VA-Vol-36-No-7-July-2008 by EAA Vintage Aircraft Association

GEOFF ROBISON PRES I DENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOC IATON

It's AirVenture time t's here. For aviators around the globe, the month of July always brings EAA AirVenture Oshkosh to mind. Most everyone of these aviators will wish he or she were go ing to be able to attend, but for var ied reasons, many are never able to make it. Here's hoping this is the year for you! I still remember my first EAA convention in 1984; I re ally thought it would likely turn out to be a one-time visit for me. Fortu nately, the proverbial Oshkosh bug bit me pretty hard. So far, I have not missed a single Oshkosh since my first, and each of them has been very enjoyable. But, some members are not as fortunate as I am in be ing able to come to this great event every year. Even if you can get here only once, you really owe it to your self to experience this amazing cel ebration of the Spirit of Aviation. One of the great benefits of mem bership is the opportunity to serve yo ur fellow members as a Vintage volunteer during EAA AirVenture. So, as we typically do each year in July, here's a partial list of names and contact information for many of the volunteer chairpeople for the Vintage area of operations. Want to rev up your visit by installing some extra horsepower to your Oshkosh experience? Just drop these folks a line, and they will fill you in on these varied volunteer opportuni ties. Hope to see you around the Red Barn. Please do us all the favor of in viting a friend to join the VAA, and help keep us the strong association we have all enjoyed for so many years now.

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, the World's Greatest Aviation Celebration, is July 28 through August 3, 2008. VAA is about participation: Be a member! Be a volunteer! Be there! Let's all pull in the same direc tion for the good of aviation. Re member, we are better together. Join us and have it all.

Vintage Aircraft Association chairpeople Convention Management Geoff Robison, chairman, chief7025@aoi .com, 219-493-4724 Butch Joyce, vice-chairman, wind sock@aoi .com, 336-427-0971 Convention Management

Field Operations

George, Daubner, Vice Chairman,

Merchandise Bob Lumley, chairman, i umper@execpc. com, 262-782-2633 Metal Forming Workshol) Steve Nesse, chairman, stnes@deskmedia.com, 507-373-1674 Parking and Safety Michael Kosta, chairman, cubf/yr@comcast.net, 303-673-9355 Participant Plaques Jack Copeland , chairman, copelandl@juno.com, 508-393-4775 Past Grand Champions Steve Krog, chairman, sskrog@aol.com, 262-966-7627 Safe Flying Ken Morris, chairman, Taiidragger7W@aoi.com, 815-547-3991 Security Tim Fox, chairman,

vaaf/yboy@msn.com,

tim@{lyingshepherds.com,

414-673-5885 Aerogram Rob Kamsch, chairman,

336-668-3410

VAA ludging/Awards Dave Clark, VAA chief judge, davepd@iquest.net, 317-839-4500 Computer Operations Earl Nicholas, chairman, eman4@ ameritech.net, 312-451-2930 Construction and

Maintenance

Bob Brauer, chairman, photopiiot@aol.com, 312-779-2105 Headquarters Ruth Coulson, chairman, rcouison516@cs.com, 616-624-6490 Host/Activ ities Jeannie Hill, chairman, dinghao@owc.net, 815-943-7205 Membership /Chapter Info Dave Bennett, chairman, antiquer@inreach.com, 916-645-8370

260-486-8126 Tall Pines Cafe Steve Nesse, chairman, stnes@deskmedia.com, 507-373-1674 Toni's Trolley Jim Brown, chairman, 414-895-6282 Tour Tram James LeFevre, chairman, 920-434-1656 Type Club Headquarters Steve Krog, chairman, sskrog@aol.com, 262-966-7627 Volunteer Center Steve Moyer, chairman, cavu.biue@verizon.net, 215 -362-0379 Volunteer-Hospitality Center Lorraine Eberle, v ice chairman, 920-233-2324

VOL. 36, NO.7

2008

J U L Y

CONTENTS

I Fe

Straight & Level It's AirVenture time by Geoff Robison

News

Aeromail

Vernon's CAA Airmaster The Bronze Age Outstanding Closed Cockpit Mon oplane by Nick Hurm

The Flight of the June Bug The centennial of Glenn Curtiss' epic flight of July 4, 1908 r-------_------_.......- ---_......._--, by H.G. Frautschy

Light Plane Heritage Remember the Klemm by Bob Whittier

The Pratt & Whitney Wasp Th e history of a most remarkable engine by Joe Haynes

Mystery Plane

by H.G. Frautschy

The Vintage Instructor

The !I D A"

by Doug Stewart

Classified Ads

Calendar

COVERS FRONT COVER: The Cessna Airmaster was once billed as "The World's Most Ef· ficient Airplane." With sleek lines and a strutless cantilever wing, this Airmaster was used by the FAA's predecessor, the Civil Aeronautics Administration. Vernon Heyrman was looking to buy a Fairchild 24 , but he didn 't wind up purchasing one; instead he bought this 1940 C-165 Airmaster. See Nick Hurm's article starting on page 8 to find out why. EAA photo by Phil High . BACK COVER: July 4th marks the 100th anniversary of Glenn H. Curtiss' award winning flight with the Aerial Experiment Association's (AEA) June Bug. Presented with the Scientific American trophy for the first officially recognized public ftight over one kilometer in length, the June Bug's flight solid ly put Curtiss in the public eye as an aeronautical force to be reckoned with. See the story about the flight of the June Bug starting on page 13. Photo courtesy the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, Hammondsport, New York.

STAFF

EAA Publisher Director of EAA Publications Executive Director/Editor EAA Art Director Executive Assistant News Editor Photography Advertising Coordinator Classified Ad Coordinator Copy Editor Director of Advertisi ng

Tom Poberezny David Hipschman H.G. Frautschy Olivia P. Trabbold Jillian Rooker Ric Reynolds Jim Koepnick Bonnie Kratz Sue Anderson Daphene Van Hullum Colleen Walsh Katrina Bradshaw

Display Advertising Representatives: Northeast and Southeast: Chester Baumgartner Phone 727·532·4640, FAX 727·532·4630, e·mail: cbaulll iii@milldsprillg.COIII Cen tral: Gary Worden Phone 800·444-9932, FAX 816-74 1·6458, e·mail: gary.wordetl@Spc·mag.com Moun tain & Pacific: John Gibson Phone 916-784·9593, e·mai l: joilllgibsoll@Spc-mag.colII Europe: Willi Tacke Phone +498969340213, FAX +498969340214, . -mail: willi@flyillg·pages.com

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

I,) o help members who Theater " 1) fly in to understand In The West Side Woods the layout of the con ~ Vi ntage Aircraft ~ Antique Camping vention area administered Parking )) by VAA, we've prepared this simplified map. As you ~0", can see, camping starts at Type Club & "',.. Showe rs Workshop Tents Row 74 on the east side of Type Club .sShowplane/Cam pe r ( \ ( \ .....-\ Parking Reg i stratio n V V V Red the main north/south road ~Startsat {)Hangar Barn - . - - Row 74 (Wittman Road) , with the Cafe areas to the north of that Past Grand Ch ampions - parked along road ~ Tall Pines oOperat VAA line set up to handle dis and in rows 60 & 61. - . - - Cafe ions Near Ultralights Shack play-only vintage aircraft. That's why you may see VAA

Large Special

open areas as you taxi south Interest

VAA PARKING to your camping location. Com m Ce nte r Aircraft/

No Camping Ant iq ues

Row 62 through Row 77 Once you arrive, you'll need to register your air craft and/or campsite. In Rows 60 Row 50 Row 78 addition to roving regis & 61 ~ EAST SIDE Anliqu, -.- POint tration vehicles, there is VAA CAM PI NG AND PARKING - - - - - ' - - - ' - " - ' - - - - - - - -- - - - ' -- - ' - - - STARTS HERE. one main aircraft registra CONTINUES TO ROW 150 tion building, located just south of the Red Barn (see map). by a current EAA member. up in the rear of the Red Barn. EAA The EAA convention campgrounds Another immediate benefit of and VAA memberships are available are private campgrounds and are VAA membership is your free VAA at both aircraft registration and at the membership booth located not open to non-EAA members. AirVenture Oshkosh 2008 Partici Each campsite must be registered pant Plaque, which you can pick northeast of the Red Barn.

~r ))

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Flight Planning for

Your EAA AirVenture Trip

As an EAA member (an important part of your VAA membership), you can use the EAA Flight Planner to chart your trip to Wittman Field for EAA AirVenture Osh kosh 2008. Just click on the EM Flight Planner link on the left side of the members-only home page at http://Members.

EM.org or you can log in at www.VintageAircraft.OIg.

JULY 2008

Get Your EAA AirVenture 2008 NOTAM Booklet Printed copies of the EAA Air Venture Oshkosh 2008 Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) can be ordered by calling EAA Membership Ser vices at 800-564-6322, or you can download it directly from the Web at www.AirVenture.orgI20081(lying. The NOTAM contains the special flight procedures in effect for Witt man Regional Airport and alternate airports from 6 a.m. eDT on Friday, July 25, to 11:59 p.m. eDT on Sun day, August 3, 2008. All pilots who fly into the event are expected to know the special flight procedures prior to arrival. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh runs from July 28 through August 3. For additional EAA Air Venture Oshkosh 2008 informa tion, including advance ticketing purchases, visit www.AirVenture.org.

2008

./1mVENTURE OSHKOSH - -ffi)-

It&\ ~

NOTAM

The Worfcf 5 Greatest Aviation Celebration TU

FOI' .. n. (I09'fol ~ NOTAII~alEAA.III ,.....S&U3l:l. TO_ QI' ~"""""'''''''

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Grass Runways and Fuel Also on our VAA website, we publish a list created by VAA mem ber Kris Kortokrax. Kris flies a variety of old biplanes that are more pleasant to fly when they are flown from grass strips, and he and his buddies from Shel byville, Illinois, do their best to keep the old biplanes happy (and keep tire wear to a minimum) by flying cross-country from grass strip to grass strip. Finding fuel facilities can be a challenge these days, and Kris has distilled this airport information to be useful for like-minded grass runway-preferring pilots. This data was current as of the beginning of the year, and we'd suggest calling ahead to confirm fuel availability and hours of operation. If you have any changes or additions, drop us an e-mail here at vintageaircra(t@eaa. org and we'll forward it to Kris. Our thanks to Kris for sharing his list. Let us know if you find it useful!

Breakfast and a Briefing The VAA Tall Pines Cafe will be in operation again this year with an expanded schedule prior to convention, and fly-in-style pan cake breakfasts during EAA AirVen ture. Starting on Friday morning, July 25, and continuing through Sunday, July 27, the VAA Tall Pines Cafe will be open for breakfast (6:30-9:30 a.m.) and dinner (4 :30 7:30 p.m.). Starting Monday, July 28, only breakfast will be served at the Tall Pines Cafe (6:00-9:30 a.m.). Just to the north, an FAA Flight Service Station (FSS) trailer will be located near the cafe. At the trailer you'll be able to check the weather for your flight and obtain a full briefing from FSS speCialists with out having to trek up to the FAA Building near the control tower. We'll see you there each morning for "breakfast and a briefing."

Are You a Friend of the VAA Red Barn? If so, be sure to check in at the information desk at the VAA Red Barn. There, we'll issue you a special

name badge. We can also point out the location for the Ford Tri-Motor rides. If you have any questions, feel free to ask for Jillian Rooker, the VAA administrative assistant. If you need to reach her in advance of your arrival, call her at EAA head quarters, 920-426-6110. Our thanks to each of you who have contributed to the VAA Friends of the Red Barn 2008 cam paign. We'll have the list of con tributors in next month's edition of Vintage Airplane!

lot of effort to sponsor this event. Shawano's residents do a great job of hosting us, and we hope you'll help us thank Shawano by joining us on the flight.

