VA-Vol-26-No-3-March-1998 by EAA Vintage Aircraft Association

EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher

Tom Poberezny

March 1998

Vol. 26, No. 3

Editor-in-Chief

Jack C ox

Editor

CONTENTS

Henry G . Frautschy

Managing Editor

Golda C ox

1 Straight & LevellEspie "Butch" Joyce

Art Director

Mike Drucks

2 AlC News

Computer Graphic Specialists

Nanc y Hanson Olivia L. Phillip

Pierre Kotze

4 Aeromail

Associate Editor

5 AlC Safety/Steve Krog

Norm Petersen

Staff Photographers

6 The Last Flight of " Time F lies"/

Robert Forrest

Jim Koepnick LeeAnn Abrams

Ken Lichtenberg

Advertising/Editorial Assistant

8 Chicagoland Airports/Walt Kessler

Isabelle Wiske

10 Gipsy Junket/Andrew King

EAA ANTIQUE/ CLASSIC DIVISION. INC, OFFICERS

12 Kilbey's Waco ATO/H.G. Frautschy

President Espie 'Butch' Joyce P.O. Box 35584 Greensboro. NC 27425 910/393-0344 Secretary Steve Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Lea. MN 5t£IJ7 507/373-1674

17 Life Begins at 40/Dick and Jeannie Hill 19 The Earl E-Bird RacerlDon Krout 21 Mystery Plane/H.G. Frautschy

Vice-President George Daubner 2448 Lough Lane Hart1ord. WI 53027

414/673-5885

Treasurer

Charles Harris

7215 East 46th St.

Tulsa. OK 74145

918/622-8400

DIRECTORS

22 Pass it to Buck/Buck Hilbert

28 Welcome New Members

John Berendt 7645 Echo Point Rd. Cannon Falls. MN 55009 507/263-2414 Phil Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr. Law1on, MI 49065 616/624-6490

Gene Morris 5936 Steve Court Roanoke. TX 76262 817/491 -9110 Robert C. ' Bob' Brauer 9345 S. Hoyne Chicago. IL 60620 312/779·2105

29 Membership Information/ Calendar

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

John S. Copeland 1A Deacon Street North~/3~~:4~~ 01532

Dale A. Gustatson 7724 Shody Hill Dr. Indionapolis. IN 46278

317/293-4430 Robert Lickteig 1708 Bey Oaks Dr. Albert Lea, MN 5t£IJ7 507/373-2922 Dean Richardson 6701 Colony Dr. Madison . WI 53717 tfJ8/833- 1291

Stan Gomoll

104290th Lone. NE

Minneopolis. MN 55434 612/784-1172

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

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

24 What O ur Members Are Restoring/Norrn Petersen

Page 19

FRONT COVER ... The late Bud Kilbey's Waco ATO project was recently completed when Bud's son Mark commissioned noted restorer Ted Davis to finish the restora tion. Authentic down to its Bendix wheels. this particular ATO once belonged to the famed stunt pilot Mike Murphy. and was flown by Murphy as one of the "Linco Air Aces." EM photo by Jim Koepnick. shot with a Canon EOS-l n equipped with an 80-200 mm lens. l/tfJ sec. @ 120 on 100 ASA slide film. EM Cessna 210 photo plane fiown by Bruce Moore.

Ili1l

BACK COVER ... FRENCH ACES OF WW I-Bill Masalko 's mixed media painting brings the famous men. machines and medals the French brought to the 1914- 1918 conflict. With the help of Mr. Neal O'Connor of New York. Bill researched the era and completed nine painting in his series within a year's time. "French Aces Of WW I" was awarded a Par Excellence ribbon during the 1997 EAA Sport Aviation Art Competition. Retired and residing in Fairview Park. Ohio. Bill continues to be ac knowleged as a highly accomplished aviation artist.

Copyright © 1998 by the EAA Antique/Classic Division Inc. All rights reserved. VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Antique/Classic Division. Inc. of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices. The membership rate for EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc. is $27.00 for current EAA 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 EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING - Antique/Classic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invrte constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained 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 the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely wrth the contributor. No renumeration is made. Material should be sent to: Edrtor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920/426-4800. The words EM, ULTRAUGHT, FLY WITH THE ARST TEAM, SPORT AVIATION, FOR THE LOVE OF FLYING and the logos of EM, EAA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB, WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are ® registered trademarks. THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION, EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION and EAA Air venture aretrademarks of the above associations and their use by any penson other than the above association is strictly prohibrted.

Jeannie Hill

P.O. Box 328

Harvord, IL 60033

815/943-7205 Robert D. ' Bob' Lumley 1265 South 124th st. Brookfield. WI 53005 414/782-2633

George York

181 Sloboda Av.

Mansfield. OH 44906

419/529-4378

DIRECTORS EMERITUS Gene Chase 2159 Caritan Rd. Oshkosh. WI 54904 920/231-5002

E.E. ' Buck' Hilbert P.O. Box 424 Union, IL 60180 815/923-4591

ADVISORS Sieve Krog 1002 Heather Ln. Hart1ord. WI 53027 414/966-7627

Roger Gomoll 32 1-1/2 S. Broadway Apt. 3 Rochester. MN 55904 507288-2810

David Benne"

403 Tanner Ct.

Roseville, CA 95678

916-782-7025

STRAIGHT & LEVEL

by ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE

Memorial Sun 100 Race for homebuilt aircraft, the Wittman Memorial Sun 60 Air Race for factory built aircraft, and the 1250 Race for aircraft of 1250 cc displacement or less. any of you who are reading this edition of "Straight & Level" will soon be prepar ing to go to the annual Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-In at Lakeland, FL. In one of my earlier S&Ls I referred to Sun 'n Fun as a regional EAA fly-in. Mr. Duffy Thompson of the fly-in staff was quick to write and point out to me that Sun' n Fun is an international event. Duffy is quite correct, and Mr. Billy Henderson, Executive Director of Sun 'n Fun, the staff, directors and volunteers can take credit for the growth of this great fly-in.

We all enjoy this start of the fly-in season, as the winter weather breaks and we can shake off the winter dol drums. Florida too has its winter weather, and while the temperature extremes are certainly not as wild as up north, it sure can get very unfriendly at times. Billy and the Sun 'n Fun crew have had to contend with very wet and at times severe weather as they prepare the grounds this year. The very severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that you may have heard about occurred just east of the Lakeland area. Some of the highlights of the upcom ing Sun 'n Fun (April 19-25) include:

• Daily air shows featuring top performers • Over 450 commercial exhibits • The Plane Parts Mart where "one person's junk is another's treasure." The Sun 'n Fun races each year have become a tradition. So has the Aeroshell 3-D Speed Dash, an unlim ited drag race to altitude, the Wittman

Some of the site changes this year include the enlargement of the camp ing area, made possible by the purchase of 16 additional acres. The club house row, which includes the OX5 Pioneers and OB's buildings, has been moved back to the creek area. The Antique/Classic headquarters area remains the same, and has long been a favorite spot for meeting your friends. Our group likes to gather around in time for the afternoon airshow . A/C headquarters is also the place you can register your Antique, Classic or Con temporary airplane after you've arrived. Ace volunteer Jane Kimball and her crew do a great job at this, and they're always busy helping folks . You might want to check in at the AUA, Inc., booth 57 in the "B" build ing. These are the people who handle your AlC insurance program. You can also call them at 1-800-727-3823 should the need arise. I generally check by this booth two or three times a day, so if you'd like to leave me a message, that's a good place to do it. For those of you who have access to the World Wide Web, you can check all of this information out at www. sun-n-fun.org. The A/C judges at Sun 'n Fun, as well as EAA AirVenture Oshkosh will have a difficult job again this year, as the restorations continue to get better and better. One of our judges at both Sun 'n Fun and Oshkosh has been re cently honored. It has been my pleasure to have know this gentleman for a num ber of years. He's Xen Motsinger, and he's always been very modest about his many accomplishments. A strong sup porter of the EAA Antique/Classic

movement over the years as a volun teer, as a active chapter member and one who unselfishly donated to EAA programs. It is very fitting that Xen has been inducted into the South Carolina Aviation Hall of Fame. Congratula tions, Xen! We look forward to your continued leadership in the future. The major theme during this year's EAA Convention, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh '98, will be "A Salute to Cor porate Aviation." It is a joint effort by EAA, the Antique/Classic Division, the NBAA and others. Our part will be display those famous corporate air craft which fall within the Antique, Classic and Contemporary aircraft. They'll be displayed on the center concrete taxiway and will be the high light of the show. The Division is honored to have a role helping put this display together. There will also be ad ditional aircraft on display which will carry this corporate aviation theme to present day - it should be quite an impressive display. Each of us has an airplane we've al ways wanted to own. For me, that airplane has long been the Luscombe 8 series. This past month, I was able to buy my dream. I'm now the proud owner of a 1947 Luscombe 8E. It had been owned for the past 26 years by Ken Woodard, who retired as a me chanical engineer for a company in Indiana. He then moved to Greensboro, NC to enjoy his retirement years. N2628K has been treated with very lov ing hands over the years and is corrosion free. I now have a new toy to go out and play with on the weekends-I'll share a photo of it with you in the future . Everyone, please keep up the good work on our 10n1 membership drive to support your EAA Antique/Classic Di vision. Lets all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation. Join us and have it all! ... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

A/C NEWS

compiled by H.G. Frautschy "FRENCH ACES OF WORLD WAR I" Key to back cover painting.

1. French air bases on the Western Front 1914-1918. 2. Guynemer's Nieuport 17-August 1916. 3. Captain Albert Fequant-Voisin Type 3 from VB102-1915. 4. Lieutenant Charles Nungesser-5pa 65 5. Captain Georges Guynemer's ID card. 6. The Legion D'Honneur. 7. The Medaille Militaire. 8. Lieutenant Jean-Pierre Bourjade-5pa 152 9. SILT Fernand Guyou-N93 10. Maurice Farman Shorthorn Type So11 Reconaissance'SaI264

SALUTE TO CORPORATE AVIATION One of our main themes at EM AirVenture Oshkosh '98 will be a joint celebration by EM and the National Business Aircraft Associ ation. Entitled "A Salute to Corporate Aviation," many of the aircraft featured will come from the Antique/Classic ranks. For more information on this "West Ramp" spectacular, please see Antique/Classic President Butch Joyce's col umn on page I. A/CSAFETY In an effort to add to the educational base we can all draw upon, A/C Advisors Steve Krog and Roger Gomoll have begun writing a bimonthly dedicated to educating all of us about operating our vintage aircraft. Older air planes draw on current knowledge, plus they can often have idiosyncrasies that become clouded in mystery over time. Steve and Roger, both active CFI's who often teach in Antique, Classic and Contemporary airplanes, will approach each topic with the unique perspec tive that these aircraft present. This month's installment deals with an honest self-appraisal of your flying skills, and what you can do to brush them up. It starts on page 5. We 're open to your suggestions regarding which areas you would like covered. You can send your comments to either Steve Krog or Roger Gomoll - their addresses are listed on the Contents page under "Advisors." 2 MARCH 1998

SUN 'N FUN STOPOVER EAA Chapter 905 invites all of you flying to Lakeland for Sun 'n Fun to stop by for some southern hospitality at McKinnon Airport on St. Simons Island, GA. The dates for the event are April 16- 19. CELL PHONES IN THE AIR-DON'T! A number of people have mentioned they had seen a newsletter or E-mail concerning the use of cellular phones while airborne. The ear lier article(s) said it was okay to use them, when in fact, it is illegal to do so. The FCC is very specific about it: Section 22.925 of the FCC rules, 47 CFR Part 22, provides that cellular telephones installed in or carried aboard air planes, balloons or any other type of aircraft must not be operated while the aircraft are air borne (not touching the ground.) Does it "work?" Yes, in some cases the call will be be made, but only by interfering with other cells as far as 400 miles away, depending upon your altitude. The only "cellular" type of service that is licensed by the FCC for use in the air has just concluded testing- AirCel1. That company uses a "cell type" system using specific frequencies (different than regular cell service) to cover much larger cells across the country. We also have been told that it is not difficult for a seasoned cellular technician to track down an interfering signal, and that the FCC is pretty aggressive about instituting fines in these situations. The moral of the story- wait until your wheels are rolling on the pavement before you order your pizza or call the wife to come pick you up! If you'd like more information from an expert on the subject, contact Larry Schuler, the network Operations Manager at United States Cellular. He can be reached at Ischuler@cellular.uscc.com Our thanks to Cy Galley of EAA Chapter 75 for letting us know about this rumor, and for his work in getting the real facts. TONY LEVIER 1913-1998 Famed racing and test pilot Tony LeVier has passed away at the age of84. LeVier, like so many children of his generation, became enamored with aviation during the craze over Charles Lindbergh's solo transatlantic crossing. By 1932 he was working as a pilot in aviation, and he soon made a name for himself as a race pilot. He won two races in the 550 cu. in. class at the 1938 Oakland, CA event, and he also placed third in the Unlimited race with the Schoenfeldt Firecracker. Labor Day weekend that same year saw LeVier and the Firecracker in Cleveland at the National Air Races, where he won the Greve Trophy race. He returned the following year, 1939, with the Firecracker and placed second in both the Thompson and the Greve. With his passing, an era closes, for he was the last of the pre-war Golden Age of Air Racing pilots remaining. No one stillliv

ing raced in the pre-war Greve, Thompson or Bendix Trophy races. For many people, Tony is also remem bered for the work he did with the P-38 Lightning, both as a test pilot and as a factory demo pilot, showing military pilots new to the fork-tailed devil that it was indeed a for midable fighting machine. He returned to air racing after the war, and was one of the men who designed and built the Cosmic Wind racers, racing planes that many consider among the prettiest racers ever built. In his later days, Tony, ever active as an instructor, noticed the alarming upward trend in stall/spin accidents, and sought to do some thing about it. His SAFE program was intended to educate pilots, both old and new, about spin recovery and stall prevention. CLAUDE GREY 1918-1997 If you've ever had an airplane judged under the rules set up by the EAA Antique/Classic Division, you have Claude Grey to thank for his volunteer efforts. Back in the early 1970's Claude and fellow antiquer, Al Kelch took the time to formulate the simple rules for judging aircraft, putting a measure of consistency and objectivity into the process. Claude was a long time restorer. He and Bob Groff owned an American Eagle, powered with an OX-5 . Chosen as the A/C Antique Grand Champion in 1976, it set a standard that was tough to match for restorers who followed. His Fairchild 24 also set a high benchmark as it won numerous awards at various fly-ins. He also enjoyed homebuilts, having completed a Smith Miniplane in 1960. Claude, a career Captain with Western Airlines, passed away November 19,1997. GERALD "JERRY" B. COIGNY 1912-1998 A long time EAAer and antiquer, Jerry Coigny is best remembered in vintage airplane circles for his Beechcraft Bonanza, which he owned for the last 35 years. Jerry flew the very original Bonanza to the EAA Convention in 1977, 1987 and 1997. Accompanied by the love of his life, Lucy, Jerry enjoyed flying his Bonanza, restoring antique Ford cars and being with his friends in the Antique/Classic Divi sion, OX5 Aviation Pioneers, the Silver Wings fraternity and the UFOs. A transport pilot with the Air Transport Command during WW II, he flew C-47s, C-49s and DC-3s. Later, he ran an orange grove and, still later, raised chickens and chinchillas. Lovers of Lus combes will recall the special events that brought Jerry and Lucy together while working for Luscombe, the re sult of which was Lucy eloping with

