Va vol 43 no 3 may june2015

MAY/JUNE 2015

•Waco QCF-2 •Gary Coonan’s Fairchild 71 •Marlin Horst’s Fairchild 71 •Boeing Stearman •A Taylorcraft Bond

the

Fairchild 71

Toughness – the DNA of the Ford Super Duty.

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A new 31,200-lb. maximum towing capability on F-4501 is not only best-in-class2, it’s 8,000 lbs. more than comparable Chevy trucks and 1,200 lbs. more than Ram. And when it comes to raw power, Super Duty delivers. The available second generation 6.7L Power Stroke® V8 Turbo Diesel engine comes with 440 hp and 860 lb.-ft. of torque – much appreciated when towing heavy loads uphill and at high altitudes.

With the most configurations in its class, there’s a Super Duty just right for you. And, you know it will be around for the long haul. There are more F-Series trucks on the road with 250,000+ miles than any other brand 3. Those who do the toughest work count on one heavy-duty truck more than any other4 – Ford Super Duty.

The Privilege of Partnership 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.

1 When properly equipped. 2Class is full-size pickups over 8,500 lbs. GVWR. 3Based on vehicle registration data and latest odometer readings available to R.L. Polk & Co. for 1992 and newer model year full-size pickups still on the road in the U.S. & Canada. 4Based on Polk U.S. heavy-duty pickup and class 2-5 conventional chassis cab combined new registrations.

Vintage Airplane

Straight & Level

STAFF

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

GEOFF ROBISON

VAA PRESIDENT, EAA Lifetime 268346, VAA Lifetime 12606

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Busha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jbusha@eaa.org VAA Executive Administrator. . . Erin Brueggen 920-426-6110. . . . . . . . . . . . ebrueggen@eaa.org

AirVenture Oshkosh 2015 . . .

You Gotta Be There!

Art Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Livy Trabbold ADVERTISING: Vice President of Business Development Dave Chaimson. . . . . . . . . . . dchaimson@eaa.org

It’s still March here in Northeast Indiana, but by a quirk of fate, we were actually able to raise the hangar doors the last few days while we tinkered with our airplanes at GWB. I certainly welcomed this after spending a couple of weeks on the B-17 tour in Florida where it was in the 80s nearly every day. This, when it was 18 degrees in Indiana as I departed for Tampa.

When was the last time I got a suntan in March? Let’s see, that would be never! Anyway, the message here is that it’s nice to see Old Man Winter depart the region. I just hope it’s really over.

As many of you are likely already aware, the Friends of the Red Barn fundraising program is currently being marketed to our friends and to members of the Vintage Aircraft Association. It is important for everyone to understand that our Vintage membership dues are never sufficient to underwrite the various programming initiatives as well as a valuable and meaningful Oshkosh experience for our guests and members in the VAA area during AirVenture. It simply takes a huge amount of resources to adequately support our hundreds of Vintage volunteers who performed more than 25,000 hours of volunteer service to the VAA in 2014 in an effort to provide our guests with the best experience possible. AirVenture Oshkosh is by far the largest gathering of aviation enthusiasts anywhere in the world, and our mission at Oshkosh is to provide the very best of “everything aviation” for everyone who engages in our culture each year. AirVenture Oshkosh truly is “everything aviation” in one unique environment situated smack dab in the middle of the Midwest.

I am certain that there are literally thousands of vintage enthusiasts among us who every year see our post-AirVenture publications and enthusiastically watch our website and e-news broadcasts throughout the entire event, but they have yet to make it to Oshkosh. How in the world can you do that? Now I’m certain a lot of you have your reasons, and I’m certain they are valid reasons. But I swear, I cannot NOT be in Oshkosh in July of every year. The mere depression for me would be nearly intolerable to have to sit at home and read the aviation news feeds and blogs out of Oshkosh during the show. EAA Radio does a great job of reporting on the fly-in, but I simply must be immersed in it up to my chin! It’s the only way to completely experience AirVenture Oshkosh. So, that’s this month’s headline news. AirVenture Oshkosh 2015—You Gotta Be There!

