Va Vol 47 no 6 Nov Dec 2019

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019

WHERE IS THE SUN-GOD? FAMILY TAYLORCRAFT CESSNA 182 REDONE

Memory Lane A STROLL IN THE VINTAGE AREA

2020 Explorer ST shown. Always consult the Owner’s Manual before off-road driving.

Follow all laws and drive on designated off-road trails and recreation areas.

THE GREATEST EXPLORATION VEHICLE OF ALL TIME. T H E

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A L L - N E W

F O R D

E X P L O R E R

Message From the President

November/December 2019

SUSAN DUSENBURY, VAA PRESIDENT

STAFF Publisher: Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO and Chairman of the Board Editor: Jim Busha / jbusha@eaa.org

The Party’s Over But the Work Continues

Senior Copy Editor: Colleen Walsh Proofreader: Jennifer Knaack Graphic Designer: Cordell Walker

ADVERTISING

Vintage Aircraft Association area updates

Vice President of Business Development and Membership:

SO HERE WE ARE! The rush is

on to get “stuff” done before two annual events even begin.

The first event is the start of the holidays, which seems to get earlier and earlier with the passing of time. Halloween now kicks off the fall/winter holidays. And then, of course, the race is on to get some projects completed before Oshkosh is pummeled by snow and ice!

We hope to finish the landscaping in Vintage Village, have roof vents installed on the Vintage Hangar, and have all-new tables and chairs delivered to the Vintage Tall Pines Café — all before all heck breaks loose with the Oshkosh weather. (I’ll apologize to the citizens of Oshkosh in advance! We here in the South assume that you folks in OSH celebrate winters up there with fun activities such as ice fishing! Here we lock the doors, stay inside, and read books whenever we see ice outside.)

All other building/repair projects will have to wait until April 2020 when the first of three Vintage work parties is scheduled. If you’ve ever thought about participating in these work parties, please do.

Not only do we get a lot of projects done for Vintage, but also we have lots of fun while we are there. Our

volunteer maintenance chairman Mike Blombach and his trusty sidekicks (actually co-chairs) Wayne Wendorff, Al Hallett, and Bob Brauer are currently drawing up schedules and making lists for projects and needed materials, etc.

To give you an idea of what we do at these work events, I’ll name several projects that are currently in the planning stages. Plans are in the works to rebuild the entire main (east) entrance to the Red Barn Store, including the showcase windows. The Red Barn Store will also have air conditioning installed in the dressing room and in the adjacent small office used by Red Barn Store chairwoman Mary Knutson. Minor repairs will be made to the Vintage Hangar’s exterior, which will also be painted. A new hand-washing station will be installed in the Tall Pines Café along with a new grill and possibly a second doughnut machine. This is just a sampling. Many thanks to Mike, Wayne, Al, Bob, and all the work party volunteers who bring their talents and expertise to Vintage for these work parties. They all do a magnificent job. Vintage is looking great these days!

Dave Chaimson / dchaimson@eaa.org Advertising Manager: Sue Anderson / sanderson@eaa.org Mailing Address: VAA, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903 Website: www.vintageaircraft.org Email: vintageaircraft@eaa.org

Visit www.vintageaircraft.org for the latest in information and news and for the electronic newsletter: VINTAGE AIRMAIL

Current EAA members may join the Vintage Aircraft Association and receive VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an additional $45/year.

EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine and one-year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association are available for $55 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included).

(Add $7 for International Postage.)

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

Membership Service PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM—6:00 PM CST Join/Renew 800-564-6322 membership@eaa.org EAA AirVenture Oshkosh www.eaa.org/airventure

CONTINUED ON PAGE 64

888-322-4636

www.vintageaircraft.org

1

Contents F E ATUR E S

12

A Sooner Classic The Sobrados’ Skylane — utility in a vintage package

By Budd Davisson

20

Cruising the Line Sparky’s 2019 AirVenture notebook

By Sparky Barnes Sargent

44

The Baker T-Craft(s) ‘T’ is for Tom(s)

By Budd Davisson

52

The Vanishing Sun-God

By J.B. Rivard

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Send your thoughts to the Vintage Editor at: jbusha@eaa.org For missing or replacement magazines, or any other membership-related questions, please call EAA Member Services at 800-JOIN-EAA (564-6322).

2

November/December 2019

November/December 2019 / Vol. 47, No. 6

C OLUMN S 01

Message From the President

By Susan Dusenbury

04

Friends of the Red Barn

06

VAA News

08

How To? Safety Aircraft Components

By Robert G. Lock

10

Good Old Days

60

The Vintage Mechanic Adhesives and Bondings, Part I

By Robert G. Lock

C OV E R S Front A trio of DC-3s soak up the waking sun at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019.

Photo by Alden Frautschy

Back “Had a couple of bites, but no fish so far.”

Even when it rains, the Vintage Association members are all smiles.

Photo by Hal Bryan

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS

www.vintageaircraft.org 3

Friends of the

RED BARN DEAR FRIENDS,

For one week every year a temporary city of about 50,000 people is created in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on the grounds of Wittman Regional Airport. We call the temporary city EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. During this one week, EAA and our communities, including the Vintage Aircraft Association, host more than 500,000 pilots and aviation enthusiasts along with their families and friends.

With the support of the very capable VAA officers, directors, and more than 600 volunteers, the Vintage Aircraft Association annually welcomes more than 1,100 vintage showplanes throughout the week of AirVenture on our nearly 1.3-mile flightline. We continue to work to bring an array of valuable services and interesting programs to the VAA membership and to all of our Vintage Village visitors during this magical week. Across Wittman Road and in front of our flagship building, the VAA Red Barn, we will feature some really interesting airplanes, including the beautiful past Vintage Grand Champions, an array of Fun and Affordable aircraft, and some exciting rare and seldom seen aircraft. In Vintage Village proper we have a hospitality service, a bookstore, a general store (the Red Barn Store), youth programs, educational forums, and much more.

As you can imagine, creating the infrastructure to support these displays, as well as the programs offered during the week, is both time consuming and costly, but they are made possible thanks to donations from our wonderful members.

4 November/December 2019

As your president, I am inviting you on behalf of the Vintage Aircraft Association to join our association’s once a year fundraising campaign — Friends of the Red Barn (FORB).

The services and programs that we provide for our members and guests during AirVenture are made possible through our FORB fundraising efforts.

A donation from you — no matter how large or small — supports the dream of aviation for aviators and aviation enthusiasts of all ages and levels of involvement. We invite you to join us in supporting this dream through the Friends of the Red Barn.

I thank you in advance for your continued support of the Vintage Aircraft Association as we move this premier organization forward on behalf of our membership and the vintage aircraft movement.

If you have already made a 2019 FORB contribution, thank you for your dedication and support of the vintage aircraft movement.

I look forward to seeing you all in July !

SUSAN DUSENBURY, PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACK FLEETWOOD, CONNOR MADISON

C A L L F O R V I N TA G E A I R CR A F T A S S O CI AT I O N

Nominate your favorite vintage aviator for the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame. A great honor could be bestowed upon that man or woman working next to you on your airplane, sitting next to you in the chapter meeting, or walking next to you at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Think about the people in your circle of aviation friends: the mechanic, historian, photographer, or pilot who has shared innumerable tips with you and with many others. They could be the next VAA Hall of Fame inductee — but only if they are nominated.

The person you nominate can be a citizen of any country and may be living or deceased; his or her involvement in vintage aviation must have occurred between 1950 and

the present day. His or her contribution can be in the areas of flying, design, mechanical or aerodynamic developments, administration, writing, some other vital and relevant field, or any combination of fields that support aviation. The person you nominate must be or have been a member of the Vintage Aircraft Association or the Antique/Classic Division of EAA, and preference is given to those whose actions have contributed to the VAA in some way, perhaps as a volunteer, a restorer who shares his expertise with others, a writer, a photographer, or a pilot sharing stories, preserving aviation history, and encouraging new pilots and enthusiasts.

To nominate someone is easy. It just takes a little time and a little reminiscing on your part.

•Think of a person; think of his or her contributions to vintage aviation.

•Write those contributions in the various categories of the nomination form.

•Write a simple letter highlighting these attributes and contributions. Make copies of newspaper or magazine articles that may substantiate your view.

•If at all possible, have another individual (or more) complete a form or write a letter about this person, confirming why the person is a good candidate for induction.

We would like to take this opportunity to mention that if you have nominated someone for the VAA Hall of Fame, nominations for the honor are kept on file for three years, after which the nomination must be resubmitted.

Mail nominating materials to: VAA Hall of Fame, c/o Amy Lemke VAA PO Box 3086 Oshkosh, WI 54903 Email: alemke@eaa.org

Find the nomination form at www.VintageAircraft.org, or call the VAA office for a copy (920-426-6110), or on your own sheet of paper, simply include the following information: •Date submitted.

•Name of person nominated.

•Address and phone number of nominee.

•Email address of nominee.

•Date of birth of nominee. If deceased, date of death.

•Name and relationship of nominee’s closest living relative.

•Address and phone of nominee’s closest living relative.

•VAA and EAA number, if known. (Nominee must have been or is a VAA member.)

•Time span (dates) of the nominee’s contributions to vintage aviation.

(Must be between 1950 to present day.)

•Area(s) of contributions to aviation.

•Describe the event(s) or nature of activities the nominee has undertaken in aviation to be worthy of induction into the VAA Hall of Fame.

•Describe achievements the nominee has made in other related fields in aviation.

•Has the nominee already been honored for his or her involvement in aviation and/or the contribution you are stating in this petition? If yes, please explain the nature of the honor and/or award the nominee has received.

•Any additional supporting information.

•Submitter’s address and phone number, plus email address.

•Include any supporting material with your petition.

VAA News 2019 EAA Vintage Aircraft Association Volunteers of the Year Award LIZ POPP TO BE HONEST, I never had an interest in aviation until my

husband, Tim, informed me he wanted to get his pilot certificate. That was in 1987. My first Oshkosh experience was in 1988, and I really didn’t think I’d attend again. I skipped 1989 but haven’t missed a year since. In 1994 we purchased a 1958 Cessna 172. That July we flew the Cessna to Oshkosh and parked on the field in the Vintage area. I was hooked!

We restored the Cessna and continued to fly it to Oshkosh for the next 20 years.

The first few years I wandered the grounds and enjoyed my vacation. In 1998 I started volunteering with the contemporary judges, doing their computer work.

Over the years I helped the Classic and Antique judging groups as well and eventually took over all IT for the judges. The judges’ computer operations are currently located in our beautiful new Judges Headquarters Building. For a couple of years, before our new building

ALISON MARTIN ALISON DEVELOPED AN INTEREST in aviation through

her husband, Chip Davis, whom she met in Blacksburg, Virginia, in 1985. She began attending EAA Oshkosh in 1988 and hasn’t missed a year since. Starting in 1997 she began volunteering her time with Vintage, where she found a home in flightline operations. She describes flightline ops as a central point for communication and training, tracking flightline volunteer hours, and checking aircraft eligibility for parking in the Vintage area while coordinating with the “points” to keep parking operations running as smoothly as possible. She loves seeing the volunteers every day and considers the group to be a second family.

Alison and her husband are the proud owners of a 1960 model Cessna 172A that they’ve named The Speeding Pullet, a pun referencing her work in poultry science. They fly it to Oshkosh every year from their home in North Carolina.

6 November/December 2019

Volunteering at Oshkosh has allowed me to meet many wonderful people. Many people volunteer for EAA, but VAA has a very special group of volunteers. was constructed, computer ops were located in the bathroom of a double-wide trailer that housed the judges. Needless to say, I definitely moved up! During this same period I worked with then-chief judge Dave Clark to revitalize the Vintage Awards Ceremony program. Last year, in addition to working with the judges, I worked with Mary Knutson, chairwoman of the Red Barn Store, selecting the merchandise and setting up the new Vintage Red Barn store. Tim and I also try to attend as many Vintage work weekends as possible.

Volunteering at Oshkosh has allowed me to meet many wonderful people. Many people volunteer for EAA, but VAA has a very special group of volunteers. They are simply the best, and we are a big family. Many of our close group of friends and fellow volunteers try to get together at different times throughout the year to visit and catch up. I’m truly honored to receive this award, as there are so many other Vintage volunteers behind the scenes who deserve it just as much as I do. They say it takes a village, and Vintage has an amazing one. Thank you. I’m truly honored and blessed to be a part of EAA and VAA.

The Vintage Aircraft Association is proud to recognize the following recipients of the VAA Flightline All Star award:

Tony and Carol Olszewski Gary Mitchell Mike Halron Chad Larson Perry Cartwright Ken Harmison Joe Harmison Jim Snyder Dolly Valdez

Editor’s Note: The Vintage Aircraft Association offers its sincere apology to VAA member Ron Price, #872, and his 1938 Luscombe Model 4, which was awarded a Bronze Age Runner-Up award at AV19. The owner of the aircraft was misidentified in the September/ October edition of Vintage Airplane.

