Vintage Airplane - Jun 2008

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jun 2008

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2/44

G OFF

RO ISON

PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATON

Keeping

ahead

of

the

government

It

is

difficult for me to believe that

it's June already. A lot has been going

on in Oshkosh since I last spoke with

you in the May Straight Level.

We

held our spring Vintage

Aircraft Associ-

ation board of directors meetings in late

April

and

all

went

well

in conducting

our routine business of the association.

The week

was

a difficult one for all

of us when just days before

we

learned

of the sad news regarding the deathof

one of our most distinguished board

members, Dean

Richardson.

Dean

served

as

the chairman of the Classic

Aircraft Judging Committee

at

Osh

kosh for many years. Dean also served

as

our chief judge of the Vintage

Air-

craft Association,

and

served honor

ably and with great distinction on

EM's Judging Committee in Oshkosh.

Dean was the commensurate pro

fessional. He always offered up a real

touch of class by professionally en

gaging himself in the "business" of

the

association.

t

is this

involve-

ment from Dean that will be dearly

missed. When I attended the services

for Dean, I was

not

surprised to learn

just

how

deeply

he

was involved in

has seemingly eliminated any oppor

tunity

to

locally

purchase ethanol-

free auto fuel. There are a

number

of

antique

aircraft owners

who

live in

the

Northwest who apparently can

no longer

fly

their aircraft simply be

cause of

the

lack of fuel. This of course

is

nothing short of catastrophic to our

movement. t

affects

owners

who

make a living with

their

aircraft, as

well as those of us who enjoy flight

as an

avocation.

Be

assured that

our

many

soldiers in the industry and reg-

ulatory affairs department

at

EAA in

conjunction with support from your

Vintage Aircraft Association, will con

tinue the battle and engage ourselves

on the front lines of this important

issue. The time has come that we

need

to

engage ourselves

wherever

and

whenever the necessity arises

to

get this issue addressed in a fashion

that

is

fair and equitable for all con

stituents. EM/VAA need to continue

to

communicate our

position at

ev

ery level of government and industry

to

provide resolution

to this

critical

threat to our way of life and leisure.

Our leadership inside the beltway

ment funding that will be available to

our local airfields. This Band-Aid ap

proach

is

likely to continue until the

leadership

sees fit

to do the right thing

and end the debate.

When

this issue of

Vintage Airplane

hits your mailbox, we will be

down

to

SO-some days before AirVenture

Oshkosh. It's still

not

too late to begin

your planning

to

attend the World's

Greatest Aviation Celebration. Where

else

in the world can you find

so

much aviation

innovation

right at

your fingertips? Start your planning

by visiting www AirVenture org

The sights and sounds of this event

will mesmerize all in attendance. f

you have never attended, it

is

difficult

to

describe what happens at AirVen

ture each year. It

is

where everybody

engaged in aviation worldwide wants

to

be in July of each year.

You

have

to see it to believe it. You've got to be

there. f you haven t already viewed

the

Oshkosh: The Spirit

o

Aviation

video presentation recently released

by the EAA

go

to www AirVenture

org/2008/news/080214_video html

This video does an excellent job of

http:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp://www.airventure/http:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp://www.airventure/


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J U

N

E

VOL 36, NO 6

2 8

CONTENTS

IFe

Straight Level

Keeping ahead

of the government

by Geoff Robison

2 News

5 2008 Sun

n

Fun Fly-In Awards

6 Sun In Fun 2008

Rising to the challenge

by H.G. Frautschy

5

Flying the irecracker

Cross-country

in

a closed-course racer

by Pat Halloran

8

A Family Heirloom Finds a New

Home

The Meredith family

by Budd Davisson

4

KZ

II

Kupe

A Danish delight

by Norm Petersen

6

Light Plane Heritage

Hey, Mister, Your Prop s Broken! The history and theory

of

the Everel

prop

by Bob Whittier

33

The Vintage

Instructor

Quit Stallin'

by Doug Stewart

36

Mystery Plane

by H.G. Frautschy

STAFF

EAA Publisher

Director of

EAA Publications

Executive Director/Editor

EAA Art

Director

Tom Poberezny

David Hipschman

H.G.

Frautschy

Olivia

P Trabbold


4/44

FAA

Reauthorization: White

House

Threatens Veto,

Bill

Stalled

in

Senate

Just when it seemed the FAA Re-

authorization legislation

(HR

2881)

was coming together-without user

fees-White House officials threat

ened a presidential veto if user fees

were left out.

A Statement of

Administration

Policy issued by

the

Bush Admin

istration on April 29, states,

If

the

President is presented with a bill that

excludes the critical reforms pro

posed by the Administration . . . his

senior advisors would recommend

that he veto it.

On May 6, the Senate failed to act

on

HR

2881, despite a compromise

reached between the Senate Finance

and Commerce committees, thereby

forcing the FAA to continue operat

ing on a continuing resolution

that

will expire on June 30, 2008.

That

compromise eliminated the admin

istration's proposed $25 user fee for

instrument

flight rules

(IFR)

flights

that caused widespread opposition

in the general aviation community.

The compromise also reportedly

would maintain excise taxes for fund

ing

the

FAA and the aviation trust

fund

,

with an

increase in general

aviation jet fuel taxes from 21.8 cents

per gallon to 36 cents but

no

increase

in the avgas (l00LL) tax. This could

mean extended

and

protracted con

tinuing resolutions, leaving

unre

solved the questions of user

fees and

April, and the conclusion has been

largely favorable . We've received

a steady

stream

of

correspondence

from EAA members asking ques

tions and sharing thoughts about

the

proposed rule revisions, said

Earl Lawrence, EAA vice president

of industry and

regulatory

affairs.

The

feedback has been generally

agreeable, with the recognition that

the

collective revisions aim to better

align

the

sport pilot and light-sport

aircraft regulations with traditional

pilot certificates and ratings.

For a complete listing of

pro

posed changes, visit www.EAA.org/

news/2008/2008 04 24Jevisions.asp.

EAA

members

are encouraged

to

submit comments

to the

FAA,

copy

ing EAA as well.

Send

copies

to

govt@eaa org To submit

comments

to the FAA, visit www.

Regulations

.gov

and

enter Document ID FAA-2007

29015-0001. Deadline for submis

sion is August 13, 2008.

Third

EAA

Chapter

Leaders

Academy Held

More

than

two dozen EAAers from

throughout

North America were in

Oshkosh

in

mid-April for

the

third

EAA Chapter Leaders Academy.

Participants discussed a wide range

of chapter-centered

topiCS,

including

recruitment, programs, and fundrais

ing,

and

conducted focus group ses

sions regarding chapter websites

and

EAA s new student membership. The

feedback was overwhelmingly posi

2009.

Chapter

leaders interested in

attending a future academy should

contact

the

EAA

chapter

office

at

chapters@eaa org

EAA AirVenture

Oshkosh:

An Annual Aviation

Homecomin

g

Aviation enthusiasts from more

than 60 nations are preparing

to

come home next month home

to

the annual

family reunion

that

is

the

56th EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

Like every year,

the

excitement is

building as we prepare to welcome

the

world to Oshkosh once again,

said Tom Poberezny, EAA president.

Among the confirmed highlights

for AirVenture 2008, July 28-August 3:

•

More

than

2,500 show

p lanes - f rom vintage

models

to

ultralights-including

nearly

1,000

homebuilt

aircraft.

The F-22 Raptors and the Good

year blimp return.

• Rocket Racing League exhibi

tion races as well as the Nemesis NXT

Speed Blast world-record attempt.

• Warbirds in Review programs,

with historic aircraft and personali

ties, pyrotechniCS,

and fly-bys.

•

NASA s 50th

anniversary

with

aircraft on display

and

special pre

sentations.

•

The

newest

innovations from

more than 800 exhibitors.

