VA-Vol-37-No-11-Nov-2009

GEOFF ROBISON PRESIDEN T, VIN TAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Authority and potentials inter is now on the ho­ rizon here at home.

With the holidays just around the corner, it won't be long before Old Man Winter will be barking at us yet again. Oh well, my attitude has always been that "the sooner it gets here, the sooner it's over." I clearly remember just a few months ago reflecting about how long this past winter seemed to hang around here in Indiana. It was a long and brutal one that I sure hope we don't see repeated.

As I am writing this column, I just returned from Oshkosh. A bunch of our Vintage Aircraft Association (VAA) volunteers always get together in early October to winterize our campers that we use throughout the year when we attend the work parties and various other EAA events. It's always a fun and laid-back weekend lacking the routine hustle and bus­ tle of preparing for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Although we didn't have the best of weather this past weekend, we sure made up for it in enthusiasm and a great deal of camaraderie. Many thanks to all in attendance, especially Bob Lumley and Georgia Schneider for preparing a great meal for us all on Saturday evening at the Aeroplane Factory on the EAA grounds.

September was a very busy month for us here at the VAA Chapter 37 hangar. It all started early in the month during the Labor Day week­ end when we hosted New Standard barnstormer rides during the annual Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Auto Festi­

W

val held every Labor Day weekend in Auburn, Indiana. If you haven't had the opportunity to ride in a New Stan­ dard, you really need to experience this aircraft. The crew of the New Standard is a bunch of crazy "wing nuts," so we had a really good time hosting them for this event. Many thanks to "Scooter" and his crazy cast

The world of sport aviation continues to face unprecedented challenges t~ our right to fly. of aviators for a fun-filled weekend.

Our chapter also hosted the 2009 Stinson fly-in at Auburn in mid­ October. This was also a fun week­ end with good weather and ex­ cellent attendance. We topped off the month by hosting the EAA B-17 tour at Auburn. Although the weather was a bit challenging, we again enjoyed hosting the aircraft as well as the crew. A good number of our local B-17 vets again showed up to share their experiences with hun­ dreds of local visitors to the tour.

Thanks for coming, guys. We really enjoyed our time with you.

Mix that all in with a couple of Young Eagles events, and you can

see why I use the term "busy." Many thanks also go out to all of the local chapter volunteers who supported us in hosting all of these events. We simply couldn't do it without you!

The world of sport aviation con­ tinues to face unprecedented chal­ lenges to our right to fly. It seems to me as though nearly every layer of government regulators seems to think that they aren't doing th eir job unless they periodically fire a shot across our bow to make sure we haven't forgotten about their "au­ thority." But recently there was a bill introduced in the House of Repre­ sentatives that will potentially limit their authority to arbitrarily regulate those of us who are engaged in this pleasure we call aviation.

On September 30, a good number of genera-aviation-minded representa­ tives introduced HR 3678, that would rein in the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) absolute power to is­ sue security directives that severely impact aviation. It seems as though the DHS has ruffled some feath ers inside the beltway with its incessant practices of issuing what are referred to as safety bulletins. A number of which have included unwarranted impact on our access to free skies. If this bill passes the House, it would effectively limit DHS in its ability to arbitrarily pass security directives un­ less they prove to be in response to an imminent threat, and then only for a maximum of 180 days. If such a direc­ tive needs to be in place for a period longer than 180 days, the DHS would continlled on page 39

VOL. 37, No. 11

ov

B

2009

CONTENTS

IFe

Straight & Level Authority and potentials

by Geoff Robison

2

News

4

Rotary Dreams-The Restoration of a Pitcairn PA-I8 Autogiro The Reserv_e Grand Champion Antique of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009

by H.G. Frautschy with Nick Hurm

16

Miss Champion Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro PCA-2

by Carl Gunther and Gene Chase

24

The Vintage Mechanic Materials & Processes, Part 2

by Robert G. Lock

28

Light Plane Heritage

j1j

The Mummert Cootie

by Jack McRae 32

STAFF

The Vintage Instructor

EAA Publisher Director of EAA Publications Executive Director/Editor Production/Special Project Photography

All available info

by Doug Stewart 34

Mystery Plane

by H.G. Frautschy

1921

.wMMfJlI

39

Classified Ads

CQQ]]£ LAWRANCE ENGINE

COVERS

FRONT COVER: This issue of Vintage Airplane is dedicated to vintage rotorcraft, and this beautiful example is the 1931 Pitcairn PA-18 Autogiro restored by Jack Tiffany and the crew at Leading Edge Aircraft in Ohio. Restored over a 9-year period, it is th e only Pit­ cairn Autogiro currently flying. Read more about it starting on page 4 . EAA photo by H.G. Frautschy. EAA Cessna 210 photo plane ftown by Janet Davidson.

BACK COVER : Now a part of the permanent collection of the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh , this is Steve Pitcairn 's restored Pitcairn PCA-2 on its final flight on a beautiful fall afternoon in 2005 before being donated to EAA. Those who were present were treated to a glorious flight display as Steve said goodbye to the oldest ftying rotorcraft then in America, restored by Geo rge Townson and maintained by the Posey Brothers (who helped move Miss Champion to Oshkosh). Read more about it starting on page 16. EAA photo by H.G. Frautschy.

Advertising Coordina tor Classified Ad Coordinator Copy Editor Director of Advertising

Tom Poberezny Mary Jones H.G . Frautschy Kathleen Witman Jim Koepnick Bonnie Kratz Sue Anderson Lesley Poberezny Colleen Wa lsh Katrina Bradshaw

Display Advertisi ng Representatives: Specialized Publications Co. U.S. Eastern Time Zone-Northeast: Ken Ross 609-822-3750 Fax: 609-957-5650 kr4 O@comcast.net

U.S. Eastern Time Zone-Southeast: Chester Baumgartner 727-532-4640 Fax: 727-532-4630 cbaum111@mindspring.com U.S. Central Time Zone: Gary Worden and Todd Reese 800-444-9932 Fax: 816-74 1-6458 gary.worden@spc-mag.com; todd@Spc-mag.com

U.S. Mountain and Pacific Time Zones: John Gibson 916-784-9593 Fax: 510-217-3796 iohngibson@spc-mag.coln

Europe: Willi Tacke Phone: +49(0)1716980871 Fax: +49(0)8841 / 496012 willi@{lying-pages.com VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Sully and Skiles New Young Eagles Co-Chairs

Sully Sullenberger (left) and Jeff Skiles, co-chairs of the EAA Young Eagles program.

EAA members expressed surprise and excitement wh en it was announced September 29 that US Airways Flight 1549 pilots Chesl ey "Sully" Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles would be the new co-chairs of EANs Young Eagles program.

"Many people have contacted me and said w hat a great choice; it was unex­ pected, but what a great choice fo r the next step to lead the Young Eag les pro­ gram;' said EAA President/Chairman Tom Poberezny. You can read more about the new co-chairmen on page 81 of fAA Sport Aviation.

Since vintage aircraft make up the majority of the lightplane general-aviation fleet, it probably comes as no surprise to learn that the majority of the 1.5 million Young Eagles flown so far were flown in aircraft built priorto 1971, and one of the new Young Eagles chairmen expects that trend to continue for him in a very personal way; you can read an interview with Jeff Skiles and see a slide show of his "new" Waco YOC in issue No. 3 of Vintage Aircraft Online, the VANs newest member benefit. You can access it online at www. EAA.org/ vintageaircraft.

EAA Responds Immediately to Anti-GA Airport Stories Inaccurateclaims that small airportsreceive disproportionateamount of federal money When two national news outlets recently produced stories critical of funding for general-aviation (GA) airports, EAA and other aviation or­ ganizations promptly stood up and set things straight. USA Today and NBC ran stories on September 17 that claimed smaller airports receive a disproportionately large amount of federal funding to upgrade those fa­ cilities at the expense of the nation's commercial hubs.

"This is very upsetting but not un­ expected-it's obvious the airlines are 2

NOVEMBER 2009

still trying to fix their broken busi­ ness model by inflaming the public with one-sided media stories," said Tom Poberezny, EAA chairman/presi­ dent. "For several years, the airlines have tried to shift the burden of sup­ porting our nation's airport infra­ structure by tossing it on the back of general aviation. It was wrong before, and it still is."

What the news o u tlets failed to report is that aviation fuel taxes paid by GA annually exceed grants distributed for all airport improve­ ments, yet those funds are perenni­ ally raided to ease the FAA's general budget shortfall. Hub airports also re­ ceive three times more federal funds

than do GA airports, and GA users pay five times more in fuel taxes than the airlines to support the air traffic control system, the primary users of which are the airlines.

"EAA agrees with one item from the USA Today story-the nation's small airports are underutilized," Po­ berezny said. "If major hub airports are overcrowded but smaller airports are ready and eager to serve avia­ tion, why would it make any sense to wage war on small airports? They are all essential parts of the nation's transportation system."

EAAer Keys Mexican ElT Rule Extension Thanks to coordination efforts

by EAA member Rick Gardner, EAA 791548, of travel service provider Ca­ ribbean Sky Tours, the Mexican gov­ ernment extended its emergency lo­ cator transmitter (ELT) rules through April 2010 for general-aviation air­ craft flying in Mexico. The extension provides a procedure that will allow certain U.S. pilots operating 121.5 MHz ELTs to fly into Mexicothrough April 2, 2010. After that date, all general-aviation aircraft flying into Mexico must be equipped with an operable 406 MHz ELT. Gardner and his wife, Pia, own­ ers and operators of Cancun, Mex­ ico-based Caribbean Sky Tours, are longtime AirVenture and Sun 'n Fun exhibitors and regularly conduct fo­ rums on flying to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Rick Gardner worked directly with the Di­ reccion General De Aeronautica Civil (DGAC, the Mexican equivalent of the FAA) on the 406 MHz ELT regula­ tion for the last two years.

"We have had a very good rela­ tionship with the DGAC for many years and have worked together on a number of different issues to facili­ tate the arrival of visiting general avi­ ation aircraft into Mexico," he said.

"We are also on the executive coun­

cil of the Mexican Federation of Pi­ lots (FEMPPA) and are an authorized distributor for INEGI, the Mexican charting office, which allows us to stay abreast of Mexican aeronautical issues and products."

VAA Volunteer of the Year Awards

TSA and DHS Merge Border Flight Crossing Procedures Two Department of Homeland Se­ curity (DHS) agencies recently merged their border security programs to eliminate redundancy as well as the paperwork burden of international travelers. The Transportation Secu­ rity Administration's (TSA) Interna­ tional Waiver program will be folded into Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Advanced Passenger Informa­ tion System (APIS).

This will satisfy a commitment made at AirVenture 2009 by TSA's new general-aviation manager, Brian De­ lauter, and CBP's APIS program man­ ager, Eric Rodriguez, to improve the border-crossing procedure for general­ aviation pilots through collaboration.

The info merger will allow pilots to complete only the CBP electronic APIS paperwork to fly across U.S. borders.

EAA, which has advocated for a less onerous system, has prepared a guide on how to navigate the current re­ quirements until the new process is fi­ nalized. That is available at www.EAA. org/news/2009/2009-0S-21_cbp.asp.

During the fall board meeting, Jim Swol (right) was presented with a commemora­ tive clock and a certificate commemorating his selection as the 2009 Art Morgan VAA Flightline Volunteer of the Year. ach year the Vintage Aircraft Association honors two of its own for their service to the VAA and its members during the annual convention. As it is every year, it's tough to pick just one person for such an honor, but this year was especially challenging, as we had afantastic group of volunteers step it up an extra notch during the months prior to this year's amazing event, and during the convention .

The Art Morgan VAA Flightline Volunteer of the Year comes to us all the way from the state of Maine. For years we have both marveled and worried at the willingness of the VAA flightline volunteers to keep going and do whatever was requested of them, and Jim Swol epitomizes that volunteer work ethic- always on the spot, doing what needs to be done, year after year.

The VAA Behind the Scenes Volunteer of the Year is actually a twosome this year. The way­ beyond-the-call-of-duty work spearheaded by these two volunteers made it possible for us to com­ plete the Vintage Hangar on time and under budget. Thanks to the work by Archie James and Michael Blombach, this year's honorees for the award, the 40-plus volunteers who helped finish out the proj­ ect were kept busy and focused so that we could all enjoy our new facilities when AirVenture started.

Our sincere admiration and heartfelt thanks to Jim Swol, Archie James, and Michael Blombach for their hard work. Congratulations, gentlemen!

E

EAA Share the Spirit Sweepstakes

This new Aviat Husky could be yours.

It's on! The 2010 EAA Share the Spirit Sweep­ stakes website is now live, and with it, your chance to flyaway in the grand prize-a brand new, fully equipped Aviat Husky A-1 C. To top things off (includ­ ing the 50-gallon fuel tank, over and over again!), the grand prize comes with a full year's worth of fuel credit from Chevron plus 50,000 points in Chevron's FlyBuys rewards program. Equipped with a Garmin GsOO and GNS 430 panel-mount avionics suite and a set ofWipaire C2200 hydrauliC wheel skis, the grand prize Husky will take you places you've never been!

But you have to enter, and fortunately there are many ways to do so. (Entry coupons are included in the November issue of Sport Aviation and will also be included in the 2010 January, March, and May issues of EAA's flagship magazine.) Or you can enter anytime at www.WinAPlane.com.