Dana Frost

www.vintageaircraft.org

7

How To? ROBERT G. LOCK

Safety Aircraft Components

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

VIBRATION IS A BIG DEAL with airplanes so we

Figure 1

use various methods of locking fasteners to keep them from shaking loose and causing catastrophic results. Described herein will be some techniques used by mechanics to safety various fasteners.

Safety wire comes in common sizes of 0.020 inch, 0.032 inch, and 0.041 inch diameters in materials of brass, tinned steel wire, and annealed stainless steel. The most popular wire is the annealed stainless steel.

The first item to know before twisting safety wire is to place the wire so it will tighten the fastener. So before beginning, size up the task so you don’t have to repeat because you safety it backward. Figure 1 shows typical methods of safety wiring.

In most cases the safety wire is twisted between fasteners, but there may be times when several small screw heads must be safetied together and the wire would not be twisted. The pigtail should have at least five twists and should be either formed around the fastener head or curled with the tang against the fastener. I don’t know how many times I have reached into a confined area only to have my hand or arm raked by a piece of pigtail some mechanic left sticking out from the fastener head.

Studs, particularly on radial engines, must be safetied through the castle nuts, so you size up the task by looking at wiring so it tightens not only the nut but also the stud. The castle nuts should be washered so the hole in the stud is just visible through the nut. I’ve seen the castle nuts driven so far down the stud that the wire hole is above the nut. Safety this and you might keep the stud tight, but the nut could vibrate loose. Note

8 November/December 2019

Figure 2

the pigtail in this sketch. It needs a couple more twists and needs to be curled so the tang touches the nut. Remember, five twists on the pigtail. It should be stated here that lock nuts are not used on studs because the stud cannot be safetied.

Figure 2 shows typical stud safety wiring.

Cable turnbuckles present a unique challenge to safetying. There are three different styles of wrapping safety wire around a turnbuckle, but over the years I have used only the single and double wrap.

When possible, I always use a double wrap safety on primary flight control cables. See Figure 3.

There are a few simple rules to follow when rigging control cables. The primary purpose of the turnbuckle is to connect two cables together, adjust to a precise length, and then tension to a specific tautness. When cables are to the correct tension, there should be no more than three threads exposed from the end of the turnbuckle.

When everything is ready, you must determine what type of safety you will use, then the diameter and type of safety wire will be determined. When 1/16-inch diameter cables are safetied, you can only use a single wrap because the terminal hole is too small to accommodate two pieces of wire. The chart in Figure 4 shows safety wire diameter for making both single and double wrap turnbuckle safeties.

Cotter pins are another means to safety hardware. Cotter pins may be purchased in both mild steel and stainless steel, so it’s a matter of choice as to which type to use. Sizes are 1/32 inch, 1/16 inch, 3/32 inch, 1/8 inch, and 5/32 inch diameters. When aligning the bolt hole and the castle nut, use washer combinations to get the hole just visible through the nut. There are two methods to bend the tangs, but I prefer the one shown on

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Figure 3

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the left side of the above sketch. The one on the right is sometimes used when there is not enough clearance to bend the tang on top of the bolt. Correct use of a cotter pin safety is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 4 CABLE SIZE

TYPE OF WRAP

WIRE DIAMETER

MATERIAL

1/16

SINGLE

0.040

BRASS

1/8

SINGLE

0.040

STAINLESS STEEL

1/8

DOUBLE

0.040

BRASS

5/32

SINGLE

0.057 (MIN)

STAINLESS STEEL

5/32

DOUBLE

0.051

BRASS

Figure 5

www.vintageaircraft.org

9

Good Old Days

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November/December 2019

From the pages of what was ...

Take a quick look through history by enjoying images pulled from publications past.

www.vintageaircraft.org 11

THE SOBRADOS’ SKYLANE — UTILITY IN A VINTAGE PACKAGE

The Sobrados’ straight-tail Skylane is powered by a Super Eagle 0-470-50 that puts out 275 hp.

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November/December 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN DIBBS

BY BUDD DAVISSON

YOU KNOW THE OLD clichéd phrase: Why

would anyone willingly jump out of a perfectly good airplane? If you ask the Sobrados, Victor and Sandra of Norman, Oklahoma, they’ll say, “Because it’s fun.” More than that, in their particular case, because it led to love: Their first date was skydiving. That adrenaline rush propelled them into 17 years of marriage, filled with extreme sports. And their togetherness bled right over into learning to fly.

www.vintageaircraft.org

13

e continued jumping together, but I got started flying in ’95 and Sandra in ’98,” Victor said. “I learned in Tomahawks, but we branched out shortly after that with my first airplane being a Stinson 108-2. Within a 300- to 400-mile radius from home, there are lots and lots of backcountry airports and interesting places where you can land and camp, and that’s what we did with the Stinson.”

The Sobrados’ company is Acme Custom Welding in Washington, Oklahoma, but you only have to scan through its photo book to know that Victor Sobrado is about half welder and the other half artist. Yes, if it’s steel, he can craft it. It doesn’t make much difference what it is; he can do it. But his real love and forte is creating security gates and doors that are pure art. They are nothing at all what normally comes to mind when “security gate” is mentioned. Essentially,

CLICK HERE

TO SEE A FLICKR GALLERY ON THE SOBRADOS’ SKYLANE

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November/December 2019

he sees no reason why good looks, fun, and function shouldn’t be ingredients in everything he does. And this shows in his airplanes.

“We really liked the Stinson, but we wanted something faster that would let us fly farther distances while carrying all of our camping gear,” he said. “It also had to be good at getting us in and out of reasonably short runways. We started thinking, and it appeared that the Cessna 182 Skylane would do the job for us. But then we started looking at the prices of the newer ones. They were expensive.

However, a lot of the local pilots said we should be looking for older straight-tail (pre-1960) Skylanes. They are just as fast as most of the newer airplanes with the same power and less empty weight. Also, they stand 4 inches taller with more prop clearance, and the elevator trim is a movable horizontal stabilizer rather than a trim tab. So, when it is slow on approach, they have more trim authority. Also, the top of the instrument panel is lower so your visibility is better. Inasmuch as most of the places we wanted to go were backcountry airports, mostly sod and sometimes not very smooth, all of this appealed to us. So, we started looking for straight tails.

“In the back of our minds, we knew that we were probably looking at some sort of DIY project because exactly what we wanted probably didn’t exist,” he said. “So, we’d have to find a good basic airframe that we could improve to match the image that we had in our minds.”

Included in Victor and Sandra’s aviation background was a K1S-1 homebuilt, an all-composite monoplane.

Between that airplane and the Stinson, Victor had expanded the hands-on knowledge he had learned from his day job and applied it to flying machines. So, the concept of having to upgrade an aircraft to match their mission didn’t worry them at all. In fact, they looked forward to it.

“The 182 we finally found was an 1,800-hour 1958 straight tail that was located in Flint, Michigan,” Victor said. “The owner we bought it from was only the second owner, and it had been in his possession for 36 years. So we’re only the third owners of a 60-year-old airplane.

“We bought the airplane in 2005, and just as it was, it was a good flyer. But it was obvious from the beginning that we’d soon have to do the engine. Also, the paint and interior were starting to show their age. So, after flying it for a couple of years, we started a very slow, piecemeal restoration without having it grounded for any long length of time.”

One of the pitfalls of what are often intended to be “quick restorations” (a contradiction in terms, if there ever was one) is that as soon as you take an airplane completely apart to restore it, it is likely to stay that way for several years. Usually three or more. But Victor and Sandra wanted to enjoy their airplane, so they had the work done a little at a time. They repaired, polished, and painted many parts themselves. But the first major step to the restoration was the engine since safety always comes first.

“We really liked the Stinson, but we wanted something faster that would let us fly farther distances while carrying all of our camping gear,it also had to be good at getting us in and out of reasonably short runways. We started thinking, and it appeared that the Cessna 182 Skylane would do the job for us.”

— VICTOR SOBRADOS

“The engine was pretty high time when we got it, so it was due,” Victor said. “We liked the way the airplane flew, but as good as it was, when you’re working backcountry runways, there’s never enough horsepower. On landing, the straight-tail Cessnas are great because they have a full 40 degrees of flap and are really stable when slow. The flaps are manual,

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRAIG VANDER KOLK

Victor and Sandra Sobrados think nothing of taking their award-winning 1958 Skylane into rough, back-country runways.

which are wonderfully useful on approach. However, it was possible to land on a runway you couldn’t safely take off from. So, we researched our options and called Steve Knopp at P. Ponk Aviation about installing a Super Eagle O-470-50.

That is basically an O-470 like the airplane originally had, but O-520 cylinders are installed (adds 50 cubic inches).

Steve was so knowledgeable and helpful throughout the process, and we have never regretted our decision. It uses the same mounts, cowling, etc. but puts out 275 hp versus the 230 of the original engine. The improvement in takeoff and cruise performance is really noticeable. Now, if we can get into a runway, we can be sure of getting out of it. Of course, the Hartzell three-bladed prop really helps with its added thrust. Even with no speed mods, the airplane is cruising at 135 knots at almost the same fuel burn as with the original engine. Better yet, the airplane already had a Javelin 18-gallon aux tank mounted in the baggage compartment that brought our total fuel up to 73 gallons. So, if we wanted to, we could fly some really long legs and would be making good time. However, most of the time, we leave that tank empty because we want to use the payload for our camping gear rather than for the extra fuel.”

www.vintageaircraft.org 15

With the engine in and the airplane thrilling them with its increased performance, they began poking their noses into more backcountry runways and taking trips much longer than before. The airplane was a solid example of the breed with really good sheet metal, including the often beat-up control surface corrugations, so they soon decided to take more steps toward a full restoration.

“At some point, we decided to make the airplane look as original as we could without getting totally crazy, although I’m certain some of our friends do think that we’re totally crazy,” Victor said. “We had always known we were going to repaint the airplane, but rather than coming up with some kind of personalized scheme, we decided to go with the original factory scheme inside and out. We probably drove the painters at Ada Aircraft in Ada, Oklahoma, nuts because it had to be exactly as it was when it came out of the factory. We think they got it right on the money.

Everything about the Sobrados’ 182 is as original as they can make it and still have it be utilitarian.

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November/December 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN DIBBS, CRAIG VANDER KOLK

“The same was true of the interior,” he said. “It took some research, but we found that the original fabric pattern was the same as in a ’57 Pontiac. Further, we determined that the mill that had done it for Pontiac was still making it, so we ordered some.

However, the fabric is always made white and then it is dyed to be whatever color the customer wants it to be. That worked for us because we could match the factory material exactly. The only place we deviated from original on the upholstery was where the factory used black vinyl; we used black leather.”

Instrument panels of the ’50s have a certain look to them that is part art deco and part Wurlitzer jukebox, and they didn’t want to change that look. The previous owners hadn’t made serious cuts into the panel in the interest of more modern avionics, so they didn’t, either.

“We did install a Garmin 430 GPS and a four-place intercom, but we did it in such a way that it is hardly noticeable,” Victor said.

“To find the intercom jacks, for instance, you have to open the rear ashtrays. It’s almost, but not quite, original but is as close as we could come and make it functional.

“We base the airplane at Paradise Air Haven Airport, which is a fly-in community, but we live in Norman about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City,” he said. “Air Haven, 39OK, has a beautiful 4,000foot grass runway and is a joy to fly out of and convenient for us. Since the airplane is now finished, we can just enjoy flying it.

“At some point, we decided to make the airplane look as original as we could without getting totally crazy, although I’m certain some of our friends do think that we’re totally crazy.”— VICTOR SOBRADOS

www.vintageaircraft.org 17

We took it to AirVenture for the first time four years ago and have gone every year since. We met some of the nicest people while attending Oshkosh, and the lasting friendships we have forged within that aviation family makes returning year after year a high point for us. We were thrilled in 2014 when we won our first EAA award in the Contemporary class for Outstanding Cessna 180/182/210. And we were over the moon in 2016 when we took home a Bronze Lindy, also in the Contemporary class, for Best Class II Single Engine. We fly our award-winning aircraft into every dusty, backcountry runway we can. We’ve been all over the Texas-Oklahoma-Arkansas area seeking out good camping spots. And we think nothing of jumping in it and flying down to South Padre Island on the Texas Gulf Coast, which we could do in a single hop if we wanted.

“If you think about it, it’s really pretty amazing that we’re talking about a 60-year-old airplane,” Victor said. “It cost us a small fraction of what a much newer one would, but for our purposes, no matter how much we would be willing to spend for a newer airplane, we couldn’t get any better function out of it.

There’s a lot to be said for the utility of the older airplanes. Besides, we think it’s a much better-looking airplane than the newer ones.”