Jeny in a brand new Luscombe 8A. Our condolences to Lucy, and to their sons, Roger, Francois and Jeny Paul. CANADA'S THUNDER CmCKEN (Right) Pilots flying the north country of Canada came to love this splendid bird ... of course the "bird" we speak of is the Noorduyn Norse man. One of the workhorses of "The North," the Norseman went on to become one of the premier aircraft built in world ... if not the pre mier aircraft built in Canada. Peter G. Masefield, former technical editor of The Aeroplane, listed the Noorduyn aeroplane as one of the world's 20 best, stating that it "stood in a class by itself." The first production Mk I appeared in 1936 and the final version, a prototype Mk VII be gan test flights in 1951, before being canceled and moved into storage. Now the question begs to be asked?. why the history lesson? Well, Alberta Aviation Museum Association is pleased to announce "Norseman Lodge", the "coming out" of one of these superb aircraft. Volunteers at the mu seum have been busy restoring CF-ElH and have completed this challenging task . The time has come to honor these volunteers and toast a fine aircraft. The museum is "present ing"-ElH during an evening of fun, food and good old reminiscing. The evening is set to be a very informal, with the dinner to be what might be considered "Northern Fare': .. chili, salad, pie, etc. The evening's theme will re-

October Mystery Plane has been solved! John Underwood thought about the Mystery Plane photo from October, and republished in the January issue. Here's what he has to say: The sign on the Aero club ofIllinois hangar should read "STUDENSKY. " (We read it as STUDENSAY-HGF) He was a Russian, I think, and taught to fly by Bleriot. Both ofthose signs appear to

flect 1947, the last year - ElH flew into a Northern Lodge used for hunting or fishing. Location: Edmonton Aviation Heritage Cen tre Hangar (Alberta Aviation Museum Association- A.A.M.A.) Date: Saturday, April 18, 1998

Doors: 5:30 p.m.

Presentation: 6:30 p.m.

Dinner: 7:30 - 10:00 p.m. (Buffet style, eat Further information can be obtained from:

whenever you wish) Alberta Aviation Museum Association

Cost: $10.00 per person (Cash Bar) Tel: 403-453-1078

Tickets: Available at the Alberta Aviation 11410 Kingsway Avenue, Museum Gift Shop (Available to Tuesday Edmonton, AB. T5G OX4 April 14, 1998) Dress: Very Casual. However you're comfortable! e-mail: bhound@planet.eon.net .....

be altered. The other one should read Kolovas-Davis. InCidentally, there were at least three groups ofidentical hangars at Cicero Field and they were erected in 1911, the gift ofCol. Charles Dickinson, the ACI's principal benefactor. The October Mystery Plane is actually the first biplane to bear the Beech label. The designer was A. C. Beech; no relation to Walter, asfar as I know. It was billed as the largest airplane in the U.S.ofA., with a span of52 feet. Power was a 75 hp Roberts and it accommodated three. It was sometimes referred to as a Beech-Farman or the Beech National, because it was built by the National Aeroplane Co. ofChicago and Galveston, TX The NAC had winter quar ters at Galveston, where they operated a school with a French Nieuport, a Curtiss copy, a Ble riot and the Beech-Farman, which wasfinished at Galveston

and tested there by J. Hector Worden, who was quite well known at the time. This was early in 1912. Paul Studensky and Worden were the NAC School of Flying's instructors. The Beech biplane was unique for that time in that it was fitted with dual controls. On one ofits first outings, Studensky took it on a cruise around Galveston Island, attaining 2,000 ft. and covering about 25 miles . They operated it from Denver Beach until A.C. Beech collided with a tent pole and it was shipped to Chicago for repairs. Paul Studensky used it for exhibition flying, joy riding and flight instruction. He lived to old age and checked out in 1961. Worden threw in with the Mexican F ederales in the latter part of I 912 and thereafter was known as Capt. Worden. Having survived a revolution or two, he tried to perform an inverted loop at the Dallasfairgrounds on 6 May 1916. In that he was eminently unsuccessfUl.

The October Myst ery Is finally unmasked, thanks to the efforts of John Underwood. It's the Beech-Farman, sometimes referred to as the Beech-Natlonal. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

VINTAGE

AeroMail

OH, IF ONLY I COULD BUY ONE OF THOSENOW. ..

Hello! Enclosed you will find a picture we are hoping you will be able to help us identify. My husband's grandfather served in the in fantry in Europe in World War I. This picture (below) was in his memorabilia, and we are quite curious about it, as it appears to be an airplane factory. Where? What type, etc ... We have an Allied map of France that was his as well, it that provides a clue. If someone can help, we would certainly ap preciate knowing about this picture . Thanks in advance. Rebecca Clark 1238 Fifth Av. Safford, AZ 85546 Dear Rebecca, From the general overall appearance, and the variety ofaircraft types in this building, I'd hazard a guess that you're looking at a disposal warehouse after the Great War had ended. At the cessation of hostilities, there were thousands of un needed airplanes that were disposed of, either intact or scrapped. Can anyone else add more to that shred ofopinion? - HGF

Dear Bob [Whittier], I am enclosing a print of an early E-2, which I thought you might like to see, or if you had previously seen it, you might be able to provide some information about it. The only thing I can tell you about it is it was made from an etched image on a copper plate attached to a wooden block.

This plate was left for me at the field where I work part time by an old friend who was passing through this area. Unfortunately, for me, I was not there when he stopped, so I don't have any in formation as to how he obtained it. I took it to a local printing shop, where they were able to make some copies, which I'm sending to people such as you in the hopes someone will be able to provide some information on it. I suspect the location is Bradford [PA], with a small portion of the factory visible under the prop. It seems likely that it was used for advertising purposes, possibly in a sales brochure. Best Wishes, Ed Kastner 2330 Woodard Rd. Elma, NY 14059-9365 Dear Ed, About the Cub shown in the picture you sent me ... I had never seen this par ticular picture before. Since the tail does not show, we don't know what the NC number was. So that sets us adrift. However, I do have a lead ofsorts. In an aviation history book published in England in 1956 is a photo of an E-2. (The same photo is published in the 1932 issue of Jane 's. - HGF) The paint design on the fuselage is identical. The NC number is 12360, indi cating it was built in 1932. (From about 1931 to the late 1930s, when airplane production was modest,

the second number in a registration de noted the year ofmanufacture .. . this my own E-2 Cub, NC15009, was made in 1935.) The cowling on the plane in your picture is the early type without air-deflec tion scoops behind the cylinder blocks. The color scheme shown was not a common one, although it has been copied by some antique airplane restorers. In 1932 production was so modest, they could paint ships to suit the buyers. I be lieve as production picked up, they found it economically necessary to stick to the familiar all-silver color with dark red nose, fuselage stripe and vertical tail. So conSidering the cowl, the color scheme, the 100,000 mile lettering on your ship, and the fact that the NC12360 appears in a publicity photo put out by Taylor Aircraft, there is afair but probably un provable chance that the ship in your picture is this one. The Piper Museum in Lock Haven may be able to add a few more clues. Sincerely, Bob Whittier Duxbury, MA (Editor's Note: Bob Whittier, EAA 1235, has been an aviation author and pilot for over 50 years, and is a regular contributor to EAA 's Experimenter mag azine, writing the "Lightplane Heritage" column for the past seven years. In the years prior to that, he was afrequent contributor to a number ofaviation peri odicals, including EAA 's Sport Aviation during EAA 's early days.) ...

are held at non-tower airports. It's impor tant you review the safe and proper procedures for flying into and out of non tower airports. Frequently, I have observed pilots familiar with tower airport proce dures fly into these events and become totally flustered. They were so accustomed to having someone telling them what to do that they developed "gray matter circuit overload" in hearing 10 other airplanes an nouncing positions via unicorn. Sometimes in their frustration, safety was compro mised. Patience and courtesy will prevent butterflies for all concerned! Think about and plan for the airport to which you'll be flying . Though you may have been there a dozen times previously, situations do change. Your arrival in the traffic pattern is not the best time to find out the favorable runway is closed. Are you familiar with the runways and conditions at the destination airport? If the primary runway is only 2,000' long, perhaps it would be wise to practice several short field landings at your home base before making a spectacle of your landing at the breakfast site. Equally important, practice a half-dozen short field takeoffs as well. And what if the primary runway is hard surface and you're use to a sod runway? Further, what about the wind? If there is a strong possibility of some type of cross wind at the pancake breakfast site, then get out and try a half dozen cross wind take offs and landings at your home airport. Get comfortable in your airplane for most all conditions that you might face and keep the stomach butterflies to a minimum.

Vintage Airplane Safety

Butterflies and Pancakes by STEVE KROG, Ale DIVISION ADVISOR In a few weeks the pancake fly-in break fast season will be upon us. This is an exciting time for all EAA Antique/Classic pilots to renew our collec tive interest in sport aviation. It's an opportunity to get of the out of the house, get away from the hangar and back in the cockpit of our pride and joy. Just as impor tant, pancake fly-ins let us share the joy of flying with others who appreciate fun and interesting aircraft. Before you jump back in the cockpit, it's imperative you take some time and honestly analyze your flying skills, your airplane(s) and the airports you hope to visit in 1998. Along with the fun of flying Antique and Classic airplanes, many pilots also experi ence a different kind of flying-butterflies in their stomachs. A few simple precautions can prevent those butterflies and give you more opportunities to enjoy the pancakes. STARTING FRESH A safety conscious pilot will conduct the most thorough preflight inspection of the new year. From bird nests to mouse nests and fuel sumps to tail wheel springs, every component part of your airplane needs to be critically eyeballed. If you gen erally burn auto fuel and haven't flown the airplane in at least two months, you may want to drain the fuel tanks and refill with "fresh" fuel. Auto fuel bums just fine, but it sometimes goes stale if stored for a long time. Burn the old fuel in your pickup rather than risk a rough running engine on the first take-off this spring. There's no need to get stomach butterflies on your first flight ofthe new year!

KNOW YOUR SKILLS A competent safety oriented pilot wi ll also conduct a candid self-critique of his or her pilot skills. Perhaps you've been away from the cockpit for several months and it's just a

matter of refamiliarizing yourself with the aircraft. Several one hour local flights to hone your skills, reacclimate yourself in the cockpit and reconfirm the aircraft's flight characteristics will save a stomach full of butterflies when you make your pat tern entry and landing at that first pancake breakfast of the new year. Remember that first big pancake break fast you attended last year? Various aircraft were in the pattern, ranging from J-3 Cubs to a Stearman, from a Cessna 210 to a Long Ez, and there were at least six or seven other aircraft out there as well. From slow to fast, some are easy to see and others just seem difficult to spot. Not only was your head on a swivel looking for other aircraft, you also had an uneasy feeling in your stomach. The amount of traffic was first making you feel your approach was rushed, and then forcing you to extend your traffic pattern. The wind wasn't quite right and you knew that if you missed the first runway turn-off, two or three airplanes behind you would probably have to go around . Your forgot all about those greasy sausages you were planning to eat. They were replaced by a case of butterfly indigestion. Before finding yourself in this position, a few moments of thought and some prepa ration will help make those sausages and pancakes sit a little better. GIVE THEM A BREAK Many of the pancake fly-in participants may be somewhat inexperienced, low-time pilots. Have patience and allow them a little extra room. Just as we gained experience, they need to be allowed to participate in fly ins and pancake breakfasts as well. Remember your first few fly-ins and the anxi ety you experienced? What better excuse than pancakes is there for building time and ac quiring experience on a sunny bright Sunday? KNOW YOUR DESTINATION AiRPORTS A vast majority of the fly-ins we attend

HANDLING CROSS WINDS Cross winds are perhaps the biggest cause of anxiety to sport aviation pilots, the greatest single cause of stomach butter flies. Frequently, a number oflocal pilots will discuss flying to the next pancake breakfast. Everyone is enthusiastic about the next day's flight. But, when Sunday morning comes and we prepare for depar ture, we usually lose several participants. The most common excuse, "It's a little too windy. I don't think I'll go." Or, "I think the wind will pick up and it'll be too windy when I get back." If cross winds give you butterflies, you're missing many hours of great flying and pilot camaraderie. And it's easily fixed (depending on your aircraft) by simply get ting in some practice at your local airport. You should certainly know your flight -Continued on page 30

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

by ROBERT E. FORREST

he year was 1938, just shortly after the famous hurricane swept through out the New Eng land states. It was October and I was out working in a farm field. About 3 :00 p.m. I saw the aircraft "Ti me Flies" flying around overhead and staying in our area. It had been hangared here at Rentschler Field airport, close to Pratt & Whitney Aircraft and Hamil ton-Standard Propeller companies at East Hartford, CT. For several days th e aircraft had been flying around and was being flight tested by Earl Ortman for the Army Air Force. The only noticeable change in the aircraft as it was modi fied for the military was that its flush line windshield was cha nged to a built-up enclosed canopy. I noticed th e aircraft was doing aerobatics when it started climbing to a higher altitude, and was nearly out of sight. So, I forgot about it for a few minutes when sud denl y I heard the high-pitched scream of an aircraft en gine and as I looked up my eyes found it to be the famous "Time Flies." I'd judge when I saw it it was in a 90 degree vertical dive with its engine

6 MARCH 1998

wide open from the sound of the screa ming prop . Back in 1938 that was the fastest I'd ever seem an air plane move and the plane was losing hundreds of feet per second. I watched for the pull-up, but it never started. I knew it would be the end, as by now it could never pull out of the dive with out coming apart. I began to worry abo ut Earl Ort man. I had not seen him bailout, and I could see the airc raft was breaking up into thousands of pieces and flying

through the air. Piece s were falling and coming down for sometime after the plane had crashed. I still hadn 't seen Ort man bailout, but after searching the sky I finally saw a white speck floating and knew it was a chute. All that remained of the "Time Flies" were the prop, engine and fuse lage where it crashed. The wings and tail had completely disintegrated. As the high ly polished, doped fabric tore off the surfaces and plywood started