Other top sweepstakes prizes include a Honda Big Red mUltipurpose utility vehicle, REMOS Pilot Center sport pilot training certificate, men's Hamilton Khaki X-Wind aviation watch, Canon EOS SOD camera kit with lens, and Bose Wave music system.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

3

H.G. fRAUTSCHY

o what would a former high school track star, Army Spe­ cial Ops soldier, and para­ chute ace want for a vintage aircraft? If you're a guy like Jack Tiffany of Spring Valley, Ohio, you'd go for the most unusual thing you could find-an Autogiro.

There was only one problem for the energetic Tiffany, a Vietnam vet­ eran now in his seventh decade; he couldn't find one to restore. Other neat projects came and went for his laid-back confederation of re­ storers that bill themselves as Lead­ ing Edge Aircraft (liOn the Trailing Edge of Technology" is its motto). A Fairchild Kreider-Reisner 21 biplane, a Fleet 16B, a couple of Davis D­ 1Ws, and a smattering of Wacos and other ancient but lovable aircraft passed through the hangar doors, but an Autogiro proved elusive. He searched for one for 28 years.

Enter the third generation of avia­ tion fanatics in the Tiffany sphere of influence. Jack's father had been an Air Force crew chief, and for Jack, aviation was a major part of his life.

Later, when he married Kate (an avowed aviation nut herself, she's

s

6

NOVEMBER 2009

served as a volunteer judge at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh), he got a bo­ nus in the bargain, Kate's son, Nick.

The young boy soon became as en­ amored as his stepfather with avia­ tion, and as a teenager Nick became quite the aviation sleuth, digging up tidbits of handy aviation knowledge.

That tenacity would payoff in 1999, when he came to Jack with the reve­ lation that there was an Autogiro out there that could be restored. In fact, there were two!

It didn't take long for Jack and Nick to track down Al Letcher of Mo­ jave, California. AI, a longtime col­ lector of vintage aircraft, had bought the remains of a Pitcairn PA-18 from Ted Sowirka, who had owned it for 43 years. But how it came to be in his hands is a story that will warm the

Since it is a fixed-spindle system, the rotor head is relatively simple.

The cables and the bungee cords attached to them act as limit stops when the rotor is rotating slowly or is stopped. To the sides of the rotor­ attach hinges are the squarish rub­ ber pads that, in combination with the dampers installed farther out on each blade, act to dampen and limit the lead/lag movement of each rotor blade as it flies around the rotor disc.

To the left is the pre-rotator gearbox, which engages with the helical spur gear bolted to the bottom of the ro­ tor head. The pre-rotator is used to spin up the rotor blades to a stable rpm before the takeoff roll is started.

Having a spun-up rotor allows the rotor to be started and brought up to speed without the hazard of taxiing with a low-speed, unstable rotor sys­ tem, and it significantly reduces the takeoff run.

heart of many a potential restorer who still has hopes of finding his own aeronautical Holy Grail.

History The Pitcairn PA-18 Autogiro was created by the company after the firm had created quite a name for it­ self with the PCA-2 Autogiro, a large, expensive craft that was bought by a few firms for its novel appearance, which, since it attracted a lot of at­ tention, made it a suitable platform for advertising. But the PCA-2 with a 300-hp Wright Whirlwind on the nose and a 4S-foot rotor span was a big rotorcraft. It could carry three with ease, and its hulking presence on the ground made it hard to miss. (" Autogiro" with a capital A is the spelling coined by the Cierva Auto-

By necessity, the rotor blades are quite flexible, which require the trailing edge of each blade to be segmented. This leather patch on the trailing edge covers one of the slip joints on the trailing edge.

When running, the short stacks on the 160-hp, five-cylinder Kinner-R-55 give the Pitcairn a distinctive bark in flight.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

7

After arriving in Jim Hammond's shop, the Pitcairn's pieces were assembled as much as possible so the restorers could get a better idea of just what they had.

After 60-plus years, it's not surprising that the blade rub­ ber dampers were not usable, so a new set were cast us­ ing new urethane rubber material with the correct 90 durometer hardness.

giro Company for aircraft produced under license; the generic term"au­ togyro" applies to all rotary-winged aircraft with unpowered rotors; the FAA simply avoids the entire issue by calling them "gyroplanes.")

What was also needed was a smaller, more compact version, something that a well-heeled owner could purchase and fly. Harold Pit­ cairn, the founder of the aviation manufacturing concern that bore his family name, had started his firm in the 1920s building mail-hauling aircraft renowned for their struc­ tural strength and safety with regard to their ability to protect the pilot in the event of a crash. Harold's long­ time pursuit of the safe operation 8

NOVEMBER 2009

A restorable PA-18 rotor head and pre-rotator gearbox was obtained from Steve Pitcairn, and thanks to his inter­ est in his father's company history, Steve was also able to supply a set of drawings so Phil Riter could build a new rotor mast.

The rotors were complete, with steel spars that were inspected and deemed airworthy. All-new wood com­ ponents were used to restore the blades. With the expe­ rience of building the first set, the Leading Edge gang continued to build blades as spares.

of aircraft led him to a collaborative agreement between his company and Juan de la Cierva, the inventor of the Autogiro. Assigned the exclu­ sive rights to license and produce the Autogiro in the United Sates, the Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro Company of America pursued the vision of a safe aircraft that could be landed just about anywhere.

Harold Pitcairn wanted that ca­ pability to be within reach of any­ one who could fly, and a personal aircraft was just the next logical step in the progression of the Autogiro.

The first version, the PAA-l, was ba­ sicallya scaled-down PCA-2, with a fixed-spindle rotor system atop a fuselage powered by a 125-hp Kin­

nero One version was built with the Chevrolair engine and an odd tail wheel/nose wheel configuration.

The PAA-1 was well-received but it was considered significantly un­ derpowered (25 were built and de­ livered in the darkest period of the Great Depression of the early 1930s), but it wasn't exactly what Harold wanted. The factory came up with the next version, a slightly larger aircraft that was destined to be just what Harold Pitcairn wanted.

In fact, he liked it so well that in 1932 when he rented a beach house on the Jersey shore, he used his per­ sonal PA-18 as his weekend "com­ muter car" to cover the 80-mile drive in half an hour, rather than battling

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Fifty-four individual ribs are in each blade, for a total of 216 ribs in each set of four blades. Each was routed out using a CNC machine, and then the ribs are secured to the tubular steel spar using bolts and a flange.

In 1954, Warren Shipp had spotted the forlorn Pitcairn sitting at a Penn­ sylvania airport. Two of his photos and a brief write-up pleading its case were published in the first issue of American Airman magazine.

increase in horsepower to 160, pumped out by a Kinner R-5 engine. It still had a fixed-spin­ dle rotor system, which meant that all control of the aircraft was affected using aerodynamic controls, that is, rudder, eleva­ tor, and ailerons mounted on the stub wings. Direct control of the rotor head was being ac­ tively worked on at this point, but it would be months before the system was perfected so that Since the original wood parts were sig­ it would allow the dispensing of nificantly deteriorated after being stored the stub wings. outside for many years, they needed a In March of 1932, serial complete restoration. A major portion of number G-65, the fourth PA-18 the wing and aileron rebuild was done by off the factory line, was deliv­ Jan Lavally. ered as the personal aircraft of the terrestrial traffic down below. the company preSident, and it was Landing on the beach in front of also used as a factory demonstrator. the cottage proved to be a simple Harold Pitcairn had a great deal of matter, and tucking it neatly on the affection for the little Autogiro as sand nearby kept it ready for a dash evidenced in a portion of a letter he back to his office near Philadelphia. sent to his executive vice president, The PA-18 was also popular with Geoff Childs. "Sunday the weather new rotorcraft aficionados; deliveries became very bad so I told Chambliss began in 1932, with 18 being built. to take my machine over to the han­ (Nineteen serial numbers are listed gar: Because of the wind direction in Joe Juptner's U.S. Civil Aircraft, but he was going to take off towards the it is believed that one airframe had Ch urch. The ground was slippery two serial numbers in its lifetime.) and the machine was on a slope. He Debuting at the Detroit Air Show for got into the air before he meant to a price of $4,940, the new Autogiro and the starter was engaged. This, in had improved performance thanks addition to all the other conditions in part to engineering work that re­ under which he was working made fined the rotor head, allowing for the machine turn and drift very smoother rotor operation, and the badly to the right. Before he had

the situation straightened out, he hit the fence so that my little 'giro is minus a set of blades. When I came out of Church, it was standing up on its nose. I patted it gently and all it said was 'cheep' 'cheep.lII! He wouldn't be the first per­ son taken in by the charms of the little Autogiro. This particular PA­ 18, registered as NC12678, was kept by Harold until it was sold in 1935. Anne West Strawbridge was an adventuresome spirit who had climbed mountains and was an ac­ complished artist and author. (A little side note-on the Web and in other publications an incorrect connection was made between Miss Strawbridge and the Strawbridge & Clothier department store fortune.

In fact, according to her great grand­ nephew, she was the daughter of a doctor from Maine, whose family connection to the department story family is very distant, at best. She was not the daughter of someone directly related to the store.)

Her family fortune allowed her to pursue all sorts of interesting pur­ suits. Apprehensive about flying, she became a convert to the Autogiro after a flight demonstration, even after her first PA-18 was crashed by another pilot, hitting wires near Wings Field in Philadelphia and kill­ ing the pilot and his passenger. In 1935, she bought NC12678. To ex­ press her appreciation, she sent a VINTAGE AIRPLANE

9

letter to Harold that read, in part: "Please may I tell you something of the great pleasure you've given me in allowing me to buy the blue autogiro; it was most awfully good of you and Mr. Ray to take so much trouble in arranging it and I thank you ever so much. I am also writing Mr. Ray. The giro is the loveliest ship I've ever flown in and I simply have not words to tell you how much it 10

NOVEMBER 2009

means to me to have her. .. " . .. There is a beauty of existence which one enters through flying the autogiro which is largely a thing of the spirit and could so easily be lost through any discourse. (I know you will understand what I express so in足 adequately), but at both factory and flying field one meets only with the most courteous kindness, efficiency, and a vast love of the work and loy足

alty to you. May I congratulate you on your splendid work."z It seemed the little PA-18 had once again cast its magic spell on yet another aviator. Anne Strawbridge came to name the autogiro Isobella.

In 1936 and 1937, she sent similarly complimentary letters to Harold Pit足 cairn expressing her admiration for Isobella, and for the instruction be足 ing provided by Mr. Lukens, one of

Pitcairn's instructor pilots. She flew the blue 'giro more than 90 hours by mid-1937, enjoying the opera­ tional peace of mind that the Auto­ giro gave her. She wrote later: "I have been amazed at Mr. Luken's ability as an instructor.

When he took me on, I could not have been a more unpromising stu­ dent. Now I get into the ship as tran­ quilly as into my Ford car-and with

a lot less feeling of risk in the air than on the highway."3 A couple of explanations are in or­ der. The color, as described to me by Carl Gunther, the archivist of the Pit­ cairn Aircraft Association, was dark blue with a light blue stripe with a white keyline around the stripe.

The Mr. Ray she refers to in the letter is Jim Ray, Pitcairn-Cierva Au­ togiro Company's vice president

and one of the most accomplished Autogiro pilots in history.

While there is fascinating mate­ rial to learn more about in Auto­ giro history, we need to skip a few years ahead to complete the his ­ tory of NC12678. It's 1939, and thanks to the German U-boat men­ ace, the British are having a devil of a time getting their war effort and nation supplied via convoy across the North Atlantic. Looking at any means at their disposal to gain an advantage in knowing where the U-boats were lurking, the British contracted with the Pitcairn-Larsen Autogiro Company, a successor to the original company set up by Har­ old Pitcairn, to remanufacture the remaining PA-18s into sub-spotting Autogiros that could operate from small decks on ships within the con­ voys. Using the PA-18 as a base gave them a quick start on the creation of an Autogiro suitable for the purpose.

Technological advances in rotor and flight control systems, includ­ ing the now perfected direct-control rotor head, gave the remanufactured aircraft, now called the PA-39, im­ proved performance, and the in­ stallation of a 16S-hp Warner Super Scarab gave it added reliability. All the company had to do was buy back the remaining PA-18 Autogiros from the owners, run them through the remanufacturing process, and then load them on ships for delivery to the United Kingdom. That's just what they did with all of them. All of them except one. Anne West Straw­ bridge's Autogiro wasn't on the list.

There's no record of what conver­ sation or letter transpired between the company and Anne Strawbridge, but based on her lovely letters to Har­ old Pitcairn, I can't imagine it was anything but a very polite "0h my goodness, no, I could never sell it" type of refusal to sell little Isabella so that it go off to war. In any event, it was not part of the group to be con­ verted to the PA-39 configuration.

Her strong attachment to the little blue Autogiro is what saved it for res­ toration many years later; only two of the PA-39 Autogiros ever made it VINTAGE AIRPLANE

11

to England. Three were lost at sea in a torpedoing of the cargo ship carry­ ing them, with at least one remain­ ing in the States, where it was used for research and development work.

There is one PA-39 remaining, re­ stored and on display in EAA's Pit­ cairn Hangar on Pioneer Airport, a gift of Harold Pitcairn's son, Stephen.

After civilian flying was banned for the duration of the war along the East Coast, Anne never again flew her beloved 'giro. She died in 1941 at the age of 58, willing the little rotorcraft to her brother, John Strawbridge.

A few years later, just after the end of World War II, the ownership of the Autogiro flipped back and forth a few times before being sold to G&A Aircraft. It was Wind-damaged, and later, Firestone Aircraft (the successor to G&A Aircraft) repaired it.

They didn't keep it long (G&A also operated the remaining PA-39), sell­ ing it to Sky Voice Inc. of East Or­ ange, New Jersey, on March IS, 1947.

