VA-Vol-26-No-10-Oct-1998

EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher

Tom Poberezny

October 1998

Editor-in-Chief

Vol. 26, No. 10

Jack Cox

Editor

Henry G. Frautschy

CONTENTS

Managing Editor

Golda Cox

1 Straight & LeveIlEspie "Butch" Joyce

Contributing Editor

John Underwood

2 AlC News

Computer Graphic Specialists

Nancy Hanson Olivia L. Phillip

Pierre Kotze

3 Aeromail

Staff Photographers

Jim Koepnick LeeAnn Abrams

Ken Uchtenberg Mark Schaible

4 What Our Members Are Restoring!

H. G. Frautschy

Advertising/Editorial Assistant

Isabelle Wiske

6 The Red BarnlWalt Kessler

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INC. OFFICERS

9 MTO Luscombe Fly-In!

Gene Horseman 13 EAA AirVenture ' 98 21 Worthington Collection!

John Underwood

President Espie "Butch" Joyce P.O. Box 35584 Greensboro, NC 27425 910/393-0344

Vice-President George Daubner 2448 Lough Lane Hartford. WI 53027

414/673-5885

Secretary Steve Nesse

Treasurer

Charles Harris

7215 East 46th St.

Tulsa. OK 74145

918/622-8400

2OD9 Highland Ave. Albert Lea. MN 56007 507/373-1674

25 Mystery PlanelH. G. Frautschy DIRECTORS

26 Pass It To BuckIBuck Hilbert

John Berendt

7645 Echo Point Rd. Cannon Falls. MN 55009

5071263-2414

29 Welcome New Members

Phil Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr. Lawton. MI 49065 616/624-<>490

30 Membership Information 31 Classified Ads/Calendar Page 26

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FRONT COVER ... Steve Pitcairn. Bryn Athyn. PA flies his newly restored Pitcairn PA-8 Super Mailwing in the foreground while Mike Posey flies the recently com­ pleted restoration of the Pitcairn PA-6 Sport Mailwing. Both airplanes were judged Reserve Grand Champion Antiques at EAA AirVenture '98. EAA photo

by Jim Koepnick. shot with a Canon EOSl n equipped with an 80-200mm lens.

1/125 sec . @ fll on Fuji Sensia 100 ASA slide film . EAA Cessna 210 plane flown

by Bruce Moore.

BACK COVER ... "Early Morning Ops" is the title of this Jim Dietz masterwork done in oil on Masonite. Painted in 1985. it depicts a WW-I squadron of S.E.5·s as they are readied for a mission launched from a French country farm aerodrome .

This painting is one of 43 Dietz paintings on display this past June through Sep­ tember in the EAA Air Adventure Museum. Our thanks to all the artwork owners who lent their paintings for this display.

Joe Dickey 55 Oakey Av. Lawrenceburg. IN 47025 812/537-9354 Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Dr. Indianapolis. IN 46278

317/293-4430 Robert Uckteig 1708 Bay Oaks Dr. Albert Lea. MN 56007 507/373-2922 Dean Richardson 6701 Colony Dr. Madison, WI 53717 608/833-1291

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

Gene Morris 5936 Steve Court Roanoke, lX 76262 817/491-9110 Robert C. "Bob" Brauer 9345 S. Hoyne

Ch~~~~%~~m20 John S. Copeland

1A Deacon Street Northborough, MA 01532 508/393-4775 Stan GomOll

104290th Lane. NE

MN 55434 612/784-1172

Minneapol~.

Jeannie Hili

P.O. Box 328

Harvard. IL 60033

815/943-7205 Robert D. "Bob" Lumley

1265 South 124th St. Brookfield. WI 53005 414/782-2633 Geoff Robison 1521 E. MacGregor Dr. New Haven. IN 46774 219/493-4724

DIRECTORS EMERITUS Copyright © 1998 by the EM Antique/Classic Division Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices. The membership rate for EM Antique/Classic Division, Inc. is $27.00 for current EM members for 12 month period of which $18.00 is for the publication of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EM Antique/Classic Division, Inc., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via 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 oblained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

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

Material shculd be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920/426-4800.

The words EM, ULTRAUGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM, SPORT AVIATION, FOR THE LOVE OF FLYING and the logos of EM, EM INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, EM ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB, WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are ® registered trademarks. THE EM SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EM AVIATION FOUNDATION, EM ULTRAliGHT CONVENTION and EM Air Venture are trademarks of the above associations and their use by any person other than the above association is strictly prohibited.

Gene Chase

2159 Cartton Rd. Oshkosh, WI 54904 9201231-5002

E.E. "Buck" Hilbert P.O. 8ox424 Union. IL 60 180 815/923-4591

ADVISORS SIeve Krog 1002 Heather In. Hartford. WI 53027 414/966-7627

Roger Gomoll 321-1/2 S. Broadway Apt. 3 Rochester. MN 55904 507288-2810

Alan Shackleton P.O. Box 656 Sugar Grove. IL 60554-0656 630-466-4931

David BenneH 403 Tanner Ct. Roseville. CA 95678 91&-782-7025

STRAIGHT & LEVEL

by ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE

uring the Fall season, people get to enjoy the wonderful local fly­ ins such as Brodhead, WI, Camden, SC, and others. It has always been one of my favorite times of the year to go flying, with the crisp morn­ ing air and beautiful skies we often see during this time of year. Why not wake up extra early and get in a hour of flying before heading off to the office?

This past weekend the North Car­ olina Department of Transportation once again sponsored the North Carolina Coastal Air Tour. Last year, because of a hurricane headed for the coast, the tour was canceled. It is very enjoyable, and you get to see some ter­ ritory you don't see during the rest of the year, since you get cleared to fly through some restricted airspace that you do not normally get to penetrate.

I have not been too smart these past couple of years about timing personal events so they would not interfere with fun flying around the country during the Fall.

Lets see, last year my right foot was giving me a fit. I left one Friday after­ noon in the cabin Waco heading towards the AlC Chapter 3 Spring fly-in at Roanoke Rapids, NC. The wind was really blowing and the ride was not good . After about 15 min. of rudder work I decided to return the Waco back to the hanger and put my foot up to rest.

After this episode I decided to go talk to the doctor about my problem. He told me that I had an inflamed nerve. No kidding! Since I was on the receiving end of this nerve's signals, I was read­ ing it loud and clear! Now, ifI wanted this nerve to be happy, the Doc told me he would have to remove it and send it

D

somewhere else. " This only involves a small operation," etc., but what is small to the doctor and to me are apparently two different things.

Okay, figuring out the best time to do this took a good deal of thought. I'll do it just after the EAA Oshkosh Con­ vention and I will be ready to enjoy the great Fall flying weather.

What turned out to be two-week re­ covery period actually was more like a six-month recovery! It was like the annual inspection that never ends. I am still recovering and almost back to nor­ mal today. It is unbelievable how much punishment the lower area of your body takes, somewhat like the tail wheel on my Luscombe. This all took place in the fall of 1997 and I made a promise to myself that I would never let this hap­ pen agam.

Now here ' s a story that, for many of you, will have a familiar ring.

After Christmas 1997, Norma and I started thinking about selling the Kern­ ersville, NC house that we lived in. We were told that the spring of the year was a good time to put your house on the market, soooo, the first of April '98 we did so. Guess what- the very first peo­ ple who looked at the house bought it.

Of course this all happened the week we were to leave for Sun 'n Fun '98 .

We returned from Sun 'n Fun after the fly-in and started packing, not even knowing where we would be going.

Luckily, in the past I had built an apart­ ment in one end of my airplane hanger, so we stored most of the stuff at my home place in Madison, NC which I also had up for sale. Norma and I, with our two dogs, moved into the hanger.

The Luscombe makes a nice towel rack and when you are going to make a trip in the airplane, you don't have to worry what time you need to be at the hanger!

Nothing good on television? Just step out into the hangar and go out and work

on the airplane.

For our next trick, I decided we could just throw some fresh paint on the home place and move in there until we de­ cided where we want our next home.

This is just like throwing some paint on an airplane - You don't want it to look bad, so I have to try and do it right. This home project has turned into a total in­ terior restoration , with new plumbing, wiring, kitchen, bathrooms, paint and other things that I didn't know you could replace . How many aircraft restorations have just started out with, "[ think I will replace the windshield."

Yep, been there, done that one too! In fact, I am writing this S&L on my lap­ top computer while waiting for a coat of paint to dry enough so I can apply a sec­ ond coat to the bathrooms. The exterior work will be done after we have the in­ side completed and have moved in. I hope to be moved in by October I, ' 98. [ will let you know next month if! make this deadline.

There is an AIC Chapter 3 fly-dur­ ing October. This past year in your "Vintage Airplane" magazine we have tried to make each issue more safety oriented with different articles in the magazine, as well as conducting semi­ nars during AirVenture Oshkosh and by word-of-mouth. It seems that this effort may be paying off as the "no brainer" accidents seem to be tapering off somewhat. We have not had a hand propping accident for some time now, so lets all just use good common sense when using our aircraft. You'll be a safer pilot for doing so. Should you know someone out there who should be a member, invite them to join up ­ we would love to have them as a member. Lets all pull in the same di­ rection for the good of aviation .