VAA Message Center If you would like to leave a mes sage for people you know who frequent the VAA Red Barn, stop by the information desk. You can write them a message in our "note book on a string," and we'll post their name on the marker board so they'll know there's a message wait ing for them. Sure, cellular phones and walkie-talkies are great, but sometimes nothing works better than a hand-scribbled note!

VAA Picnic Tickets for the annual VAA picniC to be held Wednesday, July 30, at the Nature Center will be available for sale at the VAA Red Barn prior to the start of EAA AirVenture. Tickets must be purchased in advance so we know how much food to order. The delicious meal will be served after 5:30 p.m. Trams will begin leaving the VAA Red Barn around 5 p.m. and will make return trips after the picnic. Type clubs may hold their annual banquets during the picnic. Call Jeannie Hill (815-943-7205), and she will reserve seating so your type club can sit together.

Shawano Fly-Out The annual fly-out to Shawano is Saturday, August 2. The sign-up sheet will be at the desk at the VAA Red Barn, and the briefing will be at 7 a.m. the morning of the fly out. The community of Shawano, approximately an hour north of Oshkosh (as the Cub flies), is a big supporter of VAA and puts forth a

VAA Red Barn Store The VAA Red Barn Store, chock full of VAA logo merchandise and other great gear, will be open with expanded hours all week long, Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Early-bird arrivals can shop on the previous weekend as well, during limited hours. Show your VAA membership card (or your receipt showing you joined VAA at the convention), and you'll receive a 10 percent discount. When you first visit the Red Barn store, check to see when there will be a special VAA members-only sale. Bring your VAA card to the sale, and save with additional discounts. See you there!

VAA Volunteer Opportunities Are you an ace pancake flip per? If you're not one yet, we can help! The VAA Tall Pines Cafe is looking for volunteers who can help provide a hearty breakfast to all the hungry campers on the south end of Wittman Field . If you could lend a hand for a morn ing or two, we'd appreciate it . If that's not your cup of tea, feel free to check with the VAA volunteer center, located just to the north east of the Red Barn. The volun teers who operate the booth will be happy to tell you when your help is needed each day. It doesn't matter if it's just for a few hours or for a few days-we'd love to have your helping hands! VINTAGE AIRPLANE

VAA Judging Categories The VAA's internationally recog nized judging categories are: • Antique: Aircraft built prior to September 1, 1945 • Classic: September 1, 1945, December 31, 1955 • Contemporary: January 1, 1956, - December 31, 1970 Any aircraft built within those years is eligible to park in the Show plane parking and camping areas. If you wish to have your aircraft judged, let the volunteer know when you register your aircraft and camping area. If you want your air craft to be judged by VAA volunteer judges, you need to be a current Vintage Aircraft Association mem ber. VAA contributes a significant portion of the costs related to the EAA awards that are presented to the award winners.

Designated Smoking Areas Near Flightline Smoking on the flightline at EAA AirVenture is prohibited because it's a hazard to all aircraft. There are several designated smoking areas with butt cans along the flightline, well away from aircraft and refuel ing operations. Designated smoking areas will be south of the ultralight runway; near the Hangar Cafe; near the Warbirds area (northeast corner of Audrey Lane and Eide Avenue); the Wearhouse flag pole area; the shade pavilion north of the control tower; and near the Ultralight Barn. Lo cations will be indicated on EAA's free convention grounds map. The admission wristband also instructs visitors that smoking is allowed only in designated smoking areas.

VAA Ballot If you have not sent in your VAA

election ballot, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible. Due to a printing error, the 2008 VAA Election ballot may lead you to believe that you should only vote for six candidates. That's incorrect. As it states in the ballot introduc4

JULY 2008

Aeroplane Factory volunteer Ron Kempka shows (I to r) Roger White, Beverly

Cushman, Sam James, Reed McCall, and Bruce Leighfield how to tie a knot.

Find Your Favorite Presentations and Workshops Online With hundreds of the world's leading aviation authorities delivering close to 1,000 individual presentations at nearly 3S locations spread throughout the expansive EAA convention grounds, planning your week at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008 can be, in a word, challenging. Fret not, eager aviation enthusiasts, because you can plan your visit to the World's Greatest Aviation Celebration with EAA's integrated presentations and workshops schedule database, and the preliminary version is now available at www.AirVenture.org/forums. The database will include all the venues, subjects, topics, and pre senters from not only forums and workshops, but also Warbirds in Review, KidVenture, Museum Speaker Showcase, Authors Corner, The ater in the Woods, special "at the aircraft" presentations on AeroShell Square, and more. You can search for activities by date, interest level (such as Aerobatics or Homebuilding), name of presenter, location, or simply by keyword. If it's on a schedule, it'll be here, allowing you to create custom searches to conveniently preplan your AirVenture stay. The process of confirming schedules, making modifications, and adding new presentations is continuing, so check back often for the latest updates.

tion, please vote for two officers and 7 directors. If you'd prefer to download a corrected ballot, you can do so by visiting the VAA web site at www.vintageaircraft.org.

AirVenture's Member Village Becomes EAA Welcome Center EAA's organizational center of activity at AirVenture Oshkosh, known as EAA Member Village, will become the EAA Welcome Center in 2008. While maintaining the high service to EAA members, the Welcome Center will be even more inviting to all AirVenture attendees, with an emphasis on customer ser-

vice and information. Visitors can obtain general in formation, directions, exhibitor information, or answers to virtu ally all questions regarding EAA or AirVenture. The EAA Welcome Center will continue to provide EAAers a convenient place to re new their memberships, get infor mation on all EAA member pro grams, see unique aircraft displays, check their e-mail at the Internet Cafe, and much more. Visit the EAA Welcome Cen ter at the corner of the east-west AeroShell Square taxiway and Knapp Street Road.

More on the Web Visit www.AirVenture.org for more information on EAA AirVenture 2008.

From the massive Boeing Dream lifter to the small but fast Neme sis NXT .. . more military aircraft than you've ever seen outside an invasion, including F-22 Raptors, the V-22 Osprey, and those great vintage warbirds . .. and th e iconic Goodyear blimp ... find out what you'll want to see at AirVenture this year. • www.AirVenture.org/200B/news/ OB060S_presentations.html. Put more than a thousand presen t a tions, workshops, and other sched uled events at your fingertips.

Upcoming Major

Fly-Ins

Arlington Northwest Fly-In Arlington MuniCipal Airport (AWO), Arlington, Washington July 9-13, 2008 www. NWEAA.org

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Wittman Regional Airport (OSH), Oshkosh, Wisconsin July 28-August 3, 2008 www. AirVenture.org Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In

AirVenture Is Almost Here •• • Are You Ready? We've made it easy to learn the status of, for example, Oshkosh area accommodations, with new pages on the Web. Just a few short weeks from now, many of you will make the annual pilgrimage to Oshkosh for EAA AirVenture 2008. Are you ready? Here are several handy online tools on the newly rede signed AirVenture website that can help you take care of any last-minute concerns. • For pilots flying in: www.AirVenlure .org/200B/{lying/index.html Arrival procedures, ground op erations, parking, even a Special Offers for Pilots interactive map (www.AirVenture.org/200B/{lying/al ternate_airports.html) help get you here and take you home. • For lodging: www.AirVenture. org/200B/planning/where_to_stay.html See area accommodations avail ability at a glance. • Find/offer a lift: www.AirVen lure.org/rideshare Sharing the load with a fellow EAAer can help make AirVenture more affordable. • What to see and do at Air Venture: www.AirVenture.org/200B/ planning/dailyevents.html • A quick rundown of major hap penings each day: www.AirVenture. org/200B/events/aircraft_attractions. html

SPOT to Offer Free Messengers for EAA Members Attending AirVenture EAA members attending EAA AirVenture Osh kosh 2008 are eligible to re ceive a free SPOT Satel lite Messenger through an exclusive offer from SPOT Inc. available only at Oshkosh. SPOT Inc. will give away SPOT Satellite Messengers (a $169 .99 value) to current EAA members when they subscribe to a one-year satellite service package for $149.98 at AirVenture. SPOT uses the GPS network to pinpoint a user's location, then transmits that information to friends, family, or an emergency re sponse center over a separate satel lite network. SPOT works where cell phones don't and communicates like GPS devices can't, making it a real asset to pilots and their loved ones . Users can even track and share their flying adventures online using Google Maps. This exclusive offer is available to current EAA members whether they join or renew before or during the convention. For more informa tion on the special SPOT offer for EAA members at AirVenture, go to www.FindMeSpot.com/eaa.

Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport (MFD), Mansfield, Ohio August 23 & 24, 2008 www.MERFI.info Southeast Regional Fly-In Middleton Field Airport (GZH), Evergreen, Alabama October 24-26, 2008 www.SERFI.org Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In (New Date) Front Range Airport (FTG), Denver (Watkins), Colorado September 19-21 , 2008 Copperstate Regional Fly-In Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ), Casa Grande, Arizona October 23-26, 2008 www. Coppers tate.org

u.S. Sport Aviation Expo Sebring Regional Airport (SEF), Sebring, Florida January 22-25, 2009 www. Sport-Aviation-Expo.com Aero Friedrichshafen Messe Friedrichshafen (EDNy), Friedrichshafen, Germany April 2-5, 2009 www.Aero-Friedrichshafen.coml htmllen

Sun 'n Fun Fly-In Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL), Lakeland, Florida April 21-26, 2009 www.Sun-N-Fun.org For details on EAA chapter fly-ins and other local aviation events, visit www.EAA.org/calendar.

VINTAGE AIR P L A N E

SEND YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS TO: VAA, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

P.O. Box 3086 OSHKOSH, WI 54903-3086

OR YOU CAN E-MAIL THEM TO: vintageaircraft@eaa.org

Additional Information on Funk Serial Number 1 Al Ball of Santa Paula, Califor nia, who owned serial number 2 for 40 years, called to tell us that the airplane was built out of the salvaged parts of serial number 1. No.1 was caught in a hangar fire

while it was still owned by the Funk brothers, and while the bulk of it was rescued from the fire, there was significant damage done to it. According to evidence found on the parts of serial number I, it was originally painted lemon yellow, with black numbers. AI Ball says

the color was close to the color of a yellow writing pad-lighter in tone than Cub Yellow, but not a light yellow. He pointed out that when he restored the airplane he didn't repaint the airplane in its original yellow color, but chose a dark-red-with-black-trim scheme that is closer to the production Funk airplanes. The split nosebowl seen on the first airplane was used on the sec ond version, but the distinctive center divider was removed at some point, so the opening appears very different than the original. Just prior to World War II, the Northrop Technical Institute took ownership of the airplane, and after the war it was sold to a Los Ange les-area pilot. The pilot who pur chased it from NT! flew it briefly, but because the cooling system was so clogged with scale and rust after sitting for a number of years, the engine would overheat soon after takeoff. After Al Ball restored the engine and airframe, he put about 500 hours on it before selling it to Fred Patterson and the Oakland Aviation Museum (also known as the Western Aerospace Museum) in Oakland, California. Al is currently restoring an Air & Space 18A autogyro and expects to have it flying within a year.

WHAT OUR MEM BER S ARE RESTORING Are you nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it done and you're busy flying and showing it off? If so, we'd like to hear from you. Send us a 4-by 6-inch print from a commercial source (no home printers, please-those prints just don't scan well) or a 4-by-6-inch, 30O-dpi digital photo. A JPG from your 2.5-megapixel (or higher) digital camera is fine. You can burn photos to a CO, or if you're on a high-speed Internet connection, you can e-mail them along with a text-only or Word document describing your airplane. (If your e-mail program asks if you'd like to make the photos smaller, say no.) For more tips on creating photos we can publish, visit VAA's website at www. vintageaircraft.org. Check the News page for a

....

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III!

JULY 2008

hyperlink to Want To Send Us A Photograph? For more information, you can also e-mail us at vintageaircraft@eaa.org or call us at 920 426-4825.

