VA-Vol-17-No-10-Oct-1989

The naqazine of the:EAA Antique/Classic Division, October1989

STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

TeA trauma

by Espie "Butch" Joyce Where has the summer gone? August went really quickly this year. I suppose that returning to my office after the Oshkosh Convention for two weeks and facing a mountain of paper work on my desk made time seem to pass faster than normal. Now we are moving into fall which is one of my favorite times to go flying. The color of the autumn leaves, the clear skies and the ab­ sence of thunderstorms makes flying around with the door of my Cub open a real pleasure. It will not be much longer before I must close the Cub's clamshell and flying won't be quite as pleasant any more .

Bad News A number of Antique/Classic members may know by now but I need to report that Peter Hawks, an advisor for the division for some time and a judge at Oshkosh passed away one week before the Conven­ tion after a long illness . Peter really en­ joyed the Antique/Classic Division. He worked hard at his job and was well thought of by everyone who knew him. Peter was from San Carlos, California and was the owner of a Spartan Executive and a Grum­ man Widgeon. He had owned an FI7D Staggerwing in the past which was dam­ aged by another pilot in an accident. He was 65 years old and was the son of movie producer, Harold Hawks who produced a number of aviation movies. There was a memorial fly-in held in California by a number of his friends on September 23.

Peter will certainly be missed by the An­ tique/Classic Division.

More bad news One week following the Oshkosh Con­ vention, Dale Wolford of Ashland, Ohio, who was George York's co-chairman of the Classic Judging Committee passed away while at work in his office. Dale was 61 years old and worked in the judging at Osh­ kosh for 15 years. He was on stage on Thursday night of the Convention to help present the trophies and was the picture of good health. He was very active with Aeroncas and owned a Chief for over 20 years. He also owned an Aeronca C-2 and a C-3. The C-2 has been featured in SPORTSMAN PILOT Magazine. We are going to miss Dale also .

2 OCTOBER 1989

Well, as everyone knows, the 30-mile veil around the TCA airports is now in ef­ fect. In August of this year, Charlotte, North Carolina became a TCA . I think everyone should get themselves a new Charlotte chart so they can look at this TCA. The control management at Charlotte worked very hard to accommodate all of the surrounding airports as far as the up­ side-down wedding cake boundaries go and should be commended for that. Although Mode C is still required within the 30-mile veil, the local airports are almost 100 per­ cent free of the TCA itself.

When you look at this chart , you may see something that illustrates how govern­ ment agencies "cooperate" with each other.

One group said that the cetner of the TCA will be the VOR, which is not on the air­ port. The other said that the 30-mile veil will emanate from the center of the airport.

Consequently, the two rings do not match up and are printed on the chart that way. I don't suppose we should take it personally that the people in Washington seem out to get us sportsman pilots . The controllers' management people in the field tried to have the chart discrepancy corrected, but evidently Washington does not listen to the people in the field, (so life goes on).

Old radios While we are talking about Washington, there is another issue brewing there that has been overlooked by a lot of pilots.

Being aviators, you don't necessarily pay attention to the Federal Communication Commision but in 1985, the FCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require tighter frequency tolerance on transceivers carried aboard aircraft. This rule, with very little opposition, has now come to pass and takes effect January I, 1990. What this means is that if you have a 360-channel or a 90-channel radio, you more than likely will be illegal after that date. Some of the radios that I feel sure will be on the "illegal" list will be, for example, the Genave 100, 200, 200A, Narco Mark 12s, King 100s, 150s, 160s and yes, the KX 170As. One positive note, the FCC may consider postponing or backing off on this require­ ment date, not knowing how to enforce the rule at this time.

Women's Air Derby On the plus side, the anniversary flight of the First Women's Air Derby has just been completed. This was Susan Dusen­ bury's reenactment of Louise Thaden's winning flight in the same Travel Air 4000.

The route was the same as the original which started in Santa Monica, California with stops in San Bernardino, California; Yuma and Phoenix, Arizona; Douglas,

New Mexico; Pecos, Midland, Abiline and Fort Worth, Texas; then on to Tulsa, Ok­ lahoma, Wichita and Kansas City, Kansas; East St, Louis , Illinois; Terre Haute, In­ diana; Columbus and, finally , Cleveland , Ohio. The re-enactment was the brainchild of Dub Yarborough who heads up the Travel Air Division of the Staggerwing Museum Foundation . The tour ws made possible by a lot of volunteers and received a lot of good publicity along the route, in­ cluding an article by Jack Williams in USA Today. All the participants in the trip wore name tags with the EAA Antique/Classic logo on them . I would like to thank them for the recognition paid to our division. We just can ' t get enough good media exposure.

If any of our members feel they can be of assistance after the fact on this particular tour, please contact Dub Yarborough at the Staggerwing Museum Foundation: PO Box 550, Tullahoma, Tennessee 37388 and ask him how you may be of assistance.

Goodies We have had a number of requests to order some of the merchandise that we sold out of during the Oshkosh Convention, such as T-shirts, jackets, etc. We are now in the process of restocking our merchan­ dise and will place an ad in VINTAGE AIRPLANE so that you can order these items from Headquarters . Hopefully, we will have all this accomplished in time for the Christmas season.

Vintage Trader Mark Phelps, our editor of VINTAGE AIRPLANE has arranged with our printer to allow your ads in "Vintage Trader" to run with only a 30-day lead time, instead of 60 days as in the past. Deadline for ads will be the first day of the month preceding the month of issue (i.e December I for the January issue). This should encourage more of you to utilize this service . We have had a number of members who have gotten good results with "Vintage Trader" and I encourage you to take advantage of it also.

Speak out Your Antique/Classic Board of Directors will be meeting the first part of November and I would like to encourage everyone to let me know of any concerns or suggestions before. the meeting so that we can address these matters at that time. Also again, I would like to ask that if you know of a person or aircraft that would be of interest to the membership, please send this infor­ mation and photos to Mark Phelps at Head­ quarters in Oshkosh or to me, so that this might be used in VINTAGE AIRPLANE for everyone to enjoy.

Let's all pull together in one direction for the good of aviation. Join us and have it all!

PUBLICATION STAFF PUBLISHER

Tom Poberezny

VICE-PRESIDENT

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Dick Matt

EDITOR

Mark Phelps

ART DIRECTOR Mike Drucks ADVIERnSING Mary Jones ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Norman Petersen Dick Cavin

FEATURE WRITERS

George A Hardie, Jr. Dennis Parks

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Isabelle Wiske

STAFF PHOTOGRAFHERS

Jim Koepnick Carl Schuppel

Jeff Isom

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC

DIVISION, INC.

OFFICERS

President Espie "Butch" Joyce 604 Highway St. Madison, NC 27025

Vice President Arthur R. Morgan 3744 North 51st Blvd.

Milwaukee, WI 53216

919/427-0216

414/442-3631

Secretary George S. York 181 Sloboda Ave. Mansfield, OH 44906

Treasurer

E.E. "Buck" Hilberl

P.O. Box 424

Union, IL 60180

419/529-4378

OCTOBER 1989 • Vol. 17, No. 10 Copyright

©

1989 by the EM Antiquel Classic Division, Inc. All rights reserved.

Contents 2

Straight and Level/by Espie "Butch" Joyce

4

Chapter Capsuleslby Bob Brauer

5

Vintage Literaturelby Dennis Parks

6

Members' Projectslby Norm Petersen

9

Vintage Seaplaneslby Norm Petersen

12

Rudy Kling Remembered/

by Clarence Mather

15

Spiffy Planelby Bob Brauer

16

Behind the Ballyhoolby Ruth Nichols (reprinted from American Magazine, March 1932)

815/923-4591

DIRECTORS Robert C "Bob" Brauer 9345 S. Hoyne Chicogo, IL 60620

John S. Copeland 9 Joanne Drive Westborough, MA 01581

312m9-2105

508/366-7245

Philip Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr. Law1on, MI 49065

William A Eickhoff 41515th Ave., N.E. St. Petersburg, FL 33704

616/624-6490

813/823-2339

Charles Harris 3933 South Peoria P.O. Box 904038 Tulsa, OK 74105

22

48 x 3lby William G. Wright

Stan Gomoll 1042 90th Lane, NE Minneapolis, MN 55434

29

Pass It To Bucklby E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

6121784-1172

31

Vintage Trader

35

Mystery Planelby George Hardie, Jr.

9181742-7311 Dale A Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Drive Indianapolis, IN 46278

Robert D. "Bob" Lumley N104 W20387 Willow Creek Rd. Colgate, WI 53017

317/293-4430

414/255-6832

Gene Morris 115C Steve Court, R.R. 2 Roonoke,1)( 76262

Steven C Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Lea, MN 56007

507/373-1674

817/491-9110 Daniel Neuman 1521 Berne Circle W. Minneapolis, MN 55421 612/571-0893

s.H. OWes" Schmid

2359 Lefeber Avenue

Wauwatosa, WI 53213

414m1-1545

DIRECTOR EMERITUS s.J. Wittman

7200 S.E. 85th Lane

Ocala, FL 32672

Page 16

Page 22

FRONT COVER ... William Wright and his 1948 Luscombe 11A Sedan completed a tour of 48 states in less than 48 flying hours. Read the whole story on page 22.

(Photo by Carl Schuppel - photo plane flown by Carl Koeling) REAR COVER ... In 1932, Ruth Nichols was one of the nation's premier aviators. She shared her predictions with the readers of American Magazine in March 1932. The article is reprinted on Page 16.

(Pastel Drawing by Neysa McMein)

904/245-7768

ADVISORS John Berendt 7645 Echo Point Rd. Cannon Falls, MN 55009

Gene Chase 2159 Carlton Rd. Oshkosh, WI 54903

507/263-2414

414/231-5002

George Daubner 2448 Lough Lane Hari1ord, WI 53027

John A Fogerty RR 2, Box 70 Roberts, WI 54023

414/673-5885

715/425-2455

Jeannie Hill

P.O. Box 328

Harvard, IL 60033

815/943-7205

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associations and !heir use by aI'f person other than the above associations is strictly prohibited.

Editorial Policy: Reader> are encouraged 10 subm~ stories and pOOIographs. Policy opinions expressed in arldes are solely Ihose 01 the authors. ResponsiJility lor

accuracy in reportilg res1s entirely with the contriJutor. Malerial should be sent to: Edtor, The VINTAGE AIRPlANE, Willman RegioM Airport, 3000 Poberezny Rd.,

Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone: 41414~.

The VINTAGE AIRPLANE ilSSN 0091·6943) ~ ~blished and owned exclusive~ by EM Antique/Classic Division, Irx:. 01 the Experimental ArcraH Association, Irx:. and

~ put;ished roonth~ al Willman Regional Aiport. 3000 Poberezny Rd., Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Second Class pootage paid al Oshkosh, WI 54901 and add~

mailing offices. MerrlJership rales lor EM AntiqueJCIassic Division. lrx:. are $18.00 lor cunenl EM members for 12 roonth peOOd 01 which 512.00 ~ for the ~icaIion

of The VINTAGE AIRPlANE. MerrlJership ~ open to all who are " Ierested in a~ation.

