Va vol 42 no 1 jan feb2014

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

•Boom to Bust

Manufacturing Explosion

•Spartan Aristocrat •More AirVenture

WACO S3HD

Straight & Level GEOFF ROBISON

Vintage Airplane

VAA PRESIDENT, EAA 268346, VAA 12606

STAFF

2013, a year in review

EAA Publisher . . . . . . . . . Jack J. Pelton,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chairman of the Board

Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . J. Mac McClellan Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Busha

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jbusha@eaa.org

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our members!

I remarked in this column a year ago that 2013 was to be the year of execution of the many tough financial and operational decisions that were adopted at the fall 2012 VAA board of directors meeting. Our promise to you to improve the Vintage Airplane magazine has been fulfilled beyond my wildest dreams. The all-new product has now been well-accepted by the membership. We did not get as much push-back as I was anticipating on taking the magazine to the bimonthly format. The far majority of our membership apparently chose a wait-and-see attitude because of our commitment to show real improvements and develop a quality product that adds real value to the VAA members’ monetary commitment. Many positive accolades have come our way about the magazine, and they continue to reinforce the leadership to believe that we are traveling the right path. Congratulations to the entire editorial team, but especially to Editor Jim Busha and Livy Trabbold, who is our art director and is tasked with the layout of the magazine. You all have much to be proud of. This product has improved with every new release, and we are all quite proud of these results. Please feel free to continue communicating any concerns or recommendations you may have to us on how to continue to improve our flagship product.

After a slow but certain decline in membership over the past couple of years I am particularly pleased to report to the membership that as a result of an all-out new membership initiative we have seemingly managed to reverse these trends. Once again, we are moving in the right direction and are attracting new members to the VAA. This is not a spectator sport, so you will not catch us setting on our hands or on the sidelines watching this game unfold. Director Steve Krog has developed a strong team of volunteers who have been quite busy developing our message and preparing to launch a large-scale direct marketing initiative. The testing phase of these various initiatives has already shown some very impressive results. By the time you read these words we will have already launched a full scale membership drive.

Also one year ago your VAA board of directors promised the membership an all-new/retooled website for the VAA. We promised a product of aggressive capabilities, valued timely content, and current VAA news and information. The Website Committee headed by Director Tim Popp, and assisted by our truly professional website developer Earl Nicholas, has exceeded all expectations of where we wanted to be with our website today.

If you haven’t been to this site recently, you really need to check it out! Go to www.VintageAircraft.org. continued on page 63

VAA Executive Administrator. Max Platts

920-426-6110. . . . . . . . . . mplatts@eaa.org

Advertising Manager . . . . . Sue Anderson

920-426-6127. . . . . . . . . . sanderson@eaa.org

Senior Art Director. . . . . . . Livy Trabbold VAA, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903 Website: www.VintageAircraft.org Email: VintageAircraft@eaa.org

TM

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.

Member Services PO Box 3086 Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM—6:00 PM CST Join/Renew 800-564-6322 membership@eaa.org EAA AirVenture Oshkosh www.airventure.org 888-322-4636

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Vol. 42, No. 1

2014

CONTENTS

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 18

Let the Good Times Roll From boom to bust: The great light aircraft manufacturing explosion Charlie Harris

COLUMNS

Aristocrat of airlanes Ron Tarrson’s treasured Spartan Sparky Barnes Sargent

1

Straight and Level 2013, a year in review Geoff Robison

10 Vintage Instructor

Revisiting the fear of stalls

Steve Krog

4

Air Mail

13 Ask the AME

Sleep apnea

John Patterson, M.D., AME

8 How to?

Assemble a new wood wing

Robert G. Lock

2

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14 Scrap Book

36

Sole Survivor The Jackson/Ricciotti S3HD Waco Budd Davisson

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Vintage Mechanic Aircraft covering, part 2—structural aluminum Robert G. Lock

64 Classified Ads

44

AirVenture 2013 Pictorial Part II

54

Cub Nirvana Float flying fanatic Mike Butler

COVERS

FRONT COVER: The sole survivor-The Waco S3HD. Photo by Mike Kelly.

BACK COVER: Big and Beautiful-Roger Brown’s 1943 Howard DGA. Phil High photo.

ANY COMMENTS?

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

@VintageEAA

facebook.com/EAAVintage

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

www.VintageAircraft.org

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Air Mail Jim, I wrote an article a couple of years ago for Vintage.

It is my favorite magazine. Talk about 65 pages worth every penny. The last issue was packed with great photos and articles. Honoring PHP was very touching. I couldn’t wait to read about the next airplane in each vignette in “Walking the Line.” Every page of this issue was riveting. Good stuff!

Keep up the good work,

Eric Gourley Charlie, What an incredible article/tribute you wrote for Paul Poberezny in the November/December issue of Vintage Airplane. Thank you for taking the time to do that.

Ray Johnson www.FlyInCruiseIn.com Ray, Thank you for the kind words…. It was an honor, a pure pleasure, and an affair of the heart to write it. Paul Poberezny was a jewel beyond a jewel…one in (many) millions. We will never see another like him. We have been blessed beyond measure.

Thank you again, Charlie Charlie, Congratulations on your Paul Poberezny article in the current Vintage magazine. I was about halfway through when it hit me that this must have been written by Charlie Harris. As usual, you start where others get through.

I have long marveled at your Tulsa EAA newsletters. There is no question that if you put your mind to it, you could come up with the next Jonathan Livingston Seagull or the next Fate Is the Hunter.

Thanks for doing such a masterful job. Paul deserves no less.

Sincerely,

Russ Munson Russ, First, I am staggered by the contents of your e-mail, for which I most sincerely thank you.

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Paul had countless friends, and I will be forever grateful I was fortunate enough to be one of those friends. We talked by phone nearly once a week over the last few years.

He advised me last December or January of his illness, and he asked me to write a few words in his behalf. I was so unnerved by his suggestion that for quite a while I actually put it in the back of my mind.

Then a day or so after Paul’s death Jim Busha asked me to write a tribute to Paul for Vintage Airplane. In all candor, since I held Paul in such high regard, other than a small bit of required and necessary research to be sure I got all the facts, dates, etc. correct, it was a pure pleasure and a joy to do so.

I have advised close friends and business associates over the years, I know or have known U.S. senators, governors, congressmen, mayors, captains of industry, flaglevel military commanders, etc., and I have never known a single one who could have accomplished what Paul did for general and sport aviation. He was simply a giant in his field of interest and moved mountains in our behalf!

He was an amazing man.

Thank you again…I trust the Super Cub is still treating you well, and I trust you remember well Gordon Baxter and you honoring us at the Biplane Expo by your presence. I think you even watched me prop Steve Wolf ’s 450 Pratt in Samson after he flew the air show in honor of Curtis Pitts.

Again, I was floored by your comments regarding PHP; a million non-negotiable thanks…and keep your nose down in the turns.

All my best, Charlie Hi Jim, Another great issue. I especially appreciate the great Oshkosh coverage, which is sadly deficient in Sport Aviation.

Regarding the letter from Brent Mone in the November/December issue: “Carole Bailey” was actually Caro Bayley, a WWII WASP who flew everything from the P-47 to the B-25.

Caro bought the No. 3 Pitts Special from Curtis Pitts.

A higher-powered version of Little Stinker, it was powered by a 125-hp Lycoming O-290. An all-black airplane with white trim, Caro named it Black Magic.

On January 3, 1951, Caro took off from Miami in a 125-hp PA-18, and during a four-hour flight set a world altitude record for the weight category of 30,023 feet.

Immediately after landing she climbed in the Pitts and flew in the Miami Aerobatic Contest, becoming the Women’s World Aerobatic Champion.

A short time later Caro was married and sold the Pitts. Black Magic, N8M, was destroyed in a fire.

In 1999 Ted Teach of Dayton, Ohio, built a replica of Black Magic. The replica has been displayed at Oshkosh on several occasions.

Caro Bayley (Bosca) passed away on September 13, 2007, at age 85.

Jim Stanton

VAA 722223 Messrs Busha, Davisson & Peck Hey Jim, Budd & Glenn!

I read with special interest Budd’s account of the travails of Glenn Peck in getting the Monosport 2, NC8989, to OSH ’13, beginning the day he took over from where Bud Dake left off. The undersigned inspected the ’sport with Jack Cox at Creve Coeur in the ’90s and was the source of the picture on page 26, which was cleverly emulated on page 27 by Glenn.

My only complaint is that someone misidentified the person in the picture. It’s not the original owner, Barney Abrahams, but John B. Hinchey “in person,” as he signed it in August 1929. John was by far the most successful Monocoupe salesman of that time, having accounted for the sale of some 240 Monocoupes and derivatives during the 1928-29 period. I knew John through C.B. (Scotty) Burmood, to whom the picture was inscribed.

Briefly, John learned to fly as a WWI aviation cadet and went on to sell Stinsons and Spartans.

When WWII began he signed on with Northrop as a test pilot and was much involved with the P-61 Black Widow program. While John was with Spartan he teamed with Charlie La Jotte in the 1938 Bendix race, finishing sixth in a field led by Jackie Cochran’s Seversky.

“Hinch” and Charlie had been close since 1928, when Charlie raced a Monocoupe, NC6730, in several pylon events at Mines Field, now LAX, during the 1928 NAR. The undersigned co-owned NC6730 in the ’50s. It was later restored as a retirement project by Tony LeVier. It remains aloft in the California Science Center museum, a near neighbor to the space shuttle Endeavour.

NC8989’s original owner was Bernard M. Abra-

hams of Davenport, Iowa. Barney was a friend of Don Luscombe and became a Monocoupe company shareholder early on. He owned NC8989 for some five years, but I don’t think he ever got around to qualifying for a pilot’s license, because he always seemed to be a passenger in his own airplane. On one occasion he flew to New York with test pilot Byron Hatch, according to a news item in the Moline paper, which described the airplane as being bright red.

John Underwood Jim, A wonderful surprise was waiting in our mailbox yesterday! A gentleman named John Pohly from Colorado was reading Vintage Airplane and was so surprised to see the same 195

his father Richard flew in the 1950s when the plane was brand new! He was so kind to look us up and send not only this picture but also copies of his dad’s logbook with entries of some of the flying that was done in its early days as a Businessliner. His father was vice president at Seismograph Services Corporation in Oklahoma, and when the company bought 9895A he was checked out in it and flew many business-related trips with it. His son, John, remembers accompanying his dad on many trips when he was about 10 years old. His letter tells of a landing in Michigan when the crosswind landing gear kicked in, and the tower controller having never seen that before asked if they would go around the pattern one more time so they could see it again!

Thank you for your coverage of our flying family and allowing us the opportunity to connect with another flying family.

Sincerely,

Tia Robertson www.VintageAircraft.org

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Join Friends

of the Red

Barn!

Your support is crucial to the success of VAA’s AirVenture activities and programs VAA members like you are passionate about your affiliation with vintage aviation, and it shows.

You’re the most loyal of all EAA members, renewing your VAA membership each and every year at a rate higher than any other group within the EAA family. We appreciate your dedication! Each year we give you another opportunity to strengthen your bond with the VAA by inviting you to become a Friend of the Red Barn.

This special opportunity helps VAA put together all the components that make the Vintage area of EAA AirVenture a unique and exciting part of the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration. This special fund was established to cover a significant portion of the VAA’s expenses related to serving VAA members during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, so that no dues money is used to support the convention activities.

This is a great opportunity for Vintage members to join together as key financial supporters of the Vintage division. It’s a rewarding experience for 6

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

each of us as individuals to be a part of supporting the finest gathering of Antique, Classic, and Contemporary airplanes in the world.

At whatever level is comfortable for you, won’t you please join those of us who recognize the tremendously valuable key role the Vintage Aircraft Association has played in preserving the irreplaceable grassroots and general aviation airplanes of the last 100 years? Your participation in EAA’s Vintage Aircraft Association Friends of the Red Barn will help ensure the very finest in EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Vintage programs.

To participate in this year’s campaign, fill out the donation form by visiting our website at www.

VintageAircraft.org/programs/redbarn.html to make an online contribution. And to each and every one of you who has already contributed, or is about to, a heartfelt “thank you” from the officers, directors, staff, and volunteers of the Vintage Aircraft Association!

