VA-Vol-31-No-8-Aug-2003 by EAA Vintage Aircraft Association

AUGUST 2003

VOL. 31 , NO.8

VAA NEWS/H. G. Frautschy

JOHN MILLER RECALLS

My SECRET BARNSTORMING SYSTEM REVEALED

/John Miller

MYSTERY PLANE

THE LOCKHEED CONSTITUTION/Richard C. Hill

TYPE CLUB NOTES TAIL WHEEL SHIMMy/Gilbert Pierce

TYPE CLUB NOTES My THOUGHTS ON RADIAL ENGINES/Robert G . Lock

THE LUCKY CESSNA Russ FARRIS' 170B/ Budd Davisson

EAA AIRVENTURE MUSEUM HOSTS EXHIBIT OF CHARLES LINDBERGH'S LIFE/ Dick Knapinski

58 YEARS TOGETHER IN THE COCKPIT A WWII TRANSPORT CREW STICKS TOGETHER! H.G. Frautschy

TAILWHEEL TRANSITION TRAINING , PART 2 WHEEL LANDINGS, OR 101 WAYS TO START A RELIGIOUS WAR/ Donovan Hammer

THE VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR AFTER THE PROP STOPS/ Doug Stewart

PASS IT TO BUCK

CALENDAR

NEW MEMBERS

CLASSIFIED ADS

Publisher Editor-in-Chief Executive Editor News Editor Photography Staff Advertising Coordinator Advertising/Editorial Assistant Copy Editing

TOM POBEREZNY scon SPANGLER MIKE DIFRISCO RIC REYNOLDS JIM KOEPNICK LEEANN ABRAMS TRISHA LUNDQUIST JULIE RUSSO ISABELLE WISKE COLLEEN WALSH KATHLEEN WITMAN

~ V~~~-" INTAG-~ E A~~~-~~E IR PLA N ~------Executive Director, Editor VAA Administrative Assistant Contributing Editors GraphiC DeSigner

HENRY G. FRAUTSCHY THERESA BOOKS JOHN UNDERWOOD BUDD DAVISSON OLIVIA L. PHILLIP

Front Cover:

Look closely at the leading edge of the left wing of Russ Farris ' Cessna 170, and you 'll see evidence of why this airplane is one lucky taildrag足 ger. See Budd Davisson 's article beginning on page 14. EAA photo by LeeAnn Abrams, shot with a Canon EOSln. EAA photo plane flown by Walt Dorlac .

Back Cover:

Kendra Spak's mixed-media collage of artwork and artifacts is entitled "Women of the Air. " Kendra , who lives in the fly-in community located at Poplar Grove airport in Illinois, has been painting professionally for 20 years, and chose to highlight the careers of Matilde MOisant, pioneer aviator, Jesse Woods , wing wa lker, ferry pilot and flight instructor, Nancy Nesbit, one of the 1,830 young women trained to serve as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during WW-II, and Jerrie Mock, a housewife from Columbus, Ohio who became the first woman to fly solo around the world in her Cessna 180, the "Spirit of Columbus ." Kendra 's artwork was presented with an Excellence ribbon during the 2003 EAA Sport Aviation Art Competition .

STRAIGHT Be

LE EL

BY ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE PRESIDENT, VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

Preventing unnecessary expense Now that it's summer, many of us down here in the South now have to deal with the heat. While the high tem peratures are uncomfortable and we spend as much time wiping our fore heads as we do talking, some of our fellow members are dealing with some thing even more uncomfortable and difficult. The high water in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky has been flooding homes and businesses in the heart of the Midwest. Our hearts go out to them as they deal with the aftermath, spend ing their days cleaning out the mud and muck from their homes and belongings, Let's all hope for better weather in the weeks to come, On the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh front, we do expect a large turnout of antique aircraft this year. We'll be re porting on these great airplanes in future issues of Vintage Airplane, We've heard from many folks who want to be sure to attend EAA AirVenture to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight, and if you're one of those new members attending the convention who- are reading this col umn for the first time, I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Vintage Aircraft Association, and to encourage you to stop by the Red Barn and say "hi," Also, feel free to stop any of the directors (you can gen erally spot them by their VAA ID badges) and introduce yourself. The Vintage Aircraft Association's mission is to help enthusiasts main tain and continue to fly the wonderful aircraft of the past. One of the ways we do this is by providing technical support and working with EAA to help protect pilots and owners rights. One of our strongest mandates is to encourage the safe operation of these aircraft. Operating safely often requires additional knowledge of the aircraft type. Tailwheel flying and

maintenance is not often taught to new pilots as they work toward their new pilot certificate, so it's up to us to help fill in the gap. In past years, the most common accident with our category of aircraft was the hand-propping accident. When someone hand-props their air craft and it gets away from them due to their inattentiveness, we have a sit uation where we'll see an insurance claim. At the very least it will be a claim for the airplane that was started without being restrained, or, God for bid, it will also involve someone else's airplane, and perhaps even a person. Thankfully, due in part to increased emphasis in our publications, web site, and during the safety program presented each year at EAA AirVen ture by VAA Director Steve Krog, we've seen a decline in those types of accidents. Great job, everyone; let's keep it up! That's the good news. The bad news is that there's been an alarming increase in the number of ground loop accidents. Just this year alone we have had no less than 10 PT-1? losses, and almost every loss has averaged $100,000. That is a $1 million loss to the insurance company. And these acciden ts are not confined to Stear mans alone-we have had IS Waco losses , and each of these average $150,000 per loss. Again, almost all of these are from ground loop accidents. Do the math ($150,000 x IS), and the loss equals $2.25 million! There have been other losses as well, but the bottom line is that when an insurance company has a loss ra tio that is ISO percent, everyone will have to pay higher premiums. We all need to encourage one an other to get good training and to use good judgment. Once you've learned how to fly a tailwheel airplane, be

sure to get recurrent training as well. Sometimes bad habits creep into our technique and then jump up and bite us at the worst moments . Find that experienced instructor and get to work polishing up your technique. I have friends that were great stick and rudder pilots, but their ability to properly judge a situation was not very good. A good instructor can help you with that as well. Another great way to gain experience is by reading articles and books on piloting tech niques. An occasional rereading of Wolfgang Langewiesche's Stick and Rudder can go a long way to clearing out the mental cobwebs. This issue of Vintage Ai/plane will be an "educational issue" with multi ple columns dealing with the issue of tailwheel maintenance and the use of them in handling tailwheel landings. There are plenty of opinions on the proper operation of airplanes eqUipped with a tailwheel, so if you have a different view, please don't hesitate to drop us a note. VAA Chapter 10 located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has always been very ac tive, and it has promoted the VAA mission for many years. I would like to personally thank them , on behalf of the VAA, for their thoughtful pledge to the Friends of the Red Barn cam paign. Thanks, Chapter 10 VAAers! I have received word that one of our own members, Charlie Nelson, who heads up the Swift Association, will be inducted into Tennessee's Avi ation Hall of Fame. This is a great honor, and I'd like to say it's certainly well deserved. Let's all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation. Remember, we are better together. Join us and have it all. Butch VINTAGE AIRPLANE

VAA NEWS

2003 HALL OF FAM E INDUCTEES

Our congratulations to thi s year's inductees into the VAA Hall of Fame , the late Nick Rezich, of Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, and Al Kelch of Mequon, Wisconsin. Nick soloed in a Waco RNF in 1933 , and from that point on was immersed in aviation both as a profession and a hobby until his death in 1981. One of the earliest EAA members (EAA 225), Nick had a soft spot in his heart for the antiques, and he served the newly formed Antique/Clas sic division as its first treasurer. Along with his brothers, Mik e and Frank, Nick was always help ing out at EAA conventions, serving as the "voice of EAA" from 1956 until his passing. Al Kelch was also an early en thusiast of aviation, co llecting antique airplane artifacts as a youngster. He's never stopped , and his amazing collection of ar

tifacts and d oc u ments served him we ll when he became o n e of the c h arter m e mbers of the An t iqu e/Classic division wh en it was formed in 1971. He served as a di rec t or for a n u m b er of years, and , assisted by h is wife, Lois, was the editor of Vintage Airplane from J anuary 1 976 t hrough February 1978. In addi tion to running a su cce ssful m anufactur ing company, Al was ab le to devote time t o restore more than 16 airplanes, many of them rare artifacts like t he Franklin Sport and a pair of American Eagles. Al was also in strumental in creating the VAA judging guidelines still in use to day at fly-ins around the world . There's p lenty more to learn abou t t h ese two accomplished gentlemen, and following their induction at ceremon ies in Octo ber 2003, we' ll have more complete biograp h ies of Nick and Al in a later issue of Vintage Airplane.

BOB CARR'S AERONCA CHIEF-STYLE SPINNER. If you're an Aeronca owner looking for a new spinner, Bob Carr, 506 Heavitree Garth, Severna Park, MD 2114, can help. For a number of years Bob has been able to supply an accurate spinner, true to the original factor y drawings, of the 10-7/8 inch spinner u sed on all postwar Aeron ca Chiefs. It will fit all Continental e n g in es fr o m th e A6 5 thru the 0-200. The spin ner and backplate is ready for priming and paint, and includes the cutouts for a wood or metal prop, depend in g on your requirement. The correct mounting screws are also included. The price is $195 plus $10 for shipping. Tapered crankshafts require a l/2-inch spacer that is priced at $30. When ordering, specify whether you have a fl anged or tapered crankshaft, and if the spinner will be mounted over a wood or metal prop. 2

AUGUST 2003

UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE EAA AIRVENTURE MUSEUM

British Car & Airplane Day August 23, 2003 More than 100 classic British cars are expected to be on display at this special event to celebrate the finest in British automotive and aeronau tical style! In addition, there will be a special display of British airplanes from the Museum's collection, and a number of visiting airplanes have been invited to participate . Th e event is included in regular Mu seum admission. Owners of British-built cars and airplanes, please contact Mar y McKeown at mmckeown@eaa .org or 920-426-6880 for more informa tion about attending the event. Good 01' Days August 29-31,2003 Regular flight and ground demon strations of EAA's fleet of historic vintage airp lanes and visiting an tiqu e airplan es; guided tours of Pioneer Airport; living histor y demonstrations; and vintage vehicle displays are just part of this special weekend at Pioneer Airport. There will be free Young Eagles flights for young people ages 8-17; hands-on educational activities for youth; and a "Parade of Flight" each da y at 2 p.m. Pioneer Airport volunteers will be d ressed in 1920s and '30s era clothing to complement the look and feel of the weekend. Good 01 ' Days at Pioneer Airport is included with regular Museum admission. Whirlybird Weekend Septem ber 20-21,2003 Our 3rd annua l celebration of rotorcraft. Helicopter and autogiro owners, please call Adam Smith at 920-426-4842 to register for th e even t. For information on these and other events taking place year-round at EAA's AirVen ture Museum , plea se point your web browser toward www.airventuremllsellm.org/activities/events

FRIENDS OF THE RED BARN In addition to our list of contributors published last month, the following members generously contributed to the 2003 Friends of the Red Barn campaign: Silver Level Jay B. Esty ............. Neenah , Wisconsin Bronze Level Marilyn Boese .......... . Carl W. Higgins .......... Gordon L. Knapp ......... Jennifer S. Ledman ... .... Earl F. Livingston ......... Thomas M. Peterson ...... David L. Posey...........

Fort Bragg, California Altoona, Wisconsin Tampa, Florida Gaithersburg, Maryland Albuquerque, New Mexico Rockton , Illinois Woodstock, Georgia

Gift Eugene and Bernice Nabors. Berlin, Michigan Our thanks again to all contributors who helped make this year's celebration of flight a great success!

TRACK PRESIDENTIAL TFRs WITH EAA FLIGHT PLANNER

With President Bush primed to begin campaigning for re-election, EAA and AeroPlanner.com have created a new web service to make it easier for any pilot to keep track of the latest presidential tempo rary flight restrictions (TFRs) . To view active and/or an nounced notices to airmen (NOTAM) for presidential TFRs simply click on the presidential seal graphic located along the left side of the EAA home page, www. eaa.org. Included are several graphical view and print options to choose from. (In the event of late-breaking changes, pilots should continue to contact Flight Service to obtain the very latest in formation before taking off.)

