Va vol 40 no 11 nov 2012

NOVEMBER 2012

Cranberries, Whirlybirds, and a WACO

•AirVenture Photo Coverage •Hall of Fame Inductee Clyde Smith Jr.

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A I R P L A N E Vol. 40, No. 11

2012

NOVEMBER

CONTENTS 2

Straight and Level Moving forward at the VAA

by Geoff Robison

3 News 4

Friends of the Red Barn Thank you for your generous donations

5 The Vintage Instructor Wind: When is it too much?

by Steve Krog, CFI

8 AirVenture 2012 Photo Wrap-up

8

16 Cranberries, Whirlybirds, and a WACO

STEVE CUKIERSKI

Vintage member profile—Joe Norris

by Jim Busha

24

This “Doctor” Still Makes House Calls 2012 Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame inductee Clyde “The Cub Doctor” Smith Jr.

by Jim Busha

30 Type Club Corner The Swift Museum Foundation 2012 National Convention/Fly-In

by Izzie Kientz

34

The Vintage Mechanic Aircraft fabric covering, Part 4

by Robert G. Lock

38

24

Mystery Plane

by H.G. Frautschy

39

Gone West Everett Cassagneres

40

Classifieds

For missing or replacement magazines, or any other membership-related questions, please call EAA Member Services at 800- JOIN-EAA (564-6322).

ANY COMMENTS? Send your thoughts to the Vintage Editor at: jbusha@eaa.org

COVERS FRONT COVER: Member Joe Norris flies his Waco above a beautiful Wisconsin backdrop. Photo by Jim Koepnick.

BACK COVER: Jim Koepnick captures Sarah Wilson at the controls of her Jimmie Allen Junior Speedmail. Look for Sarah and her airplane at Airventure 2013.

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STRAIGHT & LEVEL Geoff Robison EAA #268346, VAA #12606 president, VAA

Moving forward at the VAA

O

h my gosh, it’s November already? It’s really hard to believe that old man winter is already poking his nose under the hangar door. My hangar attire has already had to be modified from T-shirts and shorts to jeans and long pants. The Harley is already neatly tucked away under its dust cover and moved over to a corner of the hangar. The wheelpants have been removed, and the winterization kits for both of my flying machines have already been installed. Could we be so lucky to experience yet another mild winter here in the Midwest? Doubtful, I would guess.

As I reflected in last month’s column, your organization has been busy executing on a good number of internal processes that are intended to maintain and even improve upon our communications initiatives with our members. As previously stated, with the departure of H.G. Frautschy, we immediately became concerned with our ability to respond to the members who have technical questions that require guidance and recommendations on how to keep our old f lying machines serviceable. This was the one issue that we have never had to deal with when H.G. was at the helm. These responsibilities have now been enthusiastically adopted by our very capable VAA Director Joe Norris. Joe is our designated go-to guy who will respond to any technical questions you may have. You can feel free to contact Joe through the VAA office at EAA headquarters by simply leaving a message with our Executive Assistant Teresa Books, and she will have Joe contact you directly. Or if you prefer to contact Joe directly, you can e-mail him at

tailwheelpilot@hughes.net. I am confident that you will find Joe’s assistance enlightening as well as invaluable.

Thanks again for stepping up, Joe. Another initiative we have recently executed on is the VAA board’s longterm goal of improving on and stepping up our official communications between this organization and our Vintage chapters. This too is a critical function whereby we hope to better serve those members who are engaged in VAA chapters, and to also promote growth in the number of chapters we currently have on board. This work requires us to have someone engaged who is creative and forward thinking and can generate real enthusiasm for VAA members to start their own local chapters, and then provide them with whatever guidance and assistance is necessary to file the appropriate application. After some very careful consideration, and half a bottle of cheap Scotch, I was able to successfully recruit VAA board member Jerry Brown to take on this responsibility. Actually, Jerry was quite excited to be asked to perform these tasks on behalf of your organization.

So, all you current chapter leaders and future chapter officers can now feel free to contact Jerry through our VAA office as stated above, or you could contact Jerry directly through his e-mail address at lbrown4906@aol.com. Thanks for stepping forward, Jerry. I really appreciate your enthusiasm for this critical assignment.

Our local Vintage Chapter 37 recently lost a dear friend and longtime VAA member who struggled valiantly but lost his battle with cancer. Ballard Leins, age 81, VAA 719280, EAA 3697, passed away on Sunday, August 26, 2012. Ballard lived in Auburn, In-

diana, and f lew for United Airlines for 36 years. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force and served during the Korean War. He was an avid aviator and a homebuilder who had a real penchant for old tractors and vintage flying machines. He is survived by his loving wife, Mary, and a large family that included six grandchildren.

Ballard’s participation at the chapter house, his generosity, and his gentlemanly demeanor will be sadly missed among our membership. Blue skies, my friend!

On a lighter note, I want to send out a special invite to our membership to join us in Oshkosh on December 14 for the annual “Wright Brothers Celebration of Flight” dinner and program.

The guest speaker that evening will be Frank Christensen who developed and introduced the Christen Eagle II at the EAA convention in 1977. Since that time more than 1,000 Christen Eagles have been built. The Christen Eagle I is the aircraft that was adopted by the famed Eagles Aerobatic Team made up of Tom Poberezny, Gene Soucy, and the late Charlie Hillard. I hope to see you there!

VAA is about participation: Be a member! Be a volunteer!

Be there!

Let’s all pull in the same direction for the overall good of aviation.

Remember, we are better together. Join us and have it all.

Come share the passion!

2 NOVEMBER 2012

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NEWS Art Morgan Flightline Volunteer of the Year 2012

Art Morgan Behind-the-Scenes Volunteer of the Year

Steve Glenn

Wayne Wendorf

by Pat t y Dorl ac

by Michael Blo mbach

Steve Glenn has been at AirVenture since 1988.

He comes from Trussville, Alabama, with his wif e, Esther, and their four children, ages 13, 10, 8, and 4.

His story starts like a lot of other dedicated AirVenture attendees. His first Geoff Robison & Steve Glenn trip was with his parents, he brought a girl the next time…married her…had four children (okay, so there the similarities end!), and he continues to come every year, bringing the entire family! The part I like best is where they saw the “Volunteer with Vintage” sign and joined us!

Steve was first drawn to Vintage because he had always loved old planes. He says that he was in a “three-foot hover” after a day walking around the flightline. He continued to volunteer with Vintage because of the people he works with every year. His early years of camping were behind Sally’s Alley where the volunteers officially roped him in! Steve has worked with Randy Hytry at Point Fondy since day one. He has mastered parking large aircraft and riding the scooter over terrain that challenges a Tundra Cub. Whether he is parking planes or running point, Steve always has time to share a story or a joke, and his good humor has helped many of us through a long, hot day!

Nicknamed “Antique Tower” because two pilots mistook his friendly gesture to continue down the taxiway as having been granted permission to take off…and even having one somewhat overwhelmed pilot land on his taxiway, Steve claims that events like these are a thing of the past. Needless to say, once you earn a nickname in Vintage, you never lose it!

Steve says that he thinks the people in Vintage are the best people in the world—who put up with him no matter what. We are grateful that Steve continues to come to Oshkosh, dividing his vacation time between the family and the flightline. He now attends Oshkosh with Esther, their three boys and one daughter in tow, and relishes the wonderful tradition they have set—two weeks in a camper with the family, no TV or video games, just airplanes and friends and a chance to meet people from all over the world.

In 2005 Wayne Wendor f showed up f or our April work weekend.

Wayne is the assistant manager of buildings and g rounds at H amilton School District, Sussex, Wisconsin. The next year he helped design and build the canopy over the Wayne Wendorf & Geoff Robison entranceway to the sales side of the Red Barn. In 2007, VAA decided to build the Tall Pines Cafe, and Wayne was there for every work weekend to help.

In 2008, we were asked to build an extension to the back of the sales area of the Red Barn. We could not expose the inside of the building to the weather.

Wayne offered his advice as to how to accomplish this.

He suggested getting the concrete poured first, building the outside walls and installing the roof, and then cutting out the old existing wall. He helped in the design process, and his suggestions worked perfectly.

At the end of A irVenture 2008, there was talk about building the Vintage Hangar for the type clubs and metal shaping. The building would be commercially built, and the Vintage volunteers would install the electrical and build four rooms: the volunteer center, the data processing office, the president’s office, and a conference room. Wayne said, “We can get it done.” He volunteered to be in charge of the construction, and Al Hallett volunteered to be in charge of installing the electrical service. In April the work started. Wayne and the other volunteers worked the three monthly work weekends and about six more weekends. In late June we were ready for AirVenture 2009.

Wayne is always ready to help. He is willing to work or to lead. He has volunteered almost 150 hours each year for the last five years. The Construction and Maintenance Committee, on which he volunteers, meets every month to plan and organize our work weekends for the following year.

Congratulations and thank you, Wayne. VAA is honored to recognize you as the Behind-the-ScenesVolunteer of the Year for 2012.