ADVERTISING - Antique/Classic Division does not guaranlee or endorse aI'f product offered thro'-'Jh our advertising. We invite coostruc1ive criticism and welcome

aI'f report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so thaI corrective measures can be laken.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes 10 EM Antique/Classic [);vision, Irx:.• P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh. WI 54903·3086.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

CHAPTER CAPSULES

by Bob Brauer

Editor's note: The August installment of this column incorrectly listed Bob Lumley as the author. Bob was quick to point out that Bob Brauer deserves credit.

Chapter 13 On January 12, 1984 interest in a chapter for "antique bird buffs" from south central Minnesota culminated in the formation of Antique Classic Chap­ ter 13 . Charter members and original organizers were Bob Lichteig and Paul Steiler of Albert Lea, Minnesota and Roy Redmond of Faribault, Min­ nesota .

They named their group the "Ber­ nard H. Pietenpol Chapter" to honor the man who originally built the Pietenpol Air Camper around 1929 or 1930, making this homebuilt an an­ tique . In addition, Bernie Pietenpol had his airport located in Cherry Grove, Minnesota which is approxi­ mately the center of Chapter D's membership. The original hangar that Pietenpol built and used in his early days of aircraft development was dis­ assembled in October 1984 and recon­ structed at Pioneer Airport where it now houses many of the EAA Founda­ tion's antique aircraft. Details of the move are covered in the January 1985 issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Chapter D's current president, Steve Nesse of Albert Lea, explained how they attracted members to their new chapter, "The original organizers went to EAA Headquarters and ob­ tained an address printout of EAA members residing in the area's zip code . Notices were sent to those people and the organizers also distributed flyers at local airports about the forma­ tion of a new NC chapter." As a re­ sult, the group had a very good turnout at its first meeting. The membership today, numbering about 28, covers a 75-mile radius from Owatonna, Min­ nesota extending into northern Iowa.

Meetings are held in various loca­ tions due to the wide membership area, ranging from the Northwood, Iowa 4 OCTOBER 1989

Vern Deal, Sr. in his Corvair-powered Air Camper, possibly the last to fly from Pietenpol Field.

Bernard Pietenpol's hangar during its systematic disassembly prior to shipment to Osh­ kosh in 1984.

Airport to Buzz Kaplan's hangar in Owatonna, Minnesota to Steve Nesse's basement! However, during the three or four months of relatively mild weather during the summer, the chap­ ter dispenses with the regular format and instead meets at as many fly-in events as possible. The committee re­ sponsible for setting up Chapter 13's programs emphasizes subjects of in­ terest to the members such as two re­ cent programs covering antique and classic model-aircraft plans and the history of antique aircraft restoration .

Chapter I3's individual membership projects consist of a good solid base of ongoing restorations. One of the most recent is that of Jim Stier of North­ wood, Iowa. Jim, an airport operator and crop sprayer is restoring a Stear­ man and a Beech C-45/SNB . A Fair-

child project is occupying the talents of John Berendt of Cannon Falls and Jim Hiner of Kenyon, Minnesota .

Gary Underland of Medford , Min­ nesota played a large part in the resto­ ration of Buzz Kaplan ' s Savoia Mar­ chetti S.56 amphibian that we have seen at Oshkosh and in the pages of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. The group's main social event is an annual picnic for all members and guests on the third Sunday of July, usu­ ally at Vern Deal's airstrip in St. Angsar, Iowa. Speaking of picnics, Chapter President, Steve Nesse made all the arrangements forthis year's An­ tique/Classic Division picnic at the Oshkosh Convention. If you missed this outing at the Nature Center, well, wait 'til next year. Be there, you won't regret it! •

USED AIRCRAFT GUIDES (Part Two) In the September installment of "Vintage Literature," used airplane classified ads were examined from 1915 until 1937, the year thatTRADE­ A-PLANE first appeared . TRADE-A­ PLANE was published expressly as a national advertising vehicle for those wishing to sell used airplanes .

TRADE-A-PLANE was not the first nor the last such publication, but it is the longest lasting one and the most respected one having been published for over 50 years .

The earliest publication devoted to used aircraft sales that is in the EAA Aviation Foundation library is the USED AIRCRAFT DIRECTORY published in Athens, Georgia in 1934.

The copy examined was published as Volume No. 1 issue No. VII dated September 1934. It consisted of 10 pages of ads listing more than 50 air­ craft. Apparently some reader was doing a study of used aircraft as there are penciled notes on the cover as to the number of aircraft in different price ranges.

The notes indicated that there were four aircraft for sale at less than $100, 16 under $200, six under $375 and 24 under $400. A quick glance through the publication shows the most expen­ sive plane was a Curtiss-Wright J-6 Thrush at $4,250.

TRADE-A-PLANE appeared in Oc­ tober 1937. It was the development of Cosby Harrison of Crossville, Tennes­ see. He was the owner of a damaged Swallow airplane and while trying to get parts to repair it he was dreaming of getting another airplane.

Like others he read the classified ads in AERO DIGEST and A VIA TION. While scouring the countryside look­ ing for parts for his bent plane, he en­ countered others needing to sell or pur­ chase parts and came up with the idea of circulating a list of want ads .

These lists were handwritten and mailed to interested people or posted at airports. When his second list had grown to 18 items, he decided to pub­ lish his lists as a business venture.

His fust step was to obtain a list of pilots and aircraft owners from the De­ partment of Commerce. He then had

by ()enni§ Vark§ ~

Libf"arY/ An:hive§ ()if"ect()f"

flyers and postcards printed asking for people to advertise in his publication.

He received about 50 ads for his first publication.

The first issue had the ads on one side of a 12 x l8 sheet of paper. There were 9,000 copies of the first issue printed . Cosby had decided that the au­ dience for the publication would be the 8,000 pilots who had over 200 hours and who could teach others .

As stated in the first issue: "This sheet carrying classified and display advertising from different parts of the country, will be mailed FREE every ten days to each registered TRANSPORT PILOT in the United States . We feel that this will prove to be the best medium for better acquaint­ ing the BUYERS and SELLERS of used airplanes and parts for airplanes.

The reason for sending this advertising to transport pilots is that they are the key airmen of today. They manage and operate most of the airports . They do most of the instructing. Their advice is generally called for and accepted when a decision is to be made as to the pur­ chase of an airplane or part. "

From that first edition of a single sheet, TRADE-A-PLANE has grown into a publication of l60 to 170 pages per issue with a circulation of over 180,000.

Through the years TRADE-A­ PLANE has had some competitors but none survived very long . One that is in the library is THE PICTORIAL AMERICAN AIRPLANE EX­ CHANGE. The issue consists of one 12 x 18 sheet with ads on one side and seems to have been published in 1940.

It is unusual for its time period in that there is a photograph for each of the 21 planes advertised . It was published by the Myers Co. of Topeka, Kansas.

Another competitor was the NA­ TIONAL AIRCRAFT BEACON which lasted three issues and was pub­ lished from January to March 1940 in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Another similar publication was: AIR-ADS, Aug. 1944 - April 1948, Royalton, Minnesota.

Cosby Harrison, the founder, died in 1984, but the publication carries on as a third-generation family business.

Quite a record of accomplishment. An original copy of the first issue provided

by Jean Durfee and Carolyn Flick of the TRADE-A-PLANE staff is on exhibit at the EAA Air Adventure Museum in the library . •

AMERICAN EAGLE

AERONCA AERONCA MODEL K: Lus than 160 hours . Brakes, navigation IIlthto. Ship In perfect condition . Price 11300.00. McKinley Air Transport, Inc ., Canton, Ohio.

1937 AERONCA K: 80 hours total time.

Ship absolutely just like new. Price U400 terms. W. Clayton Lemon, Roanoke, Va. DeLUXE C·3 AERONCA SEAPLANE: (Built for .,.It water) like new. Price t1260. Fred D. Cook, 11 Revere Drive, Floral Park, N .Y. AERONCA K: 260 houn total, like new, U200, ... 80 down. Tred Avon Flying Sen· Ice, Eastland, Maryland.

19a3 AERONCA C·3 : t660. Color red wings with black fuselage . 40 hours on motor since overhaul. 460 total hou.. on ship. Cover In good condition . OIro strut landln'f gear . LI· cen~"d until July. 1938. B. C. Wllk nlon. Box 1306, Raleigh, N.C. FOR SALE OR TRADE for StlMon, C3 Aer· onca E · 113 engine, winter enclo~ur", Just overhauled, windshield and flberlold sheet· Ing repl"eed; wing "nd tall grou refinished; color International orange an bl"ck: ha. new propeller. Engine and airplane has 486 houn since new: has oleo landing ge"r. LI · cenn expires June, 1938. ThIs ship Is In tip top .hape and I. worth more than t860, whIch Is my prIce. R. E. Lee, Rocky Mount Flying Senlee, Rocky Mount, N .C.

d

AMERICAN EAGLE OX6: Complfltely reb· ullt but not Rssembled. Motor extra good con· dltlon. Will license and auemble lor "'60.

Tho• . O. Kutenon, Box 1146, Knoxville, Tenn.

ARROW ARROW SPORT: 80 LeBlond. New cover on upper wIng and fuselage, lower wing covered year ago. Licensed till July 1938. Ship I. fin· Ished In hlack. Sell for t860. Trade for Franklin Sport 90, Stearman, or Aeronca K. K. A. Weed, Box A, Kalama.oo, MIch.

BEECH BEECHCRAFT: 4 ·place with Jacob. 226 mo· tor. Excellent condition. JUlt rellcensed to October 1938. Color red and gray. Price '3760. Tho•. O. Kesterson, Box 1146, Knox· ville, Tenn.

BEECHCRAFT B7R: Wright 460. Small total time and fully equipped. SlIlt"en months old and like new. Just majored by Pacific Alrmo· the. Cost over U6,OOO. Must nil, t8ooo.

Mouton eo Clyde, San Franclsoo Airport, San francl.co. Cal.

BIRD BIRD: Warner Motor, very fine condition.

Tar.lorcraft DI.trlbuto.. for Northern 1111· no s, WI.coullln, and upper Michigan. Fox Valley Flying Senloe, Aurora Airport, Auro· ra. III. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

MEMBERS' PRO ECTS...

by Norm Petersen

This yellow Be black 1941 N2S-1 Stearman is the pride Be joy of Jack Pollack (EM 328199, NC 13555) of Scoffsdale, Arizona. Registered N51034, SIN 75-1048, the Stearman spent its wartime years at NAS. Jacksonville and Anacostla, Washington, D.C. In 1943 it was assigned to NAS. Memphis where it was tumed over to the R.F.C. in 1944 and sold as surplus. It was a "duster" for many years until retumed to "aimosf' original condition in 1974. Jack bought the Stearman in 1989 and is slowly retuming the rugged oid biplane to its original condition as when it came out of Boeing's Wichita, Kansos plant in 1941. The delivery cost of this airplane was $5,930 in 1941, which did not include the engine, prop, wheels, tires and instruments! Total cost in those days was $9,120.

