JUNE 2003
VOL. 31, NO.6
2 VAA NEWS/H.G. Frautschy 4
AEROMAIL
5
MYSTERY PLANE
6
JOHN MILLER RECALLS A UNIQUE FORCED LANDING IN 1934/John Miller
8 8 RIBS, ANYONE?
How MANY ARE NEEDEDlTed Teach
10 SUN 'N FUN CELEBRATING FLIGHT 16 THE HOFFMEYER T-CRAFT JUST ANOTHER FORM OF THERAPY Budd Davisson 20 AIRCRAFT TIEDOWNS H.G. Frautschy & Joe Dickey 22
THE VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR TAILDRAGGERS - HAVE YOU FLOWN A FORD LATELY? Doug Steward
24
PASS IT TO BUCK
26
NEW MEMBERS
27
CALENDAR
29
CLASSIFIED ADS
Publisher Editor-in-Chief Executive Editor News Editor Photography Staff Advertising Coordinator Advertising/Editorial Assistant Copy Editing VINTAGE AIRPLANE Executive Director, Editor VAA Administrative Assistant Contributing Editors
Graphic Designer
TOM POBEREZNY scon SPANGLER MIKE DIFRISCO RIC REYNOLDS JIM KOEPNICK LEEANN ABRAMS TRISHA LUNDQUIST JULIE RUSSO ISABELLE WISKE COLLEEN WALSH KATHLEEN WITMAN HENRY G. FRAUTSCHY THERESA BOOKS JOHN UNDERWOOD BUDD DAVISSON OLIVIA L. PHILLIP
FRONT COVER: The brothers Hoffmeyer fly their dad's resurrected Tay足 lorcraft. Ron Hoffmeyer rebuilt the airplane after it had been destroyed by a fire set by vandals. It was selected as the Best Cus足 tom Classic of Sun 'n Fun 2003. BACK COVER: Seen in the light of dawn over the shoreline of Florida's Lake Hancock, the Best Fabric Amphibian of Sun 'n Fun 2003 was Brad and Glen Larson's Cessna Airmaster, mounted on a pair of Wipline amphibious floats. VM photo by H.G. Frautschy, EM Cessna 210 photo plane flown by Bruce Moore.
STRAIGHT Be LEVEL BY ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE PRESIDENT, VINTAGE ASSOCIATION
EAAand VAA I have been signing thank-you letters to be sent to members who have participated in the Friends of the Red Barn program for this year. Once again , many of our loyal members have chosen to help out, and we 're pleased to see some new members have also come on board. This financial commitment by these members is much appreci ated by the Vintage Aircraft Association, and will enable us to better serve the total membership during our annual convention. I would also like to say a personal thanks to these members. I hope to see you all at Oshkosh this year. Having the Friends of the Red Barn fund has also given me the chance to discuss with members different subjects regarding the structure and operation of the Vin tage Aircraft Association. I'm often asked about the na ture of the relationship between the Vintage Aircraft Association and the Experimental Aircraft As sociation . Well, in a nutshell, here's how I view this subject. The Vintage Aircraft Association (VAA) is a Wisconsin corporation, with its own bylaws and treasury. It might be noted here that this is the case with the other two EAA divisions, Warbirds of America and the International Aerobatic Club . The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) is not an EAA division; it is an affiliate organiza tion. The VAA has a letter of agree ment with the EAA as to how this relationship is carried forward on a daily basis. The subjects of this agreement include the rendering of services to the VAA and what services VAA provides to EAA. From
the beginning of the division in 1972, we at the VAA (back then the Antiq u e/Classic Division) agreed that to be a member of the division a member would also be a member of EAA. This still applies today as we ll. It's good for both parties: Every time VAA gains a new member, so does EAA. That new member has access to the broader range of information and services that EAA can offer. Strength in numbers also helps VAA, partic u larly with regard to government issues.
Strength in numbers also helps VAA, particularly with regard to government issues. By having a close working part nership between VAA and EAA, we bring EAA close to 10,000 VAA members, and VAA gives EAA a broader interest base wi t h mem bers interested in vintage airplanes. EAA brings to VAA and VAA mem bers the support and voice of a larger membership-based organiza tion. Membership in VAA gives members a common flag to rally aro u nd for a number of reasons, including challenging over-regula tion by the government, technical issues, and opportunities for socia l interaction at fly-ins and Chapter meetings . This re lationship allows the VAA to p lay an important ro le during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each year. Our operation of the Vintage area of the convention
grounds gives each member, both VAAer and the overall EAA mem bership, the opportunity t o see firsthand how much the VAA does to make yo u r stay for the week more en joyable. Plus, our presence at the convention serves to edu cate the public about our aircraft and the men and women who fly them . We can only hope that in the future the VAA and EAA rela tionship wi ll remain as close as it has been during the past 32 years. Your Officers, the Board of Di rectors; H.G. Frautschy, our Executive Director and Editor; Theresa Books, our VAA Adminis trative Assistant; EAA Pres ident Tom Poberezny; and all of the EAA staff continue to work hard to provide you, the VAA member, our best efforts to make being a VAA member a valued relation ship. As a member, I ask each of you to ask a friend to join with us as a member so that he or she too can enjoy the VAA. As a final thought, I would like to take a moment to express how proud I am of all of the mi li tary personnel of the United States and its coalition forces. The bravery and commitment yo u have shown in your military mission and your dedication to the American people is without q uestion the greatest. I am proud to be an American. Let's all pull in the same direc tion for the good of aviation. Remember, we are better togeth er. Join us and have it all. ~ VINTAGE AIRPLANE
VAA N EWS
VAA ELECTIONS In the center spread of this issue you'll find candidate biographies and a ballot for this year's VAA elec tions, which will be ratified at the annual business meeting held dur ing EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Notice is hereby given that an an nual business meeting of the members of the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association will be held on Monday, August 4, 2003, at 9:30 a.m. CDT in the tent next to the VAA Red Barn Headquarters during the 51st annual convention of the Experimental Air craft Association Inc., Wittman Regional Airport, Oshkosh, Wiscon sin. Notice is hereby further given that the annual election of officers and directors of the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association will be con ducted by ballot distributed to the members along with this June issue of Vintage Airplane. Said ballot must be returned properly marked to the Ballot Tally Committee, Vintage Air craft Association, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, and re ceived no later than July 24, 2003. The Nominating Committee sub mits the following list of candidates: for vice president, George Daubner; for treasurer, Charles W. Harris; for directors (eight total), David Ben nett, Bob Brauer, John S. "Jack" Copeland, Philip Coulson, Roger Gomoll, Dale A. Gustafson, Eugene E. Morris, and Wes Schmid.
EAA AIRVENTURE PLANNING The Internet has allowed us to streamline planning for your trip to EAA AirVenture. Visit EAA's of ficial convention website at www.airventure.org for up-to-date in formation regarding convention highlights and events, including the 100th anniversary of flight celebra tion. A complete schedule of forums is also presented throughout the week. New features and tools are being added to the website on a regular basis, so be 2
JUNE 2003
sure to check back often. Also, use the EAA Flight Planner to flight plan your trip. You can access it through the VAA website at www.vintageaircra(t.01g.
FRIENDS OF THE RED BARN We are pleased to announce that many of you have responded to the VAA's annual appeal for help with funding VAA activities during EAA AirVenture. In the July issue, we'll be publishing a list of volunteers who have participated in the VAA Friends of the Red Barn. Remember, any funds sent and received prior to July I, 2003, will be applied to the 2003 campaign, and those received after that date will be placed in the fund for 2004, with any benefits then available during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004. See page four for more details on the VAA Friends of the Red Barn.
CALL FOR VAA HALL OF FAME NOMINATIONS If you wish to nominate an indi vidual who you believe has made a significant contribution to the ad vancement of aviation between 1950 and the present day, please go to
www.vintageaircra(t.org/programs/ho(J orm.html and download the nomina tion form. Add supporting material and send it to: Charles W. Harris
VAA Hall of Fame
P.O. Box 470350
Tulsa, OK 74147-0350
Be as thorough and objective as possible. Attach copies of materials you deem appropriate and helpful to the committee. The person you nominate can be a citizen of any country and may be living or deceased. The nomi nee's contribution could be in the areas of flying, design, mechanical or aerodynamic developments, ad ministration, writing, some other vital and relevant field, or any com bination of fields that support aviation. To be considered for induc
tion into the VAA Hall of Fame dur ing 2004, petitions must be received by September 30, 2003. If you're unable to access the In ternet, call VAA Administrative Assistant Theresa Books and ask her to fax or mail you a copy of the form. She can be reached at 920 426-6110.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING In accordance with the fourth restated bylaws of the Experimen tal Aircraft Association Inc. (Article Seven, Section I), "Notice of all meetings shall be mailed by first class mail to each member, or pub lished in any publication of the corporation which is mailed to all members, or to all families partici pating in a Family Membership Program, and such notice shall be sufficient if the mailing is made at least twenty (20) days before the scheduled meeting." Notice is hereby given that the Annual Business Meeting of the members will be held at the The ater in the Woods on Sunday, August 3, 2003, at 1:00 p.m. (CDT) at the 51 st annual convention of the Experimental Aircraft Associa tion Inc., Wittman Regional Airport, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Notice is hereby further given that the election will be held as the first item on the agenda at the business meeting. Five Class II directors (three-year terms) and one Class III director (one-year term) shall be elected. In accordance with the fourth re stated bylaws of the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc. (Article Eight, Section IV), All nominees, whether properly nominated by petition or by the Nominating Committee, shall have their names presented to all members no later than sixty (60) days prior to the Annual Membership Meeting." II
The Nominating Committee has submitted the following candi dates: Class II
John Baugh
Jack Harrington
Verne Jobst
Bob Reece
Alan Shackleton
Frank P. Sperandeo III
Class III
Paul D. Seehafer
Barry Valentine
Alan Shackleton,
Secretary, EAA Board of Directors
GREAT WEBSITES Dave Bahnson is an avid pri vate collector of World War I wooden airplane propellers, and
he recent l y started a website, www.woodenpropeller.com. dedi cated to that pursuit. The site contains information about identifying propellers, as well as some facts about design and con struction. He's continually adding photos to the site to help others identify their propellers. Have you ever wondered just what was going on inside a ro tary engine while it was running? So did Matt Keveney. A mechani cal engineer, he's been fascinated with the workings of various powerplants. To help him visual ize the process, he created web-based animations of both in ternal combustion and steam engines . Spend a few moments at www.keveney.com and enjoy the work Matt put into each of his an imated illustrations.
