VA-Vol-37-No-9-Sept-2009 by EAA Vintage Aircraft Association

GEOFF ROBISON PRESIDENT, VI NTAGE AIRC RAFT ASSOC IATION

AirVenture 2009 proved to be not only an awesome event, but also awildly successful one! [ returned from AirVenture and my head is still spinning trying to determine what dynamics were put into place to make this event so wildly successful. The best I can come up with, considering the eco nomic challenges we are all cur rently experiencing in one degree or another, is the leadership team as well as staff at EAA and the many "before the convention" volun teers who again put together such a wide-ranging schedule of events and attractions for this year's event. The dedication of so many re turning volunteers plus what was planned and then ultimately deliv ered to our EAA/VAA membership created an event that many folks were simply unwilling to miss. The one word we heard through out the week of AirVenture was simply, "Wow." As I stated in last month's column, all early indica tors seemed to strongly suggest the potential for a highly successful AirVenture for 2009. And a huge success it was! When was the last time you saw a Pitcairn PA-18 take flight? Where else in this world can you listen to First Officer Jeff Skiles and Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger speak so modestly among their aviation peers about their experience last January of successfully ditching an airliner in the Hudson River with ISS souls on board? Where else can you go and see WhiteKnightTwo perform such a captivating demonstration

flight in front of so many aviation minded individuals? Where else in these United States can you get up close to and climb aboard an Airbus A380 airliner, or wa lk around and observe a demo flight of a Predator B operated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection? It's a rare day in

The one word we heard throughout the week of AirVenture was simply, "Wow:' your life if you can see a full-scale replica de Havilland Comet DH.88 on display, as well as in flight. But these aircraft and their pilots were all a part of the most exciting avia tion experience a person can be a part of, and it all happened at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009. In an attempt to quantify the success of AirVenture 2009, al low me to share some preliminary numbers relevant to this year's fly in and convention. Attendance was up 12 percent over last year, with a total of S 78,000 guests. Show planes in attendance totaled 2,662. And the number of campers on the grounds was approximately 41,000. The excitement of AirVenture 2009 was rounded out by enter

tainment provided by the Doobie Brothers and by an appearance of the puppet master/comedian Jeff Dunham and his sidekick Guitar Guy. Thousands of our guests at Air Venture were in attendance at these very special shows . Wow! You guys are all dynamite performers, and your efforts were greatly appreci ated by all in attendance. The Vin tage parking area experienced an other year of wide-ranging aircraft. The barnstormer's tour brought in nine fine examples of the barn storming era, not to mention Clay "Pork Chop" Adams' beautifully restored motorized couch, racing stripe and all. Yeah, you heard me right. You cou ld see Clay motoring around the campground nearly ev ery night of the convention on this crazy contraption, ridesharing and having a ton of fun. I got my ride! Thanks, Clay, it was a hoot. You guys are awesome. We were also honored to host the Cessna 172 that Johnny Carson flew when he took flight lessons. And the most critically important element I can provide you with is the fact that AirVenture 2009 was an extremely safe event! This of course is a real tribute to the fine work of all our volunteer flightline staff and the FAA controllers; you folks are all very much appreciated. As I normally do in the August Straight & Level, it is my great pleasure to announce the 2009 re continued on page 38

N E

VOL. 37, NO.9

2009

TEMBER

CONTE NTS I Fe

Straight & Level AirVenture 2009 proved to be not only an awesome event, but also a wildly successful one! by Geoff Robison

News

EAA AirVenture 2009 Awards

Yah, Dat Be a Swedish Ahrplane

Lars de Jounge's Saab Safir

by Budd Davisson

Lucky Lady-One Simply Splendid Stearman Brought to you by the restorer and the reluctan t pilot by Sparky Barnes Sargent

It Does Matter

The mission is simple

by Brian Kissinger

Light Plane Heritage

The Driggs Dart I

by Jack McRae

26 28

Friends of the Red Barn Thank You The Vintage Mechanic Breaking in a radial engine by Robert G. Lock

The Vintage Instructor Whose Rules by Doug Stewart

STAFF

EAA Publisher Tom Poberezny Director of EAA Publications Mary Jones Executive Director/Editor H.G. Frautschy Kath leen Witman Production/Special Project Jim Koepn ick Photography Bonnie Kratz Sue Anderson Advertising Coordinator Classified Ad Coordinator Lesley Poberezny Copy Editor Colleen Walsh Director of Advertising

Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy

Katrina Bradshaw

Display Advertising Representatives: Specialized Publications Co. U.S. Eastern Time Zone·Northeast: Ken Ross

Classified Ads

COVERS FRONT COVER: Lars De Jounge has always had a knack for finding wonderful unusual aircraft, and his 1961 Saab Safir certainly fits that bill. Read more about the Safir in Budd Davisson 's article starting on page 6 . EAA photo by Bonnie Kratz. BACK COVER: Jeanne Reed fties it, Pete Reed restored it-their 1943 Boeing Stear man N2S-5 is one beautifully customized biplane, powered by a 300-hp Lycoming wrapped in a Beech AT-l0 cowl. The Reeds , who make their home in Florida , worked together to make it possible to keep flying after Pete lost his medical certificate . Read about thei r solution in Sparky Barnes Sargent's article , which begins on page 12. EAA photo by Jim Koepnick.

609·822·3750 Fax: 609·957·5650 kr40@comcast.net U.S. Eastern Time Zone·Southeast: Chester Baumgartner 727·532·4640 Fax: 727·532·4630

cballmlll@milldspring.com U.S. Central Time Zone: Gary Worden 800·444·9932 Fax: 816·741·6458

gary.worden@Spc·mag.com U.S. Mountain and Pacific Time Zones: John Gibson 916·784·9593 Fax: 510·217·3796

johngibson@spc·mag.com Europe: Willi Tacke Phone: +49(0)1716980871 Fax: +49(0)8841 / 496012

willi@(lying·pages.com

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

EAA Receives Approval From FAA for Vintage DERs By David Sakrison, EAA AirVenture Today EAA's Vintage Aircraft Asso ciation (VAA) and the FAA an nounced Wednesday, July 29, that two years of effort resulted in the approval of a new FAA program to authorize designated engineer ing representatives for vintage air craft-"vintage DERs." The new VDER designation should help reduce the cost and complexity of obtaining engineer ing approvals for vintage aircraft. DERs essentially are engineers for-hire, recognized by the FAA for their knowledge of a particular aircraft system-engines, electri cal, structural. The vintage DER (VDER) addition to the designated engineering representative pro gram covers the following: • Once appointed the author ity, the VDER program authorizes a VDER to approve data for only the types of repairs and alterations to vintage airplanes and/or engines that would be eligible for FAA field approvals under FAA Order 8900.l. .The intent of this authority is to allow individuals who don't meet the conventional DER ap pointment criteria to become VDERs with limited approval au thority in multiple technical specialties for repairs and/or altera tions of specific makes of vintage airplanes and/or engines. • The VDER appointment au thority covers vintage airplanes cer tificated under CAR 3 or an earlier certification basis as well as those manufactured before 1973 that meet all the following parameters: • Single engine • Maximum of five places • Maximum of 7,000 pounds gross takeoff weight • Nonpressurized • Noncomposite metallic or wood primary structure 2

SEPTEMBER 2009

• Note: Vintage engines include all radial engines and all other piston engines manufactured before 1973. DERs playa crucial role in keep ing aircraft flying. When a vintage airplane needs a major repair, a field modification, or a newly fab ricated part to replace an original part, the DER is the one who ap proves the engineering data, certi fying that the data are consistent with or superior to the original. But vintage aircraft present a special challenge . A DER is typi cally limited to issuing approvals on a particular system or structure. "If you want to hang a 90-horse engine on a plane that left the factory with 6S horses," VAA Ex ecutive Director H.G. Frautschy ex plained, "you might have to hire three DERs to get the engineering approvals-an airframe DER, an engine DER, and a propeller DER," he said . "The cost of hiring those DERs can be prohibitive." Under the new program, the FAA will begin designating a "new breed" of DERs-vintage DERs whose demonstrated expertise cov

ers an entire vintage airplane. They will have "holistic" authority to approve engineering data on any system or structure on a specific aircraft. The VDER's authority will be limited , however, to one make of aircraft, though a single VDER could apply for and receive sepa rate VDER designations for multi ple aircraft. "This is going to really help peo ple with small, older airplanes," Frautschy said. The people who have the exper tise on these airplanes are in the type clubs, and their expertise is broader and more comprehensive than a single system or structure . "It makes sense," he added, "for the FAA to tap that expertise to assist owners and the FAA." FAA Small Airplane Directorate Manager Kim Smith told Frautschy, "We're excited [about VDERs] for two reasons: The vintage airplanes [at AirVenture] are beautiful, and it's exciting to help them to stay safe and airworthy. And this is a great example of the aviation com munity approaching us with an

2009 VAA Hall of Fame Inductee-Steve Pitcairn The individual selected by the VAA board of directors to be honored with induction into the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame in 2009 is the late Steve Pitcairn. The son of aviation pioneer Harold Pitcairn, Steve worked tirelessly to honor his father's legacy . He dedicated his personal resources not only to the restoration of vintage aircraft produced by his father's com pany, but also to the preservation of the history of the first half of the avi ation century. Steve will be inducted during the annual EAA Hall of Fame dinner, which will be held October 16, 2009, in EAA's Eagle Hangar. Tickets to this public event are available by con tacting EAA's development depart ment at 920-426-6886.

id ea that m akes sense-t ha t we hadn't thought of. ''It shows what can happen when you work together toward a common goal." Dave Swartz, of t he Anchorage Aircraft Certification Office, was instrumental in getting the VDER program approved and has been tasked with overseeing VDER im plementation. He and Smith out lined plans for implemen ting t h e program at the FAA. Smith told Frau tschy, "You can get the word out to your members a lot faster than we can communi cate with ours. If [applicants] work with us through VAA, that will help smooth out some of the bumps." Frautschy and Smit h agreed that people who want to apply for VDER certification should contact the Vintage Aircraft Association be fore submitting their applications to the appropriate aircraft certifica tion office . In the days fo llowin g the announcement, the VAA re ceived nearly a dozen inquiries. "We can help th em submit the application, and we' ll work wi t h [the FAA's Smith and Swartz] t o get it into the right channels," Frautschy said. EAA an d the VAA are willi n g to help VDER applicants through the process by reviewing their ap plication materials prior t o their submittal to the FAA. As this issue of Vintage Airplane was being com pleted, Randy Hansen, EAA's gov ernment relations director, was in the process of finalizing a check list that can be used by members who wish to apply to become a VDER. For those who already hold a DER designation from the FAA, the checklist can help t h em cre ate an addendum to add th e VDER for the specific make of aircraft for which they wish to become a VDER. Please visit VAA's website at www. VintageAirCTaft.org for a link to the checklist. EAA and the VAA will not be approving or disapproving any applications. We're not the ap proving authority; the FAA oversees the program.

The VAA will also be keeping a list of those members who are approved VDERs, and we will be posting that list on the VAA website as th ose ap provals are made by the FAA.

Vintage Area Popular During EAA AirVenture 2009 More than 800 showplanes in the Vintage judging categories were parked as far south as Row 153 this year. In fu ture iss ues, we'll have plenty of coverage of this year's fly-

in in Vintage Airplane and Vintage Aircraft On line. The new Vintage Hangar was ent hu siastically re ceived by th e type club and work shop folks, and the first year of Vintage Aircraft in Review on the as phalt pad in front of the VAA head quarters area was also mentioned as one of the h ighlights by many of our visitors and members. Check th e awards list starting on page 4, and look for more to come on the event in the next few months .......