Please consider a contribution to the Red Barn fund. You will be forever glad you did! These funds also go a long way toward funding the VAA orga-

Advertising Manager Sue Anderson. . . . . . . . . . . . sanderson@eaa.org Business Relationship Manager Larry Phillip. . . . . . . . . . . . . lphillip@eaa.org VAA, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903 Website: www.vintageaircraft.org Email: Vintageaircraft@eaa.org

VISIT www.vintageaircraft.org for the latest in information and news and for the electronic newsletter:

Vintage AirMail

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Current EAA members may join the Vintage Aircraft Association and receive VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an additional $45/year.

EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine and one-year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association are available for $55 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.eaa.org/airventure 888-322-4636

continued on page 63

www.vintageaircraft.org

1

Vol. 43, No. 3

2015

CONTENTS

MAY/JUNE 2015

Waco QCF-2

20

Home in the North Dakota skies Moose Peterson

Mechanical Art

26

Gary Coonan’s Fairchild 71 Budd Davisson

36

Marlin Horst’s Fairchild 71 A luxurious Lindy Winner Sparky Barnes Sargent

Project of a Lifetime

46

The resurrection and restoration of a Boeing Stearman Damon Ring

53

The Bond of a Taylorcraft

A father and son’s blast from the past Matthew Retka

COLUMNS 1

Straight and Level AirVenture Oshkosh 2015 . . .

You Gotta Be There!

Geoff Robison

7

Ask the AME Kidney stones John Patterson, M.D., AME

8 VAA News 10 How to?

Cut straight lines on polyester fabric

Robert G. Lock

MOOSE PETERSON

2

MAY/JUNE 2015

12

Good Old Days

16 Art of Flying

The boy and the old plane—Part 2

Sarah Wilson 58 The Vintage Mechanic

Evolution of aircraft instruments, Part 2

Robert G. Lock 63

VAA New Members

64 Vintage Trader

COVERS FRONT COVER: Jim Koepnick focuses on the business end of Gary Coonan’s Fairchild 71 over a Florida lake.

BACK COVER: Marlin Horst eases his award winning Fairchild 71 over some lush green country side near EAA Oshkosh. Tyson Rininger photo.

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

ANY COMMENTS?

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

3

TM

Friends of the

RED BARN

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 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. Or fill out the form on the right and mail to FAA FORB, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. 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!

4

MAY/JUNE 2015

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Choose your level of participation: o Diamond Plus ($1,500 or more) o Diamond ($1,000-$1,499) o Platinum ($750-$999) o Gold ($500-$749) o Silver ($250-$499) o Bronze Plus ($150-$249) o Bronze ($100-$149) o Loyal Supporter ($99 or less)

TM

Name: ____________________________________________________ EAA #:_______________ VAA #:______________ Address:_______________________________________________________________________________________________ City: ______________________________________________________ State:________________ ZIP:________________ Phone:_____________________________________________________ E-mail:_____________________________________

o Payment enclosed (Make checks payable to Vintage Aircraft Association) o Please charge my credit card for the amount of: $ Credit Card Number: Expiration Date: Signature:

Badge Information (for Bronze Level and above) o Yes, prepare my name badge to read: ______________________________________ (Please print name)

o No, I do not need a badge this year.

Certificates o Yes, I would like a certificate. o No, I do not need a certificate for this year.

Vintage Aircraft Association | 3000 Poberezny Rd., Oshkosh, WI 54902 | 920.426.6110 | EAAVintage.org The Vintage Aircraft Association is a non-profit educational organization under IRS 501c3 rules. Under Federal Law, the deduction from Federal Income tax for charitable contributions is limited to the amount by which any money (and the value of any property other than money) contributed exceeds the value of the goods or services provided in exchange for the contribution. An appropriate receipt acknowledging your gift will be sent to you for IRS gift reporting reasons.

www.vintageaircraft.org

5

Nominat ions

C A L L F OR V I N TA G E A I R C R A F T A S S O C I AT ION

Nominate your favorite vintage aviator for the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame. A great honor could be bestowed upon that man or woman working next to you on your airplane, sitting next to you in the chapter meeting, or walking next to you at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Think about the people in your circle of aviation friends: the mechanic, historian, photographer, or pilot who has shared innumerable tips with you and with many others. They could be the next VAA Hall of Fame inductee—but only if they are nominated.

