VA-Vol-23-No-1-Jan-1995

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EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher Tom Poberezny

January 1995

Vol. 23, No.1

CONTENTS

1 Straight & Level/

Espie " Butch " Joyce

2 AlC News/Compiled by H.G. Frautschy 3 Vintage Literature/

Dennis Parks

8 Members Projects/

Norm Petersen

Page 13

11 AlC Tidbits/H .G. Frautschy 13 25th Anniversary KZ Fly-In/ Norm Pete rse n

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

Greg Herrick's PT-23/H .G . Frautschy

21 Stan Gomoll's Page 17

25 Mystery Airplane/G eorge H ardie

Secrefary Steve Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Lea. MN 56007 507/373-1674

Vice-President Arthur MorQan W211 N11863 Hilltop Dr. Germantown. WI 53022 414/628-2724 Treasurer

E.E. ' Buck' Hilbert

P.O. Box 424

Union.IL 6D18D

815/923-4591

DIRECTORS John Berendt 7645 Echo Point Rd. Cannon Falls. MN 55009

507/263-2414

27 Pass it to Buck!

E.E. "Buck" Hilbe rt

29 Welcome New Members 29 Calendar 30 Vintage Trader

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

EAA ANTIQUE/ CLASSIC DIVISION, INC. OFFICERS

17 One of Each, Please-

1928 Heath Super Parasol/ Norm Peterse n

Vice-President,

Marketing and Communications

Dick Matt

Editor-in-Chief

Jack Cox

Editor

Henry G. Frautschy

Managing Editor

Golda Cox

Art Director

Mike Drucks

Computer Graphic Specialists

Sara Hansen

Olivia L. Phillip Jennifer Larsen

Advertising

Mary Jones

Page 21 FRONT COVER. . Joe and Mark Denest of West Chester. PA restored this 1943 Fairchild PT-23-SL for owner Greg Herrick of Minneapolis. MN. It was picked by the EM OSHKOSH '94 judges to be the WW II Military Tra iner/Liaison Aircraft runner-up in the Antique category. EAA photo by Jim Koepnick. shot with a Canon EOS- l equipped with an 80-200mm /f2 .8 lens. 1/500 sec. at f 6.3 on Kodak Ektachrome Lumiere 100 film . Cessna 210 photo plane flown by Bruce Moore.

BACK COVER ... Hugh Polder of Chicago. IL captured the beauty and speed of the Granville Brothers Gee Bee Super Sportster "City of Springfield" in his casein painting. Flown by Lowell Bayles. the first of the Gee Bee racer winners was the 1931 Thompson Trophy w inner at the N.A.R. I'm sure you noticed that last month's back cover also featured a Gee Bee - what gives? Look for an announcement concerning race planes in next month's VINTAGE AIRPLANE.

Robert C. "Bob" Brouer

9345 S. Hoyne

ChJw/~~9~m20

Gene Chose 2159 Carlton Rd. Oshkosh. WI 54904 414/231-5002

John S. Copeland 28-3 Williamsburg Ct. Shrewsbury. MA 01545 508/842-7867

Phil Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr. Lawton. MI 49065 616/624-6490

George Daubner

2448 Lough Lane

Harf1ord, WI 53027

414/673-5885

Charles Harris 7215 East 46th St. Tulsa. OK 74145 918/622-8400

StonGomoll 1042 90th Lane. NE Minneapolis. MN 55434 612/784-1172

Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Dr. Indianapolis, IN 46278 317/293-4430

Jeonnie Hill

p.o. Box 328

Harvard. IL 60033

815/943-7205

Robert Lickteig 1708 Bay Oaks Dr. Alberf Lea. MN 56007 507/373-2922

Robert D. "Bob" Lumley 1265 South 124th St. Brookfeld. WI 53005 414/782-2633

Gene Morris 115C Steve Court. R.R. 2 Roanoke. TX 76262 817/491-9110

George York

181 Sloboda Av.

Mansfield. OH 44906

419/529-4378

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

Copyright © 1995 by the EM Antique/Classic Division Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Second Class Poslage paid al Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices. The membership rale for EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. is $27.00 for current EAA members for 12 month period of which $15.00 is for the publication of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EAA Anlique/Classic Division, Inc., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE 10 foreign and APO addresses via surface mail.

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

EDITORIAL POLICY: Readers are encouraged 10 submit slories and pholographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No renumeration is made.

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

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

Jimmy Rollison

640 Alamo Dr.

Vacaville. CA 95688

707/45 HJ411

The words EAA, ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM, SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EAA, EAA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB, WAR BIRDS OF AMERICA are ® registered Irademarks. THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos of Ihe EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION and EAA ULTRAlIGHT CONVENTION are trademarks of the above associalions and their use by any person other Ihan the above association is strictly prohibited.

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

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

DIRECTOR EMERITUS S.J. WiHman

7200 S.E. 85th Lane

Ocala, FL 32672

904/245-7768

ADVISORS

STRAIGHT & LEVEL

by Espie "Butch" Joyce

I hope everyone had a good, safe holiday season. This past year has been a good year for the Antique/Classic movement. Rebuilds of antique aircraft continue to add to our fleet and the quality of these re­ builds continues to get better and bet­ ter. As an example, there are five clipped wing Monocoupes flying, each being a grand champion in its own right.

One of the contributing reasons for this growth is that there are a number of very good restoration shops around the country turning out top notch aircraft. Credit also needs to be given to the Type Clubs. The clubs with good leadership and a strong newsletter really stand out.

These clubs give support to their type of aircraft with technical information and parts suppliers. I receive calls weekly from individuals requiring in­ formation relating to their aircraft or other aviation interests . If it's an item that I cannot answer, I generally refer the person to a Type Club, an individual, Antique/Classic Chapter or an EAA Chapter.

Speaking of Chapters , the An­ tique/Classic Division has approxi­ mately 19 Chapters at this time. EAA Chapters number in the hundreds. It has been my experience that the EAA Chapter members often own (for the most part) antique, classic or contem­ porary aircraft. There is a wealth of knowledge among these individual members and there is a rewarding so­ cial aspect to be found by being a member of a Chapter. If you don't have a local A /C Chapter, don 't over­ look the benefits of belonging to a lo­ cal EAA Chapter. Or, if there is enough local interest , perhaps you ' d

be interested in starting an Antique/ Classic Chapter in your area. Contact the EAA Chapter office at 414/426­ 4876 for more information.

This past Christmas EAA Chapter 8 had its annual Christmas covered dish lunch on a Saturday at my hangar. This has become an annual event with each member making a special effort to attend. It is very in­ teresting to sit back and listen to the conversations conducted at this meet­ ing. Everyone is good friends; the talk ranges from aircraft to health matters, to family concerns. Out of this comes offers of support and help for all of the above matters. It just makes you feel good about aviation and aviation people.

I see the same from members of the Antique/Classic Division when they gather each year at Oshkosh and other fly-ins around the country. It makes you feel good to belong. Try it.

Speaking of Oshkosh, the Conven­ tion for 1995 has and is being dis­ cussed a great deal by your Officers and Directors. It is our top concern that your visit during the 1995 Con­

vention be a pleasant one . Some­ times certain items may slip by us, so please do not mind bringing a matter to our attention.

The membership of the Antique/ Classic Division now stands at ap­ proximately 9 ,500 members. Our growth has been very strong. I feel that your publication, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, has improved greatly over this past year. Your Editor, Henry G. Frautschy, deserves a lot of credit for this. You can look at the masthead inside the front cover to discover some of the other people who help in this regard.

Now that the winter months are here it's time to take care of those maintenance matters that need to be done. T would like to remind every­ one to also check the structure of the building that you have your pride and joy stored in. Each year we have some member have their aircraft dam­ aged from a falling hangar - let's see if we can avoid having that happen this season.

Ask a friend to join us. Remem­ ber, we are better together. Join us and have it all. ...

..

Four of the five clipped wing Monocoupes flying today.

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~--------------------------------------------------------------~~ VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

LUSCOMBE WINNER

compiled by H.G. Frautschy

OWNER PRODUCED PARTS An Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) working group has drafted a new advisory circular concern­ ing this subject. EAA ' s Washington representative Charlie Schuck partic­ ipated in the process with the working group, and during the drafting of the AC, EAA was instrumental in maintain­ ing an aircraft owner's ability to make parts for his own aircraft. This part of the FAR's is unique to the United States , and comes under fire often.

EAA is committed to maintaining this right.

The working group's task was to de­ velop an interim plan for evaluating the acceptability of aircraft parts that exist within the present civil inventories that lack acceptable documentation. The group will also develop a plan to ensure that in the future, aircraft parts are prop­ erly documented .

During the development of this new Advisory Circular, EAA ensured that the problems associated with out of produc­ tion aircraft and owner/operator-pro­ duced parts were specifically addressed.

An owner or operator of a product is con­ sidered a producer of a part if the owner or operator participated in controlling the design , manufacture or quality of the part.

NEW AlC CHAPTER Congratulations to the newest An­ tique/Classic Chapter to be organized, A/C Chapter 27 in Delaware, OH. Roger Brown is the Chapter's first president , and we look forward to news of their ac­ tivities.

If you belong to an Antique/Classic Chapter, we'd like to hear about your ac­ tivities - send us a note and some photos so we can let the entire membership know how much fun you're having as an A/C Chapter!

AIR ADVENTURE WEEKEND The EAA Air Adventure Museum has created a unique way for EAA 'ers and their families to experience the museum's Pioneer Airport. The" Air Adventure Weekend" is quickly becoming a popular way to visit Oshkosh and truly experience the sights and sounds of the early days of aviation. Here 's what the weekend offers: 2 JANUARY 1995

Saturday night accommodations for two at a local motel, a special "insiders" tour of the EAA Air Adventure Museum and the Weeks Flight Research Center, and the "piece de resistance" is a series of flights that is sure to be remembered for a long time to come - participants will be able to share flights (weather permitting, of course) with a spouse or a friend in four unique and different aircraft : an open cockpit biplane, a cabin class an­ tique monoplane, a classic Bell helicopter and the queen of the Pioneer Airport fleet, the magnificent 1929 Ford Tri-Mo­ tor. Best of all, your flight in the Ford also includes time in the co-pilot's seat!

These packages are proving to be very popular, and are already selling at a quick pace. The cost is only $295 per person, or $495 per couple. Weekend packages are limited, and are assigned on a first come, first serve basis, so don't delay - call the EAA Flight Center at 414/426-4886 to book your "Air Adventure Weekend."

CLIFF ROBERTSON

WORK EXPERIENCE '95

The Cliff Robertson Work Experience program provides opportunities for total immersion in the activities of EAA and the EAA Aviation Foundation in Oshkosh , WI. Two participants, age 16 or 17 and one youthful mentor/CFl will be selected to participate in the 1995 pro­ gram. Applications must be completed and returned by April 1, 1995.

A package of information and applica­ tion materials can be sent to you by con­ tacting the EAA Aviation Foundation Education Office, P . O. Box 3065, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3065 or by calling 414/426-4888.

BPPP RETURNS No, it's not the sound a rotary engine makes on approach, BPPP stands for Bo­ nanza/Baron Pilot Proficiency Program.