How to?

ROBERT G. LOCK

Assemble a new wood wing We begin this column with some sound advice from an “old-timer.” You have purchased a basket case, and the airplane is in a thousand pieces; begin by assembling the major structural components to see if they fit together. I know of several people who just took the pieces, farmed some of them out, and when the airplane was ready to assemble, the new wings would not fit the fuselage.

Alas, time and money wasted.

Below, my Command-Aire 5C3 the first time the pieces went together. This turned out to be a very

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smart move because there were 3C3 and 5C3 struts and wires mixed together—they looked the same but were different lengths, so I separated those parts so they would not get mixed again. This airplane is interesting because it does not have a center section—the upper wings bolt together in the center line of the fuselage, so precise fit is most important. Which brings up another important point. When constructing new wings, make sure they fully fit their respective attach points. If the aircraft has a center section, restore it first, then build the wings to fit the center section.

When building new lower wings, bolt each wing to the fuselage, then glue in the compression member and wing ribs in the first bay.

The upper wings were built one-at-a-time—I built the left wing first, trammed it, and glued in all the ribs. Everything was complete except the plywood leading edge skin and trailing edge metal.

Then I assembled the right wing, bolted it to the right wing, trammed it, and then glued the ribs in place. By doing this I was assured that the bolts would fit in the attach fittings upon assembly. This is how the upper wings bolt together. The bolt load is in tension rather than shear. The left wing has one coat of varnish, while the right wing is bare wood. Both front and rear spar attach fittings are similar in construction.

It has been many years since these wings were built, but in the photo at left I built the left wing first and then built the right wing to fit. In the photograph below, the upper wings are bolted to-

gether to check the fit of the root ribs, leading edge, and trailing edge. Designed by my friend Albert Vollmecke, the upper and lower leading edge was skinned with birch plywood. In this new column we have previously discussed building wing ribs, wing spars, laminating tip bows, and tramming a wing. So here you see these pieces all assembled in my shop in Reedley. Yet to be installed is the plywood leading edge and the aluminum trailing edge.

But first the wing must be coated with at least two coats of marine spar varnish or epoxy varnish. Spar ends should receive several coats of varnish to assure penetration into the wood grain and completely seal it. Failure to do this will eventually lead to shakes, which are cracks between annual growth rings, and checks, which are cracks across grain lines. This happens when moisture enters poorly sealed wood; the wood swells because of the moisture and shrinks when the moisture leaves, stressing the growth lines until they crack. So use plenty of sealer on the end grains.

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The Vintage Instructor STEVE KROG, VAA DIRECTOR AND CFI

Revisiting the fear of stalls Several days ago Calley, the 25-year-old daughter of a good friend, called me with some questions. She has been taking lessons at a West Coast flight school and had accrued about eight to nine hours. She outlined the lessons and wanted my opinion: Was she getting not only her money’s worth but also proper training?

She described the dual instruction to date: three to five hours of doing climbs, descents, shallow, medium and steep turns, and climbing and descending turns, followed by a brief introduction of about 15 minutes to stalls. Then the training moved directly to the traffic pattern doing takeoffs and landings, using the radio, and understanding how to use the VOR.

Stalls Are Often Improperly Taught I asked if she felt, in her own opinion, she was getting the flight training she expected, and Calley offered that something seemed to be missing. I commented that she must have done quite well on the stall training, having only done stalls for just a few minutes. She shuddered and stated the stalls were very uncomfortable, so the instructor discontinued with the stall training. When the stall warning horn sounded, she would begin “sweating bullets,” fearful that the airplane would immediately enter into an unrecoverable spin! When asked what her instructor did or said at this point, she offered that he said they would come back and do stalls another time. Since that flight, however, none of the lessons included stall training.

Since that time, most all of the training flights were focused on the traffic pattern and the takeoffs and landings.

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In my opinion, Calley was being improperly trained.

Her instructor was correct in discontinuing the stall training. However, no postflight discussion has taken place analyzing stalls, either that day or since.

Think back to when you were first learning to fly.

How did you learn to recognize and demonstrate stalls? Were you taught the step-by-step method of first discussing stalls during the preflight portion of your flight, then when in the air having your instructor demonstrate stall recognition followed by demonstrating a stall? I personally was taught the most incorrect way possible, and it took me years to overcome the fear of a stall.

My instructor stated, as I conducted a preflight of the aircraft, “Today we’ll be doing stalls.” It was my second hour of instruction, and that was the extent of the ground school portion of the flight. Once in the air and established at a safe altitude, he told me to apply carb heat and reduce the power to idle. That in itself was still an effort for me, as I grew up on a farm driving tractors that required pulling the throttle lever toward you for power.

After I had reduced the power, my instructor told me to begin applying steady back pressure until I felt the airplane shutter or buffet, followed by the break and the nose pitching downward. I did what I was told up until the nose pointed at the ground, or so I thought. At that point he began screaming in my ear, “RECOVER, RECOVER, RECOVER!” I had no idea what he meant, so I continued pulling back on the yoke. I had read in my ground school book that whenever you wanted to get the nose to point upward, apply back pressure, which I was doing. With the yoke somewhere up around my ears, the aircraft continued

its downward path.

The airplane then began a sharp break or roll to the left, and the instructor continued shouting, “RECOVER!” I looked over at him and he was sitting on his hands, and here I was about to become a huge lawn dart, scared beyond belief.

When the plane sharply broke left, I did have the presence of mind to recall my previous reading. If the airplane drops a wing, roll the control yoke in the opposite direction to pick up that wing. I hadn’t yet read the chapter discussing spins. Now I had the yoke around my ears with full opposite aileron input. I was now in a full spin to the left but didn’t know what it was, and the instructor loudly yelling, “RECOVER!” The world was spinning rapidly, and I knew I was going to die. After at least four full turns, the instructor took over, righted the airplane, and established level flight. My hands and feet were shaking uncontrollably, and I was unable to resume handling the flight controls. At that point the instructor flew us back to the airport.

After landing, there was no postflight discussion.

All my instructor said was, “See you tomorrow at the same time.” At that point I made the decision to quit flying and take up some other form of pleasurable activity—but not until the shaking stopped!

Several days later the flight school called and inquired as to why I hadn’t shown up for my scheduled flights. After explaining what had happened, they promised that if I would return the next day, I would be working with a different flight instructor.

I did return the next day and the rest is now history. My flying has continued uninterrupted for 44 years, 40 of those as a flight instructor. I did make a vow to myself when I began flight instructor training: I would never do to a student what my first instructor did to me.

Fear of Stalls Only Grows if Not Analyzed and Practiced Calley’s first introduction to stalls was not quite as dramatic as mine. However, I do feel strongly that she was done an injustice. Fear of most any flight maneuver is overcome by talking, instruction, demonstration, and practice. Fear continues to grow if not addressed correctly. In Calley’s case, there was no discussion done postflight, nor was there any further stall practice. Her fear of stalls has multiplied, but thankfully she’s still enthused with learning to fly.

My concern, though, is that she has now been able to solo several times, but yet has never learned stall recognition and recovery.

Throughout the past two decades I’ve had the pleasure of flying with hundreds of individuals—both students, as well as licensed pilots. One glaring deficiency I’ve experienced is the stall and the fear of same. I believe there are two distinct reasons for this: 1) improper initial training, which then 2) prevents most pilots from comfortably and confidently practicing stalls.

For example, when conducting the flight portion of flight reviews, I’ll have the pilot demonstrate slow flight followed by several stalls. Upon requesting the www.VintageAircraft.org

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first stall demo, the beads of sweat appear and apprehension takes over. If I ask the individual when they last performed a stall, the answer is usually two years ago when we last did a review.

Nearly all of my flight instruction and flight reviews are done in vintage aircraft (tail wheel and no stall warning system). Thus it is even more important for the student and/or the pilot to be able to recognize the onset of a stall.

The Falling Leaf Is an Excellent Maneuver to Understand Rudder Use in a Stall The method I’ve found to be most successful is for me taking the controls, setting up for the approach of a stall, and then have the student tell me when they can “feel” the approaching stall. Once recognized, I’ll lower the nose and prepare to do another impending stall. Repeating this exercise four to six times helps the student not only build confidence but also helps him or her concentrate on “feeling” the approach of a stall.

Then I’ll turn over the controls to the student and repeat the exercise, with the student telling me when he or she first feels the onset of a stall. Now we’ve notched up the student’s confidence to a new level.

Only then do we move on to the full stall.

If I find that a student is still apprehensive of the stall, I ask him or her to tell me what he or she fears most. The answer is usually, “I’m afraid of entering into a spin.” With that common reply, I will move the student to doing an exercise similar to the “falling leaf” maneuver. In this setup I’ll have the student remain on the rudder pedals, but I’ll handle the elevator, ailerons, and power settings. I explain that I will enter into a power-off stall and then keep the plane 12

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in the stall. The student’s responsibility is to use the rudder pedals to keep the wings as level as possible until we’ve descended 1,000 feet.

The initial stall entry is uneventful, but the subsequent flight attitudes can get to be quite interesting. With a bit of vocal coaching, though, the student will first learn the effectiveness of the rudder during a stall, followed by immediate action when a wing begins to drop. Usually within about 500 feet, the student will remember to breathe; relaxing the leg muscles and easily walking the airplane down the remaining 500 feet without either wing ever dropping more than 20-30 degrees. This, I have found, is a tremendous confidence builder. Knowing what the airplane is capable of doing and learning that pilot inputs can still control the airplane even in a stall breeds confidence. Confidence reduces apprehension, which in turn lessens fear.

This exercise may not be for everyone nor apply to every airplane. However, it does apply to nearly all of the lower horsepower vintage aircraft that we are flying today.

The next time you go flying on a nice clear day, why not experiment by working on recognition of an impending stall. Learn to “feel” your airplane. It will make you a better and safer pilot.

Author’s Note: I’ve written about stalls in previous articles, but the stall is still the No. 1 topic when I ask individuals about what they have the most apprehension about when flying. Thus, I wanted to address it again by sharing some methods for overcoming that apprehension.

Ask the AME JOHN PATTERSON, M.D., AME

Sleep apnea CC writes, “I know I’m overweight, and my wife says I snore louder than the Harrier jet. Do I need to be concerned?”

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious condition that results directly in poor oxygen saturation during sleep, which in turn leads to drowsiness and fatigue while awake. Ultimately this may result in stress to the cardiovascular system in terms of hypertension and increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Most people consider the study of sleep and the diagnosis of sleep disorders to be a relatively new science. However, Charles Dickens wrote of an individual with morbid obesity, snoring, and disturbed sleep in the Pickwick Papers, and so sleep apnea is sometimes referred to as Pickwickian Syndrome.

In many cases the airman may not know that there is a problem, but most have a sleeping partner that has noted excessive snoring or even periods of no breathing (apnea). Snoring and apnea occurs because of narrowing of the upper airway, obstructed by the soft palate and or tongue. This occurs more commonly in obese patients due to the high incidence of fatty tissue in the pharynx and soft palate. Sleep apnea occurs in 70 percent of clinically obese individuals and is a growing problem in our country.

Daytime drowsiness and the implication for flight safety is the FAA’s concern in this condition. In the FAA’s brochure on sleep apnea, it cites an incident in which both the pilot and first officer of a commercial aircraft with 40 passengers fell asleep and flew past their intended destination, awoke to discover the mistake, and returned and landed without incident.

The NTSB determined that contributing factors were the captain’s undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea as well as the flight crew’s recent work schedule. Degradation of performance in persons with mild to moderate sleep apnea has been compared to an individual with a blood alcohol level of 0.06-0.08 percent, which

is considered legal intoxication in most states.

Therefore the FAA takes a hard line on airmen with the diagnosis of sleep apnea. Special issuance is required with the initial evaluation and approval done in Oklahoma City or with the regional flight surgeon.

Subsequent approvals can be made by the AME (aviation medical examiner) if the airman is compliant with treatment and the therapy is considered adequate.

Individuals with a diagnosis of sleep apnea have an initial evaluation in a sleep study called a polysomnogram. This involves the evaluation of breathing patterns while sleeping and measuring oxygen saturation. Sleep apnea patients typically have five or more episodes per hour of ceasing breathing for 10 or more seconds and often have an episode of ceasing breathing for more than 30 seconds. This may occur up to 60 times an hour, and when this occurs, the oxygen saturation in the blood falls below 90 percent, which is abnormal. After treatment the polysomnogram is then repeated demonstrating improvement.