"Time Ales," with its new canopy, sits at the edge of the tarmac before being taken up by Earl Ortman for Army Air Corps tests. Courtesy Robert Forrest

some of the barn, but most of it was burned and lost. I was 17 years old when the acci dent happened and I was an active model airplane builder. I had collected quite a number of pieces of the 'Time Flies," and one piece which I prized very highly was a section of the left wing leading edge from the wing tip to a length of three or four feet long back to the first spar, complete with its section of leading edge sub ribs with its th in plywood covering and yellow doped polished fabric over that.

ripping , exposing the rough , open framework of ribs and spars, pieces flew like seeds in the wind. The slight breeze that was blowing had scattered pieces of fabric and plywood for 50 miles. The Pratt & Whitney twin Wasp and Hamilton-Standard constant speed prop roared all the way to earth and hit with a terrific impact in the center of a hurricane damaged tobacco barn. The time of the crash was about 4:00 p.m. Just a few minutes before 4:00 p.m . some people were in the barn working at salvaging what they could of the tobacco. They had just quit working for the day and had left when the plane hit. When I saw what was about to happen I stopped working and ran to the end of the field, jumped on my bicycle and tore off in the direction of the crash site, which was about five miles away. The next day as I read the facts in the newspaper, Earl Ortman told reporters that as he was putting the aircraft through some routine maneu vers he started a series of dives. Then he felt the aircraft shudder for a sec ond and saw pieces of fabric rip off the wing. He knew he had to act fast. He unlocked the canopy, and, as he was pu shing himself up out of the cockpit, a piece of something flew back and hit him in the head, knock ing him clear of the aircraft and knocking him out or stunning him for a moment or two. He said it must have been a piece of the cowling. He said he didn't cut the engine switches

and didn ' t remember pulling the chute 's rip cord. But when he came to his senses he saw his chute was open and as he glanced down he saw the ship hit the ground and explode in flames. Ortman landed several miles from the crash site, but was picked up and brought to the scene later.He was glad no one was hurt or killed. One other fact I might mention here is that a streamlined aileron counter weight weighing about 20 - 25 pounds had come loose and landed within two or three feet of a child who was playing in a backyard not far from the crash site. When I arrived at the crash the plane was still burning. It was the hottest fire I had ever seen . You couldn't get closer to it than 70 or 80 feet, it was so hot. The fire engines got there about as soon as I, and noth ing they could do would put the fire out. They tried to contain it and save

After showing off my prize collec tion of "Time Flies" for some weeks I finally made a big deal with one of the model airplane hobby shops in Hartford, CT. For several dollar s worth of balsa wood and model air plane kits the owner proudly hung up his new prized trophy in his hobby shop with a sign telling it was from the original "Time Flies." I had always loved that aircraft. It was a beautiful looking race plane but not quite "beefy" enough for a military aircraft. I wonder if I am the only one left who may have witnessed the death of the old "Time Flies" or if anyone else would have any news clippings of the event. I would like to hear from anyone who has any infor mation whatever about it. The two photos I've enclosed show the "Time Flies" as she first appeared as a race plane flown by Frank Hawks and the later version as she had been flown by Leigh Wade in the 1938 Cleveland Race, and later that same year by Earl Ortman to its demise . .... Courtesy Robert Forrest

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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By WALT KESSLER

the gulls that soar from the harbor." The " island off of Grant Park" the

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tickets say "ORD" and not so\ ething more obvious like "CHI"? Many years before the airplane was invented th.ere was an 1840 village named @rcha rd Place that stood on the site that is\now O'Hare Field. ORD was the villa¥e's post office designation. Later, a smaller airport also was locat~d on the site. When Orchard Place was enlarged, creat\ng O'Hare Field, it encompasse~ Orchard Place and abutted

"Airports" by John W. Wood (1940)

Northerly Island (upper right) was the site of a portion of the 1932 "Century of Progress" exposition. In 1948 the Island was dedicated as Northerly Island Airport. The next year It was renamed " Merrill C. Meigs Field. "

that same immediate vicinity.) In the sur rounding area, Ettie fields like Elmhurst, Sky Haven, and Wilson would also disap pear as O'Hare quickly becam,e the busiest airport in the ,world . .lu t/;le 19308 and ' 40s, forty small ~ rports serv_ed) he ./ ;; 1 Chicago area. Back to Meigs, which was rebOnfre '"

ish like its initial supporters hoped it would, inste'ad .of dying on the vine for lack of attention at the handso f those charged to encourage its growth. i t stfems doubly irdnic that just as tech nologyrgives 'USThe mer ns to erihance the userutness of the airpo many times over ' wit\\-t~e a :vent of the GPS apprbatlf~ the ' airport is used~ ~ 'litical p~ , with n '. / real regard as to, its otentiaf. Perhaps' the efforts of Meigs sUPP. rters botkln and \ out of government: dj pn t e <!1~xt few ye'lirs can b'elp underscore h iqu abil .~ Meigs has t erve~the city'in k'Variety ofroes. - .... ">.

If it has been a while since you visited Meigs Field, perhaps an upcoming event might be just the reason you need to drop on by on May 16-Museum Campus Day in Chicago, there will be a va riety of special events at Meigs, including a static airplane display. You're welcome to fly or drive in. The general public is invited. EAA's Ford Trimotor will be there, and if you have an interesting airplane you'd be willing to place on dis play that day, please contact Steve Whitney, Friends ofMeigs Field, 847-470-9300 (W), 773-465-6396 (H), or E-mail: fromeigs@aol.com The weather date is June 13. In 1935, plans were well underway for a lakefront '--_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _........""---''---'--_ _ _--'''-IIa==-..... airport in Chicago.

-H. G. Frautschy VINTAGE AIRPLANE

GIPSY

JUNKET

by ANDREW KING Ale 10739

It had been an uneventful flight so far. Fifteen-hundred feet below was the cement plant at Holly Hill, South Carolina. The sun was setting in the west, the weather was beautiful except for the persistent head wind, and the engine was purring a steady note. Twenty more miles across that eight mile wide lake and we'd land in Manning and get a ride to a hotel for the night. Greg and I had started that morning from a small airstrip north of Tampa, Florida in Gene DeMarco's Gipsy powered Stampe biplane, headed for its summer job at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New York. We had stopped at Kermit Weeks' "Fantasy of Flight" Museum (l used to work for Kermit so I was able to obtain permission to land there) for breakfast and a tour of the facilities with Paul, an old friend and one of Kermit's chief mechan ics. After taking off from the longest and widest grass strip I've ever been on, we flew over Disney World and then stopped to see Jim and Kevin Kimball at their shop in Zellwood where several interesting air planes were coming together.

Then our trip began in earnest. Greg had ridden with me in my Taylorcraft to California a year earlier so he was used to low and slow, but this was his first trip in an open cockpit airplane. There were no instruments in the front pit but he was a good navigator so I let him fly sometimes and he held his altitude pretty well. There are a lot of swamps be tween Florida and Virginia and it seemed like we flew over all of them, but the Gipsy engine never skipped a beat. Until that cement plant. Bang, POW! Cough, cough, bang! Our once trust engine was suddenly very un happy about something. We had just passed some open fields so I made a 180 and headed back as the engine continued coughing and banging, and we slowly de scended. Fuel was on, mixture was wired rich, carb heat is automatic on a Gipsy, so there wasn't much to check. I looked down at the magneto switches, reached over and shut off the left one, and suddenly the note

of the engine smoothed out somewhat and I found that I could maintain level flight with only an occasional bang from up front. The chart showed a small grass strip, the Holly Hill Airport, a few miles to the north, so I made another 180 and cau tiously opened the throttle a bit. Soon the airport was in sight, then in gliding dis tance, so I pulled the power back and we settled onto the grass runway at the deserted airport.

Panoramic view of the two pilots over the clouds somewhere over Florida.

10 MARCH 1998

(Left) The Stampe in front of the hangars at Kermit Weeks' "Fantasy of Right" museum.

We looked under the cowling, found a little oil on the left mag, took off the dis tributor cap and cleaned it up as best we could, checked the points, and hopefully started the engine again. Nothing doing; our solution would not be that simple and it was now almost dark. We tied the for lorn Stampe down and started walking. It wasn't too far before we came to the local country club where a bunch of guys had just finished playing golf and were stand ing around their trucks smoking cigars and shooting the breeze. They looked at us as if we had just landed from Mars instead of from Walterboro down the road, but even tually we convinced them we weren't Yankee spies, so they gave us a ride into town and then to a motel up by the interstate. In the morning we met Albert Canaday, who owned the body shop in Holly Hill and, more importantly to us, owned a hangar out at the airport where he kept his Tri-Pacer. He drove us out to the strip, opened his hangar, showed us where the tools were, and told us he'd check back

from time to time to see if we needed any thing else. There was some southern hospitality . After a while Lamar Day stopped by; he also flew out of the airport and worked at the cement plant that we had almost visited the day before. Lamar found whatever we couldn't find in Al bert's hangar and drove me into town to get lunch for us. It didn't take long to discover the prob lem. We initially assumed that it was an ignition problem, since shutting off one mag made things better (we also discovered that the left mag switch was hooked up to the right mag), but after finding nothing obviously wrong with the ignition system, we decided to look under the rocker box covers. Here was a surprise! The rocker arms on a Gipsy Major are supported on a cast or forged pedestal that is bolted to the cylinder with three bolts. On the rear cylin der, two of the three bolts had broken and the third was just hanging on, so valve clearances and timing had gone all to heck with the resulting protests from the engine. Oddly enough, shutting off the spark plug closest to the valves had made the engine run better, as if just the distance across the cylinder was enough to make the other

Sharing the ramp at New Garden, Pennsylvania with a Corsair.

spark plug fire ok. We discovered that half of the other pedestal bolts were loose, so off came all the baffles, rocker arms, rocker shafts, push rods and the pedestals and we set to work righting the wrongs. Fortunately the broken bolts were the same size as Tri-Pacer lift strut bolts and Albert happened to have a few in the hangar, which he donated to the cause. Lamar took the spark plugs off to clean while Gregg and I kept going on the rocker pedestals, and amazingly enough by about 4:30 that afternoon we had everything buttoned up again and were ready for a test flight. All went well on a five minute hop, so we looked over our work, loaded our bags and said good-bye to our new found friends. The rest of the flight was somewhat an ticlimactic. We made it to Sanford, North Carolina that night and stayed with fellow antique airplane nuts Connie and Jimmy Dean, and the next day, despite a migraine headache on my part (Greg did a lot of the flying that day), made it to our homes in Virginia. A few days later, on Saturday morning, we went the rest of the way, 300 miles, to Old Rhinebeck where the air plane starred in the afternoon air show while Greg and I relaxed and enjoyed the sights. We even returned home in style - on Monday morning Gene, glad that we hadn't put his Stampe in a swamp, flew us back to Virginia in his Howard DGA although he sat in the back half the time and let us play big airplane pilots in the front. I haven't asked Greg if he wants to go on another trip yet, but I suspect that he's crazy enough to say yes. Time will tell. ....

Greg working on the engine while Lamar keeps a watchful eye. Holly Hili, South Carolina.

Bud Kilbey's Heritage

A Journeyman

Restorer's Masterpiece is Completed by H.G. FRAUTSCHY

he Taperwing. You don't even need to say the name Waco in the same sentence for many an antiquer to know immediately what you're talking about! That remarkable product ofthe Waco company is the subject ofmuch affection from the pilots and admirers ofthe Waco line. One can only imagine the joy the late George "Bud" Kilbey, Jr. (EAA 4114) must have felt in 1958 when he bought one for $250. Already an aircraft restorer at a time when "restoring" an airplane just wasn't a very common occurrence, Bud not only had a Taperwing, but a historical airplane as well. Its pedigree reads as follows:

Bud

Bud Kllbey was given this photo of NCU211 taken on New Years Day, 足 1931. It was to be lIown bome by Its new owner, Glenn W. Shereii (left) of lansing, MI. The other two people are not ldentilled. When IIrst dellveJed, t.be足 Waco was a stralgtrtwlng, and featured a pair of Bend ~....... .~,"=Jl"l!l:""l and tires. The article has the details as to bow Bud was given lfi8 photo. 12 MARCH 1998

Collection

Jim Koepnick

Manufactured in December of 1930, Waco ATO SIN 3148 was sold to Glenn W. Sheren of Lansing, MI. Glenn didn't enjoy it for too long, for on New Year's Day, 1931,itwas banged up severely enough to require the replacement of all four wings, the center section and repairs to the fuse lage, prop, engine and landing gear. Still, Sheren kept flying the airplane until April 20, 1935, when he sold it to the Michigan Aeronautical Corp. in Ypsilanti, MI. The airplane then came into the ownership of the Becker-Forner Fly ing Service of Jackson, MI, who sold it on October 21 , 1935 to the Mackey Flying Service of Find lay, OH. Up to that point in time , the biplane had been registered as a Commercial air

plane, but Becker-Forner had made changes to the airplane to get it ready for the air circus circuit. The installation of a 25 gallon smoke oil tank in the front cockpit, plus the smoke system, was done. A 250 hp Wright R-760 was also installed, making the biplane, as at tested to in an affidavit by Francis Archer, Waco's chief engineer, eligible for certification as a Waco CSO. With the new engine and smoke oil tank, the Waco was now a single-place airplane licensed in the Restricted category for use in banner towing and sky writing. In September of 1937, Mackey sold the Taperwing to Michael Murphy. In another affidavit to the Bureau of Air Commerce , dated March 16, 1938 , Archer testified the biplane was eligible for registration as a Waco ATO when a set of "taperwings" was installed per the factory specifications. My favorite piece of paperwork that came in a package of data collected by Larry Harmacinski, (Thanks Larry!), was a request from the Murphy Flying Service for a new copy of the registration certificate from the CAA. According to the letter, Murphy lost the original dur ing inverted flight, when the certificate fell out of its holder and disappeared over the side! Murphy's work and exploits with the Taperwing and other airplanes could fill a book. His airshow firsts alone are

quite a list - the first to put a landing gear on the top side of a plane so he could land it upside down; the first to make a car top "world's smallest air port" landing; the first to land and takeoff from land on a float-equipped plane- all of these exploits were just a few of his antics. A frequent airshow pilot at the National Air Races in Cleve land, Murphy was later a decorated pilot in WW II- as a glider pilot! He was instrumental in training troop car rier glider pilots for the Normandy invasion , and was himself severely injured in a pre-dawn D-Day glider landing. During the rollout, the glider's brakes failed to hold, and Murphy led with his chin as the big Waco glider crashed into trees at the edge of his landing field. Murphy was the first ca sualty of that battle and was returned to the U.S. It took him over six months of hospitalization to regain his strength. After his wartime service, his return to civilian life continued to revolve around aviation, where he earned several aero batic awards, including the Freddie Lund Trophy, which he retired after winning it three times. He was one of the founding members of the Aerobatic Club of America (ACA), the predeces sor of the current lAC, and held ACA card number I. By May 29, 1940, Murphy decided to sell his Taperwing, now registered as VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Jim Koepnick

a 3-place Waco ATO, to Bruce Ray mond of Hammond, IN. Just before the sale, so that it would be in compliance with the requirements for a Commercial certificate, Murphy Flying Service had an overhauled Wright J-5 installed in the airplane . In addition, the upper wings and center section were recovered, along with the fuselage and tail group. The wings were taken by Murphy from Waco Taperwing NC9577. Raymond didn't get to fly it too long, since he went into the RAF. He sent a

letter giving Power of Attorney to his lawyer from his posting at RAF No. 45 (Atlantic Transport). In July 1944, the Waco was sold to Flightways, Inc. of Milwaukee, WI. By January of 1946, it came into the possession of 1. O. Dock ery, Stuttgart , AR and then E . O . Champion of Oxford, MI. Earl Stevens of Buchanan, MI then bought the air plane June 12, 1946. In 1952, a certificate of registration for the airplane was issued to Lester Meiners and Ray L. Mull of Benton Harbor, MI Jim Koepnick