Remember we are better together, Join Us and Have It All! Butch VINTAGE AIRPLANE

1

A/C NEWS compiled by H.G. Frautschy

TYPE CLUB LISTING Once again, we'll publish our compre­ hensive list of Type Clubs in our December issue of Vintage Airplane, enabling you to find your particular special interest group within the vintage airplane family. If you run a Type Club, we'd appreciate it if you would drop us a note detailing the name of the club, mailing address for membership, phone numbers, E-mail and web site addresses, and the frequency and type of publication you of­ fer. Finally, please list your dues, both U.S. and foreign. We'll be mailing out the update postcard for those clubs already listed in our December 1997 edition in the next couple of weeks, but if you have something new to tell us about, please drop us a line at: Vintage Airplane P.O. Box 3086

Oshkosh, WI 54904

TECHNICAL ARTICLES As members of the Division, you see we

often include articles of a technical nature to help us all get smarter about restoring and maintaining our older aircraft. While we are able to write many of these articles and pick up others from the Type Club newsletters, we are always open to submis­ sions by members on technical subjects on which they have found a solution, or per­ haps just a different way to accomplish a particular task. You needn't be concerned if you don't think you have writing talent or can illustrate your article-we can take care of that here at EAA HQ - but we'd like to include as many subjects as possible in our magazine. You can send your arti­ cles to the address noted above, and if you have any other questions, call the editor at 920-426-4825.

YOUNG EAGLES REBATE PROGRAM We'd like to remind the membership that Phillips 66 has generously offered to continue to sponsor the Young Eagles Pro­ gram though its rebate program. This year, the program continues through the fall and winter months until April 14, 1999. Eligible pilots who make their Phillips 66 100LL aviation gas purchases at a Phillips 66 FBO on their Phillips 66 credit card can receive a

$1.00 per gallon rebate for the fuel they used during their Young Eagles flights.

The rebates, which are issued only through the parent company and not through the FBOs, can be obtained by mailing the fuel receipts (or copies) along with a signed statement attesting to the fact the fuel was used in the Young Eagles program to: Young Eagles Rebate Offer Phillips 66 Company 617 Adams Building Bartlesville, OK 74004 To get a Phillips 66 credit card, you can call the company at 1-800/362-7759 (9 a.m.­ 5 p.m., M-F) or by accessing the Phillips 66 web site at www.aviation.phillips66.com.

AERONCA STRUT AD? At press time, we were beginning to re­ ceive reports that the FAA, based on information gleaned from Service Diffi­ culty Reports, was looking into issuing an Airworthiness Directive dealing with rust­ ing lift struts on Aeronca 7 and II series aircraft. We understand the investigation into the struts, similar to what happened to the Piper lift Strut AD some years ago, is in the preliminary stages, and we'll keep you posted regarding this development in future issues of Vintage Airplane. ...

INTERNATIONAL EAAANTIQUE/CLASSIC HALL OF FAME

On this page is the nominating petition for the EAA Antique/Classic Division Hall of Fame. If you wish to nominate an individ­ ual who you believe has made a significant contribution to the advancement of aviation between 1950 and the present day, please make a copy of this form, fill it out, add sup­ porting material and send it to: Charles W. Harris, P.O. Box 470350, Tulsa, OK 74147­ 0350. Please mark the envelope: EAA Antique/Classic Division Hall of Fame, Attn: C. Harris.

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

The person you nominate must have ad­ vanced the field of aviation during the period 1950 to the present day. They can be a citizen of any country, and may be living or dead.

Their contribution could be in the areas of flying, design, mechanical or aerodynamic developments, administration, writing, or some other vital, relevant field, or any com­ bination of fields that support aviation.

To be considered for induction into the EAA Antique/Classic Hall of Fame during 1999, petitions must be received Nov. 1, 1998.

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

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OCTOBER 1998

Person's name submitting this petition: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Street _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone Number_ _ _ _ __

City State Zip _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Person nominated for induction in the EAA Antique/Classic Division Hall of Fame: Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Street _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone Number_ _ _ _ __ City State Zip _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Date of Birth If Deceased, Date of Death _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Area of contributions to aviation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

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

Describe the event or nature of activities the nominee has undertaken in aviation to be worthy of induction into the EAA Antique/Classic Hall of Fame. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

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

Has the nominee already been honored for bis/her involvement in aviation, and/or the contribu­ tion you are stating in this petition? (Circle one) Yes No If yes, please explain the nature of the honor and/or award the nominee has received. _ __

Other information _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

VINTAGE

AeroMail

EDITOR, VINTAGE AIRPLANE I am writing in relation to a story in the May issue 1998, "Puppy Love." On seeing the pictures, I was disappointed that the tail number was not that of my first airplane, a Buhl "Bull Pup." My airplane had Goodyear Airwheels in­ stead of the larger wheels of the airplane pictured. Then when I read the rest of the story, there it was NC377Y. In 1938 I was a Private in the Army Air Corps at Mitchell Field on Long Is­ land, New York flying in Martin B-1 Os and later 8-18s as a radio operator. A friend also doing the same work had a pilot's license and bought the Pup and after flying it awhile, decided to step up to a Great Lakes Trainer so I bought the Pup from him with the agreement that I could use the Great Lakes to learn to fly if I could find a rated instructor. I found several at nearby Roosevelt Field and started my training. We hangared both planes at Fitzmaurice Field not far away. It was a small grass field oper­

ated by Tom Murphy and had little traf­ fic most of the time. I think that "Wrong Way Corrigan" had used this field at an earlier date. On December 24, 1938 I was at the field early and had the Pup and the Great Lakes out of the hangar waiting for my instructor to arrive. Af­ ter waiting about 45 minutes I decided to start up the Pup and taxi around for practice. Both planes had no brakes and a tail skid. The Pup was much easier to handle than the Lakes and after several fast straight taxi runs I gave it full throttle and I could feel it wanted to fly, so we did.

I then practiced everything my in­ structors had taught me in ten hours in the Lakes and felt quite confident so when I saw Tom arrive at the field, I made my first landing. That turned out pretty good so I made several more. I had paid my instructors $2.00 an hour, the going rate at the time, and never saw any of them again. I

Chuck Adams' Buhl Pup in 1938 at Fitzmaurice Field, Long Island, NY. The spinner was made from a kitchen funnel, and the nose cowling front was built form an aluminum dish pan. He flew it all winter, but it did run cold.

then found an Army pilot who had an instructor rating and he kindly signed me off as soloed.

It was only recently that an old pilot friend told me that the Pup had a bad reputation while spinning. I never had any trouble with NC377Y. I had seen the previous owner spin it safely so I borrowed a parachute from my Army squadron and did as the book said and I learned to recover from a three-turn spin. It was a very forgiving little air­ plane and I later tried other mild aerobatics with it. It would snap roll nicely but I had trouble with a simple loop as it usually stalled out at the top and then flip over and continue flying. I am not trying to act like a hot aerobatic pilot, but in those days anyone who flew managed to do simple aerobatics. I received a Solo Pilot License at Roo­ sevelt Field in March 1939. The inspector watched me fly around the field and make three landings and that was it. It put a nice low number on my present Commercial License. Later in 1939 af­ ter I had logged about a hundred hours in the Pup I learned that the Army Air Corps was accepting pilots for training - Continued on page 28­ VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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WHAT OUR. MEMBERS ARE RESTORING

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - by H.G. Frautschy

FORMERL-4 Bert T. Okoniewski (EAA 79074, AlC 1913) of Shelby Township, MI has enjoyed his J-3 Cub for a long time 足 since 1962 to be exact! Acquired from a man who had to sell it to finance his daughter's wedding, he flew it until 1967, when he began to restore it. A former military L-4, the restoration was finished in 1969, and it now has over 3,800 hours on the airframe and Ceconite 101 fabric. Bert, who calls his plane a "Customized Antique-Warbird," has been flying for a while as well. He had his first dual flight in a Kinner powered Bird biplane December 3, 1937 at Hartung Airport in Roseville, MI.

WACORNF Warren Erickson (EAA 532276) of Edina, MN sent us these sharp photos of his 1930 Waco RNF, SIN 3308, a couple ofyears ago. Restored in 1990, it has a pair of very nice metal wheel pants, and outstanding metal work surrounding the newly over足 4

OCTOBER 1998

hauled Warner 165 which turns a Falcon prop. Unfortunately, the Falcon prop is no longer available in certified form, due to overly restrictive FAA requirements regarding the source of the wood used in the manufacture of the prop. Warren sits in the cockpit of the red and silver RNF at the Faribault, MN airport.

FRENCH-REGISTERED WACO UPF-7's These two UPF-7's are of the only ones on the French reg­ ister, and are owned by Xavier Canu (EAA 576934, A/C 28607) and his father. The darker photo ofF-AZJC was pre­ viously registered in the USA as NC29998. Before it was transported overseas, it was used as a sightseeing airplane in the North Carolina Outer Banks region, flying tourists in

the vicinity of the Wright Brother's Memorial. It now has 150 hours on it since it was restored.

When it was bought

by Xavier, it had a number of interest­ ing modifications , including a rear cockpit enclosure, a 300 hp Lycoming, and a higher rear turtle deck to accommodate the cockpit mods .

Xavier added the EAA and U.S. flag decals to honor the air­ plane's heritage.

The second airplane (left) is also a modified UPF-7 , and is flown in airshows in France. Registered as F-AZLC, it sports a 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 eng ine and a three-bladed prop. A new engine mount, along with new flying wires and ailerons were also installed at the time of its recent restoration which included a snazzy airshow paint scheme. We'd bet it's a real crowd pleaser!

NEEDHAM'S NAVION Navions have one of the most loyal followings in the Vintage Airplane world, and Lloyd Needham (EAA 498508) and his wife are no exception. Purchased about 6 years ago, they've put in plenty of time doing the "Wax on, wax off' drill to keep the 1949 model Ryan looking good. They also had the 205 hp Continental overhauled, and had some structural work performed too. Recently re­ tired, Lloyd is looking forward to attending fly-ins and answering the many questions from the admiring fellow pilots and spectators.

