VA-Vol-4-No-11-Nov-1976

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~ THE"RESTORER'S CORNER

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This being our convention coverage issue, we, the officers, directors, advisors, convention chairmen and convention co-chairmen of your EAA Antique/Classic Division, respectfully dedicate this issue to those of you who volunteered your time and services to the Division to make this con­ vention the great success that it was. Without your help it would not have been possible. This year 128 of you, the largest number of Division con­ vention volun teers to date, stepped forth and helped with convention duties so that your fellow members, their families and guests could enjoy our convention. We are certain that those of you who volunteered got as much satisfaction out of being "on the team" as we did. Some of you worked 10 to 14 hours every day, and we are all especially indebted to you for this great devotion to the cause. We know that many of you never had the opp ortunity to see the rest of the convention. For this we sincerely apologize. We hope that next year about 250 additional members will offer to help with convention duties. If they will, then two 3-hour shifts some­ time d u ring the week will be all that will be needed from any volunteers in order to give us complete Division convention manpower, and thus make our part of the convention operate even more efficiently and make it even more enjoyable for all of us.

by J. R. NIELANDER, JR.

Your convention chairmen and co-chairmen met with your Division officers, directors and advisors at EAA Headquarters on Saturday, Octo­ ber 16, 1976, for a combined convention debriefing and Board of Directors meeting. Many fine suggestions for improvement of the convention and its facilities came out of this meeting and have already been forwarded to EAA. The convention chairmen and co-chairmen were particularly em­ phatic in their praise of the volunteers who had worked with them.

Al Kelch, your Editor of The Vintage Airplane, gave a long and detailed report concerning the joys and sorrows of being a magazine editor. We all owe Al and his wife, Lois, a deep debt of gratitude for the great personal sacrifices which they have made to give us all this fine publication which you are now reading. Al stressed that he would like to print more stories on the history and restoration of classics, but not much has been forth­ coming from you, the members. He needs your help . If you have restored a classic and if you can provide some interesting pictures of your restora­ tion in process and completed, please write a story about your experiences and send the story to AI. If you are not sure as to how to write the story or what an editor wants, please go back to your February, 1976, issue of The Vintage Airplane and reread "The Restorer's Corner". There you will find a complete short course in magazine writing which should make each of you an expert writer.

Your officers, directors and advisors also discussed the status of our Division membership campaign. You should receive four membership blanks along with each copy of the October, November and December issues of The Vintage Airplane. This is your organization, and your help is greatly needed to make it grow. Please show your magazines to your friends and acquaintences who are interested in aviation, and give each a membership application. If you belong to a local EAA chapter, please talk up the Division to the other chapter members. Certainly you are not the only member of your chapter who is interested in older airplanes. And don't miss the most important selling point of the season: A membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Division, with its subscription to The Vintage Airp lane magazine, makes a wonderful Christmas gift which lasts all year.

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

EDITORIAL STAFF

ANTIQUE / CLASSIC DIVISION of THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

NOVEMBER 1976

VOLUME 4

NUMBER 11

6fjwcia1 cft:J6UC r9:J1t/w:;h ,76' Off/mnejC{J Publisher Paul H. Poberezny

Editor AI Kelch

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

ANTIQUE / CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS PRESIDENT J. R. NIELANDER, JR .

P. O. BOX 2464 FT. LAUDERDA LE, FL 33303

VICE-PRESIDENT JACK WINTHROP RT . 1, BOX 111 ALLEN , TX 75002

SECRETARY RI CHARD WAGNE R P. O. BOX 181 LYON S, WI 53148

TREASURER E. E. '" BU CK" HILBERT 8102 LEE CH RD .

UNION , IL 60 180

Directors Claude L. Gray, Jr. 9635 Sylvia Aven ue Northridge. CA 91324

AI Kelch 7018 W, Bonniwell Road Mequon , WI 53092

James B. Horne 3840 Coronation Road Eagan . MN 55122

Evander M . Britt Box 1525 Lumberton, NC 28358

George E. Stubbs Box 113 Brownsburg, IN 46112

M. C. " Kelly '" Viets RR 1. Box 151 Stilwell , KS 66085

William J. Ehlen Route 8, Box 506 Tampa , FL 33618

Morton Lester P. O. Box 3747 Martinsville, VA 24112

We have dedicated this issue to the winners and have attempted to have one article for each airplane . The following are winners whose article was not available at press time. Contemporary Age Outstanding Closed Cockpit Monoplane, Sparton Executive, #NC17615, Dr. J. T. Paterson ­ International Award, Tiger Moth ZK-BFX, Ian Bennie - Oil Burner Award, Porterfield, #NC17029, John Innes - Outstanding Workman­ ship , Piper J4, #N30340, Al Anderson - Best Aeronca Champion, #N83633, Melvin Hill - Best Cessna 170 #3543C, George Mock - Best Luscombe, #21268B , Marc Balzao - Best Stinson, #N97654, Geoffrey Bartoldo - Best Swift, #N13SW, Steve Wilson - Best Taylorcraft, #NC96818, Knight/Disch/Joranlien

Assistant Editor Lois Kelch

H. N... Dusty " Rhod es Evand er Britt Jim Barton Claude Gray Ed Escallon Rod Spanier Dal e Gustafson Henry Whee le r Mo rto n Leste r Kelly Viets Bo b Elliott Jack La nn ing Bil l Th u mma Glenn Buffington

ADVI SOR S W , Brad Thomas , Jr. Dale A. Gustafson 301 Dodson Mill Road 7724 Shady Hill Drive Pilot Mountain , NC 27041 Indianapolis , IN 46274 Robert A. White 1207 Falcon Drive Orlando , FL 32803

Roger J. She r ron 446-C Las CaSitas Santa Rosa , CA 95401

Maurice " Sonny" Clavel Box 98 Wauchula , FL 33875

Stan Gomoll 1042 90th Lane, N.E , Minneapolis, MN 55434

THE VI NTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc. and is published monthly at Hales Corners , Wisconsin 53130. Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office , Hales Cor­ ners, Wisconsin 53130 and Random Lake Post Office , Random Lake, Wisconsin 53075, Membership rates for Ant ique Class aircraft, Inc . at $14.00 per 12 month period of which $10.00 is for the publication of THE VINTAG E AIRPLA N E. M embership is open to all who are interested in avia tion.

Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc., Box 229,

Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP o NON-EAA

MEMBER - $34.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Division , 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; one year membership in the Experim ental Aircraft Associa­ tion , 12 monthly issues of SPORT AVIATION and separate membership cards ,

o NON-EAA o

MEMBER - $20.00. Includes one year membershi p in the EAA Ant ique/Classic Division , 12 mont hly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; one year membership in the Experime ntal Aircraft Asso cia­ tion and separate membe rship cards , SPORT AVIATION not inc lud ed , EAA MEMBER - $14.00. Includes one yea r membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Div ision , 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and membership card . (Applicant must be current EAA member and mu st g ive EAA membersh ip number.

PICTURE BOX (Back Cover)

On The Cover

Grand Champion Antique, owned by " Bob" G ro ff and Claude Gray from California.

Copyri g ht

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Grand Champion Classic , owned W. M. Amundson from Wisconsin .

1976 A nt iqu e Classic A ir c ra ft, Inc. All Rig hts Reserve:L

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Grand Champion

American Eagle #3738

By M. R. " Bob" Groff & Claude Gray

9635 Sylvia Avenue

Northridge, CA 91324

The restoration of the Eagle goes back a number of years to 1964. This is when Bob Groff and I found the airplane at Pine City, Minn. It was purchased at this time and shipped to California. Restoration was start­ ed, and the job was completed 51/2 years later. The airplane was all there when purchased, including a runable OX5, propeller, complete set of WWI surplus instrumen ts and all hardware such as the original stranded cable flying, landing, interplane and cabane wires, which we might add are still on the aircraft.

In this first restoration, we say first, because it has just gone through the second, we did a complete disassemble, down to sandblasting, and started over from there. The original top wings were in good condition and are still in use on the plane . New bot­ tom panels were built up at this time. New wood stringers etc. were put on the fuselage, all new bur­ nished cowling was made, the engine was given a 3

major overhaul and all other parts brought up to new condition. During this period we had found a pair of, never been used, 1928 20" aircraft wire wheels with mechanical brakes. These were installed along with a Fairchild PT19 tail wheel assembly . Due to lack of nice grass landing strips in our part of the country, these two items are almost a must. As might have been observed at Oshkosh, we went back to the old tail skid also. The skid and tail wheel are interchange­ able in about 15 minutes.

When the plane was completed the first time, it had the trade mark of American Eagle with the bur­ nished cowling. The fuselage was done in interna­ tional orange along with the fin and rudder. The wings were silver. This was the color scheme when it was shown on the cover of SPORT AVIATION in March of 1970. The plane was flown to many West Coast Fly-Ins from spring of 1969 to June of 1970.

At this time it and me, Claude, and three different sets of power lines got in each other's way in one of our many mountain passes we have to fly through to get from A to B. It might be added that the power line incident was brought on by the fact that the power companies find it cheaper to replace lines once in a while, than it is to pu t markers on them so we can see them. The start of my troubles was a set of wires from one mountain to another at about 400 feet. The third set I hit, breaking the landing gear, and upon landing I finally flipped over due to a wheel dragging on the wing. This is past history now, and the plane was not too badly damaged .

This misfortune was turned into a good fortune as it gave us a chance to make a few desired changes and to do the plane back to its original and authentic factory new condition. This was desired because in the Antique and Classic Division of EAA, we had formed up our currently used point system of judging aircraft. This has been used the past 2 years at Osh­ kosh. The past few months has had articles in both SPORT AVIATION and The Vintage Aircraft maga­ zines explaining this system. It has been well re­ ceived and some of the other divisions are now using it. It was our desire to restore the Eagle this time as near to the letter of the new judging rules as possible.

Restoring an aircraft to factory authentic condition means not using elastic step nuts on an airplane that was built before this type of locknut was invented, along with AN type hoses and fittings, shielded har­ ness, etc. The Eagle was put together at the factory in 1927 with hardware store round head stove bolts and round head wood screws, castle nuts and many cotter pins and clevis pins . Cowling pins and piano

wire pins were used to hold cowling on, and cotton fabric and dope was the standard finish. Chrome was not in use in the 20s but nickel plate had come out, and the Eagles left the factory with choice of cad. plate or nickel plate struts. This Eagle left the factory with the nickel plate as was used in the restoration.

For the trip to Oshkosh this year, we trucked the plane to AI Kelch's beautiful grass strip outside of Milwaukee, and assembled it there. After a short test flight it was flown on to the Fly-In. It will be re­ loaded in the truck this fall for the trip back to Cali­ fornia .

On this second restoration we did make all new cowling again, as we found a much be tter burnishing process. After some gear repair, new cabanes, some rib repair, top overhaul on the engine, new prop and a new cover job, it was back flying. Without the help of many good friends we would not have made it this year. We were still spraying dope on some wing panels on a Wednesday morning and that night at 11:30 p.m . we were at the road with the plane in the truck . Bob Groff and I want to give credit and thanks to our good friends and "crewmen" Obie Tollman, Don Birlew, Bob Conover and Allen Logsden for all the effort it took to get the job done, and get the plane flying again .

A little history on the Eagle. It is a 1927 Model 101, serial #82. It was completed in Dec. of 1927. In Feb. of 1928 it was delivered to the dealer in Minneapolis, Minn. He used it two weeks for flight training and demonstration flights, and sold it to a Mr . Freeman in Pine City. Mr. Freeman flew off of his farm until 1941 when WWII grounded all private aircraft. It sat in a small hangar from then until 1964. The old CAA records show a recover job in 1935 and back fly­ ing after that. A set of large wooden snow skis came with the airplane, but due to climatic conditions in Southern Calif. we have found little use for them so far. The OX5 engine was built in Sept. of 1918 by the Willys Motor Co . There are a few 1928 and 1929 model Eagles flying, but as far as we know, this is the only 1927. This was the first year of production. There are a number of differences between the two models .

The 27 has ailerons on the top wings only. A larger balanced rudder is used, it has a narrower gear, no door to the front cockpit and does not have an elevator trim in the pilot's cockpit. Washer adjust­ ment only on the leading edge of the stab. The lead­ ing edge of the wings have false ribs instead of solid panel leading edge. This gives the plane a vintage look that has long since passed. It was, and still is, a very basic flying machine .

" We 've grown very fond of old 'Zeke'."

Grand Champ 3738 when new in December 1927.

Reserve Grand

Champion (Tie)

American Eaglet #548Y 1931

By Gene Morris 1028 Van Tassel Dr. Dundee, IL 60118 Picture taken at the place of discovery 1956.

It was a bare bones start 1964.

"But when Mr . Szekely built that engine, brand new, it wasn't worth a damn" , agrued Ernie Seiler.

We were discussing flying our newly purchased "American Eaglet" from Marshfield, Missouri to the Chicago area , four hundred slow miles away.

Even though Ernie was the selier, he thought that we should dismantle the little bird and truck it home.

"No way", I insisted, "I wouldn't have an airplane that wouldn't fly that far." Especially since the air足 plane and engine had been completely rebuilt five years before, and had flown less than five hours since.

Next, was the thirty minute ground school on Szekely maintenance and operating t echniques, with heavy emphasis on keeping the rpm down.

Another two minutes, or perhaps I just missed them, covering oiling the push rod ends, would have pre足

Mary and Gene Morris sort of take you back to the early thirties standing there beside old "Zeke " . The whole scene is too free of grease and oil to be true.

Gene Morris pushed the Eaglet all the way up here so Ted Koston could capture this proof.

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vented two forced landings on the trip home; one for myself, and one for son Ken. Ken had come along in the Bonanza with my wife Mary, as a relief pilot. (I didn't really need a relief pilot, just a relief butt) Guess who did the most flying? (Well he needs the time more than I do) The ensuing trip home was ably re­ corded and written by Ken, which was published in Vintage magazine February 1976.

At that time, Oshkosh '75 was only a week away.

A frantic effort to re-do some cowling ended in a terrible mismatch of colors, the cowling being at least three shades lighter than the fabric.

After really participating in the Oshkosh Con­ vention for the first time, and meeting so many of the wonderful people there , especially antiquers, and learning what "like new" condition means, it was decided to go all through the Eaglet that winter.

The remainder of the summer was spent painting and rematching the cowling many times, always photographing each 'new fix' as if it was a baby pic­ ture . I also installed the original 7.00 x 4 wheels and tires. The wheels are 1931 style, which have bronze bushings instead of roller bearings.

Forty hours were added to the log books through­ out the summer and fall. The season ended November 15th when we made the last flight to restoration.

One of my neighbors has a farm close by, and he kindly consented to our storing the Eaglet in his huge barn. After sneaking in a landing on a little ser­ vice road behind the barn, the Eaglet was dismantled and stored there until our garage could be readied for the fuselage or a wing, but only one at a time.

While in the barn, the engine was removed and finally I was able to send those darned Bosch mags off for overhaul. Al Lowe should be glad to hear that! The only other engine work done was having the exhaust valves stellited, and new rings were installed. I also made new gaskets for the front and rear cases, and then re-saftied everything with brass safety wire, just like 1931. With all new paint and sand blasted heads, the old "Zeke" was pretty as a jewel.

Some time later, the fuselage was brought to our unheated garage for the ensuing winter's work.

As I began to remove parts and pieces from the fuselage, I had no idea just how far I was going, but as the pieces disappeared, it seemed so easy to take off more. Finally, only the floorboards were left, and since they were wired in from beneath, and I was not going to remove the fabric, they would remain .

I did, however, veneer a sixteenth inch mahogany piece over the old ones, and no one will ever know ­ 'til now.

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The original instruments were taken to WSM Instruments in DeKalb for refinishing. They in turn sent the faces into Chicago for the actual art work .

I was later informed that ·the Chicago company had called back and said that the tachometer alone would cost fifteen dollars, and that maybe I would not wish to spend that much . WSM did the right thing, and they are beautiful.

Anyone that has ever used "krinkle" paint, can appreciate how I smelled up the house cooking the instrument panel in the oven . I must have painted and stripped that thing six times before getting a finish that I could live with. The mag switch alone took about a week, with several strippings and re­ paintings. I wanted it to have a nice glass black lac­ quer, with the embossed lettering white. Just put in the white and wipe off the excess, I thought, but it always smeared the black finish. After thinking on it for several days, I finally hit upon the right com­ bination; latex white paint was used next, and it worked perfectly. Finally to really put the finising touch on the panel, with Al Kelch's help, I was able to obtain a brand new nameplate to mount on my now all new instrument panel.

My wife was going to school through the winter, so I spent many hours alone on my days off, work­ ing alone, just me, the Eaglet and my television and radio .

All new wiring was installed - all three of them.

New cables were also installed for the rudder and the elevators . I had intended to do the five-point navy splice to the ends, but had to succumb to ig­ norance and butter fingers, so swedges were used.