After a short period of time during which the program was not offered, the Ameri­ can Bonanza Society has been able to see to it that a new corporate structure was put in place to administer the program outside of the Society itself. ABS Service Clinics and Pilot Proficiency Programs will be held throughout 1995 in various locations in the U.S. Contact the ABS for more information at 316/945-6913 or Fax at 316/945-6990.

The Don Luscombe Aviation Histori­ cal Foundation's drawing for a newly re­ stored Luscombe 8E was held during the Copperstate Fly-In at Mesa, AZ, Novem­ ber 12, 1994. The winner of the 8E was Walter IIIston of Jefferson City, MO. Second place, a Garmin GPS, was won

by Ivory White of Mesa, AZ . All pro­ ceeds from the ticket sales go to the pur­ chase of the Luscombe 8 series type cer­ tificates and engineering data.

If you missed out on this past year's drawing , don't fret - a drawing will be held again during 1995, and once more , only 2,400 tickets will be sold at $40 each (3 for $100). Much better odds than play­ ing the lottery! The 1995 tickets are on sale now, and you can purchase them by contacting the DLAHF at 1-800/678-9900 - tone 4522 - 602/917-0969 for more infor­ mation.

LUSCOMBE AD AD94-16-02 is applicable to all model 8 series airplanes that have round-tipped vertical stabilizer installations. Replace­ ment of the forward vertical stabilizer at­ tach fitting within the next 100 hours is required by the AD.

AEROMATIC TC SOLD Jeff Brown of Imperial, MO has re­ cently purchased the Type Certificate and tooling for the Aeromatic prop. At this point in time , Jeff is unable to supply parts until he is able to finalize lease arrangements for manufacturing and stor­ age space. You can contact him at 1702 Hilltop Lane, Imperial, MO 63052, phone 314/464-6927. The rights to the Beech­ Roby and also Flottorp props were also included in the transaction.

A LITTLE HELP PLEASE . ..

We all know how frustrating it can be to come up with one or two seemingly in­ significant items to finish off a restoration - insignificant until you realize your get­ ting closer to the end and still have not found what you want. A well-known fel­ low from these parts has just that prob­ lem - EAA founder and chairman Paul Poberezny has been busy with a number of aircraft projects, including a Fairchild PT-23. Paul is in need of a carb air scoop for the PT, and would appreciate hearing from anyone who has a lead on one. You can call Paul at 414/426-4814.

PHOTO CREDIT Last month's shot of the Northrop N9M was taken by photographer Frank B. Mormillo . Our thanks to Frank for supplying EAA with this picture. ....

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by ()ennis Va.-ks!!

Lib.-a.-y/A..-chives ()i.-ect().­

From the Collection of George Noville Photographs from the George Noville Collection include some very interesting and rare photos ofaircraft from

the 1915-1916 period. These aircraft could have been used as mystery planes, but as they are from the same collection

and represent a particular period, some are presented here.

George O. Noville was an aeronau­ tical engineer born in Cleveland Ohio in 1891. Noville was a naval aviator , war-flyer, trans-Atlantic flyer and arc­ tic expedition flyer, gaining fame flying with Admiral Byrd. At the age of fif­ teen he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and continued in the service until 1914 when he transferred to aviation and qualified as a naval aviator.

During the World War he served with the "Esquadrille Candiana ," a naval air combat unit operating on the Austrian Front. He resigned from the US Naval Air Service, with the grade of Lieutenant Commander.

His resignation from the naval ser­ vice was due to his appointment to the Post Office Department as Superinten­ dent of the Eastern Division of the U.S. Air Mail , a position he held dur­ ing the winter of 1919-20. He then took a posting with the French com­ pany Mesagerie Aerienne where he worked on developing the London to Paris air mail service. He then held positions with several major oil compa­

nies until 1927 after which he became a consulting engineer.

Noville gained recognition for his work with Admiral Byrd on the ex­ ploratory flight to the Arctic and the Atlantic crossing. In 1926, Noville be­ came executive officer of the Byrd Arctic Expedition to the North Pole.

In 1927 , he served as relief pilot and second in command for Admiral Byrd on the Trans-Atlantic flight of the Fokker " America " for the New York to Paris flight.

BERCKMANS: SPEED SCOUT BIPLANE -1917 During 1918, a few obscure Ameri­ can designers were able to obtain or­ ders from the Army for aircraft of their own design. One of the few men able to obtain such a contract was Maurice Berckmans, who 's previous experience seems to have been limited to his de­ sign and construction of the Speed Scout of 1917 which he had flown around the country for some time.

BERCKMANS: SPEED SCOUT BIPLANE - 1917 - The Speed Scout was trim and incor­ porated many features ahead of its time, but the military wasn't interested.

Above - COMMANDER GEORGE NOVILLE on the deck of the SS Leviathan returnin9 to the United States after the flight to France with Commander Byrd, Bert Acosta and Brent Balchen on the Fokker Trimotor "America."

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

Above - BERCKMANS: SPEED SCOUT BIPLANE - 1917 - Note the lower wing suspended below the fuselage. The test pilots were Bert Acosta and Edward Holterman.

Maurice learned to fly at the Curtiss flying school on North Island at San Diego in 1915 . His Speed Scout was built on Long Island in a hangar adja­ cent to the L.W.F. factory. The bi­ plane was unusual and advanced in having a three-ply monocoque fuse­ lage and a lower wing suspended be­ low the fuselage. Bert Acosta made most of the test flights of the plane. In the spring of 1918 the Scout was painted with Liberty Bond slogans and flown in a local war bond drive.

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In the summer of 1919, the Aero Club of Texas discovered that up to that time no plans had been made to have an American entry in the Gordon Bennett Race to be held in France in September 1920.

Lacking funds with which to finance such a project, the clu b made an ap­ peal to S.E.J. Cox , an oil promoter from Houston, Texas, who decided to sponsor two aircraft in the race.

Requests for designs were sent out to every manufacturer. This resulted in 49 proposals being submitted, some of them unique - one being a machine without wings, some fantastic - a de­ sign which promised a speed of 1,000 miles per hour.

At the request of Cox, a committee of aeronautical experts narrowed the proposals down to 12, and out of this group the committee selected the pro­ posal from the Curtiss Company.

Desi gned by Curtiss Engineers, W.L. Gilmore, Arthur Thurston and

H .E. Coffin , the two Cox racers were built at Garden City on Long Island.

The fuselage was of laminated wood monocoque construction , while the wings and tail surfaces were of wood ribs and spars with fabric covering.

The two racers were named TEXAS WILDCAT and the CACTUS KIT­ TEN by Mrs . Cox, a pilot herself who owned a Curtiss Oriole.

The TEXAS WILDCAT tested in July of 1920 with a thick conventional airfoil was able to reach a speed of 183 mph. For the race a symmetrical air­ foil wing was produced . Unfortu­ nately , the racer was damaged in France prior to the race. Later the CACTUS KITTEN was rebuilt as a triplane and finished second in the 1921 Pulitzer Trophy race.

CURTISS: HS-2L FLYING BOAT When the United States entered the World War in 1917 the U.S. Navy had only six flying boats in service. By the time the Armistice was signed in 1918, the number had increased to over 1,000 . The largest number of these were the single-engined Curtiss HS-2 flying boats.

The HS-l (Hydroplane, Single En­ gine), which was first flown in October 1917, combined the hull design from the Curtiss AMERICA with the wings of the R-Type seaplane. The first air­ craft had the Curtiss 200 hp V-X-3 eight-cylinder engine. When the first 360 hp Liberty 12 became available , that engine became the standard for production aircraft.

CURTISS-COX: TEXAS WILDCAT RACER - This photo may have been taken at the airplanes dedication. The person by the pitot tube appears to be Mr. Cox who sponsored the project for the Gordon Bennett Races of 1920.

Navy demand for the HS series was so great that other firms constructed the craft including LWF, Standard , Gallaudet, Boeing and Lockheed.

Many of the flying boats were sold to private operators after the war and the US Navy still had 40 in service in 1925.

JUNKERS-LARSEN: JL

SEAPLANE

In 1919 Junkers developed an all­ metal four seat transport aircraft des­ ignated the F .13. This would turn out

CURTISS: HS-2L Flying Boat - The HS-2 series of flying boats was the most numerous of those built for the US Navy with over 600 constructed.

to be a very popular aircraft with over 300 produced. Early in 1920, John M. Larsen, a Danish born American citi­ zen traveled to Europe with consul­ tant Charles B. Kirkham, a noted aeronautical engineer. Larsen was in­ terested in advanced German technol­ ogy and hoped to make money by ex­ ploiting it.

After visiting the Junkers works at Dessau, Larsen purchased the Ameri­ can patent rights to the F.13. He planned to import several, then manu­ facture them in the United States un­ der the JL-6 designation. Eight of the

JUNKERS-LARSEN: JL-6 SEAPLANE - An innovative all-metal transport, this aircraft came to grief while in use with the U.S. Air Mail Service.

VI NTAGE AIRPLANE 5

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aircraft were sold to the US A ir Mai l Serv ice a nd and six to t he Army and the Navy.

W illiam B. Stout had recommended to the head of the Mail Service that he investigate the Ju n kers F.13 t hen at Mineola Field on Lo ng Island. The

F.13 feat ured a semi-e nclosed cockpit a nd an e nclosed cabin that could seat fo ur passengers. Powered by a 6 cylin­ der BMW 185 hp engine, it cruised at a s p ee d of 87 mph a n d h a d a m axi­ mum speed of 110 mph . For the price of $200,000, the Air Mai l Service pur-

ORENCO: TYPE A TRAINER - Powered by a four-cylinder Dussenberg, this was the first ai'rcraft produced by the Ordinance Engineering Company. The Army only purchased two.

JUNKERS-LARSEN: JL-6 ­ One of the routes that the JL-6 was used on was the Chicago to Omaha run.

c h ased eig h t JL-6s a long wit h four spare engines and spare parts.

T he beginni ngs of Air Mail service with t he J L-6 in A ugust 1920 was in­ a uspicious with nine forced landings, four beca use of rad iator leaks, t h ree d ue to fue l leaks, a nd two beca use of clogged fuel straine rs. T hings became worse in September with three in-flight fires and two fatal crashes which re­ sulted in the grounding of JL-6s . The aircraft were p ut back into service af­ ter modification of the fuel system but another fata l crash put them o u t of business. Despite the s uccess of the machines in other parts of the world, their use by the U.S. Air Mail Service proved a failure.

ORENCO: TYPE A TRA INER Orenco, originally Ordinance Engi­ neering Company, was formed in 1916 with a plant in Baldwin, Long Island, to build aircraft for the US Army.

Their first aircraft was the Type A, a side-by-side two seat trainer powered with a 105 hp Dusenberg four cylinder engine.

The only picture I've been able to locate was in a United States Aero Propeller Company advertisement in the November 5, 1917 issue of AERIAL AGE WEEKLY . According to "Fahey's US Army Aircraft" the Army procured two of the aircraft.

Orenco's most successful design was the Type D Hisso powered fighter.

Unfortunately for Orenco, Curtiss won the contract to produce 50 of the fight­ ers.