While losing weight and the use of some dental appliances to force the lower jaw forward can work for mild obstructive sleep apnea, most patients with moderate sleep apnea will require continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP. This involves the wearing of a mask over the nose and strapped around the head.

Air pressure can then be adjusted to keep the soft tissues from collapsing the airway. Severe cases may require surgery to prevent the collapse of the palate with implantable stiffeners, or removing excess tissue from the oropharynx or tongue.

Evaluation of treatment is usually done through a post-treatment polysomnogram or a maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT). This involves a series of 4-40 minute periods in which the individual is instructed to stay awake. This is ideally administered after a polysomnogram.

In summary, sleep apnea can result in poor percontinued on page 63

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Good Old Days From pages of what was . . .

Take a quick look through history by enjoying images pulled from publications past.

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P A R SC K O O B

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s d A d e fi i lass

What would you have found . . .

C

Aero Digest June 1938

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Aero Digest June 1938

Aero Digest June 1938 Aero Digest October 1931

AeroDigest December 1940

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From boom to bust: The great light aircraft manufacturing explosion

Let the Good Times Roll!

Charlie Harris

VAA DIRECTORS EMERITUS 18

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MIKEKELLYPHOTOGRAPHY@GMAIL.COM

Aeronca Champs

The Prewar Years Truth be told, the “boom” in light aircraft manufacturing really started in the late prewar periods between 1939 until late 1941. This period of time is important to note because of the rapid engine development used to power these types of light airplanes. The dual ignition A-40 became the A-50 and in turn became the A-65.

The ample power needed was now available; it was the key, the catalyst! The 65-hp Continental had come to market and was readily available as a powerplant for a variety of aircraft.

The Piper J-3/J-4/J-5 were all good aircraft as were the A-B series Taylorcraft models.

Aeronca came out with a sideby-side model called the Chief, while Stinson produced the Stinson 10 and 105—again good airplanes, but produced in limited quantities. In 1940 Luscombe introduced the 8C Deluxe with a 75-hp injected Continental, wheelpants, and a custom interior—one beautiful airplane! The Culver Aircraft Company entered the market with three examples, the 75-, 80-, and 90-hp Culver Cadets.

All were speedy, and all became a sales sensation!

The sales in 1940-41 were setting records, and the good times were sure to last! There were months in 1940 when Piper built 300 airplanes, and www.VintageAircraft.org

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Swift

at one time in 1940, Piper sold a brand new 40-hp J-3 for $995! Yep, times were darn good, until the dark war clouds of WWII enveloped the entire world. Although the market was temporarily shut off to the private pilot, the manufacturers anticipated a continuation of those good sales numbers returning after the

Luscombe 20

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war ended, as pent-up demand was anticipated—we just had to wait almost four long years for the good old days to return.

Boom Boom Boom!

When the war finally ended in September of 1945, the light plane manufacturers wasted little time

and quickly moved back into civil airplane production and marketing, and the numbers soared! Piper added 7,780 airplanes to the market, while Aeronca supplemented it with 7,555. Cessna came in third with 3,959 examples, while Taylorcraft followed with 3,911. Ercoupe’s twintailed design topped the 2,503 mark, as Luscombe followed with 2,483 airplanes, while the Globe/Temco Swift came in with a respectable 1,550 new ready to use airplanes.

Piper added the PA-12 Super Cruiser to its line, and it was highly accepted as the company continued production of the J-3 Cub— the mainstay of the light training field. Piper also added the PA-11 in 1948 and 1949. Aeronca offered the Chief and pretty quickly went to 85- and 90-hp engines to aid the airplane and its performance. It

also added the tandem-seat Champion, and it was truly a Champ, a great training airplane.

Taylorcraft was selling the BC12D series in strong quantities until the early winter of 1946.

Luscombe continued the 65-hp 8A then added the 85-hp 8E and went to a single strut metal wing design. It quickly followed up with the 90-hp 8F with the much finer Silflex gear and then the 8F Deluxe, which was better than the equivalent of its prewar 8C. It even added the tandem T-8F for those wishing for front and rear seating.

Swift came out with its abso-

lutely sensational GC1-A with 85 hp, and after manufacturing 400 airplanes as quickly as it could, it shifted gears and moved to the C-125 hp engine—Swift had more orders by far than its Grand Prairie, Texas, plant could even produce. It gave Temco a contract to build a substantial number of the C-125 powered GC1-Bs. As a matter of fact the entire N number series of 78,000 Swifts were built by Temco.

Culver was very slow in getting to the market; for some reason it did not try to market its prewar Cadet nor its wartime PQ-8s or PQ-14s

When the war finally ended in September of 1945, the light plane manufacturers wasted little time and quickly moved back into civil airplane production and marketing . . .

(which it should have!) as it moved to the C-85 powered Culver V with the integrated flight trim system known as Simplifly. Its V model was still all wood, but was far too heavy for the C-85 power (it would have been an excellent airplane with C-125, C-145, or O-320 power). The airplane could not be successfully marketed, and it devastated the company.

Stinson’s prewar 10s and 105s were stretched and became the 108-1 with its 150 Lycoming; it was underpowered, so the 108-1 then became the 165 powered 108-2 and 108-3, and then with its interior trimmed in wood grain it became the Station Wagon.

Cessna had not built a prewar light plane, but after the war it came out with the all-metal C-85 powered 120 and 140, and they sold like hot cakes as did the little four-place 170 that came out later.

The boom was ongoing. From late 1945 into 1946 and on into the early spring of 1947 airplane ads were running in every medium everywhere, and the factories were humming trying to keep up with demand. Piper even opened a Ponca City, Oklahoma, plant to meet the J-3 demand. But for every action comes a reaction, and that became a reality on March 15, 1947. As if some huge unseen economic hand reached into nearly each and every aircraft manufacturing plant and figuratively turned off the light switch.

The Big Bust

Ercoupe

All across the country, the factory and plant airport locations were covered with completed airplanes ready to be ferried all over the United States to dealers for potential customer delivery. And, as suddenly as one can imagine, the orders and the ability of the dealer structure to sell small airplanes ceased, as did the cash flow. It was as near instantawww.VintageAircraft.org

21

neous as it is possible to imagine.

The pent-up demand that the small airplane manufacturers had believed in was over; it had taken only about 18 months. It still boggles the mind as the light plane industry produced and sold more than 30,000 airplanes in 1946 alone! But the demand for these wonderful airplanes evaporated figuratively overnight. The scores upon scores, even hundreds and hundreds of brand new but unsold airplanes covered the factory airports in Lock Haven, Grand Prairie, Alliance, Lunken, and Wayne. There were no dealer sales, thus no factory sales, thus no incoming dealer or factory cash. As the companies began to grasp first, the situation and second, the severity of the situation, they began to lay off entire shifts, then as necessary, turned to only skeleton crews.

Taylorcraft, always underfinanced, closed its doors as early as November 8, 1946. Piper, Taylorcraft, Swift, Stinson, and Culver all went into bankruptcy or failed financially and went through some type of liquidation and kept their doors open with the most minimal staff. Dr. Chet Peek, who wrote The Taylorcraft Story (Chet’s research is impeccable), has 22

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

said if he were to rewrite the book, he would name each chapter as Chapter 13 as Taylorcraft went through so many financial failures and reorganizations that one would lose count.

Few airplane manufacturers would survive; Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest was in full force. Temco would acquire the Globe assets in bankruptcy (Temco had never been paid for the entire run of Swifts it built). Stinson failed, and the Stinson bankers brokered a deal to have Piper sell the completed Stinsons, which is where the Piper Stinson 108-3 came from. Piper was in deep peril on Wall Street and over time sold the on-hand J-3s and PA12s, had no cash, and created the terribly simplistic basic PA-15,-16,17, and -18 simply to turn the tubing, fabric, pieces, and parts on hand into cheap, cheap $1,500-$1,600 airplanes to liquidate the remaining inventory into cash. But the Clipper became the Pacer and then the TriPacer, and in the early 1950s, things began to look up a bit.

Luscombe was absorbed by Temco, but Cessna and Beech survived; they each had more financial strength and a much broader product range: the 120/140/170, 190,

and 195 were viable products, the Model 35, A35, B-35 Bonanzas sold, and the Model 18 became a corporate mainstay for Beech.

Culver was gone forever. There were a few attempts of a “last hurrah”. . . Aeronca and one of the “reorganized” Taylorcraft companies attempted to build tube and fabric four-place airplanes. Luscombe ended up building the all-metal fourplace Model 11 in 1948 and 1949; it cost Luscombe $875,000 in 1948 R&D dollars (12-15 million in today’s dollars), and it destroyed Luscombe.

It was well into the early 1950s with an improved economy and improved products before the bust began to recover.

The Perfect Storm The pent-up demand was never all it was anticipated to be, but more than 30,000 light airplanes were built and sold in 1946; it remains— and always will be—a marvelous record. But while all of this was ongoing—the War Assets Administration were selling untold thousands of excellent surplus military airplanes at “giveaway” prices: PT-13s, PT-17s, PT-19s, and PT-22s fetched a measly $350-$500; BT-13s at $450-$500;

PT-23

BT-13s

PT-22 24

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

AT-6s at $550; P-40s, P-51s, and P38s at $1,250-$1,500.

Is it any wonder there was a BUST? But friends, I have to tell you it was an exciting era to have lived through and experienced. Imagine an AT-6 or BT-13 for a third the cost of a Cub . . . it became a wonderful buyer’s market almost overnight, to the detriment of the civil manufacturers.

When as a teenager with a new fresh private ticket you could buy a BT-13 for $450-$500, an AT-6 for $550, or a P-51 for $1,500 . . . life was good, darn good!

What we have not discussed but what was a very key ingredient was the overall state of the economy. The economy was in a huge transition from a buoyant wartime basis to a purely civil market. The economy was not strong, actually marginal at

best. While new and used cars sold exceptionally well in 1945, 1946 and 1947, auto sales reversed course and moved further down in 1948, 1949, and 1950 as well as into the first three to four years of the 1950s.

The economy in general did not support a robust recovery in small aircraft sales.

Let’s count our blessings! The year of 1946 and its more than 30,000 units of light plane production, plus the market absorbing untold thousands of smaller singleengine surplus military aircraft provided the light plane marketplace with an overwhelming abundance of available airplanes for the next 20-30 years.

It was a period of time that was unlike any other in the history of civil aviation. Huge production numbers and sales in 1946, followed by a complete collapse in the early spring

of 1947. While these economics were ongoing, the War Assets Administration was selling every possible surplus military airplane into the civil market almost regardless of price.

The buyer’s market was in full swing by the early part of 1947— to the delight of every pilot in the country, and to the detriment of the commercial light aircraft manufacturers and dealers.

It would take years to recover, which would begin in the early 1950s for most aircraft makes and models.

It was a pure huge boom and bust cycle, but if you were a buyer—it was an Alice in Wonderland world, a real life kid in a candy store environment!

We had been blessed to death with airplanes of all shapes and sizes, and thankfully many of those examples still provide countless hours of joy for the vintage flier.

PT-17 www.VintageAircraft.org

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Aristocrat Ron Tarrson’s treasured Spartan Sparky Barnes Sargent Shimmering in the sunshine dur ing AirVenture 2013, Ron Tarrson’s Spartan Executive reflected not only the faces of its admirers and the blue sky above, but the long-flying success of the Model 7W design. NC17662 (serial No. 28) was manufactured in March 1940 by the Spartan Air26

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

craft Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was destined to become the company’s executive transport, and notably, was never impressed by the military during World War II. Capt. Maxwell Balfour, a former Air Corps test pilot who then became Spartan’s sales manager and director of Spartan’s School of

Aeronautics, frequently flew this airplane on company business, including visits to Spartan’s civilian pilot training schools in Muskogee and Miami, Oklahoma.

Strong and Sleek The prototype, the Standard Seven, was designed in 1935 by

of Airlanes

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

Note the beautiful tapering lines of the Spartan 7W Executive.