Learn more about

EAA

AirVenture

Oshkosh 2008

at

www AirVenture

.org.

FBOs Provide

Fuel

Discounts

for

http:///reader/full/www.EAA.orgmailto:[email protected]:///reader/full/www.Regulations.govhttp:///reader/full/www.Regulations.govhttp:///reader/full/www.Regulations.govhttp:///reader/full/www.Regulations.govhttp:///reader/full/www.Regulations.govmailto:[email protected]:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.EAA.orgmailto:[email protected]:///reader/full/www.Regulations.govmailto:[email protected]:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.org


5/44

to participate

in

this program, send

your information

and

special offers

to [email protected].

Get Your

2008

EAA

AirVenture

NOTAM

The EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh

2008 Notice

To

Airmen

(NOTAM) is

required reading

and an

important

part

of

your

preflight

preparation.

The

NOTAM

outlines all arrival/de

parture procedures, radio frequencies,

Wittman

Regional Airport details,

and much more. There are updates

in

nearly every area to

enhance

safety,

effiCiency,

and convenience.

You can download the

NOTAM

from

the EAA

AirVenture website at

www AirVenture org/2008/flying/2008_

notam pdf

Special flight procedures

are

in

effect for

Wittman

Regional

Airport

and

alternate airports from 6

a.m.

CDT on Friday,

July 25, to 11:59

p.m.

CDT on

Sunday, August

3,

2008.

EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh runs from

July 28-August 3. For a copy of

the

printed booklet, call 800-564-6322.

One-of-a-Kind Restored

Boeing

40

Flying

to

AirVenture

Addison Pemberton s restored

Boe-

ing 40C, created from the ruins of an

airplane lost in an accident 80 years

ago, will be

on

display at AirVenture

2008. Pemberton,

EAA

154948, Spo

kane, Washington, resurrected the

air-

plane using parts from the original

as

well

as

another 40C from Alaska. Look

for

the airplane in the Vintage aircraft

parking area across from the Vintage

Aircraft Association s

Red

Barn.

The Boeing Model 40 was a state

sion

of

an airworthiness

directive

(AD) concerning

the

lower wing strut

attach

fitting (part number

A-All

for Taylorcraft

A, B, and

F series air

planes. The AD,

number 2008-09-18,

finalizes

proposed

FAA

AD

2008

0177, calling for a one-time inspec

tion

of

the

attach fitting for aircraft

based

on

land,

and

a repetitive in

spection

for

seaplanes and

those

aircraft equipped with skis. The effec

tive date of

the

AD is

June

6,

2008.

The

AD

is

the

result of

an

inves

tigation into

the

cause

of

the

fatal

crash last August of a float-equipped

Taylorcraft BF-12-65. The

FAA

states

in

its findings

that the

aircraft suf

fered a corrosion-related failure

of

the

lower wing strut attach fitting.

In their comments

to

the

FAA

con

cerning

the

proposed

AD,

EAA

and

its Vintage Aircraft Association,

and

four

other

commenters, pOinted

out

that

the

Taylorcraft fuselage structure

is

composed of welded steel

tubing

and

flat plate fittings.

That type of

structure

is

well

within the

scope of

repair practice for

an

airframe and

powerplant

(A P)

mechanic experi

enced

in

maintaining aircraft of

that

vintage.

EAA

and

VAA commented

that

it is

reasonable

to

expect an

experienced

mechanic to

have suf

ficient information

and

means avail

able

to

rebuild

the

fitting area

with

guidance from

AC

43.13-1B.

In the final rule,

the FAA

agreed

that

repair of

the

Taylorcraft fuselage

welded structure

is

within

the

scope

of repair criteria

and

guidance pro

vided

in AC

43.13-1B.

As

a result,

the

FAA added language

in

paragraph

(e)

Upcoming

Major

Ay-Ins

Golden West Regional Fly In

Yuba County Airport Myv),

Marysville, California

June 6-8, 2008

www.GoldenWestFlyln.org

Virginia Regional Fly In

Suffolk Executive Airport SFQ),

Suffolk, Virginia

June 14-15, 2008

www. VAEAA.org

Arlington Northwest Fly In

Arlington Municipal Airport

AWO),

Arlington, Washington

July 9-13, 2008

www.NWEAA.org

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

Wittman Regional Airport OSH),

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

July 28-August 3, 2008

www.AirVenture.org

Mid Eastern Regional Fly In

Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport MFD),

Mansfield, Ohio

TBD

.MERFI.info

Southeast Regional Fly In

Middleton Field Airport GZH),

Evergreen, Alabama

TBD

www.SERFI.org

Rocky Mountain Regional Fly In

New Date)

Front Range Airport FTG), Denver

Watkins), Colorado

September 19-21, 2008

Copperstate Regional Fly In

Casa Grande Municipal Airport CGZ),

Casa Grande, Arizona

October 23-26, 2008

.Copperstate.org

U.S. Sport Aviation Expo

Sebring Regional Airport SEF),

Sebring, Florida

mailto:[email protected]://www.airventure.org/2008/flying/2008http:///reader/full/www.GoldenWestFlyln.orghttp:///reader/full/VAEAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.NWEAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp://www.merfi.info/http://www.merfi.info/http://www.merfi.info/http://www.merfi.info/http:///reader/full/www.SERFI.orghttp:///reader/full/www.SERFI.orghttp:///reader/full/www.SERFI.orghttp:///reader/full/www.Copperstate.orghttp:///reader/full/www.Copperstate.orgmailto:[email protected]://www.airventure.org/2008/flying/2008http:///reader/full/www.GoldenWestFlyln.orghttp:///reader/full/VAEAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.NWEAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp://www.merfi.info/http:///reader/full/www.SERFI.orghttp:///reader/full/www.Copperstate.org


6/44

2008-4-09, removed the eddy current

inspection

process

and

added a ra

diographic inspection method, with

modifications

to

the inspection in

terval as a result of those changes.

New

rctic and

Interstate Type Club

The

Arctic

Interstate

League

TAIL) dropped us a

note

telling us

it is up

and

running, and looking for

members. It looks forward

to

bring

ing together owners, pilots, mechan

ics, factory personnel, historians, and

interested enthusiasts. Its goals are:

1.

An aircraft locator

that

has

a

picture of each airplane or

project

with the most updated contact infor

mation

for the owners (more up

to

date

than

the FAA

database).

2.

A repository for blueprints

and

technical data

on the

airplanes

that

can be shared by the membership.

3. A listing of

FAA

Form 337s for

major repairs

and

major alterations

on the airplanes

to

be used

by

the

membership

as

a basis for obtaining

future field approvals.

4. A parts locator

service-wants

and

disposals for Interstate/Arctic

parts and/or services.

5. Any historical

data

or stories

about

Interstate airplanes,

pilots,

builders,

and

mechanics

to

preserve

the history for future generations.

It will initially support its efforts

with T-shirt sales,

and

to keep costs

down and avoid charging dues, it'll

send a quarterly newsletter via the

Internet. For further information or

input, attend the

first

membership

meeting; time and place to be posted

Dean Richardson

after serving a

number

of years as a

volunteer

in classic judging,

Dean

was elected

to the

board

as

a director

in

1994,

and he

lent his expertise

in

a variety of positions

and

served as

the

chairman of

the VAA

Past Grand

Champion

Reunion for eight years.

At Dean's

memorial

service, his

daughter, Erin, reminded

us

of

Dean's love for anything with spark

plugs. His last airplane project was

one

of

those

oh,

wow airplanes.

Already a

good airplane when he

bought it,

Dean's eye

for

the

de

tails that mattered

made

that 1966

Cessna 180

the

best of

the

bunch.

Dean's contributions to

the

board

went well beyond

his judging

ex

pertise. Dean's professional career

spanned

47 years

at

Research Prod

ucts Corporation (you know it best

as the maker of the Aprilaire series

of

home

heating

and

cooling system

products)

in Madison, Wisconsin,

Dennis R. Trone

Dennis

R.