A shoreline advertising company, Sky Voice planed to pull banners and eve n put a big speaker in the 'giro to generate advertising publicity.

There's no record it actually did that with the Autogiro, but it's fun, if not 12 NOVEMBER 2009

a bit unnerving, to imagine a voice from the sky exhorting those on the shore to "Eat at Joes!"

Four years later, the Wyoming Valley School of Aviation at Wilkes­ Barre, Pennsylvania, acquired the Autogiro after Joseph Budjinski of the school determined, by query­ ing the Civil Aviation Authority, the most recent registered owner.

Within the next two years the school folded, and on July 3, 1954, a flight school on the same field, Morlin Air Service, sold NC12678 to Ted Sowirka, who brought the still mostly complete 'giro to Old Star Airport near Langhorne, Pennsyl­ vania. Most likely it was sold by the flight school as part of a settlement for payment, and while such things happen, if they're not executed properly, it can cause a big headache for those who follow, as we'll see later in this article.

While the rotor blades were stored in a hangar, the partially re­ worked fuselage sat outside. While it was there, Warren D. Shipp, a transit policeman from New York City who had an interest in aviation, and Au­ togiros in particular, spotted it sit­ ting out in the grass. Shipp, one of

the earliest American Aviation His­ tory Association members (No. 14) sent a couple of photos and a letter that were published in the first issue of American Airman magazine (Sep­ tember 1957), imploring someone to save the Autogiro before it was lost to history. That story helped Nick Hurm track down the where­ abouts of the PA-18. (See the photo in this article.)

Sometime later, after those pho­ tos were taken, a rogue pilfered the main rotor mast, supporting struc­ ture, and the all-important rotor head and pre-rotator mechanism, forcing the Autogiro's storage inside a hangar. Ted still intended to re­ store the aircraft to flying condition, but without the heart of the aircraft, it proved to be a long-term stor­ age situation. While he never got a chance to restore it, Ted Sowirka's dedication to keeping the project as intact as possible saved it for the next generation of restorers.

By 1996, the registration of the aircraft has been allowed to lapse, and the N number has been assigned to a Cessna 172 made in 1973. Ted had attempted to get the aircraft re­ registered, noting in a letter to the

agency dated July 1996 that Nearly everything else on "the aircraft has been stored the AutOgiro could be built if by me since 1954 ...." drawings could be obtained, The next month Ted sold but the rotor head isn't some­ the project to Al Letcher of thing one can just whip out Mojave, California. The next using a band saw and a lathe.

Thankfully, Jack had been in year Nick Hurm tracked the PA-18's whereabouts regular contact with Steve Pit­ to Al Letcher. Jack Tiffany cairn, Harold Pitcairn's son first made contact with AI, and a well-known restorer checking to see if Al would and aviation enthusiast. be willing to part with the Steve had participated in and funded the restoration of the Autogiro. Over the next two most famous of Pitcairn Auto­ years, during a visit to Cal­ Pilot Andrew King gathered as much written mate­ ifornia by Jack, he made a rial as he could regarding flying the PA-18, along with giros, the PCA-2 Miss Cham­ deal to restore the Autogiro spending considerable time interviewing both Steve pion, and he had a spare PA-18 for Al Letcher. As agreed, Pitcairn and Johnny Miller, who both had extensive type rotor head that he was during the restoration Jack experience flying Pitcairn Autogiros. willing to sell. Steve also had access to a few of the draw­ was also going to create a ings from the company, so he clone of the Autogiro. Jack, was able to fill in the blanks giddy with the prospect, just couldn't keep quiet about for a few of the missing parts, the find, and word leaked including the all-important out during the annual EAA main rotor mast. Phil Riter, a master at sheet metal work fly-in convention that there and welding, created the new was indeed a Pitcairn out 2008. mast and did all of the sheet there to be restored. Not too metal work for the cowling, much later Jack heard from

including the beautiful noseAl that instead of allowing

Jack to restore the PA-18, Al has de­ project by helping with the funding bowl covering the Kinner.

What often appear to be little cided to sell the ship to another vin­ to acquire the Autogiro. Within days tage airplane enthusiast.

a truck and crew consisting of Jack changes in a type design often wind Jack forthrightly explained that and Kate Tiffany, Herman Leffew, up being big headaches. Somewhere he didn't think that was fair, and Don Siefer, and Herb Ware were off along the line the little blue Autogi­ that he should have the right of first to the Mojave Desert to pick up the ro's Kinner R-5 engine was separated from the airframe, and it wasn't part refusal on the purchase. After think­ remains of the rotorcraft, still miss­ ing for a moment, Al agreed. Jack ing the parts stolen from it so long of the project when it was brought to then said, "I want it!" and shortly ago. By Thanksgiving of 1999, it was Ohio. That's fine, a Kinner R-5 is rare thereafter hung up the phone, in Jim Hammond's shop, where Jim to begin with, but the later version, put all the pieces they had dragged the Kinner R-55, is more common, happy that he'd come to an agree­ ment to buy the Autogiro. He hung back to Ohio into a semblance of having been used on the Ryan PT­ up a bit too quickly it turned out. an Autogiro. Soon it was moved to 22. They're nearly identical, with the R-55 having a number of improve­ When Kate asked him how much the Leading Edge shops near Day­ it was going to cost, it suddenly ton. The restorers had high hopes ments that make it a more reliable en­ struck Jack that he didn't know! He of finishing the aircraft by the end gine, so making the change shouldn't jumped back on the phone, heard a of 2003, just in time for the 100th be too much of a big deal, right?

Not so fast; in this case, since the price, gulped, and hung up. When anniversary of the Wright brothers the subject of the price came up powered flights in Kitty Hawk. But R-55 isn't on the type certificate data sheet, installing it means that the re­ again with Kate after the call, his re­ not surprisingly, given the multi­ sponse was, in part, "Well, if we sell faceted issues involved, that date storers were making a major altera­ the house, the cars ...." tion to the aircraft. Just getting all the would come and go before the PA­ data and approvals through the en­ 18 was ready to fly.

Thankfully, that draconian mea­ sure wasn't needed. Longtime friend gineering section of the FAA added and fellow aircraft restorer Jim Ham­ more time than they expected to The Restoration mond, whose family owns and op­ As I mentioned before, the proj­ the project. Like most every Kinner erates Hammond DrieRite in Xenia, ect was mostly complete, but it did rework done these days, the Kinner Ohio, became a silent partner in the lack one critical item: the rotor head. was inspected and overhauled by Kin-

Still, you don't know what you don't know, and not everything that was available back in 1931 had surfaced in

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

13

There's plenty more photos

and other goodies on the Pitcairn at

www.vintageaircrafi·orglextraslpitcairn

After a fun cross­ country from New Carlisle, Ohio, to Oshkosh, the PA-18 Autogiro spent the summer months displayed in EAA's Pitcairn Hangar located behind the museum at EAA's Pioneer Airport.

14 NOVEMBER 2009

ner engine experts AI and Brad Ball in Santa Paula, California.

The other obviously critical items were the main rotor blades. Each of the blades, as can be seen in the photos accompanying this article, are built like a very high-aspect ra­ tio wing, with a steel tube spar, over which are fitted tightly spaced wood ribs, with plywood leading edges and stainless steel trailing edges. One un-

usual aspect to their construction is the requirement for slip joints in the trailing edge of each blade, neces­ sary since the blades flex significantly in flight. This flexing is important, soaking up both flight and structural loads spanwise along the blades as each blade Circumnavigates the ro­ tor arc 140 times per minute, just a little faster than twice each second.

The rotor blades that had been re­ tained with the project were in rough shape, but the spars were usable, al­ lowing the restorers to build up not only the ribs (all 216 for a set of four blades, thank goodness for CNC mill­ ing machines!), but they had enough information and parts to create a new replacement set of rotor blades, and are confident that their "rotor shop" can handle their maintenance needs for years to come.

The rest of the rotorcraft's restora­ tion was pretty straightforward, with the standard repairs being made to a 70-plus-year-old airframe. While the

stub wings were intact, they were re­ built almost completely, built up en­ tirely of wood. The fuselage needed a bit of steel tubing replaced, and while we' ll get a bit ahead of the story a bit here, one little bit of clever engineer­ ing deserves to be highlighted. During the flight-testing phase of the restored Pitcairn, a series of mistakes resulted in a main rotor blade or two, or three, contacting the top of the vertical fin. It promptly folded over to the side, with no damage done to the tail post or the rest of the fuselage. (You'll get a chance to read more about the incident in the upcoming January 2010 issue of EAA Sport Aviation, in the feature article on the PA-18 written by Andrew King.)

Once repairs were started, the rea­ son why the fin folded so neatly be­ came apparent. Pitcairn's engineers, realizing that it was likely that a com­ bination of surface winds, low-rotor rpm, and taxiing on the ground could result in a rotor strike in the fin, sim­ ply had a set of holes drilled in the tail post, creating a weaker spot on the tube just above the top of the fuse­ lage. Whack it with a rotor blade, and voila, the fin flips to the side, damage is minimal to the fuselage, and if you were a lucky owner back then, you could call up the factory and order up a new fin. If you're a restorer, you get to break out your jig and torch and build up a new one yourself!

The Wright brothers' anniversary in 2003 came and went, and the proj­ ect wasn't done yet, but restorers were . making good progress, and it looked like the middle of the first decade might see it flying. But as we all know, sometimes what you plan isn't what happens. Paperwork on the repairs and alterations was taking time, as was the process of acquiring the use of the orig-

Notes: 1: Chapter 5, page 171, Harold F. Pitcairn: Aviator, Inventor, and Developer of the Autogiro, by Carl R. Gunther, published by Bryn Athyn College Press 2 Chapter 8, pages 330/331, see above.

3 Ch apter 8, page 381

inal N the side of a~~~tLy 172, Jack (an ter of fact) did his hp(1t.S'It-rr,n owner that it would be ated if the original N number moved back to the Pitcairn. Jack pay to have the 172 repainted with • •~bers, a that

ith th

ing to the FAA records, the last regis­ tered owner was Sky Voice. The next didn't actually execute a bill of for the aircraft, which meant that FAA's eyes, Jack and Leading didn't have a clean pa­ establish ownership. Three np'·lATf"L- "heck" ensued for ~~~~~ the rest

crew fi

w

a 0 see the restoration fly. Johnny Miller, who had flown his own PCA-2 across the United States a full two weeks before Amelia Earhart's flight in the Beech-Nut gum-sponsored PCA-2, had been regularly consulted about flying the Autogiro by Andrew King, who was slated to be the Pitcairn's pilot.

Johnny died on June 24, 2008, within days of when the first flights were scheduled. And Steve Pitcairn, who had done so much to help the Lead­ ing Edge crew, passed away a couple of months before, in March of 2008.

Andrew King in particular was thank­ ful that he'd had the good fortune of knowing and chatting with both men about the operation of the Autogiro.

Nearly three years of time was added to the restoration due to one significant paperwork issue-accord­

es during Autogiro operation · period of or brake is re­ time from when the leased and when the rotor has enough speed for centrifugal force and lift to keep the blades steady in their respec­ tive flight paths as they whirl around the rotor disc. During early testing, Andrew was moving down the run­ way at low rotor rpm when he heard the main rotor blades smack the top of the vertical fin . The blades weren't damaged, but the fin was neatly laid over, the built-in fail point having done its job perfectly. Not too much later, an old checklist surfaced that pointed out that no movement of the 'giro should be done unless the ro­ tors are stopped, or unless the rotor is turning at least 6S rpm.

Three weeks later, after repairs were

made, nine years of work, more than 6,000 man-hours of restoration time, and untold mechanical difficulties and paperwork hassles were about to melt away, as mid-summer dawned with light winds and just a few cirrus clouds way up in the heavens.

Andrew and the Autogiro were on J ready with a that

ucky see just ore Pitca giro flying as the Posey brothers work toward the completion of the only other PA-18 known to exist, but for me and my son, Alden, along with EAA photog­ rapher Bonnie Kratz and out photo pilot Janet Davidson, the sight of the Pitcairn's slowly turning blades rotat­ ing over Andrew's head as he sling­ winged his way north to Oshkosh past more than 100 newly constructed wind turbines firmly anchored to the ground will be something we'll never forget. It's a remarkable aircraft crafted and engineered by some of the finest engineers of the first half of the previous century, and restored by an equally talented group of men and women who are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to restore one of aviation's great aircraft, the Pitcairn AutOgiro. .....,.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

15

Steve Pitcairn wipes down Miss Champion after arrival at Oshkosh '86.

But few aircraft caught and held the public attention as did the Au­ togiro. Called "flying windmills" by news reporters who had little understanding of the principles of autorotational flight, these strange­ looking aircraft, invented by a Spanish engineer named Juan de la Cierva, captured the hearts and minds of the air-minded public be­ cause of their remarkable perfor­ mance coupled with a high degree of safety. These facts made Auto­ giros an ideal means to carry out nationwide advertising campaigns by a number of American manufac­ turers. The Champion Spark Plug Company was one of these.

Champion executives were not slow to see the large amount of publicity Autogiros drew wherever they performed across the country.

Nor was the fact that many of the leaders of American aviation, such as Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Doo­ little, Frank Hawks, Amelia Earhart, Clarence Chamberlin, David In­ galls, and many others, were beat­ ing a steady path to Pitcairn Field

near Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, where Harold Pitcairn was design­ ing and building these phenome­ nal aircraft.

