-4 racer being run up at the Cleveland Air Races probably in 1938 All metal it was about the absolute minimum airframe that could be built behind a Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer The fuselage was 215 ft long but the highly tapered wings spanned just 16 feet Quite innovative the tiny bird had oil tanks in the leading edges of the wing provision for dry ice cooling and the rough looking side cowl was a surface or skin type oil cooler Engine and landing gear problems kept the airplane from reaching its full development Its best finish was fourth in the 1939 Thompson Trophy race at 244522 mph Crosby died during World War II in the crash of an experiemental Northrop flying wing the XP-79B Flying Ram Radtke Collection 257
r
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937 It was demonstrated there by Frank Hawks who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd The Aircar was a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile It had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle A brake and a clutch pedal on the floor completed the auto look The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until at 55 mph the clutch was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled on take-off with full aft wheel The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel Frank Hawks favorite ploy was to take his hand off the wheel and let it land itself Unfortunately Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on take-off from a polo field on a private estate This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company Two Aircars were built the Model 1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy) Hawks crashed in the Model II The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated Afterwards it was reported to have been donated to a school and has never been heard from since Radtke Collection 558
Heres a little mystery according to Revolution In The Sky the book on the early Lockheeds this Sirius was wrecked in 1935 and never repaired yet here it is at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking pretty fit This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C Sport Cabin Sirius a special model with tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just behind the PampW Wasp C The name under the canopy is S R Sague Pilot Radtke 689
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
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MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
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bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
pitch he wants Ed says this prop makes NC28690 the goingest 24 he has ever owned even better than the Aeromatic on his previous Fairchild 24 NC25323 - the red and cream Ranger-powered bird that had so many of us drooling for years
Eds latest edition is covered with Stits Dacron four coats of nitrate four coats of butyrate - nontautening and six coats of nontautening silver sanded periodically and then a final light sandshying Ed says We used a non-sanding sealer over the silver to give better adhesion when we applied the Deltron paint which is a pure urethane We let it sit for about a week and then ultra fine sanded the fuselage the cloth parts and then buffed it to get away from some of the really high lustre that the enamel would have This way it looks more like buffed butyrate
The instrument panel was built new more or less in the configuration of the Fairchild panel but the hump was elimishynated It was used mainly for the old GE radio Modern wiring and circuit breakshyers brought it up to a near IFR panel although its not certified as such The panel was then wood-grained and a coat of clear urethane was applied to protect the wood grain The result is a better appearing panel than the original
Leading edge landing lights were inshystalled along with strobes on the wingtips for better visibility A King KXshy160 radio with VOR head along with a transponder (under the panel) are the necessary radio items for normal flying
The engine is a 200 hp Ranger that was purchased new in the crate Howshyever these military engines were built with too large of tolerances so it was disassembled and totally rebuilt New main bearings that are 010 under were installed and then the case was line bored for a perfect close fit on the
mains The rods were bored out to the same dimensions as the mains shyroughly 002 to 003 instead of the 004 to 006 that the military had Along with new guides and seals plus some modifishycations to the oil galley holes resulted in an engine that burns very little oil
Besides maintaining excellent cyl inshyder head temperatures and good oil temperatures the rebuilt engine has been running very well for the near forty hours it has accumulated to date At 21 square it uses about a pint of oil per hour however if it is run hard about a quart per hour is normal consumption Cruise speed at 21 square is 115 mph at a fuel burn of about 10 gallons per hour Using the approved Marvel Scheshybier carburetor instead of the original Stromberg gives much better perforshymance and uses about one gallon per hour less fuel
The idea of using a Beech electric propeller on a Fairchild 24 had been dancing through Ed Wegners fertile mind for some time He discovered that Beech had not only certified the prop on the early Model 35 Bonanza but also on the 200 hp Ranger as used in the Fairchild 24 Since many of the early Bonanzas have been converted from the Beech electric prop to the hydraulic Hartzell the supply of Beech electric props just laying around is very good
Ed located a Beech prop and promptly put it in top condition Its a laminated wooden-bladed propeller with a little gear box run by an electric motor It works just great on this engine airframe combination The rate of climb increased by almost 200 ft lminute over any other 24 that I had with an Aeromashytic however the cruise speed stayed about the same
How a pair of aluminum wheel pants could have withstood over 40 years of pounding and still be in letter perfect
The master rebuilder Ed Wegner with his familiar Fairchild hat stands by his pride and joy NC28690 At a slim and trim 62 Ed looks in as good a shape as his airplane
shape elicited the next answer from Ed Augie Wegner (EAA 85671 NC 7581) found them for me in Michigan The airplane they had been on burned up in 49 or 50 and the wheelpants had been saved since then They were brand new
Ed Wegner explains the wood work on the airplane as such The wings are all new The only thing we used over were the truss wires all the fittings and the bellcranks The ailerons of course and the elevator and rudder are a comshybination of aluminum and steel so it was just a matter of cleaning them up The stringers and formers on the fuselage plus new doors and door frames were built from new wood All the sheet metal was replaced I found a new firewall at Solbergs Airport in New Jersey The horizontal tail was reskinned with new
Beautiful custom-built instrument panel is nearly identical to the original except for the missing hump where the comshypass sits Stick grips are custom made
With the Ranger engine turning the Beech electric prop at a good clip the two exhaust from walnut Note Fairchild logo on left pipes are devoid of any smoke or carbon - the sign of a very healthy engine The fairing side brake pedals of the spinner into the modified nosebowl is especially well done
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
The full interior is shown in this photo with the custom door panels and other fine pOints of Jeff Bell s work really looking good Note crank down windows and passenger assist straps a typical Fairchild trademark
The most easily recognized feature of a Fairchild 24 is the outrigger landing gear with the beautifully faired wheelpants Note the strict attenshytion to detail and the close fit of the various pieces - a Wegner trademark The aluminum casting on the cabin step is another Fairchild Pegasus logo
8 JANUARY 1988
plywood along with the vertical fin The basic paint color is Porsche red
which was chosen because it had the least amount of orange in it so it would stand up well The trim color is a dark Ford red with an orange separator stripe between the two The exceptional quality of the paint scheme and its pershyfect detailing is a tribute to Ed Wegner and his son Randy who have been in the automotive body business for more years than Ed cares to remember A very close look at the painting workshymanship on this Fairchild has sent many an antiquer walking away shaking his head in absolute wonderment shymuttering How do they do it so pershyfectly
The material used on the upholstery is very close to the original that Fairchild used although it is a modern type fabric which is flame retardant The color and texture of the fabric is from an early Hudson Terraplane and closely matches the original Ed did add a little more vinyl on the side door kick panels for better durability The work was done by Jeff Bell of Sheboygan Wisconsin son of Charlie Bell (EAA 49475 AlC 7923) who had the Grand Champion Fairchild 24W at Oshkosh 83
Ed Wegner learned to fly at the age of 16 at the Kohler Wisconsin Airport from Melvin Thompson Ed was able to get a job as a line boy to help with exshypenses After receiving his Private
license he signed up for the service bull and went through the cadet program
which included college training We were just into flying Stearmans when the war ended in 45 and they cut off our program With the military career over Ed returned to Kohler airport and jumped into the surplus airplane joyride We bought six or seven PT-19s and PT-23s from Fayetteville Arkansas and ferried them home one at a time That was really a fun time I only wish I had known then what I know now
Many AntiqueClassic Division memshybers will remember the 1975 Grand Champion Antique American Eagle which Ed had restored over a 4-1 2 year period Nicknamed Tempus Fugit the silver-colored biplane was eventually sold to a museum in Athol Idaho where it was destroyed in a hangar fire a year later
Other restorations by Ed Wegner have been more fortunate and are still flying today including a Swift an early Funk a Waco DOC a Waco VKS-7F a Spartan C-3 biplane which Ed still flies and a Spartan Model 12 a low wing all metal tri-gear airplane with a 500 hp PampW engine up front It was a 450 hp (R-985) with a 12 to 1 blower system that boosted the horsepower to 500 Weighing over 3300 Ibs empty it needed the extra horsepower As Ed says It was a well-designed nice flying airplane It just came out at the wrong period of time in 1946
After so many airplanes over such a long period of time Ed feels he should sit back and take it a bit easy on the airplane work Let some of the younger Telling Ed Wegner to stop rebuilding he shouldnt go for a walk Its tough to ones take over he says airplanes is like telling an old mailman do bull
Tail surfaces of the Fairchild are spruce and plywood ahead of the hinge line and steel and fabric behind Note the Fairchild logo on the fin and the beautiful job of rib-stitching on the rudder
MEMBERS PROTECTS u
by Norm Petersen -------------------------- Making its initial flight on October 111987 was Turkey Red a
homebuilt two-place biplane designed and built by Jim Soares (EAA 104408 AlC 2243) of 7093 Dry Creek Road Belgrade Montana 59714 With a steel tube fuselage and wood wings Turkey Red is powered by a converted Model A Ford engine swinging an aluminum alloy propeller Jim reports that October 11th was quite some day It felt like 1915 - everything in slow motion Note the brass radiator which Jim built from scratchbull
Stinson Flying Station Wagon 108-3 SIN 108-3941 owned by 26shyyear-old Jon EckriclI (EAA 297550) 7623 Deansville Road Marshyshall WI 53559 Both Jons father and grandfather flew a 108-3 so it is only right that Jon continues with the tradition Rebuilt in 1975 N1000M has some 500 hours on it now and is almost IFR certified Jon reports the Stinson has a full complement of King radios inshycluding a Loran-C receiver
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
The Time Capsule 8yJack Cox Photographs are time capsules a fleeting instant frozen forever preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers or their estates who attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes passing through These priceless peeks at aviations Golden Age deserve to be seen and we intend to present a few of them each month in this new feature Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed This month s photos are from the Schrade Radtke Collection
I I
Left This brawny beast is R189M the Seversky 2-PA-L variously described as an export fighter and a 2-seat convoy fighter Powered by a 1000 hp Wright GR-1830-G3 Cyclone it was apparently a company prototype of many uses As X189M the airframe was previously the PampW R-1340 powered Model X-BT Radtke Collection 869
Harry Crosbys CR-4 racer being run up at the Cleveland Air Races probably in 1938 All metal it was about the absolute minimum airframe that could be built behind a Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer The fuselage was 215 ft long but the highly tapered wings spanned just 16 feet Quite innovative the tiny bird had oil tanks in the leading edges of the wing provision for dry ice cooling and the rough looking side cowl was a surface or skin type oil cooler Engine and landing gear problems kept the airplane from reaching its full development Its best finish was fourth in the 1939 Thompson Trophy race at 244522 mph Crosby died during World War II in the crash of an experiemental Northrop flying wing the XP-79B Flying Ram Radtke Collection 257
r
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937 It was demonstrated there by Frank Hawks who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd The Aircar was a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile It had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle A brake and a clutch pedal on the floor completed the auto look The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until at 55 mph the clutch was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled on take-off with full aft wheel The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel Frank Hawks favorite ploy was to take his hand off the wheel and let it land itself Unfortunately Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on take-off from a polo field on a private estate This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company Two Aircars were built the Model 1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy) Hawks crashed in the Model II The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated Afterwards it was reported to have been donated to a school and has never been heard from since Radtke Collection 558