And that’s what vintage aviation is all about!

Pre-1960 straight-tail Skylanes sit a little higher, carry a little more, are a little faster and have a little better over-the-nose visibility than later versions. Plus, they have “that” look. So, what’s not to like?

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November/December 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRAIG VANDER KOLK

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November/December 2019

Sparky’s 2019 AirVenture notebook STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN OSH! “OSHKOSH” — the very word conjures vibrant thoughts and images, ranging from vast arrays of airplanes, remarkable air shows, a brimming schedule of forums and workshops, and the opportunity to share stories and knowledge with fellow aviators. By and large, the wonderful feeling of fellowship inspired by reuniting with old friends, as well as making new ones, is a compelling draw to AirVenture in and of itself.

Whether the pilgrimage to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh has become a decades-old tradition, an annual must-go vacation, or a bucket-list adventure,

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE DAHLGREN

Oshkosh offers a plethora of things to do and see. The Vintage Aircraft Association has an enticing smorgasbord of its own activities. It offers vintage type-specific forums and club exhibits in the Vintage Hangar, a bookstore to peruse, workshops, how-to demonstrations, a tram tour through the fields of vintage airplanes, and the ever-popular Vintage in Review sessions hosted by Ray Johnson, with musical accompaniment by the Ladies for Liberty. Once again, everyday flyers were parked in the “fun and affordable” showcase area.

www.vintageaircraft.org

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his year, attendance increased 6.8 percent, to 642,000. The official post-show tally was 2,758 showplanes, including 939 vintage airplanes and 105 seaplanes.

Throughout the week, there were at least 12 Howard DGA15Ps, 13 Beechcraft Staggerwings, and 16 Swifts. There were also lone examples of a variety of vintage aircraft, including a Luscombe Model 4, Stinson SR-5, Travel Air 6000, Rearwin Skyranger, Waco Model S3HD, Stinson Model A Tri-Motor, and Noorduyn Norseman.

The EAA Seaplane Base was, as usual, a peaceful and welcoming oasis, with plenty of vintage planes operating on Lake Winnebago, including a de Havilland Beaver, Piper J-4 Cub Coupe, and many other Piper and Cessna aircraft.

Due to heavy rains the weekend before opening day, some vintage aircraft were tied down in the far reaches of the North 40 and South 40. Notably, there were some special airplanes — that had flown to the EAA convention in Oshkosh 50 years ago — on display by the Brown Arch in the homebuilt area. This year, the flightline side of the Brown Arch was transformed into a blue arch highlighting the Oshkosh 1970 showplane reunion. So c’mon, let’s go cruise the flightline!

1954 Piper PA-20 Pacer

married in a Beaver in Alaska. We have five grandchildren, and two, Curtiss and Christian, have already soloed on their 16th birthday in the Pacer. We hope our other three grandchildren will as well.”

They are an aviation family, through and through, and their photo albums reveal the story of not only their own lives, but of their airplanes as well. Take, for example, the pages showing the Pacer being reassembled. “The Piper was apart for many years, and when Steve was gone for a couple of months doing aerial surveys, Charlie and my sonin-law decided they’d had enough of it being apart. So they put it together to surprise him,” Barb said. “Charlie spent a few years in Alaska flying sightseers and is now running our airport and doing maintenance. He’s also rebuilt several planes and flies King Airs for individual owners.”

Jonelle and her family drove to Oshkosh, and all told, said Barb, “There are 11 of us here this year. Charlie and his family flew their Navion, and that airplane has a bunch of history, too. It flew in the Korean War! Being at Oshkosh is like our week at the lake. We always bring our family. When our kids got married, they wanted to bring their families, and they’re all here. That goes to show that we showed them a good time way back when!”

Pilots Steve and Barb Gay of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, were camping with their airplane and were happy to help celebrate EAA’s 50 years at Oshkosh this year. N3283B has flown to Wittman Regional Airport numerous times; the Pacer has belonged to Steve’s family since his father bought it new in 1954.

“It’s serial No. 1096, one of the last Pacers they built,” Steve said. “I learned to fly in it, soloed in it, and got my license in it when I was in high school. I was here at Oshkosh 50 years ago with this airplane and our Fly Baby, which is out by the Brown Arch for the 1970 showplane reunion. The Pacer has been re-covered and fixed up with new sealed struts, Grove disc Pilots Steve and Barb Gay stan d with their 1954 Piper PA20 Pacer. brakes, an O-320 150-hp engine, and radios to keep it updated. We’ve kept the paint scheme the same as it always was.”

Barb grew up with a father who flew, and she earned her private pilot certificate at 21 before she married Steve. They live at Skyhaven Airport (76N), which was built

by Steve’s father in 1946. “Steve and I met through aviation and got married in a Cessna 310,” Barb said. “Our kids, Charlie and Jonelle, who are now in their 40s, had their CHECK OUT THE DIGITAL EDITION first airplane ride in the Pacer, and they both fly. Charlie got of Vintage for a photo gallery on Cruising the Line.

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Sparky’s 2019 AirVenture Notebook

complete. “There were only five built, and it is the sole survivor,” Bill said. “Most of it is original, and it has its original 90-hp Warner Scarab Jr. and ground-adjustable HamStandard propeller. Not only is the airplane very rare, the engine’s rare, too. I flew it up here, and it’s exciting to have it here. It handles similar to a Luscombe 8A with a 65 horse, because it doesn’t have a lot of ponies out front, and it’s a fairly heavy airplane. I’ve been surprised that it has such good aileron control at slow speed.

“On the first test flight it had a clean stall with one notch of flaps. With a second notch of flaps — which is about 50 degrees of flaps — you’re doing about 40 mph and you still have good authority with the ailerons, even though there’s not a lot of chord to them. It cruises around 100 mph, carries 31 gallons of fuel — 15 and a half a side — and burns around 8 gph.” N1337 was featured in Vintage in Review and received the Bronze Age (1937-1941) Runner-Up award.

Ron Price and his 1938 Luscombe Model 4.

1944 British Royal Navy Staggerwing

Matt Walker of Henderson, Nevada, had the privilege of flying this Beech D17S Staggerwing to Oshkosh and proudly shared some of its history. “This had a GB-2 military designation, and all the colors, markings, roundels, and interior are pretty close to what it was in 1944 — and it will do 200

1938 Luscombe Model 4

In 1966, when Ron Price of Sonoma, California, was 25 and learning to fly at San Carlos, he noticed an unusual radial-powered Luscombe sitting on the ramp. That 1938 Luscombe Model 4 continued flying onto Ron’s radar.

About a year or so later, after he bought into a club-owned Luscombe 8E, the Model 4 showed up again at the airport.

“I later bought John Underwood’s book Of Monocoupes and Men, and there was a picture of this Model 4 on the back page,” Ron said. “Then around 1978, I saw the Model 4 advertised in Trade-A-Plane and immediately called the owner, Hans Borkowski, and sent him a deposit check. The airplane was in the Flying Lady Museum at Morgan Hill, and I kept it there until the museum closed.”

Ron stored the airplane at various locations until 2016, when he moved it to the east side of Kansas City, Missouri, where Bill Bradford and Mark Anderson commenced the restoration at Anderson Aviation. After the metalwork was done, the project was moved to Bill’s hangar at Grain Valley Airport, where it was completed just before AirVenture.

The Model 4’s fabric-covered wings have aluminum spars and ribs, and are similar to Luscombe Phantom wings.

Bill Bradford (of Luscombe Model 10 fame) and Mark Anderson decided to bring another facet of Luscombe history back to life when they agreed to restore Ron’s Model 4.

The project took them about three and a half years to

Matt Walke r,

pilot of this

1944 Beech

D17S Stagge

rwing.

www.vintageaircraft.org 23

mph,” Matt said. “The paint scheme, markings, and panel are a faithful replica of its World War II configuration. The entire airframe, firewall forward, and instruments were overhauled. This airplane was used by the Royal Navy during World War II. “After it returned to the States, it spent time with a variety of owners in civilian colors. It was damaged in Geneseo, New York, during a landing and came in on a flatbed to Flabob Airport at Riverside, California”, he said. “If you’d seen it, you’d have thought it was on its way to the junkyard.

A Staggerwing is an enormous project that most people won’t even think about tackling because it’s extremely complicated. Granger Haugh of Scottsdale, Arizona, is the owner. Mark Lightsey of AeroCraftsman started the restoration at Flabob, and Nando Mendoza of West Coast Air Creations finished it.”

The Staggerwing made its debut at AirVenture in 2018 and was awarded Best Light Transport, along with a Silver Wrench for West Coast Air Creations. This year, N582 was awarded the World War II Era (1942-1945) Champion – Bronze Lindy.

1940 Piper J-3 Cub

Student pilot Becky Hofmeister-Timblin and her pilot husband, Joel Timblin, of Boyceville, Wisconsin, were tickled pink when the controller told them to land N26846 on the pink dot. Their white Cub is finished with the Star Gloss

system and detailed with a striking pink trim scheme.

“We’d made a little folder of all of the information, including the NOTAMs and the frequency we needed to be on, and when we got to Fisk we rocked our wings — doing that for the first time was really fun for me,” Becky said. “It was our first time flying in, and I’ll never forget it.”

Dubbed Pinky, the Cub was featured during Vintage in Review. Children seem to be naturally drawn to Pinky, but even grownups have been known to say, “A pink Cub — it’s cute!” Becky says she was inspired to use pink for a couple of reasons: “I listened to the audiobook Fly Girls about Amelia Earhart and the group of lady pilots who formed the NinetyNines, and those ladies worked so hard making a path for the rest of the female aviation world that I wanted to do something for the young ladies in ours and the next generation so they would be able to fly and keep that passion going. My other inspiration was to raise awareness about breast cancer, and we’ve gone to a few of those benefits.”

Over the past three years, Becky and Joel have talked with 4H groups, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and high school students to encourage boys and girls to get into aviation. Their efforts are supported by their local airport’s booster club. Joel explained, “All the dollars we raise as a booster club go into scholarships and youth education, so we bring the high school students into a conference room we’ve built in our hangar, where we have stations set up for fun education.”

Joel has been coming to the EAA convention since its Rockford days, and he treasures an old photo of his father holding Joel as an infant, standing with Air Camper designer Bernard Pietenpol. This year will be yet another treasured memory — for both of them, thanks to Pinky’s friendly presence on the flightline.

1946 Piper J3C-65 Cub

sband, Joel and her pilot hu fmeister-Timblin Ho y ck Be ot pil Student J-3 Cub. their 1940 Piper Timblin, stand by

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November/December 2019 Nove

Jared Berner of New Carlisle, Ohio, had a sporty little pedal plane posed with his Cub on the flightline. “We just finished the pedal plane Saturday, and my niece and nephew are going to be pedaling in the PedalVenture parade here,” Jared said. “It’s one of Marv Hoppenworth’s designs, and kids just love them. I soloed on my 16th birthday in my grandfather’s clip wing Cub, and my checkride examiner was Dottie Anderson, a WASP. That clip wing was here in 1970 and is down at the Brown Arch right now with the EAA 50th reunion airplanes. It’s very special to me because it was my grandfather’s favorite airplane, and now it’s my favorite.”

Jared bought his own Cub (NC88349) in 2011 and keeps it at Andy Barnhart Memorial Airport. He’s logged around 800 hours in his Cub and around 600 in the clip wing. It’s evident that Jared enjoys sharing his passion for aviation — especially with his family.

“This airplane has given so much to me,” Jared said. “I just can’t speak volumes enough about it. It’s allowed me to

Sparky’s 2019 AirVenture Notebook

or -65 Cub and his sp e his 1946 Piper J3C for be ses po er rn Jared Be pedal plane.

ty little

teach my father and brother to fly, and to take my niece and nephew up flying. It has a 65-horse Continental, but I’m building an 85-horse Continental Stroker engine for it, which should give it a little bit more oomph! Being able to continue my grandfather’s legacy is something special to me, and I’ve got my uncle here at Oshkosh for the first time.

We love looking at all the beautiful airplanes here, and we look forward to it every single year. We enjoy bringing the kids and keeping them involved in aviation, and letting them see what Oshkosh has to offer. It’s great!”

with me afterward,” Steph said. “I never went back after that. So during the next 10 years I got a degree in physiology and kinesiology, lived in New York City, worked at the United Nations, and taught yoga. Then I moved home to West Chester, and I kept seeing airplanes flying overhead.

“I got called from a greater power to come to aviation, and Matt was assigned as my flight instructor on my first day at the flight school. I felt so aligned with flying and knew that I’d found what I want to do! I got my private in 10 weeks, my instrument after 10 more weeks, then my taildragger endorsement, and my commercial last week. It’s been about a year and a week that I’ve been flying.”

