Va vol 42 no 5 sep oct 2014 by EAA Vintage Aircraft Association

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014

HOWARD DGA •Aeronca Cheif Love Affair •Puss Moth •Luscombe Classic Compair

Vintage Airplane

Straight & Level

STAFF

GEOFF ROBISON

EAA Publisher. . . . . . . . . . Jack J. Pelton, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chairman of the Board

VAA PRESIDENT, EAA 268346, VAA 12606

Editor in Chief. . . . . . . . . . J. Mac McClellan

Another amazing year at AirVenture has concluded and we are reminded of the great partnership between Ford and EAA and the benefits we provide together at AirVenture.

2014 AirVenture proved to be another fantastic week with some extraordinary experiences and so much fun. It gets better and better each year!

As our relationship grows, we continue to strive to expand the AirVenture experience for all members and to improve the consideration of Ford Motor Company products.

Thank you for attending AirVenture and we hope to see you again next year!

EAA is thankful for the role Ford has played in the success of AirVenture including their support of the opening day Kenny Loggins concert, the nightly Fly-In Theater, the incredible F-35 Lightning II Edition Mustang benefitting the Young Eagles and so much more.

EAA members are eligible for special pricing on Ford Motor Company vehicles through Ford’s Partner Recognition Program. To learn more on this exclusive opportunity for EAA members to save on a new Ford vehicle, please visit www.eaa.org/ford.

Jack Pelton Chairman of the Board, EAA

Edsel B. Ford II Board Director, Ford Motor Co.

Let’s hear your post AirVenture convention feedback We have been enjoying some truly wonderful weather here in the Midwest this summer. Mild weather has been a real part of our forecast for many weeks now. This of course goes hand in hand with the strong level of aviating going on at my local airport in Auburn, Indiana. Here’s hoping the current weather trends will continue well into the fall season this year. At this particular moment I am in Oshkosh, and we are about one week out before the Oshkosh fly-in begins. We are finally experiencing some drier weather here for the past couple of weeks or so, and the grounds are looking better every day. We still have a number of wet areas on the grounds that we have to contend with, but overall if the forecast holds true, there will be very little moisture coming at us in the next week or so around the Oshkosh area. There are already many of our Vintage volunteers on-site preparing our many facilities in the Vintage area. Much has been accomplished on the VAA grounds through our monthly regularly scheduled pre-convention work parties, and the finishing touches are now being implemented to make the Vintage area as attractive an area as possible for this year’s event. If you were fortunate to have attended the 2014 event, I hope you enjoyed your visit and took notice of the many improvements our allvolunteer group has accomplished. I was greatly impressed with the overhaul of the Red Barn Store. The merchandise was impressive and unique, with awesome graphics affixed to the many different items of clothing. The facelift of the facility was also quite impressive. An all new fresh look to the old Red Barn turned this area into a warm and receptive facility. Thanks to all of our valued volunteers who participated in this amazing overhaul of the Red Barn. For those of you who were unable to attend this year’s event, you really missed out on a wonderfully planned-out event full of amazing antique and classic airplanes that are scheduled to attend. Also, you should make an effort to check out the Red Barn Store post-convention on the EAA website at www.ShopEAA.net/vintage.aspx to see the impressive lineup of our 2014 merchandise offerings that may be left over from the event.

Your Post-Convention Feedback The VAA Convention Planning Committee always attempts to plan and execute on a variety of unique activities in the Vintage area that would appeal to our members. As chairman of this planning committee, I would really like to hear your feedback on these activities. It is truly important continued on page 64

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Busha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .jbusha@eaa.org VAA Executive Administrator. Max Platts 920-426-6110. . . . . . . . . . mplatts@eaa.org ADVERTISING: Vice President of Business Development Dave Chaimson dchaimson@eaa.org Advertising Manager Sue Anderson sanderson@eaa.org Business Relationship Manager Larry Phillip lphillip@eaa.org Art Director. . . . . . . . . . . . Livy Trabbold VAA, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903 Website: www.vintageaircraft.org Email: Vintageaircraft@eaa.org

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 are 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. Membership Service 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

www.vintageaircraft.org

Vol. 42, No. 5

2014

CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER 2014

Grassroots Greatness The Tulsa Regional Fly-In announces its Grand Finale Charles W. Harris

Alaska or Bust! Tri-Pacer journey Marla Boone

42 46

Black Beauty The resurrection and restoration of a Howard DGA Jim Busha

Puss Moth Geoffery de Havilland goes modern . . . sort of: Ben Cox and his DH.80A Budd Davisson

Joe Flood’s Love Affair The second time around Sparky Barnes Sargent

Comparing the Classics The Luscombe Model 8 Budd Davisson

COLUMNS

1 Straight and Level Let’s hear your post AirVenture convention feedback Geoff Robison 5 Gone West A fond farewell to Gus Dave Clark 6

How to? Install stressed plywood skin Robert G. Lock

10 The Vintage Instructor Why do you fly? Steve Krog, CFI 12

Good Old Days

60 The Vintage Mechanic Radial engine oil leaks Robert G. Lock 62

Vintage Trader

9 Ask the AME Depression John Patterson, M.D., AME

COVERS FRONT COVER: Photo by Phil HIgh BACK COVER: Photo by Phil HIgh

ANY COMMENTS?

Send your thoughts to the Vintage Editor at: jbusha@eaa.org 2

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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

Gone West by Dave Clark

Join Friends

A fond farewell to Gus

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 4

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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!

Dale A. (Gus) Gustafson, 85, of Indianapolis, passed away June 26, 2014. He was born on December 29, 1928, to Erick and Aline Gustafson. He was preceded in death by his parents and his son, Eric Gustafson. Dale took his first plane ride in 1938 at the age of 10 and was smitten with the aviation bug. He started taking flying lessons in 1945 and soloed at 16. After high school he worked at the airport in South Bend, Indiana, servicing airliners, handling cargo, and doing field maintenance. Dale graduated from Spartan School of Aeronautics in 1949 to obtain additional pilot ratings. After this, he freelanced as a flight instructor and ran a small FBO in South Bend. He was hired as a copilot on DC-3s for the famous air race pilot Roscoe Turner’s Turner Airlines in Indianapolis in 1950. Gus flew an assortment of airline equipment, but the USAir DC-9 was his favorite for many years. Gus served in the Indiana Air National Guard from 1954 until 1970 and flew F-86s and other military aircraft. He was very proud of his service and loved flying military aircraft. By the time he entered military flight training, he already had more than 3,000 hours in his logbook. He deeply felt his obligation to serve his country. Gus also ran the FBO at Lebanon airport, in Lebanon, Indiana, with his wife, Faye (the real boss), where they taught flying and had all of the elements of a fullservice general aviation airport. And yes, they also had a grass runway beside the hard-surface runway. When Gus first saw Faye (his future wife), a ticket agent for another airline, he told his captain, “That’s the girl I’m going to marry.” Five days later he proposed, she said yes, and they were engaged. They were married 18 months later, in 1955. Ever since I have known Gus, he has always called Faye “Gorgeous.” Gus retired after 35 years as the senior captain of USAir. He has owned several aircraft over the years,

Paul Poberezny and Dale Gustafson.

from antique to modern, but his favorite was a Cessna 195. He was collecting many Piper J-4 parts for a restoration he had hoped to perform. He also had an Aeronca Chief waiting for a restoration. Gus has been an EAA member since 1961 and a Vintage Aircraft Association member since it was formed. He served as a board member of VAA more than any other person at the time of his death. Gus has judged antique aircraft at the EAA convention for more than 35 years and most of that time as the chairman of antique judging. Gus also served as the president of EAA Chapter 1311 in Danville, Indiana, and was currently serving as a director. He was also a longtime member of EAA Chapter 67 and was an active member of EAA Warbirds Squadron 3. He stayed active in general aviation by spending time at Sheridan Airport north of Indianapolis. Gus was the kind of a guy who was a walking encyclopedia of antique airplanes and their current and past owners. He was a very even-tempered fellow and could focus on an item or a problem, and you could not shake his concentration. I never heard him talk negatively about anyone, and I cannot think of anyone who did not think highly of him. I can’t remember him ever using a curse word all of the 35-plus years I have known him. He was a great guy, loved and respected by all. In remembering Gus, most of the people I have talked with tell me how much Gus had helped them with anything they asked of him. He was quick to accurately name any type of airplane you could imagine in a photo or in real life. Over the years, several of his former copilots with the airlines told me that they had never seen a more natural born pilot than Gus. He always did what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, and all by instinct. He is survived by his wife, Faye (Gorgeous), of 59 years and his daughters, Ann and Nancy. Godspeed on your trip west, Gus, we will all miss you! www.vintageaircraft.org

How to? ROBERT G. LOCK

Install stressed plywood skin In this issue we will learn the specifics of installing stressed plywood wing skin. I first learned how to do this task back in 1958 when I was restoring my Fairchild PT-19 as an aspiring 19-year-old future aviator and mechanic. It was a great learning experience, and my friend George Adams (of Stolop-Adams fame) was one of my mentors. My other mentor was Elmer Ruzicka who owned Elmer’s Wing Shop in Waukena, California, not far from the Hanford airport and my uncle’s crop dusting and spraying operation. Elmer taught me many secrets of aircraft woodworking.

Illustration 3

I did not know that you could buy 45-degree grain plywood in the 4-by-8-foot sheet at the time, so I cut two pieces from a regular 90-degree grain sheet. It was a lot of extra work because the two pieces, when joined, have to be scarf cut, which was a real pain.

rial in place. Next, mark all the locations where the plywood will be glued to the structure using a pencil. Draw a circle around the nails so the holes can be located, cut the heads off the nails, and remove the skin. (See Illustration 3.)

Illustration 5

and surrounding structure is thoroughly varnished, but all areas to be bonded should not be varnished. Filler blocks between ribs should not fit tightly to the ribs but have an open space of 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch to allow moisture to drain out if any accumulates from condensation. This eliminates the need to drill drain holes in the lower skin.

Illustration 6

Illustration 1

Illustration 2

In Illustration 1, the left side of the PT-19 center section with new skin glued in place with nailing strips to apply pressure to all the glue joints. When the glue has cured the nailing strips are removed and all nails pulled from the wood. These nail holes will be filled with a thinned wood filler wiped on with coarse cloth or burlap. Illustration 2 shows the center section before all the plywood is bonded to the structure. The inboard section of plywood has been steamed to fit using a wallpaper steamer that my father rented. It worked! The leading edge had 45-degree grain plywood, but

But, let’s leave my early years of learning how to work with wood and proceed to much later when I was a little smarter. The task at hand is to cover the top and bottom leading edge with 1/16-inch birch plywood, so how is that done? Well, you should always bond the lower skin on first because if any moisture gets into the structure, it will be on the bottom skin, so you want a good and complete varnish seal on the wood. This is how it is done. Cut the upper and lower skin to size and soak and bend if necessary. Fit the upper plywood in place, driving 3/4-inch nails in each end to hold the mate-

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Illustration 4

After this task is completed for all the upper skin, the lower skin can be glued into place. I always use nailing strips to apply pressure to the joint and then remove after the glue has cured. Purchase some good knot-free 1-by-4-inch soft pine, rip it into 1/8inch thick strips, and you have your nailing strips. The upper skin is masked off using a good grade masking tape and adequate varnish applied to thoroughly seal the wood. The inside of the lower skin

Illustration 7

Plywood comes in standard 4-by-8-foot sheets and therefore will require a scarf joint somewhere along the leading edge. Both pieces of skin are scarfed to a slope of 12-to-1 prior to applying varnish. Therefore, 1/16-inch thick plywood would have a scarf of 12/16 inches or 3/4 inch in length. The scarf should be located over a nose rib, and an additional shim can be bonded to the rib to make it 3/4-inch wide to accommodate the scarf. After all this preparation is complete, the upper skin can be glued into place. It might be necessary to have an extra person or two to hammer nails into the nailing strips because it is a slow process and, depending on outside air temperature, may need to be completed in a hurry. www.vintageaircraft.org

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

Illustration 9

Illustration 10

Depression I have been diagnosed with depression. Can I still get a medical? Answer: There is no short answer to this question,

Illustration 8

Illustration 8 shows an upper skin varnished and ready to be glued into place on the upper leading edge of my Command-Aire wing. I glued the inboard section first, then aligned the scarf joint and glued the outboard section. This is the outboard section. The plywood skin securely attached using pine nailing strips. When the glue has cured, break off the nailing strips and pull out all the nails. There does not need to be any nails holding the leading edge plywood in position now. Any nails that are left in the joints will eventually try to back out, causing lumps in the fabric covering. Don’t be tempted to leave any nails in this structure once the glue has cured. They are not needed—remove them all. What does the scarf joint look like after removing the nailing strips, you ask? See illustrations 9-10 showing the joint before sanding it smooth. Scarf joints, when properly done, give 100 percent strength through the joint, give grain continuation, and are perfectly smooth and flush. Compare the unfinished scarf joint (Illustration 9) to the finished joint (Illustration 10). It should not take too much sanding to make it smooth— just basically removing the excess glue that has squeezed out from the joint when a nailing strip applied pressure. The final step is to smooth the plywood along the leading edge strip using a disc sander, then hand 8