Ted Koston 1923-2009 Famed aviation photographer Ted Costopoulos (aka Kos ton) of Melrose Park, Illinois, passed away Saturday, August 2, at the age of 86. Ted loved aviation and managed to get involved in as m any facets of it as he could . Over the past four decades, Ted has blessed EAA with his services as a vol unteer photographer. Starting in the 1960s he shot some of the most famous images of EAA and VAA members and their aircraft. He continued to contribute to Vintage Airplane on a Ted Koston in a familiar regular basis, and our archive of images shot by Ted over the years will always be a valued resource. Ted's photography has pose to many longtime EAAers- behind the been published in EAA publications and all over the world. viewfinder of aGraflex For his broad dedication to the world of vintage airplanes and the people who fly them, he was inducted into the EAA camera. Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame in 2001. Koston's first flight, made in 1937, was in a Kin ner-powered Bird CK biplane. Ted 's lifelong fascina tion with photography blossomed, and he was soon shooting aircraft on a regular bas is. During World War II, he served as a naval aviation photographer aboard the aircraft carrier USS St. Lo (ex-USS M id way) . His naval service also included a stint perform ing reconnaissance photography in the Marshall Islands and Guam. Returning to Chicago after World War II, he opened his own photography stud io and immediately got busy on a number of civilian avia tion fronts. He served as: .President of the Illinois Air Pilots Association. Fellow aviation photographer .One of the founding fathers of U.S. Coast Guard Eric Lundahl captured Ted with Auxiliary Aviation Flotilla 3-8 at Glenview, Illinois. afew of his favorite cameras in .A mem ber of the O'Hare Senior Squadron of the front of the VAA Red Barn, an Civil Air Patrol; he was named the Civial Aie Patrol 's area of the EAA fly-in he docu Outstanding Information Officer in 1964. mented for decades. .Director of the Cross and Cockade Midwest Chapter of World War I Aero Historians. .President of t he Illinois Wing of the OX-S Aviation Pioneers and Historians. In 1994 he was honored by the national OX-S organization during its annual con vention when he was presented with its Aviation Historian of the Year award. In recognition of his dedication to antique airplanes, he was made an honor ary lifetime member of the Midwest Antique Airplane Club in 1972. He's number 3-Dale Crites and Paul Poberezny are numbers 1 and 2, respectively. Ted was inducted in the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame in 1994. VINTAGE A I RPLANE

ANTIQUE AWARDS (THROUGH AUGUST 1945)

Transport Category Champion-Bronze Lindy

Antique Continuously Maintained Aircraft

Robert Penny, Versailles, Missouri 1944 Cessna T-50, N30F

Dean Del Bene, Monee, Illinois 1937 Stinson SR-9C, NC18407

World War II Military Trainer/Liaison Aircraft Outstanding Jay Rud & Pete Nelson, Sandwich, Illinois 1942 Boeing A75N1 (PT-17l, N59223

Customized Aircraft Outstanding Jim Head, Galena, Ohio 1943 Boeing A75, N450BB

Customized Aircraft Champion-Bronze Lindy Jerry & Vivian May, Kearney, Nebraska 1936 Rearwin Sportster, N16473

World War II Era (7942-1945) Champion-Bronze Lindy Kurt Bromschwig, Bloomington, Minnesota 1945 Beech D17S, N51121

Bronze Age (7931-1941) Champion-Bronze Lindy Customized Aircraft Runner-Up Paul Fries, Wheeling, Illinois 1943 Boeing B75N1, N347KF

Mark McGowan & Ken Kreutzfeld, Plymouth, Michigan 1940 Taylorcraft BC-65, NC24371

Silver Age (1928-1936) Champion-Bronze Lindy World War II Era (1942-1945) Runner-Up Ted Davis, Brodhead, Wisconsin 1941 White New Standard D-25A, N7286

Larry Howard, Green Acres, Washington 1930 Laird LC- 1B-300, NC1 0402

Antique Reserve Grand Champion-Silver Lindy Bronze Age (1937-1947) Outstanding Closed-Cockpit Monoplane James Lange, Brookfield, Wisconsin 1941 Taylorcraft BC12-65, N33951

Jack Tiffany & Jim Hammond, Spring Valley, Ohio 1932 Pitcairn Autogiro PA- 18, NC1267B

Antique Grand Champion-Gold Lindy Bronze Age (1937-1941) Outstanding Closed-Cockpit Biplane Ron & Mark Morrison, Bloomingdale, Illinois 1938 Beech F17D, NC18781

Joseph Kaminskas, Biglerville, Pennsylvania 1930Waco RNF, NC859V

CLASSIC AWARDS (SEPTEMBER 1945 THROUGH 1955)

Bronze Age (1937-1941) Runner-Up

Outstanding Aeronca Champ-Small Plaque

Jack & Carol Vautin, Thousand Oaks, California 1939 Piper J-3C-65, NC23266

Steve Krueger, Merrill, Wisconsin 1946 Aeronca 7 AC, N83355

Silver Age (7928-7936) Outstanding Closed-Cockpit Biplane

Outstanding Aeronca Other-Small Plaque

John Patterson, Frankfort, Kentucky 1934 Waco YKC, N 14047

Michael Hoag, Three Rivers, Michigan 1949 Aeronca 15AC, N1 01 OH

Silver Age (7928- 7936) Outstanding Open-Cockpit Biplane

Outstanding Beech-Small Plaque

Clay Adams, Rosemount, Minnesota 1929 Curtiss Wright Travel-Air E-4000, N397M

Shawn Jennings, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin 1948 Beech A35, N660B

Silver Age (1928- 7936) Runner-Up

Outstanding Cessna 120/140-Small Plaque

Dennis Guentzel, Faribault, Minnesota 1929 Waco ATO Taperwing, NC8565

Richard Poppe, Waterloo, Iowa 1947 Cessna 140, N4062N

Replica Aircraft Champion-Bronze Lindy

Outstanding Cessna 110/180-Small Plaque

Thomas Wathen, Santa Barbara, California 1993 de Havilland Comet DH.88, NX88XD

Bela Havasreti, Kent, Washington 1954 Cessna 180, N2417C

SEPTEMBER 2009

Outstanding Cessna 190/195-Smal/ Plaque

Reserve Grand Champion-Silver Lindy

Arnold Peckar, Boulder, Colorado 1947 Cessna 195, N4331N

Donal Halloran, Dodgeville, Wisconsin 1948 Piper PA- 15, N4469H

Outstanding Navion-Smal/ Plaque

Grand Champion-Gold Lindy

Alan Sickinger, New Philadelphia, Ohio 1947 North American Navion A, N285TC

Charles & Robert Parish, Tullahoma, Tennessee 1952 Beech D18S, N4477

Outstanding Piper J-3-Smal/ Plaque Clarence Easley, Pleasanton, Kansas 1946 Piper J-3C-65, N92446

Outstanding Piper Other-Small Plaque

CONTEMPORARY AWARDS (1956- 1970) Outstanding Beech Single Engine-Outstanding In Type Kevin O'Halloran, Cordell, Oklahoma 1960 Beech 35-B33, N638V

Steven Johnson, Boise, Idaho 1954 Piper PA-18-135, N9967Q

Outstanding Bellanca-Outstanding In Type

Outstanding Stinson-Small Plaque

Gail & Steve Jones, Wadsworth, Illinois 1965 Bellanca 14-19-3, N8506R

Shawn Haring, Lincoln, Kansas 1948 Stinson 108-3, NC6010M

Outstanding Cessna ISO-Outstanding In Type

Outstanding Swift-Small Plaque

Kevin & Becky English, Deerfield, Wisconsin 1959 Cessna 150, N5978E

John Renwick, Minneap<;>lis, Minnesota '1950Temco GC-1 B,N2431 B

Outstanding Cessna 170/172/175-0utstanding In Type

Outstanding Limited Production-Small Plaque

Frederick Bradford, Fort Worth, Texas 1967 Cessna 172H, N2722L

David Smith, Milaca, Minnesota 1954 Meyers MAC-145, N551

Outstanding Cessna 180/182/21 O-Outstanding In Type

Preservation-Small Plaque

Robert Moreland, Byron, Illinois 1957 Cessna 180A, N5224D

Ronald Busch, Cedarburg, Wisconsin 1947 Aeronca 11 BC, N3923E

Outstanding Cessna 31 a-Outstanding In Type

Custom Class B (87 - 750 hpj-Smail Plaque

Gary Hess, Dexter, Michigan 1968 Cessna 31 ON, N5063Q

Joseph Leslie, Abbotsford, British Columbia 1946 Fleet Canuck, CF-EAU

Outstanding Champion-Outstanding In Type

Custom Class C (151-235 hpj-Smail Plaque

James Bunner, Belleville, West Virginia 1958 Champion Aeronca 7FC, N7543E

Marvin Homsley, Maumee, Ohio 1946 Globe GC-1 B, N61 PK

Outstanding Mooney-Outstanding In Type

Custom Class 0 (236+ hpj-Smail Plaque

Lawrence Freer, Burien, Washington 1964 Mooney M20E, N93GG

Mike Barron, Perry, Misso uri 1944 Beech C-45H, N241t>

Best Custom Runner-Up-Large Plaque Peter Kerwin, Naperville, Illinois 1946 Piper PA-12, NC2755M

Outstanding Piper PA-24/30 Comanche-Outstanding In Type Garry Bernardo, Lakeworth, Florida 1964 Piper PA-30, N7409Y

Outstanding Piper PA-28 Cherokee-Outstanding In Type Class I (0-80 hpj-Bronze Lindy Raymond Cook, Spring Grove, Illinois 1946 Piper J-3C-65, N70971

William Seiter & Bob Brundage, Crystal, Michigan 1966 Piper PA-28-180, N9329J

Outstanding Limited Production-Outstanding In Type Class /I (87 -150 hpj-Bronze Lindy Lindy and Allison Whittlesey, Coto de Caza, California 1950 Cessna 140, N5625C

Ross Warner, Benton Harbor, Michigan 1966 Meyers 200D, N2988T

Most Unique-Outstanding In Type Class IV (236+ hpj-Bronze Lindy Robert Schjerven, Highland Village, Texas 1949 Cessna 195, N3435V

Brandon Haines, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1968 Aero Commander 100, N4129X

Preservation Award-Outstanding In Type Best Custom-Bronze Lindy Jeffrey Huntoon, Cape El izabeth, Maine 1947 Aeronca 7BCM, N94578

James Rollison, Vacaville, California 1960 Cessna 310, N6817T

continued on page 33 VINTAGE AIRPLANE

The Safir features a swing-open canopy (complete with curtains!) for easy access to the cockpit and baggage area.

"I had started learning in 1947," Lars remembers, "and was flying Kl emms, which had been part of the Swedish air force and before that had been used by the German Luft waffe as trainers. During each of my vacations from the mines, I flew the Klemms as much as I could. So, I guess I have a soft spot for the air plane because that's where I first learned to fly." His career took him all over the world, including a sojourn in India, where his wife began taking lessons in Cubs, but the bug didn 't bite her as hard as it had Lars. "She never so loed, but didn't mind if I spent time and money at it myself." A trait that appears constant throughout his career is keeping an eye open for aircraft he would like to own, buying them, then storing them until the day he could actively work on them. "In 1962 I found a Klemm that actually had a runnable engine, but it had been sitting outside and had a lot of rotting plywood. I finally de cided it would be too hard for me to restore, so I put it in storage. Then, in 1972, I bought a Tiger Moth proj ect, which was in better condition, Right: Maintainability is the

watchword for the Saab's design,

particularly for the engine.

SEPTEMBER 2009

Thanks to the aerobatic capabilities of the Saab Safir, the seats feature full aer obatic harnesses.