39-year-old James Ford and was powered by a 285-hp Jacobs L-5. It was modified and improved from nose to tail, and manufacturing of the ensuing Model 7W began in 1936. With its streamlined form, this five-place cantilever low-wing cabin plane was in a class by itself and easily distinguished from its tube-and-fabric contemporaries.

Thirty-four Spartan 7W Execu-

tives, powered by the 400-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. SB, were manufactured from 1935 to 1940. They were purchased by affluent businesses and pilots, including Midwest oil, petroleum, and drilling companies; newspaper companies; a handful were exported to Mexico; and one went to King Ghazi of Iraq.

The all-metal Executive was designed with an eye to low mainte-

nance, enduring strength, striking appearance, and excellent performance. The fuselage was of semimonocoque construction, and the tapering, single-spar wings were composed of metal ribs and skin.

(All flight-control surfaces were fabric-covered steel structures.) Wing flaps were actuated by a vacuum pump, and a separate flap section under the fuselage was operated inwww.VintageAircraft.org

27

Lorraine Morris of Taildragger Aviation in Poplar Grove, Illinois, made the new leather interior.

dependently from the wing flaps.

The tail group was fully cantilever, and the tail wheel was fully swiveling. The retractable main gear had hydraulic brakes and were electrically operated. All three gear legs had Cleveland shock-absorbing struts. Standard equipment included folding rudder pedals on the right-hand side, seat belts, Grimes retractable landing light, and a Lux pressure fire extinguisher.

Touted in company advertising as 28

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

PHIL HIGH

The Spartan’s instrument panel – the original throw-over yoke was replaced with a dual yoke.

the “world’s most beautiful private plane, for the owner who seeks ‘individuality’ . . . the Spartan ‘Executive’ is the fulfillment of everything the discriminating man looks for in personal transportation: the exciting beauty of thoroughbred design . . . the luxury of ultra smart custombuilt interiors…the security of an all metal masterpiece equipped with every refinement that adds to performance and safety . . . flying ease that amazes even veteran airmen!”

It might be added that female pilots also enjoyed the Spartan’s stylish performance; serial No. 10 was flown to a fifth-place finish with an average speed of 196 mph in the 1939 Bendix Trophy race by Arlene Davis.

True to the literal interpretation of its name, the Spartan Executive offered a “matchless combination of luxury and thrift: according to records based on 800 hours’ flying per year, the total operating cost— including insurance, pilot, hangar,

fuel, depreciation at 25 percent per year, repairs, and maintenance— averaged only 12 cents per mile.”

Chain of Owners S p a r t a n A i rc ra f t C o m p a ny owned NC17662 for nearly three decades. Balfour flew the plane extensively and reportedly stated to aviation historian Joseph Juptner that he flew the Executive “for the company for over 20 years, and he loved every minute of it.”

The ship was sold to Spartan Aviation Incorporated in April 1968, and they sold it to the Spartan School of Aeronautics Incorporated in December 1971. They kept it for nearly five years and sold it to William Wright Jr. in July 1976.

The next owner was Quinn Boyd of Skyline Terrace of Tulsa, Oklahoma; he bought it in April 1977.

Boyd relocated to El Paso, Texas, in 1979, and the Spartan migrated south from its lifelong home in Tulsa to the Lone Star state. Boyd sold it to Ron Tarrson of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in August 2003.

Sweet Flying Machine Ron generously allowed his fr iend, K en Mor r is of Poplar

Grove, Illinois, to fly NC17662 to AirVenture. Ken, who first learned to fly in a Cessna 40 years ago and has flown six of the existing 7Ws including the one he used to own, was all smiles on the flightline just opposite the Vintage Hangar.

“The airplane has been in the process of being rebuilt over the last five years and is just now flying again. It’s a wonderful airplane, and it flies as well as it looks. I would love to say that you have to be a real strong he-man to fly it,” Ken says and chuckles, “but that isn’t true. My wife, Lorraine, and I had one for five years, and she flew it all the time. It’s a very honest airplane and light on the controls.

In fact, during formation flying it can be very pitch-sensitive if you get into a little turbulence. That’s due to the long arm of the yoke and the airplane being a little shortcoupled. It can wear you out, without having a place to rest your arm— so Lorraine made a small armrest for me, which mounts on the door.”

As with many antique airplanes, there are only brakes on the pilot’s side, and it’s well to have some comparable tailwheel experience before flying the 7W. Elaborating on

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

Tastefully tailored drapes adorn the windows.

The rudder, elevators, and ailerons are fabric covered.

the 7W’s flying characteristics, Ken shares, “One important aspect of flying the Spartan is knowing how to handle the P factor, because the prop is large and the engine produces a lot of torque. Crosswind handling isn’t too bad if you use good technique; ailerons are a must, and the wide gear helps, as does the low center of gravity. Some of the old-timers told me not to use the belly flap, because it blocks out the rudder on landing, after the tail comes down. But I didn’t find that to be true at all. NC17662 has been converted to electric flaps, so you can use partial flaps; it’s not ‘all or nothing’ like it was when they were vacuum-driven.”

Fuel and Performance Originally, NC17662’s fuel system was composed of two main tanks (64 gallons total), two auxiliary tanks (33 gallons total), and one 15-gallon header tank. “The header tank was used for takeoffs and landings,” recalls Ken, “because the only other fuel pump was an engine-driven fuel pump. It did have a manual wobble pump as well. But this 7W does not have a header tank anymore, so it carries www.VintageAircraft.org

29

Parked side by side - the Model 12W (NX21962) and the Model 7W (NC17662).

97 gallons of fuel total.”

Ken is impressed with the 7W’s performance, saying, “It was the Learjet of the 1930s. It truly is a 150-knot airplane—and it burns about 23 gph. It’s an honest fiveplace airplane and carries 100 pounds of baggage aft of the cabin.

There’s a ver y plush combination armrest/folding-seat assembly positioned between the back two seats, which accommodates a fifth passenger who can sit facing forward, so it doesn’t add that weight to the aft CG. Most of the 7Ws weigh around 3,200 pounds empty, and gross weight is 4,400 pounds — so you’ve got 1,200 pounds of useful load.”

Ta ke o f f s a re acco m p l i s h e d around 60 mph, or basically when the airplane is ready to fly. Coming in on final, Ken says, “Eighty mph over the fence is pretty good.

I shoot for tail-low landings, and with all of the flaps and gear down, it slows way down. When the tail comes down, you can’t see forward, at all. This one does have a steerable tail wheel, and that helps.”

Trunion Trouble As with many old airplanes, this 7W has had a few mishaps in its life, typically during landings. The first one was barely a month after it was manufactured, and the second in early 1945. Sometimes, history has a way of repeating it30

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

self—such as in March 2008, when Ron and Ken were shooting landings at Santa Fe. “Unfortunately, the airplane had a weak spot in the landing gear trunions,” explains Ron, “and from what I understand, most of the 7Ws have had to rebuild their landing gear at one time or another, because they gave way. Ken and I were out doing some touch-andgoes, and after one of the landings, we thought we blew a tire or something. The airplane went off the runway, and the centrifu-

gal force took out the other gear.

The NTSB came out and investigated, and we have all the metallurgical reports and photographs.

They clearly showed that there were some cracks in the [castaluminum] trunions.”

While the Spartan was down for repairs, new owner-produced trunions were fabricated, and other work included installing replacement skins for lower portions of the fuselage and wings. “Pat Horgan managed the required repair work, which skilled craftsmen per-

Specifications: Length

26 feet, 10 inches

Height

8 feet

Span

39 feet

Root chord

108 inches

Tip chord

54 inches

Tread

10 feet, 4 inches

Engine

400-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. SB

Weight empty

2,987 pounds

Useful load

1,413 pounds

Max payload

780 pounds with gas load of 68 gallons and oil load of 7 gallons

Gross weight

4,400 pounds –

Cruising speed

205 mph

Max speed

212 mph

Landing speed (with flaps)

63 mph

Stall speed (no flaps)

80 mph

Service ceiling

22,000 feet

Cruising range

950 miles

Rate of climb

1,460 fpm

formed,” shares Ron, “and we did have to contract some items out, but most of the metal work was done here at my own company, Santa Fe Aero Services.”

An engine overhaul was done by Covington Aircraft of Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Radial Engines Ltd. of Guthrie, Oklahoma, performed inspections as the overhaul progressed and took delivery of the engine when it was finished. “We assembled the firewall-forward portion in our shop,” says Radial Engines owner Steve Curry, “and fabricated a new stainless exhaust system as well.”

Additionally, the downtime offered a good opportunity to spruce up the Spartan’s cabin. Lorraine Morris (Taildrag ger Aviation) made the new burgundy leather interior by using the old upholstery as patterns. “She did that in Illinois, while the Spartan was in Santa Fe, so you can imagine the challenges she encountered during the process,” shares her husband, adding, “so she did what she could, and then when I flew the airplane to our place just before AirVenture, she spent a couple of days doing the trim work and details that couldn’t be done long-distance.”

Mods Throughout its history, this 7W has received many modifications— ranging from parachute-style seats and spinners to radio and navigation equipment—and even the fuel system. Today it has an electric fuel boost pump, a dual-control column (instead of the original throw-over style control), and modern radios and antennas.

“We found a way to get a Garmin 530 in the panel, so we could have access to weather,” shares Ron, elaborating, “I’m a firm believer in preserving antique air-

“The Executive is truly an achievement of ruggedness combined with high performance and beautiful appointments. … Probably one of the most outstanding features of the Executive is the basic structural design. It has an internal structure of steel tubing in both fuselage and wings in addition to regular bulkheads, stringers, and external skin.”

—Spartan Aircraft advertising planes, but having said that, safety is primary. In order to navigate today’s airspace and weather, having a GPS/nav/comm like that and the capability of getting weather data through NEXRAD is invaluable.”

Tip Tanks A no t her mo d i f ic at ion t h at NC17662 received in years past were tip tanks. As unusual as that may sound, tip tanks were indeed installed on this Spartan.

The airplane had an experimental (research and development) airworthiness certificate for several years during the mid-1950s.

The aircraft records reveal a letter d ated Febr uar y 18, 1955, from Spartan Aircraft to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Civil Aeron aut ic s A d mi n i s t rat ion , which stated: “In order to continue experimentation on aircraft model Spartan 7W, we request that the experimental certificate be renewed. The certificate was issued due to the modification of the aircraft by adding a 39 gallon wing tip fuel tank to each wing and altering the fuel system to accommodate same. A flutter analysis is being conducted by a firm other than Spartan. When this is complete, the experiment will be completed. Therefore, the time required for this experimental period has not been determined.”

Another letter dated March 21,

1957, stated: “It is requested that an experimental certificate for a period of 3 (three) months be issued for this aircraft as it is to be used for research and development. This airplane is currently certificated as experimental. . . .

The fuel flow check and airworthiness certification will necessitate further fight tests.”

The experimental certificate expired October 1958, but even today, says Ron, “you can still see the plumbing inside the wings for those tip tanks when you remove the wingtips.”

Interestingly, the postwar nosewheel Spartan 12W also had tip tanks installed at one time. Only one 12W was built, and Ken was fortunate to have the opportunity to fly it. “I flew the Spartan 12W from Bishop, California, to Tulsa, Oklahoma,” he recalls, “to bring it to the Air and Space Museum, where it remains today. It was very smooth on the controls and flew beautifully.”

Flying Into the Future Now that Ron’s treasured Spartan is flying again, he plans to keep it and fly it as long as possible. “It’s a pleasure to fly because it’s so solid, responsive, and it’s a 200-mph airplane. Plus, it’s probably one of the only antique airplanes that my wife really enjoys flying in,” he comments. Laughing good-naturedly he elaborates, “After we took it to Oswww.VintageAircraft.org

31

PHIL HIGH

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

Sleek and strong, the Spartan was dubbed “The Aristocrat of the Airlanes” in company advertising.

PHIL HIGH

we landed in Tulsa, we couldn’t have been on the ground more than 10 minutes when this whole barrage of people came running from the far

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

hkosh the first time, we flew it from there to Chicago Midway, refueled, then flew it from Midway to Tulsa on our way back to Santa Fe. When

The burgundy trim scheme is original.

34

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

end of the field, just to see the plane!

