VA-Vol-21-No-4-April-1993

EDITORIAL STAFF

Vol. 21, No.4

April 1993

CONTENTS 1 Straight & Level/

Espie "Butch" Joyce

2 AlC News/

compiled by H.G, Frautschy

4 AeroMail 5 Coast To Coast Via Airknocker/

Lyle Wheeler

9 Andy and Joy Heins' Stinson 10S/

Andy Heins

12 Reminiscing With The TM Scout/ Ed D. (Skeeter) Carlson 13 Thomas-Morse S-4C Scout - Now That's Really An Antique!/ H.G. Frautschy

EAA ANTIQUE/ CLASSIC DIVISION, INC,

OFFICERS

18 What Our Members Are Restoring/ Norm Petersen 21

Don Lee's Beech D1SS/ Norm Petersen E,E, "Buck" Hilbert

25 Mystery Plane/

George Hardie 26 Welcome New Members 27 Calendar

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President Espie ' Butc h' Joyc e 604 Highway St. Madison, NC 27025 919/ 427-0216

Vice·President Arthur Morgan 3744 North 51st Blvd.

Milwaukee, WI 53216 414/ 442·3631

Secretary Steven C. Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Lea, MN 56007 507/373-1674

Treasurer

E.E. 'Buck' Hilbert

P.O. Box 424

Union, IL 60180

815/923-4591

DIRECTORS

24 Pass it to Buck/

30 Vintage Trader

Publisher Tom Poberezny Vice-President,

Marketing and Communications

Dick Matt

Editor-in-Chief

Jack Cox

Editor

Henry G. Frautschy

Managing Editor

Golda Cox

Art Director

Mike Drucks

Computer Graphic Specialists

Olivia L. Phillip

Sara Ha nsen Jennifer Larsen

Advertising

Mary Jones

Associate Editor

Norm Petersen

Feature Writers

George Hardie, Jr. Dennis Parks

Staff Photographers

Jim Koepnick Mike Steineke

Carl Schuppel Donna Bush man

Editorial Assistant

Isabelle Wiske

Page 21

FRONT COVER ...Complete w ith Al o b a ma cl a y c linging to the tires, Roger Freeman lives the life of a WW I aviator in the Thomas-Morse S-4C Scout he and his father Ernie brought to Aerodrome '92. Complete with an aD hp Le Rhone rotory engine. the Scout brings back the sights, sounds and smells of eorly aviation history. Photo by H.G . Frautschy. shot with a Canon EOS-l equipped with an aD-200mm lens. 1/ 500 sec. at f5.6 on Kodak Ektachrome 64.

BACK COVER ... The painting , simply titled ' Cub : was painted by Douglas Nielson of Corol Stream , IL The oil on canvas painting of a Cub in flight over the loveable Piper Cub logo was aworded an Honorable Mention ribbon during the 1992 EAA Aviation Foundation Sport Aviation Art Competition .

Copyright © 1993 by the EAA AntiquelClassic Division Inc. All rights reserved.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086.

Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices. The membership rate for EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. is $20.00 for current EAA members for 12 month period of which $12.00 is for the publication of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903·3086. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via suriace mail.

ADVERTISING - Antique/Classic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

EDITORIAL POLICY: Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No renumeration is made.

Material should be sentto: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 414/426-4800.

The words EAA, ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM , SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EAA, EAA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUBS, WARBIRDS OF AMERICA ~ registered trademarks. THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION and EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION are trademarks of the above associations and their use by any person other than the above association is strictly prohibited.

John Berendt 7645 Echo Point Rd .

Cannon Falls, MN 55009 507 / 263-2414 Gene Chase 2159 Carlton Rd. Oshkosh, WI 54904 414/ 231-5002 Phil Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr. Lawton, MI 49065 616/624-6490 Charles Harris 3933 South Peoria P.O . Box 904038 Tulsa, OK 74105 918/742·7311 Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Dr. Indianapolis, IN 46278 317/ 293-4430 Robert Lickteig 1708 Bay Oaks Dr. Albert Lea , MN 56007 507/ 373-2922 Gene Morris 115C Steve Court . R.R. 2 Roanoke, TX 76262 817/ 491 ·9110

Robert C. ' Bob' Brauer

9345 S. Hoyne

Chicago, IL 60620

312/779-2 105

John S. Copeland 28-3 Williamsburg Ct. Shrewsbury, MA 01 545 508/ 842-7867 George Daubner 2448 Lough Lane Hartford, WI 53027 414/673-5885 Stan Gomoll 1042 90th Lane. NE Minneapolis, MN 55434 612/784-1172 Jeannie Hill

P.O. Box 328

Harvard. IL 60033

815/943-7205 Robert D. ' Bob' Lumley 1265 South 124th SI. Brookfield, WI 53005 414/ 782·2633 George York

181 Sloboda Av.

Mansfield, OH 44906

419/ 529·4378

S.H. ' Wes' Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue Wauwatosa, WI 53213 414/771-1545

DIRECTOR EMERITUS S.J. Willman

7200 S.E. 85th Lane

Ocala , FL 32672

904/245-7768

ADVISORS Joe Dickey 511 Terrace Lake Rd. Columbus. IN 4720 1 812/342-6878

Jimmy Rollison 823 Carrion Circle Winters. CA 95694- 1665 916/ 795-4334

Dean Richardson 6701 Colony Dr. Madison, WI 53717 608/833-1291

Geoff Robison 1521 E. MacGregor Dr. New Haven, IN 46774 219/493-4724

STRAIGHT &LEVEL

by Espie "Butch" Joyce

As you read this issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE, a number of you will be making preparations for your trip to the EAA Sun 'n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, FL. I plan to be in Lakeland the entire week and will be on the field visiting with different individuals. While I'm there, I would like to meet as many of you as possible and talk with you about the Antique/Classic Division. Tell me your concerns, and give me input with your suggestions to improve the division. We are enjoying a terrific rate of growth with the membership, and we'd like to continue this success.

For those of who that have been to Lakeland in the past, I received a newsletter from Antique/Classic Chap­ ter 1. Shelly Decker, the president of the Chapter, wrote to remind everyone that the parking area for the Anti­ que/Classic and Contemporary aircraft has been changed. In the past, we have always parked on the very west end of the display area. Not any longer. If you are familiar with the layout of the con­ vention site, you may recall the showplane camping area, just to the south of the Warbird ramp, southeast of the main convention grounds. This is now the new A/C parking area - even the Antique/Classic Headquarters building has been moved. This move was made to accommodate a larger amount of A/C parking.

My initial reaction about this move is that it is a very positive change. First,

we no longer have to leave our airplanes during the afternoon airshow as we used to have to do. We used to lose three or four hours each afternoon to the air­ show, when members and the public could not look at the showplanes on the north side of the display area. I really have all the respect in the world for the members in A/C Chapter 1, who have managed the Antique/Classic area at Lakeland during Sun 'n Fun. I'd also like to mention that I think Billy Henderson has done a terrific job as the Executive Director of the EAA Sun 'n Fun Fly-In - great job, Billy! With my involvement in helping put together the A/C activities at BAA OSHKOSH, I certainly understand that it takes a lot of people to put on an event as well run as Sun 'n Fun. My thanks to them all.

Our June issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain an expanded color section devoted to Antique/Clas­ sic activities at Sun 'n Fun. This should be a keepsake issue for all of us.

We have started getting all of this year's Chairmen and co-chairmen lined up for the up-coming EAA OSHKOSH Fly-In. It's coming at us fast! I'd like to remind everyone once again that we will be parking and judging Contem­ porary aircraft in the Antique/Classic showplane parking area. Changes have also been made to the parking area at Oshkosh - a new taxiway has been built on the west side of runway 18-36, and with the landscaping work that needs to be done, some adjustments concerning the end of the showplane rows may have to be done. A lot of this will depend on the weather they have up in Wisconsin this spring, but it is hoped that the grass can be planted and growing so that the disruption will be minimal. We'll keep you posted on any further develop­ ments.

On page 3 of this issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE, you'll fmd a form to be filled out if you wish to nominate some­

one for the Antique/Classic Hall of Fame. Make a photocopy of the page (you wouldn't cut your VINTAGE, now would you?) and fill it out. Being selected for the A/C Hall of Fame is a prestigious honor, and will be treated as such. Please do not hesitate to nominate someone you think is deserving of this honor, and be sure to follow the guidelines at the top of the form. We look forward to receiving these forms and reviewing them with the selection committee. Be sure and get them in before May 21, 1993.

On a personal note, we had a terrible snowstorm here in North Carolina a short time ago, but the weather is now starting to break. So far it's been a very wet spring, but business is really pick­ ing up for us and soon it will be very busy for us. There are so many fly-in activities around the country - I'd love to attend them all, but it is just impos­ sible to do so.

With all the fly-in activity going on, I certainly want to caution everyone to be extra careful out there. We all want to keep accidents and the attendant bad publicity to a minimum at any time.

I very much enjoy working for you on a national level. It has been a very satisfying experience for me and I'll continue to do so in the future.

We need to keep encouraging in­ dividuals who have an interest in our type of flying or vintage aviation in general to join us as a member of the Antique/Classic Division, so they can enjoy our fine VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine, as well as enjoy the camaraderie and fellowship that goes along with being an A/C member. Also, if you live near an A/C Chapter, I en­ courage you to get involved with them - it's a rewarding experience.

Let's all pull together in the same direction for the good of aviation.

Remember, we are better together. Join us and have it all! ..

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

(3I:WJ TYPE CLUB PARKING AT SUN 'N FUN '93 A note just received from R ay O lcott, A/C Parking Chairman at Sun ' n Fun tells us th a t if yo u a re a me mbe r of a T ype Club, and wish to park together, they will try and accommodate you. I realize that m a ny of yo u will b e r e ce ivin g yo ur m agazi n e within a fe w d ays of yo ur d ep artur e, but if yo u a r e pl a nnin g on attending Sun ' n Fun '93, and would like to pa rk as a T ype Club gro up , pl e a se contact Ray Olcott at 813/644-2431. Ray asks that you have an 8-l/2xll " card with your aircraft Type Club clearly marked on it in big letters so the aircraft p arkers will be able to direct yo u to the correct spot.

R e me mb e r , Antiqu e / Cl ass ic a nd Co nt e mpor ary parkin g is in a n e w loca tion on th e Fl y- In s it e , so p a y atte ntion to the directions you are give n while tax iing in - th ey'll be di ffe rent than the ones yo u got last yea r!

compiled by H.G. Frautschy

th e card back t o Ba rbara Mc C ann , AERO/ McGraw Hill , Inc., Blue Rid ge Summit, PA 17214-9988. If you'd like to know more about buying this series, wh y not drop Ms. McCa nn a note? Be sure and te ll her you read a bout it he re in Vintage Airplane.

Jerrold Winandy

JOE JUPTNER HONORED T hi s p as t S t. P a trick 's D ay , t he Na ti onal Aeronautics Associati on (N AA) prese nted a utho r J oe Juptn e r with it 's NAA R ecog niti o n A wa rd , fo r hi s e xt e ns ive wo rk in docum e ntin g th e history of aviati on. The Antique/Classic Divi sion 's own Buck Hilbe rt mad e th e presentation to Joe at Flabob Airport in Rubidoux , CA. J oe was no min ated by Buck a nd Bruc e Bi sso n e tt e, p as t president of the West Texas Aviati on H all o f Fame . J oe ' s se ri es of boo ks, " U.S .

Civil Aircra ft ," a nin e volume se t, has bee n in valu abl e to anyone fo rtun ate to own th e entire seri es. While still a young ma n, Joe set o ut to docum ent each and every aircraft th at had been issued a CAA Type Certificate. His tireless ferreting out of the facts surrounding so many of these airplanes became an almost life long task, a nd it h as prove n to b e a ge m o f a reso urce to us all here at E AA . Hardl y a n a rticl e ca n be writte n a b o ut old e r aircraft without refe rrin g to "Juptner 's" fo r a check of th e facts.

Our congratulations to Joe on his well deserved honor.

As a side note, we have received a card he re at EAA Headquarters th at furth er re inforce s th e rumors we h a d h e ard co nce rning th e re printing of th e e ntire " U.S. Civil Aircraft " series by McGraw足 Hill . It advised that to learn more about the reiss uin g of th e books, (which were pictured , b y th e way, with a ne wly designed d ust cover) we needed to send 2 APRIL 1993

5TH ANNUAL MINNESOTA SPORT AVIATION CONFERENCE Th e fifth annu a l Minne sota Sp o rt Avi a tion Confe re nce was a tte nd e d by n ea rl y 500 p a rti c ip a nt s on Saturd a y , F e bru a r y 20 , 1993. Th e confe r e nc e, sponsored by th e Minnesota D epartment of Transportation 's Office of Aeronautics wa s h e ld at th e Thund e rbird H o te l in Blo o min gton , MN ne ar Minn ea p o li s' Inte rn a tional Airpo rt. Sport avi a ti o n enthusiasts from th e Minneapolis area, as well as the entire state of Minnesota and western Wisconsin e njoyed a vari e ty of se minar s.

A se ri es of forum s on Antique/Classic aircraft was included in this yea r 's program schedul e . Featured s p ea ke r s includ e d Bill Bre nn a nd of Neenah, WI who spoke in detail about his gro up 's restorati o n of the Stinson Tri 足 Motor frequently seen flying throughout th e Midwest. J e rro ld Win and y o f th e Forest Products Laboratory, Madison , WI was also on hand to discuss various woods and th eir uses in aircraft construction.