Trone

1930 2008

EAA

584,

VAA

9214

Raised in Rushville, Illinois,

Denny

Trone graduated from

the

United

States Naval Academy

in

1954, and

he

married

Elizabeth

Fi-

ala

that

same year. He later gradu

ated from

the Naval

Postgraduate

School and spent

a

total of nine

years as a

naval

officer.

Denny and h i s young r

brother

and

best

friend, Robert

(Moon), bought

a

half-interest

in

the Dubuque Boat and

Boiler

Company.

Over

a 10-year

period,

many boats

were

built, includ

ing the riverboat

alisman

and

steamboat Julia Belle Swain After

the excursion boat wilight was

built, the business

was

moved to

Galena, Illinois.

In

2006, Denny

sold

his

riverboat

business

and

intended to

retire so he

could

de

vote

more time

to his enjoyment


7/44

2008

Sun

n

Fun

Fly In

Awards

ANTIQUE Before Aug. 31, 1945

Best Cabin Antique

1938 Beech F17B Staggerwing,

N49301

David Keith, Ocala, Florida

Best Silver Age

1929 Curtiss Robin,

N781

M

Richard Epton, Brooks, Georgia

Outstanding Transport Category

1936 Lockheed 12A, N2072

Joseph Shepherd, Fayetteville, Georgia

Best Custom Built

1940

Waco UPF

-7, N2

990

9

Hobby Hill Aviation, Weirsdale,

Flo

ri

da

Outstanding Custom Built

1943 L-5 Stinson, N5015N

Vincent Grosso, Oak Hill, Florida

CLASSIC Sept. 1 , 1945, to Dec.

31

, 1955

Grand Champion

1952 Cessna

195

N1571D

Stan Sweikar, Dameron, Maryland

Best Custom Classic over

165 hp

1947 Cessna 195 N4395N

Calvin Valerie Arter, Mulberry, Florida

Best Custom Classic 0-100

hp

1949 Cessna 140A, N9489A

Janeen and Dennis Kochan, Winter Haven, Fl orida

Outstanding Classic Aircraft

1946

Globe Swift, N37

29

K

Steven Roth , Madison Virginia

Outstanding Classic Aircra

ft

1948

Cessna

195

N195KR

Richard Kizer, Grottoes, Virginia

Outstanding Classic Aircraft

1948

Cessna 170, N4252V

Daniel Wood, Newman , Georgia

CONTEMPOR RY Jan. 1, 1956, to Dec. 31, 1970

Best Contemporary

1956 Meyers 145

N34379

Janeen and Dennis Kochan, Winter Haven, Florida

Outstanding

in

Type

1962

Saab 91D, N91SB

Lars De Jounge, Vero Be ach,

Fl

orida

Outstanding

in

Type

1960

Cessna 172A, N7502T

Chip Davis, Apex, North Carolina

Outstanding

in

Type

1960

Piper Comanche

25

0, N64

55

P

W. Lee Hussey II, Martinsville, Vi rginia

Best Custom

1957 Cessna

172 N8377B

Bob Schaeffer, Tyron, North Carolina


8/44

T

he demanding weather conditions that

greeted volunteers and attendees for

the

2 8 ed

ition of the

Sun

'n Fun

Fly- In at Lakeland, Florida, were cer

tainly the most challenging in recent

memory,

and

I'm sure it

won

't surprise you to

learn that the volunteers who were respon sible


9/44

Flightline Operations o-

chairman Don McLendon

drives a huge roller over

the Vintage parking area

The rains of

the

previous week

made it impossible for the Sun 'n

Fun volunteers to cut the grass,

and the 4-1/2 inches

of

rain on

Sunday night made the grounds so

soggy, airplanes couldn t be

taxied

over the sodden turf.


10/44

Left: Willie Ropp s prewar Aeronca

Chief on Edo

floats

was flown for

many years

on

Michigan s Drum

mond Island; recently restored , i t

now makes its home in Florida.

Below: The sparkling interior

of

Willie s prewar Chief.

PHOTOS H G FRAUTSCHY

The Larson family stands

next

to

its

one-of-a-kind

Cessna Airmaster mounted

on Wipline amphibious


11/44

The Sun n un grounds

on

Friday, April 11

PHOTOS H G FRAUTSCHY


12/44

The 1947 Piper

PA-l l of Island

Seaplanes in

. r ~ ~ ; ~ Crescent City,

Florida, sits with

its floats resting

on

the

sandy shore

of Lake Agnes, ad-

jacent to Fantasy

of Flight.

PHOTOS H.G. FRAUTSCHY

Above: The interior of

the J 4E

is

stock

right up

to the

vertical float-

type fuel gauge

sticking

out from


13/44

Above: Willie Ropp s Curtiss-Wright

Travel Air biplane (winner of last .

year s Best Aoatplane Fabric sea-

plane award) is pulled tails-up to the

shoreline with the Larson family s

Cessna Airmaster, which is mounted

on

amphibious Wipline floats.

This fine-looking 1959 Cessna 150

has been converted to a tailwheel

airplane. When converted,

it

seems

easier to see the Cessna 140 heri

tage the 150 shares. George Jones

of Princeton, Kentucky, owns 93E.


14/44

Tim Kirby

of

Ocala, Florida, is

the pilot;owner

of

this award

winning Boeing-Stearman

N2S-3.

It

was the Grand

Champion Antique in

2001.

The immaculate engine

compartment

of

Tim Kirby s Stearman.

Left: Julian Macqueen s

1943

Grumman G-44

is a sharp-looking McDermott conversion

to

a pair

of

265-hp Continental 1

0-470

engines.

The airframe was restored in

the

United King

dom, with

the

finish

work

completed in the

United States. Julian bases

the

Grumman in

Pensacola, Florida.


15/44

The winner of an

Outstanding Classic

Aircraft award was

this highly polished

1948

Cessna 170

Dan Wood

is

the

hardworking owner/

pilot of 52V.

PHOTOS H.G. FR UTSCHY


16/44


17/44

Gen. Pat Halloran taxis

in

with the replica Keith Rider R 4 Schoenfeldt Firecracker t the end

of his long cross country from

E

headquarters

in

Oshkosh.

lying

the

Firecracker

Gross country

in a

c o s ~ d o

u r

s ~

r c ~ r

L

ast

summer

a newly built

replica of

a

1930s air

racer made an appear

ance at

the annual

Osh

kosh air show. t was

called

the Schoenfeldt

Firecracker;

the original had been

a famous

winner in

a series

of National

Air

Race contests.

I t

was

flown by

a

young

Tony LeVier, later

to

become

one

of

Lockheed s most

famous

Y

PAT HALLORAN

but they

are rare, so we used com

ponents

from three inverted Ranger

200-hp engines

to

build up a beau

tiful

and

superbly

running

engine.

Tony

had

flown

the

original to 300

mph, and

I've

had the

replica close

to 200 mph.

I cruise

the plane at

about 175

mph true

airspeed

and

it

burns

9-10 gallons

per

hour.

We

have 40 gallons of gas, so it has rea

sonable cross-country

capability.

in

an

attempt

to keep

the

ball some

place

near the

center. Any distrac

tion

in

the

cockpit, such as folding

a

map

or making frequency changes

in the

radio

(of course, it's

on the

floor),

is

cause for great excitement.

At

the conclusion

of

E

Air

Venture Oshkosh I decided to leave

the

plane there

and then

to

fly

it

to

the

Sun

n

Fun Fly-In

at

Lakeland,

Florida,

in

the spring. t the

end


18/44

he irecracker provides a nice centerpiece for the Friday night Florida

Sport Aviation Antique and Classic Association (FSAACA) dinner. Held just

prior to the night air show, there s always a nice turnout for the dinner.

fixed-base

op

erator at Tullahoma

was a classmate

of mine

from Avia

tion

Cadet Class 50-E from

my

days

in the Air Force.

