VA-Vol-22-No-12-Dec-1994

. PattI Poberezny

Tom Poberezny

Dick Matt

Jack Cox

H.C. Frautschy

Golda Cox

Mike Drucks

Sara Hansen

Olivia Phillips

Jennifer Larsen

Norm Petersen

Mary Jones

. jim Koepnick

Carl Schuppel

Mike Steineke

Donna Bushman Isabelle Wiske

Dennis Parks

Georse Hardie

.,

,

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION John Berendt George Daubner E.E. "Buck" Hilbert Art Morgan Jimmy Rollison

Bob Brauer Joe Dickey Jeannie Hill Gene Morris WesSchmid

Gene Chase Stan Gomoll Butch Joyce Steve Nesse Steve Wittman

phil Coulson Charles Harris Bob Lum/er Geoff Robinson George York

EDITORIAL STAFF

December 1994

Vol. 22, No. 12

CONTENTS 2 AlC News/Compiled by H.G. Frautschy

4 Type Club Notes/

Norm Petersen

6 From the Archives/

Dennis Parks

8 Engine Storage/Bill Claxon

Page 10

10 Members Projects/Norm Petersen 13 The Texaco Waco/H.G. Frautschy 17 Grand Champion Contemporary Beechcraft D18SINorm Petersen

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INC. OFFICERS

21 Airport Kids The Dream Still Lives/ James Damron 23 Mystery Airplane/ George Hardie

Publisher

Tom Poberezny

VIce-President,

Marketing and Communications

Dick Matt

Editor-In-Chlef

Jack Cox

Editor

Henry G, Fraufschy

Managing Editor

Golda Cox

Art Director Mike Drucks Computer Graphic Specialists

Sara Hansen

Olivia L. Phillip 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 Bushman

Editorial Assistant

Isabelle Wiske

Page 17

President Espie 'Butch' Joyce P.O. Box 1001 Madison. NC 27025 910/573-3843

Vice-Presldenl Arthur Morgan W211 NII863 HilHop Dr. Gemnantown, WI 53022 414/628-2724

SecretOlY Steve Nessa

Treasurer E.E. ' Buck' Hilbert P.O. Box 424 Union. IL 60 180 815/923-4591

2009 Highland Ave.

Albert Lea, MN 5tnJ7 507/373-1674

DIRECTORS

24 Cubs UnitelNorm Petersen

John Berendt 7645 Echo Point Rd. Connon Falls. MN 55009 507/263-2414 Gene Chase 2159 Carlton Rd. Oshkosh, WI 54904 414/23Hi002

26 Pass it to Buck!

E.E. "Buck" Hilbert 29 Welcome New Members

PhUCouison

29 Calendar Page 24

30 Vintage Trader

FRONT COVER ... NC17470 is registered as a Waco ZPF-6. and was one of the prettiest airplanes on the antique flight line at EAA Sun 'n Fun '94. EAA photo by Jim Koepnick. Shot with a Canon EOS-l equipped with an 80-200mm /f2 .8 lens. 1/60 at fl8 on Kodak Ektachrome Lumiere 100 film. Cessna 210 photo plane piloted by Bruce Moore.

BACK COVER . .. Lee Maples. of Belle. MO flies his 1960 Beechcraft Super G 18S. It was selected as the Grand Champion Contemporary airplane of EAA OSHKOSH '94. EAA photo by Jim Koepnick. Shot with a Canon EOS-l equipped with an 80-200mm /f2.8 lens. 1/250 at f8 on Kodak Ektachrome Lumie re 100 film .

Cessna 210 photo plane piloted by Bruce Moore.

Copyright © 1994 by the EAA Antique/Classic Division Inc. All rights reserved .

VINTAGE AIRPlANE ~SSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EM Antique/Classic Division, Inc. of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EM Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WISOOIlSin 54903-3086.

Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh, WlSCOIlSin 54901 and at additional mailing offices. The mernbel$hip rate for EM Antique/Classic DIvision,lnc. is $20.00 for Ct.mII1I EM members for 12 month period of wi1ich $12.00 is for the publication of VINTAGE AIRPlANE. Membership is open to aM who are interested in aviation.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EM AntiqueICIassic DIvision, Inc., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - PIeese allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPlANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail.

ADVERTISING - AntiquelClassic 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 thet com!CIive measures can be taken.

EDITORIAL POUCY: Readers are encouraged to subm~ stories and photographs. Policy opinions e>q:>rassed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responslbll~ for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No renumeratlon is made.

Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPlANE, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 4141426-4800.

The words EAA, ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM, SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EM, EAA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DMSION, INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB, WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are ® registered trademarks. THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION and EAA UL11IALIGHT CONVEHT1ON are trademarks of the above associations and their use by any person other then the above association is strictly prohibited.

28415 Springbrook Dr.

Lawton, M149065 616/624-6490 Charles Hanis 7215 East 46th St. Tulsa, Of( 74145 918/622-8400 Dale A. GuIIaI'1on 7724 Shady HIll Dr. indianapolis, IN 46278 317/293-4430

1=~.

Albert Lea. MN 5tnJ7 507/373-2922 GeneMonls 115C Steve Court, R.R. 2 Roanoke, lX 76262 817/491-9110

Robed C. "Bob" Brauer

9345 S. Hoyne

Chlcag<:>, IL 60620

312/779-2105

John S. Copeland 28-3 Cl. Shrewsbury, MA 1545 508/842-7867

WiIIlomsbur8

=rou:

Hartford, WI 53027 414/673-5885 stanGomol 1042 90Ih Lone, NE

MInneapolIs, MN 55434

612/784-1172 JecmleHII

P.O. Box 328

HorvOId,IL60033

815/943-7205 Robed D. "Bob" lumIey 1265 South 1241h St. Brookflek:f, W153005 414/782-2633 GeaveYork

181 SIo6odo Av.

Mcr.sfieId, OH 44906

419/529-4378

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

DIRECTOR EMERITUS 5.J_ WIHman

7200 S.E. 85th Lone

Ocala, FL 32672

904/245-7768

ADVISORS Joe DIckey

55 Oakey Av. Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 812/537-9354

Jimmy RollIson

640 Alamo Dr.

Vacaville. CA 95688

707/451-0411

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

Geoff RobIson 1521 E. MacGregor Dr. New Hoven, IN 46774 219/493-4724 VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

compiled by H.G. Frautschy

A SHORT NOTE FROM THE DIVISION PRESIDENT Since I am not writing my regular col­ umn "Straight and Level" this month, I've asked for this opportunity to notify you about the following item.

During the 1994 Fall A/C Board of Di­ rector 's meeting, the issu e of our dues structure was brought up and discussed.

The facts concerning our current financial position were presented, along with esti­ mates of our future needs. After much discussion and review, it was decided by a vote that the dues for the Division be in­ creased to $27 per year.

We have tried to hold the line during the past years, perhaps longer than was prudent, but costs have eaten away at any slight cushion we had in our budget dur­

ing the past. Paper costs alone are pre­ dicted to climb nearly 18 percent during 1995. The Postal Service has also notified us of an increase in postage , the first of which will take place on January 1, 1995.

We certainly understand that any dues in­ crease can be a hardship, and we all fer­ vently hope that you will understand the reasons behind the action - to maintain and expand the programs and services of­ fered to EAA Antique/Classic members, it is imperative that we keep a close eye on the bottom line, and not allow our fi­ nancial position to deteriorate.

Along that line, for the past couple of years the EAA has been keeping a list of flight instructors who offer instruction in tailwheel equipped aircraft. We occa­ sionally get calls from members looking for instructors to help get them checked

out in their airplanes, and this list helps connect the pilots with the instructors. If you are a tailwheel instructor, and you'd like to be added to this list , contact the EAA Information Services Office, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh , WI 54903-3086 or call 414/426-4821.

Finally, I'd like to take this opportu­ nity to wish you all a safe and happy holi­ day season.

Espie "Butch" Joyce President EAA Antique/ Classic Division

PARKS COLLEGE AEROSPACE INSTITUTE CAMP If you have a student entering grades 10-12 in the fall of 1995, and they're inter­ ested in aviation, you may wish to look into the summer camp program being of­ fered by Parks College of St. Louis Uni­ versity. To be held the week of July 7-14, 1995, the camp should an eye-opener for teenagers looking into aviation as a ca­ reer or as an avocation. For more infor­ mation , contact Paul McLaughlin in the Parks College external programs office , 618/337-7575, ext. 292 or 364.

CLIFF ROBERTSON WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAM NORTHROP FLYING WING IS AIRBORNE File this under the heading "Airplanes I never expected to see back in the air." Jack Northrop's spectacular N9M-B is restored and flying. Its first post­ restoration flight was November 11. Don Lykins, Chairman of the Board was the pilot. He will continue to fly the N9M as it is put thro ugh an extensive flight test program to "revalidate the genius of Jack Northrop's original con­ cept. " Saved from the scrap man by Planes of Fame museum founder Ed Mal­ oney, the airplane is the last example of the developmental aircraft built dur­ ing the Northrop Flying Wing program of the late 1940s. The N9M series of airplanes, built to be 113 the size of the B-35 and B49 Flying Wings, were built of wood (the wing outer panels) and steel tube (the wing center section , in­ cluding the engine mounts), and had wingspans of 60 feet. T hey were pow­ ered by a pair of supercharged 300 hp Franklin XO-540-7 engines, each dri­ ving a Hamilton Standard constant speed prop though a fluid coupled driveshaft. If you needed to bailout of an N9M, both drives hafts were equipped with brakes so the pusher props could be stopped. Many other in­ teresting aerodynamic concepts were used by Jack Northrop in the N9M, in­ cluding split ailerons (for yaw control) and automatic slots.

Restoration of the #4 N9M was begun 12 years ago by Planes of Fame mu­ seum volunteers, and proved to be an arduous task - entire sections of the structure had simply rotted away, and required extensive woodworking skills on the part of the volunteers to reproduce the parts.

After the Flying Wing has completed the flight test program, it will be re­ tired to the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, CA and will be flown on spe­ cialoccasions. For more information, contact the museum at 909/596-3722.

2 DECEMBER 1994

Two youngsters, 16 or 17 years of age, will join a young CFI as the 1995 partici­ pants in the Cliff Robertson Work Expe­ rience Program at the EAA Aviation Center in Oshkosh, WI. This unique pro­ gram , initiated in 1993, is sponsored by EAA'er James Ray's Ray Foundation , with the hope of returning the concept of the "Airport Kid" to today's aviation en­ vironment.

Application materials are available from the Education Office, EAA A via­ tion Foundation , P.O. Box 3065, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3065 or by phone at 414/426-4888 and must be returned no later than April 1, 1995.

EAA AIR ACADEMY '95 The EAA Air Academy for youth age 15-17 will be presented from July 15-31, 1995. Expanded activities have opened the program for an increased number of participants. Applications will be consid­ ered in the order received. Interested youth, parents, members and Chapters are urged to secure further information about the twelfth annual Air Academy by

DEMPSTERS CROSS THE ATLANTIC Bob and Diane Dempster of Vashon Island, W A have crossed the Atlantic Ocean in their Piper PA-18 Super Cub, the first leg of the ' round the world trip they 've planned. They are now wintering back in the U.S., waiting until the weather breaks over the European continent in contacting th e EAA Education office, EAA Aviation Foundation , P.O. Box 3065, Oshkosh , WI 54903-3065 or by phone at 414/426-4888.

TYPE CLUB NOTES For those of you interested in the Stin­ son, the National Stinson Club is a good bunch to get to know. During our annual listing of Type Clubs, we've misse d a change in dues for the club over the past couple of years. The listing should read: National Stinson Club c/o Jonesy Paul 14418 Skinner Rd. Cypress, TX 77429 Newsletter: Quarterly Dues: $15.00 per year

AlC HALL OF FAME The Antique /C lassic Division in­ ducted charter member and long term treasurer, E.E. "Buck" Hilbert and direc­ tor and long term member George York into the division's newly founded Hall of Fame in the fall of 1993.

Further inductions are planned in the fall of 1995 and the division is presently accepting nominations for potential in ­ ductees.