A week after final assembly, I met Warren Cronce, who could have done it for me blindfolded.

I had been having trouble with the windshield cracking, so decided to put a curved set in it, by heat­ ing. Can you imagine what would happen if you forgot about plexiglass being in an oven? Mary's no dummy you know, and she warned me that that would hap­ pen sometime . (Fortunately it did not stick to the oven, but what a mess)!

The only reason I repainted the entire airplane, was so that I could put the NC back on it. When Ernie rebuilt it in 1970, only the N was legal. Authenticity was to be the uppermost throughout the project.

As the NC was put back on, the brakes were left off, and the tails kid remained, which is a very flimsy design - but original. , We were amazed at how it taxies without brakes, very nearly like a steerable tailwheel, unless there is a wind, then it gets very exciting up to the point

of bailing out while rolling toward some immovable object, or not flying at all.

As Spring approached, I was ready for doping, and my hopes climbed . Who hasn't tried doping in early Spring, and seen insignia blue dope turn snow white? Yes I used retarder - lots . The wings were doped at the barn, and in spite of the crude set-up, turned out pretty good. The original cover was Grade A with butyrate. I redoped with b~tyrate after wash­ ing each piece with thinner. (So far so good) Our crude transportation system from the barn, almost did-in one of the wings. Mary helped me take each wing to the airport on top of the car. It was very windy, and the first wing acted just as it should, and almost took off, cracking a rib and damaging the trailing edge in the aileron area . It could have been worse I guess, but I wasn't very happy.

Final assembly was made May 26th in plenty of time for Oshkosh '76. As a matter of fact, before go­ ing to Oshkosh, I had to redo some cowling and re­ paint the landing gear, because of flying it so much.

Mary flew the Eaglet to Oshkosh this year, and the "big week" was good to us, sending us home with a very handsome "Reserve Grand Champion" trophy.

Three short weeks later, I pointed the Szekely toward Blakesburg, Iowa and added some more long hours to the log . While at Blakesburg, Mary and I really abused the little bird, flying it about three hours each day, hopping passengers and taking pictures.

While there, Gar Williams made the classic statement of the week asking "Are you saving enough time on that engine to get home?" We did, and old "Zeke" is still popping along. It looks as though he will just rest this winter, but what will I do? Anyone know of a Buhl Pup or a Curtiss Junior? We've grown very fond of old "Zeke".

Editor's Note: Gene Morris' Eaglet has become a fixture at most fly-ins in the two years that it has been flying. He has obviously gotten more service out of the Szekely engine than was the practice in the day that it was new. I have accompanied Gene to fly-ins with my 85 hp J3 Cub, and found it to be a spritely little machine for its horse­ power. His whole family flies and enjoys this ma­ chine. It is a pleasure to see him in the air.

- AI Kelch

Reserve Grand Champion Ryan PT-22 (Tie) "OUR RYAN"

By Tom Macario 410 Conestoga Rd. Malvern, PA 19355

This article about a delightful, antique airplane, starts back in March of 1973. I received a call, one evening, from John Eney, an antique buff, who is dedicated to restoring a Waco UPF-7. He called to let me know that he planned to sell his Ryan ST3-KR (PT-22) wh,i ch he had purchased two months earlier in upper New York State . At that time, John dis ­ assembled the plane and trailered it down to Van Sant's Airport in Erwinna , Pa ., where he put th e Ryan in a sectioned off area in the back of the hangar, with little space to work . When an opportunity to buy a house with a large shop behind it came along, and he needed money for a down paymen t, he d e­ cided to sell the Ryan, and phoned me to see if I was interested . I gave the offer much thought and asked my wife, Kate (pilot for 33 yrs ., mother of 4 pilots and 3 girls , bookkeeper and purchasing agent for our "Macario Enterprises"), and three of our sons,

their OpInIOnS, as it had been only six months since we completed our Pitcairn Mailwing restoration (centerfold of SPORT AVIATION, June 1973) if they were ready to undertake another antique restora­ tion. I told them how back in 1950, I recovered the wings on a Ryan PT-22 belonging to a friend of mine, and how well the airplane flew, reminding Kate of the aerobatics we did in it when she was pregnant with #1 son, Michael. My memories of that Ryan were strong, so the die was cast! I called John Eney and told him we would buy the Ryan. The following week the Ryan was in our two-car garage, and the work began.

The aircraft was in excellent condition with no corrosion, whatsoever. The spars were well varnished and looked like a new piano. We completely dis­ assembled every nut and bolt, gutted the fuselage, removing everything that was bolted or screwed on, leaving the bare shell. The interior skin was then zinc chromated from tailpost to firewall by M9tthew and Mark, our twins . The fuselage was put b~ck to­ gether with all new control cables, new pulleys, new ball bearings in controls, new bolts, and all . the ori­ ginal instruments were bench-tested and reinstaH ed, new placards and decals applied, just as the aircraft rolled off Ryan's production line in 1942. The outer skin had two red stripes d own the side, which were removed, and the beautiful, natural finish was hand­ polished to a mirror-like surface. The wings and tail group were recovered with Ceconite, and finished with 24 coats of Butyrate dope, wet-sanded and hand­ rubbed many times.

The engine had abou t 55 hrs. since overhaul and looked to be in good shape. However, we checked the compression and found that good, removed and retimed bo th magnetos, removed all rocker arms and checked their bearings, reset all valves, cleaned all screens, removed oil tank and cleaned interior and polished exterior. New landing gear shock struts and brakes w ere purchased from Lou Leibee of Cal., new tires and tail wheel assembly installed, the air­ craft reassembled with all new bolts, new clevis pins in all landing and flying wires, and rigged, using the PT-22 Maintenance Manual. The ship was finished as it was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps in May 1942. The test flight on Nov. 14th, 1973 was per­ fect; the ship trimmed out and flew hands off! The only adjustment made, was to increase the tension on the right front landing wire, which tended to vi: brate in cruise. The spinner prop, which Ole Fahlin made for us, was very smooth, and the ship indicated 110 mph at 1600 rpm.

Kate and Tom.

Kate working on the PT-22.

Mark and Tom starting to reassemble the Ryan.

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After reacquainting myself with the Ryan's aero­ batic capabilities: delightful loops, snap, slow and barrel rolls, and spins, I thought I had better land and start ch ecking out the three boys, who for the past eight months, had worked hard and long hours for this moment. Michael, the oldes t and who had prenatal Ryan time , was first. With very few tail­ dragger solo hours in the Pitcairn Mailwing, I turned him loose in the Ryan after th ree and a half hours of stalls, spins, take-off and landings. The twins, Mat­ thew and Mark, who had no tail-dragger time, and less than 100 hours in our Cessna 150, checked out in five hours. This, to me, shows what a great, little airplane and trainer, Claude Ryan built for our coun­ try. Our boys take great pleasure flying the thirty­ four year old Ryan to Air Shows and bringing home awards and trophies, eight, so far. We were all thrilled to receive the bust of Lindbergh trophy from the EAA Fly-In at Oshkosh this year, for the Reserve Grand Champion Vintage A ward.

It would take the Spirit of St. Louis to rival the Swallow for lines of print.

Golden Age Champion

Swallow Mail Plane

By Buck Hilbert 8102 Leech Rd. Union Grove, IL 60180

The Flight of the Swallow, The re-enact ment of that first CAM flight April 6th, 1926 had a personal motive other than United Airlines 50th birthday.

Not only was it the realization of a boyhood dream , but it was a chance to show the heroes of my boy7

hood that I did grow up and I could do the things that they did . It placed me at an acceptable level where I could now look them right in the eye.

When Lindberg flew over Rockford, Illinois in 1927, on tour with The "Spirit" after his epic flight, I was a goner. I caught the Airplane disease and was lost forever. The Burlington R.R., where my Dad was a Signal Engineer, lost forever their number one fan.

And from that time on, every other sentence I spoke began or ended with AEROPLANE! I rode my bicycle thrity to forty miles a day tour­ ing the airports around Chicago. I watched the planes and the pilots who fl ew them until I could stand it no longer, then I tried to get near enough to touch them , to talk to the pilots, the mechanics, to the fel­ low watchers who also were lined up agai nst the fence. That skinny buck-toothed kid became the pest at every airport, shop and hangar h e cou ld peddle his bike to. I was chased away many times, encouraged at other times, but mostly I was treated like what I was, a nosey, pesky kid. There were times w hen I'd be invited in and then made th e butt of the left handed monkey wrench joke, or maybe I'd be sent out for a bucket of prop-wash. There were sweet moments thou gh, when I'd actually get to wash an aeroplane, or get to sit in the cockpit of a derilect and actually feel like a pilot. That made it all worthwhile.

Now forty-five or more years down life's road, United Airlines has me flying the Swallow on tour

throughout the Midwest and Eastern parts of the United States through the cities on United Airlines System. At every United city along the way, the "Old Timers" came out to see the airplane and to talk about the old da ys. It's like ha ving the shoe on the o ther foot. Its ME who is now the one to be envied. The PILOT they look UP to.

In a way, I feel real sad. At many of these places I meet people who are legend to the modern aviators.

I am honored that they have come to see the Swallow and that they now treat me as tho I were their equal.

I am one of them at la st. I am allowed to share the secrets because there are no secrets anymore. I know, now, what th ey knew. But they are outside that fence that I so longed to jump when I was that kid.

But I am not vegance bent, and at each stop I answer each question. I take part in the jokes and my joy knows no bounds because I can now talk with these people with no status gap between us. I am accepted now and I am grateful. I reciprocate in the only way I could.

I laud them in the presence of oth ers, I laugh with them over our often told old jokes, and best of all I can go them one better, I give THEM rides in the Swallow. I have my revenge. Sweeter better revenge then I cou ld hope for. I give them back a moment of their youth. I see old men revive and become again the idols of my youth. That is sweeter than any revenge, and it brings a tear to my eye that can only be the re­ sult of happiness so great that I want to cry.

Majestic and beautiful are the only two adjectives I can think of to describe this machine.

Silver Age Champion Hamilton Metalplane H·47 NC879H (current) SPCLM Serial number 65

(22 of 29 Aircraft of The Type Built)

Type Certificate #94

Owner: Jack Lysdale

Lysdale Flying Service

Fleming Field

South St. Paul, MN

Originally sold to the Canadian Forestry Service, later owned by Joe Crosson of Northwest Air Service based at Boeing Field, Washington, then owned by John Milton Cross who operated out of Deering, Alaska. Plane originally delivered on floats, but later fitted with land wheels and used interchangeably thereafter. During its service with Joe Crosson, aircraft probably got its American registration of N875H. Plane was last flown on July 10, 1947. Last logbook entry by John Cross indicated 5183.3 hours tolal time on the airframe.

The aircraft was removed from service, so the story goes, because someone inadvertantly taxied,it into the side of the hangar and bent the prop, broke

up an engine cylinder and some longerons. The plane lay outside near Lake Hood close to Anchorage, Alaska, until it was given to Northwest Airlines Captain Harry McKee, who had it trucked to the Minneapolisl St. Paul area . He had convinced the Northwest Air­ lines 20-year Club (old-timers at NW) that the plane could be restored. The 20-year Club commenced work on it in January of 1954, with their work con­ tinuing through April of 1955.

A move from st. Paul to Minneapolis in the offing, work on the Hamilton project stopped. The parts were moved to a farm south of St. Paul, owned by NW Cap­ tain Chuck Doyle. A little over a year later the parts were moved by Jack Lysdale to Fleming Field, south of St. Paul where they sat from the early sixties until Jack finally acquired the parts from McKee and started the real rebuilding in the fall of 1971.

Engine

Pratt and Whitney Hornet R-1690 Horsepower: 525 at 1900 rpm

The engine on the Lysdale Hamilton restoration last ran in 1937, when it hung on one of Northwest Airlines fleet Hamiltons. It was rebuilt in the North­ west engine shop by the shop foreman, Chet "Tiny" Larson in the e.IJrly 1950's when they attempted to restore the plane the first time. In the years following that overhaul, the engine never ran, but somehow acquired a cracked rocker box and some corroded cylinders. In 1971 Tiny Larson again overhauled the

engine for Jack Lysdale and replaced the two bad cylinders and the rocker box. A special rocker arm installation tool had to be built.

In flight, the Hornet engine consumes approxi­ mately 25 gallons of gas per hour and one quart of oil. At 50% power, the engine will propell the air­ plane at 105 miles per hour.

Airframe

Access Stands - To begin with, a large stand was welded up to hold the fuselage. The stand was pro­ vided with wheels so the large structure could be easily rolled from one part of the shop, where it was being stripped and cleaned, to another where the sheet metal could be worked on or the interior could be dealt with . The wheels could be jacked up so that the entire stand was immobilized for stability. A large wind stand was made to hold one wing at a time. A clever lazy susan was engineered to hold the cowling nose cap. This was necessary for the burnishing of circles in concentric lines and perfectly aligned rows.

The nose cap was .sanded, then the burnished circles were put on witD a steel brush shortened and wrapped tight. It was inserted in an electric drill which rode on an arm over the lazy susan. Each row 'of circles took 45 minutes to burnish. The total cowling group had 19 separate pieces, of which 15 were made over and carefully burnished. The nose cap was welded and patched before burnishing. All new piano hinges 8

we re made by Lysda le a nd they cons umed 40 ho urs of wo rk alo ne . Th e lo uvres in th e rig ht a nd left hil nd s id e pa ne ls we re s til mped fr o m a se t o f la min a ted hardwood dies th a t required il s ingle wee k to make .

Th e fir e wall w as mad e n ew . Th e o rigin a l, u se d as a pa ttern only, had been weake ned by dozens of ex tra holes cut in th e course of tim e. Th e new fir e­ wa ll was made from s tainl ess s teel.

Th e fue l ta nks were mil de new using th e old o nes ilS pa tte rn s. Two 70 gil il o n ta n ks requi re d th e use oHu rnplilte material, as that hild bee n used in th e ori­ gin als. ·11 wo uld have bee n ve ry eilsy a nd h a nd y to make th em fro m aluminum, but Jac k d ecided to stick to th e o ri g in a l. Turn p la te s teel h ad a lea d coa tin g to preve nt ru s t. Th e old ta nk ba ffl es a nd fill e r necks were u sed. Compl e te ly ne w access co v ers fo r th e wings we re fabrica ted as we re all o f the s tra ps, cush ­ io n strips a nd turnbu ckles .

Th e sa m e proce dure was n ecessary for th e te n gallo n oil ta nk that sits in the rig ht leading ed ge.

The fuselage itself, mad e of rive ted o pen sectio n alclad , was disassembled . The w ings, semi ca ntileve r with ri ve ted dural tubing spare we re disa sse mbl ed and clea ned . 2/ 3 of the corrugated s kin was re placed o n fu selage a nd w ings. Alcoa aluminum ha d o riginally ro lled some 1500 fee t of new skin fo r No rth wes t in th e ea rl y fifties, a nd Jac k acquired tha t from McKee .

The s kin had bee n rolled on s pecial woode n dies to the exact original p a tte rn. An original 1929 corruga ted aluminum crimpin g tool w as loca ted and thu s Jac k was able to re produ ce the precise edge crimp o n the new alclad pa nels.

As a ma tte r of inte res t, th e w indow fra me s ta mp­ ings we re originally do ne in 1929 fro m th e 1927 Nas h pa sse nge r se dan a uto w indow di es . Mr. Nas h ha d a fin a ncial inte res t in th e Hamilto n Compan y a t tha t time .

All 29 H a milto n s o f thi s ty pe w e re indi vidu a ls, eve ryone bein g slig htl y di ffe re nt fro m th e nex t. Som e had pia no-hinged lea ding edges, so me had P-K screws holding th e panels o n . Jack Lysd ale d ecid ed to use th e m e th od that No rth wes t Airlin es fo und m os t ef­ fici e nt on th eir fl eet ships. Jack used screws and pla te nuts fo r th ese pa nels. Each w ing n eeded 680 screws a nd pla te nuts, a nd each pl a te nut was secured by two ri ve ts. As if thi s was no t a big e noug h opera tion, all new lea ding edge ribs we re built as th e originals were wea k from the mil ny holes of larger a nd la rger sizes d rilled in th em over the co urse of time . To ma ke th e sm a ll ribs, a s pecia l jig was bu ilt. They are alumi­ num ribs.

S hock s truts w ere disasse mbl ed a nd rebuilt a nd 9

re pl a ted , ilJ1d magnilfl uxed. The o rigina l leil ther chev­ ro n gil s ke ts we re rep l.1Ccd w ith O - ring" fo r th e sake of safety an d lo nge r life .

Jac k ins til ll ed hydra uli c brakes. Tho ug h th e pl'1ne had no t o rigin a ll y co mc w ith th e m, sin ce it was de­ li ve re d o n fl oats, a nd th e la nd -p la n e ve rs io n h ad m ec ha ni ca l bra kes, No rth wes t Ai rlines did p ut hy­ d ra ulic bra kes o n th eir Ha milto ns in th e ea rl y thi rti es.