"POOKY" Thi s pretty J-3 is a Dave Henderson restoration, having gone from "tired workhorse" to "pampered pet" according to owner Martha Eney (EAA 580013, A /C 28864) of Lusby, MD. Martha learned to fly and soloed in this same airplane in 1982-83, and bought it later after someone else bent it in a landing accident. The Cub is now equipped with a Continental C-85-12 including a starter, generator and full electrical sys­ tem to power the radio and Mode C transponder. Martha says they've put over 54 hours on the Cub since bringing it home to their houx/hangar on a rural Maryland residential airpark.

Have you got a restoration you just finished, or one you're still proud to call your own? Why not send us a sharp, well-exposed photo ofyour pride andjoy, along with a note containing a few sentences telling us about your pro-

ject? Avoid writing on the back ofthe photo please, and slides are okay as well Here's the address: Editor, Vintage Airplane P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54904-3086 VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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THB'R•• BARN

A ficti onal story of discovery

by WALT KESSLER, AI C 69 89 It stood out there all by itself. Acres of com and soybeans have since given way to bulldozers, lumber, concrete, paved roads and freshly built homes that all look alike. The barn sat on a crest and was the oldest building for miles around. Its deep red and gray hues were muted now, weathered by the sun and the many seasons that have passed.

A magnificent structure for its day, it was built back around 1930. Built with heavy timber, its roof was double trussed and its floors were over an inch thick. Upon completion, it was painted bam red with white trim. Its foundation of heavy stone and concrete would last a lifetime.

Now, however, its days were num­ bered, or so most people thought. The property had been owned by Moses Ackeheimer and his family. Moses' granddad homesteaded the lush farm­ land many years before.

The bam was said to have contained an old biplane that was very rare. A Travel Air 4-P, it was called. It was the only one ever manufactured and came from a long line of famous Travel Air air­ craft manufactured in Wichita, Kansas.

The Travel Air 4-P was built in 1929 and Moses bought it direct from the fac­ tory and flew it home himself. He fought in the skies during WW -I, but unfortunately not for long. He was shot down in his Camel and sustained multi­ ple bums that left the right side of his face discolored and scarred for life.

The injury also left him emotionally distraught for years to come.

After flying his beloved Travel Air for several years from his remote airstrip, he finally put it up for sale. As a one-of-a-kind aircraft and extremely 6 OCTOBER 1998

rare, he had many offers but for some reason refused them all. He just could­ n't part with it.

Storing it in the barn was his first thought but his concern with fire, and high winds during the tornado season in Illinois was always a big worry.

Eventually Moses changed his mind and decided to store the Travel Air in the barn, but only after taking some special precautions.

His business interests grew and after several trips to California (he also loved the ocean), he soon became a West Coast landowner and developer.

Commuting back and forth from his home near Woodstock, Illinois to Hunt­ ington Beach got to be a chore for him.

As the years passed he became quite cantankerous and made enemies of some of his neighbors near his farm .

He first bought several guard dogs and that didn't work out. He finally put up a barbed wire fence that surrounded his farm, including his house and bam.

He married Anita Hall and she bore him several sons and a daughter. Each of his trips to the West Coast lasted longer than the one before and as a re­ sult he saw less and less of his growing family . The day of great decision fi­ nallyarrived. They divorced quietly.

His lawyers settled the community property issue very generously in favor of his family; however, one very im­ portant stipulation stood out. The bam was to be maintained at all costs and never entered, destroyed or tom down by any family member as long as Moses was alive.

Its contents were to be kept a family secret or hence a portion of each of their inheritance would be forfeited and given to charity. As none of them

wanted to be poor, they heartily agreed to his demands. This was the depres­ sion era and money was scarce.

Nothing was to happen to his beloved Travel Air. Why he never took it with him to California remained a mystery.

He built a small home near the ocean in California, worked very hard and at the ripe old age of 83, Moses passed away. A very despondent and lonely old man, he died leaving a vast fortune to his family.

During his lifetime he had very few close friends . From time to time when he visited the Midwest, he would stop by his old farm and after a brief visit with his former wife, Anita, he would wander out to the barn and stay there for as long as three hours at a time.

The neighbors spread rumors, his children often peeked, but the doors to the bam were always sealed. No one ever got in, to his knowledge anyway.

Anita had never remarried and she and their only daughter, Priscilla, re­ mained living in the house. As they grew older, the rest of the children all moved away. Most of the land was sold off except for an acre or so where the ramshackle old house and barn re­ mained. Rumors also persisted that a great deal of money was buried some­ where on the property.

Suburbia had enveloped the area and young families with children in buggies were everywhere. Each day the sounds of heavy construction equipment moved closer to their home and the old bam. Eventually developers had moved in to build on all sides of the Ackeheimer's property. There was no place else to go.

One Sunday evening a long black vehicle arrived at the home and took

L

contents over to Moses' executors and a close friend of Moses was called in to shed some light on the trunk's contents.

They all surmised that Moses must have worn the goggles, helmet and leather flying coat while in France dur­ ing the war. Reading the diary, they discovered a notation of a 1929 Travel Air 4-P that was supposed to be stored in Moses' bam back in Illinois. The en­ try was dated July 2, 1932.

Moses' friend was not an aviation expert, so he took the trunk and its con­ tents to an acquaintance who was knowledgeable on the subject. His name was Ed Clark.

Clark had restored dozens of aircraft

over the past 35 years and had a restora­ tion shop located near the Hawthorne Airport. He was an expert on deHavil­ land aircraft, primarily the Tiger Moth and its predecessor, the Gypsy Moth.

He was currently restoring five Gypsy Moths, all at the same time.

Moses' will had declared that the IravelAir 4-P would be sold for a $1.00 fee to a qualified individual who was an experienced airorafi restorer. Ed Oark surely would fit the bill.

Ed paid $'100 .00 for the trunk and eyerything in it, then pushed it aside to cornen ofbis shop. He thought-about the n(!)tatioIbin the diary" but aftet 60 year th~Ie is no . 31 . that1'he old bam would bring forth such a treasure as a Travel Air 4-P. Several months passed by and one day Clark got a call from Moses' law firm. A few days later, after meeting with the attorneys , he walked out of their office a stunned man. He was now the owner of a Travel Air 4-P. Well, at least the bam shouldn't be too hard to find, Ed thought to himself.

He decided to fly to Illinois to investi­ gate. After arriving at O'Hare Field, he rented a car with and with the help of a local rural map, headed northwest to­ ward the Woodstock area.

He was to meet a man who repre­ sented the Ackeheimer estate in Illinois

at the site of the old homestead. As he neared the Woodstock area, he was amazed at the large sprawling suburban communities . The housing tracts seemed to go on forever.

He tried to visualize what the area was once like. Open rolling farm fields for miles, rich black soil, uncluttered and unspoiled. Vast open prairies, he thought. Now it was suburbia, over­ crowded with roads that couldn't handle the traffic. Grid lock they call it; almost like the city, he thought to himself.

As he turned a bend in the road he took his foot off the accelerator and started to slow down. There standing before him completely out of contrast to the neat rows of small frame houses sur­ rounding it, was the barn and the dilapidated old farm house. The home the family had lived in for years looked as though it would fall over at any mo­ ment. It was beyond gray in color and it looked as ifit was leaning a bit. Vacant for over a year, some of the windows were already shattered and broken.

"What was in the bam?," he thought to himself. "A truly rare aircraft? Most likely nothing. After 60 years?" It looked old but also quite sturdy. "Bet­ ter than the house," he mused. "Aren't old airplanes supposed to be found in barns? You hear stories like that from everyone," he wondered. "Although I

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

7

never talked to anyone firsthand, any­ way, who found a plane in a bam. You always hear about them, usually from someone else."

He sat in his car thinking and waiting for his acquaintance to arrive . Staring at the bam he thought, only a handful of people really know what might be in that bam.

The young man finally drove up and parked next to Clark's car. He was late.

After apologizing, he introduced himself.

His name was Mark. He reached back into his car and withdrew a large brown envelope and handed it to Clark. These were the final legal papers that gave Clark possession of the Travel Air 4-P. Upon examining the contents, a key fell out. It was the key to the bam door and Clark, picking it up, nervously turned it over and over in his hand as he and Mark walked over to the bam. "It sure is weather beaten," Clark exclaimed.

It was built with eight inch by eight inch wooden timber and was as sturdy as the day it was constructed. Hesitat­ ing and a little nervous, Ed put the key in the rusty old lock. After a few turns, he heard it click and the lock sprung open. He slowly opened the door and walked inside. He could feel the floor beneath him give way a little. His knees were shaking a bit too. The floor creaked and groaned under the weight of each step that he took. Mark stood outside, near the doorway.

Once inside, Clark slowly looked around the building. It was empty.

Cussing to himself about this wild goose chase, his eyes, opened wide now , looked around for some tell-tale clue as to what to do next. He thought to him­ self, I traveled all this distance! For what? I knew it! He was quite dis­ gusted with himself.

The young man he had just met stood in the doorway, his dark silhouette sur­ rounded by brilliant sunlight that filtered through the doorway. As Clark slowly and disgustingly retraced his footsteps leading back to the open door, some­ thing shiny on the floor caught his eye.

The building was full of years of accu­ mulated fine dust and debris that had filtered in through the tiny cracks and crevices of the barn's wooden walls.

The object shined like a large glass mar­ ble. It looked clear in color. He bent over to pick it up but it wouldn't budge.

Clearing the fine dirt and rubble from around the object, he noticed how 8

OCTOBER 1998

warped the boards were that made up the floor. He got on his knees and with his head bent down really close, he scanned the floor to see how level it was. His eyes followed the floor line all the way to the far wall. The floorboards were so warped and bent that at its cen­ ter, the floor sank almost a foot, particularly around the clear glass object where the wood had started to rot away.