If you wish to nominate a deserving individual into this most select group, please communicate your recommenda­ tions with the candidate's credentials

the Spring. The Super Cub sits in England waiting for them to return . In the photo above, Bob and Diane are shown in their exposure suits, part of the survival gear required by law to be carried or worn during the North Atlantic cross­ ing. We wish them the best of luck!

and background to Nominations Chair­ man and A/C Board member C harles Harris , P.O. Box 470350 , Tul sa, OK 74147-0350.

VICKERS VIMY REPLICA

REACHES AUSTRALIA

As mentioned before in VINTAGE AIRPLANE, a Vickers Vi my replica was built in the San Francisco area to commemorate the successful long dis­ tance flights made by that big biplane in 1919. We're happy to report that the airplane, built and piloted by Australian Lang Kidby and American Peter McMil­ lian has reproduced the epic flight from London to Darwin of the Smith broth­ ers, Ross and Keith , who first flew a Vimy from England to Australia 75 years ago.

Fully documented by the National Geographic Society, the flight departed the Farnborough air show near London on September 11, and arrived in Darwin on October 22 . Powered by a pair of 454 Chevy engines equipped with gear reduction units and large 4-bladed props, the Vimy flew the 11 ,000 mile journey with few problems by all accounts, save one - an engine failure over Sumatra.

Fortunately, a forced landing was made with minor damage to the airplane, and after a replacement engine was shipped from Australia and a new gearbox sent from England, the flight continued with-

out incident. Our congratulations to Lang and Peter, and we look forward to seeing further coverage in the National Geographic Society'S magazine and tele­ vision shows.

SOCIETY OF AIR RACING HISTORIANS If you're an air racing enthusiast, get out your calendars - the 11th Annual Air Racing Symposium will be held May 6-7, 1995 in Cleveland, OH. Sponsored by the Society of Air Racing Historians, the event will be held at the Holiday Inn ­ Airport at 4181 W. 150th St., Brook Park, only two miles away from the site of the 1929-1949 Cleveland National Air Races.

Illustrated talks will cover many as­ pects of air racing history, from the 1930s "Golden Age of Air Racing" through the modern era of the Reno Air Races.

For more information, contact Tony Ambrose, Symposium Chairman , 7161 Burridge Av., Mentor, OH 44060, phone 216/255-8100.

CORRECTIONS DEPT. Dave Talley , A/C 6900, of O 'Fallon , IL called to let us know that in the No­ vember issue on page 22 we had incor­ rectly captioned Mark and Elaine Har­ ter's Waco as a YKS-6 when it should have been labeled as a YKS-7.

Thanks Dave!

*'

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

Notes

From the Cessna Pilots Association

magazi ne, John Frank, Editor:

Thirteen Ways to Increase

Piston Engine Life

written by John Schwaner Sacramento Sky Ranch 6622 Freeport Blvd.

Sacramento, CA 95822

1. Fly regularly. If yo u park your air­ plane outside year afte r year without fly­ ing, the engine wo n't last. Corrosio n ru­ ins th e cy lin der wa ll s, ca msh aft a nd camshaft fo llowers. Running the engine on the ground without fl ying the airplane doesn't help. Gro und running introduces water into the oil which corrodes internal engine parts. Carbon diox ide and water are by-products of combustion . T he oi l needs to wa rm up to at least the boiling point of water to vaporize moisture from the oil. If the engine's going to sit all win­ ter, let it sit with clean oil instead of old, acidic oil. Change the oil in the fa ll in­ stead of the spring.

2. Keep the engine clean. Make sure the air fi lter is in good condition. It 's al­ ways preferable to filter dirt out of the in­ take air instead of filtering it out of the oil with the oil filter. You might consider in­ stalling the Brackett Foam filter. Replace this fi lte r at each oil change. Make sure the alternate door isn't sucking open. As the alternate air door bushings wear, they allow the door to suck open allowing un­ filtered dirt y air into the engine. Some air pl a nes have thi s do o r do wn by th e nosewheel where it can really suck up lots of dir t. Check fo r dirt in th e inducti o n sys te m . Nex t tim e th e a ir filt e r is changed, reach up into the induction sys­ tem and wipe your hand across the intake surface. Is it gritty? If it is, the n dirt is ge ttin g pas t the filte r. H e re's o ne way dirt gets past the air filter. You park your a irpl ane in a dust y e nvironm e nt. Du st settles on the wings, windshield and in the engine compartment next to the alternate air door. During run-up you check carbu­ retor heat as part of your preflight check­ list. Now, all that di rt that settled next to the alternate air door gets sucked into the e ngin e. Mo nito r the o il ' s cl ea nlin ess .

H ave th e o il ana lyzed using a spectro­ graphic oil analysis service. Dirt consists of tiny grains of sand called silica. Silica 4 DECEMBER 1994

by Norm Petersen is a compound of si licone dioxide. When ana lyzed it shows up as the e lement sili­ con. Keep silicon below 10 parts per mil­ li o n (p pm ) for 50 ho ur o il changes . In­ stall an engine oil fi lter. O il fi lters stop the di rt that somehow gets past the air fil­ ter.

3. Use the correct oil grade. Consult the airplane manual for the correct grade of oil for the season. Stay with the lighter grade of oil. Many people use 100 weight (100/SAE50) oil all year. Hu ndred weight o il is too thick to lu bri cate pro pe rl y in cold wea the r. Cold , thick o il causes pis­ to n scuff in g and camsha ft a nd fo llo we r damage. Multigrade oil makes a good all­ seaso n o il. R ega rdl ess of th e seaso n , multigrade is the proper grade of oil.

4. Manage engine temperature. T he engine is cooled with air and fuel. During ta ke o ff a nd climb th e re is in suff ici ent cooling air a nd a rich mi xture cools th e engine. During cruise there is greater air fl ow th rough the cowl and yo u can trade air cooling fo r fue l cooling and lea n o ut the mixtu re. Mixtu re, cowl fl aps and ai r­ speed sho uld be adjuste d to get a max i­ mum cruise cylinder head temperatu re of 400°F (425°F fo r turbocharged e ngines).

If cy lind e r head te mpe ra tures are ho t , th e n ri che n th e mi xture, in c rease a ir speed or open the cowl flaps. Don' t lea n th e e ngin e b ase d so le ly o n th e EGT ga uge . T he prim a ry co nsidera ti o ns fo r leaning the engine are: detonation resis­ tance, cylinder head and oi l temperature and engine smoothness. The EGT ga uge doesn' t monitor any of these conditio ns.

Below 75% power lean the e ngine at any altitude as long as the cylinder head tem­ perature is 400°F or below and the engine is r unnin g smoo th . If the te mperatures a re hi gh or th e e ngin e is ro ugh , th e n riche n the mixture. R apid e ngin e te m­ pe rature changes ca n be pre ve nte d by smoothly applying engine power. During d escent , start th e e ngin e te mpera ture down before before you start the airplane do wn . R e duce the powe r o r lo we r th e nose - by tr y not to do bo th simulta ne­ ously. Once the temperature starts down yo u ca n then increase the ra te fo e ngine cooling without worry.

5. Make sure engine baffles are functioning. The engine baffle separates the upper portion of the e ngine fro m the

lower. Eng ine baffli ng creates a high pressure zone that forces cooling air down th rough the engine's cooling fins. If the baffling isn ' t sea li ng , t he engine isn't cooled. Leakin g baffli ng may no t show u p o n the cyli nder head te mpera t ue gauge. The temperatu re ga uge measures cylinder head temperature fro m one point on t he cylinder. Defective baffli ng can cause uneven cyl inder temperature. T he cylinder temperatue ga uge doesn't show temperatu re di ffere nces that might occur in the cylinder. This uneven temperature creates stresses tha t crack and distort the cy lind er. Eng in e b affl in g ca n be in­ specte d by looki ng thro ugh the e ngine cowling wit h a flas hlight. T he baffl ing should seal tight aga inst the upper cowl­ ing. Look for any baffling that might be bent backwards.

6. Keep ignition system in good working order. T urbocharged engines flyin g at high altitude place high demands upon the igni tion system. Fine wire spark plugs, properly maintained magnetos and wiring ha rn ess are esse ntia l to preve nt crossfire a nd engine damage. Repa ir or over ha ul magnetos ( des p ite make or model) every 500 hours. Replace frayed ignitio n leads. Test res ult s show th at clea n plugs save money by reducing fuel consumptio n a nd com bu stio n cha mber deposits.

7. Idle at the proper engine speed.

The e ngine's cylinder walls, camshaft and ot her pa rts are splas h lubricated. With co ld viscous oil, splash may not occur if the idle speed is too low . Idle a cold en­ gi ne at 1000 rpm to provide sufficient oil splash.

8. Preserve the engine. Bo th L y­ comin g and Co ntin e ntal have exce lle nt Se rvice Bull etins wi th detailed instruc­ tions on engine preservation. E ngines re­ mo ve d fro m reg ul a r se rvice sho uld be preserved according to these instructions.

A s a minimum , spr ay WD- 40 into th e cylinde rs th rough the spa rk plug bosses and in sta ll de hyd rato r p lu gs int o th e s pa rk plu g bosses. E ngi nes re mo ve d fro m the a irc raft ca n be fi ll e d with o il , turned upside-down, and filled again.

9. Inspect for exhaust leaks. Ex­ haust leaks ca n occur at the cylinder ex­ haust port. Lea kin g ex ha ust gas erodes th e aluminum o n t he cy lind e r exha ust port. Sealing the exh a ust port becomes impo ssi ble once th e po rt h as e r ode d .

Once the port has eroded it is necessary to remove the cylinder and mill down the port to form another sealing surface. If the erosion extends down into the cylin­ der fins, the cylinder must be replaced or the port rebuilt by welding. Inspect for burnt cylinder paint or light colored de­ posits around the exhaust port. Fix any leaks no matter how minor. Exhaust gas leaking onto the cylinder cooling fins can elevate cylinder head temperatures and cause damage. Leaking exhaust gas onto the spark plug can elevate it's tempera­ ture high enough to cause preignition and severe engine damage.

10. Make throttle movements smoothly. Engine temperatures will rise and fall more evenly and smoothly with smooth power movements. The counter­ weights used on six cylinder engines are not capable of following extremely rapid throttle movements.

11. Pick a smooth engine rpm. Dur­ ing cruise you have several rpm and man­ ifold settings for any given horsepower (assuming constant speed propeller).

Usually there is a spot within the normal rpm range where the engine runs smoother. Make small changes in engine rpm while feeling the engine . Pick the rpm where the engine is smoothest. This setting should be within the recom­ mended power envelope as depicted in the airframe or engine operators manual.

12. Use conservative power set­ tings. If you operate at the high end of the performance envelope on tur­ bocharged engines, you are trading per­ formance for longevity. Many fleet op­ erators have found that the engine can be made to last longer by operating with more conservative power settings.

13. Do preventive maintenance. In­ vest in regular oil and filter changes. Buy good quality maintenance and repairs.

From the "Beech Eagle" of the Twin

Beech Association,

Enrico Bottieri, president:

There is "linoil" or linseed oil protect­ ing your TWIN BEECH. It does its job out of sight and out of mind. It is on the inside of all the steel tubing in the SPAR structure and and other parts of our air­ planes. It is only put there once, when the airplane was built, over fifty years ago! In most cases it is still doing its job.

When we have our airplanes x-rayed we are looking for cracks and the big "C" (Cancer) - in this case, rust. We are con­ cerned with the outside of the tubing. If there is rust here we can see it and evalu­ ate it. However, much more important is the inside of the tube and we are really looking for rust here on the inside for it is this rust that can lead to very serious problems. The x-ray technician knows about this and can find the rust if it is there. At present, we x-ray our airplanes

every 1500 hours. That may be years on some airplanes.

Is there a problem? Yes, we have identified where it is. Yes , we can do something about it. Yes, longevity brings with it wisdom and knowledge, this is what I have learned so far. You will not see this written down anywhere else. Re­ member linseed oil because it is impor­ tant. I have known about it all my life, you may be hearing about it for the first time.