To view a graphical representa tion of TFRs , users can select "Locate on Map," "Printable WAC/Sectional , " or "Printable GNC," which creates a PDF file for easy, clear printing. The upgrade also has powerful sort options, al lowing users to pull out state TFRs, recency, and TFR type , as well as pending and cancelled TFRs. Another new EAA Fight Planner feature alerts pilots, especially in the Western United States, of TFRs created to provide safe firefighting environments. These NOTAMs ap pear more frequently than do others and are denoted by the Na tional Interagency Fire Center logo. EAA FLIGHT PLANNER AEROPLANNER FEATURES

More than 20,000 EAAers, and a healthy number of VAA members,

already know the benefits of EAA Flight Planner, and now its even better. Several n ew enhancements create an even more useful flight planning utility, and it's provided at no cos t to EAA members. (EAA members can also up grade their service for 10 percent off the regu lar rate.) Scheduled for unveiling at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2003, new features include: • Route-Around Op tion s (MOAs, Water, Pro hibit ed, Restricted, etc.) just by clicking on a few boxes in the Options Menu. • Climb and Descent Calculated into Flight Plan: configured for your aircraft by entering a few numbers and EAA Flight Plan ner provides climb and descent rates . (AeroP lanner is working on an aircraft database that can be used as a default setting, with the option to customize.) • Enha nced Navigation Options: Minimum clearance above MEFs; Preferred separation be tween points; Maximum distance to move point from VOR; Go direct to VOR if within a certain amo unt of nautical miles; Use VOR as waypoint if within so many nm; Include all VORs within however many nm; Maximum allowable course deviation in degrees; Maximum d istance off straight-line course in nm; and Maximum distance between VORs. • Fuel Stop Finder, includi ng fuel prices/types, airport specs, and distance from route. • FBO Information for over 4,000 FBOs (p h one numbers, ad dresses, hours, contacts, amen ities, submi t comments, etc.). AeroPlanner is creating ac counts for all FBOs in the United States a ll owing them to self service their listings. • New Chart in g Features : The Chart Book lets you download Sectionals, WACs, and TACs that will print out full pieces of maps (PDF files) in book format. For more information, visit www.aeroplanner.com.

......

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

JOHN M. MILLER

ATPNo.5945 soloed in my own Jenny, De cember 25, 1923, and graduated with a degree in mechanical en gineering in 1927, mixing flying with my studies. That year the new air regulations started, and I quali fied for an airframe and engine (A&E) certificate, No. 2906. I did not have funds for another airplane with which to qualify for one of the new pilot certificates, so I worked for Gates Flying Circus as a me chanic. I participated in a few of their events, one of them being at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, which was the biggest weekend in the history of the Circus, measured by gross take. (This was in 1927.) I observed their methods of ad vertising and publicity and devised what I thought would be a better way, but I did not reveal my idea, preferring to keep it to myself for when I could acquire a plane of my own and go out barnstorming alone to try it out. After accumulating some money while working for Gates, I bought the wreck of a World War I Standard ]-1, the same type used by the Gates Circus, with Hispano-Suiza (Hisso) engines of 180 hp replacing the orig inal Hall-Scott four-cylinder 100-hp engines. It took me six months of hard work to restore the J-1 to first class condition and install a Hisso engine. I had planned to carry four passengers in the front cockpit, just as Gates had done, with close to half a million passengers, but one of the new Department of Commerce in spectors told me that he would not allow more than two passengers in

AUGUST 2003

the front cockpit. I tried barnstorm ing with it, but it did not pay with only half a load, so I sold it in 1929. That StandardJ-l, with the same en gine, still existed in 1999, owned by Jim Hammond of Yellow Springs, Ohio. I'm 97 now, in 2003, and still actively flying, with ATP No. 5945. In 1929 the newly designed New Standard D-25 with the Wright J-5 225-hp engine was available. It was specifically designed for barnstorm ing and carried four passengers, facing forward, in the front open cockpit. I started flying that type and was able to successfully apply my idea of advertising and publicity to get large crowds to part with sub stantial sums of money for short flights, VERY short. Most barnstorming at that time was conducted in the proximity of fairs and carnivals, or at least on es tablished airports or airstrips already used by previous airplanes, and where the local population was al ready familiar with airplanes. The methods of publicizing the usual weekend events were to use newspa per advertising, printed posters, etc., and, of course, whatever stories the local newspapers could be coaxed to print about the event, often com bined with some advertising of local merchants. One of the major attrac tions was sometimes an air show of aerobatic flying and parachute jumps. Those methods were begin ning to be outworn in the late 1920s, and were not very effective. The barnstorming airplane would be parked in front of the crowd, and usually a man with a megaphone or

PA system would talk to the crowd to try to sell tickets for flights until the plane was loaded with most of its seats filled. The plane would then take off and disappear in the dis tance for 10 to 20 minutes. The big feature of the flight was its length and the sights to be seen from the air. While the plane was thus out on its cross-country trip, the crowd would lose interest and begin to dis perse. If some of those so-called barnstormers grossed $200 to $300 in a day, it was considered to be just fine. Usually the price of the flights was at least $5 for a 1O-minute flight, or up to as much as $15 for the longer rides. Hanging around an air port in the hot sun to watch such flying could get to be boring for the crowd. After observing the opera tion of the Gates Flying Circus in 1927, conSisting of very short rides for only $2.50 per person, four at a time, grossing $1,000 per day or more per plane, I could see the pos sibility of going further with the idea of very short hops at a still lower price, and with my idea of a much more effective method of ad vertising. Before I reveal the advertiSing method, I will first describe the pre liminary preparations of the fields to be used for the flying because they were a necessary and integral part of the whole plan. I knew that a large enough field would be needed to permit landing, stopping to re load, and then taking off, all without wasting any time turning or taxiing. The plane would take off right from the place where it stopped to reload,

It·' ~Pi.iilw

with airplanes

or airstrip nearby. such a field was found, it would be made suitable for flight operation if necessary by grading, by tree removal and blasting of rocks and stumps, by opening of fences, and by filling or plank bridging of drainage ditches. I got to be an ex pert with dynamite, saws, axes, and shovels for there were no chain saws or bulldozers in those days. All this, of course, had to be arranged by contract with the owner, and a fee was paid for a weekend-usually with an option to return for a rain date or repeat date, for another fee. An iron bound written agreement was necessary because when the owner would see how much money was taken in he might be tempted to raise the fee.

This all had to be done a week in ad

vance of the weekend to be used. A

location of this kind, away from any

previous flying operation, was called

virgin territory and was very impor

tant, but not difficult to find at the

time.

If there were room for car park ing, a gate had to be made for them and a parking area defined and marked off. Otherwise the parking had to be on the adjacent road, which would, of course, be for quite a distance in each direction and re quire the spectators to walk. No special permits were required in those days, but sometimes the state police would get rather upset about all the cars parked along the road, a detriment to traffic. However, every one else was very happy. Now the real plan starts, also at least a week in advance. A trip is made by automobile to each village

ber of the village and RFD \.n\.l'~ Fann District) boxes serviced by post office. The cards were to be mailed from the post office at which they were purchased because the post office got credit for volume of sales, and it was necessary to keep the postmaster and carriers happy for all the extra work they were go ing to do for us. The cards purchased at each post office were kept in sepa rate bundles and marked.

end. wonderful new $1 with a Wright Whirlwind engine, the same kind that flew Charles lindbergh across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, for only one dollar per per son, "stunt" flying, and dead-engine landings, sometimes a parachute jump, too. Arrows printed on The New Standard gets refueled on the run. cardboard with "FLY $1" were posted on poles and trees on the surrounding roads to guide the cars to the field. Posters were sometimes used, but were not at all important. The postal cards did it all. At the field, steel posts were driven into the ground in a long line parallel to the landing area and ropes were strung along them to keep the crowd back. They were then taken to some lo The posts and ropes also formed a cal village printer and printed on corral area behind the fence for the the blank side with the advertising people who had bought tickets, and and on the address side with "Box a chute area was formed outward Holder" and the name of the post from the fence line to hold four pas office for each group of cards to be sengers for the next flight. Chains mailed from the post offices from were used as gates for the corral and which they were purchased and chute. This was all very important from which they would lat er be for the fast action that would take mailed. This was extra work for the place. printer because he had to change A loca l gasoline station was of the type for the proper post office fered the privilege of having its logo name for each group of cards. All of painted on the side of the fuselage this was important to the success of of the plane with washable watercol the plan. When the cards were all ors, in return for delivering two or printed and in separate groups of three drums of good Gulf or Texaco two times the number of boxes serv auto gasoline and some cans of en iced by each post office, each group gine oil to the field , free. It never was divided into two separate bun failed, and the stations advertised dles to be mailed on two successive that their gasoline and oil must be days. good stuff if it worked in a Whirl Next, another trip was made by wind. They often painted their automobile to each of the post of names on the drums, too. We ab fices, preferably on the Wednesday solutely never bought gas! VINTAGE AIRPLANE

(_"_0"0-0" -JOCiiiii)

F1y$l~ Hibernia Flats Wabington Hollow

....Sepl20 '" Sepl21 .. UPSIDEDOWN · JOHNNY MJLLER (U,s. ... c.a./

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When those cards arrived at each farm or village home, they caused lots of excitement, especially among the children who would urge the parents to take them on Saturday or Sunday. As soon as the milking and feeding was done, the family would pile into the Model T and rush to the field, following the arrows and holding the cards. Farm families get up early, so they started arriving af ter daylight. A good pit crew was necessary, consisting of a good ticket-seller, one man to load the four passengers and another man to unload the pre vious four on the opposite side of the plane Simultaneously. The two loader/un loader men were also trained to refuel the plane with 5 gallon cans and a funnel with the ENGINE RUNNING, to save time. The plane was flown with a light load of fuel, so now and then an other 5 gallons of gas was put in. One man would climb up on the steps on the landing gear shock strut to stand on the cowling over the en gine behind the revolving propeller. The other man would pass up a fun nel and a can of gas. It was all done very quickly before the next passen 6

AUGUST 2003

gers got in, for safety. The sequence of action was this: The loading man would have four passengers ready in the chute, and just as soon as the wing of the plane passed the chute he would drop the chain and urge the four passengers to run to the plane and start climb ing up on the lower wing and into the cockpit, which was already be ing vacated by the previous passengers urged by the unloading man who had been waiting outside of the spot where the plane would stop. He would run in behind the wing and urge the four previous pas sengers to get out and climb down. He would get them far enough out to let the tail of the plane pass them because the takeoff was started just as soon as they were out of the way of the tail, before the new load of passengers had even all seated them selves. The passengers usually did not get their belts on before they were on the ground again because the ride was so short. The unloading man would then guide the previous passengers back to the gate into the crowd area and then take his post again. The loading man would get

. . .. _ f l. . . . . . . . . .

W riaf>t Whi,lwind Motor .... _

...... Ii:f

Lindber,h

four new passengers together from the corral to go on the next flight. By that time, about one minute after takeoff, all would be ready for the next unload/load sequence. The flights were very short, about one minute block to block, though you may find it hard to believe. About 50 flights per hour could be made. That would be $200 per hour. The flying would begin early and last until dark, "dew to dew" as a harvester would say, and we were re ally harvesting the greenbacks, all gold in those days. It was easy to make 250 to 350 flights in a day, $1,000 to $1,400 revenue. The en gine would never stop all day, and I would never get out of the cockpit. I made my own relief tube and still have the little funnel I hammered out of copper to connect to a hose. I ate, drank, and "undrank" right in the cockpit. I enjoyed the flights and never tired. It was really fun making all that money. If you wonder how we could continued on the page 27

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES FROM LONGTIME MEMBER JOHN VETTE OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN.

H.G.

FRAUTSCHY

MAY' S MYSTERY ANSWER

S END YOUR ANSWER TO : EAA , VINTAGE A IRPLANE, P.O . B ox

308 6 , OSHKOSH , WI 54903-3086 .