Picking up a small piece of discarded wood he had found, Ed began to tap gently on the floorboards. It sounds hol­ low under there, he thought. It suddenly occurred to him, there was probably an­ other room beneath the bam!

He began to scratch away the debris, not really knowing what he was looking for. After about ten minutes or so he fi­ nally found something. A rusted metal ring attached firmly to the floor. At first he thought the ring was for tying down farm equipment. After clearing more dirt and debris away, rusty hinges appeared a few feet from the metal ring.

He couldn't believe it! He had discov­ ered what looked like a trapdoor.

Mark brought him a flashlight from his car and it took the strength of both men to pull back the aging wooden trapdoor. Shining the flashlight below, he saw an old wooden ladder perched on the floor below him extending up­ ward to the entrance of the trapdoor.

After carefully checking the strength of the ladder with one foot, Clark slowly started to lower himself to the room be­ low. The flashlight, dangling from its wrist strap around his arm, was swing­ ing beams of light back and forth into the dark depths beneath him.

Upon reaching the floor, his light picked up the cleanliness of the room.

It was spotless and the floor was cov­ ered with metal. Like standing inside a pristine fuselage of an old airliner, he thought to himself. He brought up the flashlight to waist level and slowly swung the beam around the large room.

It looked as it if was on a revolving theatrical stage. First his light caught the upper wing tip, then the lower wing came into view. The flying wires and landing wires were next. He was ner­ vous. The flashlight shook in his hand.

Then, the full impact of it hit him. This mouth, dry from the dust above, opened in shocked amazement.

His Travel Air 4-P sat there before his very own eyes. Ed started to shake with excitement. Its bright yellow

wings and red-orange fuselage stood out brilliantly in the beam of his flash­ light. The aircraft sat on its axles, resting on wooden blocks. The bright yellow tail section was hoisted up high on the sturdy metal jack.

He walked around to examine the engine. It was an A .C.E. La I, which was a development of the earlier Jacobs and Fisher radial air-cooled engine.

Eventually it would become the Jacobs engine which was very popular during the 1930s and later years.

He had done a little research on the Travel Air 4-P prior to his departing for O'Hare Field. This engine looks brand new, he thought. He was overjoyed!

He couldn't take his eyes off his mag­ nificent beauty.

Finally he forced himself to look away, but just for a moment, to be sure he wasn't imagining this incredible ex­ perience. He shined the beam of light once again on his rare beauty.

The light from his flashlight stared at one wall and its bright beam quickly re­ turned, as if shining into a mirror. He walked to the wall and feeling it with his hands, discovered it was made of aluminum sheeting. He looked at the floor. It, too, was made of aluminum .

He looked up to the ceiling as his bright beam caught sight of more gleaming metal, except for one area . It looked like the ceiling had not been completed.

The ceiling was not very high. The metal ceiling had to have been con­ structed after the Travel Air was lowered into the room. Whoever built the room had not completed it, or maybe it was built this way purposely. He also noticed that the room was very cool and dry, like an old-fashioned root cellar of years ago.

Where the ceiling was not covered with the aluminum sheeting it had started to sag. The rotted boards had warped and their weight had reached down to the vertical tail of the Travel Air. The clear navigational light , mounted on the top of the tail, had pen­ etrated and protruded upward through the old rotted boards of the ceiling.

This was a tomb, he thought. His prized Travel Air 4-P had been mummi­ fied these past 60 years in a tomb.

"What did you find?" his young friend from above yelled down to him.

"A piece of history ," Clark yelled back. "A piece of history! "

-Continued on page 29­

The SecondAnnuai

MTO Luscombe Fly- In

by GENE HORSEMAN, photos by JERRY COX

The second annual MTO Luscombe Fly-In at Mattoon, IL began on Friday, June 12 with a bang. Thunder, that is!

The weather had been nice for most of the day, particularly from the west. The weather word east of Indianapolis was socked in.

By 4:00 p.m., 12 Luscombes had ar足 rived but so had a line of thunderstorms passing overhead. The Coles County Airport had set aside their large hangar just for the fly-in and the decision was

made to get the airplanes under cover as quickly as possible . Five empty " T" hangars were filled and two airplanes put in the smaller FBO hangar, with five more put in the larger hangar. Some of the pilots had gone to the motel to check in, but remaining willing hands swiftly moved airplanes into the hangars.

As the weather worsened, two more Luscombes landed and were hustled into the big hangar with the occupants still in them, as it was beginning to rain.

As the hangar door touched down, the MTO Unicorn announced that another Luscombe was in the pattern . Radio contact was maintained, as as soon as the last Luscombe's prop stopped just outside the hangar, the plane was moved inside so Mr. Robert Gustafson of Auburn Hills, MI could step out, crisp and dry! After the storm passed over, the sun came out and we were treated to a beautiful double rainbow.

How many fly-ins have you attended

Tuck safely away in the Central Illinois Air hangar and out of the wind, rain and hail, these eight Luscombes wait for the thunderstorms to pass.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

9

This beautiful Staggerwing Beech, registered to Lester M. Grotpeter of St. Louis, MO, gets a good going-over by these two youngsters.

where all the aircraft were put inside to allow bad weather to pass? All pi­ lots expressed their appreciation, particularly the ones who came back from the motel as quickly as possi­ ble to find their Luscombe had already been placed inside the wann and dry hangars .

By noon on Saturday we had 25 Luscombes on the field and by mid­ afternoon there were 29. There were 2 T-8Fs, 3 ragwings one 8C and and the rest were made up of 8E and 8F models. The weather was sunny and breezy, but a perfect day for a fly-in.

A judging panel went to work to pick out the best.

An unusual treat for those who were aware of it was the appearance of a 92-year-old gentleman who had driven 50 miles just to see the Lus­ combes after reading about the fly-in in the local paper. Fly-in host Jerry Cox took him for a ride in his Lus­ combe and he was so enthused that he 10 OCTOBER 1998

Bob Kellogg of Louisville, KY was last year's Members Choice and Luscombe Enthusiasts Newsletter award winning airplane.

The Luscombe of Phil Kruger, Indianapolis, IN is inspected by the spectators at the MTO Luscombe fly-In.

Carl Solze, 92 years old, is all buckled in and ready for takeoff in Jerry Cox's Luscombe November 1947 Bravo.

came back on Sunday, but most of the aircraft had left for home. His name was Carl Solze, and he assured us that he will be at MTO '99 Luscombe Fly-in!

We were also visited by a Beech Stag足 gerwing, Beech T -34, an Ercoupe, a Cessna 195 and a Blackhawk helicopter.

After lunch, Jack Norris, a member of the EAA C.A.F.E. team and a member of the Voyager" 'round the world" team spoke to the group. His theme was how much progress science had made over our history. He touched on the Apollo space program and the Voyager and then covered power and drag on Luscombes and what was the most efficient speed and power. Jack has been a Luscombe owner for may years and knows of what he speaks. His talk was very interesting.

Jack was followed by Rick Duck足 worth conducting the Luscombe forum .

Many topics pertaining to Luscombe maintenance, parts and problems were discussed. Rick complimented the vol足 unteers and their work. Jerry Cox informed the group that the new Re足 naissance Luscombe was to be shown at the fly-in but it could not make it out of Maryland due to the weather.

By this time the judges had finished VINTAGE AIRPLANE

11

their work and it was trophy time. The beautiful trophies were presented to: Outstand in g SA we nt to N 116SK, owned by Mark and Yvonne May of Chapmansboro, TN. Outstanding SE was N11 76 owned by Chip Kepp oflndianapo­ lis, fN. Outstanding SF was NS32 owned

by Robert Gustafson of Pontiac, ML Out­ standing T-SF was IS27B owned by Irwin Reeb of Belleville, IL. The members cho ice was SF N 1947B owned by Jerry Cox and Scott Rose. The Reserve Grand Champ ion was won by an SF, N1994B , owned by Jerry and Delores Adkisson of Tuscola, fl. Earl Prater of Hutchinson, KS garnered the Grand Champion award with T-SF-L N IS2SB. Earl also won a $50 check from Rick Reed of Central Illinois Air, the local FBO, for the longest di s­ tance flown to the fly-In. By now the weather was beginning to look a little bad, and some folks decided to head home ahead of it. Sunday morn­ ing it was raining and delayed some folks from headin g home , while the Grand Champion T-SF was held up by weather until Wednesday morning.

This was a great fly-in, with good meals served by a local catering service and local Lions Club. The hospitality and hard work of host Jerry Cox, airport man­ ager Shannon Youakim, the FBO and Rick Reed made this a very pleasurabl e event. We owe them a great big "Thank You! and we are all looking forward to next year's MTO Luscombe Fly-In at Co les County Airport, Mattoon, IL. The date is June 11-1 3, 1999. ....

.---""""1IIr:-:-:--:-----_In:lI.....-:;:;:-- -= _ --=_- - ,

The Luscombe SF, NS32B of Robert Gustafson of Auburn Hills, MI was cho­ sen as the Outstanding SF at the Second annual MTO Luscombe fly-in.

The first one in this row of Luscombes is the winner of the People's Choice Award . It belongs to Jerry Cox, and often has a crowd around it at each fly-in.

The 1995 Grand Champion Luscombe T-SF-L belonging to Earl Prater of Hutchinson, KS.

Jack Norris talks about Zero Thrust Glide Testing on his Luscombe SF. Jack's presenta­ tion was very well attended by the fly-in pilots.

Jerry and Delores Adkisson's Luscombe SF was the MTO Luscombe fly-in Reserve Grand Champion.