There have been a very few cases of interior rust found on some (Beechcraft) "H" model airplanes and even rarer cases on a few other models. This is interesting because the "H" models were the last air­ planes built. We have never found a de­ finitive answer for this cause, one specu­ lation is that the protective oil was left out. Given the quality of Beech products I find this hard to believe. Another spec­ ulation is that the small sealing drive screws were inadvertently left out. A third and last possibility is that these same screws worked their way out or were blown out by maintenance that may have been improper. We have heard re­ ports of others removing the drive screws and applying air pressure to the inside of the tubes, in some cases looking for cracks, and in other cases to apply a fresh coat of "linseed oil" to the tubes.

On small tube built aircraft, from the J-3 Cub and up, the industry practice is to drill about a 1/8" hole in the tube at con­ venient locations, fill the tube with heated linseed oil , rotating the airframe as you are doing this so that the oil will coat the inside of the tubes. This may take 24 hours or more. The last procedure is to drain out any excess oil , this is done to save weight and more importantly to al­ low for any future repairs. Welding is al­ most impossible if there is any oil or for­ eign matter present. The final and perhaps most important step is to make the tubing AIR TIGHT. This is done by installing a small spiral stem drive screw that looks a little like a rivet. These are pounded into place.

What is causing the rust? The drive screws are not in place and atmospheric air is getting into the tubes, causing rust.

That little, small, approximately 1/8" hole is causing the BIG "C" - cancerous rust!

Can we rotate an airplane as large as a TWIN BEECH? No, but you can lay it up on its side and using a little ingenuity you can coat the inside of the tubes. I would rate removing as much of the pro­ tective oil as a lower priority. Do it if you can - the heated oil will flow quicker and do a better job of moving around inside the tubes. The best way to apply the oil is by putting a vacuum source at one end of the tube, yes, at that little 1/8" hole and app lying the oil at the other end . Is it worth doing? What do you think? Fifty years is a long time. I do it anytime I

make repairs to a steel tube structure.

If you are doing a restoration, have the airframe x-rayed first, have the technician evaluate the airframe for signs of rust on the inside of the tubes. Use this informa­ tion as a basis for further protective cor­ rosion control. I will do a little research on finding other products with a long pro­ tective life. Perhaps there is a newer product that will meet our needs. I have used Boiled Linseed Oil for years and it has always worked for me.

From THE FUNK FLYER edited by Ruth Ebey: Gerry Lewis Buys Funk Parts From AI McCLish

Back in October, 1992, Dale Beach mentioned in a letter to THE FUNK FLYER that he had been talking to AI McClish, the son of the former holder of the Funk Type Certificate, who stated that his dad kept enough parts to build himself a Funk, and he (AI) would like to sell them and some other miscellaneous parts and tools. After many months of trying to get together we finally met on September 25, 1993, at his father's shop in Sharon, PA. If you have dreamed of walking into the Funk factory, this is about as close as you will ever get: center stage is a factory roll-around jig; an original pair of Funk wheelpants hang from the rafters next to three or four wing spars; rolling around in the middle of the floor next to a row of cardboard boxes full of Funk parts was a prop reduction gear for the Lycoming GO-145 Funk engine. The first item re­ moved from one of the top cardboard boxes was a plug-in landing light, and the list goes on and on.

After looking at a new set of wings and more parts in another building, we agreed on a price for it all. Plans were made to move parts to Delaware after the first of the year, but as with the best laid plans, it was not until June 15 that I ar­ rived back in Sharon with a 17-foot U­ Haul truck and a friend to help load and drive.

Mr. McClish had already arrived from his home in Ohio and had the shop open.

With the temperature in the upper 90's, AI's sister Jane's supply of iced tea and sodas helped to make the loading move along very well, and we were on the road back to Delaware by midafternoon.

After a few days rest I will try to get a rough inventory and an idea of what will be for sale and have it with me at the Funk Reunion July 22-23 in Coffeyville.

Ed. Note: Persons interested in Funk parts should contact Gerald Lewis (EAA 476230, Ale 23200) at Route #4, Box 105­ L, Do . er, DE 19901 or call him at 302­ 674-5350. ...

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

FROM THE ARCHIVES ...

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CENTURY AMPHIBIOUS

FLYING BOAT

by Dennis Parks

Lanks to Roy Hampson of Brighton, CO we have received some interesting clippings about a very large, unknown , flying boat being con­ structed in Chicago about 1930. The clippings were from a company newsletter from the Celotex Insulation Company , and from the Chicago Tri­ bune.

There is some confusion as to the designation of the aircraft. One picture caption has the craft built by a J. H . Wendt, a former German war flyer. Another caption has the aircraft built by the Century Aircraft Corporation. One clipping from the Tribune has the plane listed as 16 seat trimotored amphibian called the " Sea Devil." It was reported that the craft was being constructed in a garage at 56 East 21st.

According to the account the construction of the ship was completed except for the mounting of the three engines. The first test flight was ex­ pected within the month. If the tests were suc­ cessful, ten others were to be constructed. The first craft was a metal covered wood structure.

The others to be constructed were to be of all metal construction.

6 DECEMBER 1994

attac"ill[J ctlnter willg sulion Oil fhe H-/J¥ssclIgc.r Cell/ury (Ill-me/oJ olllphibutll mOllt/1 ill Flon'aG. 1'IIe cabiu is insulated -:tJilll Cdoltx-. looking toward pilols' ro ot» Dnlllo7t'cr right tmL'ard' rrar of room.\' cabin. Tire rriliug is frcalc,1 [c iot ex. The builders .telcclcd Celotc.r to tfuzlle llil! cabill ;:~~"m~r alld .

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'which 'will )Jwke ils lest flights tllis

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The main landing gear was fitted to short stub sponsons.

The engines were listed as three Pratt & Whitney Wasps to be mounted above the surface of the win g. Four-bladed wooden propellers were to be used on the first craft with steel ones later.

The Celotex article listed the aircraft as being con­ structed by the Century Aircraft Company with Manuel Cooper as president and H. J. Bluestone as treasurer. J.H. Wendt was listed as designer of the aircraft and Chief Engi­ neer. The plane was described as having a wingspan of 72­ 112 feet and a length of 43 feet. Power was to come from three 325 horsepower Hispano engines located on the lead­ ing edge of the wing.

The empty weight was given as 7,200 lbs about the same as a Ford 5-AT-B Trimotor. Fully loaded the weight was listed as 13,000 lbs , again , about the same as the Ford. The range was given as 1,400 miles . It was reported that the company was preparing to start work on a similar plane with seats for 24 passengers, two pilots and a mechanic.

Any further information about this large project would be appreciated. The Celotex article said that the plane was receiving wide notice throughout the United States but I have not been able to locate any information other than that provided by Mr. Hampson. ....

fo",le." passenger o ,,"~"ibia1l now ",Ot"iJIg a- 9n1'fol id.o of Ih. N. of Ih. shill. Tit, lOUl'''' l.ft and wing. Ollly 0,.. af th, Iluu t1Wlcws is ill Oft, olr.ooy instOU.rl.

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FORMER GERMAN PILOT BUILDS 'tRIfdOTORED AMPHIBIAN IN CHICAGO. J. II. Wendt at work on the Sea Devil, which, when completed, will carry fourteen passe' and two · ai his at S6 East 21 t street.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

ENGINE

STORAGE

by Bill Claxon (EAA 325719, AlC 17837)

It

is generally known that when the air­ craft engine is not run for long periods of time, the idle time has a detrimental effect on the engine . In fact, long periods of idleness vastly reduces TBO . Cylinder wall corrosion is one of the problems .

Teledyne Continental states that the new or newly overhauled engine is extremely prone to this corrosion until it has about 50 hours of running time. Not only do the cylinders corrode, so do the rest of the in­ ternal parts. Continental states that the best way to care for and preserve the en­ gine is to fly once a week. Lycoming also goes along with this. However, as winter approaches we tend to leave the airplanes for long periods of time; therefore engine preservation methods may be in order.

If the airplane is not used for a month or so, simply pull the prop through six or so times each week and leave the prop 45 degrees to 90 degrees from the original position. Fly the airplane to have the en­ gine reach full operating temperatures to burn out the moisture and contaminates.

DO NOT turn the prop backwards as this runs the oil pump backwards. This pumps the oil out of the oil galleries and results in a longer time for the internal parts to become lubricated on engine start up. Sometimes they are turned backwards to prevent firing if a P-lead is open which would allow the engine to fire. Do ob­ serve some safety rules and this should not become a problem.

• • • • • • •

Verify that the mag switch is "OFF" Throttle position "CLOSED" Mixture control "IDLE CUTOFF" Set brakes and chock wheels Leave aircraft in tiedowns Have cabin door unlatched DO NOT stand in propeller arc

You should fly your airplane at least once every 30 days.

If you do not fly much in the winter, longer term preservation techniques may be in order. These simple and inexpensive procedures may pay large dividends come spring.

Start with cylinder preservation. Re­ move the top spark plugs and spray at­ omized MIL-46002 Grade 1 preservative oil through the spark plug hole with the 8 DECEMBER 1994

cylinder at bottom center. Repeat this for each cyli nder. T hen stop the crank­ shaft with no cylinder at top cen ter. Re­ spray each cylinder to thoroughly coat all cyli nd er surfaces by mov in g the spr ay nozzle from top to bottom. Then replace the spark plugs.

Continental says to spray two ounces of the preservative oil into the oil filler tube to preserve the interior parts. How­ ever, with the kidney oil tanks many use, I wonder how much preservative oil will get to the internal parts. With the en­ gines that have the oil fi ller in the case, this seems more plausible.

Seal all engine openings such as the exhaust, breather, carb intake, etc. with suitable plugs, moisture proof tapes, or whatever is applicable. Wads of paper stuffed in the openings can be effective.

(Since paper will absorb moisture, you may wish to co er the paper wad with plastic wrap. - HGF) Place red streamers at all places where plugs are installed and on the propeller. You may want to place a placard on the prop to tell people the engine is preserved and do not turn the propeller.

When its time to bring the engine back to life and start a new flying season, re­ move all the seals an d streamers. Take out the bottom plugs and turn the pro­ peller several revolutions to clear out the excess preservative oil. R ei nsta ll th e spark plugs and use normal starting pro­ cedures. Observe the safety precautions again when turning the prop by hand.

These simple procedures should go a long way to dispel some of the ravages of winter disuse of airplanes. There are fur­ ther ste ps that can be taken to enhance this preserva tion , especially those air­ planes that will be put away for most of the winter.

From Continental, drai n th e oil and install MIL-C-6529 Type II oil. Run the engine until normal operating tempera­ tures are reached. Better still, fly the air­ plane for 30 minutes and allow the en­ gine to cool to room temperature.

Spray the cylinders with the preserva­ tive oil as stated earlier. Then replace the spark plugs with MS27215-2 dehydra­ tor plugs. Be sure the dehydrator plugs are blue; the pink ones are already satu­ rated with moisture and will not absorb the engine's moisture. Protect and sup­ port the spark plug leads with AN4060 protectors. Also place a bag of desiccant in each opening prior to sealing as stated earlier. Again, it is good practice to place streamers on each plugged opening and the propeller and add the sign not to turn the propeller.

To return the aircraft to se rvice, re­ move all plugs and desiccant bags from all openings. Remove the bottom spark plugs and rotate th e propeller several revolutions to remove the excess preserv­ ative oil. Remove the dehydrator plugs

and install all spark plugs. Then turn the engine by hand to be positive there is no oi l in the cylinders to cause liquid lock.

Reinstall the spark plug leads.

Continental says to drain the preserv­ ative oil and replace it with the recom­ mended lubricating oil. The next para­ graph has a warning: When returning the aircraft to ser­ vice, do not use the corrosion preserva­ tive oil referenced in paragraph 5-4. a.l more than 25 hours. (From Continental manuals.)

I would take this to mean that the preservative oil is safe to use for this length of time. The advantage of this is that yo u could take the airpl a ne out of storage without changing the oil. Then to put the engine back into storage, all you need to do is replace the desiccants and respray the cylinders.