YOUR ANSWER

NEEDS TO BE IN NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER FOR INCLUSION IN THE NOVEMBER

2003

10, 2003 ,

ISSUE OF VINTAGE

A IRPLANE. YOU CAN ALSO SEND YOUR RESPONSE VIA E-MAIL. S END YOUR ANSWER TO

CHANCE VOUGHT UO-1 Photo ta ken in 1928 in EI Monte , California , by Mr. Reed at the time of his very first airplane ride.

vintage@eaa.org.

B E SURE TO INCLUDE BOTH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS (ESPECIALLY YOUR CITY AND STATE!) IN THE BODY OF YOUR NOTE AND PUT "( MONTH) MYSTERY PLANE" IN THE SUBJECT LINE.

The May Mystery Plane was one of the many Navy biplanes of the 1930s. Here's our first note: liThe Chance Vought UO-l May Mystery quiz al lows the HGF airplane spotter class to answer with both type and color. This is code yellow top alert! II Aluminum paint and blue-white-red trailing rud der stripes conform to 1920s U.S. Navy markings. Lewis and Vought began production of VE-7 two-seat observation double-wing bay strut biplanes with Wright-Hisso SPAD-like noses before the end of World War I. The Chance Vought UO-l followed, beginning with SIN A 6482, with the same VE-7 DH-4-like wing outline and fuselage rounded out with stringers be hind a Lawrance-Wright nine-cylinder radial engine. A lengthened fin added area for float flying. VE-9, A 6478, was modified to develop the UO-I. II A Single-seat fighter version, the FU-l changed the airfoil section from an RAAF 15 to a Navy N-9, and rounded wingtips, with less fin area . This new wing went on the UO-S with a Wright J-s at SIN A6729. The photo view hides the wingtip shape, but wing shadows seem to show the May Mystery Plane is the original UO-l/VE-7 tip shape. liThe 19th UO-l was raced with a 2s0-hp Aeroma rine engine and Lamblin 'lobster pot' radiators in the landing gear struts with modifications as the UO-2. The UO-l is significant since its design led to the Cor-

sair observation types , Corsair fighters, and ending round engine types with the Goodyear FG2s. Refer to the book United States Navy Aircraft since 1911 by Gor don Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers published by the Naval Institute Press. IIWhite hats off and a missing man formation for Pete . Aviation has lost a most prolific contributor of aero history with the passing to the west of Peter Bowers." Russ Brown Lundhurst, Ohio Other correct answers were received from Thomas Lymburn, Princeton, Minnesota; Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Wayne VanValkenburgh, Jasper, Georgia; Ray Wagner, CinCinnati, Ohio; and Charles Schultz, Louisville, Kentucky. Our correct e mail responders were Bub Borman, Dallas, Texas ; Wa lter Albert and John Bishop, Ocala, Florida; and Jim Stothers, Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Our hats off to Thomas A. Baldenhofer, Waveland, Missis sippi, whose very extensive answer was too long to repeat here in Vintage Airplane, but for those who are interested, we'd be happy to forward the text of his e mail to you via e-mail. Just drop us a request at vintage@eaa.org. ...... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

RICHARD

During the period of time that the Air Force was working with the Consolidated XC-99, parallel negotiations were con ducted with Lockheed, which was designing another behemoth airplane, which would be called the Constitution. h e Constitution was also being developed to fur ther explore the use of large planes on Pan Am's Pacific routes . As with the XC-99, the plane was built without civil involvement. Actually, two Consti tutions were built for the Navy. They were outfitted as personnel transports and flew various routes. Th e Constitution used engines that were similar to the XC-99, and also had a double-deck config uration . It had a load capacity of only about half that of the XC-99 . Performance figur es were much the same, with speeds in excess of

AUGUST 2003

300 mph and a cruise speed of 269 mph. For scheduled long-distance passenger service flights , the flights were planned for a maximum alti tude of 25,000 feet with a range of approximately 6,000 miles. The Constitution was able to haul 168 servicemen with a crew of 12. Gross weight was 184,000 pounds, wingspan measured 189 feet, and length was 156 feet. After being discharged from the Marines in 1949, I made my way to Opa-loca, Florida, where I entered flight training at the Embry-Riddle School of Aeronautics. Having hitchhiked there with almost no

HILL

funds, I was in need of sustenance. The school policy was such that I cou ld fly only five hours a week, so I had lots of time to waste. As a Ma rine veteran, [ was able to sign up as a station keeper at the nearby Navy Master Field. I was assigned as a plane captain on the Corsair flight line, preparing the FG-1Ds for week end flights by reserve pilots. It was quite a thrill to attend these great planes and th e men who flew them during the recent Pacific war. Morning preflights and engine run-ups were great, and the only really tough thing was having to return to the ramp without fly ing the planes. Another great thrill for me was watching as the Co nstitution landed there each Saturday to un load its passengers. Master Field has long since been closed, and the acreage is now used for the campus of the University of Florida. Few if any of the com muters who drive along th e old fence line would believe that such

built for long-range cargo and troop movements, mainly during the Korean War era. The C-124 was better known because so many more of them were put into service. A follow-on design of the plane was a single-deck version. It was a bug-eyed looking thing with fighter-type canopies over the two cockpits, and it evolved into the civilian DC-7 . Another of our lesser well known giants is the Martin Mars. Two of these giant seaplanes still exist and are used for fighting for est fires. They are flown from Sproat Lake near VancouveG British Columbia, Canada. On my return from Marine duty in China, I was privileged to be a passenger on a 14-hour flight of the Philippine Mars, from Hon olulu to NAS Alameda, California. During the boarding procedure the steward asked if I would help with the evening and breakfast meal services, and thus I was in cluded as a crewman for the trip across the Pacific. ("CHINA CLIP an airplane could ever have landed there. (Th e southwest corner of th e base had been the field where Amelia Earhart began her fateful trip.) Pan Am realized there was no current market for such a large plane, so it was busy buying war surplus DC-4s and Constellations for its world airline network. The Constitutions were pur chased from Navy surplus in 19S5, for $98,000 apiece. Several aborted attempts were made to use the planes, and eventually both of them were abandoned. One was parked at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where it suffered vandal ism. Beyond repair, it, as with most other surplus military air craft , was chopped up to be turned into beer cans. The sister ship had a similar fate. In the 1960s it ended up at McCar ran Field, Las Vegas, Nevada , for use as a giant billboard. It also suf fered the fate of vandalism and was destroyed by fire. Several other attempts had

been made in building large transport aircraft. Probably the most well known would be the gi ant Hughes flying boat, the HK-1, or as it is more well known, the Spruce Goose. That plane has recently been placed in a new aviation museum near McMinnville, Oregon. Dur ing a visit to that museum in August 2001, the Spruce Goose had not been completely reassem bled . The control surfaces had not been installed, and there was no manner with which to enter it. We did, however, visit the Spruce Goose when it was displayed in California several years prior. At that time one could tour inside the hull and even the upper cabin area. (It's now fully open to the public in the new facility of the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville. For more informa tion, visit www.sprucegoose.org.) Douglas built the C-124, also a large double-deck cargo aircraft of the Korean War era. It too was

PER CALLING ALAMEDA TOWER, COME IN PLEASE! ")

The XC-99 was the world's largest operational plane at that time, and the Martin Mars was our largest production seaplane. No large, piston-type aircraft are currently in use by the mili tary, and all have been forgotten by the airlines. Thus came the end of big radials and the giant pis ton-driven aircraft in domestic and worldwide service. The "jet age" had taken over. Many of those older piston powered planes are still in service, worldwide. Used for pas sengers and cargo, as well as in some third world military serv ices, they will continue soldiering on for many years. In recent times an increasing number of several types of the old prop airliners have been put back into flying condition. They can be seen at air shows all over the na tion and in some other countries of the free world. ...... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

GILBERT PI~' ~!ICA~!lo~mmy

EAA Chapter 182, Gpiercel@midsouth.rr.com

From the May/June issue of Cub

Clues, the official newsletter of the

Cub Club.

I noticed when flying my Piper Clipper heavily loaded, I experi enced tail wheel shimmy on my Scott 3200 when landing on a hard surface such as concrete or asphalt. Several years ago I was parked at the landing end of Run way 36L at Oshkosh. I always get tail wheel shimmy when landing there. This afforded me the oppor tunity to observe many landings as I lounged under my wing. It was here that I made the discov ery that about 50 percent of the tail wheel airplanes landing on 36L experienced tail wheel shimmy. I believe the grooved runway exacerbates the problem. Anyway, those tail wheels were not just shaking side to side, they were rotating around their pivot axis 360 degrees, and doing so vi olently. On my recent trip to Alaska I had tail wheel shimmy on almost every landing unless I really greased it on. On my return I vowed to solve the problem . I started the quest for a solution on the Internet. I was told that if you raised your tail wheel tire air pressure, it would assure the tail wheel would shimmy no more. I 10

AUGUST 2003

was told to reduce the tail wheel air pressure. I was told I had too much grease in the tail wheel. I was told that if the tail wheel did n't spit grease at you when you walked by it, it did not have enough grease, hence the shimmy. I was told to loosen my steering springs. I was told to tighten my springs. I was told that the pivot axis must be absolutely vertical so that the surface the tail wheel swivels on is parallel with the ground; hence the pivot bolt would be vertical. Mine was. I was told the pivot bolt must face for ward at the top. I was told the pivot bolt must face aft at the top. So what did I do? I took the tail wheel apart and made sure it was mechanically in top-notch condi tion and adjusted to the manufacturer's specifications again. It was. Then I tried each and every remedy listed above ex cept changing the angle of the pivot bolt; none helped. The Scott 2000 tail wheel does require some tension on the steering springs to control the unlock tension and hence any shimmy. The Scott 3200 installation instructions say that chain tension is not required or recommended. The tail wheel condition and installation was de termined to be in accordance with

all of the available manufacturer's literature I could find. I still had shimmy on pavement with the aircraft close to gross weight. Next I got out an old 1950s auto repair manual that explained kingpin front wheel suspension systems and steering castor angle. If you have ever pushed a grocery cart through the supermarket with one of the front wheels shaking side to side, you have experienced wheel shimmy and improper cas tor angle. What I learned from the chapter on steering alignment was basic steering geometry. To measure your tail wheel steering geometry, drop a line drawn parallel to and through the pivot axis (pivot bolt) and extend it to the floor and make a mark on the floor where this line hits, or use a straight edge parallel to the steering axis shaft (pivot bolt). Next, drop a line vertically from your tail wheel axle to the floor and make a mark on the floor, or use a straight edge. This will also be where your tail wheel contacts the floor. Now move this line or straight edge that passed from the axle to the wheel/floor contact point horizontally until it inter sects the pivot axis line at the pivot axis midpoint. The line that is parallel to the steering axis

must hit the floor ahead of the line dropped vertically from the wheel axle. The angle formed by these two lines is your castor an gle. The larger the castor angle the better, as far as tail wheel shimmy is concerned. In other words, the farther ahead of the tail wheel that the steering axis line hits the floor, the greater the castor angle and the less likely the tail wheel w ill shimmy. To put it another way, the steering axis pin or bolt m u st be vertical or tilted with the top pointing be hind or to the rear of the airplane when the airplane is fu lly loaded. Emphasis on fully loaded . When my airplane was empty, the steering axis bolt was vertical. When I loaded the airp lane, t h e tail wheel spring compressed and the top of the steering axis bolt was pointing to the front of the airplane. This wou ld p u t the ex tension of a line drawn through the steering axis behind the tail wheel contact point. Bad news-it will now shimmy. You don't want the castor angle to be too large be cause it will make steering on the ground more difficult. A large cas tor angle will tend to lift the rear of the airplane slight ly as yo u turn the aircraft. This is called the self-centering effect. Having the steering axis bolt vertical or in clined slightly with the top pointing back when fully loaded should be sufficient. So how do you correct this an gle? There are two easy solutions . If your airplane is like most, the spring is bolted at the front to the airframe with a bolt that passes through the spring leaves . The spring then rests on a pad several inches behind t he point through which the bolt passes. Usually the spring is clamped to t he pad at this point. You can add a shim be tween the pad and the spring to increase your steering angle . Or you can take the route I took . I took the spring off and laid it on a piece of poster board and traced out its arc. Then I took the spring