• 700 mW loud audio with built-in BTL amplifier • 18 hour* Lithium-Ion battery pack, 2000 mAh • Side tone function and adjustable mic gain setting • Low battery indication and low battery beep • Military spec, rugged body • ANL (Auto Noise Limiter), reduces noise components • Water resistant to IPX4 standards**

THE NAME PILOTS KNOW AND TRUST. AMATEUR

I AVIONICS I LAND

MOBILE

I MARINE I RECEIVERS ISYSTEMS

'Typical operation,Tx: Rx: stand-by=5:5:90. -Protected against splashing water from all angles. Airplane courtesy of Glasair. www.glasairaviation.com 0 2008 lcom America Inc.The lcom logo is a registered trademark of Icom Inc. All specifications subject to change without notice or obligation. 40059

Optional BC-179 • Securely holds &

charges the radio

• Light indicator tells

when charged

Here's the Interior of the Airmaster, complete with tan whipcord upholstery.

For anyone who 's flown an older Cessna, those rudder pedals sure look familiar. Cu.s"tOD1 Colors

NC21914 rolled out of the Wich ita factory on February 21, 1940, in Command-Aire green with white trim and a black pinstripe-a far cry from its current look-it now sports 181 square feet of international or ange on the wing and jet black on the fuselage. That paint scheme came cour 10 JULY 2008

tesy of the Civil Aeronautics Ad ministration (CAA) in 1943. The airplane was originally bought from the factory by Hanger Six, a flying outfit based out of Stin son Field in San Antonio. Two years later, the aircraft was sold to the De fense Plant Corporation and leased to the CAA. With it came an abbre viated N-number change, 237E, as

well as the new paint scheme. According to aircraft builder and historian Gar Williams, at least two Airmasters were used by the CAA and a number of others were im pressed into the Army Air Force for the duration of World War II. No pa perwork is available indicating how Heyrman's Airmaster was used. The CAA performed many duties dur

ing the war, including airway de足 velopment, which could have been a likely job for 237E. Airmasters were exceptional camera planes because of their rock-solid stability. One former owner joked the Airmaster can cut through turbulence like a DC-3 . Of the 186 built, 23 were sold or converted by the factory for aerial photography. N237E was not one of them on record; however, cam足 era equipment was installed. "I looked in the belly, and the holes were still there in the wood for the big camera/' said West Coast antiquer Don Carter, who owned the airplane from 1961 to 1970. lilt was all covered over, but they were there. As luck would have it, Carter learned a little more history of the Airmaster on a trip to Oakland. "I was doing some air show stuff during that time in a Bucker and Ryan ST. I had Security Parachute Company in Oakland build me a chute. When I got to the place, there was a picture on the wall of an Airmaster. So I got talking and pulled out a picture of mine, and they informed me they used to own the airplane. The guy said he used II

VINTAGE A I RPLANE

to have an aerial photography busi ness he used the plane for. "He claimed they went to 20,000 feet doing high-altitude photogra phy. That's with two guys-pilot and camera operator, and one of those big Fairchild cameras. I said, 'How long did it take you to get there?' He said, 'Well, we brought our lunches along!'" The president of Security was avi ation and parachute pioneer John Maggi, who owned the airplane from 1948 to 1955. Maggi was one of the first air show sky divers we're talking the 1920s-and later flew Curtiss Helldivers in the Ma rines during World War II. He was voted into the Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame in 1998. The airplane went through a few owners before Carter bought the plane. He said the airplane was in good condition except for one glaring problem. Someone repainted it. "It was a horrible yellow with light green trim," Carter said. "I fig ured I could fix that. Everything was straight on it. I just painted it back to the CAA colors." Carter sold the airplane to Coe in 1970. Until June, Coe had owned the Airmaster for more than 30 years and had logged 1,300 hours in it. He re-covered the fuselage in Irish linen in 1976. Rick Atkins of Ragtime Aero in Placerville, California, re-covered the wing in 1994 and maintained the airplane. Throughout the years Coe owned 12 JU L Y 2008

it, he was able to keep the airplane ding-free. "You want to keep the thing going straight on landing and takeoff," Coe said. "The tail is really heavy. If you

...

]

"I kept thinking, 'Did I do some thing stupid?' When we were flying it back I fell in love with it and knew I made the right decision. "

get the thing out of alignment, you can put it in the weeds really easy. I'm proud in the fact that all of the years I flew it, I never put it in the weeds." Heyrman and Baeten also got some flying advice from another Airmaster expert, 98-year-old Mort Brown, who was Cessna's chief production test pilot from 1939 until 1972. "I called Mort Brown and asked him if there were any quirks," Baeten said. "He told me the airplane is pretty straightforward. Come across the fence at 75 if you two-point it and 80-85 if you're going to wheel land it." Baeten said during the 22-hour trek back, the 165 Warner sounded good, burning 8 gallons an hour at 1850 rpm. They averaged 120 mph. That's pretty good efficiency today from the airplane once deemed "the world's most efficient airplane." Back home, Heyrman said every one seems to be taking a liking to his new airplane. "When we put it in the hangar it was like the new girl in town," Heyr man said. "Everyone was coming up to look at it." Heyrman also got the thumbs up from the person who matters most, his wife, Cheryl. "My wife wants to fly in this air plane. I think she likes the looks of it." For a guy who doesn't have the world's nicest Fairchild 24, it seems like he's done pretty well. ......

t had been a long, muggy summer day in up state New York. The humid air hung in the val ley southwest of Hammondsport until it could hold no more, and the crowds assembled on the grounds of Stony Brook Farm and the Pleasant Valley Wine Company had to endure a few rum bling thunderstorms that afternoon. Many had been there since dawn, expecting to see a remark able sight-a local man, already famous for his ex ploits on bicycles and motorcycles, was going to fly nearly a mile through the air. A few days before that hot, muggy afternoon, Glenn Hammond Curtiss had stepped aboard a train bound for Washington, D.C. He and Thomas Selfridge were to meet with officials of the Aero Club of America. He and Selfridge were members of the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), a small group of accomplished aeronautical experimenters that consisted of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, Fred erick "Casey" Baldwin, ).A. Douglas McCurdy, Cur tiss, and Selfridge. They were sure they had licked the problem of lateral control that had plagued their earlier aircraft. So sure of their accomplish ment was Curtiss that he boldly told bystanders, "We'll fly the June Bug on the Fourth of July. Ad vertise it. Invite everybody interested in flight.

H.G.

FRAUTSCHY

A. O. BELL,

r. W. BALDWIN, J. A. D. MoCURDY, O. H. CURTISS ... T. E. 8ELFRIDOE. I ... . IIUIIDII , AD.II.I"U,101 or r . I . IILraIDU. DIO' 1) .

FLniB IUOBIRE.

1,011, 106.

.. "LIOATIOI rlLlD API . I , 110• .

Patented Dec. 5, 1911. ., .anu-un? I .

Above: Glenn Curtiss roars down the path of Harry Champlin's Stony Brook Farm racetrack. To the right is the temporary tent hangar tacked on to the side of one of the buildings of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company. PHOT O S COURTESY GLENN H . C U RTISS MUSEUM , HAMMON DSPORT ,

V I NTAGE A I R PL A NE

A. G. BELL, F. W. BALDWIN , J. A. D. McCURDY, G. H. CURTISS &; T. E. SELFRIDGE . £ . .. . lliLP'lIDGZ. AD_"111"101

or f .

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The June Bug Is prepared for flight on a warm, muggy Satur day, the Fourth of July, 1908. Glenn Curtiss stands with his hands on his hips, garters for his shirt sleeves holding his cuffs above the elbow on the summer day.

FLYING liACHINE•

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14 JULY 2008

Draw a crowd to Hammondsport and prove to the world that we can really fly." In Washington, Curtiss and Selfridge told the officials of the Aero Club that they intended to compete for the Scientific American trophy. Established by the noted sci ence magazine, the silver trophy was created in 1907 to stimulate aviation progress in the United States. If a com petitor could complete a trio of trials in succeeding years (each year's hurdle would become increasingly difficult, thanks to standards determined by the Aero Club), the trophy would be permanently given to the competitor. Curtiss and the AEA were confident that their new air plane, the third powered fixed-wing aircraft they built, was up to the first challenge of flying more than a kilo meter (3,281 feet, or 0.621 mile) in a straight line. After all, they'd already flown it that far a week earlier. Well, at least once they'd flown it that far. The June Bug was the logical evolution of the AEA's two earlier efforts in fixed-wing airplanes. The AEA had built a glider of fairly standard layout and also a tetrahe dral kite of Dr. Bell's design. The gilder gave them valu able experience, while the kite proved to be an aeronau tical dead end. Aerodrome Nos. 1 and 2, the Red Wing and White Wing, respectively, were biplanes that featured tapered wings whose wingtips were pulled toward each other, with the lower wing curving upward as the top wing's ends described a gentle downward arc, creating a squashed oval shape with the ends clipped off. After J.A. Douglas McCurdy crunched the White Wing on May 23,1908 (he'd run afoul of windy conditions that

day), the AEA made the decision to go ahead with a new design, similar in appearance but refined by Curtiss. The five flights made with White Wing told them they were on the right track, but that both structural and aerody namic changes needed to be made. It would be easier to build a new airplane than to rebuild the White Wing with the changes incorporated. Aerodrome No.3, which would be dubbed the June Bug by Dr. Bell, would feature the wingtip lateral controls first installed on the White Wing. The triangular movable control surfaces were a revelation to the team. They al lowed the AEA's aircraft to be controlled laterally, so the pilot could regulate his turns or recover from upsets that caused the airplane to roll to one side or the other. The June Bug's "wingtips," as the controls were called by the AEA, were controlled by a yoke that was worn over the shoulders of the pilot. If you leaned into the turn in the same manner as when riding a motorcycle, your lower shoulder would be on the lower or inside of the turn, while your higher shoulder would be pointed away from the ground. The yoke was rigged to move the wingtips so that the trailing edge on the wingtip of the wings you wished to lower would tilt upward, and the wingtip on the opposite wings would tilt in the opposite direction. Curtiss' design for the June Bug created a biplane with the familiar AEA-style wings, although the design of the structure created a straight line down the leading and trailing edges as viewed from in front, each side more like a long truncated triangle than the curved wing of its pre decessor. (Later, Curtiss would dispense with the tapered wings, maintaining a rectangular box structure for his air craft wing designs.) With a longer forward structure, which allowed the builder to move the engine back 5 inches, the pilot sat further forward than on the White Wing. The total length of the June Bug was 27 feet 6 inches, with a wingspan of 42 feet 6 inches. The lightweight structure of the third AEA aerodrome had an empty weight of 473 pounds and a gross weight of 615 pounds; the engine alone weighed nearly 200 pounds. The White Wing and June Bug had one other pioneering feature that would become a standard in aviation many decades later-they had a tricycle landing gear. The 40-hp air-cooled V-8 Curtiss engine and the pro peller that had powered both the previous biplanes was again used on the June Bug. With that part of the aircraft's construction dispensed with, the airframe could go to gether quickly. One discovery made while building and testing White Wing was the effect the weave of the fabric had on the amount of lift generated by the airplane. The White Wing had been coated with varnish after Dr. Bell suggested that the porosity of the fabric's open weave was the reason the airplane's lift was not as high as they expected. In the spring in upstate New York it worked like a charm on the White Wing, but when they used varnish in the early summer on the June Bug, the finish proved to be trouble some. It may have been because the June Bug lasted lon-

J. . O. BELL,

r. W. BALDWIN, 1. A. D. I4 ,CORDY, O. B. CURTIBU T. E. SELFRIDGE. I , A, leUllDOI , J.DWIIIITU.:UI

1,011,106.