As I said, I do not und erstand the spraying of the preservative into the oil fi ller neck of the Continental engines to do more than to preserve the oil tank, but the Continental manuals say to do this. I

SAfETY RULES * Verify that mag switch is "OFF" * * * *

Throttle position "CLOSED" Mixture control "IDLE CUTOFF" Set brakes and chock wheels Leave aircraft in tiedowns

* Have cabin door unlatched * DO NOT stand in propeller arc. phoned Co ntin ental service technicians and call ed their atte ntion to thi s state­ ment in the manuals. They said this was not a correct procedure. The technician sa id to remove th e crankcase breather and to remove th e breather fitting that screws into the crankcase. Then use a sprayer that can reach into the crankcase to spray the preservative oil into the top side of the crankcase. They suggested to use a long sprayer that can be rotated to be sure to spray all parts of the upper case. This doesn 't look the easiest to me, but whatever coverage obtained will help.

(Since / knew my engine would be in storage for an extended period, and planned on 0 erhauling the magnetos, I remo ed one and sprayed the preser ati e oil past th e magneto dri e gea rs into the crankcase. - HGF) Textron Lycoming Service Letters take a slightly different approach. They say to use one part of concentrated MIL­ C-6529C Type I added to three part s MIL-C-6082C (Grade 1100) mineral air­ craft engine oil to replace the lubricating oil. Follow the manufacturers instruc­ tions when mixing the oils. Operate the

engine until operating temperatures are attained. Immediately drain the preserv­ ative oil for e ngin e storage. It may be saved for fut ure use. These oils are not for lubrication, only for corrosion pre­ ve ntion. However, the engine does not need to be flushed when the sump is re­ fi lled wi th lubricating oil.

Remove the spark plugs and spray the cylinders with MIL-L-6529C Type I preservative oil. The oil is to be heated to 200 degrees Fahre nh eit to 220 degrees Fahrenheit and sprayed while turning the engine five revoluti ons with the starter.

Then spray each cylinder after the engine has stopped and do not turn the propeller.

Foll ow the preservative oil with the sealing, desiccants and dehydrator plugs.

MIL-L-46002, Grade 1 oil is available from : NOX RUST YCI-105 Daubert Chemical Company 4700 S. Central Avenue Chicago, Illinois TECTYL 859A Ashland Oil, Inc. 1401 Winchester Avenue Ashland, Kentucky MIL-C-6529 Type II may be formu­ lated by mixing one part of preservative oil to four parts of new lubricating oil of the reco mm e nd ed gra d e. These a re: ESSO RUST-BAN 628 or COSMOLINE No. 1223, as well as some of the equiva­ lents.

I was unable to find these preservative oils or the dehydrator plugs listed in any of the many catalogs normally available to the general aviation public. (/ buy mine from parts endors at the larger fly­ ins, like EAA OSHKOSH or Sun 'n Fun. - HGF) I am contacting Lycoming and Continental to find sources for these product s. As for the moisture proof tapes, the building and department stores now have waterproof duct tape which should work well for sealing the open­ ings. Lycoming lists the dehydrator plugs as Avco PIN 40238. When the desiccants and dehydrator plugs are saturated with moisture, they ca n be rejuvenated by warming them until the color is once again blue. This removes th e moisture they have absorbed.

The engine manufacture rs recom­ mend these preservative measures, so if we do these things we may save the en­ gines from the ravages of winter or other storage. It would be a good idea to pre­ serve the engine when th e airplane is down for extensive rebuild or repairs.

Inasmuch as both makes of engines re­ quire essentially the same corrosion pre­ vention, it would seem that either system would work for either make of engine.

Use your preference. ..

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

WHAT OUR. MEMBERS ARE RESTORING

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

Robert Funk's Piper J-5C,

Cub Cruiser

These photos of Piper J-5C, N66512, SIN 5-1426, were taken in Alaska by vet­ eran aviation photographer Roy Cagle (EAA 15401, A/C 1691) now of Prescott,

Australian Waco EGC-8,

VH-CGF, SIN 5051

These photos of the only Waco EGC­ 8 to ever reach the Australian civilian air­ craft register were sent in by owner, Clif­ ford Douglas (EAA 452879) , Elanora Gold Coast, Queensland , Australia . A fascinating history of the airplane was in­ cluded with the pictures.

Purchased new from the Waco factory in mid-1938 by G . B. S. Falkiner of Had­ don Rig, New South Wales, the big Waco Custom Cabin , registered YH-AAF, was used to fly between the owners ' many far-flung properties in Australia. This went on for 22 years, until 1960, when the owner died. In 1962, Country Air Ser­ vices Pty. Ltd., of Rockhampton, Qld .

10 DECEMBER 1994

AZ. The Cub Cruiser is owned by Robert Funk of Douglas, Alaska, and appears to be pretty much original, right down to the 8:00 X 4 wheels , tires and brakes. The engine is listed as the origi­ nal Lycoming 0-235 of 100 hp. Other items that give Robert's J-5C the origi­

nallook are the " flat " propeller spinner and the Grimes navigation lights on the wings and top of the rudder. A some­ what rare airplane, there are only 25 J­ 5C Cub Cruisers remaining on the FAA register. This 1942 airplane gave rise to the postwar Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser.

purchased the Waco from Falkiner's es­ tate, restored the big Waco and installed a new 300 hp Jacobs engine to replace the

old Wright R-760-E2 of 320 hp. Re­ turned to service, the Waco hauled peo­ ple and cargo until 1967, when it was sold to Laurie Clark of Darwin, Northern Ter­ ritory. On May 15, 1973, the Waco was groundlooped while landing at a Terri­ tory airstrip and was damaged. Clifford Douglas bought the slightly bent Waco for his small museum and commenced a rebuild. The results are what you see in the photos - along with the new registra­ tion of YH-CGF. Painted in a dark green and cream paint scheme, the Waco is in­ deed a fine looking example of the quite rare EGC-8 (there are just seven exam­ ples remaining on the U . S. register) .

Note the so-called "seaplane lip " on the aft edge of the engine cowling , unusual for an airplane that to the best of our knowledge, has never been on floats.

Russ & Kathleen Newhouse's Travel A ir 4000 Pictured in front of their Travel Air 4000, N9943, SIN 1127, are Russ and Kathleen Newhouse (EAA

460891, A/C 22529) of Brighton, MI, who run a company called "Vintage Air Tours" which special­ izes in taking people on a nostalgic trip back in time - complete with the wind in the face! The Travel Air is a working airplane and does a fine job of hauling two passengers at a time from many of the grass strips in the area. Russ, who is an airline pilot by trade, loves to crank up the old '29 biplane and haul passengers. In addition to the Travel Air, the Newhouse's also have a Stearman, N1702B , SIN 75­ 5903, which is used for passenger rides and Stear­ man checkout flights . It is finished off in a colorful U. S. Marines color scheme.

Hubert Loewenhardt's Aeronca 7AC Champ This neat photo of Aeronca Champ, NC84690, SIN 7AC-3402, was sent in by owner Hubert Lowenhardt (EAA 411982, A /C 19167) of Stonington, CT. Totally restored to original condition over a five year period, the Champ fea­ tures a factory-new paint scheme, wooden prop and original style wheel covers with Aeronca stamped in them.

(Hugh makes an exact replica of the wheel covers, among other items - if you have a need for a pair, contact him at 7 AC Restoration Specialties, RR 2, Box 147B, Stonington, CT 06378.) Hu­ bert credits much of the super detailing to Bill Pancake and the fatherlson team of Harold and Bob Armstrong - three of the world's recognized experts in Aeronca rebuilding. He says he will

be forever grateful to these fine people, not only for how well the airplane turned out, but also for all he learned from the experience.

Hubert is presently engrossed in the total restora­ tion of a 1935 Fairchild C8C project

which he fully intends to finish with the same degree of workmanship as the Champ. We can only add, "Hang in there, Hubert, because we will be anx­ ious to see the Fairchild when fin­ ished!" tanks (six hour range), a Beryl D'Shan­ non one-piece, 3/8 inch, sloped wind­ shield, new instrument panel with all the goodies along with late model seats and Cleveland wheels and brakes .

N630D features the original Beech elec­ tric propeller which is rather quiet, both in the plane and on the ground. (It seems unusual to not see a prop vernier control on the instrument panel!)

Gary's Bonanza is indeed a pretty air­ plane for being 43 years of age. Long live the marque!

Gary Jackson's "C" model

Beech Bonanza

This sharp looking 1951 Beechcraft Bonanza, N630D, SIN D-2892, is the pride and joy of Gary Jackson (EAA 326005) of Simms, Texas. Gary reports the "C" model Bonanza is highly de­

sired because it is light in weight, a good short field performer and very stingy on fuel consumption with its Continental E-185-11 engine producing cruise speeds of 135 to 145 kts. at a con­ sumption of 9.6 gallons per hour. Sev­ eral mods have been incorporated in Gary's Bonanza such as wingtip fuel 11

WHAT OUR. MEMBERS ARE RESTORING

Above - The 150 Luscombe with matching Baumann floats rests on the shoreline in front of the Lake­ wood Lodge at Cable, WI. Note small step for refueling the wing tanks.

Righ t - Lycom ing 150 engine (with full electrics) is installed per STC. Below - Luscombe with brand new floats attached is rolled out on a special dolly used for takeoff from a hard-surfaced runway.

12 DECEMBER 1994

Pete Larson's Luscombe SF on Baumaun Floats This pretty Luscombe 8F, N2149B, SIN 6576, was purchased in 1991 from John Lamont of Three Lakes, WI, by Pete Larson (EAA 372833) of Sheboygan, WI. It fea­ tured a Continental C90-8 engine and was mounted on a set of Edo 1320 floats. Pete flew the airplane about 90 hours before deciding to upgrade. He bought a 150 Ly­ coming from Dick Waters and coverted the Luscombe to the "big horsepower." He then mounted the Luscombe on a new set of Bau­ mann 1420 floats (Mfg. by "Bud" Baumann in So. St. Paul, MN, 612­ 455-8374) and invited the FAA In­ spector to check the installation over. After considerable testing and many conferences, the appro­ priate Form 337 was signed off and Pete was off and flying with the very first Luscombe on Baumann floats!

Using a 72 X 53 prop, the 150­ powered Luscombe gets off the wa­ ter very quickly at gross weight (1420 Ibs.) and cruises at 115 mph on 7.5 gph. Fuel capacity is the nor­ mal 25 gallons, so he has approxi­ matelya three hour range. Pete is quite excited with the airplane and has given over 75 Young Eagle flights to date. ...

TEXACO

by H.G. Frautschy

The reincarnation of one of the Golden Age ofAviation's jewels.

(Far right) Bob Tullius, Winchester, VA, owner of the Texaco Waco.

(Right) Dick Trice, former Eastern Air足 lines pilot and lucky pilot of NC17470.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

The cockpit of the ZPF-6 is thoroughly modem, with a complete set of radios, including a Loran, transponder, nav-comm and ADF. The front cockpit can be left open, or it can be capped with an alu­ minum " manhole cover." With the cover in place, the Waco looks decidedly racy.

The Texaco Waco was one of a series of Waco airplanes owned and used by the New York based petroleum company. Others in­ cluded a Waco ule and a UBF-2.

T . e Texas Oil Company (Texaco) was early and enthusiastic supporter of aviation in the 1930s - they touted their products in ads placed in the aviation journals of the day, and they didn ' t just talk a good game. Texaco used aircraft to conduct business , including a breathtak­ ing Waco UEC purchased in 1933 and used by the New York company to fly ex­ ecutives around their distributor network, and to make sales calls. One of the pretti­ est airplanes flown by the company was the Waco ZPF-6, SIN 4383 completed February 27 , 1937. Delivered first to Hangar Six in San Antonio , TX, it was later transferred to the Texas Co. A racy biplane with a cockpit enclosure built over the aft (pilot's) pit, the ZPF-6 was used by the Texas Company for promo­ tion and transportation. It was flown by the company as late as 1941 , including 1939 while piloted by Bill Turso, who is now the Texaco Aviation products dis­ tributor at Miami Airport. Now in his eighties, Bill had flown the airplane, and

.1. ~n

14 DECEMBER 1994

he would later be part of the effort to put another Texaco Waco back in the skies in the 1990's.