Heres a little mystery according to Revolution In The Sky the book on the early Lockheeds this Sirius was wrecked in 1935 and never repaired yet here it is at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking pretty fit This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C Sport Cabin Sirius a special model with tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just behind the PampW Wasp C The name under the canopy is S R Sague Pilot Radtke 689
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
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bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
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VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
The full interior is shown in this photo with the custom door panels and other fine pOints of Jeff Bell s work really looking good Note crank down windows and passenger assist straps a typical Fairchild trademark
The most easily recognized feature of a Fairchild 24 is the outrigger landing gear with the beautifully faired wheelpants Note the strict attenshytion to detail and the close fit of the various pieces - a Wegner trademark The aluminum casting on the cabin step is another Fairchild Pegasus logo
8 JANUARY 1988
plywood along with the vertical fin The basic paint color is Porsche red
which was chosen because it had the least amount of orange in it so it would stand up well The trim color is a dark Ford red with an orange separator stripe between the two The exceptional quality of the paint scheme and its pershyfect detailing is a tribute to Ed Wegner and his son Randy who have been in the automotive body business for more years than Ed cares to remember A very close look at the painting workshymanship on this Fairchild has sent many an antiquer walking away shaking his head in absolute wonderment shymuttering How do they do it so pershyfectly
The material used on the upholstery is very close to the original that Fairchild used although it is a modern type fabric which is flame retardant The color and texture of the fabric is from an early Hudson Terraplane and closely matches the original Ed did add a little more vinyl on the side door kick panels for better durability The work was done by Jeff Bell of Sheboygan Wisconsin son of Charlie Bell (EAA 49475 AlC 7923) who had the Grand Champion Fairchild 24W at Oshkosh 83
Ed Wegner learned to fly at the age of 16 at the Kohler Wisconsin Airport from Melvin Thompson Ed was able to get a job as a line boy to help with exshypenses After receiving his Private
license he signed up for the service bull and went through the cadet program
which included college training We were just into flying Stearmans when the war ended in 45 and they cut off our program With the military career over Ed returned to Kohler airport and jumped into the surplus airplane joyride We bought six or seven PT-19s and PT-23s from Fayetteville Arkansas and ferried them home one at a time That was really a fun time I only wish I had known then what I know now
Many AntiqueClassic Division memshybers will remember the 1975 Grand Champion Antique American Eagle which Ed had restored over a 4-1 2 year period Nicknamed Tempus Fugit the silver-colored biplane was eventually sold to a museum in Athol Idaho where it was destroyed in a hangar fire a year later
Other restorations by Ed Wegner have been more fortunate and are still flying today including a Swift an early Funk a Waco DOC a Waco VKS-7F a Spartan C-3 biplane which Ed still flies and a Spartan Model 12 a low wing all metal tri-gear airplane with a 500 hp PampW engine up front It was a 450 hp (R-985) with a 12 to 1 blower system that boosted the horsepower to 500 Weighing over 3300 Ibs empty it needed the extra horsepower As Ed says It was a well-designed nice flying airplane It just came out at the wrong period of time in 1946
After so many airplanes over such a long period of time Ed feels he should sit back and take it a bit easy on the airplane work Let some of the younger Telling Ed Wegner to stop rebuilding he shouldnt go for a walk Its tough to ones take over he says airplanes is like telling an old mailman do bull
Tail surfaces of the Fairchild are spruce and plywood ahead of the hinge line and steel and fabric behind Note the Fairchild logo on the fin and the beautiful job of rib-stitching on the rudder
MEMBERS PROTECTS u
by Norm Petersen -------------------------- Making its initial flight on October 111987 was Turkey Red a
homebuilt two-place biplane designed and built by Jim Soares (EAA 104408 AlC 2243) of 7093 Dry Creek Road Belgrade Montana 59714 With a steel tube fuselage and wood wings Turkey Red is powered by a converted Model A Ford engine swinging an aluminum alloy propeller Jim reports that October 11th was quite some day It felt like 1915 - everything in slow motion Note the brass radiator which Jim built from scratchbull
Stinson Flying Station Wagon 108-3 SIN 108-3941 owned by 26shyyear-old Jon EckriclI (EAA 297550) 7623 Deansville Road Marshyshall WI 53559 Both Jons father and grandfather flew a 108-3 so it is only right that Jon continues with the tradition Rebuilt in 1975 N1000M has some 500 hours on it now and is almost IFR certified Jon reports the Stinson has a full complement of King radios inshycluding a Loran-C receiver
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
The Time Capsule 8yJack Cox Photographs are time capsules a fleeting instant frozen forever preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers or their estates who attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes passing through These priceless peeks at aviations Golden Age deserve to be seen and we intend to present a few of them each month in this new feature Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed This month s photos are from the Schrade Radtke Collection
I I
Left This brawny beast is R189M the Seversky 2-PA-L variously described as an export fighter and a 2-seat convoy fighter Powered by a 1000 hp Wright GR-1830-G3 Cyclone it was apparently a company prototype of many uses As X189M the airframe was previously the PampW R-1340 powered Model X-BT Radtke Collection 869
Harry Crosbys CR-4 racer being run up at the Cleveland Air Races probably in 1938 All metal it was about the absolute minimum airframe that could be built behind a Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer The fuselage was 215 ft long but the highly tapered wings spanned just 16 feet Quite innovative the tiny bird had oil tanks in the leading edges of the wing provision for dry ice cooling and the rough looking side cowl was a surface or skin type oil cooler Engine and landing gear problems kept the airplane from reaching its full development Its best finish was fourth in the 1939 Thompson Trophy race at 244522 mph Crosby died during World War II in the crash of an experiemental Northrop flying wing the XP-79B Flying Ram Radtke Collection 257
r
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937 It was demonstrated there by Frank Hawks who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd The Aircar was a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile It had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle A brake and a clutch pedal on the floor completed the auto look The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until at 55 mph the clutch was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled on take-off with full aft wheel The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel Frank Hawks favorite ploy was to take his hand off the wheel and let it land itself Unfortunately Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on take-off from a polo field on a private estate This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company Two Aircars were built the Model 1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy) Hawks crashed in the Model II The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated Afterwards it was reported to have been donated to a school and has never been heard from since Radtke Collection 558
Heres a little mystery according to Revolution In The Sky the book on the early Lockheeds this Sirius was wrecked in 1935 and never repaired yet here it is at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking pretty fit This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C Sport Cabin Sirius a special model with tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just behind the PampW Wasp C The name under the canopy is S R Sague Pilot Radtke 689
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
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MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
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bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
license he signed up for the service bull and went through the cadet program
which included college training We were just into flying Stearmans when the war ended in 45 and they cut off our program With the military career over Ed returned to Kohler airport and jumped into the surplus airplane joyride We bought six or seven PT-19s and PT-23s from Fayetteville Arkansas and ferried them home one at a time That was really a fun time I only wish I had known then what I know now
Many AntiqueClassic Division memshybers will remember the 1975 Grand Champion Antique American Eagle which Ed had restored over a 4-1 2 year period Nicknamed Tempus Fugit the silver-colored biplane was eventually sold to a museum in Athol Idaho where it was destroyed in a hangar fire a year later
Other restorations by Ed Wegner have been more fortunate and are still flying today including a Swift an early Funk a Waco DOC a Waco VKS-7F a Spartan C-3 biplane which Ed still flies and a Spartan Model 12 a low wing all metal tri-gear airplane with a 500 hp PampW engine up front It was a 450 hp (R-985) with a 12 to 1 blower system that boosted the horsepower to 500 Weighing over 3300 Ibs empty it needed the extra horsepower As Ed says It was a well-designed nice flying airplane It just came out at the wrong period of time in 1946
After so many airplanes over such a long period of time Ed feels he should sit back and take it a bit easy on the airplane work Let some of the younger Telling Ed Wegner to stop rebuilding he shouldnt go for a walk Its tough to ones take over he says airplanes is like telling an old mailman do bull
Tail surfaces of the Fairchild are spruce and plywood ahead of the hinge line and steel and fabric behind Note the Fairchild logo on the fin and the beautiful job of rib-stitching on the rudder
MEMBERS PROTECTS u
by Norm Petersen -------------------------- Making its initial flight on October 111987 was Turkey Red a
homebuilt two-place biplane designed and built by Jim Soares (EAA 104408 AlC 2243) of 7093 Dry Creek Road Belgrade Montana 59714 With a steel tube fuselage and wood wings Turkey Red is powered by a converted Model A Ford engine swinging an aluminum alloy propeller Jim reports that October 11th was quite some day It felt like 1915 - everything in slow motion Note the brass radiator which Jim built from scratchbull
Stinson Flying Station Wagon 108-3 SIN 108-3941 owned by 26shyyear-old Jon EckriclI (EAA 297550) 7623 Deansville Road Marshyshall WI 53559 Both Jons father and grandfather flew a 108-3 so it is only right that Jon continues with the tradition Rebuilt in 1975 N1000M has some 500 hours on it now and is almost IFR certified Jon reports the Stinson has a full complement of King radios inshycluding a Loran-C receiver
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
The Time Capsule 8yJack Cox Photographs are time capsules a fleeting instant frozen forever preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers or their estates who attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes passing through These priceless peeks at aviations Golden Age deserve to be seen and we intend to present a few of them each month in this new feature Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed This month s photos are from the Schrade Radtke Collection
I I
Left This brawny beast is R189M the Seversky 2-PA-L variously described as an export fighter and a 2-seat convoy fighter Powered by a 1000 hp Wright GR-1830-G3 Cyclone it was apparently a company prototype of many uses As X189M the airframe was previously the PampW R-1340 powered Model X-BT Radtke Collection 869
Harry Crosbys CR-4 racer being run up at the Cleveland Air Races probably in 1938 All metal it was about the absolute minimum airframe that could be built behind a Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer The fuselage was 215 ft long but the highly tapered wings spanned just 16 feet Quite innovative the tiny bird had oil tanks in the leading edges of the wing provision for dry ice cooling and the rough looking side cowl was a surface or skin type oil cooler Engine and landing gear problems kept the airplane from reaching its full development Its best finish was fourth in the 1939 Thompson Trophy race at 244522 mph Crosby died during World War II in the crash of an experiemental Northrop flying wing the XP-79B Flying Ram Radtke Collection 257
r
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937 It was demonstrated there by Frank Hawks who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd The Aircar was a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile It had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle A brake and a clutch pedal on the floor completed the auto look The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until at 55 mph the clutch was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled on take-off with full aft wheel The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel Frank Hawks favorite ploy was to take his hand off the wheel and let it land itself Unfortunately Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on take-off from a polo field on a private estate This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company Two Aircars were built the Model 1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy) Hawks crashed in the Model II The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated Afterwards it was reported to have been donated to a school and has never been heard from since Radtke Collection 558
Heres a little mystery according to Revolution In The Sky the book on the early Lockheeds this Sirius was wrecked in 1935 and never repaired yet here it is at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking pretty fit This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C Sport Cabin Sirius a special model with tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just behind the PampW Wasp C The name under the canopy is S R Sague Pilot Radtke 689
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
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MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