The person you nominate can be a citizen of any country and may be living or deceased; his or her involvement in vintage aviation must have occurred between 1950 and

the present day. His or her contribution can be in the areas of flying, design, mechanical or aerodynamic developments, administration, writing, some other vital and relevant field, or any combination of fields that support aviation. The person you nominate must be or have been a member of the Vintage Aircraft Association or the Antique/Classic Division of EAA, and preference is given to those whose actions have contributed to the VAA in some way, perhaps as a volunteer, a restorer who shares his expertise with others, a writer, a photographer, or a pilot sharing stories, preserving aviation history, and encouraging new pilots and enthusiasts.

To nominate someone is easy. It just takes a little time and a little reminiscing on your part.

•Think of a person; think of his or her contributions to vintage aviation.

•Write those contributions in the various categories of the nomination form.

•Write a simple letter highlighting these attributes and contributions. Make copies of newspaper or magazine articles that may substantiate your view.

•If at all possible, have another individual (or more) complete a form or write a letter about this person, confirming why the person is a good candidate for induction.

We would like to take this opportunity to mention that if you have nominated someone for the VAA Hall of Fame; nominations for the honor are kept on file for 3 years, after which the nomination must be resubmitted.

Mail nominating materials to: VAA Hall of Fame, c/o Charles W. Harris, Transportation Leasing Corp.

PO Box 470350

Tulsa, OK 74147 E-mail: cwh@hvsu.com Remember, your “contemporary” may be a candidate; nominate someone today!

Find the nomination form at www.VintageAircraft.org, or call the VAA office for a copy (920-426-6110), or on your own sheet of paper, simply include the following information: •Date submitted.

•Name of person nominated.

•Address and phone number of nominee.

•E-mail address of nominee.

•Date of birth of nominee. If deceased, date of death.

•Name and relationship of nominee’s closest living relative.

•Address and phone of nominee’s closest living relative.

•VAA and EAA number, if known. (Nominee must have been or is a VAA member.)

•Time span (dates) of the nominee’s contributions to vintage aviation.

(Must be between 1950 to present day.)

•Area(s) of contributions to aviation.

•Describe the event(s) or nature of activities the nominee has undertaken in aviation to be worthy of induction into the VAA Hall of Fame.

•Describe achievements the nominee has made in other related fields in aviation.

•Has the nominee already been honored for his or her involvement in aviation and/or the contribution you are stating in this petition? If yes, please explain the nature of the honor and/or award the nominee has received.

•Any additional supporting information.

•Submitter’s address and phone number, plus e-mail address.

•Include any supporting material with your petition.

6

MAY/JUNE 2015

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

Kidney stones J.C. writes, “I passed a kidney stone last week, and I want to know how this will affect my upcoming medical.”

There are a number of new conditions that the aviation medical examiner (AME) can issue if certain conditions are met. Kidney stones were to be included in a second group of these conditions, but unfortunately the strict guidelines have not yet been released.

Currently the present guidelines are nebulous and arbitrary at best. A retained stone or a history of recurring stones—especially their need for treatment for incapacitating pain or hospitalization—will certainly factor into an FAA decision. Currently, therefore, if a stone is present on computerized tomography (CT), intravenous pyelogram (IVP), ultrasound, or KUB (kidney, ureter, or bladder film), or if the pilot has had to go to the emergency room for pain control and for treatment of a kidney stone, these pilots will need to be deferred for FAA certification. If after a kidney stone episode, X-ray imaging demonstrates no additional stones and the pilot is asymptomatic, the AME can then issue the certificate.

It becomes less straightforward when imaging demonstrates an additional stone. When is this retained stone significant and likely to cause sudden incapacitation? Most urologists agree that a stone larger than 4 mm in diameter is a difficult stone to pass without significant pain. Also the location of the stone is important. Stones in the upper and mid portions of the kidney are more likely to break loose and travel down the ureter, causing obstruction and, therefore, pain. A stone in the bottom or lower pole of the kidney may stay in position with the help of gravity and is less likely to cause discomfort. When a pilot is approved by the FAA through a special issuance process, he or she is likely to be required to provide imaging that shows stability in the size and position of the retained stone. And, of course, the pilot must not have pain or symptoms.