We didn’t realize it at the time, but that’s where the Spartan School of Aeronautics is. It took us about two hours to unload everything from the airplane, because the students and instructors were gathered all around it. Some of the maintenance instructors remembered working on that airplane in the factory back in the 1950s and 1960s. Landing there was just an incredible experience.”

As of late 2013, NC17662’s total time is in the neighborhood of 9,440 hours. Even considering its downtime, that comes out to an average of 129 hours a year for this 73-year-old beauty. She’s a beauty who doesn’t show her age and is still quite capable of teaching a few lessons to those who fly her. Ron smiles when he says, “The airplane has taught me respect for focusing on flying. It’s a hand-flown airplane and demands your attention.

That’s not to say that it’s squirrelly in any way, but you just want to do everything right to preserve it and keep it flying.”

Ron Tarrson started flying in 1974 at Chicago Midway Airport; it was something he’d wanted to do since he was a boy. “I’ve always had my head up in the clouds, ever since I was a kid. I just had a burning desire to fly, and Cessna was running those special offers of ‘come and get a $5 ride’ at a flight school. And I did! That was it,” Ron says and smiles, adding, “I was hooked. I soloed a Cessna 152 at Midway airport, and it was just really great. I was 35, and I’d recently finished an MBA program and was working full-time. I was trying to fly three days a week, and it was quite an ordeal to make time to be at the airport, but it was fun and I had a passion for it. Then I went on to do my instrument and multiengine rating, all at Midway airport.”

Ron bought his first airplane in 1978. “It was a brand new Cessna TR-182—the turbo retractable 182—and it had RNAV capability,” he recalls with a chuckle, “which was really slick back then! That same year, I lived part-time in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where I owned a windpowered radio station—and that’s where I first met the Poberezny family. Paul had a summer home in Steamboat.”

Six years later, Ron’s boyhood interest with vintagetype airplanes turned into a hands-on experience during the EAA fly-in at Oshkosh. That’s when he and his wife saw the Waco Classic Aircraft and tried one on for size by climbing into it. “That was it—I ordered one. It was very appealing,” he says, “and I kept it at Midway.

Here was this biplane, and by then, the jets had already started operations there!”

But Ron really became intrigued with antique airplanes when he attended an American Waco Club fly-in at Creve Coeur, Missouri. He discovered that a 1939 Waco ARE (NC20953), which had once been owned by the New York Daily News, was available for purchase. “It was a mess when I bought it, and it took me about 10 years and four different restorers to help put it back together the right way,” shares Ron, adding, “eventually, I took it to Centennial Aircraft Services in Battle Creek, Michigan, where my good friend Pat Horgan supervised the restoration.”

Ron flew the cabin Waco for seven years before donating it to the EAA AirVenture Museum. “The Wacos ARE really what got me into the antique airplanes,” recounts Ron, elaborating, “that, and reading the aviation magazines when I was growing up in the 1940s. I kind of developed my own list of airplanes that were appealing, and the Spartan was one of them. Every time we’d go to Oshkosh, a few Spartans would be there. And when a Spartan Executive was advertised for sale in Trade-A-Plane, we called the owner, Quinn Boyd, and talked with him. Soon we were flying down to El Paso, Texas, to meet him and see the airplane, which he had painted in black and yellow trim colors with the Spartan black cat on the rudder.

We checked the airplane over carefully, arrived at a price,

SALLY KELLER

Head in the Clouds

Ron Tarrson at AirVenture Oshkosh 2006.

and the next day Ken and Lorraine Morris flew the airplane to Battle Creek, Michigan. That’s where I had it restored to the original burgundy trim scheme—just the way it was when Spartan owned it.”

Fresh out of restoration, NC17662 was simply stunning on the flightline. It was awarded Antique Grand Champion at Sun ’n Fun in 2005, as well as receiving the Bronze Age (1937-1941) award at AirVenture that summer. At AirVenture 2013, this elegant Spartan Executive was still drawing crowds of admirers.

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www.VintageAircraft.org

35

Sole Survivor

The Jackson/Ricciotti S3HD Waco Budd Davisson

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

T

here is something magnetic about a biplane fighter, or any biplane that has a military vibe. Anyone with a feeling for vintage aircraft simply can’t walk by them on the f lightline without visually studying their lines on the way past.

Take the Waco ZPF -6 type.

The only difference between them and the other Waco open biplanes is the sliding birdcage canopy. These airplanes were never intended for the militar y, b ut their c ano py g ives them “ that ” look . So when John Ricciotti, who had become an antique aircraft owner only days earlier, pulled into the front row in the antique area at Oshkosh ’13 in the rarest of the rare, a Waco S3HD, a lot of heads snapped around. Not only did Waco originally envision this sliding-canopy bird as being a gun-toting, honest-to-goodness military airplane, it’s the sole survivor of the breed.

Conceived as a multipurpose military airplane, the type saw limited use in Cuba and Central America, the first one, however, was built for a wealthy sportsman pilot. www.VintageAircraft.org

37

All S3HD’S except this one had fittings on the lower wings for bomb racks and Browning .30 caliber machine guns.

Those flightline warriors who have been attending Oshkosh for a few decades also gravitated to the S3HD, because it’s actually a fairly famous airplane. It had been nearly 20 years since N14048 had been seen on the EAA grounds, but it made its mark on those who saw it: its militaresque, testosteronedriven image is difficult to forget.

And, until John talked Dick Jackson out of it, it was Dick’s signature dream antique in a long series of outstanding airplanes.

If Waco Aircraft Company is remembered for nothing else, it should be for its unbelievable perseverance. Beginning just before the crash of ’29 put the country on its knees, this little company just kept on keepin’ on. The world of the Waco during that period 38

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

was one in which imagination, creativity, and dogged determination saw it develop, certify, and produce new models as if they were cookies. It figured that inventive, ne w products would always catch at least a few customers that wanted (and could afford) the newest and the greatest, so it were continually developing new models that it thought would satisfy yet another marketing niche. And that’s where the S3HD came from: the niche was the military, and that’s what guided the appearance of the S3HD. The aircraft was envisioned as a multiuse military flying machine that would be both a trainer and an armed ground support bird.

So, it was equipped to drop small bombs and carry one or two wing-

Pupae and John Ricciotti plan on taking their new airplane to as many fly-ins as possible.

mounted Browning .30-caliber machine guns. It also had provisions for a machine gunner in the back seat. The rear part of the canopy would slide forward out of the way.

The only customers for the design turned out to be South and Central American air forces, including Brazil, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Cuba—all of which were in the process of creating air forces.

A dozen aircraft were built and delivered, but the first one was built for a private customer, sportsman pilot Miles H. Vernon, who took delivery in 1934. His address was listed as 1 Wall St., New York, but little is known about him or his flight time in that airplane. It is indicative of his position that he had the financial capability to approach the factory for a “special” airplane,

Every strut/wire intersection is tightly faired, so drag is reduced.

Although a taildragger, John says it is honest and easy to land.

The big tires iron out any bumps.

The legendary WACO logo shares space with reminders of fun times

The visibility of the airplane is much better than expected. The wing gets thin in the middle and the center pylon is hidden by the center canopy frame.

the S3HD being the result. This was the heart of the Depression and the aircraft had to have been expensive, so apparently he was well above the financial chaos that was gripping the rest of the country. The “D” spent its infancy and postwar years at the Long Island

Aviation Country Club in Hicksville, Long Island, New York.

It has been reported that in 1938 Waco borrowed NC14048 for Len Povey to take to Cuba to demonstrate to President Fulgencio Batista. As the result of that, Cuba bought two “D’s.”

Immediately after World War II, the aircraft industry took a hard left turn and a new breed of aircraft was born. It is ironic that the last 20 or so Staggerwings were being produced right alongside the shape-of-things-to-come, the soon-to-be-legendary Beech www.VintageAircraft.org

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John reports the aircraft’s fairly fast economic cruise of 145 knots, combined with its enormous 106 gallons of fuel, makes it a good cross-country machine.

The voluptuous aluminum cowling hearkens back to an era when craftsmanship was assumed.

Bonanza. Rag and tube were giving way to sheet metal, and biplanes were a thing of the past. So, no matter how heroic it looked, NC14048 found itself moving from foster home to foster home. It was no longer an icon but just another “old” airplane. And, when an airplane reaches that level, it’s just a short step to being a resident of the back tie-down line, ravaged by the weather and creepy-crawlies that make it their home. Photos of the aircraft at that time show it disassembled and its mouse-infested wings resting against the back wall of a hangar.

The sole S3HD owes most of its 40

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survival to Dick Jackson of Rochester, New Hampshire, and a series of owners who recognized its unique place in history. Dick had tried to buy it several times, as it passed from owner to owner, and he finally succeeded in the mid’60s. Dick was one of the more serious antique aircraft restorers during a time when the whole antique movement was just beginning to take hold. He is reputed to have restored something like 10 Wacos, in addition to a number of other aircraft including an S-39 Sikorsky amphibian.

Dick finally found N14048 for sale only two years after a fresh

restoration by restorer Ernie Webb of North Carolina. Coincidentally, Dick had actually sold Webb the military-grade 120-pound fabric, which was treated at his mill under a government contract. Normal fabric was of a much lower grade. At the time, he had no idea he would eventually get the fabric back on the airplane that would be his favorite for the next 47 years.

Dick believed in flying his airplanes, so after purchasing it from owner John Church, who had financed the Webb restoration, the S3HD became a regular in Northeast fly-ins and attended a large number of Waco fly-ins in the Midwest as well as Blakesburg, Broadhead, Sun ’n Fun, and Oshkosh.

Dick put more than 750 hours on the airplane.

The current owner, John Ricciotti, of Barrington, New Hampshire, had lusted after the S3HD almost as long as Dick did before he bought it. Living not far from Rochester, New Hampshire’s Skyhaven Airport, where the airplane was hangared, John had spent a lot of time around Dick and his many airplanes. His flying background is rooted in the same general area.

“My dad,” John says, “had been a flight engineer/gunner in B-17s during WWII and worked as a mechanic for the airlines, so I’ve been around airplanes all my life.

I started flying when I was 17 at aerobatic champion Mike Gou-

lian’s father’s flight school in Massachusetts. I drifted into vintage airplanes almost immediately after getting a job at Hampton Airfield in Hampton, New Hampshire, teaching in Cubs, Champs, and Cessna 170s. Even after I started flying for the airlines, I continued flying Cubs and Champs, eventually owning a Taylorcraft BC-12D. I’ve owned that for five years and have had it at Oshkosh three times.”

He says, “During most of my adult life, I’ve been hanging around Dick Jackson, who has been a real inspiration. He learned to fly in ’43, when he had to take two buses to get to an airport outside of the coastal defense zone, where he could log 30 minutes in a Taylor-

craft once a month. Eventually, he owned a textile fabric processing mill, so when he started buying antique airplanes, it was only natural that he’d lean towards rag and tube. This was when old airplanes weren’t worth much, and there were more of them around.

“The S3HD was last restored in ’64 and finished in military-grade cotton and dope. The engine, a P&W R-985 out of a Navy DGA15, replaced the original greasedrocker R-985 at some point, long before Dick got it. It was majored in ’82 but still runs great. The original engine was serial No. 98 of the 39,000-plus 985s built. On the way to Oshkosh, I only burned 3 quarts of oil, which isn’t even a www.VintageAircraft.org

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quart an hour. Further, that militar y cotton, at 50 percent higher strength than the fabric of the period, combined with Dick Jackson’s TLC, explains why the ‘D’ hasn’t failed a punch test in the l a st 49 years.”

John says he didn’t have a longrange plan to own the S3HD, even though he was wildly attracted to it. However, things changed when Dick started making comments about selling some of his airplanes.

“I couldn’t really afford the airplane,” John says, “ but almost as a whim, I asked him if he’d sell it . I was sur pr ised when he said yes. So I right then decided that my kids’ inheritance was going to be that air plane. Dick and I worked out a price, and suddenly I was the proud owner of what has to be one o f t h e m o s t e xc i ting airplanes I’d ever seen. I couldn’t believe it!”