The

next

leg took me to Eufaula,

Alabama, and weather again forced

an overnight stay. This

happened

to be the home of one

of my

early

U-2/SR-71

pilot buddies, so an

other

free

bed and

breakfast

were

offered

to

me. The

next morning

I

was able to finally

head out on the

last leg to Lakeland,

but thunder

storms

in

northern

Florida required

climbing the

little racer

to 11,000

feet

to

get

around

some

of

the

fast

bu

ilding

storms.

Too

much rain

just

before

the

fly-in

had

soaked

the

grounds,

closing off entire

ar

eas for

parking

on

Monday

. When

I arrived at

about

2:00 in the after

noon I found

myself making the

controlled

entry procedures all by

the conventional

go

fast

, turn

left

patterns involved

in

closed

course racing. Anyway, I headed

for

Apalachicola,

Florida, for my

first

stop

and spent the night with

an old U-2 buddy, the guy who dis-

It has a

~ r y

small tail and is

as dynamically

u n s t b l ~ as

anything

I v ~

~ v ~ r flown.

Theresa Airport

in New Mexico,

just west

of

El Paso, Texas. This was

the

worst

leg

of the whole flight

,

as

turbu

lence was extreme

at

every

flight level, and small, light planes

aren't much fun in such

condi

tions. It was also

the

l

ocation of the

toughest

l

anding, as

winds were 30

knots, gusts

to

45,

at

30 degrees

to

the runway. It 's

the

gusts

that get

you

in a light plane The

next day

I flew a

comfortable

flight

to

Tuc

son, where

I spent

the

night with

myoId

SR-71 instructor

pilot;

then

I flew into Riverside, California, for

the delivery.

Shortly after finishing the

plane

I modified it by

putting

a small

"

lipstick

camera under the nose

and

a sma ll video

screen

in the

cockpit to help me see where I was

going during

takeoff

and

land

ing, or in an emergency. t is also

great for

tax

iing.

The

main reason

I did that was

because

I was con

cerned abou t eventually having

to land on the 50-foot-wide run

way

at

Flabob. I

would

never have

been ab le to make that approach

with

any

confidence

without the

camera.

You

can't slip

this

plane

with

that

tiny

tail

or it will snap

on you

(I

discovered that little sur

prise

at

10,000

feet one day), so a

straight-in

approach

is pretty

stan

dard

. A constantly

turning

Navy

sty

le approach

on

a

wide runway

also

works

fine.

As

I

turned

final

at

Flabob

that

last flight,

I

had

a

beautiful view of the

full

runway

and an inviting

centerline .

God

bless

that

camera

I t

was

a

fascinating and

chal


19/44

KNAPP

T

Be

sure

and

visit AU

A,

Inc., at Ai rVenture

July 28th

through August 3rd, 2008.

They

are in

South

East

Exhibit

Building B Booth# B-2005.

ce


20/44


21/44


22/44


23/44

Once the carcass was

rescued

from oblivion, decisions had to be

made

as

to how

they

were going to

do the restoration. A cabin biplane

of

any

kind

is

an enormous

proj

ect

both because

of

its

sheer

size

and

the

complexity of

much

of

the

woodwork

and other components.

I t

was

too big

for Ted

to handle

alone, so

he

farmed it

out to

a series

of restoration shops.

Among

the

features that

fur

ther complicate

a

restoration

like

the

UEC

are

the wraparound

windows

in

the back,

which

Waco

literature of the

time

says were in

cluded so passengers used

to

being

able to "look

around

while flying"

wouldn't feel cooped up after being

used to open-cockpit airplanes. The

framing was

wood and quite

frag

ile, so virtually

none

of

those

orig

inal airplanes made

it to

modern

times with

the

framing intact.

Troy says, "We

were

lucky, as

the

wood was all there but

in

really

poor condition, but

we still

could

use it for patterns."

Those first cabin Wacos were an

who

could afford airplanes

prob

ably

drove to

the airport

in their

Packard limo or

Duesenberg,

and

they expected similar surround

ings

in their

airplanes.

Waco's re

sponse

to that

was

to

design a

new

fuselage for its

sprightly

F-2

open

cockpit biplane

that

could

easily

accommodate

four

people-

five if

those in

the

back were smaller

than

FAA standard

size,

which many in

the

'30s

were. Since

the

majority

of

the

country

still

depended on

dirt and

gravel roads, or trains, for

transportation,

the

115-120 mph

cruise of the

new

cabin birds

made

them

wildly practical for those

who

had

to be someplace else

in

a hurry.

However,

since

those first Waco

cabin biplanes

were

based on the

F-2

they

inherited

the

F-2's friendly

nature and

ability to get

in and out

of

short

strips with a load.

That

was

to make them popular

with rural

bush

operators,

sportsmen pilots,

as

well as companies.

Katie remembers, "Even

though

Ted was getting sick,

he

remained ex

cited

and an

integral part of

the

res

ric for the interior.

He

was involved

in the tiniest details right up to

the

end. From

the

dog-eared magazines,

(we) were able to piece together

the

color scheme after he was gone."

Troy

continues,

He

was

as

hands-on

as

he could

be,

consid

ering

the

airplane actually went

through

two restoration shops

and

a

number

of subcontractors

for

specialty services. For instance,

he

wanted

the

panel

to be a specific

type of wood, and he

was a really

good

woodworker. So

he went up

to

a

wood house and

came

back

with

a

big

piece

of exotic

veneer.

Then he researched the various

methods of vacuum

forming

the

wood to

the panel and sat down

and did it himself.

So,

when you

look

at the

panel, that

is

Ted Mer

edith's own craftsmanship.

At

the

same time, most of

the

instruments

are

the

originals

that

we

had

over

hauled,

and the comm and

tran

sponder

are

the tiny

Becker units

in

original holes and you

hardly no

tice

them.

The

fuselage itself

had not only

been ridden

hard,

but the years and

the elements hadn't

been

good

to

it.

Troy says,

We

wound

up replac

ing at

least 25 to

30 percent of the

tubing

because of

rust and

damage.

I f

there

was

any

doubt, we

simply

took

it out and put


24/44

tern)

.

However,

sometime right

after World War

II

when 220-hp

W-670s from Stearman PT-17s were

a dime a dozen,

the

airplane was

converted, and when Ted brought

the airplane

home

that's the engine

that was on it.

The engine

only

had 400

hours' total

t ime

on it,

Troy

says, so we sent it down to Saun

ders Aircraft

in Mustang,

Okla

homa,

to have

i t overhauled.

At

the same

time,

we

replaced

the

original fixed-pitch Curtiss Reed

prop that had

been

shortened too

much with

a

Hamilton Standard

ground-adjustable unit.

None of the sheet metal

on

the

airplane could be used for anything

other

than

patterns,

and

that in

cluded

the

cowling.

The

landing

gear was rebuilt

with

newly manufactured parts,

and

the

old

mechanical

brakes and wheels

were replaced with

more

modern ,

more

easily

supported 10-inch

Cleveland units controlled with

toe brakes, rather

than

the original

Johnson bar. At the same time,

they

installed a lock

on the

original tail

wheel and used the Johnson bar as

a tail wheel lock control. Because

this was to be a heavily flown air

plane, reliability

and

safety were

constantly

on

Ted's mind, so these

small deviations from original were

deemed necessary for the mission.

The same

concern

for safety

and

consistency led the Meredith team to

replace all

the

old wood in

the

wings,

rather

than

try to save some of it.

It was all 70 years old, and it didn't

try to

be

traditional and put dope

over cotton or linen . This way the

finish and fabric

wouldn't

be a fac

tor in the airplane's usability.