Jac k use d Goo d yea r units, a nd h ad to m ilch in e a w re n ch fo r il dju s tin g th e multipl e di scs. Jack a lso had to machin e m os t of th e bra ke cylind e r pa rts a nd co uplings .

Wh eel a nd tire sizes were o ptio nal in 1930 . Whe n he ilcquired it, th e H a milto n had a pair o f 36 x 8 Good ­ yea r ti res a nd w heels, w hi ch w ere simil ar to o ri gin als.

Unfo rtun a tely th e tires w e re unu sa bl e a nd new o nes could no t be purch ased o r s pecial o rd e red th ro u g h G ood yea r. As a modifica tion , Nor th wes t's fl eet had been give n the la rger 35 x 15 Good yea r air w h eels fo r so ft fi eld s. A pair o f th ese tires was loca ted by a ttor­ n ey Jim Schumac h er. S tor y ha s it th a t th ese tires were s urplu s to th e Goo d yea r Blimp prog ra m . With such airwheels, it was necessary to modify the axles of th e pla ne to allow fo r a tread of 13' 7". New axle ex te n s io n s w e re s hrunk o nto th e o ld ax les w ith a h elia rc a nd magnalfu xed . Th e rea r d rag s tru t had to be slightl y s ho rte ned to p reve nt a toe- in s itua tio n .

La nding lights were a headach e. Very few of the orig in a l pi eces re ma in ed usable. Ne w le ns es w e re mold ed from pl e xi g la s. Bulb h olde rs, rims a nd re­ fl ectors were re mad e, as well as all th e brac ke ts a nd fittin gs necessa ry to hold the m. Th e lig hts we re give n an o utwa rd ang le of illuminiltio n beca u se tha t' s th e way th e original s were . Th e reason is that w h e n la nd­ ing o n th e unimp roved fi elds o f its day , th e Ha mil­ ton pilo t need ed th e periphe ral vie w o f the fi eld. H is forewa rd visability was fa irly res tricted .

The pitot sys te m was mad e to duplica te the original.

The ri ser a bove th e w in g o n th e original was broke n .

After th e pa rts we re made, th ey w e re cad pla ted to duplica te th e original. A brass ve nturi w as very ha rd to find , but one was eve ntuall y fo und a nd ins talled to d rive th e turn a nd ba nk indica to r.

Two fu e l g u ages are m o unted be hind th e p il o t a nd co -pil o t o n th e coc kpit b ulkh ea d . T h ey are simply glass tubes in w hich th e fu el level is vis ible.

The co mpa ss, originally mounted on th e same bulk­ h ead behind the pilot a nd vi ew ed through a m irror syste m o n the co nt rol pa nel, was cha nged b y No rth­ wes t A irl in es w h e n th ey bega n ni g ht m a il fl ig hts, fo r th e sa ke of be tter vis ibility .

Mo unted be nea th th e pilo t's sea t is a Pfi ster fi re

exting ui she r, ha rd to ge t a t in th e event of a n e me r­ ge ncy in th e tin y cockp it, but neve rth eless pe r origin al.

All ins trum e nts th a t ca m e w ith th e pl a ne w h e n Lys d a le go t it we re re bu ilt a nd re lumin esce d . Th e o rig in al ins trume nt pa nel had severa l incorrect holes cut into it th ro ug h the yea rs, a nd Lysda le mad e up a new pa nel to d upli cil te th e o rigin al. To sup ple m ent th e in s trume nts h e had , Lysd ale had to find va ri ous ite ms he didn ' t get.

The electrical sys te m hil d to be compl e tely re ma nu ­ factured as nothing o f the original re mained . The ba t­ te ry is und e r the co-pilo t' s sea t w h e re it was in th e o riginal.

The p la ne had p ush -rod co nt ro ls. S ince so m e o f th e o rigin al rod s had ru sted a nd be nt, a nd som e were missin g altogether, a complete set o f ne w ones we re built. Th e rudd e r, ele va to r a nd eleva to r trim co ntrol rods p ass throug h tubes that run across th e le n g th of th e cabin ceiling .

The passe nger cabin door was co mpl etely rebuilt.

It was firs t di sassembl ed , its fram e rebuilt, th e wood en inn a rd s cut from h ardwood , th e la tc h m ech a ni s m replilced . The windup m echanism originally used w as probably purchased fro m the Ford com a pny, beca use up o n exa minatio n a Ford w indup was fo und to be id e ntica l, so " n ew" old Ford Mod el A w indow ro ll­ ups were put into th e d oor, a nd th e ca bin w indow on th e rig ht hand s ide as well. Once the d oor was reskinned with co rru ga ted ma te rial a nd the glass re­ placed , th e woode n fra m e wa s rebuilt, s ta ined , a nd va rnis h ed as we re all the o th er ca bin wi ndows a nd fra m es. Fin a ll y a bra nd-n ew h a ndl e was m ac hined fro m a solid piece of aluminum block to th e specifica­ ti o n s of th e o rig in al a nd ins talled . Th e bacin e ntry s tep was sca led from photos by Art Mills, w elded up and ins tall ed , th e n sa fe ty- wired .

The baggage door was redo ne a nd th e a pp ro pria te p laca rds pa inted o n the inside.

Finally, th e inside was red o ne. To begin w ith , the six passe nger seil ts were re mad e . The o riginals, lo ng sin ce having th eir ar m res ts cut off, had s uffered the slings a nd a rro ws of o utra geou s fo rtune, but co uld be u sed as pa tte rn s.

A cha ir jig was m e ticulo u s ly asse m bled a nd th e p ro pe r sized tubing w as cut, be nt a nd welded. Thus six n ew sea ts ca m e into being.

Enter into the picture, Mr. Pa ul Va nce, na ti ve of South S t. Paul, re tired , a nd a chair caning s pecialist by ho bby. Pa ul did a m as te rful jo b o n th e caning, a precise du pli cate of th e o riginafs, which coul d be see n in ph o togra p hs. W h e n a loca l woo d wor kin g s hop su gges ted a preserva tive for th e ca ning, it be­

came disast e r, with the caning turning color and cracking. Paul Vance took th e seats apart and caned th em a second time.

Atop the caning job came the seat cushions. They and the interior panels that Lysdale had cut were carefully uphols tered in the original style and colors

by American Auto Trim of St. Paul. Since one of the optional interiors of the Hamilton from the factory had been a leatherette (the other was real leather), naughahyde was used. New passenger grip pom-poms were sought and how to replace them was a problem, until one of the antique car buffs discovered that a company in Edinburgh, Scotland, was making a very similar item for the restoration of old Rolls­ Royces. They were ordered, and put in.

Floorboards of the original were terribly bent and wrinkled, thus it was decided that in remaking th e m , a sli g htly heavier g ua ge material would be used. Thus an .055 steel ins tead of the original .040 took their place. On top of them a carpet matching the original was added. Finally seat belts of appro­ priate vintage are just now bei ng installed. Though th e Hamilton did not come from the factory with sea t belts, Northwest did add them later. l:he fuselage was painted in silver Alumagrip paint. Jack decided on this permanent finish instead of leaving the ship bare metal. This concession, and only a few others like the ELT and the strobes were added in the interest of safety and durability in the preservation of this rarest monplane in North Ameri­ ca. Jack did not put in a radio for purposes of keep­ ing as close to original as h e could.

The logotype on the aircraft side was one of the few things not touched by the Lysdale restoration.

It had been done at the time of the Northwest attempt at restoration in the early fifties by Frank Toll. Frank, who had passed away si nce then , was the o ri ginal painter fo r Northwest. It was h e who had painted all the logos on the Hamiltons and the Ford Trimotors in the thirties . As Frank had done a fine job, the logos were carefully masked and painted around, thus preserving this fine tribute to th e man, and adding a real bit of authenticity to th e bird.

The NC number NC879H was procurred to match a Northwest fleet ship of the thirties. All of the mark­ ings on the Lysdale plane are exac t duplicates of Northwest's fleet number 27 aircraft. In order to get this N-number, Jack found the owner of a Cherokee to w hom it had been re-issued and after paying for th e FAA tran sfer of numbers, the procurement of a new number and the repainting of th e Cherokee, Jack was able to complete his plans.

A special towbar was manufactured to fit the ori­ ginal towing eyes on the Hamilton tailwheel. An early post-war Ford tractor was painstakingly restored to pull the towbar and haul the airplane in and out of its Fleming Field hangar.

Finally, the ship was issued a permanent air­ worthiness certificate on July 28, 1975, and certified in the Standard Normal category.

How does the airplane fly? One or two that have flown it claim it handles with all the charm of a DC-3.

Jack thinks it is very similar to one of the big Travel Airs of the thirties . Jack also reports that it gets off the ground in less than 500 feet and that the engine doesn't even get up to full power before the ship is airborne.

Economy cruise is around 105 mph. The plane is very stable, in fact Jack smiles when he tells of his fears that it wouldn't be a good flying airplane, and that he would have a hangar queen on his hands after the restoration. It is a pleasure to fly, he reports .

The rudder is slightly heavy and the ailerons are very light. It is, however, easy to overcontrol and the power technique must be mastered. In the cockpit bulkhead a normal conversation can be carried on.

It is tight and fairly warm up front also. The passenger cabin is roomy and the seats are marvelously com­ fortable.

Northwest Airlines hired Jack to fly and feature the Hamilton in a promotional film geared for their tra vel agents. Jack spent a week during the summer of 1975 fl ying in and out of a small grass field for the cameras.

In August of 1975 the ship flew to the AAA na­ tional convention at Blakesburg and won the Grand Championship, along with four o~her trophies . That trip was certainly the highlight of the Hamilton career and of Jack Lysdale's as well.

In July of 1976 the ship was flown to the Oshkosh EAA convention and won the Silver Age Champion, trophy (1928-1932) .

Silver Age Runner Up

Waco QCF-2 - N11427

By Lee Parsons

5043 Kensington Road N.E.

Carrollton, OH 44615

I purchased my Waco QCF-2 from Bill Gieb of Strongsville, Ohio on September 1, 1962, thus end­ ing a long and frustrating search for an open biplane in good, flying condition.

Editor's Note: Jack Lysdale is to be commended At the time of purchase, I didn't fully realize what for his fortitude in tackling such a project as the a fine aircraft I had happened onto. After a few hours Hamilton . It is unfortunate this article could not of flying I knew that all the fine things that I had contain the biographies and the credits to the hea rd about the F-2 were true and then some. men who helped in this restoration, but space did The sensations of flying it were exactly what I not allow it. The article was written by Noel Al­ h ad always felt flying should be like, but until I flew lard, who followed the project from its instigation, the F-2 I had begun to think that an airplane of such to completion. It is truly awe inspiring to realize performance was just a left over boyhood dream of how much work of perfectionist quality has gone what flying an airplane would be like. in to the making of this historic big mother bird.

Such an attachment, brought about the realiza­ - AI Kelch tion that later it would have to be restored. I began 10

to collect both parts and knowledge to be prepared for the coming day of reckoning.

At the fly-ins I would pick out the airplanes that impressed me most, and try to determine if any of the ideas used on their restoration could be adapted to my aircraft. I felt it prudent to stick with ideas proven by usage on someone elses aircraft. Over the years, my "WACO INFO" notebook was filled to overflowing.

Hundreds of hours of operation of my own air­ plane made it evident that there were numerous modi­ fications which were desirable.

The question of what type of fabric and finish to use was slowly answered by Vince Mariani and the beautiful restoration of his VKS-7F. Each year, it defied the predictions of those who claimed that its fantastic 30 coat finish would crack and p eel. Vince was most helpful in patiently answering my ques­ tions . Few people are willing to go to the extremes of pointing out the mistakes that they made on their airplane as Vince did.

Cliff DuCharme provided much of my 220 Con­ tinental engine education, and eventually agreed to build up a custom engine from new surplus parts to my specifications. Unfortunately, this was to be one of the last engines Cliff would build up prior to his untimely death.

As the time for starting the restoration approached, I asked my friend, Jim Shannon who is an AI and a natural born mechanic, if he would assist me with the restoration . Not realizing what he was getting into, Jim agreed and during the month of October 1970 we disassembled the aircraft and prepared to start the restoration . It had given me 8 years and ap­ proximately 650 hours of pleasure and ample time to prepare for its restoration .

The fuselage needed the most work, so that is where we began. The fuselage was stripped, sand­ blasted and every weld dye checked, and the same for the landing gear and tail surfaces . The brakes and landing gear were completely rebuilt, including replacing the shock strut packing riut with a newly designed nut utilizing "0" rings. All tubing was primed and painted in the original Waco gray. Two applications of hot tube oil were injected into all tubular structures.

At about this point in the project (Spring of '71), I was fortunate enough to purchase a property with a 2500' licensed landing strip. This necessitated sell­ ing my house and moving, building a hangar, pre­ paring the long-neglected landing strip for use, etc.

One of my new neighbors, Raymond Guess, was 11

Color scheme is exactly the same as AI Williams' Gulfhawk. "Well he copied it from a Waco."

found to have a very well-equipped sheet metal shop.

Raymond's assistance with the new stainless firewall and other sheet metal work filled a need that I had been unable to fulfill prior to moving. Work was again underway .

With the exception of the turtle deck aft of the rear cockpit, all new wood was used . The luggage compartment door and the headrest fairing were the only sheet metal parts to be reused.

Waco's method of anchoring metal cowlings and fairings with wood screws, screwed into wood fair­ ing blocks taped to the longerons, was replaced by extruded aluminum angle strips fastened to the long­ erons.

The landing gear was reinstalled, along with the old engine and center section. Now all new fuel and oil lines were made up and installed and all engine controls and instruments were hooked up.

I decided to go first class and install a Mott in­ terior. Waco had failed to provide access to the space between the interior liner and the outside fabric, you had to cut through the interior material or cut through the outside fabric cover. Having faced this option on several occasions, I installed the new interior on thin 2024-T3 panels that could be removed to provide ac­ cess for ip.spection and maintenance. These panels, along with the rear bucket seat, the old front seat installation and various other patterns were then

flown to Fort Wayne, Indiana so that Ned could work his "Mott Magic" on them.

With the fuselage nearing completion, I had still not found a way to punch satisfactory louvers in the forward fuselage cowl panels . Through regular cor­ respondence with Dick Jackson of Rochester, New Hampshire, who owns a whole squadron of Wacos, one of which is an F-2 under restoration, it became evident that I had the prints and an old section of original Waco louvers plus some firewall forward parts excess to my needs, which Dick needed for his F-2. At the same time, he knew of someone who could make up the badly needed louver punch. The obvious trade was negotiated and my blank panels were sent to Dick to have the louvers pressed in them.

When my panels came back, they had some of the most perfectly formed louvers of exact original dimen­ sions that you could ever hope to see. It made fitting the panels one of those "extra care" jobs, as I certainly didn' t want to goof up. After much trimming and forming, these beauties were fastened in place with quick release type fasteners. Progress now hit a tem­ porary snag, as Jim and I took time to admire what was beginning to look like a Waco shOl.~ld.

However, our head scratching sessions weren't over, as we still hadn't thought of any satisfactory method of making the tail wheel steerable and at the same time retaining the capability of free swiveling

for easy ground handling of the aircraft.

With much head scratching, ingenious engineer­ ing and patience, we designed a full swivel conver­ sion for the existing tail wheel assembly.

With this success, the fuselage was set aside to allow the start of work on the wings and center sec­ tion. The wings were uncovered and inspected. With the exception of beefing up the wing walk, very little was required other than the routine sanding and a couple of coats of polyurethane varnish. My oldest son, Doug, was a big help, as he did much of the sand­ ing and varnishing, while I proceeded with other things.

With the wings ready for cover, my wife, Donna, got into the act by sewing up the Ceconite slip covers, which were carefully shrunk to the proper tautness and the doping sequence was begun. Three coats of nitrate for adhesion, followed by seven more coats of clear butyrate non-tautening build up, and ten coats of silver, sanded by Donna and I until our fin­ gers bled. (Those silver coats are where you get the base for a fine finish.) This was followed by ten coats of color butyrate.

I chose not to use the original color scheme, as there are so many other Wacos with this same ver­ million color scheme. With the help of the staff of the EAA Museum, I copied the AI Williams Gulfhawk color scheme exactly. After all, as the story goes, he copied the color scheme from a Waco Taperwing!

I intended to rub the finish out to a high gloss.

At least ten coats of color would lead to an unaccept­ ably thick dope film in places along with a very pro­ nounced ridge at the edge of each color change.

Therefore, Jim and I decided to mask off the de­ sign and spray the ten coats of orange, pull the tapes off, mask over the orange and where the blue would go and spray the ten coats of white, then remask and finally spray the blue in the channel remaining be­ tween the orange and white. This resulted in each color being applied directly to the underlying silver coats, giving an even dope film and after being rubbed out, with no noticeable ridge between colors. Now I know why you don't often see a three-color dope fin­ ish .