- Mary Jones, Editor, EAA Experimenter

OBITUARIES From Jo hn Underwood we have this first notice .. .

"Win" Kinner is outbound. He was an airline pilot by profession, born in 1911 ,

the son of a Denver motorm an who had aspirati ons to build a fford able airplanes and ultimate ly did so . Winfi e ld B. Kinner, Jr. joined the family business, The Kinn er Airplane & Moto r Co. , earl y o n and had a hand in buildin g Kinn e r Sportsters and Security Airsters. He was an Air Co rps fli ght in stru ctor fo r tw o yea rs during WW II , then transferred to th e Air Tran s port Co mm a nd . H e in struct e d bri e fl y durin g th e pos twa r pe ri o d , th e n join e d Ca li fo rnia E as te rn Airways flying DC-4s and L-1049s on the Tokyo service. He subsequently fl ew for U .S. O ve rseas Airlin es a nd Sa turn Airlines, retiring in 1971.

Win was a passenger in a Cherokee on a wh ale-watching outing in Baja, CA on 27 Februa ry. Inexplicably th ey crashed on a m o untain sid e nea r Lore tto , C A. Win , a longtime E AA member, was also much invo lved with th e CA P, as well as an acti ve CFI. He was a few wee ks short of his 82nd birthday.

Steve Hay (EAA 13772, A/C 9295) of L a ke G e ne va , WI. Steve p assed away March 6, 1993 aft e r su ffe rin g a hear t attack . Kn own to E AA members for his fascin atin g collection of replica antique e ngin es , St eve was a tru e me ch a ni ca l wizard , a bl e to intuiti ve ly tran sla te a blueprint into a working, running engine, see min gly without e ff o rt. Hi s 1903 Wri g ht Fl ye r e n gin e as well as hi s whimsical " ornithopter," powe red by an "a nci e nt " e ng in e h ave b ee n fixtur es surrounded by curious EAA members for many, many EAA Conventions. Recent addition s of a Manl e y e ngine , a nd a scaled-down Gnome rotary both served to bol s te r th e crowd s a r o und th e H ay 's display tent every yea r. He surely will be missed by all who love things mechanical.

Our condolences to the Hay family and all of Steve 's fri ends.

Ja n Dyer, Auro ra, CO passed away after fi ghting ca ncer at the age of 47 on March 3, 1993 . J an was th e Secre ta ry/ Tr eas ur e r of Univ a ir Aircraft Co r足 porati o n , and th e wife of Steve Dye r , Univair's presid e nt. J a n was an active pilot a nd EAA me mbe r, as well as the Colorado Pilot's A ssoc. , Colorado CA P and th e 99s. Active in bo th civic a nd church orga nizations, as well a a number profession a l organizati o ns, Jan will be misse d by he r friend s throughout he r commun ity and th e sport aviation world .

O ur condolences to the staff at Univair, and to Ste ve D ye r and th e re st of th e Dyer fami ly.

*'

INTERNATIONAL EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC HALL OF FAME On this page is the nominating petition for the EAA Antique/Classic Division Hall of Fame. If you wish to nominate an individual who you believe has made a significant contribution to the advancement of aviation between 1950 and the present day, please make a copy of this form, fill it out and send it to: EAA Aviation Center, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Please mark the envelope: EAA Antique/ Classic Divi足 sion Hall of Fame, Attn: Mr. Espie Joyce.

Please be as thorough and objective as possible. Attach copies of materials you deem appropriate and helpful to the committee.

The person you nominate must have advanced the field of aviation during the period 1950 to the present day. They can be a citizen of any country, and may be living or dead. Their contribution could be in the ar足 eas of flying, design, mechanical or aerodynamic developments, administration, writing, or some other vi足 tal, relevant field, or any combination of fields that support aviation.

To be considered for induction into the EAA Antique/Classic Hall of Fame during 1993, petitions must be received at EAA Headquarters no later than May 21, 1993.

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION

INTERNATIONAL HALL OF FAME NOMINATING PETITION

Person Submitting this petition: Name Street _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ci~-------------------------------- State ___ ZIP______ Person nominated for induction in the EAA Antique/Classic Division Hall of Fame: Name: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------St reet: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ City

State

ZIP---足

Date of Birth _________ If Deceased, Date of Death __________ Area of contri butions to aviation _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Date or time span of the nominee's contributions to aviation. Must be between 1950 - to the present day.

Describe the event or nature of activities the nominee has undertaken in aviation to be worthy of induction into the EM Antique/Classic Division Hall of Fame. _______________________________________________________________________________

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

Has the nominee already been honored for his/her involvement in aviation, and or the contribution you are stating in this petition. (Circle one) Yes No If yes, please explain the nature of the honor and/or award the nominee has recieved. ________________________________

Oth er info rm ati 0 n __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please attach any support material with your petition for the committee's review.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

MAIL

Part of a collection that resides in the Boeing Aeronautical Library includes a series of original photos from the early days of National Air Transport (later United Airlines.) This unique photo features an NAT Travel Air 5000 and its pilot making a mail connection in the Western U.S. The sleek, modern Travel Air and the stagecoach with the well armed cowboys make an interesting depiction of the con­ trasts in transportation that were still in practical use in the 1920s. Anybody recognize either the pilot or the location?

Dea r Editor, Re: February 1993 Vintage Airpl ane - picture o n page 3 of ski- e quipp e d DH-4.

I be li eve th e ski s are reve rse d for possibl e inte rfere nce of th e prop and check cable.

Visualize the skis turned around and the airplane in takeoff or flying attitude.

The nose of the ski would be very close to the prop arc. Also, it could be the re­ sult of a weight and balance problem.

4 APRIL 1993

Just a guess.

Charles H . Smith Plainfield, IL I asked Norm Pete rse n, on e of our resident ski enthusiasts, to respond to Charles' letter. - HGF

R eader C. H. Smith has kindly sent in his possible solution to the DeHavil­ land DH-4 with reversed skis. His im­ pressive credentials include EAA 5529, A l e 43 and 76 y ears on th e learning

curve! We were able to lo cate a photo of a DH-4 on skis with normal installa­ tion (Ab o ve right). Th e ski-propeller combination appears to have adequate clearan ce in th e ph oto. Mr. Smith 's comment that th e DH-4 was reportedly nose heavy could be very accurate. Th e huge Liberty engine displaced 1649 cu­ bic inches and weighed 844 lbs. - all by itself! With all that weight in the nose, it would be fun to learn how our pilot made out with the skis on backwards.

-Norm Petersen ...

The Only Way to Fly

by Lyle D. Wheeler As the GMC "Jimmy" turns off the main road onto the dirt path, I can see the nose of N2984E peeking out of the small hangar on the little 700 foot farm strip that she has called home for th e past few years. The setting sun makes her brown and orange plumage seem to glow in its golden rays. Already I'm in love!

After some very pleasant conversa­ tion with her former owners and a very thorough inspection by me (I mean in­ spection plates removed and replaced) , all legal documents are exchanged and she now has a new owner . .. Venice Flying Service, in Venice, Florida.

Since the "oil burner" that had taken me to California was very late , by the time all of the above is done, the sun is just ready to sink below the horizon for the night. My new found friends advise against jumping over the ridge to Santa

Paula for the night as there is fog fore­ cast for the next morning. I do not like taking a strange airplane (especially an unknown used airplane) over unfamiliar country at night but this " Little Jewel" looks like she will not let me down , so the decision is made to go to Lancaster, some 8 miles distant, to avoid the possi­ ble early morning fog. Thus, as the sun disappears, the wheels of 84E kiss the soil of her former home goodbye for the last time, and she climbs gracefully over the ridges , headed for Lancaster, Cali­ fornia , and the start of a very happy and fun-filled 4-day journey to her new home.

Darkness comes long before we clear the last ridge into Lancaster. Now, this little Champ has an electrical system with lights, starter, and even a commu­ nications radio - or so I was told (1 know the lights and starter work). My first in­

dication that there may be a problem with the radio is when I try to call Fox Tower at Lancaster and all that I can hear is static. No problem - I like flying without radios anyway - the only way to fly!

With the tower transmitting in the blind , and my thumb working the mike button, the little Champ puts me on the ground and into a tiedown spot with no stress or strain.

The hour is quite late now, so after the "Little Bird" is taken care of for the night, the next order of business is to find a bed. This is easily accomplished and visions of one GREAT BIG FUN TRIP fill my mind as I drift off to sleep.

HOT DANG - THIS IS REALLY GOING TO BE FUN! Next morning, Friday, June 19, finds this old man waiting for the cab to the airport well before daylight. What a VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

:

lated parts of the United States. Not only must you plan this leg, but what is available on the next leg is also very critical. More than one planned route has to be changed because the next leg does not have suitable facilities.

The above situation dictated that early Saturday morning, June 20. The "Little Jewel" says goodbye to West Texas Airport and heads down Inter­ state 8, toward Fort Stockton, Texas.

What the heck - we worked hard the day before so why not relax and use the "highway compass" for a while? It is another beautiful morning and the passage through a narrow gap in the Sierra Diablo Mountains, about 10 miles northwest of Van Horn, Texas,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:~~~~:~~::::~I

beautiful morning it is and I am going to get to fly the whole blessed day!

A quick attempted call to the tower on the radio confirms that it is indeed not working - but, what the heck, who needs a radio in an Aeronca Champ! A phone call is made to the tower for clearance to use light signals and the Champ is on her way!

The sun is still low in the eastern sky when the little Aeronca rounds the south edge of the Palmdale ATA and we settle in for a nice leisurely trip around the mountains and restricted ar­ eas to Twentynine Palms - our next gas stop. As we proceed East, the compass is telling me that we are headed 060 de­ grees. There is no wind so there must be something wrong with this picture.

Let's see, 14 degrees east variation would make a magnetic course of 076 degrees. Ah hal She has 16 degrees of east deviation on an easterly heading! I must remember that little fact!! Turn­ ing the radio back on did not change this deviation factor.

A quick stop at "29" Palms where the two wing tanks (one of many STC'd modifications on this little Champ) are filled with good tasting 80 octane and we are back in the air headed for Buck­ eye, Arizona, via Blyth.

As we proceed over the desert, I hap­ pen to notice that the wing struts blend perfectly with the color of the surface below. Hey - this airplane is painted in a perfect camouflage color for hiding in the desert! Thank goodness for that ELT, emergency gear, rations, and W A­ TER that is stashed in the back!

On the ground at Buckeye it is deci­ sion time. The next destination is Will­ cox, Arizona, elevation 4181 feet.

Around the Phoenix TCA veil and di­ rect is the closest, but that route takes in some pretty high real estate and with a 6 APRIL 1993

temperature of almost 100 degrees F., those mighty 85 horses may just get tired and the little Champ could find herself in one of those high valleys un­ able to climb out. No thanks, we will go the longer lower route via Tucson and Interstate 10. Yes, it is a little bumpy now - the "G" meter shows from a plus 2 to a plus/minus 0, but the little bird makes no complaints as she squeaks onto the runway at Willcox.

A quick call to Flight Service (boy, those people have a hard time briefing for an Aeronca Champion flight!) shows good weather with a slight tailwind.

Hot Dang - we are going to make EI Paso tonight! The temperature in EI Paso is reported at 105°F. and it is pretty hot here in Willcox, too, but this little Champ has a "can do" attitude and she can handle it.

Having no radio or transponder, 84E is restricted to uncontrolled fields, so the only available airport in the EI Paso area is West Texas, located on the southeast edge of town. The logical way to get there is to go around south of the city, over the edge of Mexico, and back into the airport. Knowing the Champ mayor may not be found on radar, it was assumed that it would be seen only as it came back into the United States and Customs would be asking a lot of questions. So - it is the long way around to the north and back south to the air­ port.

The sun has long ago set by the time the "Little Jewel" is secured for the night. She deserves a good rest as she has really worked hard today - espe­ cially in those high "hills." A rented car takes me to "Jeff Bodel's" place for the night. HOT DANG - TODA Y WAS FUN! BRING ON TOMORROW! Even with the extended range af­ forded by the two wing tanks, finding suitable refueling spots for the little noradio Champ requires some advance planning - especially in the less popu­

tainis portion the trip.

GOSH, the mostofscenic of the entireI LOVE mounTHIS KIND OF FLYING! Time sure flies when you are having fun and shortly the wheels roll to a stop at the gas pumps at Ft. Stockton.

The next three hours were the worst of the whole trip. They were so bad that I hope I never see Ft. Stockton again, ever! The AOPA book says the place has fuel and is attended during daylight hours. Don't believe it!

The office was open but nobody was around. I finally found a phone number to call for service and was just ready to do so, when a very nice lady drove up in a station wagon. She announced that she and her husband run the place and she gladly filled the tanks on the Champ and collected the money.

In my efforts to be a safe pilot, I al­ ways take a fuel sample after each refu­ eling operation - just to make sure.

When I pushed the probe of the sampler into the quick-drain, only a very few drops came out into the cup. WOW­ what have we here? Even with the quick-drain full open, there are only a few drops coming out of it! Good grief!