The Time Capsule 8yJack Cox Photographs are time capsules a fleeting instant frozen forever preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers or their estates who attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes passing through These priceless peeks at aviations Golden Age deserve to be seen and we intend to present a few of them each month in this new feature Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed This month s photos are from the Schrade Radtke Collection
I I
Left This brawny beast is R189M the Seversky 2-PA-L variously described as an export fighter and a 2-seat convoy fighter Powered by a 1000 hp Wright GR-1830-G3 Cyclone it was apparently a company prototype of many uses As X189M the airframe was previously the PampW R-1340 powered Model X-BT Radtke Collection 869
Harry Crosbys CR-4 racer being run up at the Cleveland Air Races probably in 1938 All metal it was about the absolute minimum airframe that could be built behind a Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer The fuselage was 215 ft long but the highly tapered wings spanned just 16 feet Quite innovative the tiny bird had oil tanks in the leading edges of the wing provision for dry ice cooling and the rough looking side cowl was a surface or skin type oil cooler Engine and landing gear problems kept the airplane from reaching its full development Its best finish was fourth in the 1939 Thompson Trophy race at 244522 mph Crosby died during World War II in the crash of an experiemental Northrop flying wing the XP-79B Flying Ram Radtke Collection 257
r
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937 It was demonstrated there by Frank Hawks who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd The Aircar was a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile It had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle A brake and a clutch pedal on the floor completed the auto look The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until at 55 mph the clutch was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled on take-off with full aft wheel The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel Frank Hawks favorite ploy was to take his hand off the wheel and let it land itself Unfortunately Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on take-off from a polo field on a private estate This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company Two Aircars were built the Model 1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy) Hawks crashed in the Model II The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated Afterwards it was reported to have been donated to a school and has never been heard from since Radtke Collection 558
Heres a little mystery according to Revolution In The Sky the book on the early Lockheeds this Sirius was wrecked in 1935 and never repaired yet here it is at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking pretty fit This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C Sport Cabin Sirius a special model with tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just behind the PampW Wasp C The name under the canopy is S R Sague Pilot Radtke 689
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
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VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
This chubby little polliwog of an airplane is the Gwinn Aircar I at the Cleveland Air Races in 1937 It was demonstrated there by Frank Hawks who got a big kick out of taxiing by the grandstands tooting its automotive 2-toned horn at the crowd The Aircar was a 2-control airplane designed to be flown by anyone who could drive a car Many of the instruments were from a 1935 Oldsmobile It had a tilt-up steering wheel to control the ailerons and elevator (there was no rudder - just a trim tab) and a foot pedal for the throttle A brake and a clutch pedal on the floor completed the auto look The Aircar was simply driven down a runway until at 55 mph the clutch was depressed to move the flaps to a high lift position - and the thing flew It had limited up elevator and could not be stalled on take-off with full aft wheel The airplane was certified for landing with full forward wheel Frank Hawks favorite ploy was to take his hand off the wheel and let it land itself Unfortunately Hawks and a passenger were killed when he hit unseen electric wires on take-off from a polo field on a private estate This caused designer Joe Gwinn to fold the company Two Aircars were built the Model 1(90 hp Pobjoy) and the Model II (130 hp Pobjoy) Hawks crashed in the Model II The Modell pictured here was shipped to San Diego in the early 1940s and was evaluated by Consolidated Afterwards it was reported to have been donated to a school and has never been heard from since Radtke Collection 558
Heres a little mystery according to Revolution In The Sky the book on the early Lockheeds this Sirius was wrecked in 1935 and never repaired yet here it is at the 1937 Cleveland Air Races looking pretty fit This is a 1930 Lockheed 8C Sport Cabin Sirius a special model with tandem cockpits and a 2-place cabin just behind the PampW Wasp C The name under the canopy is S R Sague Pilot Radtke 689
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
(Continued from Page 5)
play the final total topping 15000 paid admissions
Third the actual floor space - some 500000 sq ft - was the largest ever devoted to an aeronautical display
Personal displays were among the best attended throughout the 10 day show
In truth this time lightplane production was at an all time high At the overall production peak in August and Sepshy
tember 1946 4000 aircraft were being turned out a month Aeronca itself was producing about 1000 each month
At the beginning of 1947 there were over 400000 licensed pilots 189156 with private pilot licenses There were more than 30 personal aircraft models for the private owner to consider when buying a flying machines for business or pleasure ranging from two to sevenshyplace machines No less than 17 comshypanies were competing for sales in this market segment
Personal aircraft production had gone from 1946 units in 1945 to an unshy
believable 33254 units The end of 1946 saw 81 000 civil aircraft in operashytion Of the close to 61 000 single enshygine civil aircraft registered over 43000 were powered by engines of under 145 horsepower Close to 31 000 had 65 horsepower or less
This was truly the golden era of the lightplane But it was a short-lived one as the market rapidly went sour Sales in 1947 fell to around 15515 units and by 1949 had plunged to 3500 units
It was a unique event in the history of the lightplane one never to be seen again bull
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
Dennis Parks EAA librarian came across the photo of this rare biplane in one of the EAA photo collections Its a Viking Kittyhawk B-8 N753Y SIN 26 powered with a Kinner B5 (125hp) and mounted on Edo L-2260 floats This three-place open cockpit biplane was built-by the Viking Flying Boat Co New Haven CT and Franklin T Kurt was the chief engineer
by
Norman Petersen
A somewhat rare 1939 Piper J-4A Cub Coupe mounted on Edo 1320 floats turns into the wind on Lake Winnebago during the 1983 Oshkosh fly-In Owned by Don Eckman PO Box 12586 Milwaukee WI 53212 the Coupe N25064 SIN 4-801 was built up for floats by AI Ziebell of Oshkosh WI and features extreme light weight 85hp Continental engine with flat 42 pitch prop heavy duty float struts and 316 cable support wires to floats Note clever use of fully enclosed Cessna 140 cowling
12 JANUARY 1988
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
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MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
- - -- - -
~ I ~ype ClubActivities Compiled by Norm Petersen
International Cessna 120140 Association
The latest newsletter edited by Dorshychen Forman tells of their trip to Oshkosh 87 and the really enjoyable flights that brought them across the middle of the US to Oshkosh They got a big kick out of the AntiqueClassic fly-out to Shawano described elsewhere in this magazine
When the time came to leave Oshshykosh the engine on their Cessna 140 acted very sick so a trip was made to the Emergency Repair Tent at Oshkosh run by EAA Chapter 75 of Davenport Iowa (they operate this tent on donashytions and kindness) They removed the cowl pulled the plug on the cold cylinshyder pushed a large rope down through the plug hole hit the thang with a malshylet and pulled on the prop several hundred times It worked The valve came unstuck and Dorchen was ready to go - a bit later than planned
That was the second time for a stuck valve It happend the last time on a long cross-country when Formans had to buy several loads of 100LL Now they put Marvel Mystery in when they buy 100LL You have to believe in someshything Dorchen has nothing but kind words to say about young Tr~pp Myrick who did the job as a member of Chapter 75 Davenport Iowa
Another interesting member of the Inshyternantional Cessna 120140 Associashytion is David Lowe (EM 125661) who lives in Sacramento Kentucky with his wife Joyce Dave bought a Cessna 140 in 1981 and rebuilt it with an 0-200 Conshytinental engine Edo 1650 floats and long range fuel tanks (You need long range tanks in Kentucky in order to fly to Oshkosh )
On the morning of August 1 1986 the 140 was lowered into the water for the first time and Dave taxied out for three take offs and landings Everything went well so he loaded Joyce and a lot of baggage on board and headed for the big 0 After a fuel stop at Lake Shelbyville Illinois they headed for Lake Michigan where they lost a magshyneto and had to land in six-foot waves
After buying the most expensive mag in Chicago they headed for Lake Winshynebago Late afternoon thunderstorms cut them off 15 miles short so they headed for Lake Michigan again and rough water
They landed at Port Washington just ahead of the storm The only room in town was above a bar The next day brought sunshine and they made it to Oshkosh and the Brennand Seaplane base
After flying back to Kentucky from Oshkosh the 140 was hit head on by a houseboat on August 8 1986 The damshyage amounted to $13500 and Dave and Joyce are now rebuilding the wreck They say It will be flying again
Technical Advisor Bill Rhoades has a two-page insert on building a tool for removing Cessna 140 aileron bellcrank bearings and another tool for removing aileron and elevator hinge bearings Both tools also install the new bearings in their respective holders The deshysigner is John W Dooley of Rt 2 Box 317B2 Frisco TX 75034
For information on the International Cessna 120140 Association write to Box 830092 Richardson TX 75083shy0092
Lightning Strikes in Rain
The November 87 Navioneer pubshylished by the American Navion Society has a most unique story by Ken McTavish regarding a Twin Navion that was struck by lightning during a modershyate rain shower while flying at 7200 feet ASL over Canmore Alberta on July 25 1986 The lightning arrived in the form of a five foot diameter fireball directly in front of the aircraft accompanied by a deafening bang More than $7000 damshyage was caused to the airframe and airshycraft components
The lightning passed from the nose through to the tail of the aircraft exiting through the rudder trim tab and rear navigation light The light was shatshytered melted and re-fused by the exitshying electrical charge The lightning singed sleeping bags and pillows stowed in the nose resulting in a strong burnt smell The radios were still funcshytional but the ADFs would not home
After a safe landing in Calgary an inspection revealed extensive damage The two Collins 650A ADF loop antenshynae were destroyed - the amplifiers
were burnt out in the solid unit The rudshyder trim tab and trim tab cables were burnt and there was skin damage to the aircraft nose The spirit compass and carb air temperature gauges were deshymagnetized and extensive areas of the cabin and nose were magnetized inshycluding landing gear heater radios radio racks pilots seat control yoke and control columns as well as hoses nuts and bolts
The aircraft had to be demagnetized all compasses and the RMI system had to be overhauled and reswung the rudshyder trim tab and trim cables replaced as was the rear navigation light and the ADF loops Of course sheet metal reshypairs were necessary for the nose secshytion The ELT required recertification alshythough it had just been signed off and the WX-8 Stormscope was returned to the factory for a check and recalibrashytion
Weather radar and a stormscope are excellent weather avoidance deshyvices but as the story shows are not infallible in detecting every hazard
For information on the American Navshyion Society write to Box 1175 Municishypal Airport Banning CA 92220-0911 shyphone 714849-2213
Good News - Bad News
Editor Loren Bump of the Continental Luscombe Associations newsletter called The Luscombe Courant makes note of the bad news first Effective Deshycember 8 1987 all US registered airshycraft are required to install an 10 plate on the exterior of the airplane This is part of the ruling that also requires 12 inch registration numbers for any airshycraft penetrating an ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) and if you have added extra fuel tanks in the passenger or baggage compartments authorizing documentation must be carried on board the aircraft
Now the good news Many years ago Ron Price had Luscombe 10 plates made up in quantity to sell to the memshybership He has now seen fit to turn the remaining batch of 10 plates over to the CLA to sell and raise money for their 1988 Get Together (Note He didnt say fly-in which it is not - for insurance purposes) (Continued on Page 23)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
by Harry Miltner (EAA 223678) 1512 Skyline Drive Ellensburg WA 98926
(Photos by Gordon McDonald)
Chapter I Another Toy
That was Sherrys comment another toy Have you ever dreamed of finding an old vintage aircraft or anshytique car hidden in some farmers barn I have for years I guess the men workshying for Harrahs car collection and museum in Reno gave me the clue as these chaps were paid to comb the countryside looking for antiques
I spent the winter of 1979-80 in the bucolic countryside of Central Utah building a barn for Charley and Marcia Eppler Over a fire at night Charley would spin a yarn about an old monoshyplane that was hidden in a shed on some farmers place With a little research we quickly found the shed and the most deshylapidated airplane sitting inside hardly out of the way of the harsh Utah winters The weather had taken its toll as the fabric was completely tattered and one could even see its wing and fuselage skeleton
The identity revealed an old Taylorshycraft possibly circa 1946-48 It took 14 JANUARY 1988