Almost 90 percent of kidney stones are composed

of calcium—usually in the form of calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate. Many people who have stones have a hereditary predisposition to stone formation, either absorbing more calcium from a regular diet through the GI tract, or they excrete more calcium through the urine than the general population (renal leak phenomenon). Typically, once these stones have formed, they cannot be dissolved safely. Any medication that dissolves calcium stones will have some effect on bone, therefore the difficulty in treatment.

Currently the most effective treatment is drinking sufficient amounts of water to produce 2 liters of urinary output in 24 hours. This amount will vary given environmental conditions. For example, more fluid intake is required during hot and humid conditions due to insensible loss through perspiration.

Increased fluid intake serves to dilute the urine and make crystallization, and therefore stone formation, less likely. There are a few medications that can be used for prevention of stones. Medications that inhibit calcium absorption through the GI tract are not commonly used due to their side effects and malabsorption of needed nutrients. Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic that causes the kidney to excrete potassium instead of calcium in the urine and is helpful in the previously mentioned renal leak phenomenon.

These patients may also need to take a potassium supplement as well. One of the treatments is the use of citrate for stone inhibition. Potassium citrate can be used not only for replacement of potassium but for the stone inhibition effect as well. Lemon juice is a natural way to get citrate in the diet. Vitamin B6 may also decrease oxalate production in the body and is sometimes used as a stone inhibitor. Current recommendations for stone prevention include low to moderate protein, salt, oxalate, and caffeine intake in the diet. Interestingly, a low-calcium diet previously recommended for stone prevention does not seem to help and may actually be detrimental for stone patients. Currently moderate calcium intake is recomcontinued on the page 63

www.vintageaircraft.org

7

VAA News National Travel Air Reunion, Wichita, KS This year the Travel Air Restorers Association (TARA) will be hosting a Travel Air National Reunion celebrating 90 years since the founding of the Travel Air Manufacturing Company at Wichita, KS. Historian Ed Phillips has traveled to Benton, KS to check out Stearman Field (1K1) and he reports that the location is great and that it will make for a good base of operations. OK, here are the dates, Thursday thru Sunday Sept 17-20, 2015 so mark your calendar. Activities will be planned and scheduled on each of these days. I expect that many of you will start arriving on Wednesday, as I plan to do, so we won’t miss anything. Tours of various points of interest are being planned including the original Travel Air factory which still stands and is part of Textron Aviation. All Travel Air owners and enthusiasts are welcome.

Check out our website www.travelair.org or call 408-3563407 for more information. To help out with planning let us know that you are planning to come.

The first Model “A” built, c/n 1, rests in the prairie grass of the California Section five miles east of downtown Wichita shortly before its first flight in March 1925. The airplane had been trucked out to the field from the small shop behind the Broadview Hotel, assembled, rigged, and the Curtiss OX-5 engine tested to ensure a successful maiden flight. The pilot was Irl Beach, a well known resident and aviator in Wichita. As series of flights that day were witnessed by a local representative of the National Aeronautic Association. The Model “A” was a classic design that launched the fledgling Travel Air Manufacturing Company on its way to five years of success. (Edward H. Phillips Collection) 8

MAY/JUNE 2015

VAA Election See attached insert ballot to vote Dave Clark Vice President Plainfield, Indiana As a child, Dave built almost every type of flying model airplane.

He learned to fly in J-3 Cubs in 1958 in Indianapolis, where he and his wife, Wanda, moved so Dave could attend pharmacy school at Butler University. He has owned an Aeronca Chief, an Aeronca Scout, and two Tri-Pacers. Dave has been working on and restoring airplanes since 1969. Currently he is restoring his 1946 Aeronca Chief. After his retirement, he enrolled as a student in the Vincennes University airframe and powerplant (A&P) program in Indianapolis and graduated in 2005. He is now an A&P instructor there. For five years Dave served as the president of the Hendricks County Board of Aviation Commissioners to build a new airport (2R2), which opened in December 2001. Dave attended two EAA conventions in Rockford and has attended all but two fly-ins in Oshkosh. He served as a judge of the Antique aircraft category for 25 years, served as co-chairman of Antique Judging, and served as the VAA chief judge for a number of years. He currently serves as vice chairman of the VAA Convention Management.

