VA-Vol-17-No-7-July-1989 by EAA Vintage Aircraft Association

STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

by Espie "Butch" Joyce

our May Board of Directors meet ing, we were glad to welcome four new advisors. Gene Chase is past editor of VINTAGE AIRPLANE and lives in Osh kosh. He is an avid antiquer and owns a Davis D-I-W and a Taylor E-2 Cub. Gene will be of great benefit to the An tique Classic Division because of his ex perience working within EAA Headquar ters. George Daubmer lives in the Mil waukee area and has worked with Art Morgan parking aircraft in the Antique/ Classic area . George will be a good addi tion to the board of advisors. We are also glad to have John Berendt come on board . John is president of the Fairchild Club and also organizes and conducts the Antique/Classic forums at Oshkosh each year. John really wanted to be on our board and will be a fine asset. Last but not least is Jeannie Hill from Illinois . Jeannie and her husband, Dick head up the Bird type club and also the Uncom mon Cub Club . She has several antiques , has been an avid antiquer for years and works at Oshkosh as chairman of the Riverboat Cruise and the Pioneer Videos , in which we interview all the greats of aviation on videotape. I would like to welcome all these people on board. It's great to have you with us. The May board meeting was held in Oshkosh on a Friday. On Saturday, sev eral board members and others spent the day working in the Antique/Classic area. They improved the judges headquarters and other areas that needed some help. They work their hearts out during Con vention week and other times during the year, and still they wanted to get together for a work party and some good fellow ship. Bob Lumley, who is in the con struction business and understands how to get things accomplished, was in charge of the work party and is a real hustler himself. With him were Stan Gomall , Dale Gustafson, Bob Brauer, Steve Nesse, Judy Wyrembeck and Mar garet Misdall. Also , Norm Petersen from the EAA editorial staff and our new ad visor, Gene Chase were there to help. It was really nice of these folks to pitch in. My heartfelt thanks to all these people for their volunteer work. 2 JULY 1989

EAA Oshkosh '89 is almost upon us. A couple more weeks and we will all be buzzing around Oshkosh. The theme thi s year as everyone already knows is, "From Jennies to Jets ." Ken Hyde , who will fly his Jenny from Virginia to Osh kosh, has been working with Tom Pobe rezny and others to have as many Jennies at the Convention as possible . We think we have as many as seven individuals' commitments to bring their aircraft with hope that we'll have as many as 10. Some of these aircraft will fly every day. The other Jennies, several from the West Coast , will be transported by cargo van. We have volunteers from a couple of EAA Chapters in the Oshkosh area to be on hand to help reassemble these aircraft once they are at Oshkosh. It will be great to have all these Jennies together. Steve Nesse, Chairman of the Antique/ Classic picnic, has informed me that tick ets will be on sale at A/C Headquarters and should be purchased by 6:00 pm on Saturday. Sunday is the day of our picnic and serving will begin approximately at 5:30 and run through 7:00. The Jenny pilots and crew will be present so that we may visit with them. Our menu will be a pigpicking with smoked turkey . Joe Dickey said that we could expect to have as many as 14 type clubs rep resented in the Type Club Tent this year. If any other clubs want to participate, call Joe or Julia at 812/342-6878. Bob Brauer will be at his post at the membership and chapter information booth. I would like to encourage all members of chapters and those interested in forming chapters to check by and visit with Bob. He is doing a really good job with the chapters, providing any assis tance they need . Do not hesitate to call on Bob if you have any questions. Art Morgan says the parking area is in excellent shape this year. Oshkosh has had a good amount of rain this year, the grass is green and hopefully we won't have the dust that we had last year. Art has his parking crew together and they will be on site early. Kate Morgan at the Antique/Classic Headquarters will have new merchandise to present this year. I would like to en courage everyone to stop by and pick up your Jenny T-shirt. We also will have your convention buttons on hand, so stop by and see the ladies at HQ. Phil Coulson is expecting a good turn out for the Parade of Flight which will be held on Monday this year during the main airshow time slot. You need to re gister with Phil in advance in order to fly , as we must limit the number of air craft due to the time allotment. You must

be present at the briefing which will be held behind the A/C Headquarters at 1:00 pm Monday. During the morning hours of the Con vention, Charles Harris will be the host for the Interview Circle in front of the Antique/Classic Headquarters. Charlie will interview individual s about interest ing aircraft. If you have not seen thi s Interview Circle, you really need to stop by as it is informative and entertaining. In order to obtain a participant plaque with a picture of your aircraft, you must check in at Main Registration . Please be sure to put the proper row number on the registration form so that your aircraft can be located by Jack Copeland's crew. Bob Lumley will be the host for the Antique/Classic Fly-out. Pre-registration for this event is not required. All you need do is attend a briefing that will be held at the Antique/Classic Headquarters at 7:00 am Tuesday. In the past this event has been thoroughly enjoyed by all who participate . It gives everyone a chance to get away from the field and enjoy some low-key fellowship . Our Riverboat Cruise is on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm. Jeannie Hill is chair man of this activity and is selling ad vance tickets. There may also be some tickets left by Convention time. If you have not bought your advance tickets, look for Jeannie at A/C Headquarters, but I recommend that you contact her at 815/943-7205 for your advance tickets . Please come by Antique/Classic Head quarters and visit with us. I would like to hear your feelings on the division and any suggestions you may have to im prove things. I want to keep communica tion going within the membership . For those of you who missed it , be aware that this month, July 1989, is the month that encoders are required to fly through and above TCAs and above 10,000 feet msl. We do not need to let up in voicing our opinions to the people in Washington, at FAA and in Congress , as to our freedom of flight. We cannot let up on this for a minute. Now with the summer season here , the local fly-ins and chapter activities have really picked up . You can see by the calendar of events in different publica tions that activity is at an all-time high . These are the events that I really enjoy participating in . I would like to encour age everyone to please be careful and have a good time. I hope everyone enjoys EAA Oshkosh '89 as much as I know I will. Remember, "From Jennies to Jets ," you will see it all this year. Let's all pull together in one direction for the good of aviation. Join us and have it all! •

PUBLICATION STAFF PUBLISHER

Tom Po b erezny

VlCE -PRESIDENT

MARKETING & Co.MMUNICATlo.NS

Dick Matt

EDITo.R

Mark Phelps

ART DIRECTo.R

Mike Drucks

ADVERTISING

Ma ry Jones ASSo.CIATE EDITo.RS Norma n Petersen Dick Cavin FEATURE WRITERS George A Hard ie. Jr. Dennis Parks EDITo.RIAL ASSISTANT Isabelle Wiske STAFF PHOTo.GRAPHERS

Jim Ko e pnick Carl Schuppel

Jett Iso m

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC

DIVISION, INC.

OFFICERS

President Espie "Butc h" Joyce Box 468 Madison. NC 27025 919/427-0216 Secretary George S. York 181 Sloboda Ave. Mansfield. o.H 44906 419/529-4378

Vice President Arthur R. Morgan 3744 North 51st Blvd. Milwaukee. WI 53216 414/442-3631 Treasurer E.E. "Buck" Hilbe rt P.o.. Box 424 Union. IL 60180 815/923-4591

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

312m9-2105 Philip Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr. Lawton. M I 49065 616/624-6490 Charles Harris 3933 South Peoria P.o. Box 904038 Tulsa. o.K 74105

John S. Copeland 9 Joanne Drive Westborough. MA 01581 508/366-7245 William A Eickhoff 41515th Ave.. N.E. S!. Petersburg. FL 33704 813/823-2339 Stan Gomoll 104290th Lane. NE Minneapo lis. MN 55434

6121784-1172

9181742-7311 Dale A Gustafso n 7724 Shady Hill Drive Indianap olis. IN 46278 317/293-4430 Gene Morris 115C Steve Court. R.R. 2 Roanoke. TX76262 817/491-9110 Danie l Neuman 1521 Berne Circle W. Minneapolis. MN 55421 6121571-0893

Robert D. "Bob" Lumley N104W20387

Willow Creek Rd.

Colgate. WI 53107

414/255-6832 Steven C. Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Lea. MN 56007 507/373-1674 5.H. OWes" Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue Wauwatosa. WI 53213

414m1-1545

DIRECTOR EMERITUS 5.J. Wittman

7200 S.E. 85th Lane

Ocala. FL 32672

904/245-7768

Contents 2

Straight and Levellby Espie "Butch" Joyce

Letters to the Editor

Members' Projectsiby Norm Petersen

Vintage Literatureiby Den nis Parks

Time Capsuleiby Mark Phelps

Antique/Classic Photo Contest

Bamboo Bomber Anniversary Flight/ by Dick and Jeannie Hill

A Criss-Cross-Country Year/ by Andrew Ki ng

Chapter Chroniclesiby Bob Lu mley

Pass It To Buck/by E.E. "Buck" H ilbert

Calendar

Vintage Trader

Mystery Planeiby George Hardie, Jr.