Charley some time to find the real name of the owner and then Marcia went to work Having been brought up in the valley she knew everyone on a first name basis The owner turned out to be Floyd We found Floyd on Sunday down in Ephram and his only remark was Wont sell the old bird want to restore it myself
Gloom set in the for the rest of winter and our talks turned from airplanes to the Carter administration and back to airplanes never forgetting Floyds old shed The main topic was was it worth anything The shed roof had leaked right down into the wing junction section and the water had no doubt continued into the lower fuselage area Were the longerons damaged What about the spars themselves What about the enshygine stored all these years in the open shed Certainly it had not run in a decshyade We came up with a true worth to be $1 OOOOO Not a penny more
Since then I moved to Central Washshyington state miles and months from our find in that old shed in Spring City Utah But I have kept in contact with the Epplers birds of a feather stick together you know After a while I got a call from Charley saying the T -Craft was on the block and he was number one in line to bid on it Not a finger had been put on the old bird it lay just as we-first found it over two years ago With inflation and
such we moved our price to $1 20000 but that was a joke as old Floyd came up with a firm price of $200000 shynothing more and certainly nothing less No country boy haggling I thought
Gratefully we paid the dough and Charley moved the old bird to higher ground in fear the old shed would not withstand another snowfall On my way to a friend s wedding in Jackson Hole Wyoming in April Id continue on down to central Utah and fetch the old girl and bring er back to Ellensburg Being a member of EAA and with the help of some retired Boeing types I figured within a year or two we should have the old Taylorcraft restored and back in its natural habitat
The logbooks reveal a total airframe time of 455 hours and the engine logs show a recent overhaul of 015 oversize many decades ago If the main spars are good and the fuselage tubing is okay then in retrospect it would be a good buy
The big topic of conversation is whether to clip the wings and go to a bigger engine or restore it as original But we have plenty of time for such decisions The main thing is that it has been moved to higher ground and is on the road to a full restoration program But I wont give up either I still dream of running onto an old Morgan or Allard in a shed somewhere in rural America
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
Chapter II On the Road to Spring City
In late March I dragged an open glider trailer down to Spring City Utah behind our wee pick-up truck Dottie What an awful trip I had headwinds on the way and stronger headwinds on the return trip But the wee beast did exactly as the advertisements say Datsuns are DRIVEN
I found the old T-Craft in about the condition I expected The wing was worse but the fuselage much better In fact with the old tattered original Irish linen stripped off the fuselage looks new However the left wing is pretty awful Zillions of tiny bees built nests in the wing and the secretion or whatever corroded the aluminum ribs and steel About six or seven ribs have to be reshyplaced completely plus the trailing edge aluminum The left aileron is nonshyexistent The right wing could be recoshyvered tomorrow but we will replace the two wood spars The material is Sitka spruce from Washington State
Everyone here thinks we got quite a buy With only 455 hours they say the airplanes hardly broken in but the enshygine is still a mystery It was supposedly rebuilt by old Floyd but there is nothing written in the logbooks The engine is a 65 hp Continental its one of the first things that will be sold 65 hp will hardly get my 225-pound partner off the ground at 5000 elevation on a hot summer day In its place we will install a 100 hp engine out of a Cessna 150 I checked with the local Technical Colshylege in Tacoma and they said it would be a rather simple installation Also the brakes have to be converted from
mechanical drum brakes to hydraulishycally actuated drum brakes This is a must for the old mechanical brakes leave a lot to be desired
The project is progressing well I have the left wing completely dismantled and have made accurate drawings of all the components Xerox copies have been sent to all the aircraft parts houses and the search has just started for ribs aileshyron components bellcranks etc Also I have contacted dozens of people whom Ive learned about through the T-craft movement for spare parts for the wing
Prater Hogue is nearby for assistshyance but he outlined how I can do all the work I want to come away from this with not only a restored antique but the A rating for aircraft repair
When not working on the wing i have been stripping all the components from the fuselage Windows doors instrushyments fuel tank have been removed and stored in safe places The shop has needed work mostly to keep out the famous Ellensburg wind Overhead lights will have to be installed if any moonlighting is to go on this fall and winter All in all it is a fun project - a bit frustrating at time as no one seems to know exactly how a 100 hp engine is installed and what mods have to be made to the fuselage and engine cowl The FAA gives us what they call a one time STC but the exact details to the conversion are up to the owner
Taylorcrafts are still being built in Alshyliance Ohio by the same chaps that possibly built ours They are very much the same design but stronger in many ways as the engine is the 0-235 115 horsepower The price is much
Before covering began the Taylorcraft was assembled with all major parts intact to check rigging of cables and fit of all rebuilt assemblies Workmanship looks to be first class
stronger too bringing some $23000 It is hard to imagine how much a project like this is going to cost If we were to restore it just as it is leaving the 65 engine in place perhaps we could get away for $4000 to $5000 but the larger engine conversion could cost a packet It is even hard to get good prices on usedserviceable parts as everyone seems to think their parts are made out of gold And they might be as nobody makes certain parts anyshymore But thats part of the fun running down some part that is long since forshygotten Project reports will come slowly as the work will come slowly When its finished though Sherry and I want to see America in aT-Craft - something I havent been able to do in my sailplane So wish us luck
Chapter III The Trials and Tribulashytions of Rebuilding a Vintage Aircraft
For those of you who have followed the trials and tribulations of rebuilding a vintage aircraft the last quarter of 82 was no exception First my silent partshyner came on to some severe financial problems so the lifeblood of the restorashytion was cut somewhat I have had to dig deep to buy the necessary parts to see the wings at least finished The six-month wait for the Sitka Spruce spars ended up a no-show and I had to purchase some locally Sitka Spruce is becoming scarce at least aircraft grade The timber was oversize so naturally it had to be whittled down to the exact size of the original The Unishyversity shop gave me the cold shoulder - a possible shop accident would lead to a lawsuit so I then turned to the Elshylensburg High School where I was warmly received and their new surface planer certainly did the trick To make the spars super accurate I first dressed them down on a table saw Working the 17-foot piece by myself the spar jumped out of the saw and when it came down the blade put a slice in the spar itself So a factory modification had to be made before the wing was ever put together Bad show While working on the wing I spent two weeks sandblastshying the fuselage with a very underpowshyered sandblaster and compressor Then using the latest Stits epoxy I primed the aft part of the fuselage Sevshyeral weeks later I noticed corrosion ocshycurring under the primer The local exshyperts said that rinsing the metal with Metal Prep was unnecessary but it later turned out to be untrue advice So the primer had to all be removed and started over again This time I hired a student to do the spraying as the fumes were getting to me He did a lovely job and now the fuselage just shines
More advice from the local pundits declared my 65 hp engine unfit for anyshything short of an anchor Cant be any good sitting in a shed for 25 some year
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
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PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
Frontal view shows Hendrickson prop with extensively re-worked cowling to handle the full electric 0-200 engine with shielded ignition Aluminum grills are standard T-Craft
they said So I unloaded it to a chap in Spokance for $75000 I threw in the motor mount and prop He has since gone through the engine and has found it to be in mint condition Props alone cost $75000 So you win a few and loose a bunch (More advice proved worthless)
Dont buy anything new they said Scrounge if you can Just about all the wing parts I purchased in serviceable condition had to be restored as corroshysion had set in The compression struts were twisted and I am stili waiting for Wally Olsen in Vancouver to replace these for me For the little savings buyshying them new from Univair is the smart move
We have decided to go to juice brakes drum not disc I ordered some used PA-22 brakes and wheels and when the package arrived there was one brake I called and asked about the shortage and he said Thats all you get for $4950 I asked about the plural words wheels and brakes It seems the same used car parts gypos are now selling aircraft parts (Editors note Harry writes later that he decided to go with the hydraulic brake instead)
Beginning in December I saw a breakthrough in the project The spars were nicely cut dressed and varnished (In drilling out the spars I forgot to say that several of the holes were drilled several thousands off I then had to find 16 JANUARY 1988
some phenolic plugs and re-drill to acshycommodate the spar fittings) Within a week the wing is totally rebuilt now and looks very serviceable The FAA has not let up their pursuit of harassment
however and we are now going into the ninth month of paperwork to get an N number and STC for the larger engine modification But Ill see it through however Germans are known for stubshybornness Tune in to next time
Chapter IV The T-Pot is Finally Lookshying Like an Airplane
All is alive and well Despite the many setbacks including losing our lovely workshop in several months the old TshyPot is finally looking like an airplane
After a year of putting the Taylorcraft on hold while Skeeter got an engine transplant Im back again with the old girl How does Sherry know my progshyress Ive been broke from buying airshycraft parts since June 4 1985 On that day we rigged the entire aircraft putting the wings in place hooking up the conshytrol cables and attaching the tail feathshyers I felt this essential as after the fabric was installed and the aircraft fully asshysembled I did not want any surprises (Im getting too old for these kind of surshyprises)
A very knowledgeable chap named Lee Stevens came up from Yakima and gave it the inspection prior to fabric Lee is a retired aircraft mechanic and has surely forgotten more about light aircraft than I will ever learn He found several things needing further attention and then signed it off for cover The following weeks were spent learning the covering process with lots of reading and VCR tapes from the experts After the usual Miltner research the Stits Poly Fiber process was chosen This is a dacron cloth weighing 27 oz per square yard and Stits Poly cotings are
Looking forward we get a good look at the graceful lines of the airplane put in by C G Taylor himself Note dual wing tanks and overhead skylights Grimes tail light on top of fin is standard
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
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1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
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MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
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bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
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VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
Continental 0-200 installation is very neatly done including the all-important baffling Lower cowling is bumped out to allow room for the Cessna 150 type exhaust system
used to protect the fabric (Days of Grade A cotton and Irish linen are
stitching Exactly 323 hours from start the fabshy
ric was then ready for its first coat of silver dope Then three or four coats follow sanded between coats to protect the dacron from the ultra-violet rays when parked outside The most fun was exploring the many color schemes for the final paint job Since this is an anshytique airplane we wanted to use colors and designs typical of the late 30s and 40s I remember seeing a Beech 18 on display at the Smithsonian with a twoshytone yellow paint job and dark green accent stripe I wrote to the Smithsonian and they were kind enough to send the exact color numbers and by chance Stits had them in their repertoire
The only shortcoming to the entire Stits process is a very toxic and smelly odor to the dopes and glues Trying to work in a well-ventilated wood-heated shop in the middle of one of the worst Washington State winters was a chore
Standard T-Craft interior is finished with a touch of class including the two original glove box doors Note heel brakes on pilots side only Portable transceiver fits nicely on floor just ahead of the seat
over) To make things easier on my first
covering job I had Hower Aviation of Sarasota sew up envelopes or socks out of the Stits dacron These socks are then pulled over the ailerons elevator horizontal stabilator wings and fuseshylage components The loose side is glued to the metal with Poly Tak ceshyment Then a household clothes iron set at 250 degrees is rubbed over the baggy wrinkled dacron until it becomes taut This has to be one of the seven wonders of the world for instantly it looks professional and airworthy After this two coats of Stits Polybrush are hand painted on the fabric All horizonshytal surfaces are adhered to the ribs and stiffners with a rib stitch stitched with needle and dacron thread Two inch dacron tape is then applied to all leadshying and trailing edges and over the rib
In the beginning I got sick from the odors and then turned to a well-respishyrated mask which I wore for months For the spraying of the silver and final coats I have hired a young student from the Tech department here at Central University