VAA VOLUNTEER INFORMATION FOR EAA AIRVENTURE 2003 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2003 will be held at Wittman Regional Air
port in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, from Tuesday, July 29, through Monday, August 4. Volunteers will again be needed to staff the many different committees in the Vintage area. If you are going to attend EAA AirVenture 2003 and would like to participate in activities as a volun teer, drop a note to the chairperson of the area in which you would like to volunteer. It would be helpful to the chairperson in his or her plan ning for the event if you could also include your previous experience or training and the dates of your arrival and departure. The following committees will use volunteer help: PAST GRAND CHAMPIONS Steve Krog 262-966-7627 sskrog@aol.com SECURITY and FLIGHT LINE Geoff Robison 260-493-4724 chief7025@aol.com TYPECLUBHQ Roger Gomoll 507-288-2810 rgomoll@hotmail.com
PETER BOWERS We're sorry to report that Peter Bowers, EAA 977 and VAA 7563, passed away on April 27, 2003. It's hard to categorize Pete's contributions; because his work was so wide ranging, you hardly knew where he'd pop up next. An avid model airplane builder and designer as a young man, he quickly took to full-size aircraft, and spent 36 years as an aeronautical engineer at Boeing. But there were plenty of other things to do, and Pete wrote the ar ticles, drew the plans, and spoke on the subject he knew best-airplanes. You may think of him as the designer of the Fly Baby, winner of EAA's de sign competition in 1962. Or perhaps you've read one of the dozens of authoritative books written by Peter over a half-century. Pete's paSSion was accuracy, and many of us prevailed upon him to check out the facts on a little-known airplane or aviator. He seemed to always have the right an swer, and to know where to direct us for more information. I can't recall anyone who knew more about airplanes than Peter Bowers did. His fre quent notes and contributions to Vintage Airplane, and in particular, our "Mystery Plane" column, will be sorely missed. Our condolences to his wife, Alice, and to his many friends and fans .
VAAPARKING George Daubner 262-673-5885 vaaflyboy@aol.com OTHER CONTACTS Teresa Lautenschlager, Operation Protect Our Planes tlautenschlager@eaa.org Anna Osborn, Volunteer Center annajohn@ktc.com Butch Joyce, President 336-393-0344 windsock@aol.com H.G. Frautschy, Executive Director 920-426-4825 hgfrautschy@eaa.org VINTAGE AIRPLANE
3
~~8.'
let me steer the plane! [ liked it so much, that when the plane landed, [ asked if[ could go aga in the next day. He said we could, if the weather was okay. The next day we did go again, even though it was a little cloudy, and that time we even flew over their house! We had another great flight, and [ got a Young Eagles certificate. [ think that was the best summer I've had so far.
AERO M A IL John Miller's Poppy Drop Young Eagles I received a very interesting and pleasing Christmas gift from my granddaughter, and I thought you might be interested. Her fourth grade class had the usual project to write about their summer experiences. To my surprise she wrote about her Young Eagles flight with me. I didn't realize the flight made such a memorable im pression. I have enclosed a copy of her report. As you can see, the computer skills of my 9-year-old granddaughter are much better than mine. Bob Hollenbaugh Middletown, Ohio Up, Up, and Away By Natalie Young For my wonderful Grandpa
The summer of2000 was a summer [ will never forget. We did a lot of exciting things, such as going to Canada and seeing Niagara Falls, but one of the most memorable things we did that year was going to Ohio and visit ing my grandparents. My grandpa is a pilot and owns a small yellow Aeronca Chief, which he rebuilt himself My grandpa had in vited my sister Chelsea and me to take a ride in his plane. We went to the airport on a sunny clear day. [ couldn't wait for him to take me up in his plane. The small plane could only fit one passenger and the pilot, so Chelsea and [ had to take rums. [ went first. My grandpa took me all around the plane checking the parts to see if they were working right, and showing me what they were. He called it a safety check. Finally, he told me [ could climb in. [ felt excited, yet nervous, as [ climbed into the plane. My grandpa handed me a pair of headphones that kept out the noise, but still let us talk to each other. I pulled on my headphones and my seatbelt, and we were off! We rolled down the runway for a short amount of time, and then we took off into the sky. It was so much fun! [ looked out the win dow amazed. [ could see for miles! I could see lakes and rivers and trees. [ could see cars and houses, and if[ looked really hard I could even see tiny people. Once my grandpa even 4
JUNE 2003
I love those old stories of pilots dropping stuff ou t of airplanes for whatever reason or occasion. Appar ently back in the olden days it was not a violation of any government regulations to do so. I have come across many stories like John Miller and his "Poppy Drop of 1928" in the April issue. I have come across several similar tales, most of them involving Curtiss Robins. In the Life and Times of Clarence Kavale, an autobiography, Kavale tells of his experiences as a barnstormer (1932-1936) in an OX-S Curtiss Robin . He ranged from the Dakotas to Texas. One of his tales involved be ing approached by a "Pather of the Bride" who asked Kavale if he would drop rice on the bridal couple as they exited the church. Kavale could not turn down the money that was paid in advance, figuring that if he blew the job, he would just fly on. He prac ticed the day before the event in order to be sure of the territory. To make a long story short, everything went well until the couple emerged from the church. Kavale's ticket seller, who was riding in the back seat, emp tied the bag of rice into the slipstream, only to see the wind carry the grain at least a block from the church. Kavale flew on. When I was researching my book
Shadows of Wings: An Aviation History of West Central Illinois, Vol. [,1910 1945, I found another story in the Avon Sentinel, a weekly of Avon, Illi nois. (Pop-700) Frank Clugsten was a local Chevrolet dealer who also had a Curtiss dealership. He had a 40-acre airfield on the edge of town. On the other side of town was a small, pri vate man-made lake where the town's snooty citizens had a club called Avondale. Each Fourth of July they
held a celebration wherein they opened the facilities to the public and held the usual festivities appropriate to the occasion. Someone came up with a fund raising idea that would help offset the expenses of the annual fireworks display. The story involves guinea hens. The celebration committee sold tickets that contained various num bers. Certain numbers were attached to the legs of about a dozen guinea hens. The tickets cost $1 each. The idea was that Clugsten would fly his OX-S Robin low over the crowd at Avondale and a helper in the back seat would toss the guinea hens out the airplane for the onlookers to try to catch and retrieve their winnings. As in the case of Clarence Kavale, all went well until the cargo was released from the airplane. The guinea hens were released from the airplane di rectly over the crowd who were supposed to catch the prizewinners with the numbers. The guinea hens surprised the committee with their amazing ability to fly, and the last anyone saw of them, they were wing ing their way out of Fulton County! On a more somber note, I was told a story similar to that of John Miller's, only this one did not involve any derring-do. It had to do with releas ing rose petals over the cemetery as the bugler played taps at a Memorial Day ceremony held in Monmouth, Illinois, shortly after World War II. The Monmouth Cemetery was on the approach to Runwa y 36 at Mon mouth airport at the time . The ceremony took place near the ap proach end of the airport, thus [this flight] was no different than any other aircraft on final. According to the pilot who told of this incident, everything went according to plan. As the bugler started to play, the Piper Cub quietly slid over the gathering and the back-seat passenger dumped a bushel basket of rose petals on the gathered throng. Some eyewitnesses were said to be in tears as the petals silently floated down to the moaning of the music. Enough said! Jim Haynes
BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY
MARCH'S MYSTE R Y ANSWER The March Mystery Plane, supplied to us by Alfred Fox of Gray, Louisiana, brought back a few memories for quite a few of you. Here's our first letter, with a bit of the history of Miles Aircraft and the Sparrowhawk:
The Mystery Plane featured in the March edition of Vintage Airplane is a British aircraft, one of the Miles designs. Miles was a major producer of sporting light aircraft in Britain during the 1930s and for some time after the war.
THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE C O MES F ROM ANNA PENNINGTON. THE PHOTO WAS T A KE N I N 1 940 AT AN AIR SHOW, BUT ANNA DIDN'T H AV E A NY OTHER INFORMATION. ANNA HAILS FROM W IL MING T ON , NORTH CAROLINA.
SEND YOUR ANSWER TO : EAA,
3086, WI 54903-3086 . YOUR
VINTAGE AIRPLANE , P.O. Box OSHKOSH ,
ANSWER NEEDS TO BE IN NO LATER THAN JULY
SPONSE VIA E-MAIL. SEND YOUR AN SWER TO vintage@eaa.org . BE SURE TO INCLUDE BOTH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS (ESPECIALLY
15,2003, FOR INCLU
YOUR CITY AND STATE!) IN THE BODY
2003 ISSUE
OF YOUR NOTE AND PUT "(MONTH)
SION IN THE SEPTEMBER OF VINTAGE AIRPLANE.
YOU CAN ALSO SEND YOUR RE
MYSTERY PLANE" IN THE SUBJECT LINE .
In 1933 Fred Miles (known as "EG.") and his wife, Blossom, the design genius behind the partnership, together with EG.'s brother, George, conceived a sleek low-wing monoplane design of all wooden construction, in direct competition to the contemporary bi planes of the time, offering greatly enhanced performance and low cost. Unusually, this first product, the M2 Hawk, powered by a 9S-hp upright four in-line A.D.C. Cirrus engine, was built not by the Miles team itself, but by a small firm, Phillips and Powis Aircraft Ltd., based at Woodley Aerodrome, near Reading, a town just a few miles west of what is now London's Heathrow Air port. The Miles design team eventually joined the company, which was re named Miles Aircraft Ltd. in 1943. During the war Miles manufactured a range of training aircraft and set up an additional manufacturing facility near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Most of Miles' subsequent designs were named after raptors-Hawk Major (powered by the four-cylinder de Havil land Gipsy Major engine), Falcon, Merlin, Peregrine, Hobby, Nighthawk, and more. An exception was a one-off long-range aircraft to the basic Miles layout with a two-seat enclosed cockpit and powered by a Menasco Buccaneer, commissioned by Charles Lindbergh for touring in Europe with his wife. Miles named this design Mohawk in honor of his client, and this actual aircraft has re cently been restored for exhibition at London's Royal Air Force Museum. Identification of the Miles aircraft featured is surprisingly difficult without a specific registration identity because many of the designs look superficially similar, especially the many variants of the Hawk Major, some of which were converted to Single-seat racing configu ration, including also a special design powered by the 200-hp de Havilland Gipsy Six six-cylinder engine and called the Hawk Speed Six. However, the short chord engine cowling identifies it as a Gipsy Major powered model, and a lowered fuselage decking suggests it is a Miles M.S Spar rowhawk. Close study of the picture appears to show large British-style regis continued on the page 29 VINTAGE AIRPLANE
5
I
t was a bright, sunny, mild and calm day, January 26, 1934, when I took off from Newark Airport's gravelly sur face with a huge advertising banner to cover a specified course around the New York City area. The 330-hp Wright engine had been overhauled only a few days before, and I had full confidence that it would stand up under the hard tOwing job in the fairly cool air. The aircraft was a Pit cairn PCA-2 autogiro, the forebear of today's helicopters, and ideally suit able for the safe towing of banners. It was my own aircraft. I had no in surance. It was simply not available in those days for that type of flying, and even if it had been I could not have afforded it in the Depression, which was still in full effect. The method of takeoff to tow a banner with an autogiro at that time was to lay it out on the ground with the last letter upwind and the first letter downwind , then continue downwind with a 400-foot towing cord, which was then attached to the release hook on the tailskid of the autogiro. The takeoff was then made upwind directly over the ban ner, so that gave 800 feet to get altitude and speed with the autogiro before the banner started peeling off of the ground. This particular ban ner was the largest that I had ever seen towed . It had 37 letters, each one 9 feet high. The letters were made out of red cloth and the nu merous spreaders were made of bamboo poles. I do not know its weight, but it was plenty heavy and it took at least three men to carry 6
JUNE 2003
and unroll it. To this day I don't
That banner in stantly dragged me to zero airspeed, dead stopped in the air.