Page 10

Page 12

Page 20

FRo.NT Co.VER .. . Three entrants in the Antique/Classic Photo Contest. Jack McCarthy. C hairman. To enter this yeo(s contest. sign up at Antique/Classic Headquarters at EAA o.shkosh '89. Top left - Bob Majka: Top right - Barry Turner: Bottom - Myron Heimer. REAR Co.VER . . . Another Contest entrant - by Don Majka

ADVISORS

John Berend1 7645 Echo Point Rd. Cannon Falls. MN 55009 507/263-2414

Gene Chase

2159 Carlton Rd.

o.shkosh. WI 54903

414/231-5002

George Daubmer

2448 Lough Lane

Hartford. WI

414/673-5885

John A Fogerty

RR 2. Box 70

Roberts. WI 54023

715/425-2455

Peter Hawks

Sky Way Bid.. Suite 204

655 SkyWay

Son Carlos Airport

Son Carlos. CA 94070

415/591-7191

Jeannie Hill

P.o. Box 328

Harvard. IL 60033

815/943-7205

The words EM ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM. SPORT AVIATION. and !he logos 01 EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATlON INC.. EAA INTERNA

TIONAL CONVENTION. EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION INC.• INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB INC.• WAIRBIRDS OF AMERICA INC.• are registered

trademaI1cs. THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos 01 !he EAA AVIATION FQUNDATlON INC. and EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION are ~ademaJ1<s 01 !he above

associations and their use by any pernon olller Ihan !he above assodalions ~ s1rictIy pfOhilited.

Edtorial Policy: Reader.; are encouraged to submit stories and pho\og"aphs. Policy opinions expressed n ru1icIes are solely !hose of !he ooIhors. Responsilility for

accuracy n repor1ilg resls entirely with !he oontrb.rk>r. MaleriaJ should be sent to: E<itof. The VINTAGE AIRPlANE. Wittmar1 RegiooaI Airport. 3(XX) Poberezny Rd.•

()stj(osh. WI 54003-3086. Phore: 41 414~ .

The VINTAGE AIRPlANE (ISSN 0091-£943) ~ published and owned exdusively by EAA AntiqueiCIassic DMsion, Inc. 01 !he ExperiIOOflIai Aircraft Association, Inc. and

~ published monIt1~ at wrnman Regional Airport. 3(XX) Poberezny Rd.• Oshkosh, WI 54003-3086. Second Class P06tage paid at Oshkosh. WI 54901 and additiooaI

maililg o/fices. Merrbersfip rates for EAA Antique!C1assic Division. Inc. are $18.00 for current EAA merrIJers for 12 month period 01 \\llich $12.00 ~ lor !he pubication

01 The VINTAGE AIRPlANE. MerrIlership is oper1 to all who are nleresled in aviation.

ADVERTISING - ArtiqueJClassic DMsion does not gJaffif1tee or endorne 8lr/ product offered Ihroug, our adverti~ng. We invite oonstrudive criticism and wek:oroo

8lr/ report of l1Ierfor merchand~ obIaiood Ihroug, our adverti~ng so Iha! corrective mea5(1es can be laken.

POSTMASTER: SeM address charges to EAA Ar6jueICIassic Division, Inc.. WIItmar1 RegiooaI Airport. Oshkosh. WI 54003-l:lIl6.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

ELEVEN TO SEVENTY ALL FLY THE NEW

America's Sale Airplane manufactured by

TAYLOR AIR CRAFT COMPANY

TAYLOR CUB

Bradford, Pa.

DEPENDABLE CONTINENTAL ENGINE Cont. Eng. Type A40-4 A. T . C. no. 72 This Continental Engine, A-40- 4 is a four cy lin de r, horizontally opposed type, two cylinders on eac h side, direct drive, air coo led. Thi s type engine affords un obstructed vision . Specifications: Bore 3-1/3, Stroke 3-3/4, Disp la ceme nt liS cu. in., Compression Ratio, 5.2:1, Magneto Ignition, Stromberg Carburetor. The performance of the Continental A-40-4 Engine in the NEW "CUB" is a revelation in flexibility, econo my and long life . This compact little engine of simple yet rugged constructio n, with ready accessibility of parts, develops 38 H. P. at 2550 r p In, gi\'i ng a top speed of 85 miles per hour. This eng in e consumes three gallons or less of gaso lin e per hour. PRICE OF THE NEW "C(B" with Continental A-40-4 Engine (~lodel J2. A.T.e. No . 595) 81470 .00 F. A. F . Pri ce without cngine and propellor £1035 . 00 (Prices subject to change without notice . )

You can own a new "CUB" as easily as you can own a car THE NEW "CUB" is America's first big safe airp lane at pleasure car price. It costs less to fly than it does to run a popular priced car . And it is easier for the average person to fly than it is to drive a car . The New "CUB" is th e outcome of hundreds of th ousands of successful flights and millio ns of miles of fl ying . No effort has been spared to make it the safest , soundest ship in America - a t a price that all can afford . 10,000 students now fly in "CUBS" .

It is econom ic al to operate-using but three gallons of gas per hour and little or no oi l. It has a cruising speed of 70 miles per hour yet it will land sa fely in a small area . It will take you anywher e safely and bring you back safely. The great American urge to go places and do things is exactly met by the NEW "CUB". It is in tune with the times in both appearance and performance . Still another safety feature is provided in the

Clear vision ahead , as well as from the sides

dependable NEW "CUB" Power Unit - a Continental Mo t or wit h a ll of the inh erent smoothness , power and sa fety afforded by four crlinders. This means that if one cylinder fails in flight you lose only 25% of the power of the NEW "CUB' against 33-1/3 or 50% in three and two cy linder motors.

Comfortable cabin .

Th e younges t "CUB" Pilot on record is It years of age and the oldest is so sensitive to the age question that he won't tell. Whether you are eleven or seventy , man or woman, experienced pilot or just air minded, see and fly the NEW "CUB·· America's SAFE Airplane.

Letters To The Editor <2I~! Dear Mark, The April issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE ran a letter and pictures of Marty Nelson's Cub (Members' Pro jects, April) . Something appears a lit tle off track here. The letter described the Cub as a Piper-built machine with construction number 666 and having been built on June 22, 1936. Here in Australia we have a Taylor Cub J-2 , VH-UYT. I have logged some time on this Cub and right in the centre of the panel is the maker's plate giving the following details, "Taylor Aircraft , Model:Cub J-2, serial number 958 ; Date 11.25.36, Engine: Con . A40-5 . Taylor Aircraft Co . Bradford, PA." If 4 JULY 1989

Reliable enough to fly anywhere .

and rear.

"CUBS" produced and sold during 1935

than any other commercial plane .

.~-;--;-~ •

one is to believe the maker's plate in Taylor J-2 Cub VH-UYT, given its se rial number and construction date, then Marty Nelson's J-2 Cub is in fact a Taylor-built J-2 Cub, not a Piper-built machine, as the history books record that Taylor came before Piper. The Cub, VH-UYT now sports a Continen tal C75-12 but apart from that is stock complete with a tailskid.

Yours faithfully, David Prosser (EAA 318682, AIC 12714, Antique Airplane Association of Australia 579) Victoria, Australia

,, 1.1

•••

Reader Prosser is correct. Taylor Air craft did not change to "Piper" until late in 1937. Although CG . Taylor and William T. Piper were partners in Taylor Aircraft Co., afire at the Brad ford, Pennsylvania factory forced a move to Lock Haven and Piper took control ofthe company shortly thereaf ter. Marty Nelson's 1936 Cub has to be a Taylor Aircraft-built machine. Ed. •

Specifications of the New " CUB"

Cable Address: CUB 3-11-37

STAN DARD EQUIPMENT Dual controls, altimeter, Tachometer, Oil pressure gauge,

Temperature ga uge , Gasoline gauge , Oil Gauge. First Aid

Kit, Fire Extinguisher, Full Protection Windshield, Tool Kit. Log Book. Model Des ignation Length Overall Hei ht Overall

TAYLOR

AmCRAFT CO. BRADFORD. PA.. U.S.A.

THE WORLD'S FASTEST SELLING AIRPLANE

SPECIAL NOTE TO NOVICES AND FLYING CLUBS The New " CUB" CABIN affords year around comfort The C.bin of the NEW "CUB" is a revelation. Completely equipped for safe flyin g; it is roomy and comfortable in any season and any climate. For warm weather 拢lying all of the advantages of an open cockpit may be enjoyed. Side window may be opened or closed in flight as desired .