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Illustration 11

sanding with a sandpaper block, and finally using an emery cloth sanding strip. And that’s all there is to it folks—a quick lesson on how to apply stressed plywood skin. Finally, a quick review of aircraft plywood. Common types are mahogany and birch. Mahogany will bend dry the easiest, and while both are identified as “hardwoods,” birch is denser and more difficult to drive nails through, especially in the thicker 5-ply material. I still have some brass nails that were originally used, and it is almost impossible to drive a brass nail into 3/16-inch or 1/4-inch wood that is used for wing-walk areas. All modern nails that appear to be brass are really steel wire nails that are brass-coated to prevent rusting and discoloring the wood. Oh, by the way, I use common steel nails that are about 1/2-inch long that can be purchased from almost any hardware store to secure the nailing strips in place. They are going to be pulled out anyway, so why incur the added expense of using brass-coated nails.

and it depends on the severity, longevity of the condition, and whether it is treated with medication. The FAA has developed a policy whereby even patients on long-term medication for depression may be eligible for a special issuance medical. There are several psychiatric conditions that can be approved, and others that must be denied or at least deferred for FAA decision. Bipolar disorders (manicdepressive); personality disorders such as truancy, civil and social instability, or criminal activity; and psychosis that involves the loss of reality, delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized train of thought are all typically denied. Adjustment disorders if short term and stable as well as depression associated with bereavement can be approved especially if no medication or only a short course of medication is necessary. Medications typically given for the treatment of depression are also given for minor anxiety and sleep disorders as mentioned in my last article. If the airman is on an antidepressant for treatment other than depression, it will still require an FAA decision and the aviation medical examiner cannot issue. If an airman has been on an antidepressant in the past for a short course for one of the other non-depressionrelated conditions or has had minor depression related to bereavement for example, he or she must be off the medication for at least 60 days and must have a favorable report from the treating physician stating that the airman is stable with regard to mood off

medication, then the AME may issue the medical. I will try to limit the scope of this article to the FAA’s policy on depression and the use of antidepressants. Currently there are four antidepressants that can be used for the treatment of major depression, and the FAA will consider approval through special issuance. These medications include fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa), and escitalopram (Lexapro). Only one of the medications can be used and not in combination. These meds are called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), and they increase the levels of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is thought to be involved in maintaining proper mood. For those individuals who will continue medication, the airman must be on the SSRI for a minimum of six months and stable without side effects before they can be considered for special issuance. They may not have psychosis, suicidal ideation or attempt, and may not have received electroshock treatment. Patients treated with electroshock therapy generally have a more severe depression that has not responded to typical medications. If these criteria have been met, the airman must then be evaluated by an AME who has received additional training or has expertise in neuropsychological evaluation. The FAA has designated these medical examiners HIMS (human intervention motivation study) AMEs. The HIMS AME will then review any neuropsychological testing that has been done or may be required as well as conduct a detailed evaluation of the airman. The HIMS AME must also agree to continue to monitor the airman in the future and will then submit a recommencontinued on the page 62

www.vintageaircraft.org

The Vintage Instructor STEVE KROG, VAA DIRECTOR AND CFI

Why do you fly? Over the years many people have asked me, “Why do you fly?” They want to know when I became interested and how I got started flying airplanes. I’m sure all of you have experienced the challenge of these questions whenever attending a non-aviation-related social function. As soon as the folks around you learn that you are a pilot, they have these questions and usually end up stating, “I always wanted to learn to fly but just never was able to make it happen.” There is a level of interest, but it was never nurtured among these folks. The excuses are many. Some are valid; most are really not. “I started taking flight lessons, but then I had to refocus on my career and raising a family,” many state. “Why not get back into it? You’re in a position to do so now,” I’ll add. Learning to fly and enjoying the challenge, thrill, freedom, and satisfaction that flight offers can be accomplished at most any age. As a four-plus decade flight instructor my oldest beginning student pilot was 77 when he decided to learn. My youngest is 7. The young-

Jason Gehring, age 7, completing his first official instructional flight. 10

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est, Jason, began coming to the airport with his father at the age of 3 or 4. By age 5 he started asking about flying. I told him that when he could reach the rudder pedals in the front seat of a J-3 Cub, I would start flying with him. One Saturday afternoon in early March, Jason hurriedly ran into my hangar office and said, “Steve, come out to the hangar. I have something to show you.” He had gathered up a number of seat cushions and carefully arranged them so that he could reach the rudder pedals. He sat there with a huge grin on his face and then in a bashful sort of way said, “See, I can reach the pedals. Can we start flying?” His huge grin and burning desire to want to fly would touch anyone’s heart. That is why I fly. Jason’s father, Jeff, who I taught to fly in the late 1980s, was then brought out to the hangar to observe Jason’s accomplishment. With Dad’s okay, we arranged for his first flight the next day. We’ve flown together three or four times since, and I’ve been astounded by this young lad’s coordination. The ball is always in the center when we climb, descend, and make turns. Someday, if his enthusiasm for flight continues and is supported, he will be an excellent, above average young pilot. At the age of 7 Jason is also quite an accomplished RC airplane flier, too. More recently I had the opportunity to fly with Rick, a 57-year-old professional person. The morning of his checkride we both arrived at the hangar early for the 9:00 a.m. appointment. Quite nervous he mentioned he hadn’t slept at all the previous night. When I inquired as to why he was so anxious he stated, “Steve, this has been a dream of mine for over 42 years. It is finally becoming a reality today, and I’m really nervous.” I told him to preflight the airplane as we were going flying for

30 minutes and just have some fun. Rick did a beautiful job on both the oral as well as the flight portion of the checkride, and the examiner was quite complimentary. The next evening Rick gave his wife a Cub ride, and both returned with huge grins. That is why I fly. Another senior gentleman approached me several years ago expressing a deep interest in flying. He had taken flight lessons when much younger and single but had to give it up when he married. His wife refused to let him fly. When I asked, “Why now?” he paused for a minute and then replied that his wife had passed away several months previous, and he had fought and won the battle with cancer three times. He was ready to fulfill a dormant dream that had been put on hold for decades. We had a great time flying together. He had a more positive outlook on life than a southern evangelist. That is why I fly. During the past several weeks I’ve had the pleasure of giving introductory flights to three teenage boys. While flying, the respective parents patiently awaited our return. In every instance the boys returned with a huge grin wanting to start lessons as soon as possible. The supportive parents all commented that their son had a love affair with airplanes since old enough to know what airplanes were. That is why I fly. Over more than four decades of flying, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many fellow male and female aviators. Some were and/or are quite famous, while some are just like you and me. But we all had one thing in common—our love of flight and the desire to talk about it endlessly. That is why I fly. I have been fascinated by airplanes and wanted to fly them for as long as I can remember, and I have mentioned this passion in several previous articles. There is nothing I find more exhilarating than seeing and feeling an airplane lift off the ground and watching mother earth’s topical features become miniaturized. Looking out over the nose while climbing and turning out of the traffic pattern, especially early in the morning, is an experience everyone should have. I am fascinated by flight. That is why I fly. Sharing the gift or privilege of flight has become a focal point for me. I have a burning desire to share the gift of flight with whoever expresses an interest; it is quite satisfying to see the smile and exhilaration on the faces of these folks after the flight. That is why I fly. Working with a student from the first lesson through the checkride and observing the student improve while acquiring new skills throughout each phase of flight training is quite satisfying. There are two real high points especially fulfilling, the first solo and the completion of a successful checkride. The first solo is memorable for all and an accomplishment that will never ever be

After completing three near-perfect landings, we welcomed Fred to the ranks of pilot by the traditional cutting of the shirttail.

forgotten. Here at Hartford we try to have a small reception committee awaiting the student as they arrive back at the hangar. The ear-to-ear grin followed by nonstop chatter about each landing is exceptional. Traditional cutting of the shirttail followed by slaps on the back and a full round of handshakes are second only to the arrival of astronauts after a week in space. That is why I fly. This past week was especially satisfying. Another 57-year-old gentleman began flying with me several weeks ago. On Monday morning at approximately 7:45 and after five or six perfect three-point landings, I asked Fred to taxi to the side of the runway. It was time for me to get out. He was quite hesitant at first so we made one more takeoff and landing. Then he was ready. Fred made three near perfect three-point landings, even with a variable 10-12 knot wind! When he arrived back at the hangar and shut down the engine, he remained in the plane for a few minutes, sat back, and just grinned from ear to ear. After the traditional shirttail cutting he told me that this had been a dream of his for over 30 years. He had started and stopped flight training several times previously over the years, but this time he was committed to making it happen. That is why I fly! It has become more difficult for individuals to experience the sensations of flight. Security and security fences have made it all but impossible for aviation novices to come to an airport, look at airplanes up close, and talk to pilots. Flying offers one the opportunity to view the world from an entirely different perspective. Each of us as active pilots should accept the responsibility to share the pleasures and satisfaction of flight with a non-flying friend. Introducing a friend to flight today will create tomorrow’s generation of pilots and caretakers for our treasured classic airplanes. www.vintageaircraft.org

Good Old Days

P A R C S K O O B

From pages of what was . . . Take a quick look through history by enjoying images pulled from publications past.

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www.vintageaircraft.org

s d A d e fi i lass

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Sportsman Pilot, April 1937

What would you have found . . . Sportsman Pilot, April 1937

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Grassroots Greatness Jim Younkin’s fabulous stable of Mr. Mulligan, the Mullicoupe, the Mystery Ship and his DGA-11.

Four T-6s and an L-39 on display at Tulsa Fly-In in Bartlesville. Dave Wheaton of Tulsa displays his B-25J Martha Jean.

The Tulsa Regional Fly-In announces its Grand Finale Charles W. Harris

VAA Director Emeritus

he life span of virtually any avocational organization, be it social, recreational, educational, scientific, or aviation, will almost always have some outer time limits of a practical nature; the Tulsa Fly-In is one such organization. It began in 1957; the year 1957 was a long

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time ago…nearly three generations by definition. The world, and particularly the small airplane world and its patrons, was a vastly different place at that time. Dwight Eisenhower was in his second term as president of the United States of America. The Russians had just shot down Gar y

Powers in his U-2. Ford was selling Fairlane 500s like hot cakes, and Chevrolet was selling even more Bel Airs. Cadillacs did not as yet have fins. Corvettes were sporty enough but not yet the rage. The Thunderbird coupes were the hot personal cars but pretty pricey at $3,400. The Ford Mustang would

not come forth for seven more years. There was virtually no interest in imports. Beech was selling “H” Bonanzas for $22,650 brand new, FAF, Wichita. Piper was still in Lock Haven and was working to get the PA-24180 Comanche to market; it would take another year to do so. The Tri-Pacer was selling fairly well, and Super Cubs were in production, but no one knew quite where they fit in the marketplace. Cherokees did not yet exist. Silvaire Corporation was trying

A young aviation fan admiring the fly-In airplanes. www.vintageaircraft.org

Tulsa T-6 Warbirds on low pass during Tulsa Fly-In.

Mark McCasland of Kansas City arrives in his Grand Champion QFC-2 Waco.

This Grove, Oklahoma, physician-owned, highly polished T-33 is a regular at the Tulsa Fly-In.

The Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa arrives in their beautifully restored 1929 Spartan C-3 biplane. 18

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to build and sell a few Model C-90 8F Luscombes for $5,995 from a small building in Fort Collins, Colorado. It would persist through 1960 and then give it up completely. Cessna had phased out its conventional-geared 170 but had the foresight to put a nose wheel on the front of it, and it was catching on quite well as a 172. The 180 was doing acceptably well, but the round-engined 190/195 series had been phased out in 1955. Cessna’s new straight-tailed 310s were in their third year of production and were exciting the new light-twin market with their 200-plus mph cruise speed. A youngish, 40-year-old Jack Kennedy was a youthful “new on the political scene” U.S. senator from Massachusetts. Good used J-3s, Champs, Chiefs, PA-12s, Luscombes, 120s/140s, and PT-19s were readily available from $500 to $1,600. Stearmans were $1,500 airplanes, while AT6s brought as much as $2,000. The CAF had just purchased its first airplane: a P-51D at the then-current market price…$3,700. Paul Poberezny organized the first EAA “fly-in” (a what?) in Milwaukee in the fall of 1953, and in the next two to three years a flyin would pop up here and there, although no one knew quite yet how to organize or plan these newfangled semi-picnic-like airplane gatherings. The EAA had no divisions—i.e., no Warbirds, Vintage, or IAC as yet—only the homebuilder’s movement. In the fall of 1957 a small group of Tulsa grassroots aviation types, actually a ladies aviation social circle group who all became friends at Harvey Young Airport in East Tulsa while their husbands were out flying or working on their little personal airplanes, decided to organize a small airplane pilots and owners get-together and invite their other

Two World War I replica German fighters out to be the Hun in the Sun and entertaining the Tulsa Fly-In visitors.

The only 1914 Billy Parker original OX-5-powered Pusher Biplane in the world on ramp exhibit. This airplane is currently on exhibit at the Phillips Petroleum Company Museum in Bartlesville, OK.

Typical Tulsa Fly-In at Bartlesville: blue skies, thick green grass and marvelous airplanes.

Tony Howerton of Tulsa on a low pass in his spectacular painted RV-8. 20

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aviation friends from around the city to fly to Harvey and join in what was essentially a planned Saturday afternoon picnic-airplane social gathering. The turnout was surprisingly good; 20 or so visiting, non-Harvey-based airplanes joined with the Har vey group, and the gathering was a genuinely good time. The next year, 1958, it became considerably more organized and was now considered a “fly-in” with the men becoming more involved, and even more importantly, more airplanes came from more places. The Tulsa Fly-In had now become an “event,” and it would become an annual event. The mix of airplanes was obviously very different in those days as compared to today, with lots of prewar Cubs, Taylorcrafts, Aeroncas, a fair number of Airmasters, Wacos, Staggerwings, Fairchild 24s, 195s, Howards, an occasional Spartan 7W, and really big numbers of war-surplus (and inexpensive) Stearmans, PT-19s, PT-22s, PT-26s, BT-13s, AT-6s, and rather surprising, a small but impressive number of P-51s. We did not yet know the name “warbirds;” they were simply “war surplus.” Radios were near nonexistent in most small airplanes; a full gyro panel was almost a novelty except in the big power airplanes; and a great number of the smaller airplanes were nonelectrical and thus had to be hand-propped. It was as near pure grassroots as one could imagine, although the word “grassroots” was yet to be associated with a “fly-in.” On a time-to-time basis, the flyin would move to Okmulgee, then to Bartlesville one year, and to the big new hard-surface ramp at Riverside for several years (Cessna even sent down a brand new 172 and a new 182 with sales reps, no less, in the very early 1960s).