Tail wheel 1 - Poor Tail wheel Geometry

Parallel to Line ~ Dropped from Wheel

Line Dropped From Wheel

Tail wheel 2 - Good Tail wheel Geometry

Line Dropped From Wheel

Tail wheel with positive and negative castor angles--exaggerated. The terms positive and negative are simply the naming convention I choose to use, as they agree with my textbook references.

to a spring shop and had them re bend the spring until the tail wheel end of the spring was about 1-1/2 inches below the original as drawn on the poster board. In other words, I increased the arc slightly. Voila-no more shimmy when loaded . One other point. You should carry sufficient air pressure in your tail wheel to keep the tire firmly at tached to the rim when it hits the pavement on landing. Because of the small diameter of the tail

wheel, it accelerates very rapidly on contact with the runway. If you have insufficient pressure in the tire, it will slip on the rim and cut the valve stem . You now have a flat tail wheel tire. I know; it's hap pened to me twice. I now carry a minimum of 4S pounds of pressure in my Scott tail wheel. The same thing can happen to your main tires, but with more surface con tact area around the rim it is less likely to happen unless your plane lands at very high speeds. ..... V INTAGE AIRPLANE

. . . - - ~L~~

· 7-

My thoughts on radial engines

ROBERT

As an FAA airframe & power plant (A&P) mechanic, I have been around single row radial engines for many years. Wright )-6-7 (R 760), Continental W-670 (R-670), Pratt & Whitney R-985 are all en gines I' m familiar with. I will attempt to pass along some of my experiences, most recently main taining and operating a Wright R-760-8, which as of this writing has a total of 930 hours SMOH (since major overhaul). Many older small single-row ra dial engines were certificated on 73 octane fuel. They were low compression engines and operated at low rpm, and manifold pressure was not boosted. When 73 octane fuel was no longer available, the next higher grade was used, which was grade 80/87. This fuel worked well with low compression en gines, but has recently become another good product on the "en dangered species" list. So now operators must decide whether to use 100LL or auto fuel. During the late 1980s and into the early 1990s I had the opportunity to operate a Wright R-760 installed in my 1929 Command -Aire biplane on both 80/87, leaded regular, and un leaded regular automotive fuel. I found the leaded automotive fuel to be a suitable replacement for the more expensive grade 80/87, but when leaded fuel became ex tinct, I switched to unleaded auto fuel. I found it to be a dirty burn ing fuel that sooted up the exhaust collector of my Wright and sent exhaust residue down the side of the fuselage. So I immediately quit using unleaded fuel and switched completely to 100LL. That engine now has about 400 hours SMOH, 12

AUGUST 2003

LOCK

but I haven't flown the Com mand-Aire for the past three years. Now I am flying behind a Wright on an everyday basis. My son, Rob, owns a 1929 New Standard D-25 biplane equipped with the Wright R-760-8 . It is one of only four that are airworthy. That leads us to a discussion of low-lead avgas and the radial en gine. Plus some tips I've learned to keep the engine operational as the hours SMOH build. After close to three years of op eration, the engine has, as of this writing, 930 hours SMOH. I have done all the maintenance on the airframe and powerplant and can report the following information. First, the engine now operates about 400 hours per year and is in stalled in an airplane used specifically for giving rides; there fore, I use full power for takeoff, climb at 1800 rpm to 1,000 to 1,500 feet above the ground, cruise at 1650 to 1710 rpm, gradually re duce power, and land. Each flight is actually in the air for about 15 minutes. There are, of course, ferry flights where the engine runs con stantlyat 1700 to 1750 rpm. That's the type of operation the engine has endured. And it has operated specifically on 100 octane LL air craft fuel. The engine has regular 250-hour inspections, which includes an oil change, screen inspections, and spark plug maintenance, plus a generous inspection of the engine compartment and solvent wash down. At the even inspections I inspect and gap the spark plugs, then rotate the installation from front bank to rear, being sure to place spark plugs from lower cylin

ders into top cylinders. This auto matically cleans the plugs because rear plugs tend to run hotter, will erode quicker, and tend to acquire chemical deposits. I attribute this routine to getting 700 hours of foul-free spark plug operation. New plugs were installed at this point. So, if you don't change plugs from front to rear, I suggest you institute this procedure. It re ally works! We never had a magneto drop because of a fouled spark plug caused by 100LL fuel. I was conducting a cylinder leakage test every 100 hours of op eration, but since the engine is nearing the end of its service life, I did the check every 50 hours. Now it wi ll be every 25 hours, just to keep tabs on cylinder leakage. With the engine warm and at 80 psi of air pressure, a cylinder normally will hold 72 to 78 psi. When cylinder leakage drops below 70 psi, I "stake" the exhaust valve by removing the rocker cover to tap the valve with a wood block and hammer. Avgas of lOOLL puts an unbelievable amount of chemical deposits into the com bustion chamber, piston top, and around the exhaust valve that some times causes the valve not to seat properly. You can usually hear where air is escaping around the rings or around the exhaust valve seat. It's when you have leakage at both locations that make things in teresting. At the 600 SMOH mark of oper ation, the engine began acting a little strange . Since I have flown behind Wright engines for more than 800 hours, it "talks" to me. I thought I could hear a cylinder ei ther not firing or running a little rough on takeoff power, but the

engine seemed to develop power, and performance seemed other wise normal. The problem also seemed to come and go. I leakage checked the cylinders, and every thing was normal; however, the problem persisted. Finally 1 caught the culprit! It was the No . 4 cylin der; the leakage check showed at 80 psi it was only holding 10 psi. 1 removed the cylinder and piston, but there appeared to be no obvi ous damage other than blow-by around the rings. 1 replaced the cylinder, and we continued on. Now, at the 910-hour SMOH mark, the No.5 cylinder decided to do the same thing. At 80 psi the cylinder would hold only 50 psi, which would slowly drop to 44 psi and stabi lize. So 1 removed the cylinder, and it appeared exactly as No.4 did 300 hours earlier. It had blow by around the rings (which could be heard coming out of the crankshaft breather) and a lot of chemical buildup from the LL fuel. I inspected the piston and cylinder, roughed the walls with a hone, and reinstalled the cylinder with new seals and gaskets. That was 20 operation hours ago, and a leakage check shows at 80 psi the cylinder holds 76 psi. For the pres ent, problem solved! The No.5 cylinder can cause other problems. Overnight, oil will seep around the suction inlet check valve in the oil pump, and since it's located directly above the cylinder, oil will flood the combus tion chamber causing "hydraulic lock." 1 always drain any oil from the No.5 induction pipe by re moving a lI8-inch pipe plug before pulling the prop through at least 21 blades. 1 also make sure that the No. 5 piston is on top dead center (TDC) on firing stroke when 1 leave the engine overnight. 1 line up the No. 1 propeller blade with the cen

terline of the No.5 cylinder on compression stroke. It works! The cylinder problems we've ex perienced on the Wright have been on No.4 and No.5, the two lower cylinders. Why, 1 don't know. All the other cylinders are still the original overhauled parts and have 930 total hours of operating time. The first problem (No . 4) was loss of ring tension. The second prob lem (No.5) was glazing of cylinder walls. Wright R-760s have always had an oil control problem with the lower cylinders. This could be the cause. The Wright R-760 engine also

has no lower rocker drains, so all rocker arms below the horizontal will not drain back to the sump to be scavenged into the oil tank. During engine operation, con densation forms in the oil tank and works its way to the lower parts of the engine. This water from condensation will eventu ally seek the lowest level and form sludge in the rocker bosses of the No.4 and No . 5 cylinders and in the lowest rocker bosses of the No.3 and No.6 cylinders. 1 remove the rocker covers to drain this static oil every 25 hours of engine operation. The new sili cone rocker cover gaskets make this job easy, but it's still messy. Valve clearance of .010 inches cold should be set and checked on the 100-hour inspection. 1 rarely find that the clearance has gotten out of limit, but do occasionally have to readjust clearance. Rotate the engine through three complete

firing revolutions and check the clearance on each cylinder. Here again, the silicone valve cover gas kets make this task easy but messy. Re-torque the rocker cover retain ing nuts to about 20 to 25 inch-pounds, no more. After a flight around the patch the leaking covers will be readily seen. 1 carry a 7116-inch socket and ratchet in the baggage compartment and just "snug" the nuts until the cover quits leaking. Engine power output and gauge readings plus listening to the en gine is helpful to long life. We have been using AeroShell SAE 100 (50 weight) oil here in Florida. However, the tem perature is starting to rise into the 80s, and 1 will switch to SAE 120 (60 weight) on the next oil change. Oil pressure is a constant 70 psi while I occasionally see the operating temperature at 65°C. AeroShell tech reps have told me that 1 can operate the oil to slightly warmer than lOOoe (actually 250 0 F) with no breakdown of the oil. The oil should run hot to help boil off wa ter accumulations caused by condensation. The Wright redlines at 88°e inlet oil temperature. I set operating oil pressure at mid range, 70 psi (the Wright oil pressure is 50-80 psi). It has been cold (!) here in Florida, and the temperature gauge reads below 30 0 e when I start the engine. 1 warm the oil for 15 minutes before taking off. My primary concern in operat ing this engine has been the use of 100LL fuel. The aromatics used to boost octane rating and whatever chemical is used to replace the lead causes large buildup in the combustion chamber, on the pis ton top, and on valve stems and seats. There are chemical deposits continued on the page 32 VINTAGE AIRPLANE

s Russ Farris sat un der the wing of his shiny 170B enjoy ing the crowd at Sun 'n Fun 2003, he knew that few of the passersby could know that the most interesting chapter in the life of his airplane, N8143A, actually started on the morning of September 9, 1956. On that day, the lives of a Continental Airlines pilot, Ben Richards, and one of the first owners of the Cessna, James Folks of Carthage, Texas, were about to cross in a most unexpected sort of way. Continental Flight 190 was a rou tine DC-3 short hop flight-EI Paso, Tulsa, Bartlesville, then Kansas City. Captain Richards had made the flight many times in the past. In fact, he had more than 5,800 hours of DC-3 time-nearly half of his to tal time in the air had been at the controls of a Gooney Bird. This par ticular DC-3 had seen its share of traveling, too. By 1956 it had accu mulated nearly 36,000 hours since joining the Army as a C-47 in 1942. It was a clear Sunday morning, and James Folks was enjoying some time off and looking forward to giv ing some of his young friends a tour of the Bartlesville, Oklahoma, area in his recently acquired 170B. Folks had been flying for years and had a total of 3,200 hours in his logbook, a considerable amount of time for a civilian pilot. Captain Richards and his copilot, John Deshurley, made their first stop in Tulsa, refueled, and then rolled down the runway with 14 passen gers for the 16-minute flight to Phillips Airport in Bartlesville. It was about 2:15 in the afternoon. As Richards and Deshurley rolled down the runway at Tulsa, James Folks was 43 miles away trying to get his four excited passengers strapped in. They ranged from 8 to 16 years of age, and all were totally psyched at the prospect of seeing their houses from the air. The Dewey Hi-Way airport where he based his Cessna was 3 miles north east of Bartlesville.