This partially completed Aeronca C-3 "Razorback" Is being rebuilt

by AI Meyer (EM 327839, NC 13514) of Panacea, Florida. AI reports the project is about 60% finished. Note what appears to be a pair of (precious) 7:00 x 4 tires on the wheels!

6 OCTOBER 1989

This pretty white with yellow trim Luscombe 8A, NC1192K, SIN 3919, is owned by Scoff Davis (EM 326018, NC 13347) of Lebanon, Ore足 gon. Darlene Davis writes, "This aircraft had been on its back when Scoff purchased it at the age of 16 for $800 in 1974. Together, we got it flying In 1976 and she's been flying ever since. Scoff has put 1800 hours on it since then."

Truly a labor of love is this 1945 Stearman. N1363V. SIN 75-8704. owned by Charles Lewis (EM 328768. NC 135n) of Meridianville. MississippI. Resfored over a 5"12 year period. the Stearman features a 300hp Lycoming R-680-13 swinging a Hamilton-Standard 2B20-9 prop. The dishpan and exhaust is modified Beech AT-10 with the cowl literally hand-made!

The wheelpants are Wag-Aero and the covering is Ceconite with polyurethane colors. The beautiful spinner and prop were polished with Rolite for that mirror finish. This is Charles' first project and reflects a meticulous piece of work!

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

MEMBERS~ PROJECTS ...

by Norm Petersen

These three photos are from Tara Field, an airport near Mocksville, North Carolina that features a World War II setting and is owned by Navaro and Jan Nichols (EM 87373, AlC 8601). Even the WW II Quonset Hut is decked out In appropriate memo足 rabilia. Aircraft Include a 1942 Stearman which came from Callfomla, a Vultee BT足 13A, a North American L-17 and a Cessna UC-78 "Bamboo Bamber" under restora足 tion. The ''Tower'' Is used for flow control during the annual fall fly-In at "Old South Airplane Works," a well chosen name.

8 OCTOBER 1989

VINTAGE SEAPLANES

by Norm Petersen

Photos courtesy John Finiello

This sequence of four faded pictures from over forty years ago shows how to launch a Piper Cub Special (PA-11) mounted on Edo 1400 floats from a dock about 12 feet above the water!

In the first photo, the ramp Is watered down with a hose and manpower Is gathered. Next, the engine Is hand-propped and the pilot crawls In the front seat. With all hands helping to push, the PA-11 Is tipped over the edge and begins Its slide to the water. Note how the engine Is tumlng up to help the operatlonl Finally, the Cub slides Into the water and bobs to a level position, ready to taxi. Just how the Cub Is put back on the shelf has not been explalnedl

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

VINTAGE

by Norm

Photo courtesy of l W. Stephenson

From the extensive photo collection of I. W. (Ike) Stephenson (EM 82203, AlC 3704) of Menominee, Michigan, comes this picture of a G-21 Grumman "Goose," complete with retracting wing floats and registered in Great Britain as G-ASXG. (Note entrance stairway) Previously registered In the U.S. as N3692, the Goose was converted to a McKinnon Turbo Goose in 1968 and became CF-AWH in Canada in September of 1973.

10 OCTOBER 1989

SEAPLANES

Petersen

Typical busy day at the Philadelphia Sky Port Seaplane Base as recorded by John Flniello In the late 1940s. In the foreground Is a Grumman Widgeon with Ranger engines and Curtiss-Reed props, a Luscombe SA on Edo 1320 floats, two Republic "Seabees" and five Piper J-3 "Cubs" on Edo 1320 floats, all parked along the dock. N; John says, ''There was always a great deal of activity at the seaplane base!"

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

RUDY KLING REMEMBERED

by Clarence Mather

T

he year 1987 marked 50 years since the Clayton Folkerts air racer design, SK-3 , "Jupiter, The Pride of Lemont ," with Rudy Kling pilot, had its day of glory and tragic finale. I would like to share with you my memories of some of the people, places and events of that era. I'll be as accurate as a mediocre memory permits.

Lemont, Illinois is about 30 miles southwest of Chicago on the hilly , southeast bank of the Des Plains River flood plain. The Albert Kling farm was a couple of miles from town on a gravel road. A couple of turns farther along the road was the John Mather farm where I was born. Among my earliest memories is one of riding to town in the family Model T. On the way, we passed the Kling farm which was somewhat unique in that the house was on one side of the road and the barn on the other. Often one or more of the Kling boys would be about and wave as we passed. There were three: George, Rudy, and Fritz .

One day there was a gang of work­ men, some horse-drawn earth scoops and a concrete mixer on one of the gravel roads . When the paving was completed, it was named Highway 66 .

Many years later I traveled that con­ crete ribbon all the way to Los Angeles!

12 OCTOBER 1989

Rudy and Fritz Kling were gifted mechanically and worked on farm machinery , motorcycles , and cars .

Soon after Highway 66 was com­ pleted, they built a gas station/garage by the highway and opened for busi­ ness .

Sometime later, probably several years, there was a yellow biplane parked in the pasture across the high­ way from their garage . Rudy Kling was now flying. Sometimes I would be lucky and the airplane would be landing as we drove by. I believe that Rudy kept the airplane at Art Chester's airport near Joliet. That was just a few miles away as the biplane flies . So on certain days Rudy would fly to the pas­ ture and get some flying time in during breaks in the garage routine.

Quite a while later, Dad heard that Rudy had purchased a racing plane and kept it in the garage part of the time!

I would now beg Dad to stop at the garage during trips to Lemont so that I could ogle the racer. It was one of the Keith-Riders purchased second­ hand. It was named "Suzie" and was painted light blue and yellow. The craft was carried on a flat bed car trailer with the wing removed. Frequently the engine cowling would be off and the engine worked on. Once I was puzzled to see someone rubbing a tail surface

with a piece of gray paper in a puddle of water! That was my introduction to wet-or-dry sandpaper. Suzie placed in a number of air races with Rudy Kling as pilot. It was destroyed at the Los Angeles Air Races when a car drove right in front of Suzie as Rudy was setting it down! Considering the high landing speed and the fragility of the tight-fitting aircraft, it was a miracle that Rudy was not injured . Dad pre­ dicted, with deadly accuracy, that Rudy would kill himself someday in those racing planes.

Next we learned that Rudy was building a new racing plane in Lemont!

Now when the family went to town for supplies and banking , I would hurry over to the building where Wurtzler's Drug Store used to be. There, "Jupiter, The Pride of Lemont" was being con­ structed. The project was sponsored, at least in part, by some Lemont businessmen who gave rise to the latter part of the name .

Now I would like to digress from airplanes and tell you some things about Lemont. Though patronized by local farmers such as Albert Kling and my father , it was not a typical farm town as is found throughout the mid­ west. The population was about] , 100 in the early 1930s. Some people worked in nearby limestone quarries or

a local aluminum products plant.

Others rode the street car to Chicago area industries . Lemont is a French name and most of the people were Catholics. There were three Catholic churches in town . There was an Irish Catholic, a German Catholic and a Polish Catholic, but no French Catholic!

During my preteen years, prohibi­ tion was the law but it was often bro­ ken. One day my father and I were walking on a Lemont sidewalk when we met one of his uncles. After a short discussion, they headed for a small dress shop . We entered and walked to the rear. The lady proprietress ushered us through a curtained doorway into a backroom. There was a small bar in the room and the men downed a couple of "shots" of bootleg whiskey! Judging from their facial grimaces and tear­ filled eyes, they got a lot of internal action for their money! Just a few years ago I was in Lemont at services for my father and was astounded to see the same dress shop still being operated by the same lady! That was over 50 years by the same owner in the same build­ ing!

The Chicago Drainage Canal , really just a huge open sewer for the city of Chicago, ran by the edge of Lemont.

Barges plied those filthy waters and I

wondered how the bargemen could stand the stench for days at a time . The canal served other purposes. At irregu­ lar intervals corpses were fished from those vile waters . Some were the re­ mains of despairing souls who decided to end their earthly life. Others, it was rumored, had offended the Chicago­ land underworld hierarchy and were pursuaded to take the terminal dive into the canal. Some had received a pre­ liminary dose of lead poisoning. The hitmen thus avoided littering the streets and vacant lots of Chicagoland.

The Illinois Central Railroad went right through the business area of Lem­ ont so there were several crossings with gates, lights, and bells . It was a terrifying experience, especially at night, to be waiting by the tracks. The red warning lights flashed, the alarm bells clanged, the earth shook, and the shrieking whistle crescendoed as the cycloptic monster thundered by! In spite of all those warnings, an occa­ sional impatient motorist zig-zagged around the lowered gates to beat the train. A few lost the race and were given a rapid and violent ride to eter­ nity, courtesy of the "cow catcher" in the steam locomotive of the "City of New Orleans."

So the "good old days" weren't all

good but they weren't all bad either.

Lemont was a picturesque town with a lot of friendly people. And, "Jupiter, The Pride of Lemont," was built there.

I have a mental image of a sleek unco­ vered fuselage built of metal tubing with wooden formers and lots of strin­ gers. Later the completed craft was often in Kling's garage on its trailer.

Usually the cowling was off and the engine was being worked on .

Then in September, 1937, came the Chicago Tribune headline, "Kling wins the Thompson." Actually he had won both the Greve and the Thompson Trophy races . The Greve race was re­ stricted to engines of a certain displace­ ment. Jupiter's 250 horsepower Menasco was small enough to qualify for that event. The Thompson race had no engine size restriction so Rudy was competing against racers with as much as 1,000 hp! It was a tremendous thrill to have a farm boy neighbor make good in a sport that required an ex­ tremely specialized aircraft and highly skilled piloting! And he did it in The Cleveland Air Races that could be called the Indy 500 of the air!

The winning speeds were not impres­ sive. Fritz Kling later indicated that Rudy took it easy on the throttle be­ cause it was a new plane in its first

Rudy Kling and the Folkerts SK-3, ''The Pride Of Lemonf'.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Rudy Kling, Steve Wittman and Frank Haines at the Miami Air Races in 1937. Of the three, only Steve survived.

races , and that it was capable of much higher speeds. It certainly seems so ! In the air the fuselage is a slim oval tube tapering smoothly to the rear. It was just wide and deep enough to enclose the parts and mechanisms. A bullet shaped spinner covered part of the high drag propeller hub and provided an easy entry to the air. The retracted gear openings were completely covered by doors that conformed to the fuselage lines . The windshield was a smooth curve as small as safe viewing would allow . The tapered wing was of low aspect ratio and plywood covered . Its zero dihedral and shoulder mounting produced large angle, low drag junc­ tions to the fuselage. The propeller was very high pitch . That meant low accel­ eration at the start but helped Jupiter to really move out at top speeds . Jupi­ ter was a small, very clean , light­ weight airplane with a thin airfoil. It all added up to lots of speed! It is said that beauty is in the eyes of the behol­ der. To this beholder Jupiter is among the most beautiful of aircraft. Yet it was very functional.