6 JANUARY 1995

SPERRY: CURTISS MONOPLANE CONVERSION

OF A CANUCK - Sperry was among the

companies that tried to find a market for a converted, faster Jenny.

SPERRY CURTISS CANUCK MONOPLANE The Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company of Famingdale, Long Is­ land, in 1921 , produced a thick can­ tilever monoplane wing which was specially designed for use on Curtiss IN-4 and Canadian Curtiss Canuck biplanes. Owing to the high efficiency of the wing, and to a reduction in par­ asitic drag, the performance was much improved over the amply strut­ ted and cross-braced biplane wings of the originals . The top speed on the

conversion was listed as 95 mph com­ pared to that of the original. Siko­ rsky was another concern offering such a conversion but the Sikorsky used strut bracing.

STOUT: BATWING 1920 In 1918-19 William B. Stout de­ signed and built the si ngl e seat Batwing Monoplane . This cantilever monoplane was constructed of wood and covered with a thin veneer. Pow­ ered by a 150 hp Hisso, it was flown in 1920.

Based on the success of the Batwing, Stout formed the Stout En­ gineering Laboratories and devel­ oped, for commercial purposes, the Batwing Limousine powered by a 200 hp Packard engine. Also constructed of wood with a veneer covering, the craft weighed 1,940 pounds empty. It had a maximum speed of close to 120 mph and landed at 40 mph. This de­ sign led to Stout's contract with the Navy to build a cantilever all-metal torpedo plane which merged the de­ sign features of the Batwing designs with the new duraluminum metal. ...

STOUT: BATWING LIMOUSINE - This was the second of Stout's flying wing designs and the first passenger ship.

VINTAGE AIRPI ANF 7

Best Custom Class B Award Winner

by Norm Petersen Quietly lined up in the Antique/Classic section on the north side of "Red Barn Road" at EAA Oshkosh '94 was a pretty cream and maroon Luscombe 8E, N71645, SIN 3072, that seemed to attract more than its share of interested parties. Sure, the paint scheme looked liked it had just come off the showroom floor and the pro­ peller even had the identical colors, but the overall impression of the airplane was one of owner fastidiousness .

John and Kathy McMurray (EAA 457359, A/C 22744) of Burkburnett, Texas, have literally jumped into the An­ tique/Classic game in the last year and a half. John is an Air Force jet instructor (T-38 Talon) and they bought the neat lit­ tle Luscombe on February 26,1993, at Yuma, AZ. Their previous aircraft was a BO-12, a single place glider!

Transfered to Witch ita Falls, TX, the Luscombe was brought to Witchita Valley Airport, a haven for taildraggers, with the likes of Dave Eby (EAA 78731 , A/C 16735) and crew adding expertise and en­ couragement. The Luscombe was soon stripped by John and Kathy and readied for painting by Dave along with a new nose cowl from Univair. In addition, new 8 JANUARY 1995

glass was installed, new skylights, new wingtips and a new headliner - specially modified for John's long torso so his head wouldn't hit the roof! All new hardware was used on reassembly and a pair of Dave Eby's moulded fiberglass wheelpants were carefully installed to give it "the look."

The horizontal stabilizer was reskinned and final painting and touch ups were furi­ ously completed on Saturday and Sunday with John and Kathy leaving for Oshkosh on Monday - the paint being allowed to

(Continued on page 10)

It's called super detailing and it helps to win awards.

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING

-------------------------------------------------------byNorrnPetersen

it is quite readily recognized at the vari­ ous fly-ins according to Harry.

The second photo (below) is brother Jack Fox 's 1966 "Helton Lark 95," G­ LARK (I love those registration let­ ters!), again the only example of its kind in Great Britain. It is a much later version of the Culver line of aircraft and features a Continental C90-16 en­ gine and a fixed tricycle landing gear.

The sliding canopy makes for a bit eas­ ier entrance to the cockpit and two peo­ ple can enjoy a rather nice tour with such a machine. Note the EAA sticker just below the windshield.

Two from Jolly Olde England The photos of these two " kinfolk " airplanes were sent in by Harry Fox (EAA 275119) of Bucks, England. The first is his Culver LCA Cadet, ex.

NC29261, SIN 129 (above) built in 1940 in Columbus, Ohio. Previous owners include Jim Rezich (1986), Rockford and Winnebago, IL, Henry Barrows (1974) , Winchester, OH, and Stan Crox­ ford (1964) of Speonk , NY. The little retractable geared speedster is the only example of its kind in Great Britain, yet

area since being acquired by the U. S. Forest Service back in 1950.

Photographed in front of a hangar at Sky Harbor Airport in Duluth, MN, is Wayne Preston's (EAA 227761) Champion Challenger (below) N9950Y, SIN 7GCB-156. A bit rare with only 57 remaining on the FAA register, this Challenger, just like the Stinson above , began serving with the Nebraska Dept. of Game , Forest Station and Parks after emerging from the factory in Osceola , WI. For many years, the Challenger was owned by Robert Hatch in Du­ luth before Wayne Preston acquired it.

Two Minnesota A irplanes Pictured on a tiedown at Sky Harbor Airport in Duluth, MN, is Bruce Dudley's (EAA 347684) Stin­ son 108-3, N6937M, SIN 108-4937 (above) with its 180 Franklin engine well bundled up for the cold weather. Note the McCauley constant-speed pro­ peller on the nose and the float attach fittings just ahead of the landing gear. Bruce has owned the Stinson about five years and flies it on wheels, Edo 2425 floats and Federal A3500 skis. The Stinson has spent its entire life in the northeastern Minnesota VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

MEMBERS Cont.

Two North Carolina Pipers This extremely original Piper J-3 Cub (below) N7034H, SIN 20278, is the pride and joy of Cathy Joan Norris of Mooresville, NC, which has been in her family since the 1960's. Her father taught her to fly in the Cub and she has received additional instruction from a good friend by the name of Duan e Cole!

Crusing along above the North Car­ olina trees is Piper Super Cub (right) N1471C, SIN 18-2673, flown by Cathy Norris' father, Amos Norris of Statesville, NC. A 1953 model, the Su­ per Cub has und e rgon e some very ef­ fective restoration work which makes it a dandy lookin g a irplane . Dual n av­ coms, tail-mounted rotating beacon , 3200 Scott t ai lwh ee l and Cleveland wheel s a nd brak es a re so me of the amenities add ed to this jewel. ...

Working on a project of your own?

Send your photos along with a short story on your airplane to: Attn: Norm Petersen

EAA Headquarters

P.O. Box 3086

Oshkosh,VVlS4903-3086

LUSCOMBE8E

(Continued from page 8) dry on the way! (Sound familiar?) With the Cont in enta l 0-200 singing a merry tune, the Luscombe cruised at 95 knots all the way to Oshkosh where the pretty two­ seater ran off with the Best Custom Class B A ward (81 to 150 hp).

Kath y a nd J o hn we re a lmos t over­ whe lm ed b y the huge crowds and th e chance to buy ne cessary it e ms for " Boom er" - as the Luscombe was nick­ named. Kathy says, " We went way over bud ge t, but there were such barga in s."

(New Lora n , ne w 720 radio, new tail springs, etc.)

Ret urnin g to Witch ita Falls, the Mc­ Murrays bought new exhaust pipes from the Luscombe Association a nd had them custom plated with 24-k ara t gold plate!

In stalled o n " Boomer ," they really add that custom look. The dynamic duo then fl ew to Tu lsa, OK, and took home th e Best Luscombe award. This was followed by the Kerrville , TX, fly-in where "Boo mer " ran off with the Best Custom Classic award. (Their trophy wall is get10 JANUARY 1995

ling a bit crowded!)

P e rhaps the neatest s urpri se ca me when John and Kathy discovere d their Luscombe was the prototype "Model 8E" at the factory in 1946! This was confirmed by photos and comments in The Lus­

combe Story written by John C. Swick .

Old N71645 has quite a hi sto ry behind her, howeve r, with John and Kathy Mc­ Murray doting over their new offspring, " Boomer" has even more exciting history ahead. Stay tuned. ...

Beautiful interior features a custom instrument panel with the airplane's nickname on the right side.

hol in your fuel. - HGF)

Ale TidbiTs

by H.G. Frautschy

BRACE WIRE WAIT A DRAG? If waiting for a set of drag/anti-drag brace wires has got you in a blue funk, then you may wish to contact the Steen Aero Lab, Inc. They are now th e U.S. and Canadian representatives for Brun­ tons of Scotland, and are able to supply made-to-order wires . Contact them at 1210 Airport Rd., Marion, NC 28752, or call them at 704/652-7382.

AUTO FUEL

If you are an auto fuel user, remember that your STC specifically excludes any auto fuel containing alcohol. Back in 1992, the We st Coast Cessna 120/140 Club newsletter published an easy method for checking for possible alcohol content in your auto fuel , written by Jim Jula. He also had some pertinent comments to make regarding auto fuel use. Here's what he wrote: STC's for auto gas explicitly mention to NOT USE Gasohol (auto gas with an alcohol content of about 10%) in any aircraft. Another important warning is that auto gas does not store as well as A vgas. Evaporation is more of a prob­ lem. Buy gas from a busy station to be sure to get fresh gas that is properly for­ mulated for the season . DO NOT store auto gas - you could end up using sum­ mer mix in cold weather or worse, win­ ter mix in summer. Old gas or the wrong formulation will cause hard starting or worse yet, possible vapor lock.

Also be sure you have a metal float in your carbo The composite floats are ap­ parently affected the most by alcohol in the gas, should you get some by mistake.

It seems all non-metal elements of the fuel system are prone to problems if al­ cohol additive fuel is used. To test any auto gas for alcohol content, the follow­ ing is suggested: Get a graduated container in which you can reliably indicate 10 parts. (A part is a chemists term for a unit of mea­ sure. A part can be any amount. The important thing is that each of the parts is of equal volume.) A hypo like those used to add TCP to the fuel will work fine, or even a small measuring cup will do in a pinch.

(Editor's note: I've found that a num­ ber of the fuel sample tubes/cups are gradu­ ated with markings so you can test for alco­

First, get a sample of the fuel with which you intend to fuel your aircraft.

For this explanation I'll assume we're using a TCP dispenser. Using the green scale (or blue if you wish , but only draw in the suggested amounts) in to the TCP hypo. Draw in the gas to the 9 gal. marker (this is now known as 9 parts).

Then draw in 1 more part of WATER. Now, vigorously shake the container and then hold it still for about 60 seconds.

Because alcohol will absorb water , you will observe one of the following: For GOOD gas: 9 parts of gas and 1 part of water set­ tled out. This shows alcohol free gas and is OK to use. (But be sure to get rid of all test fluid in your container. Don't put it back in your tank!)

For BAD (alcohol containing) gas: 8 parts of gas and 2 parts mixed alco­ hol/water. Observing anything more than 1 part of water means you probably still have a lesser blend (5%?) of alco­ hol. If more than 1 part of water added shows up, the fuel contains alcohol. DO NOT use it in an aircraft.

Test all gas every time you fuel, espe­ cially if you buy off-brand gas. You will

be amazed how often these off-brands contain alcohol without advertising the fact.