Steph is charting her own course with alacrity and passionate yet humble clarity, and as the old song goes, the best is yet to come. Matt explained, “When we landed at Fond du Lac, she was overcome because she made it to the mecca of aviation, and she was sobbing tears of joy. When we were tying the aircraft down, she called her dad to say, ‘I made it!’ An hour later, she gets a phone call from the Marine Corps letting her know that her application has been accepted for officer’s candidate school, with an air contract to fly in the Marine Corps.”

Steph laughed and said, “I completely collapsed! I want to be the best pilot I can be, and one of the hardest things is just having the confidence. I think it’s really easy to doubt your abilities, and having instructors that believe in you and support you is so pivotal to becoming a pilot. I feel like I’m made for aviation, but the first time I took lessons, I was crushed by a simple thing that shouldn’t have been the end of the world. It’s important to know that you can do it; it just takes practice, and you have to trust yourself, the airplane, your instructor, and stay present and learn. If you have that tickle for aviation, pursue it. Follow it to the end of the world. It’s just the greatest gift!”

1946 Cessna 140

Steph Harris flew N33U, her Brandywine Flight School instructor’s Cessna 140, on the long cross-country from West Chester, Pennsylvania, for her very first visit to AirVenture.

She landed at Fond du Lac on Monday to avoid the rainsoaked fields at Oshkosh and then launched early Tuesday morning for Wittman Regional Airport. Along for the ride was one of her former instructors, Matt Rajkovich, a former Marine Corps C-130 pilot (sans tailwheel endorsement).

“We followed a red biplane in, got ‘rock your wings over Fisk,’ and then the controllers said, ‘We’re going to have to give you 27; 36 is closed now.’ So we had a 90-degree crosswind gusting to 15 knots,” Steph said. “I was a bit nervous, but I did great! I put it on the first dot, did a high-speed taxi off the runway, and then we got marshaled over to this camping field. It’s just so cool to be coming in flying a taildragger.”

Now 28, Steph first started taking flying lessons when she was 16, but all did not go well. “During my third flight lesson, I pulled the mixture on downwind, and the flight instructor I had at the time was a young guy and he just didn’t know how to handle that and how to communicate

Steph Harris and Ma tt

Rajkovich pose with

the 1946 Cessna 140 .

www.vintageaircraft.org 25

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Ray Johnson (right) brough t his Vintage in Review sess ion over to NC15165, a 1936 Stinson Model A TriMotor. A crowd of folks gat hered to hear former owner Greg Herrick (left) and current owner Scott Glover (center) share the history of the Tri-Motor.

It won the Transport Cate gory Champion – Bronze Lind y.

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November/December 2019

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Sparky’s 2019 AirVenture Notebook

0 ward 50 This Ho

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www.vintageaircraft.org 27

a PT-22 owned by Ron Johnson of Rockford, Illinois. So to this day she still prefers open cockpit, but the Taylorcraft does have the big windows that you can open up and get all the air flowing through the cabin.”

Matt keeps his Taylorcraft in La Crosse, close to the Mississippi River on the western edge of Wisconsin. “I fly Young Eagles and that’s an absolute blast!” Matt said. “The La Crosse EAA chapter has a regular gig every month, and we have a circuit around the Mississippi River Valley that’s just gorgeous. I’ve flown over 30 kids in two years, and it’s just so much fun sharing flying.”

Matt Von Ruden stands with his

1941 Taylorcraft BF-65.

1941 Taylorcraft BF-65

Matt Von Ruden of Cashton, Wisconsin, has owned N36441 since 2014. “It was restored with Ceconite in 1993 and is still in pretty good shape,” Matt said. “I was attracted to the Taylorcraft for its efficiency and economy. It’s something I can afford the care and feeding of! I’ve always been drawn to the antiques. I worked for Roy Redman up until 2001, so antiques are near and dear to me.”

This was the second time Matt has flown his Taylorcraft to Oshkosh, and he enjoys relaxing under the wing and meeting people. “Everybody’s of the same mind,” Matt said.

“I mean, look at all this! Every one of these airplanes has its own story! Especially the antiques, which have outlived their builders and first owners. Just think about all the effort — the attention, caring, and money — everything that goes into keeping these airplanes flying. It can only be love!

I feel very fortunate.

1946 Fairchild 24W-46

Max Appleton and his father, Rick, brought CF-DRW (formerly N81336) to Oshkosh from their home in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for its first visit to the fly-in. “We bought it out of Edmonton a couple of years ago from a fellow who just finished completing the restoration,” Max said. “We’ve been enjoying the beautiful plane that it is. Originally my dad bought this airplane in the hopes of being selected to be a participant to fly the 7,000-mile in 2020 from Ushuaia, Argentina, to the United States. Unfortunately for us, the program selected an open-cockpit biplane. So then my dad thought we should just sell it, but then we started flying it,

“Just think about all the effort ... that goes into keeping these airplanes flying. It can only be love!”

— Matt von Ruden

“I got my license in 1994, but I wasn’t always financially able to fly. My wife, Lisa, encouraged me to get back into it and find an airplane. I couldn’t have done it without her support. As a matter of fact, she got her first airplane ride in

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November/December 2019

Max Applet on

poses with the

family 1946

Fairchild 24

W-46.

Sparky’s 2019 AirVenture Notebook

and flying it more, and more … and I don’t think it’s going to leave anytime soon.

“The thing we find really attractive about the airplane is its performance and its capability. Fairchilds are very cost effective for a vintage aircraft, which I find surprising because they are amazing airplanes. It cruises about 130 mph, carries a total of 30 gallons of fuel in two wing tanks, and the Jacobs burns 14 gph.”

Max is currently working on finishing the requirements for his certificate and is learning to fly the Fairchild in the process. “I’ve done some training on it, and my dad and I were trading off flying on our 10-hour flight down here,” Max said. “I’ve been doing takeoffs and landings in it as well. I’m going to be a third-generation pilot. My grandpa first started flying crop dusters up in Alberta, my dad followed suit, and they both moved into the airlines and are both instructors. I’m 25 and I remember flying in our family’s Cessna 140 when I was about 4 years old — my dad would let me use the yoke a little bit.”

Flying to Oshkosh in his own airplane was a bucket-list item for Rick. “The Fairchild has quickly become a favorite aircraft for us, and we are enjoying our journey through a portion of her history,” Rick said. “I never imagined being able to fly here with my son Max in such a distinct and beautiful vintage aircraft.”

Max thoroughly enjoys his time at AirVenture and offers this perspective: “The thing that makes me want to come to Oshkosh is mainly the Vintage community itself. Oshkosh has a lot of great facets and communities and groups that really make this an amazing mosaic of aviation. However, when you come to Vintage, you feel this real passion and connection to older airplanes, and to their stories and histories. It’s really fun to be a part of that and help preserve that as well.”

1941 Stinson 10A

Tori and Daniel Patterson of Lexington, Kentucky, flew their Stinson 10A to Wittman Regional Airport this year — and it was the only 10A in the Vintage area. Tori, the only pilot in her family, has her private certificate and instrument rating. Her pilot husband, Daniel, said, “I’m the third generation of pilots in my family; before that, there weren’t any airplanes!”

Daniel said that NC36702 became part of his family in the early 1990s. “My father and grandfather restored it when I was still very young, and it was the airplane I rode around in as a kid,” Daniel said. “Now my wife and I have taken over the care of it. On long cross-countries, Tori will fly an hour and then I will, and then we land and refuel and take a break. This 10A used to have a 90-horse Franklin, but the main bearing went bad, so we put a 108-horse Lycoming O-235 in it.”

Tori and Daniel Patter son

stand by their 1941 Stin son 10A.

One unique feature of the 10A — a forerunner to the Stinson 108 series — is that in addition to the two front seats, there’s a half seat in the back that’s just large enough to accommodate a small child or some baggage. “Only around 500 10As were built,” Daniel said. “This airplane has an all-wood tail, whereas the 108s are metal tails. It’s still got a pretty beefy gear and the fuselage in general is kind of shaped the same as a 108, but the 10A has quite a bit less power. The wing spars are wood and the ribs are metal, covered with fabric.”

Daniel summed up his fondness for the 10A when he said, “I think owning an old airplane like this is really the only way to go anymore. It’s an affordable way of flying.

This has two 20-gallon tanks, one in each wing. It cruises at 110 mph and burns 8 gph. We’re running full rich all the time, though; we don’t lean it out. The 10A is also a really good training airplane for the more challenging Wacos we have — a 1931 Waco straight-wing ASO and a 1934 YKC cabin, which Tori and I flew here last year.”

Every member of the Patterson family enjoys flying the 10A, and they log several hundred hours on it every year. In addition to traveling to fly-ins in Kentucky and Indiana, flying to Oshkosh has become a tradition. Tori said, “I just like how there’s so much to do here, and you can also just sit here and relax under the wing and watch the air show. Oshkosh is the mandatory vacation every year!” www.vintageaircraft.org 29

Ron’s Porch is close to the Vintage Red Barn and was named in memory of Ron Alexander.

This 1946 Be ech G17-S (N C80321) is ow part of the ned by Stev 1970 showpl e Craig of La ane reunio wrence, Ka n. nsas, and w as

ered Beech D17S regist NC333E is a 1943

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November/December 2019

of Bertram to Robert Ingram

, Texas.

Harry Ballance’s Stin son SR-5 basks in the ambiance of the night air show’ s fireworks.

Sparky’s 2019 19 AirV AirVenture Notebook

S1C3G and World War II-e is a 1944 Douglas DC-3AMiss Montana (N24320) ng of Missoula, Montana.

Museum of Mountain Flyi

This 1943 Interstate S-1B1 Cad New Mex et (N4633 ico, and 3) is own Bryan W ilson. ed by Ch

ra veteran owned by the

ristophe

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of Edgew o od,

www.vintageaircraft.org 31

CLICK HERE

TO SEE A VIDEO OF HARRY BALLANCE’S STINSON SR-5

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November/December 2019

Harry Ballance and his immaculate Stinson SR-5 grace the skies over Oshkosh.

Look for a feature story in the December issue of EAA Sport Aviation.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS

www.vintageaircraft.org

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1935 Davis D-1-W

Vintage member Terry Wallace of Bedford, Texas, has been around Davis airplanes virtually all his life. When Terry was 10, his father bought and restored a 125-hp, Warner-powered 1931 Davis D-1-K (NC12476). That was 1956, and when Terry reached flying age, he took lessons in a Citabria to prepare him for flying the Davis. Later, he and his father restored the airplane again — once in the 1970s and again in the 1990s — and Terry still owns and flies that Davis.

This year, Terry was on the flightline with Layton Humphrey’s 1935 Davis D-1-W (NC15785). “Brandon Ayers of Ayers Aviation flew this Davis to Oshkosh,” Terry said.

“These airplanes are kind of rare. There are only about five or six still flying. I restored this one during a threeyear period and completed it in 2015, and now it’s for sale.

I used the Poly Fiber system and painted it with Poly-Tone so it kind of looks like the original and isn’t real shiny. It’s got a 165-hp Warner and has 26 gallons of fuel — 20 in the wing tank and a saddle tank that has 6 gallons. It cruises around 100 to 110 mph and flies about like a heavy Cub or a Citabria.”

Terry Wallace wi

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35 Davis D-1-W. th his friend’s 19

November/December 2019

in front Duane Jones and his son Kyle stand

1946 Aeronca 7AC Champ

of his 1946 Aeronca 7AC Champ.

NC2189E was featured in Vintage in Review this year, not only because it was a previous award winner, but also because owner Duane Jones of Dayton, Ohio, flew it for Armstrong, a documentary about Neil Armstrong. “The film was directed by David Fairhead and produced by Gareth Dodds along with Keith Haviland, and the line producer, Hannah Rees, posted on Facebook that they were looking for a Champ with a ‘mustard and ketchup’ paint job because Neil Armstrong learned to fly in a Champ,” Duane said. “Several people referred them to me and she contacted me. So on October 25 last year, I flew up to Wapakoneta, [Ohio], and we did a lot of aerial shots around Armstrong’s boyhood home. Then I flew for about 4.5 hours out of Mad River Airport in Tremont City, Ohio, because it has a grass strip and no modern buildings. I saw the movie premiere this July at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum, and I was in over four and a half minutes of it — I was thrilled!”

Duane’s Champ was imbued with sentimental value even before the filming. “My dad bought it in 1971 from George Sykes of Moraine, Ohio,” Duane said. “George made my dad promise not to paint over that image of Snoopy [on the fuselage] until the whole airplane was redone, because his 4-year-old grandson had painted it on and then died of leukemia. So when I restored the airplane I wanted the Snoopy to go back on, and Casey Simmons, who paints our nose art at the Air Force museum in Dayton, painted it on for me. I have met everybody who ever owned this airplane except for George, because he passed away before I was alive. It was a rental airplane in Brookville, Ohio, for 24 years and has over 12,000 hours of total time. Years ago, we flew down to Middletown, Ohio, to go to breakfast and met an old Aeronca test pilot who showed us his logbook entry for this airplane. I bought it from my dad in 1996, and then I tore it apart for an 18-month restoration. Fourteen years later, I finished it. I flew it to Oshkosh in 2013, and it won Outstanding Aeronca Champ two weeks after restoration.”