Let's check the other tank! The other tank checks with exactly the SAME RESULTS! Just what do we have here!? NO WA Y WILL THIS "UT­ TLE JEWEL" LEAVE THE GROUND UNTIL WE KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS SITUATION! The firewall drain checks O .K. Since the lady who filled the tanks was the only other person on the airport, I asked her if I could use a bucket and wrench to remove the quick-drains and check the fuel in the tanks. She was very ea­ ger to help, however all of the tools were locked in the shop and her hus­ band who had the key was "over there" and she would go after him. Saying she would be back in 20 minutes, she left in a cloud of dust. I assumed her destin a­ tion was "over there."

To make a long story short, over two and one half hours later, she had not come back. A local pilot arrived to

work on his Cessna 172, and I told him my story. His reply was, "Oh, that's normal - they may have decided that they just did not want to come back!"

To shorten the story even more, I bor­ rowed a wrench and bucket and in less than 10 minutes, we were ready to fly.

Whatever happened to the "nice lady" and her husband, I will never know. OUR problem was that two bugs, of the same lineage, had decided the quick-drains would make very good homes and when I tried to check the fuel, the probe smashed the bugs up into the openings, thus blocking the flow of fuel out the drain. The gas was good. Needless to say, a new sampling procedure has been developed.

Quickly file a flight plan, I get the "Little Bird" on her way to Brady, Texas. A very interesting leg. Remem­ ber the 16 degrees of deviation that was found coming out of Lancaster?? Well, this stupid pilot didn't!

Ft. Stockton will be remembered for a long time, but now, it is time to get back to having fun. HOT DANG, it feels good to be back in the air again!

The little Champ is purring like a very contented kitten and we know she has good clean fuel in her tanks. Her nose is pointed in an easterly direction and all is well.

The checkpoints on the direct course from Ft. Stockton to Brady, Texas, are few and far between. The visibility has come down a little, but nothing to worry about. We are now about 85 miles out and I can just barely make out the town of Big Lake off the left wing. Yep, just a few miles off track to the north. My, everything sure looks the same on the ground in this part of the world! Let's see - if we go almost due east from here, I should find the town of Eden, where I can pick up the road into Brady. Oh yes, there is the town of Christoval about half way that will let me know that I am on course. Let's see now ­ T.C. of 90 degrees, minus 8.5 degrees east variation, makes a compass heading of about 081 degrees. There is no wind, liitle Champ, stay on that heading and we will be over Christoval in 40 minutes and Eden in 7 minutes after that. Noth­ ing to it!

Forty minutes came and left - no Christoval. Well, it is quite small, we must have missed seeing it. Keep a sharp eye out for Eden - it isn't any larger! Ah-ha! There it is, directly on the nose . Hey! Wait a minute - this town has an airport and Eden sure doesn 't have one! Where the heck are we any way? Menard? Can't be! But Menard does have an airport located in the exact spot as the town I am looking at on the ground! That ' s 20 miles off course! Now it hits me. You idiot! You forgot to apply the 16 degrees east devi­

ation that the Little Champ told you about coming out of Lancaster. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB! Having found ourselves again, we follow another road into Brady, where a very nice grass runway was waiting to caress the wheels of this little "Sweet­ heart" that I am flying.

When I call Flight Service to close our flight plan, I discover that it is never opened. It seems that even though they have been advised to open it at my as­ sumed departure time, they had not done so because I had not called them on the radio. When I ask how I could have done that when the flight plan in­ dicated NO RADIO, they could not an­ swer me. Oh well, what the heck - we weren't on course anyway. (As was pointed out before, modern day Flight Service seems to have a problem with LOW, SLOW, NO RADIO airplanes.)

A new load of fuel, and the runway's soft grass la unches us on our war to Lampasas, Texas , 65 miles to the east where we plan to spend the night.

WRONG! It seems that there are a couple of sports car shows in town and EVERY motel/hotel room is filled. No vacancy anywhere in town.

The airport manager suggests that we go on to Killeen, Texas, even though it is directly on the other side of two con­ trol tower airports. A quick call to the approach controller and the little Champ has permission to fly directly through his control zone , even though we have no avionics. There are restric­ tions of course, but the fact that they are willing to cooperate has sure saved a bunch of flying time. Maybe we will get a hot meal tonight after all!

The FBO at Killeen is just locking up for the night when the little Continental comes to a halt by his gas truck . He is very accommodating and soon both the Champ and myself are tucked in for an­ other good night's rest.

HOT DANG - THIS REALLY IS FUN! The problem is - the weather is soooo good and the tailwinds are work­ ing soooo well - the trip will be over tooooo soon! To bad, we are about half way home already!

Management of the Killeen Holiday Inn is to be complemented for subscrib­ ing to the Weather Channel for their guests. When it is turned on at 6 a.m. on Sunday, June 21, I am informed of some very nasty weather that is over West Central Texas, moving toward Killeen. If Champ 84E is going to be in the air today, she had best not stay around very long. A quick call to Flight Service confirms the news, so it is a "hurry-up" breakfast, a quick ride to the airport and off into the wild blue for an­ other great day of our favorite thing ­ FLYING. Livingston, Texas sits on the shore of Lake Livingston, 16 miles to the east.

We are out well ahead of the weather and the visibility is great, so the little Champ is sitting at the gas pump on Liv­ ingston airport in what seems like just a matter of a few short minutes.

It is a nice little one runway airport, but the place appears to be deserted.

The AOPA book says it is attended 24 hours a day. Yep, it has runway lights, but there sure aren't any people around.

After all, it is after 9 a.m. on Sunday morning - where is everyone?

Several knocks on the door of the mobile-home, out back of the hangar, brought absolutely no response. The wall of the phone booth produced a number to call for gas. When that num­ ber is dialed , the phone in the hangar rings and is answered by a sleepy male voice who informs me that he will be right out. It turns out that a phone also rang in the mobile-home, waking up the FBO owner.

The Champ is refueled and ready to go, and just as soon as yours truly gets a

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

drink of water, we will be back in the air where we belong.

"Where is the water fountain?"

"Oh, see that horse pen out back?"

"Yes." "Well, there is a hose to put water in the horse water tank; turn it on at the well, let it run to get cool and drink all you want. Oh, by the way, when you are through, please put the hose in the tank as the horse needs water this morning."

Having been born and raised on a farm in West Central Illinois, I have shared the livestock watering facilities many times in the past, so this was just fine with me. Boy, this trip is sure tak­ ing me back a "thousand years"! HOT DANG, little Champ - I love you - you REALLY ARE a "Magic Carpet"!

After another fun filled 2.3 hours, we are sitting in front of the FBO office at Opelousas, Louisiana, where the owner insists that he get some pictures of the airplane and a note from me describing our little trip. It seems we are some­ what of an oddity and he wants us for his guest book. I forgot to mention, the same thing happened at Willcox , Ari­ zona.

On our way again, it is under the Ba­ ton Rouge ARSA, just outside the New Orleans veil, and on the ground at Picayune, Mississippi , for more fuel.

The Champ created quite a stir again at this nice little field.

With some friendly advice that it is a good place to stay overnight and the AOPA book declaring the airport is open "daylight hours, " the " Little Jewel" was soon on her way to Bay Minette , Alabama , where we antici­ pated an early supper. Again­ WRONG! Circling the airport should have given us our first clue. There was only one car in the lot, and only three air­ planes on the ramp. When we got to it, 8 APRIL 1993

the office was closed and locked and the only pay telephone on the outside wall did not even have a phone directory. A thorough search of the smudged notes on the wall, pro­ duced only one phone number that was recognizable - " Gene's Taxi". A call was made to that number and the nice gentleman who answered advised me that he was closed for the day. These people in the small town are very friendly, and after I explained my prob­ lem, this nice man (turns out to be Gene) came out to get me in his per­ sonal car. Gene advised me that the airport is "closed on weekends," but it would no doubt be open sometime the next morning. With that, he took me to the nearest motel , with the promise to return when I called the next morning.

Too bad - the fun is almost over! We are getting awfully close to home - looks like we will make it tomorrow.

Monday morning, June 22. In less than 7 minutes after the 7:15 a.m. call to " Gene's Locksmith and Taxi ," "Mrs. Gene" has me in the cab on the way to the Bay Minette airport. (Can you vi­ sualize service that fast in the big city?)

She advises that no one would be at the airport, until sometime after 8 a.m., hopefully by 8:30 at the latest.

Sure enough, the airport is still de­ serted, so the little Champ is untied and pushed over to the gas pumps. And­ sure enough, shortly after 8 o'clock, a gentleman drives up, unlocks the door, and calls out, " I hope you don ' t need gas, 'cause we don't have any. Won't have any 'til sometime later in the week."

Gee - thanks a lot!! O.K., "Sweet­ heart," just exactly how much fuel do you have in your tanks? The trusty paint paddle "dipstick" that 84E has with her indicats we have enough to get to Crestview, Florida, so we charge off into a rather hazy morning - 3-5 miles visibility, and land at Crestview in very

short order.

A very quick stop (12 minutes shut­ down-to-start-up) puts us on our way to Quincy, Florida.

Of all the stops that this old man made on a recent similar trip to Canada, and thus far on this trip , the Quincy stop is without a doubt the most cordial of them all. The wheels kiss the velvety grass landing area, and as we taxi to­ ward the ramp, the owner of the FBO is standing there wearing a very large smile, directing us to his gas pumps. As soon as the little Continental is again silent, he opens the door, greets us warmly, requests our needs, and directs me toward the cooler containing FREE soft drinks. Without being asked, he cleans ALL of the windows. (This was the only time on both trips that anyone even mentioned cleaning ANY win­ dows!) When we lift off of his beautiful grass on departure, this same person is again standing on the ramp waving to us. What a refreshing experience in this day and age of cold indifferent busi­ ness. I wish him the best of luck.

Nuts , we are getting close to home now. A few of the normal Florida " thunder bumpers " are starting to build, but no problem. Dunnellon, our final fuel stop comes into view and we both know it is almost over.

The little Champ seems eager to get to her new home as we climb into the afternoon bumps of summertime flying in Florida. Due to the constant seem­ ingly unfriendliness toward "little air­ planes" by Tampa and Sarasota ATC, we are required to make the long de­ tour around to the east of Lakeland, before setting course to Venice. It adds many minutes to the flight, but, what the heck, I'm enjoying every minute of it to the fullest.

November 2984E makes a couple of turns over the Venice airport to get the layout of her new home, and then makes an ever so gentle touch down on the grass beside the paved runway. For me it is quite a let down. The trip is over, but HOT DANG IT SURE HAS BEEN FUN! I also know the love af­ fair is not over as she and I will be spending time together as she teaches new and old pilots, alike, the fine art of flying "conventional gear" airplanes.

I don't care if it is a Boeing 747 or an "Airknocker," to me an airplane is not just a machine. They each have their own personality and if I may paraphrase a statement made by Mr. Will Rogers: "I have never met an AIRPLANE I didn't like." Little 84E is a " Sweet­ heart." We went through a lot and be­ came very close in the 33 hours and 50 minutes we had just flown.

Hey! It REALLY has been fun!

WHEN AND WHERE IS THE NEXT ONE?

*

by Andy Heins On September II, 1991, I purchased a 1946 Stinson 108, NC97141 sIn 141 from Mr. Dan Wagner of Sturgis, Michigan .

Along with the Stinson came a truckload of spare Franklin 150 parts and a new bottom cowl and wheelpants . Having obtained my Private ticket only a month earlier in my brother Mike's 1950 Callair A-2, I felt that I should have someone with a little more experience fly my new purcha se home with me. Since my brother Pete was out of town on busi­ ness , I chose long time Waco and Taylorcraft owner Paul Hofacker. The trip from Reed-Esch airport in Indiana, where the Stinson was based, to Moraine Airpark in Dayton, Ohio was uneventful, other than having to land an unfamiliar airplane in the dark. The next day, my brother Pete and I eagerly jumped into the Stinson and flew to Hook Field in Middletown , Ohio, a 10 minute flight , where both the paved and grass strips are long and wide. I had never flown an air­ plane with that much horsepower and

such sensitive controls. The flap lower­ ing speed on the Stinson was what I cruised at with the Callair. The aileron control was light and responsive and the rudder was very sensitive. After 7 or 8 landings on the grass without too many problems, I then shot a few landings on the hard surface. Although I didn't have any problems there either, I quickly became aware that the Stinson was a totally different bird on pavement.

During the next month , I logged about 40 hours on the Stinson, until returning home one day from the Ohio Antique airplane fly-in at Wynkoop air­ port in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, my tachome­ ter stopped working. After closer inspection, it was found that the tach drive gear in the rear accessory case had sheared, dropping some teeth into the engine. When I purchased the Stinson, the Franklin 6A4-150-B3 had a total of 35 SMOH in 1989. That , plus the 40 hours I had flown , gave me 75 SMOH. The last thing I needed at this point was a major overhaul. I stewed for a week or two trying to make up my mind. I wasn't

happy with the paint scheme, all white with a thin red stripe and large red N numbers on the fuselage. I always pre­ ferred an original paint scheme. The bot­ tom cowl had a large crease as if some­ one had taxied into something. The nose bowl had cracks, the fairings were a little rough, the wheelpants needed to be repaired, etc. , etc . Since it was now November, I figured that since I proba­ bly wouldn't be flying much in the win­ te r , I could repaint the airplane and clean it up a little before the fly-in season started.

We (being my wife Joy, brother Pete, and good friend Jim Harkema) began the project by disassembling the engine.