or T. E. ULnUI • . DEO'D,

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ger than the White Wing, which had a lifespan of only six days from its first flight to its last! It took just slightly less than a month to build the new airplane. The airframe was completed by June 19, 1908, and it was given a few ground tests before the wings were installed and it was pronounced ready for a test flight. The summer heat and humidity caused the varnish to crack and peel, so it had to be refinished. Pioneering aero nautical enthusiast and engineer Octave Chanute had suggested coating it with a mixture of paraffin, gasoline, turpentine, and yellow ocher. That must have been a rather odoriferous coating! The yellow ocher was not meant for sealing the pores, but to make the light-colored cotton fabric show up bet ter in photographs. In its brief lifetime, the White Wing had shown itself to not photograph well, due to the poor contrast between it and an overcast or hazy sky. It was important that the photographic record of the AEA's ex periments show as much detail as possible, not to men tion the benefits of a well-defined photograph when published in newspapers or magazines. In researching this article, Louis Casey's wonderful book, Curtiss: The Hammondsport Era, 1907-1915, states that the new coat ing was applied after three unsuccessful attempts at flyVINTAGE AIRPLANE

The June Bug's eight-cylinder, 40-hp engine was a Curtiss product. Each cylinder had its own carburetor. Curtiss, already well-known for his company's engine-building prowess, was one of the spark plugs of the Aerial Experiment Association.

ing the June Bug, yet other research would lead one to believe the varnish coating was used first on the White Wing and then the June Bug. In either event, the coat ing is believed to have been the first use of a sealing coating, or dope, used on a fixed-wing aircraft. Flight testing began on June 21 with three short flights, the longest of which lasted 25.5 seconds, cover ing just more than 1,200 feet in length. By the seventh test flight onJune 27, Curtiss kept the airplane in the air for 60 seconds, covering more than 3,000 feet and land ing only when the boundary of the field at Stony Brook Farm was reached. Curtiss and his compatriots were convinced-they had an airplane that could win the Scientific American tro phy! Wiring Dr. Bell, who had left Hammondsport on a less than direct trip home to Nova Scotia, they told him of their plans, and at the same time informed the Aero Club of their intentions. Augustus Post, the secretary of the club, was surprised by the news that the AEA was ready to make an attempt. Like many in the Aero Club, he expected the Wright brothers would claim the prize, since they had been mak ing regular flights at Huffman Prairie near Dayton. But the Wrights, unwilling to change their aircraft to suit the requirements of the rules set forth by the Aero Club (which included installing a wheeled landing gear instead of using the catapult the Wrights preferred for use on the unimproved grounds of the Ohio prairie), and still 16 JULY 2008

A. G. BELL , F. W. BALDWIN, J . A. D. McCU RDY, G. H. CURTISS'" T. E. SELFRIDGE. or r. t . IELrllDGE , FLYING II'CHINE.

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I,Oll,106.

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certain their rights as inventors would be better served by not taking part in such a public event, were not drawn out by the trophy. By July 1, it was clear to the secretary that the AEA meant to claim the prize, and since the rules allowed the competitor to name the place and time of the attempt, it would be accomplished in a valley in the wine country of the Finger Lakes region of New York, and not in Washing ton or any other major population center. The day before the public, officially sanctioned event was to take place, Curtiss and the members of the AEA who were in Hammondsport, along with Curtiss' assistant Henry Kleckler, decided to test the June Bug one last time. Using the horse racetrack owned by winery owner Harry Champlin as a runway, Curtiss roared off on a dry run of the next day's record attempt, but due to his (and ev eryone else's, for that matter) inexperience and the chal lenging handling characteristics of a pioneer-era aircraft, gusty winds put him in the ground, wrecking one wing and busting a wheel. But Curtiss was undeterred, and with the help of the others, they rebuilt the June Bug in only half a day. As the sun rose that steamy Saturday, hundreds of spectators began to spread out blankets and settle in for what they thought would be a few hours on the hill side of the valley near the Pleasant Valley Wine Com pany. Expecting the flight to take place early in the day, when normally the weather was calmest, the crowds were forced to wait in the increasingly uncomfortable weather. At one point, in an effort to put a cheery face on an otherwise tedious day, the owners of the winery opened their doors to the public for a repast, complete with the local vintner's creations. As the day dragged on, Curtiss kept eying the weather. After his experience the previous day, he wasn't about to take a chance on blowing the opportunity to make his tory by being impatient. Finally, after the afternoon show ers had passed and the weather calmed down, he gave the word he was ready to fly. As the sun began to draw lower on the western ridge of the valley, Curtiss and his associates pulled the June Bug from its tent hangar. With the hour now past six in the evening, even with the longest summer day only 12 days before, there wouldn't be a great deal of extra time if me chanical or other difficulties arose. As the official starter deSignated by the Aero Club, Charles Manly, pioneer aircraft engine designer and builder who had once served as Samuel Pierpont Langley's assistant during the Langley Aerodrome flights, measured off the I-kilometer distance. Manly was told by Curtiss that he'd not follow a straight course to the I-kilometer flag, since there were vineyards and trees in the way. Cur tiss wouldn't get credit for traveling in a circuitous path, and it turned out he didn't seem to much care-he would fly the route he chose and still set the record. His first attempt at 7 p.m. fell short, a victim of the rear horizontal stabilizer being set incorrectly, with an ex-

A. O. BELL, F. W. BALDWIN, J . A. D. MoCURDY, O. B. CURTISS" T. E. SELFRIDGE. I . .1, tELlIIDQE . .101'11 1111'-1'01

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H.M. Bemmer's photo of the June Bug in flight on July 4, 1908.

cessive angle of negative incidence. After takeoff, Curtiss couldn't keep the June Bug from climbing at too steep an angle. With the engine making full revolutions, he couldn't force the nose down, and he had to cut the power so he could recover from the excessive pitch attitude. Pull ing the power did the trick, and Curtiss landed safely but well short of his intended mark. After the June Bug was pulled through the clover back to the mud racetrack, Curtiss and the AEA members had a discussion about the cause of the excessive climb, and VINTAGE AIRPLANE

behind as Curtiss coaxed the biplane up to an average speed of 39 mph for the flight. Just before takeoff, annoyed at the naysayers, Curtiss spotted something that steeled his determination. A pho足 tographer, intent on taking a photo of the June Bug as it passed by, set up h is camera short of the finish line's red flag. Curtiss took that to mean the photographer didn't think he could make it the full distance. (I think the pho tographer just wanted a shot in the air, and not one as the June Bug touched down . After all, for a historic flight, who wants a photo of an air足 plane on the ground?) The crowd then got to witness one The June Bug roars past the camera and its no-doubt startled photographer on one of the most amazing flights ever made of the two flights on July Fourth. Might this be the shot taken by the photographer up to that point in time, and one that whose choice of position short of the expected end of the flight seemed to inspire wou ld actually be the longest flight Curtiss to fly well past the 1-kilometer mark's red flag? ever made with the June Bug. Curtiss wove his way around the t rees and as they reviewed the setting of the flight control surfaces, they discovered the error in the stabilizer setting. Quickly vineyards of the Pleasant Valley Wine Company, roaring putting it right, they had time for another attempt to win by the photographer and continuing well past the red flag, the Scientific American trophy. only coming down when he reached a stand of trees near At 7:30 Manly's starter flag dropped and the roar of the edge of the fie ld . He covered nearly 6,000 feet in dis足 Curtiss' V-8 echoed up and down the valley. It must have tance, flying 102.5 seconds. He'd won! Glenn Hammond been a fantastic sight; the yellow wings of the June Bug Curtiss and the AEA had topped them all, placing himself must have glowed in the warm evening light of that July and the accomplishments of the AEA on the front page of summer day, the cloud of exhaust and oil smoke trailing every newspaper in the nation and around the world.

OS~KOS~ ~6Q6

rAiLW~EELS 18

J U LY 2008

W6 COH6!11

It must have been a very sweet cel ebration that Fourth of July, 1908. With the Great Western champagne flowing from th e winery, it must have been quite a night. Glenn Cur tiss, once known as liThe Fastest Man on Earth" thanks to his motorcycle building and racing prowess, had set himself on a new path, one that would lead to remarkable technical achievements, but one that would try his very soul. ........

For more on Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his life, I recom mend the following books: Unlocking the Sky: Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to In vent the Airplane, by Seth Shulman, published in 2002. Hell-Rider to King of the Air: Glenn Curtiss's Life ofInnovation, by Kirk W. House, published in 2004. Curtiss: The Hammondsport Era, 1907-1915, by Louis Casey, published in 1981. Glenn Curtiss: Pioneer of Flight, by C.R. Roseberry, published in 1972.

"Bu••ets !bounce right oft the Po.y-FI!ber••. sec?"

W July Fourth will mark the 100th anni versary of Glenn Curtiss' flight in the AEPls Aerodrome No.3, June Bug, winning the Scientific American trophy for the first of ficially observed public flight of more than 1 kilometer in length.

e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering his ship with the toughest. easiest-to repair fabric known to man. It's easy to apply, too, even Over There, and it'll see our boys through the most arduous dog fighting they'll face. Poly-Fiber will never let them down, so don't you, either! Help put Liberty Bond sales "over the top" for all our gallant doughboys!

The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Ham

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mondsport, New York is dedicated to the memory of the pioneer aviator. The mu

800-362-3490

seum contains a priceless collection relat ing to early aviation and local history. In

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addition to seeing the museum displays and exhibits, visitors are welcome to viSit the Restoration Shop, talk with volunteer

B uy Y OU R WAR B O ND S AT THIS C I NEM A.

info@polyfiber.com

Aircraft Coating_

craftsman and watch them work on his toric aircraft such as the recent project. the Curtiss America flying boat. Glenn H. Curtiss Museum 8419 State Route 54 Hammondsport, NY 607.569.2160

www.g/ennhcurtissmuseum.org

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"Aviation fans will enjoy the yea r-by-yea r storytelling about the airplanes, and the pilots who flew them"Rose Dorcey, EAA Sport " .. a positive addition to the aviation historian 's video collection." Jerri Bergen, American Avia/ion Historical Society

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Open: May - October: Mon-Sat: 9-5, Sun: 10-5 November - April: Mon-Sat and Sun: 10-4 VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Light Plane Heritage

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED I N

EAA Experimenter

NOVEMBER 1991

Remember the Klemm

BY BOB WHITTIER

This nostalgia-evoking photo shows a 20-hp Klemm in flight over the German countryside. Bulge atop engine cowling covers the single magnet o. Most Klemms were done with unpigmented fin ishes allowing natural wood and fabric colors to show. Note wingtip skids and the unusual pivoting wingtip ailerons.

housands of young men learned to fly during World War I. Upon being dis charged from their respec tive air forces at its conclusion, many of them sorely missed the great sen sations and satisfactions of being in command of a machine able to break the bonds of gravity and roam the vast skyways. Some thus searched for ways to continue flying.