Sparky’s 2019 AirVenture Notebook Duane’s 14-year-old son, Kyle, is working on becoming the third-generation pilot in the Jones family and is starting to take lessons in the Champ. Kyle has accompanied his father to Oshkosh every year since he was 3, and now he’s following in his father’s footsteps by volunteering every day for the National Aeronca Association in the Vintage Hangar. “Kyle has dedicated over 40 hours a week to the club every year he’s been at Oshkosh,” Duane said. “To him, it’s just what you do!”

“Invest in your abilities and you will be that much closer to reaping the rewards of your passion.”

1946 Aeronca 7AC Champ

Jill Manka of Lakeland, Florida, was delighted to fly Lucy to Oshkosh again. NC83228 has an 85-hp Continental and a wing tank to extend its range, and Jill spent five years restoring the Champ after acquiring the bare bones project in 2009. Jill’s introduction to aviation was serendipitous, with none other than Cupid leading the way.

“I kind of stumbled into aviation,” Jill said. “In 2006, the American Barnstormers Tour, produced by Rob Lock and Clay Adams, stopped at Frasca Field near the town where I was working as an event promoter for the convention and visitors bureau. I was helping with the tour’s local marketing efforts, and I met Rob, Clay, and all the people on the tour. Through that meeting I developed a romantic relationship with Rob, and we’ve been together ever since.

Jill Manka with her 1946 Aeronca 7AC Champ Lucy.

— Jill Manka

“The aviation industry was just so welcoming and encouraging to people like me who had a curiosity. I had a wonderful support element from the get-go because I was around great folks who had an infectious type of passion for aviation. I am beyond astounded at the introduction I’ve had to aviation, and appreciative of it.”

When she was 31, Jill started learning to fly in a Cessna 172 and soloed in 2007. Then she took a two-year hiatus from her flying lessons while she and Rob dedicated their time to restoring a Stearman. “I’d already made a decision that I wanted a Champ, so I switched to flying a Cessna 150 when I started taking lessons again,” Jill said. “In May of 2015, I got my tailwheel endorsement and flew my 10 hours for an insurance requirement. Four days later, I was flying Lucy from Florida to Michigan because we had to work the Air Zoo at Kalamazoo, Michigan. That summer was the first time I flew in to Oshkosh. I had just 24 hours on the airplane right out of restoration.

Rob thought I was nuts!”

Jill flies on a regular basis, has logged 420 hours to date, and has soloed the Stearman. She also keeps her hands busy installing fabric on antique airplanes.

“People ask me how I learned the fabric work, and I say, ‘Well, there’s this great Poly Fiber manual by Jon Goldenbaum. I read it, and then I did it!’” Jill said. “Yoda left a big impact on me when I saw Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: ‘Do, or do not. There is no try.’ So if you’re thinking about learning to fly or restoring an airplane, the longer you spend pondering whether or not you’re going to do it, you’re taking up valuable time where you could be finished and flying. So please do it! Invest in your abilities, and you will be that much closer to reaping the rewards of your passion.” www.vintageaircraft.org 35

N6222K is a 1947 Republ

ic RC-3 Seabee registered

to Eutychus Air LLC of Ale xandria, Louisiana.

red A registe sna 195 s e C 2 5 . a 19 n Inc N1521D is nessee Aviatio Ten . t e s e e s s W to nne n City, Te of Unio

This 1932 Waco IBA belongs to the Harter Family of Greenfield, Indiana.

36

November/December 2019

Sparky’s 2019 AirVenture Notebook

Lincoln, Nebraska. to Duncan Aviation Inc. of lt in 1943 and is registered bui s wa 8H N85 . ure ent DGA-15Ps flew into AirV At least a dozen Howard

This 1939 Piper J4A Cub Coup Komin of e (N25753) Ingleside is towed , Illinois. out to a st arting po sition

on Lake W innebago . It’s regis tered to St eve

www.vintageaircraft.org 37

Rear Jeremy Irwin stands with his 1941

win 175 Skyranger.

1941 Rearwin 175 Skyranger

Jeremy Irwin of Sabina, Ohio, was the last arrival before the air show started one afternoon. As soon as he taxied N34846 into the parking area, people were gathering around his airplane to learn more about it.

He’s owned it about five years and bought it from a father-son duo who restored it. “They’re both great mechanics, and when I was looking for an airplane, they said, ‘What do you think about a Skyranger?’”

Jeremy said. “I had no idea what it was. It’s a Rearwin and they sold the plans to Commonwealth in 1946. I think there’s only about seven of these airplanes flying today under the Rearwin name.

“It’s a unique airplane and a lot of fun to own and to operate. It’s pretty humbling when you go out for the $100 hamburger and people walk past a $100,000 airplane to come take a look at the odd little brown airplane because they don’t know what it is. It has a C85 but it originally came out with a 75-horse nonelectrical engine. I’ve got a transponder and a flip-flop radio, but other than that this is what it would have looked like in 1941.”

The Skyranger has a sling seat and two 12.5-gallon wing tanks, and Jeremy was airborne for about three hours on the second leg of his flight to Oshkosh, cruising along at 90 mph. “To look at it, you’d assume it flies like a Champ, Cub, or Cessna 140, but it doesn’t fly like a light taildragger. It flies more like a heavy airplane.”

Jeremy has been flying for about 12 years, and his love of flying was passed down from his grandfather.

“Back in the 1960s, my grandpa had a grass strip on the family farm, so when I got my license we’d fly around in a 172 together,” Jeremy said. “He used to have Champ out on the farm, and I decided that one of these days

38

November/December 2019

I going to have a taildragger. So when my dad took over the I’m farm I asked him about putting a strip back on the farm. He told me if I got an airplane he’d consider it. Ten years later, I asked him if he remembered our conversation, and I told him I’d bought the Rearwin — ‘Let’s get to work on the airstrip!’

And we did. We put a 2,300-foot grass strip on the farm.

“Then he needed more barn space and said if I’d help him build the barn from start to finish, I could keep my airplane in it. We literally built a 40-by-64 barn all by ourselves, and my girlfriend, Brittany, helped me build the wood and truss that makes the 40-foot clear span for the hangar door. So I fly this Rearwin all the time! It’s a joy to fly, and it’s just fun having something unique. In 2016, Brittany and I got married on the runway at the family farm and held our reception in the barn hangar. The Rearwin was featured in most of our wedding photos. It may be the only Rearwin present at a wedding!”

1946 Fairchild 24R-9

Steve Lawlor of St. Joseph, Missouri, has grown rather attached to N1010W in the 10 years he’s owned it. Though he didn’t grow up in an aviation family, Steve acquired his father’s love for airplanes early on. “My dad loved airplanes, but we were just poor dirt farmers and never got to fly,” Steve said.

“But my dad would take my mother into the beauty shop on Saturday mornings, and then we would go out to the airport.

They had some A-26s out there, and we’d go to the Kansas City

Steve Lawlo r and his sw eetheart, El Fairchild 24 aine Justus R-9. , pose by

Steve’s 1946

Sparky’s 2019 AirVenture Notebook downtown airport and watch the Constellations start up, belching fire and smoke, and I just loved them. I was probably 21 when I soloed and got my license. I rented airplanes for about 10 years, and then I got myself a 172 in 1985, and it’s under restoration now.”

Steve had wanted a Fairchild for years and eyed them longingly at fly-ins at Bartlesville, Tahlequah, and Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. In 2009, a friend from Nebraska alerted him to a Fairchild for sale in Longmont, Colorado. “It was in a hangar that was filled with garbage and junk, where it had been for 19 years without being flown,” Steve said. “I bought it, hauled it home, and it took a year to get it back in the air. It was last re-covered in 1968 with Ceconite, and the fabric is in good shape. The structure inside is just wonderful; the wings have wood spars and ribs, and I took inspection cameras and shot pictures inside and looked it all over.”

Interestingly, Steve said the Fairchild’s registration number is closely linked to a previous owner: “It was owned by a reporter for a radio station in New York City, and he wanted to use the airplane to report traffic for the radio station WINS, 1010 on the dial, the ‘Big W.’” Steve lives on his own 1,800-foot grass airstrip and loves flying as frequently as possible. “The Fairchild is a sweet-running old airplane. It cruises about 115 mph and holds 60 gallons of fuel. It’s long-legged, more so than I am, but I do have to stop and check the oil. It has a 200-hp Ranger, which is a very smooth-running engine, but it’s getting hard to find parts for them now. I belong to the Fairchild Club, and it’s a good set of contacts. We just love sitting here with the airplane at Oshkosh and meeting people from all over the world! This is our 35th year here, and my sweetheart, Elaine Justus, drives in with the camping gear.”

1946 Ercoupe 415-C

David Jones of Memphis, Tennessee, has owned N3589H for just a few months, and this was his first time flying to Oshkosh. He followed Syd Cohen as part of a flight of four Ercoupes to the field, and he had a blast. David is also somewhat of a newcomer to vintage flying. “I came out of the homebuilt, experimental world,” David said.

“My father is 84 now and about five years ago I decided he needed to teach me how to build an airplane. He’s built RVs and other homebuilts, so we had a nice father-son three-year experience with the homebuilt. But flying Phase I for homebuilts takes a while, and I was always having to play mechanic.

David Jones leans on his

1946 Ercoupe 415-C.

“Meeting others within the vintage community is one takeaway from Oshkosh that has me excited about my Ercoupe and being part of one big family sharing the joy of keeping history flying.”

— David Jones

“I got tired of tinkering and losing flying time. But when I was growing up my father had Luscombes and Cubs to fly, and there was always something about those vintage airplanes that I liked. I wanted to share that with him again. I stumbled across this Ercoupe in Durant, Oklahoma, and told my wife, Cindy, how safe they are. She said, ‘Get it, but you have to sell the other one.’ So I did, and it was kind of an even swap and I haven’t been happier! I don’t really want to go upside down or set my hair on fire — flying 100 mph with the windows down is fantastic! And I love this vintage group of people that I’ve met this week. It’s like I’m home.

“Meeting others within the vintage community is one takeaway from Oshkosh that has me excited about my Ercoupe and being part of one big family sharing the joy of keeping history flying. That’s why I bought the Ercoupe, and it was inexpensive as far as airplanes go. This is aviation history, which is really what I like. These airplanes have a historic value — so keep ’em flying!” www.vintageaircraft.org 39

1970 Mooney M10 Cadet

Mike Then of Troy, Ohio, nestled his M10 Cadet on the flightline with neighboring Ercoupes. The M10 is similar in appearance to an Ercoupe, with the notable exception of the tail. Mike said, “It flies just like any Ercoupe and shares the same FAA type certificate going back to the Ercoupe 415-D model. The Cadet wing structure is virtually the same except for the stall strips on the leading edge — if you remove them, the M10 won’t stall. The M10 does have rudder pedals and toe brakes, and I believe Mooney made 61 M10s between 1969 and 1970.”

Years prior to owning N22617, Mike built a Sonerai from plans. “But before I bought the plans, I had a flight in an Ercoupe, and it was always memorable,” Mike said. “I’ll never forget putting my hand out the window, doing the yaw thing, which was a lot of fun. The Sonerai was a fun plane, too, but demanded my attention all the time. I didn’t fly it if I was having an off day, and a little bit of turbulence made it not fun. Plus, I was discouraged when I had some unscheduled maintenance at about 140 hours on the Sonerai.

“Then my wife, Leslie, bless her heart, suggested I should buy a certified aircraft. So I started looking for an Ercoupe, and I couldn’t find a 415 that I felt was clean enough. Then I took a flight in this M10 Cadet and fell in love with it because it reminded me of the 1991 flight I had in the 415-C. And I outgrew needing the amusement park kind of thrill with the Sonerai. This airplane is fun to fly, and I really enjoy having the canopy open. This year, I went to the Ercoupe Owners Club convention held in Iowa and was graciously awarded the best M10 there — but the truth is, mine was the only M10 there among more than 30 Ercoupes!”

s by his Mike Then stand

0 1970 Mooney M1

Meyers 145.

Dan Betzoldt stands by his 1946

1946 Meyers 145

Dan Betzoldt is from Tecumseh, Michigan, where N34360 was built. “My dad was a test pilot for Al Meyers up until 1967,” Dan said. “He gave my brother and me our first Meyers ride in this airplane when we were about 10 years old. The 145 was on the drawing board in 1945, and 19 were built between 1946 and 1956. The prototype had wood wings, but the production models had metal wings. I’ve had this since 2001 and didn’t fly it much until 2002, when I went to the Meyers fly-in and got the plaque for being the only 145 there — to date I’ve had seven of those plaques. I know of four 145s that are flying, and there may be seven or so existing.