The wings were completed during November of 1974. It was a real morale booster to see the wings safely stored in my own barn.

The fuselage was now prepared for cover. The fuse­ lage was replaced on the homemade jig, which al­ lowed it to be rolled 360 0 for easy access to all sur­ faces.

It was then covered in the same manner as the

wings . The tail surfaces and gear legs were covered and finished at the same time.

With the doping completed, · the rubbing out of the finish began. Three cuts of rubbing compound were used with a power polisher, using a lambs wool bonnet, followed by a good buffing, with just good clean water. A final coat of polishing compound was applied by hand to eliminate any swirl marks left by the polisher. All this was topped off by two heavy coats of Blue Coral Wax. The polishing wore out one power polisher and most of my family.

The fuselage was now reassembled for a final time and transported to my newly completed hangar. The center section was mounted and rigged along with the tail group . Friends Raymond Guess and John Mc­ Lain assisted Jim and me in the hanging of the wings.

Several days of the usual last minute preparations readied the plane for the engine run-in, and none too soon. It was now late May, 1976 and the '76 Waco F1y­ In was coming up fast. This was the goal, to be ready for this Memorial Day weekend get together of the Waco clan. The time finally came when we couldn't think of anything else to do prior to running all in the engine.

It was a real thrill to hear the 220 Continental come to life amid a cloud of preservative oil smoke. How­ ever, as the rpm increased, it became evident that the oil pressure wasn't coming up as it should.

It was decided the engine had to be pulled and I hauled it to Bernie Hogan, one of the most respected radial engine mechanics that I know of. I wanted the opinion of the very best. Once we had the rear case off, we found there was a plug missing from one of the internal oil passages.

Flying the F-2 to the Waco Fly-In, our original goal, was now out of the question.

I returned home with the engine and Jim and I re­ installed it and I resumed the run-in program. I was now ready for that long-awaited first flight. This came June 23, 1976.

I cannot properly describe the thrill of returning this fine aircraft to the sky. The flight was letter per­ fect and the only adjustment required was a slight realignment to the top left tail wire, to eliminate a tendency to vibrate at cruise speed.

51/2 long years of devoting every spare moment to the complete restoration of a fine aircraft had passed.

It was difficult to believe that it was now over. No more driving two hours each day that I wanted to work on the plane. I had reached the goal of having my own restored F-2 awaiting me in my own hangar, on my own airstrip.

It was a long hard grind with a good many sacri­ fices along the way . Any form of a normal family life was impossible to maintain. About the only time that I saw my wife and kids was when they helped me on the plane. A special recognition of their understand­ ing and assistance must be made.

The same recognition must be given to Jim Shan­ non whose patient guidance and experi.enced assis­ tance made it possible for me to see the job through.

Without his assistance, I would not have been able to undertake such a task, let alone achieve the results that we were able to by working together.

Beyond these two special recognitions, I can only say a humble thanks to the many friends who assisted me along the way.

The rest is history, having won bushels of trophies inc\uding Runner Up Silver Age at Oshkosh, Grand Champion at Blakesburg, Grand Champion at Marion, Ohio and Grand Champion at Tulsa.

Fuselage prior to being disassembled for application of cover.

Fuselage during rigging of center section and tail sur­ faces.

Dale and Dean Crites Waco Straightwing.

Silver Age - Outstanding Open Cockpit Biplane 1928 Waco ASO #N6930 Dale and Dean Crites (Twins)

By Dale Crites

Waukesha, WI 53186

In the Fall of 1969, I acquired the remains of what was to turn out to be a J5 Waco Whirlwind A.S.O. This Waco came out of the factory as a Waco lOW A. T.O. (Taperwing), powered with a Wright J4 Whirlwind in June 1928, Serial #A-14. As years went by, and hours accumulated, modifications came about. The landing gear was changed to a bulldog gear, with the air over oil shock struts, the J-4 was removed for the better model J5. The taperwings disappeared and straight­ wings were bolted on (the taperwings and straight­ wings are identical other than wing structure).

The airplane came with 3 beat up wings, no cen­ ter section and a lot of parts missing, which had to be manufactured from drawings obtained from EAA and the Smithsonian. The fuselage tubing was re13

placed from the .rear cockpit aft, including tail posts ­ there were no cowlings, gas tank, struts or flying wires available. With the help of many friends like Royal Woodchrik, of Texas, with some J5 parts, and the parts that Dean and I had saved from the two iden­ tical Wacos that we flew barnstorming in 1935 and 1936, we came up with a beautiful running engine.

Dean did all the work of the rebuilding of the J5 and built a new center section in his basement.

With Dean and I, and some dedicated help on weekends, we were able to do the rebuilding and modification of the wings, and recover job with Grade A fabric. We used butyrate dope and repainted the airplane in exactly the same color scheme as our 1936 barnstorming planes. These were still in their original colors from the factory, and we had adequate pictures to go by.

With all this work done, we cranked up the J5, and it flew like a bird, getting off as fast as a Cub and climbing out even faster. It operated just like it used to when we flew out of little pastures carrying pas­ sengers. The admiration of people who come to see it and take a ride in a 1928 biplane is a great satisfac­ tion to us. We have barnstormed this airplane and already have 300 hours time on it. We have won a trophy for each time it has been shown. Almost every Sunday in the summer when the weather is nice, you will find us at Aero Park hauling passengers from dawn to dusk, just like the good old days . We've even de­ veloped a lot of regular customers. The whole pro­ ject has been a great satisfaction and the old Waco straightwing is still the best flying barnstormer air­ plane that was ever made.

..

From left are shown the crew that helped in the restora­ tion from a severe basket case to a winner. Dean Crites, Robert Felzing, Woodrow Lund, Dale Crites, Harry Peterson and John Higgins.

Below Dale and Dean come home with the bacon the first time out. Burlington Fly-In 1975.

Silver Age . Outstanding

Closed Cockpit Monoplane

Star Cavalier N14860

The appropriate sign behind the strut reads " Flown in the Memory of Wally Hanson" .

By Gary Hanson

4352 Nicollet Ave. So.

Minneapolis, MN 55409

I'd like to thank the AntiquelClassic Division for the award given to my Star Cavalier. I'm sure yo u know the thrill of getting a trophy after all the work that is required to get to the fl y-ins.

The early history of my Cavalier is missing, and I' m n ow in the process of tryi ng to fill it in. After much res earch , including visits with Billy Parker, former president and co-designer of the Star Aircraft Co. , it's been d etermined that my Cavalier was built late in 1928. The plane was destroyed by fire in the Okla­ homa City area in 1932. At that time, all of the rec­ ords, including the N number disappeared . The paper­ work I have begins in 1936 when th e ship was totally rebuilt by th e Fanta-Reed Air Service of La Crosse, Wisconsin . The ship has been in the Minneapolis area, and flying fairly regularly since the late 1930's.

My father, Wally Hanson, who never h eld a pri-

A Star Cavalier has never been hard to identify - the The Star Cavalier held its own at Oshkosh, attract­ unusual tail, squat gear and parallel struts give it away. ing its share of attention . Its rarity made a guessing game of " what is it?" .

vate license due to a long history of heart trouble, bought the Cavalier in 1951, because he felt sorry for it. He saw it sitting outside at the airport, suffering from negligence, bought it, and brought it home. After the usual delays and tinkering, he had it flying again in 1957. It was recovered to its present appearance in 1970. Wally died in March of 1971 and I have been flying it in his memory since. It's the only known fly­ ing Star Cavalier out of 38 built. The Star Aircraft

Company was based at Phillips Airfield at Bartles­ ville, Oklahoma>. Even though the company was fi­ nanced by the Phillips Petroleum Company, the Cava­ lier could not compete with the ever popular Mono­ coupe, and halted production in 1932.

I would be very interested in hearing from any­ one concerning a Star Cavalier being destroyed by fire in Oklahoma in 1932 - filling in the missing his­ tory from 1928 to 1932 would make quite a story.

14

Contemporary Age 1933-1946 Rearwin Sportster N20723

By Alfred Nagel

Rt. 3, Box 41

Montello, WI 53949

Thi~

story began with an ad in a Chicago news­ paper listing "a basket case" Rearwin Sportster for sale. Two years had gone by since my friend, Ken Gatzke, and I finished the . construction of a "Corben Jr. Ace" homebuilt. Ken and I have both been interest­ ed in antique airplanes for some time, so when Ken ran across the ad for the Rearwin, he called me to see if I might be interested in working on another air­ craft project. He also informed me that he wouldn't have time to work very much on this aircraft, but if I wanted to restore it, he would buy the project and pay all expenses for the restoration. How could I go wrong on a deal like that? I do the work and own half interest in the completed aircraft.

Well, when we unloaded all the parts of a com­ pletely disassembled Rearwin Sportster, I was be­ ginning to wonder if this craft would ever fly again.

15

The workmanship of AI Nagel was superb. At press time we had not located a picture. The final resto­ ration results were beautiful.

It was even worse than I expected a 1938 airplane would be, after last flying in 1959. It had been stored

in Florida since 1959, and as a result, all the wood was rotten, and several metal parts on the wings were badly rusted . The fuselage tubing didn't look too bad, but I found some rusted out tubes after sandblasting.

I started the restoration in the fall of 1970, and since I was going to do all the work at home in my limited space basement, I decided to rebuild the wings first. Completed wings Can be hung up to the base­ ment ceiling to allow room to work on the fuselage and tail group later. The 5 cylinder 85 hp LeBlond en­ gine was also torn down and came in a large wood box. Since" I am not an A&P mechanic, I turned the engine rebuild job over to Mr. Kenneth Long, who worked at the Waupun, Wisconsin airport. He was my instructor when I took flight instructions. Mr. Long is also an A&P mechanic. He rebuilt the engine

at his home . 'The engine required new rings, valves, valve springs, cylinders honed, new oil pump gears, new timing gear, master rod bearings rebuilt, new valve guides. Ken Williams also helped on several occasions with the engine rebuild.

Going back to the aircraft rebuild, the wings were the first items worked on. They were not much more than patterns for building new wings . The right wing was built completely new, and the left wing was re­ built using the existing spars and all new ribs. Some metal wing fittings had to be made new from 4130 sheet steel. It was two years of spare time work be­ fore both wings were ready for cover.

Since I do not know of any p.lans or manuals availa­ ble for the Rearwin Sportster, the fuselage proved to be the most difficult part to rebuild . All the wood fairings were missing, so some research was required to get the right shape. After sandblasting the fuse­

lagc, it was necessary to replace th e lower rusted longerons from the tailpost forward for about 5 ft.

Some other cross tubes on the bottom tru ss were also replaced. Parts of the control sys tem linkage were missing, so n ew parts were built up . The cabin door was so badly rusted, it had to be built new . It is all steel tubing so didn't prove to be too difficult.

Other items requiring rebuild on the fuselage in­ cluded repair of the landing gear fittings to take care of elongated bolt holes, new instrument panel and instruments, new floor boards, repaired broken steel tube on front seat frame, repaired window frames, building new windshield frames using fiber-glass, since the old frames were compound curves .

The tail group req ui red very little work. After sandblasting, I replaced the tail brace wire lugs and some tubing on the bottom of the rudder traili ng edge.

The tail wheel spring was missing so I made up a set of springs from a 108 Stinson. Just had to cut the leaf springs to different lengths .

The fuselage required one year of spare time work, so we now have 3 years time spent so far.

The wing lift struts required very little repair, so it was now time to assemble the bones and see if it w ill pass pre-cover inspection. The inspection was done after n ew fuel lines from the wing tanks were installed a nd checked for leaks. No ch a n ges were required on the inspection , so the old Rearwin was now ready for cover.

The aircraft was covered with Grade A cotton and nitra te dope up through silver. A total of 10 coats of dope seemed to be enough to give the amount of fab­ ric fill I wanted. The aircraft was then painted Napa yellow, with dark blue trim.

Next, the e ngine was ins talled , and parts of the cowling had to be made new, due to cracks in the old pieces. The propeller is original and I refinished it as best I could. By now it was April 1974, 4 years since I s tarted this project, and getting close . to completion.

Th e firs t moment of truth was when we first tried to run the engine . It s tarted up easily, but would not take throttle above 1000 rpm. It seemed to run too lean at higher speeds. After going through the Hol­ ley carb o 4 times, I finally found the mixture jet closed off with a small piece of lint. I even wrote to Holley Carb o Co., and received from them copies of every­ thing they s till had on file on the model 419 and 429 carbs. Their detail explanation of how the carb o works put me on the right track of what to look for. After getting the carb o working right, and using different timing settings, the · engine now runs ve ry good . I found that 26° B.T.C. is just right for the 85 hp Le-

Beautiful new wings for AI Nagel to fly on.

Blond. It seem s to run very easy at that setting, and fuel con sumption is 5 gph at 2025 cruise rpm.

Ground running the engine for 5 hours at short time intervals and different s p eed s was completed before the first flight. Mr. Ken Williams of Portage, Wisconsin, was selected to be the test pilot, since he also owns and flies a Rearwin Sportster. The test flight was conducted and the only problem was slight right wing heaviness, which was quickly remedied with wing s trut adjustment. The aircraft now flies very well and is a real pleasure to fly. I would highly recommend a Rearwin Sportster as an antique pro­ ject to anyone. There is not ve ry much cost, and a real joy to own and fly . The aircraft was completed in 1974 and flown to the EAA meet at Oshkosh . The antique judges must have liked it, since it was award­ ed " Rese rve Grand Champion" in 1974 . The same award again in 1975, and Contemporary Age Champi­ on in 1976, which is best in class for aircraft in 1933 to 1946 age group.

I also was awarded the Rearwin Family Trophy at Blakesburg, Iowa. in 1974. When I tell people that this is a $2500 airplane, they don't believe it. The "basket case" cost $1000, and $1000 was required to rebuild and recover it, $500 was spent to rebuild the engine.

Of course, this cos t has no labor costs involved ­ n o work was farmed out.

I operate the Rearwin from a 1900 ft. grass strip, with obstructions on both ends. I have never used more than half the runway length . The Rearwin will carry two 200 pound people with full fuel tanks, with no n oticeable loss in performance. It has a fuel capa­ city of 24 gallons in two 12 gallon wing tanks . Cruise is 95 mph with a full load. Climb seems to be about 600 ft. p er minute at full load.

I am very pleased with the aircraft, and haven't found any other antique I would rather own for the amount invested.

Contemporary Age

Runner-Up

Piper Cub Coupe 14

#NC26716

By Dan Kulman

166 Rosemont Dr.

Coraopolis, PA 15108

To my friend, Dave Coller, and I, who have been looking at and admiring airplanes practically all our lives, the trip to Oshkosh is a really great experience.

We had gone to Oshkosh '71 and came back with the desire to build something or rebuild something. We were impressed with what we saw and determined to see if we could measure up to it all.

A few months later we located a basket case Piper J4A 1940 model with a Continental 65. This airplane was a real challenge because it needed every kind of rebuilding that can be done. From replacing tub­ ing that had filled with water, frozen and burst, to sending the cylinders away to be ground oversize, it all had to be done.

16

We decided to go for authenticity as much as prac­ ticable and kept the airplane as we thought it must have been when it came off the assembly line in 1940.

The maroon color is the same as we found under sev­ eral coats of paint, and the stripe on the sides of the fuselage and wheel pants were copied from pictures.

New cowling doors were made using the old hinges .

Many hours were consumed ironing the dings in the nose bowl and other cowling parts. New baffles were fabricated for the A65. The cabin doors are lucky to be saved because they were really shook up . They are good now, thanks to welding and riveting and fabricating new sliding windows . Strut fairings were hammered out of soft 032 aluminum.

On arrival at Oshkosh '76 we were pleased to com­ plete the journey from Herron Airport near Pitts­ burgh with no problems. It was nice to talk to admir­ ing people who stopped by to look at our Cub Coupe and take pictures of it. Some commented that it was just as they remembered it 35 years ago. This was re­ ward enough. We couldn't stay the whole Convention through to the end so we took off Thursday morning for our return to Pennsylvania.

Ten days later a letter and a trophy came in the mail. We were surprised and elated.

We will recom mend this fun to anybody who is hanging in the balance. Get started. Or if you have already started, press on, and if you have a friend in the project with you, you will be doubly rewarded .

Th is Cub Coupe was a real challenge b eca use it needed every kind of reb uilding that can be done!

Contemporary Age

Outstanding Open Cockpit

Biplane --:- Stearman N44JP

OWNER : Charlotte W. Parish, Tullahoma, TN

The comments that Cub Coupe NC26716 was just as they remembered it 35 yews ago were reward enough for the effort.