In the United States a great many took eagerly to barnstorming in sur plus two-seater Jenny and Standard training planes. There was some barnstorming in Britain with Avro 504 trainers, but the comparatively small land area of the British Isles limited this activity compared to the States. A few pilots used surplus SE-5 Single-seaters to develop the advertising form known as skywrit

ing. Some joined flying clubs . Yet others saw a future in offering fast, frequent, and hopefully reliable air services across the English Channel from London to Paris, flying surplus bombers outfitted with makeshift cockpit enclosures. In those days Britain and France had dominions and colonies in far away parts of the globe. The need to transport people, mail, and light

Editor's Note: Longtime aviation enthusiasts will recognize the byline of Bob Whittier. Bob has been a regular con tributor to EAA publications since the founding of the organization, as well as a knowledgeable author for other avia tion and boating magazines. Bob's Light Plane Heritage series in EAA's Experimenter magazine often touched on aircraft and concepts related to vintage aircraft and their history. Since many of our members have not had the opportunity to read this series, we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members. Enjoy!-HGF 20

JULY 2008

but valuable cargo to and from these places more swiftly than could be done by ship spurred yet others to use modified single- and twin engined bombers to make incred ibly long and daring exploratory flights to South Africa, India, Indo China, and even Australia . Out of these adventures there eventually developed a vast airline system. But pilots in defeated Germany found themselves in a very differ ent situation. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles called for the destruction of Germany's military equipment. Only a handful of war surplus planes escaped the bonfires. The manufacture of new military aircraft was forbidden, and severe restrictions were placed on the manufacture of and performance capabilities of civilian aircraft. On top of that, their country was in the throes of runaway inflation. These daunting factors combined to spark a strong interest in gliders and gliding. Many and sometimes strange looking gliders appeared. The method of launching them in those very early days was to find a large, grassy field on the side of a hill and yank the glid ers aloft with stretched bungee cords. Flights were simply short downhill glides. Soaring came later. Inevitably some pilots began to install whatever they could find in the way of very small, light mo tors in their gliders so they could get airborne without having to call together enough people to form launching crews, or so they could fly over their country's relatively flat farming regions. Attaching motors to airframes not originally intended for them soon spurred the design and con struction of more suitable airframes. Then, using powerplants originally designed to really suit the require ments of flight led to the devel opment of small but real aviation engines. This in turn prompted de signers to come out with airframes designed to get the best out of these new and better powerplants. It's worth noting that many years later,

The Klemm monoplane was powered by this 20-hp Daimler-Mercedes two-cylinder engine. Circular shape behind the propeller hub is the hous ing for the 3-to-1 reduction gear. Note two exhaust stacks per cylinder, an outcome of the engine's having four valves per cylinder. Single mag neto is mounted atop the crankcase. The engine had a 75 mm bore and 100 mm st roke.

A derivation of the original Klemm was this very handsome KL-35 trainer powered with a 150-hp Hirth engine. That's Hans Klemm standing beside the fuselage. Wing was of inverted gull design. Front cockpit has been covered over.

our own ultralight movement went through the same process. In 1921 an affluent gentleman from Milwaukee named William Pohl made a trip to Germany. He tracked down the German World War I ace Ernst Udet (62 con firmed victories) and made a busi ness proposition. He'd put up the money if Udet would use his flying skill and prestige in Germany to or ganize a company to mass-produce a light sport plane for sale in the United States. Being one of the many German

fliers who at the time weren't at all sure how they'd pay next month's rent, Udet agreed, and so Udet Flug zeugbau was organized in Munich. The company's first effort was an all-wood cantilever lOW-Wing sin gle-seater of rather squarish lines. Construction was started in July of 1921 in their three-person "fac tory." Hardly had they gotten down to serious work when some nosy of ficial somehow got word that some body was building an airplane. At that time the people in charge of enforcing the treaty strictly forbade VINTAGE AIRPLANE

any and all aircraft construction, but the Udet crew apparently didn't realize this. One of Udet's employees was collared by this official, liquored up, and questioned. The employee promptly told Udet that officialdom was after their little company. The little crew went into a huddle and decided "To hell with the treaty!" In the dark of night they loaded ev erything into a wagon, made their furtive way well out into the hin terlands, and resumed work in a chicken coop. Just a few days before their plane was finished, in May of 1922, they were very happy when word reached them that the ban on construction of civil aircraft had been lifted. So they proudly rolled the ship out for its maiden flight. It was powered by an opposed twin-cylinder air-cooled Haacke engine of 30 hp. This mill vibrated so badly that Udet wrote of the plane's first hop thusly: "The motor shakes the plane so badly I can't even recognize the aile rons! Everything vibrates as though the road in the air were paved with cobblestones! But I am flying-for the first time in two years!" The Udet crew must somehow have improved on this situation, for by 1923 the little company had also developed a similar two-seater pow ered by an upgraded 3S-hp Haacke. The hoped-for mass market in the United States never materialized due to the insurmountable competi tion caused by the thousands of war surplus American military planes available at flea market prices. But modest production was carried on for the European market. It's reasonable to deduce that all wood construction was used for the good reason that in the Germany of the early 1920s, such things as round and streamlined aircraft-type steel tubing and streamlined tie rods were difficult if not impossible for a very small company to obtain. The reason why the low-wing configuration was chosen began with the fact that a cantilever wing was wanted. During the war Ger 22 J U LY 2008

This American Aeromarine-Klemm sports the 4O-hp Salmson nine-cylinder ra dial engine built in France and a set of floats designed by Harold Kantner.

This American-built Aeromarine-Klemm with a LeBlond engine was photo graphed at Floyd Bennett Field in New York around 1937. Fat "airwheel " tires were standard and allowed operation on rough fields, sandy beaches, etc. Rudder top was raised to better control added horsepower.

man deSigners like Junkers had pi oneered this form of wing design, so Udet had a precedent. This type would need no external struts or tie rods, in addition to offering the low drag necessary to get decent perfor mance from low power. Making it in one piece from tip to tip would save the cost and weight of the steel connecting fittings necessary in a wing built in two or more sec tions. The Druine lightplanes de veloped in France after World War II used this same line of reasoning, by the way. Also, to obtain the necessary strength, the spars in the central portion of the wing would have to be fairly deep. If it were attempted to mount this wing on top of the fuselage, there would be problems with the weight of the necessary supporting structure and headroom for the occupants. If you have ever wriggled into the front seats of a

Cessna C-38 Airmaster, you will understand this perfectly. The low wing configuration allowed the deep central portions of the Udet plane's wing spars to pass under the seats and/or knees of the occupants. The open cockpits were easy to get into, had no headroom problem, and afforded excellent visibility. In the town of Bbblingen, not far from the city of Stuttgart in south western Germany, was located the rather substantial Mercedes-Daimler works. This name is well-known to all who are familiar with automo tive and aeronautical history. By around 1924 it had deve loped its own version of a small, economi cal two-cylinder air-cooled light plane engine. Like the Haacke it was of the horizontally opposed type but was rated at an almost unbelievably puny 20 hp . Its cylinder displace ment was only S4 cubic inches, and

you can best appreciate this tini ness by recalling that the original four-cylinder, 1200 cc Volkswagen engine has 73 cubic inches displace ment. But it had excellent "breath ing" characteristics by reason of having two inlet and two exhaust valves per cylinder. So what else is new, you modern automobile en gine deSigners? Also, its peak-rated rpm was 3000, quite high for aircraft engines of its time. It was fitted with a 3-to-1 re duction gear so as to drive the pro peller at a maximum speed of 1000 rpm, which was comparable to the rotational speeds of World War I rotary engines. A large-diameter propeller could thus be used, and this threw back a correspondingly large diameter, thrust-producing column of air. So it was in fact a well-thought-out approach to light airplane engine design that was quite advanced for its time. And by the way, the engineer in charge of its development was Dr. lng. h.c. (doctor of engineering) Ferdinand Porsche, whose skill at designing small and reliable air-cooled en gines later created the Volkswagon and Porsche automobile engines. The well-financed Mercedes Daimler company decided to develop an airplane of its own to use this en gine. They put the project into the hands of an aeronautical engineer named Hansjurgen "Hans" Klemm. The resulting airplane was originally called the Daimler L.20. A separate organization was established to manufacture it and named Leight flugzeugbau Klemm G.m.b.H., or roughly "Klemm Lightplane Man ufacturing Corp." The planes this firm produced thus eventually came to be known as Klemms. The factory was at B6blingen. Because what actually took place happened so long ago and so far away, we cannot be positive about this, but it's reasonable to assume that other German deSigners took note of the Udet approach to light plane design. It's a fact that when any designer sets about to create a new airplane, he studies similar de

signs from other engineers' draft ing boards to learn whatever he can about their poor and good ideas. Like the Udet, the Klemm was of all-wood construction and was a low wing of the cantilever type. But, where the Udet had a mod est span of 29 feet 1 inches, the new Klemm had a long span of 40 feet 2 inches and had 215 square feet of wing area. Later American lightplanes of the "Cub" type had around 170 square feet of wing area, so you can see that the Klemm was definitely a "floater." Very light airplanes tip easily when landing in crosswinds, so the low wing on the Klemm did much to minimize this problem. If wind did tip a Klemm, one wingtip skid simply contacted the ground and "bumped" the ship back to level position. Because of this appreciably greater span, Hans Klemm decided to build the wing in three pieces, a center section and two outer pan els. He paid a small penalty in the

form of the cost and weight of the necessary steel connecting fittings, but gained much in convenience. Each wing panel was attached with two vertical bolts and could quite readily be removed and hung snug and secure against the fuselage sides by means of small fittings pro vided for the purpose. This enabled the Klemm to be housed in a fairly narrow and inexpensive storage shed or to be towed along a road behind an automobile. The rudder and horizontal tail were removed so as not to catch the wind or foul the tow car. Making light and easily managed wings removable rather than fold able saves a lot of complication, cost, and weight. Some Klemm owners came to value this feature very highly. The reason for the long span had to do with a concept known to en gineers as "span loading." Basically the idea is that if good takeoff and climbing ability and high ceilings

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are wanted in a plane powered by a small engine, wingspan must be quite long. Read the article "Wing Span - The Vital Factor" in the July 1988 issue of EAA Experimenter. In early models the leading edges of the wings had false ribs between the main ones. Later the leading edges were sheathed with thin ply wood back to the front spars, and in a later (1929) license-built Amer ican version, to the rear spars. An odd feature was the use of pivoted wingtips for aileron con trol. The tips pivoted in response to control stick movement. You can see this clearly in the in-flight photo accompanying this article. Regular ailerons were also used, and the result must have been a somewhat complicated control linkage system . The exact reason for the use of pivoted tips is ob scure but could have involved the problem of adverse yaw in a light airplane of considerable wingspan. The writer recalls reading some thing many years ago to the effect that it was hard to get good control stick feel with tip ailerons. They were very sensitive to the location of their pivoting pOint, and at high angles of deflection they could be come overbalanced so as to "take the stick away from the pilot." This feature was in time dropped in fa vor of conventional ailerons only. The wing used the thick, high-lift Gottingen 387 airfoil, very similar to the Gottingen 386 used in the American Ford Tri-Motor of notable load-carrying capability. Early Klemm fuselages employed wooden longerons and cross-braces, the whole held true and rigid by the use of many crisscrossing wires and turnbuckles. This framing was fabric covered. The wires and many small fittings called for much hand labor, so it was not long until a change was made. Crosspieces were increased in number and spaced closer together, and the flat-sided fuselage was sheathed with thin, glued-on ply wood that served to gusset the frame members together and impart rigidcontinued on page 37 24

JULY 2008

Cessnas fitted with retractable-wheel amphibious twin floats are nothing new in the aviation world! Back in 1929 Aeromarine-Klemm in New Jer sey experimented with exactly the same idea.