The cockpit of the Saab has a portable Garmin 296 GPS mounted on the panel. On the far right is an Aresti chart of one of Lars' aerobatic routines flown in the Sportsman category with the Saab. and stored that in Stockholm." It sounds as if he was stocking up on projects for his retirement, doesn't it? He was. "In 1976, I moved to the U.S., and while I was working on the Moth, a gentleman who was restoring a Stieglitz read about the Klemm and wanted to be a partner. He'd restore it for part ownership. That sounded like a good deal, but 12 years later, when it still wasn't done, I bought

him out and finished it. I flew it to Oshkosh, but then sold it to a gen tleman in England, and it is now in the Shuttleworth Collection." Throughout all of his traveling and adventurous aircraft projects, one of Sweden's own products, the Saab Model 91 Safir, had been flitting around the edges of his conscious ness. It was, as opposed to his other airplanes, an eminently usable air plane and combined cross-country

utility with aerobatic capabilities. "At one point an old classmate bought the last flying A model Safir in Denmark. The airplane had been damaged when the gear collapsed, and he bought it sight unseen. I had first rights to buy it, if he ever sold it. But that didn't work out, so I kept looking." After Lars moved to California he began to hear about a Safir that might be located in the San Fran cisco area, and after tracking down leads he did, indeed, find a late model Safir, a 91D disassembled in storage. It was one of the last 20 pro duced for a Dutch flying school. But it wasn't for sale. Although the air plane had been sitting for several years, it was one of those "I'm going to get it flying one of these days" airplanes that owners just can't bring themselves to part with. Lars, however, is nothing if not persis tent, as his restoration of the Klemm indicated. That was 1986, and even though he moved several times, he never gave up, and the owner be came accustomed to hearing from him . Finally, in 2002, 16 years af ter he made his first offer on the air plane, the owner relented and sold it to him. Of course, during those 16 years, the airplane, which was sit ting outside, had deteriorated con Siderably. He dismantled it and had it trucked to his home outside Vero Beach, Florida, in January of 2003. "The engine only had 50 hours on it," Lars says, "but the overhaul had been done in 1983, just before it was ferried to San Jose and put in storage. So, I was still going to have to at least have it opened up and gone through. We did a complete overhaul on it, just to be sure." The airframe had the problems you'd expect for an airplane that had sat around in the weather for that long. It wasn't pretty. "The airframe is all aluminum, but the wings are covered with fab ric from the main spar back, and the control surfaces are all fabric. All of the fabric, naturally, was in tatters, and we were almost afraid to look inside for fear of how much corroVINTAGE AIRPLANE

The Saab Safire 91 In 1944, when it appeared the war was going to end favorably, Saab de cided it was time to think past the conflict to its future in the postwar avia tion world. It concentrated its efforts on a three-seat aircraft to be used for training, touring, and liaison work. If the outlines of the airplane remind you of something, think back to the German Bucker Bestmann. It looks similar because it was designed by A.J. Andersson, who was chief designer for Bucker and was responsible for the design of the Bestmann. . . The prototype flew in November of 1945 with a 147-hp Gypsy Major In the nose (Model 91 A). Several years later, Saab introduced the 91 Band 91 C (four-place with the fuselage tank relocated into the wings) powered by the six-cylinder 190-hp 0 -435 Lycoming. Production was also undertaken in the Netherlands because Saab was overloaded with military contracts. Then the final variant was the 91 D with a tried and true 180 Lycoming dragging it around. The last one rolled off the line in 1962 with a total of 323 built and sold to 23 countries. Approximately 75 are known to still be flying, with Lars' airplane being the only airworthy version in the United States.

Througho

sian we'd find. However, it was all good news, as we found no corro sion of any significance. "When it came to the fabric, I was really fortunate in having William Kaser as a next-door neighbor. Be fore I even bought my house I talked to him about helping me because he had restored a number of Stearmans and really knew how to do fabric. He was a lifesaver on this project. The same thing goes for Pattie Da vis, who did the upholstery in the same black leather as the original." It doesn't take much imagination to picture what nearly two decades sitting out in the California sun would do to those parts of the air frame that are bound to take a beat ing in that kind of situation.

all

f his trav ling ld adv nturou craft projects, e of Swed n's

wn product, Saab Model

Sdfir, hdd been ttlng around

edg~s SCI

of his

snesc;.

Right: The curtains aren't just for decoration; they serve a practical purpose in blocking out the sun so one doesn't bake in the bubble canopy. Many homebuilders have adopted similar arrangements for the RV series of airplanes. 10 SEPTEMBER 2009

e cowling the 180-hp Lycoming has its outlets for the cooling air on the side. The amount of deflection for the side vents can be adjusted on the ground.

Lars de Jounge and a few of the tools needed for his Klemm 35, which he flew to EAA Oshkosh 1993.

"The Plexiglas, especially the side windows, was bad, so we had to re place those. Surprisingly, some of the formed pieces up front were usable, but the interior, especially the back seats, was seriously sun-damaged. "We went through everyone of the systems, making certain every thing was in perfect shape, which for the most part it was. The con

trol system, which uses ball bear ings and roller bearings exclusively, only required several bearings be re placed, and even those were stan dard bearings. The same thing was true of the landing gear, which is mechanical and spring-loaded like an old Mooney: It took only clean ing up and painting. We did, how ever, replace the Goodyear brakes with more modern Cleveland units, which made them much more reli able and easier to maintain." The original bladder tanks did the normal thing that happens when they sit empty for a decade or two and died. "We removed the bladders and sent them out to be duplicated, and they fit and work perfectly. However, even though they are supposed to hold 22 gallons, I've never been able to get more than 20 gallons in each. "The paint was still doing a good job of protecting the metal, but that was about it. We stripped every bit of it off and put it back into the scheme it had when first delivered to the flying school. Since I have a Dutch name, I put that on as pilot. I felt as if it fit." He got the airplane flying in April of 2007, just in time to convince himself that he'd made the right de

"It's a great flying airplane. All of the controls are in ball bearings, so they are smooth and wonder fully effective. It's comfortable on cross-countries, and I flight plan 107 knots, which is slower than it should be. It should do 110 knots. It has ground-adjustable cooling flaps in the cowling, and I have them set to the Wide-open, high-drag position. I think, if I were to adjust those, I'd pick up some speed. "I love doing aerobatics in it. It's approved for everything except snap rolls and inverted spins. I fly the Sportsman sequence in it all the time, and it does it as well as any other aerobatic airplane." Think of the concept of a four place touring airplane mixed in with Extras and Pitts flying in a con test. You just have to love it! So, now that all of the airplane projects that have followed him home are finished, what's next for Lars de lounge? "What's next?" Lars says. "I'm planning on flying both the Safir and the Tiger Moth as much as I pos Sibly can and enjoy my retirement." The sounds like a worthwhile project to us. ...... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

he sunny Lakeland sky and vintage flightline provided a cheerful backdrop for Pete and Jeanne Reed's Stearman, splendidly poised in its quietly stated elegance. Dressed in Moss Green and Sun Valley Ivory, Lucky Lady is adorned with accessories including a smooth engine cowl, pol ished spinner, and wheelpants. Born in 1943 as a Boeing Stearman N2S-5, this biplane eventually found its way to Central America, before returning to the United States in disrepair.

From the Ground Up It took Pete Reed 3,000 hours to complete the custom restoration- but it was work he knew well from previous experience. He has restored 18 Stear mans with partners and through his business, Reed's Restorations, in Goshen, Ohio. Pete ac quired his airframe and powerplant mechanic cer tificate with inspection authorization and his pilot certificates back when he was in college, and his affinity for Stearmans developed when he started flying them in 1975 . Lucky Lady is the first project the Reeds have owned without a partner; hence the restoration was completed via the "pay as you go" method. Perhaps that's why Pete derived a special satisfac tion from completing this particular Stearman and seeing it fly for the first time. The project endured throughout five years until the biplane received its standard airworthiness certificate. "We started on it in 1990," recalls Pete. "The air plane had been in Venezuela, and at the time was flyable. Somebody decided they were going to try and fly it out. It got to the end of the runway and quit, so they put it in the jungle. A guy purchased six or seven airplanes that were there and brought them to Durham, North Carolina-that's where I picked it up. It was very badly damaged, and the fuselage was all wrinkled." VINTAGE AIRPLANE

§ ~ ~

~ ~

o ~ Q.

With Boeing Stearman drawings in hand, Pete used 4130 steel tub ing to repair the fuselage and tail feathers, then sandblasted and ep oxy primed them. New elevator and rudder hinge bearings were in stalled, and the wings were repaired with Sitka spruce and plywood. He coated the wood with polyurethane and installed fabric on the airframe using the Poly-Fiber process, with an Aerothane topcoat. Selecting the paint scheme was easy. "I had picked out the green early in the project, because there was a Waco that had a paint scheme I really liked. But I couldn't find a cream color to match it, " shares Pete with a smile, "so a friend of ours is an interior designer, and I showed her the color chart. She immediately se lected the Sun Valley Ivory."

Horsepower

With one wing naint~d. Pete continues work on the remaining wings. 14 SEPTEMBER 2009

Pete and Jeanne carefully con sidered whether they wanted to go with a 450-hp Pratt & Whitney en gine and decided instead to use a 300-hp R680-E3B Lycoming. "That turned out to be the ideal engine for the airplane," explains Pete. "It's ba sically the same weight as the 225 hp Lycoming stock engine, so the only additional weight is the con stant-speed prop. It works out really great, and has 75 more horsepower. The 300-hp Lycoming is on the type certificate data sheet and can be in stalled (with a Form 337) using the Mississippi Valley Aircraft Service paperwork. The 300 uses the same engine mount as the 225-you just need to cut the steps off because it has a rear exhaust. And obviously we wanted an electrical system for easy starting, so we added that." With the engine installation un derway, it was time to consider an other modification. "I don't like the 300 hp with the regular sheet metal on it," says Pete, "so I decided I'd sure like to have a cowling for it. I had built cowlings for a 450, so I fig ured it would be real easy to build a cowling on a 300. I launched into that and found an old Beech AT-lO

cowling that I modified, and every thing just worked great." The cowling looked so nice that Pete decided the Stearman needed a set of wheel pants, too, so he pur chased them from Wag-Aero. Even tually, he also installed Redline disc brakes. Pete didn't have trouble with field approvals for the various mod ifications, for a couple of reasons. Jeanne explains, "We have a wonder ful FSDO in Cincinnati that knows his work well. Almost all the Stearmans he restored went from restricted cate gory to standard, so he would layout all this paperwork on a white table cloth in the hangar, and they'd come in and everything was right there. So it's a matter of being prepared and de tailed-and that pays off."

Reluctant Pilot These days, Pete continues to re store and maintain airplanes, while Jeanne is the one who flies them. It wasn't that she had a passion for flying; no, not at all. Jeanne was a very reluctant pilot-but she gath ered her courage into a large bou quet of determination, and felt each bud slowly blossom into a collec tive and resilient inner confidence. Jeanne shares that she and Pete "were into aviation from day one of our marriage, and I really didn't like it. I liked going to the airport and

being with the people, but I didn't want to get in the airplane and fly. I was really afraid because I didn't understand the mechanics of it, and I thought if you throttled back, the engine was going to quit. Then when Pete lost his medical, he was so devastated that I thought, well, maybe I can [learn to fly]." So at age 46, she started taking les sons from an instructor at Bowman Field in Kentucky. It was a tedious and arduous process for Jeanne. Yet her primary motivation-love for her aviator husband-compelled her to embrace and grow beyond her personal boundary of fear. "My instructor was one of these who just wore the airplane," says Jeanne, smiling brightly. "And he knew I was afraid. Every time we'd go up, he'd push me just a little bit fur ther. He'd call me in the morning and say, 'We're going to go out fly ing today because there are cross winds,' and I'd say, 'I'm not going.' He'd say, 'You have to; it'll be fine.' He told me I'd have to land on one wheel, and I said, 'I'm not going to!' Finally when I soloed, I thought, 'Holy cow, I can do this!' But boy, I had to talk to myself every day they made me go up by myself at Bow man Field. I had to convince myself I could do that, and I was just a ner vous wreck-but I did it!" After 60 hours, Jeanne earned

her private. She took her checkride in the Piper J-5 in which she'd been taught and in the examiner's Cita bria, as well. "The day I got my li cense, I was so excited about it," shares Jeanne. "It was probably the biggest accomplishment and the best feeling that I've ever had about any particular thing. It was so unbe lievable to me that I was able to do it and to do a good job. So I flew my J-5 for about 350 hours before we got the Stearman flying."

Cockpit Challenges Now that Jeanne was a pilot, an unforeseen challenge crept into the cockpit. Pete describes it this way: "The problem arose when we start ed flying together, because I was go ing to 'be the pilot' and [tell her how to fly]. That made it more and more difficult for her, and finally we got past that to a certain extent. We'd just have a little discussion after we got back on the ground, and I'd have to apologize, of course. It was tough, and we still have occasional bouts." Smiling, Jeanne reflects, "I was being criticized for things that I thought were right, but it wasn't his way of doing it. I'm a 'by the book' person, and if my instructor told me it had to be done a certain way, that's how I would do it. But a lot of the time Pete was right. So we work VINTAGE AIRPLANE

it out, and he has learned to listen to me, because he finally realized I do know what I'm doing." More than likely, the Reeds aren't the only couple who have experi enced this type of situation. Fortu nately, they've diligently worked through their differences. IIShe's

such a good pilot," says Pete, with a respectful nod to his wife, II and she's proven that she can do it. I don't need to criticize her at all." When it first came time for Jeanne to start flying Lucky Lady af ter Pete had completed the restora tion, Jeanne's original flight instruc

Close-up view of the panel. The engine air intake is flanked by a pair of exhaust stacks . . . . . . protruding from the smooth cowl.

tor came to Ohio and checked her out in it. She was sure he wouldn't make her solo the Stearman the first time they went up ... but that's exact ly what he did. IIWe did several land ings," recalls Jeanne. liThe runway was only 1,800 feet at the time, and our brakes were not Redline brakes. So when he parked, and his seat belts came off, I thought, 'Oh no.' Then I thought, 'Okay, I can do this!' I did two landings, and they worked out fine. Even though I knew I could fly it, I wanted Pete to go up with me for a while-I just had to get comfort able first. I didn't want to get cocky, because that's very dangerous." Jeanne finds that male pilots, IIfor the most part, are so support ive of my flying. There are some that don't like to think that a woman can fly a Stearman, but for the most part, they're so happy for me. It helps that I learned to fly in taildraggers. Also, I play the piano and the organ, so I have the hand-eye coordina tion with my feet, and it was just a natural thing. It clicked right away; I could work the rudder pedals and feel for the ground, and the landings came easily to me. By now, I have over 1,000 hours in taildraggers."