His passel of pas sengers finally settled down, and with their noses glued to the windows, Folks and the Cessna trundled down the runway and lifted into the air. The time was almost exactly 2:30 pm. As the gear of the Cessna left the ground, Continental pilots Richards and Deshurley were get ting ready for their arrival at Bartlesville. They had already called and gotten the wind and altimeter settings and were in the process of clean ing up the flight deck in preparation for th eir landing. Their route made it Russell Farris and his friend, Shayla Reese. easy for them to make a straight en try into downwind for Runway 17 James Folks was rolling into a turn at Phillips. About that time, James to look at a house, fate brought their Folks and his passengers were scan two airplanes together. The Cessna's ning the ground trying to pick out prop sliced into the right aileron of various homes on the outskirts of the DC-3 from below, then the trans port surged ahead, and the 170B Bartlesville. The DC-3 was established on a chopped several feet off the airliner's long downwind, and First Officer right elevator and stab. With all the sheet metal flailing Deshurley was running through the short "in range" checklist, which around, the top cowling of the normally took about 30 seconds. Cessna disappeared, the leading One of the items on the list was edge of the left wing was bashed and checking the level in the hydraulic scored, and the windshield broken. reservoir behind the copilot's seat. A prop tip was bent forward, and As Deshurley was twisting around the leading edge of the prop was cut to check the sight gauge on the and nicked from thrashing through reservoir, one of Folks' young pas so much aluminum. sengers started yelling that he saw The DC-3 lurched slightly. Pre his house, so James Folks cranked dictably, the Cessna had a harder the Cessna into a 45-degree bank time of it and bucked and fought for turn to the right. a few seconds. Then both airplanes limped ahead on downwind to make It was at that moment that the lives of James Folks, Captain landings . The airline passengers Richards, First Officer Deshurley, barely knew anything had hap 14 airline passengers, and four pened, but Folks' landing was young Cessna passengers became undoubtedly accompanied by the instantly entwined. screams of frightened passengers. While all of this excitement was While copilot Deshurley was checking the hydraulic fluid and taking place over Bartlesville, Okla VINTAGE AIRPLANE

With the exception of modern avion ics, the 170's panel remains much as it did during its encounter with the DC-3. A pair of LightSPEED ac tive noise canceling headsets keeps the pilot and copilot's hear ing intact.

homa, Russell Farris, now 48, was still in diapers in Lakeland, Florida, and although "airplane" wou ld be one of his first word s, it would be years before he began looking for an airplane of his own. Farris was the son of a newspaper editor and writer, but he was fated to be a pilot. By the tim e he was 17 years old, he had migrated to Punta Gorda, Florida, and started taking flying lessons as soon as he could. "I was 17 when I started flying the C-1S0, but a lm ost immediately changed over to a T-craft, which is 16

AUGUST 2003

what I flew for the rest of my license." Following the normal path in an aviation career, his next step was to get a cer tifi ca t ed flight instructor (CFI) certificate. He was 19 years old at the time. "I was like most kids-trying hard to get flight time. I instructed, I flew air taxi for a time, then started fly ing commuters, including, ironically enough, a lot of DC-3 and some de Havilland Heron time. Finally, I got a real job and started flying DC-8s for a freight company." Eventually, Russ wound up in the

right seat for U.S. Airways via Pied mont, but he never lost his love for little airplanes. "As a young CFI, I was instructing in Cubs and Champs, Cessna 170s and 140s, and my taste has always run that way. In the early '90s, I got a straight 108 Stinson. It was totally original and unrestor ed and had only 290 hours on it total time. It still had the original paint and fab ric, which at that point was about 30 years old. I actually flew it for three years with the original cover. Eventually, however, I had to take it down for restoration. "I like airplanes that are as origi nal as you can get them . They don 't have to be showpieces, but I don't want them modified in any way. That's what I was trying to do with the Stinson, but it was just taking too long.

glideslope, but that was it. "I live in Rock Hill, South Car olina, and I fly the airplane all the time on instruments, so it was im portant I have a good panel, but I tried to keep it looking as original as possible while getting maximum utility out of it. > "Almost from the moment I UJ ~ bought the airplane, I have been 8 vaguely bothered by a series of scuffs :.:: ~ and creases on the leading edge of ::;: the left wing. It's an area about the "Then, about three years ago I size of your hand, but it always came across this 170B. The airplane bugged me because the rest of the was really unusual because besides airplane is so straight. In fact, I was having clean, straight sheet metal, it very seriously considering changing had never been modified, and it had that piece of skin. never been painted. At the time it "Then one evening I was on the had only 1,900 hours total time, and Internet and decided to search my N it has about 2,250 now. number and see what I could find. "It had sat around for quite some That's when I ran across the acci time, about 10 years, but it was all dent report. there and was ready to go. Because "If you crawl all over the airplane it had never been allowed to [get] with a magnifying glass, you can run down, but hadn't been flown find several areas that you wouldn't much, about all the restoration even think were collision damage. amounted to was a good wash job. Just a few nicks, etc. But the thing I did change out the LORAN for a on the leading edge looks exactly as GPS and put in a decent radio with if something hit the leading edge

and flowed over it. "Having flown DC-3s quite a bit, I can't imagine how they managed to do that amount of dam age to a DC-3 and not crash them selves. For the prop to chew up the ele vator and stab, that means the wing was clear under the DC3's fuselage. It just looks as if it would hook the tail wheel or something. The way the dings are shaped in my wing, they look exactly as you'd expect a wing to look that skipped off the bottom of a fuselage. "I managed to come up with a newspaper clipping from Bartlesville about the aCCident, and it had photos of both airplanes. The top cowling is completely miss ing, and the crash investigation says that two spark plugs were knocked out. That means something with some weight came down and took the cowl and the plugs at the same time. How do you hit something hard enough to break spark plugs and not crash? Absolutely amazing! "I have spoken with John Deshur ley, who has very vivid memories of that day. Also, the DC-3 involved still exists in a museum in Holland. It is painted in D-day colors with no mention of its close call on the mu seum's website. They probably don't even know about it./I The creases in the top of Russ Far ris' 170B are one of the few things that keep the airplane from being nearly perfect. At the same time, how ever, he isn't about to remove them. It has been said that if you could read the wrinkles in a person's face, you'd know their history. This is one of those few cases where a few wrin kles in a pretty face can tell a very interesting story. ...... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

EAA AirVenture Museum hosts

extensive exhibit of

Charles Lindbergh's life

DICK KNAPINSKI The EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh marks its 20th anniversary in Oshkosh this summer by hosting the largest traveling exhibit ever brought to the facility, as the renowned "Lindbergh" exhibit pro duced by the Missouri Historical Society will be on display at EAA through early October. It includes hundreds of superb artifacts drawn from Charles Lind bergh's personal collection, many on public view for the first time in decades. Those items include Lind bergh's flight suit and other gear from his historic trans-Atlantic jour ney in 1927; the Orteig Prize proclamation and medal won by Lindbergh; his Congressional Medal of Honor; and many more of the important documents, souvenirs, and other objects attesting to lind bergh's worldwide popularity.

The exhibit also looks at the more controversial elements of Lindbergh's life, including the tragic kidnapping and murder of his son in 1932; lind bergh's forceful support of the isolationist" America First" move ment; and his acceptance of awards from Nazi Germany and Japan in the days prior to World War II. Other exhibit items include his toric film footage and radio broadcasts that capture the emo tion surrounding Lindbergh's successful solo flight across the At lantic Ocean; an interactive cross section of the Spirit ofSt. Louis cock pit that gives visitors a thorough understanding of the challenges faced during Lindbergh's 33-hour journey; and special displays of par ticular interest to children and families. In addition, memorabilia from Lindbergh's wife, Anne Mor-

To display the Lindbergh exhibit adjacent to its own display of the EAA Spirit of St. Louis replica, EAA had to construct a 4 ,OOO-square foot "museum within a museum." The special t emporary construction allows the Lindbergh exhibit to have its own lighting and display capabilities, creating a unique experience for EAA AirVenture Museum visitors.

AUGUST 2003

row Lindbergh, who became an ac claimed author in her own right, will also be included. The exhibit's appearance at EAA is made possible through support from Socata Aircraft, EADS North America, and Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation. Additional support provided by Goodrich Corp. The EAA AirVenture Museum is lo cated just off Highway 41 at the Highway 44 exit in Oshkosh. The Mu seum is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call the EAA Air Venture Museum at 920-426-4818 or visit www.airventuremuseum.org. Personal artifacts , such as the large globe presented to the Lind berghs as a wedding present from B. Franklin Mahoney, are part of the hundreds of Lindbergh arti facts and souvenirs on display until early October at the EAA Air Venture Museum.

58 Y.ars TOCJ.th.r in th. (o(kpit

A WWII transport crew sticks together

t is unlikely you'll find any World War II pilots still flying as a crew, but we know of two: Jim Gorman and Frank Moynahan. Their story began in the South west Pacific 58 years ago. Jim's crew, along with 15 airplanes, departed the United States in C-47s as part of the 3rd Air Commando Group, 318th Troop Carrier Squadron for assignment to the 5th Air Force. Af ter 51 hours of flying time via the Hawaii, Christmas, Canton, and Tarawa islands and Guadalcanal, they arrived in New Guinea. As the war progressed, moves were made to the islands of Leyte, Mindoro in the Philippines, and Luzon, where they landed at Lin gayen Gulf shortly after the invasion. There the runway was a dry rice paddy. Frank Moynahan arrived on the scene in January 1945, and Gorman and Moyna han became a team at ages 20 and 19. As Jim has stated many times, it took only a week or so to realize that Frank was probably a better pilot than he was. From then on they exchanged seats on their mis sions. During the battle for Manila, they landed on Quezon City Boulevard with ammunition and other supplies. On the return trip wounded soldiers were taken back to Lingayen and a waiting hospital ship in the harbor. With Manila secure, a move was made to Laoag in northern Luzon. The unusual part was the location: behind enemy lines in guerilla-held territory. Everything had to be flown in-fuel and food supplies-which kept the C-47s busy in addition to their mission to supply other guerilla operations by aerial drop or landing on small, unimproved airstrips.

Jim Gorman and Frank Moynahan in 1945 (Jim 's on the far left , and Frank 's next to him) and present day (Jim 's on the right) with Jim 's Beech Staggerwing.

continued on the page 26 VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Tailwheel Transition

Training Part 2

Wheel landings, or 101 ways to start a religious war DONOVAN HAMMER

f long ago you were the type of kid who would poke at an ant hill, you might like to know of an adult equivalent in which you enter a hangar full of tailwheel pilots and ask how and why wheel landings are performed. The ensu ing chaos is very nearly the same, with the latter situation providing the greater potential for personal in jury if you're not too quick on your feet. That said, I will try to avoid poking any "ant hills" by not delv ing too deeply into the hows and whys of wheel landings in this arti cle. Anyway, the topic deserves much more discussion than I can expeditiously provide here. What I do hope to achieve, though, is to convince the transitioning tailwheel pilot of the importance of learning and becoming proficient with wheel landings. Since I'm deferring de

AUGUST 2003

tailed arguments supporting my po sition, some of what I say here will have to be taken on faith for now. The three-point landing is widely accepted to be the conventional method of landing for most models of taildragger airplanes. But, the wheel landing is an important tool, also. Nonetheless, I often encounter pilots with poor wheel landing skills, and they're seemingly content to stay that way. Wheel landings are to the taildragger student as NDB (nondirectional beacon) approaches are to the instrument student, or as aero-tows are to the glider student. It is one of those things that is easy to do, but for many, it is hard to learn. However, you should stick with it because not only is learning to do wheel landings a good idea, but it is also the law. FAR 61.31(i)(1)(ii) specifically requires

that, to receive a tailwheel endorse ment, a pilot must demonstrate proficiency in wheel landings unless they are not recommended by the manufacturer for the airplane used for training. Unfortunately, for some certificated flight instructors (eFls), this is what could be one of the most neglected rules in the book. And doubly bad, this sort of attitude also leaves the student with the idea that wheel landings are not worthy of their attention. To properly and safely perform a three-point landing, the airplane must touch down simultaneously on both the mains and the tail wheel with the airplane fully or nearly stalled. In contrast, the wheel landing is done on the main gear only with the aircraft in a nearly level attitude, and the aircraft is es sentially flown onto the runway.