Well Ive blown about 1162 hours and a ton of dough on the old restorashytion project and it still aint flyable We are still without an engine so if you hapshypen to know of an 0-200 (100 hpj Conshytinental call collect There is no flying date set but we do want to barnstorm Americain summer 1987 Cheers and stay tuned Chapter V How to Make a Turkey into an Eagle
For those of you who have hung through 4 years of frustration and joy the restorers three step continues two steps forward and one back
Hell its easy they say start with a vintage basket case Taylorcraft and with a few parts and a little time youll be flying Well the hands on the old Seth Thomas have rotated some 1400 revolutions (297 trips to the shop alone) and what seems like a mini National Debt the old bird is far from airborne
A typical week is such Five days to trim and fit a brand new windscreen to the boot cowl and wings Tighten the last bolt just another turn and WHAM-O a hairline crack races across the front of the windshield Luckily I had warned the windshield manufacturer that the lovely curves did not fit the frame propshyerly and another will be sent free But all is not gloom The fabric is on and the cream and yellow Stits paint glistens like a new Pfennig Not a grand champishyon mind you but catching up to one
Being at this project for what seems a lifetime we felt it fitting to buyout our partner and place my mate co-pilot and navigators name on the FAA registry There will be times I am sure when a very silent partner 1200 miles away in rural Utah will be sorely missed but thanks Charley for turning loose oneshyhalf the ownership
After looking for years at a replaceshyment engine for the tired old 65 we reshyturned from Canada with a 108 horse jewel I had done my homework I had thought I contacted the FAA the Taylorcraft Company and with a very green light we purchased the Lycoming 0-235 Upon returning I again conshytacted the T-craft factory to order a mount 10 and behold the mount is a dynafocal mount Whats the old tune of Kenny Rogers If it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at aiL Well my engine has the conical mount and its an insurmountable task to mate the two
To add insult to injury the factory would not supply any data as to thrust line etc due to the liability song So rolling my own mount seemed impossishyble Sorry Bruce your engine is still a gem but hopefully a fellow in Sunshynyside will trade even for a freshly mashyjored engine by Quackenbush Its an 0-200 Continental (100 hpj In reality the 100 hp Continental is the better bet for it is some 40 Ibs lighter parts are easier to come by and a motor mount can be purchased over the counter But when you make a change the reshyverberation is felt all the way through the fuselage Now the engine cowl will have to be altered and new bits and pieces hung on the engine The FAA will again give the nod to use a wooden propeller nostalgia city these old wood clubs
Play it again Sam Time for a back step Kittitas County gave up the shoe about seven months ago throwing us out of our EAA clubhouse and shop Saint Dugan was quick to come to the rescue and now our lovely Taylorcraft is fully rigged living in the real world of
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
a Bowers field hangar But the war with the County is not over Liability again rears its ugly head and the County wants all hangar renters and leasees to carry a million dollars worth of liability insurance - to the tune if well pay it of $1600 a year Well I can handle the Federal Agrivation Agency the famous Ellensburg winds but this new caper could kill the gander I know the old adshyage - if God had wanted man to fly he would have made them all milshylionaires
In the meantime work continues on the old turkey - rather slowly this winter as the hangar is not heated Come spring it will be flat stick to comshypetition Flying date is set for May 12 1987 Come mid-June when Sher is finished with school well head east and barnstorm the US of A landing in farmers fields sleeping under the wing and all the good things that Richard Bach mentions in his flying books
And our dream is to land on the old Sillimans farm strip in Canaan Conshynecticut and celebrate my first first flight some 40 years ago with Gus in his old Widgeon
PS Just got a note from the FAA informing me that the gas lines are the wrong size and the entire fuel system has to be revamped Bigger size due to bigger engine When will it stop
Chapter VI The Finale
Christmas Eve The chap from Sunshynyside arrived to make the big engine switch - my Lycoming 108 hp for his Continental 0-200 As he opened the tailgate he paused and said I really shouldnt make this trade as I have over seven grand in the engine and rebuild My heart sank as I had contacted the new Taylorcraft Company in Lock Haven for one of their motor mounts to mate the new 0-200 to my vintage BCshy12D But my word is my word he said So Santa brought us one of the finest engines available - a freshly reshymanufactured engine by one of the west coasts leading rebuilders - Lynn Quackenbush
After Christmas I called Taylorcraft to order the motor mount and they said that they could not supply the motor mount after all They were in Chapter 11 What next I had gotten rid of the 0-235 because a mount was unavailashyble and now I was stuck with an 0-200 and again no mount was available Another step backwards Univair did have one in stock and it was purshychased
It was decided that the stock Cessna 150 exhaust system would be used so now the original 65 hp aluminum cowl would have to be drastically altered to fit the extended engine and different muffler system (The 0-200 has a starshyter and alternator which moves the enshygine forward some 5) This was done by adding some 5 to the back of the
18 JANUARY 1988
cowl in aluminum and fiberglass bulges were made to cover the mufflers and sparkplugs The top cowl by the way had to be made from scratch with some pre-formed sheets of aluminum Progshyress through the spring of 87 went well Control cables tach hot air box electrishycal components were obtained from a number of sources and by May it was ready for FAA inspection By the way a Ted Hendrickson prop was chosen knowing quite well that a 0-200 Taylorshycraft has never been offered factory made with a wood propeller
In late Mayan FAA Field Advisor arshyrived and started the long drawn out paperwork ordeal He mentioned that he was representing the Engineering Modification branch of the FAA responshysible for the issue of a future STC in my name The STC would cover the followshying changes
1 Skylight in roof over cockpit 2 Plastic in lower section of each
door 3 Pop rivets used to fasten fabric in
wings instead of rib stitching 4 Continental 0-200A engine 5 Battery box mounted under bagshy
gage compartment 6 Wood propeller manufactured by
Ted Hendrickson The FAA also required an inspection
by the local AampP (AI) The Field Advisor noticed that the alternator did not have a name tag on it even though it was checked by the engine rebuilder and stated in the logs For five weeks the FAA hassled us with this problem and finally requested that we buy a new alshyternator which would produce a yellow tag He also did not like the handmade looking engine data plate found on the right side of the Continental engine Four trips were made from Seattle (800 miles) to review the paper and reinspect the alternator
Growing tired of the harrassment I went to visit ModificationEngineering and talked them into putting the whole aircraft into the Experimental category for a period of time so that we could at least go to Oshkosh They agreed to this and the aircraft would be tested along with the wood prop and all the other modifications for a month or so
It is still in the Experimental category and the paperwork and testing conshytinues Oh they came over one day and personally flew the old bird and I havent seen them since
On the 12th of June I flew the Taylorshycraft for the first time in over 25 years and I must admit that there was absoshylutely no enjoyment or emotion on my part The FAA has done their job too well and I was drained both physically and mentally It was as if I was installing an Allison in the old girl Heavens knows there are many factory-made Fshy19 models built by Mrs Ferris of the old Taylorcraft Company flying around with 0-200A engines on board
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR A CLASSIC AIRCRAFT RESTORER
Or Ten Ways I Personally Screwed Up
1 As you disassemble the aircraft make accurate drawings or take Polaroid pictures of the components as they are taken apart Several months or even years later it will make it less difshyficult to reassemble
2 Surround yourself with knowledgeshyable people Remember you get what you pay for Sidewalk Supers are a dime a dozen and can cost you a packet in the long run
3 Build yourself a glass bead box Truly an effortless way to clean old paint and light corrosion and rust off your old parts
4 Corrosion like cancer has to be reshymoved and the part whether steel or aluminum has to be treated with an acid etch DuPont has both these prodshyucts If the fuselage has to be sandblasted the residue (oil from the compressor and sand dust) has to be cleaned thoroughly and then cleaned with Metal Prep
5 If small modifications are to be made - remember a 337 FAA form will have to be made including a drawing deshyscription and a photograph of the comshypleted part or component then signed by an AampP If a major mod or change is to be made requiring structural changes or an engine transplant take it up with the EngineeringModification branch of the FAA
6 If a job being done requires two people dont try to do it by yourself Wait until help arrives
7 Remember when buying from an airshycraft salvage yard they usually charge 33 of the original cost These original parts are sky high to begin with Most likely they can be obtained new from an aircraft parts store i e Aircraft Spruce Wicks etc etc Again if obtained from a salvage yard they are off of a totalled out aircraft so buyer beware
8 The FAA will sometimes put your Classic in the Experimental category to test a part component change or enshygine swap but it will have to be put back into the standard category at the end of a test Unfortunately there are no exshyceptions
9 If an engine has been stored in a dry climate for a long period of time even unpickled it still could be airworthy with a minimum of teardown
10 Reassemble the entire aircraft inshycluding rigging the control cables beshyfore fabric recover - especially if new spars were installed bull
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
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MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
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bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
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PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
bull bull
Out Of The Past bull
In Photos Ray L Johnson (EAA 159826 Ale 5728) 347 S 500 East Marion IN 46953
and Wilbur Hostetler (EAA 94013) 2515 Monroe Pike Marion IN 46953
These two photos were given to us by a gentleman who recently retired from our company Indiana and Michishygan Electric Company Another retiree had given them to him several years earlier We were given the photos beshycause of our obvious obsession with airplanes
After getting the photos we went about finding a date when the accident occurred Wilburs supervisor found the date for us - July 15 1930 We then went to the library to find the old newsshypaper clippings Here is the story
On July 15 1930 a pilot flew this bipshylane through a high voltage line beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 (one span) The pilot miraculously escaped injury According to the newspaper clipshyping the pilot was flying a Pheasant biplane He was on his way to Fond du Lac Wisconsin from Dayton Ohio
The neat part Ray says was the fact that it occurred on the farm across the road from where I grew up I recogshynized the buildings in the photos as we had lived there since 1960 My first knowledge of the accident was when we received the photos
Then the bonus part turned up While researching the two photos we discovered a second airplane had gone through high lines on June 16 1943 (13 years later) You guessed it beshytween towers numbered 7 and 8 - the same exact spot as the first accident
The newspaper accounts of the two nearly identical accidents add informashytion to the story The Pheasant was being flown by pilot Don Williams age 40 an experienced aviator with over 15 years of flight time He was not injured in the crash The highline carried 132000 volts and the Pheasant had gone through three of seven wires The
Lying inverted in a farm field is the Pheasant biplane following the tangle with high tension wires between towers No7 and 8 on July 15 1930 Unusual for the period is a metal propeller on the OX-5 engine as most planes used wooden props with that powerplant Note tailskid instead of tailwheel (well polished from use)
Mute testimony to the wrecked airplane below are the patched wires above Photo came from the power company collection of years ago Exact same spot was hit by another airplane 13 years later
airplane was one of three built by the company at Fond du Lac Wisconsin where Steve Wittman was the company test pilot
Details on the 1943 accident were given in the newspaper account It seems Air Cadet James J Coughey had flown the Navy trainer from Bunker Hill Naval Air Station (now named Grisshysom Air Force Base) and after encounshytering fog and low ceilings hit the lower wire of the highline and landed upside down in the field The crash tore the motor from the plane however the pilot
merely unloosened his safety belt and toppled out on the ground unhurt
We wonder what the odds are for two airplanes to hit the same power lines in the same spot crash inverted into the nearby field and both pilots emerge unshyscathed
Editors Note Ray Johnson and Wilshybur Hostetler restored the 1947 Aeronca Chief N3469E that won Best of Type at Oshkosh 86 and was featured in the April 87 issue of The Vintage Airplane N A P
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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STITS POLY-FIBER COVERING MATERIALS
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VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
OSHKOSH 87
ABOVE A ground view taken as the event was well along about 10 am reveals three lines of airplanes parked on the large expanse of mowed grass This is indeed a beautiful spot for a fly-in
LEFT The initial bunch of 15 to 20 airplanes are parked along the perimeter road so the local population can look and visit The NESW grass runway was used almost exclusively Seaplane ramp has two boats tied up next to it