To our great surprise, all the teeth that had been sheared off the tach drive gear were intact in the oil pan. The oil pump and filter unit were removed and found to be clean of any foreign particles. The rear accessory case and valve covers were removed and nothing was found there either. One nice thing about a Franklin engine is that when the top case cover and the oil pan are removed , a VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

Prior to restoration, the Heins' Stinson didn't look too bad - just a bit worn around the edges.

wing root, tail fairings and the window retainer pieces . The fairings for the landing gear, gear fillet, upper and lower strut, fuselage shroud, fuselage pan and firewall pan were all replaced. Thanks to Univair for having all the necessary parts. The gear was stripped, cleaned, primered and painted. The wheels were removed , hubs split, new bearings and races greased and installed. New pucks, clips and buttons were used on the origi­ nal Goodyear brakes. The tail wheel was removed and the tailwheel spring and assembly were cleaned, primered and painted. A new Maule tailwheel assem­ bly was purchased from Univair com­ plete with tire and tube and installed.

The vertical and horizontal stabilizers as well as the wing struts were stripped and cleaned.

Late in February, the weather began to break and we were able to spend more time at the airport. We began by remov­ ing the doors, windshield and window glass, instrument panel, control wheels, seats, rudder pedals, floor boards, trim indicator and flap handle. The original plan was to keep the interior intact, but after going this far, I made the decision to go with a completely new interior including seats, carpet and side panels from Airtex. Now I had a bare shell sit­ ting in my han gar. Then the tedious process of wet sanding took place. The airplane had been cov­ ered with Ceconite and sprayed white with butyrate dope in 1973.

The Stinson then spent the next 10 years in an enclosed hangar, never being flown due to a sick engine. When we checked the fabric it was if it were brand new, which is certainly a testament to Ceco­ nite. We felt there was no good reason we had The 150 hp Franklin 6A4-150-B3 was overhauled and then to tear off perfectly installed in a competely renewed engine compartment. good fabric, when it

visual inspection can be performed on the crankshaft and camshaft. Both the crank and camshaft looked as if they were brand new, with no scoring or wear.

At this point, things looked very promis­ ing. After consulting several mechanic friends, the consensus was to clean the engine thoroughly with kerosene under high pressure and to reassemble th e engine and watch the oil pressure.

With that in mind, we decided to make the engine the last item to com­ plete on the aircraft. All control surfaces were removed and taken home to be stripped and cleaned. I also brought all the fairings and cowling home to work on since my hangar, which I rented from EAA Chapter 48, was unheated and the cold weather had started to set in. From November until the end of January, my friend Jim and I spent countless evenings stripping the several layers of paint off the control surfaces, fairings and cowl­ ings. After stripping my basement full of parts, it was then that I realized all my fairings were not in the greatest of shape.

My no se bowl had more cracks and patches than I could stand. Even the ele­ vators and rudder had a lot of nicks and dents. We picked the few parts deemed useable and cleaned them further to remove any trace of paint.

Out of all the fairings and metal pieces on a Stinson, all we kept were the

10 APRIL 1993

should last 5-10 years longer without any problem. We began by wet sanding the fuselage, being careful not to sand too hard over the seams. The first problem occurred in removing the red stripe and N numbers. They had been sprayed on with polyurethane and sanding them just wasn't working. We then came up with the idea that we would use a combina­ tion of MEK, scraping carefully with an X-Acto knife, and wet sanding. This worked real well but added countless hours to the process. One warm day, four of us got together and completely sanded both wings and finished the fuse­ lage. It took about 8-10 hours, but I felt as if a major hurdle had been jumped.

The floorboards were sanded and given two coats of clear polyurethane. The battery box was painted and installed and new rudder pedals from Univair were added.

All hosing for the venturis was replaced as well as all electrical wiring.

All tubing in the cockpit that could be seen was primered and painted grey, to match the interior. The control panel and top cover were stripped, primered and painted . I sent the control wheels, door handles and grills out to be pol­ ished. The early model 108's like mine had all metal " D " shaped control wheels. All the inside door trim pieces and window retainers were stripped, primered and painted. A new flap han­ dle and trim pieces were purchased and installed, along with a new tachometer and electric clock.

After all the sanding was completed on the Stinson , we then sprayed all the fabric s urfaces with rejuvenator. The fuselage was then sprayed with a silver filler coat in order to hide where the stripe and numbers had been. This was then wet sanded until no trace could be found of either the stripe or N numbers.

Now it was time to paint.

In doing some research on my Stinson, along with the help of the Stinson Club and Univair, it was found that my particular airplane was one of 300 or so early 108's that was painted a two tone paint scheme of Insignia Blue and AN Orange-Yellow. When I first described the paint scheme to my wife and brother, they were a little less than excited. I even drew up the paint scheme to show them but it didn ' t really help.

My wife wanted some combination of yellow and red and my brother Pete favored Waco Vermillion, just like the color that is on his Waco. Well, needless to say, I won the argument beca use I knew it would be different. We began by spraying the yellow first. With my broth­ er Pete handling the spray gun and friend Jim playi ng gopher, they began spraying coats of yellow. After 5 coats and no paint remaining, it was found that the yellow was so translucent that it

would take several more coats to cover.

I wanted the Stinson to have a slick , shiny finish, so that is why I chose Randolph Ranthane. It gives the air­ plane somewhat of a "wet" look. So, back on the-phone to order more paint.

After several days, new paint arrived and two more coats were applied. Prior to painting, we etched, alodined and primered every metal piece on the plane. We also went over every bit of the aircraft with Prep-Sol, a degreaser, followed by a tack cloth. We then began the tedious process of taping off the air­ plane. All "N" numbers were done by hand, using a 24"x6" piece of Plexiglass® as a pattern. The only sten­ sils used were of the Stinson logo on the cowl and tail. The day finally came when we were ready to spray the blue.

The weather hadn 't been too coopera­ tive, but when we finally had a break, we decided to take advantage of it. The temperature had gotten warm enough but would only be that way for that par­ ticular day. Since we were rushing to get things done while the weather held, the airplane probably wasn't wiped off quite as well as it should have been. Pete and Jim quickly changed into their painting clothes and began spraying the Insignia Blue. Everything went fine spraying the wings, but when they started on the fuse­ lage, the paint began to "fish eye". Then, with that happening, the paint gun began spurting the paint instead of flow­ ing evenly. When I heard my brother cussing and yelling, I quickly opened the access door to the hangar to find them both tearing apart the spray gun in an attempt to clean it so the painting could continue. By the time they got it back together, the paint on the airplane had started to become tacky. Pete resumed spraying, and to our amazement , it began to cover up the areas where the fish eyes had appeared. With everything starting to look better, he decided to give the fuselage one last coat. With that he began spraying and the paint began to run. By the time he finished, we had several areas on the forward fuselage where the fish eyes had been that now had runs. At first, I really didn't think it was that bad and that my brother , the perfectionist , had over­ reacted. Everyone had told me to wait until the paint was tacky to pull the tapes. We waited about an hour and started pealing the tape off. Even though the paint was good and tacky, it still wasn ' t dry enough . As I began peeling off the fuselage-stripe, the paint started to pull so that I began to get jagged edges. We waited a little longer on the wings and the N numbers pulled off fine. Being late, we closed up for the evening and went home. The next day was bright and sunny and we rolled the Stinson out of my brother 's hangar to

Months and months of hard work payoff for Andy and Joy Heins when their newly restored Stinson 108 takes to the skies again.

push it back to mine. When the sunlight hit the fuselage it seemed to magnify the runs. We all were slightly disgust ed, especially my brother. We pushed the airplane to my hangar and began talk­ ing about solutions. Only one solution seemed correct - do it over! Since the wings turned out fine , we did nothing but cover them up with paper and tape them closed. We then began sanding the blue on the fuselage where any runs were found . As I said before, the stripe on the fuselage had jagged edges, so I lightly sanded the edges and when I retaped the stripe, I made it just a hair below the original line. Pete resprayed the fuselage and it turned out fantastic.

The next item to be completed was the engine. The starter, generator, and both Eiseman magnetos were dissassem­ bled, inspected, reassembled and paint­ ed. A new ignition harness and spark plugs were purchased. All new engine baffling was obtained from Univair. All hosing, clamps and electrical wiring were replaced. The new tach drive gear was installed, the engine cleaned and repainted to Franklin colors, including the red Franklin logo on the top case cover and all the valve covers. The engine mount and firewall , as well as the inside of the cowling were painted sil­ ver. New gaskets and rubber packing were installed. New engine mount rub­ bers and bolts were added. The engine was installed and we were on our way.

With the project star ting to look more lik e an airplane every day, I couldn 't wait to get off work and hurry to the airport. We installed the headlin­ er and interior in about two weeks time.

I had purchased the silver/grey velour fabric from Airtex, but had a local car upholstery shop sew the seats and side­ panels using myoId ones as patterns.

Unfortunately, they also used the old cardboard backing. This all had to be redone in order to make it look right.

My brother Pete installed the presewn headliner from Airtex and it looked great. Next, all the fairings were

installed. Since the fairings didn't have predrilled holes , it took some time to match them up with some of the existing holes . All the control surfaces were carefully gone over, every nick or dent being filled with body filler , sanded , etched, alodined , primered and painted.

Every nut , bolt, screw and cotter pin that could be replaced on the whole aircraft was, with the help of good friend and Waco owner Joe McGuire of Airframe Systems Inc., of Alliance, Ohio. All I had to do was call Joe and tell him what I need ed , and the next day it would arrive. Talk about good service!

We completed the final assembly in the remaining weeks of June. When the day came for the test flight , we pushed the Stinson to the pumps, and $64.00 later we were ready to go. Nearly everyone who had seen this project through from start to finish was on hand. I gave a hug and kiss to my wife Joy and cljmbed in the right seat next to my brother Pete, the test pilot for the project. The engine started the first blade and off we went. As we ran the airplane up at the departure end of the runway , I had time to reflect on the months of working a 10 hour workday for USAIR Express, then driving straight to the airport to work another 8 hours on the Stinson . I never could have completed the project without everyone's help. With the instruments looking good and a nod, the power was added and the takeoff roll began. The 20 minute test flight went without inci­ dent and everything went smooth. We landed after some air to air photos and taxied in to the cheering crowd. What a sense of relief that the project was final­ ly complete.

Some of the key figures that played a role in getti ng th e Stinson flying were Joy Heins, Pete Heins, Jim Harkema, Josh Pack, Linda Pack, Don Hayes, Sr., Don Hayes, Jr., Tom Erikson , Ed Dubois , John Estridge, Jim Oswald , Steve Hanshew and Mike Williams. To them lowe a great amount of thanks . ...

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

Reminiscing .

• •

With The TM Scout

The history of vintage ai rpl anes is amazing. When I have a plane at an air­ show or a visitor here at our littl e field someone always comes up with a story about that aircraft or one like it. So it has been with my Thomas Morse Scout.

Years ago , John Underwood (of writer fame) gave me a photo of a pilot in my Thomas Morse when it was in ac­ tive se rvice at Rockwell Field , San Diego , California , abo ut 1918. I have used the picture in the display with the Scout at airshows. Last spring , John ca ll ed to advise me a Dick Hawthorne, who had given him the photo neg­ ative,was coming our way. It was his fa­ ther , Lt. Lawrence D. Harthorn, (a spelling change was made to the fami ly name in later years) whose photo had

by Ed D. (Skeeter) Carlson been taken in the cockpit so many yea rs ago. Dick wanted to see the act u a l fighter his dad had flown , as well as sit in the same cockpit. We certainly could ac­ commodate him.

Dick related how his father, though a very young man , was chosen to come from E ngland for the purpose of teach­ ing aviators at Rockwell Field how to fly a Spad. The Spads that were to come (Left) A photo supplied by John Under­ wood, and used by Skeeter Carlson on the poster he displays with his Thomas Morse Scout, led Skeeter to a meeting with the son of the man pictured in the photo. The pilot in the photo, Lt. Lawrence D. Harthorn, was the father of Dick Hawthorne (right).

(Below) Skeeter's TM Scout is one of a handful left in the country, and one of only two known flyable Scouts. (It last flew about 3 years ago, but can be made flyable is quick order.)

12 APRIL 1993

from Europe never arrived , so Lt. H awthorne used Thomas Morse Scouts.

When the war e nded, he stayed in Amer­ ica. The Scouts were sold as surplus.

The one I have, #38898, went to Wilson Aero Corp. of Burbank, and then to Paul Mantz, who used her during the filming of movies like " Wings," " Dawn Patrol" and others with aviation themes during the twenties and thirties. During 1952 I acq ui red the bird in a trade with Paul.

In the twenties, Lawrence Harthorn turned to Hollywood for flying employ­ ment. Dick, however, did not know what movies his father had flown in. We hope that this will turn up in future research

by J ohn Underwood , and a re looking forward to John's future publications.

The afternoo n spent with Dick Hawthorne was very enjoyable. He was in awe to be able to sit in the plane his father had flown 74 years ago, and it was a pleasure to note the expression on his face. I only wish when I received the "Tommy " from Paul Mantz all the log books would have been with it. How in­ teresting they would be! ...

bOIUS-lIolISl S-4C kolJT

Nowftaftl

All

Article and photos

by H.G. Frautschy Each generation of airplanes has their own level of sophistication, their own ad­ vancement of the state of the art at a par­ ticular place in history. Even as the lessons from the " Great War" were still being learned, engineers were designing airplanes for the USA war effort. Al­ though their designs would never fire a shot in anger during WW I, some of the airplanes built during that time still con­ tinue to hold a certain fascination for many people.