So ld by the Texas Co . in 1941 to Hawthorne Aviation of Charleston, SC, the ai rplane later went through a few owners, including Walt Weber, who flew the original NC17470 from 1960 until sell­ ing it in 1964 to the late George Arents of Miami, FL. In the late 1960's, George flew the ZPF-6 to Denver, CO to attend a high altitude sailplane meet, and t hen later on to the Reno National Air Races, apparently intending to race the biplane.

It never raced . Later, George sent a friend to Reno to fly the F-6 back to Mi­ ami . Sadly, George would call Ray Brandly, president of the National Waco Club with bad news. It seems the friend dropped his sunglasses into the fuselage while flying cross-country. He decided to land at a military airbase so he could re­ trieve his sunglasses, and in the landing, he lost control of the airplane during the landing. The airplane violently ground

looped and was totally destroyed in the subsequent fire . Fortunately, the pilot survived.

The remains of the airplane then passed through a couple of hands until it came to Arnold Nieman of Ocala , FL, who was asked in 1980 by Mike Keatty if it could be rebuilt. Arnold decided that if an airplane like the old Te xaco Waco were to be flown again, a UPF-7 fuselage would have to be used to form the basis of the building up of the new ZPF-6.

Since the F-6 used the narrow landing gear, a narrow gear from a YKS-7 cabin biplane was obtained , and various other Waco components were used to build up the new NC17470. Gid Townsend, the owner of Shady International Airport in Ocala "AI'd" the project, and by the early 1980's the airplane was flying . In 1989 , Mike decided to sell the pretty biplane.

Phil Dacy of Harvard, IL bou ght th e Waco and brought it up to Illinois.

Enter Bill Turso . The pilot who had flown the Texaco Waco ZPF-6 in 1939

Jim Koepnick

heard abo ut the airplane and traded his " Bl ac k Gold " Stearman to Phil for th e airplane. Flown to Florida, the cockpit of the biplane was completely redone with a modern pane l, and a brand new engine was installed - a 275 hp Jacobs now was in th e cowl, replacing the original 285 J a­ cobs.

The Texaco Waco was an airplane that go t und e r every body 's skin - it seemed that whoeve r saw it couldn't get it out of the ir mind . Bob Tullius of Winchester, V A was one of those pilots. When he saw the biplane, he wanted to buy it, and said so to Bill Turso. But Bill was not in a sell­ ing mood, and had not yet had his fill of the Waco. Then a major change for everybody who lived in southern Florida blew in . ..

When the aftermath of Hurricane An­ drew was assessed, one of the casualties listed was the Texaco Waco. The hangar at Tamiami that Bill had used to house the Waco was heavily damaged , a nd the roof fe ll in on the biplane, wreaking havoc upon the airframe . Bill thought the air­ pl a ne sho uld be totaled , a nd the insur­ ance company obliged . As the insure r went through the paperwork on the air­ plane, th e y noticed the name of Gid 16 DECEMBER 1994

Town se nd in the logbook , and sin ce he was " up the road a piece," they called him in Ocala to come and get the biplane and haul it to Ocala for storage. (As you can imagine , storage space was at a bit of a premium after the storm! ) Whe n the in­ sura nce company asked for bids on the airplane project, Bob Tullius asked Gid how much he thought Gid's company, "G idair, Inc." would need to fix the air­ plane , a nd then submitted his bid. His was the winning offe r! Bob was very ex­ cited , and when Gid had finished the air­ plane, he got even more excited - it was even better than before . The vinyl inte­ rior was replaced with a ge nuin e leather upholstery, and the airplane was finished with dope. Bob's praise for the airplane was nothing short of passionate: "When I saw it, I was absolutely dumb­ founded . The reason I was interested in it was that I thought it was the most beauti­ ful biplane I had ever see. Wacos some­ how had their esthetics in the right place.

The Stearmans were too lo ng a nd too short and too high, but Waco had it a ll put together. And with a canopy over the back, and a tonneau cover over the front cover (cockpit) , it just looks as racy as you co uld im ag in e for a 1936 airp la ne.

+

When I saw what Gid did to it and the re­ pairlrestoration of it from the wreckage, I was awe struck! " Bob 's fri e nd Dick Trice of Fort Mey­ ers , FL a former pilot for Eastern Air­ lines, has the honor of flying the Texaco W aco for him on occasion a nd he is equally as enthusiastic about the airplane.

As the pilot of th e a irplane when Bill Turso owned it , he was familiar with the airplane and was asked by Bob to test fly the Waco after its rebuild. He reported it was fl awless, a nd after a few minor ri g­ ging changes, he brought the airplane up to Virginia . In February, he flew up to Virginia to bring the Waco back down to Florida - a chilly trip for part of the way, since it has no cabin heat - but it spent the spring in Florida where we caught up with Bob and Dick at Sun ' n Fun '94 . Dick was kind e no ugh to fly the ai rplan e for our cameras, and later, they learned the Waco had been selected as the Antique ­ Contemporary Age (1933-1945) award winner.

My thanks to Ray Brandly, president of the National Waco Club, who provided the historical backgrou nd on the Number 25 WacoZPF-6. ...

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

A

Lee Maples, owner of N9918R and a veteran pilot of many years.

18 DECEMBER 1994

extremely lowtime airplane, this Super G18S was built on August 4, 1960, and spent its first twelve years as a corpo­ rate airplane in Ohio. Lee Maples has owned the big twin for 22 years and the total time on the airframe (as of Oshkosh '94) is 2960.7 hours! (Of these hours, Lee has flown approximately 500 hours since acquiring the aircraft.)

The pedigree of the Super G18S is quite remarkable in that nearly 8,000 ex­ amples of the Twin Beech were built over a huge timespan of thirty years, beginning with the first mating of the Pratt & Whit­ ney R-985 engines in the B-18-S model in 1939 and ending with the Super H-18 model in 1969. (The initial Beech 18's had Wright and Jacobs engines in 1937 and 1938.) Beechcraft built a total of 154 model G18S between 1959 and 1963 of which 81 are presently listed on the U .S. register and numerous others are in ser­ vice throughout the world .

Part of the reason for the Model 18's

acceptance by pilots and owners alike is the NACA 23000 series airfoil employed in the wing (the same airfoil is used on the DC-3 and Taylorcraft) coupled with the bulletproof reliability of a pair of 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 engines .

Lee Maples has owned four Beech 18's over the years, but N9918R is his pet ­ and the condition of the airplane really shows it.

Although the pretty twin is in original condition, it took some work to bring it up to that point. The two engines, which are so squeaky clean you could eat off the in­ side of the cowlings, were rebuilt by Henry Thompson in Tulsa, OK, which is now run

by Henry's son , Sam Thompson. The R­ 985 's have about 185 hours since major, yet they remain spotless. The two Hartzell propellers were overhauled (to comply with an AD) just 14 hours back and are impeccable.

Just two years ago, Lee took the Twin Beech to Midland, Texas and had AMI re­

paint the entire airplane in its original 1960 paint scheme. The only difference was that it was done in urethane paint which continues to shine regardless of exposure.

The judges were obviously impressed.

extra 400 Ibs. of thrust, which in turn al­ lowed a higher gross weight of 10,200 Ibs. However, when they were fired, the pilot could neither throttle them back nor turn them off and besides, the thought of one of the bottles accidentally going off at night in the hangar meant the loss of both the airplane and the hangar - not a com­ forting situation! Lee removed the JATO units and associated wiring.

A look inside this beautiful airplane is enough to make a connoisseur of fine ma­ chinery really whistle. The plush carpet­ ing , the solid leather seats (five in the cabin), the two folding mahogany confer­ ence tables, the long windows, the 66-inch cabin height and a host of individual amenities for each passenger makes for a pampered feeling all its own . In short, even after 34 years, the interior exudes a feeling of richness and class.

Aft of the main cabin is the bathroom with its fancy mirror (for the ladies) and behind that is a large baggage compart­ ment with a maximum capacity of 300 Ibs. Moving up to the cockpit and sitting in the pilot's chair, one soon realizes the re­ ally excellent visibility from that position.

The impressive instrument panel is high­ lighted by the RCA Radar scope in the middle that works perfectly after 34 years.

The original dual radio installation fea­ tures 360 channel VHF radios plus ADF, transponder and all the other goodies that work perfectly. The original Lear L-2 au­ topilot works like a charm according to Lee. Two prominent buttons on the panel are for feathering the props, the instant the button is pushed. (This can be a criti­ + cal item at certain airspeeds.) ~ On top of the panel is a unique roll-up 8' checklist done by Master Equipment '§ Corp. , Cheyenne, WY, which has been do­ , ing its job since the airplane was new.

Other items include dual altimeters, dual alternators on the engines and dual circuit The "G" model is rated at 9700 Ibs . breaker panels in the cockpit, anti-ice con­ gross, however, when it left the factory in trols, dual taxi and landing lights and no Wichita, KS, in 1960, it was equipped with less than three directional gyros . The a pair of JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off) flaps and landing gear are electrically op­ bottles that, when fired , could produce an erated with a manual back-up. The three

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Jim Koepnicl<

control surfaces, ailerons, rudders and elevators, all have individual trim con­ trols for fine tuning in flight.

Unique to the Twin Beech are dual windshield wipers that actually work and cabin speakers in the cockpit and main cabin. (An option according to the 1960 factory brochure was a wheel­ well speaker.) Another item is an oil by-pass system on each engine that al­ lows the engine and oil to warm up faster on a cold morning start-up . A handy safety item controllable from the cockpit is a locking tailwheel that is used during takeoffs and landings.

The fuel system consists of left and

right main tanks at 76 gallons each, left and right aux. tanks at 23 gallons each and outboard wing tanks at 60 gallons each - for a total of 318 gallons. At a normal cruise of 45 gph, the fuel is suffi­ cient for over six hours with reserve.

Lee says the big twin is fairly quiet at cruise and trues out from 180 to 200 mph.

To keep the twin looking neat as a pin , Lee keeps it in a heated hangar where it can be washed and cleaned on a regular basis. One thing that really helps an older airplane such as the GI8S , is the fact that the entire air­ frame , piece by piece , was inte rnally

This interior photo of the cockpit details the unusual condition of the original panel complete with radar and 360 ch. radio.

20 DECEMBER 1994

+

painted with zinc chromate primer when it was built. This one item is "worth all the tea in china" for long term preserva­ tion according to Lee . The only air­ frame AD so far has been the main wingspar which has the Aerospace En­ gineering Spar Modification installed.

It has given no problems to date. Lee is fortunate to have all the logbooks on the airplane and engines going back to the date of manufacture.

Lee Maples spent three years in the Army Air Corps in WW II as a gunner and didn ' t fly an airplane until 1952 when he went up in an Aeronca Champ.

He continued on for his Commerci al and CFI ratings and spe nt many years flying DC-3 in:aerial surveys, Grumman TBM " tankers" on forest fire patrol and then three years in a FedEx DC-3. H e has over 18,000 hours in his logbook to date, however, the big smile on his face when he cranks up N9918R shows where his heart is. H e thinks the world of hi s beautiful Twin Beech and whe n so me­ one comes up to inquire if it is for sale, the answer is always the same - "Sorry, no deal !"

Besides, the beauti ful Grand Cham­ pion " Lindy" o n his awa rd she lf loo ks very nice and next year, he will be able to p a rk in th e sp ecia l " P as t G ra nd Champions" paddock at EAA Oshkosh '95 - right in the front row!

Con gra tul ations to Lee Maples and hi s mag ni fice nt Beec h G 18S - a nd a hearty "Thank You" to Marion and Fay Gregory fo r urging him on.

*

AIRPORT

KIDS The Dream Still Lives

by James A. Damron (Ale 12289)

S o I'm in my Corben Baby Ace scootin' out across the prairie about 200 feet high heading for Sand Springs, Montana . It's late August, pure hot and dusty and getting on toward noon.

I'm thirsty, and could use some dinner too . I was taking a day off, traveling around the south central part of the state distributing handbills advertising our " Antique Parade of Flight" which was coming up in Columbus, Montana in September. This annual small town fly-in features antique airplanes on dis­ play in the air and on the ground, and is advertised as a " low and slow" event with family fun for all. There is food, camping and free airplane rides. Since we hardly build airplanes in this coun­ try anymore, it seems like most every­ body who flies does so in an antique of one kind or another.