After more than six years, the

airplane was barely finished in time

to make its debut

at

EAA

AirVen

ture Oshkosh 2007, and as

would

be expected, it

was

an instant

hit

and took home the Silver Age Run

ner-Up award. Then in a stunning

display of generosity, Katie offi

cially handed over the airplane to

Tom Poberezny and EAA during the

Memorial Wall

ceremony

on

the

last day of AirVenture.

Katie says, Ted

and

I

had been

going to Oshkosh for years, and he

had been

on

the President's Coun

cil, so his idea of making

the

air

plane

part of the EAA was natural.


25/44


26/44

KZ

Kupe

A Danish delight

BY

NORM PETERSEN

Designed

in 1937 by

two Danish

aircraft

design-

ers, Viggo Kramme

and

Karl

Zeuthen KZ II Kupe Oscar

Yankee-AEA was the last of 13

in AEA


27/44

Lead and above: These

factory photographs are

of

the last

of

the 13 aircraft that were built.

Only

three survive today.

Two

are in

Denmark

and one

is in Switzerland.

One - -

_

is registered

as OY

-

AEAj

the other

Dan

ish

KZ

II is

OY-DHK

serial number 23

owned

by

the

Simon

Scott family.

Havilland Gipsy Minor rated

at

90

hp . From Sweden the aircraft was

sold to Finland, and from there it

came

back

to Denmark, where a

Danish

antique

airplane collection

owns it. The aircraft

is once

again

registered

as

OY

-

E

in

Denmark.

Well,

for

fabric-covered

airplanes, anyway .. we

got

the

idea from Ponce.

It's called rejuvenation, and itworks great with real

dope

finishes. Spray

our

rejuvenator over aged dope;

it soaks

in

and restores flexibility for years of

added


28/44

Light Plane Heritage

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED N E Experimenter NOVEMBER 994

Hey,

Mister,

Your Prop's Broken!

The history and theory

o

the Everel prop

BY

BOB

WHITIIER

Left: Nose of the author's Taylor E 2 Cub photographed

in

the early 1960s Several flights were made to evalu

ate the Everel prop's performance. It was concluded that it was fairly good, but fell short of being spectacular.

At right: With the 40-hp Continental engine idling,

you

can clearly see

the

blur created

by

the counterweight

that replaces the missing blade.

At

any

large fly-in,

in the

ultra

light

section,

one

will see

an

ap

preciable number

of three-bladed

propellers.

And over in the war

birds

section, props

having from

three to

five

blades

are so

numer

sible

It'd

be all

out

of

balance "

But

as

a

matter of fact,

back

in 1937 and 1938

a

one-bladed

propeller

was on

the market and

quite

widely advertised and publi

cized

in aviation

magazines. Ask a

the family names

of

a

very

good

propeller

engineer named Walter

W.

Everts

and his partner, Frank

Ellington. It

was

manufactured in

fair

numbers and

sold

to

owners

of

the model J 2

Taylor Cubs

then in

ous conclusion. Actually, because


29/44

it was based on a quite

sophisti

cated

and

therefore expensive hub

machined

out of steel, the Everel

sold for

what

was for its time a

rather high price. s nearly as can

be ascertained today,

the

price was

around 225 and

that

was a lot

more

than the

35

that

Cub own

ers were accustomed to

paying

for

the

new

Sensenich two-blader.

The

Everel was ,a good

demon

stration of

the

truth

of the state

ment

that

there

is always more

than

one

way

to do

something.

Its story is but one of many about

clever and enterprising

people

who, although

now forgotten,

contributed in some way to

the

progress of light-aircraft design.

It's also a demonstration of the

fact that we can all look at some

thing

for a

long time without

be

coming aware of significant facts

incorporated in it. To look at an

Everel, for example, it would take

you

quite

a while to finally

notice

that its single blade is 3 inches

longer than either

blade

of a stock

69-inch two-bladed propeller on a

40-hp Cub.

But those extra 3 inches out at

the

Everel blade's tip resulted in

a swept circle 6 inches greater in

diameter

than that

of the

two

blader. This means

that the

Everel

threw back a

significantly

larger

column of air. And that's what

gives a plane its get-up-and-go.

Anyone having a fair amount of

technical knowledge will quickly

object

that

that's a neat theory but

also a technical pitfall, because the

Above: Note the changed positions of the squarish metal cheeks th t

ride

on

the main hub s trunnions. This was the basis for the Everel s abil-

ity to change blade pitch. Below: s seen from the end like this, the tip of

the blade could swing forward or backward approximately 3 inches. Due

to the angle given to the trunnions, this resulted in change of pitch.

the blades

and

then obviously the

full 40 hp is available to drive the

remaining one.

To keep the engine from over

speeding as a result of all 40 hp

going

into the

one

remaining

blade,

the thing

to

do

would

be

to lengthen

it by 3 inches. s the

outer

parts of a blade travel faster

tie in order to struggle

up

to cruis

ing altitude of around 1,000 feet.

When a fast-turning two

bladed propeller pulls along a

relatively

slow pace, a situation

exists in which one

blade

works

in air that has been disturbed

by the other

one. Neither blade

then

works well, because its airfoil


30/44

Left: During the propeller s development stage

in

1937, test pilot Arthur S. Pierce flew this

J 2

Cub 3 , miles

across the United States. This early model of the Everel shown had a cylindrical counterweight and rather bu lky

hub , both of which caused air resistance. The production model was smoother looking. Right: A larger version

of this prop was tried out on a Warner-powered Cessna four-seater.

sign

shortcomings

, but

these

were

soon rectified. The

Continental

A-40 came along just in

time

to be

the engine e.G . Taylor needed to

make his

new E 2 Cub

a successful

design . By 1934 and 1935 the low

priced and tractable but boxy-look

ing Taylor Cub E 2 was selling well

for those times . Created in 1936

by giving the E-2's basic structure

a restyling job, the

much

cleaner

looking J-2 began to sell very well.

I t offered safe, economical flying

for a population still hurting in the

wallet from the lingering Great De

pression of

the

1930s.

Word got around that other air

plane firms were

developing

light

planes to

get in

on

this

growing

market.

This was

observed

with

keen interest by the propeller ex

fast, they got pretty hot, and cyl

inder wall

scoring

became a

com

mon problem. Everts saw this as

the opportunity for which he had

been looking.

We have already

pointed

out

two

advantages of the single-blade

idea. But, i

one

blade were to be

sawn off a

standard

wooden pro

peller and replaced with a coun

terweight ,

the

resulting crude

one-blader

would balance all right

on a balancing stand. That is to

say, it would be in static balance.

But in actual flight all of the thrust

would

be

generated

by

the

one

re

maining blade. Assuming the cen

ter of thrust would be acting a

couple

of feet

out

from the

hub,

the propeller shaft

and

its support

bearings

would

be subjected to

tach the

blade

and

mate

with

these

trunnions.

In other

words,

the blade had what we can call a

floating

attachment .

Centrifugal force

acting

on

both

the blade and its counterweight

created a sort

of

seesaw setup,

such that the propeller

shaft

expe

rienced only a pull

acting

straight

forward on its centerline . This

spared the

shaft

and

bearings from

the aforementioned

punishment

.

You'd assume these trunnions

to

be

positioned

at 90 degrees

to

the propeller blade . And here we

come to an

impressive

example

of

engineering

brilliance. Ev

erts

located the

trunnions

quite differ

ently. Assume that you are stand

ing in front of a Cub fitted with

an

Everel prop

and

l

ooking

directly

and backward

on

the tip. You will

ably reducing bending moments

ment about the

propeller center


31/44

see

that it has

a range of

move

ment of

about

3 inches. And then

it will strike

you

hard Due

to

the

aforementioned

positioning

of

the

trunnions

and thus

of the piv

oting

axis,

you

will see

that

as you

move the

tip this

way, the blade

pitch

changes

The Everel was in fact a propeller

that changed pitch automatically

in response

to

changes in

engine

and

airplane speed,

and thus to

centrifugal force and blade

thrust.