With the "oxygenated fuels" that must be sold as ofJanuary 1, 1995, in certain ar­ eas of the country, some of you may find it hard to get unaltered auto fuel. EAA is continuing the research into alternate oxy­ genates for fuel, and we will report on the outcome of that research as soon as it be­ comes available. Until then, stick to the major brand names, and don't use any fuel with alcohol.

TACH CHECK Speaking of checks you can do on your airplane , here is an old trick that has been around as long as alternating current and vapor lights have been light­ ing up streets and yards.

If you're suspicious of your tachome­ ter , you can do a quick check before dragging yourself down to the FBO for a replacement, or picking up the aircraft supply catalog.

You ' ll need a sodium or mecury va­ por light, and a piece of white or reflec­ tive tape. Don't try this with any other

W INTER HEAT From Rowland HaU, of Northfield, IL is this description of the winter baf­ fles he made up to help keep the temps up on his Bellanca 7 ACA Champ. Here's his note: Here are the winter baffles I made up and have used for the last five years on my 7 ACA Champ. They are made of 0.040 aluminum and are held in place by spring clips I salvaged from some old inspection plates I had lying around. To avoid scratching up the nose bowl I put rubber channels around the edges.

Photo No.1 (Above): The baffle on the left goes in the right hand open­ ing. Note the top and bottom clips held in place with pop rivets. The end clip, in addition to the pop rivets has a #6 round head bolt with a hex nut and lock washer. After installation, the bolt is tightened to clamp the baffle in place. I use a pocket screwdriver on my key ring and hold the hex nut with my fingers. The whole operation

takes less than a minute per side. The baffle on the right goes in the left hand opening. The thing you see pro­ truding through the face of the baffle is a 1 inch ID PVC plumbing elbow.

More on this below.

Photo No.2 (Above): This shows the right hand baffle in place. Note that it covers only the barrel of the cylinder, not the head. For the purpose of the photo, the left hand baffle is hung backwards with a piece of tape.

Note the PVC "L" in place and the cabin heat air inlet in the bottom of the engine cooling air opening. Before I came up with the "L" the baffle cut off a lot of the airflow to the heater muff.

In flight, the "L" actually provides a ram effect so I get more badly needed cabin heat.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

type of light - it simply won't work .

Think back to the old movies where, as the image flashes across the screen, a propeller or wheel appears to be "stopped" or turning slowly in the wrong direction. That undesirable effect is due to an interaction of the propellers or wheel spokes turning at a specific fre­ quency, and the film being exposed at a set rate. The same thing happens with a sodi um or mercury vapor light. The va­ por inside the lamp is excited by AC cur­ rent at a set frequency, and if we look at

the prop in just the right light, it will ap­ pear to stop at 600, 1200 and 1800 rpm.

Here's how to check your tach.

You can often find sodi um (a copper colored light used often for street lights nowadays) or mercury (a blue/white light) vapor lamps used for illumination in hangars and on airport ramps . Find an area illuminated by that type of light. You can also buy sodium vapor lights for use as security lights for home or farm use.

Apply the tape to the backside of one blade on your prop. Then, at night, with

the light coming from behind you , run the engine up and check your tach at the rpm when the prop seems to stop.

(Again, it should appear to stop at 600, 1200 and 1800 rpms for a 4-or 6-cylinder engine) If your tach and the prop "stops" don 't agree, you'll need to check your tach further or, if the discrepancy is not too severe and is repeatable, you may wish to make a correction chart for use in the cockpit. Either way, you 've been able to check your tach without having to spend a bundle in shop time.

L1R

THESE TWO AREAS WERE FOUND COR­ RODED ON TWO CHAMPS. SEE TEXT FOR DETAILS

2-707

ASI-6

8-0-16

2-680

ASI- 6083-0-22

4 REO.

AERONCA CORROSION Vernon Lawrence of Hamilton , OH wrote an interesting note concerning his findings during the inspection of an Aeronca Champ. Here's what he found: It has come to my attention that an area of the fuselage of Aeronca 7AC airframes may have been inadvertently neglected during recovering and/or restoration procedures. This area is the tubing that is hidden under the door frame. This condition was first brought to my attention when a structural fail­ ure occurred on 7AC, N84783 in 1992 while the aircraft was in service.

The following inspection revealed that tube number 70 (reference Aeronca fuselage frame drawing 7-450, right and top views) had failed in ten­ sion stress just above the junction of tube 65 and tube 66, and that it was cor­ roded through previous to the accident with the remaining tube of less than 50 percent of the original thickness. It is interesting to note that this corrosion was mainly from the outside.

The second reference to this concern was noted during the restoration of 12 JANUARY 1995

7AC, N84866. After removing the door frame for inspection in that area deterio­ ration of tube 70 was found in almost the same station. Also, a worse condition ex­ isted in tubes 2 and 42 where they meet just above tube 20 (right side under door frame). In this instance, tubes 2 and 42 had completely deteriorated almost 50 percent around and the remaining tube's integrity was greatly affected.

In both instances, the corrosion was from mainly outside in. It seems as though the removal of the door frame for inspection and corrosion treatment dur­ ing recovering and restoration has not been a standard practice. This is proba­ bly due to the door frame being tack welded to the tubes.

Considering the age of these aircraft (almost 50 years now) it is understand­ able that any areas that have not been pe­ riodically maintained will have lost their structural integrity. Although the dam­ age on N84866 was detected before an in­ cident occurred, it is my opinion that left uncorrected , these tubes would have failed under normal conditions in a rela-

tively short period of time at any time under abnormal conditions, such as during a hard landing. There is at this time no service bulletins or A.D.s out on this subject, but there is no doubt that a dangerous condition exists and it is my opinion that all 7 AC owners and maintenance personnel involved will seriously consider this and act in a safe, conscientious manner.

I've included a copy of the Aeronca drawing from the service manual with the affected areas circled. Any aircraft with a door frame constructed in similar manner should be looked at for this type of corro­ sion. Even when the airframe is sand­ blasted and then painted, areas such as the tubing under the door sill plates are still unprotected, and will eventually corrode.

On my Chief, I'll use a Dremel Tool to cut the tack welds and remove the door sill plates so I can give the tubing underneath a good inspection. Keep an eye on all your tubing, especially during restoratation.

Anybody have any ideas on how we can get a good look at this area on airplanes currently in service? ...

Few people in this world enjoy air­ planes more than the Danes in the small country of Denmark. The his­ tory of aviation in this country of just over 5 million people is rich in tradi­ tion, beginning with J. C. H. E llehammer, who first flew his "aeroplane" in 1906. Although much of aviation in Denmark was military oriented in the 1920's and 1930's, the civilian side of Danish aviation received a much needed boost in 1937 when two Danes decided to go into the airplane manufacturing business.

Viggo Kramme and Karl Zeuthen constructed a small , low-wing , single seat airplane called a KZ I (for Kramme & Zeuthen Model One) which was powered by a two cylinder ABC Scorpion engine of 38 hp . From this humble beginning, the firm continued with the KZ II Kupe (Coupe)(14 built) , the KZ II Sport(16 built) and the KZ II Trainer(16 built) , with financia l support coming from the firm of F. L. Smidth to enable the new firm, called Scandinavisk -"",... . .

Aero Industri (SAl) , to prosper.

The remarkable KZ III, a two-place, side-by-side, high wing trainer was devel oped in secret right under the noses of the occupying German Army during WW II and secretly test flown in Sweden! In 1946, it went into production in Denmark and 64 KZ Ill 's were built powered with 901100 hp Blackburn Cirrus Minor inverted four-cylinder en-

One of the first arrivals was this out­ standing 1949 Be"anca 14-13-3, HB­ DUN, flown in by Willy Bernhard, Freien­ will, Switzerland. gines. With full leading edge slats, large flaps and drooped ailerons, the KZ III was one of the original STOL airplanes.

In 1947, the pair of designers deve l­ oped the KZ VII , a four-place version of the KZ III, powered with a Continen­ tal 1251145 hp engine and 56 of this model were built in spite of a devastat­ ing factory fire on February 17, 1947 , that destroyed some 17 aircraft under construction . From the ashes , a small production resumed in some Luftwaffe hangars at Copenhagen 's Kastrup Air­ port, but the worldwide collapse in the light aircraft market sounded the death knell of the company. Some 13 observation models of the KZ X were built for ~~ the Danish Air Force, but by the middle '50s, SAl was out of business after pro­ ducing a total of 217 airplanes.

Determined not to let the ,==!!,.~ ~ marque disappear , a small band of pilots gathe r ed in the A ~ ~ ~ western part of Denmark (ca lled Jut~~..& DANMARK ~~ land) in 1969 and formed a club under '~b N'" the name of "KZ & Veteranfly "'"'f~/lr-T_v..\>t(S Klubben," which translates to " KZ and L1 Antique Airplane Club." Under the leadership of Dr. Magnus Pedersen Text and photos (EAA 79229, AIC 638), a family doctor

by Norm Petersen from Spjald, and Jens Toft (EAA (The Great Dane) 126945), a farm machinery dealer from

0 I!!!==I

I

..

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

HlIljmark, plus many other dedicated airplane people, the KZ Club has grown from its initial fly-in in 1969 at the small Spjald airstrip to one of the most re­ spected fly-ins in all of Europe.

The fly-in has been held for many years at the Stauning Airport located near the Ringklllbing Fjord on Den­ mark's west coast and attracts a loyal following of airp lanes and dedicated people from all over Europe. Naturally, the various models of the Danish KZ

airplanes are featured, however, an­ tique, classic and home built aircraft from many countries make the pilgrim­ age each year to join in the fun . The four day fly-in is held in the middle of June and from 250 to 500 aircraft are on hand. The KZ club has over 800 mem­ bers worldwide and publishes a very nice magazine each quarter written in the Danish language (this author's na­ tive tongue) with an English synopsis for those un ab le to read Danish . In

1979, the club incorporated as EAA Chapter 655, so the membership bene­ fits are twofold, including both antique and amateur-built aircraft.

My wife, Loretta, and I attended the 1986 KZ & Veteran fly Rally at Stauning and were completely over­ whelmed with the tremendous hospital­ ity of the aviation-minded Danes. The many KZ types of aircraft on the flight­ line along with numerous classic and an­ tique airplanes from England, Norway,

Above - Mogens Pedersen taxies KZ III, OY-DGV, with George Rotter on board for George's first ever flight in a KZ airplane. This airplane has covered most all of Europe at one time or another for its owner, Dr. Magnus Pedersen, president of the KZ Club and EAA Chapter 655.

Right - A visitor every year is this Percival Proctor flown in from England by Cobby Moore, a per­ son who can add spice to any fly-in!

14 JANUARY 1995

Left - Jorgen Skov Nielsen, Sunds, Denmark, with his three children, pause for a picture by his recently completed J-3 Cub with a C85-12 en­ gine. He was awarded the KZ Cup for Best Restoration at the Rally. This author flew with Jorgen in a Learjet 35 back in 1977 from Denmark to Eng­ land and he remembered me from 17 years ago! Note the registration: JSN - his initials!