know what it advertised. That was normal, for during a busy day of towing several banners in succession I had all I could do to re-fuel be tween tows and study the road maps showing the routes I was to follow. The banners did not belong to me. I was merely towing them on con tract by the hour. The takeoff went quite well in a light north breeze, but the climb was laborious and slow with full power. Flying north, I finally reached 1,200 feet altitude, which put me only 1,000 feet above the housetops of North Arlington, New Jersey, with another 800 feet to go to the specified altitude before turning 180 degrees to fly south along the east edge of the Hudson River to show the banner while circling Man
hattan Island. I was carefully monitoring the en gine cylinder head and oil temperatures and considering a slight reduction in power to try to get them down a little when the en gine suddenly and positively stopped-dead still. So did the air speed. That banner instantly dragged me to zero airspeed, dead stopped in the air. I knew that I had no hope for further power so I pulled the release lever to drop the banner to drape itself over the housetops of North Arlington. Whatever hap pened to it I know not to this day. I suppose the kids tore it apart. When an autogiro engine stops and the autogiro stops dead in the air, everything is silent and my auto giro entered a stable vertical descent at about 1,800 fpm. I heard my loud voice say, "Holy smoke," and in stantly I nosed down to gain a little airspeed for control, at the same time looking quickly for some open place to land among all those houses. There was no such space and by that time I was down to less than 700 feet above the houses, but then behind me to the right I saw a cemetery, so I made a 180 to head for it in a steep glide. While doing this I heard a lot of factory whistles blowing but was too busy looking for a spot in the cemetery to realize that they were the customary noon whistles of that era. Fortunately au togiros always make auto rotative landings, and I had become very adept at that technique so was able to land on a tiny clear area in the cemetery at zero airspeed, with
l~1tPl'1il1illl
dimblng down from the cockpit to the ground I was sur rounded by a mob of kids. The
me,cnalntC had gotten the senations on top of each other instead of meshing properly. When the engine got hot during the long climb the bolt expanded, which let
autogiro was then in greater danger from them. I was afraid it would be destroyed by the kids climbing on it. Then one kid yelled at me to au tograph his school notebook and all the rest of them followed. I sud denl y remember ed the proper procedure in such a case is to yell back at them to form a spiral around the autogiro so that I could write my autograph in turn. A huge spiral of kids soon surrounded me and my precious autogiro while I auto graphed notebooks until the police arrived and chased them off to their homes for their lunches. Remember how I said, "Holy smoke"? The land ing was made in the Holy Cross Cemetery a few seconds later! I had to hire off-duty policemen
the discs slip just enough to stop the engine. We were able to push th e autogiro to a little road trail through the cemetery and with a little breeze I took off in about 100 feet. In the first place I was very fortu nate to be flying an autogiro, for an airplane brought to a sudden stop in the air by such a banner would .instantly dive into th e ground, but an autogiro is still safe at zero air speed and a controlled survivabl e crash can be made vertically even if there is not enough altitude to re ga in a little airspeed to make a normal gentle landing. The early autogiros h ad each ro tor blade fixed, both in position and pitch setting. They had no collective or cycl iC pitch control, as do h eli
tDI1IB>lfln'I!IIn
much of it sands of hours of by pilots who had no understanding of its aerodynamics or proper flying technique. They crashed almost all of them but walked away without injury. One notorious crash was performed by Amelia Earhart who crashed into a chain-link fence, then barely cleared over the heads of a crowd of people and crashed, with full power, into a group of parked cars, fortunately vacant. The autogiro and a number of cars were de molished but fortunately no fire occurred and she and her mechanic passen ger walked away. Now the only two surviving PCA-2s are in possession of the Henry Ford Museum and Steven Pitcairn, son of the original manufacturer. The one I owned, serial number 13, was the first purchased by a pri vate individual and first to be flown, in each direction, across the United States. It was also the first rotary wing aircraft to perform aerobatics including loops, and rolls, at air shows, the National Air Races 1932 at Cleveland, at Los Angeles in 1933, the International Air Races 1933 at Chicago, and many other smaller events. Its final days were spent as a crop-duster, but then it was de stroyed by a hurrican e in Florida when its pilot failed to tie down its rotor blades. I had flown it safely, crisscrossing the United States for six years, 1931-1936. ~ VINTAGE AIRPLANE
7
How many are needed? TED TEACH
ack Tiffany of Leading Edge Aircraft had been looking for an autogiro for years. At last he found his prize, a 1932 Pitcairn PA-18, in Mojave, California. While Jack has been restoring antique airplanes for years, this one was going to be the real test. It was a basket case, with most parts there, but in very poor condition. It was a prize in that while antique autogiros are rare, this was to be the only remaining PA 18. Only 19 PA-18s were built and sold in 1932 and 1933. The autogiro differs from the he licopter in that it flies on the same principle as an airplane. An engine-driven pro-
J
One of the sign ificant restora tion challenges was the rotor blades themselves. The construction is similar to many aircraft wings. There is a spar (simply a steel tube), ribs of 1/4-inch plywood, a thin plywood covered leading edge, and a formed sheet metal trailing edge strip. Conventional fabric and dope cover the structure.
peller pulls it forward, The finished ribs are ready for shipment. and due to the oncoming air stream and the angle of attack The only salvageable component of the rotors, they rotate rapidly, of the blades when received was the creating lift at a very low forward spar with rib attachment fittings. speed; it's simply a rotating wing. With the rib spacing set at only 4 8
JUNE 2003
inches, more than 300 ribs would be needed. The precision needed was great, as the chord is only 18-3/4 inches and rib depth about 2 inches. A local woodworker and aviation enthusiast, Bill Weikert, agreed to accept the challenge of building these ribs. For earlier woodworking projects, Bill had acquired an Ons rud Inverted Pin Router. This type of machine was used in the aircraft industry for years, mostly in the contouring of sheet metal skin and components. The inverted pin router has the motor driven bit mounted under the table and the bit raised up into the work with a foot pedal. Opera tionally, a template of the desired part is attached above and onto the material to be contoured. This then is placed on the tabletop. A guide pin of the same size as the router bit is directly above the bit. The guide pin is lowered against the template, the bit raised into the material, and the pin guided around the template. Thus, the ma terial is contoured to exactly the same shape as the template. The templates were made from 1/4-inch aluminum plate, and com puter generated. Bill then made a fixture that would attach the ply wood to a plate that then attached to the master template. With five different chord lengths , using a common fixture to hold any of the five was a productivity issue. At the completion of the project it was found that the cost of the rib shaping was far less than other methods (in cluding laser cutting), and the accuracy to the work far better than the original. The inverted pin router is an ideal tool for shaping aircraft products in that it is qUick, eas ily tooled, and accurate. Bill would be pleased to discuss this kind of project for others and may be contacted at: 3000 Hampton Rd. North Springfield, OH 45502 937-964-8301 E-mail: bgw3000@juno.com .....
Routing ribs on the Onsrud Inverted Pin Router.
Attaching the rib material to fixture.
The finished rib ready to remove from fixture. Attaching the rib template to fixture.
Breaking the rib away.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE
9
2003
An aerial reconnaissance view of a portion of the vintage aircraft parking area.
o
JUNE 2003
H.G.
FRAUTSCHY
The winner of an Outstanding Classic Aircraft trophy at Sun 'n Fun 2003, Bob Haas has plenty to smile about with his neat-as足 a-pin Aeronca 7AC Champ.
This striking custom version of the early Bonanza color scheme was dis足 played during the early days of Sun 'n Fun by James Dixon of Bowman, Georgia. Bob Haas The Sun 'n Fun Grand Champion Antique for 2003 Is Mlkael Carlson's Bleriot XI, powered by a 60-hp Thulln足 built Gnome Omega rotary engine. It was one of 23 Blerlots built under license by Thulin In Sweden.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE
11
Paul Erickson's restoration of the last Sky King Cessna 310, N6817T, pulled in a Contemporary Out足 standing In Type award at Sun 'n Fun.
A
EAA President Tom Poberezny hosts the opening of the Countdown to Kitty Hawk touring pavilion, presented by Ford Motor Company. The centerpiece of the pavilion is the accurate reproduction of the 1903 Wright Ryer built by Ken Hyde's Wright Experience in Warrington, Virginia. The Ryer's presence in the large tent was mesmerizing. It's hard to resist the call of a nice old biplane. Dan Smith didn't have to travel far with his Brewster Aeet 7-he lives right in Lakeland.
To get a firsthand feeling for what it felt like to pilot the Flyer, EAA and Microsoft teamed up to create the Wright simulators, which were very popular all day long.
The best fabric floatplane so judged at the Sun 'n Fun Splash-In was Stan Sweikar's Taylorcraft BGS 120, which he flew down from Maryland. It's seen here along the grassy shore at Brown's Seaplane Base in Winter Haven, Florida. 12
JUNE 2003
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\1Registered to Barrels of Fun in Lebanon, Missouri, this Volpar V Beech 18 was judged the Best Twin in the Contemporary category.
~ Thomas Lever brought his Moraine Saulnier 230 Et 2 to Lakeland for the last couple of days of the fly-in. If it looks famil iar to those of you who are aviation movie buffs, that's be cause this was the airplane used in the final scenes of The Blue Max and many years later in the Tom Selleck movie High Road to China. One of only five that still exist, and only one of three still flying, Thomas' Moraine, even with its intimidating size, is a tailskid, no brakes airplane. VINTAGE AIRPLANE
13
A family airplane it is, and we saw a number of them at Sun 'n Fun with more than one tent pitched next to them. The Cessna 170 is still one of the most desirable light planes that seat four people, or two with a lot of camping gear. Russ Farris and Shayla Reese are flying this nice-looking example.
A The Rearwin 180F Skyranger (built by Commonwealth) is a rare sight these days, but still a pretty airplane from the time just prior to World War II. Doug Clukey of Dexter, Maine, brought this example to the event.