Our fly-in is sponsored by the Columbus Barnstormers, a loosely or­ ganized community conscious organi­ zation of local pilots who fly for sport and enjoy fund raising with airplanes.

During the fly-in we give free airplane rides to all takers, while elsewhere on the field a different local charity every year takes donations. This year it was the county library construction fund that benefited from our festivities.

Columbus is a small town and while we don't make a big deal out of the flying we managed to make $2500 for our li­ brary fund this year. We run a very well organized and safe fly-in so we don't get too excited about liability.

We only have two lawyers in town and they're partners.

Anyway, I'm heading for Sand Springs mostly because it's kind of out of the way up between Mosby and Jor­ dan, and I figure those folks don 't get visited often or invited to much. There is a modest little grass airport there which was run by Old Joe Dutton be­ fore he died. Joe operated a spraying business there with Super Cubs and was loved by everyone for his loyalty to the community. Since he left us, avia­ tion has kind of been on the back burner in Sand Springs.

Because I had never been to Sand Springs, I was looking real hard for the airport and having a tough time even finding the town. Sand Springs has a general store, a trailer and a one room schoolhouse. There are no other build­ ings close by; the Post Office is in the general store. I finally identified it mostly because there is nothing else around for miles in either direction.

The airport was right where it should be, just north of the store and in along the drainage which gives a little green to the area. As I swung around the Sand Springs Store I sized up the neighVINTA E IRP

borhood. There were two gas pumps out in front of the store, some metal chairs facing the pumps and a couple of kids running for the airport. A shaggy old dog was trotting along behind the two boys.

Looking closer at the airfield I no­ ticed that a sort of taxiway had been mowed in the hayfield from the south en d of the runway down to the fence behind the store. It was plenty wide for a Baby Ace and close enough to straight for me to line-up and land on it. I bent the little red and white hot rod around on the left wing and laid out for a turning approach over the wires and down into the dry field.

Crossing over the wires I chopped the power and dumped the nose down to get on the ground early. With the short stacks of the Continental A-80 snap­ ping and popping I flared and touched down on all three wheels just past the fence. I rolled only a couple of hun­ dred feet and jabbed the left brake. As I turned sharply in the narrow cut through the alfalfa and taxied back to the store I could see the two boys stand­ ing by the fence.

I cut the switch and pulled off my red helmet and goggles. I was wearing my matching red "Stillwater Express" flight suit with the white stripe down the side that day. (Earlier in the year I had flown my Super Cub 90 from coast to coast nonstop and wore the red suit mostly when delivering slide presenta­ tions about that adventure to schools and pilot groups around the state.) I climbed down out of the little airplane and walked over to the two boys, age nine, and said hello. The taller of the two stood looking up at me wide eyed with his arms hanging straight down and said, "Wow! " I stuck out my hand and introduced myself, and the kid, whose arms were a full three inches longer than his unbut­ toned shirt sleeves, shook hands and said, "I'm Chase Murray. " I asked if there was food in the gen­ eral store and Chase said, "Yeah sure, you bet , good food, and they have so­ das too. " I picked up a couple of handbills and the three of us crossed the barbed wire fence heading across the gravel parking lot to the front of the store. The old yellow dog followed along behind.

I explained that I was visiting local airports to distribute handbills adver­ tising the Columbus Parade of Flight and gave each of the boys a copy.

Chase said, "We went flying with Joe Dutton once. He used to run the air­ port but be died."

In the general store I bought a Coke and a sandwich from the lady who man­ aged the store. She also ran the Post Office and was happy to put up one of 22 DECEMBER 1994

my flyers on the wall. The boys and I sat out front on the metal chairs in the bright sun while I ate my lunch. The old dog was watching my food. Chase continued to look over my red and white flight suit and finally said, "That sure is a nice suit mister."

"Thank you," I said.

"I sure wish you could come home with me," Chase said.

It was obvious by this time that not much happens on a summer day in Sand Springs. I was flattered that Chase was so impressed. Clearly, he not only considered the arrival of the bright red and white airplane and its pi­ lot a major event, but was perhaps con­ cerned that no one would believe him when he described all of this excite­ ment to his folks. I asked him where he lived and Chase said, " Over that way ," as he pointed,

1// climbed down out of

the little airplane and walked over to the two boys, age nine, and said hello. The taller of the two stood looking up at me wide eyed with his

arms hanging straight down and said, 'Wow!'"

then, "We have horses" he added with enthusiastic sincerity.

As I was finishing up the last of my lunch the old dog began to move closer and closer to my food. I pulled away slightly and looked over at Chase. He took one look at the dog and then back at me and said very seriously, "He's not my dog. He's a stray that just walked in one day. His name's Ruff."

Chase was letting me know that he wasn't responsible for this rude animal.

I guess that if it was his dog he 'd have had better manners. We visited a while longer and soon I said I had to leave.

Chase was clearly disappointed and said so.

We got up and walked out to the airplane. It was early afternoon. The sun stood high in the sky and it was

hot. Near the airplane I turned, shook hands with the two boys and said good­ bye. Just as I was about to walk away I remembered the business cards I car­ ried in my flight suit and took out a couple and gave them to my hosts .

Since Chase was so disappointed to see me leave, I said I 'd be back some day for sure.

Chase held old Ruff back while I hand propped the Baby Ace into life and climbed aboard. A s I began the ritual of shoulder harness, seat belt and helmet , I noticed Chase waving one arm and with a frown on his face. I pulled the engine rpm back down to a slow idle, leaned out toward him and noticed that he was holding my busi­ ness card in one hand and pointing to it with the other hand. " Is this your phone number?" he said in a stern voice.

Yes it is, I said.

"I'll give you a call," he said, and with a very businesslike nod , put the card into his shirt pocket.

I sat there for just a moment and just shook my head ; nine years old?

Really, this kid ought to be the Mayor, I thought.

I turned the airplane away from the boys , and after a quick run up , blasted out of the hayfield in a cloud of dust.

Climbing slowly in a long, low left turn I lined up for a low pass before leaving.

As I flew down the runway and waved a gloved hand , the boys were both still standing at the fence Chase was holding the dog and waving with his free hand.

I thought about Chase Murray all the way back. When I got home I called the general store to see if the Sand Springs School would be interested in our slide show of the nonstop coast to coast flight.

Yes, the lady was sure the teacher would be interested, but she advised that the school only had three students: the two boys I had met and a girl.

A couple of months later Mary, my finance who is also a pilot, and my good friend Larry Larson and I flew to Sand Springs and did one of our best presen­ tations. After the slide show at the one room school, Larry, who had flown up in his Piper Super Cruiser, and I in my Super Cub 90 (the Stillwater Express) took everyone for an airplane ride. We had quite a crowd as it turned out, be­ cause the Sand Springs teacher had in­ vited the teacher and students from the school at "Big Dry," the next town up the road. There are two students in the Big Dry school so with both teachers and one parent we had over a half dozen folks to take flying.

By mid afternoon they had all flown twice, at least. As for Chase Murray, he is now one more airport kid who will dream about aviation for a long time to come. ...

TM-5, produced in 1930 by Michigan Air足 craft Co. in Detroit. According to 'Weekly list of licenses July 12, 1930,' it was equipped with a Dayton Bear engine."

ysteryPane

Even Dennis Parks, EAA Librarian, with the extensive resources of the Boeing Aeronautical Library's Collec足 tion was unable to find any references to this airplane. Is there anyone out there who may supply more informa足 tion? ~ Send your Mystery Plane

responses to:

Vintage Airplane - Mystery Plane

P.O. Box 3086

Oshkosh , WI 54903-3086

by George Hardie

L iS one may not be the airplane it seems to be. Maybe someone can clear up the mystery. The photo is from the EAA collection. Answers will be published in the March , 1995 issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline for that issue is January 25 , 1995.

The September Mystery Plane seems to have stumped the experts.

Only two replies were received , one from Charley Hayes , now of New Lenox , IL and Lennart Jonson, Eld足 berga , Sweden. He writes:

"The September Mystery Plan e is a

n A irc raft Co. TM-5 VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

Outside of a breezy northwest wind, the bright sunny weather of Saturday, September 17, 1994, was a godsend for the first ever Piper Cub Fly-In at BAA's Pioneer Airport, located just behind BAA Head­ quarters in Oshkosh, WI.

Cubs

Unite

Text and photos by Norm Petersen Although not an official EAA fly-in , the idea was hatched in the fertile mind of Bob Lumley (EAA 106377, A/C 6560) and some of his cohorts as they diligently la­ bored away on museum aircraft in the "Aircraft Factory" - EAA's volunteer air­ craft rebuilding headquarters . The word about the Cub Fly-In was spread princi­ pally by word of mouth and many phone calls. Because Pioneer Airport is under the direct control of the FAA Control Tower at Wittman Field, all Cub Fly-In in­ quiries were directed to Bob Lumley for uniform instructions on coming to the fly­ in. The main idea was to have each air­ plane land at Wittman Field so the pilot could have a short briefing on the idiosyn­ crasies of the Pioneer Airport pattern be­ fore making the short flight to the Pioneer grass runway.

The system worked very well as the pi­ lots respected the 500 foot maximum AGL during the entire pattern, the lefthand pat­ tern used when the wind is northwest and always fly around (and behind) the large Manufacturer's Market Place across High­ way 41 (since re-named Horizon Outlet Stores) without interfering with Wittman's Runway 9-27. It's a bit of a delicate pat­ tern , but once the Cub drive rs learned their routes, it was no problem.

A total of 24 Cubs flew in for the gath­ ering including 1-3 's, 1-4's, several 1-5's, PA-12 Super Cruisers, PA-18 Super Cubs and even an L-4 in wartime dress.

A most delicious lunch was served in the Ryan Hangar by Dorothy Chase, Linda Lumley a nd Loretta Petersen. A large 24 DECEMBER 1994

supply of picnic tables had been moved into the hangar by George Blechel and his crew for people to enjoy their meal while busily engaged in 73-mile-per-hour hangar talk! (For the uninitiated , that's a 1-3 Cub's cruising speed!) In spite of the huge amount of talk, nobody, but nobody, went home hungry.

Following the fine lunch , a short "Wel­ come" speech was made by this author along with a lively discussion on the "care and feeding" of Cubs. The ingenuity of "Cub Drivers" never fails to produce some clever ideas about solving this or that problem and often gives rise to a joke or two!

A jovial contest for the best 1-3, oldest 1-3, oldest pilot, youngest pilot and longest distance flown to Pioneer produced some happy winners. Norm Shuff (EAA 33992, A/C 2623) took "Best Cub" and " Oldest Pilot"(age 68), while lim Stark (EAA 19037, A/C 2623) ran off with the "Oldest 1-3" award with his 19391-3 Cub (by one week, yet!). Seventeen-year-old 10e l Gehring of Rubicon , WI, won the "Youngest Pilot" award while Ernie Black­ burn (EAA 379425, A/C 18668) took "Longest Distance" award with his long (upwind) flight from the Norwegian heart of Wisconsin - Stoughton.

All winners received a free ride in EAA's Ford Trimotor captained by George Daubner and co-piloted by Norm Shuff - for winning both Best Cub and oldest pilot! All agreed the Ford's 80 mph cruising made the Cub drivers feel right at home.

A covey of ten Cubs then made the "Winneconne" flight in "trail formation," which tested the pilots' ability to cruise at the same speed as the airplane ahead. As the group came south along the shore of Lake Winnebago, three participants broke off to the east to attend the New Holstein, WI, all day airport celebration while the remainder returned to Pioneer.

The last Cub to arrive in the afternoon was Dr. Tony Buechler of Waukesha, WI , who flew his immaculate Piper L-4 to Pio­ neer Airport. Equipped with a Continen­ tal C90-8 engine and newly installed vor­ tex generators, Tony made several fly-bys approximately two feet above the grass at just above walking speed! It was quite an amazing demonstration by a pilot who normally flies a P-51 Mustang.