14 MARCH 1998

By now, the Waco had been a pro ject for a number of years, and George "Bud" Kilbey knew all about it. He paid Meiners and Mull $250 for the airplane, and hauled it home to South Bend, IN. Thanks to Larry Harmacinski and Bud's son Mark , we have some glimpses of his life as he restored his airplanes . As a young boy, Mark used to accompany his dad to fly-ins as they flew Bud's newly restored Fleet bi plane. Bud insisted that they arrive in style, complete with white shirts and black ties! When the Fleet's prop stopped, Bud handed a can of metal pol ish to his young son and pointed to the prop and short exhaust stacks. At least half an hour was spent at each fly-in cleaning up the Fleet. Mark reminisced about those days saying he didn't mind the polishing, but he really could have done without the tie! Mark's experiences with his dad didn't lead him into aviation - his avocation has turned to sailboat racing, from Laz ers all the way up to 70 ' racing boats in the Great Lakes and the open ocean. Still, he did grow up with an apprecia tion for the painstaking work done by his dad on his other two projects, the Waco and a Travel Air 2000 he was restoring. The Travel Air project was sold to a cou ple of fellows in Battle Creek who were capable of doing the project justice.

(Left) The rear pilot's cockpit of the Waco eTo, with Its one piece curved windshield and carved wood control stick. The wrinkle finish panel is very original, with nothing added to spoil the 1930s look of the cockpit.

Art would be out of the office

all day and 'come back an other day' were the words of the mechanic laying under the Cub while he worked patching some dope and cotton. "Absent mindedly, the me chanic asked, 'Hey mister, what do you want to see Art about anyway?' "Bud replied, 'Well, I need some parts for my open cock pit Waco.' "The mechanic says, 'I've . worked on a few of those and even had one myself. What's your tail number?' "As the mechanic dipped his brush in a can ofdope, Bud said, 'One - one - two - one - one.' (He never said 112 eleven, etc.) "At this the dope brush fell - plop - right into the dope can and the man slid out Arnold Greenwell from underneath the Cub and The Waco was another story, but to said' 11211?' 'I bought that airplane do it right, let's start at the beginning. brand new!' To set the scene, let me quote from a "With that, Bud was led to a desk in letter Larry Harmacinski wrote detailing the office and out came the photo! The some of the time he spent with Bud Kil man himself is Glenn Sheren, pictured bey. Larry spent many hours helping as the daring young aviator in splendid Bud with his projects. Bud made his leather armor. He said the picture was living as a very par ticular tool and die man, but in one of na ture's cruel twists, he came down with arthritis in his hands as he got older. Often, Larry let his hands be Bud's - Bud telling the young man what to do , and Larry learning from the journeyman crafts man. Here's what Larry wrote concern ing Bud's early research into the his tory of his Waco: "After he purchased NCI1211 in the late '50s, Bud went to Art Davis, of Waco fame, who ran a service in Lansing, MI. Bud went in search of parts and information. Upon arrival , Bud found out

taken on New Year's day (1931) and after the shot was taken, they all climbed in and flew home to Lansing. The two other people are not identified. It's a rarity to see the low pressure tires as nearly all ASO/ ATO models sported the 30x5 Bendix wheels." At the time Bud had brought his Waco project home, he was just finish ing up a Knight Twister, and was well along on the restoration of his Fleet II, a restoration that would earn him a Grand Champion trophy at the AAA fly-in at Ottumwa in 1962. Later on, Bud worked on his projects in an unusual location- the Carnegie Library in Mishawaka, IN. The move was prompted by a shop fire, one away from his home. In the fire, he lost the wings to the Waco, but thankfully, the fuselage of the Waco was at home in the garage and was spared from the flames . The Travel Air project barely survived the fire. One of the many municipal libraries constructed decades earlier with a grant from industrialist Andrew Carnegie, it had fallen into disrepair after a new library was built. The wide open spaces made for a spacious work shop, and up until his death in 1992, Bud worked on his Travel Air, Waco

Photos on this page courtesy Larry Harmacinski and Mark Kilbey.

(Above) Mark Kilbey, Bud's son, poses with the CTO as It Is loaded into a truck before Its final completion. The beautiful cotton fabric work done by Bud had to be redone by Ted Davis, when It wouldn't pass a punch test. (Right) Noted restorer Ted Davis was honored to be chosen by Mark Kllbey as the man to complete his father's Waco restoration. This shot of Ted was taken just prior to the first test flight after restoration.

and his bicycle collection . He never worked fast - fact, his son Mark esti mated that Bud had made some 40 different pieces of sheet metal for the cowls and discarded each of them for an imperfection that he alone could see. A perfectionist, Bud insisted it always be done right. When he passed away in December of 1992, the Waco looked very close to be ing finished . Mark was confronted with the question regarding the airplanes . Since he wasn't interested in continuing the restoration work himself, what should he do? Just sell them all, as is, and let the chips fall where they may? Knowing how much the Waco had meant to his dad, Mark decided to sell the Travel Air pro ject and have the Waco project finished in tribute to his father. The fuselage had been completely cov ered in cotton and doped, and a new set of wings constructed. After his passing,

some work was done on the project by John Nace. Then, Mark Kilbey asked award winning restorer Ted Davis, in Brodhead, WI, to finish the restoration. One of the surprising and disappoint ing things that happened after Bud ' s passing were the results of a punch test on the cotton Bud had used to cover the fuse lage. It didn ' t pass! It had never been in sunl ight or exposed to a harsh environment, but it was well below the Bud Kllbey was also restoring a Travel Alr 2000. You can standard set for Grade A cotton. In con see the exterior of the Carnegie Ubrary in Mishawaka, IN, which was used by Bud as a workshop during part trast, Bud' s Fleet was flying until 1995 of the many years he worked on his projects. with the 30+ year-old Irish linen he had installed when he restored biplane. the persnickety machinist who never let Mark couldn ' t say enough about the anything be "good enough" and Larry , quality of work done by Ted in finishing who learned at the side of the old master. hi s dad's Waco . He also wanted to ac Then there's Ted Davis, who applied his knowledge the work done on the Waco by finishing skills to the Waco, completing it Scott Hertel and Brian Herreman, as well in a way that would have made the old as Larry Harmacinski. The remarkable master smile. For all of that old and new restoration is a testimony to both genera work, Waco NC1121! was awarded the tions of restorers - George "Bud" Kilbey, Silver Age Champion Lindy trophy at EAA Oshkosh '97. ... (Left) The late George " Bud" Kllbey, South Bend and Mishawaka, IN (EAA 4114) and his Fleet II biplane, which won the AAA's Grand Champion Antique award at their fI)'-in In 1962. Known as a perfectionist, his wry sense of humor is evidenced In the writing on the patch (below, right) after someone had put their foot through the fabric of the lower right wing.

16 MARCH 1998

THISOLDCUB

by DICK HILL

Photos by Lee Ann Abrams

Here is the history of the J-2 Taylor Cub, NC 17854, including its most re cent adventure as a seaplane. In 1967 , my teen-aged son was ready to begin flight lessons. I began searching for a good instructional air plane for him to learn in. I knew that there was a glider at the airport where I had previously flight instructed. The glider hadn't flown in 15 years and was in need of total restoration. I made a trip to check it out, but the owner wanted more for it than I had planned to spend, so I asked about other projects. He said that I might like the 1-2 Taylor Cub . It was priced right, so I surveyed the situation. It was a true basket case. In fact, the engine was lit erally in some bushel baskets and the plane was in piles in a hangar. Some one had started to recover it and had it all laid out on a sawhorse when a storm took down the hangar. The beams had fallen on the wings and fuselage . One had smashed the fuselage at the stabi lizer fittings, and another had come down on the front attach point for the wings. The wings fared a bit better with no broken spars, just several smashed ribs. I hauled the Cub home and started look ing for guidance and help with the project. A good friend, the late Bill Zelenski,

was operating an aircraft repair sta tion at that time at Lewis-Lock port Airport. He steered me to an expert we lder, Dick Hili taxis by slowly In a light breeze with the little Continental A40 ticking over. Tom McNeilly,

who then lived nearby. Tom accepted at home as well as in England, Aus the challenge and began the repairs to tralia and Czechoslovakia. Pictures, the fuselage.

drawings and notes in hand, I went to I took the engine to Bob and Frank work on the J-2 . Thompson in Dayton, Ohio. They were Time passed, and one day while I the current Continental A-40 experts. was spraying color on the fuselage , I Another friend in the repair business, took a few moments out to watch as Nick Kucki, had a pair of700 x 4 inch Neil Armstrong made his historic tires. There are only four instruments on moon walk. a 40 horse Cub : oil temperature, oil Upon its completion in the spring of pressure, tachometer and altimeter. The 1970, we loaded the plane into a rental originals were in good shape, as were van and made a trip to the old May wood Field in the suburbs of Chicago. the instrument panel and the seat frames. Continuing my research, I visited There we erected the plane for a photo the E-2 that was in the EAA Museum display . Maywood Field is the field at Hales Corners, Wisconsin . I then where Lindbergh had picked up his went to Wings and Wheels at Santee, mailbags for the trips to St. Louis. The South Carolina where there was both a airport was closed right after his At J-2 and an E-2. I found the names and lantic crossing and this was the first plane to visit the site since. addresses of several Taylor Cub own ers and began correspondence with The field is now the home of Heinz these folks, relationships that have hospital. To secure permission for the lasted to this day. As a result of this event, we had to promise copies of the search, we have been able to help with photos for the archives of the original many projects over the years, both here Airmail building, which still stands along First A venue . Ever so many times I have made the approach to Chicago's O'Hare airport to land on runway 32 left and have looked down on the site. We disassembled the Cub and hauled it to the old Aurora Industrial airport. The airport was owned by the late Pete Julius who offered a hangar and the airport for fmal prepa rations. One might not know that this field had been operated by the great race pilot Johnny Livingston. Sadly it, too , has become just another in dustrial site. The Taylor J.2 Is more than adequately floated by a set of Edo 1070s. A climb prop was needed to extract enough power from the Continental A40 to get the Cub up speed so It could fly off the water. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

There was time to teach my son to fly the Cub and solo him on his 16th birthday. I flew it to a few local events and then to Oshkosh for the first Convention of the cur rent series. (I say "current series" because the show was first started in Oshkosh and then went to Rockford, lilinois for many years before return ing to Oshkosh.) During the J-2's first trip to Oshkosh, we made several stops to change pilots along the way. I was teaching sev eral teenagers to fly in the Cub and each wanted to be part of the fl ight. The week of the Convention one of the boys turned 16 and was ready for solo. The morning of the scheduled solo we took off early and flew north to Brennand field . There we practiced and prepared for the young man's solo. Several "circuits and bumps" later he

was ready. After the usual lecture he was on his way. Takeoffwent smoothly and before we knew it he had flown the pattern and was on final. Coming in a bit too low, the wheels of the plane entered the tall grass at the end of the runway and it was pulled in . Thump, thump and the Cub was on its back. Well, there it was, the tail on the The J-2 cockpit doesn't suffer from sensory overload, runway and the plane balanced on unless a sunburn would qualify in that regard. You get four instruments, three of them telling you something the bed of grass. The only thing that about your engine (tachometer, oil temperature and touched the ground was the prop and oil pressure) and one flight instrument-an altimeter. the rudder. We got some help and The gas gage is the generally reliable cork and wire. turned the Cub over. Then we pulled it to the tiedown area. Back at the Convention, I located a prop and repaired the rudder. The next day the young man completed his solo, rubber side down. As a foot note, he went on to become a captain with a major airline and recently vis ited us. During the visit 1 was privileged to give both his sons a flight in the J-2, the same plane their dad had learned to fly and had soloed. That first year we made several more local events before going to Ottumwa for the Antique Airplane Association fly-in . The J-2 and the Fokker Eindekker were the only planes at the show that were oper ated with a tail skid. For those who are unfamiliar, the 40 horse Cubs are operated without brakes, are single ignition and seldom have a tail wheel. After Ottumwa, we removed the engine and took it back to Ohio for a tear down inspection. The engine was in perfect condition and showed More often than not, when a set of floats is added to no wear. what was a land plane, to counteract the additional During that year we found that an side area of the floats that is located forward of the center of gravity (C.G_), more fin area is needed. It E-2 Cub was in storage near the old can take ail sorts of configurations, including single Chicagoland airport. I had flown E-2s fins under the aft fuselage, or bolted to the horizontal a couple of times and liked the idea stabilizers, such as on the J-2. 18 MARCH 1998

of owning one. We found the owner and asked about the plane. With all of the work that we had done on the J-2, and with all the research we'd done, the restoration of the E-2 was quite easy. By this time there were more teenagers, and now with the two planes we had quite a group to take to Oshkosh. Once again we made several stops along the way. This time the boys traded off with each other to fly the E-2 and 1 flew the J-2 with those who had not soloed. Only one of the boys could go to Blakesburg that year, so we just traded planes when we stopped for fuel. 1972 was much the same, making the rounds and sharing the planes . On the trip home from Oshkosh , Jeannie and I flew the J-2 and my son, Greg, flew the E-2. When he landed for fuel he found that the gas tank had sprung a leak. Once again a minor repair re sulted in several driving trips to get the plane home. 1973 began much the same, but both planes were damaged in June at a Burlington, Wisconsin regional fly-in. Someone stepped through the elevator of the 1-2 and the seat on the E-2 was broken. These were just minor inconve niences compared to what was to come. Only the J-2 went to Oshkosh that year. My airline schedule took me away for the fmal few days ofthe Convention. One of the boys flew the J-2 home with my young son, Glen, in the front seat. They stopped for fuel at a private strip and on departure the Cub went down. They took off from behind a row of trees and had to make an early turn to avoid the usual line of new homes at the end of the runway. As they climbed away from the -Continued on page 26

THE E-BIRD

RACER

by EARL R. ALLEN EAA 399578

t began almost 45 years ago when Lt. Sam Pilgrim, USN, and naval [ aviator and pioneer EAA member (EAA 964) decided to build a homebuilt airplane. He opted to build a Knight Twister and incorporate some of his own design changes. Sticking pretty close to the plans for the fuselage, he designed and built his own wings using an M-6 airfoil and all Piper Cub parts. Using Cub rear spars and building ribs from unassembled Piper wings and cut down ailerons, he powered the little biplane with a Conti nental C-85 and painted the airplane in a Pitts color scheme. After taking five years to build it, Sam first flew the airplane in 1957. He flew the little biplane around Pensacola, FL until being transferred by the Navy, when he had to sell it. The airplane made its way through three more owners and 90 hours total flight time until finally falling victim to a landing mishap in New Jersey in 1960. Over the next 35 years, three more owners and 3,000 miles and being traded for an old car, it ended up in a bam in Paradise, CA. Now, after some 45 years and seven owners, the once proud little biplane had been reduced to something less than a bas ket case with nothing left forward of the firewall - no instruments or wheels, and the fabric was half tom off. The biplane was again put up for sale in a local Sacra mento, CA paper. A friend of mine named Chris Farinha saw the ad advertising a Knight Twister, and assumed it was an orig inal with wood racing wings and possibly easily converted into a competitive racer.