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STEVE CUKIERSKI

Friends of the Red Barn 2012

Thank you for your generous donations!

Diamond Plus Level Walter Ahlers Charles W. Harris Robert “Bob” Lumley Robert Schjerven Sylvester H. “Wes” Schmid Diamond Level Jonathan and Ronald Apfelbaum Jerry and Linda Brown Ken and Matthew Hunsaker Richard and Sue Packer Bill and Saundra Pancake Swift Museum Foundation Platinum Drew Hoffman Earl Nicholas Michael Wotherspoon Gold Raymond Bottom John W. “Jack” Cronin Jr. James Gorman Mark and MariAnne Kolesar Arthur P. Loring Jr. David Smither Tom Wathen Mid Shore Communities Silver Level Ronald R. Alexander Charles B. Brownlow Dave and Wanda Clark Tom and Carolyn Hildreth Peter Jansen John Kephart Joseph Leverone Bill and Sarah Marcy Larry Nelson Roger P. Rose Carson E. Thompson Dwayne and Susan Trovillion Edward R. Warnock

Bronze Lloyd Austin Tom Baker Ret. Lt. Col. Hobart Bates Dennis and Barbara Beecher Cam Blazer Logan Boles Gary Brossett Thomas Buckles Charles W. Buckley Robert Busch Steven Buss Geoffrey Clark Sydney Cohen Robert Dickson Dan Dodds David G. Flinn Jerry L. Ford H.G. Frautschy Red Hamilton E.E. “Buck” Hilbert Barry Holtz Richard A. Kempf Dan and Mary Knutson Marc A. Krier Lynn and Gerry Larkin Ballard Leins Barry Leslie Gerald Liang Charles R. Luigs Thomas H. Lymburn Gene Morris Lynn Oswald Steven and Judith Oxman Sandra L. Perlman Pfizer Foundation Dwain Pittenger Tim and Liz Popp Robert A. Porter Ron Price Jerry Riesz Eugene Rogers John W. Rothrock Jr. Raymond Scholler

Jeffrey L. Shafer Bob Siegfried II David Smith Dean Stoker Carl and Pat Tortorige Thomas P. Vukonich Bob and Pat Wagner Donald Weaver Mark Weinreich Jan Wolfe Daniel Wood Brian Wynkoop Supporter Noble L. Bair Jess W. Black III Theresa Books Charles Burtch Camille M. Cyr Geff Galbari Arthur Green Frank Hargrove Walter Kahn Pete Karalus John Koons James R. Lockwood John Montmorency Harry P. Mutter John S. O’Callaghan George G. Parry Charles G. Pearcy Keith Plendl Peter Sherwin Roger N. Thiel James A. Tibbets C.G. “Dino” Vlahakis Frederick Walatka Frederick Weaver Duane Wething Michael Williams

4 NOVEMBER 2012

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Vintage Instructor THE

BY Steve Krog, CFI

Wind: When is it too much?

“Are

we going to fly today? Isn’t it too windy to fly,” a student asked recently. I responded, “No, it isn’t too windy. Why wouldn’t we?”

“I wouldn’t even think about flying in this wind,” the student added. I explained, “What if you departed early some calm morning, only to return to your home airport and find that the wind was really blowing? That’s why we’re going to fly today and gain some experience in windy, turbulent, and crosswind conditions.”

But, when is it too windy? Would you fly if you knew you would have to deal with a 30-degree by 12-knot crosswind?

How about a 45-degree by 15-knot crosswind? What if it was only a 10-degree crosswind but the wind was 18-20

knots? How would you go about making the decision to fly or not fly?

Some may say no problem, while others wouldn’t bother opening the hangar door.

Far too many of us have become “fair weather” pilots.

If the windsock is moving, it’s too windy to fly! Though we were given a fair amount of crosswind training while earning a certificate, many of us didn’t really keep up with the required skill level for safely handling crosswinds. Consequently, what once may have given us a slight stomach twinge has now grown into a full-blown twisting, churning stomach cramp just thinking about landing in a crosswind.

I recall a personal situation a number of years ago. I had just acquired an airplane in which I had ver y little

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experience, and it had a reputation for poor handling in crosswinds.

Thus, I only flew it when the wind was either calm or was directly down the runway. During the day while sitting in my office, I’d frequently daydream about flying the airplane and tell myself, “Tonight I’m going to do some crosswind landings in it.” By day’s end and while driving to the airport, a huge stomach cramp would develop. My confidence gone, I would give in to my inner fear. This practice went on for a month or more until I finally got mad at myself. I started out doing some light crosswind landings on a wide turf runway. My pre-established goal each day was to make six crosswind landings before putting the airplane away. As the number of landings increased, my self-confidence increased and the stomach churning monster became a peanut-sized twitch, which I accepted as nothing more than my inner self telling me to be on my toes while making crosswind landings.

There is nothing wrong with having a built-in safety alert when one flies airplanes!

How Can We Alleviate This Fear? How Much Wind Is Too Much?

Given the fact that we are flying similar aircraft, what may be too much wind for one pilot may be nothing more than a light breeze for the next. Much more depends on proficiency rather than on currency. One can go out and make three marginal takeoffs and landings every 90 days and be legally current.

But does that make one proficient? Absolutely not, especially with crosswinds!

Many of us don’t really know the tr ue crosswind capabilities of the air plane we regularly fly. One might first research the published information about the airplane and try to determine what the factory stated as “the maximum crosswind component” for the aircraft. Then calculate what the crosswind component is for today’s conditions.

And finally, give serious but candid thought to your own experience with crosswinds, especially recent experience.

Many of the vintage airplanes we fly for pleasure today have very limited printed information available. During the late decade of the ’40s, when many of these airplanes were built, the manufacturers didn’t publish any crosswind limitations. At that time many of the general aviation airports were nothing more than a quarter-section of land with hangars located around the perimeter and a windsock in the middle of the open field. All one needed to do to make a safe landing was check out the windsock and then land into the wind somewhere on the open field.

Today we have paved runways…and crosswinds! Procedures for taking off and landing have to be changed to deal

with these winds to prevent adventurous off-runway rides through the tall grass, runway lights, and drainage ditches.

So, let’s first take a look at crosswind components. Most all airplanes built in the 1940s and even into the 1950s didn’t publish a crosswind component limit. Thus, we’ll turn to the standard method for identifying this number.

The crosswind component for most any given standard category airplane is: Crosswind component = .2V SO or more simply 20 percent of stall speed. This number provides us with the maximum crosswind at 90 degrees to the runway.

If you’re flying a J-3 Cub with a stall speed of 37 mph, the maximum crosswind at 90 degrees will be about 7-8 mph.

Once we have determined the approximate maximum crosswind component, we can then refer to the standard crosswind component chart to calculate the crosswind for any given day and wind condition. If this chart isn’t readily available, the following set of fractional numbers can also be used to determine the crosswind component for the day.

These rules of thumb are as follows: • wind angle 10 degrees off runway heading the crosswind component = 1/6 of the wind strength.

• wind angle 20 degrees off runway heading the cross-

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One can go out and make three marginal takeoffs and landings every 90 days and be legally current. But does that make one proficient? wind component = 1/3 of the wind strength • wind angle 30 degrees off runway heading the crosswind component = 1/2 of the wind strength • wind angle 40 degrees off runway heading the crosswind component = 2/3 of the wind strength • wind angle 50 degrees off runway heading the crosswind component = 5/6 of the wind strength • wind angle 60 degrees or greater off runway heading the crosswind component = surface wind strength As an example, let’s say the wind is 30 degrees off runway heading at 15 mph. The crosswind component will be 7.5 mph. (15 x .5 = 7.5).

Would you be comfortable practicing takeoffs and landings with this wind condition? Maybe not. But in a few days, after some confidence-building practice, this crosswind wouldn’t cause you any concern.

We have the luxury of two grass runways at my home airport. One is 200 feet wide and 2,000 feet long, while the other is 75 feet wide and 3,000 feet long. When teaching

crosswind landings I like to start crosswind work on the wide runway if possible, as the turf is not only quite forgiving, but also wide enough so that I can let the individual wander left or right without doing any damage to the airplane or his or her ego. With repetition most individuals will rapidly improve.

You may not have the luxury of two turf runways at your airport, but is there another airport fairly near where you could practice some crosswind landings?

During the past week I’ve had the pleasure of flying with three individuals who are working on a tailwheel endorsement. All made the same mistake when we transitioned to a hard surface runway. So, I would like to make one cautionary statement: If the airplane drifts left or right of the centerline, don’t try to bring the plane back to the centerline. Rather, straighten out the takeoff or landing roll and continue on a straight line. I find a lot of pilots will tr y to get back on the centerline, only to overcorrect and begin a series of runway S-turns.

Another exercise I do personally and try to get all students to do the same, once in position on the r unway prior to takeoff, pause for a few seconds, take a deep relaxing breath, and think about what effect the crosswind is going to have on the airplane. For example, if dealing with a 30-degree crosswind from the left, anticipate the need for more right rudder than usual, especially as the tail comes off the ground. The tail is a big flat surface. The crosswind will strike the tail forcing it to the right and the nose to the left, thus causing the need for more than the usual amount of right rudder.