Can you tell who's an Auburn University fan? John C. Adams (class of '77, indus足 trial management) of Huntsville, Alabama, tools around in his Auburn Tiger Ercoupe. His Coupe still has the original throttle quadrant with mixture control.
V
Vaughn Grasso of Oak Hill, Florida, brought a rare Helton Lark, the last factory-produced version of the Culver Cadet. It's powered by a Continental C-90.
A
}i> The other spectacular bookend to Mikael's early aviation air足 craft is his reproduction of a Thulin Tummelisa, a Swedish fighter aircraft originally built in 1919, and in service as late as 1934! Mikael built the Tummelisa from scratch, and was able to power the diminutive airframe with a 90-hp Thulin engine, another powerplant built by the company under license, this time from LeRhone.
~
V
Roughing it at Sun 'n Fun. Bringing the comforts of home seems to get easier and easier these days.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE
15
BY BUDD DAVISSON
s a breed, Taylorcrafts are definitely coming into their own. Even though they may have been one of the last classics to hitch a ride on the restoration bandwagon, more and more are showing up at fly-ins once aga in dressed in their Sunday-go足 to-meeting duds. Ron Hoffmeyer's 1946 BD-12D, which was destined to be based on his farm in Evart, Michigan, is one of those. However, the little airplane had more than its share of life's problems and the road it traveled to Sun 'n Fun 2003 was a rough one. In fact, both the airplane and Ron Hoffmeyer have stories to tell. 16
JUNE 2003
Like so many others during the 1960s, Ron was a member of the ROTC while in college at Michigan State. He had opted to try for flight training, which meant that during college he had to take thirty-five hours of flight training. So even though he was bound for some sort of whiz-bang U.S. Air Force airplane, he took his first steps into the air in a Piper Colt. A side effect of that kind of training was that rag and tube airplanes were central to his aeronautical core, something that would surface many years later. As was the case with most pilots trained during that period, it was only a matter of time before he found himself looking down at the jungles
of Vietnam. However, Ron had a great seat for the role he was about to play in the drama around him. "When I graduated from flight school, the usual pipeline was to fly one of the older airplanes then move up to the newer ones. That changed just about the time I got my wings, however, because they put me right into an F-10S, rather than having me work my way up through F-lOOs. It was a terrific thrill to strap on a 'Thud.' Especially since I was a kid just out of flight school. "I spent most of '68 and '69 fly足 ing out of Karat, Thailand, with the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron car足 rying the war to North Vietnam against some of the heaviest de足
fifteen years old, so I used the GI bill to get my CFI, so I could teach him. We started looking around for lit tle airplanes, including Champs and Cubs, but in 1984 we bought our first T-craft, a 1941, and Paul learned to fly in it.
fended targets . We were always dodging SAMs, MiGs and triple-A. I flew a total of 146 missions." As soon as he got out of the serv ice he started flying light airplanes again although he stayed in the Air National Guard for 28 years. "In '72 I started flying for Eastern Airlines but was also working my way up through the Guard and made it sort of a side career." As part of that "side career" Ron became the squadron commander of an air-refueling unit first flying KC 97s, and then moving into KC-13Ss. "During the first Gulf War, we were flying out of Abbu Dabe. We were constantly up there as a gas sta tion in the sky keeping everything else flying." "My son, Paul, started showing some interest in flying when he was
"We had a farm and the pasture was our runway, which was perfect for the T Craft . That was my first taildragger and I really came to love it . I still think the Taylorcraft is the most under-ap preciated of the classics. It gives good cross-country performance and is faster than almost all of the 6S-hp airplanes. I think it's a great all-purpose flying machine. "That first airplane was Franklin powered, and was very smooth and nice flying, but over the years, it had been neglected. Rather than change the engine or rebuild the airplan e, we decided we'd keep that one fly ing, but get another one to rebuild. Paul did that first one, a '46 model, and he put it in my name. "In 1993 I started going through chemotherapy, which grounded me for a while and was pretty hard on my spirits. I had to get my head into something, so I decided I'd rebuild a Taylorcraft for therapy and put the
airplane in Paul's name. Somehow, that just seemed fair." Taylorcrafts are apparently some thing of a family tradition because when Ron started looking for a proj ect airplane, he had to go no further than a cousin's garage. "My cousin had the remains of a T Craft and I say 'remains' because it had been burned. At some pOint in its life, it was sitting in an open hangar and kids set fire to it just for the fun of it. By the time the fire department showed up , the only parts that were still burn ing were the tires. It was a terrible mess!" Ron trucked what was left of the air plane home and spread it out on the shop floor to survey what he had. "The wings were toast. The spars were charred and the alu minum ribs were crystallized . The heat hadn 't been too bad, so all the fittings were use able, but the tank was also no good." It was obvious he was going to have to build new wings but he didn't even have anything to use as an accurate pattern, so he started from scratch. "I bought some wings off a wreck that needed spars and a bunch of the ribs rebuilt. These were truss type ribs, not stamped aluminum, and I knew I could make those fairly easily. What made building new wings an easy decision was that I had an extra set of brand new, PMA'd spar blanks, ready to be trimmed and drilled. "When I started on the wings I got a regular rib building routine go ing. There are fifteen ribs per wing and I'd do a wing a month, so I was actually moving fairly quickly." Most airplane spars are nothing but boards with bolt holes in the appropriate places. Taylorcraft spars, however, are a little more complicated. VINTAGE AIRPLANE
17
Back in the days before shielded plugs were widely available, "cans" such as these were used with unshielded plugs to minimize radio interference. These plug shields are pretty rare, and gath ering up a complete set of eight can be quite a challenge.
panel has a solid original feel, but has a few custom touches to suit Ron 's taste.
"A lot of the spar bolts in a T Craft go through big phenolic bushings that are pressed into the spar to help spread the load. I could n't find any new bushings, and those I had were burned. So, once again, we had to make the parts. I used most of the steel fittings off the original wings, but the aileron hinges came off the lawn-dart wings. "The fire also warped the original wing struts, so I had to make a new set. I got some strut blanks from Univair. I cut them and in about a week had the ends done and ready to have an approved welding shop TIG them together for me. "Incidentally," he says with a grin, "rebuilding a burned airplane isn't something I'd do again, and it's defi nitely not something I recommend." Although the fuselage is largely steel, that doesn't mean a fire does 18
JUNE 2003
n't wreak havoc w ith everything around it. "All of the aluminum on the air plane was crystallized, warped, or melted. I suppose I could have pur chased some of the sheet metal parts and saved myself a lot of time, but I needed therapy, so I built it all, ex cept the nose bowl. I rolled most of it, but the bottom windshield lip was made out of dead-soft alu minum and I stretch formed that." Obviously, the fire eliminated the interior altogether and charred the floorboards, so everything inside had to be new. "Most of the interior is a light tan aircraft wool fabric over a thin foam which is attached to plastic or alu minum backing. The baggage compartment and seat sling came from AirTex. For the seats, side panels, and glare shield I picked out the mate-
rial and had an aircraft shop do the stitching and I did the installation." Originality is fine, but for an air plane to be usable tOday, the restorer has to deviate once in a while, and this is usually in the area of radios and electrical systems. However, in Hoffmeyer's airplane, the deviations are hardly noticeable. "The original Taylorcraft battery box is mounted ahead of the seats. It is just the right size to mount a 12 volt motorcycle battery. I use this to drive the nav lights and using an adapter, it also powers my handheld radio and GPS. I didn't try to put one of the old wind-driven generators on it because they slow you down about 5 mph in cruise. I just attach a trickle charge to the battery when we're not flying, which works fine. "The original instrument panel was also fire damaged, so I found a beat-up instrument panel and welded patches in all the big holes. Then, I made up glove box doors in wood that matches the new floor boards." It goes without saying that the original instruments were totally
Ron Hoffmeyer's sons, David and Paul , cruise along in their dad's resur rected Taylorcraft.
cooked in the fire, so Ron had to do some high-end scrounging to fill the panel he had just made. "I collected instruments for some thing like six years trying to get the right mix. The oil temp is an origi nal with the Taylorcraft logo and the oil pressure gauge, mag switch, and airspeed are correct for the year of airplane. I used a newer tachometer that has an hour meter in it and went to a three-pointer altimeter, which needs to be really short in length to clear the fuel tank. In gen eral, I think the panel has the right look to it." "We finished the first Taylorcraft in dope, but this time we went with Ceconite and SuperFlite's System 6 with urethane on top of that. liThe paint scheme isn't original, but then, we weren't trying to build an original airplane. We just wanted something that made us happy. For that reason, when we did the interior, we styled it to match the outside. "I also added a skylight, which was done on a field approval. This adds a lot of brightness to the inside and im proves visibility in turns. No part of the airplane escaped the fire, which was constantly causing headaches right down to the wheels. liThe tires had burned hot enough that they actually melted the hubs, and I had to find another set of origi
nal wheels and brakes. I was just glad the wheels weren't fused to the axles." As Ron began working ahead of the firewall, he found challenges that were even bigger than those be hind it. liThe cowling was hard, but the aluminum heat shroud was the sin gle hardest piece of the project . It's formed in two pieces that were prob ably originally stamped at the factory. I couldn't stamp them, so I made a mold and formed the two halves into it. They came out look ing good and the heater works great. The shroud alone took two months. Although I'm an A & P, you really can't do an airplane like this without friends , and I had a couple of the best. I built up both the engine and the wings at a friend's house. John Yost was not only my A.I. but also a friend and teacher. He watched over and guided me every step of the way. Unfortunately, he suffered a fatal heart attack and never got to see the airplane finished." "We started out with a pretty good engine, but I went with a freshly overhauled crankshaft and cam because I was planning on tak ing this airplane on a lot of cross countries. In fact, by the time we got to Sun 'n Fun, which is a pretty long cross country in a Taylorcraft, we had only fifteen hours on the en II
gine. Four hours of the trip was in light snow, so we were sure glad to see the Florida sunshine." "John Frieling, another A.I. friend, had done a lot of Taylor crafts, and I went to him to help me with the covering and the paint. He was a huge he lp, and you learn so much faster when you're working with someone who has done it before. It's diffi cult to explain how much I learned from both John Yost and John Frieling. I would never be able to thank them enough." "When it came time to put a prop on the airplane I went with my heart, not my head. I knew a metal prop would give me more rpm and more performance, but it just wouldn't feel right. So, I got a beautiful Sensenich wood prop . It's so beautiful that my wife made me a prop cover for it to protect it when at fly-ins." liThe airplane spent five and a half years in my garage. Some days I'd make a lot of progress. Some days none. But I kept hacking at it and it was the best therapy I could have found. Ron did the first flight on the air plane and reports that it was nearly perfect with the wing rigging being almost right on . After getting back from Sun 'n fun, he did tweak one wing, but that was it. The little air plane accumulated 25 hours of flight time going to and from Lakeland. liThe little airplane cruises an honest 95 -100 mph, which isn't bad for 65 hp and less than four gallons an hour. "I was pushing hard to get the air plane ready to take to Sun 'Fun 2003 and barely made it. However, the air plane has been absolutely trouble free almost from the first time we fired it up. I flew it a few hours, and then we were ready to head south and escape what had been a bad winter. We'd earned a little sunshine." Is he done restoring airplanes? Hardly. He says, "I think I'd like to find an L-2M and restore it into its original military configuration." It looks as if Taylorcrafts have a way of becoming an addiction .. . . . VINTAGE AIRPLANE
19
All sizes in inches unless otherwise noted. Fabricate from drawing dimensions drawings not to scale.