FLY OUT TO SHAWANO by Bob Lumley (EAA 106377 AlC 6560) Nl04 W20398 Willow Road Colgate WI 53017
In a bold move the annual Antique Classic Monday morning fly-out was held at Shawano Wisconsin airport From Oshkosh the distance is approxshyimately 60 miles and the landing area includes not only the Shawano Airport but the adjoining Shawano Lake for those (fortunate) few who fly seaplanes
The absolutely perfect weather brought forth a nice turnout of some 50 aircraft and just over 100 people to feast on the coffee and fresh rolls that were distributed by the good folks of Shawano In addition to the free coffee many of the pilots and passenger took advantage of several nearby restaushyrants within easy walking distance of the Shawano Airport The local folks 20 JANUARY 1988
were quite surprised at the number of people who flew in Even the free coffee was consumed to the last drop
Many Shawano residents turned out to view the many AntiqueClassic airshycraft of all types and were particularly thrilled to visit with the pilots and passhysengers An exciting time was enjoyed by all
The free coffee and rolls were proshyvided by the Shawano Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the city Leo Schroeder welcomed the entire group and graciously invited everyone to return in 88
For the first time ever seaplanes were invited to the Fly-Out as Shawano has a seaplane base at the north end of the runway Kirk Erickson of Warshyroad Minnesota flew his beautiful Cessna 180 on Edo 2960 floats with a couple of passengers on board His time from the Brennand Seaplane Base was only 25 minutes with the 230 Conshytinental really humming
EAA Associate Editor Norm Petersen cranked up his 90 hp J-3 Cub on Edo 1320s and with EAA staff photographer Jeff Isom in the back seat made the trip to Shawano in fine style Several airplanes pulled up alongside during the trip and had themselves shot with Jeffs camera On the return trip they reported seeing a bald eagle just 50 below the Cub shortly after take off from Shawano Lake
A drawing was held at the Shawano Airport to give away 25 Fly-Out 87 dash plaques and a one-year membershyship in the AntiqueClassic Division
Plaudits are heartily extended to Tom Hampshire of Menomonee Falls WI for his extensive help in putting the Fly-Out together Tom contacted the local offishycials who provided refreshments and then arrived early enough to handle all the aircraft parking Great job Tom
Dont miss the fly-out in 88 Stay turned for the time and place - and keep your tanks full
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
Part of the AntiqueClassic bunch waiting in line for takeoff from WiHman Field to go to Shawano Some of the waits were in excess of one hour which failed to gain much favor with the pilots
An overview from the back seat of Norm Petersens Cub shows the town of Shawano in the background the river through town and the airport in the left foreground with the seaplane landing in the center of the picture The first batch of AlC members have landed and parked
Another Marlboro visitor on the way to Shawano is Mark Crowe (EAA 186220 AlC 11057) 8 South Street Ashland MA 01721 and his 1946 7AC Champ N2120E SIN 7AC-5691 Very preHy paint job Mark
Pulling up close to the photo plane on the way to Shawano is Lola Oyko (EAA 221089 AlC 10481) 10 Broadmeadow Rd Marlboro MA 01752 in her 1939 J-3 Cub N24619 SIN 3307 powered with a 65 Lycoming Note how Jeff Isom placed the tailwheel and right main directly on top of a silo
Part of the fun of the Shawano Fly-Out was looking at different airplanes Here is a Oornier 00-28 mounted on Edo YO-6470
Nineteen aircraft are lined up on the edge of the beautiful grass floats with an engine removed for work This 1961 twin is owned area as a Cessna 195 taxies up from the runway The local by Grognet Flying Service of Shawano WI bull townsfolk were quite excited to see so many airplanes at their airport and SPB
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
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ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
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VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
nteresting Members by Bob Brauer (EAA 81504 AlC 4319) 9345 S Hoyne Chicago IL 60620
If you like aircraft at least as much as I do then I guess those friends of ours who are deeply involved in aviation are interesting to us It would be great if I could talk middotabout several of the terrific people I know whose involvement in aviation is fascinating to me However one person comes to mind for this occashysion because of his total involvement and broad experience in aviation in spite of his relatively young age
He is Jay Vieaux of Park Forest ilshylinois a member of our local Chapter 260 in Lansing Illinois near Chicago
For as long as he can remember his interests were always centered around aviation and from a hobby this interest has grown into a career Even before he obtained his AampP license he had an intense interest in aircraft construction and in particular the Breezy By the time he was 18 years old he had learned all the skills necessary to build and fly one In addition he had become an accomplished welder having been taught by Breezy deSigner Carl Unger
Having earned his reputation as an expert welder he generously fabricates aircraft parts and frame sections for his EM friends This activity then exshypanded to doing welding repairs on cusshytom built aircraft as well as special and unusual welding on antique and classic aircraft
Following completion of the Breezy he was hired to build a Steen Skybolt
After his graduation from high school it was necessary for him to obtain his AampP license in order to get a job as an aircraft mechanic With all of the experishyence he had getting the license turned out to be a mere formality Upon receivshying his license in 1976 he worked for a Chicago Hammond Airport FBO to acshyquire the necessary 18 months experishyence
Following his job at Chicago Hamshymond (now named Lansing Municipal Airport) Jay worked for Emery Air Charshyter in Rockford Illinois and G amp N Aviashytion at Griffith Indiana as an AampP mechanic
During his employment at these two firms he owned a Bellanca Citabria Stits Flutter Bug and a Cassutt He does not talk much about the time he owned the Citabria or the bug and he doesnt have to say anything about the Cassutt it speaks for itself thanks to Jays exshypert touch
He purchased the little red Cassutt in
Jay Vieaux
With a Whitney Roper punch in hand Jay Vieaux gets ready to add a few holes to a lower cowling assembly Note the neat workbench in the background
1979 and proceeded to completely reshybuild it for serious racing incorporating many subtle improvements to the airshyframe These improvements covered an extensive aerodynamic clean up and weight reduction while remaining well within safe operation of the airframe
Regarding the engine to me it borshydered on witchcraft considering the performance he got out of that 0-200 During the build up of the engine he handpicked every part for optimum quality and matched weight The results were impressive The engine turned over 4200 rpm during flight tests
Jay entered the Cassutt named Super Spook (after the P-51 racer Galshyloping Ghost) in every formula race in 1981 choosing for his pilot Carroll Dietz The results for a first-time record were impressive fourth place in the Silver division at Reno two first place victories at Corvallis Oregon second or third place (he cant remember) in the San Marcos Silver race
Jay currently works for AMOCO Corshyporation (formerly Standard Oil) where he has been for the past four and oneshyhalf years He holds the position of
senior aircraft technician and acts as flight engineer on AMOCOs fleet of Gulfstream Ills out of Chicago Midway Airport
Jay pOints out that in the early days of aviation Standard Oil was one of the first corporations to place heavy emshyphasis on its newly created aviation products division He has used his posshyition to do research on the early use of aircraft for corporate transportation
Although his current job takes him away from home from time to time to exotic places like Wichita Jakarta and Sidney there is always time left for his first love vintage aircraft He is now reshystoring his classic Tri-Pacer and workshying with a friend rebuilding a J-3 CUb
Jay cannot seem to get his mind off those fine old aircraft of the Golden Age He has just completed an extenshysive six-year research project involving selection of a very special replica anshytique aircraft construction project but thats another story This much I can tell you It will be an exact replica of an aircraft with a round engine two wings rag and tube construction and superb workmanshipbull
22 JANUARY 1988
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
The Vinlage Trader Willman Airfield unlimited aerobatics 23 sheets of clear easy to lic Welcome 100 satisfaction Exchange guaranshyOshkosh WI 54903-2591 follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical drawshy teed Goldplated Warranty Good weight and
ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
QiFt~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
STITS POLY-FIBER COVERING MATERIALS
THE CHOICE OF THE GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS
HERES WHY I Pro lien Durability on Thousand 01 Aircraft FAA-STC For Oller 630 Aircraft Models Superior Quality Coatng Delleoped and Manufactured Under an FAA-PMA epecally lor Polyeter Fabric on Aircraft Not Modified Automotlle Finishes Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Reabled Celluloe Dope Will Not Support Combuston Lightet COllerlng Approlled Under FAA-STC and PMA Mot Economical COllerlng Material Conderng Yea of Trouble Free Seflflce No Fae or MIeadlng Adllertlsng ClaIm
VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
PROP TIPS The following material is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1987 issue of PROP TIPS published by Aero Propelshyler and Accessories Inc 3400 Indusshytrial Lane Broomfield Colorado 80020 (303469-1749)
Maintenance Tips
This second issue of Prop Tips will review some inspection maintenance and general care recommendations ofshyfered by the manufacturers Dont forget that your propeller is subjected to high often extreme stresses including bendshying twisting centrifugal forces impact from rocks and abrasion from sand just to name a few The following Prop Tips will help to minimize the effects of these forces
1 Your preflight should include Conduct a visual inspection for bends nicks scratches cracks corshyrosion loose spinner screws nut or bolts Look for excessive oil or grease (new or recently overhauled props may show minor leakage for up to 20 hours of operation)
2 Your ground run-up Follow the Operators Handbook
Avoid run-up in loose sand gravel or rocks Beware of tie-down ropes chains towbars etc
3 Washing the plane - Corrosion proshytection
Do not use solvents or solutions on the prop in a way in which the fluid could seep into the hub on the upshyright blade Do not use pressure washes on the prop pointed toward the hub Any moisture which peneshytrates the hub seals increases the risk of corrosion
4 Lubrication Take care to avoid blowing out clamp gaskets by removing one zerk and pumping grease into the remaining fitting until grease appears through the hole where the zerk was reshymoved
Replace the zerk fitting Use grease which conforms to MIL-G-23827 81322 or 3545 such as Aero Shell Grease NO5 Mixing of different greases is to be avoided so record the type and MIL Spec number of the grease installed
5 Filing the propeller Take sand and gravel nicks seriously
Nicks or scratches can be the start of fatigue cracks andor catastrophic prop failure Have your FBO or cershytified technician inspect and repair any nick before you fly again Large nicks or gouges may affect the strucshyture balance or operation of the prop and should be repaired by a certified propeller repair station imshymediately When taking off from a non-hard surface runway minimLze prop damage by allowing the aircraft to move before applying full power
6 Constant speed props Controllable pitch propellers require periodic reconditioning Check your propeller logbook and follow the TBO interval recommended by the propeller manufacturer This inforshymation can be found in Hartzell Sershyvice Letter 61 M and in McCauley Service Bulletin 137B
If you wish send a self-addressed stamped envelope with your request and we will be happy to mail copies of the Hartzell and McCauley TBO specifishycations to you at the earliest possible datebull
~ laquoJews (Continued from Page 4)
The second engine after an improved Heath four-cylinder was a five-cylinder radial engine named Clipper which featured four valves per cylinder and developed 65 hp at 2600 rpm The little speedster took a second and third place in two 200 cubic inch races in 1934 with the old master Steve Wittman winning both races in his Pobjoy-powered racer
Our best wishes go out to these
pioneer aviators and designers shyRoger Lorenzen Steve Wittman and Hans Lohman Rasmussen - who have contributed so much over these many many years And we must also extend a hearty Mange Tak to Carl Erik Gimshybel of Odense Denmark for assisting in the greeting exchange and for writing the fascinating story of Hans Lohman Rasmussen for the Danish magazine bull
CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland Municipal Airport Contact Sun n Fun Headshyquarters 3838 Dranefield Road P O Box 6750 Lakeland FL 33807 phone 813644shy2431
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION REshySORT OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog Association annual meeting and fly-in at Golden Falcon Airpark Grand Lake Vacation Resort Contact Phil Phillips 505897-4174
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS ALASKA - Internashytional Cessna 170 Association Convention at Fairbanks International Airport Convention site Sophie Station Motel Contact Convention Chairmen Rick and Cheryl Schikora 1919 Latshyhrop Drawer 17 Fairbanks AK 99701 907 456-1566 (work) or 907488-1724 (home) Reshymember the time difference
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH WISCONSIN - 36th annual International EAA Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Willman Field Contact John Burton EAA Headquarters Willman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
VI~TAf3~ LlnlArul~ (Continued from Page 13)
Dwayne Green has volunteered to take over the project of selling the plates to all Luscombe owners who want them It is a must that you install the 10 plates on the exterior of your Lusshycombe You probably can remove the old from the inside and install it extershynally but why bother The price of the new 10 plate is so low-priced that it isn t worth the effort Contact Dwayne Green at 4 Meadow Glen Court Santa Rosa CA 95404 phone 707544-4535 bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