Of course, buying an airplane is one thing. Learning to fly it is another. Fortunately, John had a fair amount of tailwheel time, but none of it was in anything remotely resembling the big Waco. This was because there are very few airplanes that resemble the S3HD. It is much larger than most biplanes of the era and had much higher performance numbers. It wasn’t even close to John’s Taylorcraft.

feet, when the engine suddenly quit cold. I dropped the nose and landed on what was left of the runway and that was my checkout. The whole thing.

The fuel sight gauge didn’t read even close to right in the threepoint attitude, and I had it on the wrong tank. So, Dick got out, we pumped some gas, and he said, ‘ You’re good to go.’ Just like that! So I switched tanks and went out and did three landings, all of them fairly good. In total, I spent an hour and a half in the pattern and left for Oshkosh shortly thereafter. W hen I was flying at Oshkosh, I had 10.5 hours and 12 l andings in the airplane. But, oddly enough, I was totally comfortable in it.”

When walking around the airplane it’s easy to be intimidated by its size, power, and historical significance. W hen you climb up into the cockpit, which requires a specific dance sequence, you’re exposed to an unexpected sensation concerning the cockpit and its visibility. With the wing mounted so low over the fuselage and a pylon right in front of the windshield, it’s easy to assume that the airplane is going to be blind in many areas, but amazingly it isn’t. This is because the wing is mounted at the perfect height. It thins as it comes toward the center and almost disappears.

“Dick and I worked out a price, and suddenly I was the proud owner of what has to be one of the most exciting airplanes I’d ever seen.”

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“I was determined to take the airplane to Oshkosh ’13, and I realized the airplane might be more than I could handle, although I did fly DC-3s for a short time early in my airline career. Still, when I saddled up with Dick, I had no idea how bizarre my checkout was to be.

“I powered up,” he says “and the airplane literally leapt out from under me, and it felt as if we were off the ground in only a few hundred feet. We were at about 100

You aren’t aware that it is there, because you can see over and under it without even thinking about it. Plus you’re sitting so high in the fuselage that the ground visibility is far better than that afforded by the majority of taildraggers. And the pylon that’s directly in front of the pilot? It is right in front of the divider in the windscreen, so you have to actually look for it to know it’s there.

John says, “On the first flight it was obvious that this was an incredibly honest airplane, but I wasn’t prepared for the performance. I assumed it would be sort of Stearman-like, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. With that power and big prop, it really gets with the program when the throttle comes up. That also causes a ton of gyroscopic precession when the tail comes up, so you have to be right there with the right rudder.

It accelerates so fast and the wings are so lightly loaded, that it is off the ground instantly. I mean right now! It’s great!

“At max takeoff power, which is 34 inches of manifold pressure and 2,200 rpm, which I can hold for only five minutes, it’s not unusual to see 3,000 fpm! And being fully loaded doesn’t change that number much at all. Plus, even with all the tanks full—106 gallons—it’s still impossible to load the airplane to gross weight. It was designed to carry all sorts of ordnance, so in civilian trim you’d have to be carrying lead ingots to get up to that weight.

“Cruise settings are 28 inches and 1,800 rpm, which give about 145 knots true airspeed (TAS) at about 22 gallons per hour with aggressive leaning.

“The ailerons feel stiff, which is typical for airplanes of this vintage, but the roll rate is actually quite high. Nothing at all like most

biplanes of the same era.

“I fly downwind at 90-100 mph.

I hold 85 on final and carry the speed well down into ground effect because it bleeds off speed so quickly in the flare. I’ve landed it in some fairly stiff crosswinds, and it’s just as honest there as it is with the wind on the nose. It stays on one wheel easily and is nowhere near the handful you’d expect.”

Now that the shock of actually owning his dream airplane has begun to wear off, John has had time to reflect on how the airplane fits into his life.

“I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to take care of the S3HD. Fortunately, my kids like history and they don’t mind that this is their inheritance. And they agree that the airplane is meant to stay in the family. At the same time, I have exactly the same attitude about the

airplane that Dick has always had about his airplanes. He says you should enjoy them and share them.

And that’s exactly what we’re doing with this one.

“My wife, Pupae, and I brought the ‘D’ to the AAA meet in Blakesburg, Iowa, this year. We took four lucky Young Eagles for rides, which made their day. And mine, too. It was a great trip out and back, and the ‘D’ makes the trip to Iowa in only one day. Phenomenal!”

It’s interesting to see how some historical aircraft become dusty hangar artifacts to be periodically washed and waxed. Others spend an inordinate amount of time in their element, showing how flight looked back in the day, and that’s going to be the case with John Ricciotti and his new airplane. Dick Jackson couldn’t have sent it to a better home.

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AirVenture 2013 Part II

PICTORIAL 44

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PHIL HIGH

DAVID K. WITTY

DENNIS BIELA

Cessna 140

DAVID K. WITTY

Grumman Albatross

600 Horsepower de Havilland Beaver

WACO YOC

Pre-War Aeronca Chief

DAVID K. WITTY

PHIL HIGH

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de Havilland Puss Moth

PHIL HIGH

PHIL HIGH

Travelair 46

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Stinson SR-5

MICHAELKELLYPHOTOGRAPHY@GMAIL.COM

DAVID K. WITTY

DAVID K. WITTY

Spartan Executive

DAVID K. WITTY

Howard 500 www.VintageAircraft.org

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DAVID K. WITTY DAVID K. WITTY

DENNIS BIELA

DAVID K. WITTY

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

DAVID K. WITTY

DAVID K. WITTY

Stinson SR-5

PHIL HIGH

LAURIE GOOSEN

DAVID K. WITY

Red Baron Aerobatic Team Stearman

Row of Howard DGAs

LAURIE GOOSEN

CRAIG VANDERKOLK

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One and only Monosport.

LAURIE GOOSEN

DAVID K. WITTY

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PHIL HIGH

CRAIG VANDERKOLK

DON PARSONS

Meyers 200

Cessna 195

Walking the Line More from Sparky’s 2013 AirVenture Notebook photos and captions by Sparky Barnes Sargent

N7557B is a 1957 Aeronca 7FC Tri-Traveler with a 90-hp Continental engine. It’s owned by Michael Tovani of Windsor, California, and it received the Preservation Award Outstanding in Type this year.

Glenn Krafcik of Hinckley, Ohio, owns this handsome 1948 Ryan Navion. N4411K represented its type very well; it was selected as Outstanding Navion (Small Plaque).

NC11767 is a 1935 Monocoupe 90A, and according to the FAA Registry, it’s powered by a Lambert R-266 engine and owned by Trevor Niemyjski of Franksville, Wisconsin

N7632E is an eye-catching 1959 Bellanca 14-19-3 Cruisair, registered to Bedrock Aero of Zanesville, Ohio.

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N725FR was open for display in the Round Engine This 1943 Stinson Vultee V-77 is powered by a Rodeo area. This 1940 Boeing A75 is powered by a 300-hp Lycoming R-680. NC70057 is registered to Continental W-670 series engine and is registered to Amanda Hoffpauir of Pattison, Texas. The Stinson Frank Iacovelli of Buffalo Grove, Illinois cruises at 120 mph and lands around 70 to 75 mph.

This 1939 Cabin Waco ARE has the logo “The News—New York’s Picture Newspaper” on its fuselage.

NC20953 is powered by a Jacobs L6 engine and is registered to the EAA Aviation Foundation Inc.

This handsome 1936 Cabin Waco YKS-6 is owned by Jim and Eileen Wilson of Cross, South Carolina. NC16598 is powered by a 275-hp Jacobs and cruises at 120 mph.

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Timothy Bickford of Limington, Maine, worked on and off for numerous years to restore this grand 1927 Travel Air 4000. NC6005 received the Golden Age (1918 1927) Champion Bronze Lindy award.

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Cub Nirvana

Float Flying

Floatplane flying was not one of my objectives when my interest in flying started at a very young age. With an interest in boating and living on the water, it is not surprising that float flying sort of worked its way into the equation the older I got.

A couple of years ago, the Fond du Lac EAA chapter asked me to do a presentation on seaplane flying. At first I thought I could do that, but after thinking about it for a while, I asked myself what I

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could talk about for any length of time that would hold their interest. Then I thought we all have the same passion for aviation, and, if they were like me, that passion runs deep. I believe one’s aviation interests can go in many different directions. Some of us are involved in the different aspects of aviation but don’t fly; others have gotten their licenses and made flying a living, and others are recreational fliers. I fall into the last category but added is my passion for working on airplanes, too. Add to that the

uniqueness of float flying and there you have it. But this type of flying can be expensive so I had to make it manageable for me, which I think is where a lot of recreational pilots fit. Hopefully by the end of this article, there are more of you who may want to give it a try.

I did not come from an aviation family, so growing up I had to fuel my aviation fire by building model airplanes and sitting in our front yard watching F-102 and F-89 Air Force and Air Guard planes fly over our house. We lived about 5 miles

Mike Butler

Float flying fanatic Mike Butler

south, in line with 36, at Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin.

My mother wasn’t happy with my interest in airplanes. She was fine with it as long as I didn’t go up in one. Two things happened to her that formed that opinion.

First, she was in an accident while in high school. She and a friend went up in a biplane during a county fair, and the engine quit on takeoff and they crashed. Mom broke her arm, which pretty much solidified her opinion of aviation.

Up until two years ago, I thought

t h at w a s t h e o n l y t h i n g t h at soured her on f lying, but there was more. During the restoration process of a New Standard D-29 I did a lot of research on the plane. I gathered the history of each plane built by ordering all the records from the FAA. There were only about 30 built so it was not a big expense. There were two that were sold to the Manitowoc Air Service in 1930. Since Manitowoc is only about an hour from Oshkosh, I called them to see if they had any history on a Frank Shoblaska who ran the operation during the ’20s and ’30s. They did not, but did give me his son’s name and phone number. I called Clark to see if he had any history on the two planes that his father purchased in 1930.

He didn’t know of those specific planes, but he stated that he had lots of pictures and invited me to come over and have a look. I did, and boy was I in for a surprise. He had a whole album of photos but none of the D-29.

As I was looking through the album, I saw photos of his dad with Steve Wittman. Apparently they were pretty good friends. At the end of the album, there was a newspaper article that surprised me. It indicated that his father was killed in a plane crash doing aerobatics in Livingston, Wisconsin, in 1936. What surprised me was that my mother grew up there.

I told Clark what a small world it was. The next day, on my way back from the Grass Roots Fly-in in Brodhead, I stopped by to see my mom. I mentioned the meeting with Clark Shoblaska and where his father was killed. She looked at me and said she was there and saw the crash. It happened on my great grandfather’s farm right in front of her. I now fully understand why my mother did not want me flying.

Boating was another interest I had starting early on. My dad and I built a hydroplane that I used to hand cart to the lake which was about four blocks from our house.

After high school, I even took up racing boats for several years. I was also an avid ice boater during the ’60s and ’70s so I did have an outlet besides aviation to keep me busy.

I got my first ride in a plane while in the Wisconsin Air Guard in 1970. My father ran a local branch bank, where the servicemen did their banking, on Truax Field so he knew a lot of the personnel there.

I had just gotten back from basic training, and he arranged for me to get a ride in one of the TF-102s. An F102! Boy, was I excited! But, on the day I was supposed to get the ride, the one on the field was down with a problem, and the other was away so I was moved to one of the T-33s based there. I was let down by not being able to go in the 102, but the T-33 was a thrill for a first time ride. www.VintageAircraft.org

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Ever ything changed in 1975 when I started a new job in Oshkosh moving from Madison. That job involved a lot of travel so I wasn’t able to spend much time at the fly-in for several years. I did take a few trips to the museum in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. But, by 1978, I found the time to get my private license and even worked on my commercial/instrument for a while. That was short-lived when I saw the Sonerais lined up during the 1980 fly-in. I had to have one and started building one shortly after that. While building the Sonerai, I received my tailwheel endorsement in an Aeronca Chief that the local Explorer Scouts owned at the time. I finished the Sonerai in 1982 and showed it at the ’82 convention.

That fall I was getting ready to fly it and was doing some taxi testing, and my lack of any real experience with tailwheel aircraft showed up here. I only had five hours at that time. I ended up running it off the runway and bending the gear.