The New "CUB" in s trument panel comp le te with altimeter, tachometer and oil pressure gauge shows how th e s hip is performing . Th e temperature gauge and gaso line ga uge may be re ad at a g lance.

J2 22' 5" 6' 8"

35' 2W '

Win 5 a n Total Area (Sq uare Fee l) Chord Weight Empty Useful load

178 S' 3" 563 lbs . 407 Ibs.

Gross We ight Take..Qff Run

970 Ibs. 175 ft .

Climb, First Minute Top Speed (Miles Per Hour) Cruisin g Speed (Mil es Per Hour) CruiSing Range (Miles)

400 ft. 85 70

Land ing Speed (Miles P er hour> Landin Run

200

The NEW "CUB" is the easiest and safest a irplan e to learn to fly. Its low 100 ft. pric e e nables you to gain flying experi e nce with an ex tremely s mall invest... I-.::Se.::.r"v'"'ic"'e":C'"' e" i l ' - i n - g - - - - - - - - - - - - " = = - - - I menl. Its low cosLof operation enab le s studen ts to fl y as much as they wish. 12 ,000 ft. 10,000 students are now flying "CUBS". Gliding Ratio 10 to I

so-:;l;::in'::e;:-C"'o:::n"'s"um=,p::-'.::.io:.;:n'--_ _ _ _ _ _ _-;3;---"ga:.;I.::. Thousa nds of peo pl e have lea rned to fly through "CUB" Flying Clubs , trG::-a.::. . .!:.pe:.:r...:h;.:o.::.ur'-1 where "CUBS" are privately owned by grou ps of st ud e nts und er the guid . I-7G,::a;-s"'T,-:a-:n_k...:C"a'~pa:.:c...:it::.y---------..;9..;..ga:::I:.:.--:,-;:---1 Oil Consumption I 3 pt. per hr. an ce of experien ce d pilots. It is one of the best and cheapest ways to fly. Inv estigate and instigate a "CUB" Flying Club -in your community. Oil Sump Capacity 4 qt. Price F. A. F. Subj ec t to c hange with out notice

In thi s NE W "C UB" ca bin two nicely uph ols tered seats are placed in tandem. Dual co ntrol s allow th e s hip to be ope rated fr om either seat by s lud e nt, pa sse nger or pilot. Thi s makes the NEW "CUB" an id ea l trainin g plane and assures an additional degree of safety. Entrance to the Cabin is easy, e ven with heavy cloth in g and parachut e as the wid e door ope ns under the wing.

sea t.

$1470,00

Another exclusiv e and ext ra safety feature of the NEW " CUB 路' is the perfec t vision in all dir ec tions. Unlike mos t planes , the e ngine is so placed that it in no way int er feres with c lea r vision ahead .

Marty Nelson's Taylor J-2 Cub, VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

MEMBERS' PROJECTS ...

by Norm Petersen

These two photos of Bellanca Champion 7ACA, N91651.., SIN 27-71, were sent in by owner Rowland Hall of Northfield, Illinois. Built November 6, 1971, the Champ was delivered to Napolean, MI with a 60 hp Franklin two-cylinder engine. From there it went to Holly, MI where some 600 hours were logged before the Franklin was replaced with a Continental A65-8 from another Champ! Sold to a seaplane outfit, the owners soan discovered they could not install floats because of the spring gear! They quickly sold the aircraft to Rowland Hall who has enjoyed the Champ ever since. Entirely original except the engine, the neat little two-placer has less than 1000 hours total and runs fine, according to Rowland.

--------------'~~------------

Painted in Its original paint scheme Is this Temco Luscombe 11A Sedan, N1689B, SIN 11-195, owned by Clyde Barton (EAA 328724, AlC 13567) of Angleton, Texas. Rebuilt over a period of 1'12 years, the Sedan sports a new leather interior, majored engine 8. prop, new Cleveland wheels 8. brakes and the fancy paint job. Of 57 model 11A Sedans built by Luscombe, some 31 remain on the register. Two were also built by Temco and both of these survive today, one of which is our subject, N1689B. Clyde reports the Sedan won an Outstanding Aircraft Award at Sun 'n Fun '89 and he plans on flying the pretty four-placer to EAA Oshkosh '89. Meanwhile, Clyde is busy restoring a North American SNJ-5 - to keep busy! 6 JULY 1989

This pretty Cessna 170B, N2626D, SIN 20n8, Is the proud possession of Bob Coats (EM 326180) of Cabool, Missouri. The paint scheme is brown and beige with a bronze-gold accent. Note the strut and gear-leg fairings. Bob has owned this 170B, one of 1586 on the FAA register, since 1969!

This nicely appointed Piper Apache PA-23-150, N883DW. SIN 23足 443, Is owned and flown by Daniel Ward (EM 300349, NC 13261) of Linwood, North Carolina. A former corporate maintained air足 craft, the Apache is in excellent shape and sports a white and red point scheme with a gold stripe. Dan flies the twin on auto fuel (EM STC) and reports excellent results at 14 GPH cruise. The Apache was built in February, 1956 and is presently 35 days too young for Classic consideration. Dan's Apache is one of 11n re足 maining on the FAA register.

Chuck Larsen, EM's Educational Director, recently acquired this "projecf': a 1940 Taylorcraft BL-65, N24396, SIN 1732, from Harvey Goldberg (EM 140124) of West Bend, Wisconsin. Harvey had acquired the basket case many years ago and had spent considerable time In rebuilding the airframe to new condition and covering the T-Craft with Ceconib Chuck's job will be to assemble the airplane and install the 65hp Lycoming 0-145-B1 engine. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

During the decade of the Great De pression, the streamlined form stood as an opimistic symbol of progress and efficiency . Streamlining was not only applied to aircraft but also to cars , trains and ships and replaced the angu lar forms of the 1920s. The scientific principles adapted for these modern forms found their roots in the early 19th Century.

THEORY The idea of streamlining dates back to 1804 with the publication of ESSAYS UPON THE MECHANI CAL PRINCIPLES OF AERIAL NAVI GATION by Sir George Cayley in which he described the ideal stream lined body as applied to balloons . He wrote, "I conceived the Bag or Balloon to be in a fonn approaching that of a very oblong spheroid - but varied ac cording to what may be found the true solid of least resistance in Air." In 1809 , Cayley reported on his studies of streamlining as found in na ture . In one study he measured the girth of a trout at regular intervals and converted these figures to diameters. From these figures he whittled a wooden spindle symmetrical about its axis. He split the spindle lengthwise and wrote that each half would produce an ideal hull for a boat. In 1907, F .W. Lanchester set down the basic facts of the drag of an in his book , airplane AERODYNAMICS. He said the drag of a perfectly streamlined airplane should amount to no more than that caused by the friction of the air over its surface plus that which was needed to sustain it in the air. This was counter to the opinions based on Samual Langley's belief that skin friction was negligible. Lanchester's arguments were skepti cally received but were supported by Ludwig Prandtl of Germany . Prandtl had presented his first paper on lift and drag in 1904. Both he and Lanchester pointed out that the flow of air close to a body would be either turbulent or 8 JULY 1989

smooth (laminar) and that the drag would be far less if laminar flow was sustained. Thus they set the scientific foundations for drag reduction and streamlining. Though the basic theoretical work contributing the knowledge of drag and its reduction were set by 1904 it would be another quarter-century before serious attempts were made to use this theory in aircraft design.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS 1920 The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in its annual report expressed its en thusiasm for cantilever monoplanes: "The program of aerodynamical re search is to be carried out with a view to the successful development of an airplane incorporating an internally braced wing structure, in order to eliminate practically all the structural resistance, a factor which greatly hand icaps the performance of the present type of airplane. "This research will supply data very much needed in the design of these new types of machines , which, be cause of their structural permanencey, their high load carrying capacity and their high maximum speed, wiIl un doubtedly be the airplanes of the fuHire. " Except for German glider designs and racing aircraft, especially the Schneider Trophy aircraft, not much progress was made in applying the principles of streamlining in the early 1920s. 1927 - Lockheed demonstrated the value of streamlining for commercial aircraft with the appearance of the Vega. The plywood monoplane, de signed by Jack Northrop, had a very

smooth full-monocoque fuselage and cantilever wing. Though lacking an en closed engine and having fixed landing gear , it was about 35 mph faster than contemporary aircraft. 1929 - Melville Jones of Cam bridge University presented a com parative study of induced drag and theoretical drag. The paper published as 'The Streamlined Aeroplane" pro vided an easily understood and easily visualized estimate of what could be achieved by reducing drag. He demon strated that large commercial aircraft, " were they ideally streamlined, (could) either fly at the present top speed for one-third the present power or , alterna tively, travel some 60 mph faster for the same power." By giving designers a simple goal that they could calculate for them selves, it encouraged designers to apply streamlining principles. 1928 - H. Townend of the British National Physical Laboratory pub lished the results of experiments study ing the effect of mounting a ring around a radial engine . The result was a sharp drop in drag. 1928 - NACA decided that the first use of its new large wind tunnel would be to test engine drag and the design of engine cowls . The results were re ported in NACA Reports No . 313 and