If you grew up in the time just prior to and during the Great Depression , your

Ernie and Roger Freeman

aviation exposure included the many pulp magazines of the day, including " Flying Aces," "Sky Riders, " and "War Aces. " All were filled with the exploits of fic­ tional war heros who spent their last bul­ let trying to shoot down the enemy. For many of those who grew up during this time, their love of WW I airplanes would never diminish.

Ernie Freeman was one of those kids who grew up to be an American Airlines DC-10 Captain. He began collecting parts for his WW I project early in his career ­ 1955 to be exact. The plane ? A Thomas­ Morse S-4C Scout.

Ernie was one of the few individuals during the immediate post-WW II period

who found antique airplanes interesting, and worth saving. He was intrigued by the notion of a flying WW I airplane, and so began his search. His S-4C did not come about as an entire project he had to sit down and restore - a part here , a pair of wings there, and other "pieces of junk" were collected to start remaking an entire airplane. The majority of this particular Scout came about from a real basket case Ernie was able to procure from the late Paul Mantz. These pieces of airplanes came from a number of Hollywood air­ planes, real T-M Scouts that had been used in the '20s and ' 30s for such Holly­ wood epics as " Dawn Patrol" and "Hell 's Angels." (As I'll explain later, it turns out VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

that over the years Ernie has collected enough parts to put together a few more T-M Scouts.) Not many people were in­ terested in old airplanes, but a few , Cole Palen, Jack Canary and Joe Pfeifer among them, were actively searching out these aviation relics, helping preserve them for later generations.

At about the same time Ernie started the actual restoration of the Scout, he was blessed with a son, Roger. Roger grew up with the project. He recalled that he doesn't ever remember a car in the garage (sound familiar, anyone and everyone?) , and helped his dad as often as he could.

A number of parts from the basket case could and were reused - the struts are original , as well as the lower wings, and a few pieces in the fuselage are from the original fuselage. Often, though, the parts were able to be used for patterns. Almost all of the metal fittings in the airframe are original T-M parts.

Ernie is a collector's collector, and didn't just stop after he had enough to build one Thomas-Morse Scout - he has components sufficient to build up a total of four Scouts, one of which could be built completely out of original parts! That one would not be airworthy, but he could build two more flying Scouts with the parts he has to make up a trio of airworthy T-M Scouts. He probably would, too , if he didn't already have other projects that have also taken up a portion of his time.

In addition to the Scout, Ernie has a Stan­ dard J-1 project with a Hall-Scott engine, and has worked in a partnership to com­ plete a Standard J-1 that was used in "The Great Waldo Pepper " and "The Rock e­ teer. " He's also about half finished with a Curtiss IN-4D restoration. Ernie 's plate is full most of the time , and the Scout pro­ ject took up a long period in his life. Find­ ing all the parts can sometimes be the longest part of a project.

A suitable engine is often the biggest obstacle in the successful completion of a restoration. Finding a rebuild able motor can be a tough nut to crack. The biggest piece of the puzzle proved to be solved by a discovery in a San Diego boat yard.

Ernie was able to purchase, for $200, a complete, new in the crate, Le Rhone ro­ tary engine, complete with the factory spare parts and special tools kit. The fac­ tory service manual was even included!

His friends kidded him about his pur­ chase. They would chide him, "What do you want with that old piece of junk?"

Ernie already knew what he would do with the old hunk of steel. It was going to power his very original Thomas-Morse Scout! Along the way, an original 8 foot long oak propeller was also obtained - its huge diameter and pitch would absorb the remarkable torque generated by the 80 hp Le Rhone into the thrust needed to fly the Scout. A Le Rhone rotary normally is run around 1050 and 1100 rpm, with it being 14 APRIL 1993

pushed up to 1200 rpm for climb. As Roger Freeman, Ernie's son , puts it: " It's 80 horsepower , but you're talking an 80 hp Budweiser Clydesdale! On a lot of replicas, when they start talking about re­ placing engines, it usually takes about a 145 horsepower engine to equal the pulling power of an 80 horsepower Le Rhone. " That 8 foot long prop can be intimidat­ ing. When you look at something that big carved out of oak, you begin to under­ stand why the British called an aircraft propeller an "airscrew."

Piece by piece, the castor oil soaked pieces of the Scout airframe were replaced or restored , and the airplane was put to­ gether. By the time he turned 17, the Scout Roger had worked on alongside his dad had been completely restored, and Roger was given the honor of propping the Le Rhone for its first start.

When the restoration of the "Tommy" was completed in 1972, it immediately went back to work, soon showing up in a couple of advertising spots, as well as a movie role in "The Great Waldo Pepper."

Once it became a Hollywood plane , I guess it just couldn't stay away!

After only 30 hours on the "new" Le Rhone , the restorers suffered their first major disappointment in the flying career of the Scout - the crankshaft broke, and

the engine had to be overhauled. Fortu­ nately, Ernie had never stopped collecting parts and engines, so a replacement from the family collection was installed. They are finding that a few parts now have to be made to keep the engine running, and also are pleased that some companies are mak­ ing it a point to supply parts for vintage aircraft. New pistons and rings can now be purchased, as are a host of other parts from companies like Vintage Aero, who manufacture difficult to find items such as fuel system pressurization pumps used on some of the other WW I era airplanes, as well as many others.

The airplane was flown for a couple of years, then put in storage. Roger Free­ man always had a soft spot in his heart for the airplane that was always there during his childhood, so he prodded his dad into letting him take the airplane back to Texas so Roger could put it back in the air again.

Once the convincing was done, and the Scout was moved to Roger's home in Mar­ ion, Texas, he began to assess the work he had to do to ready the Scout for flight.

Before it could be flown again, the bat­ tle of castor oil had to be won again. Cas­ tor oil gets into anything and everything on an airplane, and the Scout was again no exception. Roger recalled what the fuse­ lage looked like after lying dormant for 12-15 years. "That castor oil gets on ev­

(Above) The hub of the original oak propeller is stamped with

the specifications of the Le Rhone engine.

(Right) The massive propeller and original Le Rhone rotary

engine dominate the nose of the Scout.

(Below) Even the cockpit of the Freemans S-4C is laid out with

original instrumentation.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

erything and the fuselage was full of it. It looked like a mold farm in there. There was so much mold, the stuff was getting thick . I had to completely uncove r it and strip all the wood down on the bottom of the airplane, and re-protect it. A lot of stringers had to be reglued, and a few pieces had to be replaced. " The entire fuselage was recovered with Dacron , with th e base coats of dope and then an enamel finish. The original fl at paint, while strictly authentic, is difficult to maintain and keep clean , an important consideration with the castor oil lubricant needed for the Le Rhone. For the Free­ mans, keeping the Scout in the air is more important than strict authenticity. A s Roger points out, "For us, it's more im­ portant to keep this airplane going than it is to be an absolute purist. " Ernie added, " We're pure enough that it doesn 't show."

The color scheme does not represent a particular person 's airplane - since the T­ M Scout was not sent overseas it was used at places like Kelly Field, in San Antonio, Texas. The Scout was never actually used as a fighter, and was instead used for ad­ vanced training, since it exhibited many of 16 APRIL 1993

the flight characteristics that the fighters of that day had (rotary e ngine , unstable handling, etc.). The markings are accu­ rate as far as the typ e of marking that would have been present on a factory de­ livered Scout.

The Thomas-Morse S-4C Scout was designed by a former Sopwith employee by the name of B. Douglas Thomas (no relation to the Thomas brothers, William and Oliver, for whom the company was named) . His work prior to the design work on the Scout had bee n with Curtiss, for whom he designed the prototype Cur­ tiss J , the predecessor of the famous Cur­ tiss Jenny. The Thomas brothers, both mechanical engineers, had also worked for Curtiss early in their aeronautical ca­ reers . B. Douglas Thomas designed a highly maneuverable biplane similar in appearance to the Sopwith Pup. The first design , the S-4 , was powered by the 100 hp Gnome monosoupape rotary engine .

According to Peter Bowers and Gordon Swanborough 's excellent Putnam book "U .S. Military Aircraft since 1909," the first 50 S-4C's were delivered with the 100 hp Gnomes, which , by the nature of their

fuel system , were out of favor with most aviators. The Gnome used a pressurized fuel system th at constantly supplied fuel to the engine at a set rate , regardless of whether the ignition was on or off. When it was in the off position, (the "blip" but­ ton on the stick was depressed , momen­ tarily shorting out the ignition) raw fuel vapor would run through the cylinders , out the exhaust valve and collect in th e cowl , where it could be ignited by a shot of flame from the engine once the ignition was switched on with the " blip" button. " Blipping" the engine in this manner was most often done during a landing ap­ proach. (For a 100 hp Gnome, it is the only method of regulating the engine speed.) If the ignition was off for too long a period of time , the prospect for a fire was great. Any resulting fire would not endear the engine to pilots who were sit­ ting behind them in fabric covered air­ frames .

Later, the Scout would have the lighter and more reliable 80 hp Le Rhone engine installed whe n that engine became avail­ able. The Le Rhone, unlike the one-speed Gnome with a pressurized fuel system ,

With a tail skid and no brakes, a ground crew is essential when f lying the Scout.

Roger Freeman, pulling the tail skid dolly, and his father Ernie (pushing on the prop) were never at a loss for volunteers at Aerodrome '92. Roger is indicating how an early engine run-up went, prior to a plug cleaning session on the Le Rhone.

does have a rudim e nta ry carburetor, a nd is " th ro ttl ea bl e " over a ce rt a in s pee d range. It's not as simple as it sounds, how­ ever. Once the engine is up and running, any change in throttle position requires an a dju stm e nt wi t h b o th th e fu e l a nd air valves in th e cockpit. After one becomes experienced with the airplane and e ngine, the changes become second natu re, but it does give yo u an appreciati on for the e f­ forts WW I era aviators had to go th ro ugh for what we regard today as a simple task.

Th is ve rsio n of th e Le Rhon e was built un de r li ce nse by th e U ni o n Switch a nd Signal Co. of Swissvale, P A. This engine cha nge , whil e desirab le fro m re li ability and safety standpoints, had a negative ef­ fect on the airplane's handling. It was al­ ready considered a bit tail heavy, and the redu cti on of weight fo rward of th e e. G . just made the problem worse.

Whe n th e airpl ane wa s eva lu a ted by the U.S. military, they found it lackin g as a comba t aircraft , but did feel t hat it had merit as an adv a nced train e r, a nd so o r­ de rs fo r th e S-4B and S-4C were placed.

According to th e data published in " U.S. Military Aircr aft sin ce 1909, " a tot a l of

417 S-4C Scouts were delivered before the contract was canceled after th e A rmistice.

A ft er t he seco nd refurbi shing of th e Sco u t was co mpl e te d b y R oge r , it was ti me to fl y the fe isty little biplane. Since it is onl y single place, and yo u can 't just get du a l in a simil a r h a ndlin g airpl a ne , h e as ked his fa th er for a few pointers. Over the p ho ne , E rni e re minded him of a few things. " First," E rn ie told him, " it's goi ng to fl y like no th ing yo u 've eve r fl own be­ fo re. A nd , aft er it b rea ks ground , you' re going to wonde r why yo u' re up th ere. It will break gr o und mu ch befo re yo u're rea dy for it. " R oger says it will lite rall y lea p into the air. H e likens flying the air­ plane to trying to sit on an inverted cone ­ th e a irpla ne is th at unstable. It req uires constant atte ntion, and while not di fficult to fl y in the sense that it will go where you po int it , yo u must constantl y be ac ti ve ly fly in g it to ma ke sure it goes whe re yo u want it to. It is not a hands-off machine at any time .

One unnerving fli ght characte ristic is the tail heaviness of the airplane. T he air­ pl a ne a lways re quires fo rwa rd stick, so much so th at if the stick we re to be le t go in c rui sin g fli ght with n o rm a l e n gin e powe r, th e a irplan e wo uld imm edi ate ly try to loop! The Freemans use a strap and sprin g a ttac he d t o th e sti ck wh e n th ey need to avoid fatigue while fl ying th e air­ plane for an extended period .

R oge r sa ys th a t eve r yo n e wh o h as flown th e ir Scout has com e awa y fr o m th e ir first flight with bas ica lly th e sa me impression - it scares them to death. " It is a thrill the first time," said E rn ie.

The Free mans fli ght impress ions a re not th eirs alo ne - th e late Frank T alman , in his book, " Flying the O ld Planes," does not hea p praise up o n th e Sco u t 's fl yin g characte ristics. " In my first ge ntle climb­ ing turn out of th e fi eld , I felt th at oft-re­ membe red but never p leasant feeling o f tota l insecurity when an airplane feels like

it will suddenly leave you controlless. The Bleriot and Curtiss Pushers both have th e fee ling, and yo u are never quite sure who is rea lly connin g the shi p." Skeeter Carl­ son, who also owns a T-M Scout, had the sa me re ac ti on when asked to re la te t he pec uli a r way his Sco ut fli es. H is Sco ut is not the mos t pleasant airplane to fl y. " It's a lot like washing the cat," he said.

To rea ll y feel what it was li ke to fly in t hose d ays , to kn ow what it was li ke to hop into a still new techno logy and take off into the sky is onl y possible wh e n an a irpl a ne like th e Sco u t is flow n. R oger Free man sums up why fl ying the Scout is impo rtan t to him : " It is ve ry neat to fly , no t beca use of ho w it fl ies, it 's neat be­ cause of wh at it is. T hi s is early av iation !