I fixed it and had the pleasure of 56

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John Monnett giving it the first test hop. During the repair process, the Aeronca Chief I received my tailwheel endorsement in came up for sale, and I purchased it to build some tailwheel time before I flew the Sonerai. I liked flying it so much that I ended up selling the Sonerai and buying an Aeronca Champ to restore. I was also involved in the restoration of Bonzo for EAA in 1983.

In 1977 my wife, Denise, and I purchased a house on Lake Winnebago and have been living on the lake since. With my interest in aviation and boating I started to think more of float flying, but just didn’t think it was an option keeping a plane on the shoreline of Lake Winnebago. The quickchanging water conditions where you can go from glassy water to 2-foot rollers in minutes could leave you no place close to land. In the mid ’80s, while working on the restoration of a 1930 Kreider Reisner KR-21, I purchased a J-3 to fly while working on the KR-21. I always spent time at the seaplane

base every year and happened to be there just as a J-3 was taking off in very rough water. I saw how he used the shoreline for protection from the wind and then landed it in some pretty calm water. That got me thinking that maybe a floatplane on Lake Winnebago is a possibility! About this time, I got my first floatplane ride with Norm Peterson in his 90-hp J-3. We got to talking afterward, and he said he had a set of old wooden Wollam floats set up for a J-3. We worked a trade for some engine parts I had, and I thought I was on my way to getting my J-3 on floats.

I rebuilt the floats and was ready to put the birch plywood skins on when things started to unravel.

The Cub had cotton fabric on it which didn’t pass inspection, I was now ready to rebuild the Kinner engine for my KR-21, and the floats needed skin. All of which costs money and lots of it. So I had to decide what I wanted to do. It came down to selling the Cub and keeping the KR-21. I did keep the floats thinking someday, down the road,

I may get another Cub. Thinking back on this I find it hard to believe I was able to work on the KR-21, travel for work, maintain the Cub, and still find time to rebuild the floats. All of that, plus trying to help Denise raise two girls.

Things proceeded along at a leisurely pace for a couple more years.

I had Al Ball rebuild the Kinner, got everything but the wings covered and painted on the KR-21, and then had a life-altering experience that forced me to sell the KR-21 before it was finished. Something I regret to this day. I sold it to Jack T iffany who brou g ht it back to Oshkosh in 1998 and was awarded a Bronze Lindy. Jack also brought the Pitcairn PA-18 autogyro to Oshkosh in 2009. Unfortunately, Jack passed away last year.

In the late ’90s a close friend, John Novotny, and I purchased a Champ and a 1930 New Standard D-29A. The Champ to fly, and the Standard to restore. But the bug to own a floatplane still hung in the wings. So in 2003 John and I divided up our holdings. He got the Champ, I got the New Standard, and I purchased a J-3 on floats. I saw an ad in Barnstormers for the Cub, but it was in Canada.

What I liked about it was that it was configured the way I wanted it. It had a C75-12 with a starter, new seaplane prop, 1320 floats, and even a left-hand flip window.

Obviously not standard equipment on the J-3. So Denise and I took a drive to Canada to have a look.

It was pretty rough and was not a hangar queen. It took convincing but when we got home I called the owner and said I would take it. He agreed to fly it down, and I got permission to let him land at the EAA Seaplane Base so I could take the wings off and take it to my hangar on Wittman field. When he got there, I was quite impressed at

how he managed to get the gear, wheels, and an extra 6-gallon gas can in the plane with him.

We got the plane to the airport and were going over it so we could get it relicensed here in the U.S. It didn’t take too long to see that it wasn’t going to make it. I found some rusted tubes so I decided to take it apart and restore it. Randy Novak and Ken Appleby were instrumental with advice, technical help, and getting all the paperwork in order. I couldn’t have done it without their expertise. The restoration took three years. I did convert the engine to a C85-12. I also got my float rating at Jack Brown’s in Florida during Thanksgiving weekend in 2003.

Ken handled the first flight in June of 2006 and flew it for half an hour, then turned it over to me. I put about 10 hours on it, then in August installed the floats, loaded it on a trailer, borrowed from John Monnett, and towed it over to Lake Winnebago by the South Side Ice Yacht

the point in our bay and had to taxi for 20 minutes in the rough water to our house. All I can say is it was good rough water taxi practice.

The first time we loaded it on my ramp it was clear that was not going to work very well. A quick modification and we were in business.

The dolly which the plane sat on was constructed by my good friend John Novotny based off the type used at Jack Brown’s. The ramp that the dolly rolled up on was built up from some old aluminum channel (12-by-6 feet) that another good friend donated to the cause.

That first summer the winching was done, by hand, with just a trailer winch. That was getting old real quick. Then another neighbor saw my plight and came over and offered up an electric gearbox he was going to use on his boat hoist but never did. I welded up a cable drum, attached a gear and chain, purchased a remote switch assembly from the local Fleet Farm, used on outside lighting or garage doors,

The Cub on its home made dolly.

Club. I hadn’t flown floats for a couple of years, so Mark Wrasse agreed to fly with me to my house. That in itself was interesting as the wind picked up while we were flying, and we had to land on the leeward side of

and I ended up with a perfect ramp assembly. I think I had less than $500 invested. It is amazing what you can come up with, with a little ingenuity and the help of friends.

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the rest of the year with the last flight on December 1. I had always planned on changing the floats at my house by modifying my utility trailer to lift the plane. I had helped J.T. Meidel and Scott Guyette change their floats a few times using Al Zibel’s lift, which was bigger than I needed but it helped me in designing mine.

I had lots of help the first time we were going to change to the gear,

the floats, but with the right ladder and a couple of custom-made poles it takes about 10 minutes to get them off and about 30 minutes to put back on depending on the wind.

It is worth the $1,700 for the covers as the plane is still in really good shape. The whole preflight is about 45 minutes to an hour. Not too bad considering if it was in my hangar it would be a 20-minute drive, pull the plane out, preflight, and you’re

too, 8 miles wide and 30 miles long.

Because of my location on the lake, it is difficult to dock it without getting in the water. You can take off without getting wet, but I have only been able to get it on the dolly twice without getting wet. Both times were in no wind conditions and no boat traffic. If you have a shallow sandy bottom, it would be much easier. Wetsuit is a must in the spring and fall.

To sum it up: It is possible to manage a f loatplane economically with a little planning and ingenuity with the reward of adding that little bit of uniqueness of float flying in the summer and ski flying in the winter. I hope to continue this routine until I’m 70, which gives me nine years.

By then I’ll have to decide if I can still handle the conversions each spring and fall. I do have grandkids that by then will be in their teens, so I may have lots of help, which may allow me to extend it a little longer. Until then I will just

but it really wasn’t needed because it went pretty smooth. I have gotten it to the point where two guys can get it done with no problem. I have ended up doing it myself on a few occasions. I just purchased my second set of Bruce’s Custom Covers, most of the first set lasted seven years, so the plane is fully covered when not in use. It is a little work getting them on and off with

looking at about 35 to 40 minutes so the advantage goes to keeping the plane at home and being able to look at it whenever I want. It is also nice that I can work on the projects in the garage and walk out and fly whenever the weather permits. Sort of like having your own landing strip. This way I have the best of my two worlds, flying and boating, all wrapped in one. The runway is nice

have to suck it up and enjoy this little bit of heaven.

One parting comment that I have to add: We all have our supporters who know how much flying means to us, but I know that without the support of my entire family this passion would not be as fulfilling as it is for me. They, especially my wife, let me get away with way too much while I pursue the dream.

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The Vintage Mechanic ROBERT G. LOCK

Aircraft covering, part 2—structural aluminum The word from the FAA is “continued airworthiness,” and so we will discuss some of the issues here and now. The first installment deals with aluminum and its application to primary structures.

First, let us review airworthiness design philosophy from the early years. All early aircraft were designed to “Safe Life” standards. To understand just what this represented, one has to visualize an aircraft being designed in a sterile environment, with no fatigue, corrosion, or structural degradation of any kind due to age. The FAA’s definition of Safe Life means, “The structure has been evaluated to be able to withstand the repeated loads of variable magnitude expected during its service life, without detectable cracks.” In other words, thou shalt have no cyclic fatigue, no corrosion, and no environmental degradation of structure. And service life was never determined or specified. Now, more than 50 years later, one has to ask, is the structure still in this sterile design condition? The answer most likely is “not really.” Some questions are: 1) How many flight cycles on aluminum structure before it weakens?

2) How much corrosion can be present in aluminum structure before it weakens?

3) Has there been a corrosion prevention program applied to the aircraft?

4) Has the aircraft been operated in a corrosive environment?

5) How can an aircraft be maintained to stay in its original condition as it left the factory?

These are interesting questions to ponder, but the condition of the aircraft is determined by an A&P mechanic and/or an IA mechanic each time a 100-hour or annual inspection is conducted. We all know that most early airplanes were way overdesigned for strength, mainly because there was little engineering or wind tunnel test data available. So early designers copied each other, which is primarily why most all early biplanes essentially look the same, both in size and configuration.

So let’s explore some issues that will cause discussion and learning to take place on the subject of continued airworthiness.

Early aircraft were primarily constructed of wood because much was known about the material and it was easy to obtain in large quantities. As aluminum was refined and alloyed, a unique material became available to fabricate aircraft structure. However, it was corrosive, especially when alloyed with other elements to produce a stronger lighter structural material. Illustration 1 shows the manufacturing process for alloyed aluminum.

Pure aluminum is alloyed with copper and other trace elements to produce 2024 (24S-T), a heattreatable structural aluminum. When the material is rolled into sheet, the grain lines are elongated.

When heat-treating was discovered, it increased the strength of aluminum with no weight penalty.

And so the first heat-treated aluminum alloys found their place in the manufacturing plants. Alloy 17S-T was described as “dural” and 24S-T was termed “douwww.VintageAircraft.org

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Illustration 1 ble-dural.” These materials contained copper as the primary alloying element; when heated to a precise temperature, quenched quickly in water, and, allowed to age, tensile strengths increased dramatically. When the coding of aluminum changed, the “17” and “24” original identification numbers were retained and a “20” was added to create a 4-digit code, thus 2017 and 2024. Corrosion being a large problem with this alloyed material caused the surfaces to be rolled with a pure aluminum layer, and the term “clad” was added.

Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) stamped “Alclad” on its products to identify the layer of pure aluminum on both surfaces. Otherwise the code word “bare” was stamped on sheets to indicate there was no cladding. Clad heat-treated aluminum of alloy 2024 is coded with a “T” to indicate it has been heat-treated (from the original 24S-“T”). After heat treatment, the material will gain full strength by aging for one week, and the material is identified as 2024-T4 (the “4” indicates no cold working after heat treatment). If the sheet material has to be rolled to final thickness, the identifier 2024-T3 (the “3” indicates cold working after heat treatment) is stamped on the sheet. The appropriate mil-spec for the heat treatment is stamped on the sheet: QQA 250/15 for clad 2024-T3.

While I do not suggest that owners or mechanics practice heat treating in their shop, it is good to know the basics of the process. Aluminum alloy 2024 is heated in a furnace to a temperature of 920°F, allowed to soak for a specified period of time, quickly removed from the oven, and quenched in cold water. This process is called “solution heat treating” (SHT) because the copper and other trace elements are dispersed throughout the material and when quenched, lock the slip planes of the aluminum thus making it hard.

It’s kind of like the cross-linking of epoxy resin when 60

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the hardener is added. Once the process takes place, the material naturally ages and 2024-T4 is produced. During the quench process, the sheet may tend to warp, so it is rolled again to uniform thickness. This cold working slightly hardens the metal even more, resulting to the identifying code 2024-T3, solution heat treated and cold worked. Once again, let me emphatically state that no person should attempt heat treating with improper equipment as the outcome of the strength and corrosion inhibiting qualities will be in question. Also, a slow quench can cause intergranular corrosion, an insidious defect that cannot be visually detected because it is inside along the grain lines of the material.

Illustration 2 shows the method of cladding rolled aluminum sheet stock for aircraft use. Note the cladding is only 5 percent of thickness of sheet (5 percent of a sheet measuring 0.040-inch thick is only 0.02 inch per side). Beware of deep scratches in clad aluminum.