With the engine running at

full

throttle

upon

beginning

a takeoff

run, the blade

went

into low

pitch

to

provide good acceleration. Dur

ing climb-out,

the throttle

would

still be

open

wide, or at least almost

so, but the

plane s

forward

speed

would be greater. The blade then

assumed an

intermediate

pitch

well suited for good climb. Once at

cruising altitude the

engine

would

be throttled

to

cruising rpm,

and as

the

plane gained speed upon being

trimmed

for level l i g h ~ the blade

went into high pitch for best pos

sible cruising speed.

The paragraphs which follow are

taken from

an

article that Mr. Everts

wrote for

the

September 1937 issue

of

the

old

e

ro

Digest

magazine.

liThe Everel single blade propel

ler is a statically and dynamically

balanced unit, the blade

being

bal

anced by a suitable

counteweight.

The line passing through

the

cen

ter of

gravity

of the

blade

and

center

of

gravity of

the counter

weight

passes through the center

of rotation as shown in the dia

within the blade. In the

conven

tional

propeller

the maximum

bending

moment occurs at

the

hub,

while

in

the single blade pro

peller it occurs

at

the

aerodynamic

center

of pressure

of the

blade

and

is of smaller

magnitude

than the

bending moment at the center

of pressure of

an

eqUivalent two

blade propeller.

liThe Everel propeller is

of the

automatic

variable

pitch

type, this

feature

being obtained

by

means

of

an

axis

(B-B

in

Figure

1)

within

the

hub

about which the

blade

is

free to

move. This

axis is set at a

suitable angle to the centerline

of

the blade. When the blade

de

flects

forward

about this axis,

it

performs two functions:

I l l

The

air

thrust produces a

moment

about

the

center of

the

propeller, causing it

to

deflect for

ward.

When this

forward

deflec

tion occurs, the centrifugal

force

of the propeller also sets up a mo

to

balance the air

thrust moment.

The blade will deflect forward only

as far as is required for the centrif

ugal force moment

to

equal

the

air

thrust moment. This condition is

shown

in

Figure

2,

in which

the

fulcrum (F)

represents

the inter

section of

the

propeller

movement

axis

and

the center of rotation.

liThe following equation dem

onstrates

the

balance

of forces ex

isting

in

the propeller:

IIThrust x r

counterweight

aerodynamic

drag x

r = CF coun

terweight

x Lever Arm ab CF

of

Blade x Lever Arm cd

II(Thrust) r2 D x r1 =

CF

counter

weight x r1 sin 0 CF

Blade

x

r

x sin 0

where 0 equals the angle of deflection.

112. The

pitch

of the blade de

creases when the

forward

deflec

tion occurs

thus permitting the

engine to turn faster, and aiding

take-off and climb. As

the

airplane

increases its

airspeed,

the aero

dynamic thrust becomes lighter

Bunds

bounce right oft

the

Po.y-Fiber .. see?

W

e here at Poly-fiber are mighty proud to help heroes

like

Captain

Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over france by covering

his ship with

the

toughest. easiest-to

repair fabric known to man. It's easy to

apply. too. even Over There. and

it ll

see

and the centrifugal


32/44

force

of

the

propeller

reduces the

amount

of

blade deflection,

thus

increasing the pitch.

The increased pitch in

the condition

of lower

air

load

permits better

B

cruising and maximum

speeds. This

character

istic is also desirable

for

altitude flying.

In

summing

up the

pre

ceding paragraph, the

- -. f

~

forward deflection of

the blade reduces the

pitch;

and conversely,

the

rearward deflection

Figure 2

increases

the

pitch.

The

single-blade

propeller can be de

Geometry of the Everel one-bladed propeller. Changes

in

a plane s speed and engine

signed to operate at

a

rpm caused the thrust of the single blade to work against the centrifugal forces act

more

efficient

angle

of

ing

on

blade

and

counterweight, such as to let the blade tip move forward

or

back

attack

than the fixed

ward. This

in

turn caused the blade pitch to change due to the angle, , t which

pitch

two-blade propel

the hub trunnions were positioned

in

relation to the blade.

Figure

.

o

I

~ t h r u s t

r 2 ~ ~

~ r ~ . ~ I

.

.

.

. . . ~ ~ 1 .

-

: _

.

1

f

-

. .

.

~ r 1 1

a

:=:

= ~ : t : I ~ = : :

= .1..

IJ ,L

- - Ib . .

.

ler;

that is

to

say it op

erated closer

to the maximum LID

point

of the airfoil characteris

tics.

f

a two-blade

propeller

were

designed to operate

at

this point

when

flying

at maximum speed,

the

takeoff

performance

would be

comparatively poor.

An

accompanying

photo

of a

disassembled

Everel

will

help to

understand how

theory was

put

into practice. Farthest

to the

left

is

a steel

counterweight shaped

like

half of

a

sphere. I t

screws

onto

a

long,

thick-walled

steel

tube that

fits

into the

end of

the wooden

propeller's hub section. A

smaller

counterweight

of cylindrical

shape

stub that houses the above-men

tioned counterweights. On each

end of

this

bolt

a suitable

number

of small washers are

installed

as a

means of fine-tuning the rate

of

pitch change to suit

a particu l

ar

engine and

airplane

combination.

The

front and

rear

flanges that

hold the wooden blade

assem

bly

have

ears

on them, through

which

two very stout bolts

pass.

They hold everything

together

against centrifugal force.

The propeller hub cap clearly

visible

in the photos is an impor

tant part

of

the operating

setup.

t

houses a rubber

ring about the

size

sively

as

some

promotion

claimed.

Cubs

didn't

carry

the kind of

in

strumentation needed

to

make ac

curate performance measurements,

but pilots could sense a shorter take

off

and

better climb. Cruising speed

was boosted by something around 5

miles per hour.

The

Everel had quirks one

might not

grasp just from looking

at one.

Long spells of dry or

damp

weather

would alter the

wooden

blade's

moisture content

and up

set balance.

Then the prop had to

be

removed

and

put

onto

a balanc

ing

stand.

A few weeks

or

a

month

later, a

change in the weather

pat


33/44

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34/44

- -

tay Informed

E-mail is the easiest way for

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to

get connected to the EAA

community and stay informed.

By

sharing your

e-mail

address

with us, you'll receive:

• EM's

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• Information on EAA

events

• The

latest aviation

industry updates

• And

requests

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your

feedback

on

current

aviation issues.

Getting connected is easy:

log on to www.eaa.org/email

and in the form

Changed your

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Let

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our

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Line

,

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weekly

members-only

Here's the Everel dismantled and the various parts laid out

to

show how

they went together. The article explains

the

function of each. The wooden

blade was made much like that on a common Sensenich two-blader.

the ship's center of gravity for

ward enough to be concerned

about.

When flying solo from

the

rear

seat the plane balanced out

all

right

. But if a large and a small

person were to go flying in a tan

dem-seated

Cub,

it was

advisable

for the heavier of the

two

to sit in

the rear seat. f

he

sat in the

front

1 seat, the

ship would

be so

light

on

its tailskid that it could easily nose

over i f it taxied a

bit

fast onto a

soft spot on an unpaved runway.

Pilots

and mechanics

accus

tomed to propping

ships fitted

with

regular two-bladed props to

start

their engines found themselves

grabbing at thin

air

the

first few

times they tried propping

a ship

fitted

with

a one-bladed Everel.

Everel sales were fairly

encour

aging in

1937,

but in 1938

Con

tinental, Lycoming, and

Franklin

Cessna and drew

plans

for

an

even

larger single-blader for

300-hp

en

gines.

But

it

was no use,

and he

ended up selling his patent

to

the

Koppers firm.