17

October, 1972, my husband made a business trip to Jamaica. During a layover in Kingston he was look­ ing around on the f1jght line when he came across a Stearman needing a lot of TLC. The prop was bent, engine corroded, wood in wings rotten and fabric hanging . After quite a bit of negotiation, the plane was purchased and transported by air freight and truck to Tullahoma , TN as a Christmas gift to me . Ha! The project began by completely disassembling it.

Every nut, bolt, and screw came off. The metal was s"lndblasted, cleaned and primed with epoxy and all the wood was replaced and finished with spar varnish .

New wings and center section were purchased from Bob Yankin of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The entire air­ craft was covered with grade A cotton fabric and fin­ ished with Butyrate dope . One hundred sixty-five gal­ lons of dope, enamel and thinner were used. The paint scheme was taken from a November 1943 copy

of National Geographic Magazi ne, page 544.

The aircraft was finished and test flown on my birth­ day - July 19, 1974, by Capt. W . C. "Dub" Yar­ brough, U.S.N. Ret. His report was a good one. It flew hands off with no rigging adjustments neces­ sary .

Paperwork and inspection was completed on July 29, 1974, by the Nashville FAA office. (This was neces­ sary because the airworthiness certificate was can­ celled when the aircraft was taken to Jamaica.) The next morning Bob Graves and I took it on the first long cross-country - Oshkosh!

At last a two year project was completed. Hours and hours were spent by many of the "Tu ll ahoma Bunch" who made it possible for this plane to fly again . All the credit goes to them.

To date it has made three trips to Oshkosh and averages being flown a little over 100 hours each year.

For a better view of N31653 see the cover of VINTAGE February 1976.

1941 Waco UKS N31653 taken at Oshkosh 1976.

Contemporary Age

Outstanding

Closed Cockpit Biplane

1933-1946

1941 Waco VKS-7F #N 31653

By Vince Mariani 500 W. Sandusky St. Findlay, Ohio 45840

The aircraft was built in 1941 was a VSK-7 and later converted to a VKS-7F by Waco in 1944 (F in­ dicates a standard cabin with flaps) . This airplane was used by Waco as their executive airplane until 1949. I purchased the Waco in 1963 and took 3 years to rebuild it. (approx. 3,000 hours of labor). New top wings were built, cowling, wheel pants were hammered out from almost nothing. Also, I put in new interiors.

The aircraft was covered with Ceconite, plus 30 coats of CAB, hand rubbed out. I did most all of the work myself, with the exception of welding. It was my first aircraft restoration.

I test flew the Waco in July 1966, and it trimmed out p erfect. Since then, I have flown it approx. 1000 .hours, attending most all of the fly-ins the past 10 years. It has been almost trouble free, with the exception of an engine overhaul, at which time I in­ stalled roller bearings in the 220 Continental, coupled with a balance crank assembly. This makes for one fine smooth engine. It uses 1 pint of oil per hour, and about 111/2 gallons of fuel per hour. This gives it a cruise of 120 mph.

To me, this is one of the finest cabin biplanes ever built. Like all antiques, you have to pay attention to cross winds.

18

One of the most in teresting times of the fly -in was sitting beside the plane and talking to the people wh o came to admire it!

Outstanding Contem porary a couple of years off and the Waco would not be done for another decade or two. So we decided to devote Age Open Cockpit

our full attention to the Ryan. We figured it would take about eight or nine months of steady work, but Monoplane

it actually took a year and nine months. Oh well.

We agreed from the start that the PT should be Ryan PT-22 #N 47210

restored to its stock configuration with military paint.

By Kent McMakin 425 Center St. Rockton, IL 61072

It was one evening about two years ago when my father, Don, mentioned to me, "Hey, I drove by the Stoughton, Wisconsin airport today and saw a PT-22 sitting out there. Did you know it was there?"

"Yes," I replied. "It's been there a couple of years slowly going downhill. It's supposedly for sale."

"Why didn't you tell me it was there?"

"I didn't think you would be interested in a Ryan."

Well, about two weeks later it was sitting in our backyard. We really didn't need another airplane. My dad and a partner had a Bonanza at the local airport, and a Minicab homebuilt project progressing steadily in the basement that he'd been working on for a few years. And I have a Waco 10 restoration that was progressing very slowly at the time. But now dad had a 1941 Ryan PT-22, N47210, needing a complete restoration. The Minicab's completion date was still

19

We started out with the fabric work covering all the surfaces with Ceconite. The only real headache during the recovering process was wearing out three for four small Phillips screwdrivers on the zillions of little screws that hold the fabric down. It is good wrist therapy though.

Next came the Kinner R-56 engine. The logs showed 560 hours SMOH but with a couple of weak jugs and a couple of years of inactivity, a complete major over足 haul was in order. The old Kinner proved to be an easy engine to overhaul at home . The only tool we had to make was a thrust nut wrench and the only one we had to buy was a valve spring depresser tool.

We obtained all of our engine parts from the Carl F. Baker Co. They provide fast service and reasonable prices.

After the engine came the part that was no fun at all, the fuselage. As with most war-time Ryans, the green chromate prime inside the fuselage was chipped and worn. In order to reprime it and do it

right, everything had to come out. Anything that wasn't rivited down was eventually laying on the basement floor. The stub wings, main gear and tail wheel were also removed.

The inside of the fuselage was sanded and reprimed with the aid of a good spray gun. If you are planning on doing this to your Ryan, be sure to wear a painters face mask and use a small fan for ventilation., especially when you crawl down towards the tail end of that big aluminum tube. If you don't, you'll come bailing out spittin' and gaggin' just like dad did.

The landing gear and tail wheel assembly were cleaned and rebuilt, then painted with DuPont silver

Don Mc Makin, owner, running up the engine for i first time.

i ­

acrylic enamel. This paint will provide a beautiful finish and will not chip off from landing on fields with tall grass.

The brakes, if you want to call them that, were rebuilt new all the way through with new linings, brake cylinders and master cylinder inerds. Brake parts, and also decals for fuselage interior, can be obtained from Lou Leibee of Selma, Calif.

As with most lengthy restorations, if it weren't for a little help from your friends, your pride and joy would probably still be in your garage instead of in your hangar. One such person that helped us immensely is Dick Varnell of Beloit, Wis. Dick is a retired machinist and could devote a lot of time towards the PT, which is exactly what he did. He completely rebuilt the steer­ able tailwheel, that was a full swivel one when he got hold of it. Dick also refurbished the rusted out trim actuating assembly, the brake system, and refinished the flying wires, along with a million other things.

Whenever there was something' to be done on the Ryan, he was right there chomping at the bit.

And while I'm on the subject of good friends, promise them anything when it comes time to polish that fuselage. But long before we could do any polishing, we had to strip the coat of clear lacquer that some unkind person had sprayed on years before. What a mess. Next came the Aluminum Jelly to clean the metal and eat up any corrosion. Then we polished it with Met-All and elbow grease.

Finally the time came to put everything back to­ gether. The plane soon was back on its feet with the fresh Kinner hanging on its nose. Starting the engine for the first time was a real ego boost due the fact that it caught on the first hot pull.

According to the Ryan erection manual, the wings should be rigged on a level surface. The only such surface nearby was the driveway. So why not put it together in the front yard in the middle of town and let people wonder how we were going to get it out to the airport. It sat out front for a couple of weeks while we put the finishihg touches on it and to get it licensed. During that time there sure were a lot of sight-seers and rubber neckers eyeing over that old airplane. Some people would drive around the block a few times, just to get another look. One lady stopped by and asked if we were fixing it up to put in the Bicen­ tennial 4th of July parade. It was tough trying to keep a straight face.

The local police said they would help us when it came time to move the plane out to the Wagon Wheel Airport on the south edge of town. So it was before daylight on Saturday morning when several bleary-

eyed friends rolled in for the big move. It turned out it wasn't as big a move as we figured. We only held up two cars and we were there in fifteen minutes.

The next week or so was spent putting some run-in time on the engine and bleeding the brakes a few dozen times.

Soon the big day came. It was a beautiful July evening when Ron Rippon dropped in with his Cessna 140. Dad and I elected to let Ron make the first flight.

I had very little taildragger time and my dad hadn't flown one for years. Ron is an excellent pilot and at one time owned a couple Ryans, so he was the right man for the job. Incidentally, Ron will soon be finishing a restoration job on his Howard DGA and it. will undoubtably be one of the best Howards in thecoun­ try.

Ron blasted off with the PT for the first time on a flight to last about fifteen minutes or so. After a per­ fect landing, Ron reported that everything was just fine and it flew hands off. Ego boost No.2. He then proceeded to make five or six' take-offs and landings to reaquaint himself with the Ryan. After that we kept him busy giving rides until dark.

We were hoping for a completion date before the EAA Convention at Oshkosh and we made it with a couple weeks to spare. FFi~nd Elif Alseth and I flew the Ryan to Oshkosh the Thursday evening before the start of the fly-in, without a hitch.

One of the most interesting times of the fly-in was sitting by the plane and talking to the people who came to admire it. We learned a lot of things about the PT and maintaining it that we never would have known about if we hadn't been there. If the educa­ tion we received at the Convention wasn't enough of a reward, the judges decided to award us with the "Outstanding Open Cockpit Monoplane" Award.

It was a fantastic end to a fantastic week.

After many hours of flying the Ryan, we have found it an absolute delight to fly. During the resto­ ration, we heard quite a few war stories discrediting the PT-22. Many pilots have gotten themselves into situations they couldn't get out of, not because they weren't good pilots, but because they weren't versed in the flying characteristics of the Ryan before they flew it. It's like most any airplane . You have to fly them like they are meant to be flown . As Ron Rippon told us from the start, it's an airplane not to be hurried.

Don't rush into things with it but just take your time and fly it right. It's an airplane to respect but not be scared of. We have found it to be a lot of fun, and I think you would to.

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Champion Vintage

Reproduction

1908 Curtiss June Bug

Own er: Mercury Aircraft Hammond sport, New York

Joseph Meade, Jr., President of Mercury Aircraft, Inc. in Hammondsport, New York, supervised the pro­ gress on the construction of the replica Glenn H. Curtiss' June Bug. Mr. Meade has been instrumental in the development of the replica, which was flown June 23 to June 27 in Hammondsport, then disassembled and trucked to Oshkosh for the EAA Convention, where several hundred thousand people viewed it.

Glenn Curtiss flew the original June Bug on July 4, 1908, capturing the Scientific American Trophy.

The replica, as the original, won the Champion Vintage Reproduction, and received a Lucky Lindy trophy . For the complete story, see September 1976 issue Vintage Airplane.

20

Judges' Choice

Bellanca Skyrocket NX237

By Preston Snyder

R.R. 1, Box 270

Ringtown, PA 17967

This plane was bought by Alaska Star Airlines in November 1928. They flew it for about ten years , then sold it to Jack Peck and Wyman Rice, who flew it for several years. Then they sold it to Nicholsen Air Service, and they flew it until 1948, then sold it to Bristol Bay Airlines. They then sold it to two jokers, and I mean two jokers, who were going to rebuilt it. It was parked on the shore on Lake Spenard at Anchorage, and it was slowly deteriorating faster than they could repair or whatever they were trying to do, and the reason I say jokers is because they were trying to do it outside!

Well, in 1962 w h en I worked in Fairba nks for Alaska Airlines, I flew down to Anch orage. I had h eard abo ut the Bellanca, so I \~' e nt out to the Lake to look it over.

It loo ked almos t impossible - the fabric was ro tted off, hanging down betwee n the ribs, lower lon geron s rusted out etc.

I inquire d aro und a nd found a n old bu s h p ilo t n am ed Howard G illam, w ho knew the ma n w ho ran the sea pla ne base on the Lake. Gilla m h asseled the base op erator to get after these two own ers to either get th e BeliJnca o ut of the Lake, or h e wo uld cut it up and junk it. I told the operator I would buy it fo r $600.00, so h e told the owne rs "either take the $600. 00 or else I'll cut it up". They acce pted my $600, so I bu ilt a trailer a nd h a uled it from Alas ka to Seattle, then on h om e .

The restorati on has been done over a lo ng time, and 1976 saw its compl e tion . The trip to O s hkos h foll owe d , and la ter to Brid ge port w h ere Cla re n ce Chamberlin got to see it. Next year is th e 50th a nni­ versary of the flight to G ermany.

Preston Snyder and his replica of the Bellanca which Chamberlin flew New York to Berlin , Ger­ many immediately after Lindbergh's historic flight .

Col. Cham berlin

The circums tan ces surro unding the Bella nca Sky­ rocke t, of w h ich Preston Snyd er h as made a repro­ duction , are recorded in his to ry . The Columbia flew into New York fo r las t minute adjustments, p rior to shoving off across the Atla ntic, and was p a rked only a few hundred fee t away from the Spirit of St. Louis, which was also wa iting fo r clearing weather a t tha t time . The failure of all of th e h ea vie r tr imo to r air­ planes is a m a tter of record , a nd o nl y the high w ing Editor's Note: On November 1, 1976, Col. Cham ­ sing le e ngi n es re m ained to becom e vic to rio u s. H ad berlin passed away at the age of 85. Preston Sny­ th e Bellanca ca m p n ot turned into a h ea ted arg ument, der 's Bellanca Skyrocket has won the Judges ' th e Bella nca might well have take n off a head of Lind­ Choice Trophy and it is an exact reproduction of berg . Th e Wrig ht Bella nca had jus t previo u sly, w ith the Bellanca that Col. Chamberlain flew to Berlin Clare nce Cha mberlin a t th e controls, set a n e ndura nce in 1927, a few days after Lindberg's historic flight. record fo r the e ntire world to see - 51 hours in the air, Preston 's interest in the airplane was well founded, which w as fa r m ore time tha n w o uld be n eed ed to as he was an employee of Chamberlin at that s pa n the Atla ntic. H is to ry s miled o n th e Sp irit a nd time.

Lindberg, leaving the Columbia to m a ke the second Next year was to have been the 50th anniversary s uccessful flig ht across the Atla ntic, flown by Cla re nce of Chamberlin 's flight , and it is a sad turn of Chamb e rlin , wi th C h a rl es Lev in e as a passe n ge r . events that he could not have lived to receive the honors.

- AI Kelch 21

Th e Bella nca chose to p ass up Paris, an d go directl y o n to Eislebe n , Germ a n y , a du ra tion of te n ho urs longer tha n Lindberg, - s till it was second.

Soon after tha t flight, Lavine and Bella n ca parted co mpany, a nd Bella nca s ta rted his own airp la ne com ­ pany on Sta te n Isla nd . La ter wi th the backing of the DuPont fa m;ily, it we nt o n to grea t fea ts tha t wo ul d fill e ntire books to lis t them all. Besides the A tla ntic, it conq u ered the Pacific a nd set record s fo r both en­ fura nce a nd luxury tra n sporta tion that kep t Bella nca a h ea d of th e p ack for m a n y years . From 1932 until the s ta rt of Wo rld Wa r II th ey p roduced fo r the arm y, na vy and d epartme nt of commerce, to becom e a great a nd re puta ble na m e in avia tion. All o f this fa th ered by the geniu s G iuseppe Mario Bellanca and his fa bulou s air fo il. Cla re n ce Ch a mberlin, ha ving bee n the firs t to gain world publicity in the pilo ting of a Bella n ca , w as in for his sh are of glory, a nd his name w ill always be linked w ith tha t of Bella nca .

An obviously happy Clarence Chamberlin - possibly he is reminisc足 ing while looking over Preston Snyder's reproduction of his ocean girdling Bellanca.

Clarence Chamberlin and Preston Snyder (on left) in a recent photo with the Bellanca Skyrocket NX237 in background.

Clarence Chamberlin in the original Bellanca at the time of his ocean flight.

22

Vagabond King after it licked them all.

Grand Champion Classic

Piper PA-15

By W. M. Amundson 201 S. Fifth Stoughton, WI 53589

Grand Champion Classic Oshkosh '76, a month later and we still can't believe it. A week before the big event we were not even sure we were going to bring 4402H up to the big show. Neither of us planned to be there for more than a couple of days and we live so close we drive home at night.

We have quite a group of EAA'ers in our small town and about a dozen did plan to stay for the whole nine days. We asked a friend to fly it to Oshkosh the first Saturday, and the rest of the guys said they would keep an eye on it. Well, the rest is kind of history, so let that be a lesson to some of you. If you think you have a cream puff, bring it to Oshkosh and maybe lightning will strike you like it did us.

4402H has quite a story, most of it funny and some of it sad, but all of it interesting. Here is how we got a hold of our yellow bird and what it was like then.

We first saw 4402H in 1968 on a farm field in southern

23

Bill Amundson and Dick Peterson look just a lit足 tle pleased!

Wisconsin. The wing bows were broken, no cowling, no exhaust stacks, no carb heat, and the fabric was patched with insurance bumper stickers. There was a big hole in the top of the right wing tip that was patched with blue denim held on with roofing tar. To make it waterproof, bread wrappers were taped over the denim with scotch tape. One lift strut was badly bent and the repair was made with two broom handles taped on each side with black friction tape. One horizontal stabilizer was covered with oil cloth (like you used to have on the kitchen table), and the enamel was poured on out of the can for the finish. Dick Wagner of Wag-Aero, has this one on display at his place. He traded us another stabilizer for it to keep this work of art in tact.