12

OCTOBER 1998

VI

EXCITEMENT AT

OSHKOSH-1998

ffA~

by H.G. FRAUTSCHY (Right) Bill Rose's Fairchild 22C7D, flown here by Charles Spencer of Brookfield, cr, was picked as the Antique Bronze Age (1933-1941) Outstanding Open Cockpit Monoplane.

Jim Koepnick

(Below) Bob Lumley's shirt made it easy for others to find the way to the annual fly-out to Shawano, WI. Jack McCarthy

(Below) Max Hartley of Ukia, CA went to school at the Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute at Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, CA. While he was there, Max was able to work on what would become one of the most famous racers of its day, the Crosby CR-4 racer. He wit足 nessed its first flight, including the gear collapse at the end! Now part of the EAA Air Adventure Museum's collection, thanks to the generosity of Morton Lester, the Crosby (behind Max) is undergoing a cosmetic restoration for eventual display.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

13

Curtis Morris, age 6, is determined to get his

rubber-powered P-51 in the air.

Success! Curtis' mom and dad, Lorraine and

Ken Morris, hail f rom Marengo, IL. They all

flew up in mom's Beech Bonanza .

(Left and above) Jeff Whitesell (third from left, front row) and his Airliners Of America crew are thrilled to be at center stage just south of the announcer's stand at EAA AirVenture '98 with their beautiful Martin Four-O-Four.

Bob and Harold Armstrong (inset) brought and flew their 1946 Schweizer SGU-1-19 glider at EAA AirVenture. Presented a Bronze Lindy, the flight of the SGU-1-19 was the first time a vin 足 tage glider has flown during the Convention.

Ken Uchtenberg

14 OCTOBER 1998

(Above) Charlie Harris, Antique/classic Treasurer, also spends much of his t ime doing on-camera interviews of selected members about their projects . Here, Charlie spends a few moments with Mike Posey and Steve Pitcairn.

Jack McCarthy

Finished in the very nice looking Air-Tech system, this is Chuck Andreas' 1943 N2S-2 Boeing Stearman, winner of the WW-II Era Outstanding Open Cockpit Biplane award.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

15

(Above) Dedicated pilots enjoy the peace and quiet of the south end of the flight line, which has its own showers and shuttle bus service to the end of the Tram line. While it's not all the way to FDL, the sheer size of the Vintage aircraft parking area at the Convention highlights the popularity of our favorite type of airplane.

This very pretty Twin Navion is registered as a Temco D-16, SIN TN-9. Powered with a pair of Lycoming 0-320s, it's one of the Classic era's more rare airplanes. This one belongs to Jerry Yeister's Perf-A-Lawn company in Owensboro, KY. Ken Uchtenberg

(Left) The "Texaco Robin" is a 1929 edition of the airplane. A C-1 model, 82H was built to support record attempts and was spon足 sored by Texaco . Equipped with special equipment for aerial refueling, 82H and its sister ship, NR-81 H refueled the Buhl Air Sedan "Spokane Sun God" which set an endurance record for a non-stop flight from Spokane, WA to Long Island, NY and back, a round trip of over 7,200 record setting miles. John Bowden acquired the airplane in 1968.

An extensive five-year restoration returned the Robin to service in 1974. He recently re足 restored the airplane, and accepted EAA's invitation to be one of the airplane's fea足 tured in the EAAlNBAA west ramp display of "the History of Corporate Aviation."

Jim Koepnick

Trish Dorlac briefs the new Flight Line Safety corps on the ins and outs of operating a Honda motor scooter.

(Above) The Contemporary Grand Champion, this is Doug Armstrong's Beech 18S, a 1959 model of the venerable twin. Doug's from Charlotte, NC. Jim Koepnick

(Below) The Antique/Classic Red barn is sur足 rounded by all sorts of activity, including the Past Grand Champions which face the main north-south road, and the forum/workshop and Type Club tents to the south.

Jim Koepnick

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

17

Twelve-year-old Eric Hawkins of Riverside, MI was visiting with his dad, Terry, and became fascinated with the metal shaping demon­ strations in the tent next to the AlC Red Barn.

Eric spent the better part of a day watching, learning and listening to the masters at the various processes available for creating com­ pound curves in metal, and he reveled in try­ ing it out with his own two hands. Many oth­ ers, both young and old alike, tried it as well.

Be sure and stop by the tent next year!

(Right) This year's Classic judges were : (Back row, L-R) Steve Bender, Stan York, Carol Womack, Frank Bass, Larry Keitel, Carol Santone, John Swander, Nancy Gippner, Dan Knutson, Jerry Gippner, Joan Steinberger, Frank Moynahan . (Front Row, L-R) Clyde Bowgesis, Shy Smith, John Womack, Dean Richardson and Kevin Pratt.

Jack McCarthy

(Below) Our Antique Judges were: (Back row, L-R) Gene Morris, Dave Morrow, Dave Clark, Dale Gustafson, Phil Coulson, Xen Motsinger.

(Front row, L-R) John Ripkin, Bob Kitslaar, Steve Dawson, Don Coleman, Mike Shaver.

Jack McCarthy

18 O CTOBER 1998

The Luscombe T-SF was one of the Classic era's best utility airplanes, and this attractive exam­ ple was flown to the Convention by Brice Newberry and his partner in the airplane, Randy Briscoe. Based in Kingfisher, OK, Brice and Randy are working on what they describe " as an even better restoration of another T-SF." Ken Uchtenberg

Delmar Benjamin and his Gee Bee replica have become a "must-have" act on the airshow cir足

cuit, as he shows us what a R-1/R-2 can really do in the hands of a capable pilot.

Ken Uchtenberg

Relaxing in his hammock after a busy morning, Bill Ricketts of Westminster, MO naps a little and takes in some of the afternoon airshow near the Theater in the Woods. Bill's voice is familiar to many of you- he's the yodeler who, over the P.A. system, wakes the late risers at 7 a.m. each morning of the Convention.

(Above) Restored by George Pappas in the early 1980s, this Grumman G-44 Widgeon is one of the rare ones, still powered by a pair of Ranger engines . It is now owned and cared for in White Salmon, WA by Lane W. Smith, his wife Betsy and the ir three daugh足 ters, Lacy, Amber and Kelly.

Jim Koepnick

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

19

(Above) This bright, original color scheme on an Aeronca 65-TL highlights the fact it was picked as the Bronze Age (1933足 1941) Champion in the Antique category.

This beauty was restored and is flown by Ron Englund of Springfield, OR. Jim Koepnick

(Right) The Vette Seaplane Base located on Lake Winnebago is fast becoming one of the most popular sites for relaxing and watching seaplanes come and go. Their corn roast exceeds all expectations every year, and sells out quickly!

Team Husar

(Above) Lon Dienst of DeKalb, IL was p le ased t o receive the Antique Outstanding Closed Cockpit monoplane award for his Fairchild 24W-40.

Ken Uchtenberg

Continued Next Month...

20 OCTOBER 1998

The Worthington Collection

by JOHN UNDERWOOD (EAA 1989, AC 1653) The Buhl Pup pictures on these pages illustrate a chapter in Southern Califor­ nia's aviation history. Here's the story: The Angelus Aero Corporation was undoubtedly looking for ways to generate some publicity and, since this so rt of thing had been tried before with unsatis­ factory results (Dick Rankin was nearly killed doing the sa me thing with an Aeronca C-2 in the vicinity of Portland, OR) they decided to give it a try . Their Buhl Bull Pup demonstrator, NC352Y, was the choice, with Capt. Oliver C. Le Boutillier at the controls.

"Boots" Le Boutilier is best remem­ bered for having had a ringside seat in a 209 Squadron Sopwith Camel during one of the most historic dogfights of all time; namely, the downing of Baron Manfred Von Richthofen on 21 April 1918. Indeed, "Boots" himself took part in the engage­ ment, the only American in the melee .

He'd volunteered for service with the British in 1916, scored six confirmed vic­ tories and logged 600 hours of wartime flying . For that he was awarded the Dis­ tinguished Flying Cross by none other than Winston Churchill.

I guess Earl C. Anthony, the pioneer Los Angeles automobile distributor (and later, T.V. station owner) thought it was a good idea too, so he contributed the Essex Terraplane car. The stage was the AAC's home base , Lo s Angeles Metropolitan Airport, now known as Van Nuys Airport or VNY. In those days it was a fairly quiet place, well suited to filming stunt flying by movie makers, which was an ongoing activity. " Boots" himself flew in eighteen movies, including "Hell's Angels."

VNY's surroundings were largely un­ der cultivation and would remain so for the next decade or more. There was still plenty of wide open space into the ' 50s, when it was fast becoming the bu siest ge neral aviation a irport on the planet Earth . Hey, thi s was all before the EAA and developments at aSH. Anyway, I got some dual there in 1949 in a J-3 on tricy­ cle gear. Yes, a J-3 trike. At that time the tower was not yet in use.

VNY had quite a number of celebrated tenants in the early '30s, among then Wal­

~--~r-----------~r-~~~------------~ ~ lace Beery, Howard Hughes and Pancho Barnes. I' ve scruti­ nized the picture s and don't see a sin­ gle familiar face , except Le Boutil­ lier' s. Anyway, Le Boutillier made two takeoffs in late August 1931. News stories appearing in "Popular Mechanix" and elsewhere made no mention of any attempted landings and it was probably not until Mike Mur­ phy developed hi s act five or six years later , using a J-2 Cub and a Plymouth coupe, that it became an air show routine.