Flying Lucky Lady

LEFT: The baseball-stitched leather covering on the fuselage handle adds a nice custom touch.

RIGHT: The leather coaming for the cockpit is expertly stitched in place with leather lacing cord. 16 SEPTEMBER 2009

The majority of those hours are in the Stearman, which, Jeanne says, is lIalmost easier to fly than thej-S, be cause it's bigger and heavier. It's not as easy to land, because it's squirrel Iy. When you take off, you just wait for it to fly right off-you can take off three-point, but I usually put the stick forward to get the tail up." She flies her down wind around 8S mph and the final at 70 mph. Jeanne was in timidated at first by the hilly strip at Love's Landing in Weirsdale, Florida (their second home). But her fears were soon assuaged when she tried it and discovered that lIit's perfect. You just come

in on the glide slope, touch down at the bottom of the hill, and you still have 1,000 feet of runway left. Most of the time I do three-point landings, and of course Stearmans prefer grass to hard surface, especially if there's any wind. But if there is a wind on a hard surface, I do either a tail-low at titude or a wheel landing." With her cowled 300-hp Lycom ing and slick wheelpants, Lucky Lady will cruise at 110 mph on 16 gph. She has a fuel capacity of 46 gallons, and the Reeds flight plan for two-hour legs. They fly only in good weather, and though they used to fly with just a finger tracing their flight path on a sectional as they peered over the cockpit coaming to the earth passing below their wings, they now have a GPS/corum, transponder, encoder, and a backup GPS in the front cock pit. That's primarily because their home strip in Ohio is just inside Cin cinnati's 30-nautical-mile veil, and the updated equipment gives them more in-flight options.

Psst-Be Involved!

A Word to the Women

Jeanne volunteers at a hospital in Cincinnati, where she and at least a dozen ladies enjoy lunch together when they work. Quite naturally, the ladies heard about her flying the Stear man and were intrigued. So Jeanne invited them all over for lunch, with the promise of showing them the air plane and giving rid~ to those who might want to go up. To her surprise and delight, most of the ladies eagerly stood in line for a ride. "I took eight of them up for a ride, and they still talk about that to this day," laughs Jeanne. She has a heartfelt message, born of personal experience, to convey to women who may be afraid of flying or reluctant to spend time around an airport. "I would think anybody that doesn't participate in flying activities with their hus band is missing a lot-the ladies have as much fun as the men!" she says. "We just have a wonder ful time. Even if they don't want to get their license, if they would take

Jeanne and Pete Reed really enjoy their custom Stearman. The registration number has special significance to the Reeds; 5 is Jeanne's lucky number, and the "P" and "R" are Pete's initials. a pinch-hitter course, it could be so beneficial. Don't be afraid of flying, and don't be afraid to turn the di als on the panel. Don't be afraid to take the stick or the yoke-just do it. Once you do it a few times, it be comes a little more comfortable, and then you're not totally unaware of [how the airplane works]. You nev er know what might happen-and hopefully nothing will-but at least if you can hold the stick while the pilot turns the sectionals, or tunes the radio, that helps. I was too afraid to do that [in the beginning]. So I would encourage the women to be involved. Don't just send the hus bands off to the fly-ins or to the air ports by themselves. The men that have their wives with them are re ally appreciative of the fact they are involved and want to be there." Jeanne's lucky number is 5, hence the registration number of N55PR.

The "PR" is for Pete Reed, and the double 5s are, well, twice as lucky for Jeanne. Hence the biplane'S nick name, Lucky Lady. liThe name fits, because she's brought us luck and has been a good airplane for us," ex plains Jeanne. Indeed, good fortune has smiled upon the Stearman, its restorer, and the reluctant pilot. The threesome have enjoyed more than 800 hours of cross-country and local flights to fly-ins and pancake break fasts. Throughout those years, Lucky Lady has garnered awards including Grand Champion-1996 Biplane Expo in Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Grand Champion-1995 National Stearman Fly-In in Galesburg, Illi nois; and most recently, Outstand ing Customized Aircraft-Antique, at Sun 'n Fun 2009. So if you spot this simply splendid Stearman on the flightline, be sure to say hello to its friendly caretakers. ........ VINTAGE AIRPLANE

IT DOES TTER The mission is simple

BY BRIAN KISSINGER

Step 1: Survive brain cancer. Step 2: Restore a 1942 L-4 Cub, with the help of EAA Chap ter 64, to fulfill the dream of fly ing again. Step 3: Fly the L-4 across the country. Step 4 : Continue to dream, enjoy life, fly, and remember ... there are no ordinary moments in life, and what you do every minute does matter. The horrific thunderstorm has passed and the smell in the air is now fresh and clear. It's reminiscent of copper and iron, like a handful of pennies or blood flowing from a fresh cut. In this war, however, too much blood has already been spilled. Too many lives were lost that could have perhaps been saved ... if only. But I can't think about that now. The sky is clear, and I must focus on the mission at hand. I finish the last few sips of my coffee and head out to the airplane. Suddenly, my stomach is uneasy. Is it the strong black coffee or the excite ment over being back in the air after such a delay? Or, is it that the mon ster I know is out there waiting for me? It's a monster I have been fight ing for four years now. More than likely it's a mixture of all three. I only know that today I have to fly. I need to get back in the air ... back to the one place where there are no signs and no restraints on what I can do. The sky is the one place where I am free, if only for one more 18

SEPTEMBER 2009

flight, before it is all taken away from me to end in death. Today people are counting on me to lead the way .. . not to victory, but to hope. Together, we create one more day of hope that someday soon, we will be victorious. There is no time to waste. My 1942 L-4 Piper Cub is pulled from her hangar. It's my pride and joy dubbed Miss P, after my wife, Priscilla, and for perseverance, two forces that help me get through day after day. After a quick preflight I straddle the right-front tire, hold on firmly to the inside of the cockpit, and reach out to throw the propeller down with one quick arm motion. The finely tuned engine leaps to life with a roar. Miss P seems as eager as I am to get back in the air. With the prop blast blowing on me I start to hop in the front seat of the Cub. I pause, look back, and smile at my ob server who is already strapped in the back seat. We are ready to go.

Fifteen minutes later, as we circle over a German castle, I can't believe I'm actually fighting in a war. It's so peaceful now, so serene. My observer and I enjoy the view for a moment. Then it hits me. People are dying. Dying for no good reason. Dying from a hideous enemy that has no soul. An enemy that doesn't care if its victim is a man, woman, or child. It simply attacks ev eryone in its path without regard. As Gen . William Sherman first said, "War is hell./I I have to say I wholeheartedly agree. Fighting brain tumors and can cer is hell, yet this is the war I am fighting. Cancer is a hideous, soulless monster that kills randomly, without regard to socio-economic status, sex, age, or any other demographic. The flight described above actu ally occurred during my Brain's Flight 2007 tour on a stop in Burnet (pro nounced BERN-it), Texas. While we weren't fighting in the European the

Brian Kissinger's L-4 is named Miss P after his wife, Priscilla, and for perseverance, the two forces that helped him get through each day.

ater in World War II, we did fly my freshly restored 1942 L-4 Cub over a German castle built in the Texas hill country near Burnet. The castle is called Falkenstein. Every day on my three-week tour I knew I was flying and fighting for others with brain tumors and cancer. My mission was simple ... raise aware ness and money for brain tumor and cancer research. I was thankful every day for the opportunity to have one more flight, and for being cancer free. I slept well each night and awoke with a smile on my face every morn ing, knowing I was headed to the air port to do it all over again. It was the best of times barnstorming against cancer and brain tumors-an experi ence both uplifting and life-growing. I'd like to share my experience with you. So please, jump in the plane and join me, as I relive a little of the story about how we restored Miss P for my flight to fight the war against cancer.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! -Gomer Pyle You have brain cancer. Those are

four words no one wants to hear. I heard them from my doctor in 2003. At the time I was stationed at Scott Air Force Base near St. Louis, but my fam ily was still packing up our house near Charleston, South Carolina. I had to tell my wife, Priscilla, the grim news over the phone. After undergoing

brain surgery to remove the primary tumor, followed by 20 months of che motherapy, it appears that the cancer is now in remission. While it was not easy getting through the cancer, I fared better than many other people fighting this hideous disease. I survived the surgery with no major complications and did not need any post-surgery physical or occupational therapy to regain my strength or coordination like many people do. I made a promise to my self, and to the big guy upstairs, that if I survived I would not waste the gift of life and would do something to help others dealing with cancer and brain tumors. But what? I knew I wanted to get back into flying. To some people it might sound crazy that a guy with brain cancer wanted to fly again, but flying has been a part of my life since I was a young boy. The first thing I ever wanted to be was a pilot. When my neurosurgeon pronounced my morbid diagnosis, I immediately asked if I would be able to fly again. He seemed shocked and said that was the least of my worries, but I never lost hope. Instead, I gave my stage II oligoden droglioma tumor a derogatory nick name (one I can't publish in this fine magazine) and decided it was either the tumor or me. The tumor didn't stand a chance. It simply chose the wrong

body to invade. I declared war, deter mined to eliminate my foe's existence. To put it plainly, the surgery sucked. Chemotherapy was not much better. My family, friends, and co workers were incredibly supportive. With their help I made it through the pain, negative feelings, sleep less nights, and other obstacles. I also knew that somewhere, no mat ter how terrible I felt, someone had it worse. Someone was losing her battle against this disease. I tried to focus on hobbies other than flying, since I was grounded un til I fully recovered. Even in the midst of chemo my body remained rela tively strong, so I started training for another marathon. In the past I had been a runner. I decided to put my physical strength to the test, at the same time doing what I could to help my cause. I raised a few thousand dol lars for brain tumor and cancer re search with the help of several friends and family members. Completing the marathon on the one-year anniversary of my sur gery was a rewarding experience, but it wasn't flying. The brain sur geon hadn't cut out the part of me that held my strong love of aviation. He couldn't because it resides deep in my heart and in my soul. Keeping my sights set on getting back into the cockpit helped me make it through my chemo. As soon as my treatments were done I moved back into flying as safely (and quickly) as possible.

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters." -Epictetus I regained my currency and bought a beautiful 1946 Luscombe from a gentleman in California. I then loosely put together my concept of Brain's Flight, which would start with either building or restoring an aircraft I could fly across the country to raise awareness and money for cancer and brain tumor research. It was just crazy enough to work. The "brain" in Brain's Flight may seem obvious, but the story goes back to a time long before I heard the words, "You have brain cancer." In VINTAGE AIRPLANE

the 1990s I served over seas in the Air Force as a navigator and electronic warfare officer with the 1st Special Operations Squadron. During a stop in Korea I ordered base ball caps embroidered with our names. Mine was misspelled B-R-A-I-N instead of Brian. Despite my objections, which usu ally make things worse when you're around a bunch of crew dogs, the name stuck. Little did I know how prophetic the name would become. Since I was flying for those with can cer and brain tumors, I thought it natural to use myoId crew moniker Brain instead of Brian for the flight. Shortly after I began formulat ing my plan, I found an almost abandoned 1942 L-4 Cub project at my local airport. It was as if this air craft had been waiting for me just as much as I had been looking for her. To non-fliers or restorers this may seem strange, but I feel that aero space vehicles are incredible ma chines with special characteristics unlike any land-based vehicle. Sim ply put ... they fly! They take their occupants into the atmosphere and to places not everyone gets to see. The L-4 project became my pas sion, my obsession, over the next seven months. With the help of sev eral members of my EAA Chapter 64 and one person in particular, fel low pilot and cancer survivor Todd Drenkhahn, we finished the project in efficient order, and I took off on my charity flight on June 1, 2007. The next three weeks flying across the country were some of the best days of my life. For me, an avid pilot since my teenage years, to know that I was going to wake up every day and go to the airport to fly the airplane I re stored was like living in a dream. And to do it for such a wonderful cause made it even better.