Safe crosswind takeoffs and landings should not be feared, provided we as pilots get out and practice them from time to time. You’ll gain self-confidence while becoming a better and safer pilot.

BRADY LANE

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2012

STEVE CUKIERSKI

STEVE MOYER

AirVenture Photo wrap-up 8 NOVEMBER 2012

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1929 Fleet Model 2

CHRIS HIBBEN

STEVE CUKIERSKI

STEVE CUKIER SKI

CHRIS MILLER

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CHRIS HIBBEN

STEVE CUKIERSKI

Mooney Mite

H.G. Frautschy and Director Steve Krog 10 NOVEMBER 2012

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1928 Buhl Air Sedan H.G. FRAUTSCHY

Georgia Schneider

CHRIS MILLER

STEVE CUKIERSKI

PHIL HIGH

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STEVE CUKIERSKI

CHRIS HIBBEN

1937 Waco YKS-7

Director Jeanne Hill

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STEVE MOYER

Judges

CHRIS HIBBEN

CHRIS HIBBEN

STEVE MOYER

MIKE STEINEKE

STEVE CUKIERSKI

TiямАany VanRoy, Abbie Carr, and Sue Lloyd

CHRIS HIBBEN

Barry and Sandy Perlman

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RUSS MUNSON PHOTOS

Laird Speedwing

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RUSS MUNSON PHOTOS PHIL HIGH

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CHRIS HIBBEN

F

or most of my life I have been concerned with facts.

I guess it comes from my day job as a detective. “Just the facts, ma’am,” like Detective Joe Friday used to say. (I prefer something a bit more modern, though, but that’s another story.) I like to stick to the facts when I interview airplane people, too, especially the ones that have been around awhile. And just as I am sure the sun will come up in the east and set in the west, I can assure you this one simple

Cranberries, Whirlybirds, and a WACO fact about Joe Norris (EAA Lifetime Member 113615, VAA Lifetime 5982): He has never met an airplane he didn’t like—period.

Crop Duster Influence

Growing up in northern Wisconsin, near Wisconsin Rapids, Joe’s family farm was mostly underwater—and his mother and father were all smiles because of it.

“My father, Alex, had been a cranberry farmer for a long time,” Joe said.

“The one thing I remember is the sight

and sound of that big , noisy Stearman crop duster that would spray our fields. The pilot’s name was Jim Miles of Hartford, Wisconsin, and after a hot day of spraying he would come over to our house and eat watermelon and tell airplane stories. As a kid I hung on every word he said.”

By the time Joe had entered his teen years he had already been aff licted with the air plane disease.

Jim took Joe to his first E AA convention in Oshkosh in 1970, and by 1976 Joe became a member of EAA.

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Vintage member profile— Joe Norris

by Jim Busha JIM BUSHA

Two years later he became a private pilot. At Jim’s encouragement he began to build a Sonerai II project in 1980. Building came easy for Joe. After all, he was a farm kid, and turning wrenches for him was a natural occurrence. Although he liked the mechanical aspect of it, he also loved to fly. By the time Joe was a sophomore in high school, his father had passed away. Joe began to work the cranberry farm with his mother, but he always kept one eye on the sky and vowed he would buy an airplane someday.

Airplanes and Whirlybirds

In 1979 Joe bought his first airplane, a Piper Tri-Pacer, and although it was a thing of beauty t o him, there were others that formed a different opinion.

“The Tri-Pacer had fairly good fabric,” he said, “but because it sat outside it was rather sun-faded. When I got it back home and taxied it in, the local mechanic came out to give it a look. He stood in front of it, scratched his head, and then rubbed his jaw slowly before saying, ‘I thought you said it hadn’t

been in a fire?’

“I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I f lew that airplane for a couple of years before I got the itch to swap the nose wheel to the back.

I had always thought that the tailwheel airplanes like the Stearmans, Cessna 170s, and the fighters from World War I and II wer e cool airplanes. So I thought the only way to be ‘cool’ was to be a tailwheel pilot.

Either I was going t o sell the TriPacer or convert it into a Pacer. I decided to keep it and made it into a full-fledged cool taildragger!”

Joe piled on over 200 more hours before his wife, Jeri, wanted in on his fun. Jeri eventually earned her private pilot certificate in a J-3 Cub under the tutelage of instructor John Hatz of Gleason, Wisconsin.

“Jeri loved to fly as much as me, so we went shopping for a Cub,” Joe said.

“We ended up buying a J-5 instead because it was too good of a deal to pass up. We did a lot of f lying in our ‘his and hers’ Piper classics before the new airplane itch got me. Eventually I ended up selling the Pacer and the J-5 because I wanted a Cessna 180.

Long story short, I bought a 180, finished the Sonerai, sold it because I was offered more than I could walk away from, and ended up buying a Pitts Special. I just love airplanes!”

After flirting with aerobatics for a couple of years in the Pitts, Joe had pegged his aerobatic fun meter and eventually sold the little biplane. But he was far from done with his incredible airplane adventure.

“I got tangled up with a helicopter outfit near Wisconsin Rapids and started hanging out with them, and they became a ‘bad influence’ on me.

Before I knew it I was taking lessons in a Bell 47 and eventually got my commercial rating. I found helicopter flying to be a lot of fun; it ’s the hovering part that gets you! I picked it up fairly quickly and got my ratings. The hook was set when they asked me to work for them. I started out hauling riders and doing crop pollination. My farm days got the best of me because I couldn’t keep away from turning wrenches on them. It also helped me VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

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get my A&P rating.”

Joe added another rating to his building resume and became both an airplane and helicopter instructor. He sold the family farm in 1997 and excused himself from the cranberry business as he immersed himself in aviation full time. And of course he bought another airplane.

“I bought a Super Cub to do tailwheel instruction. Unfortunately after two years the insurance company priced me right out of business.”

In 2001 Joe was hired at EAA and became a senior aviation specialist, and he was eventually promoted to homebuilders community manager before he retired in 2011.

“I really enjoyed helping others, but I also missed the flying part. A lot of what I did at EAA involved sitting behind a desk talking on the phone helping members. Thankfully I was able to twist Steve Krog’s arm and became a flight instructor with his Cub Air operation in Hartford at Jim Miles Field—named in honor of my mentor.

I guess you could say my aviation life has come full circle. Oh, did I forget to mention that I bought a Waco UPF-7?”

Ask Any Pilot! Flying the Waco

In 2006 Joe became the custodian of a Santa Fe and ivory cream–colored antique beauty Waco UPF-7. Bearing the number NC39748, this Waco was like a dream come true for Joe. “I have always admired biplanes.

Jim Miles used to tell me that if I ever bought one, shoot for a Waco. ‘They’re the Cadillac of the skies!’ Naturally I took his advice and acquired this one.”

Built in 1942, Joe’s Waco ended up teaching our nation’s cadets how to fly as they prepared for war. As part of the CPTP (Civilian Pilot Training Program), the Waco was stationed at Texas A&M University. After the war it traded hands a few times, then a few more before Waco craftsman extraordinaire Tom Brown laid his hands on it and restored it back to its former glory. By the time Joe acquired it in 2006, the Waco had barely 90 hours on the Hobbs since restoration. And according to Joe it still had that “new airplane smell” to it! Joe also believes 18 NOVEMBER 2012

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it’s a little faster than some of its counterparts.

“The Waco is a bit smaller than a Stearman, but I felt it’s a little bit faster. The Waco has f our ailerons , and quit e frankly in my humble opinion, it flies nicer than a Stearman. The rumor is that the Army Air Force didn’t pick it as its pr imary trainer because they thought it was too easy to fly. The Waco was more of a baby carriage—very gentle, easy to fly, and very straightforward, especially when it comes to landings.”

Joe equates part of that to the fact that Wacos use oleo gears, making for more of a cushy landing.

“It’s really hard to get a bounce on landing, although I have managed to do it a couple of times! The old Waco saying of ‘ask any pilot’ rings true because they all fly so nice and smooth.

I also concur with the advice that Steve Wittman gave me many years ago when I owned the Pitts. He said, ‘Joe, there are two things you have to remember when landing an airplane like this. Number one, when you touch down you want your wheels pointed exactly in the direction you are moving. Number two, don’t mess with it!’

I took Steve’s advice to heart and try my best not to mess things up when I fly the Waco.”

Joe begins his preflight by pulling the big propeller through, making sure it gets every cylinder to hit a compression—this assists in avoiding the dreaded hydraulic lock in the lower cylinders. Next, Joe checks the fuel level. With 50 gallons of fuel on board total, he normally flight-plans for around 11 gallons per hour fuel burn. Joe claims his bladder will give out long before the fuel tank runs dry.

“The Waco has a fairly good range with the amount of fuel on boar d.