Keep your ears tuned for news of the next " type" fly-in at Pioneer Airport. The Cub Fly-In worked so well and was en­ joyed by so many that others are sure to follow. A special thanks goes out to the cooks for the fine mea l they served, the hard-working line person e l who helped with the parking and especially the kind people in the Oshkosh Control Tower, who went out of their way to help the "Cub Drivers " learn the unique facets of Pio­ neer Airport's pattern.

* * * * Special Note: The Third Annual Pio­ neer Skip lan e Fly-In is set for Saturday, January 21,1995 with an alternate bad weathe r day on Sunday, January 22nd.

Hot coffee and chili for all! ...

Left - No less than 20 Cubs are visible (plus the camera Cub) in this photo taken during a fly-by.

Note the Ford Trimotor and EAA helicopter at the right side of the photo.

Right - One of the Fly-In cooks and J-3 backseat navigator, Loretta Petersen, left, with Hart足 ford's famous J-3 instructor, Steve Krog, on the right.

Below - Judged the "Best J-3" at the fly-in was this 1946 J-3, N87771 , SIN 15429, flown in by longtime EAAers, Norm and Betty Shuff of Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Tony Buechler poses in the late after足 noon sun with his beautiful Piper L-4 prior to making some genuine "slow flights" along Pioneer's runway with the newly installed vortex generators on the wing leading edge.

Below - Is there anything prettier than a line of six yellow J-3 Cubs with a yellow J-4 and a red and cream J-5 thrown in for good measure? This photo was taken by the "Red Barn" before the group, led by Capt. Vern Anderson and his J-5, flew over to Pioneer.

--------------~C'~~~-,jJ'" ~J'~ ~."')

PASS

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c."• .;

d~

BUCK

by Buck Hilbert • EAA #21 • Ale #5 • P.O. Box 424 • Union, IL 60180

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. No excuse , just up to my ears in L-4. Thanks a bunch for sending the box of parts. The altimeter I need is a 0-10,000 feet and Keystone said my airspeed was serviceable. I found an altimeter, but it is in rough condi-

tion. The instrument shop is going to let me know if it is repairable . Those men at Keystone are good people to deal with .

I traded for some brake parts, but did keep two of your pucks to have a good set. The pix are extras and will

give you an idea for what I am doing.

Boy, its slow going. I've got all the in­ side parts are painted O.D . and have installed the floor boards-rudder and brake peda ls-rudder cables-seats-gas tank and working on the trim system.

I found a map case that mounts under the observer 's desk and the 2 special belts that are used as back support for the rear seat. A lso found a 1942 South England RAF aeronautical chart. It is printed on a linen backing.

I am still looking for a BC-659 ra­ dio and antenna reel and antenna fair­ lead. Any ideas where I can find the radio? What color is the fire extin­ guisher and its bracket? What type of first aid kit was used . I know it mounted in the pocket on the back of the front seat.

Thanks for the offer of the parts . . I'll Keep in touch.

Regards,

Bobby Hopkins

412 Trippe Av.

Easton, MD 21601

A neat project always seems to be slow g oing, but that's why it looks so nice when you are done. Keep at it Bobby!

(Left) Here's what we're looking forward t o .

A nice loo king L-4.

(Lower left) Here Bobby is fitting the boot cowl and fuel tank - he does nice work, eh?

(Below) Trimming the floorboards for a perfect fit takes time, but what the heck - you have to look at them each time you cli mb in the airplane, right?

26 DECEMBER 1994

Dear Buck, W o uld you g iv e som e th o ug ht to writin g an article so me time in the fu ­ ture in th e VINTAGE AIRPLANE publicatio n o n the subj ect of pro perly pickling or preserving yo ur engine fo r long term storage?

I'v e n o ti ce d so m e o f th e a irc r a ft parked in the Pio neer Hangars a t the O shkosh Museum are tagged stating, " D o no t mov e pro pe ll e r ; prese rv e d engine ."

I have a 195 3 Cess na 170B I kee p hangared; changed the oil on it before I sto pped flyin g it abo ut two years ago .

It 's in the D enver, Colorado area, thus in a semi-arid climate.

I go to the hangar and turn over the prop fo ur or five revolution s eve ry so often; I'm not sure if that's good or bad for the engine.

I d o wish to pro pe rl y preserve th e engine for long-time storage.

I hope to activate the aircraft in the future, but that's a few years down the road.

H o w much d o yo u fee l I s h o uld look into th e e ng in e prior to fli ght , since it 's sat fo r o ve r two yea rs with no preservation?

I rea lize yo u' re res tri cte d in so me o pinions due to o u r liti giou s soc ie ty this day and age and will take that into co nsideration in any article printed o r rep ly; pe rh aps a di scl a ime r foot note would suffice.

Sincerely, B. H . Hoy, AIC #15350

Hi, Bobby!

You r letter is most appreciated and H.G. told me at the last meeting that an article is forthcoming in this issue of VIN­ TAGE! How about that? We almost an­ ticipated your needs.

The Denver area is "kind" to airplanes, for sure. If they have spent all their time in the area, corrosion and dry rot are cer­ tain ly at a minimum. All you have to worry about is sunburn of the paint, Plex­ iglas and tires. I seem to recall some cases of sandblasting, too, from the high winds.

You aren't having any of those problems, though, being in a hangar.

Personally, I have opinions as to how to treat my engines. I store them every win­ ter because I don't like fighting the ele­ ments. I keep the Champ on skis so I can terrorize the neighbors, but basically all the others just sit.

A lot depends on how much "time" is on the engine. If it's a new overhaul with not much time, maybe less than fifty hours, then preservation is a "must" cause all the metal surfaces haven't had time to be thoroughly impregnated with the oil balls and there are still "unvarnished" ar-

Dear Buck, I have an engine and prop that need some answers. Can you iden­ tify thi s mount and th e type of plane it was from?

The e ngine is a Lycoming 0 ­ 145-B2, 65 hp at 2550 RPM. The engine is SIN 1453. Th e prop is a Sens e nich model 70LY34 , SIN 7897. This engine looks and feels to be in very nice condition. There are no logs . The party I bought this from had bought it shortly af­ ter WW II to use in a snowcar or snow sled , but did not do so.

H e had run it and the n stored it in a barn for 40+ years.

This would be a good engine for a restoration or a homebuilt.

Thanks, Arthur H. Ryan, 31770 Junc­ tion, Farmington Hills, MI 48336

OK all you old engine nuts out there - what does A rt have here? The engine has 4 studs to attach the cowl at the fro nt, set in a square pattern 5 inches apart around the crankshaft hub. Taylorcraft or what-have-you? eas that req uire attention. How you ac­ complish the process is a good point for ar­ gumen t.

The oLd-t imers say that all ex ternaL parts shouLd be sprayed with a preserva­ tive or anti-rust compo und. The oil pan shouLd be removed if possible and all inter­ nal parts shou ld be sprayed with the same stuff, also taking care to include the prop shaft, propeller hub, etc., and to remove the spark plugs and spray the interior of each cylinder as weLL. Rotate the engine so as to coat the cylin­ der walls as compLetely as possible, and then tag the prop against rotation because the oil rings will wipe the walls clean.

Where do you get the anti-rust spray?

I'm getting mine from the auto parts deaLer and it's called "Fog," an anti-rust prod­ uct, expensive as all get out. I haven't a clue as to who the manufacturer is. I do have a manufacturer down in Nashville, Tennessee that specia lizes in all kinds of anti-rust and preservative Lubricants.

Give them a call and Let me know what they say; Kana Laboratories, 615/833­ 4101.

Hey, it's over to you, Bob. Of course I'm sure curious as to why you're Laying up your "B"!

Buck Dear Buck, Was going th ro ugh some papers the other day and ran across yo ur pictu re.

T ho ught yo u wo uld like it so I'm send ­ ing it to yo u.

A ug ust VIN TAGE AIRPL A NE

shows yo u in front of a Fleet. What are t hose tub es d own b y th e whee ls? If yo u are busy, do not both to answer.

Sincerely, Lloyd Gross

Hi there!

I thank you for the picture. It must have been taken when I was still a young­ ster.

I have enclosed a later one taken before OSHKOSH and perhaps showing the tubes you asked about. If they are, in fact, the ones sticking up out of the Landing gear Vees, they are the shock struts.

Very much like the oleos on the Champ and Chief, they have a very long travel and take all the bounce out of the Land­ ings. This particuLar Fleet is the ModeL lOF, SeriaL Number 263; it is the proto­ type ModellO Export Fighter. This one went to Nicaragua. There was a whole series of them subsequen tLy shipped to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, etc. where they served as front line fighters until WW 11. Then the lend/Lease pro­ grams came in and the United States sent them an assortment of trainers as rein­ forcements and repLacements.

You don't see the shocks on the Champ and the Chief because they are built into the Vee and faired in. But beLieve me, these are just about the same.

Thanks again for the picture. Keep them letters coming. Over to you, Lloyd and Jane.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

Joseph P. Noto Palo Alto, CA Kenneth Ohrn Sater, Sweden Fort Worth, TX James R. Olmstead Kent , WA James R. Otey Orem, UT Jeffrie R. Parker William H. Pertner Johnstown, OH Yves Piotet Geneva, Switzerland Peter Pizzo Mt. Prospect, IL Warren Potter, Jr. Augusta, NJ Richard Radowicz Carmel Valley, CA Herbert Rakestraw Okemah, OK Bruce Reek Lake Geneva, WI Stephen D. Reinken Miami,FL William Roe Bosques, De La Herradura, Mexico Kenneth J. Roth Phoenix, AZ John C. Rutledge Providence, UT Dick Schaus Schoolcraft, MI Carterville, IL Stephen C. Schlager Peter Schwertfeger Reinach, Switzerland Boise,ID Vern R. Shetler Richard Sierson Clinton, NY Foster City, CA Robert SLifka S. Arthur Spiegel Cincinnati,OH Ed J. Steeves Belwood, Ontario, Canada Tom Stilp Wilmette, IL Charles F. Stobbart Gallo Manor, South Africa Zanesville, OH Robert C. Terry William Tiley San Diego, CA Larry Toigo West Des Moines, IA Robert L. Trew Aguila, AZ Thann Vandenbosch St Elmo, AL Carl H. Walchshauser Double Oak, TX Svea C. Wall Rochester, MN Martin Weaver Martinsville, IN Marshall Whitmor Eddyville, KY David Williams Plano, TX James D . Wolter Hayfork, CA Daniel R. Wood Franklin, TN Fred Yost Ira, TX James Zangger Cedar Rapids, IA

New Members

John R. Ader Clarkston, WA Hammond, IL Steven A. Adkisson Graham, WA Eddie L. Akers Fred J. Allen, Jr. Grass Valley, CA W. L. Anderson Laguna Niguel, CA Chris Ashdowne Boronia West, Victoria, Australia Joe Badick Greensboro, NC Doug Barnes Salida, CO J. Curtis Barnes Medford, OR Heber Springs, AR Jeff Bertrand Wrangell, AK Allen L. Bird Paul M. Borgatti Slidell, LA Delmar Brady Jonesboro, GA Malibu,CA George M. Brinton Lake Havasu, AZ Richard C. Brownell Wayne Bullock Warrington, PA Mark B. Bundick Carol Stream, IL Jeff J. Cain Denver, CO Fair Lawn, NJ Joseph A. Cascelli Robert Cavalier Sunland, CA Max Coates Fayetteville, NC Shope Z. Conley Maryville, TN Ronald Cribbs Rhome, TX L. Michael Dolin Boca Raton, FL Jonathan Elliott Singapore Warren H. Ellison United Arab Emirates Weirton, WV George H. Evans Villanova, P A John J. Fitzgerald W. James Franks Torrance, CA Barnegat, NJ Al Gabriele Wheeling,IL Brian G. Gerson J. T.Gill Dallas, TX Mortara Giovanni Ferrere, Italy Brian Godfrey Waupaca, WI E. G. Gramman EI Cajon, CA Phillip A. Greth Westerville,OH Edwards, CA Ray Guderjahn Helmut E. Guelsdorf Muehjheim, Ruhr, Germany R. C. Gustafsson Ulf San Francisco, CA John D. Helton Denham Springs, LA Charles Herr Knights Landing, CA Curtis R. Hoffman Ballwin, MO Tampa, FL Darla K. Husted Bryce Iden Reynoldsburg,OH Collierville, TN Douglas L. Johnson Ed Joyce Clarksburg, PA Toshimi Katano Yokohama, Japan Ken Kilburn E ureka, CA John L. King Winterhaven, FL Clarence Henry Kolehouse Merrill, WI Viktor Kucera Praha, Czech Republic 28 DECEMBER 1994

Ayrshire, Scotland James R. Lachendro Charles P. Lang Albuquerque, NM Monty J. Leinberger Boise,ID Dover, DE Gerald R. Lewis Center Ridge, AR William Garry Lewis Lisle,IL Donald B. MacKinnon Stoneville, NC Joe Makray Grass Valley, CA Luke E. Manis Ukiah,CA Eugene C. Marcheschi Rochester Hills, MI Michael D. McAfee Sebert Meadows Ocala, FL Elbie H. Mendenhall Brush Prairie, WA Werner Meyer Seaford, NY Steve Moore Springfield, IL John Edward Mosley Jackson, MS John H. Mulvey Southampton, NJ Jim Newman Hobart, IN

Fly-In

---------­

.