They

used some el

ements of it in

their

two-bladed

Aeromatic propeller used on some

planes

after World War II.

Upon seeing

an

Everel

in a

museum or reading

about

it, a

present-day homebuilt airplane

enthusiast

might become

excited

and exclaim, "Wow

I'll

have

to

make

one

of those for my

newest

midget racer " But a realistic eval

uation of things

tells us

that

while

the

Everel filled a specialized

need

in the short time it was on the mar

ket,

things have

changed

greatly

since

the

late 1930s. SCimitar-style

propellers

afford a

much simpler

way

to

achieve

modest

changes of

pitch

.

Propellers

made of

alumi

http://www.eaa.org/emailhttp://www.eaa.arg/disclaimer.hrnlhttp://www.eaa.arg/disclaimer.hrnlhttp://www.eaa.org/emailhttp://www.eaa.arg/disclaimer.hrnl


35/44

<

Like a

recurring

dream that

doesn't quite classify as a nightmare,

yet

nonetheless

leaves

you

feeling

a wee bit disconcerted, I was once

again witnessing a scenario that al

ways puts me

in

a defensive mode.

I was prepared for

the

possibility of

having to say I have

the

controls

as

I aided

the

errant pilot in

the

re

covery of a spin .

Although

the scenario could oc

cur

while

teaching advanced

ma

neuvers,

such as a

chandelle or

lazy-eight, or perhaps while working

through

basic aerobatics, that's not

where I witness it

time

after time.

While it

might

occur

as

a client at

tempts

to

stretch a glide in a simu

lated power failure, or

when

a pilot,

uncomfortable in

the

bank angle of

a steep

turn, unconsciously holds

top

rudder

and

neglects

to

add

power, that's

not

it either.

Instead,

I

witness

this

scenario

on

the

majority of

the

flight reviews

and practical tests that I conduct. It

BY

DOUG STE

WART

Quit

stallin'

Typically the right

wing

falls off

as a result of the gyroscopic preces

sion created

by

the

rapid

pull up,

and rarely is the

pilot

prepared for

this.

Thus she quite

often neglects

the

use of

her

feet as she attempts to

pick

the

wing up with aileron alone,

and

that

is why

I so

often

find my

self

in

a defensive mode whenever I

ask a pilot to demonstrate a stall.

Every time this happens I silently

ask myself,

Why is the

pilot

doing

this? Would he ever find himself

pulling back rapidly

on

the

stick

in

a power-off situation? I

am

sure

the

answer

is

no, yet

why

then does pi

lot after pilot

do

this during a flight

review or practical test? I think

the

answer lies

in the

fact

that the

in

structor

who

first introduced

her to

stalls

found that

the

pilot couldn't

recognize

when

the

airplane

actu

ally stalled. So to counter

this the

instructor encouraged the pilot

to

accelerate the stall,

and

I

am

sure

we will all agree

that

there

is no

way

a stall by saying, Pull back on the

stick,

and the

houses get smaller

keep pulling on the stick, and the

houses get bigger.

Returning to a more serious vein, I

then

state

that

anytime you are pull

ing

back

on the

yoke

but the

nose

of the aircraft is dropping, you are

most likely stalled (obviously this

doesn't

apply

to inverted

flight). I

then go on

to

describe

that

a stall

occurs anytime

the

wing exceeds its

critical angle of attack

and that

this

can

occur at

any

airspeed or attitude.

I describe

the

first hammerhead stall

I flew. Shortly after entering

the

dive

after reversing direction

at the top

of

the

maneuver, I pulled a little too

aggressively

on

the stick

to

recover

from

the

dive,

only

to observe the

airplane's nose (which appeared

to

me to

be

pointed

virtually straight

down) come slightly

forward

and

then

move back even

though

I was

still

pulling

on

the

stick. I

had

in

deed stalled even though the nose

on the

stick,

the

airplane will

most

how sometimes

just a slight relax

proper recovery techniques, it's often


36/44

likely stall. But who, other

than

aer

obatic

pilots (and, it

would

seem,

pilots asked

to demonstrate

a stall

on

a flight review or practical test),

would ever do this?

More typically the stall occurs

as

a pilot tries

to maintain

altitude,

by increasing pitch

without

adding

power,

as

he gets low and slow

on

an

approach to

landing. Or perhaps it

occurs

as

he tries to stretch a glide

af-

ter the engine has failed (certainly

no

adding power here to assist).

f

a turn

is

involved, as

in the

base-to-final

turn,

and the

pilot does

not

main

tain coordinated flight,

the

airplane

not

only stalls, but enters a spin.

So

I

would

like

to

suggest

that

you practice stalls more

often

than

once

every other year.

To prevent

your instructor

or

examiner

from

getting

into

a state of

anXiety-and

for you to recognize

not

only when

your airplane is

stalled,

but more

importantly for you to recognize all

the

signals

that your airplane

will

send to you telling you

that

a stall

is

imminent-try

it this

way.

To

begin with, ensure

that

you

have sufficient altitude (2,000 feet

AGL is my

absolute

minimum

for

this). Initially reduce

the

power so

that

you slow the airplane below flap

and

gear speed.

f

you are going

to

practice the

maneuver

in the

land

ing

configuration, lower

your

gear

and

flaps. Further reduce

the

power

to idle power, and allow

the

airplane

to descend either at best glide speed

(if you are practicing

the

maneuver

clean) or final-approach speed. Now

ing of back-pressure

on

the stick gets

rid of

the

buffeting

and

bobbing.

f

a wing drops, see

how

applying op

posite

rudder

will

bring

that

wing

up more efficiently than

the

ailerons

will. Notice

how

if

the

airplane has

a stall

warning

(my

Super Cruiser

doesn't),

that warning might

start

moaning

like a sick cat (if

you're

in

a Cessna) before

the

buffeting

and

that with

slight

addition

of power,

you can

fly all

day

with that

horn

blaring and

not

be stalled.

I had

indeed

stalled

even

though

the

nose

of

the airplane

was pointed almost

straight

down

.

This

experience showed

me

what,

up to

then

,

I had

only

understood

intellectually.

Once you have

recognized

that

the

airplane

is

stalled, see how it will

recover

with

merely a reduction

in

angle of attack.

t is

true

that

we

y -

ically recover from a stall

by

add

ing

full power,

but the addition of

power serves merely to minimize

the

altitude lost

in the

recovery.

t

really

doesn't get

the wing

flying again.

It's

the

reduction in angle of attack

that does that . Practicing

the

recov

the

nose of

their

airplane that gets

stuck

in

the

ground.

Before I end, I would also like

to

discuss power-on stalls. Again,

what

I typically experience pilots doing

as

they

demonstrate the maneuver

is

very similar to

what

I see when they

perform power-off stalls. There

is

a

reduction of power

to

slow

down

a

bit,

and then

quite often

the

pilot

will rapidly add full power while

si-

multaneously qu

ickly

pitching up

into

yet

another

accelerated stall.

Again I ask ...

when would

a

pilot

ever intentionally do this?

I will

admit

that

I once observed

a pilot

do

just

that

in

a botched go

around.

As

a strong crosswind drifted

him

away from

the

runway

and

to

ward a stand of tall trees, rather

than

turning away from the

trees,

he

yanked

hard into

a power-on stall.

Without proper coordination, the

airplane broke

into

a spin

about

70

feet above

the

ground.

As the

wing

tip hit the

ground it cartwheeled,

tearing

off

the engine and empen

nage. Miraculously

the

pilot walked

away from

the

crash. But this type

of mistake

is

quite rare.

What is

unfortunately much more

common is

the following scenario.

A

pilot

will be

approaching an

ob

stacle,

such

as a

mountain

ridge.