We asked the owner if he would sell us the plane, his answer was "No! It flies so well, I'll never find another to replace it." Believe it or not he was flying it in this condition. We knew that sooner or later he would hit something else and the old Vag would be done for.

It happened in the winter of 1971. The airplane was on skis, and frozen down in the hangar. The owner couldn't push it out alone, so he started it up, gave it full power to taxi it out. Up went the tail, bang into the hangar roof breaking the vertical stabilizer and bending the rudder. The skis broke loose and out she went and up in the air. His flight as usual was once around the farm. The landing was about what you might expect after all that had happened to the poor old girl. The gear broke, the prop bent, and she set足 tled in the snow, a real wounded duck. Now the plane was for sale.

Stan Gerlach, of Palmyra, Wisconsin, beat us to it, but he knew how badly we wanted it, so he sold it to us.

4402H started her comeback in the basement of Badger Bowl (known in Stoughton as Badger Boeing), waiting her turn for a face lifting behind another Vaga足 bond 4469H, a Taylorcraft 43538, and a Starduster Too 12DP. By 1975 we finally turned our full attention to 4402H. Her skeleton was stripped to the bare metal, a new tail section was welded in, the rudder rebuilt, the gear replaced, and every piece was stripped and reprimed or rebuil ~,jf beyond repair.

About this time we couldn't agree on a color, so a decision was reached to do her like Mr. Piper did her the first time, and we had all of the original instru足 ments. Once this was decided, every effort was made to keep her original.

The big job was finished on July 17, 1976. 4402H was so pleased how pretty she looked, that she flew like a new airplane, and why not? She only had 375 total hours, and a 28 year old should have lots of spunk left.

Nobody goes to Oshkosh and expects to win the big one, and let us tell you it's a real thrill. Now we can't wait to finish up our Waco UPF 7, and we hope to see you all at Oshkosh '77.

Stinson N8074K. The colors are original Stinson blue and wh lt~ .

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Reserve Grand Champion Stinson 108-2 - 1947 N8074K

By Ron Kramer

R. R. 1 Pella, Iowa 50219

Thank you for your interest in my Stinson, which is a 1947 108-2 Station Wagon #N 8074K, with a 165 hp Franklin engine.

I purchased this plane from its second owner at Pella, Iowa in 1969. He had owned the plane since near new . It was in good overall condition, as it had always been hangared, and had only 695 hours total time . It still had the original linen fabric, and still tested fair. The interior also was in fair condition with leather seats, original carpet and h eadliner. The worst problem was the bad smell, due to having had mice in it some years prior.

I flew the plane about 100 hours, then the engine, which had about 300 hours since major and heavy case, started showing the effect of too many idle years, so I topped the engine. I also added a Maule pneumatic tail wheel and an Escort 110 radio.

The plane was flown regularly until the fall of 1973, and I felt the fabric was getting marginal , so I felt I either had to sell it or recover it By this time, I was becoming attached to the old bird , so I decided to keep it, and have it recovered. Not having the time or place to do the job myself (I would have liked to try it) I was fortunate to find a place nearby - Mois Air足 craft Repair at Boone, Iowa, owned and operated by LeLand McGorthlen and his wife Rose. After looking it over, they decided to do the job.

My intentions at the time were to just cover it and repaint the metal, but as things progressed, I decided to go all the way and major th e engine, redo the in足 terior, and pretty much totally rebuild it. The plane was stripped down to the bare frame, cl ea ned and re足 painted . The airframe was in excellent condition . Mac found a problem in the wings. The mice residue had started a surface corrosion , but it was not deep , so the wings were cleaned with a special solution and zinc chroma ted.

The fabric used was Ceconite, with butyrate dope process , and Randolf paint on the metal, and they did a very nice job of it. The interior was redone, using original cloth headliner made by Mrs. McGothlen and naugahide on the seats and side panels, which I did myself. I also installed new nylon carpet, new tinted windscreen and side glass. Dual whelen s trobes were installed, and ELT, new Cleveland brakes and wheels, and the engine was pulled , and sent out to be majored by a Franklin overhaul shop (a big mistake) .

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Ron Kramer in his favorite seat, the "left seat" !

About July 1974 the plane was almost finished, and we thought it looked pretty good. I planned to take it to Oshkosh, but the engine overhaul job was not good, I had some serious problems with it. The next engine did not get back in time to make the '74 Oshkosh meet. This engine was not much better, so in the win足 ter of 1974, I pulled it out, and under A.I. supervision, I rebuilt it myself.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive the Reserve Grand Champion Classic Award this year.

The colors are original Stinson blue and white.

It now has 1150 hours and I fly it every week an hour or two. It is a fun , solid airplane to fly , cruises about 120 mph.

24

Since then, I've added 'paint, new upholstery, a wind driven alternator, and many little handmade pieces. The upholstery was finished just before the Oshkosh meet (July 28), which- only left me four days to reach the Oshkosh Fly-In. From the records we have, this plane has been based in California since 1946, and has never been out of the state.

N72087 is hangared at Cable Airport, Upland, Calif.

Best Class I Classic

(Under 100 HP)

1946 Luscombe 8A #N72087

Best Class II Classic

(101 - 164 HP)

Stinson Voyager - #N4082M

By Alan LaForge 958 Washington St. Upland, CA 91786

By Robert Nuckles 618 N. Sergeant Joplin, MO 64801

On January 20, 1973 I bought a 1946 Luscombe 8, #N72087. It had to be hauled to our home, as it was in several stages of being repaired, and hadn't flown for 3 years.

I took it apart as far as possible to check it for rust, and discovered only one wing had to be replaced. I was able to get two wing tanks out of a wreck, and was ready to start assembling.

We took off 5 to 6 coats of paint, stripping it to the skin, reskinned a section of the tail, made one cowling out of two, and a door to fit, redid the instrument panel complete with shock mountings, and made all new tail, wing fairings.

In October 1973 we moved the airplane to Cable Airport for assembling, and on November 1, it made its first flight.

In December 1974, my wife, Colleen, and I de足 cided to buy a 4-place airplane that we could re足 build or restore for family use. We found this 1948 Stinson Voyager, 108-3, at a small airport near our home in Joplin, Missouri. The plane had not been flown for over a year because the fabric was bad and it couldn't be relicensed .

The bird was pretty shabby looking, the tires flat, battery dead and covered with dust and grime . The heavy-case Franklin turned over freely, so I primed it good and pulled it through about six times . With mags on, I pulled hard on the prop. It coughed one time. I pulled it t.hrough again and it immediately settled into a fast smooth idle. A thorough inspec足 tion convinced me it was ferryable, so being a li足 censed A & P, I applied for a ferry permit to fly it to

25

Garage residence of N72087 from January to

October 1973.

my home airport. My first experience flyi ng a Stin ­ son was the 30 minute flight home . When I got to the Joplin Airport, we disasse mbled the plane and trucked and towed it to our basement garage for a recover job.

This was the beginning of a 21/2 year project that snowballed from a quickie recover job to a major reconstruction job. It seemed a shame to put that newly doped cotton fabric next to faded , peeling paint. So we stripped and repainted all me tal parts with alkyd enamel. This made the interior look bad, so my wife made a new headliner, seat covers, car­ pet and side panels. One thing led to another until this six month project stretched into 21/2 years.

We installed a used King KX150 B Nav-Com to replace the coffee-grinder, n ew tires, overhauled the oleos, master cylinders, wheel cylinders and mufflers . I never dreamed that only one airplane could fill so many coffee cans, boxes , shelves, saw horses and every available inch of space in our mod­ erately sized basement.

That grand day finally arrived when all these parts could again be trucked to the airport for reassembly.

Believe me, it took longer to reassemble than to disas­ semble. Slowly, my long list of final assembly details diminished until all had been taken care of. Late one summer evening it was ready to fly .

Once again the Franklin barked to life . The new radio crackled the necessary communications wi th the tower and the Stinson proudly taxied to Runway 17. A last minute mag check and we were rolling down that macadam strip.

Gently she lifted into the air, beginning a relation­ ship between man and machine that only those privi­ leged to be borne on wings can know . The old girl flew straight and true, no trim changes required.

Our first trip was to Oshkosh '76. The Stinson Voyager proved to be more than I expected. She is stable, quickly responsive to the controls and lands like a mother hen settling on her nes t.

She has added a new dimension to our lives and we are looking forward to more happy trips to come.

This, in a nut shell, is the story of our Stinson.

We are a modest, middle income family of four.

Our two boys, Mike, 21 , and Kevin, 16, helped restore the bird. It was a good family project. Th e rewards outweigh the toil and frustration that sometimes oc­ cur on such a project.

Though we had dreamed of being se lec ted an award winner at Oshkosh, still it came as a very plea­ sant surprise. We didn't even know we had won the Category II Classic Award until two weeks after the judging when the trophy was mailed to us.

It came as a very pleasant surprise. We didn ' t even know we had won the Category II Classic Award until two weeks after the judging when the trophy was mailed to us. Stinson # N4082M.

Best Class III Classic (165 HP and Up) Cessna 195 N3045B

By Stan Smokovitz 19340 Edinborough Detroit, MI 48219

How I became a proud Cessna 195 owner.

I began first flying in a 3 place Super Cruiser. Then an addition to the family made it necessary to purchase a 4 place Stinson Station Wagon. Yes - another ad­ dition made it necessary to buy a 5 place airplane ­ a Cessna 195. I acquired this airplane April 16, 1959.

It came with its original factory paint scheme - silver, yellow and black. Also had original upholstery. It had 362 hours total time. The first engine gave me 1847 faithful hours, with one top overhaul. On the second engine, there is 380 hours. The airplane to this day has all of its original interior upholstery, with a new paint job three years ago.

These past 17 years of flying my Cessna 195 have given me a lot of pleasure in family and business fly­ ing . It is a most comfortable cross-country airplane, and also an excellent stable instrument airplane.

My personal feelings about my 195 performance are explained below - true story: One evening while we were having dinner, our son, Greg, asked me if Mom was going to have another baby. We looked at each other and I asked him "Why?" He replied, "I sure would like a twin engine airplane."

I said , "No, Greg, I just don't think the 195 can be beat. "

26

ABOVE: From left to right, the Piper Clipper, Phil Cashmer and me.

Best Class III Classic Cessna 195 N3045B owned

by Stan Smokowitz, 19340 Edinborough, Detroit, Michigan 48219.

Best Workmanship

PA-16 Clipper #N5335H

By R. A. Krekel 420 Elmwood Ave. Joliet, IL 60433

27

"You want to buy a what?" asked my wife, Jan. "A Piper Clipper PA-16," I answered as if it were a pound of bologna . I explained how much money we could save because it was the cheapest way for me to get my private pilot's certificate. When we got the aforementioned we would have the plane for fun , tra足 vel, and romance . It would need just a little work.

ABOVE: "You want td buy a what?" A Piper Clip足 per PA-16 I answered (N5335H).

Editor's Note : The above struck a sympathetic note. It has been said many times in our house!

- AI Kelch

(Little work! . . . severa l feet of tubing, disc b ra kes, new fa bric, new radio, n ew up h olstery, top O.H. on th e engi n e and only th ree years of manual labor.) No matter what the future consequences, I was bou nd and determined to be part owner in that airplane. I was h ooked.

Jan's first look at the beauty brough t out this price­ less remark, "We spent $1,100.00 on that?" Trying to explain h ow beautiful the plane would be after the recovery job and how much personality a Piper Clip­ per had, fell on deaf ears. She just shook her head.

Phil Cashmer, my partner, had the background and technical knowledge to do the work that needed to be done . Marian, Phil's wife, and I were in charge of the less technical jobs. In everyday vernacular, we were Phil's flunkies. Jan was still shaking her head.

We dismantled the plane in 1971, a year after pur­ chase. With a concerted effort, we hoped to have her flying in a month or so. Realization of our goal did not occur until the summer of 1974, about a week before the start of Oshkosh. We pulled the plane out very early Monday morning after a marathon weekend, tied it to the flagpole, fired her up, and were set to go to the airport for the final assembly.

At the airport, we had two more all night sessions.

Then Kenny Hanson, our A&I, gave his OK and once again Piper Clipper N-5335H would be airborne. Rod Slotten was to have the dubious honor of the maiden voyage . And fly she did: no trim tabs or bad habits.

She was better than new. Now all the work, agony and frustrations were forgotten . In the air was where the Clipper belonged.

Oshkosh here we come! But the elements were not cooperating. A cold front set in on the Chicago area bringing marginal VFR. The biggest setback came on Saturday, when Phil arrived in Oshkosh at 12:30 P.M., a half hour too late to be judged in the Classic com­ petition.

In .1975 and 1976, our work finally achieved recog­ nition at Oshkosh. In 1975, we received the award for Outstanding Workmanship, Best Razorback, and Best of Type. Again in 1976, we received the Workmanship Award and Best Razorback. Everything had turned out right.

People who deserve a special note of thanks are Harold, Chris and Swend Jensen who were kind enough to lend .us their facilities for work on the plane, Phil Cashmer, for although we were partners, did most of the meticulous detail work, Marian Cash mer for putting up with both of us and last but not least, the woman in the corner shaking her head, my wife, Jan Krekel.

N avion s, including o urs, is T. S .F. - the solid feel.

It is so s table that we hardly n otice turbulent weather an ymore. I think it is much quieter than our p revious V35B Bon an za. In all fai rness, I mus t add th at it is also much slower.

If you wonder w hy you missed us at Osh kosh, it was because we almost ·drow ned .· Th e first n ight we awoke w ith about 2 inches of water in our tent. It was quite a storm , and as usual, we had our screen door p ointed in the wrong direction . A couple of days later we came d own with colds, and left fo r h ome .

See you n ext year (God willing) at Oshkosh .

Best Custom Restoration 1951 Ryan Navion

By Mike Turner

253 Franco nian Ave.

Fran kenmaith, MI 48734

Our 1951 Ryan Navion, which won the Best Cus­ tom Restored Classic at Oshkosh '76, is powered wi th a Lycoming 260 hp engin e, and has a 3 bladed Hart­ zell prop up front.

The modified nose cowl accommoda tes the prop pitch control. The extended exh aus t s tacks, landing gear and wheel fairings, are chrome plated.

The outside finish is white Imron with maroon and red trim . All combine to give the aircraft a very racy and modern appearance.

The inside of our old bird is still ano ther story. We recently installed dual collins coms. and navs . with dual glideslopes. At the same time, we put in a Narco Dme 195 and ..Edo-Aire ADF. Also added were a Col­ lins transponder and new D .G . The removal of th e obsolete radio equipmen t gave us 46 more pounds of useful load.

The most outs tand ing fligh t characteristic of all

ABOVE: Mike and Dody Turner pose for a family portrait with their super 260 Navion, N5312K. BELOW: 1951 Ryan Navion . " It is so stable that we hardly notice turbulent weE.ther any more!"

28

Best Limited Production Johnson Rocket #N90204

By O. R. Fairbairn 236 Acalanes 1 Sunnyvale, CA 94086

My Johnson Rocket carries SIN 11, but is really a collection of parts obtained from the defunct factory.

The wings came from the prototype, SIN 102, as ap­ parently did the forward cabin and the doors, because the door hinges and side windows· are different from other Rockets, as are the landing gear down locks.

When I was cleaning tl1e firewall, I was able to make out a faced serial number, which looked like "#-02", which I believe to be "#102", but could not make out the first number. I do not really know what happened to the original #11. It was featured on the cover of the July 1947 Flying, and in some of the spec sheets. I do know that 1949 was the last year it was flown.

I purchased my aircraft in 1963 for $800, less en­ gine, in Los Angeles. I was laid off, and got a new job in Huntsville, Alabama, and took the aircraft with me.

I needed fairings, hydraulic valves and cylinders, cowl­ ing, some woodwork, an engine, propeller, seats, in­

29

strument panel, etc. Basically, all I had was a John­ son Rocket structure.

When I got to HSV, I ran into Slim Johnson, a former resident antiquer there who said, "I know where there are the remains of four of them". They were at Twin Pine Airport in Pennington, New Jersey. I con­ tacted Bill Wedsner there, who sold me the parts I needed to complete the airplane. I soon discovered that no two Rockets were alike - the fairings off #18 won't fit #17, etc. Consequently, a reconditioning job was in order. I had to build a wooden mockup of the engine in order to get the proper location of the cowl­ ing, so that I could make and fit new sheet metal. In all, it took me 8 years to get N90204 to fly, albeit not yet in show condition. I didn't really start working on prettying it up until I moved to California, and joined the North California Antiquers, and went to a few fly-ins unrewarded. I redid the door seals, cleaned up the engine compartment, did some repainting, cleaned up the wheel wells, and thanks to John Parish, put a new red leather interior in tbe bird.