In addition to his having participated in the undoing of von Richtofen, "Boots" was a pIOneer Capt. Oliver C. " Boots" Le Boutillier with the Essex Terraplane and sky-writer with the Buhl Bull Pup at Van Nuys airport in August of 1931. The remaining Skywriting Corp. of shots show the two takeoffs made by "Boots" with the Pup from the America, which wooden platform mounted on the Essex Terraplane. served clients na­ tionwide with a fleet of SE-5 a's. He was for commercial ratings on B-25s. He re­ Charlie Le Vine's pilot for awhile, in tired in 1948 to found and run Las Vegas 1927-28, and chief pilot for Aeromarine­ pharmaceutical company.

NC352Y is still around. It belonged to Klemm's west coast distributor when the Angelus Aero Corporation acquired the the late Jerry Coigny (EAA 115709, NC company. The AAC also distributed the 3459) in the late '30s, when Jerry was ap­ Inland Sport in the Western States, but the pointed western sales rep by Don effects of the Great Depression were such Luscombe, who was just getting into pro­ that there was a demand for but a single duction with the 50 hp Luscombe 8. Jerry unit and the business went under in 1933. got #4 and headed west with Lucy Rago, Le Boutillier became chief test pilot for leaving Don without a secretary. The Pup the Lockheed brothers, who were devel­ also had a cameo role in the movie oping a twin-engined executive aircraft, "Women of the Wind" (Warner Brothers, and continued to fly for movie-makers. In 1939). It is currently the property of Mel 1937, he entered the employ of the De­ Evers, Elmira, OR who says he's warming partment of Commerce, Bureau of to the idea of getting the Pup back on ac­ Aeronautics, antecedent of the FAA, tive status. All it needs is a full measure of where he was supervising inspector for TLC. All in all, it must have been quite a day Colorado and Wyo ming during the war.

After the war he qualified military pilots at VNY when these shots were taken!

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

21

no. 123

---

(Left) Of course, this shot was heavily doc­ tored up for publicly use, including the Essex Terraplane logo on the door. None of the other pictures have been "doctored."

EAA/Worthinglon no. 131

â&#x20AC;˘

22 OCTOBER 1998

BuhlllBull Pup" and Terra plane automobile atVan Nuys, CA., 1931

EAA I Worthington no. 130

••

EAA / Worthington no. 126

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

Amelia Earhart in LosAngeles -1932

Two days before the 1932 Olympics were held in Los An足 geles, and fresh from her late spring solo crossing of the Atlantic, Am e lia Earhart was presented with the Distin足 guished Flying Cross by Charles Curtis, the Vice-President of the United States. Curtis is the man with the mustache stand足 ing next to A.E . as something is pinned to his chest, while Amelia looks away with a slightly bemused look on her face .

In his speech, Curtiss quoted the citation issued by the 72nd Congress: " . . . displaying heroic courage and skill as a navi足 gator at the risk of her life" and continuing with "by which she became the first and only woman to cross the Atlantic ocean in a plane in solo flight."

Taking place on the steps of LA City Hall, the Governor of

California, Jim Rolph, is present as well , wearing the black top hat. The Governor was a big fan of flying, and tried to get the state to buy an airplane, which his son, Jim, Jr. could fly .

When that fell through, the elder Rolph hired Roscoe Turner and others to fly him around on his statewide junkets.

The Packards were used in the huge parade attended EAA / Worthinglonno. 111 by thousands, which apparently feted both Earhart and the Olympics - big as A.E. was in those days, it appears her medal presentation was only part of the much larger pre-Olympic celebration.

24 OCTOBER 1998

EAA / Worthinglon no. 108

October Mystery Plane

Dr. Dennis Agin was kind enough to supply us with this month's Mystery Plane. We'll even give you a hint-it's from "over there."

To be included in the January 1999 issue of Vintage Airplane, your answer needs to in to the Vintage Airplane office no later than November 25,1998.

Send your Mystery Plane correspondence to: Vintage Mystery Plane, EAA P.O. Box 3086 Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086

Plenty of members sent in responses to the July Mystery Plane, a well known light plane whose heritage we still see today. Our thanks to Brian Becker of Farmington, NM for the photo.

We're fortunate that out of the 22 an­ swers we received, a number of them were from people actively involved in Luscombe aircraft today, and one was there when the airplane was built. Let's hear from him fITSt: "Someone did agreat paintjob on a Luscombe Ninety to make it look like a Monocoupe! "[ wasfortunate to be part ofLuscombe's workforce when the prototype Model 4 was built. We in the sheet metal shop made some Ninety parts while doing Phantom parts. " Marty Eisenmann EAA 395204, AIC 19474 Alta Loma, CA From Pennsylvania we have this note: "July's MystelY is the Luscombe '90' or Model 4. While not the oldest Luscombe, it is the rarest, as it is the sole survivor ofthe jive built in 193 7138. Fitted with a Warner 90 it was intended to be a simplified Phantom which was a complex, expensive airplane that simply didn 't have a market during the '30s.

"The reason so few were built was that the Model '50' was being built concurrently and its obvious qualities ofprice and perfor-

Luscombe Ninety

tetyPlane

by H.G. Frautschy

mance caused Luscombe to drop the Model And from the other coast we here: 4. The Model '50' became the Model8A with "The Mystery Airplane shown in the July the Continental 65 and the rest is history.

1998 issue of Vintage Airplane is the Lus­ Many design features ofthe '90' were incor­ combe 4 (Model 90), ATC 687 (6-25-38). porated in the '50 '. Most notably thefuselage "The Model 90 (or Model 4) is a light, was very similar. This lovely antique is now all metalJor strength and durability, high­ owned by Ron Price ofMenlo Park, CA and wing cabin monoplane with side-by-side seating for two, powered by a 5-cylinder is currently undergoing restoration. "[ have the oldest Model 8 stillflying. SIN Warner 'Scarab Junior' radial engine rated 5 turns 60 on August 10, and 1plan to start on at 90 hp at 2025 rpm at sea level. Max speed the restoration after ajinal flight on that day." was published at 136 mph at sea level and Yours truly,

cruise at 120 at sea level.

Chas. C. Forrester

"Basically, it was a combination ofits EAA 304493, AIC 12707

predecessor's wings, the famous Phantom, Fairjield, PA

and its much more famous offspring'sfuse­ lage, the Silva ire. The Model 4 's fuselage was a new design from which the Model 8 's fuselage was developed.

"Paraphrasing Jos. Juptner in u.s. Civil Aircrafi... 'Normally, the model 90 was much jim to fly, but you had better listen to what she was saying, or end up embarrassed. She scampered about with eagerness, and its - Continued on page 30­ Luscombe 4 "Ninety" SIN 402, manufactured in 1938. At the time the photo was taken the col­ ors were orange with white trim and numbers, and the engine is listed as a Kinner R., probably a Warner 90. The shot was taken at San Mateo County airport on Sept. 2, 1956.

Brian Baker Collection.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

25

PaSSitto

Buel{

by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

EM #21 Ale #5 P.O. Box 424, Union, IL 60180 01' Bucky came out of the shell ear­ lier this summer and attended two of his favorite fly-ins . The first was the Sea Plane Splash in at Gaylord, Michigan's Ostego Lake. Randy and Nancy Rhodes, you know Randy if you get down to the Vette Seaplane Base in Oshkosh during AirVenture (otherwise known as Oshkosh) where he does a lot of work.

Randy and his wife put in a tremen­ dous amount of effort organizing this Splash-In every year. Ostego Lake is a great place for it too. The local airport is just a mile of so north of the lake and those who don 't have "floaters" land there and car it over.

Bob Richardson, the executive Direc­ tor of the Seaplane Pilots Association couldn't make it this year, so he sent the new coordinator for the association, Sue Sanders. Sue had never been on the water (Below) Brain Van Wagnen and Sue Sanders in the Fleet for Sue's first Seaplane ride get a bit of help from Randy Rhodes, the big cheese of the Ostego Splash-In .

26 OCTOBER 1998

before, and we took care of Leather jacket and a swimming suit-such is the uniform that with a ride in the Fleet of the well dressed biplane-on-floats pilot!

10 . Not only did she get a seaplane ride, but she got it in a biplane on floats.

Guess I should have started this with the word that the Fleet is on floats . Thanks to Sandy Brown, Edo, and Brian Van Wagnen and a few other pushers and shovers, we got it going in time for the Splash­ In,l and it was in Oshkosh as well, thanks to Brian's flying!

Trials and tribulations was the name of the game. There seemed to be no end to the ex­ (Below) It floats! It f lies! What could be more beautiful tha n a biplane on floats? asperating chain of negatives.

The newly overhauled engine is just fine, but getting a pro­ peller to work was a chore.

We finally got all the shakes and rattles out of the Hamilton Standard ground adjustable prop, and got the blade pitch to where it turns just short of the red line on takeoff.

Brian Van Wagnen, the head pusher and shover, fought the float installation, test flew it and then ferried it to the lake.

10F on 1930 Edo 1835 floats, thanks to the efforts of Brain Van Wagnen Isn't she pretty?

I played the part of the rich play­ boy, and arrived at the lake in Frank Marzich's Widgeon. Frank delivered me to the Splash-In in style! Now (Above and Left) Here's Jerry Heykoop of THAT is the way to travel. Right White Lake, MI and his nice Aeronca Sedan on floats. I like his plane, but I didn't like his across Lake Michigan at 500 feet, tee-shirt until ... and splash down right on site with (Right) .. . he turned around! only about a hundred feet of water to wade through to get to the beach.