Because the tail wheel has no sup port at touchdown, and because the airspeed is a bit higher, the wheel landing is more susceptible to the

t bounce. At touchdown, the pilot must gently apply forward pressure on the yoke or stick to eliminate the tendency for the aircraft to bounce as well as to hold the aircraft to the runway. The pilot must exercise good control so that the touchdown is done gently with very little verti cal velocity. It should be noted that landing techniques used for tricycle airplanes have no real counterpart to the wheel landing, so transition pilots have little prior experience to draw from. Ironically, glider pilots can relate to wheel landings more easily because the conventional landing for gliders is essentially a wheel landing, although it is not re ferred to as such. The list of advantages and disad vantages offered by wheel landings can be somewhat subjective and will vary to some degree from instructor to instructor. The transitioning pilot should not be deterred by the fact that there are some differences of opinion. Notwithstanding, a partial list of the advantages might be (a) improved visibility, (b) wider allow able speed range for touchdown, (c) more control authority during the final stages of the approach to touchdown, and (d) perhaps an eas ier way to judge the exact touchdown point. A comparable list of disadvantages might be (a) more prone to bouncing, or skipping, (b) higher energy landings, (c) requires more attention to control, and (d) extends the touchdown phase-the touchdown isn't over until the tail wheel is on the ground. After considerable research on the subject, I have found that the situa

tions calling for wheel landings are as much a matter of technique, de pendent on pilot and aircraft, as they are a matter of accepted prac tice. Most students are more comfortable with definite rules gov erning the use of wheel landings. But, like many things in aviation, one size does not necessarily fit all, and it is up to the judgment of the pilot to decide what usage is appro priate for the situation. Therefore, an important job rests with the in structor to ensure that the student is adequately prepared to make a safe and informed decision. The instruc tor will provide guidelines based on accepted practices flavored with per sonal preferences that are based on the instructor's own technique. However, in the final analysis, it is up to the transitioning pilot to be come proficient with wheel landings and to experiment with them to see what works best. Whether or not you decide to use a wheel landing should be based on what you judge to be the appropriate action for your situation, and not because you lack the skill to do it. Wheel landings and crosswind technique are two areas where CFls frequently fail to provide adequate training. The fact that Mother Nature cannot be relied upon to provide the proper conditions becomes one com mon reason that crosswind training gets neglected. On the other hand, the reasons that wheel landings get shortchanged are not so easily ex cused. The first of these reasons is perhaps that wheel landings are not one of the more fun parts of the tail dragger training curriculum. If you, the student, are nervous during your first few wheel landing attempts, you should consider the flight instructor who is trying to anticipate all the cre ative ways this maneuver can be "enhanced" by an untested pilot. (That's why I like hiding out of view in the rear seat of a Champ or a Citabria, as it allows me to maintain the illusion of the dignified, un flinching flight instructor.) Another reason is that some CFls with low time and spurious experience with

tailwheel airplanes don't really un derstand their significance. And yet one more reason is that it is not un common for the wheel landing part of the training to become somewhat protracted if the CFI is intent on bringing the student up to the appro priate level of proficiency. However, the overly customer-oriented CF I, sometimes under pressure from stu dents , may rationalize that the students can be turned loose to re solve any shortcomings on their own, or to come back later for fur ther instruction when they get a better feel for their new airplane. The truth is that the likelihood that ei ther will happen is not always gOOd. The punchline to all this verbiage is that in order for you to consider yourself a taildragger pilot you must be proficient at wheel landings. The first step toward this goal comes from the proper training, which must be followed up with frequent practice and experimentation. I know that getting many pilots to read anything can be about as suc cessful as getting them to enjoy a trip to the dentist, but I cannot stress enough the importance of a good textbook. Two very good and readily available texts are The Compleat Tail dragger Pilot by Harvey S. Plourde and Conventional Gear: Flying a Tail dragger by David Robson. You need not worry too much about deciding between them. Get both; each has its own perspective, and they com plement each other well. In closing maybe you should consider all of this as enlightened self-interest. Good training and preparation is a good way to improve safety and re duce the risk to that precious taildragger of yours. Don Hammer CFI-ASE, CFI-I, CFI-G 503/627-4666 (day) 503/692-3471 (night)

donovanh@tek.com [Don Hammer provides tailwheel train ing through the McMinnville FBD. If you're interested in tailwheel training and this syllabus, he invites you to con tact him by phone or e-mail.} VINTAGE AIRPLANE

NTAGEINSTRUCTOR

After the

DOUG STEWART

Short while ago I was flying to a nearby air port with my 16-year-old son at the controls in the front seat of my 1947 Piper Supe r Cruiser. At the appropriate time he started his descent. With carb heat on and power reduced to 2,000 rpm, we were in a stable cruise descent. We were approximately 2 miles from the airport, descend ing through 2,500 feet AGL, when he suddenly pulled the power to idle. It certainly caught my attention as I sat up and said, "Why'd you pull the power?" "I did n't," he said. "I thought you did," he continued as he began sitting up straight in the front seat. Saying, "I've got it," I quickly took him through the drill. Trim for best glide. Carb heat on. Mixture full rich. Check both fuel tanks on. Mags on in both . From our position relative to the airport, we had just enough altitude and distance to glide to a downwind landing. Announcing our position and predicament on the UNICOM frequency, we set up for a modified left base to the runway. Luckily there was no one else in the pattern. With the slow glide speed of a PA-12, there was not enough air passing through the prop to keep it windmilling, and as it came to a stop, I am sure my son's eyeballs were about as big as saucers. I touched down on the runway just a little farther than I had planned, as I had not realized the tail wind would be as strong as it was. However, I was still able to coast off the runway onto the grass just beyond the first taxiway. As we rolled to a stop, my son said, liThe only thing missing was a hat on the runway," refer ring to our friend Stan Segalla's "Flying Farmer" act that ends with a dead-stick landing, coming to a stop right beside his farmer's hat that had "blown" out of the cockpit on takeoff. Was it luck, skill, or currency (and I'm not referring to money in my pocket) that led to an uneventful outcome to a potentially dangerous situation? I'd like to think that it was a combination of all three. Luck? Certainly, in that the failure occurred within gliding distance of the airport, and the absence of anyone else in the pattern. Skill? I'd like to think that I have good skills ... but who amongst us would admit to having

AUGUST 2003

less than good skills? Currency? As a flight instructor there isn't too much in my pocket, but as far as prac ticing simulated power failures goes, I would be honest and accurate if I said that I coach students through these at least several times each week. Fur thermore, when I am pleasure flying my Super Cruiser by myself, or with friends and/or family on board, I practice a simulated power failure at a minimum of once a month. To me, that is money in the bank. These simulated failures are practiced both at alti tude as well as in the pattern, and they are always taken to a landing. To up the ante I insist both for myself, as well as for my students, that the landing be a precision landing, touching down on, or no more than 100 feet beyond, a deSignated spot. Bob Martens, one of the best Safety Program Man agers the FAA has in it's employ, is often heard to say that if you have not practiced a simulated power failure in the past 30 days, then you are not current if your en gine does indeed fail for real. How current are you? Many pilots feel that they have to have an instruc tor on board to practice a simulated failure. This is not the case at all. However let's be CLEAR about several things. When practicing failures, be sure to CLEAR your engine at least once for every thousand feet of al titude loss . That way if a go-around becomes a necessity, your simulation will not become a "real ation." Also be sure to CLEAR the area. Although an instructor is not reqUired, it is always great to have someone else on board to help keep an eye out for other traffic; it is easy to miss traffic when all your at tention is focused on getting to the runway. Also be sure to announce your position and intentions over the CTAF (common traffic advisory frequency). Obvi ously, if you are operating at a towered airport, you will need to coordinate with ATe. Many instructors have their students break off a simulated power failure when they get within 1,000 feet of the ground. Unfortunately if you have not practiced a simulated power failure to a full landing, you might find that the most difficult decisions occur below 1,000 feet AGL. Even judging when to apply

The Golden Age of Aviation Series flaps wi ll only come from experience. I wo uld not want that knowledge to be gained only when experi encing a genuine failure. To gain the most out of the training be sure that you endeavor to land on a desig nated spot. And to further enhance the training, do a soft-field landing so that you are prepared to land in a plowed corn lot if that happens to be the only landing option if or when your engine fails for real. Speaking of real engine failures, you won't have time during a failure to get out the checklist. This is one of those emergencies that requires you to know what to do immediately. It is on ly through frequent practice that will you be prepared for the eventuality. Memorize the engine failure checklist through re peated practice. I have also found that many pilots, when verbaliz ing the procedure, say at some point, "Attempt res tart of engine." I ask if that means that they are going to go to the starter switch, and I usually receive a reply to the affirmative. What we have to realize is that in many engine fail ures, the reason the engine is no longer producing power is because it is missing one of three ingredients: fuel, fire, or air. If this is the case, the propeller will be windmilling. Restore what is missing and the engine will immediately restart without ever touching a start switch. The fuel could be missing because you 've run a tank dry (if it's your only tank, you had better look for a landing spot) the mixture might have vibrated to idle cut-off a fuel line might be blocked; a fuel pump, if you have one, might have failed; or a fuel line might have broken. Switching tanks, checking mixture full rich, and putting on an electric pump, if so equipped, should re store the fuel. The engine might not be getting air because of carb ice or a blocked induction system. Try carb heat or alternate air. An engine might not run too well if a magneto has jumped time, so see if the engine will run better on one mag or the other. You are probably wondering what had caused my failure. Well . . . the best I can figure out, I had more than an hour's worth of fuel on board, but it was dis tributed un evenly between the tanks. When a Super Cruiser pitches nose down, as in a glide, the fuel line at the back of the tank unports, sucking in air, if the fuel quantity is low. In retrospect, had I switched that low tank to "OFF" I might have gotten a restart before the prop stopped. I'll remember to try that next time! If you are reluctant to practice simulated power fail ures by yourself, then by all means hire an instructor to come along with you. And do not wait to prac ti ce these only once every other year during your biennial flight review. Practice them frequently. If, or when, your engine quits, you'll be thrilled that you invested in the training . .. and furthermore it will help you in the transition from being a good pilot, into being a great pilot! .......

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

PASS

IT TO

Bue

BY E.E. "BUCK" HILBERT, EAA #21 VAA #5

P.O. Box 424,

UNION,

IL 60180

How come we do . •••?

Doing owner-assisted annuals has its perks. It gives me a chance to meet and greet fellow aviation enthusiasts who are addicted to the airplane dis ease and love airplanes. There are times when everything isn't fun, and an annual inspection reveals prob lems that can really deflate an owner's ego as well as his wallet. Then too, there is the guy, let's call him Captain Knowitall, who flies for an airline and is an expert on every thing. His attitude and treatment of his "little" airplane borders on the criminal. "That little airplane can't hurt me! I'm a heavy equipment op erator! By the way, I'm having a little trouble trying to turn my airplane to the right. Is there a problem?" After a few more comments and a question or two, the source of the "problem II is uncovered. He has a "big" Scott tail wheel on his Cessna 140, and it does in fact swivel in only one direction. Other than that, the operation, although dirty and over lubed, seems normal. I asked him if when he parked his airplane after he is through flying for the day, if he trailed the tail wheel to the fore and aft position? His reply was something like this : "What the heck for? I never worry about it!" That tells me immediately what the problem is. The Scott 3200 series of tail wheel has a spring. (Take a look at the isomet ric drawing; it's Item No. 18.) This little coiled fellow normally rides in a groove or slot and assists in unlatching the tail wheel so it will swivel. When it is under constant pressure, as it is when the wheel is cocked, or out of the trailing position for days or weeks at a time, the spring weakens. Result? It will swivel in only one direction and will be locked up tighter than Ft. Knox in the other di rection. It is very annoying and very 24

AUGUST 2003

hard on the tire, the spring, and all the attached hardware . It's also embarrass ing to our pilot when he tries to make a tight turn in the locked-up direction. All the lube in the world won't help. The only remedy is to remove and re place the tired, weakened spring, and then take care to always park with the tail wheel in the trailing position when you secure your airplane. Captain Knowitall is also a verita ble repetitive question box . I'm forever answering questions such as: Why do we do a compression check? Why do we rotate the spark plugs? Where do the lead deposits come from in the spark plugs? Don't misunderstand me; there re ally isn't a dumb question. If a person asks a question, an explanation is the only way to go; however, and this is the problem, Captain Knowitall some how doesn't absorb the answer. He is cyclical in his questions. He abounds in theories that contradict plausible explanation, and is ~o busy telling all who will listen hi s theory that he never hears what I have to say. Your technician, your airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic , and your A&P with an inspection authori za tion have spent countless hours, days, and even years gaining the ex perience to help you keep your airplane flying. All the while with the FAA, the boss, and his conscience looking over his shoulder and con stantly checking his work. Give him a break! Listen to him. If he jabs you in the wallet, that may be the only way there is to fix the situation. If you have a "c ranky " engine, or a recur ring problem that just doesn't seem to have a fix, be patient. It'll come to light and get fixed. It hurts him, too, to put all kinds of extra effort into a IS-minute job that may take several hours to resolve.