I really enjoy the way the Rocket flies - the early "grou nd lover" reputation was apparently due to the Aeromatic propeller, which would automatically go in to cruise pitch just about the time you would ro­ tate and get the gear in the wells. I have a Hartzell AC 12 x 20 on mine, which really allows it to climb out nicely. The stick is nice and light, but not twitchy - I'm told it feels a lot like a P-51 or P-39. The 3-axis trim allows hands and feet off in still air for mile after mile. The airplane stalls dead ahead with little tend­ ing to drop a wing. I have never spun it and don't in­ tend to. Dave Fox (who was one of Pop Johnson's test pilots and now flies the Curtiss June Bug) said they never spun it without spin chutes, and that it tended to really fall. I can see why - with 18#/sq. ft. wing loading and 1900# empty, it comes down like a brick.

Standard approach is at 85 lAS. With prop full in and 45 0 of split flap, and gear down, it falls about 3000 ft.lmin. - consequently a tight pattern is recommended .

Even when it is clean, the quickest way to lose air speed is to retard power and do a steep turn.

The airplane is one of the stoutest light aircraft ever built. I've calculated the stress level for the wings, engine mount and forward fuselage at 10 C's . The main spars are composed of a 3/s" plywood center web to which 15/s" spruce is laminated on either side. The spar is solid out to the gear, then an I-section from there outboard. It measures 41/4" wide and 9%" deep at the root, tapering to a knife edge tip - really very pretty (see photo).

The gear and flaps are hydraulically activated with

no up locks on the gear - the engine driven pump maintains continuous pressure, hence the 21/2 gallon hydraulic reservoir. I believe the entire landing gear setup was an afterthought, because the legs protrude 90 0 to the airstream and stick out about 4" tapering to nothing at the trunion. .

The nose gear also protrudes a good ways . I'm sure that a proper design on the retractable landing gear would have saved weight and been a lot cleaner ­ perhaps even enough to give the 185 mph cruise ad­ vertised.

For all its shortcomings, I really don't know that I would want another airplane over the Rocket. It has a respectable cruise, good looks, excellent flying quali­ ties, rarity, and relative economy of operation over many of the other aircraft of its era. It is fun to drop into a strange airport and get quizzed as to what it is, how fast, etc., etc. Hopefully soon there will be two more on the west coast, as soon as two being restored in Los Angeles fly. We will blacken the skies with Rockets!

ABOVE: "For all its shortcomings I really don't know that I would want another airplane over the Rocket."

BELOW: The grills are a Pop Johnson trademark.

The Champ has won 4 Grand Champions and 30 trophies attending 19 air shows.

Best Aeronca Champion #N83633

By Melvin B. Hill 102 Ash St. Danville, I L 61832

Aeronca N83633 has been a typical Aeronca, from trainer to sprayer. The aircraft was completely re­ built in 1973 by Don Freitag and his son. It was re­ covered with Stits process throughout, with Stits Aerothane paint.

Four hours after rebuild, the aircraft was over­ turned in a tornado at Burlington, Wisconsin in April 1973.

Tom Johnson acquired the plane in mid-1973, and rebuilt the wings and cabin damage. I bought the plane at that point, and with the help of my friend, Vic An­ drews, finished the cowl, wheel pants and assembled and repainted it in time for Oshkosh 1974. We are quite proud of the way it has been received .. The air­ craft has won 3 straight in class at Oshkosh, and once at Ottumwa. It has won 4 Grand Champions, and so far has 30 trophies out of 19 air shows.

The plane has the 205 hp engine, wi th the Hart­ nell prop . It has the Jourdan-Flanigan spar modifica­ tion . Climbs 23 x 23 at 1100 ft.lmin. with 2 passengers at 101 mph indicated. At 9000 ft. it will true out at 162-164 mph, at 2000 rpm and 19.5" Hg, using 8.1 gal. per hour with four passengers. I painted her as closely as possible as the original. She is polished aluminum with flaming red stripes. I removed the dingy black trim . The bare outline of the numbers on the wings are still discernable. I reskinned the aileron with aluminum, also the one ruddervator. I still have one ruddervator to reskin.

When I purchased the plane last May, the old mag­ nesium skins were quite far gone. The Bonanza looked almost black. My son, Matt, and I used Turco 1000 to brighten it, then the whole family polished and pol­ ished. We used Never-Dull wadding, Met-All glass wax, turtle wax and Acro Sheen. It all added up to work.

For excessive oxidation, one can carefully use a 1% solution of HFL (hydroflouric acid). Note I under­ line 1% (10cc HFL to 1 liter of H20) .

The plane is very docile and lands at 55-60. The Bonanza is the best flying aircraft I have ever flown.

I have friends who have newer ones who say that mine outperforms theirs.

I first soloed a UPF-7 in 1943.

Mr. Colvin of Beechcraft Co. was very helpful in giving me hints and history at Oshkosh this year. He knew the plane.

Again, you can't imagine how I enjoy the Bonanza.

One of the best classic planes for transportation and good looks!

Best Beech Bonanza #N32440

By Waldy Malouf

700 Delaware Ave.

Palm Harbor, FL 33563

I am pleased to write about my 1947 Beech 35 (straight) Bonanza. The Serial No. is 689. She was placed in service in August 1947 and delivered to General Shoe Corp. of Ohio.

30

If a 17 year old new pilot can master it, there just can't be dishonesty in this airplane.

I purchased the aircraft, used, in 1962, 716 hours since new. L.recovered the fuselage and controls with Ceconite in 1964 and completely overhauled the en­ gine in 1966.

The propeller was overhauled at the factory in 1974.

I just recently reworked the IFR panel, installing a Narco Con II, Nav 11 and Edo Aire Xpander, plus the King 150 and Lear ADF. My son, Daryl, began flying the Bellanca at the age of 17 years, as soon as he received his private li­ cense, which proves it is a very honest airplane to fly.

We all enjoy it.

Best Bellanca #N512A

For basic simplicity and neat arrangement, you can't beat this panel.

By Richard L. Burns 4640 Hyland Dr. Louisville, OH 44641

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A full house - IFR panel with every inch of space neatly filled.

31

Cessna N76688 was a permanent fixture at Martin Field, Canton, Ohio for over four years. It was used as a bird house and a source of spare parts for other 140 owners. It has been sort of special to me, probably because I took my training in one, and also owned one several years ago . Feeling this way, I could not let 76688 die the way it was, so on October 6, 1973 it was mine, including five birds'nests and three dead birds.

I did not want this restoration to be like so many I have seen - "cosmetic" - just a paint job with fancy upholstery, so the entire airplane was com­ pletely disassembled. At the time, I had a single gar­ age, which meant parts were stored in the attic, cel­ lar and the neighbor's garage. The inside of the fuse­ lage was cleaned, etched, alodined and chromated.

All parts then were overhauled and assembled. New wiring, cables and bearings were used. The stabilizers and all control surfaces were etched, alodined and chromated. Wings were epoxy chromated and cov­ ered with Razorback.

Best Cessna 120/140 140 - #N76688

By Ronald Degnan 462 Fairview Ave. Canfield, OH 44406

Here is some information th at may be h elpful in yo ur efforts on "Vintage Airp lane" magazine.

I bo ught my Cessna 195 in 1971. I am th e third owner. It has a to tal of 1500 hours.

It was res tored in 1974 - Du Pont Imron p aint was used. I received 2 awa rds a t O shkosh '75 and '76 - plus 6 local awa rds.

The first owner was the well known Arlene Davis.

Enclose d is a ne ws paper acco unt . This aircra ft was well known in the Detroit Cleveland area .

The engi ne h ad o nl y 246 h ours sin ce fac tory re足 ma nufacturin g, h owever, since being out of service so long, it w as d isassembled for ins pection and rings, bearings and valves re placed .

As the work progressed , the ga rage go t sma ller, so an addition, 19 x 29, was added to th e rear, one足 h alf for me and the other h alf for m y wife's po rch .

This gave me a sh op 14' x 41'.

No t all was easy going. There were parts lost and d amaged due to s hipping, w rong pa rts s h ip p ed , no p a rts ava il a bl e, n o t to m e nti o n th e ph o n e bills. It was finis hed this yea r in June, and assem bled at Sa lem Air Park. Every thin g we nt pe rfec tl y, excep t for a yellow taged prop that was very much o ut of balance and too flat.

In all, it was a very rewarding experience to give a 30 yea r old bird 30 more years of life.

I am d eeply indebted to Ted McCrea ry, w ho helped with all th e di rty cleaning jobs. Most of all to m y wife, Dian e, w h o p u t up with the smell of dope, pa int, sol足 ve nt and airpla n e pa rts, all over h e r h ou se fo r 21/2 years .

Best Cessna 190/195

N9344A

The highlights of her rema rkable career are: 1931 receive d pil ot' s licen se a nd 1934 won h er firs t race.

1937 flew in the fi rs t Miami-Hava na International Air Race; became fi rs t wo man in the world to receive a rating to fly the largest land a nd wa ter planes of the day; beca me first pilot, man or wom an, to qualify for fl ying blind .

She was the only wo man in the MacFa dden Race from New York to Miami in 1938 and the only woman in 1939 to fini sh in the money in the Bendi x Race from Los An geles to N ew York. Two yea rs la ter sh e re足 ceived a ve teran's pilot award .

By Joe Kikel

R. D. 3

Geneva, OH 44041

In all, it was a rewarding experience to give a 30 year old airplane 30 years more life!

Cessna 190/195 N9344A. The first owner was the famous Arlene Davis, a flyer of the early thirties.

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Best Ereo upe

N3968H

By Rich Andersen 1235 Granite Rd. San Marcos, CA

Ercoupe N3968H became a member of the Ander­ sen household following the Memorial Day Week~ end in Tonopah, Nevada in 1975. She was to replace a coupe that was loved but needed much work. After seeing the 1947 coupe at other fly-ins, I was kidding with its then owner and restorer, Wayne Olson of Cerritos, CA. Wayne is Regiqnal Director for the Er­ coupe Owners Club . "When are you going to sell that beauty, Wayne?" I asked on the last day at Tono­ pah. " She's for sale right now," he answered and be­ fore we left the field that day I was the owner of two Ercoupes.

Wayne had restored the little craft anC: completed her in 1972. From then on, she won the West Coast prizes without fail.

Since I flew the gold and white bird home in 1975, she has taken me to Miami for a family visit; to Tahlequah, Oklahoma for the National Ercoupe Fly­ In and brought home two trophies and then this Au­ 33

gust to Oshkosh for a Best of Type trophy.

Lake Wolford Airport East of Escondido, CA is where she resides when not in the air. The field that many pilots avoid in this area for it lies atop of a pla­ teau with 1500 feet of runway. And now my baby and I are looking forward to many more adventures and trophies together. For me, it's "Keep Coupes Flying!"

Ercoupe N3968H, a national traveler having tra­ versed the continent several times in its short life since restoration. "Keep the Coupes Flying" Navion N5117K. This is definitely a STOL aircraft and is flown easily out of a 1200' strip and from grass or gravel.

Best Navion

N5117K

By L. AI/an Carlsmith 43 Elm St., Apt. #6 Milford, NH 03055

This is the second Navion I have owned. The first was a partnership venture with three other pilots in­ cluding Jim Tamposi, owner of Nashua Aviation at Boire Field in Nashua, N .H. We rebuilt N4557K ex­ tensively under Jim's guidance and during this pro­ ject and some six years of flying, I got a liberal educa­ tion in Navion technology from Jim and Art Powell, then Chief Mechanic at Nashua Aviation, both of whom have been Navion enthusiasts since the air­ craft was first brought on the market in 1946.

17K is a 1950 model, about the 27th aircraft pro­ duced by Ryan after a model change in 1949 which included a large number of minor but significant im­ provements as reflected in the parts catalogues from that period. This aircraft had been located at Boire Field for nearly ten years, hangared and maintained airworthy, but rarely flown by a succession of owners, such that it had only 950 hours on the engine and air­

frame when I acquired it in 1971! The original factory upholstery was faded and threadbare, the paint was dusty and flaking, but the airframe, gear and con­ trols were excellent. A perfect candidate for the do­ it-yourself restorer!

This has been a one-section-at-a-time rebuild, as I have limited time from my job as Chief Engineer at IMPCO in Nashua (we build pulp mill machinery) and from my family, also I like to keep the plane flying as much as possible. In the summer of 1973 I stripped the paint from the aircraft, then scribbled some num­ bers on the bright aluminum with a spray can and flew it to Twin Mountain, New Hampshire where Don Bicknell put on the metallic blue paint scheme you see in the photos. We used Randolph acrylic lacquer, as I like the color depth and sheen obtained with this finish. This was Don's first aircraft paint job, as he had just moved into this work from automotive re­ finishing. We made up with dedication and care what we lacked in experience.

During the summer of 1974 I did the cockpit in­ terior and installed new plexiglass all around with new rubber mounting extrusion strips, stripping and repainting the canopy hardware, the instrume(lt panel, and all the hundreds of special pieces which make the Navion famous as "being built like a military air­ craft". The upholstery panels were from Airtex, who obligingly made up everything in black vinyl, yield­ ing a nice custom appearance.

In the fall of 1975 we removed the engine and took it to my mini-machine shop at home, where it could be overhauled leisurely over the winter. The aircraft is not hangared because the $95/month rent is well beyond my flying budget, and the snow covered air­ port is no place to work during a New Hampshire winter. This is a Continental E-185-9 (205 hp take­ off rating) and had never been torn down. The crank­ shaft and other major parts were within factory new tolerances, so we sent the cylinders to Chromeplate, replaced a few small parts that showed some wear, and succeeded in producing the equivalent of a "re­ manufactured" engine. All of this work was closely supervised by Art Powell, who insists on doing the final assembly himself, with all parts having been magnafluxed, zyglowed and cleaned to look new, laid out on tables under "clean room" conditions.

By May, 1976, I could work at the field again, so pulled off the engine mount and stripped everything back to the firewall, then painted the entire engine compartment a bright yellow gloss enamel so that a single drop of oil leaking will show at a glance, and then reinstalled the engine with all new hoses, tub­ ing lines and hardware .

This is still about the most original, stock factory Navion I have seen in recent years. Most of the own­ ers go in for the extensive series of mods available, from speed fairings and nosewheel doors to flush windshields and 285 hp engines. N5117K by contrast is almost exactly as Ryan built her in 1950, except for the radios and the paint and upholstery.

One little-discussed aspect of Navion modifica­ tion is the Palo Alto tail, which is a kit to increase the angle of incidence of the fixed stabilizer so that the elevator will trim in line with the stab at cruise speed.

Most Navions have this mod, as the drag reduction is worth 3-5 mph. I find, however, that the slbw­ flight handling of the unmodified Navion is much nicer, without the heavy feel of the faster ships. Ob­ viously the aircraft flares more easily, and the con­ trol feel in tight turns and semi-aerobatic maneuvers is lighter.

This is definitely a STOL aircraft and is flown easily out of 1200' fields and from grass or gravel. At the same time it is still a capable cross-country machine .

Before Oshkosh this year, I took an extra week of va­ cation and flew to California to visit the relatives, making the trip out in just two days, VFR. After vis­ its in Palo Alto, Monterey, Santa Rosa & Oakland, I flew back to Oshkosh with one overnight stop. I did leave Oshkosh mid-day Wednesday, to go east ahead of the weather system, and made Nashua, N.H. with only one fuel stop, riding a slight tailwind.

From the first of spring until very late fall, the Cub is a sport airplane that can't be bettered. Best Postwar 33 N70745.

34

I bought the PA-16 Clipper in 1964 from a farmer in Fall River, Kansas, and shortly thereafter started a complete restoration.

After stripping off the old fabric, the first task was to scrape off an incredible number of Mud Dabber nests. It was hard to believe the volume and weight of these nests - an object lesson for some of us who have a plane that has not been recovered in some time.

The Clipper, in its original form, had some faults that were corrected in the later Pacer series. The worst of these was the fuel tank arrangement. The under the panel Clipper tank was a carryover from the Vaga­ bond series, plus one 18 gallon tank in the left wing.

The plane, of course, would fly wing heavy till the wing tank was used up. The panel tank was too close

Best Post War J-3 J3 Cub #N70745

By Art fads

Rt. 2, Box 93

Pt. Pleasant, WV 25550

I am certainly most honored and just plain happy about receiving the award for the Post War ]3. I would like to express my appreciation for the judge's ef­ forts , as I know they have a long, tough row to hoe.

I've owned the 1946 J3 Cub since June 1970. In the fall of 1973 I completely rebuilt it, beginning with sandblasting the fuselage and restoring everything to as near original factory condition as possible. I have flown it over 300 hours since the restoration and certainly enjoyed every minute of it. "Just another Cub?" You bet! " Flies like a Cub?" You bet! And after some 40 years, the J3 Cub is still tops in pure fun fly­ ing. We could use another C. G. Taylor or a William T. Piper, Jr. these days .