It seems like it gulps it, though, on start-up. To get the 220-hp Continental turned over, I have to feed it lots of gas. I use a short neck primer, so after an even dozen shots of prime, I

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JIM BUSHA

CHRIS HIBBEN

throw in four pumps of the throttle for good measure. Once it catches and the plume of exhaust smoke clears, it settles right down and smooths out. The most time-consuming aspect, though, is making sure the 3 gallons of oil I carry is nice and warm before takeoff.

I do a standard run-up to 1500 rpm as I check the mags, clear my tail, and get ready to go.”

Joe cautions the wannabe Waco pilots about throttle movements on takeoff and the use of right rudder.

“The Continentals are noted for their coughing if you try and jam the throttle in too fast. Easing it in works best as the power comes up gradually. There is plenty of rudder to keep you going straight down the centerline, and you just keep feeding in more right boot to account for the torque.

Remember, there is a 100-inch propeller turning some heavy metal out front, so naturally you will have some gyroscopic procession to deal with.

“It f lies out of g round effect in short order and climbs out around 80 mph. It’s a heavy airplane; 1,900 pounds empty, and when it’s full of fuel and a couple of well-fed pilots, it tips the scales around the 2,500 to 2,600 pounds range. The Waco is not a lightweight, so it doesn’t climb like a rocket. But once in the air, because it is

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so light on the ailerons, it loops, rolls, and performs aerobatics all day long.

As for spins, it flies right out of them and recovers normally. What can I say?

The Waco is a pure sweetheart!

“I have been flying for over 35 years now, and it makes me smile every time

I go up. I had some great influences in my life, and they all instilled in me an admiration for the old airplanes and the people that flew them well before me. These were the airplane pioneers, the guys from the golden age of flight that I owe a deep appreciation to. I fly

Sonerai II

Joe and his Pitts

H.G. FRAUTSCHY

Joe’s Pacer

the Waco in honor of them as a debt of gratitude. It’s just my way of saying thanks and my passion to keep the antiques flying.”

During this year’s EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Joe Norris was the 2012 recipient of EAA’s Tony Bingelis Award, recog-

Bell 47

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Waco Specs 1942 Waco UPF-7 NC39748 Two-place open land biplane

KOEPNICKPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

nizing his involvement as an active volunteer technical counselor and aircraft builder. A founding member of the EAA Homebuilt Aircraft Council, he has dedicated much of his life to ensuring aircraft safety in the homebuilder community, serving as an EAA technical counselor for more than two decades, as well as an EAA flight advisor, an airplane and helicopter instructor, and an FAA designated airworthiness representative.

The Tony Bingelis Award was created in 2002 to recognize a member from the aviation community who has contributed to homebuilt projects and safety promotion while maintaining EAA values. The award honors the late Tony Bingelis, who was noted as a homebuilding authority and EAA Sport Aviation columnist.

Powerplant

Continental W-670-6A, 220 hp

Propeller

Curtiss-Reed 55501 fixed-pitch aluminum

Top speed

130 mph

Cruising speed

115 mph

Landing speed

50 mph

Empty weight (standard)

1,870 pounds

Max gross weight

2,650 pounds

Wingspan (upper)

30 feet

Wingspan (lower)

26 feet, 10 inches

Wing chord (both)

57 inches

Total wing area

243.6 square feet

Length overall

23 feet, 6 inches

Height overall

8 feet, 6 inches

Fuel capacity

50 gallons

Oil capacity

4 gallons

Price new at factory (standard) $9,500

Waco NC39748 History

by Joe Norris

The first owner of my aircraft was Kadett Aviation Co. of College Station, Texas. The company took possession of the airplane on October 24, 1942. Kadett then sold the airplane to the Defense Plant Corp. on March 12, 1943.

On September 23, 1944, the airplane was sold to William Athey of Pyote, Texas. Athey owned the airplane until March 30, 1946, whereupon he sold it to Arch B. Agee and Walter W. Williams of Madisonville, Kentucky. These gentlemen registered the airplane under the name of Agee & Williams Air Park.

Agee & Williams Air Park sold the airplane to JIM BUSHA Hugh M. Clarke, also of Madisonville, Kentucky, FAA records indicate no apon July 10, 1948. Clarke only held the airplane until August 7, 1948, on which date he sold it to Graves Air- plications for airworthiness certificate or any other aircraft of Paris, Tennessee. Graves Aircraft transferred the worthiness paperwork activity after April of 1950 until Tom Brown finished the restoration in 2000. It can only airplane to Graves Flying Service on September 11, 1948.

On April 27, 1949, Graves Flying Service sold the air- be assumed that the aircraft was in storage for this enplane to J.K. Chumney of Humbolt, Tennessee, who tire time, probably due to a need of new fabric, but in turn sold the airplane on May 31, 1949, to Stone B. actual reasons cannot be determined.

After the restoration was completed a new airworthiJones of Lexington, Tennessee. The airplane remained in Jones’ ownership until September 15, 1996, when it ness certificate was issued on May 17, 2000. Gulbrandson was sold to Merlin L. Bock of Tracy, Minnesota. Bock sold owned the airplane until May 8, 2005, when he sold it the airplane on January 21, 1997, to Mark Gulbrandson of to Ken Wessels of Wayzata, Minnesota.

Wessels owned it until June of 2006 when he sold it Lakeville, Minnesota. It was Gulbrandson who financed the restoration performed by Tom Brown of Brown Aero, to me. I hope to be the custodian of this beauty for a very long time!

Unity, Wisconsin.

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This “Doctor” Still Makes House Calls!

2012 Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame inductee

Clyde “The Cub Doctor” Smith Jr.

by Jim Busha Pho t o s cour tesy of Cl yde Smith jr .

Clyde Smith Jr.’s passion for airplanes, especially the old tube and fabric ones that rest comfortably on a tail wheel, was instilled in his DNA a full generation before he was born. Clyde admits he has been “airplane crazy” for most of his life, especially with the Pipers. Who can blame him? As a second-generation Piper employee all he ever wanted to do was help fellow pilots and restorers. And because of his years of dedication in assisting countless aviators with their projects and technical questions, Clyde “The Cub Doctor” Smith Jr. is the 2012 Vintage Aircraft Association’s Sport Aviation Hall of Fame inductee.

A Family of Fliers

“My grandfather painted signs for the flight school at the old Scranton airport,” said Clyde. “Because times were tough back then he was offered an airplane ride instead of money. When my father, Clyde Sr., was old enough to mutter the word ‘airplane’ he became the honorary passenger in place of my grandfather. I guess you could say the hook was set. In 1940 my dad took his first lesson in a J-3L, NC30543, and unbeknownst to him, the burning passion for flying Piper-built aircraft sparked an interest that would later be passed on to me.”

In March of 1941 Clyde Sr. was hired at Piper as a final assembly inspector. He was hardly settled in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, by the time he received his private certificate on August 2, 1941.

With more flying to be done, he moved into the engineering department and became the experimental test pilot, sometime around 1943.

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“Through the war years my dad test flew L-4s,” said Clyde. “Eventually he moved into the PA-12s, PA14s, PA-16s, and in the mid 1950s he became the chief engineering test pilot, even flying some of the one-of-a-kind Piper airplanes.”

Born in the late 1940s, Clyde Jr. grew up in a house in the hill section of town that was situated directly off the west end of the Lock Haven runway. While most kids enjoyed bicycling down steep hills or swimming and fishing in the nearby river, Clyde Jr. was not like most kids. He was becoming airplane crazy.

“The two distinct recollections I have growing up in the family home related to aviation was the departure of the AAA (All American Airlines) DC-3 that would depart daily right over our house. The sound of those Pratt & Whitneys screaming at full power and the three BIG A’s under the left wing. The other fond memory I have is walking with the family dog behind our house, which bordered a large cemetery. The view was very scenic overlooking the whole town. In the mid 1950s I would lay in the grass and watch all the new Piper-built airplanes take off and fly right over the area. The Piper family grave site is there today.”

As Clyde Jr. grew up in the 1950s, he routinely tagged along with his father after supper as the pair traveled back to the Piper plant where the elder Smith would finish up some paperwork while junior was supposed to be doing his homework. Unfortunately for Clyde Jr. there was just no way to keep a young man’s nose buried in some textbook with so many distractions sitting around.

“I’ll never forget the sight and smell of all those brand new Super Cubs, TriPacers, and Comanches sitting one by one, in long rows, under the dimly lit final assembly lines. My father was never one to push aviation on me. It was there if I wanted it. In the early to mid-’50s, before the family got too big (I have two brothers and a sister), he would sign out a brand new Tri-Pacer, and we would fly back to his home area of Tunkhannock. Occasionally I would

get a chance to fly a test flight with one of my father’s test pilots, when the flight wasn’t of a dangerous nature. I just loved being in the air and watching the world roll by.”

The Piper Years

When Clyde Jr. graduated from high school in 1965, he decided to try college life and chose a curriculum of earth and space science, with a major in meteorology.

“I was fascinated with weather and meteorology. Unfortunately the math involved did not fascinate me, so I switched majors and went into aviation. I have been stuck there ever since!”