Bill Watson had just completed a brand new Pitts S-1C, which he built from the first set of plans Curtis Pitts ever sold (Bill paid Curtis $25 for the plans!); Bill had it on the ramp at Riverside in the early 1960s and was the happiest human being one could ever imagine! As we moved on into the mid1960s, Harvey again became the Tulsa Fly-In’s home, and it was truly home: grass runway, grass Janet McCullough of Kansas City displays her prizewinning, highly parking, noncontrolled, close to polished BT-13. the city, strong support from all the airport patrons, etc. Nationally known aviation personalities came to grace our red carpets! Paul Poberezny flew down from Milwaukee in the EAA P-64 and gave us a thrilling flight demonstration. Jim Bede, who was in his BD-5J kit sales heyday, came down from Wichita and gave an awards dinner talk (and instantly disappeared!). Joe Champagne in a low pass in his Grand Champion Luscombe 8-F. Success had its price. We soon outgrew Harvey as our host and home airport. Tahlequah, Oklahoma, beckoned, so in 1972 the fly-in moved to Tahlequah. And again, the fly-in grew at an accelerated rate. Again, nationally known aviation personalities were invited, and they came with bells on. They added to the color and stature of the event. The Harold Neumanns, Jim Younkins, Mister Mulligan, Lit3/4-scale Fokker D-VII taxis to parking. tle Mulligan, Charlie Nelson, Mark Holliday and the Swifts, the Cubs of the Cub Club, the Luscombes of the Luscombe Association, Frank Price and the Bückers, Frannie Rourke and Doug Rounds brought Doug’s national Grand Champion Travel Air 6000, Bud and Connie Dake amazed with their Clipwing Monocoupe, Red Stevenson and his vast varieties (including the Gooses), and Bill Harrison and his countless multiple warbirds! Former SE Asia F-100 Misty pilot Charles Sublett arrives in his CJ-6 In 1977, Gene Chase, flying the Chinese Trainer. EAA’s 50th Anniversary Lindbergh www.vintageaircraft.org

The 1929 EAA Ford Tri-Motor was honored on arrival by a group of 1929 museum-quality Ford Model A’s.

The ex-Bill Wright, now Fred Ramin Grand Champion post-WWII Luscombe Model 11.

Tour, flew the first EAA replica Spirit of St. Louis into Tahlequah, whereupon we then flew the Oklahoma Lt. Governor George Nigh, who a few years later would become the governor of the state. By 1985 and 1986, success had reached the near overwhelming level; 500 to 550 airplanes, 10-mile finals with half-mile spacing, with a mix of everything from Cubs to Stearmans to Howards weaving and skidding to stay in line and not having to pull out and go to the back of the line and try again. It got very interesting. We, for all intent and purpose, had, again, simply run out of airport and parking space. The fly-in’s size, momentum, and enthusiasm was contagious. It was such that it spawned the National Biplane Association and the Biplane Expo. Success was a bit much . . . too much. Bartlesville invited, we accepted. Bartlesville’s Frank Phillips Field was much larger; the grassy parking area was larger; the hardsurface ramps, larger; the accommodation facilities, by number and support, far greater and excellent; the civic and business support, outstanding! We created a brand new, original, no-charge, one-of-a22

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Pres Melton of North Little Rock, Arkansas, displays his beautifully restored Howard DGA-15P.

kind van transportation system for our fly-in guests. In 1992, the f ly-in moved to Bartlesville and the numbers of arriving sport aviation airplanes consistently continued to number in the 350-400-450-500 range, and they were most safely handled. Bartlesville has been our host city for 21 years, from 1992 to our Grand Finale event, scheduled for September 20, 2014. It has been an unbelievably grand and glorious run, and one of unreserved success and service to the small-airplane aviation pilots, owners, and fans. It has honored and hosted the great, the near great, and the rank and file. It has inspired

nearly three generations of the aviation-oriented public to participate and enjoy the unreserved magnificence of grand champion-level old, new, factory, homebuilt, warbird, biplane, and virtually every other type of flying machine. The Tulsa Regional at Bartlesville has hosted the Frank Phillipssponsored original 1927 Travel Air 5000, Oakland to Hawaii Dole Race winning Woolaroc (Woods, Lakes, Rocks) as flown by Art Goebel and navigated by William V. “Bill” Davis, and the number two EAA replica Spirit of St. Louis as flown by EAA pilot Verne Jobst. Further, it hosted the legendary Flying Tiger Tex (and Mazie) Hill and his

P-40 on several occasions, World Aerobatic Champions Russians Elena Klimovich and Victor Smolin, U.S. National Aerobatic Champion Patty Wagstaff and her extra, the EAA B-17 and Ford Tri-Motor, the CAF B-17, the fabulous Jim Younkin Mullicoupes and Mulligan, as well as his Travel Air Mystery Ship, and the huge favorite 35-combat-mission B-17 pilot Truman Smith who, when in his mid70s, had his World War II United States Air Force lieutenant colonel uniform retailored to fit his goodlife waistline. As said, the great and the near great and the “et al.”! It has brought untold numbers of families to within whisper distance of some of the finest small airplanes that have ever existed and thus provided aviation experiences that would have otherwise never been available to so many of the rank-and-file public. The Tulsa Regional Fly-In, as sponsored by EAA Vintage Aircraft Chapter 10, EAA Experimental Chapter 10, and EAA Ultralight Chapter 10, will become a part of our aviation historical past after September 20, 2014; the final curtain will have come down that day. Our deepest and most sincere thanks are tendered to all of our treasured guests, attendees, sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers, and friends of the Tulsa Regional FlyIn as The Grand Finale closes out 58 years of fly-in historical aviation enjoyment on September 20,

Coffeyville, Kansas, produced the post-war Funk aircraft, of which this is a fine example.

2014, at Frank Phillips Field in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. We hope you will again join us . . . we will welcome you with open arms. So until then . . . thanks to all for the

nearly 60 years of priceless memories and unwavering loyal support! We will always be “Low and Slow” and waving the flag for the sport aviation movement!

www.vintageaircraft.org

PHIL HIGH

SEPTEMBER /OCTOBER 2014

by Jim Busha

Looking for Champs in All the Wrong Places

Roger Brown of Port St. Lucie, Florida, will be the first to admit that he never, ever had intentions of buying a Howard DGA, let alone restoring one. According to Roger his résumé for restoring old airplanes, or any for that matter, could be written on a cocktail napkin and was mainly a blank sheet of paper. A fact not withstanding was that Roger was a proud owner of a PT-17 Stearman, one that he had tended to for the last 25 years, and was swollen with pride on the fact that it was a “major award winner;” it won the aircraft most in need of a restoration at Galesburg four years in a row! Yep, Roger was a simple airplane guy who wanted something simple to restore like an Aeronca Champ. Problem was he really didn’t have much say in the matter. “Ironically, this was my first attempt at restoring an airplane,” said Roger. “I should have started with a Champ! That’s what I tell everyone because it would have been a lot easier. “Actually I was shopping for a backcountry airplane like some of my flying friends had so I could do some remote off-the-grid flying with them. I started looking

and began searching all the Internet sites for airplanes for sale. I saw a Howard project for sale on eBay, and I kiddingly told my wife, Terese, about it—that was my big mistake! Years ago at a Stearman fly-in down south Terese got in-

pened to be in pieces and definitely far from a flier, she leaned over my shoulder, her face brushed up against mine, and she whispered in my ear, ‘Let’s bid on it.’ Before I knew it the Howard was loaded in a truck heading our way, and it became the focus of our lives after that.”

Fun Facts to Know and Tell About Our Howard DGA

T he Browns ’ Howard was built for the U.S. Navy in 1943 as an instrument trainer and was given the designation of NH-1 (DGA15P). It spent the war at Naval Air Station Atlanta training instrument pilots. “When the U.S. entered the war in 1941, Howard sold contracts to the military making three different variants,” said Roger. “One of those being a utility type aircraft called the GH-1 with a standard rear seat for hauling people or cargo, another was an ambulance version with a double-door configuration that held two litters and a seat for a nurse called the GH-2, and the one they built the most of, which is the type mine is, was an instrument trainer. Our Howard was given U.S. Navy Bureau No. 29457. It was built with two regular seats up front along with a third seat right behind the pilot with a full instrument panel, full flight controls MELODY WOLLANGK

Beauty

BLACK

The resurrection and restoration of a Howard DGA

Roger and Terese Brown

vited to crawl all over a very nicelooking Howard. She was able to run the windows up and down, make round engine noises, and sprawl out in the big back seat. She absolutely fell in love with the Howard and said this was her kind of airplane. She was smitten with the DGA and told me in no uncertain terms that she could really learn to love an airplane like this one. Since then the Howard has been her favorite airplane, and when I showed her the project on eBay, which hap-

www.vintageaircraft.org

including throttles, trim, and all the fixings. A curtain could be pulled around the guy in the back so he was completely flying in the blind on instruments. With 150 gallons

of fuel on board they could go up for over four hours of endurance, and two students could take turns flying on instruments while the instructor road along.”

COURTESY ROGER BROWN

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MELODY WOLLANGK

trol panel and converted it into a civilian-style panel, which is much classier looking. I give Kelly all the credit because it really makes the inside of the Howard shine like a movie star! He also got me focused on the path toward a civilian restoration when it exchanged caretakers, as Terese and I took over the project in February 2010. Even though Kelly sold the Howard to us, we remained in constant contact, and he was a tremendous asset with all the advice he has given to me over the years.”

Restoring a DGA

According to the “highly educated, sophisticated types” out there, there is really no rhyme or reason why anyone in their right mind would ever want to tackle an old airplane project. For them these “old rags” are worthless hulks of tube, metal, and fabric that don’t even come close to today’s space age materials beaming with glass cockpits. Thankfully, we EAA Vintage members and all other lovers of old airplanes never subscribed to that “educated” type of thinking. “We really love vintage things: cars, furniture, and especially air-

MELODY WOLLANGK

COURTESY ROGER BROWN

After the war the Howard was sold as surplus and went through several owners including Gen. Curtis LeMay who owned it while stationed at Offutt Air Force Base where he used the big Howard as a personal transport for himself. In the late 1980s it was involved in a bad landing mishap at DuPage Airport, Illinois, and was eventually rebuilt only to have another bad bounce in 1994 while flying in New Mexico and suffered some extensive damage including wiping out the gear, crumpling the tail, and damaging the wings as well. “A fellow by the name of Kelly Bare bought the project and moved it to Lakeland, Florida, where he began to restore it,” said Roger. “For the next 15 years he worked on it as time permitted and took the frame right down to the bare metal. He then bead blasted, oiled, and powder coated it, and it began to look like a Howard airframe again. Kelly tackled the gear and installed new floorboards on it as well. His main goal was to replicate a prewar civilian Howard and return it to its former beauty. To accomplish this he did away with the military bare-bones style con-

planes,” said Roger. “But the real fun is bringing them back to life because there is just such a great feeling of pride associated with that. To get this project moving forward I farmed out the reconstruction of the wings, which included all new wood spars and wood gussets. Every glue joint in those wings is fresh. The Howard wings are quite complex as they are all wood interiors and skinned with wood as well. We ended up replacing the wood with 3/32, three-ply mahogany plywood instead of the original 1/16inch sheets, so we beefed it up with thicker wood and modern glues. I found out from the Howard club early on that the glues used back in the 1940s was a casing glue, and the bond after all those years is just “not holding hands anymore,” so it was an easy decision to use a more modern adhesive. It took a year and a half just to rebuild the wings, flaps, and ailerons, not including the covering and paint work.” According to Roger he was consumed restoring little parts so someday they could all become one big part that resembled an airplane. “It was more or less two and a half years of working on pieces and parts, painting them, and then wrapping them up and storing them until the big finale of putting everything back together again. I did all the sheet metal and covering on the Howard myself and farmed out the tail feathers ju st to tr y and s p e e d the project along. Things really moved quickly about a year ago when the wings went back on. Then it became a matter of hooking up the control surfaces, hanging the Pratt & Whitney R-985 450-hp radial engine that I had overhauled. The real fun came when we were able to add the fluids and began unwrapping all these parts I worked on years

ago. It was like Christmas every day when I unwrapped something new and bolted it to the Howard.” With the Howard now looking like a factory fresh model, Roger wanted to make sure he stuck with the original theme Kelly had started with so many years ago. “Although you will see a majority of Howards with beautiful polished spinners up front, there are about only three of us who don’t install them because we call ourselves purists. It’s well-documented that Howard never delivered an airplane with a spinner on it. So for authenticity purposes I don’t have one on there. Truth be told, they are kind of a pain as well because you wind up taking it off when you need to grease the prop and maintain the hub. Another reason I don’t use one is the fact that I also like the look of the big counterweights hanging off the big Hamilton Standard 2D30102 inch propeller as well.” According to Roger, the black paint scheme came about from a photo of a Howard he had located that depicted one that was delivered to the governor of the state of Michigan in 1941, and because both Roger and Terese were both originally born and raised in Michigan it was a natural choice for them. “For covering I used the Stits process,” said Roger, “and the black color is Dakota Black, along with Daytona White and Reno Gold for the pin striping—she is a real beauty! The interior is just as pretty with the seats covered in glen plaid English wool that was fire treated and then two colors of leather: camel-colored leather with black piping to really give it that vintage look and feel. The headliner is flame-retardant wool. Around the windows we installed burlap-looking material that assists with the transition from the www.vintageaircraft.org

PHIL HIGH

Specs

N number: NC29457 Crew

one, pilot plus three to four passengers (NH-1 trainer has an additional blind flight student station behind the pilot)

Length

25 feet 8 inches

Wingspan

38 feet 0 inch

Height

8 feet 5 inches

Wing area

210 feet

Airfoil

NACA 2R212

Empty weight

2,700 pounds

Loaded weight

4,350 pounds (USN aircraft: 4,500 pounds)

Max takeoff weight 4,350 pounds Engine

Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine, 450 hp

Never exceed speed 235 knots Maximum speed

175 knots

Range

1,095 nm

Service ceiling

21,000 feet

Rate of climb

1,800 feet/minute

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headliner to the leather. Once you step inside you swear you have been transported back in time to the early 1940s.”