Chris called and asked me to fly to Par adise, CA with him and fellow race pilot Ed Enefer to look at an airframe. We were picked up at the airport by a guy driving an old WW II Army Jeep and were driven about 10 miles up into the mountains to find somewhat of a collection of "old stuff." We were escorted past piles of an tique bicycles and old cars to a barn with a lean-to. Next to the lean-to under the roof we saw what looked to be an air frame-possibly a distant cousin to a Knight Twister but definitely not a Twister. The fuselage looked Knight Twister from the cockpit back, but for ward of that we could not tell. The wings were fabric covered but had all metal ribs and spars. After about 20 minutes the owner produced a metal box of papers and pictures including the original log books and papers dating back to 1952. These included the original airworthiness license and all subsequent papers right up to its last flight in 1960. My friend Chris told the owner he would think about it and get back to him. I also began to think about what looked like an interesting winter project. Espe cially appealing to me was its round fuselage . I just happened to have a mold for a round cowling that was made for a fuselage just like this one. Chris decided to pass on the Pilgrim Twister, so I called the guy who had the airframe and made him an offer. He accepted immedi ately. In a few days my wife Karen and I were in my shop looking at " our" new invest ment. I was doing my best trying to explain what a great winter project this was, had how much potential the air plane had and that after I finished it, I would sell it and finally buy the carpets and

French doors I had been promising her. Well, the project turned out a little longer than estimated (about two years). But Karen finally had gotten the long promised French doors and the carpet is ordered. Now a little about the "Earl E-Bird Racer" (renamed from Pilgrim Special). As stated above, the original airframe was originally built by Lt. Sam Pilgrim, USN. The project was started in 1952, and the first flight was in 1957, powered with a Continental C-85. After some 35 years the Pilgrim Special was reduced to little more than a hulk still covered in its original cotton skin. The first thing we did was strip the airframe down to bare bones and clean her up. The California climate had been good to her and corrosion was non-existent. Once in side the airframe it became apparent that in order to increase the horsepower and adapt the round cowling, it was going to be a major undertaking. The original gear had already failed and the firewall area would have to be modified. To accom plish this, the fuselage was cut off just forward of the seat and a Pitts-type bungee gear with the Cleveland brakes were adapted. After new cabane struts, firewall and motor mount and of course a new round cowling, countless hours of labor

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

The E-Blrd on the start line at the Reno National Air Races. It placed last In 1996 and 1997- but they had fun doing It!

and other modifications, the Earl E-Bird was getting very close to being a born again biplane. As much as I would like to keep the airplane ( I am one of the very fortunate pilots with a wife who loves to fly as much as I do) , a single-place air plane was out of the question. Even a quick trip around the pattern with our 310 to dry it off after washing is met with @#%$@!! ifI don't call her to see if she would like to go for a ride. I'm not com plaining (actually, I am bragging!). I ended up selling the E-Bird to my good friend Don Krout (EAA 375947, AIC 23858). Don actually purchased it a couple months before completion. With my help, the project took a little less time. During these hours we made a deal to have me fly the airplane at the 1996 Reno Air Races. Don Krout had crewed for me on the Legal Eagle #21 race team and also for many years for the late Don Beck. This was to be Don Krout's entry-level biplane racer.

(Above) The cockpit of the E-Blrd racer. (Below) The excellent graphics work on the E Bird was done by Jim Moser of Grass Valley, CA.

20 MARCH 1998

Don has a beautifully restored 1930 Model A Ford and also a 1927 Model T Touring. Since the plane looked so much like a Laird Solution, we decided to paint it like a 1930's vintage racer, and even la bel it as the pace plane for the 1930 "Cleveland Air Races ." (The 1930 races were held in Chicago.) The Earl E-Bird was to become a replica of a fictitious race plane, pacing for a race that never was. Construction continued and it was fi nally ready for the finishing touches. Jim Moser of Grass Valley, CA was con tracted to paint the numbers, striping and graphics. Moser's artistry is obvious and really did put on the final touches! Jim also did the graphics for the Unlimited Sea Fury racer "Critical Mass". The last thing to be installed in the air plane before going to Reno were beautiful leather seat pads by Perone Leather of New York-the ultimate fmal touch. In August 1996, the Earl E-Bird was finally ready to fly. Fortunately, all the paperwork was up-to-date and with all documentation complete, the Sacramemto GADO issued a new Airworthiness Cer tificate. After transporting the airframe and wings to Lincoln airport, assembly took only two days, including rigging. Fi nally, Sunday came and with just a few observers, including Don and Cindy Krout, a few taxi tests were completed and it was time to fly. The aircraft is very short coupled and is just a bit squirrely on take off but after a short ground roll she leaped into the sky. It was almost anti-climatic in handling it flew hands off. After a climb and trip around the pattern, a normal full stall landing was made, again, a bit squirrely. After an hour of takeoffs, landings and air work the aircraft was flown to Auburn 12 miles away where I home base and have a hangar. Subsequently, the restrictions were flown off and a Haigh tail wheel was

installed. It was time for the Earl E-Bird 's public debut. On September 8 the Earl E-Bird was flown to Reno. The next day after Tech inspection we were granted the very first qualifying slot. After three practice laps the signal was given to the timers . We were ready to qualify with the throttle pushed forward as far as it would go. The Earl E-Bird qualified at a whopping 121 mph - almost exactly 100 mph below the top qualifier. But, we sure looked good! To no one's surprise we would finish the races in last place, but we got our names in the books and had a really good time doing it. This also gives some validity to the plane, since it's representative of an era and has also appeared in the 1996 National Championship Air Races it Reno. Be cause of its unique appearance in was a real crowd pleaser and probably one of the most photographed little racers there. After the race the airplane was once again flown back to Auburn and then subse quently down to Lincoln to be delivered to its new owners, Don and Cyndy Krout. Don plans to use the airplane just for fun and to commute the short distance from his home to where he owns a golf store and works on his days offfrom flying as a Captain on American West Airlines. I spend my days off building another biplane I will also sell. (This time Karen wants a new car.) After that, I plan to build a Stinson 108-2 modified enough to be a homebuilt, and powered with a Chinese 9-cylinder radial. Kind of a mini-Detro iter, but with a new production engine. Sam Pilgrim is still very active in his 80s, having just completed an RV-6, which he's using to teach his grandaughter to fly. He lives in Savannah, GA. The E-Bird also raced in the 1997 edi tion of the biplane race at Reno, and it again placed - dead last! ....

Thanks to Roy Cagle, Prescott, AZ, we have this month's Mystery Plane. Its name is fairly well known, but few were built. Your answer needs to be in to EAA HQ no later than April 20, 1998 so it can be included in the June issue of Vintage Airplane.

Our December Mystery Plane was a treat from John Underwood, Glendale, CA. He was kind enough to send it along with his answer to the September 1997 Mystery Plane, the 1927 Schmuck Monarch. Correct answers were sent in by Marty Eisenmann, Alta Lorna, CA and Lennart Johnsson, Eldsberga, Swe den. Marty wrote: The December Mystery Plane is the West Coast WCK-2 Sportster, also known as the Schmuck Brothers Sport ster. Reports state that this was Tony Le Vier's first test flight. John Underwood does it once more! Keep them coming, Marty E. Lennart wrote: Oh, another Schmuck! This time the Sportster. I quote K.G. Ecklands Web Site Aero Data Files: http://tcsn.net/adf "S-3 Sportster 1928 = 2pOhwM; 90 hp Curtiss OX-5, later with 100 hp Kin ner K-5. Reg. no. 510." It appears on the 1930-1932 regis ters with c1n 2 and an OX-5 engine.

~Plane by H.G. Frautschy First registered in 1929. Owned by the Schmuck brothers until early 1931, when it was sold to Keith Sims, Peoria, IL. Sincerely, Lennart Johnsson In supplying the picture, John wrote, in reference to their first effort, the Monarch, " ... This was their venture into manufacturing, and I think they completed two. It was not a bad air plane, I guess, but the maker's name

West Coast WCK-2

did little to enhance sales prospects. They tried again in 1930 with a rather nice little parasoljob, the WCK-2 Sport ster, using a different name, West Coast Aircraft Corporation. It came to griefin the hands ofan aspiring test pilot called Tony Le Vier. "

Thanks to the other folks who haz arded a guess: Frank Abar, Livonia, MI and Nick Hurm, Spring Valley, OH. Nick really worked at identifying it, and gave it a good shot. Keep up the good work, Nick! Our thanks to the rest of the Sporster Mystery Plane regulars for their efforts.

The October Mystery Plane has been solved! To fine out what it is, please go to the Antique Classic News on page 2.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

PaSSitto

Buel{

by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

EM #21 Ale #5 P.O. Box 424, Union, IL 60180 Dear Buck, Enclosed is a photo (below) that showed up in our files recently. Of course, there is no identification on the photo. We don't know where or exactly when it was taken, nor the gentlemen in the picture. Can you help identify the model of Jenny in the picture? Also, could you hazard a guess as to the location and time? You may be able to see things in the picture that don't mean anything to me. Any comments would be welcome. David Smith President, Manchester Historical Society 106 Hartford Rd. Manchester, CT 06040

Hello David, Thanks for the vote ofconfidence in asking me to try to identify the scene with the "Canuck. " I'm really not that well versed in these WW I trainers. I didn 't get into airplanes until [ was about four years old, when Charles Lindbergh flew over

22 MARCH 1998

Rockford, IL on his tour ofthe United Those forward Sloping

States. That was the day my Dad, a rail Windshields . . .

road signal engineer, says I took a turn Dear Buck, for the worse. Not only did [forever forgo I saw your piece in Vintage Airplane railroad trains, I also went Air Corps in regarding raked forward windshields. The stead ofNavy when WW II came along. He enclosed page copy from Putnam's "Miles and Mother were convinced [ would never Aircraft since 1925 ," by Don L. Brown be anything except an airport "bum. " gives one good reason, as expressed by I have forwarded your inquiry to H. G. the Miles Brothers in my native U.K. Frautschy, our editor ofEAA 's Vintage Once they had learned to mold " Per Airplane. If he hasn't any answers for spex" (Plexiglas®) they switched to those you, maybe we will be able to publish the beautiful domed windshields seen on later photo and your letter in the magazine. enclosed Miles types. Obviously, they (Yep, that's what we're doing! - HGF) had figured out how to avoid distortions. Surely, with a readership often thou Warm Regards, sand, there will be someone out there Jim Newman who will have a clue. Hobart, IN Being somewhat involved with our lo cal McHenry County Historical SOCiety Here's a quote from the page Jim sent: here in Union, IL I know how vexing "The first production Falcon, G-ADBF, these puzzles can be. There is very little wasjlown in January 1935 and had a aviation history in evidence in this area. slightly wider cabin to accommodate We did have several brothers, all WW I four people. The windscreen was ofa pilots who were the pioneers in this area, new form which had been used on certain and there is virtually nothing recorded aircraft in the USA. It sloped forwards as to their deeds or their operations. They and was found to add an extra 4 mph to tried all kinds of things: starting air the top speed as well as giving a less dis ports, instruction, barnstorming, torted view and eliminating reflections bootlegging and there is no hard record from inside the cabin. " on them. Occasionally one will come across a sentence or a statement in refer ence to them, but it's impossible to find Dear Buck, I surely do enjoy your contribution anything else. Well David, we'll try, meanwhile, you each month in the Vintage Airplane Magazine. have and good one, and it's over to you! It was interesting to note I am not the only one wondering about the forward sloping windshields of the '20s and '30s. About the best explanation I have heard is that in those days, the windshields did not have the best optical qualities and since all of these airplanes were tail draggers, the windshield would be relatively verti cal when the plane was flared for a landing and the windshield would have a minimum ofdistortion for the view ahead. this was especially helpful at night in the rain. Whatever the reason, it apparently didn't do as much good as some of the designers thought so it soon discontinued.

Keep up the good work, Dale Crane Basin, WY EAA 7823, AlC 25513

Hello Dale, The theory I like was the one on the added reflections and etc., and inverting the glass put the pilot's face closer to the windshield and helped eliminate or mini mized the reflections. Whatever the reason, it sure didn't last long. Knowing the astute engineering minds of that day, I'm sure people like Virginius Clark would have used them if they were to any advantage. Clark was one ofthe first Aeronautical Engineering graduates ofMIT, designer ofthe entire Fleet and Consolidated airplanes, the Fleetster, and had a lot to do with Lock heed, Northrop, Douglas and was working on the Hughes Flying Boat (aka Spruce Goose) when he died. Thanks for the letter Dale, and its Over to you, Buck

J-2 Cub Dear Buck, I just received the January issue of Vintage Airplane and enjoyed the article on the J-2 Cub. I saw a J-2 for the first time at the Park Ridge Airport, which was just out of Chicago. As I remember it was painted silver instead of yellow. The striping was the same as shown in the magazine. The plane I saw was new. My question is: were the first J-2's painted silver from the factory? Thank you, Bob Engels Ronan,MT EAA 278307, AlC 12507

Dear Bob, The J-2 was delivered in silver, and the yellow color was an option back then (so was the Bronze and opalescent green we saw a couple ofmonths ago, the J-2 belonging to the Wagners!). Dear Buck, I'm resting here reading my January Vintage Airplane. and your article on propping. I just had an experience which scared the heck out of me which I'd like to pass on. I've been flying for 32 years and con sider myself a very careful pilot. I started out with helicopters in Vietnam and now fly a 767 for United. I flew my Champ down to a local field and shut it down. After about 10

minutes I went out to prop it. I prop from be hind, and I have an FAA waiver to fly with the door off for aerial pho tography. I have installed a parking brake and use chocks and tie it down. One of H.G.'s favorite forward sloped windscreen airplanes has long been On the first prop it the 1934 Kinner Envoy. This picture is of SI N 108. The Envoy, designed flipped backward an d by Max Harlow, Incorporated many of the racing world's t ricks, includ ing a thin, wire braced wing, wheel spats and streamlined fillets. It had was out of position. I a 300 hp supercharged Kinner C7 engine. shut the mags off and

HOT! It is only when the contacts are went around in front of the plane to posi

tion the prop . As I moved it though it firmly made that the position selected is bona fide. Keep that in mind and you'll roared to life!