Cadet.

Dan speaks with the author.

40

November/December 2019

Sparky’s 2019 AirVenture Notebook

“It’s fast, fun, and has a lot of horsepower for that size airplane. Originally it was built around a carbureted 145-hp Continental, but I have a fuel-injected 210hp Continental. On a good day, it has a 2,000-fpm climb at climb power, and cruise is about 130 to 150 mph at 60 percent power. I can easily run it up to about 180 mph. It burns 12 gph, but I can lean it back quite a bit. It carries 45 usable gallons in four tanks. It’s a complicated fuel system, but you learn it after a while.”

Dan is very happy with N34360, and it’s his favorite airplane for long cross-countries, such as visiting his daughter in Dallas. “It was a 15-hour round-trip flight with three fuel stops. It’s a special airplane, so I only fly it occasionally,” Dan said. “My wife, Linda, and I have been volunteering at Vintage for more than 30 years — prior to that wherever help was needed.”

Dan’s sleek Meyers 145 was one of two on the field. Both were at the EAA convention 50 years ago, and they were invited back this year to help celebrate EAA’s 50th year at Oshkosh. N34360 was also featured during Vintage in Review.

attachments for the struts. They don’t leak. They take on some condensation, but that’s all.”

Scott and Robby have been married for nearly seven years, but they’ve been friends since they were in high school in Las Vegas.

Scott took her for an airplane ride when she was 18, and now he’s not only her husband but her flight instructor as well. “I’m learning to fly in this 185, and I have about 25 hours so far — he’s a great teacher,” Robby said.

“My father taught me, and I got my student pilot license on my 16th birthday, before I got my driver’s license,” Scott said. “I was an instructor at the airlines, and I know that people say not to teach your wife to fly because you have to go home together. So we’re just being really patient. I think it makes it easier to learn in something that’s not a primary trainer, so that you just take it really slow.

Robby’s doing the water takeoffs and landings, pattern work, and air work in this airplane. We just haven’t worked on the land landings because that’s a little trickier on the little skinny airport where we live. Now she’s learning in a 150 that my neighbor has. Her learning to fly all started when we were flying around and I said to Robby, ‘You really need to learn how to get this airplane on the ground.’ She really took a spark to it and wants to learn!”

1969 Cessna A185E

Scott and Robby Russell of Sanger, Texas, flew N2781J to both the EAA Seaplane Base and Wittman Regional Airport this year. The Cessna has been in the family since Scott’s father bought it in 1989 on wheels. “We had it on two different types of floats, and we were the launch customer for these Aerocet 3400 amphibious floats in 2004,” Scott said. “We have since upgraded the engine to a 300-hp constant Continental 550, which is one step above the factory 520 it had, and it has a Horton STOL kit on it. It cruises at 124 knots indicated airspeed burning 15.5 gph and has a useful load of 1,140 pounds. The floats, struts, and pump all weigh about 640 pounds, and you can interchange with conventional taildragger landing gear. The Aerocets are wonderful floats! They’re composite and joined together with Fiberglas honeycombed thin plies, which are all sealed and bonded with Fiberglas, and they have hard point aluminum

Scott and Ro bby Russell sit

on the floa

t of their 19

69 Cessna A1

85E.

www.vintageaircraft.org 41

CLICK HERE

TO SEE A FLICKR GALLERY ON CRUISING THE LINE

This Beech D18S (NC411J) was built in 1953 and is registered to Brian

gistered 7491) is re idgeon (N W 4 4 G ichigan.

Grumman Jackson, M This 1942 agnen of W n Va n a to Bri

Aukes of Huxley, Iowa.

The Ladies for Libert y singers pose with Jim Kreutzfeld’s An 1943 Howard DGAtique Grand Cham 15P (NC1785H). pion Gold Lindy-w inning

kosh 1970 to highlight the Osh s blue on one side The Brown Arch wa

42

November/December 2019

showplane reunion.

Live your dreams.

Join EAA today and make your dream of owning an aircraft a reality.

EAA members get access to member-exclusive discounts on financing rates and loan fees for the purchase of aircraft or kits.

Making your dream a reality starts here.

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EAA.org/Finance | (800) 999-3712

CHECK OUT THE DIGITAL EDITION of Vintage for a photo gallery on the Bakers’ Taylorcraft.

44

November/December 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS

The Baker T-Craft(s) The tradition of naming sons after their fathers often causes confusion. In addition, it makes it difficult to tell the story of a given Taylorcraft when both Tom Jr. and Tom Sr. have owned several.

And that’s what this is: It’s the tale of two Toms and three, maybe four, Taylorcrafts, one of which, a prewar BC-12-65 Deluxe, was brought to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018 by Tom Jr.

‘T’ IS FOR TOM(S)

BY BUDD DAVISSON

www.vintageaircraft.org 45

The Baker T-Craft(s)

Three generations of Bakers enjoy the Taylorcraft restored by Tom Sr. (left).

Next to him is Tom Jr., followed by sons Ben and Nick.

om the elder has a long, long history in sport aviation. So long that it predates the birth of the EAA. “My dad owned a drilling company, and we had a grain farm,” he said. “In 1946, at the age of 14, I went to work for the drilling company and, though [it’s] not in my logbook, I also had my first flying lesson in a brand-new J-3 Cub. In 1948, the company bought a 1946 PA-12 Cruiser and built a runway on the farm.

“I worked for the drilling company until I was drafted in 1952, when I spent 16 months in Korea at the government’s expense,” Tom Sr. said. “In 1955, I got serious about learning to fly the Cruiser and got my PPL in ’57. In 1960, EAA Chapter 16 moved to Effingham, Illinois. I joined the chapter and became EAA member 9196. The chapter decided we were going to build a Stits Playboy, but by 1963 interest had waned, and I wound up buying and finishing it myself. As the Playboy neared completion in 1967, the drilling company decided to sell the PA-12.”

It is the rare airplane builder who doesn’t actively look for a new project right after finishing one. An empty workshop is a sad sight, and Tom Sr. knew that.

“One day,” he said, “I told the owners of a ragged, but flying, prewar Taylorcraft B Model that I would like to buy their airplane if they were interested in selling. Shortly after that, a windstorm came along and damaged the hangar the airplane was stored in. Then they disassembled it and sold it to someone else. I missed my chance.

46

November/December 2019

“I knew the new owner and asked him if he wanted to sell it and got the answer you hear so often in this kind of conversation: ‘Nah, I’m going to put it together someday.’

You know the rest of the story.

“Apparently, ‘someday’ never arrived because I saw it on a trailer being trucked through town,” Tom Sr. said. “Someone had beaten me to it. But I recognized the truck pulling the trailer as belonging to one of my customers, so I at least knew who had it. You never know. As it was, however, I was building an upholstery business and a new family so, to be realistic about it, I didn’t have the time to restore it, even if he sold it to me. But that didn’t stop me from thinking about it.”

According to Tom Sr. the new owner put the airplane back together and began flying it, but after a few years it was taken apart and put back in storage. “Almost every time I saw him, I asked if he was ready to sell the airplane, making sure he knew I wanted to buy it,” he said. “Then, one day right out of the blue, he called and asked if I was still interested in the airplane. He was having health issues and had others begging him to sell them the airplane to clip the wings Duane Cole-style. He didn’t want that to happen to the airplane and knew I would be a good caretaker. That was in 1983, and I drove down as soon as I could to pick it up and began working on it.”

What Tom Sr. seldom mentions is that when he sold the Playboy, he acquired another Taylorcraft, this one flying, on trade. It stayed with him for less than a year.

ENTER TOM JR.

“By the time Dad bought the Taylorcraft to restore, I was well into aviation,” Tom Jr. said. “I was less than a year old the first time he took me up in the back of the Cruiser, and as much as a 4-year-old could, I helped him out with the Playboy. Around the neighborhood I was known as ‘the kid whose dad has an airplane in the garage,’ which I thought was cool. Whatever he did, I tagged along. By 14, I had taken my first lesson in a new Piper Tomahawk and soon was getting instruction in the 7ECA Citabria Dad had bought. After I turned 16, I started working at the local airport mowing grass and cleaning, gradually working my way into the shop. Out of high school I continued to work at the airport for a year before going to school to get my A&P. After that, I went right back to the airport to work as a mechanic. In 1996, big changes happened: I purchased the FBO and became manager of the Olney-Noble Airport in Noble, Illinois, and, among other things, became a Flight Design dealer.

“While all of this was going on, I was also flying Dad’s Taylorcraft and decided I wanted one of my own,” he said.

“While I was working at the airport as a teenager, the mechanic had a Taylorcraft. One Saturday morning, he took me for a flight. Upon returning he sent me to town to pick up lunch. By the time I returned, the wings and tail surfaces had been removed. As often seems to be the case with projects like this, it wound up in storage. Who knew that a few years later, in 1988, I would wind up buying this airplane?

“By the time Dad bought the Taylorcraft to restore, I was well into aviation!” — Tom Baker Jr. My original intent was to clip the wings and make it aerobatic, but it was too historically significant. It still had the original round control wheels and big tachometer. In fact, all of the instruments were original. Plus, it had been in the World War II CPT program. With all that going for it, how could I butcher something so original? So I spent a few years restoring it, took it to Oshkosh in ’94, and won the Grand Champion Antique award. Being only 30 years old, I was very surprised.”

Tom Jr. eventually bought a clipped Taylorcraft project, but between family and business obligations, he doesn’t have time to work on it, especially since he can fly his dad’s Taylorcraft. He also bought a BC-12D needing an engine overhaul, but that was a business deal.

With only 65 horses, the entire Taylorcraft line delivered great performance thanks to its high aspect ratio, semi-symmetrical wing.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

www.vintageaircraft.org

47

The Baker T-Craft(s)

“The nice thing about Taylorcrafts is that they are simple airplanes mostly built by hand.” — Tom Baker Sr.

AN AIRPORT FENDER BENDER: ANOTHER RESTORATION

When Tom Sr. tracked down and bought his BC-12-65, he found it wasn’t just any prewar B-model Taylorcraft, of which there were 2,400 built with either Continental, Franklin, or Lycoming engines before the war shut down civilian production lines. About 900 were built in 1941. This one, however, was one of the few designated as Deluxe. “No one actually knows exactly how many Deluxes were built, because they were built alongside the trainer models,” Tom Sr. said. “There are about 150 still on register with the FAA that were likely Deluxe models.

“The Deluxe versions had lots of cosmetic upgrades that you don’t expect to see in a Taylorcraft,” he explained. “T-crafts are usually thought of as utilitarian, meat-and-potatoes airplanes. The Deluxe versions, however, had art deco touches like wood grain trim and chrome accents inside and out. Plus, its upholstery was much higher grade. The whole effect is what you’d find in something like a Packard limo of the day.

While this airplane didn’t have most of the original instruments, it did still have most of the Deluxe trim, and I kept it as intact as possible while restoring it and flew it that way for nearly 18 years. Then I had a little problem at the airport.”

When someone restores an airplane, they strive to keep it safe from all possible threats.

From weather to hangar fires to ground loops and beyond, there are about a million things for owners to worry about. Some things, however, are simply out of their control.

“It was a warm September evening in 2005,” Tom Sr. said. “I had gone to the airport to help a friend troubleshoot a rough-running engine on a Jungster 1 biplane he had built. The Jungster had been nestled behind my Taylorcraft in the hangar

48

November/December 2019

The prewar BD-12-65 T’crafts had a slightly different tail profile than the postwar versions.

so we moved my airplane out and pushed it to the side to test-run the little biplane. The biplane was turned away from the hangar and chocked so as to not have its prop blast blowing into the hangar. I propped the engine to start it for him and was standing by the wingtip as he ran the engine up to full power. The pressure on the brakes bled down, and because the tires were low on pressure, the airplane jumped the chocks.

“The owner in the cockpit couldn’t get the vernier throttle pulled back quickly enough,” he said. “The airplane lurched and was headed straight into the hangar, so I instinctively tried to stop it by grabbing the wingtip. It turned 90 degrees, knocked me down, and ran right into my Taylorcraft. It totally chewed up the right wing, beat up the cowling and prop, and dinged the door on that side. It was really a mess! But I figured I had built it once, so I could do it again. But this time I’d do it a little differently. Luckily, no one was injured.”

“Dad called me the next day with a tremble in his voice to tell me that his airplane had been torn up,” Tom Jr. said.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS

“In the nearly 20 years since I restored N29654 the first time, we had learned a lot about Taylorcrafts, and it was bothering me that some of the things in my airplane just weren’t right,” Tom Sr. said. “So I decided to tear it all the way down and do a restoration trying to make it better than it was the first time around.