The Vinlage Trader Willman Airfield unlimited aerobatics 23 sheets of clear easy to lic Welcome 100 satisfaction Exchange guaranshyOshkosh WI 54903-2591 follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical drawshy teed Goldplated Warranty Good weight and
ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
QiFt~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
STITS POLY-FIBER COVERING MATERIALS
THE CHOICE OF THE GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS
HERES WHY I Pro lien Durability on Thousand 01 Aircraft FAA-STC For Oller 630 Aircraft Models Superior Quality Coatng Delleoped and Manufactured Under an FAA-PMA epecally lor Polyeter Fabric on Aircraft Not Modified Automotlle Finishes Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Reabled Celluloe Dope Will Not Support Combuston Lightet COllerlng Approlled Under FAA-STC and PMA Mot Economical COllerlng Material Conderng Yea of Trouble Free Seflflce No Fae or MIeadlng Adllertlsng ClaIm
VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
JUST ANOTHER
GRASS LANDING STRIP
The patriarch of Hay Meadow Airport John Hatz fills the fuel tank of his 65hp J-3 Cub before taking another student for a lesson on flying skis Known throughout Wisconsin for his thorough instruction John has the ability to instill a life long appreciation for flying with his many students John is a busy busy man
by Joyce Helser
I lived at Gleason Wisconsin from 1968 to 1983 and never heard much about the local airport except that some family had an airstrip We would see a plane in the sky and if it wasnt very high we knew it probably came from Gleason International Airport thats how many people around Gleason reshyferred to the airport
Eventually I came to know the wife of the family that owned the airport as she worked in the gas station at Gleason for a few years She and I would exchange pleasantries when I saw her at the stashy24 JANUARY 1988
tion I didnt know her name we just enjoyed small talk about the things going on in town or with our families
In 1983 we moved to Oshkosh after giving up our jobs in Rhinelander I had a job as a nurses aid in a nursing home but my husband Rudy had to look for work He finally got a job at EM on the Maintenance Staff as a custodian A year later I was hired there also first in the volunteer kitchen and later as grass cutter for the Ingersoll Company
In 1986 I met Dorothy Chase whose husband Gene also worked at EAA Dorothy encouraged me to introduce myself to Gene and when I did he asked if I knew John Hatz from
Gleason Of course I said no as I had really only heard of him but never met him Gene informed me that John owned the airport near Gleason and that it was called Hay Meadow We looked at an aeronautical chart and sure enough it was the same airport I told Gene how we always just called it Gleason International Since I was going home that weekend I decided I would check it out to be sure it was the same airport
When I got back to Gleason I asked at the gas station where Mrs Hatz worked (she wasnt there that day) if their airport was called Hay Meadow Airport The man said I think it is but we just call it Gleason International I came back and told Gene Yes thats the airport all right
In the spring of 1987 I kept thinking about this airport and how I never really knew anything about it For all those years I never knew or cared about it
One thing you learn by working for EAA is that people interested in airplanes know each other Since the Hatzs were EAA members many people including members of EMs staff knew them well I thought about how Id lived in the same little town of maybe 200 people for 1 5 years and didnt know them at all
In March of 1987 my mother took sick so I traveled back to Gleason to see her One night as I drove by the gas station Mrs Hatz was working so I stopped especially to talk with her We didnt discuss the towns happenings that night rather we talked about people and places and things of EM We talked about people we both knew and she told me about some of the conshyventions that they attended We talked about Paul and Audrey Poberezny and what nice people they were
She even told a story about Tom Pobshyerezny at one of the conventions She didnt remember what year it was but it was some years ago when Tom was a young lad He asked her if they still ate their dinner on the tailgate of their station wagon She told him they did and he asked if he could join them As they ate he said Its nice to sit here and enjoy dinner for nobody would even think of me being here Nowashydays Tom couldnt get lost with that radio on his belt
After we talked for about two hours it was time for me to go home but I wanted to know more about the Hatzs and their airport Summers are busy though when you work for EM I knew I would have to wait until after the 1987 Convention before I could continue my adventure with this airport which meant more to me now than it ever did when I lived there
In late August I went to see John Hatz and met him for the first time As we were driving down Vascheau Road where their home and airport are 10shy
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
The Vinlage Trader Willman Airfield unlimited aerobatics 23 sheets of clear easy to lic Welcome 100 satisfaction Exchange guaranshyOshkosh WI 54903-2591 follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical drawshy teed Goldplated Warranty Good weight and
ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
QiFt~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
STITS POLY-FIBER COVERING MATERIALS
THE CHOICE OF THE GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS
HERES WHY I Pro lien Durability on Thousand 01 Aircraft FAA-STC For Oller 630 Aircraft Models Superior Quality Coatng Delleoped and Manufactured Under an FAA-PMA epecally lor Polyeter Fabric on Aircraft Not Modified Automotlle Finishes Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Reabled Celluloe Dope Will Not Support Combuston Lightet COllerlng Approlled Under FAA-STC and PMA Mot Economical COllerlng Material Conderng Yea of Trouble Free Seflflce No Fae or MIeadlng Adllertlsng ClaIm
VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
cated we could see a plane practicing touch and goes I talked to his wife Bershydina again as we waited for John and his student to land While waiting I had the opportunity to see everything they did there In one hangar his boys were building a plane They had the wood constructed for the wings and fuselage In another barn were stored two fuseshylages of older planes that John plans to restore when he has the time
I asked John if I could have an intershyview with him and of course he said yes But he didnt have too much time left This was on Monday and he only had two hours left open for the week shyone on Wedneday and one on Friday I took the Wednesday appointment
Wednesday came and I was there on time John came in after giving a stushydent a lesson I wondered why anybody would pick a town like Gleason to have an airport as Gleason is a declining busishyness and farming community John said he wanted his own field after managing the Merrill Airport for 11 years He said he just got tired of regulations So he bought this 77-acre farm and made an east-west runway Presently he hangshyars eight planes for other owners plus five of his own
This past year has been the best ever for him Currently he has more students than he can handle having to turn many away as he doesnt have enough hours in the day In addition to giving lessons at Hay Meadow he also trains at Wausau
As I talked with John I learned that he had donated a 1929 Velie Monocoupe to the EAA Aviation Founshydation I learned that all of John and
Beautiful Hay Meadow Airport looking west along the smooth sod runway In the backshyground are the hangars and shop where John Hatz and his crew do their inside work This is rural America at its very best
The logo of the Hay Meadow Flyers EAA Chapter 640 which is made up of many flyers in the area This group puts on the finest Ski Plane Fly-In in all of Wisconsin
Berdinas sons are involved in aviation Allen and Clifford work at Hay Meadow Field Lyman is a commercial pilot and mechanic and Aaron is an airline emshyployee A daughter Barbara enjoys ridshying in the airplanes just like her mother
The Hatzs generally sponsor two flyshyins a year at Hay Meadow Field One - a ski plane fly-in - is held the secshyond weekend of February each year The second is held sometime during the month of July and features antique and
classic airplanes As John and I talked he showed me
pictures and articles that had been writshyten about them in the past year I could tell that this family was well known throughout the Midwest I asked John if he had a little time to take me for a ride in one his planes and he said Of course I told him Id always wanted a ride in an open cockpit biplane and he said I have one over in the other hangar we could go up in it
As we walked to the hangar I noticed two other planes in it - a Piper Cub which they just finished restoring and a 1928 Waco - and the biplane that we were going to take a ride in John calls it the Hatz Special Happiness I put on a jacket as it was cool that morning then John made my day by handing me a leather helmet with goggles attached just like they wore in World War II I was so excited about getting into an open cockpit biplane with the leather helmet I felt like I was in another world As we taxied down the grass air strip I felt like a queen We flew over the village of Gleason and I recognized some of the farms It was a delightful flight
By the time I left John and his little empire of airplanes a neighbor had come over and needed the use of one of his planes to look for some cattle that had strayed off into the woods Johns son Allen took them up to look
I will never know all the goodness John has put into aviation but Im findshying out more everyday As we drove away from Hay Meadow Field I felt very satisfied with what I found - a family that was really friendly and John a pilot and instructor in his own little empire And he flies just for fun bull
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
The Vinlage Trader Willman Airfield unlimited aerobatics 23 sheets of clear easy to lic Welcome 100 satisfaction Exchange guaranshyOshkosh WI 54903-2591 follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical drawshy teed Goldplated Warranty Good weight and
ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
QiFt~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
STITS POLY-FIBER COVERING MATERIALS
THE CHOICE OF THE GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS
HERES WHY I Pro lien Durability on Thousand 01 Aircraft FAA-STC For Oller 630 Aircraft Models Superior Quality Coatng Delleoped and Manufactured Under an FAA-PMA epecally lor Polyeter Fabric on Aircraft Not Modified Automotlle Finishes Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Reabled Celluloe Dope Will Not Support Combuston Lightet COllerlng Approlled Under FAA-STC and PMA Mot Economical COllerlng Material Conderng Yea of Trouble Free Seflflce No Fae or MIeadlng Adllertlsng ClaIm
VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA AntiqueClassic Division (through October 21 1987) We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members common interest is vintage aircraft Succeeding issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members
Craft Kenneth L Strasburg Pennsylvania
Strick Benjamin T Corona Del Mar California
Foley Ken F Columbus Ohio
Foley Joseph Edwin Westerville Ohio
Anderson Bill Littleton Colorado
James Marvin Scio Oregon
Wesenberg Donald R Winton California
Borath Ernest F Crescent City California
Bartis John St Charles Missouri
PashaJoseph Boynton Beach Florida
Cass Gerald C Carlsbad New Mexico
Vander Lugt Tunis Kentwood Michigan
Davis Jeffrey R EI Cajon California
Castle Richard Mount Holly New Jersey
Stanton Jr James R Ocean City New Jersey
Cameron J Mount Gravatt Queensland Australia
Clure Lawrence A Santa Barbara California
Koide Gyoko Miami Florida
Tendlck Ted O Hayfield Minnesota
Schiller Doug Warrenville Illinois
Erickson Russell Humnoke Arizona
Cocks Eric H Ft Lauderdale Florida
Gilliland William L Santa Cruz California
Klein Fred R East Sound Washington
Kleckner Frank Allentown Pennsylvania
Albright Ralph N Tucson Arizona
Lambrecht Richard Bethany Oklahoma
Major Don D Collierville Tennessee
Jordan William Tomas Lee Edenton North Carolina
Patterson Robert W Brampton Ontario Canada
Pruchnis Albert B Windber Pennsylvania
Stedman William Stockbridge Massachusetts
Hamilton Carolynn Anchorage Alaska
Erickson Ed Hagerstown Maryland
Shirley Jess G Fort Bragg California
Swanson Kyle G Cloquet Minnesota
Lund Lawrence Pleasanton California
Jeffery Terry Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Rawlings David E Palatine Illinois
Williams Franklin T Walnut Creek California
Smith Melissa Santa Barbara California
Wilkinson Bill Selkirk Manitoba Canada
Quebe Raymond J Austin Texas
Bymaster Don Colorado Springs Colorado
Tollett Thomas V Marble Falls Texas
Garel-Frantzen Tony Wheeling Illinois
Tylenda John R APO New York New York
Hendricks C Michael Columbia Maryland
Dickinson Jim Paul Norman Oklahoma
Covey Jim Snohomish Washington
Atkins AD Acworth Georgia
De Van Jr William L Birmingham Alabama
Espinosa Floyd Mission Hills California
Murray Douglas Toronto Ontario Canada
Hoggatt Raymond Wyoming Michigan
Bussinah Alex Columbia South Carolina
Mylnarek R Canfield Ohio
Rose Daniel J New Baltimore Michigan
Gislason Vldir Akureyi Iceland
Clifton Patty R Eldorado Kansas
26 JANUARY 1988
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
The Vinlage Trader Willman Airfield unlimited aerobatics 23 sheets of clear easy to lic Welcome 100 satisfaction Exchange guaranshyOshkosh WI 54903-2591 follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical drawshy teed Goldplated Warranty Good weight and
ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
QiFt~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
STITS POLY-FIBER COVERING MATERIALS
THE CHOICE OF THE GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS
HERES WHY I Pro lien Durability on Thousand 01 Aircraft FAA-STC For Oller 630 Aircraft Models Superior Quality Coatng Delleoped and Manufactured Under an FAA-PMA epecally lor Polyeter Fabric on Aircraft Not Modified Automotlle Finishes Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Reabled Celluloe Dope Will Not Support Combuston Lightet COllerlng Approlled Under FAA-STC and PMA Mot Economical COllerlng Material Conderng Yea of Trouble Free Seflflce No Fae or MIeadlng Adllertlsng ClaIm
VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
Tanaka Seichiro Ridenour Edwin E Neeves Brian J Tokyo Japan Springfield Ohio Henderson Nevada
Blackburne J A Shows Herbert Byers Thomas C College Park Georgia Larose Louisiana Loomis California