Jerry Brown Director Greenwood, Indiana As a member of EAA and VAA since 1983, Jerry currently serves as chief judge for the VAA, has served as an Antique Classic judge since 1999, and has received his 50-mission Young Eagles pin. He received a Bronze Lindy in 1991 and again in 1998 as VAA Customized Antique Champion. Since his retirement in 1989, he has worked full-time restoring Wacos. He is involved with most phases of the restoration process including engines and airframes. He emphasizes the importance of having younger enthusiasts participate in restoration work by providing hands-on experience for them in his Waco shop. Jerry is a member of EAA Chapter 729 and served as treasurer of the American Waco Club for 16 years. Jerry is a private pilot, SEL and MEL, with 3,000-plus hours in single-engine airplanes, 1,000 of which is with conventional gear. His business and community service includes 25 years as founder and CEO in plastics manufacturing and the custom sportswear business as well as serving on the board of trustees of Franklin College.

George Daubner Director Oconomowoc, Wisconsin George’s love for aviation started at the tender age of 12, when he attended his first air show at his hometown airport in Hartford, Wisconsin.

It was then that he realized he wanted to make flying a large part of his life. He started flying in 1969 and earned his private ticket in 1970. In 1974, George was hired as a copilot flying Beech 18s for a Milwaukee-based charter company. His job du-

ties also included managing the Hartford airport on weekends. During that period George was able to checkout in many different types of antique and classic aircraft, including a Cub, Stearman, Great Lakes, and Luscombe, to name a few. Having retired after 25 years of corporate flying, George spends his time now as the operations manager and a pilot of the EAA B-17, and as a pilot on the EAA’s Ford Tri-Motor.

From 1983 through 2008, George served the VAA during AirVenture as co-chairman under Art Morgan and eventually chairman of Vintage Aircraft Parking & Flight Line safety. From 1995 through 2013 he served the VAA as vice president.

Susan Dusenbury Director Walnut Cove, North Carolina Susan began flying at the age of 15 on a private airport (Overton Field) located near her shared hometowns of Andrews and Pawleys Island, South Carolina. She earned her private pilot certificate during her senior year in high school.

Susan is a graduate of Francis Marion University holding a degree in accounting and business administration. While in college Susan earned her commercial, multiengine, instrument and flight instructor certificates. After college Susan enrolled in a two-year airframe and powerplant mechanics course and graduated with an associate degree in aviation maintenance technology. Susan is a longtime EAA and VAA member and volunteer and is currently serving as president of Vintage Chapter 3. Susan recently retired from the EAA board of directors after serving for 20 years and also recently retired from ABX Air (formally Airborne Freight Corporation) after flying 25 years of night freight.

Over time Susan has owned and/or restored several vintage airplanes including an Aeronca 7AC Champ, a Luscombe 8A, an Inland Sport, a KR-21, and a Culver Cadet. She now owns and flies a 1953 Cessna 180 and a 1937 Taylor J-2 Cub from her farm in North Carolina and is currently restoring a 1935 Stinson SR-6 Reliant. www.vintageaircraft.org

9

How to?

ROBERT G. LOCK

Cut straight lines on polyester fabric

Woven polyester fabric tends to unravel when it is cut dry and in the gluing process can be a real pain with threads and filaments pulling from the cut. To avoid this problem I use a process that coats the cut line with the first coat of filler material (in this case Poly-Brush), allowing it to dry, and then cutting with a good pair of scissors, razor blade, or knife. It works well and gives a nice straight line with no fraying of the fibers. See figure 1.

Figure 1 10

MAY/JUNE 2015

Figure 2, a left-hand Hatz biplane upper wing being covered with the Poly-Fiber process. I always lap the seams where they won’t easily be seen; therefore, the final overlap on the upper wings is on the top, and on the lower wings it’s on the bottom. Install the top fabric first and securely bond it to the structure. When the glue dries gently preshrink the fabric enough to remove any wrinkles from the leading and trailing edge. Then brush a strip of Poly-Brush about 2 inches wide where lower fabric will be attached. When this is dry, begin to attach the lower fabric, wrapping around the leading edge, and then mark the cut lines with a pencil and use a long straight edge.

Brush a coat of PolyBrush along the pencil line and allow it to dry. Then, place a clean 1-by-4-inch wood strip under the cut line

e!