314: DRAG AND COOLING WITH VARIOUS FORMS OF COWLING FOR A WRIGHT WHIRLWIND RADIAL AIR COOLED ENGINE . Fred Weick , in charge of the research, showed that drag from the exposed en gine cylinders amounted to one-third of the total drag of the entire fuselage and that completely enclosing a radial engine in a cowl would reduce drag more than the Townend ring without causing the engine to overheat. 1929 - Lockheed Vegas fitted with NACA cowls showed a cruising speed increase of 30 mph . 1930 The appearance of two single-engine, low-wing, stressed-skin

monoplanes signaled a new era in air craft design. These were the Northrop Alpha and Boeing Monomail. They both included wing fairings where the wing joined the fuselage, improving efficiency and handling. The fairings

were developed from the research of Theodore von Karman 's aerodynamics group at Cal Tech . 1934 - Bearing all the hallmarks of streamlining developments of the time was the Boeing 247-0 which featured

the litany of modem techniques: all metal, stressed-skin construction, can tilever wings, retractable landing gear and cowled radial engines. With the Boeing 247-0, the era of streamlining came into full blossom . •

HORN STREAMLiNE

~~" ..•. ·

POST

... _... , _ _ ....

, L-_ "4)( .028

SEAMLUS STEEL TUBE

BALSA FORMER COVEREOANO

OO~

Streamlining for Homebuilders

FLYING and GLIDER MANUAL 1932

The Time CaR.sule

by Mark Phelps

Radtkt' Photo #232

Command-Aire 3C3-A Little Rock, Arkansas was the home of Command-Airc, Inc. and Albert Voellmecke was its chief engineer. Wright "Ike" Vermilya was chief pilot in charge of test and development. The Model 3C3-A was a follow-on to the successful 3C3 trainer which was powered with a Curtiss OX-5 engine. OX-5s were gelling scarce in late 1928 so the 3C3-A was developed with a seven-cylinder, Warner Scarab of I 10 hp. The type certificate was issued in A1'arch 1929 and about 20 3C3-As were built. The Command-Aire was novel in its metal covered turtleback and many metal panels. Only about half the fuselage was fabric-covered. The metal panels allowed easy access to those components requiring periodic inspection and maintenance.

Radtke Photo #214

Buhl "Sport Airsedan" CA-3C The Marysville, Michigan builders of the single-place, "Pup" developed the "Sport Airsedan" in 1928. The sesqui-plane design with its high cruising speed was aimed at the sportsman flyer of the period just before the Great Depression when money was plentifill and life revolved around the rich and famous. The Sport Airsedan cost $11,000 in 1928 cash. The engine was the Lindbergh-famous Wright J-5 and top speed was 134 mph with a cruise of 112 mph. Wh eel brakes, inertia starter and metal propeller were standard. Louis Meister flew a Sport Airsedan to 10th place in the 1928 National Air Tour competing with sueh illustrious aircraft as the Laird "Speed wings " and Waco Taperwings.

A 12 page illustrated catalog of the over 1,000 negatives in the Radtke Collection is now available from the EAA Foundation Archives for $3.00 postpaid . Write: EAA Aviation Foundation Library. Willman Airfield, Oshkosh . WI 54903-3065 or call1-S00-S43-3612.

10 JULY 1989

R"dtkc Photo # 272

Curtiss Y-I0-40-B What bega n as a sesqui-plane observa tion ship soon shed its lower wing stubs in ravor or leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps. Th e idea was to provide better downward visibility. The Y40 series was also one or the ea rlies t to incorporate retractable landing gea r. This aircraft was one or rour built in 1933 and was assigned to th e 22nd Observation Squadron at Brooks Field, T exas. Th e unit was rormed in 19 17 and later consolidated in 1937. Its shooting star insignia appea rs on the ruse/age or this rare airplane.

Curtiss Fledgling In 1929, the growing Curtiss aviation empire had its own trainer. More than 100 Fledglings were built at the Curtiss Aeroplane and M otor Co. ractory orCarden City, Long Island, New York. A ll but a rew were pressed into ser vice at the many Curtiss flying fields around the country teaching new students. The airplane was docile and de/ightrul to fly, no doubt giv足 ing rise to the typ e or shenanigans shown in this photograph. Yes, the top-hatted pilot is flying this Fledgling rrom a sa ddle mounted on the rea r turtledeck and he is g ripping an extended control stick. How he operated th e throttle and rudder is open to suggestion.

Radtk e Photo # joo

This photo taken at the 1933 balloon ra ces gives rise to the ques tion, " What happened to Numbers I through X ?" Radtke Photo #49

VI NTAG E AIRPLANE 11

1988

4 路 1(JLw.uic

Photo Contest

--fJ1)inneJU-颅

\B049 . . . .

The judges - I. to r. Bill Lombardi, Lee Fray, Marie McCarthy, Ted Koston, Eric Lundahl, Ray Prucha, and Dan Hans. 12 JULY 1989

First Place - Air to Air - Marcia Sullivan. (Photo shot from EM Oshkosh '89 Grand Champion "Antique. Subject plane is Norm Petersen's J-3 Cub with EM Photographer, Jim Koepnick, on board for a photo mission. This shows that winners sometimes shoot back.)

First Place - Ground to Air - I.W. Stephenson. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Photo ContesL

Second Place - Ground to Ground 足 Jerry Cox.

Honorable Mention - Myron Heimer. 14JULY1989

Photo Contest.

Third Place - Ground to Ground 足 Bob Majka.

Chairman's Choice - 'We Tried" - Cunningham. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

BOBCAT'S COMMEMORATIVE FLIGHT

One of the few remaining Cessna T-50s celebrates

the 50th Anniversary of the first flight of the

"Bamboo Bomber". The Cessna Bobcat's legitimate fac tory designation is T-50 . The Air Corps called it the AT-8, AT-17 , C-78 and the UC-78. [t was also known as the "U seless-78" or the "double breasted Cub" by some less-than-affec tionate pilots. The Navy designation was JRC-I and the Canadians called the airplane the "Crane." It 's most popular nickname, however, was "Bamboo Bomber." No matter what name it went by , the airplane was prob ably best remembered as the first "Songbird" flown by actor Kirby Grant as "S ky King" on the popular Satur day-morning television series of the early 1950s. (There were two Songbirds. The later one was a Cessna 310 . Both were owned by actor, Grant . - Ed.) 16 JULY 1989

Although a lot of wood was used in the construction of the Bobcat, in real ity there was, of course, no bamboo. The name came from the stitches that were regularly spaced over the wing ribs to hold the fabric skin to the struc ture. The bumps along the surface gave the appearance that the ribs were made from bamboo. The Bobcat, built in Wichita , Kan sas, was Cessna' s World War [[ con tribution to pilot training . Its first flight was on March 26, 1939, piloted by Dwane Wallace, then president of

Dick and Jeannie Hill

Cessna Aircraft Company. Clyde Cessna retired in 1936 and his nephew , Wallace, took over. Besides its antici pated military trainer role, the Bobcat was designed with small airlines and executive transport in mind. The first group of planes were sold for civilian use before the war started . The airl ines bought some of those planes and sev eral went to the Department of Com merce for use by the CAA, forerunner of the FAA. In their World War [[ primary train ing, pilots flew biplanes, mostly Stear mans and Wacos. Basic training fol lowed in larger single-engi ne aircraft. The Bobcat was used for twin-engine transition by pilots assigned to bom bers and transports in their advanced training stage. After completing this

third section, pilots were awarded their wings . By now , they had accumulated about 200 hours' flying time which is nearly the equivalent to the experience level of modem-day, commercial pilots with instrument and multi-en gine ratings . Cessna built more than 5,000 Bob cats. After the war, most of them went into the surplus airplane market where they became trainers , air taxi s, air cargo tran sports and some were even converted to air ambulances. For the past 30 years, Bobcats have become increasingly scarce. Between 50 and 100 are actively flying , with about the same number in the process of restora tion . The rest have succumbed to the ravages of time. Our particular Bobcat was almost new when declared surplus by the U.S . Army Air Corps. In 1945 it began its civilian flying as NC 51239 . The log books showed a total of 210 hours of military flight time. It went to Flint , Michigan many times and made trips as far as Lincoln , Nebraska , New York and New Orleans, Louisiana. During an extensive rebuild in 1951 , the entry was made in the logbooks, " In stalled Lycoming engines," followed by the usual , "see form 337 for more infonna tion ." This was when the Jacobs en gines were removed and the R-680s in stalled . From 1953 to 1956 the airplane was based in Hartford , Connecticut with many trips logged in that area . Then it went to Daytona, Florida where it log ged trips to the Bahamas, Pennsylvania and Ohio. In 1957, there was a busi ness trip to Fort Worth, Texas . In 1958 , Gideon, Missouri appeared in the logs as home base and several trips from there were entered . Up through 1961, the airplane flew a lot of hours on a lot of trips but destinations and home bases were not recorded . December 1961 found the Cessna at Parks College near SI. Louis where the airplane was to be relicensed . Several years passed without any flight time showing in the logs . The plane was used by the A&P school and rece ived regular attention but did no flying . During this period , the FAA regi s tration paperwork was neglected . On May 31, 1975 the plane was re-regis tered as N30L and sold. It was moved to the Sioux City , Iowa area. On November II, 1975 it was ferried to Dallas where it was flown extensively for training flights and made numerous visits to nearby destinations. Entries

Dick and Jeannie Hill in the cockpit of their Cessna T-50 "Bamboo Bomber".