Taming the Howard

“A fellow Howard owner named Dale Walker got me up to speed on the proper ways of flying a Howard,” said Roger. “The Howard is a bit of a handful, and I actually thought my Stearman time would be a good foundation, but I quickly learned they are both different animals—very different. There is not a lot of comparison between the two other than the fact that they are both tailwheel airplanes. “Ever y Howard owner I have talked to told me to never let myself get complacent and don’t feel too comfortable because it will bite you in a hurry. That’s sound advice I keep in the back of my mind every time I fly this beast. It’s a lot of

COURTESY ROGER BROWN

PHIL HIGH PHOTOS

SEPTEMBER /OCTOBER 2014

fun to fly, but admittedly the landing can be kind of ‘interesting’ if you don’t have everything lined up just right. The rule of thumb when flying any of these old airplanes is to leave your ego and pride on the ground back in the hangar and don’t be afraid to call on those 450 horses that sit up front in the Pratt & Whitney engine and just go around. Believe me I have done a number of go-arounds when things just didn’t look or feel right. Other than that idiosyncrasy, flying the Howard is like hopping into a ’55 Buick Roadmaster; it’s

a big, cushy, comfortable, lope-along airplane. My fuel burn is around 20 gallons per hour, and I cruise around 26,000 manifold pressure and 1875 rpm with it leaned back. That combination gives me a true airspeed of around 140-160 mph depending on altitude. “It’s not as fast as a lot of Howard owners will lead you to believe, but it’s definitely twice as fast as my Stearman so it makes me smile every time I fly it.” When it comes time to land, Roger likes to enter the pattern at a respectable 80-85 mph with flaps deployed. “The flaps can be retracted below 100 mph, and that’s just about the time I am turning base to final, slowing and bringing the power back to just under 80 on short final. As I continue over the fence at 80 I let it settle to the ground and wheel land it. Of course, like any taildragger I don’t stop flying it until it’s safely in the hangar. My hat goes off to Benny Howard for building such a wonderfully designed airplane. To me it’s the epitome of vintage aviation, and the Howard DGA is certainly a ‘Damn Good Airplane’!” Although Roger loves to share the Howard with fellow vintage connoisseurs, he admits none of this would have been possible without the “brains and beauty” of the whole operation, his wife Terese. “Terese is the only reason this airplane ever got restored and back into the air,” said Roger. “Don’t ever let anyone fool you into thinking that it was the workmanship involved; heck, that’s only 10 percent. Without the love and unselfish support of a loved one like my wife, this airplane would still be in a million pieces. While I had all the fun restoring, she paid all the bills, mowed the lawn, trimmed the hedges, and did the dishes. She did all the things I should have been doing but took it upon herself to do all of these tasks while I worked on the project. A person can have all the mechanical talents in the world, but you will never ever finish an airplane project without the loving patience and understanding of a tolerant spouse. I would have never finished this project without Terese’s help.”

What Our Members Are Restoring Are you nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it done and you’re busy flying and showing it off? If so, we’d like to hear from you. Send us a 4-by-6-inch print from a commercial source or a 4-by-6-inch, 300-dpi digital photo. A JPG from your 2.5-megapixel (or higher) digital camera is fine. You can burn photos to a CD, or if you’re on a highspeed Internet connection, you can e-mail them along with a text-only or Word document describing your airplane. (If your e-mail program asks if you’d like to make the photos smaller, say no.) For more information, you can also e-mail jbusha@eaa.org. www.vintageaircraft.org

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n late July 1983, 22-year-old Joe Flood happily embarked upon a cross-country flight—one that would take him not only to his destination, but would chart a course for well into his future. An ambitious young man who was (and still is) passionate about aviation, he’d already logged 390 hours’ flying time since he first started flying at age 15. Flood’s flight from his home in New Jersey to Wisconsin took one long day and seven fuel stops. He arrived at Wittman field in Oshkosh on July 28, where his freshly restored 1939 Aeronca 50C Chief accrued accolades from numerous aviation aficionados. Flood grew up building model airplanes—thus his affinity for the simple, yet rugged, construction of the Chief. He bought the Chief (NC23927) when he was 18 years old. It had been languishing, with its parts in disarray, in a barn in Vineland about half an hour from his home. The engine had previously been reworked to produce 65 hp, and Flood re-covered the fuselage and painted it white with an orange sunburst trim.

Joe Flood’s

Love Affair The second time around

SEPTEMBER /OCTOBER 2014

MIKE KELLY

by Sparky Barnes Sargent

Joe Flood

PHIL HIGH

www.vintageaircraft.org

Aeronca Chief 50 Aero Digest ad.

Aeronca Chief 65 Aero Digest ad.

will say it’s a real buy—see its luxurious cabin interior, comfortable side by side seating, crown top, streamlined fuselage and cowling, and all of its outstanding features that are creating such enthusiastic comments. Then fly it—get the feel of its spirited performance, the flyability and easy control that novice and experienced pilots, alike, are praising. Aeronca’s engineering and craftsmanship is matchless—recent news making, record breaking flights have proven the ‘Chief ’s’ stamina, safety, speed, and economy.”

Orchids to Aeronca 1939 ad.

Flying Floods

MIKE KELLY

This photo was taken during the Fourth National Aeronca Convention—Joe Flood and record-setter Johnny Jones stand by the Chief.

“I flew it around at the local fly-ins, and everybody made a big fuss and asked me where I got it,” Flood says with a smile. “They actually had me worried. I said, ‘ Well, what’s wrong?’ They told me that it was unique because it had the ‘up’ exhaust, and that I should write to Aeronca and put it back to original. I flew it until 1982, when I wrote a letter and sent a photo of the airplane to Flood’s Oshkosh ’83 John Houser, an Aeronca seraircraft award. vice engineer. He replied and 36

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told me which colors they had used and about the large tachometer, and sent me some blueprints.” Houser also indicated that Flood had a rare gem on his hands when he wrote: “The factory log indicates that NC23927 [s/n C4979], Model 50C, was completed Sept. 20, 1939 with the same A-50 (s/n 106995) now installed (which is quite unusual)… The overhead exhaust and original 50-hp cowling are pretty rare items now…” Flood spent the next six months re-covering the wings and making the Chief as close as he could to Aeronca’s specifications. Then he and his Chief made the flight to Oshkosh, and stayed for about four days. On August 2 he was homeward bound, where a pleasant surprise awaited him. “After I got home, I found out I was awarded the Outstanding Closed-Cockpit Monoplane award. Gene Chase, who wrote for Vin-

tage Airplane, had taken some pictures and did a little article on the Chief and me, so that was the start of something really big for me.” That was the first of nearly a dozen awards Flood received for his workmanship. The virtually original Chief won nearly a dozen awards over the next six years, and in 1988, Flood met a pilot who had long before established a record in a Model 50C. Johnny Jones set a lightplane record by flying a modified Aeronca 50C nonstop for 2,785 miles from Los Angeles to New York. His flight was in late November 1938 and took fewer than 31 hours with an average speed of 91 mph. Fifty years later, Flood enjoyed meeting Johnny Jones

during the Fourth Annual Aeronca Convention in Middletown, Ohio. A photo of the two men appeared in the National Aeronca Association magazine, with young Flood’s Grand Champion Antique Model 50 in the background.

Aeronca: Proven Champion of the Low-Price Field

The Aeronautical Corporation of America produced several models of high-wing lightplanes early on, beginning with the Aeronca C-2 in the mid-1920s, the C-3 in the early 1930s, and then the Aeronca K model, which was the forerunner to the prewar 50C Chief. A company ad in the April 1939 issue of Popular Aviation touted: “Look at a ‘Chief ’ 50—you, too,

In the ensuing years since his Chief ’s debut at Oshkosh, Flood and his wife, Janet, had three sons (Joseph, Jeffrey, and Jason) and a daughter whom they named after the Jenny biplane. The Floods have made aviation not only an avocation, but a vocation as well. “I have a one-man aircraft restoration business, Jenny Aviation, at the South Jersey Regional Airport in Lumberton, New Jersey,” says Flood, adding, “I really like Pitts Specials—the first one I bought was back in 1985, and now I specialize in them. Joseph is 30, and he’s a crop duster pilot. Jason is 22, and he’s a commercial-rated pilot. So flying is a family-affair type thing for us.”

Take Two

Fast-forward to EAA AirVenture 2013, and you’d find Flood celebrating his love affair with the Chief the second time around. At first glance, an observer from 1983 might think NC23927 had simply remained in Flood’s capable hands for 30 years. But for most of those years, the Chief was only a wistful memory. He explains, “I had my first Chief until 1990, when I sold it. Six years later, it was destroyed in a ground www.vintageaircraft.org

PHIL HIGH

accident in North Carolina. The insurance company had the salvage, and I followed it for a while, but it was tied up in litigation. Later I called and asked about the yellowand-green Aeronca Chief, and they said it had been scrapped.” Disappointed, but inspired to celebrate an anniversary milestone at Oshkosh, Flood began searching for another prewar Chief. He wanted one with the “up” exhaust and no rear windows. He sought diligently until he found one. Little did he realize at the time just how serendipitous a find it really was. “I wanted to re-create my original airplane, and in March 2010, I f i n a l l y fo u n d a 1 9 3 9 C h i e f (N22463, s/n C4109) project in Kansas City that fit the bill. It was fairly complete, and even had the original aluminum wheelpants, along with the skylight and twopiece windshield,” recalls Flood, adding, “the fellow who helped me load it in the truck gave me a paper which had the history of that airplane. I read a little bit of it before I left for New Jersey, and it stated that the guy I bought the airplane from had bought it from a Leon Perkins—and that kind of rang a bell. In fact, I kept thinking about that during the drive home.” Therein lies the tale of some 38

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“I flew it around at the local fly-ins, and everybody made a big fuss and asked me where I got it.” —Joe Flood interesting histor y and a mystery solved. As soon as Flood arrived home, he rooted through his Aeronca files and found a letter from Perkins. It all came back to Flood, as his thoughts went back to Oshkosh in 1983. One of the fellows admiring the Chief had introduced himself as Leon Perkins from Wichita, Kansas. Perkins was rebuilding his own 1939 Chief, and he asked Flood about availability of the wing struts and the windshield. “ I to l d h i m t h a t t h e w i n d shield was broken when I bought NC23927, so I had written a letter to an aircraft windshield company in Los Alamedas, California. They told me to send both halves to them, so they could make a mold and be able to make them for other people with ’39 Chiefs. In July 1985, Leon sent me a letter stating he had bought a windshield from that company, and then I sold him the wing jury struts he needed,” shares Flood, adding with a smile,

“so I got everything back when I bought this project; I just couldn’t believe it!” Another important facet of recreating Flood’s first Chief was obtaining its original registration number. His oldest son perused the FAA website and discovered that NC23927 was still available and reserved it. Flood was also able to find Perkin’s contact information online and talked with him personally. Perkins even had photos of the airplane at a car lot in 1950; turns out he’d traded a car for it. (After Flood completed the project, he sent photos of the Chief to Perkins, but lost contact with him soon afterward.)