14 OCTOBER 1989

The Cleveland races had been held in early September and just three months later the Miami Air Races were held . This time the Chicago Tribune headline told a different story , "Kling and Haines killed at Miami ." We were all stunned and felt a terrible sense of loss. Rudy's wife and young boy were in Miami . Reporters asked the five­ year-old what he was going to be when he grew up. ''I'm going to be a farm­ er," he replied . And he did.

Rudy Kling and Frank Haines were one-two at the start of the Miami race and stalled out at the first pylon tum .

The newspaper reported that gusty winds were present. When the racers are in tight pylon tum they are likely near the stall speed and a wind shear of several miles an hour could produce the fatal stall. And in the excitement of a close race a pilot could exceed safe flight limits . Later the SK-4 was built and it was very similar to Jupiter.

It also crashed killing the pilot so perhaps the design was very marginal in stability . Most articles mention that Rudy had rather low overall flight time

and experience. Yet he surely had con­ siderable skills. He flew Suzie in sev­ eral races and had flown Jupiter at least several times . Anyone who can fl y a high speed plane with narrow tread gear and tiny wheels off dirt fields cer­ tainly has skill! And experience doesn't always help . Veteran racer Art Chester was killed in a pylon tum in a much more docile aircraft than Jupiter was.

When Jupiter crashed the red spin­ ner popped off and was hardly dam­ aged. Fritz Kling had it in the garage for years afterward. After the war sev­ eral of us who rode Harleys used to stop at the garage to gas up and talk with Fritz. The spinner would remind us of the days that used to be .

I didn't really know Rudy because he was quite a bit older than I was. But I have some impressions. He was rather short and of average build. He was quiet and not stuffy or arrogant.

Rudy always had a friendly grin. And he willingly and cordially answered questions put to him by a scrawny farm boy in big overalls . •

SPIFFY PLANE

by Bob Brauer

A spiffy red-and-white, twin-engine aircraft owned by Ben Runyan of Van­ couver, Washington was the center of much attention at EAA Oshkosh '89.

"I like to hear peoples' speculation about its type, such as 'British-built with Gypsy Major engines,' " explains Ben when he overhears casual conver­ sation of spectators near the aircraft.

Not even close!

Actually the plane is an Omnipol Super Aero 45 built at the Czecho­ slovakia National Aviation Factory.

This factory was where the Czechs built He Ills for Heinkel of Germany in the early 1940s. Although there are many theories concerning the design origin, Ben narrows it down to two possibilities: It may have been a Ger­ man design taken by the Czechs; or the Czechs predicted their orders for He III s would disappear and to cover this loss of business, they came up with the Super Aero for the post-war market.

Ben's plane served as a working air­ craft in Scandanavian countries before

it was flown from southern England to Colorado by Jon Svendsen of Denver.

Ben purchased the Super 45 at Osh­ kosh last year along with a crate of spare parts and one complete engine.

He said that many fittings were con­ verted to ASA standards so that maintenance would not be such a headache. Parts are "sort of' available, but gaskets for the exhaust and other miscellaneous engine systems must be hand-made. On the other hand, how­ ever, each design feature is welI planned resulting in superb aircraft handling qualities.

Now for the numbers: maximum gross weight - 3,350 pounds; cruising speed - about 135 knots; fuel con­ sumption - 12 to 13 galIons per hour, for both engines.

The engines ar Walter Minors , the same powerplant instalIed on some Bucker Jungmans . Each engine devel­ ops 105 to 110 hp depending on the Czech-to-English translations . Ben calls attention to the Super Aero 's un­

canny resemblance to the He Ill, not­ ing items such as the forward airframe shape and propeller mounting on the wings.

Anyone who was unable to attend the Convention or to get a look at this aircraft may refer to the April 1983 issue of SPORT AVIATION which car­ ried a feature article about this plane .

Aerogram Reprints

The above article is a revised reprint from AEROGRAMS, the Antique/ Classic Division's daily news sheet is­ sued during the 1989 EAA Convention.

For a $3.00 donation to the Antique/ Classic Division of EAA , a complete set of seven AEROGRAMS is avail­ able. To receive a set ofAEROGRAMS by mail, fill out the form below and mail it along with a check made out to Antique/Classic Division of the EAA, to: Bob Brauer, 9345 S. Hoyne Av­ enue, Chicago, Illinois 60620 . • VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

,

-BEHINIJ THE BALEYRlO,Q

. A famous pilot explains the showmen of the ,.,'a ir.

by Ruth Nichols 16 OCTOBER 1989

Last December a happy-go-lucky young Englishman took off from Natal , Brazil , headed eastward over the Atlantic. No cheering mob was there to speed his going , nor did he have the prayers of a breathless world behind him . In fact, he had been in jail - something to do with lack of pass­ ports. The British diplomatic service had finally opened his cage door , and off he flew .

Before him lay 2,000 miles of ocean - more open water than confronted Lindbergh - a southern sea devoid of busy ship lanes. His plane was a Puss Moth , a light English sport plane , the sort the Prince of Wales uses to keep his tea and tennis dates - not the sturdy, high-powered airplane one usu­ ally associates with transocean flights .

He was not headed for the crowded Old World. If he overshot his objective in soupy weather he might find himself over febrile swamps or beast-infested jungles. He was on his way to Bathurst, British Gambia , in Africa .

And he arrived there on schedule . But the only applause was a few brief notices in the papers of larger cities, briefer notices in the wire service .

This person was Bert Hinkler. It was a truly wonderful flight, and one that aviators all over the world saluted. In many respects it was a greater indi­ vidual achievement than Lindbergh 's.

Certainly it carried more immediate significance to the layman; it demon­ strated the reliability of even the light type of plane, built primarily for pri­ vate owners, for long-distance flights.

HinkIer was the second person ever to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone, and the first flyer alone or in company to cross the South Atlantic from west to east. Yet the significance of his feat was lost to the world, which, only a little more than four year's before, had gone wild over Lindbergh ' s hop to Paris.

So Bert HinkIer's flight, the most outstanding example of the present ef­ ficient status of light airplanes, proved to pilots that flying is no longer the profitable show it was and if any flyer ever wants to command the public in­ terest which greeted Lindbergh, he will have to fly to the moon!

Still, if record flying were to stop, aviation progress would slow down .

That is why pilots go on trying for novel and hazardous feats with which to arrest public attention . Consider a dramatic occurrence of one afternoon last December. Although the day was

warm and still, employees and onlook­ ers at the Wayne County Airport were shivering . No one knew why ; they looked at one another as people do who share a furtive presentiment about which they are afraid to talk . It was as though an unseen door had opened to let through a chill breath of the un­ known .

All at once activity at the airport ceased and tension closed in, as from one of the hangars was brought forth a queer-looking airplane, with stumpy wings, a short tail, and a huge nose housing the motor. The ship resembled a bumblebee among a flock of swal­ lows . Yet one young man regarded it with tender care; he walked behind it in a flutter of caution, personally guid­ ing the "dolly," or undercarriage, which served to lift the plane ' s tailskid across the cement apron of the hangar to the turf beyond.

He was Lowell R. Bayles, the tiny airplane's pilot, and his happy smile showed that he did not share any vague premonitions . Rather, he was confi­ dent that within a few minutes he would recapture the world' s landplane speed record for the United States and win honor for his ship and reputation for its makers.

Deftly he took the ship off the ground and away in a climbing bank.

He was flying at five miles a minute - perhaps faster - when he leveled off over a comer of the field. Then something happened ; nobody knows what - yet. The ship wobbled , flashed through several lightning rolls, struck the ground, and cartwheeled along in a waving sheet of flame.

Pictures of Bayle's crash will be studied and every possible cause will be subjected to the minutest analysis, just as the details of every flaw or mis­ hap in test flying are put upon the lab­ oratory tables of the engineers and out of that study will come new contribu­ tions to safer and speedier flying.

Most veteran pilots will tell you that in the early days they flew and lived to fly again because they read the les­ sons in the wreckage which was strewn over the countryside in those years. It was thus that the modem technic of aviation grew up. And it is thus that the design of airplanes and motors will be further developed and improved; for in record flying, where superperfor­ mance is desired , necessity becomes the mother of invention. And so, be­ cause of Lowell R . Bayles and others who have flown to a similar fate, ten

years or so hence you will be commut­ ing in a small private plane from your city office to your suburban home in the mountains 300 miles away in one hour flat .

Just as the racing-car speed of yes­ terday is the stock-car speed of today, so the record-seeking plane of today will be the stock plane of tomorrow.

In May of 1919 Captain M. R. James won the Pulitzer Trophy and con­ founded critics of aviation by flying from Atlantic City , N. J ., to Boston , Mass ., in the elapsed time of four hours flat ; roughly , about 125 miles per hour. But , today, even the exuber­ ant neophyte of private flying scorns a personal ship that doesn't make at least 125 for a top speed.

A viation is going through an indus­ trial and scientific history which curi­ ously parallels the story of the au­ tomobile. The spectacular laboratory and proving ground of the automobile was the Indianapolis Speedway Classic and its lesser rivals; the laboratory of the airplane is record-flying - all sorts of spectacular distance chasings, ocean flights, speed and endurance tests .

In airplane building , one of the ac­ cepted fundamentals has been that a ship designed to shatter speed records should have short wings and be "all engine;" that a ship intended for al­ titude records should have large wings to give extra lift; and that a ship for long-distance flight records should have a large body for the installation of extra gas tanks . Three different de­ signs, each highly specialized. My technical adviser, Colonel Clarence Chamberlin, and I figured that all these characteristics were necessary for an airplane which could make the trans­ lantic crossing with maximum safety .

So we set to work to develop such a plane.

A year ago I obtained a Lockheed­ Vega plane provided by the Crosley Radio Corporation. Immediately we decided to go after a record in each of the three major phases of specialized performance - speed, altitude, and long distance; each attempt for a record to be a stepping-stone toward the climax the ocean flight, now planned , after two postponements, for this spring.

Before tackling the world's records, however, we decided on a general test hop for the ship to see what she would do. So I flew back and forth across the continent against the time of Mrs. Keith Miller, who then held the VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

women's transcontinental record, and found myself fortunate enough to bet­ ter Colonel and Mrs. Lindbergh' s time by almost an hour and a half. My time was 13 hours, 21 minutes - 55 min­ utes slower than the record of Captain Frank M . Hawks.

Although I flew high during the flight, I felt that we had not reached the ship's maximum performance and that in the ocean flight more altitude might be required to jump bad weather , so I called in Colonel Chamberlin for technical help. Most people know him only as a transatlantic flyer. In addi­

18 OCTOBER 1989

tion, he is a keen test pilot and a re­ markable engineer.