I wasn't expecting this, as I wasn't re understand why I use the shut down pro ally propping the airplane, just moving cedure that I do. Whenever I shut down, even for just a the prop with the mags OFF. The engine ran only for a couple of seconds and then minute with one ofthese old A-65/75/85 Continentals with the "Strom baby " car shut down. buretor, I idle at about 1,000 rpm, tum the After checking the P-leads and dis cussing hot spots on the cylinders, etc., I switch OFF and as it spools down I OPEN the throttle WiDE OPEN. This sucks all had my local AI take my 51-year-old the fuel out of the idle passages and be mag switch apart. The Bakelite, an old plastic, had rubbed cause it isn't turning fast enough doesn 't leave any residual filel in the bigjet either. across the contacts for half a century and The other thing I didn't mention is there was just enough to stop the switch that when I'm ready to put it away for from grounding. The vibration of the en the day, I usually shut the fuel offas I'm gine running grounded the mags after running through that same shut down several seconds. I wonder how many 50-year-old mag procedure. Before I shut down I do a Mag Check to be sure there won't be any switches are waiting to catch the unsus pecting as we move the prop through surprise the next time I come out to fly. What prompted this procedure? A with the mags OFF. We never inspect the inside of the mag switch. If I had lost couple ofincidents just like yours! Go back more than 50 years to when I was a my balance, I wouldn't be writing this! line boy and one ofour female students Keep up the good work! inadvertently taxied into a small swale Jack O'Connor and did exactly the correct thing. She Mt. Dora, FL shut the engine down and asked for help. EAA 323003, AlC 15139 I went out there, helped her push the J-3 back up on level ground, and then pre Hello Jack, You had an experience with your pared to "prop" her. I called "Switch Champ that prompted an AD note, or OFF, " and she answered "OFF. " I maybe it was an AdviSOry Circular many grabbed the prop nonchalantly and I years ago. There were enough incidents never got hit so fast and so often before attributed to that switch and the tendency or after! She kept screaming "It's OFF, to wipe the brass across the insulating it's OFF!" and it was OFF. That was my "Bakelite" to cause enough considera first and last experience getting too close tion that the switch was condemned and and too familiar with a propeller. Over the years, it's happened once to the AD specified that they were all to be rep laced with a newer model. There my Kinner powered Ryan PT-22, and a seems to be a lack ofmemory about this couple oftimes since, once at Oshkosh as as there are quite a few ofthese switches I propped the grand Champion Champ in preparation for a photo shoot, but I've still out there. There is another thing about these been lucky in so far as I have always treated and even the replacement switches. Sort the prop as if the switch were "ON. " Jack, I thank you for sharing this with of a sneaky thing, but perhaps people should be reminded about it. Good thing the rest ofthe world. Hopefully, people will read this and learn from it. You've you brought it up. ANY time that switch is OUT ofany alerted them, now it 's Over to Them, detent, in other words between OFF and LEFT and RIGHT and BOTH, you are VINTAGE AIRPLANE

WHAT OUR. MEMBERS ARE RESTORING

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

Australian Vintage Airplanes From Paddington, NSW, Aus tralia, comes two photos sent in by veteran EAAer, Alan Lewis (EAA 1634, AIC 1286). The first is a Ryan ST-3KR (PT-22) al l done up in an early military paint scheme and powered with a Kin ner 160 hp engine . Alan says it was imported from the u.s. as all Australian machines featured in line engines from the Dutch East Indies (Ryan STM-2). The other photo features an Australian registered Klemm (YH-UUR) powered with a Continenta l 0-200 of 100 hp instead of the original small radial engine. (Many of the American Aeromarine-Klemm's used an 85 hp LeBlond.) Blessings on you, Alan, for keep ing us infonned on the activities in far off Australia.

Gene Garvey's Luscombe 8AIF (Right) In 1989, Gene Garvey (EAA 233164, AIC 13604) of Floyds Knobs, IN, found this red & black '47 Luscombe 8AfF dismantled and stored in a dry, heated garage. She has been the recipient of extensive upgrading in the fonn of dual KY-97 radios, transponder, Apollo 604 TCA Loran, custom Cessna seats and interior, dual landing lights, wheelpants and a host of other goodies. Gene has made seven trips to Oshkosh behind the Continental C90-12F engine and is considering a Lycoming 150 in the Luscombe - in case the "Starduster Fever" doesn' t get to him first! Congratulations, Gene, on a sharp looking Luscombe.

Simon Moos' KZ II Trainer (Left) From Denmark comes this photo of a very rare 1946 Kramme & Zeuthen KZ II Trainer, regi stered OY-FAK, SIN 115, in Denmark and carrying the military serial number of 107 on the side of the cowl. One of fifteen built for the Danish Air Force in 1946, only two remain on flying status, OY-FAK and OY -FA T. Power is a 145 hp DeHavi lland Gypsy Major X en gine pulling a fixed pitch propeller. Of rather robust construction featuring a steel tube fuselage w ith wooden wings, the KZ II Trainers were used for cadet training and basic aerobatics. OY FAK is the pride and joy of Simon Moos, longtime member of the Danish KZ & Yeteranfly K1ubben from Sydals, Denmark. The photo was sent in by Peer Sk0tt of Nordborg, Denmark. 24 MARCH 1998

Robert Peterson's Taylorcraft Model15A A rare airplane is this 1953 Taylorcraft Model 15A, N6644N, SIN 5-13044, that is the pride and joy of longtime EAAer, Robert Peterson (EAA 63046, AlC 4049) of Mahaffey, PA . Powered with a Continental 0-300 engine of 145 hp pulling a fixed pitch metal prop, the four-place "Tourist" as it was called, can cruise at about 110 and land at about 35 mph with its large flaps and slotted leading edges . The empty weight is 1365 Ibs. and the gross is 2200. Robert bought the Model 15A from the original owner, Charles Bennett, in 1967 and has maintained it in perfect condition since. The total time

on the airplane is an unbelieveable 266.15 hours! The current FAA register lists 38 Taylorcraft Model 15A's. Robert, who worked at Piper Aircraft in Lock Haven for quite a number of years and helped build many, many Piper Cubs, is very knowl足 edgeable on airplanes and a fascinating person to visit with- as I happily discovered at Sentimental Journey ' 97.

Golden Oldie from 1959 (Left) This photo of a 1941 Beech Staggerwing D-17 , NCI038M, SIN 1017, was taken in April, 1959, at Prescott, AZ, by the owner at the time, Don Macor, now of Duluth, MN. That is Don' s pretty wife, Marilyn, standing by the wing. Don bought the D-17 in 1958 for $2,900 from an airline captain in Rochester, MN. It was used for charter work and air rides during Fair Week at Superior' s Bong Airport. In 1959, he and Marilyn flew it to Ramona, CA, and return, using only maps and a whiskey com足 pass. Don eventually sold the D-17 to a couple of Northwest Airlines pilots. Later, in 1988, the D-17 crashed with the loss of the owner and his wife. The remains are presently registered to Robert G. and Robert 1. Hayes of Palm City, FL.

Matt Szayna's Luscombe SA (Right) Pictured by his all-metal 1948 Luscombe 8A, N2083B, SIN 6510, is Matt Szayna (EAA 308776, AlC 27654), a professional engineer from North Wales, PA. Matt reports the original paint scheme is done in bur足 gundy and white with matching interior and instrument panel. The Luscombe is powered with a Continental A-65 and is equipped with two 12.5 gallon wing tanks, shoul足 der harnesses and swing-out windows. Matt reports the Luscombe is a joy to fly and moves out smartly with its metal McCauley prop. He would especially like to thank his helpers , Joyce, Ada, Bob, and Mark, who helped a great deal on the restoration of the Luscombe.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

This Old Cub -Continued/rom page 18 trees, they encountered the down wash from a quartering tail wind and the plane staIled. A friend who witnessed the accident said that the plane did not pitch up in a stall, but merely stopped climbing and fell to the ground. During the hearing with the principal officer of the DuPage GADO, we explained the situation. We mentioned the wind condition and the angles involved. The fact that the pilot flew into a tail wind condition caused the pLane to stall. These planes operate between a stall speed of 28 mph and a cruise speed of 45 to 47 mph. In the early climb, the Cub was probably flying its heart out at just over 30 mph. Take ten mph off (for the wind) from the climb speed and the C ub is in a deep stall. The hearing officer said, "That could not be the cause. He just stalled it and spun in. Wind shear doesn 't affect small planes near the ground, only big planes." Where is a tape-recorder when you really need one? The personal damage from the acci dent was extensive. My son had a bump on his head where he broke the glass in the oil temperature gauge. The boy who was flying from the rear seat slammed forward and his head hit the cluster where the instrument panel is reinforced to the fuselage. He had a se vere concussion that necessitated surgery. After several months of con valescence , he took his commercial flight test and started flying as copilot on a third level carrier. His career later changed and he has been an engineer for Douglas for almost 20 years. Other things became important. The remains of the J-2 were stored and the E 2 was placed in the Airpower Museum at Blakesburg, Iowa. In 1980 we decided that the time was right to restore both Cubs. We spaced the parts and pieces out to begin the job. In May of 1980 the fuselages were sitting bare bones on the ramp in front of our hangar. The Satur day before Oshkosh, both planes were on the gear awaiting engines. On Sun day, a friend delivered the engines and that evening, one was running. Monday both Cubs were running and we started installing windshields and other items. Tuesday brought more hookups and engine run-in time. On Wednesday, Jeannie drove to pick up the new props at the bus station (no 26 MARCH 1998

UPS service for us in those days). Thursday, a soon to become dear friend, Harold Middlebrook, arrived in his E-2 Cub all the way from Penn Yan, New York. He began the task ofremov ing each cylinder head hold down nut because the engine mechanic had not installed washers between the steel nuts and the aluminum heads. If it weren't for Harold, we're not sure that both Cubs would have made it to Oshkosh. After more run ups on Thursday, Jeannie drove to O'Hare to pick up our friend e. G. Taylor, the designer of the Cubs. Friday, e.G.'s son Robert arrived from Ohio with his E-2. That same day I test flew both the E-2 and the J-2. Later Alex Wittmore arrived from Texas in his 40 hp pow ered Taylor-Young model A. Another friend from Chicago, Mike Rodino, showed up in his A-40 Taylor-Young. Now there were six 40 horse engines running at our place with the designer e. G. Taylor in the middle of the group giving council and advice. Saturday we had thunderstorms and heavy rain for most of the day. That night we had a cookout for about 70 people. Robert Taylor had brought some movies of e. G . that were taken in the 1920s. Jim Hayes from Texas brought a slide show of Mr. Taylor's achievements and the evening was capped off with a "This is Your Life, Mr. Taylor" tribute. Sunday, Jeannie made a pancake breakfast for everyone and we all de parted for Oshkosh. From that time we have kept the Cubs in sort of a private oblivion here at our place. They have not ventured very far. They're most of ten seen in sunrise and sunset flights, where Jeannie takes a Cub and I take the other to fly around together in our immediate area. 1997 was to be different, though . Last year a friend sold some of his air craft and parts. Due to this "liquidation," we became the owners of a set of floats, EOO 1070 floats to be exact. The floats were built in 1937, the same year the J-2 was built . Talk about a perfect combination. They are both 60 years old this year. But the Cub has never been on float s and the floats probably haven't been in the water since the beginning of WW II. Well, we raised the Cub and re

moved the landing gear. Then we slid the floats under the fuselage and low ered it in place. Everything fit. The gear bolts slid into place and the cables were all the proper length. Just a few little details and the Cub would be ready to slide in the water. Another raise with the hoist and the wheels were back on. The floats were secured on a trailer for the ride to the seaplane base at Oshkosh. When I took off, my friend since grade school, Don Wonders, drove up north with the floats . Road conditions the way they are, I beat him to Oshkosh by several hours (a real accomplishment for the J-2; it rarely beats anything anywhere). After arrival at the Vette seaplane base, we borrowed a hoist from Al Ziebell - he is one of the originators of the seaplane base - and then we proceeded to match the plane to the floats. Soon the Cub was slid into the water and was ready for the trip to the dock for fuel. Wind and water conditions were right, so Al towed the Cub out into the bay. I stepped out on the float to prop the engine and quickly jumped inside. After some water taxiing to get the feel, I noticed Al had returned . He could not see the water rudder and wanted to make sure that it was re tracted before I took off. I answered his signal and opened the throttle. The results were less than impres sive. Instead of a staggering rush into the air, we barely achieved moderate water taxi speed. The engine did not tum up enough rpm, so I played around awhile, getting accustomed to the op eration and then returned to the dock. We made a phone call to a friend who removed the climb prop from our E-2 back home and sent it up to Oshkosh the next morning via Volk swagen. After the J-2's cruise prop was removed and the E-2's climb prop was installed and tracked, the Cub was ready for another try. They pushed it away from the dock and I gave the prop a spin. After a gen tle cruising trip out into the bay , we were ready. As soo n as I opened the throttle , I felt that the Cub would fly. The tail went right down and speed began to build. After a few bounces over the considerable chop, applying full right aileron got the left float out of the wa

ter and we were airborne. The 40 horse Cub seaplane was air borne and she flew well. Okay. She didn't climb like an empty 757, but she got up and that was all we wanted. Af ter making several splashdowns, I approached the far side of the bay near the shelter of the trees and slid in for the final landing. We planned to fly again that evening but the wind came up fiercely so we waited until morning. There was no letup from the fierce wind, so I decided to take the floats off and start home. Well, as it turned out, that was about all that I did . Within 30 miles of Oshkosh, the engine started to get hot, the oil temperature began to rise, and the oil pressure started down. I reduced power and thought that I could make it to Bob and Carol Baier's strip near Brownsville. Well, that just wasn't going to be. That time of the year, Wisconsin is hayfield, cornfield, hayfield, cornfield , etc ., so you just have to decide which hayfield to use. I looked for one that had been raked and one that was near to a house so that I wouldn't have to walk too far. The Giese farm had a hayfield that was just right , so I coasted in and switched off the engine as I flared for the landing. The plane rolled up just short of the cornfield so I hopped out and walked to the bam. I couldn't have found a better place. Giese had taken some flying lessons before being married and his wife had worked during the EAA Conventions. They rol1ed out the welcome mat and all I had to do was contact Jeannie to arrange for another engine. Don Wonders had taken the floats home and was waiting there for me. Our Cessna Bobcat was sitting at the Oshkosh airport, so as soon as the daily air show was ended, I took off for home. We loaded a spare engine in the truck and were back in Oshkosh before bedtime. We changed engines the next morning. There were some glitches be cause the second engine had been stored for several years. Jack Wojahn, a friend and mechanic from Oshkosh, came out to help. After some trouble shooting, the engine was running. Shortly thereafter I took off and had an uneventful flight home. Safe back in its hangar, the J-2 awaits the develop ments of its next 60 years. ...