This is no t somebody's inte rp re tati o n of earl y aviation, this is early aviation. Afte r flyin g it , I a pp rec ia t e ea rl y av ia t ors a whole lot more - those people had a lot to handle." Ernie adds, "T hey had to fly that thin g with a lot less flying experience than we have . T hey no do ubt had th eir hands full - they had to be good !"

When we interviewed Roger and E rnie at Aerodrome '92, th ey both were having a great time ge tting castor oil all over them­ selves and th e airplane, and taking every opportunity they could to fl y the airplane.

Brin ging th e sights, so und a nd sme lls of the ro tary Le Rh o ne was something th ey fe lt t hey needed to share . " We've had a tremendous opportunity to let other peo­ ple ge t near it , to run it; some people go t to prop it. It's a sharing thing, and th at's what th is whol e sh o w, t o me, is a b o u t.

We're getting a chance to share things that other people may never get to see!"

With th eir knowl edge and willingness to share with thos e wh o a re inte rested , with any luck at all, even more people will ge t to see the Freeman's Thomas-Morse S-4C Scout. Take a deep breath of WW I avi ati o n wh e n yo u do - it's a smell yo u' ll never forget. ...

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

-----------------------------by

Norm Petersen

Orlo Maxfield's Funk B85C This pretty photo of Funk B85C , N1654N , SIN 438, was sent to EAA founder and Chairman of the Board Paul Poberezny by owner Orlo Max足 field (EAA 8960) of Northville , MI. Orlo, who is only the second owner of record! He purchased the Funk in June, 1958. The present rebuild of the air足 plane includes a majored Continental

18 APRIL 1993

0-200 engine (with vacuum pump and 60 amp alternator), new shock-mounted IFR panel, all new wood formers and stringers plus new stainless bolts, nuts, screws , cables and brackets. To quiet the cabin and help keep it warm, special insulation is installed. The aircraft is covered and painted with the Stits pro足 cess right down to the original Funk

metal wheel pants. Orlo has been in aviation for over fifty years and still maintains a current medical and BFR. His first airplane was a Funk Model B, NC24103 , SIN 29, powered with a Ford B-4 engine and the photo he sent along was taken November 1943, at Detroit City Airport.

(How's that for owner loyalty?)

Dave and Janet Bennett's Cessna 170B This attractive looking 1952 Cessna 170B, N432W, SIN 20325 , is the proud possession of D ave and Janet Bennett (EAA 209727, AIC 13049) of Coldwater, Michigan. Powered with a Continental 0-300A engine of 145 hp, the 170B fea tures large flaps, a polished metal prop and spinner, and a 1992 Durathane paint scheme in white and royal blue. Among the most popular of the classic airplanes, the four-place 170B makes a dand y cross country machine cruising about 120 mph on 8 gallons per hour.

Robert Funk's Piper J-SC Cub Cruiser This artistic photo of an Alaskan Cub Cruiser was sent in by noted aviation photographer, Roy Cagle, now of Tucson, AZ. The J-5C, N66512, SIN 5-1426, is owned by Robert Funk of Douglass, Alaska, and uses the original Lycoming 0-235 engine and 8:00 X 4 wheels. It is one of 24 J-5C Cruisers remaining on the FAA register. The type is highly respected in Alaska for its ability to haul a good load out of a small field - at minimum expense.

Dr. Ed Garber's 1932 Fairchild 22 Parasol Following a lengthy restoration by "the old master, himself," Dr. Ed Garber 's Menasco powered Fairchild 22C7B, NC12670, SIN 1500, takes to the air once again. Dr. Garber (EAA 38078, AIC 162) of Fayetteville, NC is retired from the medical profession so he is able to de足 vote full time to his first love - antique air足 planes! Built up from an absolute (badly bent) basket case, the Fairchild was the very first C7B built of a production of nine airplanes.

Five remain on the FAA register. It features an inverted four-cylinder Menasco D4-87 en足 gine of 125 hp and a wooden propeller. Visible in the photo are the full-length ailerons on the wings, a notable feature of the Fairchild (Krei足 der-Reisner) 22.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - by Norm Petersen

Klaus Lonne's Auster J-P-5 An unusual airplane seldom seen by the American enthusiast is this 1956 Auster "Autocar" J-5-P, OY-A VB, SIN 3275, owned by Klaus L0nne of S0nderborg, Denmark. Powered with a DeHavilland Gipsy Major 10 MK II engine of 145 hp, the Auster can carry four people (882# useful) and cruises at 90 kts. Stalling speed with flaps is a mere 32 kts. This particular Auster, which was built in Great Britain, was totally restored in 1980 and has been flown 435 hours since then. Special features include wheelpants, a red velour interior, a Hoffman propeller and a glider towhook. Sharp-eyed readers will note the Taylor­ craft influence in the overall design. Klaus is presently rebuilding a J-3 Cub, registered OY-CUB in Denmark, and plans on selling the Auster. Interested parties may write him (in English): Klaus L0nne , Kjrer Bygade 34F, 6400 S0nderborg, Denmark.

Peter Zier Jorgensen's Piper PA-ll A rather rare aircraft in Europe is this nicely restored 1948 Piper P A-ll Cub Spe­ cial, registered OY-BSS, SIN 11-914 (ex .

N5034H, ex. D-EMIX) which is the pride and joy of Peter Zier J0rgensen (EAA 325515, AIC 13913) of Aarhus, Denmark.

Finished in the Superflite process, the PA-ll employs the original color design (reversed) in deep red and ivory, making the overall ef­ fect most pleasing. At the 1992 KZ Rally and Fly-In at Stauning, Denmark, Peter and his PA-ll ran off with the "Best Piper" tro­ phy and also garnered the " Klub Trophy" for the best restoration.

(The AllsterJ-S-P photo and informatiol/ pIllS the PA-ll photo al/d information was contributed by Bel/t Esbel/sel/ of Esbjerg, Del/mark.)

Roger Lewis and his Taylorcraft BL-65 Pictured in front of their recently restored 1940 Taylorcraft BL-65, NC24387, SIN 1723, are Bob Danford and Roger A. Lewis (EAA 412582, AIC 19171) of Birmingham , AL. Bought in 1988 while dismantled in a garage in Leominister, MA., the T-Craft was brought back to flying status for a brief time, however, a severe storm damaged the airplane in February, 1990. A second rebuild included fuselage re­ pairs, wing repairs and all the extra work associ­ ated with a restoration . The Taylorcraft once again took to the air on October 20, 1991, and has been kept on flying status ever since. Fin­ ished off in a white paint scheme with red trim, the pert, side-by-side, Lycoming 65 powered T­ Craft features wheel pants and what appears to be a metal propeller (with spinner). Note the happy smiles on the two rebuilders.

20 APRI L 1993

Text and photos by Norm Petersen The sharp gleam of polished alu­ minum in the bright sun of Oshkosh is enough to turn the head of any trueblood EAAer. And when the sparkled look leads your eye to a couple of " round " en­ gines , their cowls also polished to the " nth" degree, it is time for a closer look!

Walking up to the beautiful " twin Beech", I was greeted by the owner, Don Lee (EAA 298169) of Corona Del Mar, CA. His big smile and deep bass voice registered immediately! I had written an article on this highly experienced Cali­ fornia pilot a nd hi s DeHavilland "Beaver" on oversize floats just a couple of years back . Dan ' s son , Mark Lee (EAA 389367) who is also an active pi­ lot, was along handling co-pilot duties on the big twin .

The history on Beechcraft DI8S, NSQQ, SIN A-223, is surprising simple.

Don Lee is the second owner! The first owner after the big executive twin was built in Wichita, KS, in 1946, was the late Tony Hulman of Indianapolis Motor Speedway fame. Naturally, the original " N" number was NSOO in honor of its fa­ mous owner and the family business.

The twin Beech faithfully served " Hu l­ man & Co." as a corporate aircraft unti l the early 1970's when the corporation ac-

Kneeling by their pride and joy, Beechcraft 0185, N5QQ, are a happy pair of pilots, Don Lee and his son, Mark Lee, both of California. The airplane behind them, a highly polished 1946 "Twin Beech", ran off with the Best Class III (151 hp and above) Classic Award at EAA OSHKOSH '92.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

Previously owned by Tony Hulman of Indianapolis 500 fame, this magnificent Beech D188 is in outstanding condition and shows the results of muc h TLC since 1946!

That's owner Don Lee by the tail w ith his son, Mark - two genuine " classic airplane" aficianados.

Do you honestly feel your present airplane will look this good after 2.4 million miles of flying and 47 years of use? This is one remarkable airplane that is perfect for a jaunt to Oshkosh and the "really big shew".

22 APRIL 1993

qui red a Swearingen 226 turboprop. The 226 was registered N500 and the Beech DI8S was re-registered N5QQ - the big advantage being that only two brush marks were needed to change the " O's" to "Q's". T he Beechcraft was then put into long term storage in Terre Haute, IN, where it remained for 15 years! The total time on the airframe was nearly 12,000 hours and most of that time had been flown by Tony H ulman's chief pilot named Fuller.

About four years ago, the Beech was taken out of storage by Syracuse Aviation in Terra Haute and carefully prepared for flig ht. During the month of preparation , the word reached Don Lee that N5QQ might be for sale. Knowing that the air­ plane had received only the finest corpo­ rate treatment during its working years, Don Lee struck a deal for the twin Beech with Dusty Dowds of Syracuse Aviation.

Licensed for seven passengers and two pi­ lots, the big twin would be perfect for go­ ing on long cross-country flights (like Cali­ fo rnia to Oshkosh!).

D o n L ee ha d p revio usly owned a Piper A ztec and a Beech Baro n, so he was well equipped for fl ying a twi n. An

airline captain checked out the new owner in the mysterious ways of a Beech D18S and Don was on his way. The home base for the airplane is Chino, CA and Don has acquired about 75 hours to date.

His son, Mark, has just started flying the D18 and had about six hours in the left seat by Oshkosh '92. Don says Mark is doing just fin e handling the big twin on the ground and in the air.

Work on the D18S has been primarily clean-up and polish the huge aluminum panels on th e airplane and take care of details. The two rudders were recovered and new parts brought the elevator re­ sponse to normal. The original pain t striping was redone with computer­ matched paint. New exhaust stacks, new wheel doors, new brakes and tires and the all-important stainless steel fuel lines were installed. In addition, all Dzus fas­ teners were replaced with new fasteners .

Don Lee pointed out that one of th e strong points of D18 ownership is that re­ placement parts are readily available, due to the large number of these aircraft that were built.

Inside the spacious cabin, new speak­ ers were installed, however, the neat, old

ARC airline quality radios still do their job perfectly. To keep th e "Beech feel­ ing" to the control system, new stainless control cables and new pull eys were in­ stalled. The result is an airplane that has nearly the same feel to the controls as a Staggerwing Beech - of which Don just happens to have one on hand! (A DI7S, N7470H, SIN 6670).

To keep the P & W R-985 engines cool, new cowl flaps were installed and the accessory ducting was all redone. In­ cidentally, the right engine has about 25 hours at this writing and th e left engine has 900 hours. Don has a spare set of Ham-Standard props to put on at a mo­ ment's notice, however, Tony Hulman al­ ways carried an extra set of engines and propellers on hand which could be in­ stalled overnight!

An Aero Space spar strap modifica­ tion was done to the wings of N5QQ years ago at Elyria, Ohio and has proven itself over many, many hours of use. The deicing boots were completely replaced on the wings and tail leading edges and came in handy only once. Don says they were on the way to Tullahoma , TN for the big Beechcraft gathering when the ice

began to build! Thankfully, the "boots" did their job perfectly.

The D18S is normally cruised at 165­ 170 kts. using 42 gph for the two engines.

It is possible to lower the consumption to 38 gph by aggressive leaning and slowing down - but Don says its no fun! Too slow! The engines are presently burning about a pint of oil per hour which is not considered excessive for 450 Pratts. Nor­ mal gross weight is 8750 Ibs . with an empty weight of 6100 , giving a useful load of 1650. About the only work lined up for the future is to replace all the glass in the airplane, bringing it up to " new" condition.

To really appreciate this airplane, one has to physically look it over at close range. It is quite immaculate! Don loves the sound of the Pratt & Whitney engines and the feel of the controls - so typically Beechcraft. About the only other things needed are a hangar with a 48 foot door ­ it's over 47 feet from wingtip to wingtip ­ and a wallet to handle 42 gallons of l00LL per flying hour. What an airplane!

(It sold brand new in 1946 for $60,000.

Today , you can't buy a new Super Cub for that. Ah, progress.) ...

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

PASS 1110

--~

An information exchange column with input from our readers.

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

Type Club Newsletters AGAIN? Because I have friends in " High Places," I receive just about all the Type Club newsletters and a few of the Chapter newsletters. These friends in high places (in my mind at least) are the Editors of these newsletters. Everyone of them rates very high with me , and there is no way I can thank them for all the information I glean from their publications.

The wealth of information is astound­ ing . When these "Bird Lovers" get to­ gether and share their ills and wills, It's amazing how much it can be of benefit to the individual owners in the maintenance and the flying of their airplanes. There is usually a "goodie" page, and a parts de­ partment and listings of airplanes and parts for sale or trade as well as sources for AD compliance, parts, and caveats as well. Some have real deals on GPS , Lo­ ran, insurance coverage , and just plain common sense items.