In trial hops we experimented with various kinds of propellers - long ones, short ones, thick ones, and slim ones - increasing and decreasing the pitch, or angle, at which the propeller screws forward into the air .

I remember one late afternoon, when we had hit upon certain changes in the ship that seemed to promise quite startling results, Colonel Chamberlin decided to "try her out." It was within half an hour of darkness , there were no lights on the field of his factory in Jer­

sey City, and there was only a little oxygen left in the ship ' s tanks for upper-air breathing . I urged him to delay the hop until next morning , but , no, he was too anxious to find out how the new idea would work. The parachute was inside the factory, and I nearly broke my neck running for it and trying to get back before he could take off. You see, there was a big chance that he would faint from lack of oxygen in the high altitudes and that the ship, without his control, would go into a sudden power dive , pulling off its wings and enforcing a jump. Well ,

I got back to the field with the 'chute just in time to see the golden tail of my plane disappearing off the far end .

The ship and the colonel arrived back intact - oh, yes! - but the en­ thusiastic and impetuous inventor was forced to admit that he had been un­ comfortable at 28,000 feet without oxygen. The oxygen had given out, and he had come down in a hUrry.

Altitude flying had not hitherto been linked to ocean flying, but there were three very good reasons for wanting to bring about this combination: First, the higher the ship could fly,

the better were the chances of clear weather.

Second, because air is thinner at high altitudes and offers less head re­ sistance , the plane could travel faster.

Third, because of the rotation of the earth there are great wind velocities at high altitudes. If advantage can be taken of these gales as "tail winds" ­ or winds that blow behind the tail of the plane, adding their speed to the en­ gine speed - it will soon be possible to attain speeds of 500 miles an hour.

A Junkers plane which will have the cabin supercharged, as well as the motor, thus maintaining a constant air pressure for the passengers at high al­ titudes, is now being developed in Europe. Imagine the possibility of sending a nonstop aerial train, refuel­ ing in flight, around the world in, perhaps, four days! And dropping off passengers in gliders at midway points!! Not such a Jules Verne dream as you might believe.

At any rate, thanks to our continued experimental work, I was presently able to break the women's record for altitude, held by Elinor Smith, and to come within 1,710 feet of the men's record for commercial planes, held by George Haldeman at 30, 453 feet.

The next step in the plans for my ocean flight was an assault upon the world's maximum speed record for women, held by Amelia Earhart.

Again Colonel Chamberlin's engineer­ ing genius shone through. He designed a special landing gear for my heavy ship which added twenty miles an hour to its top speed. Besides, in coopera­ tion with the manufacturers of my ship's motor, we tried out a develop­ ment which gave us ultimately 700 horsepower from what was designed as a 425 horsepower motor. Now I was set to prove that my ship had the sec­ ond essential characteristic - speed.

And on April 13th we set a record of 210.6 miles per hour.

Colonel Chamberlin and I came at last to the third requirement we had set for my transatlantic ship - the ability to lift a huge quantity of gasoline from a relatively limited runway for a long­ distance flight with a high-speed motor which eats gas faster than you may im­ agine. Again we turned to experiments with an adjustable-pitch propeller, which proved its weight in gold, and Ruth Nichols is greeted In at Roosevelt Field in New York upon establishing a new west-east transcontinental record.

presently we had the ship carrying 550 gallons of gasoline - plenty to carry me from Newfoundland to Paris. This meant lifting a ton and a half of fuel off the ground after a run of only 1,500 feet. Moreover, I was able to climb at 135 miles an hour and slip immediately into a cruising speed of 160.

The accident late last spring at St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, in which I cracked five vertebrae, pre­ vented the final act in my year's adven­ tures - the ocean flight. I kept the news of the cracked vertebrae out of the newspapers, because I wanted to raise more money immediately for another attempt last fall. But in the late summer, after my recovery, pheno­ menally bad weather harl closed down upon the North Atlantic, and I found the flight would have to be postponed again.

The significant point about our ef­ forts, however, was not that the trans­ atlantic hop was thwarted, but that our work leading toward my attempted flight resulted in new and interesting ideas and designs . Therein lies the final justification of spectacular flights.

But how, you are probably wonder­ ing, does streaking across the continent or taking an altitude jaunt into the upper air prove anything of scientific value?

Answer: It is by such means that new equipment and new ideas are de­ veloped in this far-reaching industry of the air. For we need planes that can carry large loads, either of passengers or freight. And long-distance flying for records demands the development of planes with greater and greater carry­ ing capacity; for the farther you fly, the larger load of gasoline you must carry.

And so, the three records just de­ scribed: altitude, speed, and long dis­ tance - each one ordinarily requiring a ship of entirely different design ­ were, in this case, set by one airplane.

To my knowledge, this is the first time in history that a single airplane has filled three roles of entirely different character. Obviously, it is not the final answer to our dreams, but the net result showed the combination of qualities that are wanted. And, consequently, the ideas and designs which were evolved can eventually be incorporated into standard equipment for the com­ mercial transport lines. But the chief point of interest is the fact that these ideas could not have been developed had not the flights been of a spectacular VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

enough mixture to produce news value. News is a salable asset and has a concrete value in dollars and cents, which can beget money with which to carry on experiments.

Another reason for such flights, par足 ticularly by women, is to stimulate further public confidence in the safety and advanced stage of aviation. That is one of the reasons why I feel it is important for a woman to make a trans足 atlantic solo flight. A man has done it;

20 OCTOBER 1989

a woman can do it. When that has been accomplished, everyone will feel that he or she can do it, given training and equipment.

I have to chuckle over a rather strik足 ing incident showing the gradual ac足 ceptance of women in the air. Late one afternoon a girl pilot I know was flying cross-country. Because of low fog she found it imperative to get information about the weather on the far side of a mountain range before attempting to

cross it. The nearest available airport happened to be an army field, so she dropped down there. Officers and mechanics were all around, attending to their duties, yet, when she stepped from her ship, no one seemed at all astonished or interested in the fact that a pilot in skirts had arrived in the most threatening sort of weather, with a storm on three sides of the sky.

Eventually a brisk top sergeant asked her, quite peremptorily, why she

had landed. Didn ' t she know that this was an army post and that non-military flying from it was not permitted? She called his attention to the storms and asked for weather information. He told her she 'd have to go to headquarters and get a permit before anybody would tell her anything . No one else looked up or came near her.

No special privileges were offered her, either as a record buster or as a girl. That incident showed that accep­

tance of the air as a commonplace highway has arrived .

If one reason for setting air marks is to earn a few shekels, I assure you the pilots and pilotesses are not getting someting for nothing . As a matter of fact, a wisecrack often heard on the field nowadays is, "Say , lady, don't you want to go for a hop?" ... "Why, sure, ma'am, there' s nothing to be af­ raid of - the only danger in aviation is starvation ." And thi s brings us to the point of finances. Oh , me, oh, my !

And thereby hangs a tale. Twenty-five­ thousand-dollar airplanes (and mine cost that much) don ' t grow on trees. If they do , I wish someone would tell me where that forest is located.

Record-smashing cannot go on with­ out money, and the gold-mine flights of 1927 will never again be equaled.

Then it was sound business to borrow money for ocean flights, because you knew that if you came back you could repay the loan many times over; and if you did not come back, what did it matter? Today you couldn't possibly earn enough from a successful flight to lift the mortgage on the old bus. In the old days the lowest price paid by news­ papers to record-setting flyers for signed stories was $5,000. One head­ liner got $30,000. Nowadays the newspapers will pay, at the maximum, only $2,500 for a transocean flight, and then only if the flight is extraordi­ nary . For land flights , you might get $100 from the papers if you should do something undreamed of, but you're more than likely to get nothing at all!

The reason is plain: Today the public bets you will; yesterday it bet that you wouldn't!

Still , an individual pilot can (if he is lucky and hard-headed enough) raise money for record flights to make pos­ sible new improvements and so ad­ vance aeronautical science. Endorse­ ments have been overdone, but one way is to find an "angel" - some wealthy person who will give him money or a ship as a sporting gesture .

Second , he might persuade a large na­ tional advertiser to buy a ship for him on condition that it will be named after the company's product. It is not an easy matter, however, to convince an advertiser that if he puts up $40,000 over the period of a year he will get the value back in advertising. He

Ruth Nichols atop her Lockheed Vega at Burbank Airport, California.

knows that a bad crash would be a boomerang .

Usually , a compromise is effected in which the advertiser puts up part cash and the pilot is supposed to obtain the rest from the various aviation com­ panies, or his own savings - if he has any .

Among all the ocean flights - the triumphs and even the tragedies ­ I cannot recall one from which some­ thing of value to future sea flyers was not learned . The crashing of the Jun­ kers plane, Bremen, on Greenley Is­ land showed an urgent need for a knowledge of celestial navigation by pilots. The pathetic wreckage of sev­ eral unsuccessful planes, picked up floating far off their original courses and carrying mute stories of wander­ ings in fogs, demonstrated the vital need for radio equipment on ocean planes and for radio directional beacons on shore stations. The amaz­ ing rescue of the Portugal flyers, after they had bobbed for eight days on the sea ninety miles off Halifax last fall, told something new and unsuspected about the flotational qualities of land­ planes and indicated how advantage could be taken of these qualities .

In the round-the-world dash of Post and Gatty , their misadventures on boggy fields in Russia and in Alaska , where their ship went up on its nose and almost came to grief, called every­ body's attention to the fact that good landing fields on international airways must be developed before world trade and travel by air will become com­ monplace.

While there have been and always will be some stunt flights which have absolutely no value, the list of the les­ sons and achievements of circus and record flying grows rapidly ; but it is the perverse fate of these feats to attract less and less notice .

Most of us women flyers have re­ ceived far more attention than is our due , but there is a class of flyer of whom you should hear and whom you should remember. He is the pilot who carries modem flying beyond its safe modem technic, in order to find a safer one. And so, in future days , with every mile you fly in safety and comfort, you will realize the debt you owe to the present ballyhoo of aviation and to the great number of aviation mechanics and pilots whose names are unknown and whose feats are unheralded , who live quietly, work strenuously, and fly deftly , behind its raucous banners .• VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

F lying a light plane to 48 states first

occurred to me in 1957, when there were still only 48 . Skipping gradua­ tion, a college friend and I flew round­ trip from Reid ' s Hillview Airport in San Jose, California to New York Har­ bor in a Luscombe 8A for no other reason than to do pylon turns around the Statue of Liberty . We did six, and I started thinking of other adventures.

However, law school and the things that follow intervened.

So, when I purchased a ragged , four-place Luscombe Model ll-A Sedan (NCI666B) about 30 years later, and spent the next two years re­ 22 OCTOBER 1989

storing it (just in time for an Oshkosh '88 debut), the dormant fantasy was sure to resurface . It did, on a Sunday evening last February, but with some new wrinkles: do it in the 1948 Sedan and in 48 hours or less flying time.