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tt & ltne

The history of a most remarkable engine BY JOE HAYNES WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE PUBLISH CORPORATE HISTORY PUBLISHED IN 1950, THE PRATT

WHITNEY AIRCRAFT STORY

As antiquers, we all like to talk about our particular antique or clas sic Stearman, Waco, Beech, Cessna, Stinson, Howard, Spartan, and so on into the evening. Sometimes during these stories, someone will ask, "What engine is in her?/I If there's not much of a response, then the answer is a Lycoming or Continental. But when the answer is a Pratt & Whitney, you have their attention. What is so magi cal about that name? Generally the answer is, "Well, it's an old engine company, and I've heard the name for years. They build big radicals./I True, but the name Pratt & Whit ney goes back to 1860 when two 26

JULY 2008

skilled machin ists who had both worked at the Colt Pistol Factory and formed a partnership after meeting at the Phoenix Iron Works in Harf ord, Connecticut, started a preci sion tool company that grew into a major tool company. When they began the tool manufacturer, they certainly did not envision engine production, much less aircraft en gines. But their company's dedica tion to precision gave the firm the basis for the preciSion manufactur ing they would need 65 years later. Then one day in 1925, Fred Rent schler, a former president of Wright Aeronautical, walked into Pratt &

Whitney's Hartford, Connecticut, office with a letter of introduction and a proposal, claiming that for $250,000 he could produce a team to design and build an efficient air cooled aircraft engine in the 400- to 500-hp range. He said he knew the Navy was in the market for engines to equip 200 aircraft to outfit two aircraft carriers being built, the Sara

toga and Lexington. Rentschler be lieved that the best airplane could only be designed around the best engine; second best didn't count. At that point, aircraft engines were still based on World War I de signs. What made him think an air cooled engine could be developed in this horsepower range and com pete with the big Curtiss D-12 and the water-cooled V-12s being devel oped by Wright and Packard? Well, the story goes back to an engineer named George Mead. George Mead was a Massa chusetts Institute of Technology graduate who had worked on an aircraft engine design for the U.S . Army Air Ser vice during World War I and didn't believe that liquidcooled engines were ideal for aircraft. Those types of required en gines carried too much weight. He had worked for Rentschler when Rentschler had formed Wrigh t -Mar tin (later re organized into Wright Aeronautical Corporation) and produced the His panso-Suizas and the 575-hp Wright liq uid-cooled T. On a side note, before Rent schler resigned from Wright, Mead was talking of air-cooled radial engines and was charged with redesigning the Lawrence engine Wright had brought because Law rence could not produce it for the Navy. George selected Andy Will goos, an engineer who had been with him at Crane-Simplex, and who had that rare ability to "think with his fingertips" and sense the rightness in a design. Together they quickly recognized the problem with the Lawrence and redesigned it. That engine evolved into the fa

mous Wright J-5, which later pow ered the Ryan NYP Spirit of st. Louis from New York to Paris in May of 1927. Mead knew more about get ting more horsepower per pound than anyone in the engine busi ness, but the Wright directors still backed the liquid-cooled designs, a stance that caused Rentschler to re sign. Mead and Willgoos told Rent schler they would go with him if he ever got back in the engine busi ness. Mead's foresight was the key to any rapid expansion of aircraft engine development, but he got bogged down by Wright manage ment and their insistence on stick ing with the liquid-cooled design to challenge the Curtiss D-12. Pratt & Whitney management reviewed Rentschler's proposal with their board of directors and looked at the market. The War De partment reports were negative in tone. The National Advisory Com mittee for Aeronautics Report to President Coolidge was blunt in its assessment: There was no civil avi ation development following the war. They consulted with Chance Vought, a well-known, outspoken aircraft designer, who replied, "Hell, if you can even produce an engine of 350 hp and weighing less than 650 pounds, there will be a mar ket." Two days later, Pratt & Whit ney management called Rentschler and told him he had his money; produce your team and we will work out a contract. Rentschler called Mead, who resigned from Wright, along with Willgoos. They said they would come to Hartford. Rentschler asked them to stay in New Jersey for the time being because he had no fa cilities as of yet. They procured two drafting tables and moved them into Willgoos' garage and started the design with a "clean piece of paper." They came up with a new engine of 400 hp that was to weigh less than 650 pounds. They knew the design of the 325-hp Wright Si moon was complete, and they had to pack in 75 more hp and not ex-

The solid master rod with one of the other eight connecting rods Installed.

ceed 650 pounds. A generation later, when the highest-powered radial air-cooled engines delivered power almost 10 times the 400 hp Mead and Willgoos were seeking in 1925, aircraft engine men would speak of the configuration and design that emerged from that piece of paper as "clean as a hound's tooth." The foremost problem facing Mead and Willgoos was solving crankshaft speeds. A basic limita tion of previous radial engines had been a maximum crankshaft speed of 1800 rpm. Solid crankshafts had been used with split mas ter rods. At shaft speeds beyond 1800 rpm, the master rod tended to pull apart and damage the bearVINTAGE AIRPLANE

The two-piece crankshaft of the Wasp . Combined with the one-piece master rod and the industry-l eading metallurgical engineering that created long lasting bearings and valves, the Pratt & Whitney Wasp rai sed the bar for all aircraft engines that were to follow after it 's introduction to the industry in 1926.

PHOTOS EAA LIBRARY/ PRATI & WHITNEY

Three of the first aircraft equipped with the Wasp were the Wright F3W-l Apache, The Curtiss F6C-4 Hawk, and the Boeing XF2-B-l fighter. The Wright was built by Wright Aeronautical and equipped with their Wright P-l engine, which soon proved to be unsatisfactory. Since the airframe was already built to accept a radial engine, the Apache was modified to test the brand new Pratt & Whitney Wasp.

ing, and then the engine would disintegrate. Mead knew he had to come up with a way of achiev ing a considerably higher brake mean effective pressure coverage (pressure force against the piston) 2 8 JULY 2008

than the 120 pounds that was re garded as good under the designs of the period. Mead and Willgoos decided that the required guaran teed power they were aiming for could be achieved with an engine

of 1,344 cubic inches displacement on the basis of 125 pounds brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) and 1900 rpm. That meant the average engine would have to be capable of 420 hp or 130 pounds BMEP to assure a safe margin above the 400-hp guarantee . They also had to consider that for military use the engine would be forced in dives to run at 2400 rpm, as there were no controllable-pitch propel lers in 1925. In 1920, Mead had designed an engine, the R-1, for the Army Air Service on which he had reversed the usual procedure, splitting the crankshaft and employing a solid master rod. He decided on this pro cedure because it meant less weight to counterbalance. He also thought it might hold the key to permitting the higher crankshaft speeds. He also decided to change the crank case from a casting to a forging and split it through the plane of the cyl inders so the same forging could be used for both halves. With the two halves, they could be slipped over the ends of the crankshaft when the master link and rods were as sembled. This resulted in a strong, light construction, but more im portantly, the load was divided uni formly between the front and rear main bearing. The higher power could be obtained with higher ro

The two-piece crankcase.

tational speeds and sturdier con struction for dependability, and the l,344-cubic-inch displacement would weigh no more than the Si moon's l,176-cubic-inch engine. A cylinder design was developed us ing an all-steel barrel with the cool ing fins machined from the solid casting. General practice up to this time had been to integrally cast an aluminum cylinder head and barrel with a shrunk-in steel sleeve. Mead devised a rotary induction system that made possible the use of one carburetor instead of three, and, by gearing up the impeller, the engine could later be supercharged. Mead put Willgoos to work on the arrangements for the valves, finning, rocker boxes, and push rods. He used Mead's "tulip" valve design, which had solved the valve burning on the Lawrence engine, and designed the rocker box as an integral part of the cylinder head casting, along with telescoping pushrod covers. Mead had Willgoos design the rear accessory section, which made it possible to service the accessories without disassem bling the engine. They called this the modern "tri-section" engine, consisting of the nose, power, and accessory sections. This design was entirely developed on two drafting tables in Willgoos' garage in New Jers ey during May while he was waiting to hear from Rentschler about facilities in Hartford. In Hartford, Rentschler was working with Pratt & Whitney Tool Company to obtain shop space for the engine that Mead and Willgoos

The "power section" of the engine was built as a separate unit from the accessory section, giving the engine greater maintainability.

were designing in Willgoos' garage in Montclair, New Jersey. The only space available was in the Pope Hart ford building that Pratt & Whitney had leased to local tobacco grow ers for storage. Rentschler spent the month of June getting tons of tobacco moved and succeeded in clearing a 3,OOO-square-foot space where they would put their modest office and layout the experimental machine shop where the first en gine was built. On July 14, 1925, Rentschler summoned Mead and Willgoos to Hartford. Several old metal cut ters who had previously been with Wright recognized them as they ar rived in town and were curious as

to why these engine men were in Hartford. Mead let them know that something was up, but he needed their silence. He told them they would be the first to know when the news broke . They were in the market for workers, but they still had to formalize a contract with Pratt & Whitney. That afternoon, a formal contract was signed between Pratt & Whitney Tool Company, as a subsidiary of Niles-Bement-Pond, and the new Pratt & Whitney Air craft Company, with Rentschler as president and Mead as vice presi dent of engineering. Their objective was the "designing, constructing, testing and experimenting with aeroplane engines, aeroplanes, hy droplanes, and if successful, to pro ceed with the production thereof. " The spelling of "aeroplane" was not the choice of Rentschler or Mead but of the lawyers. The financial details closely fol lowed those originally proposed by Rentschler: $250,000 to carry the work through the testing of the first engine and, if the engine was prom ising, $1 million for further devel opment and production tooling. Rentschler insisted in the contract that neither Niles-Bement-Pond nor Pratt & Whitney Tool could have any voice in the management of the new company. In addition to Rentschler and Mead, three out side directors, Col. Leonard Horner, Sanford Etherington, and Edward Deeds were chosen. They had been key aviation figures in World War I and recognized the need for na tional air power. Mead contacted the engine men he had met at the train station, and, along with a couple of engineers he called from Montclair and a tool factory man who wanted to join the new company, work was begun on the new engine. Mead cut a hole in his office wall, which served as the drawing release to Don Brown, who would run the shop. The design ers were polishing up the design that had emerged from Willgoos' garage. Brown and the engine men took handcarts and started the surVINTAGE AIRPLA N E

vey of Pratt & Whitney Tool, which they found very well-equipped . It appeared that only certain gears would require subcontracting for the first engine. John Burrop was one of the old metal cutters from the train sta tion meeting, and Brown put him in charge of the machine shop. Be tween them they secured two lathes, two big milling machines, a Lucas boring mill, external grinders, inter nal grinders, benches, drills, layout plates, etc. The routine was simple. Mead released the drawing through the hole to Brown, who doubled as purchasing agent, who then passed them to Burrop, who had built a platform in the center of the shop and assigned the tasks for building the various engine parts. By October the blueprints were flying through the hole as several more designers had left Wright and joined Mead and Willgoos. Willgoos' brother Bill Willgoos joined them and was in charge of the assembly of the first engine . No name had been selected for the engine. Mrs. Rentschler thought it should be in the "bee" line, as the place resembled a beehive. She se lected "Wasp," which stuck. Bill and his small crew set Christmas as the target date for completing the assembly. Several days earlier, Col. Deeds had cabled from Havana, saying that if the engine was com pleted by Christmas he would give each member of the organization a turkey. There were still some parts to be fabricated and the engine was far from assembly. When the lunch hour came the day the cable arrived, the little shop emptied and everyone went into the Hartford market and ordered a turkey with all the trim mings and charged it to Col. Deeds. They then called on Rentschler and told him what they had done. They were grinning, and so was Rent schler, when he reminded them that the colonel had stipulated that the engine must be completely assem bled. Later the turkeys were turned over to Mrs. Rentschler and Mead, who prepared the trimmings. Late 30 JULY 2008

at night on December 24 , they passed out the baskets as the men left the shop. Sitting on the engine stand was the first Wasp, all assem bled and ready for the test stand. In just six months the engine had progressed from scratch to a com pleted assembly. Mead now had to put into practice the adage of this old engine professor of MIT to "start her up and see why she didn't go." The Wasp weighed in at just under 650 pounds, and as he and Andy looked at her, they knew it looked "right." Mead wanted to start an immedi ate informal test prior to the Navy test and felt it should start at 360 hp. He was finally coaxed into going for 380 hp, if it started. The Wasp started, all right. It took the 380 hp in stride and so smoothly that all skepticism vanished . Why not go for 400 hp? Again under an informal test, the Wasp delivered 410 hp. On the third test the Wasp hit 425 hp and ran clean. During the next two months the Wasp underwent continual informal runs in preparation for the formal Navy qualification test. In the mean time, the second Wasp was almost assembled and four more were mov ing from rough to finished parts to as sembly. Also during this time, Mead and Willgoos were far along with the design of a new engine, the Hornet, which displaced 1,690 cubic inches and was aimed at 525 hp at 1900 rpm. Many parts of the Wasp were inter changeable with the Hornet, which was remarkable in those days. The Navy qualification test started March 4, 1926, with Willgoos se lected as the company observer. In those days a qualification type test was set for only SO hours, compared to the 150 hours of continuous in tensive type testing required later. It could also be run in a series of peri ods, at the end of any of which you could go into the cell and inspect the engine, change plugs, make ad justments or repairs, or even tear the engine down. The only requirement was that after SO hours of running time the engine would still be in "fairly good shape."