I mentioned the compression check. What does it accomplish? In short, it's not an MRI, but if it's done correctly, and when the en gine is still warm after recent opera tion, it's sort of like an examination of your innards. A look at the spark plugs, coupled with the compression check, can give a good indication as to the condition of your engine. The clues are there; it's up to the "wrench II to read them. Oily plugs? Fouled plugs? Burned electrodes? Plugs have a story to tell, if one can only read them, and that coupled with the compression check can isolate a problem when it may still be minor-before it escalates into a major repair. This is why we do the compression check just as soon after the opera tional check when the airplane comes into the shop. If there is a "bellyache" it will soon be evident. The second item is to drain the oil and open up the filter to look for any suspicious debris. Finding that the fil ter has done its job and is holding little pieces of whatnot isn't always a fatal sign. Your "techie" will examine the folds in the filter, test any suspi cious findings, and 99 times out of 100 will find everything is okey-doke! The filter did its job, and the stuff didn't run around inside the engine. And by the way, that oil does more then just dirty the belly and cost four bucks a quart. We all know it makes things slippery inside the engine, but did you know it also cools? And cleans? K And with that. . . It's over to you, (( ~t<cJ.,

FLY-IN CALENDAR

EAA FLY-IN SCHEDULE 2003 • EAA Mid-Eastern Fly-In

August 22-24, Marion, OH (MNN) 440-352-1781 • Virginia State EAA Fly-In r~.= ~~~~~~~_ .

September 20-21, Petersburg, J,M NEWlUN

The fol/owing list ofcoming events is furnished to ollr readers as a matter of illforrnatioll ollly and does not constitute approval, spollsorship, involvemellt, control or direction ofallY event (fly-in, semi nars, 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 mai l to:, Att: Vin tage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Information should be received four mOllths prior to the event date. AUGUST 8 -10--Alli ance, OH-5th Annual Ohio Aeronca Aviators Fly-In, Alliance Barber Airport (2Dl) Info: Brian 216-932 3475, bwmatzllac@yallOo.com, or

www.oaafly-in.com AUGUST 9-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 AUGUST 1000Queen City, MO-15th Annual Watermelon Fly-In & BBQ, Applegate Air· port, 2pm·dark. Info: 660-766-2644 AUGUST 16-Cadil lac, MI-EAA Ch. 678 Fly-In/Drive-In Breakfast, Wexford Cty Airport. 7:30-11 a.m. Info: 231-779-8113 AUGUST 1 7-Brookfield, WI-VAA Ch. 11, 19th Annual Vintage Aircraft Display and Ice Cream Social, Capitol Airport. Noon 5. Info: George 414-962-2428 or Capitol Airport 262-781 -8132 AUGUST 22-23-Coffeyville, KS-Funk Air craft Owners Association 26th Annual Fly-In and Reunion. Info: 302-674-5350 AUGUST 22-24-Sussex, NJ-Sussex Air show. Experimentals, ultralights, classics, warbirds, top performers, celebrate the history of flight. Info: 973 875-0783 or www.sussexairshowinc.com AUGUST 29-31-Saranac Lake, NY-Cen tennial of Flight Celebration Air Show.

www.saranaclake.com/airport.shtnll AUGUST 30--Zanesville, OH-EAA Ch . 425 Pancake Breakfast Fly-I n/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--Ma rion, I --13th Annual Fly/In Cruise/ln Pancake Breakfast. Marion Municipal Airport (MZZ). Fea tures Antique, Classic, Homebuilt, anel Warbird aircraft, as well as vintage vehi cles. Info: Ray 765-664-2588 or

www.FlylnCruiseln.com AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER I -Cleveland, OH-Clevelanel Nat' l Air Show. Info: 216-781-0747 or www.clevelandairsllOw.com SEPTEMBER 6-Niles, MI-VAA ch. 35 Corn & Sausage Roast, Niles Michigan Airport (3TR). 11 am-4pm . Rain elate: Sept. 7. Info 574-272-5858. SEPTEMBER 13-Bennington, VT-Ben nington, Sport Flying Club & AirNow Fly-In, William H. Morse State Airport (DD H). 8am-5pm. Hanga rs available free of charge for most vintage aircraft. Info: Erin 802-753-5240 or

ederoche@aimow.com

SEPTEM BER 13-14-Rock Fa ll s, IL North Central EAA "Olel Fashioneel" Fly- In, Whiteside County Airport (SQI). Forums, workshops, fly-market, camp ing, air ra lly, awards, food & exhibitors, Sunday pancake b reakfast. 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: 631-589-03 74 SEPTEMB ER 19-20--Bartlesville, OK 47th Annual Tulsa Regiona l Fly-l n. Info: Charlie Harris 918-665-0755, Fax 918

665-0039, www.tulsaflyill.com SEPTEMB ER 20 -2 1-Nashua, NH-2003 Aviatio n Heritage Festival, sponsored by Daniel Webster Co ll ege. Nashua Airport, adjacent to the co llege. 8:30am-5pm. Featuring 25 vintage airplanes, distin guished guests, seminars, and aviation exhibits sure to educate and entertain people of all ages. Tickets avai lable at the gate, cash on ly. Adults: $10, Childre n 6 12: $5, Children 5 and under: Free. Info: 603-577-6624 or www.dwc.edu/fes tival SEPTEMBER 2 1-Simsbury, CT-Annual Simsbury Connecticut Fly-ln. We especially welcome antique and vintage a/c, along w/ homebuilts and Warbirds. Trophies awarded for best of type. Event also features flybys by Navy F-18 jets, a Canadair business jet, para chute jumping, over 125 beautiful antique cars, and more. No advance registration, no admission fee for aircraft flying to the event. Info: Bill Thomas 860-693-4550 or

wdtholnas@snet.net. SEPTEM BER 26-28--Pottstown , PA-Bel lanca-Champion Club East Coast Fly- In at Pottstown Municipal Airport (N47). Info: 518-731-6800 or

www.bellanca-c/lampionclllb.conl SEPTEM BER 2 7-Hanover, IN-Annual Wood, Fabric, & Tailwheels Fly-In, Lee Bot tom Flying Field. Relaxed atmosphere, legendary "Cajun Avgas" (15 Bean Chili). May arrive the night before to share fireside !lying stories and enjoy Dawn Patrol. Rain date 9/28/03. Info: 812-866-3211 or

IfitsOldIIIFlylt@msl1.com SE PTEM BER 2 7-Richmond, VA-8th An nual Wings and Wheels, Humme l Air Field (W-75), Topping, VA. An tique, Clas sic, Ultra light, and Experimental Aircraft fly-in, and a British, European, American and Exotic car show, 8:00 am-4:00 pm. Spectator parking fee of $5 per auto will go to the Hartfield Volunteer Fire Depart-

(PTB)

www.vaeaa.org • EAA Southeast Regional Fly-In

October 3-5, Evergreen, AL (GZH)

www.serfi·org • 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 - August 23-September 2 - Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA - December l3-1 7 - First Flight Centenn ial Celebra tion, Kitty Hawk, NC ment. General admission is free . Arts and Crafts vendors, Stearman rides, food, and much, much more. Info: 804-758-2753 or

in{o@wingsandwileels.us. SEPTEM BER 2 7-28--Midland, TX-Fina CAF AlRSHO 2003, Mid land Int'I Airport. Info: 915-563-1000, www.airsho.org SEPTEMBER 28--Ghent, NY-EAA Ch. 146 Fall Fly-In Pancake Breakfast, Klinekill Airport (NY 1), Route 21B. 8:30-noon. (Gas available at Columbia County Airport, 1B1.) 518-758-6355, web: www.eaa146.org OCTO BER 4-S-Rutland, VT-13th An nual Leafpeepers Fly- In Breakfast, Rutland State Airport. Info: 802-235

2808, vt{1yer@vermontel.net OCTO BER IS -19-Tull ahoma, TN Beech Party 2003 "A Celebration" Tullahoma Regiona l Airport. Safety &: Formation Flying School 10/17/03. Awards, BBQ, kids hayride, ladies fash ion show, pilots maintenance/safety seminars and much more. Info: 931 455-1974 or www.staggerwing.com OCTOBER 2S-26-Royal Newcastle Aero Club, Maitland, New South Wales-The Great Tiger Moth Air Race 2003. Info: 02-9328-2480 e-mail:

(iona.c.coYlSulting@bigpond.com OCTO BER 25-26-Elba, Alabama - EAA Chapter 351 Fly-In, Elba municipal Air port (14]). Early arrivals welcome, free transportation to local motels, no fee under wing camping permitted, rest room available in terminal, no fee Fly Market. Young Eag les flying program, food , 100 Ll Avgas available. Info: Mike Haynes, 334-897-1137 VINTAGE AIRPLANE

58 Years Together in the Cockpit continued from page 19 Their C-47, flown by ano th er crew, was lost in the Luzon Moun tains while on an aerial resupply mission. Fortunately, anoth er very well used C-47 was located as a re placement. During February 1945, Jim and Frank flew 112 hours and 32 com bat missions for aerial resupply of the Philippine guerillas that were fighting the Japanese on Luzon. In Europe, 30 missions got you a trip home. In the Southwest Pacific, you got a warm cola at the Red Cross tent and the opportunity to finish

out the war where you were. In eight months, 6,600 sorties were flown by the 318th. That's just short of two missions per day, per airplane. The next base of operations for the 318th was the island of Ie Shima, off the coast of Okinawa, to prepare for the expected November I, 1945, invasion of Japan. While there, after the dropping of the atomic bombs, they had the rare opportunity to see the Japanese Betty bombers land on their strip with the high-ranking delegation en route to Manila to arrange for

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~ 26

AUGUST 2003

the final surrender. The most heart-warming of their missions was, after arriving in Japan two weeks before the formal surrender, flying out to remote ar eas of Japan to bring American and other prisoners of war back to Tokyo for transfer back home after some had spent more than four long years in captivity. After the end of World War II, they learned that had the invasion of Japan taken place, the estimated casualty rate of their squadron was 80 percent. Both would be glad to discuss the matter with those who say we should not have dropped the atomic bomb. Once back home, Frank and Jim followed the same format for their early civilian lives, returning to col lege and joining the National Guard, where they again flew the C-47 in addition to the P-51 Mus tang and P-80 jet fighter. Jim joined his father's company, a pump manufacturer, while Frank be came a Delta Air Lines pilot. He flew DC-3s and everything else up to and including the Lockheed L-101 1. Their paths drifted apart until the 1970s, when they met again at the EAA fly in in Oshkosh. Frank had brought his Pitts Special, while Jim had flown in with his Beech Staggerwing. Frank was the last WWII veteran pilot to retire from Delta. Jim and his wife, Marge, joined Frank and his wife, Lucille, and Frank's chil dren on his last flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Atlanta. Now, it's standard operating proce dure for Frank to fly his Beech Travelair twin to Mansfield, Ohio, hop in the Staggerwing, and reac quaint himself with the antique Beechcraft as he and Jim trade off flying each leg on the trip to Oshkosh. As these two late-70s pi lots fly a 56-year-old airplane on the trip, they both remarked it's been a wonderful life, and they have 50,000 hours of flying time between them to prove it (Frank has 40,000 of the 50,OOO!). .......