Another big help to the researcher of information on his or her airplane is John Bergeson's Reference Guide to EAA publications. John , whose address is 6438 W. Millbrook , Remus, MI. 49340-9625, puts out a Reference Guide to EAA pub­ lications and a Supplement each year that covers all the issues of SPORT, VIN­ TAGE, SPORT AEROBATICS , EX­ PERIMENTER and WARBIRDS. Now

this covers it all! Frankly, you can look up whatever you need to know in this index and sort out the articles you may have in­ terest or need for , and then call De nnis Parks at the EAA Library and have him send you a copy for a nominal charge . I did! I was researching a Bakeng Duce last week and when I went to look at the ma­ chine I already knew all about the design AND the exact airplane I was interested in . I gleaned all this from Articles in Sport Aviation dating back to 1980.

Another item of interest to some.

Josep h Juptner authored a nine volume set of books titled, " U .S. Civil Aircraft."

It starts with Airworthiness Type Certifi­ cate number one and goes right up through 817. These books are real gems for the serious researcher or for someone who just wants to identify an airplane or learn something about its performance , equipment, who built it or what.

I have used these volumes for years­ they're invaluable when someone asks me a question or I need to know something.

Now these volumes only cover the AP­ PROVED TYPE CERTIFICATE air­ planes. The oddballs or the one off exper­ iments that never were approved are not in here.

Now , what I'm leading up to is that it looks like McGraw/Hill is going to reissue the series. The last issue,volume nine, was published in '81, and the price of these nine volumes has escalated to the point where nearly a hundred bucks will just about buy one volume. A recent ad in Trade-A-Plane advertised a set for $700!

Reissue will bring the price down, I'm sure, and make the volumes again avail­ able to the serious researcher. As a result, Joseph P. Juptner will get the recognition he so deserves from an entirely new gen­ eration.

Now for a little correspondence:

Dear Buck, After Oshkosh ' 92 I we nt down to Huntsville, AL for a visit with my son and attend the Aerodrome '92 at Guntersville.

My son worked the flight line all 3 days and got to meet some very interesting peo­ ple. It was an interesting event with prac­ tically no modern day craft on the field .

Finally go t back to working on th e Duce left wing rebuild and have it about 95% complete which will make the craft ready for cover. Still needs a new engine mount, complete cowling prop and crank ­ and that 's just the obvious. Haven ' t ever had the case and other parts checked out yet. I got to thinking in October about all the time it would take me to get me back in the air, and decided I needed some­ thing to fly NOW! Been almost 3 years on the ground and at my age you know it can't go on forever. So I borrowed a Trade-A-Plane from a chapter buddy, to determine what I could afford and would be happy with.

Settling on the PA-16 , I then sub­ scribed to Trade-A-Plane , and made my purchase on the first issue. An A&P in southwest Kansas had done a ground up rebuild , completed in November 1990.

He agreed to deliver to me for expenses, and this really was a stroke of luck, since the weather became marginal on one end or the other for weeks and it would have been impossible to try to out-guess the weather from this end. And Buck, I was nearly speechless when he got it here De­ cember 23. It's a near 10 inside and out. It had minimum VFR instruments and no radio at all, so I've purchased a VAL comm-only radio and the Trimble Flight­ mate GPS, and both are working fine .

Left side shock cords are a little weak, so she lists to port a little, but that's all I can find fault with. Sure great to be able to go airport bumming again, and plan on Sun ' n Fun if the weather will cooperate at all.

Hope to see you at Sun ' n Fun. Warren Jolly A/C 1285 Mt. Vernon, IL

Dear Warren, That is a real neat PA-16, Warren. ! like it! I'll see you at Sun 'n Fun for sure and maybe you'll give me a ride. Mean­ while, until! see you at Sun 'n Fun or Oshkosh, its Over to you, ...

Buck 24 APRIL 1993

MYSTERY PLANE

by George Hardie This neat twin-engined cabin job of cooperatively recent vintage will not be much of a challenge to our sharp-eyed experts. But it warrants recognition for the benefit of our newer generation of readers. The photo is from the EAA archives. Answers will be published in the July 1993 issue of VINTAGE AIR­ PLANE. Deadline for that issue is May 20,1993.

The January Mystery Plane was an easy one for our experts and brought a sizable number of replies. Lynn Townes of Brooklyn, MI presented a concise summary of facts on the airplane. He writes: "The Jan uary Mystery Plane is a Buhl Model CA-6 ' Airsedan' powered

by a 300 hp Wright J6-9 Whirlwind en­ gine. It was manufactured by the Buhl Aircraft Company in Marysville, MI. "The CA-6 was an extensively modi­ fied and more powerful version of the earlier models CA-S and CA-SA 'Airsedans', which were powered with Wright J-S engines.

These were somewhat boxy looking and had bottom wings which were shorter than the upper ones. They were both five-place planes, the CA-SA being a more deluxe model of the CA-S. "The CA-6 was a six-place plane with a longer fuselage and true sesquiplane wings. These offered a good combina­ tion of structural strength and aerody­ namic efficiency. Overall, the CA-6 had a much more streamlined ap­ pearance than the CA-S and CA-SA models.

"An interest­ ing record flight which was made in a Buhl CA-6 Airsedan named 'Spokane Sun God' took place from August IS through August 20,1929. Pilots Nick Marner and Art Walker flew Buhl Model CA-6 non-stop from

Spokane, Washington to New York City and back to Spokane using in-flight refu­ eling. They traveled a total distance of 7,200 in 120 hours. A couple of years later the 'Spokane Sun God' flew in the 1931 Ford Reliability Air Tour.

"I feel the flight of the 'Spokane Sun God' deserves more recognition in avia­ tion history. Although many other en­ durance flights lasted longer, most of them flew over their departure airport during the entire flight, keeping contact with their refueling crew. The 'Spokane Sun God', however, made a five day cross-country flight and refueled eleven times using different refueling crews.

The logistics of making contact with all of the refueling crews, navigation prob­ lems and dealing with the weather changes must have been very difficult. " References listed were to U.S. Civil Aircraft, Volume 2, pages 81-84, by Joe Juptner, and Aero Digest for February 1930, page 7. Other answers were re­ ceived from Charley Hayes, Park Forest, IL; Robert J. Clark, Channel Islands, CA; Frank H. Aber, Jr., Livonia, MI; Marty Eisenmann, Garretville, OH; Robert Wynne, Mercer Island, WA; Wayne Van Valkenburgh , Jasper, GA; Jack Dewan, Towanda, PA; John Mc­ Master, Kansas City, MO; R. Scott Keith, Farmington, UT; John Bebee, White Stone, VA; Ted Koston, Melrose Park, IL; John Cater, Bradenton, FL; and Ralph Nortell, Spokane, WA.

'*

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

On this page you'll see the latest additions to the ranks of the EAA Antique/Classic Division. Whether you're joining for the first time, or are coming back, we welcome you, and we'd especially like to welcome those ofyou who are joining us with your interest in Contemporary class aircraft. Welcome one and all!

Eclectic, AL James M. Albe rtson Darrel Alcorn Kane, PA Russell J. Anderson lola, WI Ron Applegate Rosamond, CA Harry E. Armstrong Place rville, CA James K. Avis North Walsh am, Norfolk, England Brian R. Ba ke r Farmingto n, NM H a rvey Ba rne tt Dayton a Beach , FL John C. Bedell R ensselaer, NY David Lee Be nson Fort Gratiot , MI Billy J . Bl ackstone Lexingto n, OK William Broo ks Stuarts Draft, VA William H. Brown St Pa ul, MN G . Denis Browne Campell River, BC, Canada Brian D. Burns McDono ugh, GA Jo hn M. Bushby Hinsdale , lL Charles Butte rfield Weste rville, OH Bria n 1. Chappell Waverly, Nova Scotia, Canada James F . Clac k Hampto n, GA William M. Coddington , Jr. Abile ne, TX Jo hn C. Codma n Medway, MA J ack D . Com es Twin Lakes, WI H erb W. Cunningham Beaverto n, Ont, Canada Londees D avis, Jr. Hunte rsville, NC Frase r, MI James C. D avis D. R . D ods Ma notick , Ont, Ca nada Ted B. DuB ois, Sr. St Pe te rsburg, FL La mar Dyar Newnan , GA Paul Eberle To pa nga, CA D avid E ble n Phela n, CA Michael Ede r E lk Mo und, WI Lela nd E . E ngel A voca, MI Wesley D . E ttridge He rin gto n, KS George N. Fo rrest No rth H ampto n, NH Pa ul G erhold Mirama r, FL Zellne r H . G iles, Jr. Mill City, OR Be rt Gillila nd Colorado Springs, CO Gary A . Gillmo re Linde nhurst, IL Esser G o ttfried Wureburg, G e rmany 26 APRIL 1993

Leslie E. Greene Three Rive rs, MI J an Halvorsen Be rgenfie ld, NJ Nelson Harding St H ele na, CA John G. Hartma n Brookfield , WI Long Valley, NJ R a ndy H emmel Ca rl E. Henke Chesterfie ld , MO Worceste r, MA J anis R . H e rnbe rg Armin Hinze Ahaus, G e rma ny Fra nk Hofmann Pie rrefonds , Que, Canada Cliff Hogan Kirbyville, TX Clar e nce C. Hook Monmouth Junction , NJ G . Larry Hube r Maplewood, WI Edward J . Janov Los Angeles, CA Michael T. Jones Miami, FL Bill E. Jowe tt Blue Springs, MO D avid J . Jowe tt Odessa, MO Jo hn R. Keating Pla no, TX Phillip K. Kemp Kingwood , TX Pa ul Kemper Wave rly, OH Earl C. Kickley Lampma n, Sask, Canada Ste phe n Kirkne r Churchton , MD Keith Knowlto n Deca tur, GA Jack Koosel Yellow Knife, NW Ca nada Christophe r T. Krieg Columbus, OH J o hn F. Ladley Kirkwood, MO Je rry Le nz Loveland , CO Ronald H. Leopold Ottawa, OH G . W. Lewis Sonoma, CA Tim Lowe Euless, TX D avid L. Lucarelli Mo ncks Corne r, SC M. G. Luttrell Live O a k, FL H arold E. Maltby Chilto n, WI D o nald R ay Martin Madisonville, TN William R. Martin Greenville, SC D o nald Meisling Kalamazoo, MI La rry Merkle Clare nce Ce nte r, NY Ted D . Mille r Kelle r, TX R o be rt J . Mo hr Wa usau, WI Brian S. Newkirk Knoxville, T N Willia m H. Oplo h Raleigh, NC Je rry C. Paterson Anchorage, AK Robe rt Pelletie r Pointe a u Piere, Canada Ra ndy Pe nne r Hudson, WI

John S. R ausch Cedar Rapids, lA David W. Re ynolds Newna n, GA Jerry C. Ross Weathe rford, OK Stanle y J . Sailer Orlando, FL Charles L. Sande rs, J r.

Soddy Daisy, TN Tina Schroede r Balboa, CA Cha rles B. Schutz Woodbury, CT Gary S. Seiler H e rna ndo, MS Butler, PA Harry C. Se th Bill Shea Seaside , OR Christia n E . Sherm an Coatesville , P A Roger W. She rman Leesburg, FL Roland W . Smith Be nnington , VT Robe rt K. Smyth Savannah, GA Willia m F. Spellman W a ukesha, WI Wilson B . Spre nkle King William , V A Harve y R. Swack Needham , MA Greg Thompson Seattle, W A Harry J . Thompson Parma, OH Don J . Thorson New Castle, WY G erald R. Thorstrom Olympia, W A Roy Alan Trillia Be rkeley, CA John Trusheim Chaska, MN Mark Tupy D owne rs Grove , IL Martin Turman Lakeview, OR Je rry Vanie r Scottsdale, AZ Thomas S Veile No rwich , CT G eorge E Ve rgeront Chicago, IL Thomas Vukonich So uthfield , MI Jeff M. W agne r Clear Water, KS Richa rd M. Ware Springfield , IL Me rvyn W. Warwick Kilrea, Cole reia ne, No rthe rn Ireland D avid Wolve rton Ce ntre ville, NB , Canada Jeff Wo mack Go rham, ME Cha rles O . Wright III Beacon Falls, CT

The following list of coming events is furnished to our readers as a matter of information only and does not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, control or direction of any event (fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. Please send the information to EAA, Au: Golda Cox, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Information should be received four months prior to the event date.

APRIL 17 - OSHKOSH, WI - EAA Air Adventure Museum - Wiley Post and the Winchester 21 seminar. 414/426-4800.

APRIL 18 - 24, 1993 - LAKELAND, FL - "The Gift Of Flight". The 19th An­ nual Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In and Interna­ tional Aviation Convention. Lakeland­ Linder Regional Airport. For information call 813/644-2431.

APRIL 24 - GLOBE, AZ - Holy An­ gels Fly-In. Globe San Carlos (Cutter Air­ port). 602/425-5703,425/5979.

APRIL 25 - SPRINGFIELD, IL - 2nd Annual Fly-In Drive-In Breakfast. Capital Airport. 217/483-320l.

APRIL 30 - MAY 2 - BURLINGTON, NC -Spring EAA Fly-In for Antique and Classic aeroplanes. Trophies in all cate­ gories; vintage aviation films; good EAA fellowship. All welcome. Contact: R. Bot­ tom, 103 Powhatan Pkwy, Hampton, V A 23661.

APRIL 30-MA Y 2 - CLEVELAND, OH - 9th Annual Air Racing History Sym­ posium. 216/255-8100.