Calendar ~-~'~~ The following list of coming events is furnished to our readers as a malter 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, Att: Golda Cox, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Information should be receivedfour months prior to the event date.

JAN. 1, 1995 - WARSAW, IN - 3rd An­ nual HANGer OVER PARTY and Fly-In. lla.m. to 2p.m. 5 star restaurant quality road kill hot dogs, chips, coffee and hot co­ coa . Indiana's biggest winter fly-in. For info call Larry Lamp, 219/453-4364.

JAN. 14 - PUNTA GORDA, FL - EAA Chapter 565 Fly-In Breakfast. 813/575­ 6360.

JAN. 15 - WAUSAU, WI - WAPA Ski Fly-In. 715/842-7814.

FEB. 18 - MINNEAPOLIS, MN - 1995 Minnesota Sport Aviation Conference .

Call 612/296-8202 for further information.

FEB. 25-26 - RIVERSIDE, CA - EAA Chapter 1 Open House. 909/686-1318.

MARCH 3-5 - CASA GRANDE, AZ ­ 37th Annual Cactus Fly-In. 602/641 -7467 APRIL 9 - 15 - LAKELAND, FL - Sun 'n Fun '95. 813/644-243l.

JULY 27 - AUGUST 2 - OSHKOSH, WI - 43rd Annual EAA Fly-In and Sport Aviation Convention. Wittman Regional Airport. Contact John Burton, EAA, P.O .

Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, 414/426-4800.

MOVING? IS THERE A NEW LOCATION IN YOUR IMMEDIATE FUTURE? Be sure that your membership ... and Vintage Airplane ••. follows you. Let us know at least two months in advance of your move.

Send your change of address (include membership number) VINTAGE AIRPLANE to:

EAA SCHOLARSHIPS AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING PILOT AND MECHANIC

EAA

All: CHUCK LARSEN

EAA AVIATION CENTER

PO BOX 3086

OSHKOSH, WI 54903-3086

414/426-4800

P"0" Box 3086 OSHKOSH, WI 54903-3086 or call 1-800-843-3612

35¢ per word, $5.00 minimum charge. Send your ad to

The Vintage Trader, EAA Aviation Center, P.O. Box 3086, Oahkoah, WI 54903-3086.

Payment muat accompany ad. ViSAIMaaterCard accepted.

CURTISS JENNY MEMORABILIA - You can now own memora­ bilia from the famous "JENNY" which has starred in TREASURES FROM THE PAST, as well as the EAA videos, YOUNG EAGLES and ITS GOTTA BE A JENNY. We have posters, post card, pins, T-shirts, airmail cachets, etc. We also have RIC documentation exclusive to this historic aircraft. Sales of these items support operating expenses to keep this "JENNY" flying for the aviation public. We appreciate your help. SASE for your free price list. Ken Hyde, 7099 Glenn Curtiss Lane, Warrenton, VA 22186. (12-2)

MISCELLANEOUS:

SUPER CUB PA-18 FUSELAGES - New manufacture, STC-PMA­

d, 4130 chrome-moly tubing throughout, also complete fuselage

repair. ROCKY MOUNTAIN AIRFRAME INC. (J. E. Soares, Pres.),

7093 Dry Creek Rd., Belgrade, Montana 59714. 406-388-6069.

FAX 406/388-0170. Repair station No. QK5R148N.

GEE BEE Racers - Model plans used for Benjamin's R-2. Ten airplanes, 1/3-1/24 scale. Shirts, etc.! Plans Catalog/News $4.00 refundable. Vern Clements, 308 Palo Alto, Caldwell, 10 83605.

208/459-7608. (1-3)

(NEW) This & That About the Ercoupe, $14.00. Fly-About Adven­ tures & the Ercoupe, $17.95. Both books, $25.00. Fly-About, P.O. Box 51144, Denton, Texas 76206. (ufn)

Rare Propeller Hub - 15 spline, 2-3/8 inch 10, 3-3/4-inch 00, 8 hole, 6-5/8 inch dia. bolt pattern, 6-inch prop. 708/985-9074. (2-4)

Sitka Spruce Lumber - Oshkosh Home Bldg. Ctr, Inc. 414/235­ 0990. Oshkosh, Wisconsin. (c-6/95) Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome - Cole Palen Memorial - Foundation introduction and missing man formation flight - VHS format, 41 min.

An indelible moment in time. $20.00 plus $3.50 shipping & handling.

Check or Money order to: Airborne Adventures Inc., 6229 Poolsbrook Road, Kirkville, NY 13082. (12-4) Wheel Pants - The most accurate replica wheel pants for antique and classics available on the market today. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. Available in primer gray gelcoat. Harbor Ultra-Lite Products Co., 1326 Batey Place, Harbor City, CA 90720, phone 310/326-5609 or FAX 310/530-2124. (ufn) VIDEOS - TAILDRAGGERS AND FARMSTRIPS. Piper J-3 and CUB display tailwheel flying and short field landing techniques. $19.95. A TIGER'S TALE. Fascinating story of the Tiger Moth biplane featuring Christopher Reeve flying with the exclusive "Tiger" Club in England. $19.95. THE GEE BEE AIRPLANES. Documen­ tary of rare film interviews of the Granville brothers, Bob Hall and Pete Miller. Extraordinary footage of Lowell Bayles crash and Jimmy Doolittle winning the Thompson Trophy. $24.95. WATSONVILLE FLY-IN. Outstanding antique and classic video featuring Stear­ mans, Wacos, Stinsons, Ryans and many more beautiful aircraft. $29.95. Order any 3 videos and receive a 10% discount plus our 90 min. preview tape FREE! $4.75 S&H for one tape, $1 for each add'i tape. Call 800-700-0747. Mail: VC Marketing, 40 Kitty Hawk East, Richmond, TX 77469. (TX. Res. add 7-1/4% tax.) (c-12194)

ACCA Yearbooks -1935, $185.1925 - $125. -1927 - $165. ­ 1944 - $85. -1951 - $55.1953 - $45. - Rare 1939 "Aerosphere" with huge engine section, $385. Set Brimm and Boggess engine and airframe maintenance manuals, $95. Lots more. List available. Jon Aldrich, Airport POB-9, Big Oakflat, CA 95305, 209/962-6121. (12-1)

WANTED:

Wanted - PHY-LAX fire extinguisher and/or information, parts,

literature, on the PHY-LAX automatic fire extinguisher system for

airplanes, circa 1929. Needed for Command-Aire restoration project.

Tom Brown B716 CTP , Unity, WI 54488, phone 715/223-4444. (12-2)

J~5

30 DECEMBER 1994

Wanted - Copy of Phil Schneck's drawings No. 51-L thru 56-L for conversion on Lawrence, 5 cylinder, radial APU engine. Call 1­ 405/255-8349 or write George Copland, Route 2, Box 12, Duncan, OK 73533. (12-1)

Fly-In Patches -Past EAA Fly-In Convention patches still available.

Some quantities limited. Call for details. Mugs, patches, hats, pro­ grams, 1-800-843-3612.

Fly high with a

quality Classic interior

Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation .

Custom quality at economical prices_

• Cushion upholstery sets • Wall panel sets • Headliners • Carpet sets • Baggage compartment sets • Firewall covers • Seat slings • Recover envelopes and dopes

When it goes on display again, the Spruce Goose will be sporting tough new fabric control surfaces by Poly-Fiber. The AirVenture Museum people want them to last... and Poly-Fiber will. On the Goose, and on your airplane, too. Watch for announcements of future Poly-Fiber builder workshops. Rnd out how easy it really is to do it yourself.

Free catalog of complete product line.

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials: $3.00.

The Benchmarlc of

Aircrah Fabric Covering Systems

'::r • I I Qil1:exi:RODUCTS, INC. 259 Lower Morrisville Rd. , Dept. VA

Fallsington, PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

__

~

LEXANDER EROPLANE COMPANY, INC.

flOur Main Product is Service" • • • •

Hardware Airframe Parts Interiors & Covering Materials Pre sewn Fabric Envelopes

Call 1-800-831-2949 for a FREE Catalog and Subscription to Aeroplane News!

Ask about our Workshops!

2-Full Days of Detailed

Classroom

and Hands-On Instruction

for only

$150!

Your Choice: Fabric Covering, CompOSite

Basics, Welding or Sheet Metal Basics!

Customer Service:

800-361-3490 Other Stuff: 909-684-4280 Post Office Box 3129 Riverside, California 92519

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Aircra.ft C<>a.tings

UTLIT'J SEAVa

p.o. box 468 madison, north carolina 27025 (919) 427-0216

AWWA

MEMBER

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TANI( PAINTtNb ANO REPAIRING SANOIlASTtNG. TANK LINERS ANO COATINGS PREVENTIVE TANK ....AINTENANCE INSPECTION SERYICE LAOOU SAfETY EQUIP.... ENT RESERvOI. LINUS ANO ROOfS OfS....ANTlING AND ....OVING TANKS NEW. USED AND IECONOITIONEO TANKS

P,O. Box 909 • Griffin, Go • Fox: 404-229-2329 VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

"I'm with AUA because they understand Antique & Classic Airplanes. They were the first to support the A & C Division and cater to

AUA's Exclusive EAA Antique/Classic Division Insurance Program

the needs of the members. I get big savings

r liability and hull premiums

with multiple aircraft discounts and coverage

ical payments included

for whatever the situation demands. On top of

discounts for multiple aircraft carrying all risk coverages

it all, their personal service has a down-home handshake approach."

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Buck knows from experience that Aviation Unlimited Agency is top flight because they have a record of excellent benefits, low

component parts endorsements nts for cla im free renewals carrying all risk coverages

premiums, and quick claims .

can afford to have the best and AUA will Remember, We're Better Together'

800-727-3823

AVIATION UNLIMITED AGENCY

Show off your favorite vintage airplanes in this heavy-weight 90/10 cotton/poly sweatshirt.

Perfect for any antique/classic enthusiast.

(M-XL) ......................................... $29.95*

Ward off the first signs of winter in Antique/Classic style with this cotton-poplin drop shoulder jacket. Available in tan or navy, with an embroidered Antique/Classic logo, it's a definite cool weather favorite. (M-XXL) ........... .......... ... ........ .............. .... $48.95* Compliment your AlC jacket with this full Corduroy Hat. Adjustable navy hat is em­ broidered with a large Antique/Classic logo. One size fits all. ........................$10.00*

Antique/Classic patches and pins.

Large Patch ...............................$2.70*

Small Patch ...............................$1.75*

Decal (inside or out) ..................$ .60*

Tie Tack .....................................$2.50*

Perfect for the office or the flightline, this An­

tique/Classic Epaulet shirt from Van Heusen

is available in white or blue.

(151/2-20) .........................................$24.00*

Update your weekend wardrobe! This college-style sweatshirt is made of a 50/50 cot­ ton/poly blend for comfort and easy care. Available in navy with full color embroidery.

(M-XL) ................................................................................................... $32.95*

TO ORDER CALL

1 -800-843-3612

or write: EAA Mail Orders, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 • plus shipping. Call for prices

Wisconsin residents add 5% sales tax