JOHN MILLER RECALLS continued from page 6 make such short flights, here is how it was done. The takeoff began right at the chute. After liftoff the plane was held down two or three seconds and then lifted up into a steep climbing 180-degree turn to down wind, a cross between a wingover and an Immelman. Shortly after passing the touchdown area a steep banked turn was made to land. The speed was killed by wide fishtailing, and touchdown was made exactly on the same spot each time so that the plane could be slightly braked to a stop with the lower wing just past the chute. It was a real rolier-coaster ride, and the people loved it. They all got out laughing, and many went right back and bought tickets for a second ride. I had realized that those people who had never been close to an airplane before just wanted a short sample ride the first time, not a long one. A family of four could go up for $4, fully equivalent to today's $16 at least, but far less than the $20 or more that it would cost at an airport. None complained. With the airplane going up and down, with never a break, the excitement was high, and people who would not normally take a chance of flying got caught up in the enthusiasm and did it, by the hundreds. The tailskid would actually dig a big hole in the ground where it touched down repeat edly in an area of only about 5 or 6 feet. The flying would become almost automatic from repetition. In the evening it was fun to layout all the money on the beds and the floor of the hotel room to count it and check the tickets against it and then to divide it up. Even though it was obvious to many people that we were loaded with money at the end of the day, there was little chance of a holdup in those days. Nevertheless, I always carried a .32 Colt pistol. In later years while flying on the airline, my copi lots and even the flight attendants sometimes asked how I could make such consistently good landings, and I just said that I' d had a heliuvalotta practice while barnstorming, like 250 or more landings a day. In 1930 I did a lot of passenger hopping in a New Standard D-25 at Teterboro Airport with Bill Diehl fly ing a second D-25. We would be flying passengers at $2.50 each from the same chute, one right behind the other, as fast as we could go. We flew for the New Standard Flying Service, owned by Ive McKinney, who had flown for the Gates Flying Circus when I worked for it as a mechanic temporarily in 1927. We could average 50 hops per hour each in the two planes, $1,000 per hour ela psed time at the peak crowd with no advertising at all, for about four or five hours on a Sunday. We got a 28 percent commission for our flying. We really kept the pit crew working fu riously. Bill Diehl was an Early Bird, having started flying in 1911, and he had been a civilian flight in structor in WWI. He had given me my first airplane

ride in a IN-4 Canuck in 1921 and flew out of Teter boro until he retired. A street at Teterboro is named for him. Before he died he wrote me several letters re calling that flying. None of the other pilots ever learned about my method, and I did not brag about how many passen gers I carried because they might get curious and investigate. They were all busy on some airport trying to get people to part with five bucks for a 10 or 15 minute ride, so they did not know what I was doing or even where I was. It would often be several weeks before I would even touchdown on the established airport, for I was always out in the farm country somewhere. The men who worked for me were not aviation people, so they did not go to airports. In fact, I kept them busy seven days per week. I like to think about the thousands of people whom I flew on their very first flights , before the era of air lines more than 60 years ago, when airplanes were still open-cockpit biplanes. They are the airline passengers of today. When I was flying the airliners later, I often wondered if any of the people I originally introduced to flying might be riding with me in a pressurized jet airliner at 35,000 feet, but I was afraid to ask. ......

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Barry Sutherland. . . .. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Christopher Owen Shine .. Geraldton, Australia Fernando D. Guerra ...... Alegrete, R.S., Brazil Paul Lucas ............ Lantau Island, China Mauro Trocca ................ , Roma, Italy Arnfinn Roald , , , , ... , . , . , Valderoy, Norway Daniel j. Shoop ....... Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Lyle Grace. , , , Harley, Surrey, United Kingdom j. Richard Appleton . ....... , , Strathmore, AB Sheldon Schroeder .... , , ....... Calgary, AB Dirk j. Greeley ......... , .... Anchorage, AK Sam Wright. , ... , . , ........... Haines, AK Gregory Carter ... , , .... , ... Fayetteville, AR Eugene Albamonte ........... Scottsdale, AZ Gary W. Kent ......... , .... . ... Aguila, AZ Mark Stephens... , , . , . , , , . , , . , Flagstaff, AZ Donal j. Bunker. ...... Huntington Beach, CA jeff Dejohn, , , , , .. , ..... Arroyo Grande, CA jeff Field . , ...... , .. , .. , . , Chatsworth, CA Gary Hartshorn ........ . ..... Glendale, CA Kenton E. Kiaser , . , . , , , . , . , , . Elk Grove, CA jim Mueller. , .. , . , ..... . , .. San Diego, CA Richard Skjerven ............. Los Gatos, CA Keith Livo ... .. ...... .. ... . Lakewood, CO Tom Lytle, .... , ........... Longmont, CO Dennis Raphael ....... Colorado Springs, CO Robert C. Rogers .............. . Aurora, CO George Anderson, ... , . , ... . , .. Clinton, CT Larry Simpson ............... Ridgeville, DE Lawrence V. Grondzki .......... Live Oak, FL David L Joseph, . , . , . , . ..... .. Lakeland, FL Allen Rice ............ . .... Boca Raton, FL Gary A. Braun ... .. . .......... Roswell, GA jerry Clements ................. Tucker, GA Micheal j. Lossner .... , ..... Mitchellville, IA Dwight Magnuson ...... . ........ Boise, ID David Burroughs ............... Normal, IL Lee Hilbert .......... . ...... Algonquin, IL Steven j. Rosenfeld .. . . .. ..... . . Glencoe, IL james E. Fisher ......... . .... Greenville, IN Rick Fox .............. , .... Van Buren, IN Dwayne L Clemens ............. Benton, KS Morrie Bishop ............... St Amant, LA john Bryan ...... , .. .... , , . Choudrant, LA Dennis p, Dowling............ Salisbury, MA William W, Bell ... , ......... Baltimore, MD Ron Berkheimer ... . ...... Silver Spring, MD jason Garver. ... , .. , . , , , ...... Detour, MD Frederick Lohr. .... .. . , ... Chestertown, MD Robert Bartlett. , , . , .. , , , , , , Gouldsboro, ME

Dale Anderson ...... ..... . ..... Linden, MI Gerald Kuchera ......... West Bloomfield, MI Craig V. Lahti ................ Brethren, MI Michael B. Madden ..... Farmington Hills, MI Boyde Anderson . ........ Spring Grove, MN Chris Haeffner, ... . , ..... , , , . SI. Louis, MO john M, johnson ...... .. ... . . Big Fork, MT Robert L Morris ..... . ........... Ulm, MT Richard Bottegal. ........... Kure Beach, NC john S. Cargill .... . .. . .......... Cary, NC Mark Honeycutt ...... . ... Elizabeth City, NC Frank Mason ....... , . , , .. , , , Davidson, NC jeffrey Reynolds, .......... , . Troutman, NC William C. Smathers ........... Canton, NC jack R. jacobsen ............... Omaha, NE Richard Millard ..... . .. , ... . .. Bedford, NH Anthony j, Ciampa ........... Northfield, Nj David L Hamann ........... Los Lunas, NM Frederick Prosser . , , , , , . , , , Boulder City, NY Eugene Schultz . , .......... Stone Ridge, NY john Siedhoff. ............. Averill Park, NY Perry M. Chappano ... Grandview Heights, OH Eric E. Franks ........... , . , .. . Weston, OH james j. Hill .. .... .......... Napoleon, OH Thomas V. Seevers .. .. . ...... .. Hilliard, OH Vincent Anderson .............. Canby, OR Philip Bales, , . . .... . ..... .. ... Astoria, OR Russell Darr ..... . .. . . ....... Portland, OR David Gester .......... . ... Grants Pass, OR Frank Martin ... , . .. , .. .. ...... Albany, OR Chris Presley .............. Stroudsburg, PA William Steinkamp. , , . .. .. Saunderstown, RI john Sweeney .. ..... .. ...... Smithfield, RI Harvard Schulz ....... . .. .. Mission Hill, SD Raymond Thomas .......... Spring Field, SD Don C. Donahue ......... jonesborough, TN joel F. Rupe , .................. , . Gray, TN Ronin B. Colman .... .. , .... , Arlington, TX Tom E. Gregory, jr...... , ........ , Alvin, TX james B. Himes ............... , . Plano, TX Hal Hodges , ..... , , ...... Canyon Lake, TX Gary L jackson ... , . . ... .. ..... Simms, TX Tom McKnight. .......... , ..... Austin, TX Mark Phillips .......... .. . Sulphur Bluff, TX john H. Smith ... ... . . ........ Lubbock, TX Robert G. Schindler ............. Sandy, UT Richard N. Cushman .. .. . , Fort Atkinson, WI William Fons ...... . , .. ... . . Brookfield, WI james A. Rasmussen ... . . . ... Marshfield, WI Terry j. Sheafor ......... . , .. ,janesville, WI

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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. PQ-8 certified Target Drone derivative. Tri-gear Culver Cadet. See Juptner's Vol. 8-170. Total time A&E 845 hrs. I just have too many toys and I'm not getting any younger. Find my name in the Offi cers & Directors listing of Vintage and e-mail or call evenings . E. E. "Buck" Hilbert Flying wires available. 1994 pricing. Visit www.flyingwires.com or caIlSOO-517 927S. For Sale - 1939 Spartan Executive, 35OOTT,10 SMOH. 214-354-641S. For Sale-One pair of ORIGINAL Curtiss Jenny (IN-4) wheels. Nice original con dition. 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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763·786-3342

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AUGUST 2003

Dove and Trevor flew to LI"'''lAlI~ for the first time in 2002 Dove _ Started flying as teenager _ After 23-yeor hiatus, began fly ing again in 1997 _ Bought 1941 Interstate Cadet in 1998 Trevor _ Soloed a glider on 14 th birthday - Sept. 29, 2000 _ Soloed the Cadet on his 16 th birthday

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TYPE CLUB NOTES showing up on the leading edge of the lower wing just behind ex haust tail pipe that nothing will remove. These deposits appear as small black specs that you can feel when running your hands over them. Your fingernail will flake them off. This chemical buildup is also inside the exhaust system and appears as a light tan to a yellow color. I've seen it in this engine and inside exhaust systems of op posed engines. I have a series of colored photographs taken of a Ly coming 0-320 in New Hampsh ire that was operated on lOOLL fuel. The chemical buildup is very heavy. So we can expect changes in radial engine operation and even overhaul life if this fue l is used on a regular basis.

cont inued from page 12

I have used no fuel/oil additives; however, I d id use some Marvel Mystery Oil in the fuel for a time. We cannot operate the engine on automotive fuel because the air plane is flown commercially. However, if I could use auto fuel, I think I'd try to use a mixture of 75 percent auto and 25 percent 100LL. I'll bet the engine would love it! So, it is my belief that if one stays on top of engine operation and does regu lar maintenance along with good preventive main tenance measures, engine life should be enhanced. I am ab so l utely "sold" on AeroShell ashless dispersant oil, with changes every 25 hours (with no fil ter sys tem installed). In fact, AeroShell is

now an official sponsor of Rob's barnstorming business-Waldo Wright's Flying Service. Cylinder leakage checks every 50 hours, spark plug gapping and reversing every 50 hours, and per haps oil analysis wi ll keep that radia l engine operational for a long period of time. I pay close at tention to oil consumption. This engine has used 4 quarts of oil over a IS-hour span of operation. I'm sure that prolonged engine life is due to the improvements in lu bricating oil. And a good understanding of how best to op erate and maintain the engine over a long period of time. Good luck and happy flying. Robert Lock E-mail: waldo997e@aol.com

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V00877XL V008782X

V00879 VOO88O

Classic stainless steel mug with plastic handle and cap. Standard base fits most car cup holders.

SEE MORE!

SEE MANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS AT THE VAA RED BARN DURING AIRVENTURE

2003.

Check out all the VAA available merchandise by shopping the Vintage section of EAA Aeronautica. ORDER ONLINE:

This 3-dimensional patch is well tailored and will look great on your clothing and accessories. 32

AUGUST 2003

http://shop.eaa.org

a;a~Vi'~

Vehicle Discount