Tiedowns have always elicited a bunch of opinions, and one of my favorites is a compact set of tiedowns that Joe Dickey built up to secure his Aeronca Champ. Joe uses them to supplement "perma nent" tied owns at airports other than his home field, and as a sole means of constraint when he is at a fly-in. He has had good success with them, having never had them pulled out of the ground or breaking. The same can't be said for the "dog anchor" types of tied owns, which have opened up and broken while Joe was tied down at a fly-in . (Remember the "big blow" at EAA Oshkosh '82?) The set pictured in the doodles on these pages have been used suc cessfully in both rocky and loamy soil, and have proven to be very damage resistant. Small rocks are pushed aside, and impacting larger rocks or boulders results in a re sounding "ring" when the rod is struck by the hammer. When that happens, just move the tiedown. A few whacks with the hammer will straighten the steel stake out. Just follow the dimensions shown on the drawings, and remember to always tie your light plane down it helps when someone decides to run up a helicopter, jet or even an other prop driven airplane with the wind blast pointed right at your pride and joy. Having your tail surfaces strained through a chain link fence will ruin a per fectly good summer, not to mention your checkbook!
A GOOD HAMMER
AIRPLANES WITH WELDED ON TIEooWN RINGS
TIEDOWN BASE PLATES
(MAKE FROM 1/ 8 STEEL)
WI NG PLATE - 2 REQ.
7 /8 OR TO FIT } FOR 3 / 8 13/ 32 DIA. (2) " U" BOLT
TAKE ROPE THROUGH RING , AROUND STRUT AND BACK. USE RING ONLY TO KEEP ROPE FROM SLIPPING DOWN.
ANCHOR PINS - 8 REQ.
-
MACHINIST'S MALLET WITH ONE PLASTIC HEAD AND ONE STEEL HEAD. DOESN'T WEIGH MUCH.
DRIVES T1EDOWN PINS, PLASTIC TENT STAKES, AND THOSE WHO IGNORE " PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH " SIGNS.
~--'--'-L......L- MAKE FROM 1 / 4 ~
STEEL ROD
SETTING ANCHORS
....,.."-t-f'-f............ THREAD TOP TO
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TAIL PLATE - 1 REQ. 1 / 32 DIA. (2) C()
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OR TO FIT
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SUIT HARDWARE USED. RUN BOT足 TOM NUT SNUG TO BOnOM OF THREADS . ADD WASHER (NEEDED TO PULL PIN) AND TIGHTEN TOP NUT. PEEN OVER TO
LOCK.
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TO REMOVE PINS
BASE PLATE ASSEMBLY USE HAMMER HANDLE TO GRIP SLIP LOOP UNDER WASHER . 450 LB. TEST NYLON CORD WORKS WELL. USE ONE FOOT TO HOLD BASEPLATE DOWN , PULL STRAIGHT IN LINE WITH PIN .
IMPORTANT: BASE PLATE /
TIGHTEN NUTS PEEN OVER TO LOCK
THIS IS A MODIFICATION OF JOE' S ORIGINAL DESIGN BY BION MCPEAK - ELIM INATE THE " u " BOLT, AND ON A NEW SET OF BASE PLATES, CAREFULLY RAD IUS THE ~~~ NEW HOLE FOR THE ROPE TO PREVENT CHAFING. THE HOLE SHOU LD BE A TIGHT FIT FOR THE ROPE . KNOT THE ROPE AS SHOWN ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE BASEPLATE. MELT OR GLUE THE KNOT TO BE SURE IT WILL NOT COME UNDONE. THIS BASEPLATE IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE WITH POLYETHYLENE ROPE .
SPREAD TIEDOWNS SO PULL IS NOT STRAIGHT UP! YOU ' LL NEED LONGER ROPES, BUT ANGLING THE TIEDOWN POINTS WILL INCREASE THEIR RESISTANCE TO BEING PULLED OUT OF THE GROUND .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE
21
THE VINTAGE INST UCTOR
Taildraggers
,'W
ould you want to fly a Ford Tri-Motor, if you had the chance?" Sue Strehlow, NAFI pro gram administrator, asked, gently nudging me in the ribs, while her eyes twinkled even more brightly than they normally do. My answer had something to do with what bears do in the proverbial woods. It was opening day of AirVenture 2002, and I had just been made an offer I couldn't refuse. The reason I instruct in taildraggers is because I love flying them so much. And now the opportunity to fly one of the 22
JUNE 2003
DOUG STEWART
NAFI MASTER INSTRUCTOR
greatest taildraggers of all time had just become mine. Do they call this pig heaven? At the appointed hour I boarded the shuttle van near the tower and rode out to runway 09. We waited in the van as that beautiful corru gated airplane (beauty is in the eye of the beholder) taxied off the run way and onto the grass. It was only as it got on the grass that the gear struts finally started to compress, and as the 3-foot-thick wing gave up the lift it was still generating. After the wonderful rumble of three round Pratt & Whitney R 985 450-hp engines quieted from
three to two, the passengers on the Ford airplane deplaned as we climbed out of the Ford van. I was the first of our group to board, and I quickly went uphill to the cockpit. Sitting in the left front seat was Sean Elliott, not only pres ident of NAFI but also EAA's director of aircraft operations. He had been my ticket to the right front seat, which I now settled into. Hanging my elbow out the open window to my right (hey, this wasn't too unlike my Super Cruiser), I was in awe as I took in the sights and smells of this his toric airplane.
Once the remaining nine pas sengers were boarded, Sean fired up the right engine and called for taxi. We taxied to runway 09 and awaited takeoff clearance. Getting that, we pulled out onto the run way and applied takeoff power. It seemed that as soon as the throt tles were all the way forward, Sean was pushing forward on the wheel (it is a wheel-a huge wooden steering wheel, also found on Ford Model Ts!) and the tail was up in the air. With a short takeoff roll of less than 700 feet, we were up in the air. This old bird just wanted to fly! I'm talking about the airplane, not me. We climbed out towards Lake Winnebago, and Sean leveled off at 1,000 feet AGL. Accelerating to 90 mph indicated, he set the power and trimmed it up. Turning to wards me, he said, "You've got it." I had not expected to be flying this rare beast, let alone with a cabin full of paying passengers. "If it drops a wing, don't try to raise it with the aileron ... use your feet!" Sure enough, we hadn't flown very far when the right wing started to drop. As instructed, I let the wheel be, and applied pressure to the left rudder pedal. The rudder pedals in this huge taildragger are humon gous when compared to the small bars in my PA-12. And I quickly re alized why. This was going to take a little more than some ankle de flection. In fact it took the strength of my entire leg to push hard enough on the rudder pedal to pick the wing up. And Sean had said, use my feet ... hah, by the time we were lining up back on fi nal, my thighs were starting to ache. (And I ride a bicycle regu larly.) Take a look at Sean's thighs; he could pass for an Olympic sprinter, and I think it's all from his Tri-Motor time. Hmmm. Use your feet! Which brings me to the point of this article. Which is what we learn when flying aircraft with the little wheel in the back. Conventional geared, tailwheel, tail dragger ...
call them what you will, flying these aircraft will redefine what flying is all about for most pilots. We are going to have to use our feet when flying these airplanes. Not only in the air, but more im portantly, on the ground.