Clyde focused on earning his A&P certificate by enrolling in the aviation maintenance curriculum at a local community college. After graduating in June of 1968 Clyde Jr. received a phone call out of the blue from a woman at the P iper employment office, asking him what he was going to do with his life now that he had an A&P certificate. Before he could answer she encouraged him to come down to the Piper office and fill out a job application. After a series of interviews, Clyde Jr. was eventually called back and was dumbfounded at the offer.

“I was informed that I had a job, but I had to pick from three positions! One of these was a draftsman position in the engineering department. I chose this because I liked to draw. I always got very good grades in high school and college doing this, and knew that I would be working in the new engineering building (now the Piper Aviation Museum), the ver y same place my father was working, as a design engineer by then.

I started June 28, 1968, in an interesting career with Piper.”

Clyde’s road to the sky had begun earlier that year when he started taking flight lessons in January with his father as instructor. The pair f lew one hour every Sunday afternoon in a Cherokee 140, and by SepVINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

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Smith family-l to r-Clyde Sr., Clyde’s son and Clyde Jr.

Clyde remembers that it was while performing this job that the seed was planted for the interest he now has for the vintage Pipers.

Clyde and a Tomahawk

Piper PT-1

tember 25 Clyde Jr. had earned his private pilot rating. Although he was happy to be a pilot, he also was itching to put his A&P skills to the test and work on an airplane project.

That itch was scratched thanks to some poker game winnings.

“I met a fellow from Maine one weekend afternoon who had moved to Lock Haven as a construction foreman and was working on a job at the local paper mill. He had a J-3C-65 on floats that he claimed he had won in a poker game. It looked a little rough, but who was I at that time to judge such an airplane? He had brought it here and based it in the river, but did not have a seaplane rating yet.

When the examiner came to give him his rating, he wouldn’t fly in the airplane, until a mechanic had looked at it and addressed some issues. Apparently, while in Maine, some previous owner had de-iced the wings with a broom and smashed the top of about a dozen ribs. My very first job, as a young A&P mechanic, was to repair those ribs and patch the fabric. I performed surgery on the J-3 and slit the top wing fabric and completed an official Piper repair using the service memo. When it came time to present a bill, I was given an option. I could be paid with cash, or I could fly the airplane any time I wanted, just bring gas. I started flying that airplane in June and actually soloed the J-3 before I soloed the landplane. I couldn’t get my seaplane rating because I

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didn’t have my private license yet!

Once I got my private I would fly every chance I could get. In 1969, I went in with two friends, and we bought a PA-15 Vagabond from one of the engineers for $1,250. I flew that almost 300 hours in a little over one year.”

For the next three years at Piper, Clyde Jr. was creating new drawings and doing engineering change orders (ECOs). The pressurized Navajo had just come out, and he did a lot of work on that project. In 1971 he was laid

off for two weeks and then called back temporarily to work in the data processing department. Clyde’s job was to operate the big blueprint machine.

Clyde remembers that it was while performing this job that the seed was planted for the interest he now has for the vintage Pipers.

“If I ran a print for someone pertaining to an older plane, and it interested me, I ran an extra copy for myself. My next job change was back to engineering, as a technical writer.

In this position I wrote changes and additions in all the maint enance manuals for all current production aircraft. My biggest job here was to write the entire first draft of the PA36 Pawnee Brave maintenance manual, and then in 1974, Piper decided to go professional with their service training program and start a training center. I applied for, and was hired, as a technical instructor. When we first started the service schools, we had to hold them in classrooms in the lo-

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cal college, until they got a new building constructed at the air port. We would teach one session locally and one on the road. I taught a one-week course on the PA-31P Pressurized Navajo, and a one-week course on the high-performance singles and light twins, which we called the ‘Combined Maintenance Course.’ The models covered here were the Aztec, Seneca, Seminole, Saratoga, Lance, and Arrow models. I did this until 1982. During this time I traveled throughout the states to all the Piper distributors, Canada, and two tr ips to Africa in 1975 and 1978. During many of these trips, due to my increasing interest in the older models, I would make maybe an evening visit to a local student’s home or hangar, to see a fabric Piper project. When I got back to the factory I would help an individual with technical information, a print, or obtaining a part.”

In 1981 P iper decided t o shut the training center down. Flig htSafety International, a professional organization in Florida, had negotiated a deal with the c ompany to take over and resume all training programs that it was doing , including pilot and maintenance training.

That transition took about one year, and he spent some amount of time in Florida teaching and helping the FSI staff. Clyde’s last two years in Lock Haven were spent in the cus tomer service department, as a product support specialist responsible for two production aircraft, the PA-38 Tomahawk and the PA-31P-350 Mojave. Clyde also answered all mail and calls pertaining to the obsolete models, from the J-2 C ub through the PA-30 Twin Comanche.

“In 1982 I achieved one of my highest honors while employed by Piper. I was asked to ferry the very last Lock Haven built Super Cub to a dealer in Texas. This was quite an honor for me because my father had flown the very first Super Cub and now I was piloting the last one.”

Clyde claims that much of his current knowledge was gained in those last two years, at that job. On August 10, 1984, Clyde Jr. punched the time

Living the spirit of aviation, Clyde speaking to EAA AirVenture 2012 visitors.

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clock at 5 p.m. for the last time at the Lock Haven plant. Shortly after, the Piper doors in Lock Haven closed for good.

The Cub Doctor

In the late 1980s C lyde headed south to Florida where he became involved with Piper once again. He became manager of the Cub Kit Program and was tasked with creating the PA-18 Super Cub in kit form. The job lasted two years, and the manual was complete except for the chapter on finishing. In December of 1989 the program had been canceled but not before two kit airplanes were built in-house by volunteers and sold as factory-built airplanes. In 1990 Clyde moved back to Pennsylvania and began doing freelance restoration work that blossomed into doing the fabric Piper restoration and maintenance courses that he still does today. T his includes manufacturing small parts for the fabric Piper fleet, along with product and technical support on the fabric Piper models. Clyde also conducts mobile restoration assistance as well as the restoration seminars and workshops—that’s how he ear ned the name “The Cub Doctor.” “ That nickname got pinned on me during the mid-1980s because I would go around the country inspecting projects and giving builders assistance. One of my customers said, ‘ You’re like a doctor making house calls. Only instead of fixing people you fix Cubs!’ I started out doing this because I wanted to keep the interest and knowledge base up for Cub owners. I guess I have helped hundreds of people with their projects, getting them back on tr ack moving forward again. Although the J-3 made me that, I also have a deep fondness and knowledge base with the Super Cub. For me I really enjoy helping others, and the rewards are even greater when an owner c ompletes their project. I am overjoyed when another airplane takes to the skies. My goal in life is to keep these treasured vintage airplanes f lying for as long as I can.”

What Our Members Are Restoring

Are you nearing completion of a restoration?

Or is it done and you’re busy flying and showing it off? If so, we’d like to hear from you. Send us a 4-by-6-inch print from a commercial source or a 4-by-6-inch, 300-dpi digital photo. A JPG from your 2.5-megapixel (or higher) digital camera is fine. You can burn photos to a CD, or if you’re on a high-speed Internet connection, you can e-mail them along with a text-only or Word document describing your airplane. (If your e-mail program asks if you’d like to make the photos smaller, say no.)

For more information, you can also e-mail us at vintageaircraft@eaa.org or call us at 920-426-4825.

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Type Club Corner

The Swift Museum Foundation 2012 National Convention/Fly-In

by Izzie K ientz

Pho t o s cour tesy of the Swift museum Found at ion

The Venue – Creve Coeur Airport, St. Louis, Missouri

Creve Coeur is a fascinating airport.

Privately owned by John Cournoyer and Albert Stix Jr. but open to the public, it houses a fantastic array of aircraft from a 1916 Sopwith Pup, an original U.S. mail plane, dozens of Wacos, Stearmans, and vintage aircraft of all types.

John Cournoyer personally owns dozens of aircraft . . . all restored, flyable, and in pristine condition. There is the original aircraft used in the movie The Great Waldo Pepper and others too numerous to relate here. If anything, the fact that Creve Coeur is a living museum of aviation history is understated.

It should be on anybody’s bucket list to stop in and see these magnificent aircraft the next time you are anywhere near St. Louis.

The Forums

Our first forum started on Wednesday, June 20, with Mike Kennedy conducting the first of the two scheduled formation ground schools for the week at the FBO. He decided to open

it to the public so other hangar and airplane owners, general public, as well as our members interested in flying formation techniques could also participate in our event. Both of his ground schools were warmly received

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and well-attended. Our members flew many training flights that resulted in new qualification cards.

Other forums that were held during our convention were the New Swift Owners and General Maintenance by Dave Carpenter. Another significant forum was the Corrosion Prevention

by Gerry Mahoney of the Diamond Point Swift Group. Who should know better than anyone who maintains his own airplanes?

Formation Flying Competitions

The highlight of the Flying Formation Competition took hold with four teams going head to head for bragging rights. All teams were given a compulsory Unknown sequence simultaneously wherein they drew for flight sequence time slots. There were five ground judges who completed score sheets to determine the winners.