LIFE (on floats) BEGINSATFORTY (horsepower) by Jeannie Hill, Ale 629 Having owned our 1933 E-2 and our 1937 J-2 Taylor Cubs for nearly 30 years, it's safe to say they're more than just airplanes to us. They've become part of the family, often re ferred to as "the kids." Maybe they've come to mean so much to us because we restored them together, side by side, within the span of three short months and because their original designer, C. G. Taylor, was with us on their inaugural flights. Maybe it's because the E-2 was my primary instruction airplane and my partner during my fIrst solo flight. Whatever the reason, the Cubs have always been a source of great pride and joy for us. We remember their "birthdays" and even take time to celebrate their decade milestones whenever possible. One year on the E-2's 40th we made a "cake" from an overturned alu minum bucket, painted it white and topped it off with 40 original spark plugs for the candles. The Cubs' 50ths were both duly noted. But this year the J-2 did something really special for its 60th birthday; it became a seaplane for the first time ever. (Talk about the icing on the cake, no pun intended.) When you own a couple of 40 horse Cubs, the first thing you come to realize is that you aren't going to dazzle anyone with performance records. Though one ofthe most fun air planes to fly, the 40 hp Cub is simply not known for its speed and muscle. In short, it's not going to get you anywhere fast. About the best it can do is just get you there - eventual1y. In fact, when given the prudent choice, the 40 hp Cub wi11 gladly stay in the hangar and take the day off whenever any of the following conditions exist: 1. if the temperature exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit; 2. if there is a breeze strong enough to rustle oak leaves; or 3. if any person or persons exceeding 180 pounds attempts

to climb in andfly it.

Given its age and delicate nature, the 40 hp Cub also likes to refrain from strenuous activities such as lengthy run ups and extended taxi. It also prefers to avoid long, compli cated aerial maneuvers like climbing and turning. In fact, during anything less than ideal conditions, a climbing turn to a 40 hp Cub is considered an advanced aerobatic maneuver. Ok. So the Cub is no powerhouse. Then why, you might ask, would anyone in his right mind expect to alter the sleek, aerodynamic profile of this airplane by adding something so cumbersome as a pair ofEDO 1070 floats? Wel1, sidestepping the "in his right mind" issue, let's go on to the subject of adding the floats. It's only fair to tell you that the Cubs have flown successfully on snow skis for many years. Granted this is accomplished after much coaxing and pleading from the pilot, and only after the above mentioned items 1-3 have been strongly complied with. We had heard by the grapevine that the 40 hp Cubs did just fine on floats. Since our experience in J-3s on floats had been such fun, we thought we'd like to try seaplane flying with our Cub. We already had researched the pJoject and found pictures, stories and first hand accounts of the adventures of 40 hp Cubs on floats , so we knew it was possible. Armed with this information, we set out to introduce NC17854 to a pair ofEDO 1750s. It turned out it to be a match made in heaven. Both the J-2 and the floats we were lucky enough to find turned 60 this past year- the Cub in March and the floats just a week be fore the EAA Convention. And what better time to introduce the J-2 to the joys of seaplaning than its 60th birthday and during the Convention? After all is said and done, I think it's safe to say you would have to search far and wide to find a better looking float plane. In fact, there's no other way to describe the J-2 on floats than to say that it's darn right cute. I even heard this adjective used by the more ma cho members of the group, and it was usually accompanied by that goofy look most people give babies, puppies and little fuzzy ducks. The support of the folks at the seaplane base was fantastic. Just about everyone there realized the importance and the significance of putting that little 40 hp Cub on floats. When the J-2 fmally got up enough guts to turn itself into a seaplane, the hootin' and hol \erin' from the crowd along the shoreline was something to behold. The J-2 had developed quite a fan club during its stay at the seaplane base. Its supporters constantly treated it like the little engine that could, even when it looked like it couldn't. Their loyalty was greatly appreciated and we hope rewarded as the Cub left the water on its maiden sea voyage. We' ll never forget that magical moment when all the effort and time paid off and that little Cub broke water for the fITst time. It was a unique and unforgettable instant in time, an instant that will remain etched into our memories forever. It may even have taken a small place in aviation history. I know that it took a large place in our hearts. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Gordy Agen .. .. ......... Palmira, WI Kelly Landrum .... ... .. .. Halifax, VA Fred Austin ..... ..... Agua Dulce, CA Michael Lewis ....... Oregon City, OR Earl R. Barringer ...... Chino Hills, CA Sid D. Lloyd............. Cypress, TX Keith E. Bartels ....... Stockbridge, GA David H. March .......... Lincoln, CA Steve B. Bauman .. ..... Las Vegas, NV Harold G. McAvenia, Jr. Jeff Beecher ......... Garden City, GA · . ........ ...... .... Chula Vista, CA Jack Biagini ............. Granville, IL Barry McCallan Paul 1. Boatright . ....... Columbia, TN · .. Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada Michael L. Boze.... .. Winona Lake, IN John McClain ......... . Olympia, WA Richard T. Brinkworth ... Elizabeth, CO Joel M. McGrath ........ Spokane, WA Alain H. Burchett ........ Ashville, NC

Donald Meloche ......... EI Cajon, CA Kirk Burmeister ......... Honolulu, HI

Dan Mershon . ... . . ... Springfield, OH Don Burmingham ......... Duarte, CA

Daniel L. Mitten......... Hat Field, PA James Cameron ....... . . . St. Paul, MN

Sydnor C. Newman, Jr... Farmville, VA Irving W. Chappell ....... Portland, CT

Donald K. Collins.... .... Live Oak, FL Paul Ogren .. .... . . . Santa Monica, CA James Confer .............. Stow, OH Martin S. Ott . .... ...... Fairbanks, AK Ken Cook ........ . ... Pine Island, MN Mike Parley ........ .... Saratoga, CA John R. Cooper .. . .. .. Tewksbury, MA Sara L. Parmenter .. . .. Cumberland, VA William Courtright . ....... Portage, IN Michael Parrish ..... ... .... Dallas, TX Jimmy 1. Davenport .... Hayesville, NC Joseph M. Perez ........ Forestville, CA Steve C. Dietz ... .. .... . . . Anoka, MN Thomas Pettman . .... Penhold, Alberta, Todd 1. Donohue ... .. Massapequa, NY Canada Joe M. Dudley ............. Allen, OK Tim Pinkerton . ........ . Trotwood, OH John L. Eddy.... Hilton Head Island, SC James Pippert..... .... ..... Dysart, IA Gary Edgecomb ......... Keswick, VA Steven T. Rasmussen .. ... Bellevue, NE Melvin Erickson . ..... Prairie Farm, WI Thomas Reed ... ..... Dawsonville, GA David C. Evans ..... ..... Hilliard, OH Neil 1. Rinearson . .... Falls Church, VA William T. Forde ......... Everett, WA Bill Rosenfelt ....... .. Winter Park, FL Donald E. Forton ....... Columbus, MI Joel L. Rutt.... .... ..... Palm Bay, FL Raymond W. Franke. . .. Walnutport, PA

Jennifer Santorelly Maynard Keith Franklin .... Goleta, CA

· ............. New Smyrna Beach, FL Harry Gunther. ........ Kingsclark, NY

Mira 1. Slovak . ....... Santa Paula, CA Bradley G. Hart ... ...... . Franklin, PA

Scott P. Smith .. .. . .. .... Jackson, WY Jay Heil ... . ... . ... ... Brownton, MN

David R. Smith . ... .... Henderson, NV Robert H. Henson, Jr. ........ Byron, IL

John Stevens ..... Berkeley Heights, NJ David C. Hilpert ..... . ..... Gilroy, CA

Marice S. Hodges ..... ... .. Jenks, OK Dennis C. Thornton .. .. . .. . Bremen, IN Gary A. Hoeft........... Hamburg, MI Philip Trill .... ........... Denver, CO Dan N. Holden . . .. ... Los Alamos, NM John Upcraft ...... . ... Mt. Vernon, IL Donald E. Wellman A. P. Hurst . .. . .. ........ Jackson, MI · ........... Goderich, Ontario, Canada Jerry Isbell ....... . ..... Gahanna, OH Michael E. Willcox .... Knightstown, IN Soren K. Jakobsen .. Roskilde, Denmark Grant R. Wrathall, Jr. ..... . . Aptos, CA Roger A. Johnson........... Mesa, AZ Vardell Karol .... . . ......... Ojai, CA Katsuo Yamaguchi · . . .... . .. . .. Buenos Aires, Argentina Larry Kopischke .... .. Eagle River, AK Harvey G. Krause . .. ... . . . Tucson, AZ Kenneth A. Yetter, Jr. James T. Kubik..... . .... Baytown, TX · . .......... .. Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

MARCH 1998

Fly-In Calendar Th e following list of coming events is fur nish ed to our readers as a matter of information only and does not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, control or direction ofany event (fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. Please send the information to EAA, Aft: Golda Cox, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Infor mation should be rece ived four months prior to the event date. MARCH 14-15 - MANASSAS VA - AeroElectric Con nection Seminar. 316/685- 86J 7. MARCH 21-22 - DENTON, TX - EAA Sport Air Work shop. 800/967-5746. MARCH 22 - GREELEY, CO - EAA Ch. 720 Snow buster Fly-bvB 'Fast. 970/353-5807. MARCH 21 - HUNTSVILLE, AL - Moomown Airport. EAA Chapter 190 Fly-In sausage, egg and pancake Eat 'Em Up Breakfast. 205-852-978/. MARCH 28 - RIVERSIDE, CA - 6th Annual Airshow-98. Pancake Breakfast/Classic Car Show. 909/351-6113. APRIL 4-5 - MINNEAPOLIS , MN - EAA SportAir Workshop. 800/967-5746. APRIL 16-17 - ST. AUGUSTINE, FL - Fifth East Coast ILPA Gathering. Info: Hamilton Upchurch, 9041797-7557, FAX904/825-4862 APRIL 18 - HUNTSVILLE, AL - Moonto wn Airport. EAA Chapter 190 Fly-In sausage, egg and pancake Eat 'Em Up Breaf..fast. 205-852-9781. APRIL 19-25 - LAKELAND, FL - 24th Anoual EAA Fly-In & Sport Aviation Convention. 941 /644-2431. APRIL 25 - LEVELLAND, TX - EAA Chapter 19 Fly-In Breakfast. 8-10 a.m. Info: 8061794-5961. APRIL 25-26 - SPRINGFIELD, IL - 5th Annual Charlie Wells Memorial Fly-In B'jast. 217/483-320/' APRIL 28 - HALF MOON BAY, CA - 8th Annual Pa cific Coast Dream Machines. to benifitthe Coastside Adult Health Center. Info: 650/726-2328. MA Y 1-3 - ROANOKE RAPIDS, NC - Spring EAA Fly In sponsored by EAA A/C Chapter 3. Vintage videos, barbeque, major speaker, awards in all categories. EAAfellowship. Fax to Ray BOllom: 7571873-3059. MA Y 1-3 - CLEVELAND, OR -14th Annual Air Racing History Symposium. 2161255-8100. MA Y 3 - DA YTON, OH - EAA Ch. 48 Fly-In B 'Fast. Moraine Airpark. 9371878- 9832. MAY 16 - RUNTSVlLLE, AL - Moontown Ai/pori. EAA Chapter 190 All Day Annual "Old Fashioned Fly-In." Info:2051852-9781. MA Y 16-17 - HICKORY, NC - 6th annual Warbirds over Hickory Fly-In. 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.lII. Info: 7041437-0541. MAY 16-17 - MEMPIDS, TN· EAA SportAir Workshop. 8001967-5746. MAY 17 - WARWICK, NY - Warwick Aerodrome (N72). to a.m. -4 p.m. Food, trophies, Judging reg. closes at 2 p.m. Info: Harry Barker, 973/838-7485. JUNE 5-6 - MERCED, CA - Annual Merced West Coast Fly-In. 209/383-4632. JUNE 5-6 - BARTLESVILLE, OK - Frank Phillips Field - 12th Annual National Biplane Convention and Exposition. Biplane Expo '98. Biplanes and NBA mem bers free - all others pay admission. Info: 9181622-8400 or 9181336-3976.