Above - George Rotter discovered his KZ III, OY-DVO, in this 1946 factory photo hanging on the museum wall.

Right - Lady Helena Hamilton, Chesterfield, England, receives her 25­ year award for exemplifying the ''flying spirit" from Dr. Magnus Pedersen.

Sweden , Finland , Germany and even Switzerland gave this author the feeling of being a "blind dog in a meat market" - not knowing which way to go first!

And the beautiful people that arrived in the airplanes were fascinating folks to visit with - each one with a different story of overcoming great odds just to participate in the KZ Rally. It was heart warming beyond all expectation and the new friendships are for a lifetime.

In the fall of 1991, I received a call

from a Danish friend (and KZ member) that two KZ III aircraft were for sale in Denmark. In just a short time, George Rotter (EAA 54992, A/C 9276) of Oshkosh , WI, agreed to buy one if I bought the other. Both aircraft were carefully placed in a 40-foot container and shipped from Denmark to Oshkosh, arriving December 26, 1991. These are the very first KZ aircraft to arrive in the U.S. and are undergoing total restora­ tion as this is being written. George's

KZ III is SIN 76 and was previously reg­ istered OY-DVO in Denmark. Before tearing the KZ III down for rebuild, George managed to get his Cirrus Mark II engine running in his back yard - the neighbors rushing out to learn the source of all the noise! It was April 7, 1993 and his was the first KZ to ever run in the U.S. My KZ III is SIN 63 and was fomerly OY-ABA in Denmark and prior to that it was registered LN-FAT in Norway

One interior wall of the new KZ Hall w ith its excellent lighting. From the right, KZ VIII aerobatic single-place, KZ VII four-place, KZ II open coc kpit trainer and KZ IV ambu­ lance plane.

from 1946 to 1959. Our new U.S. regis­ trations are N63KZ and N76KZ, a com­ bination of the serial numbers and the designer's initials.

With a special invitation to attend the KZ Rally on June 16-19 , 1994, George Rotter, his wife, Janet, my wife, Loretta, and I spent the first week of June running loose in Germany and Switzerland before arriving in Copen­ hagen , Denmark, for three busy days with Knud Thaarup (EAA 280077) and his lovely wife, Jytte. (We even helped the Danish Queen Margarethe's hus­ band, Prince Henrik , celebrate his 60th birthday with a hundred horse parade including the "Royal Coach"!)

After spending a couple of beautiful days as guests of Johannes and Ruth Bach (EAA 126941) at Ejstrupholm, Denmark, we drove to the west coast of Denmark to visit Bent and Tina Es­ bensen (EAA 340077) at Esbjerg before heading north to the KZ Rally at Stauning. Although the weather was cool and a bit windy, the airplanes were arriving and taxiing into their parking places.

A brand new "KZ Hall " displaying eleven different models of KZ airplanes greeted the Rally visitors this year. The beautiful facility has been built next to the original museum building, adjacent to the airport, and is most impressive.

On Saturday morning, a reception was held in the "KZ Hall" in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the KZ Club.

Among the invited guests were Val Eg­ gers of the Danish FAA, Vibeke Rech­ nagel, daughter of Viggo Kramme and Peter Zeuthen, son of Karl Zeuthen.

16 JANUARY 1995

The sparkle in the eyes of these distin­ guished people was a special treat for the visitors from foreign lands. They love aviation with a passion.

During the fly-in, George Rotter had his first flight in Dr. Magnus Ped­ ersen's KZ III, OY-DGV, flown by his son, Mogens Pedersen. George made several takoffs and landings with the smooth-running KZ III and was totally sold on the STOL performance of the silver and blue airplane.(The Danes have a nickname for OY-DGV. They call it "Doctorens Gamle Vogn " [DGVj which translates as "Doctor's Old Wagon"!)

I was lucky to spend some time flying OY -DME, an award-winning KZ III owned by Mogens Jepsen of Haderslev, Denmark. The airplane would jump off the runway in just a few plane lengths and climb out smartly, the Cirrus Minor 100 hp engine sounding like a sewing machine . With its light fingered con­ trols, comfortable seats and easy flying characteristics, it is difficult to visualize that it was designed over 50 years ago by a couple of ingenious Danes named Kramme and Zeuthen.

The Friday night hangar dance was a festive occasion with many people en­ joying the music and the rest " hangar flying." I borrowed an accordian and played about six "old time" numbers with the band . Even though the four young men were in their twenties, they jumped in with me after about two sec­ onds and played "oldtime" like a bunch of experts - their first experience with such music! (And they grinned from ear to ear while playing!)

E ve n tho ugh the cool winds of Fri­ d ay turne d to rain o n Satu rday, seve n mode ls of KZ airplanes were wheeled o ut of the museum and readied for the annual fl y-by. I was allowed to fly co­ pilot on the twin-engined KZ IV ambu­ lance pla ne that had just fi nished a 13­ year res t oratio n. P owere d wit h two G ipsy Major e ngines of 145 hp, the all­ woo d K Z IV , OY -DI Z, was b u ilt in 1944 and served fo r years in the D anish A mbul a nce Service. Like a ll KZ air­ craft, the IV was very quick off the run­ way a nd soo n fe ll in b e hind t he six other airplanes in a loose circle forma ­ tio n. We were "tail-end Charlie" as we ma d e t h ree for m atio n circui ts of the pattern and then landed, the IV coming in at Cub la nding speed! What a de­ lightful airplane!

T he Saturday evening Awards Ban­ q u et was a fitting climax to the 25th Anniversary of the KZ & Veteranfly K lubben. Over 400 members and guests were seated and we were at the head table with Dr. Magnus Pedersen, his bea u t ifu l wife, Gudrun, Mr. and Mrs. Jens Toft, and Dr. Helena Hamil­ ton of Chesterfield, England. (Dr. Hamilton is a retired physician who flies her own DeHavilland DH87B Hornet Moth at the tender age of "four score." In a game of aviation enthusi­ asm, this dedicated lady would win all contests - hands down!)

Accepting well deserved 25-year participation awards from the KZ Club were Jens Toft (Toft Air Force) , who has imported over 200 antique and classic airplanes into Denmark, and Lady Helena Hamilton, who has in­ stilled more "flying spirit" into the membership during the past 25 years than any other person. I had the plea­ sure of awarding the EAA Plaque for the best antique airplane to Michael Schultz (EAA 442543) of Wakendorf, Germany, for his immaculate Beech D-17 Staggerwing, N69H, and the EAA Plaque for the best home built airplane to Per Christensen, Fred­ erikssund, Denmark, for his beautiful Long-EZ, OY-EEZ. The following day (Sunday) we bid an almost tearful goodbye to our out­ standing hosts, Magnus and Gudrun Pedersen, who had been so kind to us during the KZ Rally, and all the other wonderful people whom we had come to know as our best friends. It's funny how the common denominator of the love of aviation can bring so many peo­ ple, so close together, to have so much fun! Having been a KZ Club member since 1985, I can truthfully say it is one of the finest groups of aviation people in the entire world.

'*

The KZ Rally for 1995 is set for June 8­ 11, 1995. Make your plans now!

by H.G. Frautschy

Y 1938 , Sherman Fairchild had been enjoying a moderate amount of success with the Fairchild F-24 series of cabin airplanes, and the 6 cylinder Ranger engine that powered the final variants was proving to be a reliable inline powerplant. Sensing that the time might be right for a new mili­ tary trainer, Fairchild directed his chief engineer, Armand J. Thiebolt, to de­ sign a monoplan e train e r that would use the Ranger engin e. The low wing was decided upon using th e reasoning that if the new pilots were expected to fly low and mid-win g fighters, they should fl y a low wing tr a iner. That same configuration would also allow the use of a wide (112") track landing gear, making those first landings a bit easier to complete successfully.

Work was started without the sup­ port of a government contract, and the civilian model was designated as the M62. Dr aw in g upon the experie nce ga in e d from th e production of the mod e l 24 a nd the prototyping of the mod el 46, the M-62 was designed and built. The mo del 46 was a sleek low wing cabin job built with an innovative method called " Duramold," a process that used plywood and an early plastic to mold the flight surfaces and fuselage into a smooth, almost seamless appear­ ance . The M-62 wing construction would benefit from this process, as the wing skins would be pre-molded for the new low wing trainer.

Extensive work was done during the design and testing phase of the new trainer to make certain that the air­ plane would behave predictably and would hold up to the abuse sure to be heaped upon it by novice pilots. (It had

Oneof Each, please Jim Koepnick

+ VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

a strength factor of 10!) When first de­ signed, the airplane had an enclosed cockpit and perforated flaps, a hi Dou­ glas SBD. After its first flight on May 15, 1939, NX 18689, the prototype M-62, was modified with a redesigned cockpit, revised to the standard U. S. Army Air Corps size - 24 inches in any direction.

The wing design featuring an airfoil that started as an NACA 2416 at the root and transitioned to a NACA 4408 at the wing tip was refined to tame the stall.

The flap system was redesigned to give better low speed handling characteris­ tics , and the horizontal tail was moved up 10" to lessen the buffeting effects of turbulence from the wing during the stall. Thiebolt and his staff applied a lot of engineering know-how to refine the M-62, and the hard work they put into the project finally paid off when the M­ 62 won a fly-off competition against 17 other competitors. The Primary Trainer (PT) was bought by the U.S . govern­ 18 JANUARY 1995

ment September 22,1939 as a primary trainer to be used to train new pilots.

The initial order awarded that day was for 270 airplanes.

PT-26, PT-23 , Fairchild Model 62-C, PT-19 - by whatever designation, the ba­ sic Fairchild PT-19 "Cornell" airframe proved to be a versatile and accommo­ dating training airplane during the WW II years. The PT-19 and its siblings were used by the U.S. Army Air Corps and the RCAF, as well as other foreign coun­ tries . They filled a number of training roles, primarily with civilian training schools doing basic aviator training work while under contract with the gov­ ernment. Some of the work also in­ cluded a stint as basic instrument train­ ers. By the end of 1944, more Allied pilots received their primary training in a PT series airplane than any other pri­ mary military trainer.

As the war clouds loomed and pro­ duction of the PT-19 "Cornell," as the

military was to designate the Ranger powered M-62, got underway, it was de­ cided that more airplanes were needed than Fairchild could produce. The St. Louis Airplane company, Howard Air­ craft in Chicago, Fleet Aircraft in Canada and Aeronca in Middletown, OH all built various models of the M-62.

PT's were even built in South America by the Brazilian firm Fabrica do Galeao.

Aeronca primarily built the PT-23 model , powered with the 220 hp Conti­ nental radial engine. The Continental was used when the production rate of the Ranger engine could not keep up with the airframe production rates, and an alternative engine was needed.

One of the many PT-23 's built by the St. Louis Aircraft Co., Inc. was SIN 129, given the USAAF ID number 42-49805.

Delivered to the U.S . Army Air Corps August 27,1947, it was assigned to the 69th Flying Training (Elementary) De­ tachment, 2154th Army Air Force Base

Right - The wide track (112") landing gear of the PT series allowed neophyte pilots to learn the basics of landing with­ out too much trouble, provided they paid attention to the instructor in the other cockpit!