I won't go into any further diatribe WATCH OUT, SNOOPY! except to say it flew great. I fulfilled a What a lucky girl I was on June long time desire to see a Fleet on floats, 12, when I was invited to take my and it was wonderful! fLTst seaplane ride in a Buck Hilbert's 1938 Fleet biplane. What an exhilarating Oh , the second fly-in this pa st experience-not one to ever be forgotten. spring? You ' ll have to wait until next I was busy setting up my insignia items in the SPA tent, when I heard the most month to hear about that! If ::e3t(ck '" fantastic engine roar that started out from the south as a low rumble, but when this "Baron" did its fly-by, I instantly roared out to Randy Rhodes, "That's it! That's Frank Marzich and his Grumman Widgeon it! That's my fLTSt ride, Randy" (In other words, "Fix it Randy, I would on Lake Otsego in Michigan. very much like my first seaplane ride in that fantastic flying ma­ chine!"). Randy's response was appropriate: "You've got it Sue!" Early that afternoon Randy introduced me to Brain Van Wagnen, who would be my pilot. As we taxied out onto Lake Otsego, I thought to myself "this is so cool, I feel like a seagull!" Although it felt a little bouncy up in the air, I was too intoxicated with excitement to feel the least bit nervous" as I looked out at the lay of the land and how beauti­ ful everything looks from above. Why do things look better from aloft? Is it the perspective we gain of how this part of the world looks?

Perhaps. Whatever the reason, I hold a new perspective toward recre­ ation and work; in recreation one should recreate in planes more often; in work, perhaps there will be more rewards such as this!

Although I did not look forward to the Fleet landing and ending this new experience for me, I still could not wait for this new sensa­ tion to landing a plane ON WATER! Brain brought he down easily and away we glided in toward shore. So this is how a seagull feels when her webbed feet glide onto the water ...

Not only was I so fortunate to make my first seaplane ride in Buck's Fleet, but I was actually LUCKY enough to be invited to fly in two more planes. Later that evening I got to see a pretty sunset over the lake in a Cessna 185 (thank you, Steve), and on Sunday I got a ride with Tom Pletcher in his Lake amphibian, with jazz on the stereo flowing through my head(phones). In addition, we won the spot-landing contest that morning.

As the SPA representative, it was my pleasure to participate and meet so many SPA members. A very special thank you to Bobbie Scribner and Nancy and Randy Rhodes for their help and assistance, and to Buck, Brian, Steve and Tom who made this weekend so spe­ cial for me. Every time I look at my framed Seagull Certificate I'll be The "seaplane way" off the shoreline has all sorts thinking of you. -Sue Sanders, SPA Coordinator of water birds, from Lakes to Cessnas, with even a Volmer Amphibian or two added to the mix.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

27

AeroMail

- Continued from page 3­

who were not college trained ,but could pass a written test. I decided to study for this and sold the Pup through an ad in Trade-A-Plane to a man from Florida, but I do not have his name. I hated to part with it but knew I could not concentrate on my studies with the airplane available. [ sold it for $350, just what I had paid for it and the only maintenance I had to do was to put in a set of valve guides in the three-cylinder Szekely engine.

I did pass the Exam for Flying Cadet and started flight training at Love Field, Dallas in March 1940 flying in a PT-3 and graduated from Kelly Field in No­ vember of the same year. The Air Corps was growing very fast at that time and about 75 percent of our class of 40G were assigned to Randolph or Kelly Field as instructors. I was very happy to be assigned to Kelly and flying AT -6s and BC-I s instead of Basic trainers. Of course we all wanted to be fighter pi­ lots. After several years of instructing in AT -6s I was tran sferred to Sebring, Florida for B-17 training with the hope of going off to fight the war. Instead I was sent to Tennessee to train pilots in B-17 and later B-24 bombers . Eventu­ ally I was promoted and had an easy job as Commanding Officer of a school Squadron at Maxwell Field. Finally when the B-29 project started, T left the Training Command to go to the 20th Air Force where high-time, four-engine pilots were needed. After training, mostly in B-17s, we had enough B-29s to fight the war. I was with the first group of B-29s to fly missions from Saipan to Japan . Our crew was very lucky in surviving 30 missions with a few easy ones and many uneasy trips over the target. My airplane was Z47 and one of the gunners named it "Adam ' s Eve" with the approval of the rest of the crew . We had a sexy gal painted on the nose holding out an ap­ ple to tempt some Japanese pilot closer for a better shot. Our first plane failed to return from a night mission. Luckily our crew was in Hawaii at the time. We fin­ 28

OCTOBER 1998

ished our 30 missions just before it was changed to 35 and we were all home on leave when the war ended. I remained in the Air Force until late 1946 and left when I had a desk with my name on it instead of an airplane.

After becoming a civilian I have owned and flown about 18 different airplanes and now have a Tri-Pacer that has been converted to a traildragger and an RV-4 that is ajoy to fly. I did not build it.

You have my pern1ission to use any or all of this story but I would like to have the address of John W. Willmott who wrote "Puppy Love."

Sincerely, Charles "Chuck" Adams EAA 243872, AlC 25555 Pine Plains, NY

FROM JOHN UNDERWOOD: To answer Vic Smith's question, what did the Waltz King fly? Clarence "Slim" Freitag introduced me to Wayne King when they were on tour in the '60s.

Slim taught King to fly in the prototype Stinson Model 0 , which was a tandem 2-seater intended for COIN operations.

Slim played trombone for King and sold Stinsons, later becoming regional sales manager. He then went with Benny Howard in a similar capacity and was

named a Howard vice-president in 1941.

Slim sold International F-17s as the agent for the Chicago area in 1929-30, and had one or two for a while after In­ ternational folded. It is possible that King chartered an F-17 on occasion, before learning to fly.

SIin1 sold King a Stinson SR, NC 13445, in 1933 and an SR5E, NC14591, in 1935.

Possibly others as well .

Re: Robert Goodrich's picture (above): That is definitely the San Fran­ cisco World's Fair grounds , officially the Panama-Pacific International Expo­ sition of 1914 - 15.1t is almost certainly Beachey ' s Little Looper, with all that smoke pouring from the Gnome. Runups were routinely done with the nose wheel in a hole.

Art Smith fulfilled Beachey's com­ mitments after he was killed [on Sunday, March 14, 1915 in his Taube monoplane] using a similar Curtiss type but not Cur­ tiss-built. If a radiator is visible, then it's Smith. Both had interplane ailerons, which in this picture may be blurred by motion or possibly they had not yet been installed. Another clue is the white doughnut nose wheel , a characteristic of the Little Looper.

Cheers, John Underwood EAA 1989, AlC 1653 Glendale, CA

THE RED BARN -Continuedfrom page 8­

James Christiansen · .. Creston, British Columbia, Canada Patricia C. Jones-Bowman · .. .. . .. Orangeville, Ontario, Canada David C. Rayner · .. . . ... . ... . Scotland, Great Britain Ray Hindle ...... Lancashire, England R. G. Ward .. Ashburton, New Zealand Daniel Carroll .... .... San Diego, CA Thomas M. Leaver, Sr. ..... .. ... .... ... Walnut Creek, CA Brian Lloyd ...... Cameron Park, CA Lawrence Oka .. .... ..... Sunol, CA Vernon C. Watters ... . San Rafael, CA John G. Cooper · .. . .. ... .. ... Melbourne Beach, FL Tracy L. Dart ......... Marathon, FL James A. Renfrow ... Mary Esther, FL Andrew 1. Salter ... .. .. Polk City, FL Charles Schooley III · . . ... .. ...... West Palm Beach, FL Joseph Vasile .. .. . .... . ... Pace, FL A. Duane Roberts .... Woodstock, GA Bolling C. Stanley .. . ... Roswell, GA Elmo A. Miller . . . .. . . . ... Boise, ill Gillis Barton ........ Pleasant Hill , IL Michael 1. Billeter. . . .. ... . Byron, IL Steven K. Boots .... . .. St. Charles, IL Gerry E. Flaugher .. .. ... . Decatur, IL Robert F. Kweiser . .. . .... . Joliet, IL Chip Long ...... . . . .. Woodstock, IL Edward Marcoski · ... . ..... .. .... Downers Grove, IL David B. Piper ........ St. Charles, IL Robert Truty ... .. . . ...... Morris, IL Mitch Wohl . .. ....... Barrington, IL Keith D. Bittle ...... . South Bend, IN Ricky L. Gay ... . . . .. Clearwater, KS Richard Martin ..... ... Lawrence, KS Darrel May ........ West Liberty, KY Charles F. Schultz .. ... Louisville, KY Benjamin H. Stevens, Jr. · ... .... ... ..... . ... Maynard, MA Chris Anderson .. . . . ... . . Albion, MI William D. Barnes . . . .. .. Rodney, MI George W. Pyke ........... Troy, MI Mike Murray ..... .. .. Stillwater, MN Gary L. Paulson ..... Alexandria, MN Robert H. Powell III . ... Wayzata, MN