The No.1 Wasp swept through the SO-hour test, measuring at full throt tle between 410 and 420 hp. The fi nal reading taken by the observers, their 221st, showed 1890 rpm and 415 hp. The Navy sent its congratula tions and asked that this Wasp be ear marked for an earthbound existence. It was retired and placed on perma nent exhibit in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, where it resides to day. It has never flown. In later years, Mrs. Mead remarked that it was a pity this Wasp was never allowed to fly after performing so well and being the engine that ushered in Pratt & Whitney Aircraft and its slogan "De pendable Engines." She also said that the engine still smelled of the to bacco that hung in the air of the ex perimental shop that Christmas Eve when the engine sat gleaming and finished on the engine stand. On May 11, 1926, the Navy issued Pratt & Whitney Aircraft a check in the amount of $15,385.92 as pay ment for the first Wasp. On April I, Pratt & Whitney Tool advanced the $1 million to proceed with pro duction tooling, as they had risked only $202,713 .29 on the experi mental engines. Rentschler's plan and Mead's design offered a fertile investment opportunity. The sec ond Wasp took to the air in a Wright Apache (F3W-l), which had been modified by Chance Vought. Within six months, the Wasp was flown in planes never designed to take its power and the Wasp demonstrated power that made possible the aircraft speed, rate of climb, performance at altitude, and reliability that revolu tionized American aviation. The very first Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine proved to be capable of producing 380 hp on its first test run. On its third test run, it easily pro duced 425 hp. Upon completion of it's SO-hour test run for the U.S. Navy, the service asked that the prototype engine be preserved. It was shipped to the Franklin Institute in Phila delphia; in its short test lifetime, it never flew on an airframe, but thou sands of its brethren did on commer cial and military aircraft. ........

"Be sure and visit AUA, Inc., at AirVenture July 28th through August 3rd, 2008. They are in South East Exhibit Building B, Booth# B-2005." - Ace

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BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE IS ANOTHER GOODIE COMING TO US FROM THE

COLLECTION OF TED BUSINGER, SALEM, ARKANSAS.

Send your answer to EAA, Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs to be in no later than August 10 for inclusion in the October 2008 issue of Vintage Airplane.

You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your answer to mysteryplane@eaa.org. Be sure to include your name, city, and state in the body of your note, and put "(Month) Mystery Plane" in the subjectline.

APRIL'S MYSTERY ANSWER

JULY 2008

Ap ril's Mystery Pla n e also came to u s from Ted Businger's collection. Our answer comes from Wes ley Smith: liThe April 2008 Mystery Plane is the 1927 Martin Boyd (Parasol) Monoplane. The aircraft was built by Edward Martin of San ta Ana, California, and was de signed by Millard Boyd. The aircraft incorporated a parasol wing using a symmetrical NACA No. 81 air foil, which at the cen ter was 22 inches thick. It was powered by a 180-hp Wright-Martin Hispano-Suiza engine. The aircraft is notable for having been flown in the 1927 International Aviation Peace Ju b ilee, which was sponsored jointly by the Santa An a Air

Cl ub and The Aero Club of Hollywood. It was held at the Eddie Martin Airport at Santa Ana, California, Ju ly 2-4, 1927. This event incorporated various aerial events, including races and parachute jumping. A rear view of the Martin-Boyd appears in Aviation ("Interna tional Aviation Peace Jubilee Draws Large Attendance: Stu nting, Parachute Jumping and Air Races Make Up Interesting Program," July 25, 1927, Page 203). I re gret t h at I have been unable to unearth any further deta ils on this attractive and interesting monoplane; however, many years later, Millard Boyd was involved with the design of the Ryan SCM." Wes' response was the only one we received. ......

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BY DOUG STEWART

The "DA" The abbreviation "DA" means different things to different folks. For people who get involved with court proceedings, it brings to mind a state or county prosecutor. For those who grew up in the '50s, it might evoke a hairstyle resembling the posterior of a waterfowl. But for pilots it should mean only one thing: density altitude. Unfortunately, I have found not only as an examiner asking an applicant to describe what density altitude is during a practical test, but also as an interested pilot pe rusing the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident re cords-that many pilots really don't understand what density altitude is. And without that understanding, many are getting themselves into bad situations because they fail to recognize the ramifications of high density altitudes. It's true that many pilots can give the "official definition of density altitude: pressure altitude adjusted for nonstandard temperature. But when asked how they might de scribe DA to a young child, they are at a loss. Before I offer my simple description of DA, let's look at the definition first. We'll begin with pressure altitude. The easiest way to explain pressure altitude is to say that it is indicated altitude on the altimeter, when the altimeter is set to the standard pres sure of 29.92 inches Hg. Thus, the higher the atmospheric pressure, the lower the pressure altitude, and

vice versa. We now adjust this alti tude for nonstandard temperature. You will remember that standard temperature is 15°C (59°F). As the temperature rises above this stan dard, so will the density altitude.

And without the understanding, many are getting themselves into bad situations . . .

JULY 2008

But what if you are as numeri cally challenged as I am, or not of a scientific bent? We certainly don't want to see our aircraft get bent, but it (your airplane) might very well end up rolled up in a ball if you fail to comprehend this important con cept and its impact on aircraft per formance. (You will, on the other hand, recognize its impact on the ground.) So I offer this simple ex planation that even a young child could understand: Density altitude is the altitude that

c your airplane "thinks" it's at. If an aircraft were a sentient be ing capable of thoughts and feel ings, it would factor in the mean sea altitude it was at, the barometric pressure, the temperature, and the humidity (which plays a major part in affecting aircraft performance, even though it is not factored into denSity-altitude calculations) and come up with a "feels like" altitude. The higher this "feels like" altitude, the more cautious we, as pilots, need to be. I hope we all know that the higher we go, the less dense the air gets, and the less dense the air gets, the poorer the aircraft performance gets, especially when it comes to takeoff, landing, and climb perfor mance. This is really aeronautical knowledge 101. That being said, why is it that over the last five years (May 2003 through May 2008) the NTSB records show that there were 138 airplane aCCidents, including 79 fatalities, in which density alti tude played a major part? (I'm sure if you asked an insurance under writer whether he concurred with these numbers, he would come up with even more claims, as many ac cidents that might involve density altitude do not necessarily have to be reported to the NTSB.) As I looked at mentions of "proba ble cause" in the NTSB reports, I came up with the following statistics: - In 41 (29.7 percent) of these ac cidents, "poor pilot planning" (in many cases, no planning whatso

ever) was a contributor to the event. eTwenty-eight of the reported ac cidents (20.2 percent) occurred at air ports or in high mountainous areas. eTwenty-three of them (16.6 per cent) happened in "vintage" (man ufactured before 1968) airplanes. eThirteen (9.4 percent) of them happened during the attempted go-around. • In 11 cases, an instructor was on board. e In 10 of them, the aircraft ex ceeded the maximum certified gross weight. It was interesting to note several recurring themes in these accidents. Many times pilots neglected to con figure the airplane appropriately. Improper use of flaps was often a contributing factor. There were nu merous takeoff and go-around acci dents where pilots failed to properly lean the engine. But the thing that most stood out was that in many instances pilots had sufficient time to take proper action-such as aborting a takeoff, initiating an early go-around, or turning before they impacted a mountain ridge but failed to do so. Let's look at a couple of them. The first was the crash of a Taylorcraft BC12-D, which caused one fatality: "According to several witnesses in the area, the pilot had been at tempting to land to the west on a grass strip. The pilot had made approximately five attempts to land prior to the accident. During the sixth approach, the airplane touched down approximately mid field, the pilot added power, and the airplane became airborne again. Witnesses stated that the airplane struck a road embankment at the end of the runway, continued in a steep climb, and then struck several 60-foot-high aspen trees approxi mately 150 feet west of the end of the runway. The airplane rolled off hard to the right and impacted the southbound lane of a county road in a nose-low attitude. Airport ele vation was approximately 7,800 feet mean sea level. Density altitude was calculated to be 10,063 feet. The air

port runway is surrounded on every side by vegetation, and terrain el evation rises dramatically in all di rections. According to the owner of the airport, it is recommended that pilots land to the east and depart to the west due to the obstacles and terrain near the airport." The second accident involved a Stearman and led to two minor injuries: "The pilot reported that he was concerned with the field elevation, airplane weight, heat, and humidity

It was interesting to note several recurring themes in these accidents. before the flight. During the takeoff roll, the airplane had a slower accel eration and longer takeoff roll than normal. The pilot considered abort ing the takeoff twice, but was con cerned that there was not enough available runway to land and felt that he would be able to out-climb the terrain located at the end of the runway. After bouncing twice on the runway, the airplane began to climb in ground effect, about 100 feet per minute. When the pilot re alized that he would not clear the terrain, he lowered the nose in an attempt to gain airspeed. He lo cated an area of lower terrain, made a shallow right turn, and attempted to fly through the area; however, the airplane sank into the trees and rolled. The pilot stated that the en gine sounded as if it was producing full power, and that he was unfamil

iar with the airplane's high-density altitude performance capabilities." It would appear that not only in these two aCCidents, but also in so very many others, the pilot, rather than relying on sound decision making and preflight performance planning, relied more on hope. Now, hope is a wonderful thing! It certainly has its place in presidential campaigns. But there is absolutely no room for hope when it comes to aviation . "Hope" will not in crease airplane performance as the departure end of the runway gets closer and closer, and the airplane still won't rotate. "Hope" won't in crease an airplane's rate of climb as obstacles loom in the windscreen. "Hope" won't get an airplane fly ing again when one has waited too long before initiating a go-around. "Hope" won't save the life of some one who has been fatally injured in an airplane accident. However, I do hope that the fol lowing suggestions will help pre vent you from having an accident in which density altitude plays a role. You don't have to be at high field elevations to become a victim of this. Anytime the density alti tude is 2,000 feet or more above your field elevation it's time to pay attention. It's time to have as much information available as possible. Certainly the first place to look for information is in your airplane's pilot's operating handbook (POH) . (Unfortunately, for many vintage aircraft, a POH might not even exist.) Find out the manufactur er's recommendations for aircraft configuration and engine -lean ing requirements in high-density altitude environments. Refer to the takeoff, climb, and landing perfor mance charts to get an idea of ex pected performance. Keep in mind that the performance figures in the POH were obtained in a brand-new aircraft flown by a highly qualified test pilot. Factor that in as you ad just the figures to reflect an accu rate and realistic expectation of the performance you will get in your airplane, with you at the controls. VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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If the density altitude is at 5,000 feet or higher, leaning the engine for maximum power is highly rec ommended. Again, the POH will rule on this, but in the absence of a POH, here are some suggestions. For start-up and taxi, lean at 1000 rpm (all propeller combinations) until the rpm peaks; then enrich slightly. Before takeoff, go to full throttle and lean the mixture. With a fixed pitch prop, lean to maximum rpm and then enrich slightly. With a variable-pitch prop, on carbureted engines, lean to engine smooth ness. If you have an EGT gauge, lean to +100°F on the rich side of peak. With a fuel-injected engine, lean to the correct fuel-flow setting accord ing to the POH for your specific air plane (often, though not always, marked on the fuel-flow gauge). To ensure maximum available power in the event that you need to make a go-around at a high-altitude air port, do not apply full rich mixture as part of your landing checklist. Keep in mind that departures will have a greater rate of success when made during cooler times, such as early in the morning or late in the evening. Remember that you might have to reduce your takeoff weight by draining fuel or leaving behind the mother-in-law (she' ll tell you to leave behind the big bucket of chicken and the cooler filled with beverages). Don't forget that what worked in the depths of the winter or at the seaside airport might not work at all at the height of summer or in the mountains. Now that it's summertime, please be especially aware of the DA. No, not when you have a court appoint ment. No, not when you 're going to have your hair cut. Be aware of the density altitude every time you are beckoned aloft by ... blue skies and tail winds. Doug Stewart is the 2004 National CFI of the Year, a NAFI Master In structor, and a designated pilot ex aminer. He operates DSFI Inc. (www. DSFlight.com) based at the Colum bia County Airport (lBl). ........