Below - The front cockpit of the PT -23, including a pair of mint Fairchild "Pega­ sus" rudder pedals and a stack of modern radios centered between the pedal wells.

The aft cockpit, is a little simpler, and the inhabitant of the back seat gets the bat­ tery for company. Everything possible was done to keep the cockpits authentic, right down to the olive drab cotton can­ vas partition between the two cockpits.

Unit. Delivered to Clarksdale School of Aviation, Clarksdale Airport , Missis­ sippi, the airplane was based at Fletcher Field, eight miles up the road from Clarksville.

At Clarksville, this particular PT was given line number 139, painted in bold numbers on the fuselage. This PT-23 , served to train USAAF pilots from 1943 until it was surplused out of government service in 1946, when it was bought for $510 and flown to Minnesota. After the war, the airplane went through a succes­ sion of owners in the same state, until it went to Illinois and then on to Pennsyl­ vania.

Bob Nolan , of Half Moon Bay, CA was entertaining his friend, Greg Her­ rick, who was visiting from Minneapolis.

Bob took Greg for a ride in his PT-19, and from that point, Greg was hooked ­ he wanted a PT trainer. Bob then told him about a man in Pennsylvania who was one of the experts on PT restora­

tions - Joe Denest, of West Chester, PA. Before he met Joe, Greg did some­ thing quite impetuous - he bought a PT­ 23 , the aforementioned SIN 129, sight unseen. Then he called Joe and asked him to go get it for him . Greg went to Pennsylvania to see his new acquisition.

Joe told him , "You have a sound air­ plane, . . . but I don't know if you want to take it back to Minnesota looking like this! " After showing Greg his current PT project, Joe was told, "Fine , let ' s leave it here, but I want it to look just like yours."

Joe and his son Mark are well-known around PT circles as some of the most meticulous Fairchild restorers around .

Joe has restored six Fairchild PTs, and Mark has been learning the trade from his father. The airplanes they've re­ stored have become outstanding exam­ ples of what a restorer can do given the time and the talent.

To ensure the structural integrity of

the PT, Joe also enlisted the help of an­ other PT expert, Harland A vezzie of Westfield, MA who rebuilt the wing cen­ ter section to like new condition.

Joe's also a pilot, and for the last 20 years, PT's are pretty much all he has flown. While restoring Greg's PT, he contacted an old friend , Joe Leonard of Lakeland, FL. Joe Leonard taught Joe Denest how to fly a PT, and he was also an instructor during WW II , including time at - surprise! - Fletcher Field! He went flipping back through the pages of his log book and , sure enough, there were entries for aircraft No. 139. In fact, Joe Leonard had over 100 hours in the very same airplane that his old student was now restoring.

As the airplane neared completion, Joe had no problem trying to decide what color scheme to paint the airplane ­ as far as he and history was concerned, there is only one correct color scheme for this particular airplane ... silver VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

overall, with black marking . Joe also points out that as far as PT-23's go, only one airplane was ever finished in the blue and yellow color scheme seen on many PT-19s - the Fairchild factory pro­ totype. Every other one made by the various sub-manufacturers was silver.

Prior to June 1942, all U.S. Army PT's sported the blue and yellow color scheme, complete with red and white bars with a blue vertical stripe on the rudder. After May 30, 1942, all PT' s were to be painted silver, with no color added to the rudder.

It was also easy to figure out what the line number of the airplane was. During the war, mechanics at the airfields would mark the inside of each of the remov­ able panels on the airplane with the line number, so that the same panels al­ ways went back onto the same airplane . Each of the panels on SIN 129 had the num­ ber 139 painted or written on them.

The PT bug must have bitten Greg Her­ rick awfully hard, for he came to decide he wanted one of each of the PT vari­ ants - a PT-19, I?T-23 and PT-26 will all go thought Joe Denest's shops on their way to Greg's hangar in Minneapolis, and we'll bet he'll really like that en­ closed cockpit of the PT-26 during those .... balmy Minnesota winters!

It's easy to see why Gregfell in love with the PT trainers on the day Bob Nolan took him up.

And from the sound of things the affection hasn't faded any since purchasing his own - sight unseen!

20 JANUARY 1995

Stan Gomoll's

1928 Heath SuperParasol

Text and photos

by Norm Petersen w , y back in the early 1930's, a young man in the Chicago area dili­ gently saved enough pennies to buy a kit for building a Heath Parasol which was powered with a Heath/Hende rson converted motorcycle engine. In those days, the price for the entire kit was $199. Included in the price was a test flight of the completed airplane by a factory pilot - anywhere in the United States!

Although the project slowly began to see some progress, World War II came on the scene and the young man went off to war. He never came back. The welded fuselage and tai l feathers sat undisturbed for over twenty years until discovered by avid antiquer , Marion McClure (EAA 2138, A/C 387) of Bloomington, IL. He bought the pro­ ject along with two partners and hauled it home. In due time, the little parasol was finished and flown with a Conti­ nental A-40 engine.

On May 16, 1967, Gene Chase (EAA 10522, A/C 300, and retired editor of Vintage Airplane) was in Bloomington,

A dedicated and proud recipient, Stan cradles the beautiful Lindy trophy that he won at EAA Oshkosh '94 for t he restora­ tion of NX2864A. Note the Eagle Hangar jacket, a sure sign of an EAA booster.

IL, to purchase a Church Midwing pro­ ject from McClure. (The Church Mid­ wing today hangs in the racing section of the EAA Museum). Invited to fly the Heath, Gene enjoyed the chance to fly the little parasol and promptly en­ tered the flight in his logbook.

Marion McClure was unable to get his substantial frame into the tiny Heath following an injury, so he dismantled the airplane and stored the pieces - for the next twenty years! In 1988, Stan Gomoll (EAA 44419, A/C 369) trav­ elled to Bloomington, IL, to buy an en­ gine for a Curtiss-Wright Pusher from Marion. While there, he spied a Heath/Henderson engine carefully tucked in among the "goo dies." For sale? Marion said the engine was not for sale, but if he would buy the Heath airplane, he would give Stan the engine.

Thinking the deal over for a spell, Stan decided to buy the Heath, so he made another drive to Bloomington and hauled the project home to Anoka County Airport.

By 1991 , Stan had most of his "ducks VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

in order" to begin the rebuild of the tiny Heath. He had located additional Heath parts in Holland, MI and bought fuselage pieces and a set of wire wheels from Gene Chase in Oshkosh. In addi­ tion, I put Stan in contact with the late Keith Wolle (EAA 336486) of Lewisville, MN, who had salvaged a considerable collection of Heath parts from a barn on the farm of the late Ray­ mond Peets near Truman, MN .

Using articles written by the de­ signer, Ed Heath, in the 1929-1930 Pop­ ular A iation magazines for guidance , Stan restored the Heath as close to original plans as possible. Many volun­ teers were "enlisted" into the project to the point where Stan literally had a small training school in aircraft rebuild­ ing!

The airframe was covered with 1.7 oz. dacron except for the belly , which was covered with Ceconite 102 to han­ dle stone abrasion . Silver and black ni­ trate dope was used for the finish along with enamel on the metal parts. Many parts in the airplane , including pulley covers , have the Heath/Henderson stamp on them. Even the original wing struts were repaired on the ends (square 22 JANUARY 1995

tube) and used in the parallel position with "X" wire-bracing between, exactly as a Super Parasol of 1928. Stan regis­ tered the airplane NX2864A, SIN 1928­ 3, and certificated it in the Experimen­ tal Amateur-built category.

The single 4-1/2 gal. fuel tank for the Henderson engine was augmented with a second 4-112 gallon tank required for the Continental A-40 engine. The gas caps are from a Model T Ford radiator.

The landing gear employs a straight axle between the rather heavy spoked wheels which use 20 X 4 tires . There are no brakes and the tailskid is the only means of slowing down the 425 lb. aircraft. As a result, crosswind landings are rather difficult and are only done on grass.

The wings are wood with a small metal leading edge ahead of the fuel tanks and metal false nose ribs (alu­ minum channel) between the regular ribs. The ailerons are gap-sealed on the top side for better control. For some reason or another , the wing is 25 feet long - 18 inches shorter than normal.

Must be the "Speedwing" model!

The cockpit of the Heath included a throttle, mag switch , tachometer , oil

temperature and pressure gauges .

However, to keep in harmony with the FAA Inspector, Stan added an altime­ ter, compass and Johnson Airspeed In­ dicator on the wing strut. The throttle is unique in that it sits in the center of the panel and goes up and down. The lower part is inscribed "start" and the upper part says "run." Stan thinks the idea was for the neophyte to lift it up to fly and to bring it down to come down.

A small entrance door was installed on the right side of the fuselage to make the job of getting on board a bit easier.

It also helps when propping the engine from behind the prop on the right side.

(With the Henderson, a lefthand door was used as it was propped from the left side.) Three "extras" that were avail­ able from Heath in 1928 were a hand­ hammered metal propeller, a set of wheel brakes and a ratchet for starting the engine from the cockpit.

The Continental A-40 engine had about 38 hours since overhaul , but just to be sure, Stan pulled the heads and found one to be cracked. Another head was located and installed. A new car­ buretor heat box was fabricated and a carb airscoop was built with an air filter

install ed. Stan feels the reason the A足 40 was on ly good for 400 ho u rs TBO was the unfi ltered air to the carb with its low mo un ti ng position close to the ground and the low-tech oi ls avai lable in the early days. An original Flottorp wooden prope ll er was insta lled and it turns up 2100 rpm static (the ma nual says 2100 to 2150 static). It will turn 2550 in level flight which is redline on the engine.

By the spring of 1994, the Heath had been inspected and signed off by FAA and taxi tests were begun to get some time on the engine. Things went very well, the engine was running fine and the time had come to "either fish or cut bait."

On May 16, Gene Chase was invited to Anoka Co unty Airport on the north side of Minneapolis and everything was readied for the first flight of the Heath Parasol in over 25 years. The wind was blowing so hard that the first flight was delayed until early the next morning on May 17.

The Heath was towed to the south end of the grass next to the runway and Gene climbed aboard. The A-40 was propped into life and after a good

Above Right - Instrument panel as restored by Stan Gomoll. Mag switch is in center of panel with unique vertical moving throttle in lower center. Note pristine workman足 ship which caught the judge's eye.

Above - With the EAA Headquarters in the background, the Heath Super Parasol takes on the look of " an original " in the homebuilt f ield. The Johnson Airspeed Indi足 cator is visible on the left wing strut.

Below - A covey of Heaths at Pioneer Airport. Stan Gomoll 's in the center, Mark Lokken's on the left and Bill Schlapman's on the right.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

Above - Roger Gomoll pulls the Heath backward by the tailskid as his father walks by the wingtip, getting ready for another fly-by at Pioneer.

Right - Carefully adjus~ · . -: .he shoulder harness, Roger Gomoll gets ready for an­ other flight in the Heath Super Parasol. You know he is ready to go because the fuel petcocks are in the open position.

warm-up, Gene was satisfied the single magneto was doing its job. H e slowly fed in power and the totall y restored Heath climbed into the cool morning air after a short run of about 300 feet.