It wasn't long before Champion Vice President M.e. Dewitt showed up at the Pitcairn Aircraft Com­ pany office prepared to do busi­ ness. Pitcairn Vice President Edwin Asplundh promptly led Dewitt out to the ramp in front of the main hangar doors where stood an Au­ togiro with its engine idling. In the rear cockpit sat Jim Ray, Pitcairn's chief test pilot, who motioned De­ witt to climb into the front seat.

As soon as Dewitt's safety belt was fastened, Jim engaged the clutch, bringing the rotor up to flight speed, and executed a short, steep takeoff within the confines of the fenced-in ramp area.

The demonstration of the Au­ togiro's characteristics to which Jim treated Dewitt included the usual aerial maneuvers and then a throttled-back pass at the field a mere 15 feet above the grass at a speed of less than 30 miles per

hour, yet under complete control, and finally a vertical dead-stick landing from 500 feet on the exact spot from where they had departed 10 minutes earlier, with a roll of only 2 or 3 feet. Dewitt, who was no stranger to flying, climbed out on the wing as soon as the engine stopped, and with a big grin on his face said, "I'm impressed, but can our pilot do that?" "Who is your pilot?" Jim asked. "Capt. Lewis A. Yancey, if he can handle it," re­ plied Dewitt. "I know Yancey," said Jim. "He'll do fine."

As a matter of fact, "Lon" Yancey, famed for his trans-Atlantic flight in a Bellanca in 1929 to Rome, it­ aly, had already been receiving Au­ togiro flight instruction from Jim and "Skipper" Lukens, another Pit­ cairn pilot, for several days. His handling of the Autogiro was quite acceptable. With more experience he became an accomplished Au­ togiro pilot with the capability of handling the routines Autogiro demonstrations called for.

Satisfied, Dewitt signed the sales VINTAGE AIRPLANE

17

The markings were accurately reproduced from the original fabric, except for Steve's name at the rear cockpit.

agreement. On paper the agree­ ment simply states that "in con­ sideration of the sum of $15,125 in hand paid, we hereby sell and transfer unto Champion Spark Plug Company of Toledo, Ohio, one Au­ togiro type PCA-2, Serial Number 8-27, Engine 12563, engine type Wright Whirlwind J-6, R-975, 300 hp, Dept. of Commerce number NC1l609, manufactured June 1931 free and clear of liens and encum­ brances of whatever kind or nature this 29th day of June 1931." The signatures of Asplundh and Dewitt appeared beside their respective company names and titles.

Thus was born Miss Cham­ pion-the first rotary-wing aircraft ever selected to lead the Ford Air Tour. Two days after the Autogi­ 18

NOVEMBER 2009

ro's delivery at Toledo, Ohio, Capt.

Yancey took off from Ford Airport with the 1931 National Air Tour.

The Champion Autogiro was the official tour ship . During the tour, Miss Champion visited 21 states and 38 cities and towns from London, Ontario, Canada, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and from Fort Worth, Texas, to Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Total mileage was well in excess of 6,500 with her flight log showing more than 120 hours aloft. Every­ where the Autogiro landed it at­ tracted wide attention, and easily won the major share of newspaper and radio coverage, a fact that visi­ bly annoyed a number of the other pilots on the tour.

After the air tour, the Champion company put Miss Champion to

work getting publicity for Cham­ pion dealers from Maine to Florida.

Her demonstrations of controlled slow flight, unusual maneuverabil­ ity, and near vertical landings at the annual National Air Races brought national recognition to this new and safer form of flight.

In January of 1932, Miss Cham­ pion made a flight considered "risky" for any aircraft, let alone an Autogiro. Until then no Auto­ giro had ever flown more than 25 miles over water. On January 24, Capt. Yancey flew the Autogiro from Miami to Havana, Cuba, a distance of more than 300 miles.

His arrival in Havana was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, and he was invited to the presidential palace

by President Machado.

But Yancey had even greater am­ bitions. A wire to the Pitcairn Auto­ giro Company brought him a week later a specially designed auxiliary fuel tank that he mounted in the front cockpit of his PCA-2, thus doubling his fuel supply. He then successfully began his most miracu­ lous flight of all from Havana, over the Cuban wilderness, across the wide and treacherous waters of the Yucatan Channel (part of the Gulf of Mexico), and over the trackless expanse of the Yucatan jungles to its capital of Merida, a nonstop trip of nearly 500 miles, where he was welcomed by the governor.

It was from the ancient city of Merida that Capt. Yancey made a number of flights to the capital of the Mayan Empire at Chichen Itza, even landing in front of the famed Temple of the Serpents-the great Mayan pyramid. The ability of Miss Champion to fly slowly and even "hover" over certain spots helped the archeologists make new discov­ eries that could have taken years on the ground. Back in the United States, subsequent flights into the Yosemite Valley in California and the crater of Crater Lake, Oregon, were a piece of cake by comparison.

Miss Champion was not just a curiosity of her era. Wherever she flew she engendered confidence in

Champion Spark Plug PCA-2 Pitcairn Autogiro undergoing rotor run-up tests at the factory-1931.

An interested audience poses with Miss Champion at the Temple ofTigers, Yu­ catan, February 1932.

Company pilot Lew Yancey operates Miss Champion out of a clearing in the jungle of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. This is the Temple of the Soldiers at Chichen Itza, one of the Mayan ruins then being reclaimed from the rain forest.

At that time (1932) it was 100 miles from the nearest civilization.

the method of flight as a truly safe form of aerial navigation. She was a hard worker, too, often towing advertising banners over the cities she visited, attracting valuable at­ tention to the products her banner proclaimed. The Champion com­ pany declared in a letter to Pitcairn Aircraft, the builder of its Autogiro, that the value of the aircraft in in­ creasing sales and goodwill toward its products was beyond estimate.

Miss Champion was one of the first of her type to appear in the United States and was retired from active service, after setting a new altitude record on September 25 , 1932, of 21,500 feet, the highest a rotary-wing aircraft had ever flown .

In her way, Miss Champion had been a missionary, her clumsy ap­ pearance appealing to the imagi­ nation of the public and winning its confidence through her ability to deliver the goods with complete safety. She was retired with honor as a permanent exhibit of Chicago's Rosenwald Museum of Science and Industry in the spring of 1935.

After World War II, the museum had to give up Miss Champion in fa­ vor of more timely exhibits from the recent world conflict, and this vintage lady was released into the knowledgeable care of A.K. Miller of Montclair, New Jersey, who kept her in his own museum for many years until he was forced to close it down and move to other quarters.

Miller couldn't bear the thought of giving up this magnificent relic of the pioneering era in American avi­ ation, so he disassembled her and moved her into a barn on his farm in Vermont, where she gathered dust for many years.

Meanwhile, Stephen Pitcairn, (EAA 109260, VAA 4080), son of Harold Pitcairn, the aviation pi­ oneer and winner of the Collier Trophy for his development of the Autogiro in this country, had begun the formidable task of col­ lecting and restoring examples of his father's aircraft . The first to be completed by Steve was the PA-5 Mailwing, originally built for his VINTAGE AIRPLANE

19

father in 1928. Next was a PA-7 Sport Mailwing, which won for Steve the Silver Age Champion Award at the 1983 EAA convention at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Somewhere along the line Steve heard about the autogiro owned by A.K. Miller. After several attempts to communicate by mail, Steve went to Vermont to visit Miller, who was then in his 70s, and fi­ nally succeeded in negotiating for the PCA-2 Autogiro, NCl1609, some five years later. Steve had it trucked to his hangar at the Tren­ ton-Robbinsville Airport, New Jer­ sey, where the restoration process began in October 1982.

Fortunately, at this time, George Townson (EAA 251901, VAA 9519) of Delran, New Jersey, a former Autogiro pilot and mechanic, was available for a full-time commit­ ment. George's impressive cre­ dentials include airframe and powerplant certificate with an in­ spection authorization and ground instructor certificate with most rat­ ings . He holds a commercial fixed­ wing ticket and helicopter and Autogiro ratings along with flight instruction ratings for these types.

He is an accomplished "practical 20

NOVEMBER 2009

engineer." He is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, making "first flights in several ex­ perimental rotorcraft in the 1940s, including the 'world's largest'" (Pi­ asecki XHRP-1, tandem rotor) he­ licopter. He built, from scratch, a small racing plane and a light, tan­ dem rotor helicopter.

Before joining Stephen Pitcairn he had been chief inspector and director of engineering for a re­ gional air carrier. Under his super­ vision, Miss Champion was stripped of her original cover (the logos and numerals were saved to be cop­ ied) , and the painstaking process of inspection began. Careful nota­ tion of items to be worked on were listed in order of priority. Eighty­ five percent of the original parts were refurbished and reinstalled, but a few items had to be remanu­ factured, since replacement parts did not exist. Fortunately the origi­ nal Pitcairn factory drawings were in Steve's possession.

One of the most important tasks in the restoration process was the rebuilding of the rotor blades. Each main spar had to undergo rigid X­ ray inspection to make sure there was no corrosion or cracks in the

steel tubes that served as the back­ bone of these rotating wings. Then each rib with its spar-attachment collar had to be inspected and very often replaced because of damage, cracks, or other defects.

It was during this tedious but crucial part of the job that George noticed that the airfoil ·curve of the ribs actually used in the rotor blades was slightly different from the curve called for by the Pitcairn engineering specifications. Accord­ ing to this official document, the airfoil used was the Goettingen 429. But when George placed one of the ribs he had removed over the official drawing, he saw im­ mediately that the curve was just slightly different.

Methodically he checked each rib throughout the length of the spar but found the same small but definite difference. Had someone made them all wrong, or was this a planned departure from the origi­ nal specs? Knowing the care with which the Pitcairn people did their jobs, he reasoned that it was more likely that this was a deliberate de­ sign modification. He reached for the phone and called Carl Gun­ ther, the Pitcairn archivist, and af­

ter briefly outlining the problem, asked him if he knew of anything in the old Autogiro company re­ cords that would confirm or deny his suspicions.

Requests of this kind were not new to Gunther, who had presided over the records for more than 15 years. As a matter of fact he had just recently set aside several engineer­ ing reports that he thought might be helpful to Steve Pitcairn and his able restoration chief, and in one of them he recalled seeing some state­ ments made by Paul Stanley, one of the Autogiro company's key engi­ neers, about the design of the rotor blades used in the PCA-2 Autogiros.

Within a few days, George was holding in his hands the docu­ ments that confirmed his belief that this was a deliberate design modification. The new airfoil proved on testing to be smoother and more efficient under flight conditions, but the changes, com­ ing on top of so many others as the Pitcairn team pioneered its way to new horizons of knowledge, rated only a single sentence reference in the official engineering report.

That sentence, however, enabled George to properly rebuild the four rotor blades that allowed this un­ usual old bird to fly.

Airfoils, critical as they were, proved to be only one of the fac­

tors necessary to the solution of the rotor problem. Each blade had to be accurately weighed and their weights brought to within 2 ounces of each other, and at the same time the spanwise center of gravity of all blades had to be kept within 1/8 inch of each other. In­ attention to these details could cause, at least, an uncomfortable ride from vibrations.

Finally, in the spring of 1985, Miss Champion was rolled out of the hangar to check her engine and rotor system. As Steve Pit­ cairn climbed into the cockpit to begin this initial testing pro­ cedure, George Townson looked on somewhat apprehensively.

Steve activated the starter for the nine-cylinder J-6 Wright engine.

The ground-adjustable Hamilton Standard propeller swung jerk­ ily a couple of times and, as the engine rumbled into a throaty roar, spun into a full shiny disc of whirling blades, blowing swirls of dust behind the Autogiro's up­ turned elevators.

Satisfied that all was well so far, Steve looked over at George, who gave a little shrug of his shoulders and made a whirling sign with his forefinger. Steve reached for the rotor clutch knob and pulled it firmly toward him to its lock posi­ tion. Slowly the four large overhead

blades began their counterclock­ wise spin. Gradually Steve eased open the throttle, and the rotor in­ creased the speed of its rotation.

Soon the blades were standing straight out at right angles to the hub. Both men were looking for signs of increasing vibration that would indicate some problem with the rotor. George noticed that one of the blades seemed to be track­ ing a bit lower than the others, so he gave Steve the sign to cut power to the engine. As it slowed to idling speed and the rotor gradually slowed down, George walked over and told Steve to shut her down so he could check the blade settings.

It was while this checking was going on that a small wrench be­ ing used to adjust one of the blades near its root fell and punctured a hole in the fabric on the wing be­ low. Now a small wrench is not a heavy object, and both men thought it strange that a puncture would result from this trivial event.

George went to his toolbox and brought back a Maule fabric tester.

Testing the area near the puncture, he found it below allowable toler­ ance. He then tested other areas on the fabric-covered aircraft. With only slight variations the result was the same. The brand new fabric covering was definitely weak and would have to be replaced! What a disappointment, because it meant, among other things, that the Au­ togiro would miss EAA Oshkosh 1985, just one month away.

Although the fabric tested low, Steve and George decided to make three short test flights to 700 feet to check the systems, rotor rpm in flight, and control response, etc.

These short flights, the first in 51 years for Miss Champion, proved the excellence of the original design and the painstaking care George gave to the restoration. All systems worked above expectations.

To determine the cause of the fabric deterioration, samples were sent to a testing laboratory, along with a description of what had happened. When the report came VINTAGE AIRPLANE

21

back it indicated the particular ni­ trate dope formulation had an ex­ cess acid condition that resulted in the serious weakening of the Grade A cotton fabric. The process of re­ covering and painting Miss Cham­ pion with a new covering system was started in September 1985.