Restoration The 1942 L-4 Cub I currently own, though I prefer to think of myself as the caretaker of a rare piece of history, 20

SEPTEMBER 2009

was produced by the Piper factory in the summer of 1942 and delivered to the U.S. Army in August 1942. It was brought on the books after the fiscal year (October 1) and given the se rial number 43-570. The L-4 is a mili tary version of a J-3 Cub that, with few modifications, was painted ol ive drab and sent off to war. My L-4 Cub served its war years at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, helping to train Army Air Corps pilots and observers to di rect artillery. She later served with the South Carolina Civil Air Patrol before being sold to a private individual in the 1950s. The old Army Cub even tually made it to Marvin Campbell, the fixed base operator owner at the Sparta, Illinois, airport where it suf fered severe damage from a bad go around attempt that ended with the Cub flipping over in a ditch. I first saw the dust-covered, ol ive drab Cub in the back of the large maintenance hangar at the Sparta airport. It was love at first sight. The restoration had stalled years before, and now cobwebs and dust were her only friends. I was immediately drawn to the L-4, and as I first looked at her I imagined the stories the old bird would tell if she could only talk. The airframe had been repaired and the fabric work was mostly complete. However, there was no glass in the air craft, no panel, and no engine ready to fire up. Most of the parts to finish the aircraft were there, somewhere, in the large hangar scattered amongst several other airplanes and parts. Knowing that I intended to re store this aircraft for charitable pur poses, Marvin graciously allowed me to first buy a partnership in the L-4 before buying the aircraft outright a

year later. As an airframe and powerplant mechanic with inspection authori zation (A&P/IA), Marvin also supervised most of the work on the aircraft. Together with Marvin , Todd, several members of my local EAA Chapter 64, and other generous folks, we finished the restora tion in seven months of weekends and evenings. As with any project one of the first things you need to do is to put to gether a plan and an inventory, which I did. Then it's all about executing the plan with dogged determination and not letting the inevitable, albeit fig urative, brick walls get in your way. Brick walls are for people who don't want something bad enough. People who are determined will either climb over or knock down the brick walls in their lives. One of the many brick walls we faced during the restoration was when we started to put the Lexan glass on the greenhouse after we had cut and fitted everything. The glass was in place, but the paper would not come off! Those of you who have worked with Lexan before know that the pro tective paper is supposed to peel off easily. But after a couple of years of sit ting around the hangar, "easy" did not happen. We tried everything we knew to remove the paper. Nothing worked. Frustrated, I went home that evening dreading the inevitable need to fit and cut new Lexan for the entire aircraft. Then someone threw me a rope from the other side of the brick wall. LP Aero Plastics responded to my desperate e-mail and suggested soaking the paper with mineral spirits or kero sene and then to try pulling the paper off. That worked okay for some of the Lexan. Marvin threw over an even bet ter rope when he asked if I had ever tried 3M Adhesive Remover. Let me tell you, that stuff was like a magical for mula that helped to remove the pesky remnants of paper. I was so relieved to move on to the next task! The Sparta airport continued to buzz with activity during the winter

John Parish Sr. Tullahoma, TN • Founder and chairman of the board of Beechcraft Heritage Museum; president for 20 years • Past board member fAA Aviation Foundation and fAA Aviation Assoc. for over 30 years

• Commercial, instrument, multi engine land and sea; 5,000+ hrs • Three sons also pilots and satisfied clients of AUA

"AUA is responsive, professional, competent, competitive and friendly. Plus it is nice to do business with good friends who are also avid sport aviation enthusiasts a valued long-term experience."

- John Parish, Sr.

AUA is Vintage Aircraft Association approved. To become a member of VAA call 800·843·36J2.

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and spring of 2006-2007. approaching. On June Every Saturday and Sun 1 we gathered near the day after church I was Mississippi River and the there, along with sev St. Louis Gateway Arch eral others who would at the St. Louis Down town Airport in Cahokia, show up as often as they could. I was never sure Illinois. I said my good who would come along, byes to everyone, espe but when they arrived cially my wife and kids, I had a task for them; and after a few passes by there was always some the Arch I turned east for thing to do. One person Brian Kissinger and fellow cancer survivor Todd Drenkhahn my first stop. The next was there nearly every rebuilt Brian's L-4 over seven months during 2006-2007. three weeks were simply day with me. Todd was amazing, flying across my partner in the Luscombe. He is an done anything like this before, her the country in my Cub on a mission A&P who works for Boeing (formerly help was very welcome and valuable. to raise research money and aware McDonnell-Douglas) in St. Louis. His I could stay focused on finishing the ness. I saw some old friends and made contribution to the project cannot be airplane project, test-flying it, and my many new friends. People amazed me understated. Without Todd I would flight planning. with their generoSity and willingness not have completed the restoration in On May 26 Todd gave me a hand to help. time to depart on the first of June. prop prior to the first flight myoid Despite being an Air Force-trained I am sure there are people out there Cub had seen in many years. I taxied navigator and an instrument-rated who say they have completed their out at the Sparta airport, and after my certificated flight instructor, I go back airplane project all by themselves, pre-takeoff checklist, I said a prayer, to the basics when flying my Cub. without any help or advice from looked up at the St. Christopher's First of all, I never underestimate the someone else, but I have never met medal I had placed on the instrument power of IFR in these old airplanes. Of such a person. There were so many panel, and laughed as I prepared for course IFR stands for I Follow Roads other people, too many to mention takeoff. The epoxy compound I used or Railroads navigation and not In in this brief article, that contributed to attach the medal to the dash had strument Flight Rules. Another help to the success of my project. As a sign set up hard and strong. However, ful navigation tool is the "water of my sincere appreciation, when overnight the medal had shifted and tower" navigation technique. For ex we finished fabricating the new bag was now at an almost 90-degree angle ample, if you are not sure where you gage compartment panel, I had every to the right. St. Christopher looked are, simply observe the name on the one who worked on the project sign like he was falling over. Oh well, any city's water tower, reference it to your the panel. Now during my preflight, one could put a medal on straight, I sectional, and you can probably fig when I flip up the panel to pull out thought. "Let's slip the surly bond of ure out where you are. my fuel strainer and flashlight, I al earth, Chris!" Remember, you are never in a When the wheels left the ground hurry when flying a Cub, or at least ways look at those names and smile. I thank them again in my mind for and I was in the air, a feeling came you shouldn't be. You aren't getting their selfless dedication and time over me like no other. It was a complex anywhere fast in a Cub anyway. Sim given for a good cause. mixture of astonishment, pride, and a ply fly slow and low and enjoy the As the project started to come more sense of accomplishment. I was on an view. Also, enjoy life and whomever and more together and the weather endorphin high that is hard to explain. you have the good fortune to be fly started to warm, I also had to focus on Though I had been flying my Lus ing with on any given day. These where my trip would take me. How combe and a Smith Miniplane, this were all useful tips for me on my would I coordinate all the activities felt completely different. The craft flight, which amazingly raised ap and get the word out? That is where was in perfect rig and flew hands-off. proximately $50,000 for research. the National Brain Tumor Founda I was a proud airplane restorer. It felt I wiIlleave you with a final thought tion and Jennifer Neale, who runs so incredible, and I didn't want to about life and flying. There is no their Racing Ahead program, came come down from that first flight. The someday and there are no ordinary in. They were the organization that grin across my face was as wide as the moments. If you want to learn how I raised research money for, and they wingspan of my airplane. We did it! to fly, build, or restore an airplane, or were absolutely wonderful to work We actually did it. The old girl was accomplish some other goal in your with. Jennifer, also a survivor, han back in the air after so many years. life, then start doing something about Over the coming days I flew sev it today. Do anything that takes you dled a lot of the coordination at vari ous stops and helped to get the word eral more flights to check everything closer to your goal. There is no start out with the media. Having never out, but my departure date was fast ing or stopping, only doing. ....... 22 SEPTEMBER 2009

Light Plane Heritage

PUBLISHED IN

EAA Sport Aviation

APRIL 1961

The Driggs Dart at the 1926 National Air Races in Philadelphia.

THE DRIGGS DART

BY J ACK M c R AE

The Driggs Dart I was one of the best-known and most practical of th e early lightplanes produced in this country. In addition to com peting successfully in closed-course races, the Dart was one of the few lightplanes of its time that was ca pable of long cross-country trips. The first airplane of the se ries, known as the Driggs Johnson OJ-I , was d esigned by the experi enced aeronautical engineer Ivan H. Driggs and built by the Johnson Airplane & Supply Co. for competi tion in the 1924 National Air Races at Dayton, Ohio. The OJ-I, flown by Jimmie Johnson, was the winner of th e 2S-mile Dayton News Trophy Race with an average speed of 64 mph. In the SO-mile Speed and Ef-

ficiency Race the OJ-I was second in spite of two forced landings due to fuel stoppage. This race was won by Harvey Mummert in his Harley Da vidson-powered Sport Plane. He was more fortunate in having only one forced landing. The third lightplane event was for the Rickenbacker Tro phy and was flown over a 140-mile course. Johnson had another forced landing due to fuel trouble but took off again, and the DJ-l placed sec ond to the Dormoy Bathtub. The Driggs Johnson DJ-l was a very clean, high aspect ratio canti lever monoplane powered with a converted Henderson four-cylinder motorcycle engine, which devel oped 28 hp at 3400 rpm. Construc tion of the airplane was similar to

Fokker practice at that time with a steel tube wire braced fuselage and a plywood-covered, tapered-cantilever wing. A metal propeller and a streamlined cowling with pressure cooling were installed. The DJ-l was also one of the few airplanes of that time to have an enclosed cabin. Most pilots then believed that to fly an airplane properly the pilot had to be in an open cockpit. The pilot of the DJ-l was seated under the wing with a streamlined transparent fairing completely around his head, giv ing a range of vision similar to the modern liaison airplanes. The fuse lage structure aft of the cabin was triangular in cross section with a single longeron at the top. The tail

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 V I NTAGE AIRPLANE

surfaces were also of steel tubing, fabric-covered, with external wire bracing. The single-piece cantilever wing of about 75 square feet area was of wood construction and used the USA 45 airfoil. The two spars were built up of laminated 1/8-inch thick spruce planks with 12 lamina tions at the root, tapering to four at the tip. Ribs were of plywood, and the wing was covered with 3/64 inch plywood aft to the rear spar. The careful design work that went into the OJ-I is shown by the empty weight of only 330 pounds includ ing 127 pounds of engine. The span was 27 feet. The top speed was 84 mph , and the rate of climb was 320 feet/minute. The ceiling was 12,000 feet. Gross weight was 511 pounds with a ISO-pound pilot. The DJ-l was also flown in the 1925 National Air Races at Mitch ell Field, New York. It had been rebuilt after a crackup, with cowl ing modifications and with the windows removed from the cabin. Flown by Clyde Emrick, it placed second to the Powell Racer in two SO-mile races, its best average speed being 67.5 mph. During 1926 the OJ -1 was advertised for sale for $1,000. Some time later it appeared mounted on top of a gasoline sta tion near Dayton airport. THE MILITARY DRIGGS DART

There was much interest in light planes in this country in 1924 as a result of the successful English light plane meets at Lympne in 1923 and 24