Dick makes an adjustment on one of the Lycoming R-680s.

for 1976 show it based in Corsicanna, Texas. Throughout the early 1980s it remained in the Dallas area . I became acquainted with thi s Bam boo Bomber in 1986 during the An tique Airplane Association Convention in Blakesburg , Iowa. While I watched a friend fly this airplane , someone commented that it was for sale . That's all I needed to hear. The wheels were in motion . I started flying Cubs in 1944 , near the end of World War II. I have always liked the Bobcat. My first job was as

grease monkey and lineboy in Streator, Illinois. I went into the Marines in 1945 to walk in mud, peel potatoes, become a Link instructor and later a control tower operator. Discharged after five years' service, I started gain ing flight ratings and then began flight instructing at Streator. The operator of the airport had recently taken his multi engine course in a Bamboo Bomber and wanted to use one in his flight school, so he bought a T-50 that had suffered some fabric damage. We went to the airport where the plane was tied VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

Jeannie swings the prop through to clear the oil from the lower cylinders.

down and started to work. Upon com pletion of the repairs and an extensive preflight it was ready for the ferry flight home. That was a lucky February 13th, 1953, my first chance at the con trols of a Bamboo Bomber. The boss put me in the left seat for his first instruction flight and my first shot at the big time. I flew it back to our home base and made several land ings . We decided to tear it down for a new fabric cover job and I helped from time to time , but when I left a year or so later it was still apart . I have no idea if it ever flew again. Three years passed before I had another opportunity to fly a Bobcat. This time as the flight instructor in an instrument rating course. After several hours of instructing, I realized that without a multi-engine rating I was not qualified to give instruction. I made an appointment with the CAA inspector and borrowed the airplane for the check ride. I got the rating and over several years I flew many hours of in struction, charter, ambulance and air freight in Bobcats . Thirty years later, I became in 18 JULY 1989

terested in buying N30L. And how ap propriate, "Thirty Years to Thirty Lima ," (see VINTAGE AIRPLANE, August, 1987). What I didn ' t know was that my wife, Jeannie had carried a 30-year crush on Sky King, so we

"Sky and Penny couldn't

have asked

for more."

had something else in common. In March 1987 I went to Dallas to look at the plane I hoped to buy . The owner called a local AI and the three of us went over and through the plane . When it was licensed, I went home to tell

Jeannie about my latest adventure and new-found affair. Before I said anything she had the truth pretty well figured out by the look on my face . It was time for confessions and pleading . When all was out in the open, three barriers stood in the way of the new affair. The price had to fit the purse, the insurance had to fit what would be left in the purse and we had to have a hangar in which the Bamboo Bomber could live . Thankfully , all re quirements were met and in May , 1987 the Bomber came home with us. It was a beautiful six-hour flight from Texas to Illinois . Sky and Penny couldn't have asked for more, especially since "Penny" got to do most of the flying. The first fly-in we attended with the Bomber was shortly after we got it home . We flew to St. Louis to join the group of avid antique airplane en thusiasts at Creve Coeur during their Antique Airplane Association fly-in . The next big event was EAA Oshkosh '87. There, the Bamboo Bomber gained a new identity at the Antique! Classic fly-out. As often happens through prudent planning on my part, I had an all-female crew. With the tum

of a phrase, Jeannie renamed the Cessna the "BIMBO BOMBER," and it stuck. After Oshkosh, we attended the 1987 AAA Fly-in at Bartlesville, Oklahoma and several other events nearer to home . The first flying for the Bobcat in 1988 was the trip to Lakeland , Florida for EAA Sun ' n Fun. In June we co sponsored a reunion of Bobcats at Jonesboro, Arkansas. Five planes at tended and the owners of four other Bobcats were there . In July we flew the Bomber around the perimeter of Lake Michigan , stopping for several days at Mackinac Island . Later that summer, we flew to EAA Oshkosh '88 and several other local events .

The first flight of 1989 was a com memoration in honor of the 50th an niversary of the Bamboo Bomber's first test flight. On Sunday March 26, 1939, Dwane Wallace took the original Bobcat on its maiden flight. Since Eas ter Sunday March 26, 1989 marked 50 years to the day, we celebrated the an niversary by making a sunset flight. My son, Greg Hill was copi lot. Jeannie and a foreign exchange student from Hanover, Germany made up the crew. As usual , the Bomber performed flaw lessl y. It was a real thri II to fly the plane while fully understanding the historical significance of the day . Our eventual plans for the BIMBO BOMBER call for a new cabin interior

and a civilian paint job. We intend to enjoy her for as long as possible . Two years have gone by now, two wonder ful years. We've attended dozens of events, flown thousands of miles and have given many hours of rides. We enjoy sharing the Bomber with others, especially those who have received their multi-engine training in one of these planes . It seems wherever we take it , the Cessna draws quite a crowd of admirers . Whether they have a story about their early flight training days in the cockpit or whether they remember the plane from their Saturday morning ringside seats in front of the television , they all bring smiles and happy memories to share. •

MARCH 26,

1989

HERE I AM 50 YEARS AGO TODAY ON SUNDAY MORNING MARCH 26, 1939 AT THE CONTROLS OF OUR FIRSTT50 NX2 0it4 UN 11S ioIp.V/,VtN FLIGHT. ((,'ARM HOARDS ,

Jon D. Larson, originator of the Flying Bobcat Club in Aubum, Washington sent a set of these photos to Dwane Wallace to autograph. The photos were mailed to each pilot who flew a commemorative flight on Sunday, March 26, 1989. A postal employee went to work that Sunday and hand'stamped the envelopes with the historic date. Coincidentally, the 65-cent stamp on each envelope bore the picture of Gen. Henry H. "Hap" Amold who signed the original procurement order for all military T-5O Bobcats. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

CRISS-CROSS-COUNTRY

YEAR

by Andrew King

SECTIONAL AERONAUTICAL CHARTS SCALE 1:500,000 SEPTEMBER w

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rom September 1987 to September 1988, I had the privilege of seeing many different parts of the United States from the cabins and cockpits of a variety of antique airplanes. It all started on Labor Day Weekend, 1987 . I was in New York working on my father's Luscombe. My friends, Bud and Connie Dake called from St. Louis to ask if I would come out and fly their Stinson SM-8A to the National An tique Airplane Association fly-in at Bartlesville, Oklahoma . Bud wanted to take his Clipwing Monocoupe in which baggage space is quite limited, while the Stinson is practically big enough to dance in, so I was to carry the extra luggage . I quickly agreed to the proposal and on the Wednesday before the fly-in, my brother , David and I drove the 16 hours to St. Louis ready to depart the next morning on our first visit to Ok lahoma . I figured that similar airplanes had been flown on similar routes in the 1930s so that this trip would recapture a little slice of history, the kind of ex perience that I've always enjoyed when the opportunity arose. I even brought along a hat that I thought looked like a Stinson captain's hat

ought to , although several people ac cused me of stealing it from a Mexican general. Bud's Stinson, like all his airplanes, is in very nice shape. It flies equally nicely, not very heavy on the controls as you might think by looking at the big old ship. It can be demanding on landing because of its full-swivel tail wheel, although the big rudder and the brakes are adequate, but you sure don't want to let it get ahead of you. Since I didn ' t have much time in the airplane, our first stop was planned for Springfield-Downtown Airport in Mis souri with its grass runway . It was a sunny day with just a little haze when we departed Creve Coeur Airport and headed west. Pilotage would have been easy but for the first time (and the only time , so far) I had a loran to help . It felt a little like cheat ing, but it certainly made navigation a snap. At Springfield , Frank and Carol Kerner of St. Louis caught up to us in their Cessna J72. They have a 1936 Monocoupe that I had worked on for them in the spring and would return to later in the year. We flew ' formation with their Cessna after leaving Springfield and progressed from the

hills of southern Missouri to the flatter terrain on Oklahoma , finally landing at Bartlesville after a little less than four hours of flying for the day. It was an enjoyable weekend with many interesting airplanes and occur ances but by Sunday morning a front was approaching so we took off and pointed the nose back toward St. Louis . We ' d found out on the way down that they weren't selling gas at Springfield-Downtown that Sunday so on the way back I opted for the wide runways at Rolla National Airport in Vichy . It was my first time landing the Stinson on pavement and this com bined with a slight left crosswind and the fact that Connie had decided to ride back with us had me wired a little more than usual, but a beautiful wheel land ing resulted . We refueled and then it was only another hour before we were back on the ground at Creve Coeur and our whirlwind weekend was almost over. Early on Labor Day, we thanked Bud and Connie and got back in the car for the long ride back to New York . This time, we stopped at Dayton, Ohio to see the Air Force Museum . We arrived home in the early hours of Tuesday