With the introduction of aluminum for aircraft structures came the problem of corrosion and fatigue, which was not completely understood in the early days. I taught “Cleaning & Corrosion Control” in the General section of the FAA A&P mechanic course. I tried to rationalize how to create a method for determining just how

Illustration 2 much corrosion could be present in a structure before it was deemed “unairworthy.” Some factors that must be considered when inspecting an aluminum structure would be to review the design standard, which is “Safe Life.” Since corrosion was not calculated in the original design of the structure, then there should be none allowed. But that is not feasible, so it becomes every mechanic’s call as to how much corrosion can be present during an inspection. Some factors to consider are: 1) Is the corroded structure primary or secondary? Obviously primary structure must carry flight

loads; therefore, corrosion is more critical than in secondary structure.

2) What type of corrosion has attacked the structure? FAA Advisory Circular AC43-4A is an excellent source for information when corrosion identification is needed. “Pitting corrosion” causes the core of the sheet to be degraded. Shown in Illustration 3 is a sketch from AC43-4A, Chapter 6, and Figure 6-2.

Illustration 3 3) Consider, if 2024-T3 clad aluminum sheet has a tensile strength of 62,000 psi, then that was the figure used when the aircraft was designed. If an aluminum skin was 0.040-inch thick and pitting corrosion had attacked a large portion of the structure and was 0.020inch deep, then one could assume that approximately one-half of the sheet strength remains (approximately 31,000 psi). Did the designers have this in mind when they applied the Safe Life standard? No, they did not.

4) It is not always possible to thoroughly inspect the complete aircraft structure because there are areas that are hidden. Perhaps one such area is a lap seam, the most famous failure being the Boeing 737 operated by Aloha Airlines in Hawaii. A lap seam failed and the entire top section of the fuselage blew

Illustration 4 off in flight. Illustration 4 is taken from AC43-4A and is a close-up view of a corroded lap joint.

Diluted phosphoric acid removes oxides and corrosion and makes the aluminum look bright and shiny, just like new.

Let me try to detail a study we did at the college in the mid 1970s. We purchased two Cessna 150 aircraft, a 1959 model that came from the San Luis Obispo area, which is located near the Pacific Ocean, thus an unlimited supply of salt air. The second airplane was a 1966 model that had spent its entire life in the Las Vegas area where the air is dry and humidity low. This turned out to be a tremendous learning experience for both students and instructors. We began by completely disassembling the 1959 aircraft.

We ordered a 55-gallon drum of phosphoric acid and a 55-gallon drum of chromic acid. We constructed a vat out of wood and fiberglassed the inside to hold liquid. The phosphoric acid was diluted with water to the proper consistency, and the vat was filled about one-half full. Each component (except the fuselage) was submerged in the phosphoric acid, removed after about 15 minutes, and pressure washed with water.

The component was submerged for up to four times until the acid had removed all the corrosion. We did this for the entire airframe. Diluted phosphoric acid removes oxides and corrosion and makes the aluminum look bright and shiny, just like new. When all components were cleaned, we pumped the phosphoric acid into 55-gallon plastic containers, then diluted, and mixed the chromic acid. This is called a “conversion coat;” it microscopically etches the surface and turns it to a light tan color, depending on how long you leave the part in the solution. The process is also called “alodine” and blocks corrosion from reforming. We did the entire airplane with this process. All outer structure was primed and painted with a polyurethane two-part paint, and the aircraft was reassembled. We flew the airplane about 40 hours and closely inspected the structure. (I flew it a few hours, but the Cessna 150 is not one of my favorite airplanes because it doesn’t have a tail wheel!)

The aircraft was put up for bid sale and sold to a local operator who had a flight school. The airplane was rented for a solo flight and violently crashed into a house. The aircraft was destroyed; the accident scene www.VintageAircraft.org

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was horrible. I helped the owner remove the pieces of the aircraft after the structure had been released by an NTSB representative. In the next few days, it gave us an opportunity to closely inspect the aluminum structure. We found the interior of the wing skin, both top and bottom, to be free of corrosion due to our treatment during overhaul. However, every lap seam was severely corroded, as one would expect. The submerging of structure in phosphoric acid and chromic acid had no effect on lap joints. My point here, after this long dissertation, is to clearly point out that lap seams are and will continue to be a great concern for continued airworthiness of aluminum structure.

We disassembled and used the same process on the 1966 model 150, but the interior of the structure was mostly corrosion-free. So, what are my conclusions regarding corrosion of aluminum primary structures?

4A is a corrosion severity map for North America. The logbooks or FAA aircraft records for registration will aid in tracking a particular aircraft from initial certification through present. Using the map shown below, one can determine if the aircraft operated in a corrosive environment during any part of its life.

Finally, let me say that if corrosion in an aluminum structure is present, a thorough investigation should be made during restoration or overhaul. Disassembly should be completed deep enough to detect hidden corrosion, such as in lap joints. I have found severe corrosion in aluminum wing fittings, particularly on Stearman aircraft that were used in agricultural pest control that required replacement. The outside appearance of the fittings was good; however, when one removed the fittings from the wood wing spars, severe corrosion was found where the fitting contacted the wood. Remember, aircraft wood contains 8-12 percent moisture content, and moisture means corrosion in aluminum structure. Sometimes a complete disassembly of structure is necessary to completely inspect for corrosion.

Illustration 6 shows the aft fuselage section of an aircraft fabricated from extruded aluminum angle, which served in the severest corrosion environmentpesticide spray. Note that the diagonal angles have turned back to a powder and are completely eaten away. That is corrosion in its severest form!

Illustration 5 There are no guidelines for mechanics when inspecting aluminum structures on older airplanes. Newer aircraft have a structural repair manual (SRM) that may give clear guidelines for the amount of corrosion in any one structure. The call is usually up to the mechanic based on his/her experience. Sometimes a second opinion is necessary. Next, use FAA records to track the location of the aircraft throughout its history. Aircraft located near saltwater and areas of severe pollution bear a close examination. Just as in the described case of the two Cessna 150 aircraft, location has much to do with the amount of corrosion that will be found in its structure. Illustration 5 from the AC4362

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Illustration 6 There are several types of corrosion that attack aluminum; we have only discussed one: pitting corrosion. The FAA AC43-4A should be a must for owners and mechanics to identify, treat, and repair corroded aluminum structure. I will detail in a later column some typical repairs to structural aluminum components. In the meantime, stay safe and keep the aircraft airworthy.

Straight & Level continued from page 1

Ask the AME continued from page 13

I feel confident that we are on the right path for continued improvement of the VAA.

formance leading to safety concerns for the pilot and their passengers and may also impact general health and specifically the cardiovascular system. Airmen with a diagnosis of sleep apnea will need to submit a current status report with a sleep study polysomnogram with initial approval requiring a special issuance and FAA decision. Subsequent approval can then be made by the local AME with a current status report showing compliance with treatment.

In the latest Federal Air Surgeon’s Medical Bulletin Vol. 51, No.4, a new policy was introduced regarding sleep apnea.

In the near future AMEs will be required to calculate the airman’s body mass index (BMI), which is a calculation using the airman’s weight and height. A BMI of more than 30 indicates obesity, and more than 40 indicates morbid obesity. The policy will require airmen with a BMI of more than 40 to have a sleep study. The policy goes on to say, “Once we have dealt with every airman examined who has a BMI of over 40, we will gradually expand the testing pool by going to lower BMI measurements until we have identified and assured treatment for every airman with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)”. It has been reported that an average sleep apnea study costs $2,500. Will this be covered by insurance? Stay tuned!

Post-War Boom The Classic Revolution What began as the EAA annual convention, EAA Oshkosh has grown into aviation’s premier aviation event. It continues to gain worldwide stature based on its own unique personality, culture, variety, and the depth and breadth of its programs. We as a division of the EAA are therefore planning a continuation of our vintage grassroots venues at EAA Oshkosh. The previous two Vintage venues, “Cubs to Oshkosh” and “Round Engine Rodeo,” proved to be very popular events and attracted a great number of Vintage members and aircraft never before seen at Oshkosh. Because of a strong member reaction to these special venues of the past two EAA conventions, we are once again planning on providing opportunities to the membership to bring your vintage aircraft to Oshkosh and enjoy the “grassroots” experience we have created. The 2014 special venue for the VAA area will pay tribute to the post-World War II boom in aviation. This will be further labeled as “The Classic Revolution.”

Stand by, because this coming year’s planned annual venue will once again prove to be an exciting time for all EAA/VAA members. You will find among the many excellent articles in this month’s magazine an article by VAA Director Emeritus Charlie Harris, who takes us back to this era of aviation excellence by providing a historical accounting of this critical time in our aviation history. I’m sure you will greatly enjoy this excellent article by Charlie.

As always, please do us all the favor of inviting a friend to join the VAA, and help keep us the strong association we have all enjoyed for so many years. VAA is about participation: Be a member! Be a volunteer! Be there!

www.VintageAircraft.org

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ATTENTION AUTHORS: VAA is currently seeking authors for book signings at the RED BARN AUTHOR’S CORNER for AirVenture 2014. Book signing dates are July 28 through August 2.

Any author interested in participating should contact Max Platts at 920-426-6110 or mplatts@eaa.org.

Vintage Trader

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Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 100 words maximum. Classified ads may be submitted online at www.EAA.org at https://secure.eaa.org/advertising/ classified_ad.html Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of month, two months prior to issue date (i.e., January 10 is the closing date for the March issue). EAA 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. Include name on card, complete address, and type of card, card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA. Advertising Correspondence: EAA, Classified Advertising, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086

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Directory OFFICERS

President Geoff Robison 1521 E. MacGregor Dr. New Haven, IN 46774 260-493-4724 chief7025@aol.com

Secretary Steve Nesse 2009 Highland Ave. Albert Lea, MN 56007 507-373-1674 stnes2009@live.com

Vice-President Dave Clark 635 Vestal Lane Plainfield, IN 46168 317-839-4500 davecpd@att.net

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 Jerry Brown 4605 Hickory Wood Row Greenwood, IN 46143 317-422-9366 lbrown4906@aol.com George Daubner N57W34837 Pondview Ln Oconomowoc, WI 53066 262-560-1949 gdaubner@eaa.org Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hills Dr. INpolis, IN 46278 317-293-4430 dalefaye@msn.com

AIRCRAFT

1953 Piper PA 22-135 Tri-Pacer. 1475 TT. Hangared, Logs, 8/13 Annual. Great vintage plane. $21k OBO. Call George at 512-694-4067

WANTED

Restoring a 1929 Alliance Argo, looking for engineering drawings, blue prints, and anything that could be of help. 508-566-6673, dthissell@gmail.com Copyright ©2014 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, All rights reserved.

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Steve Krog 1002 Heather Ln. Hartford, WI 53027 262-305-2903 sskrog@gmail.com

Robert D. “Bob” Lumley 1265 South 124th St. Brookfield, WI 53005 262-782-2633 rlumley1@wi.rr.com Joe Norris 264 Old OR Rd. Oshkosh, WI 54902 pilotjoe@ntd.net 920-688-2977 Tim Popp 60568 Springhaven Ct. Lawton, MI 49065 269-624-5036 tlpopp@frontier.com

ADVISORS Lynne Dunn 145 Cloud Top Lane Mooresville, NC 28115 704-664-1951 lynnednn@aol.com

Susan Dusenbury 1374 Brook Cove Road Walnut Cove, NC 27052 336-591-3931 sr6sue@aol.com

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

Charles W. Harris PO Box 470350 Tulsa, OK 74147 918-622-8400 cwh@hvsu.com

Robert C. Brauer 9345 S. Hoyne Chicago, IL 60643 773-779-2105 photopilot@aol.com

E.E. “Buck” Hilbert 8102 Leech Rd. Union, IL 60180 815-923-4591 buck7ac@gmail.com

Gene Chase 8555 S. Lewis Ave., #32 Tulsa, OK 74137 918-298-3692

Gene Morris 5936 Steve Court Roanoke, TX 76262 817-491-9110 genemorris@charter.net

Phil Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr. Lawton, MI 49065 269-624-6490 rcoulson516@cs.com Ronald C. Fritz 15401 Sparta Ave. Kent City, MI 49330 616-678-5012 itzfray@gmail.com

S.H. “Wes” Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue Wauwatosa, WI 53213 414-771-1545 shschmid@gmail.com John Turgyan PO Box 219 New Egypt, NJ 08533 609-752-1944 jrturgyan4@aol.com

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