APRIL 30-MA Y 2 - CAMARILLO, CA - Annual EAA Chapter 723 Camarillo Fly-In. Contact: Larry Hayes, 805/373­ 5144.

MA Y 1 - 2 WINCHESTER, V A ­ Winchester Regional EAA Spring Fly-In at airport. Trophies for winning show­ planes. Pancake breakfast Sunday. Con­ tact: Al or Judy Sparks, EAA Chapter 186, 703/590-9112.

MAY 2 - ROCKFORD,IL - EAA Chapter 22 annual Fly-In breakfast will be held at Mark Clark's COURTESY AIR­ CRAFT, Greater Rockford Airport. For information, call Wallace Hunt, 815/332­ 4708.

MA Y 2 - DA YTON, OH - 30th An­ niversary EAA Chapter 48 Funday Sunday Fly-In at Moraine Airpark, Dayton, OH. Lots of food, antiques, flea market and more. Call Jennie Dyke at 513-878-9832.

MAY 15 -16 HAMPTON, NH - Hamp­ ton Field - 17th Annual Aviation Flea Market. Fly-In, Drive-In, Camping on field - no fees. Cantact: Mike Hart , 603/964-6749.

MAY 15 -16 - JEFFERSON COUNTY AIRPORT, TX - Between Beaumont and Port Arthur, TX . First Annual Apprecia­ tion Day. Contact: Lonnie Hood, 409/838­ 6973 (W) or 409/892-6418.

MA Y 16 - BENTON HARBOR, MI ­ Ross fie ld , 7th annua l EAA 585 pancake breakfast, aviation and local exhibits, classic cars, Lunch available for noon arrivals. Con­ tact: Al Todd , 616/429-8518 or write Dawn Patrol, 4217 Red Arrow Hwy, Stevensville, MI49127.

MAY 21- 23 - COLUMBIA, CA - Lus­ combe/Monocoupe Fly-In. Co-Sponsored by the Don Luscombe Aviation History Foun­ dation. Contact: Art Moxley, 23331 SE 267 PI. , Maple Valley, WA 98038. 206/432-4865.

MA Y 22 - 23 - WADSWORTH, OH Wadsworth Municipal Airport (3G3). EAA Chapter 846 Fly-In for experimental, an­ tique/classic and warbird airplanes. Contact: 216/334-3699.

MA Y 28 - 30 - WATSONVILLE, CA ­ 29th Annual West Coast Antique Fly-In and Airshow. Friday is "Family Day", 112 price admission for adults, Seniors and children under 12 free. Aerobatics and demonstra­ tions on Sat. and Sun . For more info, call Fly-In office at 408/496-9559.

MA Y 29 - DECATUR, AL - EAA Chap­ ter 9411Decatur-Athens Aero 5th Annual FLy-In. Experimentals, Warbirds, and An­ tiques and Classics. Awards for planes and pilots. Camping available. Call for more in­ formation: 205/ 355-5770.

MA Y 29 - 31 - MAYVILLE, NY - Dart Airport and Aviation Museum. Sport and Vintage Glider/Sailplane Meet. Contact Dart Airport, P.O. Box 211, Mayville, NY 14757.

Phone 716/753-2160 JUNE 4-5 - BARTLESVILLE, OK ­ Frank Phillips Field. BIPLANE EXPO '93, the 7th annual National Biplane Convention and Exposition. Biplane airshow, forums , seminars, workshops. Biplanes and NBA members free, for all others an admission fee is required . Contact Charles W. Harris, Chairman , 9181742-7311 or Virgil Gaede , Expo Director, 918/336-3976.

JUNE 4 - 5 - MERCED, CA - 36th An­ nual Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In. Merced Municipal Airport, Merced, CA. Contact: Don Nolte 209/384-1144.

JUNE 5 -6 - VALPARAISO, IN - Porter County Municpal Airport. NW Indiana EAA Chapter 104 Pancake Breakfast and Sand­ wich Lunch. Contact: Bob Collins 219/884­ 1619.

JUNE 6 - TUNKHANNOCK, PA - Sky­ haven Airport. Fly-In breakfast, come for the weekend and enjoy great camping facili­ ties. Call 717/836-4800 for more information .

JUNE 11-13 - DENTON, TX - Denton Municipal Airport. AAA (Texas Chapter) Annual Fly-In. Contact : John or Nancy Whatley 214/517-198l.

JUNE 19 - WILD ROSE, WI - Idlewild Airport - Pancake BreakfastlFly-In. Idlewild­ Wild Rose Airport Assoc. , P.O. Box 296, Wild Rose, WI 54984. Ca1l414/622-4020 JUNE 24-27 - MT. VERNON, OH - 34th Annual National Waco Reunion. "Greatest WACO Show On EARTH". For more in­ formation, call 513/868-0084.

JUNE 26-27 - ORANGE, MA - Orange Municipal Airport. 17th Annual New Eng­ land Regional Fly-In, sponsored by the Friends of the Orange Airport. Contact: Bob McKenney, 508/544-8762 or Len Bedaw (Orange Airport) 508/544-8189 or Fax 508/249-5940.

JUNE 26-27 - GREELEY, CO - EAA Rocky Mountain Fly-In . Antiques, Clas­ sics, homebuilts, warbirds, ultralights. No registration fee, free camping, transporta­ tion to local motels. 3031798-6086 or 353­ 5514.

JULY 4 - WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI ­ WI Rapids Airport. EAA Chapter 706 Fly-InlDrive In Pancake Breakfast. 7:30­ 1130am. Call 715/435 -3644 for informa­ tion.

JULY 7-11 - ARLINGTON, WA ­ Northwest EAA Fly-In. 206/435-5857.

JULY 10 - 11 - EMMETSBURG, IA ­ 5th Annual Aeronca Fly-In sponsored by the "Taildragger Club". Contact: Ke ith Harnden, Box 285, Emmetsburg , IA 50536.

JUL Y 11 - MICHIGAN CITY, IN ­ EAA Chapter 966 Pancake Breakfast.

Contacts: The Dees - 219/324-6060 or the Hugley's 219/325-0133.

JULY 24 AND 25 - SHIOCTON, WI ­ Annual Fly-In . Contact: Joyce Baggot , 414/986-3547.

THURSDA Y JULY 29 -WEDNES­ DA Y AUGUST 4, 1993 - OSHKOSH, WI - 41st Annual EAA Fly-In and Sport Avi­ ation Convention. Wittman Regional Air­ port. Contact John Burton, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh , WI 54904-3086. Call 414/426­ 4800 for more information. ITS NEVER TOO EARLY TO MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND! AUGUST 12-15 - LOCK HAVEN, PA - William T. Piper Memorial Airport. Sen­ timental Journey '93. "Aerial Mail To Lock Haven " is this years theme . All makes and models welcome, especially An­ tique and classic airplanes. Call 717/893 ­ 4200 (9am ' til 5 pm), Fax 717/893-4218 or write P.O. Box J-3, Lock Haven, PA 17745­ 0496.

AUGUST 15 - BROOKFIELD, WI ­ Capitol Airport. 8th Annual Vintage Air­ craft Display and Ice Cream Social. Mid­ west Antique Airplane Club will also hold its monthly fly-In meeting. For more infor­ mation , call George Meade at 414/962­ 2428.

AUGUST 27-29 - SUSSEX, NJ - Sus­ sex Airport. Sussex Airshow. For more in­ formation call 201/875-0783.

SEPT. 8-12 - GALESBURG, IL Galesburg Municipal Airport. 22nd Na­ tional Stearman Fly-In. Contact Tom Lowe, 823 Kingston Ln., Crystal Lake, IL 60014,815/459-6873 or Harold Canada, 370 Hawkinson, Av., Galesburg, IL 61401, 309/343-9850.

SEPT. 11-12 - MARION, OH - EAA Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In (MERFI) .

513/849-9455.

SEPT. 18-19 - ROCK FALLS, IL­ EAA North Central Fly-In. 708/513-0642 SEPT. 20 - ROCK FALLS, IL - Pan­ cake Breakfast in Conjuction with the North Central Fly-In. SEPT. 25-26 - WILMINGTON, DE ­ EAA East Coast Regional Fly-In. 301/933­ 0314.

OCT. 1-3 - PRESCOTT, AZ - EAA Copperstate Fly-In. 6021750-5480.

OCT. 15-17 - KERRVILLE, TX ­ EAA Southwest Regional Fly-In. 915/658­ 4194.

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AIRCRAFT: DRUGLORD PLANES $1000 - Piper Aztec - $8,750; Cessna C185E - $2,630; Piper Cherokee - $3,625; Beechcraft Bonanza - $3,875; Lear Jets, Pipers, Cessnas, and more. Choose from hundreds start­ ing $1000. FREE Information! 24-hour recording reveals giveaway prices. 801/379-2930, Copyright #W10291 08. (5-2)

MISCELLANEOUS: CURTISS JN4-D MEMORABILIA - You can now own memorabilia from the famous "Jenny", as seen on "TREASURES FROM THE PAST". We have posters, postcards, videos, pins, airmail cachets, etc. We also have R/C documentation exclusive to his historic aircraft. Sale of these items support operating ex­ pense to keep this "Jenny" flying for the aviation public. We appreciate your help. Write for your free price List. Virginia Aviation Co., RDv-8, Box 294, Warrenton, VA 22186. (c/5/92) Fly-About Adventures and the Ercoupe - Full color, 130 pages, $17.95. Fly-About, P.O. Box 51144, Denton, TX 76206. (ufn) 30 APRIL 1993

GEE BEE, etc. - Super scale model plans (used for Benjamin's R-2) . Catalog $3.25, refundable. Vern Clements, 308 Palo Alto, Caldwell, 10 83605. (c-4/93» Antique and Classic wheel pants - Will custom build in fiberglass from original drawings, blueprints or photographs. Har­ bor Ultralights Products Co., 1326 Batey Place, Harbor City, CA 90710,310/326-5609, FAX 310/530-2124. (c-10/93) WINDSHIELDS - WINDOWS - CANOPIES - for all unpressurized, certified, custom or experimental aircraft. Unmatched 1/2 price re­ placement warranty covers damage during installation and service for 6 months after purchase_ AIRPLANE PLASTICS CO., 8300k DAYTON ROAD, FAIRBORN, OH 45324. 513/864-5607. (C-1/94) Antique Aero Engines - formerly OX-S parts and service. Sub­ scriptions $18.00 per year, ads free to subscribers. P.O. Box 134, Troy, OH 45373. (6 -8/93)

WANTED: Piper PA-11 please call home! -Individual looking for nice PA-11; would prefer relatively recent recover or restoration. Frank Schramm, 215/836-5202. (4-1)

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The Golden Age of Air Racing

1929路 1939 It was a decade of Champions. Names like Turner, Wittman, Wedell and Granville were synonymous with speed. The airplanes they flew were just as famous-"Mr. Mulligan," the "Super Solution" and the Travel Air ,.a~~~ "Mystery Ship."

Now, the excitement of this era is captured in a video from the fAA Aviation foundation.

111/161'f i,'-:8111111 features first-hand accounts of air racing through newsreels, racing programs and rare footage of local air meets. In addition, you'll hear comments from the pilots and builders who made this a decade of aviation innovation.

Steve Wittman

The Golden Age of Air Racing comes alive in this 30-minute retrospective of the National Air Races of the 1930s. You'll witness the famous Bendix cross-country races and Thompson dosed-course contests, where speed and distance records were set-and broken-throughout the era.

l1li.,fo -:611-1_ The Golden Age of Air Racing 1929-1939

Roscoe Turner

$19.95 (plus $3 shipping) Wis. residents add 5% sales tax

Call:

1-800-843-3612

or write: EAA Video Sales, P. O. Box 3065, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3065 Major Credit Cards accepted.

ASK ABOUT HOW YOU CAN SAVE AN ADDITIONAL 15% ON EVERY VIDEO PURCHASE!

'AVEMCO secured the vreck, assessed the loss, md the settlement was ~xactly what I expected rom them... quick and ~enerous. "

_ong before Hurricane Andrew nade its historic South Florida 3ndfall, aircraft owners were Inxiously tracking its progress Ind doing everything possible o protect their investments in ts path. One of them was )avid Bodley, a professor of :omputer science whose Piper ~rrow was tied down at -amiami Airport. But by the

ime it became apparent that -amiami was at ground zero,

~odley,

unable to find hangar ;pace or to fly his aircraft to a ;afer location, tied his aircraft ;afely and hoped for the best.

Three days later, Bodley

was finally able to get back into the target area. He found AVEMCO's Disaster Assess­ ment and Re­ sponse Team (DART) had been at the site since the wind stopped.

They had already protected what was left of his invest­ ment. and were ready to complete the paperwork that would pay his claim on the spot. By early October, he was in the air again .... in his newly purchased Piper Comanche.

Naturally, the Comanche is protected by the same com­ pany that insured the Arrow.

"Without AVEMCO," he says, "I wouldn't have been able to continue flying."

Our three decades of keeping promises like the one we made to David Bodley, is why AVEMCO insures more general aviation aircraft than anyone else in the world.

Shouldn't you be enjoying the same kind of security? Call us today for a quote.

'When Andrew hit, the one thing that stayed in place was my Insurance.

AVEMCO got there before I did."

•

-David Bodley Tamiami, Florida

INSURANCE COMPANY In Canada Call 1-800-263-1631

1-800-638-8440

By Aviation People...For Aviation People

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