Conventional geared, tailwheel, taildragger . call them what you will, flying these aircraft will redefine what flying is all about for most pilots. It is said that when "flying" a tailwheel airplane, you're not done flying until the engine is shut down and the tiedown ropes are attached. The most important lessons to be learned when oper ating a taildragger are those lessons learned on the ground. Es pecially when the wind is blowing. A tail wheel airplane has its center of gravity located be hind the main gear. When conducting ground oper ations-most notably when rolling out during landing, but at all times, even when taxiing slowly whenever there is any sideload, such as when there is a crosswind, this rearward CG will aid and abet that side force in trying to make the tail swap ends with the nose. This is avoided by deft use of
our feet, applying opposite rudder to direction of swing, to keep the aircraft tracking straight. Once that tail starts swinging, it gets harder and harder to stop. If the pilot does not react quickly enough, the rudder will become ineffective, and they will need to use some brake as well. And if not quick enough with the brake, the pilot will get to experience a ground loop. If the groundspeed is on the fast side when this happens one can expect to damage the air frame, and perhaps the landing gear as well. The other place we get to use our feet in most tail wheel aircraft is in coordinating our turns. The ailerons of most taildraggers are rather large. Whenever they are deflected, the drag they create results in adverse yaw that is much greater than that experienced in most tri-gear air craft. Therefore, whenever you roll into or out of a turn in a conven tional geared airplane, you will experience one heck of a slip unless you coordinate the turn with suffi cient rudder. The reasons that people elect to fly taildraggers are numerous, but all are valid. For some it affords the ability to fly low and slow, allow ing one to "smell the roses" so to speak. (Although, here in the dairy region of New England it isn't al ways roses one smells.) For others it is the only type of aircraft that can be used to access rough sur faced and/or remote runways. Still, for others it brings their mentality back to an earlier age of aviation when flying was not about ATC and GPS, autopilots and glass cock pits, TFRs and FARs, but about stick and rudder skills and being totally connected in a visceral way to the aircraft being flown. And for all it will mean using your feet! No matter what your reason ... learning to fly a tailwheel airplane will certainly improve your skills in any airplane that you fly, taking you another step from being more than just a good pilot, to being a GREAT pilot. ...... VINTAGE AIRPLANE
23
PASS
IT TO BUCK
BY E.E. "BUCK" HILBERT, EAA #21 VAA #5 P.O. Box 424, UN ION, IL 60180
Stowaways, Freeloaders, and Other Culprits ne day, more than a few years ago, Dorothy and I were puttin' along in our old 6SLA Chief when she tapped my shoulder and pOinted to the wing root. There, peering out at us was a cute, little brown and white mouse. How long the rascal had been there I don't know, but there it was, seemingly enjoying the ride. It would disappear for a while, show up again and seemed quite active. We delivered it to the AAA fly-in at Ottumwa. That was a long time ago. The mystery was, where did he come from, and how'd he get in? Fully aware that mice can be a problem, I tossed a supply of old fashioned mothballs back into the rear of the fuselage, and a few more under the seat sling. I don't believe that mouse had read the publication I had, which said mothballs were a deterrent to mice. The odor and the residue lin gered for a long, long time afterwards. We never uncovered the wing before we sold the air plane, so I didn't see any damage, just half a bushel of nesting mate rial-highly odiferous at that. Another time and many years later, I stopped off at a friend's hangar to visit. He was working on a Stearman project on one side of the hangar and had a Bonanza as his "go places" airplane on the other side. Something about the Bonanza caught my eye. There were cloves of garlic lying atop the tires, and get this, fences of aluminum sheet
O
24
JUNE 2003
circling each of the tires. He had actually built a circular barrier, about six inches or more high around each wheel. When asked, he dropped a few expletives about mice, and how he'd had a problem with them get ting into the upholstery; this was his method to prevent a reoccur rence. Did it work? I don't know, but I've never seen anyone do any thing like it since. We've also heard that dryer sheets, the kind that are supposed to make your clot h es soft, repel the four-legged critters. Anyone have experience with that? Another airplane, this time a Stinson L-SE we brought home to Illinois from Denver. After we got it home, we decided to do an an nual. Again, the remnants of a hitchhiking mouse, maybe a whole family of them. We must have pulled two bushel baskets of nest and debris out of the left wing. Now this is a wood wing, and the stains and the odors were there to the day we sold the airplane. These invasio n s seem to be pretty prevalent. I don't know what the antidote really is, but it's a recurring problem here in the midwestern part of the country. I'm working on a pair of Champ wings. These guys had been hang ing on a dirt floor h angar wall for several years. (Our Champ is get ting pretty tired and is almost, but not quite because we like to fly, ready for another restoration.) Any way, I saw these wings, and thought that maybe I could get a little ahead of the restoration game by redoing
them, and have them ready to bolt on when we did the restoration. I talked to the owner, and we struck a deal. A week or so later we picked them up, along with some rusty but restorable tail feathers and some other little items. We opened them up and there they were! Mouse nests and rem nants, mud-daubed wasp nests , spiders, and who knows how many other little buggers who had built themselves a real comfortable condo site. We even found some nutshells that ground squirrels had put there. Now how did these guys get up a sheer wall maybe five or six feet above the floor? I sure don't know, but the evidence was sure there. It was a below freezing day when we brought them into the heated hangar and it sure wasn't long be fore we knew we had to do something. The odor was terrific! We lucked out, though; there must have been an adequate food supply 'cause they didn 't gnaw on the spars . The woodwork was in tact and aside from being dirt encrusted, it is in good shape. Our editor, H.G., can relate his tale of woe as to how his Chief spars were just ravaged by these little guys gnawing on them. Ask him about it and then get the crying towel handy. (Amen. Boo Hoo! - HGF) It isn't just the wood and fabric machines these hitchhikers are apt to get into. Just the other day, do ing an annual on a Cessna 120, there was a huge collection of mouse nest and dirt under the floor in the gearbox area. I've seen
residue in Mooneys, Piper Chero kees, Howard DGAs Stearmans . You name it. It is a problem. How do we keep them out? How do we get rid of them if they're in? You can't just poison them; then they die in the nests or in the uphol stery and create a very unpleasant stink. You can shake the wing, blow compressed air at them, maybe even chase them out, but they're back again, because this is their home. My theory is prevention. I took a tip from a farm neighbor. When he plants his corn crop, he'll put out a sacrificial token. Every thirty feet or so he'll toss out an ear of corn. This is easy pickings for ma rauders like the crows and ground sqUirrels, and they ' ll go for the easy ears and not bother the plant
ings. I thought this was really clever, and decided maybe it ' d work for hangar prevention, too. So I went to the local hardware store years ago and purchased one of those live traps. It's a two-door job where they can get in, but can't get out. I bait it with cat food or birdseed, sit back and wait. About every four of five days I take the trap, and if there are some, I dump the mice into a bucket of water, re bait the trap, and do it again. I guess I'm lucky, as I haven't had an intrusion of these critters in any of my airplanes for several years now. Sometimes I run out of mice, too. Just last week, and I must admit I hadn't looked at the trap for several weeks, maybe months, and there were the remains of seven mice and
one very live one in the trap. What prompted this check was the Cessna 120 I mentioned earlier. Another preventive measure . Don't leave anything in the air plane that might be used for nesting material. They love paper towels, rags, (They don't seem to bother sectionals, maybe it's the government red tape!), and what ever you do, don't leave anything edible in any compartment. That is an open invitation to a critter smorgasbord. So far, I've been lucky. I would like to hear from any of you, victims or not, as to how and what you have experienced, and what action you are taking or contemplating. And with that, it's over to you, If
(( -;BtJ.ck
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE
25
NEW MEMBERS
Wayne Ouellette ..........Utopia, ON, Canada
John Froelich ........Petersfield, Hampshire, UK
Richard A. Pulley ..............Anchorage, AK
Scott Haggenmacher ............Jonesboro, AR
Jeffrey D. Cannon ................Ventura, CA
Larry Feuerhelm ..............Agua Dulce, CA
Dave Garland .....................Davis, CA
J. William Gotcher ..............Hayward, CA
Elmer William Knobloch ...........Lincoln, CA
Marty Noonan ...............Long Beach, CA
Lance Schaus .................South Gate, CA
Gary Suozzi ....................Oak Park, CA
James M. Thomas .............Watsonville, CA
Tom Broadbent ............Pagosa Springs, CO
Robert D. Tofsrud ................Clifton, CO
Ian A. Wayman ..................Peyton, CO
Stephen M. Kelly .............Stoneington, CT
George Byrd ....................Dunedin, FL
David McFarland ..............Juno Beach, FL
Jorge Neumann ..................Sarasota, FL
Mark Peck ..............Altamount Spring, FL
Carmen D. Pena ..................Naples, FL
Eric Pinon ..................... Ft. Pierce, FL
Thomas M. Shelton .........Boynton Beach, FL
Fred Rascoe ................Lawrenceville, GA
Robert W. Turner .................Brooks, GA
Michael Tindall ..............Webster City, IA
James Auman ...................Sycamore, IL
Douglas A. Engel ................Naperville, IL
Mathew L. Hunsaker ............Carbondale, IL
David J. Mayer ................. .Ingleside, IL
Thomas M. Peterson ..............Rockton, IL
Don A. pfeiffer ...............Poplar Grove, IL
Terry L. Burger ....................Salina, KS
Bruce L. Miles ...............Smith Center, KS
William K. Ortigo ................Pineville, LA
Margaret Ortigo .................Pineville, LA
John Ortigo ....................Pineville, LA
George Frederick Waters .........Westboro, MA
26
JUNE 2003
Fred L. Day .................East Baldwin, ME
Ben Ennenga ...............Grand Haven, MI
Richard Janke .........Commerce Township, MI
Philip Mintari .................Davisburg, MI
Jeremy Winsor .................Houghton, MI
Gary M. Granfors .................Tower, MN
John L. Wells ...............Minneapolis, MN
Kenneth Doyle ...............Springfield, MO
Stephen C. Thayer .............High Point, NC
Dana Cornelius ..................Madrid, NE
Tom Wieduwilt ..................Omaha, NE
John R. Stahl .....................Weare, NH
David Blanche ..................Neptune, NJ
William G. Moore ...............Lebanon, NJ
Bart Voyce ...................Ledgewood, NJ
Alexander Cohen .............Long Beach, NY
George Donaldson ............Amsterdam, NY
Randy J. Barney ................Tipp City, OH
David S. Kroner ...............Rock Creek, OH
Donald E. Ross ............Oklahoma City, OK
John T. Bagg .....................Salem, OR
Kerry L. Hofsess .................Ashland, OR
Raymond J. Davidowski, Sr. Natrona Heights., PA
Raymond P. Davidowski, Jr. .Natrona Heights., PA
Berk B. Walker .................Morrisville, PA
Carl Eversole ...................Beaufort, SC
Mikell Van der Laan .........Goodlettsville, TN
Brian F. Burney .................Houston, TX
Evans Gauthier ................McKinney, TX
Robert Hickerson ............... .junction, TX
George Moore ....................Spring, TX
David Zimmerman ................Austin, TX
Richard Hutton .............Charlottesville, VA
James Bavendam ............Mercer Island, WA
Gary Eklund ....................Sequim, WA
Jeff Stefanski .................... .Lacey, WA
Gerald E. Gutzmann ......Menomenee Falls, WI
David A. Williams .............Whitewater, WI
EAA FLY-IN SCHEDULE 2003
FLY-IN CALENDAR
• Golden West EAA Regional Fly-In
June 20-22, Marysville, CA (MYV) www.go/denwest{lyin.org • EAA Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In
June 28-29, Longmont, CO (2V2) www.rmrfi·org • Northwest EAA Fly-In
July 9-13, Arlington, WA (AWO) www.nweaa.org • EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
July 29-August 4, Oshkosh, WI (OSH) www.airventure.org • EAA Mid-Eastern Fly-In
The following list of coming events is furnished to our readers as a matter of informa tion only and does not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, control or direction of any event (fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. To submit an event, please log on to www.eaa.org/events/events.asp. Only if Internet access is unavailable should you send the information via mail to:, Att: Vintage Airplane, PO. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Information should be received four months prior to the event date.