This was exactly 27 years and one day since Gene had flown the same airplane in Bloomington, IL, in 1967.

Three flights were made by Gene that morning before everyone had to go to work, so the airplane was towed back to the hangar. The Heath had clocked a cruise of abo ut 63 mph and about 80 to 85 wide open. The John so n Air­ speed Indicator on the wing strut only goes to 65 mph and had been carefully calibrated while hanging it outside a car window. A Loran check confirmed the 63 mph cruise speed.

Additional flights were made with the Heath by Stan's son, Roger Gomoll (EAA 209737 , A IC 9179) and Dave Anderson (EAA 40593, A IC 21570) of nearby Fridley , MN. By the end of June, sufficient time had proven the lit­ tle parasol to be a dependable machine and the FAA restriction had been flown off, so plans were made to fly it to EAA's Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh , WI. 24 JANUARY 1995

Early on Friday morning, July 1, 1994, Dave Anderson took off from Anoka County Airport , picked up a welcome tailwind and headed for Oshkosh. Roger Gomoll flew the sec­ ond leg, Dave th e third leg and Roger mad e the fourth leg into Brennand ' s Airport at Neenah , WI. Meanwhile , Stan Gomoll drove his pickup with fuel, oil and ladder aboard to refuel the Heath at the grass (only) runways. The groundspeed was between 74 and 78 knots (GPS). Flying time for the trip was 3 hours and 35 minutes at a fuel consumption of just 3 gph!

At Pioneer, the pretty silver and black Heath was the darling of the sum­ mertime crowds . On numerous occa­ sions, Roger Gomoll journeyed to Oshkosh to voluntarily fly the airplane for the weekend f1y-bys. For hundreds of people, it was their first sight ever of a genuine Heath Parasol in the air. The flights were most impressive and the 1928 airplane performed in a first class manner.

The crowning achievement came on Tuesday evening, August 2, when Stan Gomoll was awarded the Antique Cus­ tom Built Trophy for his 1928 Heath

Super Parasol, NX2864A , at the The­ ater in the Woods on EAA's Conven­ tion grounds. Suddenly, all the hours and years of hard work and dedication had come home to roost. An excited and happy Stan Gomoll came forward , up the stairs and across the stage to ac­ cept his well-earned Lindy for restoring another piece of aviation history.

It couldn't happen to a finer person nor a better student of antique aviation.

Congratulations to you personally , Stan, and to all the many helpers who put in their time and talents towards getting the Heath Parasol flying again.

It is indeed a splendid achievement. ...

ysteryPane

by George Hardie H ere's one that should tempt replica builders. The photo is from the Owen Billman collection . Answers will be published in the April issue of VIN足 TAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline for that issue is February 25.

A record number of answers were received for the October Mystery Plane. Ralph Nortell of Spokane, Washington sent in a most complete re足 ply. Here it is:

surface of the wings. As apparent in the Mystery Plane photo, the BR-1 was equipped with a Lamblin type radiator above the wing root on each side of the fuselage. Powered with the Wright-Hisso 400 hp H-3 engine, the Bee-Line racers' top speed was reported to be 213 mph.

Wing span was 28 ft. 1 in.; length, 21 ft. 4 in.; wing area, 104 sq. ft.; gross weight, 2,020 pounds; and empty weight, 1,635 pounds. Fuselage construction was welded steel tubing with wood formers and stringers, fabric covered. Wing con足 struction was wood, plywood covered.

The main landing gear was retractable. A streamline water-expansion tank on top of the fuselage, ahead of the cockpit, served as a windscreen.

Navy Us. Rittenhouse and Calloway were assigned the BR-1 and BR-2, respec-

,

The Mystery Plane for October (1994) is the Bee-Line "Special," BR-1 (Bu. Air.

No. A6429) racer, one of two purchased by the U. S. Navy for the Pulitzer Trophy Race of 1922. The second example, the BR-2 (Bu. Air. No. A6430) was identical with the BR-1 except for the installation of brass sheet, flush type radiators in the top VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

B ee-Line "Spe cial", BR-l

tive/y. But the advanced, clean design, combined with the efforts of highly skilled pilots were to no avail. Due to mechanical problems, neither racer was a successfu l contender.

Th e Bee- Line des ign was by form er Curtiss engineers Booth and Thurston.

The aircraft were constructed by the Aer­

ial Engineering Corporation, Hammond­ sport, New York.

Oth e r an swe rs we re rece ived from Jim Borden, Menahga, MN; Arnol Sell­ ars, Tulsa, OK; Joseph Tarafas, Bethle­ he m, PA ; Michael Heffran , Verona , P A; Ed Trice, Bedford, TX; Rowland

Hall, Northfield , IL; Lester Everett, J r., C ra wfordsvill e, IN ; W a yn e Va n Valkenburgh , Jasper, CA; J. F. Meade, Jr., Hammondsport , NY; James Freese, Ukiah , CAl; Lind s le y Dunn , Ham­ mondsport, NY; Peter Bowers, Seattle, W A; Lynn Town s , Brooklyn , MI; Lennart Johnsson, Sweden.

These three photos of the Bee-Line "Special" Br-1 were sent in by member J.F. Meade, Jr., chairman of the board of Mercury Aircraft in Hammondsport, NY.

26 DECEMBER 1994

---------------.C'~r:~-/ jJ." r/u'> ~."')

PASS

(". .

Dear Buck ,

c."

I rea d yo ur column every issue and the o ne dated May 1994 confused me a bit . My husband Jon and I flew our 170 out to th e Reno Air Races and while there I checked with a few o ld fri e nd s abo ut what I thought I knew.

In 1972, while on vacation in H awaii , Jim Lockridge, an old friend from the Richard Bach days, escorted me around and introduced me to several people­ amo ng them a gray-haired Mrs. Woods who ran an FBO at the main airport in Honolulu; I don't re m ember her first name. We sa t around and talked about her hi story a nd d e piction in the film "Tora, Tora, Tora." She had clippings a nd photographs , remarking that she had n't flown a Stearman as the mov ie showed. As I recall , she was either flying

by Buck Hilbert • EAA #21 • Ale #5 • P.O. Box 424 • Union, IL 60180 a Great La kes or a Meyers, but the rest of the depiction in the movie was correct.

Floridians don't have the weather and the I was impressed at the time.

First off, last month we mentioned Key­ stone In struments . For those of you who like to get you in the mood like we do up Late r that da y, Art Daeglin g, the di­ here. may have a need of their services - they re­ rector of a ll the aerial sequences for the I'v e put my airplanes away for the movie , took m e up in his Pitts. It was build instruments, including those from our Classics and Antiques, here's their address winter. Still ha ve the Champ and the painte d with seagu lls a nd lette red very Sedan where I ca n get at them if I can' t ni ce ly on the tail with Jonathan Liv­ and phone number: stand it, but for all practical purposes the ingston Seagull. He thought it was neat season is over.

Keystone Instruments to be flying someone connected so closely In regards to your 185, I'm in a bit of a with the stor y and the author. H e also Lockhaven Airport quandary. I don 't ha ve th e spec shee ts gave m y dau ghte r a rid e. Art had no Lockhaven, P A 17740 handy so I can't verify that it was never question in his mind about the authentic­ 7171748-7083 certified for floats , but I can tell you from ity of Mrs. Woods and her history, and I Give Glen Barnhart a ca ll and check to past experience that it would not make a rememb e r him b e ing di smayed at th e very good float plane. see if they can cover your needs. producer's use of the incorrect airplane.

It was built f or the sport pilot so he Unfortunately , both of these fine pi­ could outrun th e Cubs, T-Crafts and lots are dead now, but both lived at least 'Nuf of that stuff, on to the letters . ..

Aeroncas in straight and level flight. It a nothe r 15 years afte r I met them. Jim did not have a surplus of lift capability. In Lockridge flies for Hawaiian Airlines and Dear Buck, other words, its short field capability is lives in Reno. H e does some movie and so mewhat lacking. If you have luptner television work in the islands using his bi­ I recently purchased a 1946 Common­ wea lth Skyra nger , Model 185, Serial ATC book, Volume 8, page 212, it'll tell plane and has lots of connections. Peter you right out that its payload with full fuel Forman, a TWA pilot who used to fl y for #1737. I wo uld like to re build thi s air­ was only 21 pounds. That ain't much! plane and certify it on floats.

Hawaiian and is writi ng a history of that Back about 1948 I had a chance to buy airplane, confirmed the same story. That I kn ow Edo Corporation ha s never certified this aircraft on their floats, but one. At that time I was a flight instructor is why yo ur story about Miss Fort is con­ working eve ry day with Champs, C­ they have certified several Rearwin air­ fusing. U pon Mrs. Wood s' death, her craft mod e ls, including th e R ea rwin 120/140s, Swifts, Tandem and BC "T" FBO was taken over by the young female Carts, etc. My personal airplane was a First Officer involved in the Aloha Air­ 6000M, 7000, 8125 and 9000.

Chief. I was intrigued with the C-185 be­ I believe my Skyranger was manufac­ lines "skin-peeling incident " a number of tured unde r a type certificate purchased cause it had the electrical which my Chief years ago. from R earwin . If I could show that my did not.

It is quite possib le that a number of A "Ride and Drive" later, I walked wome n instructors were in the islands at airplane has the same type certificate as a Re a rwin model that was certified on away muttering to myself. The owner that tim e a nd invo lved with Pearl H ar­ floats , pe rhaps I could convince the FAA had taken me for the ride, and then I took bor , a nd th e woman d epicte d in the it out myself. I won't belabor the subject movi e was a represe ntative of that his­ that I have a normal category seaplane.

Any help or advice you can offer will anymore, but my Chief was all of a sud­ tory. be greatly appreciated . I have e nclosed a den much more appreciated, believe me!

If you are going to do it, Bob, I'd sug­ preaddressed stamped envelope.

Regards, ges t you get in touch with the guys at Bette Bach Fineman, A /C #119 Brown's Seaplane Base. Th ey could clue Sincerely,

you in on how to get it by the Feds and no Bob Everts, A/C #5641

r..)

•

.~

d~

BUCK

Hi, Bob, Thanks for the letter. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving Holiday, but then you

doubt help you with the struts, wires and maybe even find a set offloats to match your airframe.

HC1I thanks for thinking of me. I'll see you at Sun 'n Fun . Over to you, Bob. Buck.

Hello Bette, Nice to hear from you again. It's been a long time since Fleet hunting, hasn't it?

You wou ld not believe the controversy and the stories that have come out of that VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

Dear Buck, Per enclosed picture, I hope you can shed some light on these engine parts.

Several of the locals say Menasco. These parts came from the Patterson, Louisiana area. The lady I acquired them from is 80 years old and soloed in 1935. She has scrapbooks full of clippings about Jimmy Wedell. She said these parts possibly came from the Wedell- Williams Flying Service. She wasn't positive as they be­ longed to husband who has passed away.

The "Golden Age of Air Racing," page 279, shows a picture of Joe Will, Jr. I feel sure you have this book, and if you can look at the valve spring and rocker arm at the front of the engine , it sure looks like the parts I have. All parts as you you see them in the picture are as I acquired them. The cylinders had very light sur­ face rust but clean up real easy. The markings are as follows:

Pearl Harbor lightplane story. We, H.G. Frautschy, VINTAGE AIRPLANE editor and 1, have been up and down on this one a dozen times . We have tried to be objective and publish facts as they come to light.