Off to Oshkosh '86 Steve would not be denied fly­ ing his rare Pitcairn Autogiro to Oshkosh '86; however, the trip wasn't certain until the last min­ ute. Having only a total of four hours on the plane, he departed on Thursday, July 31, hoping to ar­ rive at Oshkosh August I, opening day of the EAA convention.

He battled inclement weather associated with a warm front until crossing the Allegheny Mountains when things began to clear up.

The first leg of his flight was one hour 45 minutes to a refueling stop at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he would also check his calculated fuel consumption. There he landed into the wind across the runway utiliz­ ing the short takeoff and landing characteristics of the Autogiro. Al­ though the plane carries 52 gallons of fuel, Steve planned his cross­ 22 NOVEMBER 2009

country legs at a conservative max­ imum of 2 hours 15 minutes.

His next stop was Beaver County Airport, northwest of Pittsburgh, and from there he flew to Bluffton, Ohio (between Lima and Findlay).

Unbeknownst to Steve at the time, a nut had loosened, allowing the oleo strut on the left landing gear to separate. The wheel and its "vee" axle were dangling from the N­ strut, and although Steve was talk­ ing on UNICOM with the folks at Bluffton, they didn't recognize the problem, as they had never seen an Autogiro before.

The touchdown on the run­ way was on the side of the er­ rant left wheel at an estimated 8 mph groundspeed. The plane piv­ oted to the left, going down on the left wing, but fortunately not far enough to ding the ground­ adjustable Hamilton Standard propeller. Due to centrifugal force holding them out, the rotor blades didn't contact the runway until they slowed and were sus­ pended by their respective droop cables. Only the rotor blade tips touched very lightly, doing mini­ mal damage.

The airport owner and manager,

Harold Carey came out on his golf cart, sized up the situation, and said he'd call the wrecker from town to hoist the plane and move it off the runway. This was accomplished, and it was moved into a hangar where it rested on some barrels while the landing gear was repaired.

Steve contacted George Town­ son back home, and he came to Bluffton to supervise the repair job.

Thanks to the assistance of some local folks and the availability of a machine shop and welding facili­ ties, the repairs were completed. In the meantime, Steve's good friends Wayne Hays and his wife of Rob­ binsville, New Jersey, left three days early on their vacation and brought to Bluffton the needed materials from Steve's hangar, including cov­ ering material, paint, and an extra set of streamline wires that had to be replaced between the two land­ ing gear N-struts.

Wayne worked all the next day (Saturday) patching and painting the wing and rotor blades, and by that evening, Miss Champion was ready for a test flight . Every­ thing checked out okay, and Steve departed on Sunday morning for Oshkosh.

A refueling stop was were badly worn. It was deter­ Listed here are specifications made at Valparaiso, Indi­ mined that the pins were not and performance data. ana, then on to Chicago, getting enough grease and pos­ 30 feet where Steve flew along the Wingspan sibly the bushings were made lakeshore with a breathtak­ Length from the wrong material.

23 feet 1 inch ing view looking up at the New flying wires were or­ 13 feet city's skyscrapers! A final Height dered for the rotor blades, and fuel stop was made at Hart­ Rotor diameter the previously damaged land­ 45 feet ford, Wisconsin, and at 1:30 ing gear was taken apart to Rotor blade chord 22 inches on Sunday afternoon, Au­ have new pieces made to re­ 2,233 pounds gust 3, he touched down at Empty weight place those which had been Wittman Airfield-Oshkosh Gross weight temporarily repaired on the 3,000 pounds at last! Time en route was flight to Oshkosh . Not long Maximum speed 119 mph 10.5 hours. after its return to New Jersey, Steve thrilled Oshkosh Cruising speed the landing gear was more 98 mph '86 convention-goers with neatly repaired.

Omph his demonstration flights Landing speed on Monday during the Pa­ Rate of climb 800fpm Epilogue: Miss Champion continued to be the jewel in Steve rade of Flight and again on Service ceiling 15,000 feet Wednesday in the aircraft Pitcairn 's collection for more 52 gallons than two decades, until he de­ showcase preceding the Gas capacity air show. The short-field Oil capacity cided to donate the historic Au­ 6.5 gallons takeoff and landing capa­ togiro to EAA's collection. It is 290 miles bilities of this 55 -year-old Cruising range displayed at various times in aircraft were most impres­ Price (fly-away factory) $15,000 both the EAA AirVenture Mu­ sive, as were the extremely seum and EAA's Pioneer Airport short radius turns while airborne. to a landing. In a Champion com­ Pitcairn Hangar. Along with the Pit­ It was interesting to watch the pany press release the vertical de­ cairn PA-18 restored by Leading Edge startup, taxi, and takeoff procedure scent speed was described as "14 Restorations and the Pitcairn PA -39 for the Autogiro. Taxiing is mostly feet per second, slower than a para­ donated earlier by Steve Pitcairn, it conventional even without a steer­ chute." The beautifully restored was a featured attraction during this able tail wheel (it still has its origi­ Pitcairn Autogiro would most cer­ past year's Good aI' Days at Pioneer nal skid). Steering on the ground tainly have received an award at Airport.-H.G. Frautschy is strictly by use of brakes, a tech­ Oshkosh '86, but Steve chose to not About the PCA-2 nique made somewhat easier be­ register it for judging.

Pitcairn Aircraft built 20 or more cause of the wide (13 foot 3 inch) After Steve's uneventful 9.5-hour flight home from Oshkosh in Miss Model PCA-2 Autogiros in its plant on tread of the landing gear.

Prior to takeoff the rotor blades Champion, he began to do some Pitcairn Field, Willow Grove, Penn­ are started into rotation by the pi­ things that time did not permit ear­ sylvania. These three-place utility air­ lot pulling a knob in the cockpit lier. The plane was a little out of rig, craft quickly became promotional that engages a clutch, gearbox, and and that needed to be corrected. tools for various well-known com­ shaft driven by the Wright J-6-9. A The pitch of the Hamilton Standard panies, including the Detroit News separate tachometer indicates the propeller was set too low, yielding a newspaper, Champion Spark Plug rotor speed, and when 120 rpm is cruise speed of only 80 mph instead Company, Standard Oil of New York, reached the rotor drive unit is dis­ of the 95-98 called for in the specs. Sealed Power Piston Ring Company, engaged, full power is applied to Autogiro rotor blades "flap" (mod­ Beech-Nut Packing Company, and the Wright, and the pilot takes off. erately) up and down, each pivoting others. The Detroit News Autogiro is No-w ind takeoff distance is 250 on a pin in a bronze bushing, and by on display at the Henry Ford Museum feet maximum; however, under the time he got home the bushings in Dearborn, Michigan. ~ certain conditions, it's possible to make a "jump takeoff" with zero Bibliography 1. Aircraft Biography, Miss Champion, by Carl R. Gunt her ground roll.

2. Interview with Stephen Pitca irn Normal landing approaches are 3. U.S. Civil Aircraft, Vol. 5, by Joseph P. Juptner made at 20-25 mph forward speed, 4. Pitcairn Aircraft Company broch ure but it is possible to slow the Auto­ 5. Champion Spark Plug Company press releases and brochure giro in the air to zero forward speed and permit it to descend vertically VINTAGE AIRPLA NE

23

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Materials &Processes Part 2 n the last issue we looked in detail at structural and nonstructural metallic components of older aircraft. Now, let's look at other materials and pro­ cesses that will be helpful in restoring and main­ taining our vintage aircraft.

I

Control Cable: Aircraft quality control cable is available in sizes from 1/16 to 3/8 inch in diameter. For most vintage airplanes, the maxi­ mum diameter used is 5/32 inch.

Two types of material are used to manufacture cable-stainless steel and carbon steel (which is coated with pure tin or zinc for corrosion protection). Either flex­ ible or nonflexible type cable may have been used on th e original airplane. I suggest you use the type of cable originally installed; however, I have substituted cor­ rosion-resistant cable for carbon steel, especially where cables are subjected to the elements and corrosion is a problem.

Incidentally, researching the history of cable invention and production is very interesting.

On this subject one person's name comes to the forefrontJohn Roebling, one of the pioneers of the wire rope industry. Interesting reading can be found at the following websites: www.InventionFactory.com/history/RHAgen/rstory/ rswar.html www.globalspec.com/FeaturedProducts/Detail/Loo­ 5 WireDiv/Specialty_wireJope_honors_legacy_ofJohn_ Roebling/40136/0 Flexible cables may have been used by the factory when the cable is not required to change direction

drastically. Flexible cable is designated as 7x7. It is composed of wire rope of six strands of seven wires each, twisted and laid around a strand center or core consisting of seven wires.

Extra-flexible cables are designated as 7x19. That is wire rope of six strands laid around the central core strand in a clockwise direction. Each strand consists of 19 wires each. Cable strength data can be found in FAA AC 43.13-1B, Section 8.

Cable strength data will not be presented here. After fabrication, control cables are tested to a proof load, which is a pull test to 60 percent of rated cable strength for three minutes.

Cable assemblies are me­ chanically fabricated, the most common being swage-type ter­ minals and the Nicopress pro­ cess. The Nicopress-type cable ends may be used as a substitu­ tion for the Navy five-tuck wo­ ven ends used on most vintage aircraft. The Nicopress process is most easily adapted for "field" manufacture of cables. Swage cable end fittings require elabo­ rate squeezing tooling, which is hard to find and very expensive.

It's interesting to note that the newly revised AC 43.13-1B manual has deleted both the wrapped and soldered and five-tuck woven cable ends. However, both these deleted methods appear in the terminated AC 43.13-1A. When I attended Northrop Institute of Technology back in 1960-1961 to train for my airframe and powerplant (A&P) certifi­ cate, we were required to fabricate a five-tuck cable to length. We made a cable clamp and marlin spike from scratch out of raw stock, learning how to use hand

When I attended

Northrop Institute of Technology back in

1960-1961 to train for my A&P, we were

required to fabricate a

five-tuck cable to length.

24 NOVEMBER 2009

tools and read blueprints. I still have those tools to this day, although they are a little rusted.

Inspection of control cables should be made at the 100-hour and annual inspections. Most cable wear takes place where the cables pass over a pulley or through a fair-lead. To locate broken wire(s) in a strand, run a rag along the cable. In many cases the cable should be loos­ ened so a close inspection can be made of the area that touches a pulley through full travel. Bending the cable so that the portion that rubs on a pulley is on the out­ side of the bend will help reveal damage.

Corrosion is another common type of damage. It will show up on carbon steel cables as rust. Replace any cable that shows signs of damage. Again, A C43.13-1B is a good guide for cable inspection. Figure 1 shows the method of detecting broken cable strands, particularly where cable lays contact a pulley.

Figure 1 Inspect pulleys for wear and ensure that pulleys ro­ tate when cable is moved.

Always lube pulleys with a good lubricating oil. Re­ place any pulleys that show signs of wear or seizing of the bearing or bushing. Sudden loss of cable tension can usually be traced to the cable wearing into a pulley.

Inspect cable ends for wear or slippage. Swage-type cable ends are painted red at the junction of the termi­ nal end and cable so slippage can be detected. Again, a sudden loss of cable tension should be investigated immediately. Don't just retension the cable.

Finally, turnbuckles are used in a cable system to provide a means of tensioning. They actually adjust the length of the cable. Cable tension on vintage air­ craft is relatively small, from 10 to 25 pounds. The rea­ son is the pulleys did not have a bearing in the center, just a bronze bushing. The more tension on a cable, the "heavier" the control movement. Adjust tension to give good control response and safety the turnbuckles.

I have found that 10-20 pounds of tension is good for these type systems.

When installing turnbuckles it is necessary to screw both threaded terminals into the turnbuckle barrel an equal amount. It is essential that cable terminals be screwed into the barrel so that not more than three threads on the terminal are exposed. Be sure to secure both cable terminal ends when screwing a turnbuckle; don't allow cable to twist during this operation.

There are two methods of safety wiring turnbuck­ les-single and double wrap. The correct method for wrapping turnbuckles is shown in AC 43.13-1B, Figure 7-24. Pay close attention that the correct size safety wire be used when safetying cable terminals.

This is a most common area where mistakes are made.

AC 43.13-1B gives appropriate wire type and diam­ eter for this process. Either copper, brass, stainless steel, monel, or K monel may be used. NOTE: One­ sixteenth-inch and 3/32-inch cables may be single wrapped only with copper, brass, or stainless steel safety wire at least 0.040 inch in diameter. For cables of lI8-inch diameter, single-wrap safeties are made with 0.040-inch stainless steel safety wire . If a single­ wrap safety using copper/brass wire is desired, the diameter must be 0.057 inch. I've never used or seen 0.057-inch brass wire! However, lI8-inch cables may be double wrapped and safetied with copper/brass or stainless steel wire. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD 0.032-INCH DIAMETER WIRE BE USED TO SAFETY ANY TURNBUCKLE. It might be wise to do a turnbuckle safety wire check of your airplane. Figure 2 shows both single- and double­ wrap safety of turnbuckle.

Only cable terminal ends and fittings that meet AN standards should be used in aircraft applications .

AC 43.13-1B gives directions on how to properly safety a turnbuckle.

And lastly, cables tend to stretch after fabrication, and it may be necessary to retension the cables after a few hours of flight. When retensioning cables, always make the same adjustment to cables that pull against each other. In other words, if the aileron system has three turnbuckles, adjust all three the same amount of turns, and the travel will not be affected; only the ten­ sion will increase.