JUNE 12-14 - MATTOON, IL - Luscombe Fly-In. Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO) 217/234-7120. JUNE 13-14 - FREDERICK, MD - EAA SportAir Work shop. 800/967-5746. JUNE 13-14 - GAINESVILLE, TX - 36th Annual Texas AAA Chapter Fly-in. Info: 940/668-4564. web site: http://www.coke.net/-airport JUNE 14 - FULTON, NY - Oswego County Airporl (FlY) EAA Chapter 486 Pancake Breakfast featuring bi planes. Award for Best Biplane. Info: Ken Graves 315/466-6928. JUNE 18-21 - CREVE COEUR, MO - Creve Coeur air port. American Waco Club Fly-In. Info: Phi/ Coulson: 616/624-6490 or Jerry Brown: 317/535-8882. JUNE 20-21 - LACROSSE, WI - AirFest '98 two day airshow. Info: 608/781-5271. Check NOTAMSfor field closure. JUNE 20 - HUNTSVILLE, AL - Moontown Airport. EM EAAAviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Chapter 190 Fly-In sal/sage, egg and pancake Eat 'Em Up Breakfast. 205-852-9781. Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873

JUNE 20 - COOPERSTOWN, NY (NY54) - EAA Ch. Web Site: http://.eaa.org and http://www.flyin.org E-Mail: Vintage @eaa.org

1070 Fly-In B'Fast. 607/547-2526. Rain: 6/21. JUNE 20 - LAGRANGE, OH - EAA Ch. 255 Fly-In Breakfast. 440/355-6491. EAA and Division Membership Services Flight Advisors information . . . . . 920-426-6522 Flight Instructor information ... 920-426-6801 800-843-3612 ••••••••••••• FAX 920-426-6761 JUNE 20-21- RUTLAND, VT- EAA Ch. 968 "Tai/dragger Flying Start Program ••••••••••• 920-426-6847 Rendezvous" Pancake BJast. 802/492-3647. (8:00 AM -7:00 PM Monday-Friday CST) Library Services/Research ...... 920-426-4848 • Newirenew memberships: EAA, Divisions JUNE 25-28 - MT. VERNON, OH - Annual Gathering of Medical Questions ............. 920-426-4821 Wacos. 937/866- 6692. (Antique /Classic, lAC, Warbirds), National Technical Counselors . ....... .. 920-426-4821 Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) JUNE 27-28 - DENVER, CO - EAA SportAir Workshop (Covering/Composites). 800/967-5746. Young Eagles . . . .. . .. .. ........ 920-426-4831 • Address changes JUNE 27-28 -PETERSBURG, VA (PDA) - VA State • Merchandise sales EAA Fly-In. 804/358-4333. Benefits • Gift memberships Aircraft Financing (Green Tree) .. 800-851-1367 JUNE 27-28 -LONGMONT, CO - 20th Annual Rocky Monntain EAA Fly-In. 3031798-6086. AVEMCO . .. . .... . ............ 800-638-8440 Programs and Activities AUA . ... .. ........ .. .... . .... 800-727 -3823 JUNE 28-JULY 3 - LAKELAND, FL - 30th Annual In Aircraft (General Questions) . .. . 920-426-4821 ternational Cessna 170 Assoc. convention. Info: Dale Editorial Auto Fuel STCs ......... .... . .. 920-426-4843 or Marty Faux: 9411646-4588. Submitting article/photo; advertising infonnation Build/restore information ...... 920-426-4821 JULY 3-5 - CREVE COEUR, MO - Creve Coeur airport 920-426-4825 ••••••••••••• FAX 920-426-4828 Chapters: locating/organizing .. 920-426-4876 (I HO). Great War Fly- In. Info: Don Parsons, Education........ . ... ... .. .... 920-426-6815 314/397-5719, PlsurFlyin@aol.com or Tim Adcock, EAAAviation Foundation • EAA Air Academy 314/861-0183 ADFEST@ool.com Artifact Donations ............. 920-426-4877 EAA Scholarships • JULY 8-12 -ARLINGTON, WA - Northwest EAA F1y Financial Support ............. 800-236-1025 • EAA Young Eagles Camps In. 360/435-5857. Web site: www.nweaa.orglnweaal JULY 11 - PUNTA GORDA, FL - EAA Ch. 565 BJast. Y Eagles. 941/575-6360 JULY 11-12 - ATLANTA, GA - EM SportAir Workshop. 800/967-5746. JULY 12 - RENSSELAER, IN - EAA Ch. 828 Fly-In/ Division is available for $50 per year (SPORT EAA Drive-In Lunch. 219/866-5587. AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $10 for Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associ Foreign Postage.) ation, Inc. is $40 for one year, including 12 JULY 12 - NAPLES, FL - EM Ch. 1067 Pancake Break fast. 941126/-5701. issues of SPORT AVIATION. Family member WARBIRDS ship is available for an additional $10 annually. JULY 13-16 - MIDDLETOWN, OU - Short Wing Piper Current EAA members may join the EAA War Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) Club Convention Fly-In. 513/398-2656. birds of America Division and receive WARBIRDS is available at $23 annually. All major credit JULY 18 - HUNTSVILLE, AL - MOOn/own Airport. EM magazine for an additional $30 per year. cards accepted for membership. (Add $16 for Chapter 190 Fly-In sausage, egg and pancake Eat 'Em EAA Membership, WARBIRDS magazine and Foreign Postage.) Up Breakfast. 205-852-9781. one year membership in the Warbirds Division is JULY 18 - COOPERSTOWN, NY (NY54) - EAA Ch. available for $40 per year (SPORT AEROBATICS ANTIQUE/CLASSIC 1070 Fly-In B'Fast. 607/547-2526. Rain: 7/19. magazine not included). (Add $7 for Foreign Current EAA members may join the Antique/ JULY 24-26 - MERRILL, WI - Hatz CB-l Anniversary Postage.) Classic Division and receive VINTAGE AIR Reunion. 7/5/536-3197. PLANE magazine for an additional $27 per year. EAA EXPERIMENTER JULY 29-Aug. 4 - OSHKOSH, WI - 46th Annual EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE mag

Membershi~ Services Directo!y Enjoy the many benefits ofBAA and the

BAA Antique/Classic Division

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

EAA Fly-In and Sport Aviation Convention. Wittman Regional Airport. Contact EAA, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, 9201426-4800.

JUNE 14 - FULTON, NY - Oswego County Airport (FlY) EM Chapter 486 Pancake Breakfast featuring vintage aircraft, cars and motorcycles. Awards. Info: Ken Graves, 315/466-6928. Sept. 12-13 - MARION, OH - Mid-Eastern EAA Fly-In (MERFI). 513/849- 9455. Oct. 8-11 - MESA, AZ - Copperstate EAA Fly-In. 5201228-5480. Oct. 9-11- EVERGREEN, AL - Southeast EAA Fly-In. 3341765-9109. Oct. 9-11 - WILMINGTON, DE - East Coast EAA Fly-In. 302/738-8883.

azine and one year membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Division is available for $37 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage.)

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

Current EAA members may receive EAA

EXPERIMENTER magazine for an additional $20 per year. EAA Membership and EAA EXPERIMENTER magazine is available for $30 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included).(Add $8 for

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 EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Vintage Airplane Safety

VINTAGE TRADER

- Continued from page 5 limitations and live by them. So I'm not advocating pushing yourself beyond your own defined limits. However, with some cross wind practice, you can expand your limitations and safely participate in many more fun fly-in events throughout the pan cake season. As well as being a sport aviation enthu siast (tail wheel airplanes) I am also a Certified Flight Instructor. When someone gives me the "it's too windy" excuse, I of fer to spend some time in the cockpit with them to practice cross wind takeoffs and landings. Most take me up on the offer. In fact, on many occasions, without exceed ing either my or the airplane's limitations, I've suggested an hour of pattern dual on days windy enough they question my san ity. My response has always been, "What if you decide to fly somewhere and the wind picks up. Don't you want to feel comfortable and confident enough to make the return trip and landing at home without having those butterflies in the pit of your stomach all the way home?"

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 payment to: Vintage Trader, EAA A viation 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 the 20th ofthe month for insertion in the issue the second month following (e.g., October 20thfor the December issue.)

MISCELLANEOUS BABBITT BEARING SERVICE -rod bearings, main bearings, camshaft bearings, master rods, valves. Call us Toll Free 1/800/233-6934. e-mail ramremfg@aol.com http://members.aol.com/ ram remfg/home/sales.html VINTAGE ENGINE MACH INE WORKS , N. 604 FREYA ST., SPOKANE, WA 99202. (1440) 1948 C195 3845TT -275 hp, 244 hrs. , Cleveland wheels/brakes, heavy gear, new panel, interior, fresh prop, Loran, ADF, Nav/Com, Mod/C encoder, ELT, excellent condition, always hangared, many extras. $76,000. 403/282-6253. (1479)

FREE CATALOG: Aviation books and videos. How to, building and restoration tips, historic, flying and entertainment titles. Call for a free catalog. EAA, 1-800-843-3612.

TAKEOFFS AND LANDING

The most recent data available indi cates that nearly 60 percent of the single-engine fixed gear aircraft incidents and accidents occur during either take-off or landing. That should be justification enough for spending some time in the traf fic pattern honing your take -off and landing skills. Let's all make a vow in 1998 to not become part ofthat statistic. GROUND THOSE BUTTERFLIES

All too often I find enthusiastic sport aviation pilots suffering the butterfly syn drome for the entire flying day. From take-off until reaching their destination, they're anxious about making the destina tion landing . Throughout the pancake breakfast they're worried about the take-off and return flight. Once in the air they're anxiou s about making the cross wind landing upon returning to their home air port. Most all of thi s anxiousness could be eased, if not eliminated, by getting out and getting some practice in your airplane. Life is too short to not enjoy every VFR day to its fullest! See you at the next pan cake breakfast! ...

National Aircraft Finance Company. We finance most types of aircraft including experimentals. No aircra ft age limit. Call 1-800-999-3712, Fax 941-646-1671 . Emai l-nafco@airloans .com Homepage http://www.airshow.neVnafco ANTIQUEICLASSIC - Fabric Covering, Inspections, Repair, Maintenance, Restorations, Wood Work & Sheet Metal. Call Todd Clamp, A&P-IA, Newberry, SC Ph. 803/321-9046, Fax 803/321-0404.

AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATES -Standard, Restricted, Experimental, Export Approvals. Call Todd Clamp, FAA-DAR, Newberry, SC, Ph. 803/321-9046, Fax 803/321-0404. New video- Hand Propping! $24.95 plus $3 S&H. FREE BROCHURE & CATALOG! 800/296-1147. Visa/MC/check. Larry Bartlett Aviat ion Videos, P.O. Box 1197, Stevens Field, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147. ACCU-SPRAY HVLP-New-in-box 3-stage Turbine outfit. Latest model. Cost $1,000+. Sell for $600. 515/623-5495. IT IS TAX TIME -If you can use a tax deduction for donating your aircraft collection to an aircraft museum, Museum Displays, Inc., a 501 (c)3 corporation, will provide you with the paperwork you need for a deduction of the cost or val ue of your ' Aviation Research Material , ' Autographed Material, 'Photographic Collections, 'General Aviation aircraft or Warbirds, current annuals or barn yard relics, 'Antique Restorations or Homebuilts, either completed or in process, ' Magazines, advertisements, books, engines, propellers, instruments, pamphlets, and other memorabilia. Call 8001748-9308, Fax 800/531-3090. RESTORATION CRAFTSMEN -A&P, I-A, over 35 years experience. Tube, fabric, sheet metal, custom wood wings ou r specialty. Reasonable shop rate . Phone for information . Avondale Airmotive, 740/453-6889, 740/455-9900. WANTED CURTISS JENNY CANUCK PARTS -Stabilizer, elevators, fuselage controls, tail post fittings; also instruments. Anything for the Canuck, what have you . 740/453-6889

30 MARCH 1998

THE NEW CITATION HVlP

COMBO SYSTEM WAS A BIG HIT AT

OSHKOSH!! If you happened to stop by the Antique/Classic Builders Workshop at the convention you probably saw our new respirator/paint sprayer system at work. Many of you stopped by the Fastech booth to get a closer look at this unique system.

JULV 2Q-~UGU~T

lQQO

Because of the tremendous interest in the product we have decided to extend the show price for a limited time. If you didn't get a chance to see it, the CITATION system combines a fresh air respirator and HVLP paint sprayer in one cabinet to offer the utmost in safety, convenience and spraying technology at a very competitive price! Total system priced at just $799.00 (for a limited time only)

CALL FASTECH CORPORATION AT 1·800·462·2471

Spiral-Botmd

ClassroolD.

Our new manual isn't just a reference - it's a covering course in a book. It's the clearest, most thorough, and most fun-to-read step-by-step book of its kind. It will guide you all the way through the entire Poly-Fiber process in plain easy language and with a delightful sense of humor.

It' ll show you just how easy it is to cover an airplane with Poly-Fiber, and how much fun it can be. It includes our entire catalog of tools, products, and other goodies, too. All you need to make it happen is our new manual ... and a drea m.

Order Yours!Just $10.00! Plus Shipping & HandHng

Aircraft Coatings

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FAX: 909-684-0518

Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation .

Custom quality at economical prices.

• Cushion upholstery sets • Wall panel sets • Headliners • Carpet sets • Baggage compartment sets • Firewall covers • Seat slings • Recover envelopes and dopes Free catalog of complete product line. Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials: $3.00.

QiA~RODUCTS,

i.. .:

INC.

259 Lower Morrisville Rd., Dept. VA Fallsington, PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

VIS4

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Ray & Judy

Marion IN

Coordinate Annual Fly-In - Cruise-In Pancake Breakfast Members EM Chapter 304

AUAis

"We appreciate AUA's understanding of the special needs of Antique and Classic

AUA~

Exclusive EAA Antique & Classic Division Insurance Program

owners and their insurance programs,

approved.

specifically, no hand propping exclusions

Lower liability and hull premiums

and lower liability in hull premiums."

MeClical payments included

- Ray & Judy Johnson

To become an

Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft carrying all risk coverages No hand-propping exclusion No age penalty

EAA Antique &

component parts endorsements

Discounts for claim-free renewals carrying all risk coverages

Classic Division

Member call 800路843路3612

The best is affordable. Give AUA a call-it's FREE!

Remember, We're Better Together!

800-727-3823 Fly with the pros .. .fly with AUA Inc.

AVIAnON UNUMITED AGENCY

The EAA 4ntiquejClassic

Division Needs Your Help!

Share the Excitement of EMs

Antique/Classic Division with a Friend

If you love the airplanes ofyesteryear, chances are you know other people who love them too. Help the Antique/Classic Division grow by recruiting new members. The EAAAntique/Classic Division is a person's best resource for information and stories about Antique, Classic and Contemporary aircraft and the people who fly them. As a member, you already know what being an Antique/Classic member is all about, or do you? As a member, you receive:

• 12 color-filled issues of VINTAGE AIRPlANE, the official magazine of the Antique/Classic Division. • The exclusive "members only" Antique/Classic aircraft insurance program administered by AUA,Inc. • During EAA OSHKOSH, educational work shops and seminars offered by fellow mem bers who are experts in their field. • The opportunity to network with other mem bers with similar interests through the various Type Clubs in the Antique/Classic community.

Recruit New Members and Win Some Great Awards*

• Recruit just one new member and receive a stylish collector's cap featuring the Antique/Classic Division logo. • Recruit two new members - in addition to the cap, get anAlC jacket patch and a free video tape.

• Sign up three new members and you'll also receive a FREE one year AlC Division member ship renewal. • CAU

1.-800-843-3612,

BE SURE TO MENTION CODE

"1.~rr1." WHEN YOU CAU TO RECEIVE YOU AWARD.

NEW MEMBER

CAMPAIGN

HELP

YOUR

DIVISION

GROW!

*NEW MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS ONLY-MEMBERS CANNOT SPONSOR THEMSELVES. SPONSORSHIP RECRUITMENT ALSO VALID FOR RENEWALS WHO HAVE NOT BEEN CURRENT MEMBERS FOR

(TWO) CONSECUTIVE YEARS.