Trouble is, more and more keep surfacing just when we think we have it pat!

As we have done more and more research on this, we find all the stories intermingle resulting in controversial agreement to dis­ agree. We know "Tora, Tora, Tora" was technically in error. We know there were about a dozen airplanes in the air that morn­ ing-Cubs, Aeroncas--and there was even a claim of a Fleet.

If you listen to them all, they were all shot at! They all escaped! The airplanes survived only to be lost at sea or were shipped stateside and are hidden away, or they flew there in the Islands until they sim­ ply disappeared. The names of the principals are history. Corroboration is difficult. The mystery lingers on.

I'm going to turn this one over to H.G. and let him fill you in if he can on what the latest is.

Meanwhile, it's great to hear from you.

Don't write us off; we enjoy your letters.

Over to you, Bette!

Here's what our friend an aviation histo­ rian John Underwood wrote about the Pearl Harbor lightplanes - his note was to Pat Quinn, and he sent a copy along to us.

Hi, Pat! Just caught your letter in the latest VINTAGE AIRPLANE regarding the Pearl Harbor Aeronca 65TC, NC33838.

It just goes to show you how stuff be­ comes history.

What happened is this: Two members of the Honolulu Flying Club-Guy M. 28 JANUARY 1995

(Tommy) Tomerlin and Jimmy Dun­ can-were on a cross-country in NC33838 when they found themselves in the midst of a wave of J ap attackers. They were near Koneohi naval base on the opposite side of Hawaii. Apparently they did get winged by a couple of random bursts, but got back to John Rogers without further incident. Unfortunately, by that time JRA had been strafed, resulting in the death of Bob Tice who was trying to start another 65TC so he could taxi it to safety, but nobody was shot down.

There may have been as many as half a dozen other light aircraft flying at the time, mostly Aeroncas. Certainly there were no Stearmans. One was a gent with his little boy. Another was Cornelia Fort, a flight instructor who I think was working for Margo Gambo, but Gambo herself was not flying. However, she did achieve the distinction of being the only civilian authorized to continue opera­ tions after 7 December 1941. She air­ lifted medics and supplies to the leper colony on Molokai using a Fairchild 24, NC28504, and a Cub Coupe.

As you perhaps know, MGW died sev­ eral years back. She was quite a gal and a top surfer early on when it was strictly a male activity and boards were heavy.

She was taught to fly by Paul (Pappy) Gunn , who was himself a legend in his own time for having served in the Cor­ regidor airlift as the Japs swarmed over the Pacific Islands.

My first airworthy (?) " knocker" was a 65TC, NC34578. It cost me $300! We patched the wing with a piece of bed sheet cotton, pumped up the flat tire and flew it 100 miles over the Sierra Madres from Taft to San Fernando where the tiedown was about $2.50 a week.

Cheers!

John Underwood, A/C #1653

Con Rods has 5019 (Lynite) raised marking The oil fitting (housing) numbers appear to be U3265 D5 and have a weird filler inside.

The gear has 570 17 and what appears to beADS Co -4.

The pistons are 4 5/16" diameter rough measure.

As you see there are several small fit­ tings, arms, valves, etc. Everything ap­ pears usable, the pistons, piston pins, and rod bolts are really in nice condition.

Buck, if these are in fact early Menasco parts, do you know anyone who might be interested in them? I would like to get them into the hands of someone who can use them.

I'd appreciate any information you may provide.

Regards, Chuck Jones (EAA 54333, A/C 12784)

Charles, The Cirrus engine specs are enclosed. As per our telephone conversation, this is about all I could find to identify your engine parts.

I called Al Kelch to compare notes and he confirms what I had found out . The first thought was that they were Gypsy pieces, but that soon proved to be false.

These engines were very popular back in the late twenties and some were adapted to Indianapolis type race cars. As is usually the case, these parts would be in­ valuable to anyone who might be operating one, but to find that person or persons, maybe we should put your letter in VIN­ TAGE. Meanwhile, hang on to them. Over to you,

New Members Phoenix, AZ Keith Aakre Russell A. Abrahams Prestwich, Manchester, E ngland William Lee Adcox Brownsboro, AL Jon Andrews Aurora, CO Danny S. Arpan A rlington Heights, IL Emmett Robert Bales Morristown , TN W. Daniel Barraclough Kinburn , Ontario, Canada Carl R. Batson New Lenox, IL Mark R. Becht Chandler, AZ Eric Beckman Santa Rosa, CA Charles R. Beem Sioux City, IA Oldenburg, IN Kevin Bower San Carlos, CA Chester L. Bramlett, Jr. Brian P. BristolInver Grove Height, MN

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Randolph Henson Spring, TX

Juan Salamo Heredia Correo, Chile

Portland, TX L. Wilsdon Hewett, Jr. Norman Hibbard Oakland, CA Michael Stanley Hodges Stony Point, NC Will Hubin Ken t, OH Leon Jauert Bai nbridge, GA Rufus E . Johnso n Hurst, TX Riverhead , NY Robert J. Kae lin Charlotte, NC Pepper Keller Harry Ronald Kempka Cheyenne, WY Charles M. Kent Mesa, AZ Charles R. Kinslow Germantown, TN Eugene Lamski Las Vegas, NV Alice Lazowski Deerfield Beach, FL Robe rt C. Leason Louisville, KY Thomas W. Lebert" Roswell, GA

Henry Lebert Lebanon,IL Crofton , MD James F. Logan William Mackie Wash ington, DC Liberty, SC Roge r T. Mann Charles Mark Englishtown, NJ David J . Martell New Milford, CT Jerry J. Mason Reseda, CA William Mason Northridge, CA St Paul, MN Jim McCaul Scott A. McKee Palm Beach Gardens, FL Dale L. Miller Ft Collins, CO Keith Moore Canoga Park , CA John W. Morton Salem, OR Joe Nemmer Waco, TX Thomas J. Nuss Wichita, KS Patrick O ' Brie n FI. Lauderdale, FL Ellis Owens Peoria, AZ Ronald R. Paille Attleboro, MA Pianta Paol o Asto , Italy Spokane, WA Richard E. Payne Campbell Hall, NY Dick E . Penny Domene, France o Salino Punta Gorda, FL Chand ler W. Sarles Norma G. Seme Brick, NJ Duane D. Sly Platte, SO David W. Smith Milaca,MN Waldon Spillers Ve rsailles, OH Lloyd Stoops Boulder, CO Joe Termina San Felipe, TX Aubrey L. Th ornton, Sr. Anderson , SC Thomas Thornto n EI Dorado, CA Jerrold Parker Turne r, J r.

Durango, CO LeRoy Walter Souderton, P A Roger E. Ward McKenny, TX He nry A . Wehrli Monroeville, PA Lawrence J. Winn erman Aspen, CO Wausau, WI Robert C. Wylie Gary J . Yeager Cheney, WA Garden City, KS Lawrence F. Zant

Fly-In

---------­ Calendar ~~ '~ ' ~~

.

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

JAN . 14 - PUNTA GORDA, FL ­ EAA Chapter 565 Fly-In Breakfas t .

813/575-6360.

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

FEB. IS - MINNEAPOLIS, MN -1995 Minneso ta Sport Aviation Conference.

Ca ll 612/296-8202 for furth er infor m a­ ti o n.

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

MA RCH 3-5 - CASA GRANDE, AZ - 37 th Annual Cactus Fly-In . 602/641­ 7467 A PRI L 9 - 15 - LAKELAND, FL ­ Sun ' n Fun '95. 813/644-2431.

MAY20-DAYTON , OH-EAA Chapter 325 . E AA day at th e U.S. Air Force Muse um. 216/382-0781.

JULY 27 - AUGUST 2 - OSHKOSH, WI - 43rd Annual EAA Fly-In and Sport Aviation Convention. Wittman Regional Airport. Contact J o hn Burton , EAA , P.O . Box 3086, O shkosh , WI 54903-3086,

414/426-4800.

JULY 14-16 - R E D LAKE , ON­ TARIO , CANADA - Diamond Jubilee Norse man F10atpl a ne Festival. Events for both pilots a nd p e d es trian s. For more information , contact the Norse­ man Festival Committee at 8071727­ 2809.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

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) to: VINTAGE AIRPLANE

P.O. Box 3086

OSHKOSH, WI 54903-3086

EAA SCHOLARSHIPS AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING PILOT AND MECHANIC

EAA

An: CHUCK LARSEN

EAA AVIATION CENTER

PO BOX 3086

OSHKOSH, WI 54903-3086

414/426-4800

or call1-S00-S43-3612

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. VISAIM. aterCard accepted.

MISCELLANEOUS: SUPER CUB PA-18 FUSELAGES ­ New manufacture, STC-PMA­ d, 4130 chrome-moly tubing throughout, also complete fuselage re­ pair. 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.

(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)

Sitka Spruce Lumber - Oshkosh Home Bldg. Ctr, Inc. 414/235­ 0990. Oshkosh, Wisconsin. (c-6/95)

Wheel Pants ­ The most accurate replica wheel pants for antique and classics available on the market today. 100% satisfaction guar­ anteed. 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)

30 JANUARY 1995

CURTISS J ENNY 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" flyin!:; 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)

GEE BEE Racers ­ Model plans used for Benjamin's R-2. Ten air­ planes, 1/3-1/24 scale. Shirts, etc.! Plans Catalog/News $4.00 re­ fundable. Vern Clements, 308 Palo Alto, Caldwell, 10 83605. 208/ 459-7608. (1-3)

Rare Propeller Hub ­ 15 spline, 2-3/8 inch 10, 3-314-inch 00, 8 hole, 6-5/8 inch dia. bolt pattern, 6-inch prop. 708/985-9074. (2-4)

5DrucingUp

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• Cushion upholstery sets • Wall panel sets • Headliners • Carpet sets • Baggage compartment sets • Firewall covers • Seat slings • Recover envelopes and dopes Free catalog of complete product line .

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and

styles of materials: $3.00.

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

Ask about our Workshops!

2-Full Days of Detailed Classroom

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-Rber builder workshops. Find out how easy it really is to do it yourself.

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

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EAAVideos in PAL European Format 15%Discount to ALL

tMOSHKOSf(l

EAAMembers Enjoy all the sights and sounds ofEAA Oshkosh '94, with the annual Fly-in Convention video

BUYBOTH TAPES OJ\t{y £ 19.95 )(~'?J ~~~ Experience the fun ofseaplanes with Wake ofWings CODE 941

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Send Cheques/Postal Orders Payable to CORD AV Ltd

CORD AV Dept EAA 2(b) Cleveland Street Kempston Bedford MK42 8DN, ENGLAND

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HOTLINE 'leZ (0234) 840122 or

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IT'S FASTER BYFAX

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

PHI.. COUlSON

EM lietime Member Antique & Classic Division, Director

AOPA, Member since 1966

Kalamazoo Aviation Museum, Lifetime Member American Waco Club Inc, President

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