Stan Price, Dave Anderson, and Todd Bengtson won the three-ship Grumpy Flight. They started out with four ships, but Flea Carpenter had an injector plug up and wisely pulled out of the event while taxiing for takeoff.

Ernie Hansen, Nate Andrews, Gerry Mahoney, and Bill Sheppard, otherwise known as the famous B urrito Brothers, won the four-ship competition. Congratulations, boys!

He talked extensively about the Young Eagles program, an aviation outreach program launched in 1992 that gives young people ages 8-17 interested in flying general aviation planes an opportunity to fly. These flights are offered free of charge through the EAA Volunteers’ Program. So far more than 1.7 million Young Eagles members have enjoyed a flight and been flown by more

than 42,000 volunteer member pilots all over the world.

In an effort to support the continued interest and other shortcomings of people 18 years old and older who also expressed interest in aviation and becoming a pilot, but who were inundated with many regulations and red-tapes blocking their ambition, Mr. Hightower along with other industry

Surprise Guests— Rod Hightower and Family

On Friday night we had Rod Hightower gracing our dinner table with his son, John. John just finished his solo flight in his dad’s Stearman a few weeks earlier. What a proud dad as he relates the feeling! And an equally proud beaming face of John! Later on, his wife, Maura, and their daughter, Hannah, made an appearance.

Mr. Hightower did a tremendous job with his introduction as the president of EAA even though everyone who is familiar with airplanes and air shows knows who he really is. The Q&A he conducted was ver y wellreceived. He speaks right from the heart—not from any teleprompter or pre-arranged questions we wanted him to address.

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Musings

leaders established Eagle Flights. As he had explained, it is an early f light experience for members with a pathway to certification.

The most important topic he talked about was the difficulty in getting a medical certificate for older would-be pilots. He gave us a brief on the efforts of both EAA and AOPA with a submission request to allow recreational pilots to use their driver’s license in lieu of a third-class medical certificate. If this is approved, this will enable recreational pilots the option of getting a third-class medical exemption or participating in an online education course program that will teach them how to self-assess their fitness to fly.

All they have to do is carry with them the education program course completion certificate during each flight.

Highlight of the Week

Friday was also a special day for 22 Swifters and members who went on the tour. It was the fly-by-to-the-Arch day, which coincided with the tour to

the top of the Arch for members to watch the fly-by from there.

Rolla Henry, through his friends at the St. Louis TRACON, got us the clearance to do a fly-by to the Gateway Arch. Paul Mercandetti did the briefing for the combined formation and gaggle. Paul led the flying formation, and Michael Kennedy did all the coordination plus bringing up the rear in Robert Dixon Jr.’s Buckaroo T-35A. “The weather was per fect as the Swifts snaked off the ground in rolling starts as the formation seemed endless as we joined up. Down the river toward the Gateway Arch, which though visible from the turnout of traffic, loomed large as we approached.

“Just as we passed, several Swift birds let go with smoke, and it was dramatic to say the least. All reports from Swifters on the ground said it was impressive. The trip back to Creve Coeur was uneventful, and the traffic pattern recovery was well done. All in all . . . 22 launched on time . . . .22 landed without a hitch.”

By Steve Whit tenberger Swift National at Creve Coeur, Missouri . . . in a wor d: fantastic.

Realistically, nothing more need be said; however, here are a few notes for those who were not able to attend. The Gateway Swift Wing, led by Bill and Izzie Kientz, left no stone unturned to make this one the most enjoyable and memorable Swift Nationals ever, and according to numerous inputs from members, they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. The enthusiasm of the members set the tone for a few super days at Creve Coeur.

Everywhere there were smiling faces and beautiful Swifts. R RSW Texas and the SSAG contingent came with the most number of members and Swifts who participated in almost all the activities.

The most active members came from the Diamond Point Swift Group from Washington. They went wild with glee as they almost dominated the skies romping their beautiful birds with fly-bys and smoke provided at cost by Al Stix IV. The West Coast Swift group, the Indiana group, along with a few of the Floridians completed our numbers. Not to mention, we had members coming all the way from Canada (Fern Villeneuve) and as far as France (Jon Hutchinson).

It was also a great pleasure to see the opposing rows of Swifts glistening in the morning sun, seemingly stretching to infinity—our beautiful fleet takes a back seat to no one.

At last count, at least 59 Swifts plus or minus that came and left, made it to the fly-in—a number not seen in recent years and one we hope we can continue to build on in the future.

All in all, this was made possible by good planning, enthusiastic and friendly members, good weather, and most of all, enjoyable relationships with old friends and fellow members.

This is a fly-in to be remembered. As one member put it: “I couldn’t afford to live here…this is way too much fun.”

Summary

I can only say, Wow! What a week that was! After more than nearly a

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year from planning through execution, we finally made it to the week of June 18-24, 2012! Although the official date of our convention was from June 2023, people started coming in Sunday to volunteer.

As for Paul Mercandetti, our master chef, except for Thursday night’s dinner cooked on-site by co-owner of Creve Coeur Airport Mr. Al Stix Jr., did the rest of the lunches and Friday’s dinner along with his slew of co-conspirator/ volunteers headed by Jim Roberts and Gerald Poats. Almost everyone was happy and well fed for the rest of the convention. Thank you, Paul!

Our local members Sherry Henry and Joyce Caton helped man the Swift Store, with our Executive Director Pam Nunley in the lead, whenever they could, and their respective partners Rolla Henry and Sadi Hawkins also did a tremendous job managing the airfields and taking people on tours.

Along with the air port staff and local hangar owners, they made sure everyone had a lift t o go from the flightline to the Kientz’s hangar where the “arrivees” registered their presence. Rolla had put himself in charge of the flightline from day one along with the airport staff. Sadi and Bill helped take care of transportations, so when they weren’t doubling as a tourist guides and driving the rental vans, they also helped manage the flightline and drive people to and from destinations. And, Phil Chastain—whoever thought of the “FOLLOW ME” Betty Boop golf car is a genius!

This Year’s Best Super Swift One piece at a time

By Michael L a France Like the ’70s Johnny Cash song “I got it one piece at a time, and it didn’t cost me a dime,” Paul Ross built today’s number one super modified GC-1B Globe Swift airplane from parts. He actually started this project with only a data plate and an airworthiness certificate!

Most of Paul’s airplane (at least the data plate anyway) came from a Denton, Texas, Swift factory in 1946. Globe/TEMCO Swift airplanes were manufactured from 1946 to 1951.

GC-1B Standard Specifications General characteristics Crew: one Capacity: one passenger Length: 20 feet 10 inches Wingspan: 29 feet 4 inches Wing area: 132 square feet Powerplant: Continental C-125 six-cylinder, four-stroke aircraft engine, 125 hp Airfoil: Root, NACA 23015; Tip, NACA 23009 Empty weight: 1,370 pounds Gross weight: 1,710 pounds Height: 6 feet 2 inches Performance Cruise speed: Never exceed speed: Range: Service ceiling: Rate of climb:

122 knots (140 mph) 161 knots (185 mph) 1,000 nautical miles (1,151 miles) 18,000 feet 700 feet/minute

An outstanding project like Swift N3890K isn’t created in a vacuum; Paul collected repaired, refurbished, or flat-out manufactured its parts.

180-hp Lycoming engine conversions Low-drag cowling Sticks with electric trim Smooth riveted and strengthened wing Buckaroo wingtips Cessna 150 seats Trailing edge wing fillets Constant-speed Hartzell propeller Sliding bubble canopy with roll-bar protection Four-point seat belts Wing slots removed 12.5-gallon wing tanks Miniature stall strips

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Vintage Mechanic

THE

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Aircraft fabric covering, Part 4 ome synthetic covering processes have come and gone while others have been around for quite some time. It might be interesting to trace the history of alternative fabric covering processes that replaced the old Grade A and Irish linen methods.

During the 1950s many experiments were made to replace Grade A cotton fabric that had been in use since the WWI days. The first was fiberglass cloth bonded to existing Grade A or muslin fabric. This added weight to the aircraft ultimately reduced its useful load capability. CAA approvals were issued for some of these processes. A process known as “Air Fibre” (Illustration 1) may have been the first process (which took place April 10, 1959) using a cloth identified only as Air Fibre covering cloth. The process used dope for tautening and filler but doesn’t specify exactly what type fabric is used. It should be remembered that there were a plethora of light aircraft built after WWII, and in about eight to 10 years they needed re-covering. Thus the flurry of synthetic fabric processes beginning around 1956. The Air Fibre process was eventually withdrawn. This early process was licensed to Cooper Engineering Company, Van Nuys, California.

S

Illustration 1

The first known use of a polyester Dacron cloth was the “Eonnite” system developed by Bill Lott of Bakersfield, California. The Dacron cloth was heat-shrunk on the airframe structure, then overlaid with a lightweight glass fabric and bonded with an epoxy resin. The Eonnite process was licensed to repair shops only and was not available to individual owners or mechanics. I remember when Bill Lott was at Minter Field in Bakersfield; he occupied a large hangar there and had a Beech Staggerwing, which he used to experiment with his new fabric systems.