36 JULY 2008

Light Plane Heritage

continued from page 24

ity to the structure. Read the article about the Loughead S-l in the October 1991 issue of EAA Experimenter. [Vin tage Airplane Editor's Note: We'll be running the Loughead article in a future issue of Vintage Airplane.] Powered with the 20-hp Daimler engine, the big winged, lightweight Klemm was able to take off quickly and landed at the surprisingly low speed of about 20 mph. Empty weight was 485 pounds, useful load 420 pounds, and gross weight 905 pounds. Top speed was claimed to be 62 mph with cruising speeds in the 50s, depending on load aboard. Some Klemms were later fitted with the 40-hp French-built nine-cylinder Salm son engines, with useful gain in performance. One such Klemm was entered in the 1928 French Light Plane Trials held at Orly airfield near Paris and won over stiff competition from the planes of other well-known European manufacturers. In the efficiency event it sco red 150 more points than did the well known English de Havilland Gypsy Moth of greater power. The Moth was a biplane whose wings used a thin, World War I type airfoil. Watching monoplanes like the Klemm is what spurred British designers to cool their longstanding love affair with biplanes! By 1928, incidentally, the Klemm had become Ger many's first mass-produced lightplane, with from 15 to 20 examples coming out of the Bbblingen factory each month. But this is getting ahead of the story. To combat the then (and still!) widespread feeling that lightplanes are only able to operate in fair weather, in late February and into March of 1926 two men from the Klemm works undertook a most remarkable jour ney. Now remember, it was at that time still very much winter in the Alps mountains, the plane they were fly ing had only 20 hpJ and they rode in open cockpits. What they did would today make a bunch of FAA offi cials faint dead away! And this is what they did-they made a 1,500 mile flight from Sindelfingen near Stuttgart to Vienna, Aus tria, and then on to Budapest in Hungary, and then home by a different route. Get out a good world atlas, turn to pages that show southern Germany, Austria, and Hungary, and follow the route they took as de scribed herewith: The route called for stops sometimes at established airfields and just as often in randomly chosen mead ows. From Sindelfingen they hopped to Augsburg, Mu nich, and Salzburg, then headed south to Austria to a little town called Zell-am-Zee, then easterly and north easterly to Hermagor, Villach, Klagenfurt, Voitsberg, Graz, and Vienna. From the latter city they headed easterly to Budapest. The return trip took them back to Vienna, from whence they headed westerly to Melz, Kinz, Frankenmarkt, Salzburg, and home. Simple in a modern bizjet perhaps. But not long

after the start of the trip, wind swirling through the cockpits caught and blew away their carefully prepared maps. They flew the rest of it using cyclists' maps! The weather was always cold and dished up mostly low ceilings, rain, and snow. The landing near Zell-am-Zee was made on a meadow that was covered with a foot of snow. The Klemm's thin, high-pressure tires cut grooves through it instead of bulldozing it so forcibly as to cause a nose over. The vee-type landing gear helped here, too, for if the Klemm had used a World War I style landing gear having a straight axle, this would also surely have caught in the snow. And, by the way, in getting across the Alps, they coaxed their little puddle-jumper to vault over jag ged mountains ranging from 9,000 to 12,450 feet in height. This was indeed quite an accomplishment, and it is regrettable that most of today's private pilots have never read of such an amazing early-day flight. Admit tedly, it wasn't exactly a pleasure hop, but it did make a lot of people change their minds about the capa bilities of lightplanes. And, if you too think this 1926 aerial cruise was remarkable, then be sure to read this column next month! .......

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This VAA Calendar of Events is a fraction of those posted on the newest page on the EAA website. To submit an event, or to view the most up to date list, please visit the EAA website at www.eaa.orgjcalendar. During 2008, we'll publish this calendar as we transition to an all-web based calendar for 2009. This list does not constitute approval, sponsorship, involvement, control or direction of any fly-in, seminar, fly market or other event. July 11-13 - Alliance, OH - Annual Taylorcraft-Aeronca Ry-In. Barber Airport (2Dl). All grassroots aircraft welcome. Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday by EM Chapter 82. Contact: Forrest Barber, Phone: 330-823 1168, Email: fbarber@alliancelink.com July 11-13 - Lompoc, CA - West Coast Piper Cub Ry in. Lompoc Municipal Airport (LPG). 24th annual West Coast Cub fly-in here in the beautiful Lompoc Valley. Contact: Bruce Fall, Phone: (805) 733-1914, Email: brucefal/@msn.com July 12 - East Tawas, MI - Dawn Patrol & Community Festival. losco County Airport (6D9). Local Summerfest, Car Show, Pancake Breakfast; Brats for lunch. Taildraggers especially welcomed! 7-12 noon. Contact: Marvin Poland, Phone: 989-362-5832, jalexander@glr.cap.gov July 13 - Middleton, WI - EM Chapter 1389 Pancake Ry-in. Morey Airport (C29). Rain or shine. Ry or drive. Event is part of Middleton weekend City Celebration Start Time: 7-12 noon Contact: Roman Bukolt, Phone: 608-848-4108, conceptmode/s@tds.net July 19 - Delaware, OH - EM Vintage 27 Ry In Breakfast. (DLZ). Ry In Breakfast Start Time: 08:00 End Time: 10:00 Contact: Woody Mcintire, Phone: 6145652887, Email: wjmcintire@cs.com July 19 - Houston, TX - Wings & Wheels - Raffle Day. 1940 Air Terminal Museum (HOU). In July of last year we began selling raffle tickets for our beautiful, award-winning, polished aluminum 1947 Cessna 140. Admission is $10/adults and $5/children, fee waived for all Cessna 120/140 arrivals. 10-5pm Contact: Megan Lickliter, Phone: 713-454 1940, info@1940airterminal.org July 19-20 - Independence, OR - Independence "Ragwing" fly-in. Independence State Airport (7S5). First Annual Ragwing Ry-In at Independence (7S5). Start Time: 08:00 PDT End Time: 10:00 PDT Contact: Andy Duncan, Phone: 503838 9870, Email: kiaorana@WVi.com July 19-20 - Mulino, OR - 52nd Annual Blueberry Pancake Ry-In Breakfast. Mulino Airport (4S9). Mulino Chapter of the Oregon Pilots Association 52nd annual pancake breakfast and fty-in/ drive-in. Motorcycles, antique cars and vintage airplanes. Admission, adults $7, children $6. 0730-1300. Contact: Steve Millar, Phone: 503651 3802, Email: cmillar@weirster.com July 20 - East Troy, WI - East Troy Airport Open House. East Troy Municipal Airport (57C). Fly-in/Drive-in breakfast. Pancakes, eggs & more. 0700-1300. Airplane & Helicopter rides. Homebuilts, warbirds and antique aircraft, antique & classic cars. model trains. Skydiving demonstration raffle with cash prizes. Sponsored by: Friends of East Troy Airport. Contact: Ken Klima, Phone: 414-425-7991, Email: beerguy5738@yahoo.com July 20 - Hanson, MA - EM Chapter 279 Ry-in Breakfast. Cranland Airport (28M). EM Colonial Chapter 279, Cranland Airport (28M). 0800-1100. All you can eat for a $6 donation. Children through 12 years of age half price if accompanied by adult parent. Ry, drive, ride or walk, in rain or shine. Antiques , Classics, Homebuilts, Ultralights. 0800-1100. Contact: Carl Patturelli, Email : eaa279@comcast.net July 23-26 - Wausau, WI- 2008 National Ercoupe Convention. (AUW). Food, fun , fellowship with Ercoupers. Includes factory tours, Young Eagle flights, a picnic dinner, a corn roast, poker fly, spot landing contest, flour bomb drop, aircraft judging, and an awards banquet. Ercoupes, Forneys, Alons & Mooney M-l0's welcome. Start Time: 8 am End Time: 10 pm Contact: Syd Cohen, Phone: 715-573-7063, Email : sydlois@charter.net July 25-27 - Brodhead, WI - Hatz - Pietenpol Ry-In. Brodhead Airport (C37). Annual Pietenpol Ry-In and Hatz Ry-In at Brodhead Airport. Seminars and forums for builders and enthusiasts. Free camping on field . Food for purchase each day as well as nearby restaurants . Contact: Mike Weeden, Email: blueleader@wekz.net July 26 - Abingdon, VA - Abingdon Kiwanis Club historic Wings & Wheels

Ry-in & Cruise-in for vintage aircraft and automobiles from l0-4pm, Saturday. No registration fee , but entrants must register. For info and registration form visit IWM.abingdonkiwanis.org, or call Bob Craig 800 818-4393 or Gary Crane 276-224-9510. August 2-3 - Norridgewock, ME - EM Chapter 736 12th annual "Everything that Ries " Ry-in. Central Maine Regional Airport (OWK). Pancake breakfast, airplane rides , Young Eagle flights Saturday, model airplane demos, food concessions, free admission, primitive camping. Start Time: 7am End Time: 6pm Contact: Michael Watson, Phone: 207 968-2587, Email: psi@fairpoint.net Aug. 10 - Queen City, MO - Applegate Airport. 21st Annual Watermelon Ry-in and BBQ 2:00 PM -Dark. Come and see grass roots aviation at its best. Info: 660-766-2644 or 66O-B65-0210 or ccpha@nemr.net August 10 - Chetek, WI - Chetek Municipal Southworth Airport (Y23) Annual BBQ Charity Ry-In 10:30 - 3:30 pm Modern , Antique , Unique planes and Warbirds. Antique and Collector cars. Children activities and airplane ride raffle . Water ski show to follow. IWM.hydrofiites.com Contact info: Chuck Harrison 715-456-8415, charleytango@yahoo.com Tim Knutson 651-308-2839, n3nknut@citizens-tel.net August 10 - Chetek, WI - Annual BBQ Charity Fly-In . (Y23). Modern , Antique , Unique planes and Warbirds. Antique and Collector cars. Children activities and airplane ride raffle. Water ski show to follow. www.hydroflites.com. 10:30-3:30 pm. Contact: Chuck Harrison, Phone: 715-456-8415, charleytango@yahoo.com

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Membership dues to EM and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions Copyright (;)2008 by the EM Vintage Aircraft Association, All rights reserved. VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EM Vinlage Aircraft Association of the Experimenlal Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EM Aviation Ceoter, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086, e-mail: vinlageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vinlage Aircraft Association, which includes 12 issues of Vinlage Airplane magazine, is S36 per year for EM members and 546 for non-EM members. Periodicals Poslage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. PM 40063731 Retum undeliverable Ganadian addresses to Pitney Bowes IMS, Slation A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6JS. FOREIGN AN D APO ADDRESSES - Please allow al least \Wo months for delivel)' of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING - Vinlage Aircraft Association does nol guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and wfficome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken. EDITORIAL POLlCY: Members are encouraged to su bm~ stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contribulor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Ed~or, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800. EM® and EM SPORT AVIATION®, the EM Logo® and Aeronautica'· are registered trademarl<s, Irademarl<s, and service marl<s of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these Irademarl<s and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited .

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