SEPTEMBER 2009

1924, which received considerable publicity. After the performance of the OJ-1 at the Dayton Air Races, where it was closely observed by such prominent aviation people as Gen. William Mitchell, Lt. Jimmie Doolittle, and Capt. Eddie Ricken backer, arrangements were made for the U.S. Army Air Corps to pur chase a refined model known as the Driggs Dart I. It was given Serial No. A.S. 26-205 and had the McCook Field Number P-443. It was also felt that small-engine development needed stimulation, so an order was placed by the Air Corps for six of the new Wright-Morehouse 28-hp engines, which appeared to be the

most promising lightplane power plant. Driggs set up a small shop in Dayton and started construction on two Driggs Dart airplanes, the first of which was delivered to the Air Corps. The military Driggs Dart was used for flight-test work sup plementing wind tunnel research on high-lift devices and eventu ally for static tests to determine the structural properties of wood and metal cantilever wings. After deliv ery to the Air Corps the airplane was modified by the installation of wing flaps and leading edge slats, which extended from the wing root to the inboard end of the aileron. The slats and flaps were intercon nected, and the maximum flap angle was 26-1/2 degrees. This mod ification increased the wing weight by about 48 pounds but greatly im proved the landing and takeoff per formance . The gross weight of the airplane due to this and other mil itary changes increased from 532 pounds to 639 pounds. Maximum speed with high-lift devices extended was 65 mph, and with them closed it was 79 mph. The relatively poor top speed with slats closed may have been due to the poor fit of the slat leading edge. Landing speed with slats and flaps

extended was 42 mph compared with 55 mph for the plain wing. These tests were made in March 1928 at the maximum gross weight of 639 pounds. The test pilot complained of the excessive vibration of the engine. The Air Corps Material Division built an experimental all-metal wing intended to be used on the Dart, but the airplane was ordered to be sal vaged before this could be done. However, both the metal wing and the original wood wing were static tested in 1931 with the following results. The wood wing weighed 94.5 pounds in original form with out high-lift devices and failed at a load corresponding to 6g, while the metal wing weighed 104 pounds and failed at about 9.2g based on a 639-pound gross weight. The metal wing was built of dural with 0.032 inch spar webs and 0.014-inch ribs and skins. The upper skin between the spars was reinforced with

0.020-inch and 0.030-inch corru gations. Spar flanges varied from 0.040 inch to 0.064 inch. Many details of the metal wing and static test are given in Air Corps Techni cal Report No. 3415. THE COMMERCIAL DART

The third airplane of the Driggs Dart I series was also built in 1926 with the specific intention of en tering the National Air Races and the Ford-sponsored Airplane Reli ability Tour. Its first cross-country flight was from Dayton to De troit for the start of the Reliability Tour and covered 220 miles in two hours and 40 minutes with a fuel consumption of about 7 gallons. While at Dearborn before the start of the tour, Mr. Ford requested an impromptu race between the Dart and the Ford low-wing light plane. The Ford airplane, with its relatively more powerful Anzani

engine, was off the ground con Siderably quicker than the Dart. In the air, however, the speed of the two ships was about equal. The Airplane Reliability Tour started from Detroit on August 7, 1926. The Dart, with Racing No. 24 and flown by Jack Laass, suffered a forced landing due to fog on the fourth lap of the tour, near St. Paul, Minnesota . The following day, shortly after takeoff, a crankshaft failure forced the withdrawal of the Dart from the competition. The en gine was repaired, and about a week later Laass and the Dart joined the tour again at Indianapolis. The next day valve trouble caused the Dart to be withdrawn again. In spite of the bad luck with the engine, an average speed of 77 mph had been maintained by the Dart for the 580 miles completed, which favorably compared with speeds of some of the standard-size airplanes. The 1926 National Air Races were held in September 1926 in conjunction with the SesqUicen tennial Exposition. The Dart, again piloted by Jack Laass , was flown from Dayton over the Allegheny Mountains in weather so bad that many of the larger airplanes were grounded. This flight is described in detail by Laass in the October 1926 Aero Digest.

In the three lightplane events at the National Air Races, the Dart placed second in one race and fourth in the other two, being beaten by the Heath Tomboy Racer and the Kre ider-Reisner Midget. The best average speed attained by the Dart over the 5-mile course was 85 .6 mph, which would correspond to a level-flight top speed of about 95 mph. The 1931 edition of the Flying and Glider Manual contained a how to-build article on the Dart by Ivan Driggs. As a result of the success of the Dart I, Driggs was able to orga nize the Driggs Aircraft Corporation in 1927 in LanSing, Michigan. This company built a number of com mercial airplanes, including the Driggs Dart II biplane, the Driggs Coupe, and the Driggs Skylark. ....... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Breaking in aradial engine n this issue we discuss radial engine break-in pro cedures. Keep in mind that these are my opinions, but they should be consistent with other mechan ics maintaining radial engines in the industry. First, when the old engine is removed, there is a great opportunity to clean and inspect the remaining components of the engine compartment. You might want to remove, blast, inspect, and paint the engine mount. Remove and flush the oil tank and oil cooler, and clean the inside of all oil lines. In other words start the new engine with a clean firewall-forward instal lation. Replace all rubber shock mounts; inspect and cadmium-plate the bolts. These bolts are usually quite long and expensive to replace. There is nothing wrong with having these bolts cad-plated as long as they are baked after plating. A competent plating shop knows how to handle the plating. Replace the nuts and AN washers when installing the engine.

When the newly overhauled engine arrives, inspect for any shipping damage. Hopefully the engine has at least five hours of test-stand time so the break-in process has started. If there is no test-cell time on the engine, I don't recommend running it for five hours on the ground before flying. Install it in the airplane, assure everything is airworthy, and go flying . Hoist and install the engine in the mount, torque the mounting bolts/nuts, and safety them with cot ter pins. Then go about installing all that other stuff that was removed with the old engine. Again, this is a great opportunity to inspect/repair/paint (if needed) all those components. I always either flush the oil tank with solvent or steam clean it. The oil cooler (if installed) should be sent out for overhaul or at least be flushed to assure there are no metallic frag ments in the cooler. I heard of an owner replacing a newly overhauled engine because he found metal in the screen. Seems it came from the oil cooler because the previous en gine had an internal failure. This is also a good time to closely inspect all components of the exhaust and carburetor heat systems and make necessary repairs. With the engine newly installed, the prop on, and the prop nut torqued, it should be about ready to run. But first the engine should be pre-oiled. The overhaul man ual should show a pre-oiling port somewhere on the case. If one isn't available, remove all spark plugs and turn the engine over with the Left: The New Stand ard D-25 ready for eng ine installation.

28 SEPTEMBER 2009

sumps are full, bring the level back up to 4 gallons. After pre-oiling, we are ready to start the engine. Prime and start the engine. Watch the oil pressure gauge; the pressure should show almost im mediately. If there's no pressure in dication within 30 seconds, shut the engine down and troubleshoot. Safety is a prime issue on the first start, so have a second person standing by with a fire extinguisher. If a fire starts in the intake system, continue cranking the engine with the starter to suck any flames into the engine. Assuming everything went well on the start and no problems were encountered, run the engine from idle to about 1000 rpm to warm A newly installed Wright R-760 engine in the New Standard. it up. Shut down and inspect for oil and fuel leaks. Let the engine cool until you can touch the cyl inder heads with your hand. Re start the engine, allow it to run near idle, then run it up and do a quick check of the magneto and carb heat operations. Reduce the power to idle for cooling, and then shut the engine down. Inspect the engine compartment at each shut down. Don't run the engine for long periods on the ground. The supervising mechanic will dictate the number of ground runs. Long ground runs will cause overheating and can glaze cylinder walls, and the rings will never seat properly. When the mechanic is sure ev erything is airworthy it's time for the test flight. Don't run the en Ready for the first flight after an engine overhaul. gine on the ground for extended periods. Get it started, taxi to the runway, do a quick run-up, and starter until oil pressure registers on the pressure gauge. get it into the air. Use full power for takeoff. Reduce Once oil pressure is indicated on the gauge by turning power slightly and keep the airspeed up to cool the the engine with the starter, crack the oil line-to-gauge engine. Remember, tolerances are close on a newly nut at the gauge and release any trapped air. Some overhauled engine, and that generates a lot of heat. times there may be an air bubble at the inlet to the oil Keep the engine cool! When I broke in the Wright R-760, I ran the engine pump, causing a no-pressure situation. You must crack the inlet oil line to the pump by loosening the hose at 1800 rpm until the rings seated, which took about to allow air to escape, and then retighten the clamps. 10 hours. It is important to keep the rings loaded; don't "baby" the engine or you'll pay for it later! Run it hard! That should solve the problem. After an hour of in-air operation, check the oil level I like to use straight mineral oil for the first 35 to 50 hours of operation. Fill the oil tank to whatever the and record it on a notepad. Remove the main and operating level should be. If it's 4 gallons, put 4 gal sump screens, inspect them, and then reinstall them. lons in. Then after the first start and the oil system and Check the torque on the prop and retorque it if necesVINTAGE AIRPLANE

sary. Now, go flying for 10 hours. I recall breaking in a Ranger in Run the engine hard! Continue to line engine installed in son Rob's note the time and amount of oil When I broke in the Fairchild PT-26 several years ago added on your notepad. (see the accompanying photo). Wright R-760,

Then drain the oil and check the The Ranger engine is very tightly oil screens again. Check the cylin cowled, and the rear cylinder al I ran the engine at ways runs hot. I called the overhaul der compression/leakage. Check your notepad for how much oil shop before running the engine 1800 rpm until the and you have added. Oil consumption asked for its advice regarding should show a decline. When oil the engine's break-in procedure. I rings seated,

consumption stabilizes at the 10-15 was informed to prepare the en hour mark, the rings have seated. If gine for first start by pre-warming which took about

there is still oil consumption, con the oil to 40°C to 50°C. Put 4 gal tinue the high-power flight until oil lons of preheated oil into the tank, 10 hours.

consumption lowers and stabilizes. start the engine, and run it for no It is important

If the oil consumption does not de more than five minutes at 1000 crease, then the cylinder walls have rpm. Shut down and check for oil to keep the

glazed and the rings will never seat. and fuel leaks. Allow the engine to It will be necessary to remove all cool until you can touch the cyl rings loaded;

the cylinders, hone the walls, rein inders with your hand. Restart the stall the cylinders, and go through engine, give it one minute to warm don't "baby" the up, then change the rpm to 1000 the break-in procedure again . Run ning the engine hard during initial engine or you'll for five minutes, and shut it down. flights will lessen the possibility of Check the engine compartment cylinder wall glazing. The Wright again, but don't let the oil cool. pay for it later!

R-760 in the New Standard stabi Start the engine and taxi to the lized in about 13 hours. Oil con Run it hard!

runway. Begin the takeoff roll, and sumption went from more than a check the magnetos at 1300 rpm; quart per hour to a quart every four if they are okay, go to full power, hours. When the engine rings and other components climb at 100 mph, and keep the airspeed at 100 mph "seat in," the oil and cylinder head temperature re or greater. Keep monitoring the engine instruments duces, along with oil consumption. That's how you for any abnormalities. After 20 minutes, throttle back know that things have seated in. I change oil every 25 to 2250 rpm, fly for up to one hour, land, and check hours of operation (no filter is installed), and I check the engine compartment again. Now, go flying using cylinder condition by conducting a leakage check at a high power setting until oil consumption stops. Ini least every 100 hours of operation. As the engine con tially the engine was burning 3 quarts of oil per hour. tinues to wear, I start checking cylinder leakage every Oil consumption stayed near this rate until 15 hours 50 hours. of operation. Then, all of a sudden, the consumption

Ranger engine. 30

SEPTEMBER 2009

dropped to 1 quart every three hours. Not too bad for a Ranger. The engine had no run-in time from the over haul shop. If it had five hours, then the break-in would have happened after only 10 hours of flight. That's how you break in engines.