Shortly after Lott developed his process, Col. Daniel Cooper of Los Angeles began to experiment using unshrunk Dacron fabric from the DuPont Corporation, attached it to the airframe structure using a lacquer cement, then coated it with nitrate and butyrate dope. He named his new process “Ceconite,” possibly the name Cooper Engineering Company giving it the CECO, and NITE rhymed with Eonnite. I remember that ‘Slim’ Kidwell at the Torrance Airport used one of his Bellanca ships to run some experiments with Cooper’s new process. When the flap was coated with butyrate dope it eventually peeled off. Thus the use of nitrocellulose dope because lacquer cement would mix with nitrate but not butyrate dope. The Ceconite process evolved in January 1958 as I recall. Illustration 2 shows the original Ceconite Procedure Manual 101.

Col. Cooper’s Ceconite process used Dacron cloth attached to the structure by lacquer cement or by sewing an envelope.

Three coats of nitrate dope were applied by brush with the first coat containing a quart of lacquer cement per gallon, thinned and brushed on for adhesion. The Ceconite process most closely resembled the old Grade A cotton process, and old-timers in the field found it easy to use. The problem was getting the first coat of dope to stick to the fabric.

Bill Lott soon recognized Col. Cooper’s process as being much lighter in weight than his Eonnite, so he developed another process that he called “Eonnex.” This process used Dacron fabric, shrunk with heat and filled with a two-part epoxy coating. It needed only two applications to completely fill the fabric weave. However, the coating cracked after a few months of service. I remember in 1961, upon graduating from Northrop with an A&P, covering a Beech Model 17 Staggerwing in the Eonnex process. It was fast

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Illustration 2 because it used two-part epoxy coatings that, when catalyzed, smelled like a dead animal. A wiping pad was used to spread the coatings, the first being a yellow color. Only small amounts of material were catalyzed because of curing rates. After the first coat dried, a second coat of a gray/ silver material was applied, cross coat from the yellow stuff. When that cured, you could not see or feel the weave of the Dacron! Final finish was automotive enamel. I was able to see and f ly in the ship when on leave from the Army, probably 1962 or early 1963. T here were cracks already in the coatings because they were brittle. The Eonnex process came into existence around May 1960; at least, that is the copyright date on the Eonnex Manual 200 depicted in Illustration 3.

Another process using a treated lightweight fiberglass cloth was developed in Manila, Arkansas, and was called “Razorback.� This fabric was attached to the structure using butyrate dope and was pulled as tight as possible to eliminate any large wrinkles. It came in 90-inch-wide rolls and required no machine sewing; therefore, there could be no envelopes, just blanket covering. It was sprayed with clear butyrate dope, and the initial coats had to blow through the weave of the cloth. Successive coats began to fill the weave, and the fabric eventually tautened. The surface tapes were fiberglass, and the rib lacing cord was a special type sold by the STC holder; it was black in color. The fabric was not damaged by UV radiation from the sun; therefore, it did not need silver dope coatings, just one or two coats to see where pinholes were located so they could be filled. The cloth was of a coarse weave, thus the pinholes. The silver dope could be sanded off to get a smooth finish. Final finish was pigmented butyrate dope because it needed rejuvenation when the dope hardened and began to crack. This STC’d process never needed testing, just an inspection of the coatings for any cracks. However, if cracks in the butyrate dope were found, the entire structure had to be rejuvenated by sanding and spraying multiple coats of butyrate rejuvenator to soften the dope and seal cracks. The STCs for Razorback are still valid, having been reissued in 1996 and 2003. Razorback installation manual No. 39-6 is dated July 1964 and shown in Illustration 4.

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Illustration 5

Illustration 4 Col. Cooper sold his original Ceconite process and moved to Illinois where he developed an alternate filler material for Dacron fabric. He still retained the Ceconite name but used a filler material called “Dac Proofer” and “Spra Fill.” The original Ceconite Procedure Manual 101 was revised to include information on the alternate process. His products became known as “Super Flite,” the Dac Proofer being blue in color and Spra Fill being silver in color. Finish was recommended as pigmented butyrate dope because the system had to be rejuvenated due to the filler cracking with age, just the same as butyrate dope.

In 1962, Ray Stits began experimenting with a new filler process for Dacron fabric that he called Poly-Fiber. The original process used a white liquid material that was applied to the cloth using a brush and which could not be sanded. He called the material “Poly-Brush” because it was spread totally with a brush. After two to three coats of Poly-Brush had been applied, four to six coats of “Poly-Spray” were applied with a spray gun and were the UV blocking material. This material could be sanded, but it was difficult to make a surface completely smooth due to the buildup of brush marks caused by spreading Poly-Brush with a brush. The new Poly-Fiber process is much better, and a smooth surface can be easily achieved with minimal effort because the Poly-Brush material can be applied with a spray gun, thus eliminating brush marks.

Each STC holder was required to maintain a sealed list of aircraft that were initially covered with the process. This was achieved by completing FAA Form 8100-1 (formerly FAA Form 1227), “Conformity Inspection Record.” Note 5

states that identical follow-on modifications of this same model aircraft will not require submittal of this form after the prototype ship has been approved for return to service.

An FAA inspector would come look at the fabric covering on the aircraft, check for conformity to the procedure manual, and sign and submit the form at the local FSDO. The aircraft type is then entered into the Master Eligibility List and therefore becomes approved for covering under the terms of the STC. Only a Form 337 is required, and approval to use this major alteration comes with the STC number and use of the procedure manual. Illustration 5 shows the form.

Poly-Fiber and Ceconite have become the predominant synthetic fabric processes to emerge over the years. Some STCs have been withdrawn, and some are dormant as wordof-mouth criticism and aging showed their weaknesses. But there is one important factor to consider when re-covering with synthetic fabric, and that is to prepare the structure for at least 30 years of service life. Illustration 6 shows my Aeronca 7AC when first restored in 1971 using the Ceconite fabric process. Throughout its life it never was stored inside a hangar; the best it saw was a shade hangar that covered the cabin section. The ship was refinished twice during its long life, and in 2009 it was disassembled for a complete restoration. The fuselage frame was originally sandblasted and coated with Dutch Boy Epicote white epoxy paint, which has been withdrawn because it contained lead. After 38 years, there is very little rust on the steel structure, which is quite remarkable considering it was always stored outside. Although the central California summer is hot and dry, the winter is cold and wet. The wings were also in very good condition with the only major problem being loose nails where ribs attach to spars. I had fabricated new wing spars back in 1971 to replace the original laminated spars used by the Aeronca factory, but this was prior to the “long lock” nails being introduced by Bellanca. The empennage was also in good shape because it too was sandblasted and coated with Epicote. So the structure lasted 38 years, which is very good considering the ship was manufactured in 1946, making it 63 years old!

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the master eligibility list; however, if a particular type and model are not shown, it does not mean the process cannot be used. It just means that the FAA will have to conduct a conformity inspection when the job is completed.

Conclusion

Illustration 6

Supplemental Type Certificate

When a new aircraft design is proposed, the Federal Aviation Administration requires certain tests, data, and procedures before a type certificate (TC) can be issued. This is normally a long and involved process that does not happen overnight. FAR 21 contains data whereby individuals or a company may be granted a TC and begin production of the aircraft or related component to be sold on the commercial market. FAR 21 is certification procedures for products and parts.

After certification by the FAA the aircraft may be manufactured and sold. The original aircraft is manufactured with certain parts and components installed, and in the case of a fabric-covered aircraft, a specific type of covering material and process. Examples of this are specific types of powerplants of specific horsepower, wheel and brake assemblies manufactured by a specific company, specific types of tail wheels, etc. These items that were originally installed by the manufacturer are listed in the aircraft specification sheet for the particular model aircraft. These aircraft specifications will also list other pertinent data, such as engine type, minimum fuel rating, maximum gross weight, center of gravity range, control surface movement, plus a complete listing of all equipment approved for installation in the aircraft.

In 1961 the FAA changed from the CAA Aircraft Specifications to Type Certificate Data Sheets (TCDS) and also changed the TC identifications to reflect where the TC was originally issued. The Type Certificate Data Sheets do not contain a listing of approved equipment for the particular aircraft; rather this information is now contained in the equipment list of the weight and balance data.

The particular type aircraft was type certificated covered with a specific type fabric process. If the aircraft is re-covered for any reason, it is a major repair, and an FAA Form 337 must be executed. If a different type of fabric covering is to be installed, it is a major alteration because the original TC was altered. The STC allows modification, in this case the fabric covering, of the aircraft with no FAA intervention except for the very first aircraft altered. The STC holder allows use of their approval in exchange for purchasing necessary covering supplies. In many cases the STC holder will also have a parts manufacturing approval (PMA) that would cover some or all the covering supplies, such as fabric, tapes, rib lacing cord, coatings, etc.

By now most fabric-covered ships will be included on

Changes in aircraft fabric covering came at a time when the Civil Aeronautics Administration was evolving into the Federal Aviation Agency, around the 1958 time frame.