Tubing: Aluminum tubing is commonly used to fabricate fuel, oil, hydraulic, and instrument sys­ tem installations. Alloy 3003 is most easily bent and flared, followed by 5052, and finally 6061. Since most vintage restorations require hand-forming and flar­ ing, only these alloys should be considered. In the softest state the code will be an "0," indicating the annealed condition. An example would be 5052-0.

Alloy 6061 would show a hardness code of -T6 (6061­ T6), indicating the tube has been heat-treated and ar­ tifiCially aged. It is difficult to bend and flare this tube type, but not impossible.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

25

(D) SINGLE WRAP

(B) DOUBLE WRAP Figure 2

Tube Bending: Alloy 3003-0 tube can be hand­ bent, even small radius bends. This tubing should be used for instrument installations where the pressure is low and tubing is protected. Alloy 5052-0 tubing can be hand -bent, but the bend radius must be large to prevent flattening or kinking of the tube in the bend radius. Use of hand-bending tools is recommended.

Alloy 6061-T6 can only be bent with a hand-bending tool using a substantial bend radius. Always check tube flattening in the bend radius; for fuel lines the maxi­ mum flattening is 5 percent of tube diameter.

Tube Flaring: Aircraft tubing is flared to an angle of 37 degrees. Do not use automotive flaring equip­ ment, as the flare angle is 45 degrees. The older aircraft used AC fittings. While the flare angle is the same, AC fittings are not interchangeable with AN fittings. Most modern restorations will convert fittings to AN due to ease of procurement. Tubing should be flared so as much of the flared area of the tube as possible seats on the AN fitting. Always check flared area for cracks, par­ ticularly alloy 6061-T6 tubes.

Alignment of tube to fitting is also critical. Misalign­ ment will eventually cause leaks at the fitting.

Tube Installations: For instrument installa­ tions, use 3003-0 tubing, 1I8-inch (-2) or 3/16­ inch (-3) diameter. Some restorers may want to use 5052-0 tube for oil the pressure gauge. For fuel in­ stallations, use 5052-0 tubing, most often Vz-inch (-8) diameter. AC 43 .13-1B gives much information on fuel systems, particularly the location of support clamps and fuel line bonding information. Consult Chapter 8, Section 2.

I don't like using copper tube in aircraft applications because it will work-harden with vibration . I know all early aircraft used it for fuel and instrument installa­ tions, so if authenticity is the goal, use it. However, copper tubing may need annealing from time to time.

Anneal by heating and quenching in oil. (Editor's note: Remember Charles Lindbergh's admonition to the people 26

NOVEMBER 2009

building the Spirit of St. Louis; he required the interruption of the fuel lines with sections offlexible nlbber hose to soak up vibration and prevent breaks due to work-hardening of the tubing material.-H.G. Frautschy) Tube Fittings: The most common tube fittings are the AN818 nut and AN819 sleeve. Most aviation supply company catalogs give a list with description of all AN fittings needed to complete the project. I keep a copy of the Standard Aircraft Handbook in my toolbox for quick reference of the AN code. Since I'm writing this in Florida, a nearby source for this handy book is www.Great-Atlanticl.com. Look for part number TS157642-8. Most suppliers carry this book; you'll find it very useful.

Low-Pressure Oil System: Dry sump oil systems use tubing of 1 inch in diameter. The tube can be 5052­ 0, and special tools are required to bend it to the de­ sired shape. After bending, the tube is beaded on both ends using a beading tool. Be sure to remove all burrs after beading, and clean the tube before installation.

Tube Installation: After fabrication of necessary tubing, be sure to clean thoroughly and blow-dry with compressed air. Assemble with proper hose and clamp using stainless steel hose clamps. The tube ends should never touch, as this would allow fragments of alumi­ num to enter the oil system. Maximum distance be­ tween tube ends is one tube diameter.

Hose: For fuel and oil systems use only Mil-H-6000 hose. It will come in inside diameter sizes, -4 (1/4 inch) through -112 (lVz inches). The burst pressure for this type hose is 1,000 psi, and it is resistant to fuel, oil, and coolants. For pitot/static instrument systems I have used rubber heater hose or Tygon B-44 type flex­ ible plastic tube, but not in antique restorations. For fuel and oil systems I use stainless steel hose clamps.

Tighten clamps to torque of just 20 inch-pounds and don't over-tighten.

That's it from here. Let's keep those antiques safe and flying! .......

Charles Tippett Warrenton, VA

• Pilot for over 25 years • Certified flight instructor • Chuck Tippett, Wing Walker at The Flying Circus Aerodrome

Performing at" The Flying Circus Aerodrome" in Bealton, VA

/II have been flying now for over 25 years. I am a Certified Flight Instructor and let me tell you - not only is the personal, hometown family feeling of dealing with AUA wonderful, year after year they find a way to insure my precious airplanes at a value 'bar none' lower than any other company./I

- Charles Tippet

AUA is Vintage Aircraft Association approved. To become a member of VAA call 800·843·3612.

Aviation insurance with the EAA Vintage Program oHers: Lower premiums with payment options - Additional coverages - Flexibility on the use of your aircraft - Experienced agents O.wine quote request available - AUA is licensed in all states

Light Plane Heritage

PUBLISHED IN

EAA Experimenter MARCH

1989

THE MUMMERT COOTIE

McRAE

EAA 93

BY JACK

mmediately after World War I, Harvey Mummert was one of the earliest designers and builders of homebuilt air­ planes. His several original­ design lightplanes were built in his spare time with the help of friends, while he was employed as an engineer for the Curtiss com­ pany at its Garden City, Long Is­ land, plant. All his airplanes in­ corporated advanced features and showed skillful application of ex­ cellent design, both aerodynamic and structural.

Mummert's first lightplane ap­ peared in 1921, after two years

I

of work, and was a very attrac­ tive miniature biplane called the Baby Vamp, which soon came to be known as the Cootie. The first flight of the Cootie was made on July 8, 1921, by the well-known pilot Bert Acosta. Some diffi­ culty was encountered before the flight when it was discovered that Acosta had to remove his shoes in order to get his feet through small holes in a bulkhead to operate the rudder bar.

On the first flight the pilot reportedly held the ship on the ground for 200 feet before taking off. When it got off the ground it

was seen to be flying very steadily and at a speed estimated to be nearly 100 mph. Acosta, who was noted for his fondness for aero­ batics, proceeded to put the little biplane through an Immelmann and many other maneuvers, reaching 1,500 feet altitude with­ out any difficulty. After 15 min­ utes of flying he landed smoothly and reported that liThe machine has absolutely no tricks and needs very few minor adjustments."

The engine used in the Cootie was reported to be a 25-hp Law­ rance, which would imply that it was a surplus Type A engine, as

Editor's Note: The 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 se­ ries, we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members. Enjoy!-HGF 28 NOVEMBER 2009

HOWEVER, CLOSE EXAMINATION OF THE COOTIE PHOTOGRAPHS INDICATE THAT THIS WAS NOT THE CASE, AND THAT THE ENGINE WAS THE RELATIVELY RARE LAWRANCE N MODEL,

Harvey Mummert and the Mummert Cootie.

//l

OF WHICH ONLY A FEW WERE BUILT FOR THE

U.S. NAVY.

/' I

/ 1

I J' ,

i-­

---I­

: I \

,\I --4_\__, ,

I

I

used in the Penguin ground train­ ers . However, close examination of the Cootie photographs indicate that this was not the case, and that the engine was the relatively rare Lawrance N model, of which only a few were built for the U.S. Navy.

The Type N engine had the in­ take manifold at the front and the valve pushrods at the rear, the op­ posite of that for the Type A used in the Penguin s. The N engine also had advanced features, such as dual ignition supplied by a bat­ tery, dua l carburetors, and a gear drive to the propeller. Its weight was only 79 pounds and its width was much smaller than the Type A. Its displacement was 120.58 cubic

\

:

,

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,~ ,

k,

1921

!

MUMMERT COOTIE

"d~L~\ I LAWRANCE ENGINE !,

J0

"Ifo

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3

4­

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SCALE IN FEET

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

29

The Mummert Cootie with a Burnelli RB-l airliner in background.

The Cootie gets a thorough inspection at a Curtiss Field air show.

The Main Characteristics of the Cootie Span:

18 feet

Length

12 feet

Chord

31-5/8 inches

Gap

33 inches

Wing area

90 square feet

Weight empty

350 pounds

Gross weight

590 pounds

Maximum speed

100 mph

Landing speed

43 mph

Fuel capacity

12 gallons

Oil capacity

2 gallons

30 NOVEMBER 2009

inches, and it developed 40 hp at 1900 rpm, although it was stated that the engine speed was limited to 1500 rpm during the flight test.

The N engine had one bad feature of the Type A, however, in that it still had the single-throw crank­ shaft, which caused severe vibra­ tion and, in one case, reportedly shook a carburetor off in flight. It is assumed that Mummert's posi­ tion in the Curtiss engineering de­ partment gave him access to this unusual engine.

At that time, Curtiss had just started building its famous series of racers using wooden mono­ coque fuselage construction with plywood-covered wings. The Coo­ tie u sed these same features, the fuselage being built of three lay­ ers of veneer strips at 45 degrees to each other, wrapped around a wooden form and glued, after which the form was removed and bulkheads installed where neces­ sary. The tail surfaces were also all wood, including the covering.

The wings, which used th e R.A.F. 15 airfoil , were each built as a single unit with no dihedral.

Each wing used nine spars between the leading and trailing edges. The spars were of rectangular section, l,4 -inch wide, and varied in depth according to their chord wise lo­ cation. The maximum thickness of the wing was only 2 inches.

The upper rear main spar and the lower front main spar were of the box type, since they made up part of the wing truss and had to re­ sist axial loads due to the flying and landing wires. Mahogany ply­ wood 1/16-inch thick was used to cover the wings. This type of con­ struction gave a smooth, stream­ line shape of great rigidity. The in­ terplane struts were of streamline steel tubing, and the upper wing was supported by two cantilever struts at the center of the wing.

The flying wires consisted of a pair of streamline wires on each side, running from the fuselage at the lower front spar to the upper rear spar at the interplane strut

fitting. The landing wires were a single wire on each side of the air­ plane running from th e lower end of the front interplane strut to the top of the rear cabane strut.

Appa rently, afte r flight testing, two add itional wires were added on each side, extendin g from the rear upper and lower interplane stru t fi ttings to the fi rewa ll bulk­ h ead, ju st aft of th e en gine. The reason for these additi onal wires is n ot kn own, but they m ay have been added in an att em pt to ab­ sorb some of the engine vi bration, or possi bl y to re d uce th e effect of defl ection of the cantilever ca­ ban e struts under unsym metrica l wing loads.

Ailerons we re ins tall ed on the lower wi n gs only, and ex t ended for t he full wing span. Th e aile­ rons were controlled by a horn at the airplane centerli n e inside t h e fuselage with no external fittings.

Th e fin , of u p p e r and lower sect ion s, was built integral with th e fu sela ge, an d th e t a il skid was attached to its lower section.

Elevat o r and rudder cables we re ke p t i n side the fu se lage w ith th ei r co ntro l hor n s e ncl osed in the thicken ed fuselage secti on at the tail post.

Th e la n ding gear was o f t he spr eade r b ar type wit h str eam­ lin e struts of ash, and with sh ock cord attaching the axle. Side loads we re t aken by diago n a l wi res in the plan e of the rear landing gear struts, an d anoth er pair of wi res exten ded to the firewa ll bul khead.

Th e Cootie was u sed for exhi­ bition flying at various air shows h eld at Curtiss Field for severa l yea rs, and it was flown by su ch we ll-known pilots as Bert Acost a and Lloyd Bertaud. Its fina l dispo­ sition is not known .

References : Aeria l Age, July 25, 1921; Flight, Jan u ary 19,1922; Aerosphere, 1939; Skyways, Apr il 1988; Interviews with Curtiss en­ gineers of the 1920-30 era. Photos are fro m the collecti on of Gabe Baumwart, Curtiss engineer. .......

Harvey C. Mummert: Pilot, Designer, and Manufacturer Harvey C. Mummert was born in Alliance, Ohio, on April 4, 1892. He graduated from Mount Union College, Alliance, and the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland.

In 1916 he started work for the Curtiss company in Buffalo as an engineer, and his signature appears on some 1916 IN-4 drawings. He apparently made good as an engineer, and in 1918 he was transferred to the Curtiss Experimental Engineering plant in Gar­ den City, Long Island. Here he had responsible posi­ tions in the design and development of the MF Fly­ ing Boat and the Eagle eight-passenger tri-motored biplane in 1919, the twin-engined CJ. NavalTorpedo monoplane, the PW-8 fighter, and asmall all-metal seaplane glider designed for the use of Glenn Curtiss.

Harvey Mummert

One of his co-workers describes Mummert as "Avery

mild mannered man with an unusually keen mind and asense of sound practical design:' Since his days in high school he had been interested in small airplanes, and in the 1921-24 period he designed and built, in his spare time, three successfullightplanes. These were the 1921 (ootie biplane with aLawrance engine, the 1923 midwing monoplane of wood monocoque construction using a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine, and in 1924 an all-wood low-wing cantilever monoplane, also Harley-powered, which competed in the 1924 and 1925 National Air Races.Mummert was amember of the Curtiss Flying Club atthis time, and in 1924 he received Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAil "Aviation Pilot's"License No. 6169. In 1927 he received Transport Pilot License No. 550.

In 1924 Mummert left Curtiss and became chief engineer for the newly reorganized Mercury Aircraft Inc. of Hammondsport, New York. During the next 15 years at the Mercury company, Mummert was responsible for anumber of interesting deSigns, as follows: 1924 - Mercury St. Liberty-powered biplane, awinner of Mail Plane competition held by the Post Office Department.