Actually, Bridgette, my VAL flight­ attendant wife, is to blame . She had coaxed me back to flying about six years earlier - after a shameful hiatus of 23 years. Now, here she was again pushing the right buttons. "You're crazy, it can't be done," she said.

"You're only half right," I retorted , "I think it can." The next hour was spent at the planning chart taped to the laun­ dry room wall. Bridge was right! There

was no way the classic taildragger, which cruises at 125 mph, could do a 7,000-mile round-trip from EI Cajon's Gillespie Field in under 48 hours.

I confessed. "So who says you have to start and end at Gillespie," Bridge quipped? Grateful she hadn't added "Stupid," I retreated for another feasi­ bility study. By starting at Needles, near the California-Arizona- Nevada borders, and ending at Pendleton, Ore­ gon, about 40 miles southwest of Walla Walla, the distance through all 48 contiguous states quickly melted to about 6,000 statute miles. With refine­ ments, I knew it would shrink even more. I broke the news, but

PROJECT

x A '48 Luscoll1be Flies to 48 states In 48 hours' flying till1e . . . or less Qi

0.

0.

by William G. Wright

:>

~ '"o

U

sheepishly . "When do you leave?" was all she asked.

It was late, but I called Mike La France, an A&P friend who had restored his own 1949 ragwing 8A and had helped with the Sedan's restoration. Did he want to go along as a co-pilotlmechan足 ic/guest? "When do we leave?" he asked .

Planning and Preparation As Duane Cole suggests in one of his books, I spread about $120 worth of sectionals on the kitchen floor and massaged the route again and again, shaving a few miles each time. "Run足 way," our year-old Cocker, thought

Mike LaFrance and the author with the Sedan.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

the maps were on the floor for another purpose. Over the next few weeks a dozen or so revisions reduced the dis­ tance between general aviation airports (no duster or private strips for the Sedan) in the 48 states to about 5,800 statute miles. We had a race.

The sectionals went up on the hangar wall as final, but I wasn't thrilled.

Batches of l2,000-foot peaks loomed in our path, both east and westbound, and the Sedan had never breathed that high - nor had we. The route also included almost three hours over open water (the Atlantic east of JFK, Lake Erie and Lake Michigan), hours of no­ landmark, VOR-sparse deserts, and about a half-dozen of the new TCA rings.

If I was worried about the route, I wasn't about "Triple-Six Bravo." It was ready to go as restored . However, I found a battered pair of Stinson 108 wheel pants in April at Sun 'n Fun .

They were lighter than the fiberglass J-3 reproductions installed during the Sedan's restoration, and had only about two-thirds the frontal area.

Switching might mean a couple of mph's, so Mike agreed (or was coerced) into restoring and hanging them. He did a first-class job. How­ ever, I couldn't get him to exchange the balding 7:00 x 6 tires for the new ones I bought. He was convinced the smoothies were good for at least 48 more landings. Finally, Mike installed an II-foot, non-precip ADF antenna wire from the fin to the cabin roof, and the Sedan was ready .

The Magic Box The ADF wire was for a portable loran. From the onset, Mike, who had used one, argued for taking a loran on the trip. Stubbornly, I resisted. I've al­ ways been confused by electronic gadgets, I didn't want to disturb the Sedan's back -to-original panel, and besides, it just wasn't Luscombe fly­ ing. We'd do it the "old fashioned way" - with VORs, a DME aleady hidden in a glove box, a magnetic com­ pass, a DG, and about two pounds of sectionals.

As the number of skeptics grew, so did our desire to complete the trip in less than 48 hours. In May I read about Azure Technology's new "Long Ranger F/P" receiver, which had a 30­ hour battery pack and did not require panel installation. I gave Azure VP Jim Getsch a call. I told him about the trip, recently dubbed "Project 48" by avia­ 24 OCTOBER 1989

Never look back when going for a record.

tion writer Don Downie, and he agreed to loan us one of the first units to come off the line.

The "Long Ranger" arrived, as promised, in the second week of June.

I programmed it with all 48 stops in about an hour on the kitchen counter and, using it to fiddle with the route, brought the distance down still further to 5,765 miles. We didn't get a chance to put it in action before we left, so Mike taught me how to use it on the 90 minute flight to Needles. I felt like a wizard with a magic box.

I'm convinced there's no way we could have completed "Project 48" in under 48 flying hours without the loran. Except for Needles, our starting point, neither of us had ever been to any of the other 47 airports, many of which were camouflaged in surround­ ing landscapes, hidden in forests, or always just over the next ridge. At the low altitudes we flew, we could have wasted a lot of time searching for them, but the loran homed the Sedan virtually dead-center almost every time. We didn't overfly a single air­ port.

Also, if there's a mid-continent gap out there, the Long Ranger had diffi­ culty finding it. Maybe it was the ADF antenna or just blind luck, but except for two stretches of about 75 miles each, we received reliable signals throughout the entire trip. Unlike line­ of-sight VOR, which would have been ineffective at our altitudes, loran sig­ nals hug the ground - our domain most of the trip.

This isn't a commercial, simply a

recommendation. If you're still resist­ ing loran-C like I was, think again, particularly if you want to stay out of (or enter) the ARSA and TCA rings, conserve fuel, and can't get those sec­ tionals folded again in your cockpit. A loran is simply another nav aid, like a DME or VOR, so why not use it?

But beware, it's habit forming; don't try it unless you're ready to get hooked .

A Record By Default Most pilots are unimpressed with flying records. I'm one of them. Flying is its own reward. So, when a friend from Albuquerque suggested I contact

Eric Presten studies his stopwatches. His in­ tegrity was uncompromised.

the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the U. S. affiliate of the Fed­ eration Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), which verifies and maintains aviation records, I dismissed the idea.

After all , Project 48 was just a string of short cross-country races against a clock, and it had undoubtedly been done before in less time .

I weakened a few weeks later when Tom Haines , a writer with AOPA Pilot who had done a feature article on the Sedan's restoration, urged the same thing. He had the NAA's phone number handy, so I hesitantly dialed and spoke with Contest and Records Secretary, Wanda Odum. I was sur­ prised if not astonished. The NAA had no record of anyone taking-off and landing in the 48 contiguous states in "X" amount of flying time. That didn't mean the trip hadn't been done before , even in less than 48 hours, just that there was no official record of it.

Record or no record , Mike and I were going to do the trip anyway, and we had already set our goal. So if a record could be set, even by default because none existed, why not? The record might focus some favorable at­

tention on general aviation, encourage a few new pilots (or hibernating ones) into the air, and offer someone else the opportunity of breaking it. Although the Sedan would be the only horse in the race, the record thing was also sure to pump us up a little more in our quest to silence the skeptics .

Wanda urged that we take along someone associated with flying who was willing to serve as an NAA official to verify the route and flight times.

Enter Eric Presten, the 25-year-old manager of the Sonoma (California) Skypark, whom I'd met briefly a year earlier at Oshkosh . His reaction was one I'd heard before. " When do we leave?" When we finally did, Eric had a stack of NAA forms , a pair of stop­ watches, and a bride of only seven days (Debbie) waiting for him back in Sonoma .

Eric is also the author/photographer of a delightful cataloging of antique and classic aircraft The A viator's Time­ less Choice. He is as enthusiastic about general aviation as anyone I've met.

Early in the trip we had a minor dispute over 16 seconds of elapsed time to the Sedan 's disadvantage. When Eric

wouldn't budge, I suggested a com­ promise - split the 16 seconds. No way! He believed he was right, so there was no compromising. In the end, it didn't matter, except as evidence of his integrity.

Get Set, Go Thunderstorms or not , we purpose­ fully selected July I st as our starting date. We wanted to do the trip under the new Mode C rules that would be­ come effective that day and on the heels of June , the General Aviation Manufacturers Association's "Learn to Fly Month ." "0" or departure day fi­ nally arrived. We left Gillespie for Needles at about 5:30 a.m. (to beat the heat) with the mini-Hobbs meter read­ ing 183 .5 hours since restoration .

Electronic calculations demanded an average speed of 120.1 mph, about two miles a minute, in order to complete the 5,765 statute mile trip in 48 hours.

This included time spent in climb-outs, patterns, dog-legs (intentional or not), and locating those 47 unfamiliar air­ ports. While we counted on tailwinds flying east and up the Atlantic sea­ board , we knew any advantage they

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

offered would be more than cancelled when we finally turned westbound.

Editor's note - Remember, you can never regain all the time lost to a head­ wind when you make the return trip with an equal tailwind. The reason is you spend more time flying at the slower groundspeed, so it doesn't can­ cel out evenly.

Mike and I came up with a few ideas we thought might help. Fuel was not a consideration, so we planned on push­ ing the Continental E-185-3 engine at max cruise, about 25 inches MP and 2,300 rpm. We did , and fuel consump­ tion jumped from about 9.5 gph at "20 squared" to 13.7 gph. To minimize climb-out and descent time we also de­ cided to fly most of the short legs at 1,000 to 2,000 feet agl and, foolishly, we lifted off near the departure end of most runways to lower airborne time by a few seconds, when we felt it was safe. Of course, it never is .

Landings were another matter. We drastically shortened our patterns and, in some carefully selected instances, unwisely eliminated a few. At a number of airports we also brought the Sedan in fast (too hot to tell), let the main gear bounce off the pavement to kill Eric's stopwatches, and then made

normal, full-stop landings. This dubi­ ous procedure probably had a lot to do with the purchase of another set of tires in Chester, Connecticut. Mike in­ stalled them while an electrical storm raged outside and fried the FBO's com­ puter.

We left everything we could at home, including Eric's video camera.

Enroute we decreased our gross weight even further and installed (or "de-in­ stalled") a custom speed-kit. About 15 or 20 pounds of non-essentials (includ­ ing my underwear), were shipped home from Perry town, Texas and we threw away the sectionals and other consumables as they were used. The "custom speed kit" involved removing the hinged pitot tube cover, an orna­ mental brass venturi, rubber step pads, and the outside-air temperature gauge .

We stripped the Sedan while we were stalled in Beckley, West Virginia by the lingering remnants of the season's first tropical storm, Allison, who was no lady. Other than making Mike and me feel better, the speed kit had no measurable effect.

One thing we did, which may have saved some time, was to clean and debug the Sedan's frontal and leading edges at more than half the stops. We

Finding 80-octane fuel proved difficult.

26 OCTOBER 1989

also coated them with a slick, Teflon­ based polish. Accumulations of oil and dirt were removed from the underbelly with lOO-octane at least three times.

Having passed through a half-dozen or more showers, which peeled the paint from the tips of the Hartzell prop , washing wasn't necessary . Even bad weather has some redeeming qualities .

Beating the Clock Before leaving I made a "bank book" which had a separate page for each stop containing, among other data, the distance from the prior airport and the estimated time enroute budgeted on the basis of two miles per minute . For example, the first page in­ dicates Searchlight, Nevada was 49 miles from Needles. Therefore, at the average speed necessary to complete the trip, the Searchlight leg should take 24 minutes and 30 seconds. If we completed it under budget, the "savings" was deposited in our run­ ning time "account." If over budget, a "withdrawal" was made. Thus, we kept watch on the stopwatches watch­ ing us - and on our progress.