Reichek Edward R Wruck Jerry Gavalis Richard Cleveland Ohio Douglas Arkansas Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Comstock G Kenneth Donaldson John A Simmonds Don M Garberville California Victoria Ontario Mercer Island Washington
Singh~ Charles Hodges William T Pilkington Lynn Grimsby England Andersonville Georgia Hyrum Utah
Polonitza Rollin Sharp Milford G Linnihaw Terry Evanston Illinois Steele Alabama Appleton Wisconsin
Field Harold S Windh Peter L Lockwood Terry Amarillo Texas Mississauga Ontario Chandler Arizona
Dezendorf Thomas C Stagner Robert E Sagerser James A Belmont California Poplar Bluff Missouri Mesa Arizona
Volpe Tom Nelson Amos Smith Dennis R Laconia New Hampshire Mineral Point Wisconsin Sault Ste Marie Ontario
Hillis Rod Griffin Jimmy C Bergsmann Robert E Heriot Bay British Columbia Alameda California Pottsboro Texas
Lieb Tom Gordon Eugene C Ewers Ivan Redondo Beach California Crumpler North Carolina Santa Barbara California
Asplundh Barr E Meyer John EJanousek Joseph OFort Washington Pennsylvania Midland Texas Chevy Chase Maryland
Smythe David Wing Jerold DBohlmann Melvin Roseville Minnesota Cheyenne Wyoming Valparaiso Indiana
Eckel Mark G Moore Donald L Crystal Lake Illinois Ladd Larry S Sedalia Missouri
Floyds Knobs Indiana Krysiak Richard C Melvin Kenneth E WAtlanta Georgia Sell George J Beaverton Oregon
Oshkosh Wisconsin Murray Raymond
Finerty Duane J East Aurora New York Bakula Mark Troy Michigan Muskego Wisconsin
Anderson Thomas P Berkman Herbert RLos Angeles California Vieaux James M Canoga Park California
Park Forest Illinois Holman Daily A Portland Oregon Snelling John
Reid David W Corvallis Oregon bull EI Dorado Alabama Guest Roger R
Stevensville Maryland
Robles Jr Marion WAllender J Reverdy Lakeland FloridaBothell Washington
Plendl Bruce R Harmacinski Larry Everett Washington Asheville North Carolina
Arnold M Lee Gilpatrick Robert J Mesa Arizona So Daytona Florida
Godfrey James D Jewett Dale P Arlington Texas Hutchinson Kansas
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
The Vinlage Trader Willman Airfield unlimited aerobatics 23 sheets of clear easy to lic Welcome 100 satisfaction Exchange guaranshyOshkosh WI 54903-2591 follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical drawshy teed Goldplated Warranty Good weight and
ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
QiFt~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
STITS POLY-FIBER COVERING MATERIALS
THE CHOICE OF THE GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS
HERES WHY I Pro lien Durability on Thousand 01 Aircraft FAA-STC For Oller 630 Aircraft Models Superior Quality Coatng Delleoped and Manufactured Under an FAA-PMA epecally lor Polyeter Fabric on Aircraft Not Modified Automotlle Finishes Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Reabled Celluloe Dope Will Not Support Combuston Lightet COllerlng Approlled Under FAA-STC and PMA Mot Economical COllerlng Material Conderng Yea of Trouble Free Seflflce No Fae or MIeadlng Adllertlsng ClaIm
VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
----~--~
This neat little monoplane is evidently a two-place possibly a side-by-side It appears to be a modification of an earshylier design The photo was taken at Bowman Field Louisville Kentucky in the early 1930s and was submitted by Ed Peck of Waddy Kentucky who is compiling a history of the field Answers will be published in the April 1988 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Deadline for that issue is February 10 1988
The Mystery Plane in the October 1987 issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE was the Populair Charley Hayes of Park Forest Illinois writes As I recall it was a one of a kind which never received an ATC It was powered by a Chevrolair engine
by George A Hardie Jr
The photo was taken from an ad that appeared in the April 1930 issue of Popular Aviation The airplane was built by the Earl Aviation Corp Ltd a closed corporation located at Los Angeles California It was to be shown at the New York Aircraft Salon in May of that year Excerpts from the ad show the confidence the company had in their new design
To a plane-wise public and a world of pilots and executives accustomed to flying and selling good airplanes POPULAIR makes its bow at the New York Aircraft Salon without apologies
The POPULAIR is everything you demand in a two-place sport training
plane It embodies a new high perforshymance at a low readily saleable price
In the production of the POPULAIR the Earl Aviation Corporation Ltd had a definite purpose in view - to create a small plane of superior type to anyshything in the field of simi lar character How splendidly this aim has been achieved can well be realized upon inshyspection study of specifications and demonstration of performance
But as Dave Hatfield remarked in his scrapbook The POPULAIR did not beshycome popular Too bad for it was an attractive design
Additional correct answers were reshyceived from Ted Businger Willow Springs Missouri Dave Gauthier Aushyburn Washington Ben Bowman Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Wayne Van Valkenburgh Jasper Georgia Roy Cagle Juneau Alaska and Emil Strasser Hawthorne Georgia bull
Letters TO The Edito~~~~
Dear Gene (Chase)
I meant to write you for some time regarding the modern day aviation nomenclature composed and used by the younger generation in aviation today
The nomenclature and terminology is rather demeaning and degrading of the golden age era of airplanes
As the elder of the Rezich brothers I have been around airplanes going on almost 60 years And we used proper terminology in those days and now
I can immediately identify a Johnny come lately when he uses terms such as Number one - Ragwing I never saw an airplane covered with rags They were covered with expensive and durable flytex Irish linen or cotton fabric We also kept our airplanes inside and never let them deteriorate to rags The proper term is fabric covered airplane
Newspapers used to call them canshyvas covered and still do but thats par 28 JANUARY 1988
for the course for news people Number two Tail feathers I never
saw feathers on an airplane except when sparrows got inside the wing or fuselage The proper term is tail group or empennage
Number three Taildragger To me the tail flys as fast as the nose In my day when the tail was dragging the airplane was not fit to fly It was dragshyging on the tail post because of a tail skid or tail wheel failure
Number four Bipe What in the hshyis a bipe Sounds like some kind of squeemy animal The proper name is biplane monoplane or triplane deshypending on which it is
Number Five Tu Holer Sounds like someone punched some holes in the fuselage or wings The only time I saw holes in an airplane is when the inspecshytors used to cut holes in new fabric to look inside The proper term is open cockpit one place two place or three place
Number Six Round Engine The proper term is radial engine There acshytually was a round engine built for airshycraft use where the cylinders were parallel to the crankshaft operated on a wobble plate principle I doubt if any of the younger gneration has ever heard or seen one There were only a few built It was a six-cylinder barrel type engine liquid cooled
Then there is the forever misclassifishycation of center section riders as wing walkers They dont go anywhere They are strapped to a mast and thats where they stay
You might publish this as the opinion and remarks of an old timer
Best regards
Mike Rezich (EM 510 NC 2239) 6424 So LaPorte Avenue Chicago IL 60638 bull
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
The Vinlage Trader Willman Airfield unlimited aerobatics 23 sheets of clear easy to lic Welcome 100 satisfaction Exchange guaranshyOshkosh WI 54903-2591 follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical drawshy teed Goldplated Warranty Good weight and
ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
QiFt~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
STITS POLY-FIBER COVERING MATERIALS
THE CHOICE OF THE GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS
HERES WHY I Pro lien Durability on Thousand 01 Aircraft FAA-STC For Oller 630 Aircraft Models Superior Quality Coatng Delleoped and Manufactured Under an FAA-PMA epecally lor Polyeter Fabric on Aircraft Not Modified Automotlle Finishes Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Reabled Celluloe Dope Will Not Support Combuston Lightet COllerlng Approlled Under FAA-STC and PMA Mot Economical COllerlng Material Conderng Yea of Trouble Free Seflflce No Fae or MIeadlng Adllertlsng ClaIm
VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of SWISS WATCH REPLICAS - Wholesaler Pubshy25e per word 20 word minimum Send your ad 10
The Vinlage Trader Willman Airfield unlimited aerobatics 23 sheets of clear easy to lic Welcome 100 satisfaction Exchange guaranshyOshkosh WI 54903-2591 follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical drawshy teed Goldplated Warranty Good weight and
ings photos and exploded views Complete parts color Fabulous Promotion and Gift item PROMOshyand materials lisl Full size wing drawings Plans TIONAL NEW YEAR SPECIAL Limited time offer plus 139 page Builders Manual - $6000 Info Order Call 404963-3USA (4-6) AIRCRAFT Pack - $500 Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing shy$1500 The Technique of Aircraft Building - 50-Year Collection of books TOs engine manshy$1000 plus $200 postage Send check or money uals magazines parts models memorabilia List
1940 Porterfield CP-65 - IT 3900 Engine IT 700 TSMOH 250 Recent restoration 1987 Stits
order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales $1 00 Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY1977 new paint and many new parts Annual SepshyCorners WI 53130 414529-2609 11768 (1-1)tember 1987 $950000918455-0061 (1-1)
PLANS POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol- unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying Big roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot VW power insures hard to beat 32 gph at cruise setting 15 large instruction sheets Plans - $6000 Info Pack - $500 Send check or money order to ACRO SPORT INC Box 462 Hales Corners WI 53130 414529-2609
MISCELLANEOUS Enjoy a VHS video flight with Donna and I around the border of the US in our J-3 Cub See Nova Scotia New York City Kitty Hawk Key West lost in Texas MI SI Helen Expo 86 12788 miles 61 days camping under the wing $3600 ppd or book and color pictures $1000 ppd Make good gifts Phil Michmerhuizen 186 Sunset Drive Holland MI 49423 (12-2)
WANTED WANTED Oid aircraft and engine manufacturers nameplates for private collection Will buy or trade Frank Strnad Box 173A Northport NY 11768 (1-1)
Fly high with a quality Classic interior
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation
Custom quality at economical prices
bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes
Free catalog of complete product line
Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300
QiFt~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115
STITS POLY-FIBER COVERING MATERIALS
THE CHOICE OF THE GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS
HERES WHY I Pro lien Durability on Thousand 01 Aircraft FAA-STC For Oller 630 Aircraft Models Superior Quality Coatng Delleoped and Manufactured Under an FAA-PMA epecally lor Polyeter Fabric on Aircraft Not Modified Automotlle Finishes Water Borne House Paint or Tinted and Reabled Celluloe Dope Will Not Support Combuston Lightet COllerlng Approlled Under FAA-STC and PMA Mot Economical COllerlng Material Conderng Yea of Trouble Free Seflflce No Fae or MIeadlng Adllertlsng ClaIm
VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE FABRIC COVERING WITH RA Y STITS Sponored by EAA Aviation Foundation Before Making Expensive Mistakes See This Tape and Learn How to Do It Right the First Time $4995 Also Direct from EAA (1 -800-843-3612) and from Slits Distributors
~shyWRITE OR PHONE FOR FREE Sample of High Strength Very Smooth 17 oz Patented Polyester Fabric Developed Especially for Aircraft Covering Manual 1 with Detailed Instructions for FabriC Covering and Painting Aircraft for CorrOSion Control Latest Catalog and Distributor List
STITS POLY-FIBER ~~ AIRCRAFT COATINGS ~
PO Box 3084-V Riverside CA 92519 Phone (714) 684-4280
VINTAGE AiRPLANE 29
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
Its Exciting Its for Everyone
See this priceless collection of rare historically significant airshycraft all imaginatively displayed in the worlds largest most modshyem sport aviation museum Enjoy the many educational displays and audio-visual presentations Stop by - heres something the entire family will enjoy Just minutes away
HOURS 830 to 500 pm
Monday thru Saturday 11 00 am to 500 pm
Sundays Closed Easter Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years Day (Guided group tour arrangements must be made two weeks in advance)
CONVENIENT LOCATION The EM Aviation Center is located on Wittman Field Oshkosh Wis - just off Highway 41 Going North Exit Hwy 26 or 44 Going South Exit Hwy 44 and follow signs For fly-ins - free bus from Basler Flight Service
EA~ ~ FOUNDATION
Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3065
414-426-4800
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
SEE JANUARY 88 SPORT AVIATION FOR DETAILS
Gerry Miller AampP lA widely known and recognized in the Antique and Classic circles of the light aircraft industry for outstanding award winning restorations of WACOs over the past 25 years is expanding his facilities to general aircraft
Utilizing his knowledge and expertise in woodwork metal and fabric application a completed aircraft will exceed any expectations
Museum restorations as well as Air Show masterpieces will be considered
Now accepting selected projects Please submit details to
Air Mechanics 3320 Northridge Grand Junction CO 81506
30 JANUARY 1988
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
Youve borrowed a buddys airshyplane to fly the family to a reshymote grass landing strip for a weekend of camping The weather is warm and the great outdoors beckons Life doesnt get much better But what if your flight doesnt go as planned A VEMCO wants you to be a protected pilot Beshyfore you fly a borrowed rented or flying club airplane call AVEMCO for the best aviation insurance available In most cases the owners inshysurance protects him not you If you have an accident it is probshyable that you will be sued and suffer financial loss (attorneys fees court costs judgments and more) AVEMCO however can help you protect yourself against potential financial loss Deal direct with AVEMCO Youll avoid time and confusion while taking advantage of rates that are among the most competitive in the industry We can even bind your insurance right over the phone Be a protected pilot Call AVEMCO today toll-free