August 22-24, Marion, OH (MNN) 440-352-1781 • EAA East Coast Fly-In
September 6-7, Toughkenamon, PA (N57) • Virginia State EAA Fly-In
September 20-21, Petersburg, VA (PTB) www.vaeaa.org • EAA Southeast Regional Fly-In October 3-5, Evergreen, AL (GZH)
www.serfi·org
JUNE I3-IS-Gainesville, TX-41st An nual Fly-In, Texas Ch. of the Antique Airplane Assn, Gainesville Municipal Airport (GLE), $5/person, $10/family. Camping or hotels. Info: 940-482 6175 or aeronca@gte.net JUNE I4-IS-Rutland, VT-13th Annual Taildraggers Rendezvous Fly-In Break fast, Rutland State Airport. Info:
802-235-2808, vt{lyer@vermontel.net JUNE I4-IS-Toledo, OH-EAA Ch . 582 Fly-In, Metcalf Field (TDZ). Pull-A Plane contest, Young Eagles, food, aircraft and auto displays. 9am-5pm. Info: John 419-666-0503 or
www.eaa582.org JUNE I4-IS-Somerset, PA-Somerset Aero Club's 61st Annual Fly-In Break fast on Father's Day Weekend, Somerset County Airport (2G9). PIC eat Free at Sunday Breakfast. Vintage, US Military planes on display and fly ing. Antique, classic, and new autos. Info: 814-754-50250r
georgegt@juno.com JUNE IS-Ghent, NY-EAA Ch. 146 Summer Fly-In Pancake Breakfast, Klinekill Airport (NY1), Route 21 B. 8:30-noon. (Gas available at Columbia County Airport, IB1.) 518-758-6355, web: www.eaa146.org JUNE I8-2I-Lock Haven, PA-Senti mental Journey '03, William T. Piper Memorial -Airport. Info: 570-893-4200 or www.sentimentaljoumeyfly-in.com JUNE I9-22-St. Louis, MO-American Waco Club, Inc. Fly-In, Dauster Flying Field, Creve Coeur. Info: Phil 269-624 6490. Web www.americanwacoc/ub.com JUNE 2I-Zanesville, OH-EAA Ch . 425 Pancake Breakfast Fly-In/Drive-In, Riverside Airport, 8-11am. Hog Roast for lunch 11am-2pm. Info: 740-454 0003 JUNE 2I-22-Howell, MI-4th Annual Great Lakes Fly-In, Livingston County Airport (OXW). Hands-on workshops, seminars, and more. Info: 517-223
3233, www.greatlakesflyin.org JUNE 22-Niles, MI-EAA Ch. 865 An nual Fly-In Breakfast, Tyler Mem orial Airport (3TR), 7-noon at Ch. Hangar. Info: 269-684-0972 or E-mail:
eaachapter865@msn.com
JUNE 28--Prosser, WA-EAA Ch. 391 Fly In Breakfast. Info: 509-735-1664 JUNE 28--Quincy, CA- 6th Annual An tique Wings & Wheels, Pre 1950 aircraft & automobiles, 8am-3pm, Gansner Field (201). Info: 530-283 4312 or alhansen@jps.net JULY I2-Toughkenamon, PA-EAA Ch. 240 Fly-In/Drive-In Pancake Breakfast & Lunch, New Garden Airport (N57). 8a.m.-2p.m. Young Eagles Flights. Info: 215-761-3191 or EAA240.org JULY I2-Gainesville, GA-EAA Ch . 611 35 th Annual Cracker Fly-In (GVL), 7:30 Pancake Breakfast. Judging in 9 cate gories, awards, rides, food & drinks. All day fun for the family. Info: 770-531 0291 or www.eaa611.com JULY I 7-20-Dayton, OH-Vectren Day ton Air Show, Dayton Int'l airport. Info: 937-898-5901 or www.daytol1airshow.com JULY I9-Zanesville, OH-EAA Ch. 425 Pancake Breakfast Fly-In/Drive-In, Parr Airport, 8am-2pm. Lunch also avail able. Info: 740-454-0003 AUGUST I-Oshkosh, WI-Bellanca Champion Club Banquet, 6 pm at Hilton Gardens. Tickets ava ilable in late April, $27 including dinner. Info: 518-731-6800 or www.bellanca-cl7ampionc/ub.com AUGUST 8-I O-Alliance, OH-5th An nual Ohio Aeronca Avia tors Fly-In, Alliance Barber Airport (2D l ) Info: Brian
216-932-3475, bwmatzllac@yal7oo.com, or www.oaafly-in.com AUGUST 9-Toughkenamon, PA-EAA Ch. 240 Fly-In/Drive-In Pancake Break fast & Lunch, New Garden Airport (N57). 8a.m.-2p.m. Young Eagles Flights. Info: 215-761-3191 or EAA240.org AUGUST IO-Queen City, MO-15th Annual Watermelon Fly-In & BBQ, Ap plegate Airport, 2pm-dark. Info: 660-766-2644 AUGUST I~adillac , MI-EAA Ch . 678 Fly- In /Drive-In Breakfast, Wex ford Cty Airport. 7:30-11 a.m. Info: 231-779-8113 AUGUST I 7-Broo kfield, WI-VAA Ch. 11, 19th Annual Vintage Aircraft Dis play and Ice Cream Social, Capitol Airport. Noon-5 . Info: George 414-962 2428 or Capitol Airport 262-781-8132
• Copperstate EAA Fly-In
October 9-12, Phoenix, AZ (A39) www.copperstate.org
EAA's Countdown to Kitty Hawk Touring
Pavilion presented by Ford Motor Company Key Venues in 2003 •June 13-16 - Ford Motor Company's lOOth Anniversary Celebration, Dearborn, MI •July 4-20 - Inventing Flight Celebration, Dayton,OH •July 29-Aug. 4 - EM AirVenture Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI • August 23-September 2 - Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA . December 13-17 - First Flight Centennial Celebration, Kitty Hawk, NC AUGUST 22-23-Coffeyville, KS-Funk Aircraft Owners Association 26th An nual Fly-In and Reunion . Info: 302-674-5350 AUGUST 22-24--Sussex, NJ-Sussex Airshow. Experimentals, ultralights, classics, warbirds, top performers, celebrate the history of flight. Info: 973-875-0783 or www.sl.lssexairshowinc.com AUGUST 29-3I -Saranac Lake, NY-Cen tennial of Flight Celebration Air Show.
www.saranaclake.com/airport.sl7tml AUGUST 30-Zanesville, OH-EAA Ch. 425 Pancake Breakfast Fly-In/Drive-In, Riverside Airport, 8am-2pm. Lunch also available. Info: 740-454-0003 AUGUST 30-Prosser, WA-EAA Ch. 391 20th Annual Labor Day Weekend Prosser Fly-In. Info: 509-735-1664 AUGUST 30 --Marion, IN--13th Annual FlylIn Cruise/ In Pancake Brea kfast. Marion Municipal Airport (MZZ). Features Antique, ClaSSiC, Homebuilt, and Warbird aircraft, as well as vin tage vehicles. Info: Ray 765-664-2588 or www.FlylnCruiseln.com AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER I -Cleve land, OH-Cleveland Nat'l Air Show. Info: 216-781-0747 or
www.c1evelandairsl7ow.com continued on the next page VINTAGE AIRPLANE
27
FLY-IN CALENDAR CONTINUED
-
Workshop Schedule
••
•
Aircraft CooUng.
www.polyfiber.com
www.aircrafts pruce.com
June 21-22.2003 Frederick. MD SHEET METAL BASICS COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS & AVIONICS GAS WELDING June 27-29. 2003 Griffin (Atlanta). GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING Aug 23. 2003
Arlington. WA TEST FLYING YOUR PROJECT
Aug 23-24. 2003 Arlington. WA SHEET METAL BASICS COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS &AVIONICS Sept 5-7. 2003
Griffin (Atlanta). GA TIG WELDING
Sept 12-14. 2003 Corona. CA RVASSEMBLY
1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746 sportair@eaa.org
Sept 20-21 .2003 Denver. CO SHEET METAL BASICS COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS &AVIONICS INTRO TO AIRCRAFT BUILDING
Visit www.sportair.com Sept 26-28. 2003 Griffin (Atlanta). GA RVASSEMBLY for a complete listing of workshops. 28
JUNE 2003
SEPTEMBER 13-14--Rock Falls, IL North Central EAA "Old Fashioned" Fly-In, Whiteside County Airport (SQI). Forums, workshops, fly-mar ket, camping, air rally, awards, food & exhibitors, Sunday pancake break fast. Info: 630-543-6743 or www.nceaa .org SEPTEMBER 13-14--Bayport, NY 40th Annual Fly-In of the Antique Airplane Club of Greater New York, Brookhaven Calabro Airport. Display of vintage and homebuilt aircraft, awards, flea market, hangar party. Info: 631-589-0374 SEPTEMBER 19-20-Bartlesville, OK-47th Annual Tulsa Regional Fly In. Info: Charlie Harris 918-665-0755, Fax 918-665-0039, www.tulsaf/yin.com SEPTEMBER 21-Simsbury, CT-An nual Fly-In, Simsbury Airport (4BO), 8 am-5 pm. Info: wdthomas@snet.net SEPTEMBER 26-28-Pottstown, PA Bellanca-Champion Club East Coast Fly-In at Pottstown Municipal Air port (N47). Info: 518-731-6800 or www.bellanca-championcJub.com SEPTEMBER 27-28-Midland, TX Fina-CAF AIRSHO 2003, Midland Int'l Airport. Info: 915-563-1000, www.airsho.org SEPTEMBER 27-Hanover, IN-An nual Wood, Fabric, & Tailwheels Fly-In, Lee Bottom Flying Field. Re laxed atmosphere, legendary "Cajun Avgas" (15 Bean Chili). May arrive the night before to share fireside fly ing stories and enjoy Dawn Patrol. Rain date 9/28/03. Info: 812-866 3211 or If/tsOldlllFlyIt@msn.com SEPTEMBER 28-Ghent, NY-EAA Ch. 146 Fall Fly-In Pancake Breakfast, Klinekill Airport (NY 1), Ro ute 21B. 8:30-noon. (Gas available at Colum bia County Airport, IB1.) 518-758-6355, web: www.eaa146.org OCTOBER 4-5-Rutland, VT-13th Annual Leafpeepers Fly-In Breakfast, Rutland State Airport . Info: 802-235 2808, vt(lyerCiVvermontel.net OCTOBER 15-19-Tullahoma, TN Beech Party 2003 "A Celebration" Tullahoma Regional Airport. Safety & Formation Flying School 10/17/03. Awards, BBQ, kids hayride, ladies fashion show, pilots maintenance/safety seminars and much more. Info: 931-455-1974 or www.staggerwing.com OCTOBER 25-26-Royal Newcastle Aero Club, Maitland, New South Wa les-The Great Tiger Moth Air Race 2003 . Info: 02-9328-2480 e mail: {iona.c.conslliting@bigpond.com
MYSTERY PLANE CONTINUED FROM PAGE
5
tration letters under the port wing and possibly a vestigial N number under the tailplane. Could this be NC191M (ex G ADWW) before the original open cockpit was enclosed and faired with a raised decking back to the fin? Im ported into the United States to Hyattsville, Maryland, in 1936, she came to grief at Palm Beach, Florida, in 1959. Mike Vaisey Little Gransden Airfield Nr. Cambridge, England From one of our most experienced members, we have this recollection: The March Mystery Plane is the Miles M-5 Sparrowhawk. Built in Great Britain by Phillips and Powis Aircraft, it partici pated in the King's Cup race in the '30s. It was a smaller version of the well known Miles Hawk and was powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major of 130 hp. Registered as NC-191M, it was the former G-ADWW under British registry. I first saw this aircraft at the old Queen's Chapel Airport in Washington, D.C., in the late '30s, where it was un dergoing restoration. In the summer of 1946 it was sold by Perry Boswell to Carl Conrad of Romney, West Virginia, who hangared it at Baker's Air Park in Burlington, West Virginia. It was later stored at the nearby Keyser, West Vir ginia, airport. In the early '50s it was resold to Boswell and wound up in southern Florida. It was later reported to have crashed while being flown by an other pilot who suffered fatal injuries, and the aircraft was destroyed. I first flew the Sparrowhawk in Sep tember 1946 while employed at Baker's Air Park, and during the next three years I made about 30 additional flights in it. Most were of short duration, with a few aerobatic demonstrations at local air shows and fly-ins. We had a Waco UEC at Burlington for passenger hops and an occasional charter trip. In May 1947 we were in need of engine parts for the Waco, which were located in Springfield, Mass achusetts. I flew to Springfield in the Sparrowhawk, picked up the parts, and
VINTAGE
TRADER
Something to buy, sell or trade? Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum, with bold face lead-in on first line. Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2.167 inches) by I, 2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black an d wh ite only, and no frequency discounts. Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of sec ond month prior to desired issue date (i.e., January 10 is the closing date for the March issue). VAA reserves the right to re ject any advertising in conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion per is sue. Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must accompany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426 4828) or e-mail (classads@eaa.org) using credit card payment (all cards accepted). Include name on card, complete address, type of card, card number, and expiration date . Make checks payable to EAA. Ad dress advertising correspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. BABBITT BEARING SERVICE - rod bearings, main bearings, bushings, master rods, valves, pis ton rings Call us Toll Free 1-800-233-6934, e-mail ramremfg@aol.com Web site www.ramengine.com VINTAGE ENGINE MAC HINE WORKS , N. 604 FREYA ST., SPOKANE, WA 99202. A irplane T-Shirts
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www.aviation-giftshop.com A Web Site With The Pilot In Mind (and those who love airplanes) For sale, reluctantly: Warner 145 & 165 engines. 1 each, new OH and low time. No tire kickers, please. Two Curtiss Reed props to go with above engines. 1966 Helton Lark 95, Serial #8. Very rare, PO-8 certified Target Drone derivative. Tri-gear Culver Cade\. See Juptner's Vol. 8-170. Total time A&E 845 hrs. I just have too many toys and I'm not get ting any younger. Find my name in the Officers & Directors listing of Vintage and e-mail or call evenings. E. E. "Buck" Hilbert Flying wires available. 1994 pricing. Visit www.f/yingwires.com or call 800-517-9278.