I thought the hat made me look more like a Stinson captain. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

morning, tired but with another unique and memorable experience under our belts. The next entry in my logbook is on October 13 , 1987 a day I won't soon forget. Sunrise found my cousin, Matt and me at the Old Rhinebeck Aerod rome trying to start the Canadian Tiger Moth that my uncle had just sold and that I was to deliver to Gar Williams in Naperville, Illinois . The tempera ture was in the mid-20s that morning and when the engine finally caught, the blast of icy air choked me for a few seconds before I could regain my breath . The take-off from Rhinebeck was somewhat sentimental - that ai rplane had been brought down from Canada by Cole Palen in the year I was born , 1962 , and had grown old at the Aerod rome as I grew up there . If airplanes could talk, this one would have some stories! My dad and my uncle had bought it in 1967 and my uncle had been sole owner since 1982, so it had been in the family a long time. It was al so the first biplane I ever soloed , on my 17th birthday. I'm sure that both Matt and my uncle were having similar thoughts as they watched me take off on that frosty morning , and I made a final low pass in salute before climbing away. I went north at first to pick up the

Mohawk Ri ver Valley which is a much better westward route than through the mountains , espec iall y at that tempera ture. The Tiger Moth had been con verted from the canopy it once wore to open cockpits for increased enjoyment , but the reverse was true that morning. I was wearing layer upon laye r of clothes but at 3,000 feet over the foot hill s of the Catskills with an 80- mph wind blasting past , I was chilled to the bone, the coldest I can remember. The cold bit through my big snowmobile boots and my gloves and I was quite concerned about frostbite, but pressed on, landing two hours later at Riverside Airport in Utica, New York . The stu dents at the A&P school there must 've thought that World War II Canadian trainers were a dime a dozen . It turned out that two friends of ours had landed there the day before in a Canadian Warplane Heritage Fleet biplane on their way back from Rhinebeck. The sun climbed slowly but the tem perature didn't seem as anxious to rise as I continued . Western New York was a magnificent tapestry of autumn col ors and I reminded mysel f to appreciate that as I hunched over in the cockpit of the Tiger , slapping my hands and stomping my feet in an effort to keep warm. I thought of other pilots in other deHavillands - DH . 4s - flying mail on days like that back when Lindbergh

The sentimental joumey of my family's Tiger Moth begins. 22 JULY 1989

was just another one of them . Visibility was unlimited but the wind was on the nose, of course. I stopped at Hopewell Airport in Canan diagua near the Finger Lakes and had some cookies with a friend there , then on to Dart Airport in Mayville. From there I flew over the tip of Pennsyl vania and into Ohio, where I stopped in Middlefield and continued on past Cleveland to Bowling Green. The sun was going down so I stayed overnight there and woke the next morning to balmy 35-degree temperatures. It was two more legs to Naperville, the first to Goshen , Indiana where there are three big runways to choose from, two of them grass. They even have 80-octane. On the last leg the sky became overcast and I wondered if it might snow since it also got colder, but the rest of the trip was uneventfiul and a couple of hours later I was hav ing some nice hot soup in the Wil liams 's hou se. That evening I flew back to New York in a few hours on a DC-9 and the next week the temperatures reached the 60s every day. Oh well. In November I finally got the Lus combe flying and then went back to St. Loui s to work for Frank and Carol on their Monocoupe again. I returned to New York for Christmas and then in January flew the Luscombe back to Missouri, learning along the way that the knob marked "Cabin Heat" was there more for imagination than any thing else, that 42-year-old seats aren't the most comfortable of accommoda tions and that Pennsylvania has some very inhospitable terrain. I stayed near Route 80 until I was into Ohio, where I stopped at Alliance overnight. This was interesting because I'd flown in a Luscombe over the old Piper factory in Lock Haven , Pennsylvania that day and the next morning flew over the old Taylorcraft factory in Alliance . In 1946 those factories were Luscombe's big competitors, but no more . Another cold day's flying brought me back to St. Louis and I thought I'd done a lot of cross-country flying lately . Actu ally, the year was just getting under way . . After flying halfway across the country in Otto Timm 's prototype Col legiate, my next cross-country came in June, and again I visited a state I had never been to before, Louisiana , to pick up a Piper Vagabond for AI Stix. It was a PA-15 with a 65-hp Lycoming and was based in Lafayette. I thought

it a little strange that I flew in there on a Boeing 727 to pick up a little 1948 no-radio airplane. I suppose the little Vagabond was anxious to leave the paved expanses of the modem airport for more suitable surroundings . Unfor tunately, its compass didn't work, tel ling me that I was going west no matter which way I turned. I'm pretty good with just a sectional but out over a big Louisiana swamp there aren't many landmarks. Fortunately, not too long after leav ing Lafayette I found a river that I fol lowed to the mighty Mississippi, which I followed all the way to St. Louis. The Vagabond is a very nice flying little airplane and cruises about 85-mph on around four gph. The 65 Lycoming doesn't have the greatest reputation for reliability but this one seemed to run pretty well, and if it didn't there were often huge sandbars on the river that would've been fairly easy to land on . When I made this trip on June 15th and 16th the river was at one of its lowest points of the hot, dry summer. I left Lafayette early in the afternoon and on the first day stopped in Vicks burg, adding Mississippi to the list of states I've been in, and also Green ville and Clarksdale in that state and ending up in the evening at General DeWitt Spain Airport in Memphis, Tennessee. The weather was pretty

Fueling the Vagabond.

good all the way and I was surprised at the number of duster strips I saw that weren't on the chart. I got a ride to an economical motel for the night and the next morning was up before the sun and walked the few miles to the airport where the Vag abond was waiting to continue its travels . I took off and followed my liq uid landmarks northward once more, landing for gas at Cairo (that's KAY

Cairo, Illinois, the fork In the river where Mark Twain played a cruel literary trick on Huck Finn and Jim.

roh), Illinois, a town that doesn't mean much to most people. But I majored in English in college and during my trip up the Mississippi was constantly re minded of Huckleberry Finn and his raft. Cairo is where the Ohio River empties into the Mississippi and was the place Huck wanted to stop so he and his companion Jim, an escaped slave, could go up the Ohio to "free" territory. They missed Cairo in the night and it was interesting to me to fly over and see where they'd floated by - even if only in Mark Twain's imagination. From Cairo it was non-stop to Creve Coeur, but I ran into a cold front and some clouds and rain which didn't make the Lycoming too happy and it skipped a few times in protest before smoothing out again . The front wasn't very wide, though, and eventually I flew through and landed in hazy sun shine at Creve Coeur, another interest ing trip completed. During the summer I flew the Lus combe to many different places, get ting as far west as Kansas, as far east as New Hampshire and as far north as Oshkosh but the next really interesting cross-country was a round trip, going in one airplane and coming back in another. It started on September 25 at John Cournoyer's ranch/airstrip near Piedmont, Missouri. John had traded his J-2 Cub to Mike Araldi of Lake land, Florida and had bought a rare Waco UBA in Florida that needed to be flown back to St. Louis. My start was delayed by one day VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