Best Piper Clipper

Piper Clipper N5834H

By Bill Schmidt 4647 Krueger Wichita, KA 67220

35

to allow larger gyro instruments or panel radios. Re­ moval of the panel tank and installation of a second wing tank in the right wing, was the answer. A new heavier leading edge was made, all new sheet metal work, a new instrument panel with modern instru­ ments, and a Mark V radio . The original head liner was retained, but all new seat upholstery was in­ stalled.

The entire airframe was sandblasted and covered with Grade A and a super smooth yellow finish. The Lycoming 0-235 was given a chrome major in which everything but the case was replaced or overhauled.

A new nose bowl and a button spinner were purchased from Piper. The whole thing was finally assembled and flown to Oshkosh in 1973 for the first time.

o Reuben Fleet

by William Wagner Story of Consolidated Air· craft and the genius of Fleet.

Wagner follows his great bio of Ryan with this magnificent account of the Fleet trainers and flying boats, such as the Cata"na. Continues through the B·24 and Convair B·36 .

380 photos . . . $16.95

U.S. Fighters (1925-19805 )

by Lloyd S. Jones Comprehensive history of the development of the ~- I American fighter plane from the Curtiss P-l Hawk to the

double-sonic Northrop F-18.

O. __~ . birth and maturity of the ~ B-17. Every1hing is here, Technical and historical data side views, three views, se­ describe every plane includ­ rials , interiors , nose art , ing informal ion previously postwar use , color, and . . classified as " secret. " 250 nearly a thousand photos . • photos & 3 views for eac h NEW 18.95 .. -... ---_. plane . . ........... 14.95 /i . o U.S. Bombers (1928- 1980s)

by Lloyd S. Jones Here. in one volume is a detailed description of i 1 , e American bom»ers from B-1 to the B-70, and the new Rockwell B-1 now in the test stages.

Each story includes specs.. performance, AVIATION ., armament, etc . 200 exc . photos. 74 three views.

10_95 jj~.jiiFl;;.D Fifth Air Force . Rust ... .. ........ . .. 5.95 o Sky Ship o The Mighty Elgth , Freeman 15.95

by Thom Hook o The 91h Alrlorce In WWII . Rust ... ... 11 .95 ~ Story of the U.S. Navy's o Twelfth Air Force In WWII , Rust ...... 6.50 w airship Akron and her tragic o Fifteenth Air Force Story , Rust .. NEW 6.95 Z loss in 1933 from fin fail ure. o Empire Exprels, Navy's operation Aleu tian By the author of companion

Islands WWII . Ru st ............ NEW 6.50 book , Shenandoah Saga ,

o Pacific Sweep. 5th & 13th Fighter . ... 9.95 here is exciting

Double Strike. Jablonsk ... : .. : .. ... 7.95 b ined with neve

The Curti.. Hawks. Shamburger & Christy . published pix in large

complete history P-l to Kittyhawks 24.95 UnlledStateIPurauIlAlC, 1918-36 . ' 11.95 o Cessna Guidebook. Story early Cessna's o Flying Combat Aircraft .. .. . ........ 7.95

through 150's. Photos , specs. 3-views 7.95 o American Combat Planel. Wagner. com­ plete history. Over 1,000 photos .... 14.95 o Ryan Guidebook . 50 years Ryan AlG .

Photos & specs of 70 types ..

7.95 o The P-51 Mustang, Len Mo rgan ...... 2.95 MUltang, SlOry 0 1P-51 Fighter. Revised 19.95 o Grumman Guidebook. Covers 84 types .

CJ Mustang at War, 200 photos ... ... .. 10.® Photos, specs and 3-views . . .. . . . ... 7.95 o Flying Fortress, Jablonski .. ........

14.95

o The Stearman Guidebook 160photos 7_95 o B- 17 Flying Fortre.., Birdsall .. .. .... 2.95 The Grumman Story , Thruelsen ... . 14.95 o Lindberg . A B iography ....... NEW 12.95 o Forlre.. lnTheSky,Bowers " . NEW1B.95 Log Of The L1beretors. Heav ily illus .

SPECIAL: FOR ANTIQUE AI C HUNTERS history of the B-24's,B irdsall ... . ... 12.95

o Antique Aircraft Directory. Computer 0 B-24 Liberator, Birdsall ....... ...... 2.95

print out of 6.000 pre- '42 AlC as listed on 0 The AT-6 Harvard ... . ..... ..... .... 2.95

FAA registration . Lisled by make & model 0 The P-38 Lightning, Gurney .. . ...... 2.95

with owner's name & address . Also cross 0 P-40 Klltyhawk. Mc Do well ... . ... . .. 2.95

L...:=-:i,..n.,;;d..;,e,..;xe,;.d;;...;.b.:,.y,..."__ N_" _n.,;;_ u m_b:,.;;,.r...:..:,.;..;, e .. . .,,;;..,.;N,,;.E;;,W,;,,;.,.1__0;,..9;,5::....J 0 P-47 Thunderboll, Morgan . . ........ 2.95

o The Saga of the Tin Goose, 0 Fighter AlC 1914-18 War .... .. .... . 14.95 ·

by David Ansel We iss. ~ ' D Grumman F8F"Bearcat", Aero . . .... 3.00 0 Boeing P-12/ F4B Fighter, Aero . .. ... 3.00 The story of the famous Ford 0 Boeing P-26 " Peashooter", Aero . . . .. 3.95 Trimotor from its design by ~ "__' .y , 0 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress ..... NEW 6.95 William Stout , and the years 0 Grumman F-14 "Tom cat" .. ... . NEW 6.95 when it brought the fledgling ". , 0 General Dynamics F-16 . ..... . . NEW 6.95 0 US Army Alrforce Flghtera 16-61 .... 14.95 airlines through the depression. i 0 US Navy' Marfne Flghtera 18-62 ... 14.95 Depicted here is the human side of the story. the people ,

" 0 Forgollen Fighters' Experimental AlC of -_.

the US Army: 1918-41 . Bowers . . . . . .. 3.95 the successes and the incredi- . ble saga that is still continuing today .

5.95

0 Forgollen Fighters' Experfmental AlC of Tin Goose , Douglaslngells . . ...... .. 3.95

the US Navy: 1918- 41 . Bo wers ....... 3.95 o Ford Trlmotor. AIC & Pilot manual . . 4.00 0 Spltflre,Robertson . Harleyford book 14.95 o Plane That Changed World , DC-3 history 01 0 Luftwaffe Aircraft. Acel. Maloney .. 5.95 0 Luftwaffe Colora, 1935- 40 . . . ....... 16.95 des ign , development, airline use .. ... 8.95 The Douglas DC-3, Len Morgan.

2.95 0 Messerschmllt Aircraft Des igner ... 14.95 747 Boeing Super Jet, Ingells ....... 12_95 0 German Combat Planel, Wagner, 1941-45. o Ll0ll Trf-Star.LockheedStory ... 12.95 overl.oo0photos .............. . .. 14_95 o ThlsWa.AlrTravel , Palmer . . . . . . . . .695 0 The FockeWulf 190, Nowarra . . . ... 14.95 .

0 The Melserschmllll09. Nowarra .. . 14.95 The Flying Wlngsof Northrup ....... 4.50 0 The MesserachmlllBflO9 ........... 2.95 o Northrop Flying Wlnga Edward Maloney o Augsburg Eagle (Bfl 09) .... .... . ... 9.95 o Aces Full,WW llfighters pilots & Planes . 10.95 Excellent coverage of the 16

o KnlghtsoftheBlackCro..,Mizrah i . . 12.95 different flying w ing designs dating from 1928 to the PILOT MANUALS supersecret jet powered Lockheed P-38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4.00 YRB-49 and the X-4. Con­

o Bell P-39 Alracoba .. . . ......

3.50 tains Wing Evolution Chart .

o Curll.. P-40 Warhawk ......... .. . . . 3.50

Specifications, Flight Con­ o Republic P-47 Thunderboll 3.50 trol Operations, 70 excellent

o Northrop P-61 Black Widow ..... .. . . 4.50 photos and drawings includ ­ o Bell P-63 King Cobra . . ... . . ... NEW 4_50 ing 3 two page fold outs. 55

o No. Amer. P-51 Mustang Handbook. . 7.95 pages, 81fi'x l " ...... 4.95

o F-82 Twin Mustang ..... . . ..... NEW 4.95 o Amphibian, Grover Loening . History of the 0 Chance-Vought F-4U Cor..lr ... . ... 4.50 " flyinQ shoehorns" ................ 14.95 0 Grumman F6F Hellcat .. .. . ..... .. .. 3.95 o Sea Wings. Jablonski . Flying boat story 0 StoryofTheTexanAT-6 ...... . . . ... 3.95 from Blenotto Pan Am Clippers .... . 9.95 0 Boelng-B-17 Flying Forlre.. .... NEW 5.95 o The Seaplanes, Palmer .. . . . ....... . 2.95 0 Lockheed F-BO Shoollna Star ....... 4.50 o American Flying Boatl . . . . . . . . .. 11 .95 0 Supermarine Spitfire . ... .. .. . ... . . .. 3.00 o World Flying Boats ..... .. ....... 11.95 0 Hawker Hurricane ...... .... . . . ... . . 3.00 AIR RACERS 0 deHav111and 110 .......... . . . . 3.00 .

Racing Planel and Air Races, o 1909-1968 Hardbound . . 16.95 ' .

• o 1969-1972 Hardbound .. 16.95 • o 1974Annual (1973) ....... 4.95 .

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• o 1975Annual (1974) ....... 4:95 ...~"" o 1976Annua1(1975) .. NEW4.95 ENC. $ Minn. res add 40/0 tax

o Fortress In The Sky

i

r : Mr. Piper & His CubS 8.50 The Stlnsons. Photos. 3· Views. Revised 5.95 '- 1 The Piper Cub Story 3.95 [ J Single-Engine Piper. . . NEW 3.95 , 1 Single Engine Beechcrafts 3.95 Single Eng ine Cessnas 3.95 4.95 Of Mon~oupes & Men. Underwood Re Vised 5.95 : , Thelightplane Since 1909 o Ryan Broughams & Their Builders. 111 . his­ to ry.1927 -32 A/C . 160 photos . . . . . . .. 7.50 o The Ford Air Tours 1925· 1931 . Le sloe Forden Complete story of all seven croSS 'CO unlry Re · Ilablll ly Tours profu sel y rllustrated 9.00 Revolution In The Sky. ClaSSIC Lockheed Veqas & the pilots who flew them 12.95 I J Baby Bullet, 1928 Heath Racer NEW 2.00 LJ Howard Hughes H-4 . Spruce Goose ' 4.95 Air Mail Emergency 1934. The 78 tragi c days when the air corp flew the mall ' 5.95 o Ryan, the Aviator, by William Wagner 1.9 .95 o Wings Over The World . P& W engines 4.95

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The Air Force Museum, 450 ill . . NEW6.95 [J Av. & Space Museums of Am . .NEW 6.95 o Glen Curti. . Pioneer of t-tlgm ...... 12.50 o A1aalul Buah Pliota ..8.95 o They Call Mr Mr. Airshow, Bill Sweet . 9.95 IJ Vintage • Veteran AI C Gu i de , 400 pre '45 arrcrall NEW 4.95 o The Greal Planes . James G,lber1 '-4 .95 [ I First Across, NC-4 Atlantic flight NEW 10.00 o The Phlne. . Plnkhllm Sc,.pbook. 9 hilari­ ous full length feature air stories of WWI re ­ printed from 1930's Flying Aces magazine .

Complete with all original illustrations .. 3.95 Crackup. Photos non-fatal crashes .... 2.95 Restoration of Anl. Classic Plane'. 3.95 Flying the Old Planes , bv Tallman 14.95 Stinson Plane Talk . Reprint on 1938 " Re­ liant". 8 pgs. 11 x17. 29 photos . . NEW 1.00 The Best of WYLAM. 64 pg NC Plan Books detailed constr plans from factory drawings lJ Vol . 2, WWI . Golden Age WWII . etc . 3.95 lJ Vol. 4, The Stinsons and Curtiss Family 3.95 U J-3 Cub Service Manual ..... Reprint 5.00 o 7AC Aeronca Champ Service Manual 5.00 o 11 AC Aaronca Chief Service Manual 5.00 o BC-12D T-Craft Service Manual 5.00 o Janea All The World AlC 1919 Reprints 25.00 o Janea All The World AlC 1938 Reprints 35.00 o Janea All The World AlC 1945-46 " 29.95 Hlatorlcal Aviation Album. by Paul Matt Wrthout a doubt the finest publications around for in-depth historical reference . Each illustrated wrth high quality photos, impeccable three-views, and packed wrth meaty text . Each issue becomes an immediate collector's item .

L. Vol. 8 - Larrd Super SOlullon . Waco UPF· 7. T,mm Colleglale. Vought XF5U. XB-70 II .......... 5.00 I. Vol. 9 - Aeromarine 39B. P2Y-2 Fly . BoalS. Ryan ST .

SC. Sperry Tllpe Amphib" Chas. Walsh blo. I . 5.00 Lr Vol. 10 - Curtiss PW·8. Aeronca C-2. 3. Larrd-Turner Racer. Chas. Walsh blo. II . .. . . . .. . 5.00 L. Vol. 11 - LWF Model L. Douglas 0-2. 0-25 .

Curtiss-Wllght Jr.. CICero Freid bio. I . . . 5.00 L. Vol. 12 Douglas 0-32. 0·38. Howard "Pele".

Anderson-Greenwood AG-14. CICero Field bio. II 5.95 L. Vol. 13 - Howard "Mike" and "Ike." Waco UMF. YMF. Clark GA-43. NA 0- 47. North Amer. bro. . . 6.50 L. Vol. 14 - Mr. Mulhgan. Sikorsky 5-39. Douglas M·2.

Billy Mitchell Tllal. Benny Howard III . .. . 6.95 U.S. Civil Aircral1 by JOSeph Juplner The antiquers bible . Encycloped ia of ATC planes giVi ng a complete description. history. production data, performance . specifications with excellent photo cove rage . Colorful narratives are woven throughoul tel ling of successes , failures and little-known anecdotes. Each volume covers 100 ATC ·s. 300 + photos & 300 pages. o Vol. I. ATC #1 thru #100. 1927-29 11 .95 o Vol. II. ATC #101 thru #200: 1929 11 .95 o Vol. III. ATC #201 Ihru #300. 1929-30 11 .95 o Vol. IV. ATC #301 thru #400. 1930-31 11 .95 o Vol. V. ATC # 401 thru #500. 1931-33 11 .95 o Vol. VI. ATC #501 thru #600. 1933-35 11.95

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Christmas Check List from HISTORIC

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by Peter M: Bowers THEdefinillveFortressbook . , . .

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o SpeedSeekers,WW I -Schndr.Cup . 45.001 Name o Jimmy Doollllle, Gilnes . The stunt "Ylng. air ra cing to historic Tokyo air raid ... 5.95 I'Address o Early Air Racers In 3-vlews1909-29 ... 4.95 . y o NallonalAir RaceraIn J-vlewl '29- '49 . 4.95" Clt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ­ o ModemAlrRaceraln3-vlewl '·49·75. 4.95 . Slate _ _ _ _ _ _ Zip _ _ _ _ _ __ o Sky Ship. The Akron Era, Hook New 5.95 ; Postpaid 14 day Money back Guarantee LZ 129 " Hindenburg " . Robl1son .. ' Shenandoah ' Saga, Thom h~k The AI,.hIDl Akron' M-.:.,n

2.95 l ' Add $1.00 handli fee for orders under $15.00 5.95 ..... . . , . . - - - - - ; ; ; " , . - - - - - - - - - - ­

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Men and Thei

~~--::~/ ~-----,:, -:;~~ -,~. ~ Claude Ryan, Lois Kelch and Dave Jameson attend足 ing the presentation of The Hamilton Metalplane at " The Interview Circle " .

(Photo by Dick Stouffer) (Photo by Ted Kaston)

Below: The view from our little corner of the world.

Looking north, Ollies Woods is on the right.

Above: " By George he did fly under the wires!" at least it looks like he did. The star Cavalier and J5 Waco are in the foreground.

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(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

It is hard to believe that the years have been so kind to the ornithopter engine. It only needed a clean-up to run .

In its original form , feathers covered 路the wings.

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

(Photo by Ted Koston)

Above: For those who missed the flying of the June Bug, we are sorry. It took a week of effort, by many people, to finally get the June Bug in the air. Due to preparation time and need of calm air, it almost missed flying .

Below: A plucked ornithopter will never fly! Gene Morris thought he would give it a try anyhow. Built

by James Clark in 1900, it is a 100% original ma颅 chine. R. J. Boudeman is to be thanked for bringing it to Oshkosh where many thousands could enjoy it.