Troubleshooting Static rpm is very important because it determines whether the maximum rpm will or will not be ex ceeded in level flight. I don't check static rpm on a new engine; I take a quick look at full-throttle rpm on takeoff when there is air flowing around the cylinders. If the overhaul is done correctly, then the maximum rpm the engine can turn is governed by the prop pitch. Many engines use a ground-adjustable prop. Climb or cruise performance can be set by adjusting the pitch of the prop. Cylinder leakage tests can give an indication of cyl inder condition. I always conduct the leakage test with the engine warm when the rings seal the best. Leakage checks are usually conducted at 80 psi; the tester puts 80 psi into the combustion chamber of the cylinder when at top dead center (TDC) on compression stroke, and the amount of leakage is measured by reading how much pressure the cylinder will hold. If you hear air flowing around the rings, you can hear it in the crank case breather system. Air flowing around an exhaust valve can be heard in the exhaust collector system, and air flowing around an intake valve can be heard in the intake system, specifically the carburetor. Normally I look at the spread of leakage between the cylinders. A common question is: "How much leakage before you have to do something?" I say when 2S percent of the 80 psi leaks out, then it is time to do something. However, since the engines I maintain are "for hire," if the cylinder leakage gets into the upper 60s, I do something. I've found that on the Wright R-760s, 80 psi into the cylinder will show normal readings of 72 78 psi. Even at the 1,100 hours since major overhaul pOint, at 80 psi the cylinders are still holding 70-74 psi! So the power output is still there at the 1,100-hour mark. However, at around 1,000 hours the leakage on the number five cylinder went from 80/72 to 80/10, with leakage around the rings. Preliminary diagno sis: broken rings, ring groves aligned, broken piston, etc. I removed the cylinder and found nothing visu ally wrong, except the walls were glazed. I inspected the piston, rings, and ring grooves. So I roughed the walls by cross-hatching, reinstalled everything with new gaskets and seals, and flew the airplane. Now, 120 hours later, the cylinder shows 80/74 leakage. Why did the wall~ glaze? Maybe the cylinder got hot during a heavy climb; who knows! Another problem I inherited was a seep of oil com ing from the threads where the cylinder head screws on to the barrel. Not knowing if this is a crack or a

stress failure, I changed the cylinder. That cylinder had only 30 hours since the overhaul. Don't mess with this problem; change the cylinder immediately! Another problem I inherited was a sticking exhaust valve in the number four cylinder. It was hard to locate because the problem was intermittent, but I could hear the sound of exhaust, and there was definitely a "miss" during the firing of the engine; it would happen when the engine was under a heavy load. I finally figured out where the problem was and started to remove the ex haust valve cover. When I tapped the cover with a mal let to loosen it, I heard the valve close with a "bang." I attempted (with success) a repair without removing the cylinder. Here's how to do it. Move the piston to TDC and then back off a little. Remove both spark plugs and force a 1/4-inch diame ter nylon rope into the combustion chamber. Carefully move the piston toward TDC until the rope com presses against the va lves. You can then remove the valve springs; now back off the piston position and re move the rope. I mixed up some engine oil with valve lapping compound, squirted it in the valve guide, put a short length of rubber hose on the valve stem, and rotated the valve, working it up and down as I rotated it. When the valve had loosened (valve clearance in the Wright is 0.002 inch to 0.008 inch) and there was a small bit of side movement between the va lve and ,------------------------

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Here's a close-up of the mixture lever. Moving the lever to the right leans the mixture, wh ile moving it to the left richens the idle mixture.

of the gasket, tightened the nuts, and replaced the safety wire. Appar ently there is a harmonic vibration that caused some shaking between the carb and its mounting point on the engine power case. Shaking the carb air box is now an item on the preflight inspection for us. Idle rpm can be set on the throt tle arm of the carburetor. Make sure the engine has warmed up and then adjust the screw until the desired A typical Bendix Stromberg float carburetor. Idle mixtu re adjustment can be rpm is set. The Wright idles nicely seen in the middle of the illustration, next to the economizer boot. at SOO rpm. Idle mixture can easily be set by adjusting the lever on the carbure guide, I flushed out the oil/lapping compound mix ture, slid the valve closed, put the rope back in the tor to either side of center to set mixture either rich or combustion chamber, used the piston/rope combina lean . Make sure the engine has warmed up, set the rpm tion to clamp the valves closed, reinstalled the valve at around 600, then move the mixture control to full springs, put the cylinder back together, and ran the "lean" and note whether the rpm increases slightly or immediately decreases. Adjust the idle mixture so there engine. That valve never stuck again! Another problem I've found on the Wright is the will be a slight rise in rpm before the engine quits. As carburetor-to-adapter mounting point. After a period soon as the engine quits, move the mixture to full rich of operation, the carburetor becomes loose. My son, and the engine will regain power, eliminating the need Rob, found this on a preflight inspection when we to restart the engine each time. It's an old trick. I hope this is enlightening for you radial-engine folks. had the New Standard at an air show in Mansfield, Ohio. He shook the carb air box and found the prob I can say in complete honesty that if you stay on top of lem. I removed the safety wire, checked the condition engine operation, that engine will last a long time . .......

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SEPTEMBER 2009

AIRVENTURE

2009

CONTINUED FROM PAGE

AWARDS

Class I Single Engine (0-160 hpj- Bronze Lindy

Gold Lindy

Robert Hartigan, Napa, California 1956 Cessna 172, N5638A

Tom Murphy, Norborne, Missouri Safari, N757G

Class 11 Single Engine (161-230 hpj-Bronze Lindy

SEAPLANE AWARDS

Rod Demlang, Pewaukee, Wisconsin 1959 Piper PA-18, N626DC

Outstanding Homebuilt-Plaque Not Awarded

Class 111 Single Engine (231 + hpj-Bronze Lindy John Schutes, Brimfield, Massachusetts 1960 Beech M35, N9802R

Outstanding Amphibian-Plaque Kathy Anton, Webberville, Michigan 1959 DHC-2 Beaver, Nl01CB

Custom Multiengine-Bronze Lindy Herb Harney, Grandville, Michigan 1968 Cessna 337C, N712JF

Outstanding Metal Seaplane-Plaque Dennis Gartner, Nisswa, Minnesota 1979 Cessna 182Q, N567DG

Outstanding Customized-Bronze Lindy Tom & Tina Leatherwood, Paso Robles, California 1958 Beech D50A, N925DJ

Outstanding Fabric Seaplane-Plaque Jon Gottschalk, Stuart, Florida 1947 PA-14, N7089W

Reserve Grand Champion-Silver Lindy Jon Brausch, Huron, Ohio 1966 Piper PA-30, N7954Y

Judges Choice-Plaque John Thomason, Sonoma, California 1936 Waco YKS-6, NC16522

Grand Champion-Gold Lindy Roger Florkiewicz, Schererville, Indiana 1968 Piper PA-28R-180, N65KF

Bronze Lindy Francis Butler, Grenville, South Dakota PA-18X Super 18, N722BM

ROTORCRAFT AWARDS Silver Lindy Innovation AI Behuncik, Red Deer Alberta, Canada RotorWay 162, C-FVPP

Bronze Lindy Hap Miller, Kenwood, California Helicycle, N28HM

Steve Taylor, Riverdale, Michigan 1959 Grumman Widgeon, N540GW

Gold Lindy Doug Palmer, San Francisco, California 2007 Spencer Aircar, N351 DP

Silver Lindy AI Behuncik, Red Deer Alberta, Canada RotorWay 162, C-FVPP

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

BY DOUG STEWART

Whose Rules

recently received the following e-mail, forwarded to me from a friend who is a retired ATC (air traffic control) TRACON (termi nal radar approach control) super visor. The e-mail was sent to him in response to a posting he sent to an online aviators digest, in which he brought some clarity to a query about controller/pilot communications. Here's what the e-mail said: "I read your posting and noticed that you are a controller of several years. A question came to mind when I thought of your position. I am a fair weather flyer. If it's not nice out, I have no desire to go anywhere. But once in awhile I find myself com ing back into the L.A. basin with flight following and see the area is socked in with a ceiling. Central sometimes hands me off to a local tower, and I descend maybe 2,000 feet through the clouds. I'm com fortable with that, have some train ing and the instruments to handle it. Someone once told me that if the FAA found out, I could lose my VFR license, but who would tell them? How would they find out? Just wondered, thanks." My friend was dumbfounded that someone would be brazen enough to make such an admission, but even more astonished that the respondent apparently had no clue as to the danger he presented not only to himself, but also to every one else with whom he shared the skies. My friend sought my input as to how to respond. This is what I suggested: "Yes, if

SEPTEMBER 2009

the FAA found out, you might suf fer a suspension or even revoca tion of your certificate. Even if they don't find out, you put yourself at the top of the list of folks scheduled to receive the Darwin Award. The sad thing to think is that although your loss might not be mourned, the loss of any innocent folks you might take with you would be! When and if you ever realize that the vast majority of the FARs are 'written in blood,' you might be convinced to correct your hazard ous operations!" I know that for many of us, my self included, the hazardous atti tude of anti-authority is a mentality that must be dealt with. The FAA suggests that the "antidote" for this attitude is the admonition that lithe rules are written for everyone." But I must admit that at least for me, that suggestion is a little weak. If I were tempted to descend through what I perceived as a shal low layer of clouds while in Class E airspace, chanting lithe rules are written for everyone" probably wouldn't stop me from reducing power and pitching the airplane down. After all, I wouldn't expect to find a traffic cop waiting at the other side of the clouds to write me up with a ticket. My experience even tells me that it is very difficult for the FAA to prosecute known cases of IMC (instrument meteo rological conditions) flight in con trolled airspace without a clearance. I recall once when I was at a non towered airport getting ready to de

part into a 300-foot ceiling. I had already received my clearance over the telephone, with a void time, and was just finishing my before takeoff checks when a twin Cessna taxied in front of me onto the run way and departed into the clouds with nary a radio call. I couldn't be lieve what I had just witnessed. I managed to get the offending airplane's N number as he taxied past me, so the next day I con tacted my safety program manager at the local flight standards district office to file a report. As part of the ensuing investigation it was found that the pilot of the twin Cessna had a history of violations, and even had a certificate suspension in his records. However, in this in stance I was informed that the FAA would be hard-pressed to conduct an enforcement action. In essence it would be my word against the Cessna pilot's word. So if I know how difficult it is for the FAA to enforce its own rules, what is there to keep me from ig noring them? If one is truly of a strong anti-authority mentality, the caution that the ru les are written for everyone probably won't stop one from violating those rules. There needs to be an antidote that is a little stronger if it is to work, and here is the one that I use for myself: "Those rules are written for just one person, Stewart ... you! They were written in blood, and they are there to keep you alive!" Suddenly the importance of the regulations takes on a whole new

dimension. When I gain the un derstanding that many of the rules came about as a result of fatal ac cidents, I now start to pay greater attention to them. As an example, the rules relative to visibilities and distance from clouds came about as a result of airplanes crashing into each other, and lives being lost. These regulations are predicated upon providing pilots with the abil ity to "see and avoid" other aircraft as well as ATe's ability to provide separation for those aircraft under their control. Obviously the type of airspace we are flying in affects that ability. Further, understanding the implicit meaning of a "clearance" has bearing on this. When one receives a clearance from ATC it means that air traffic control now bears the burden of providing separation from other air craft (notwithstanding that it is the pilot in command's responsibility to use "see and avoid" techniques whenever in visual conditions). As an example we all know that in or der to enter Class Bravo airspace we must have not only a radio ca pable of two-way communication and a Mode C transponder, but also a clearance. It is this clearance, along with its unspoken provision of separation, that allows us to fly just "clear of clouds" and not worry about getting T-boned by a 747 as it comes out of the cloud we are flying just clear of. Sometimes it is ignorance of the regulations, and more importantly the reason for the rule, rather than blatant disregard, that could put us in jeopardy. I am surprised at the number of pilots coming to me for flight reviews who are unaware of the requirement to have a Mode C transponder turned on not only while flying within the limits of Class C airspace, but also above it. If we understand that ATC must pro vide separation to all FAR Part 121 (airline) flights, which by regulation fly under instrument flight rules (lFR) even when it is severe clear, we might then gain greater understand ing of this transponder rule.

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www.NationalAirRaces.net~ 1-888-NAR-8886 If a controller sees a primary target (one without a transponder code, or altitude readout) within the lateral limits of the "shelf area" (the outer ring) of Class C airspace, the assumption is that the airplane is flying below the base of that shelf

I know that for

many of us,

myself included,

the hazardous attitude of anti-authority

is a mentality

that must be

dealt with.

area. Thus they might descend an IFR flight to an altitude that would compromise vertical separation limits, if the primary target is fly ing above the Class C airspace, and worse yet might cause an accident. How many pilots are aware that FAR 91.215 (c) actually states that if a Mode C transponder is installed in the aircraft it should be turned on? Probably not many of us, but consider the following. I know I used to ignore turning on my tran sponder, especially when I was fly ing low, slow, and locally in my Super Cruiser. But as I spend more and more time with clients in technically ad

vanced aircraft, with large multi function displays that depict traffic on those displays, I find that many of those pilots, rather than using the most important piece of equipment in their airplane their own two eyes looking out the window-instead spend most of their visual time looking at those screens inside the airplane. Regard less of the type of traffic avoidance equipment installed (ADS-B being the exception), they all work on transponder replies. Thus if you want to protect yourself from this

type of pilot who relies on electri cal equipment for collision avoid ance, rather than his or her own two eyes, it would behoove you to turn on that transponder. I could go on and on with ex amples of how and why the regula tions are written, for the most part, to protect each and everyone of us from ourselves. Suffice it to say that they are there for a very good rea son. I know that many of us have some form of "anti-authOrity" ten dency residing within our beings. After all, the vast majority of pi lots are Type A personalities, and we like to be in command. It comes with the turf. That being said, it truly behooves us to abide by the regulations. Keep that in mind as you are beckoned aloft by .. . blue skies and tail winds. Doug Stewart is the 2004 National CFI of the Year, a Master certificated flight instructor, and a designated pi lot examiner. He operates DSFI Inc. (www.DSFlight.com) based at the Columbia County Airport (lBl). ~ VINTAGE AIRPLANE

BY H.G . FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO US FROM THE

EAA

ARCHIVES.