In

addition

to

the high

altitude, a

hot, humid,

low-pressure system

is

pushing the density altitude

even

higher. Being on

the

leeward side

of the

mountain ridge,

where the

wind

is

blowing across

the

ridge

and

creating

strong

downdrafts, com

due to

all the

left-turning tenden


37/44

cies at work, often spins.

So to prepare you

for how

that

stall might feel, I suggest practicing a

power-on stall in

the

following man

ner. Oust in case it

should

flip

into

an inadvertent

spin, please

ensure

you're flying an airplane approved

for spins ) If you're at all uncomfort

able with

the

idea of practicing this

maneuver, please

bring along your

flight instructor. Reduce your power

to a setting

that

will yield approxi

mately SS percent power. Allow the

speed

to

bleed off, and then once

it has, add enough

back-pressure

to the

yoke

to

slowly climb. As the

speed bleeds off more, slowly roll

into a turn to

the

left while continu

ing

to slowly

add

more back-pres

sure to

the

yoke.

When the airplane does break

into a stall remember

that

if this sce

nario

were real, the engine would

already be making all the power that

it was capable of. Thus you

would

have

no

power left to aid in

the

re

covery of

the

stall.

So

in

your prac

tice of thi s stall

your

recovery will

have to be

without the

addition

of

any more power.

I strongly feel that if pilots prac

ticed

both

power-off

and

power-on

stalls in the manner

I have sug

gested,

they

would be

much

better

prepared

to

recognize the

onset

of

one

of these stalls

and thus

be able

to prevent it. And if by chance they

didn t recognize the

onset, they

would at least be better prepared to

recover once the stall had occurred.

So

please

quit stalling. Go out

GET TH

SKILLS

TO G T IT BUILT

AT EAA SPORTAIR

WORKSHOPS

GET YOUR HOMEBUILDING PROJECT OFF THE GROUND

BY

SIGNING

UP

FOR

EAA'S

SPORTAIR WORKSHOPS

BEGINS DURATION

COURSE DESCRIPTION

LOCATION

June 3· 5

2 -7 days

Repairman ELSA) Inspection-Airplane Frederick,

MD

June 20-22

2 -7

days Repairman ELSA) Inspection-Airplane Arlington, WA

June 21-22

2days

Fabric (overing

Frederick, MD

June 28·29

2days Discover Aircraft Building

North Andover, MA

June

28 evening What's Involved

in Kitbuilding

North Andover,

MA

Augusl8-10 2 -7

days

Repairman ELSA) Inspection-Airplane

Arlington, WA

August

23·24

2

days Electrical Systems, Wiring Avionics Frederick,

MD

August

23·24

2days

Von's

RV Assembly Oshkosh,

WI

September 5-7 2 -7 days

TlG

Welding Griffin,

GA


38/44

BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH S MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO US ROM THE E ARCHIVES,

ROM WITHIN THE FILES OF TED BUSINGER.

Send your answer

to EAA

Vintage

Airplane

P.O.

Box 3086, Oshkosh,

WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs

to

be

in no l

ater

than

July

15 for

inclusion in t he

September

2008

issue of

Vintage Airplane.

You

can also send your response

via e-mail.

Send your answer to

[email protected]. Be

sure to

include your name, city,

and

state

in the

body

of

your

note, and put

(Month)

Mystery

Plane in the

subject line.

MARCH'S

MYSTERY ANSWER

moved to

Fairfax

Airport

in Kan

sas City, Kansas,

during

this period.

The

engine was a

three-cylinder,

Szekely SR-3 radial

of

190.4

cubic

inch

displacement

and 45

hp.

Ac

commodations for two side-by-side

References:

Juptner's T-Hangar

ales

and

Aerofiles.com

Other correct answers

were re

ceived from Wesley R. Smith,

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/Aerofiles.comhttp:///reader/full/Aerofiles.com


39/44

Jack Erickson

State College, Pennsylvania

And a response from Georgia:

The March Mystery Plane

is

the

Liberty

Mono

Poyer Model P-2

of

the

1931 era.

Developed

in

St.

Louis

on

Lambert Field,

the

manu

facturing

operation

was located

in

Kansas City. According

to

all

that

flew it, it was a nice flying airplane.

The original engine was

the

Szekely

SR 3 0

engine rated at 45

hp

.

In

Kansas City,

Guy

Poyer of

fered

to install one of his Poyer

3-45

engines into the

Liberty air

plane,

and

he

thought they

could

achieve a

new

altitude record

with

his engine. (The Poyer

engine had

three

screw-down

cylinder bar

rels

to

raise

the

compression ratio.

They screwed

the

cylinders

down

to

achieve

an

8-to-1 compression ratio

and

put

tetra-ethyl

lead fluid into

the

gas

to boost the

horsepower).

They had

no

idea

how much

horse

power the engine developed.

But

one

afternoon

Bill

Caldwell

flew

the

Liberty

to

a

new

light airplane

record of 17,907 feet.

"All

did not

end well as

later

Caldwell pushed

the envelope of

the

little airplane

doing

'stunting'

and

it broke apart

in the

air.

"The little Poyer engine could have

been a great little engine if it had ever

been produced, but it

was

not."

Doug Rounds

Zebulon, Georgia

Springfield, Illinois

(who

also sent

in

a response

on the Tipton

90-2);

Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis, Min

nesota; Charles F. Schultz,

Louis

ville,

Kentucky;

and Wayne

Van

Valkenburgh, Jasper, Georgia .

Tipton

90 2

Follow Up

Forrest

Lov

e

ly of Minnesota

dropped

us a

note to

tell us of

the

final disposition of the Tipton,

our

Mystery Plane

this

past December.

What

was

left

of

the

Tipton 90-2

was rusty and well

beyond

repair

able; a few parts were salvaged be

fore

what

little was left was

cut up

for scrap. The

landing

gear,

which

had been

from

an

early Fairchild,

went to

one fellow, and

the throt

tle quadrant was obtained

by

For

rest,

who took

the

time

to

send

us

this

photo.

The safety

of

modem

Mil-Spec

aviation wire

With that classic

"braided and lacquered"

look.

PO Box 51 (107 Woodvi lle

Rd

.)

Wood River Jet, Rl 02894

(401) 364-3839 fax (40 1) 364-3830

www.narragansettreproductions.com

tEl.

Someth ing

to buy

,

sel l or

t rade?

Classified Word Ads: 5 .

50

per

10

words,

180

words maximum, with boldface lead-in

on

first line.

Classified Display Ads : One column

wide

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Black and white only, and no freq

uency

discounts.

Advertising Cl osing Dates: 10th of second

month prior to desired issue date (i.e., a n u a r ~

10 is the closing date for the March issue).

VM

reserves the right to reject any advertising in

conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion

per issue. Class if ied ads are not accepted via

phone . Payment

must

accompany order. Word

ads ma y be sent

via

fax (920-426-4828) or

e-mail

[email protected]) using credit card payment (all

cards accepted). Include name on card, complete

address, type of card, card number,

and ex

piration

date , Make checks payable to EAA . Address

advertising correspondence to EM Publications

Classified

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Manager, PO ,

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WI

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MISCELLANEOUS

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40/44

This VAA

Calendar

of

Events is a fraction of those posted on the newest page on the

EM website.

To

submit an event, or to view the most up to date list, please visit the

EAA

website at www.eaa.orgjcalendar. During 2008, we'll publish this calendar as we transition

to an all-web based calendar for 2009. This list does not const itute approval, sponsorship,

involvement, control or direction

of

any

fly-in, seminar, fly market or other event.

June

6 8 -

Columbia, CA -

Bellanca-Champion

Club West

Coast

Fly-In.

Columbia Airport (022).

The

biggest

and

best gathering

of

Bellancas

- Cruisair,

Cruisemaster,

Viking, Citabria,

Decathlo

Vintage Airplane - Jun 2008

Documents

Transcript of Vintage Airplane - Jun 2008