Noteworthy Features

Flood pointed out several noteworthy features of his 1939 Chief, beginning with the distinctive exhaust ports atop the cylinders of the 65-hp Continental engine and the “up” exhaust, which is exposed out-

side the seven-piece, wraparound cowling. The exhaust system is then routed back down through the cowling and behind the engine, where the heated air escapes through louvers on the lower portion of the cowling. “The engine runs very cool because of this system,” says Flood, “the oil temperature in the wintertime doesn’t get much above 120 degrees and in the summertime it’s about 145 degrees—and you’d like to see 180 degrees to burn the moisture out of the engine. So it really doesn’t develop the oil temperature that it should—but that’s the way they designed it. I flew my first Chief for about 500 hours, and it did run very much on the cool side. Another unique feature is the original engine mount, which only has rubber washers, similar to the A-40 Continentals, as opposed to having conical mounts.” The prewar Continental was in sad shape when Flood bought the project, so he disassembled the engine to have the various components inspected and repaired as necessary. “I sent the cylinders to Don’s Dream Machines in Georgia, the crankcase to Crankcase Services, and the crankshaft to Aircraft Specialties in Oklahoma. I also sent along the cam and all the lifter bodies,” recounts Flood, “I think in parts alone, it cost me about $8,500.” Just a glance at the nose of the airplane reveals a rather unusual ram air intake. “It kind of looks like a big megaphone out front,” comments Flood, adding, “I have some paperwork that indicates that this style was used on the 1938 J-3 and J-4 Cubs which had the ‘up’ exhaust. For some reason, this airplane had one, and I elected to keep it.” A sweeping glance inside the cabin reveals a 10-inch, creamfaced tachometer face which incorporates small oil temperature

1939 Aeronca 50C Chief

Manufactured under ATC 675 Length 21 feet 1 inch Height 6 feet 3 inches Wingspan 36 feet Wing area 169 square feet Weight empty 670 pounds Wing loading 6.68 pounds/square feet Useful load 480 pounds Gross weight 1,150 pounds Fuel capacity 12 gallons Maximum speed 100 mph Cruise 90 mph Landing speed 36 mph Rate of climb 550 feet first minute Cruising range 270 miles Power loading 22.6 pounds/hp Ceiling 14,000 feet Aeronca Chief 50C sold for $1,695. The Aeronca 65C Chief sold for $1,795; the specifications vary only slightly from those for the Model 50C. (Derived from manufacturer’s specifications & Juptner’s U.S. Civil Aircraft, Vol. 7) and oil pressure gauges in the lower portion of the dial. The tach is prominently placed in the center of the instrument panel, just below the fuel selector valve. Simple yet fully functional, the panel also has an A-7 mag switch, and an Aeronca non-sensitive altimeter and airspeed indicator. A plain wood panel is mounted vertically atop the instrument panel, behind which is a 12-gallon fuel tank. The filler neck sports the original, and now rare, fuel cap. Interestingly, the aileron and rudder control cables are only 3/32inch diameter, while the elevator cable is 1/8-inch (which is more commonly used). “This airplane was certified with 3/32-inch cables back in 1939; it was almost like an ultralight,” says Flood, “this Chief has the original streamlined aluminum hollow wing struts—like

Cessna used in later years. I had acquired some extra struts through the years; they’re hard to find now.”

Airframe

The Chief ’s wings have spruce spars and truss ribs, and its welded steel fuselage is faired to shape w i t h pl y wo o d b ulk he ad s a nd spruce stringers. The tail is externally braced with streamlined tie rods, and the tail surfaces are constructed of steel channel ribs and trailing edge, which are welded to a tubular leading edge spar. Streamlined “V” wing struts converge at the landing gear and fuselage longeron, and are secured to the wing spar at the upper end with an inverted “V” jury strut. The Chief’s cabin has a bit more headroom than previous model Aeroncas, and the door way is about 4-1/2 inches wider as well, www.vintageaircraft.org

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT MIKE KELLY

Close-up view of the Scott tailwheel assembly.

The pre-war Chief has mechanical Shinn brakes and wheels and oleo struts.

few issues which he wanted to address. “Perkins had basically rebuilt the whole airplane, and then sold it to a group of guys who covered it at a fabric workshop,” recalls Flood, “but it wasn’t a terrific covering job because they used rollers when applying the coatings. So I spent weeks sanding the coatings off, and that was a challenge. But

it was basically a good airplane to start with, and I left the Superflite fabric on it. In fact, I use the Superflite covering system in my business when I cover the Pitts airplanes, so that’s what I used on the Chief. It’s a pretty fast system to work with because you don’t have many coats of primer to apply before you put on a couple coats of

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT PHOTOS

facilitating cabin entry and egress. The trim tab lever is located overhead, within easy reach of the pilot’s right hand. Oleo (spring oil) struts provide ample shock absorption and the tripod-style landing gear offers stability with its 70inch tread. After Flood brought the project home from Kansas City, he found a

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

Detail view of the exhaust port on the top of the cylinder. 40

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Close-up view of the panel with the large cream-faced tach. Note the 1939 penny in the center of the throttle knob.

color. The polyurethane finish resists the elements a little bit better than dope or softer type finishes.” Flood installed shoulder harnesses in the Chief via the use of a clamp type of steel fitting that wraps around the upper carrythrough tube. “Wag-Aero has the different STCs and harness kits that you can just buy and install,” says Flood, adding, “other than that, the airplane really hasn’t been modified. It still has the regular heel brake pedals and the [mechanical] Shinn wheels and brakes. They aren’t the greatest, but they’re good enough to do a run-up and help you out if you get in a bit of a crosswind.” Flood estimates that he invested about a years’ total time in finishing the Chief the way he wanted it; his customer’s airplanes always came first, though. During that time, he and his family endured a catastrophe. “In 2011, as I was getting closer to getting the Chief done, my youngest boy, Jason, was in a plane crash. He was 20 at the time and flew in air shows, and we had just flown home from Oshkosh 2011. He tows banners for his work, and he missed picking up a banner on August 2 and had a really bad crash,” recalls Flood, elaborating, “they gave him about two hours to live and flew him to a hospital. My wife and I didn’t work for five months. I’d just go to the shop as a break from being at Jason’s bedside, and I would sit at the Aeronca and cry. I thought I’d never get it done and I’d have to sell it. But thankfully Jason survived; he’s really a living miracle.” In 2013, with his son home and recovering, a deeply grateful Flood found himself able to return to work in his business and also on the Chief project. In fact, he accelerated the process when he decided that he was going to fly the Chief on its June 2 birthday. In two weeks’

time, Flood and his oldest son, Joseph, worked virtually around the clock and painted the wings with the N number, painted the struts, completed the fuselage, assembled the airplane, and completed the paperwork. “I flew the Chief on its birthday,” says Flood, “and there were about 15 guys there. I checked everything out during the first 45-minute flight, and then flew it again. We all celebrated with coffee and doughnuts, and sang ‘Happy 74th birthday’ to it in front of my shop—it really was cool!”

Aeronca—America’s Personal Plane

Flood flew the Chief to Wisconsin two weeks prior to AirVenture, and put it in a hangar at Brodhead. Then he flew out to Oshkosh in his RV-4, with his fully recovered son in formation in his Pitts S-1. They landed at Wittman field on

Saturday because of weather, and then Sunday morning Flood flew over to Brodhead and returned to the field in the Chief. “It was actually July 28, exactly 30 years later to the day that I brought my first Chief here,” proclaims Flood with a triumphant smile. “And I brought my logbook from 1983 with me this time, to show the date when I arrived here.” Aeronca’s decades-old advertising slogan “America’s Personal Plane” certainly exemplifies Flood’s relationship with NC23927—because for him, it’s truly personal. In his own words, flying to AirVenture 2013 was the fruition of his “love affair, the second time around, 30 years later.” And just as in 1983, he received an award for his restoration efforts. The Chief was selected as the Bronze Age (1937-1941) Outstanding ClosedCockpit Monoplane.

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Alaska or Bust! Tri-Pacer journey by Marla Boone

For reasons that occasionally blur in the mind, my husband and I became the proud caretakers and corestorers of a 1958 Piper Tri-Pacer. This sad, sorry aircraft had spent the last 15 years sitting skinless and dissembled in a South Boston, Virginia, barn with an army of Virginia mice having their way with it. How did we end up with this doodoo-laden, unhinged thing? The man who for 30 years has been our aviation mentor casually asked one day if we’d be interested 42

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in a short-wing project. Being slightly barmy about things with wings of any size, we said yes. Weeks later he called to inquire as to our seriousness about a restoration. We assured him we were all for it. “Great,” he replied. “I have it heaped on a flatbed trailer. I’ll be there in an hour, and you can unload it.” Unload it we did. The wings went into the basement (barely—good thing they were short), the fuselage was carried (landing gear not yet lo-

cated) into the barn, and about four dozen boxes of “stuff ” were carried downstairs to join the skeletal wings. Our 3,000-square-foot basement was filled to the joists with ailerons, doors, struts, and items to be identified later. Walking through this mess was like hiking hip-deep in the aftermath of an explosion at the Piper factory. I may be a relatively new A&P mechanic, but even I could figure out the first job was to scrub an inch of mouse poop off the wings.

You never see this glamorous job on Flying Wild Alaska. Hour by hour, month by month, our ugly duckling molted most of its former self into a swan. We spent three to four hours after work each evening and 10 to 12 hours a day on the weekends giving this airplane its second chance. The piles of unattached parts slowly diminished. Instead of hundreds of small individual pieces, we riveted, glued, bolted, and wired our way to having a few very large pieces. Fourteen months after picking up the first screwdriver, these few large pieces were returned to their natural habitat—an airport. Here the control surfaces were reattached and rigged. At this point, our carburetor began giving us real problems. We had a spare on the shelf, but that one didn’t work any better. With five days to go before departure, we had yet another overnighted, and this third one was indeed the charm. Anyone who has experienced removing the bottom cowl of a Tri-Pacer can appreciate our

frustration, but all systems were finally go. We pushed the airplane out of the hangar and into an ideal June day. It was an altogether wonderful sight. My wish for you all is that at some point in your lives, you feel the clutch of pure pleasure, pride, and undiluted love I felt when I saw that airplane. Having been lucky all my life, I drew the straw that allowed me to be the test pilot. Preflight checks, ops checks, slow taxi, high-speed taxi, liftoffs to five feet…all went perfectly. The IA said, “Fly it,” and he didn’t have to say it twice. Those stubby little wings did their duty, and the airplane lifted easily back into her realm. We rebuilt the airplane on a fixed time schedule (never again a restoration with a deadline!) to be able to fly it to Alaska for a Piper convention, and we did just that, along with two other couples in their own Tri-Pacers. Depar ting in mid- June and making our way slowly west, we crossed the Illinois plains of Carl

Sandburg and the muddy Mississippi of Mark Twain. We flew lots of pilotage and met lots of friendly folks. One of our two travel partners developed some significant oil burn over Missouri. We tore his engine down and replaced the rings in one day. Leaving Missouri for Iowa did not solve the problem. By great good fortune we landed in Osceola, Iowa, and were greeted by a man with a two-digit EAA membership number. He made phone calls to procure another set of rings, then lent us his hangar, his tools, and his droll sense of humor while we made additional repairs. On our only day of low-VFR weather, we crossed the seamless landscape of Manitoba under an overcast sky, discovering for ourselves the home where the buffalo roam. In Alberta, we stayed at a mom-and-pop hotel run by a Chinese man who listened to the twangiest country music ever recorded. Provost is where the oil field workers go to let off steam. It didn’t look as though there were too many opportunities to sin in www.vintageaircraft.org

Provost, but you also wouldn’t expect to find a George Jones fan from Beijing there, either. Before leaving home, we were lucky enough to talk with a man who has f lown to Alaska seven times, and we learned much from his experiences. “Fly the highway here,” he would explain, drawing his finger along one of our many, many sectionals, “but not here.” His advice saved us at least two days of being weathered in. Never before in our flying had we been faced with choices such as flying over large bodies of water versus flying past the face of a glacier where the air was incredibly rough. Along with wondering if I were hitting my noggin hard enough on the overhead speaker to cause a concussion was the equally unsettling thought, “Now, did I remember to put a cotter pin in that…?” The good people of the Canadian Flight Service sys44

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tem could not have been more helpful. They handdrew us weather maps and were unstintingly generous with information and assistance. When we finally crossed the border of the Yukon Territory into Alaska, we cleared customs at a place called Northway. I believe I can say without fear of contradiction that the wind has never ceased howling in Northway in all of recorded history and before. We tried to secure the airplanes by tying them to concrete blocks and by placing wheel chocks in front of and behind the tires. The wheel chocks blew away. We had the dubious pleasure of retiming a magneto in this maelstrom on the only available place with enough light: a picnic table on the tarmac. Four of us formed a makeshift windbreak with our bodies, while one tinkered with the points. The sixth placated the customs agent by unloading about 400 pounds of gear from a PA22 in a fair imitation of the clown car at a circus.

All of this was just a prelude, of course, to winding our way southwest from Northway to Anchorage. Anchorage should be renamed Airplane Heaven. Merrill Field, the general aviation airport, was everything an airport ought to be. Airplanes of all descriptions and some that defy description (I give you the PA-20 with a lumber rack attached to the belly) were on hand. If you are an airplane junkie, there is no better place to get a fix. But there are more treasures here. Lake Hood Seaplane Base is the busiest in the world. The carefully orchestrated comings and goings there give water ballet a new meaning. Tucked under a corner of Anchorage International Airport was the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum. It was while meandering though the stories and pictures of Alaska’s flying past that we ran into a large piece of that past, Oren Hudson. Mr. Hudson began his love affair with airplanes while still in school. He’d sit in his classroom, one ear primed to the teacher and the other listening for the sound of an airplane, any airplane, flying over. W hen he caught the sound of an engine aloft, he’d run to the pencil sharpener, which was conveniently located near a window. There, he would pare the graphite down to nothingness, grinding away at the sharpener and dreaming of flying. The fellows at the Las Animas, Colorado, airport used to tell transient pilots no matter what time of day or night they landed, there would be a boy on a bicycle to meet them. Oren was that boy. Eventually, he joined the ranks of those pilots and ventured to Alaska. There he made his living by transporting the mail, the groceries, and anything else that needed hauling. This included a sofa and chair that he wedged into a Cessna 170

after removing the traditional seats and the doors. (He brought a bucket along to sit on for flying home.) “Sure,” he laughed, “it stuck out a little bit on each side. But it flew. It flew.” If you are ever offered a week to see Alaska, turn it down. Seven measly days are simply not enough to take in a meaningful fraction of the beauty there. We reluctantly headed home, knowing the winds of Northway awaited us at the border. Also at Northway were a hulking Huey and its crew on their way to fight some forest fires near Fairbanks. The pilot had been flying helicopters for more than 30 years, having learned the finer points of his trade in Da Nang. Along for the ride was the Huey’s mechanic, who had decades of experience keeping these things flying. He made it perfectly clear that he worked on them; he did

not ever intend to rappel out of one, and who can blame him? I know exactly two things about helicopters: 1. When you start the engine, the wings disappear, and 2. Everything on a helicopter moves, and therefore everything on a helicopter demands almost constant attention. Our journey home was as magical as the original. We flew over fo g - s h ro u d e d r i v e r b e d s a n d through silent steep valleys with mountains looming above. We crossed placid lakes and windstirred prairies, mosquito-filled marshes, and arid foothills. In 16 days, we accumulated 80 hours of f lying time. It was wonderful. When we first considered flying a small airplane 3,700 miles to Alaska, a friend warned that it was also 3,700 miles back. You know what? He was right.