At the end of the first day (Perryton, Texas and 876 miles from Needles) we had 54 minutes and 44 seconds in the

bank even though we sustained our first, painful withdrawal (one minute and 44 seconds) enroute to Perryton.

While we would have to spend this savings (and more) flying west in a few days, we felt pretty flush. In fact, we set a mini-goal of having three hours in the bank before turning west from Maine.

We fell about 15 minutes short of that goal. There were several reasons - most of them involving Allison, who continued to hover over the South­ east. We had to climb over and/or weave through broken cumulus stacks on three occasions, dog-leg at least four times around heavy showers, cir­ cle a restricted area northeast of Balti­ more, and back-track once about five miles when faced with an obvious IFR system. It all cost time. Contrary to expectations, we also ran into 15- to 20-knot headwinds flying northeast be­ tween Chester, Connecticut and Paw­ tuckett, so I decided we'd sit them out until evening.

Eric had been campaigning for a side trip to Cole Palen's Rhinbeck Aero­ drome since before we left. He lucked out, a gift from the wind gods. It was Saturday morning, and Rhinbeck was only 110 miles due west on the New York sectional. I told Mike and Eric to take the Sedan and go (they needed relief from the father-figure) and to be back that evening when the headwinds were expected to decrease. They said they had a ball, including formation rides in Cole's Jennies. They were even back on time.

The northeast winds had calmed by 6:00 p.m. when we left Pawtuckett, and the Sedan lost less than two min­ utes to Eric's stopwatches enroute to Eliot, Maine. After 3,200 miles and 23 hours, 52 minutes of flying, we fi­ nally turned west. The Sedan promptly earned the two minutes back from the same winds that had swallowed them.

We ended the eighth day at Ben­ nington, Vermont with two hours 47 minutes and 33 seconds in the bank.

We now had to average only about III mph enroute to Pendleton, but those winds blowing across the Great Lakes and Plains states could be brutal. We had hope, but not confidence.

Except for about six hours between Erie, Pennsylvania and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, during which the Sedan averaged a groundspeed of only 110 mph and gave up 27 minutes to Eric's watches, the Witch of the West Winds never showed. Although our

Mike becomes familiar with the line crew at Greenville. Tennessee.

worst ground speed (97 mph) was be­ tween Galt Field in Illinois and Prairie du Chien, the winds shifted to the Sedan's tail, and we gained back al­ most an hour by the time we reached Hettinger, North Dakota, where Mike finished the fastest leg of the trip at 146.9 mph.

It was at Hettinger I became con­ vinced that, barring anything drastic or unforeseen, we had it made. Only about 817 miles separated the Sedan from Pendleton, and there was still al­ most 10 hours unwound on Eric's stop­ watches. We could average a groundspeed of 82 mph and still come in under 48 hours!

The rest of the trip was routine ­ no suspense - no sweat. We had to dog-leg around a pair of serious thun­ derstorms that barred our route to Cow­ ley, Wyoming and then escape some severe clear-air turbulence over Cus­ ter's battlefield by making an un­ scheduled landing. However, our groundspeed had been so good after leaving Hettinger (about 145), that the diversion didn't even result in a with­ drawal.

At Powell, Wyoming, where we stayed in a cavernous room our tenth and last night, we decided to splurge some of the time we had saved so mis­ erly. Instead of spending two or three hours threading the many 12,000-foot peaks that separated Powell from Dil­ lon, Montana and Grangeville, Idaho, we routed ourselves farther north to Butte and then west across the Bit­ teroot Mountains. The lower, still snow-capped peaks were awesome, and we were grateful we had spent the time from our bulging bank account to avoid the higher ones to the south. In fact, in smooth air we still made four more deposits to the bank before touch­ ing down on Pendleton's runway 11 a few minutes before Noon on July II th, our lith day out.

Eric's 48-hour stopwatches had three hours, 24 minutes and three sec­ onds left, and that's the way they would stay. The 41-year-old taildrag­ ger, averaging a shade under 130 mph, had completed the trip (now totaling 5,781 miles) in 44 hours, 35 minutes, and 57 seconds - and not a second too soon. We were tired, the Sedan VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

We were met by a welcoming commiHee of one at Pendleton. Paul Sands and his pink (honest!) Tripacer.

was still about I, 100 miles from Gil­ lespie, and Eric had been with Mike and me almost twice as long as he had been with his new bride.

Reflections and Impressions "Project 48" turned out to be more than just a race against a stopwatch. In a sense, it had a life of its own, starting with a 3D-year incubation period.

However, the memory of its 11 day life-span is a kaleidoscope of unsorted sights and experiences.

I recall: that the west end of the Grand Canyon rises in a sheer wall from the desert floor southeast of Lake Mead - seeing Shiprock mountain to­ wering on the New Mexico horizon , a sentinel guarding the "Four Corners" - the altimeter briefly passing 14,400 feet between Durango and Raton .

Eric disappeared at every airport, scanning the tie-downs and hangars for antique and classic treasures to photo­ graph for a new book, and Mike fueled the Sedan (he wouldn't let anyone else touch it), leveled the oil, and checked with weather. I remember: an ante-bel­ lum Tara-type mansion in Lake Provi­ dence, once occupied by General Grant, but now owned by the FBO operator- grey underside of Allison's overcast for four days, during which we made only 900 miles - the biggest 28 OCTOBER 1989

prime rib I've ever seen (at "Billy Joe's" in Beckley, West Virginia) ­ untouched forests as far as the eye can see in Arkansas, Alabama, and upstate New York; prerevolutionary war homes in Bennington, Vermont, each brass-placarded with the date it was built - and at least IO jarring, "Oh­ dark-thirty" wake-up calls .

A crop duster topped the Sedan off from his own tanks in Perryton, Texas at 5:30 a.m. while the local FBO slept and lost a sale. In Pawtuckett, singer Jimmy Buffett (he flies a Lake Amphi­ bian) signed an autograph for Eric's waiting bride. The Long Ranger di­ rected us past the dirigible hangars at Lakehurst, and directly over pictures­ que Cooperstown, New York. I won­ der if I'll ever actually visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. Our route also led the Sedan over dozens of forest clearings in Vermont and New Hamp­ shire filled with stone mansions, pools, tennis courts, and multi-car garages.

We passed through a half-dozen of the new 3D-mile TCA rings without inci­ dent.

There was a carrier-top runway at Pikeville, Kentucky, part of which had eroded away; and a line boy at Galt Field in Illinois who insisted on pick­ ing us up at our motel to take us to the airport - at 5:00 a.m. I remember a

friendly runway under the Sedan's tail at Columbus, Georgia when her windshield was suddenly filled with an ugly IFR wall. The tower guys in Walla Walla said they had been watch­ ing for the Sedan for several days and the airport at Hardin, Montana, bec­ koned a few miles away when we ran into clear air turbulence and retreated just where General Custer should have.

I remember sitting behind the windshield of cars and pickups that had been loaned without a request, a steady blur of Visa charge slips under a pen, too many curious faces scrutinizing the Sedan to recall any clearly and that there was no coffee in Coffeyville be­ cause the FBO was still sleeping. One cantankerous roll-away bed decided to fold with Mike in it. Mike neatly printed a notation on the last page of our bank book, "Free at Last!"; and we had a welcoming committee of one, Paul Sands, a former Luscombe driver who flew down from Felts Field (Spokane) to meet us at Pendleton in a pink Tripacer .

Now, many of you reading these final lines may be thinking, "I could do that, too; it's only 48 little cross­ countries strung together. I can even do it in less time."

You're right. Of course you can.

"So when do you leave?" •

EASS IT TO

--1]

An information exchange column with input from readers.

by Buck Hilbert (EAA 21, Ale 5) P.0. Box 424 Union, IL 60180

The end of August is almost the end of summer here in the Nawth . I'm not looking forward to the blowin ' snow , but the signs are there! Just a matter of time . Maybe this winter I'll get the other Aeronca C-3 going.

After Oshkosh Dorothy & I took off for Canada to do some serious fish in ' .

Despite the fact that Ontario seems to be acting more and more like a police state, we had a very successful trip .

We "Limited" out and did the catch & release routine about 75 times apiece , turning back the small ones and those in the "slot" . The "slot limit" is from 19 inches through 21 inches for Wal足 leyes. That's the best breeding size and

age for them and so I am in complete agreement with the practice of releas足 ing the "Slots". I'm very greedy , though , about keeping the bigger ones.

We ' ll be eating some of them tonight.

Sitting in the audience and watching the final awards Thursday night there at OSH in the Theater in the Woods , I was struck by the fact that it wasn't as much fun as it used to be . I sort of missed the old Ev & Dusty routine that used to be so much fun. Even the George York & "Buck" Hilbert antics were bore breakers . In the interest of keeping people 's attention , though , and getting right down to business, the event has lost a little of its "Fun &

Chatter" . Most of the recIpients had already flown off, so it was probably that, too, that led to the feeling that the importance of the event has faded somewhat. Has anybody out there got any suggestions as to how we can im足 prove upon this event? Get ' em to me and I'll try to get it across to HQ. On stage, taking George York ' s place, was Dale Wolford . I'm sure all of you who have ever met Dale know what an enthusiastic EAAer he was.

Well, we've lost him. He had a mas足 sive heart attack Monday, August 14th and never came out of it. Dale was the spearhead who started Chapter 148. He was a guy who loved Aeroncas and VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

spent countless hours working on that beautiful C-2, as well as his Chief.

Chief Engineer for the Gorman-Rupp people , he used that 800 line constantly to answer questions and help people all over the world with Aeroncas , my­ self included. When I was lookin ' for a C-3 back in the 1960s, it was Dale who told me what to look for. He was never too busy to help a guy find some­ thing or give you the one he had if you needed it. The Division is going to miss him . I know I will. I' ll never be able to watch the aircraft judging with­ out a thought for Dale Wolford . I'm sure they have Aeroncas in pilot heaven, Dale, so you'll be right at home there.

We got home Friday evening from the fishing trip and the stack of phone messages went all the way back to early July. Dorothy & I had left here and joined the volunteer staff at OSH right after the Fourth . It was a very pleasant time up there, just visiting with all the rest of the die-hard EAAers who do the same thing . I spent some time working with Gordy Selke and Pat Packard building crates to be used in the new Eagle Hangar. It was a real kick to see them being used under the B-17 and to hold the various dioramas spread throughout the hangar. And as to the Hangar and the dedication cere­ mony, I wish everyone could have been there . The World War II band, "Skitch" Henderson, Joe Slattery , Bob Hoover's speech and the presentation of the colors and all turned out to be one great patriotic rally . I had goose bumps and tears when "Skitch" led us through the final "God Bless America" sing-along . I even weakened to the point where I shook hands with one of the Warbirds! Now THAT, guys and gals, shows how shook I was!