“I started by building up a new wing that involved new spars and some ribs and the strut on that side,’ he said. “The prop went back to Sensenich to be rebuilt while I tackled the rest. When I did the airplane in ’87, I was pleased to see that it had so little rust, so the fuselage wasn’t a problem.

Also, I had put new leading and trailing edges on, but with the new damage, it only made sense to bring the wings up to ‘new’ condition. The right wing, of course, was trash anyway, so that had to be done regardless.”

From his time running an upholstery shop, Tom Sr. knew a lot of people with the right skills and resources to help him restore the Taylorcraft’s interior.

The Deluxe models had several different versions of exterior chrome trim.

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www.vintageaircraft.org 49

The Baker T-Craft(s)

“The instrument panel from the first restoration wasn’t in very good shape,” he said. “I had covered it in vinyl, and the center panel and glove box doors were made of wood. So this time around I had David Wenglarz of San Pierre, Indiana, make me new outer and center panels along with new glove box doors. He also helped with repairing the cowling. The center panel and glove box doors were supposed to be woodgrained. So I called on an award-winning car-restoration expert who used to work for me, Chris Davis from Charleston, Illinois. He did such a nice job, they look almost like real wood.

“In researching the interior, it became obvious that the carpet wasn’t quite the right color, so we found the appropriate tan material,” he said. “The seat upholstery, which was unique to the Deluxe versions, took some digging, however. I eventually found a guy who

had an actual seat cushion, with its original fabric, from a Deluxe. It turned out that it was mohair, like so many cars of the time, but it had a striped pattern in it.

I’m not sure I’d ever seen that before, but we found some that matched almost exactly.”

For brakes, Tom Sr. fought the urge to go with modern Clevelands, as so many do, and stuck with the unique brakes his airplane was originally equipped with. They are mechanical drum brakes, but the lining is riveted to the inside of the drums rather than being on the shoes, as is usually the case. The shoes themselves are bare steel.

Also, the first time he restored it, he installed right side brakes, as you’d find in some Taylorcrafts.

“The nice thing about Taylorcrafts is that they are simple airplanes mostly built by hand,” Tom Sr. said.

“Similar to rebuilding a Cub, quite a few of the parts are available from Univair or Wag-Aero, and those

Tom Baker tried twice unsuccessfuly to buy this particular prewar Taylorcraft. The third time, however, was the charm. Then he restored it. Twice!

50

November/December 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS

that can’t be found can usually be reverse-engineered and built because they are so simple. The prewar Taylorcraft are somewhat unique in that they used built-up metal trusstype ribs like a Cub. The postwar airplanes have stamped ribs. The early airplanes also have a different vertical fin and rudder and three hinges per side on the elevators instead of the two, like the later models. Also, the Taylorcraft community is a very tight-knit group, and if the part isn’t available, someone knows who can make it. This is not necessarily true of the chrome trim on prewar Deluxe T-crafts, however. I was lucky,

as I had the original cast grills. My airplane, being a very early production model, had handmade, cut-to-length chrome pieces with soldered ends. The later ones were stamped and custom-made for Taylorcraft. So those take some digging to find.”

Tom Jr. learned about airplanes and how to fly from his father, and his kids are learning from him. This is a wonderful thing to see. As the old saying goes, “A family that flies together, stays together,” and what we have here is an EAA family dominated by Toms and Taylorcrafts. That’s a good thing!

A very good thing.

Neat little com/avionics package is carpeted and snuggles against the hump in the floor.

Don’t let the photo’s perspective fool you: T-craft flight decks are snug.

CLICK HERE

TO SEE A FLICKR GALLERY ON THE BAKERS’ TAYLORCRAFT

Deluxe Taylorcraft aluminum wheel pants are nearly impossible to find.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON

www.vintageaircraft.org

51

The Vanishing

SUN-GOD

BY J.B. RIVARD

52

November/December 2019

Spokane Sun-God in fllght.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF J.B. RIVARD

www.vintageaircraft.org

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ess than three decades after Orville Wright’s Kitty Hawk success, Nick Mamer had a plan.

Piloting the Spokane Sun-God — a newly minted Buhl CA-6 — he would demonstrate that aerial refueling could extend an airplane’s range beyond what anyone at the time envisioned.

He and co-pilot Art Walker would fly from Spokane, Washington, to San Francisco, on to New York, and return from New York back to Spokane — without landing.

In preparing for the August 1929 flight, the Sun-God’s cabin was cleared of its six passenger seats to make room for a 200-gallon gas tank. Supply planes were stationed at strategically located airfields along the flight path. For success, all that was needed was to refill the big tank again and again in the air via ropes and hose by other daring airmen flying a few yards above the Sun-God. Some things Mamer didn’t count on were flying through hazardous mountain passes filled with smoke from forest fires and huge electrical storms that threatened to tear his airplane apart. He certainly didn’t count on the need to refuel at night, near the supply plane’s ceiling, and without a hose, during which creamery cans of gas were lowered to the Sun-God by improvised rope slings.

For five full days in the air, Mamer and Walker battled thirst, hunger, and fatigue. They established the nonstop transcontinental round-trip record, the forerunner of the worldwide reach of the U.S. Air Force and its Air Refueling Wings. As a tribute to Mamer’s pioneering effort, Fairchild Air Force Base in 2009 launched a KC-135 named Spokane Sun-God II.

Flight path of the Spokane Sun-God showing aerial refueling cities (circles).

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Newspaper, book chapter, and periodical accounts from across the continent told of this 1929 flight, a true aerial drama of men triumphing over impossible odds. Now, with new access to thousands of clippings, documents, and photos preserved by Nick Mamer’s descendants, my book Low on Gas — High on Sky relates the inside story of this flight and the life of the man who led it, Nick Mamer.

During the extensive research for my book, we tried but were unable to locate the airplane Mamer flew — the Buhl CA-6 Airsedan with a Wright Whirlwind nine-cylinder, 300-hp radial engine. This article describes the post-record history and possible fate of that airplane.

A few days after the conclusion of the record flight, the National Air Races and Aeronautical Exposition opened in Cleveland, Ohio. Inside and outside the new $10 million Public Hall, the exposition featured displays of new and famous aircraft, including the Sun-God. Thousands attended its nationally advertised and featured events.

Afterward, the Sun-God was returned to the Buhl Aircraft factory in Marysville, Michigan. On September 19, 1929, Robert M. Wilson flew it into the Kellogg Airport at Battle Creek, Michigan, on a brief “test hop.” Wilson was perhaps the best of the Buhl Company’s pilots and had participated in the record flight as pilot of one of the supply planes. The Sun-God remained on view in the Municipal hangar at Kellogg until the next day.

During an interview, Wilson said the only change made to the airplane was the removal of the 200-gallon gas tank from its cabin.

Wilson again flew the Sun-God into Battle Creek early on February 10, 1930. He arrived at the Kellogg Airport and left about a week later for St. Louis, where the Sun-God was to be exhibited at the International Aircraft Show.

During the five months between these two Battle Creek trips, the Sun-God was repainted.

The Buhl factory, having now no allegiance to the Spokane flight community, painted out the large white letters of “SPOKANE” on top of the upper wing. It also repainted the aircraft’s identifier, changing NR-9628 to NC-9628, in a dark color over the (new) light color of the airplane’s body. A black-and-white photograph of the display area inside the St. Louis Arena during the International Aircraft Show clearly shows the airplane with identifier NC-9628 on the starboard wing, dark against a light body color. (The original lettering of the Spokane Sun-God was white on a red body color, which, in a black-and-white photograph shows as light against a dark body color. The change from NR to NC was not a registration change because the second letter is not part of the aircraft registration number N9628. In the early days of aviation, the letter C in NC suggested commercial/private use, whereas NR suggested a more specialized application.)

Nick Mamer, probably early 1920s.

In 1931, the Sun-God was one of the airplanes exhibited during the dedication of the Buhl Airport near St. Clair, Michigan. This dedication on June 13 was marked by an attendance of more than 4,000 people, including leaders in aviation, industry, and finance.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF J.B. RIVARD

www.vintageaircraft.org 55

It’s likely that the Texaco Star emblems that originally distinguished the Sun-God’s wings and fuselage were also painted out, although we can’t be sure.

In 1931, the Sun-God was one of the airplanes exhibited during the dedication of the Buhl Airport near St. Clair, Michigan. This dedication on June 13 was marked by an attendance of more than 4,000 people, including leaders in aviation, industry, and finance.

Despite the optimism displayed during the Buhl dedication ceremonies, most of the participants were well aware that the storm clouds of the Great Depression were darkening. Every industry in the country was feeling the pinch, many closing their doors and declaring bankruptcy. The aviation industry was hard hit as well.

On Independence Day, July 4, 1931, the Seventh Annual National Air Tour for the Edsel B. Ford Reliability Trophy began in Detroit, Michigan. It attracted only 14 entrants, compared with 35 in the pre-Depression year of 1929. In what may have been a

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desperate grasp at the glory handle, the Buhl factory entered the Spokane Sun-God. It was flown by Jack Story, another of the Buhl’s factory pilots. On the official tour scorecard issued July 25, Story finished fifth, which was worth $1,250. Once the post-race coffee shop bluster quieted, Story ferried the Sun-God back to its hangar at St. Clair.

The airplane industry continued its economy-induced decline. The stock of Curtiss-Wright slipped from $30 to less than a dollar. In an effort to remain viable in the contracting economy, the Buhl Aircraft Company made what was described as “an intensive and exhaustive market analysis.” This prompted a decision to design and build a line of low-priced airplanes.

The first, the Bull Pup, was a light mid-wing wirebraced monoplane with a single open cockpit. It was spirited in performance and priced low. But in the depression days of 1932, it failed to attract buyers. The inventory of Bull Pups was later sold off at about half its original advertised price.

In mid-June of 1932, six majority stockholders filed a petition in circuit court for dissolution of the Buhl Aircraft Company. The six stockholders included brothers Arthur H. Buhl and Lawrence D. Buhl.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF J.B. RIVARD

As far as is known, neither of the Buhl brothers was a pilot, or had a particular interest in record-setting aircraft. The foundation of the Buhl family’s wealth was the Buhl Sons Company, a hardware firm inherited in 1916 by Arthur H., as president, and Lawrence D., as vice president.

In a lengthy legal notice dated October 6, 1932, Judge George ordered the sale of all of the Buhl Aircraft Company’s assets to the highest bidder, exclusive of “cash, corporate books and records.” The sale was ordered to take place at the company’s premises at Buhl Field, Monday, October 31, 1932. To be included in the sale were land and buildings, various patents on airplane construction, raw materials, work in process, machinery and equipment, office furniture and fixtures, and “finished airplanes.” Thus the sale presumably included the Sun-God. Two days before the sale — as if to emphasize the planes in the judge’s order — Buhl receiver Fred Clark was quoted saying, “There are a few airplanes of various types which will be sold.”

On the day of the sale, about 50 people attended the auction. The entire Buhl Aircraft Company site, “hangar, airplanes and all material on the premises, including furnishings” were sold to a single high bidder. The high bid was made by an agent of Arthur H. Buhl and

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www.vintageaircraft.org 57

Author’s charcoal portrait of Etienne Dormoy, chief designer at Buhl.

CA-5 Airster

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Lawrence D. Buhl. In effect, the corporation headed by the Buhls was dissolved and by virtue of their bid at auction, all its assets became the personal property of brothers Arthur and Lawrence Buhl.

To the author’s knowledge, nothing further on the possible whereabouts of the Spokane Sun-God airplane following this date of October 31, 1932, appears in print.

As far as is known, neither of the Buhl brothers was a pilot, or had a particular interest in record-setting aircraft. The foundation of the Buhl family’s wealth was the Buhl Sons Company, a hardware firm inherited in 1916 by Arthur H., as president, and Lawrence D., as vice president.

Shortly before Christmas of 1932, the Buhl family dynasty was shaken by a sensational news story. Arthur Kugeman, 32, a New Yorker who had married Julia Buhl, Arthur H. Buhl’s daughter following her debut in 1926, was found dead of a gunshot wound in a bathroom of the Grosse Pointe Farms home. Police seemed baffled by lack of motive for the apparent suicide. A dispute soon developed over whether Kugeman had actually shot himself or been murdered.

As expected, the tabloids nearly ran out of ink covering the ensuing investigation. A short time later, the matter was resolved when Mr. Kugeman’s handwritten and signed suicide note, which had been withheld by a family member, was handed over to authorities and verified, upholding the verdict of suicide.

The senior Arthur H. Buhl died in 1935; the senior Lawrence D. Buhl died in 1956. Whether the Sun-God was part of their estates is unknown. It’s possible the repainted airplane was sold to a buyer unaware of its history. It’s also possible the plane was

chromoly structure of the Spokane Sun-God. Sheet aluminum on its cabin is probably white with corrosion, while its nine-cylinder Wright engine rusts into a final silence.