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Aviation Art favorites: WW-I, Golden Age, WW-II to present. www.MotorArtWorks.com For Sale - 1939 Spartan Executive, 35OOTT, 10 SMOH. 214-354-6418. For Sale-One pair of ORIGINAL Curtiss Jenny (IN-4) wheels. Nice original condi tion. These wheels were stored in wooden crate in a barn for over 80 years. Pictures are available via e-mail. Best Reasonable offer will be accepted! Call 610-861-4406, ask for Chuck.
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE
29
Membership Services Directo~y_ VINTAGE
AIRCRAFT ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND THE EAA VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION
~
EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086
OFFICERS President Espie 'Butch' Joyce 704 N. Regional Rd. Greensboro, NC 27425 336-668-3650 windsock@aol.com Secretary
Steve Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Lea, MN 56007 507-373-1674
stnes@deskmedia.com
Vice-President
George Daubner 2448 Lough Lane Hartford, WI 53027 262-673-5885 vaaflyboy@msn.com
Treasurer Charles W. Harris 7215 East 46th 51. Tulsa, OK 74147 918·622-8400
cwh@hv5u.com
DIRECTORS Steve Bender 85 Brush Hill Road Sherborn, MA 01770 508-653-7557
sst lOO@worldnet.att.net
Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hills Dr. Indianapolis, IN 46278 317·293-4430 dalefaye@msn.com
David Bennett P.O. Box 1188 Roseville, CA 95678 916-645·6926
Jeannie Hill P.O. Box 328
Harvard, IL 60033-0328
815·943-7205
antJquer@inreach.com
dinghao@owc,net
John Berendt
7645 Echo Point Rd.
Cannon Falls, MN 55009
507-263-2414
fchld@rconnect.com
Steve Krog 1002 Heather Ln. Hartford, WI 53027 262-966-7627 sskrog@aol.com
Robert C. "Bob" Brauer
Robert D. "Bob" Lumley 1265 South 124th St. Brookfield, WI 53005 262-782-2633 lumper@execpc.com
9345 S. Hoyne Chlcago, IL 60620 773·779-2105 photopilot@aol.com
Gene Morris
Dave Clark 635 Vestal Lane Plainfield, IN 46168 317·839·4500 davecpct@iquest.net
5936 Steve Court Roanoke, TX 76262 817-491-9110
John S. Copeland lA Deacon Street Northborough, MA 01532 5OB-393-4775 copeland1@juno.com
1429 Kings Lynn Rd Stoughton, WI 53589 608-877-8485
Pltil Coulson
28415 Springbrook Dr.
Lawton, MJ 49065
269-624-6490
rcouisonSl6@c:s.com Roger Gomoll
8891 Airport Rd, Box C2
Blaine, MN 55449
763-786-3342
pledgedrive@msncom
n03capt@f1ash.net Dean Richardson
dar@aprilaire.com Geoff Robison
1521 E. MacGregor Dr.
New Haven, IN 46774
260-493-4724
chief702S@aol.com
S.H. II Wes" Sch mid 2359 Lefeber Avenue Wauwatosa, WI 53213 414-771-1545 shschmld@milwpc.com
DIRECTORS
EMERITUS
Gene Chase 2159 Carlton Rd. Oshkosh, WI 54904 920-231-5002
Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873
Web Site: http://www.eaa.org and http://www.airventure.org E-Mail: vintage @ eaa.org
E.E. "Buck" Hilbert P.O. Box 424 Unlon, IL 60180 815-923·459 1 buck7ac@mc.net
EAA and Division Membership Services 800-843-3612 ............ FAX 920-426-6761 Monday-Friday CSn (8:00 AM-7:oo PM • New/renew memberships: EAA, Divisions (Vintage Aircraft Association, lAC, Warbirds), National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI)
• Address changes • Merchandise sales • Gift memberships
Programs and Activities EAA AirVenture Fax-On-Demand Directory ........... . .............. 732-885-6711 Auto Fuel SICs ... ........... 920-426-4843 Build/ restore information ..... 920-426-4821 Chapters: locating/ organizing _. 920-426-4876 Education . .. _.. . .......... _920-426-6815 • EAA Air Academy • EAA Scholarships
Fligh t Advisors information . ... 920-426-6522 Flight Instructor information . . . 920-426-6801 Flying Start Program .. ....... . 920-426-6847 Library Services/ Research .. . ... 920-426-4848 Medical Quest ions. _....... . .. 920-426-4821 Technical Counselors ... ... _.. 920-426-4821 Young Eagles ................ 920-426-4831 Benefits AUA ................... . .. 800-727-3823 EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan ... 866-647-4322 Term Life and Accidental . ..... 800-241-6103 Death Insurance (Harvey Watt & Company) Editorial ....... _........... 920-426-4825 . .. ... .. . ... . .. .... .... FAX 920-426-4828 • Submitting article/ photo • Advertising information EAA Aviation Foundation Artifact Donations .. _...... . _920-426-4877 Financial Support .... . •. .... 800-236-1025
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
EAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associ ation, Inc. is $40 for one year, including 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. Family membership is available for an additional $10 annually. Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $23 annually. All major credit cards accepted for membership. (Add $16 for Foreign Postage.)
AVIATION magaZine not included). (A dd $15
for Foreign Postage_)
WARBIRDS
Current EAA members may join the EAA War birds of America Division and receive WARBlRDS magazine for an additional $40 per year. EAA Membership, WARBIRDS magaZine and one year membership in the Warbirds Divi VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION sion is available for $50 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (A dd $7 for Current EAA members may join the Vintage Foreign Postage_) Ai rcraft AS5ociaton and receive VINTAGE AIR PLANE magazine for an additional $36 per year. EAA Membership, VIN TA GE A IRPLANE EAA EXPERIMENTER magazine and one year membership in the EAA Current EAA members may receive EAA Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $46 EXPERIMENTER magazine for an additional per year (SPORT AVIATION magazi ne not in $20 per year. cluded). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage_) EAA Membership and EAA EXPERIMENTER magazine i5 avaiJable for $30 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (A dd $8 for . lAC Current EAA members may join the Interna tional Aerobatic Club, Inc. Division and receive SPORT AEROBA TICS magazine for an addi tional $45 per year. EAA Membership, SPORT AEROBA TICS magazine an d one year membership in the lAC DiviSion is available for $55 per year (SPORT
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_
Copyright ©2003 by Ihe EAA Vintage Aircra~ Association All rights reserved. VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) IPM 40032445 is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircra~ Association of the Experimental Aircra~ Association ane is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center. 3000 Poberezny Rd .• RO. Box 3086, Oshkosh. Wisconsin 54903-3086. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh. Wisconsin 54901 ane at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EAA Vintage Aircra~ Association. RO. Box 3OB6, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Return Canadian issues to Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow alleast two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APC addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken. EDITORIAL POLICY: Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No renumeration is made. Matenal should be sent to: Ed"or, VINTAGE AIRPLANE. RO. Box 3OB6. Oshkosh. WI 54903-3086. Phone 920/426-4800. EAA'" and SPORT AVIATION". the EAA Logo'" and Aeronautica N are registered trademarks. trademarks, and service marks of Ihe Experimental Aircra~ Association. Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited. The EAA AVIAnON FOUNDATION Logo is a trademark of !he EAA Aviation Founeation. Inc. The use of this trademark without the permission of the EAA Aviation Foundation. Inc. is strictly prohibited.
30
JUNE 2003
MYSTERY PLANE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE
Wit'll
•... ••
29
was back home by midday. This was a good demonstration of its cross-country capability. The Sparrowhawk was a fine aircraft, and it's too bad that it no longer exists. Clement H. Armstrong Rawlings, Maryland Alfred Fox Jr. had found the photo in some of his father's materials, and Alfred Sr. didn't recall what it was. Alfred Sr. has been actively flying since before the war, and is a veteran World War II pilot, who continues to fly a Kitfox. Other correct answers were received from the following members: Jan Christie, Holmen, Wisconsin; Russ Brown, Lyndhurst, Ohio; Re nald Fortier, Ottawa, Ontario; Mike Searle, Tucson, Arizona; Bill Pancake, Keyser, West Virginia (who used to taxi the airplane at the Keyser airport when he was a IS-year-old!); Rick Wery, Juneau, Alaska; Arnol Sellars, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Steve McGuire, Ponca City, Okla homa; Jim Strothers, Rancho Palos Verdes, California; Robert Byrd, San FranCiSCO, California; Bill Mette, Campell, California; Roy Cagle, Prescott, Arizona; Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Vicki Buttles, Placerville, California; Wayne Van Valkenburgh, Jasper, Geor gia; Thomas Lymburn; Princeton, Minnesota; John Erickson, State College, Pennsylvania; Theodore Wales, Westwood, Massachusetts; Frederick Blewitt, Youngstown, Ohio; Ted Stanfill, Alexandria, Vir ginia; Don DeGasperi, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Frank Garove, Baltimore, Maryland; David Money, Wellington, New Zealand.
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