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Puss Moth

Geoffery de Havilland goes modern . . . sort of: Ben Cox and his DH.80A by Budd Davisson Photos by Phil High

Anne-Marie Liszczyk and Ben Cox

Designed in 1929, the Puss Moth was the first of Geoffrey deHavilland’s monoplane designs and the owner, Ben Cox, considers it a worthwhile touring machine even though his is exactly 80 years old.

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“So, what’s the really long lever by my right knee?” “It rotates the main landing gear strut lengthwise so it’s 90 degrees to the wind.” “Really?! Why would I want that?” “When Geoffery de Havilland flew the prototype, he found it

was so clean, he couldn’t get it into the field next to his parents’ house. All of his other designs were biplanes, but this one just wouldn’t slow down in flare as quickly. So, the rotated strut acts like a drag brake.” “Does it work?” “Yeah, it works great!” www.vintageaircraft.org

Old Airplanes as a Part of Life

The long exhaust stack gets the noise aft of the cockpit but, more important, has a heater piped directly into the cockpit which Ben says is very effective. A fuel-efficient cruise of 105 mph is reported with high-cruise being 115 mph.

Ben, who is 36 years old, is younger than those we normally see attached to such exotic flying machines. He easily explains the connection. “I was brought up around vintage aircraft,” he says. “My father rebuilt Cubs, Champs, and such in England for a living, and it was a foregone conclusion that I’d learn to fly. So, when I was 17 years old, rather than fight the English weather during flight instruction, he sent me to his friend, well-known antique restorer, Addison Pemberton, who at that time lived in San Diego, California. We got along famously, and I wound up helping him on some of the aircraft he was restoring. I even got my tailwheel endorsements in his

A wrecked Tiger Moth donated the 145 hp Gypsy engine.

The long stroke gear soaks up landings and the vertical member rotates 90 degrees to act as a drag brake for the relatively clean machine.

The windshield opens for direct ventilation while taxiing.

A New Kind of de Havilland

England, accompanied by AnneMarie Liszczyk, was answering yet another round of ongoing questions about his thoroughly unique airplane. It was a fair bet that only a few onlookers knew what it was and only a small fraction of those standing around the airplane had ever actually seen one. That was understandable considering this was

Speedmail and C-185.” For years Ben bounced back and forth between Addison’s place and England, where he finished his education as a licensed aircraft mechanic and started f lying for a company doing terrain mapping, search and rescue, and dispersant spraying on oil slicks from a DC-3. He says, “I just never got into

The subject of the conversation was the 1934 de Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth, Geoffery de Havilland’s first monoplane design and, being designed in 1929, one of the earliest English designs with only one wing. The conversation was taking place in the Vintage area of AirVenture 2013 where Ben Cox, of Bristol,

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the only one flying on this side of the pond, and of the 284 built, only a small handful still remain worldwide. It was not the kind of airplane one would expect to see sitting in the Wisconsin grass. But then, Ben Cox himself probably hadn’t foreseen a time when he’d be sitting in the grass under the wing of his own Puss Moth either.

“The Puss Moth initially entered my life in the mid-90s, long before I actually bought it. “I went to visit Addison and his family shortly after they had moved to Spokane, Washington, and learned that local longtime antiquer Skeeter Carlson had a Puss Moth sitting in a hangar at

years later I had a really bad motorbike accident, and while I was in the hospital recuperating, Skeeter sent me an oily rag that he said was what he used to wipe the Puss Moth engine down. He thought it might help me heal. “Puss Moths in England are extremely rare. Even today, there are only two flying there. This is partially because most were impressed into the military during WWII and were pretty used up by the time the war was over. However, 25 Puss Moths were built by de Havilland of Canada (DHC), and Skeeter’s airplane was the third from the last of those, built in 1934. So, even though it was an English airplane, it had never been in England.” As the story goes, Skeeter found the airplane sitting in a British Co-

Ben Cox had to fabricate a rear seat to the factory drawings.

Anne-Marie is credited with fabricating most of the instrument panel.

his place, and it hadn’t flown for something like 16 years. I spent a thoroughly enjoyable week at Ox Meadows [Airport] working with S keeter recommissioning the Puss and then flying it around his patch. When we had finished the Puss, we dragged out his little A-40 powered Heath and did the same thing, which was a real hoot! A few

lumbia garage, its wings folded. It was far from being a basket case, but it did need a lot of TLC and was missing a bunch of parts. This included all the instruments, the exhaust system, and miscellaneous small parts. Its covering was still intact but was layered with decades of dirt and bird droppings. Still, in all, it was in fairly decent condi-

‘normal’ airplanes, and when I was 24, I bought a scruffy Gipsy Moth that I flew for a year and then dismantled for a protracted rebuild. “Then I wound up with a Hornet Moth, and I just kept working on unusual airplanes. Helping Addison on some of the projects he has done showed me that you can do just about anything, as long as you keep after it the way he does.”

Enter the Puss Moth

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The struts pivot at the appropriate points so the wings can be folded by pulling a single pin on each side.

The aircraft was found nearly abandoned in a barn in Canada folded up like a locust and covered in 16 years of dirt and bird droppings. The fabric was still airworthy.

tion, which was unusual because it had some hard periods in its life: For three years it had been owned by a mining company, and mining company airplanes often wind up in the trees or a ditch. Skeeter bought the airplane in 1958. “Skeeter trucked it down to his place in Spokane,” Ben says, “to join his growing stable of antique airplanes. The engine was a Gypsy Major 1C, which was specific to Canada. Rather than the normal 5.9-to-1 compression it had a whopping 6.1-to-1 and 145 hp, versus 130.”

A New Moth for the Stable

“Years later, 2012 to be exact, Addison was visiting us in England, and he mentioned that Skeeter was selling his airplanes. I couldn’t get on the phone fast enough and agreed to buy the Puss Moth. I thought that would be the ultimate antique airplane to own in the U.K. First, because de Havilland itself is as British as British can get, and the Puss Moth is certainly one of the rarer DHs around. It’s also an antique that can be flown more or less like a regular airplane in that

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it has an enclosed cockpit and a pretty dependable engine. I guess you could say it is almost practical. Especially in Europe, where the distances are so short.” As Ben got deeper into the purchase of the airplane, it turned out that it had been in a landing accident some years back, but Skeeter had repaired it. However, other than the problems it had from not having been flown for the 12 years since he and Skeeter last flew it, it was a complete airplane. But, it needed a lot of restoration-style details tended to. It was the kind of project that wouldn’t be terribly difficult, except that it was half a world away. “I purchased the plane, then flew over from England in May 2012. During that four- or five-day trip, I dismantled it and trucked it to Felts Field near Spokane. Thankfully I had a lot of help from the aviation community there led by Addison Pemberton. The intention was to ship it back to the U.K. to rebuild. At Felts we gave it a good bath and even got its original engine going. It was then that I realized that it wouldn’t take too much

to get it airworthy and have some fun flying it around the U.S. “I flew out again for two weeks in August and gave it a good assessment; removed the engine, brakes, and cables; and then got distracted by driving over to Yellowstone and Glacier Park for a week. “I returned in February or March 2013 for 10 days and fitted new brakes, re-bushed the landing gear, restored the firewall, and started replacing bolts.”

Why Not Oshkosh?

“At some point, the rebuilding craziness that would be required to get it to Oshkosh set in. This was possible primarily because of all the amazing, helpful people at Felts Field. Especially, Addison and Wendy Pemberton. Wendy even offered to re-cover the wings for me! However, the old fabric tested good, so that saved her a job! Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be an engine logbook, which made the engine a big question mark. “I asked Skeeter about the engine, and he told me that when he fitted it, he didn’t know anything about it apart from it looked okay

What appear to be strange flaps are actually movable panels to give fuselage clearance while folding.

and ran well. We wanted to do some proper touring, so we wanted something I’d seen the inside of. To do that, I was going to have to find another, better engine and at least partially rebuild it.” When they decided to go for it, Oshkosh was only two months away and the airplane was halfway around the world. And it needed a new engine. And a new prop. And a new instrument panel. And the list went on and on. Yet the young couple wasn’t daunted. They rolled up their sleeves, bought a bale of airline tickets, and went to work. Ben explains the urge to get the airplane to AirVenture by simply saying, “I like to have an aiming point or deadline for things, and Oshkosh seemed like a good one. “Finding an engine,” Ben says,

“turned out not to be too difficult, but I had to buy an entire Tiger Moth wreck to get the right engine. It was a good one, but having been involved in an accident, it needed stripping and checking. It all checked out as new, and I installed a later model rear case from a Chipmunk so I could run a B&C alternator. On July 8 we shipped it to Spokane.”

The Countdown Begins

The clock was ticking: AirVenture 2013 started July 28. Less than three weeks later. And the engine was 4,579 miles from the airplane. Plus, the airplane was 1,500 miles from Oshkosh. There was less than three weeks to get the airplane flying and fly the 1,500 miles in an unproven airplane at

an estimated 100 mph. Not a lot of time to spare. Although they weren’t going to do a complete restoration, Ben and Anne-Marie wanted to return the aircraft to as close to original as possible in the time available. Ben says, “When Skeeter bought it, the instruments were gone. I guess he installed what he had lying around. It had an electric tach, a vacuum turn and slip—with no vacuum source—an altimeter from a Lancaster, an oil pressure gauge from a Willys jeep, and a mag switch from a Piper Cub. I collected original instruments except for the sensitive altimeter, and because I’d installed a Chipmunk rear cover on the engine, I had to use a Tiger Moth rpm gauge, as the original I’d obtained was a different ratio. “So, it is as original as possible, but also usable. It looks pretty original. We put the radio and transponder where the old map locker was. Addison designed the electrical system and did the wiring. Anne-Marie cut the panel out and made templates of all the instr uments to ar range them. I thought, ‘I’ve got a lifetime of making wooden instrument panels’, so I bought one of those oscillating hole sanders. What a machine! She roughed out the holes with a cutter and then sanded them to perfect size. “Preparing things so far from the plane had its difficulties. I actually had to take six tach drive cables of different lengths so we had a better chance of having one work out! “During the week we were waiting for the engine, we finished up the landing gear rehab, which included brakes, bushings, bolts, and cables, but we were missing some rubber parts for the oleos. I had mailed them from the U.K., but the parcel apparently got caught in a machine and came open. So, www.vintageaircraft.org

Ben and Anne have been touring the US and Canada but will eventually take the airplane back to England.

we were stuck and the clock was ticking. The rubber blocks were eventually tracked down in three different postal locations in the U.S. Eventually, after hours spent on the phone to the lost property department we got a hold of most of them. We figured we’d have to leave no later than the 25th to have just a little margin. But not much. “The engine showed up on the 16th, so we were down to nine days, but at least we had an engine, even if we hadn’t tried to start it yet. We’d use the Puss Moth as the test stand. We were going to have to hang it anyway, so why not? “The prop wasn’t a bolt-on affair,” Ben says. “ The hub parts had to be lapped for a perfect fit, which took some time. Plus, we had to fabricate part of the exhaust system that runs back under the airplane and includes part of the cabin heat muff, which really works, by the way. “We got the engine running, but we were still short the gear oleo parts. The 25th came and went, and we were sweating it. The next morning the oleo parts showed up, but we were too busy to even take a deep breath. We had already re52

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built the Bendix shoe-type brakes, which are activated at the very end of the rudder travel and mounted the Tiger Moth tires. We also fitted a new passenger seat made to factory drawings because the original was lost.”

America, Here We Come!

“We quickly reassembled the gear on the 26th and the next day f lew it for the first time in 12 years. I did two flights overhead the field, then we put Skeeter Carlson in the back seat, while I made the third maintenance hop around the valley for an hour and a half. Then we started packing the airplane with our camping gear. While doing this Anne-Marie was stung by a wasp and had a bad reaction. We ended up at the doctors for the day. “We set off at midday on the 29th, with almost exactly four hours on the airplane and something like 1,500 miles ahead of us. But the weather looked good all the way. We made it in two very long days that totaled 16.2 hours in the air. Not bad for an 80-yearold airplane that hadn’t been flown for a long time.

“The airplane performed perfectly, and we really enjoyed discovering how friendly American airports are. As we gained confidence in the plane, we began making longer and longer legs—it’ll fly five hours on standard tanks. We pushed on pretty hard so were landing at dusk and off again early. We only saw two planes the whole flight, but it was very surreal taxiing in at Oshkosh with the crowds and flocks of airplanes. “At Oshkosh we loved the night air shows, but we hardly got around to see much of the grounds. There always seemed to be someone coming to the plane to chat. We had the best camping spot on the field I reckon. “On the way home, everyone told us to avoid the town of Sturgis as there was a Harley-Davidson rally on. We had pushed on late against some storms and ended up in Rapid City, South Dakota, which was the first airport we landed at where we weren’t allowed to camp. There were no rooms in town because of the rally so we had no choice but to take off in the dusk and dodge thunderstorms into Sturgis! We borrowed the airport car and went for a look in town. Quite amazing! “When we got back in Spokane, we did an oil change and a general look around and then set off to the San Juan Islands, Seattle, Johnson Creek, and then back east to Blakesburg before returning again. We did just over 100 hours.”