due to rain and generally miserable weather, but Sunday the 25th dawned clear and beautiful. We lost no time in pulling the Cub out and gassing it up . It had been converted from the original 40-hp Continental to a 65, but still had the original nine-gallon fuel tank so range was limited . I'd planned legs of about an hour and a quarter each, with plenty of reserve . We made sure that the runway was clear of cows and 1 taxied out, closed the door and windows to avoid manure thrown up by the tires and took off. With 65-hp, the J-2 leaped into the air and climbed like the proverbial home sick angel, but cruise wsn't exactly rip roaring . At first 1 thought I would break my record for the slowest cross country - Wisconsin to New York in a Model A Ford-powered Peitenpol Air Camper that did all of 63 mph - but the J-2 nosed out the Pietenpol at about 67 mph. First stop was at New Madrid , Mis souri by the Mississippi River. Then I low-and-slowed to Paris, Tennessee watching the Sunday morning wor shippers arriving at all the little churches along the way . After leaving Paris and passing over Kentucky Lake I caught up with the front that had de layed my start and the weather de teriorated until I barely had VFR minimums . It was navigation by roads and powerlines as I made my way through the hills of central Tennessee, stopping at Centerville and finally at Tullahoma where I spent the night in the hospitality of antiquer Wayne Amelang and his wife Marcene. The next morning brought ground fog but before too long the sun started burning through so I took off and climbed through a hole in the murk right up to 4,000 feet. There were enough holes in the low clouds to navi gate through and after about 20 miles I was glad I was on top because the clouds got solid for a few miles and then mountains rose up through them. At 4,000 feet this was no problem and I was soon across the mountains with the clouds behind me. I landed at Fort Payne, Alabama (another new state for me) and then flew into Georgia with stops at Car rollton, Thomaston , Cordele and Adel. The weather was pretty good, a slight headwind and scattered or broken clouds , but after crossing into Florida I ran into the same front again and landed in the rain with thunderstorms booming around me at Live Oak . I tied 24 JULY 1989

After clearing the cows from John Coumoyer's airstrip, we launched the J-2 CUb.

Tullahoma, Tennessee where J-2 Cubs and Learjets mix on the ramp as equals.

the Cub down and got a ride into town where I stayed in a Chinese motel for the night. The next morning it was only a four or five mile walk to the airport so by the time I got there the ground fog was burning off and I gassed up and took off. My last fuel stop was at Williston and on the final leg to Lakeland I saw some of the most spectacular aerial scenery God has ever created . I'd

climbed up above the clouds again but in the heat of the Florida morning they built up until the cumulus towered thousands of feet above me . What beauty, and I had the best seat in the house in a little yellow Cub. I flew among the gentle giants for about an hour and then the Araldi ' s private strip was below and it was time to circle down and land. Mike treated me to dinner that even

The Araldl's private strip in Lakeland, Florida where I left the Cub and picked up the Waco.

ing and I spent the night at his father 's house. His father, Joe , wasn't there which was too bad as I would have liked to meet him also , but his wife was there and is a Luscombe pilot so we had plenty to talk about. She and Joe had flown the Waco to their place from the east coast of Florida where it had been based and it was in their hangar next to the house . I had been told that 12445 was in fairly rough shape and the warnings were pretty accurate. The flying wires were rusty , the bottom ailerons showed evidence of a few groundloops and a few other things weren't perfect, but on the whole it was airworthy. I made a leisurely start late the next morning and flew a few miles to Zephyr Hills to top off the tanks , dis covering on landing that the brakes were adjusted so tight that the tires re ally squealed on touchdown and some extra care was required on landing. John had told me that they ' d had to tighten them up quite a bit to get them to work at all so I left them alone . The first real leg of the trip was up to Live Oak again, an hour and a half away to check fuel consumption and cruise speed . The propeller seemed to have too much pitch since at around 22 inches of manifold pressure I was only getting 1,650 rpm and I didn't push it any harder. At those settings I was get ting about lOS-mph cruise and burning about 12 gph.

The UBA sure flies nicely, just like an F-2, and Mike Araldi told me that the UEC cabin flies the same way. The controls aren't super-light but are very positive and well harmonized . Perfor mance is excellent with a good rate of climb and no doubt a cruise speed of 120 mph with the right prop. There's a large baggage compartment forward of the cockpit and the side-by-side sea ting in the open cockpit is not only unusual but would also make having a passenger more fun. The UBA has be come one of my favorite Wacos. On this trip , unfortunately , I was ac companied only by the wind, the sun and the clouds, which isn't bad com pany to keep. They were with me through Florida and Georgia, where I stopped at LaGrange , but over Alabama the sun disappeared behind an overcast and once again I was racing darkness to my destination, Tul lahoma. I made it with room to spare and spent another night with the Amelangs, then woke up the next

Aloft on Waco wings. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

land in order to set foot (and airplane) on the oldest continuously operated airport in the country. One more stop at Pottstown, Pennsylvania and then it was on to Rhinebeck where I was met before landing by two friends, one in a Piper J-3 and the other in a Piper J-5 . I would 've liked to play around with them for a while but my posterior was feeling the effects of the long flight and it was time to land .

airspace although I was near such areas numerous times - good training and careful flying negated any conflict with airspace or other airplanes. In fact, as almost any pilot who has flown such trips could tell you, you're usually lucky to see one other airplane every hundred miles except near major met ropolitan airports where a little extra vigilance is wise . "See and avoid," still works fine , even under the upper layers

" 'See and

One of the winding stretches of river that unfolded through the Waco's flying wires.

morning to cloudy skies and predic tions of rain. I took off anyway and did hit rain once in a while and some low clouds but nothing too bad. Kentucky passed below and after an hour and three quar ters I landed at Metropolis, Illinois which, according to a sign on the out side of the office, is the "Home of Superman," and a suitable picture of the superhero is painted on the wall . Then it was one more homeward bound leg over the flatlands of south ern Illinois to Missouri . The sun broke out halfway there and once more the familiar skyline of St. Louis finally ap peared in the distance. A few minutes later I made a low pass at Creve Coeur and landed . It would be the Waco's last flight for a while as it wasn't too long before its wings were off and John was taking it away for restoration. All of these trips provided fascinat ing and fun punctuations to life in that l2-month period and if I extend my "year" a little I can also include my move back to New York in October, when I flew the Luscombe to Rhinebeck via Toccoa, Georgia. Toc coa is a little out of the way on a trip to New York from St. Louis but I had old friends there to visit and new ones to make. In fact, while there I gave 24 rides in one week. The flight from there to Rhinebeck was made on a cool, clear autumn day and the Blue Ridge Mountains made a magnificent backdrop for much of the journey . I landed at Culpepper, Vir ginia and then at College Park, Mary 26 JULY 1989

avoid' still

wor k s fi nee "

Except for the trip to Bartlesville in the loran-equipped Stinson, all of these flights were made with no special navi gational equipment other than a com pass and sectional charts - and in the Vagabond the compass didn't even work . Old fashioned pilotage was al ways more than adequate to get me where I was going, not to mention being enjoyable and satisfying. I never had a problem avoiding controlled

of TCAs. I sincerely hope that such trips do not become stories from the past, but continue under the hands of pilots who want to rely on their own resources and not to be guided by little black boxes or voices from the ground . This kind of activity is an intrinsic part of the definition of America, which is, and must remain, the Land of the Free . •

Back home at Creve Coeur. The Waco was tom down for rebuild after we got it back.

C~lA[J~ER CHRONICLES

by Bob Lumley

January weather in Wisconsin nor mally provides few clear, warm (30 de grees?) days, particularly on week ends . The forecast for Sunday the 14th was optimistic, however, so we acti vated the chapter phone net and by 9:00 am Capitol Airport in Brookfield was a beehive of activity. Members of EAA Antique/Classic Chapter I I thawed, pried and dragged out their aircraft after several weeks of freezing rain, snow and ice had securely bound many of the planes to the ground. Carl Pederson had suggested at our last chapter meeting that we go to Prairie du Sac on our next outing to view that bald eagles that roost there during the winter. The group's en thusiastic response was , "Okay Carl, it's your idea, so you arrange it." And arrange it he did . The flight over the frozen Wisconsin countryside was beautiful and all too short. For those who aren't familiar with the area, Prairie du Sac is situated along the Wisconsin River about 30 miles north west of Madison, Wisconsin. Carl had arranged transportation into town for us with Rex Ross, the operator the Firehouse Restaurant. The restaurant overlooks the river and several eagles flew by while we were eating lunch . After lunch we gathered outside along the river bank to watch the eagles as they soared along the bluffs over looking the river. The camera buffs in the group had a field day photograph ing the birds as several of them treated us to fly-bys at low level along the river. I wonder if we could book them for EAA Oshkosh. Our totals for the day were 14 airplanes and 27 chapter members. Carl, "You done good." Thanks . •

Four of 14 Chapter 11 aircraft. From left: Carl Pederson, Cessna 172; Ken Reese, Piper Pacer; Chapter President, George Meade, Cessna 170; and David Broadfoot's C-170. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

PASS IT TO

--1]

An information exchange column with input from readers.