1925 - Redesigned Standard J-1to five-seater, C-6A-powered, and as atwo-place trainer. Five sold to Argentine government.

1925 - Mercury Jr.two-place utility biplane, C-6A engine. Flown by Mummert in 1925 National Air Races and in the 1925, 1926, and 1927 Ford Airplane Reliability Tours, placing third in 1927.

1926 - TC-11 nonrigid training blimp delivered to Army in 1928.

1927 - Mercury Kitten two-place cabin monoplane of all-steel tube construction. Originally powered

by Mummert-designed two-cycle, four-cylinder opposed-piston engine, later with Warner Scarab.

1929 - Schroeder Wentworth Safety Plane for Guggenheim Safety Competition. Crashed during qualifying flights.

1929 - Mercury Chic T-2 primary trainer. Approximately 20 built. Flown by Mummert in Ford Na­ tional Air Tours, 1930 and 1931 .

1930 - Mercury S. Racer. Flown by Mummert in 1930 All-American Flying Derby, a5,540-mile race.

1931 - Mercury S-1 Racer. Steel tube geodetic construction. Flown by Mummert in National Air Races and other local air shows.

1938 - Mercury Chic modified and entered in Air Corps Primary Trainer competition at Wright Field.

In 1939, after ashort illness, Mummert died at the age of 47. He had been aprolific, innovative designer with astrong competitive spirit as demonstrated by his many entries in air races and air tours flying airplanes of his own design.

References: American Airman, February and March 1961.

VINTAGE AIRP L ANE

31

BY DOUG STEWART

All available info s I was departing the pat­ tern of my home base airport a few days ago, heading out to the prac­ tice area to do some air work with a client in my PA-12, I overheard a pilot announce that he was 10 miles out to the southwest and in­ bound for landing. Hearing that, I knew that I would have to be es­ pecially diligent in my "see and avoid" collision avoidance scan, as I was headed to the south myself.

But the next thing the pilot said increased my concern. He asked: "Uh ... which runway you using at Columbia County?" Since I had just announced not only the runway I was departing on, but further, the direction of my depar­ ture, and since there were several other planes in the pattern, all making proper announcements of what they were doing, I couldn't help but wonder if this inbound pilot was using his ears as well as his mouth.

As the communications con­ tinued, my concern increased.

His next communication asked which way the wind was blowing.

As there is an automated weather observing system (AWOS) at the airport, it was obvious that this inbound pilot had not spent the time listening to it to find out all the pertinent information relative to the ceiling, visibility, wind, and barometric pressure. At this point I decided to alter my course to the southeast and increase my vigi­ lance out the window.

A

32

NOVEMBER 2009

Within a minute or two the in­ bound pilot now asked: "Uh . . .

Columbia County ... Uh ... do you have right- or left-hand traf­ fic?" At this point the hackles went up on the back of my neck. What was up with this inbound pilot?

Had he done no planning whatsoever for

evant parts of FAR 91.103 just for a moment. lt states: "Each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight. This information must include: (a) For a flight ... not in the vicinity of an airport, weather re­ ports and forecasts, fuel require­ ments, alternatives available if the planned flight cannot be com­ pleted ... (b) For any flight, run­ way lengths at airports of intended use ...."

Let's take a look at where we might go to obtain all that avail­ able information, and as well, how to document that we have indeed gotten all that informa­ tion. Let us also be aware that the terms "all available information and "in the vicinity of an airport" are not defined in FAR Part 1. Thus there is the potential to incur a vi­ olation of these regulations predi­ cated upon the interpretation of a local FAA inspector. Whether their interpretation stands up, would remain to be determined by the National Transportation Safety Board, but in the meantime, if a pilot is charged with a violation, that pilot would have to spend significant time and expense in his or her own defense.

Certainly one of the best places to start is either with a briefer or by obtaining a direct user access terminal system (DUATS) brief­ ing. Regardless of which source we use, there is a record kept of our having gotten that briefing. I II

his flight?

Had he done no planning whatso­ ever for his fl ight? Was he totally reliant upon others to give him the information that he needed? Did he not have a sectional chart or an Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD) with him in the airplane that provided at least some of the information for which he seemed ignorant? I'm sur­ prised he didn't ask the traffic pat­ tern altitude as his next question.

And lastly, was he unaware of FAR 91.103, Preflight Action?

Let's review some important rel­

can't help but wonder it the pilot described above had bothered to get a briefing. Had he come to the airport yesterday at the same time of day as he had in the described scenario, he would have had a chance to observe some military aircraft up close and personal, as our airport was closed for a presi­ dential temporary flight restric­ tion (TFR) until late afternoon.

Nowhere in 91.103 do we see TFRs included in "all available informa­ tion, /I but I can assure you that this regulation would be referred to in the document charging a pi­ lot with a violation.

There are certainly many other resources for obtaining weather information in addition to flight service and the DUATS prOViders, and many of us, myself included, do indeed use those resources. In fact I typically look at several dif­ ferent Internet websites to obtain some fantastic weather informa­ tion, AviationWeather.gov head­ ing the list. For me a picture is worth a thousand words, and the graphical information available on these websites makes my self­ briefing much more valuable. But the question remains, how do we document that we have been to those websites? The simplest way I know is to print out the relative web pages we have viewed.

It might be difficult to prove that we have ensured sufficient fuel for the trip, and I can assure you that many pilots have been successfully charged with violation of 91.103 in fuel exhaustion accidents and incidents. Quite often these viola­ tions come about as a result of the pilot's own admission of negligence in one way or another. Forewarned should be forearmed.

Okay, you say that your flight will be in the vicinity of the airport, and therefore you might not have gotten a briefing. But let us all be aware that the FAA chief counsel said that "The FAA has no specific, fixed definition of 'vicinity,' but instead, interprets its meaning on a case-by-case basis./I (1-28-92) In

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' ~~9JCd some situations, anything away from the traffic pattern might be interpreted as not in the vicinity of the airport. All I will say here is that a word to the wise should suffice.

Let 's go back to that pilot in­ bound to my home base. On that particular day, the wind had been lightly blowing out of the south all day long. Had our errant pilot gotten a briefing he should have been aware of that fact, even if he was oblivious to the tail wind pushing him northward. With the runway at my home base aligned 03-21, it should have been self-ev­ ident that landings that day would be to the south.

But even if he hadn't been aware of the southerly winds, a check of the AWOS prior to reaching "10 miles out" would have informed him of the winds. Certainly if he had a current sectional on board, that frequency would have been available to him. And the ques­ tion about right- or left-hand traf­ fic would have been answered on that sectional as well. If there were right-hand traffic for either or all runways, it would be denoted in the airport data information on the sectional chart with the nota­ tion "RP" and for which runway(s).

Another source for this infor­ mation is the Airport/Facility Direc­ tory, also known as the little green book. Perhaps you live in an area where it is difficult to get a cur­ rent copy of the A/FD. And it will be getting even harder as the gov­ ernment cuts back on the number

of fixed base operators and flight schools that can sell these, as the government increases the volume requirements to qualify as a dealer.

If that is your situation, please be aware that the A/FD is now avail­ able in a digital format on the FAA website. Go to www.NACO.FAA. gov/index.asp?xml=nac%nline/d_ afd where you can download the information for the airports of your intended landings.

There are some pilots who would consider the term "all available in­ formation" as somewhat ambigu­ ous and therefore disregard the need to get as much info as they can prior to a flight. Failing to do so might get a pilot in trouble with the FAA, but more importantly, not having as much information as one can possibly have could put one in an unsafe situation. A pilot who just "kicks the tires and lights the fires" without finding out as much as possible about everything relative to the flight is being negli­ gent in the duties of being a pilot in command.

So the next time you are beck­ oned aloft by blue skies and tail winds, be sure that you launch with as much" available informa­ tion" as you can get.

Doug Stewart is the 2004 National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year, a NAFI Master Instructor, and a designated pilot examiner. He oper­ ates DSFI Inc. (www.DSFlight.com). based at the Columbia County Air­ ~ port (lBl).

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

33

BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO US FROM WES SMITH .

Send your answer to EAA, Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs to be in no later than December 20 for inclusion

in the February 2010 issue of Vintage Airplane.

You can also send your re足 sponse via e-mail. Send your answer to mysteryplane@eaa.org.

Be sure to include you r name plus your city and state in the body of your not e an d put "(Month) Mystery Plane" in the subject line .

AUGUST'S MYSTERY ANSWER

ur August Mystery Plane came to us from the EAA archives. Wes Smith did the following extensive write-up for us:

O

Descri bed in the pages of 34

NOVEMBER 2009

Aviation (Lane, D.R . The Thaden Argonaut: All Metal, Six Passen足 ger, High Wing Cabin Monoplane Is Powered With a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Engine. February 13, 1928, pp 386-388), the T-1 was the brainchild of ex-U.S. Army Signal

Corps pilot (1), and aeronautical engineer, Herbert von Thaden.

While Thaden's wife, Louise, is much better-known in avia足 tion circles due to her extensive record-setting flying skills and contributions to numerous avia足

tion organizations, Herbert von Thaden designed at least three aircraft between 1928 and 1930.

Constructed at San Francisco by the Thaden Metal Aircraft Co., the T-1 (NX3902) was test-flown at Crissy Field. The steel framework was covered with corrugated du­ ralumin, which is alleged to have given the airplane better-than­ expected performance. Patented removable panels (Thaden held four U.S. aeronautical patents) on the underside of the wings al­ lowed relatively easy, and thor­ ough, inspection of the underly­ ing structure and fuel tanks. The box wing spars were covered with the same corrugated duralumin as the skin and were permanently riveted to the upper surface. The fuselage utilized Thaden's unique monocoque construction that employed transverse members combined with stressed corru­ gated skin in place of longerons .

Bulkheads in the cabin and tubu­ lar duralumin frames were used aft of the cabin, but no longitu­ dinal members were used aft of the engine mount. The fuel tanks (120 gallons, enough for a six­ hour duration) were mounted in the wings above the access pan­ els, and the fuel was fed directly into the carburetor, with no fuel line entering the cabin. A fire­ proof bulkhead separated the en­ gine from the cabin for extra pro­ tection against fire.

The undercarriage was of a split oleo-pneumatic type with hinged tripod strut-work. Each half of the main gear also incorporated a Gruss shock absorber, and the stout-looking tailskid incorpo­ rated a pneumatic shock absorber.

Sauzedde wheels and brakes were fitted to the main gear.

The strut-braced wings had a span of 53 feet 8 inches, the fuse­ lage a length of 35 feet 3 inches, and the height was 11 feet, which gave the Argonaut an imposing physical appearance. The cabin normally seated six passengers, but could be arranged to accom­

mod ate up to eight persons. The control surfaces and stabilizers were of the same construction as the rest of the airframe. The con­ trols were operated by pushrods, and a control yoke suspended from the engine mount was used for longitudinal and lateral con­ trol. Conventional rudder ped­ als operated the rudder. A wheel, located to the right of the pilot's seat, was used to operate the el­ evator trim, and the horizontal stabilizer was ground-adjustable.

The passenger cabin of the T-l THE STRUT-BRACED WI NGS HAD A SPAN OF

53

FEET

8

INCH ES,

THE FUSELAGE A LENGTH OF

3

35

FEET

INCHES, AND THE HEIGHT WAS

11

FEET, WH ICH GAVE TH E ARGONAUT AN IMPOSING PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.

was insulated and soundproofed for passenger comfort, and a heat­ ing and ventilation system was in­ corporated. The seats were made of wicker, and ample legroom was provided. An oval entrance door, located on the left side of the cabin, allowed ingress into and egress from the cabin. A unique aspect of the door was that the corrugations did not run perpen­ dicular to the frame, being angled instead. A baggage compartment was located just aft of the cabin, and windows made of shatter­ proof glass gave the passengers a good view of the outside.

Empty weight of the aircraft was 2,900 pounds, and a use­ ful load of 2,200 pounds could be carried. The 415-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp was originally de­ signed as the competitor to the Wright Simoon. The first engine

was ready by Christmas of 1925, and after testing in the Wright F3W-l Apache, it was placed into production in late 1926. By early 1927, 12 were being deliv­ ered per month. The engine actu­ ally displaced 1,344 cubic inches (rounded off to 1,340 cubic inches for statistical purposes) and had a bore and stroke of 5.75 inches.

The T-1 used a Wasp A, of 400-420 hp, and a ground-adjustable Stan­ dard propeller. First flown on 15 January 1929, the T-l was found to have a maximum speed of 135 mph, a cruise of 105 mph, and a minimum speed of 52 mph.

Thaden drew his engineering force from Handley-Page in Eng­ land, from Ford in Detroit, and from top American technical schools. E.T. Todd, associate engi­ neer at the Thaden Metal Aircraft Corp., was, like his peers, required to have actual aviation experience as a pilot, a unique aspect of the company. Organized at San Fran­ cisco, R.E. Fisher was company preSident, with Donald McKee, as secretary; W.D. Dickey, as trea­ surer; W.A. Bechtel, as chairman of the executive committee; and E.H. Heller and C.A.A. McGee, as counsel. Thaden served as vice president and manager.

Following the 1928 T-l, the T-2 (7074, cln 2) was also constructed in 1928. Described in Flight (The Thaden T-2: An American All Metal Commercial Monoplane. January 10, 1929, P 26), it was broadly similar to the Argonaut, but was smaller. Powered by a 150-hp Comet, it had a span of 39 feet and an overall length of 26 feet.