Paul C. Crnic . .... . . .. St. Louis, MO James Robert Schdrowitz . ... .... . ..... .. Ocean Springs, MS Douglas H. Parrott ..... Roundup, MT Lewis Brown .... .. . . . Linwood, NC Charles R. Finch ...... . Archdale, NC Albert Mankoff. .. HendersonvilIe, NC James Brennan .... West Ossipee, NH Allen G. Mayville ... . Chichester, NH Rafael A. Rosario, Jr .. Eastampton, NJ Richard F. So liner . .. . Flemington, NJ Patrick Flanagan .. ... . . . .. Reno, NY Sondra D. Brooks .. Narrowsburg, NY Stephen Case .. ...... New York, NY Anthony T. Mancuso . . ......... . . . ..... Mt. Morris, NY Robert Chase .. . New Washington, OH James E. Huber, Sr. . .. Cincinnati, OH Charles C. Jurack .... .. Chardon, OH Kenneth K. Moir .... . . . ... Kent, OH Willard W. Adams .. Fort Towson, OK David H. Laughrey ... .. ... Tulsa, OK Brice Newberry ...... Kingfisher, OK Eli Stutsman ...... . . . .. Portland, OR Richard E. Canada . Willow Street, PA Hank Menge\. . .. ....... Mohton, P A Timothy R. Reinhard .. Bethlehem, PA Terry 1. Robinson ... West Chester, PA Rodney Anderson .. . Lake Preston, SD Doug Woods . ... ..... Memphis, TN Calvin A. Coffey . .... Lewisville, TX John W. Goodloe ...... Watauga, TX George C. Jones ... . .. ... Rhome, TX William F. Meyer ..... . ... Alice, TX Frank Molsberry ..... ... Leander, TX Carroll Thomas . . ... . Midlothian, TX Bruce Boyes .... .. Salt Lake City, UT Ms. Walley Hedlesky . ... Dublin, VA Lynn Cornelius .. .... . La Center, W A Salvador Sahagun ... . . .. Bothell, WA Cindy Ward .. . ... Ocean Shores, WA Phillip F. Duffy .. . Whitefish Bay, WI Ernest A. Minecke .... Green Bay, WI Kevin J. Mittelstadt . ... . Oakfield, WI Tim A. Robertson . .... . Appleton, WI Alan E. Schmidt. .... . . . . Oregon, WI Herbert Thatcher ..... Brookfield, WI Robert Zerull .. . .. Genesee Depot, WI Greg Graves . . . ..... . .. Kenova, WV

THE TRAVEL AIR 4-P The model4-P was the last version of the standard three place open cockpit bi­ plane built the Travel Air Company. It was powered with the brand new seven cylinder A.C.E. model La. 1 engine that developed 140 hp. The engine incorporated a speed­ ring cowling that was a modified form of the N.A.C.A. low-drag engine fairing.

Not too much is known about its flying characteristics so we must assume it was pretty much the same as the rest of the Travel Air line of fine biplanes. The fuel capacity was 42 gallons maximum and they also used a lighter landing gear, pre­ sumably to keep the weight down and to give the 4-P a little better performance.

The 4-P's engine was the A.C.E. model La.l , a development of the earlier Jacobs and Fisher engine which was a radial and air-cooled.

The Travel Air 4-P was a beautiful aircraft but probably introduced at the wrong time.

A type certificate was issued on De­ cember 12, 1929 and only one was built by the Travel Air Co. The only known ex­ ample of the Travel Air4-P was NC419N. Where is it today?

Listed below are the specifications and perfOimance data.

ENGINE LENGTH HEIGHT WINGSPAN UPPER LOWER WING CORDUPPER LOWER WING AREA UPPER LOWER TOTAL WING AREA AIRFOIL WEIGHT EMPTY USEFUL LOAD PAYLOAD Wj41 GAL FUEL GROSS WEIGHT MAX SPEED CRUISE SPEED LANDING SPEED CUMB CEIUNG FUEL CAPACITY OIL CAPACITY CRUISE RANGE @7.5 gph BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE PRICE

140 hp A.C.E. La.l 24' 6" 8' 11" 33' 0" 28' 10" 66" 56" 171 sq. ft.

118 sq. ft.

289 sq. ft.

"TRAVELAIR" 1531 1bs.

8671bs.

3921bs.

2,388lbs.

115 mph 97 mph 45 mph 700 ft.

12,000 ft.

42 Gal. 6 Gal. 485 miles 501bs. $6,200.00

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

....

29

Mystery Plane

- Continued/rom page 30­

Membershi~ Services Directo~ overall performance was about the best avail­ Enjoy the many benefits ofBAA and the

BAA Antique/Classic Division

c

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EAA(

EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873

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Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $23 annually. All major credit cards accepted for membership. (Add $16 for

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Division is available for $50 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $10 for Foreign Postage.)

WARBIRDS Current EAA members may join the EAA War­ birds of America Division and receive WARBIRDS magazine for an additional $35 per year.

EAA Membership, WARBIRDS magazine and one year membership in the Warbirds Division is available for $45 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $7 for Foreign

Current EAA members may join the Antique/ Postage.)

Classic Division and receive VINTAGE AIR­ PLANE magazine for an additional $27 per year.

EAA EXPERIMENTER EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE mag­ Current EAA members may receive EAA azine and one year membership in the EAA EXPERIMENTER magazine for an additional Antique/Classic Division is available for $37 per $20 per year. year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included).

EAA Membership and EAA EXPERIMENTER (Add $7 for Foreign Postage.) magazine is available for $30 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included).(Add $8 for

lAC

Current EAA members may join the International Aerobatic Club, Inc. Division and receive SPORT AEROBATICS magazine for an additional $40 per year.

EAA Membership, SPORT AEROBATICS maga­ zine and one year membership in the lAC

Foreign Postage.)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars. Add required Foreign Postage amount for each membership.

Membership dues to EM and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions.

30

O CTOBER 1998

able for an airplane ofthis type. ' "The Luscombe Airplane Development Cor­ poration, at that time, was located in Trenton, NJ with Don A. Luscombe as President, and Sales Manager; Fred G. Knack as v.P. and ChiefEngineer; Roger Johnson, Sec.!Treasurer and Ben Melcher was the plant manager.

"R~rerences for the above: us. Civil Aircraft, Vol. 7, Jos. P. Juptner; Vintage Flyers, Eric Preston; The Luscombe Story, John C. Swick. " Sincerely, Kaz Grevera, EAA 529114, AIC 26536 Sunnyvale, CA

From North Carolina, we read: "... This airplane, owned today by Ron and Donna Price ofSonoma, CA was built on June 24, 1938 by the Luscombe Airplane Corpora­ tion in West Trenton, NJ. The powerplant was a Warn er 90 'Scarab Junior,' SIN 31311; blade model 25V2-0, SIN's 73462 and 73485.

Thejirst testjlight was made on July 30, 1938. Ignatius Sargent was the pilot. Ofhistori­ cal note, at the time ofthis testflight, the company was waiting anxiously for the Approved Type Certificate to the Model 4 's successor, the soon­ to-be immensely popular Model 8.

According to the records ofthe day, NC133 7 had an empty weight of 1023 lbs., a gross weight of1,650 Ibs., and a useful load of256 lbs., with 31 gallons offuel. Baggage allowed was 751bs. with a passenger and 90 lbs. with­ out a passenger.

Maximum speed was listed as 136 mph, cruiSing speed was 120 mph and landing speed with flaps was 40 mph. The service ceiling was 15,000 feet, the rate ofclimb was 850fpm, and the cruising range was 600 miles. The basic Lus­ combe Model 4 price in 1938 was $4,000 FAF. This airplane was sold to the Falcon Aircraft Corporation ofInglewood, CA on August 6, 1938. A more detailed listing ofsubsequent own­ ers is provided ill my book, Visions ofLuscombe, The Early Years. " Warmest Regards, Jim Zazas EAA 150698, AIC 5416 Carthage, NC Other correct answers were received from : Bob Nelson, Bismark, ND; Jonathan Baron, Charlottesville, VA; John McMurray, Wichita Falls, TX; Frank Goebel, Joliet, IL; David W. Jackson, Toulon, IL; Homer R. McPherson, Her­ mosa Beach, CA; James T. Rogers, Lynchburg, VA; Arnol Sellars, Tulsa, OK; David Tyndall, Mechanicsville, VA; Vic Smith, Uxbridge, Great Britain; Les Everett, Jr. , Crawfordsville, IN; Frank Abar, Livonia, MI; James Funk, Plano, TX; Dale Wolters, Grandville, MI; l E. Carlyle, Withrop, ME; Joseph G. Handelman, Annapolis, MD and John Clark, Eagan, MN. ...

VINTAGE TRADER

Something to buy,

sell or trade?

An inexpensive ad in the Vintage Trader may be just the answer to obtaining that elusive part . .50¢ per word, $8.00 minimum charge. Send your ad and pay­ ment to: Vintage Trader, EAA Aviation Center, P,O, Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, or fax your ad and your credit card number to 920/426­ 4828. Ads must be received by tire 20th ofth e month for insertion in the issue the second monthfollowing (e.g., October 20th for the December issue.)

MISCELLANEOUS BABBm BEARING SERVICE - rod bearings, main bearings, camshaft bearings, master rods, valves.

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CASTINGS: Stock and custom manufactured , exhaust manifolds, heads, water pumps, pulleys, air intakes, brackets, cylinder sleeves, blocks .

Wax investment, plaster and dry sand molding.

Complete tooling and machining. MOTOR FOUNDRY & TOOLING, INC., 1217 Kessler Dr., EI Paso, TX 79907 USA, Ph. No. 915/595-1277, Fax 915/595-3167. ATTN: Valor D. Blazer.

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TOOL PLANS - Build 'em yourself and save! Our English Wheel forms and restores cowls and other compound curves like a pro. The Tubing Cutter/Notcher makes ready-to-weld cuts in sec­ onds with no filing! Build our Sandblast Cabinet for peanuts and clean and restore parts in your own shop! $7.50 each, all three $20 . Brian Amato, 3871 Whispering Oaks Dr., Traverse City, MI 49686 or use VISA or MASTERCARD by call­ ing (616) 946-1071 .

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Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Infor­ mation s hould be received fou r months prior to the event date.

OCT. 17 - A DA, OK - 2nd Annual Plane Fly Fly-In, sponsored by EAA Chapter 1005.

Free food for fly-in pilots. All aircraft wel­ come.Info: Terry Hall, 580/436-8190.

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OCT. 25 - ALAMOGORDO, NM - Alam­ ogordo-White Sands Regional Airport (KALM) Airport Appreciation Day. Hosted Th e following list of coming events is fur­

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Fly-In Calendar

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

31

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