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

February 14, 1989 Dear Mr . Hilbert, 1 am writing to ask you for a sort of "off the wall" estimate on the current value of a Davis D-l- W that I have owned since 1966. 1 would not be af raid to fly it with a 1DO-hour inspection at this time. It last flew a few hours in late fall, 1987. The airframe is okay as far as I could tell then. The Warner 165 has about 300 hours since major. A friend has proposed to restore it to near original factory configuration , colors, etc. It was built in 1935. My concern is what price to put on it for insurance purposes should a fire or workshop collapse destroy this rare 28 JULY 1989

bird. Thanking you in advance for some help , I am Yours truly, H . E. Ware M .D . Anderson, Indiana Dear Dr. Herb, I appreciate your confidence in me by asking about your Davis . I will try to give you an answer. The way to fig ure this is to start with an estimate of the value of the fully restored product. If you ' ve got a number "10" with a newly overhauled engine, new tires and all done up really right, what will be the final value? Without getting spe cific, let 's say it's $XX,OOO.

Now, whatever it takes to get it into that shape deducted from the final fig ure will give you a number to start with. The re-cover materials and labor with NO airframe work should be in the area of $10,000. The workman should take plenty of time to restore the basic structure, replace cables, wir ing, woodwork and all the other zillion little things. All that time and material would be over and above the $10,000. The engine with 300 hours should be overhauled. These old engines suf fer from lack of attention and the metallurgy isn't the same as today ' s powerplants. We are so accustomed to the reliability and life span of today 's engines, we tend to forget that these oldies had time limits on them close to the SOO-hour number. I would suggest that in the nature of preventative maintenance you do the overhaul at the same time. Hang new tires on it, pay some at tention to the landing gear and the tail wheel assembly and make sure all the bushings and stuff are in good condi tion . You can figure on at least another $7,000 for the additional work, plus any surprises the mechanic may add such as prop overhaul and engine ac cessories. Starting with the $XX,OOO, subtract the expenses and arrive at your starter number. Since the potential is there , add a few thousand to your insurance estimate. If you were to go much higher than that , the insurance com pany may get suspicious and try to take advantage of the situation. Over to you, Doctor, "Buck" •

ICALENDAR OF EVENTSI

July 12-16 - Arlington, Washington. Northwest EAA Fly-in and Sport Avi ation Convention, Arlington Airport. Contact Northwest EAA Fly-In , 4700 188th Street NE, Arlington, Washing ton 98223. Tel. 206/435-5857 .

July 14-15 - Fort Collins Loveland, Colorado. Eleventh annual Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In . Co-spon sored by EAA Chapter 648 . Contact 303/798-6086 or 442-5002. July 15-16 - lola, Wisconsin. Annual Fly-In breakfast at Central County Air port, both days in association with lola Old Car Show Weekend . Call 414/ 596-3530.

July 15-16 -

Delaware , Ohio. Cen tral Ohio - 8th annual EAA Chapter 9 Fly-In . Delaware Airport. Contact Walt McClory, 614/881-4267 or Alan Harding , 614/885-6502 .

July 28-August 3 -

Oshkosh, Wis Field . Contact Robert L. Taylor at 515/ consin. 37th Annual EAA Fly-In and . 938-2773 .

Sport Aviation Convention at Wittman ' September 6-10 - Galesburg, Il

Regional Airport . Call 414/426-4800. linois. 18th Annual Stearman Fly-In .

Contact Tom Lowe at 815/459-6873.

August 19-20 - Reading, Pennsyl September 9-10 - Shirley, Long Is vania . Reading AeroFest at Reading land, New York. 26th Annual Antique Municipal Airport . Fly-In Breakfast Airplane Club of Greater New York sponsored by Pottstown Aircraft Own Fly-In. Brookhaven Airport . Rain ers and Pilots Association . date , September 16-17. Contact John Schlie at 516/957-9145 . August 25-27 - Sussex, New Jersey . September 15-17 - Jacksonville, Il Seventeenth Annual Sussex Air Show . linois. Fifth Annual Byron Smith "Biggest Little Air Show in the Memorial Stinson Fly-In and Reunion . World ." Sussex Airport. Call 201 /875 Contact Loran Nordgren at 815/469 7337 or 875-9919. 9100. August 31-September 1 Cof October 5-8 - Pauls Valley, Ok feyville, Kansas. Funk Aircraft Own lahoma. International Cessna 120-140 ers Association Reunion . Contact Ray Association Fly-In Convention. Fifty Pahls , President. Tel. 316/943-6920 . miles south of Oklahoma City on 1-35 . Fly-Outs, games and fun for all. Close September 1-5 - Bartlesville, Ok to motels and shopping mall. Excellent lahoma. National Antique Airplane camping facilities on field . Contact Association Fly-In at Frank Phillips Bud Sutton at 405/392-5608 . •

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Wanted - Curtiss 0-12 - Conqueror or other simi lar engines of interest. Contact Ken in Seattle at 206/329-5041 , or write 1001 Broadway, No. 318, Seattle, WA 98122. (8-2) Wanted - Packard Aircraft Engine - Either 1500 or 2500 CI series. Also, Zenith carbs from 1915 1925. Ken, 206/329-5041 . (8-2) Wanted - WACO UPF-7 - flyable or restorable or basketcase or UPF-7 parts. Tom Hurley, 8981 79 Ave. North, Seminole, Florida 34647, 813/393 6266 nites. (9-3)

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1937 Porterfield 35-70 - 1,150 n. Original en gine and airplane. Fine, practical antique, excel lent, licensed, fun. $14,500 or will take J-5 Cub or any tandem. Ken Williams, 331 E. Franklin, Por tage, Wisconsin 53901 , 6081742-2631. (7-1) Stinson Project - 10A, rough , and 10, fair. Both less engine and prop. Have access to the 10A prop and engine. Moving - must sell. Both for $1 ,500. 518/475-1251 or 1782. (7-1)

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by George Hardie Jr.

High-wing parasols seem to be a popular design for lightplane builders. This one features side-by-side seating . The photo is from the EAA archives , date and location unknown . Answers will be published in the October 1989 issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Dead line for that issue is August 10 , 1989. Several members easily recognized the April Mystery Plane . Ben Giebeler of San Bernardino , California writes: "The April Mystery Plane is a Califor nia Cub , NC 337N, with an American Cirrus engine. I used to fly it at Na tional City Airport , California in early 1940. It was a sweet little plane . I do believe there was also another copy with a radial engine, possibly a 60-hp LeBlond. "When I checked out in the plane , the FBO owner (I forget his name) ad vised me to come in high when landing over the wires and Highway 1 (Los Angeles to Mexico) . When safely over the short field, pick up the nose, let the strong prevailing wind back you up to the touch down bar , then gently power down to the runway . Really , it did it! "

proval #2-344 issued in May 1931 , weighed 1,592 pounds, gross and was one of a kind. It w.as designed by that Brown of renown , Lawrence ' Larry ' Brown who also flew it to sixth place in the American Cirrus Derby , circa 1930. " It was my good fortune to fly this plane at a small field between the Mex ican border and San Diego about 1940. The operator was Carlyle Madson , I believe . I also flew the only California Cub with either a Lambert or Kinner engine at the same field . Standard check-out consisted of pulling the stick full back and banking 45 degrees right and left all at about 100 feet on take-off climb. "

Other answers were rece ived from Robert C. Mosher , Royal Oak , Michi gan: H. Glenn Buffington , EI Dorado , Arkansas; Robert Wynne. Mercer Is land , Washington ; Herbert G. de Bruyn, Be llevue, Washington; Marty Eisenmann, Garrettsv ille , Ohio; R.E. Louderback , Cincinnati , Ohio; and Charles A. Smith, Plainfield, Illinois. This seems like a good time to again emphasize the two-fold purpose of thi s column . First is the intent to review relatively obscure designs and to add to the historical record. The California Cub is a good example. The re searcher's " bible" (Juptner' s U.S . Civil Aircraft , Volumes 1-9) reveals two list ings for the Cub. Volume 9, page 147 shows the 0-1 model powered with the Lambert 90-hp engine. On page 161 , the 0-2 model (our Mystery Plane) is pictured. Sadly , nothing is recorded as to the manufacturer of the airplanes or any other detail s. Thus , the personal experiences of Biebe ler and Hayes add another bit to the history of this design. Again, I must emphasize that I' m not out to "stump the experts," al though , to be honest, I'm tempted . But many readers don ' t know about Jupt ner's volumes , or many other sources. I hope to encourage them to learn. Another problem is locating good photos for use in the column, so if you have a favorite you'd like to share with us , send it in . I' d also like your views on this column 's philosophy and whether you have benefitted from our series . •

Charley Hayes of Park Forest, Il linois also had a personal experience with the airplane: "What fun to again encounter an old friend! The California Cub powered with the 100-hp Cirrus had Class 2 Ap-

The California Cub. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35