Flying an 80 Year-Old Angel

“Like all de Havilland airplanes, it’s a joy to f ly. I’ve been lucky enough to fly all of the pre-war DHs, including the twins, and love them all,” Ben says. “It’s a very nice-handling airplane, indeed. It hand starts very easily and ticks over like a sewing machine.

“The brakes come on at the end of the rudder travel so taxiing is easy. The tail wheel is free castering. If you need to stop there is a hand brake that will apply both brakes together. It also has a ratchet to keep them on if you’ve forgotten your chocks. “Once lined up and power applied it will accelerate and, being British with the prop rotating the correct direction, will have a tendency to swing to the right. It’s easily corrected with a nudge of rudder. “It will levitate off around 50 mph and climb away at 60-70 mph; 1900 rpm will give a cruise of about 105 mph, and 2000 will get 115. I find that in the hot U.S. summer weather the oil temp will get hot if you cruise at 2000, though, and then the oil pressure will suffer a little, so 1900-1950 rpm is the order of the day unless you climb up into the cool air. “It will fly for five hours on its wing tanks. Total capacity of 35 imperial gallons. “Anything less than full throttle the carb is automatically breathing hot cowling air so carb ice is not an issue. Plus, it is very quiet with the long exhaust and the visibility is fantastic. “Stall occurs a touch under 40 mph with a fairly sharp break and a left wing drop that is easily caught with rudder. “Approach is made at 65ish, and the airplane is pretty clean. The air brakes, the rotated landed gear struts, work extremely well to help you get down. Flare to a three-point is normal and is easier now that I’ve installed a lighter wooden prop in place of the metal one. It used to run out of trim as soon as the descent was started but now has plenty in hand. “Landing roll is straight and rarely needs any help. Tail wheel shimmy used to be a problem on the pavement, so I’ve installed a tail lock to sort that out. “All in all it is a very capable tourer, and you often forget it is an 80-year-old airplane. I’ve been into some if the backcountry strips in Idaho at 9,000 feet density altitude and had no need for concern. We have embarrassed a few Husky pilots with the amount of camping gear we have unloaded! “The PS Engineering intercom works extremely well, as do the Becker comm and transponder. Battery charging is provided by a B&C alternator, and together they all combine to make that side of life easy and stress-free.” We tend to forget that just because an airplane is old is no reason it can’t still be as utilitarian as it always was. Ben and Anne-Marie have seen a lot more of the United States than many of us, and they’ve seen it from one of the classiest viewpoints possible.

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E PN JIM KO

ICK

Most of the Classics of the period were defined by small details like the grill work and the Luscomb is no exception.

Comparing the

MIKE STEINEKE

Classics

The Luscombe Model 8 Budd Davisson Not too long ago Luscombes shared a dubious honor with the Taylorcraft. They were voted “The Airplane Most Likely to Be Abandoned on the Back Tie-down Line.” A ratty Luscombe was the rule, not the exception. Although you’d occasionally see fantastically polished, beautifully detailed Luscombes, you were far more likely to see air54

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planes with dull, spotted skin, scaling paint, and small weird animals in residence in nooks and crannies. F ro m t h e b e g i n n i n g , h o w ever, those who loved Luscombes, LOVED Luscombes. They had gotten past the old-wives’ tales about its supposedly “squirrely” ground handling, found out the truth, and gloried in the fact that they were

flying a sporty little airplane at bargain basement prices. Even today, when we are supposedly much more enlightened, the Luscombe stands somewhere near the back end of the classic aircraft pack, when it comes to prices. They are still a bargain. Much more important, they aren’t as hard to fly as the grapevine would have them.

More on that later. Several things make the Luscombe an ideal restoration project. For one thing, they are tiny. Without the wings, they’d fit into a garage (or upstairs bedroom, if you don’t tell mom) without even being tight. Secondly, there are approximately 2,500 flying with another 1,000 estimated to be in barns, attics, and workshops, and an unknown number disassembled for parts. This is another way of saying that finding assistance and parts isn’t difficult. What makes the parts and assistance aspect of supporting or rebuilding a Luscombe much easier than other airplanes is that technically the parts are still in production via Univair. In addition, the Don Luscombe Foundation is the repository for all things Luscombe, and it’s unlikely that we can think of a question it doesn’t have an answer for. It makes owning a Luscombe easy.

Mechanical Description The Luscombe Model 8, like the Phantom before it, was well ahead of its time. Don Luscombe got the first Model 8 going as part of a class project in one of his aviation trade schools, and it went into production in 1938/39. It is worth noting that the airplane was the first commercially successful all-aluminum light

aircraft, although aircraft like the Buhl Pup had used the same material much earlier. By the time the war shut Luscombe down, the airplanes were selling extremely well, a fact not lost on Cessna when it began postwar production of the 120/140. The postwar airframes differed in a myriad of tiny details from the prewar airplanes. Some of the changes are significant, but most are merely interesting. When the company was taken over by the War Department (it was owned by a Swiss foreign national at the time, and you KNOW how dangerous they can be in wartime) to produce subcomponents, its engineering staff never forgot the Model 8. In their off-hours, the engineers continued updating the airframe, and when it went back into production in late 1946, the result was an airplane that took advantage of what they’d learned during the war. Po s t w a r w i n g r i b s , fo r i n stance, are stampings in the rag wings and almost nonexistent in the metal wings. The metal wings use curved, hat-section (actually derby-shaped) stampings to hold their shape with no webs. Prewar ribs are traditional aluminum truss units. The spars, beginning to end, never changed. Most of the airplane’s components were refined for easier pro-

The Luscombe is a metal polisher’s delight. Especially when the rare aluminum pants are part of the equation.

duction. After the war the company continued this process and in 1947 introduced the “square” tail. It took some months to use up existing inventory plus, so, since the two styles of tails are interchangeable, it’s not unusual to see late tails on early airplanes and vice versa. There are two basic wing designs: the double-strut rag wing and the single-strut, stressed-skin aluminum postwar wing. The rag wing was offered as an option after the metal wing was introduced until available stock ran out sometime in late ’46 or ’47. FYI: the rag wings are reportedly lighter than the metal wings, but there’s a lot of controversy as to how much, if any. For such little birds, that’s a sizable amount. The original wings used 0.016 aluminum leading edges, which was easily damaged, especially in the prewar wings that used a softer aluminum. The metal wing was certificated with 0.016 inch but immediately went to 0.020 inch because of availability problems with the thinner material. Luswww.vintageaircraft.org

The Luscombe is one of the fastest of the small engine classics because of its clean lines.

Common engines range from 65 to 90 hp.

combe later listed the heavier skins as an option with the 0.016 inch being standard. With the 0.020inch skin an option, it’s possible to see metal wings with either skin on it. The weight difference was about 7 pounds an airplane. The metal wings originally had only a few inspection panels, but corrosion concerns prompted a service bulletin from the Foundation followed by an AD to install two more inspection panels mid-wing. Since you’re looking at a 10-foot-long closed aluminum box that’s at least 50 years old, that seems like a sensible thing to do. Corrosion is, as with any aluminum airplane, an area of constant concern with the Luscombe. Lus56

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BONNNIE KRATZ

With the flat floor, narrowish cockpit and control sticks, a specific dance is required to board

combes suffered more than most of its peer group because there was at least a 25-year period during which Luscombes were worth very little, and a hangared Luscombe was rare. The vast majority of the population sat outside for most of its life. It has been estimated 10-20 percent, or more, of the airplanes have some corrosion somewhere, and it is often a function of where they spent most of their time. Corrosion spawns an oxide powder that, in a dry climate, helps stop the corrosion. In a damp climate, however, it is said that it collects moisture and promotes even more corrosion. For that reason, Luscombes in the damper parts of the country are more suspect than those from

the drier western states. The wings have the standard corrosion problems, and the spar carry-throughs in the top of the fuselage require close inspection. The Luscombe’s horizontal tail is an area that must be inspected for several reasons. For one thing, the inside ends of the horizontal stabs of earlier airplanes were open to the outside and made perfect places for mice to get in out of the elements to build nurseries. The urinary habits of breeding mice are not conducive to long-lived airplane components. The horizontals also need inspecting because they were often mishandled by owners. The leading edge of later stabilizers contain

ribs that aren’t actually riveted to the spars, so lifting on the leading edge to move the airplane flexes it. Also, the spars themselves are three pieces with a joint just outboard of the fuselage that introduces a stress concentration. A tail that would last an eternity in flight can easily sustain damage through mishandling. That’s why the Foundation has an STC’d kit for a retractable handle that slides out of the fuselage to spare stabilizer abuse. The first place to look for corrosion is at the steel fittings. Dissimilar metal corrosion is also an indication to look elsewhere for that telltale white powder. The landing gear of earlier, stock Luscombes is unique in that the gear legs themselves are cantilevered weldments connected to the center shock absorption spring and hydraulic damper by streamlined tie-rods. Since it’s hard to push on a rope (a basic engineering principle), the tie-rods provide no side load protection and the legs often get bent, cracked, or broken. At the very end of the original production run, 1948/49, the Siflex or Silflex (Luscombe spelled it both ways) gear was introduced. This was a massive piece of swage-tapered tubing with an equally massive welded upper-leg that connected directly to the spring in the middle of the fuselage. This eliminated the tie-rods between the gear legs. A good alternative to the Siflex gear is using steel push-pull tubes in place of the flexible tierods. This what the factory did for float-equipped Luscombes, and the tubes are available from the Foundation. They are a factory-approved installation. The airplanes were, at one time or the other, equipped with every form of brake available including Shinns and Goodyears. They are adequate for flying the airplane,

but a real pain to maintain and keep adjusted. Owners have been doing Cleveland disc conversions on a one-time STC basis for years. A multiple STC may be available through the Foundation. The Luscombe was produced in a wide variety of models, the biggest difference being the engine and wing design. The fuel system was also changed depending on the engine. The 65-hp airplanes usually (not always) had a fuselage tank. However, it was found there wasn’t enough head pressure to feed engines 75 hp and larger because of the increased climb angles. For that reason, Luscombe went to either one or two wing tanks. The postwar rag wings were originally set up for wing tanks, but they weren’t always installed. Here’s a quick breakdown of the models: 8, A-50 engine, a few built “… reportedly they’d just as soon forget it.” 8A, A-65 Continental, about 4,500 built, rag or metal wings 8B, Lycoming O-145, only a handful still flying 8C, 1940/41, 75-hp Continental 8D, 75 Continental with wing tank 8E, Postwar, 1946/47, C-85, metal wings, about 5,500 built 8F, 1948-1950, C-90, f laps, later updated panel 8F, 1959-60, Silvaires T8F, Super rare, tandem quasi-military 8A,B,C,D LUSCOMBES ARE LSA COMPLIANT.

Luscombe Flight Characteristics At the time this was written, not wanting to rely on either memory or hearsay, I contacted the Foundation to see about getting several flights in Luscombes of different

models. I wanted to not only do some comparisons, but also actually develop a feel for the airplane, rather than rely on long ago flights. First we went out in the 8A it had just finished restoring for a customer in Texas. It was so fresh it even smelled new. The airplane was sans electrical but incorporated most of the Foundation mods including its fine-tuning of the control system. “All we actually do is replace the older pulleys with modern ball bearing ones and make sure fairleads are lined up,” it said. In other words, the Foundation takes it back to new configuration. To anyone who remembers Luscombes in their “dog days,” the difference in control feel between those airplanes and a newly restored one approaches astounding. The high-friction feeling of sawing wood with the aileron cables is replaced by a slick, syrupy feel that is delightful before even firing up. Although a Luscombe’s fuselage is narrow, for some reason the cockpit isn’t noticeably tight for averagesized people. I’m FAA-average. The floor is flat, so your feet stick ahead of you to the little rubber rudder pedals that look like old MG brake pedals. They are located just a little off-center and close together, and I had to keep my feet down to keep from touching something above them with my toes. But, then, I was wearing cowboy boots, so that’s hardly a criticism. The heel brakes are back and more centered, and at first, you have to think to keep your feet clear of them. A few minutes in the cockpit, however, and you don’t notice anything unusual. Although you’re sitting well back in the wing, you’re sitting fairly high in the fuselage, so your line of sight is clear of the nose. Just a little stretching drops the nose completely out of your vision. www.vintageaircraft.org

The ergonomic relationship between the stick, throttle, and seat is much better than many airplanes of the period, which makes transitioning into the airplane much easier because you’re comfortable and aren’t reaching for anything. As we taxied out, I messed around with the rudders, and I could immediately see why the airplane has a reputation for its ground handling: The airplane goes exactly where your feet ask it to, and some pilots aren’t used to that. As I was to later confirm on a bunch of takeoffs and landings, the Luscombe isn’t even close to being directionally unstable. But a lot of pilots are. If you move your right foot a little bit, the airplane turns right a little. Move your foot a lot, and it turns a lot. Jab at it, and the airplane jumps in that direction. Any complaint about the airplane’s directional control on the ground would be the same as someone transitioning from a Buick station wagon into a Miata or similar sports car: There’s nothing wrong with the way the little cars handle, but the driver has to get used to a car that isn’t lethargic. The Luscombe responds proportional to rudder inputs, while airplanes like Cubs and Champs don’t. They have a measurable lag (read as: big dead spot around neutral) and the Luscombe doesn’t. Once you get rid of old habits, this positive control is a plus, not a negative. Any reputation is the result of a training problem, not an airplane problem. On my first takeoff in the 65-hp 8A, I was pleased to see how easy it was to hold both an attitude and direction while running on the mains. The gear is really stiff, so you can tell exactly what the airplane is doing and correct accordingly. The secret to corrections: since it does exactly what is asked of it, is “measured response.” Don’t overdo it and start 58