Unlike the T-l , the four-place T-2 had a fully cantilevered wing with trailing edge flaps. The T-2 had a VMAX of 121 mph, aVe of 90 mph, and a VM1N of 46 mph. The useful load was 1,180 pounds.

The T-3 was apparently never built but may have been modified to become Thaden's last airplane, the T-4. Constructed in 1930 as a Group 2 certificated aircraft (2­ 247), the T-4 was powered by a VINTAGE AIRPLANE

35

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300-hp Wright J-6 (R-975) radial. lot). In 1988, William V. Thaden, still flying a Staggerwing Beech­ The span was 45 feet, the overall Herbert's son, and a group of EAA craft. Herbert von Thaden died a length was 32 feet 10 inches, the volunteers recovered the remains few years later and was followed gross weight was 3,800 pounds, of the T-1 and donated them to by Louise, who passed away on 9 and the useful load was 1,435 the Hiller Museum at San Carlos, November 1979. In 1991, astro­ pounds. The airspeed range in­ California. naut Eileen Collins took Louise In late December of 2008, I was Thaden's flying helmet into orbit cluded a VMAX of 135 mph, a Vc of 110 mph, and a VMIN of 59 approached by Mr. F.T. Lovley, aboard the space shuttle to honor mph. Two T-4s were built, regis­ who had acquired the door of the her accomplishments in pioneer tered as 898M and NC502V (c/n T-1 from the widow of a bush pi­ women's aviation . Louise Thaden 3 and 4, respectively). During the lot, who had apparently removed was a friend of such noteworthy course of Thaden's aircraft build­ it during the T-1's long rest in women in aviation as Amelia Ear­ ing, the company had relocated Alaska. Thanks to the efforts of hart, Pancho Barnes, and Blanche from Oakland and San Francisco Mr. Dan Hagedorn at the Seattle Noyes. Her autobiography, High, to 1625 Island Ave., Pittsburgh, Museum of Flight, the door was Wide and Frightened, was reprinted Pennsylvania. By 1929, the com­ identified and is now back with in 2004.

Wesley R. Smith pany was renamed the Pittsburgh the Thaden family, who also have All-Metal Aircraft Co. (Pittsburgh the rudder from the aircraft.

Springfield, Illinois Metal Airplane Co., Buffington, In 1967, the Thadens were H. Glenn. Louise Thaden. Journal comfortably living in High POint, Other correct answers were re­ of the American Aviation Historical North Carolina, and owned the ceived from Tom Lymburn, Princ­ Society. V.12 N.4. Winter 1967, Thaden Engineering Co., which eton, Minnesota; Clarence Hes­ pp 285-287) and in 1930 became specialized in the development ser, St. Augustine, Florida; Jack the Metalair Corp., a division of of reinforced plastics. Louise M. Erickson, State College, Pennsyl­ the Consolidated Corp . (General Thaden, a charter member of the vania; Doug Rounds, Zebulon, Aviation Manufacturing Co.). Ac­ Ninety-Nines (secretary and vice Georgia; and Forrest Lovley, Jor­ cording to AAHS, General Motors president from 1931-1932), was dan, Minnesota. ...... acq uired the company in May . , . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ­ of 1931 and merged it into Fok­ ker, before moving it to New Jer­ sey. By this time, Louise McPhe­ tridge had married Herbert von Thaden and was already a highly regarded female pilot of record-setting ability. While in Pittsburgh, she flew company "It's all right! There's executives around in either the the Pol~-Fiber stamp!

T-2 or T-4, which was known as Go ahead and g}ve'er The Tin Goslin. the gun!"

While Louise McPhetridge Thaden's numerous aeronautical accomplishments are beyond the scope of this work, she flew the T-4 (NC502V, race number 46) You don't have to be a during the cross-country derby ma~ician to put the from Santa Monica to Cleveland tou~hest, easiest-to-repair fabric coverin~ on your pride during the National Air Races, and joy. Just follow the clear detailed instructions in our placing fifth in the women's divi­ entertai~ manual. Before you can say "Hocus-pocus!" sion. In July of 1930, the Thadens you'll have a ~or~eous coverin~ job that you can show had their first child, Bill, while off and bra~ about for years to come. You don't need living at Pittsburgh. He was fol­ a m~ic wand - all you need is Poly-fiber! lowed by his sister, Patsy, born at Kansas City in September * Friendliest manual around pofyfiber.com *Toll-free technical support 1933. The T-1 flew on, crashing information@ at Chitna, Alaska, on 30 March polyfiber.com Aircraft CoaUng_ 1933 (Nat Brown, subject of a pre­ vious Mystery Plane, was the pi­

HARRY HOUDINI LEFT

NOTHING TO CHANCE.

And the rest is history.

80C>-361-3490

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

37

EM Calendar of Aviation Events Is NowOnline EM's online Calendar of Events is the "go-to" spot on the Web to list and find aviation events in your area. The user-friendly, searchable format makes it the perfect web-based tool for planning your local trips to afly-in.

In EM's onlineCalendar of Events, you can search for events at any given time within acertain radius of any airport by entering the identifier or a ZIP code, and you can further define your search to lookfor just the types of events you'd like to attend.

We invite you to access the EM online Calendar of Events at http://www.eaa.orgjcalendar/

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May 22-23, 2010

www.VirginiaFlyin.org Golden West Regional Fly-In and Air Show

Yuba County Airport (MYV), Marysville, CA

June 11-13, 2010

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Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO), Arlington, WA

July 7-11, 2010

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Wittman Regional Airport (OSH), Oshkosh, WI

July 26-August 1, 2010

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Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second mont h pri or to desired issue date (i.e., January 10 is the closing date for the March issue). VAA reserves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its policies . Rates cover one insertion per issue. Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must accom pany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-6845) or e-mail (classads@eaa.or{f) using credit card payment (all cards accepted). Include name on card , complete address, type of card, card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA. Address advertising correspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh , WI 54903-3086.

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38

NOVEMBER 2009

T -CQAFT TAK60PP

continued from inside front cover

then be required to use the public rulemaking process that is applicable to all other federal agencies. Seems fair to me!

We need to get behind HR 3678 and contact our represen足 tatives to let them know this bill is supported by general aviation. Locating and communicating with your repre足 sentatives can easily be accomplished at www.House.gov/ houseiMemberWWW_by_State.shtm/.

Your EAA Industry and Regulatory Affairs department has done a good job of getting this information out to our membership, but the further we spread this type of news, the better. Please take the time to communicate with your congressional representatives about this im足 portant issue.

Remember, it's time to set your aircraft up for winter operations. It's time to get that manual out and review the section on cold-weather operations. Winter flying can be a lot of fun, but you have to be prepared for it. Be safe out there.

As always, please do us all the favor of inviting a friend to join the VAA, and help keep us the strong asso足 ciation we have all enjoyed for so many years.

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010, The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration, is July 26 through August l.

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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Membershi~ Services Directory VINTAGE

ENJOY THE MAN Y BE NEFITS OF EAA AND AIRCRAFT EAA 's VI NTAGE AIRCRA FT A SSOCIAT ION ASSOCIATION EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Osh kosh WI 54903-3086 OFFICERS Pres idellt

Vice- Pres ide nt

Geoff Robi son 152 1 E. MacGregor Dr. New H aven, IN 46774 260-493 -4724

George Da ub n er N57W34837 Oconomowoc, W I 53066 262-560- 1949

cl1ief7025(g'aoi.col1l

gdallbuer&-eaa.org

Secreta ry

Treasurer

Steve Nesse

Cha rles W. Har ris

2009 H ighl and Ave. Albert Lea , M N 56007 50 7-373- 1674

72 15 Eas t 46th St. Tulsa, O K 74 147 9 18-622-8400

s171es2009@/i vt'.C0111

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DIRECTORS Steve Bender

85 Brus h H ill Roa d Sh erbo rn, MA 01770 508- 653-7557

Jea nnie Hill P.O. Box 328 Harva rd, IL 60033-0328 8 15-943-7205

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David Bennett 375 Kill deer Ct Li nco ln, CA 95648 9 16-645-8370 anl iqllcr@inreacl1.com

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davecpd{f1")att.llet John S. Copeland

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106 Ten a Marie Ci rcle

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1002 Hea ther Ln.

Hartford, W I 53027

262-966-7627

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Robert D. " Bob" Lum ley 1265 South 124th St. Brook fiel d, W I 53005 262 -782-2633 Ill l"per@execpc.cOl"

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Robert C. Brauer 93 45 S. Hoyne C hicago, IL 60643 773-779-2105 pllOtopi/ot@aol.com

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Phone (920) 426-4800

Fax (920) 426-48 73

Web Sites: IVWW. vintageaircratr_org, www.airvetltllre.org, www.eaa_orgjmemberbenefits E-Mail: vintageaircra{l@eaa_org EAA and Division Membership Services (8:00 AM-7:00 PM Monday-Friday CST) 800-564-6322 FAX 92042&4873 www_ eaa.orgjmemberbenefits membership@eaa.org • New/ renew memberships ' Address changes · Merchandise sales ' Gift memberships EAA AirVenture Oshkosh www.airventure_org 888-322-4636 Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft Hotline 877-359-1232 www.sportpilotorg Programs and Activities Auto Fuel STCs 92042&4843 920-426-6570 Education/ Aeroscholars • EAA Air Academy 920426-6880 www_airacademy_org • EAA Scholarships 920426-6823 Rigilt Instructor information www_eaa.orgjnafi 920426-6801 Library Services/ Research 92042&4848 Benefits AUA Vinta!(e Insurance Plan 800-727-3823 www_ auaonline.com EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan 866-647-4322 www.eaa_orgjmemberbenefits EAA VISACard 800-853-5576 ext. 8884 EAA Hertz Rent-A-Car Program 800-654-2200 www.eaa.orp)hertz EAA Enterprise Rent­ A-Car Program www_eaa_orp)enterprise 877-421-3722 Editorial 920-426-4825 www_ vinta~eaircraft_ or~ VAA Office FAX 920426-6579

airventure@eaa.org sportpilot@eaa.org dwalker@eaa.or mrobbins@eaa.org airacademy@eaa_org scholarships@eaa.org tdeimer@eaa.org slurvey@eaa.org

membership@eaa.org membership@eaa. or~ membership@eaa.or~ vinta~e@eaa.or~

tbooks@eaa_org

EAA Members Information Une 888-EAA-INFO (322-4636)

Use this toll-free number for: information about AirVenture Oshkosh; aeromedical and technical aviation questions;

chapters; and Young Eagles. Please have your membership number ready when calling.

Office hours are 8:15 a.m. - 5:00 p.m_ (Monday - Friday, CST)

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION EAA

lAC

Membershi p in the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. i5 $40 for one year, includ­ ing 12 iss ues of SPORT AVIATION_ Famil y membership is an additional $10 annu ally_ Juni or Membership (und er 19 yea rs of age) is available at $23 annu ally_ All major credi t cards accepted fo r membership. (Add $16 for Foreign Postage.)

C urrent EAA m e mbers ma y jo in th e Inte rn atio n al Ae robati c C lub, In c. Divi­ sio n a nd receive SPOR T AEROBATI CS m agaZine for an additio n al $45 per yea r.

EAA Membership, SPOR T AER OBAT­ ICS m agazine and o n e year membership in th e lAC Div isio n is availab le fo r $5 5 p er yea r (SPOR T AVIATION ma gazin e n o t includ ed ) _ (Add $18 fo r Fo re ign Postage.)

EAA SPORT PILOT Current EAA m embers may add EAA SPORT PILOT magazine for an additi onal $20 per yea r.

EAA Me m be rship and EAA SPO R T PILOT m agazi n e is availab le fo r $40 p er year (SPORT AVIATION magazine n o t in­ cluded)_(Add $16 for Foreign Postage.)

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Current EA A m embers ma y jo in the Vi ntage Aircraft Assoc iation and receive VINTA GE AIRPLANE m agazine fo r an ad­ ditional $36 per year_ EAA Me mbe rship, VINTA GE AIRPLANE magazine and one year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $46 per yea r (SPORT AVIATION magazine not in­ cluded)_ (Add $7 for Foreign Postage.)

WARBIRDS Current EAA members may join the EAA Warbirds of America Division and receive WARBIRDS magaZine for an additio nal $45 per year_ EAA Membership, WA RBIRDS m aga­ z in e and o n e year m e mb ership in th e Warbird s Division is ava ilable for $55 per year (SPOR T AVIATION magaZine n ot in­ cluded)_ (Add $7 for Fo reign Postage.)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS Please submit yo ur remittance with a ch ec k o r draft drawn o n a United States bank payable in United States dollars_ Add required Foreign Postage am o unt fo r each membership_

Members hip dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions Gopyright ©2009 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, All rights reserved_ VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd_, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086, e-mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership 10 Vintage Aircraft Associalion, which includes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $36 per year for EAA members and $46 for non-EAA members_ Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and al additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes 10 Vinlage Airplane, PO Box 3086. Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086_PM 40063731 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses 10 Pilney Bowes IMS, Stalion A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5_FOREIGN AN D APO ADDRESSES - Please allow al leasl two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircraft Association does nol guaranlee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged 10 su bm ~ stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors_ Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests enlirely with the conlributor_No remuneration is made. Malerial should be senllo: Ed~o r, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800_ EAA® and EAA SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and Aaronautica' · are regislered tradematl<s, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimenlal Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of Ihese tradematl<s

and service marks wrthout the permission at the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

40

NOVEMBER 2009

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