Send your answer to EAA, Vintage Airplane, P. O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your an swer n eeds to be in n o lat er t ha n October 15 for inclusion in the December 2009 issue of Vintage Airplane. You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your an swer to mysteryplane@eaa.org. Be sure to include your name plus your city and state in the body of your note and put "(Mon th ) Mystery Plane" in the subj ect line.

J UN E' S MYS TE RY ANSWER

We were not surprised that many of you recognized the distinctive profile of the June Mystery Plane. Here's our first letter:

The J u ne Mystery Pl ane is a (Fairchild Air-plane Mfg. Corp.) American Air-plane and Engine Corp. Pilgrim Model 100-B, pre-

The June Mystery Plane, the American Pilgri m Model l OO-B.

SEPTEM B ER 2009

sumably an American Airways ship, and possibly NC 740N. You don't see many photos of the 100-B taken from the starboard side. Usually, it's a 100-A. The 100-A and 100-B are fully described in Volume 5 of Jupt足 ner's U.S. Civil Aircraft (pp 125-128 and 202-204, respectively). Funny thing, I just helped a guy track down a decent three-view of the 100-B. An original is currently be足 ing restored in Alaska. There was at least one 100-A that was con足 verted to a Model 100-B by replac足 ing the Hornet B with a Cyclone (R-1820-E) . The longer exhaust is about the only way to tell the two apart. Of course, the design evolved from the earlier Fairchild Model 100 (ATC #390). The Pilgrims were

Don Carr of Anchorage, Alaska, sent us these unusual photos from the fall of 1939 showing the use of the Pilgrim to deliver a cow 250 miles away to McGrath, Alaska. built at the Farmingdale, Long Is land, New York, plant that had pre viously been used by Fairchild. Wesley R. Smith, Springfield, Illinois And a bit more from another reg ular correspondent: The June 2009 Mystery Plane is, by my best guess of the vertical fin area, an American Pilgrim Model 100-B . This was one of a family of aircraft originally designed and flown as the Fairchild Model 100 prototype (Type Certificate #390 on 1/14/31). The production aircraft were built by a division of Avia

tion Corp. (also known as AVCO), the American Airplane and Engine Corp., which was formed from Fairchild Airplane Mfg. Corp. dur ing April 1931 in the same Fairch ild factory at Farmingdale, Long Island, New York. My information is from Juptner, Vols. 4 and 5, and from Aerofiles.com. The Fairchild Model 100 proto type was powered by a nine-cylinder radial Pratt & Whitney R-1860 Hor net B engine of 575 hp. The American Pilgrim Model 100-A (Type Certificate #443 on 8/21/31) was powered by the same Hornet B and differed from

the Model 100 mainly by the ad ditional fuselage volume in the belly, which carried mail and air express packages. Sixteen were built. Both production models were built to American Airways require ments and carried a single pilot and nine passengers. The aircraft were utilized by AA, which itself was also part of AVCO, for about three years, after which time they were sent to Alaska for continuing airline work and later bush flying. The American Pilgrim Model 100-B (Type Certificate #470 on 3/25/32) was powered by the nine cylinder radial Wright Aeronautical R-1820 Cyclone, also of 575 hp. The main other difference was the addi tional 2 square feet of vertical fin area mentioned above. Six were built. When it came time to re place engines requiring over haul, besides having the engine replaced with the original en gine manufacturer's engine, some 100-A aircraft received Wright en gines and some 100-B aircraft re ceived Pratt & Whitney engines. Therefore, my best guess above is just based on my estimate of the area, but they may have changed fins that way, too. The U.S. Army Air Corps also re ceived four American Y1C-24 ver sions of the Model 100-B with the Wright engine and the deletion of the additional lower fuselage vol ume, so that it looked similar to the original Model 100. Jack Erickson, State College, Pennsylvania Other correct answers were re ceived from Frank Pavliga, Randolph, Ohio; Wayne Muxlow, Minneapo lis, Minnesota; William J. Nelson, El Paso, Texas; Bill Truax, Loveland, Colorado; Sam. V. Smith, Arling ton, Virginia; Jerry Paterson, Doug Rounds, Nick Warner, and Brian Pat terson, Trinity, Texas; Wayne Van Valkenburgh, Jasper, Georgia; Paul Smoker, Intercourse, Pennsylva nia; Clarence Hesser, St. Augustine, Florida; Neil Petersen, Waterville, Washington; and Tom Lymburn, Princeton, Minnesota. ...... VINTAGE AIRPLANE

EAA calendar of Aviation [vents Is Now Online 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 welrbased tool for planning your local trips to afly·in. In EM's online Calendar 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 look for 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/

Upcoming Major Fly-Ins Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In Grimes Field Airport (174), Urbana, OH September 12-13,2009 www.MERFI.info

Copperstate Regional Fly-In Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ), Casa Grande, AZ October 22-24,2009 www.Coppersta te.org Southeast Regional Fly-In Middleton Field Airport (GZH), Evergreen, Al October 23-25, 2009 www.5ERFI.org

U.S. Sport Aviation Expo

Sebring Regional Airport (SEF), Sebring, Fl

January 21-24, 2010

www.Sport-Aviation-Expo.com

AERO Friedrichshafen Messe Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen, Germany April 8- 11 , 2010 www.Aero-Friedrichshafen.comlhtmllen Sun 'n Fun Fly-In lakeland Linder Regional Airport (lAl), lakeland, Fl April 13-18,2010 www.5un-N-Fun.org

Virginia Regional Festival of Flight Suffolk Executive Airport (SFQ), Suffolk, VA May 22-23, 2010 www.VirginiaFlyin.org Arlington Fly-In Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO), Arlington, WA July 7- n, 2010 www.NWEAA.org EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Wittman Regional Airport (OSH), Oshkosh, WI July 26-August 1, 2010 www.AirVenture.org For details on hundreds of upcoming aviation happenings, including EAA chapter fly-ins, Young Eagles rallies, and other local aviation events, visit the EAA Calendar of Events located at www.EAA.orgicalendar.

SEPTEMBER 2009

continued from IFe

cipients of the Art Morgan Memo rial Volunteers of the Year awards. There are actually two separate and distinct awards announced each year at the annual VAA member ship meeting at the end of the EAA convention. The first is the Behind the Scenes award. It's my pleasure to announce that this year's Behind the Scenes Volunteer of the Year is actually a tag-team affair, namely Chairman Michael Blombach and his Co-Chairman Archie James from Fort Wayne, Indiana, who are a big part of our volunteer maintenance committee. These two gentlemen are responsible for organizing the annual work parties that occur ev ery month beginning in April and ending just before the convention begins. Michael and Archie did an absolutely outstanding job of or ganizing a work party each month that allowed us to complete the new Vintage Hangar project on time and under budget. Congratulations, guys, for a job extremely well done. Our Flightline Volunteer of the Year is an outstanding volunteer

who has proven himself to be in valuable to the Flightline Opera tions Committee. Jim Swol is from Harpwell , Maine, and his total commitment and energy to this committee is absolutely awesome to witness. Jim is a "can-do" kind of guy, with a great attitude. All you really need to do with Jim is point him in the right direction and pull the trigger! Congratulations to you all, and we hope you can join us in Oshkosh for the fall VAA board meetings to receive your much-deserved awards! As always, please do us all the fa vor of inviting a friend to join the VAA, and help keep us the strong association we have all enjoyed for so many years. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010, The World's Greatest Aviation Cel ebration, is July 26 through August 1,2010. VAA is about participation: Be a member! Be a volunteer! Be there!

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Aeronca Air Tractor Ayres Beechcraft Boeing Canadair Cessna Culver Dehavilland Douglas Fairchild Fleet Grumman Howard Norseman North American PZL Ryan Stinson Taylorcraft Thrush Waco

For Sale: 19 Year continuous collection of Vintage Airplane Magazine 1989 through 2007; in addition March and November 1986, January, February, March 1987, and February, August thru December 1988. Contact Bob at bobleoboa@ronan.net

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SERVICES Always Flying Aircraft Restoration, LLC: Annual Inspections, Airframe recovering, fabric repairs and complete restorations. Wayne A. Forshey A&P & I.A. 740-472-1481. Ohio and bordering states

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING Are you nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it done and you're busy flying and showing it off? If so, we'd like to hear from you. Send us a 4-by-6-inch print from a commercial source (no home printers, please-those prints just don't scan well) or a 4-by-6-inch, 300-dpi digital photo. A JPG from your 2.5-megapixel (or higher) digital camera is fine. You can burn photos to a CD, or if you're on a high-speed Internet connection, you can e-mail them along with a text-only or Word document describing your airplane. (If your e-mail program asks if you'd like to make the photos smaller, say no.) For more tips on creating photos we can publish, visit VAA's website at www.vintageaircraft.org. Check the News page for a hyperlink to Want To Send Us A Photograph? For more Information, you can also e·mail us at vintageaircraft@

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Membershi~ Services Directory VINTAGE

ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND AIRCRAFT EAA's ~\l.~.lI~ VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

~ TM

OFFICERS Presiden t

Geoff Hobison 1521 E. MacGregor Dr.

Vice- President

George Daubner

New Haven, IN 4677 4

260-493-4724

2448 Lough Lane Hartford, WI 53027 262·673-5885

chie(702S(t]'aul.com

gdallbrler@eaa.org

Secretary Steve Nesse 2009 Highland Ave.

Treasurer Cha rles W. Harris

Albert Lea, MN 56007 507-373- 1674 st" t's2009@iivt'.com

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DIRECTORS Steve Bender

85 Brush Hill Road

Sherborn, MA01770

508-653·7557

sst IO@Comcast.tlet

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P.O. Box 328

Harvard, IL 60033-0328

815-943·7205

375 Killdeer Ct Lincoln, CA 95648 916·645-8370

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704 N. Regional Rd.

Greensboro, NC 27409

336·668-3650

antiquer@inreacll .com

willdsock@aoi.com

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Lodi, WI 53555 608-592·7224

/odicub@r-/lOrter. lIet Steve Krog

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Phone (920)426-4800

Fax (920) 426-4873

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copeland 1@jlmo.co11l

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EAA

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Membership in t he Experim ental Aircraft ASSOCia tio n , Inc. is $40 fo r o n e yea r, inel ud ing 12 issu es o f SPORT AVIATION. Fam ily m e mbe rship is an additi ona l $10 a nnua lly, J u nio r Me mbersh ip (u nde r 19 yea rs of age) is ava ilable at $23 ann ually, All ma jo r cred it cards accepted for membership. (Add $16 for

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Copyright ©2009 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, All rights reserved, VINTAGEAIRPlANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the ExperimentalAircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Cent..., 3000 Poberezny Rd" PO Box 3086, Oshkosh,Wisconsin54903-3086, e-mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org, Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $36 per year for EAA member.; and 546 for non-EAA member.;, Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901and at additional mailing off.,ces, POSTMASTER:Send address changes to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI54903-3086. PM40063731 Relum undeliverable Canadian addresses 10 Pitney Bowes IMS, Station A, PO Box54, Windsor, ON N9A6J5. FOREIGN ANDAPO ADDRESSES - Please ailow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGEAIRPlANE to foreignandAPO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

EDITORIAL POLICY: Member.; are encouraged to sub m ~ stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of tlte authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No remuneration is made, Material should be sent to: Editor,VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, Phone 920-426-4800. EAA®and EAA SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and Aeronautica' " are registered trademarks, trademari<s, and seMce marks of tlte Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademar1<s and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

SEPTEMBER 2009

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