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Luscombe 8 Series

Compared Better, faster, Rating Cub 140 lighter, easier -5 to +5 to

•visibility on the ground • visibility in the air •Inherent directional stability on ground •Rudder control quthority on ground •Brake control authority •Tailwheel authority •Tendency to float in ground effect •Crosswind capability •Gust resistance •Overall relative pilot demand on takeoff •Overall relative pilot demand on landing •Takeoff performance •Climb performance •Effect of gross weight load on performance •Aileron responce •Aileron pressure •Roll rate •Elevator response •Elevator pressure •Pitch rate •Cockpit Comfort Real-World Statistics •Cruise Speed - 95-100 mph (65 hp) •Stall Speed - 35-40 mph •Fuel burn - 4.5 - 5.0 gh (65 hp)

chasing your feet. Apparently that happens a lot with Luscombes. With those long wings, the airplane is eager to fly, and there’s no doubt that it’s flying on the wing, not the engine. That’s even more evident on climb-out. We were two average people on an 80°F day at 1,500 feet MSL, and 400-500 fpm rate of climb was the best we were going to get. The Luscombe’s climb rate was about par with its similarly powered (65 hp) contemporaries. I was not prepared to like the airplane’s handling as much as I did. The slicked-up controls really help, especially in roll. In yaw, the rudders feel light, but that’s because they have very little centering pressure. You have to rely on your butt or the skid ball to see how you’re doing at first. The airplane has a lot of adverse yaw, when measured by modern standards, but it’s about the same as a Champ and easily handled with a little rudder. I don’t know what prop was on this airplane, but it settled down to about 100 mph indicated (probably 105, or

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so, TAS) at 2450 rpm, and I knew we were burning about 4-4.5 gallons per hour. How’s that for fuel economy? Stalls with that much wing happen around 40 mph and are anticlimactic, but I could see where it wouldn’t take much rudder to kick it into a nice spin. Incidentally, a lot of people think the Luscombe would be a great aerobatic trainer, and in fact many people do use the airplane for aerobatics. It may be time, however, for us to re-evaluate that kind of thinking. Yes, it will do loop, roll, and spin type of maneuvers, but we’re talking about airplanes that are sometimes over 70 years old. Most have never been completely gone through, and the airplane has a lot of boxed-in areas that can’t be easily inspected for corrosion. Personally, I’d never aerobat a Luscombe that hasn’t had both the wings and the tail completely opened up and inspected. One thing I was concerned about on the landing was getting it to come down. I expect it to be a real glider. The Luscombe surprised

me, however, because although it glided like crazy, it was still coming down faster than something like the Cessna 140. This is a welcomed characteristic. What I liked much more was the way the airplane slipped. At first I just nibbled at the slip, but soon was perfectly happy to bottom the rudder and lay the aileron over to watch the numbers coming up at us. The nose has only a slight tendency to come up in the slip, and the entire thing was not only easily controlled, but a real hoot to do. Eventually, I got to where I was comfortable slipping hard and then bleeding out the slip a little at a time until flaring. For a long-winged airplane, the Luscombe knows how to come down, when you want it to. Understandably, the airplane likes to float, but not much worse than a Cub and nowhere nearly as bad as a Taylorcraft. In the same situation, it floats only slightly more than a flaps-up C-150. This gives you all day to work at finding the runway and getting the attitude right. Feeling for the runway in ground effect is another place where “measured response” is called for. The airplane moves when you ask it to, so it helps to visually fixate on the edges of the runway and use small, quick inputs to keep it straight, not drifting and in the threepoint attitude. On at least several of those first landings we had a little crosswind, and the airplane handled it easily as long as I did my part. I could see where heavy turbulence and gusts would keep you working because of the light wing loading, but the airplane has the control authority to handle it, if the pilot has the same authority and confidence. Wheel landings with that rigid gear were a simple matter of flying it down and pinning it on, although I did get at least one ugly one. The trick is not to anticipate the touchdown. Work at decreasing the wheel-to-runway distance gradually and let the touchdown surprise you. Once pinned, even on one wheel, it was easy to control. Visibility throughout the approach is excellent. At no time, including during flare, does the runway hide behind the nose. In fact, the nose is just noticeable enough to act as a reference in setting up the three-point attitude. Later I flew with the 85-hp 8E the Foundation was raffling off. This airplane had complete electrical, paint, and about half tanks. On my first takeoff it was only seconds before I could feel the difference 85 hp makes. Where the 65 hp was happy to get off and slow to climb, the 85 was anxious to get off and showed us a solid 800 fpm at 75-80 mph. It had much better performance than the 8A, although it was less than 5 mph faster. Again, I don’t know what the prop pitch was, but the bigger engine really made an airplane out of it. On approach we were using a de-accelerating approach starting at 80 mph and working down to 70

over the numbers. I’m certain that given a little more time, I would have used 65 mph or so at the end to kill some of the float. On final I was surprised to see how quickly the airplane picked up speed, if I let the nose slide down even a little. One thing I did not fall in love with in the pattern is the trim system. It’s a horizontal crank facing forward at the front edge of the seat between the two occupants’ hips. First, I could never remember which way to trim it and I could never actually trim out the pressures on final. Most of the time, I just ignored the trim, set it neutral, and overpowered the pressures, which weren’t very high anyway. Is the Luscombe a difficult airplane to fly? Absolutely not! In reality, because it reacts so positively and has so much control authority, it is probably safer and, eventually, easier than many of its peer group. That, however, demands the pilot learn to control himself first and then the airplane. Based on my experiences years ago with less-thanwonderful Luscombes, I was prepared to be unimpressed. Just the opposite was true. I loved it. A great combination would be a rag-wing Luscombe with both wing tanks, a C-90, and no electrical. Low weight, lots of power, good controls . . . what could be better?

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The Vintage Mechanic ROBERT G. LOCK

Radial engine oil leaks Minor oil leaks in radial engines will develop over a period of time, becoming worse until one must stop and fix the problem. My experience in operating Wright Whirlwind radial engines has been spread over the past several years, but one particular problem seems to be a common occurrence. That is leaking cylinder base seals. (Photo 1.) The problem begins with a small amount of oil seeping from one or more cylinder base(s), and the oil gets worse with time. Case pressures are a big part of the problem, especially when oil seeps from above the lower cylinders. Photo 1 shows how the base seal leakage will show itself to the inspecting mechanic. This particular seep is coming from the No. 6 cylinder on my Wright R-760-8 engine. There is no fix to this problem other than re-

moving the cylinders and replacing the base seal Orings. My experience shows me that the seals will last approximately 500-600 hours. Originally, the Navy called for the disassembly and inspection of these engines as installed on the Naval Air Factory N3N every 300 hoursâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; time in service. Therefore the base seals would have been replaced and not a problem. However, with modern lubricants, the engine will make 1,200 hours between overhauls. Therefore the base seals become a major problem. The first step is to get the overhaul and parts manual out and in plain sight so reference can easily be made and a compilation of necessary parts, gaskets, and seals can be ordered. Photo 2 shows the removal of the No. 6 cylinder from the power case.

Since four of the seven cylinder base seals were seeping, I decided to remove all of the cylinders at this time. The No. 1 cylinder is the master rod cylinder, so I left it for last to be removed. When removing cylinders from a radial engine always be sure the piston is in the top dead center position as these cylinders have very long skirts. If the piston were at its bottom dead center location, the lower oil control ring will snap out of the cylinder and will be inside the power case, making it very difficult to move the crankshaft because the ring will not allow the piston to move out when turning the crankshaft. Photo 3 shows all cylinders removed from the power case. I overhauled this engine in 1988, and it still runs strong; however, it has developed these pesky base seal leaks. The case was finished in Imron gray that has held up extremely well over the years.

gine operation. These seals carry a factory part number, and their age upon purchase is unknown. They could be from an original batchâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;there is no way of knowing. These seals were purchased by me back when I first overhauled the engine in 1988.

Photo 4

These seals will be replaced with modern silicone type seals that fit the Continental IO-520 opposed engine, as the diameter dimension is the same, but the cross-sectional area is slightly larger than the original. But the good feature is they are made from more resilient silicone matter rather than the original rubber, so longevity will be greatly increased. Photo 5 shows the newer silicone seals before installation.

Photo 3

Photo 1 60

SEPTEMBER /OCTOBER 2014

Photo 2

Photo 4 shows the condition of one O-ring as removed from the cylinder base. No longer soft and pliable, this ring is hard and brittle. No wonder it leaked. The small portion of the ring literally broke off when I pulled on it. This, after 560 hours of en-

Photo 5

With new silicone cylinder base seals installed, I shall look forward to many more hours of flight in my trusty Command-Aire before hanging up the helmet. Only time will tell. www.vintageaircraft.org

Ask the AME continued from page 9

dation and compile all the information for ultimately an FAA decision. If approved, the airman must then submit to his HIMS AME a current status report from his treating physician and a psychiatric consultation status report every six months. In addition a CogScreen-AE is a test that is designed to assess the airman’s ability to perform typical flight duties. Typically this tests the airman’s memory and task performance ability. This test is required annually for first- and second-class medicals and every two years for third-class medicals. As you can see the answer to the initial question was not a simple yes or no, and the process would certainly require a highly motivated airman. However several years ago, the same airman would be grounded with no questions asked and no real possibility of appeal. Hopefully we will continue to improve and streamline the special issuance process. Cost is always a concern with required testing, and noted was the recent uproar surrounding the proposed mandatory testing of obese airmen at the cost of $1,500 to $2,000 per sleep study. It is estimated that the cost of neurocognitive and psychiatric testing for approval of an airman on an SSRI will cost between $2,000 and $3,000 depending on geographic location. A highly motivated airman indeed is required!

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Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum, with boldface lead-in on first line. Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2.167 inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black and white only, and no frequency discounts. Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to desired issue date (i.e., January 10 is the closing date for the March issue). VAA reserves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion per issue. Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must accompany order. Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (classads@eaa.org) using credit card payment (all cards accepted). Include name on card, complete address, type of card, card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA. Address advertising correspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.

AIRCRAFT

’37 STINSON SR9-F GULLWING PROJECT. This is S/N 5700, 1st Stinson w/factory installed Pratt & Whitney R-985. 1st owner was Texaco, 2nd Texas & Northern Airways. Alcan Hwy project history. Stored since ‘46. Fuselage tubing excellent, wood & upholstery good for patterns. Wing damage but two spare wings go w/project for parts. Original parts include: engine, fire suppression system, parachute flares, bump cowl & wheel pants, no prop. Located in beautiful Fairbanks, AK. Project is worth $32K, may consider partial trades. Contact Michael: bigtime@acsalaska.net

MISCELLANEOUS

Sitka Spruce (4) pieces 1.75” x 7” x 20’ $1,000. New STC PMA spars for 7AC - 8CCBC & 8KCAB, J-3 & Taylorcraft also. Capstrip, Custom millwork. Rainbow Flying Service, 11905 RD 4 NE #10, Moses Lake, WA 98837, www.rainbowflying.com 509-765-1606

REAL ESTATE

Hangar Home in gated residential airpark, Naples FL, FAA:FA37 baholder@aol.com 239793-2001

WANTED

Donate your factory built plane to leave a significant legacy! A charity that provides mission/ medical services to remote areas of the world. www.samaritanaviation.com 970-249-4341

SEPTEMBER /OCTOBER 2014

VAA

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 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 lynnedunn@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

Straight & Level

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP

continued from page 1

to this committee that you provide us with some guidance and give us some idea of your likes and dislikes about these activities, including any new ideas you may have that would help improve on these activities in the VAA area. There are no ideas that are too big or too small for us to consider implementing in some fashion. Your ideas may be in rough form or as detailed as you like. Please send any ideas or comments you may have to me by e-mail (grobison@eaa.org) or snail mail to the VAA office (VAA, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI, 54903). Thanks for your help. Sadly, I must report to you the passing of our beloved VAA Director Dale (Gus) Gustafson who died on June 26, 2014, in Indianapolis, Indiana. This will be the first time in more than 40 years that Gus has missed the EAA convention. Gus was a longtime judge of antique airplanes and was the chairman of the antique category for more than 30 years. We will miss Gus and his smiling face, and the walking encyclopedia he represented in the VAA judging community. We will all miss him dearly. Good luck on your trip west, Gus. Please refer to the “Gone West” section of this issue of Vintage Airplane to learn more about our dear departed friend Gus. I also wanted to officially congratulate the 2014 Vintage Hall of Fame recipient, Tim Talen from Oregon. Tim is an award-winning, historically correct restorer of early aircraft. His work has been recognized by EAA as well as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum sponsored National Aviation Heritage Invitational. In 1984, Tim instigated the successful rebirth of the Oregon Air Tours of the 1930s. He is the founder of the Oregon Antique and Classic Aircraft Club and the Oregon Aviation Historical Society. Congratulations, Tim! See you at the Hall of Fame banquet in Oshkosh this November. VAA is about participation: Be a member! Be a volunteer! Be there! Let’s all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation. Remember, we are better together. Join us and have it all.

SEPTEMBER /OCTOBER 2014

Copyright ©2014 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association. All rights reserved. VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 549033086, e-mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 6 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $42 per year for EAA members and $52 for non-EAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54902 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. CPC #40612608. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES—Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING — Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken. EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800. EAA® and EAA SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and Aeronautica™ are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.