At the same time, the FAA was creating the STC process, which made approval of these fabric-covering replacements even more difficult to achieve. Note the earliest approval dates are 1958 to 1962. In the days before the FAA, changes to the fabric-covering process were just “CAA approved,” but the FAA moved toward STC and PMA to control quality and repeatability. Today some of these early covering methods are just memories. By the way, the procedure manuals displayed here are also very outdated or just plain withdrawn.

References www.RandolphAircraft.com/html/w7868.html www.Ceconite.com www.AirTechCoatings.com Poly-Fiber Procedure Manual No. 1, Revision No. 18, dated April 1998 by Jon Goldenbaum

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by H.G. FRAUTSCHY

MYSTERY PLANE AUGUST’S MYSTERY ANSWER

Fleet 7B CF-AOC with the optional “coupe top” was the subject of our August Mystery Plane. It was the demonstration model for Fleet. ugust’s Mystery Plane wasn’t too hard for a few of you, and while the base model of the aircraft wasn’t too hard to figure out, the exact model was pretty rare. Tom Lymburn of Princeton, Minnesota, sent in this reply: “Although a sliding canopy was common on RCAF Fleet 7 Fawns and Fleet 16 Finches, the August Mystery Plane is an early Fleet 2/7 with a side-hinged ‘coupe top’ canopy. Optional equipment with Model 7s (along with a 25-gallon fuselage belly tank), it appeared only on one RCAF and two or three civil models. The Model 2 used a 100-hp Kinner K-5, while the Model 7B used a 125-hp Kinner B-5.

“Canadian registrations of Fleets with coupe-top canopies include: “CF-ANO, a Fleet 2 (s/n 4), which was delivered in May 1930. It flew on floats and skis with Arrow Airways in Flin Flon, Manitoba, between 1932 and 1937. CF-ANO was written off in a forced landing at Berens River, Manitoba, on January1946, when it hit some trees.

“CF-AOC, a Fleet 7B (s/n 5), was often flown by Jack Sanderson, general manager of Fleet of Canada, as a demo

A

aircraft. It was delivered in August 1930 and later became an instructional airframe with the Toronto Central Technical School in August 1941.

“CF-CGG, a Fleet 7B (s/n 16), which became RCAF 195, a Fawn I, was delivered in April 1931 and was used for trials with the coupe-top canopy. RCAF 195 also served during the war with the St. Catherine’s Flying Service. It became instructional airframe A.210 (later C.210) and was stuck off charge in May 1946 and scrapped. A picture of RCAF 195 appears in Molson and Taylor’s Canadian Aircraft since 1909 (Putnam, 1982).

“Jupiter’s U.S. Civil Aircraft (Vol. 4) notes that the coupe top was also an option for the American Fleet 7C. Wegg, in General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors (Naval Institute Press, 1990), comments that the coupe top weighed an additional 30 pounds and required an enlarged vertical tail.

I couldn’t find any specific Americanregistered aircraft with the coupe top.

A really good source for Fleets, besides Molson and Taylor, is Fleet: The Flying Years by Ron Page and William Cumming (The Boston Mills Press, 1990).

This illustrated ad from the May 1931 issue of Aero Digest shows the coupe top on a float-equipped Model 7 cruising alongside the identical model biplane with the usual wheeled landing gear.

It has photos of CF-AOC and CF-ANO with the coupe top.”

Renald Fortier, the curator of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa adds this: “I wonder if the airplane in the photo is not NC226H, a Fleet 7C (c/n 94) currently owned by Clay J. Baxter of Coburg, Oregon. This airplane (www. f lickr.com/photos/planephotoman/ 228740939/) no longer seems to have its ‘coupe top.’”

Other correct answers were received from Wes Smith, Springfield, Illinois; Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Bill Bosma, Yardville, New Jersey; and Warren E. Kelley, Mississauga, Ontario.

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GONE WEST

Everett â&#x20AC;&#x153;Evâ&#x20AC;? Cassagneres, 1928â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2012 After a good day of f lying in his classic Cessna 170B, Ev passed away in his sleep on Sunday, July 1, 2012 at age 84. He was a longtime EAA member and a contributor to Sport Aviation and Vintage Airplane magazines, as well as other magazines.

Ev is best known as the author of sever al books about Ryan aircraft and Charles Lindbergh. Much of the information in his books was from a first-person perspective, having been friends with Charles Lindbergh and the Lindbergh family. Ev had owned a Ryan ST, and he formed the Ryan type club and wrote several books about Ryan aircraft.

Ev became a pilot in 1945. He received the FAAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award commemorating his 50 years of f lying. Ev f lew a variety of airplanes and f lew as a corporate pilot as well as for pleasure. His interest in aviation histor y led to helping Cole Palen at the beginning of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. For one summer he became a wing-walker performing atop a PT-17 Stearman. He was also one of the founding members of the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association, which formed the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

He was a Korean War veteran and was awarded the Purple Heart, twice. He was also involved in many activities outside of aviation. He was a bicycle racer and holds an unbroken national 200-mile endurance/speed record. He helped with the Special Olympics and was a musician and participated in English, Scandinavian, and Contra dance. He was also an avid swimmer, cross-country skier, and hiker. But his fondness for old vintage airplanes was his passion.

Blue skies, Ev . . .

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VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION STAFF

EAA Publisher Jack Pelton Vice President of EAA Publications J. Mac McClellan Editor Jim Busha jbusha@eaa.org VAA Executive Administrator Theresa Books 920-426-6110 tbooks@eaa.org Advertising Sue Anderson Jonathan Berger Jeff Kaufman VAA, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903

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Treasurer Dan Knutson 106 Tena Marie Circle Lodi, WI 53555 608-592-7224 lodicub@charter.net

DIRECTORS

Ron Alexander 118 Huff Daland Circle Griffin, GA 30223-6827 ronalexander@mindspring.com

Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hills Dr. Indianapolis, IN 46278 317-293-4430 dalefaye@msn.com

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David Bennett 375 Killdeer Ct Lincoln, CA 95648 916-952-9449 antiquer@inreach.com

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Jerry Brown 4605 Hickory Wood Row Greenwood, IN 46143 317-422-9366 lbrown4906@aol.com Dave Clark 635 Vestal Lane Plainfield, IN 46168 317-839-4500 davecpd@att.net Phil Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr. Lawton, MI 49065 269-624-6490 rcoulson516@cs.com

Robert D. “Bob” Lumley 1265 South 124th St. Brookfield, WI 53005 262-782-2633 rlumley1@wi.rr.com Joe Norris tailwheelpilot@hughes.net 920-688-2977 S.H. “Wes” Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue Wauwatosa, WI 53213 414-771-1545 shschmid@gmail.com Tim Popp 60568 Springhaven Ct. Lawton, MI 49065 269-624-5036 tlpopp@frontier.com

DIRECTORS EMERITUS Robert C. Brauer 9345 S. Hoyne Chicago, IL 60643 773-779-2105 photopilot@aol.com Gene Chase 8555 S. Lewis Ave., #32 Tulsa, OK 74137 918-298-3692 Ronald C. Fritz 15401 Sparta Ave. Kent City, MI 49330 616-678-5012 rFritz@pathwaynet.com Charles W. Harris PO Box 470350 Tulsa, OK 74147 918-622-8400 cwh@hvsu.com

E.E. “Buck” Hilbert 8102 Leech Rd. Union, IL 60180 815-923-4591 buck7ac@gmail.com Gene Morris 5936 Steve Court Roanoke, TX 76262 817-491-9110 genemorris@charter.net John Turgyan PO Box 219 New Egypt, NJ 08533 609-752-1944 jrturgyan4@aol.com

VINTAGE TRADER S o m e t h i n g t o b u y, s e l l , o r t r a d e ?

Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum, with boldface lead-in on first line.

Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2.167 inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black and white only, and no frequency discounts.

Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to desired issue date (i.e., January 10 is the closing date for the March issue). VAA reserves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion per issue.

Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must accompany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (classads@eaa.org) using credit card payment (all cards accepted). Include name on card, complete address, type of card, card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA. Address advertising correspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.

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Wood and Fabric A&P Technician— Looking for a specialist with experience in historic Wood and Fabric airplanes for restoration and maintenance of existing airplanes at major museum (www.MilitaryAviationMuseum.org) in the resort city of Virginia Beach. Must have experience in building replica airworthy World War One aircraft. For information call (757) 490-3157 or email to EPY1@aol.com

SERVICES Always Flying Aircraft Restoration, LLC: Annual Inspections, Airframe recovering, fabric repairs and complete restorations.

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VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Current EAA members may join the Vintage Aircraft Association and receive VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an additional $42 per year.

EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine and one year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $52 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $7 for International Postage.)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars. Add required Foreign Postage amount for each membership.

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Join/Renew 800-564-6322 membership@eaa.org Copyright ©2012 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, All rights reserved.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 549023-3086, e-mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $42 per year for EAA members and $52 for non-EAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54902 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. CPC #40612608.

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