Back to the present. As I was scan­ ning the message reminders, the phone began ringing. I've had calls from Il­ linois, Indiana, Ohio, California, Iowa and even Oshkosh . I can't get people to write letters, but they sure know how to use the phone. Most of the calls were questions that I could provide an­ swers for, but one or two were the usual stumpers I had to pass on to someone else. I'm fortunate in that re­ spect. I may not know an answer, but I usually know someone who does.

And it is gratifying to get another call a day or so later, telling me that advice or name I'd given had paid off.

One of the more interesting ques­ tions I ran across this past week is the 30 OCTOBER 1989

eternal one of engine "time" versus "age". The fellow had located an an­ tique airplane that had been in storage about 20 years. He was elated because the Kinner only had about 150 hours on it SMOH. I spent half an hour on the phone explaining to him that the 150 SMOH didn't mean a thing be­ cause of the long storage, that it'd be best if he tore it down right then and there before he flew it. Well, it was too late! He'd already ferried it some 200 miles. He was tearing it down now and found all sorts of little items that all add up to a major. Valve guides worn out, severe pitting and rusting in the cylinders, almost complete loss of compression on SEVERAL of the cylinders-all in all, I hope there 's enough left to build an engine.

The point is, an engine in storage, or one that has lain on the shelf for a number of years just won't be airwor­ thy. Even if it has been pickled for long-time storage, which many of them aren't, it should be very closely inspected before anything is done with it. This applies to modem engines as well as the old-timers . If there is any sign of rust on the outside, it's bound to be inside too! Don't try to run it until you've looked in the bores, in­

spected the valve stems, peeked at the gear trains and otherwise assured your­ self that it can be run without letting loose abrasive rust particles throughout the entire engine .

Keep in mind too, that there were no 2,000 hour engines built until the late 1960s. Engine life of engines prior to World War II was definitely limited.

The metalurgy and the lubricants were not up to the stuff we have today . The machining methods were there, but the metal alloys weren't! Neither were the great lubricants we have today . The lubricants serve three purposes in an aircraft engine . We all know they oil things up, but they also provide CLEANING as well as COOLING .

They hold all that guck you used to find in the old engines in suspension and transport it away when you change oil. A good practice is to limit your oil time to 25 or at the maximum 30 hours between changes if you DON'T have a full-flow oil filter and 50 hours if you do have the full-flow filter. In both cases look after the screens too when you change, and don't let more than four or five months go by without an oil change regardless of the time you put on the engine.

I recently read about the so-called fallacy of "pulling the prop through" after your engine has been setting for awhile. Well, I've always taught my students to do just that. They do it on the preflight before the first start in the morning. I feel it serves a couple of purposes - the main one is what I term a "Poor Man's Compression Check" . Second, it does prelube some of the moving parts and prime the oil pump so it'll pick up the oil quicker.

In the case of a separate oil tank or dry sump engine it'll give the scavenge pump a head start on pulling oil out of the sump. But the article I read was dead set against the practice calling it unnecessary, old-fashioned and a hangover from the old radial engine days. The author doted quite a bit on how dangerous it was too, as to how you could get hurt if the engine fired and therefore it was much SAFER to do it with the starter. I can't argue with that one. You always have to be aware of the potential damage that prop can cause. He also said that pulling the prop through backwards was hard on the gear trains, vacuum pumps and stuff like that. Well, maybe he's right on that one too, but I'm still gonna do it. Any comment?

Over to you . •

Where The Sellers and Bu ers Meet...

25¢ per word, $5.00 minimum charge. Send your ad to The Vintage Trader, EAA Aviation Center Oshkosh, WI 54903-2591.

AIRCRAFT: (2) C-3 Aeronca Razorbacks, 1931 and 1934. Pack­ age includes extra engine and spares. Fuselage, wing spars and extra props. Museum quality! $30,000 firm! Hisso 180-hp Model "E". 0 SMOH with prop and hub and stacks. Best offer over $10,000. 1936 Porterfield 35-70, the lowest time Antique ever!

Less than 200 hrs. ITA & E. 20 hours on engine. $12 ,500. No tire kickers, collect calls or pen pals, please! E.E. "Buck" Hilbert, P.O. Box 424, Union, Illinois 60180-0424.

Replica 213 scale Jenny - 2 place, 4130. Outper­ forms the original. Inexpensive and fast to build ­ flown to Oshkosh twice. Plans - $75.00, video ­ $25.00, info - $1.00. Wiley, P.O. Box 6366, Longmont, CO 80502. (12-3)

Cessna Airmaster - C-34 Project. Warner 145 Scarab, Curtiss-Reed prop. Factory drawings, needs new wing . $12 ,000. 201 /832-2009. (11-2)

1947 Piper PA-12 ­ 15 SMOH, original red and cream paint. Excellent inside and out. KY97 A radio, KT76A transponder with encoder. Annualed until 4/90. Always hangared, completely restored in 1981 . $22,500. or trade. (Prefer C-150 or C-172).

Bruce Lamont, P.O. Box 8162, Coburg, OR 97401 , 503/484-6511 days, 503/995-8356 evenings til 11 :00. (10-1)

Wanted : Callair A2 . A3 or A4 basket case or flying .

Harold Buck, Box 868 , Columbus, Georgia 31902, 404/322-1314. (7-2) Wanted - Carwil "Bobble Face" Compass. Paul O'Donnell, 30 Roosevelt Avenue , Chatham, NJ 07928, 201 /635-2850 nights. (10-1)

MISCELLANEOUS:

PLANS: POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol - unlimited in low-cost pleasure flying . Big, roomy cockpit for the over six foot pilot. VW power insures hard to beat 3 '/2 gph at cruise setting. 15 large instruction sheets. Plans - $60.00. Info Pack - $5.00. Send check or money order to: ACRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/529-2609.

ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of unlimited aerobatics. 23 sheets of clear, easy to follow plans includes nearly 100 isometrical draw­ ings, photos and exploded views . Complete parts and materials list. Full size wing drawings. Plans plus 139 page Builder'S Manual - $60.00. Info Pack - $5.00. Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing ­ $15.00. The Technique of Aircraft Building ­ $12.00 plus $2.50 postage. Send check or money order to: ACRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/529-2609.

WANTED: We are rebuilding a Stinson SM1-B. This is the six-place Detroiter 1928 monoplane. Interested in major components. small parts and 32 x 6 wheels.

AppreCiate any leads. Donald Fyock, R. D. 2, Air­ port Road, Johnstown, PA 15904, phone 814/536­ 0091 evenings. (10-3)

Super Cub PA18 luselages repaired or rebuilt - in precision master fixtures . All makes of tube assemblies or fuselages repaired or fabricated new. J. E. Soares Inc., 7093 Dry Creek Road , Bel­ grade, Montana 59714, 406/388-6069, Repair Sta­ tion 065-21. (c/12-89) Antique AlC Model Plans: "Meticulous Delinea­ tions" by Vern Clements (EAA 9297), 308 Palo · Alto, Caldwell, 10 83605. Catalog $3.00, refunda­ ble . (10-3) 1910-1950 Original aviation items lor sale - in­ struments, wood propellers, helmets, goggles, manuals, 44-page catalog airmailed, $5.00. Jon Al­ drich, Box 706, Airport , Groveland, CA 95321, 209/ 962-6121. (c-2/90) Will Share my treasure 01 aircraft parts! - 24­ year collection with continuous additions ... and still buying ... for all types of aircraft. Tell me what you need! Air Salvage of Arkansas, Rt. 1, Box 8020, Mena, Arkansas 71953, phone 501 /394­ 1022 any1ime. (c-3/90) Monocoupe, Rearwin, Culver - Gee Bee's, Hall, Chester, etc. Catalog/News - $3.00. Refundable.

"Meticulous model PLANS" by Vern Clements, 308 Palo Alto, Caldwell, 1083605. (12-3)

The Legendary Pre-War Races

Include postage and handling

$2.40 for one volume - $3.65 both volumes

The days of heroes-names such as Doolittle, Turner. Wedell.

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by George Hardie Jr.

No , it's not a prehistoric bird from the dinosaur era. This airplane was a product of a famous aeronautical de­ signer who became embroiled in a con­ troversy with the Air Force over one of his designs. The photo was submit­ ted by Pete Bowers of Seattle, Wash­ ington, date and location unknown .

Answers will be published in the Janu­ ary, 1990 issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline for that issue is November 10, 1989.

George Goodhead of Tulsa, Ok­ lahoma correctly identified the Mys­ tery Plane for July. He writes: "It's a Cairn Sport CC-14, a two­ place open landplane monoplane pow­ ered with a 95-hp A.E.C Cirrus Hi­ Drive engine. It was manufactured under Group 2 Approval #2-383 dated September 11, 1931. I believe it could be NC 11342 ."

Herb deBruyn of Bellevue , Wash­ ington adds this: "The question is, were more than two built? The one in Juptner is NC 11432 and if I interpret his writing cor­ rectly, Serial No. 2 was awarded the Type 2 certificate. What I can see of the registration number on the wing in your photo looks suspiciously like 11342. Perhaps it is the same airplane and only two were built."

Answers were also received from Charley Hayes of Park Forest, Illinois; H. Glenn Buffington ofEI Dorado, Ar­ kansas; Bob Nelson of Bismarck ,

North Dakota; Marty Eisenmann of Garrettsville, Ohio; Cedric Galloway of Hesperia, California; Casimier Gre­ vera of Sunnyvale, California; Robert Wynne of Mercer Island, Washington, and Hal Swanson of Shoreview, Min­ nesota .

John Underwood of Glendale, California adds more on the Great Lakes amphibian featured in the May issue: "The airplane was in fact the 4A-I , not the 4T-1, and J. S. McDonnell had absolutely nothing to do with it. Capt.

Holden C. Richardson, USN, designed the hull and P.B Rogers, formerly

wing-designer for Martin, did the wing . Three were built, these being 850K, 851 K nad 852K. "The Hermes model would not leave the water and test pilot Charlie Meyers demolished one of them in a valiant effort to make it unstick. It was sold to a junk dealer across the street from the Great Lakes plant in Cleveland .

The next day , much to the manage­ ment's chagrin, the 4A-1 was roosting on the roof of the junkyard office, a reminder to everyone of a dodo they wished to forget.

"Contrary to Bob Mosher's informa­ tion , the 4A-I flew sufficiently well to attract a buyer. This was 850K , fitted with a Wright J6-7 of 165 hp, and it operated in the Milwaukee area during 1932-33. The type was uncertified, however, and therefore inelligible for passenger work.

"I hope you wilI rectify the impres­ sion given by Dick Gates that J. S .

McDonnell was 'not too swift' as a de­ signer. He was a great designer, never mind what anyone else says. He had much to do with making better airplanes out of the Ford Trimotor and the Hamilton H-series of transports , to say nothing of the many naval aircraft that brought his name to the forefront of American aviation . He was an ex­ cellent pilot as well ." •

Calm Sport CC-14 VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35