The Concorde 001 is displayed at Le Bourget, France, and the B-29 Enola Gay at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington.

The Spirit of St. Louis, Wright Flyer, and Wiley Post’s Winnie Mae are at the National Air and Space Museum, and the B-17 Memphis Belle is at the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

An unsolved mystery remains: Where is the Buhl CA-6 Airsedan, registration number NC-9628, Buhl No. 42, the Spokane Sun-God, and why is it not restored and on display?

IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION or recall any stories passed down to you, please send to JBUSHA@EAA.ORG Author’s ink portrait of Nick Mamer.

J.B. Rivard

scrapped. All we can say for sure is that in 1960, the Buhl Sons Company wholesale hardware firm was sold for more than $3.5 million to an Illinois company operating the True Value chain of retail stores.

About 2007, Addison Pemberton — Washington state businessman, well-known pilot, and avid restorer of vintage airplanes — heard of a possible sighting of the Sun-God. He remembered it like this: “Larry Howard and I had been told rumors of Buhl CA-6 Sun-God remains being stored at the Flabob Airport in Riverside, California. I went to Flabob on a business trip in my Cessna 185 in or around 2007 to ask around the airport … I was led to the Marquart hangar with the remains of several historical aircraft hanging from the rafters. Among the aircraft was indeed a Buhl Airsedan but not a CA-6, and it was determined that it could not have been the Sun-God based on interviews with local pilots in the know.”

Despite our thrills of uncovering some of the post-record whereabouts of the Sun-God, the trail has grown cold. Somewhere, the 90-year-old remains of the famous airplane may exist. If so, its once-red fabric rots, perhaps revealing its space frame of welded tubing.

Etienne Dormay, famed designer, was proud of the

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF J.B. RIVARD

www.vintageaircraft.org 59

The Vintage Mechanic ROBERT G. LOCK

Adhesives and Bondings, Part I

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

THIS ARTICLE WILL CONCENTRATE on the art of bond-

ing non-metallic and metallic materials. We will explore bonding hard and soft wood and briefly describe some techniques used in bonding aluminum, although aluminum bonding is not that widely used in antique aircraft restoration. I hope you’ll find it interesting, for my purpose is to raise awareness about the importance of surface preparation, proper mixing, and application of the adhesive, and correct use of clamps to apply pressure during cure.

First, what is bonding? Bonding is the fabrication of parts where attachment of sub-members is by the use of adhesives. Assuming the adhesive is mixed and applied properly, the strength and integrity of a bond depends entirely on the person making it. The actual bond cannot be inspected or tested without breaking the part. Therefore, it is necessary to make test samples to check bond strength.

The integrity will depend on preparation of the surface, quality of the adhesive, correct mixing of adhesive, and proper cure techniques.

So, we’ll begin the discussion with wood structures and take a quick review of wood.

The shape of the leaf of the tree determines whether a wood is classified as soft or hard. Softwoods come from conifer trees with sharp-pointed leaves, while hardwoods come from broad-leaf trees. Therefore spruce and Douglas fir are softwoods, while birch, mahogany, and oak are hardwoods. Softwood is used for the majority of the primary structure because it is lighter in weight. The most common of these softwoods for aircraft structure is Sitka spruce (which is considered the standard) or Douglas fir.

Spruce is the easiest to work because it doesn’t splinter; it’s also the best to bond. Douglas fir is slightly denser and more easily splinters when planed. It may also be a little more difficult to obtain a good bonded joint with Douglas fir.

Plywood (created using woods that are members of the hardwood family) is a veneer and is bonded into sheets using an odd number of plies. Mahogany is the most common, followed by birch. The core material in plywood is most likely basswood or poplar. Aircraft-grade plywood will meet MIL-P-6070.

A note here should be made that, generally, softwoods are less dense and lighter than hardwoods. When bonding plywood plates to wing spars it will be necessary to lightly sand the surface to be bonded. This will put some sand scratches in the dense surface and will aid in strengthening

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the bonded joint. Softwood surfaces, particularly spar splices, should not be sanded because sanding dust will enter into the softwood’s more open wood-grain structure and may cause a weak bond.

Let’s look at surface preparation of wood structure.

First, the most strength of any bonded joint is one that is placed in a shear load. That’s why spar, rib, and plywood splices are made with such long scarf joints (10-to-1 to 12-to-1). This places the bond line in shear. For spar splices, spruce or Douglas fir should be planed only. For Resorcinol adhesive, because this type of adhesive doesn’t like thick bond lines, the joint should fit together very closely. The thicker the bond line the weaker the bond. Also, heavy clamping pressure should be used during the cure. Parallel clamps used with caul blocks are best for spar splices.

The final fit for rib cap strip splices is usually achieved by sanding. Again, make the fit between the surfaces close.

Pressure on the bond line is achieved by nailing through plywood gussets. The same thing is true for plywood surfaces; sanding is a must to achieve a close fit. Clamping is by the use of nailing strips and, in some cases, by the use of sand bags.

Epoxy adhesives are somewhat different than Resorcinol adhesive. Epoxies can withstand a thicker bond line and not lose strength. However, epoxy resins don’t like heavy clamping pressure. And that is a problem when using epoxy resins for spar splices. I still use Resorcinol adhesive for making spar splices because I know how it works and what kind of pressure it likes. If you clamp epoxy adhesive with parallel clamps, this is what will happen. The clamp pressure will drive out excess resin, but because epoxy resin is so viscous, the clamping pressure will eventually be lost or diminished.

And if you apply too much pressure, much of the epoxy resin will be driven out of the joint, resulting in a weak bond. I urge anyone who uses epoxy adhesive to make some test samples; prepare the surface, spread the resin, clamp using the same method you will use on the actual part, allow it to cure, then test the sample to destruction.

Adjust pressure on the bonded joint so you will know in advance exactly how to use the adhesive.

Figure 1 and Figure 2 show how to make such test samples.

It should be noted here that cure temperature is important. Do not allow the temperature to drop below 70°F during the curing stage, especially for Resorcinol adhesive. Some

FIGURE 1

epoxy adhesives will cure at temperatures as low as 50°F, but I’m always concerned about low temperature cures. We call the cure of these types of adhesives “cold setting” or “low temperature” cure. Cold-setting or low-temperature cures generally are from 150°F and below. Cure times can be speeded up by increasing the temperature, but I’ve never gone above 125°F. If you are using an elevated temperature, be sure to monitor temperature with a thermometer and don’t allow any “spikes” in temperature.

Epoxy adhesives are “thermosetting” plastics. The adhesive is composed of a resin with a catalyst or hardener.

Once mixed, the material cures by chemical cross-linking of the molecules of the resin. A byproduct of the curing process is “exothermic heat.” To gain the best advantage of epoxy resins, accurate mixing of resin and catalyst is required. Some adhesives have simple resin/catalyst ratios, like one part resin to one part catalyst. Other materials can have ratios like 100 to 42, 10 to 1, or 3 to 2. The ratios are given by either part or weight. The most accurate method of mixing is by weight using a scale. Accurate measuring and complete mixing of resin and catalyst is required, so stir slowly for a minute or more to assure the mixture is properly prepared. Don’t stir too fast or you will whip air into the adhesive. We don’t want porosity in the bond line caused by air bubbles.

Some adhesives have different catalyzing agents based on working temperatures. There will be slow setting for hot temperatures and fast setting for cold temperatures. Never adjust catalyst ratio to gain an advantage in curing time. In other words, don’t add more catalyst to make the material cure faster. If temperature control is available, adjust the

temperature. Adding heat will cure an epoxy adhesive faster, and cooling will make it cure slower.

When constructing the test samples, the bonded surfaces must be clean. Mix the adhesive and apply it to both surfaces; allow it to set for approximately one minute. Then check for any dry areas where adhesive may have soaked

FIGURE 2

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The Vintage Mechanic ROBERT G. LOCK

FIGURE 3

into the wood. Recoat if necessary, assemble, and clamp using the same method as will be used in the repair or fabrication – that is C-clamps, parallel clamps, screws, nails, etc.

Allow samples to cure, monitoring curing temperature and time. When cured, place the sample in a vise, attach a small parallel clamp, and begin to twist, push, and pull until the sample breaks. Closely examine the broken samples. If the bond line holds, the splice is good. If the sample breaks down the bond line and there is no evidence of wood fibers holding to the bond line, then the sample fails. Figure out what happened, modify the procedure, and try again.

Let me just say a couple of things about the bonding of aluminum because it is not widely used in the restoration area. Again, the outcome of the bonded joint depends on surface preparation and the skill of the person making the

bond. I have bonded aluminum using low-temperature and high-temperature cure adhesives. I have experimented on surface preparation from just light sanding (scratching the surface) to chemical treatment, including anodizing. The results confirm that the best surface treatment is anodizing, followed by chemical treatment, followed by scratching and wiping, followed by no surface preparation at all.

As is with all types of bonding, cleanliness is very important. Don’t bond anything that has surface contamination.

Figure 3 shows a method, the “water break test,” to determine surface cleanliness on aluminum. A fine mist of distilled water is sprayed on the surface, enough to wet the entire area. If the water breaks or beads up, there is surface contamination. Do more cleaning and repeat the process until a fine layer of water covers the entire surface. Of course all the water must be completely removed before bonding. Again, the bonding surfaces must be scrupulously clean. This includes wood surfaces, although a water break test is not recommended. Latex or butyl gloves should always be worn when handling aluminum surfaces to be bonded, thus avoiding “finger fat.” Finger fat is the oils that are transferred from the hands to the clean surface to be bonded.

Figure 4 shows a method of handling that will keep the bonding surfaces clean.

For low-temperature bonding of aluminum I have used 3M EC-2216 B/A Structural Adhesive. Results were quite good, again with prior surface preparation. I have cured the 3M adhesive to 125 degrees Fahrenheit in an oven with controlled temperature. Again, I recommend making test samples before proceeding on with the repair. Here is one way I have tested bonded aluminum joints using room-temperature curing epoxy resin (see figure 5).

Figure 5 shows what are typical lap bonds of aluminum substrates. The properly cured example shows “squeezeout” of the epoxy adhesive during the cure process. One should always look for squeeze-out for a visual inspection of the joint. The only other low-tech method to test the joint would be to tap test it using a coin or tap-testing tool and listen for a “metallic ring” sound indicating a sound

FIGURE 4

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FIGURE 5

bond. Coin tap testing, normally done with a “coin” made of heavy metal such as brass, is best done by someone who has experience in this type of testing.

High-temperature bonding is accomplished with an epoxy phenolic adhesive film that is in the “B stage” of cure (catalyzed epoxy rolled into a thin, uniform film, then frozen and kept frozen until used). This type of process cures beginning with room temperature (usually 70 degrees Fahrenheit), a temperature ramp to 250 degrees Fahrenheit or 350 degrees Fahrenheit at 3 to 5 degrees per minute, a hold for about one to one and a half hours, then a cool down

at 5 degrees per minute to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, then final cooling back to room temp. As you can see this process is not something you can do in your shop or hangar, so it isn’t in use except for large repair stations. But it is an interesting process anyway!

I hope this theory of bonding will help mechanics and restorers master the art of creating airworthy bonded joints, particularly on the primary structure of the aircraft.

Remember, given that all instructions are closely followed, the final outcome of the strength and airworthiness of the bonded joint will depend on the person who does the job.

2020 schedule

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Message From the President SUSAN DUSENBURY, VAA PRESIDENT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

On another note, I promised myself that I would not make that 17-hour drive to Oshkosh again unless it was absolutely necessary.

That promise may be short-lived. I may be hauling books to Oshkosh next spring! The family of Ken Brugh recently donated Ken’s aviation library to the Vintage Book Store. Ken, who went west several years ago, was a friend of mine who lived in Greensboro, North Carolina. At one time, Ken owned a Waco RNF, a Waco YKS, and an Aeronca C-3. For a while, I kept my Culver Cadet in his beautiful hangar in Burlington. I recently drove down to Charlotte and picked up Ken’s entire book collection. Many thanks to Ken’s son Pat for spearheading the contribution and also to fellow VAA member Walt Weaver (who is also from the Charlotte area), who met us early one morning to help load the books into my SUV. If you like old and interesting books on aviation, you should visit the Vintage Book Store during AirVenture 2020. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Ken had quite a collection of interesting and out-of-print aviation books.

This past July, VAA announced the new interactive

digital edition of our flagship magazine, Vintage Airplane. Beginning with the July 2019 issue, members can access these digital issues at EAAVintage.org/digital. Members will need to enter their name and Vintage membership number to connect to the digital site. The digital issue contains more information and photographs on the magazine articles plus videos from time to time.

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