Fre ss Me

and, using the long straight edge, razor cut the line. The wingtip can be done in the same manner, only you will have to heat shrink the fabric around the wing bow to avoid wrinkles. Once the fabric is heat shrunk around the bow, mark it with a pencil, brush on a coat of Poly-Brush, and let it dry. Then make the cut with a pair of sharp scissors, starting the cut and then pushing the scissors to make the cut. Once the lap joints have cured, the fabric may be heat shrunk per instructions of the manufacturer.

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11

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.

12

MAY/JUNE 2015

s d A d e fi i s s a l

C

14

MAY/JUNE 2015

June 1938

v

Western Flying, April 1941

What would you have found . . .

v

Western Flying, August 1946

v Western Flying, April 1941 www.vintageaircraft.org

15

The Art of Flying SARAH WILSON

SARAH WILSON

The boy and the old plane—Part 2

The boy sat down on the floor of the shed. Next to the boxes and bags and parts and pieces, as dreams of flying flew through his head.

“If you tell me what it feels like to fly, it will help me be patient,” the boy said. “It is very hard to wait for the Eighth Day to begin. I always have so much to do, and so little time to do it in. Swimming and skating and sleepovers and summer camp. There’s ice cream for dinner nights, boat rides, treasure hunts, and games of kick the can. When you never 16

MAY/JUNE 2015

have enough time to do all the things you like to do, it’s very hard to believe there is all the time in the world waiting for you.”

The plane smiled inside.

It had been so long since the plane had a little boy for company.

“Climb up my wing, buckle up, put your hands on my stick. I can’t wait to show you what it feels like to fly,” the plane replied. “Let’s fly over there.

That’s the feeling I’ve been waiting to share. Hang your head over the side and pretend. Flying feels like riding your bike down the soapbox derby track with no hands. Like you’re a birthday candle blowing yourself out in the wind.

Flying feels like goose bumps bubbling up from inside your skin. Like you’re a can of soda pop you just shook up, popped your top, and spilled smiles down your chin. Feel the wind blowing your breath away?

Feel your bubbles bubbling out from within?”

The boy smiled on the outside as giggles bubbled out of him.

“Let’s fly over there. That’s the feeling I’ve been waiting to share,” the plane said. “See how the sky

“Climb up my wing, buckle up, put your hands on my stick. I can’t wait to show you what it feels like to fly.”

changes color at dinnertime? A sky feast awaits. Hang your head over the side and breathe in. Smell the orchard in the wind? Like someone just put apple blossoms up your nose. Now look down, into the ground.

Use your imagination. See the purple in the trees?

Bite in. What do you taste? Does the purple in the ground taste like plums or popsicles to you? Now look high, into the sky. Feel how the light spreads, warming and melting on your skin. Use your imagination.

Lick it. What do you taste? Does the yellow in the sun taste like honey or buttered popcorn?”

The plane waited for the boy to reply, but he had fallen asleep on the floor of the shed. The plane smiled inside. It had been so long since the plane had a little boy asleep under its wing.

In the cool darkness of the shed, the boy started to dream. Perhaps it was a dream, but no one can ever be sure if dreams aren’t real. He dreamt that wild men blew through the meadow with wind and blue flames in their hair. Flying biplanes and wearing boots as tall as their knees. They pulled the wind out of their hair and wrapped it around the barn like a scarf. Then the men blew flames across the beams to break the www.vintageaircraft.org

17

barn’s roof apart. With hands as big as hams, they picked up the wood and wove it into the plane’s wings. Then the wild men laid leather coats on the seats and took the shirts off their backs to patch the plane’s fabric with their sleeves. They laughed so loud it shook the ground. Then they poured gas from their flasks into the engine, until it glowed bright blue. When the plane was done, and shining like new, the wild men wrapped the wind around their necks again and blew back from where they blew in. Somewhere over the horizon, half past the point of no return, the wild men danced with the wind over the top of the moon.

When the boy woke up it was almost dark. It had been the most distracting day. Such unusual things: magic clocks and talking planes. Now his tongue tasted like the color blue. The boy didn’t want to leave, but he had so many things to do.

A promise rose up with him as he stood up from the floor of the shed to leave. “I believe I AM going to fly, and I believe I AM going to fly for you, too.”

The plane frowned inside and replied, “Sepa18

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rated so long from the sky, I have forgotten how to believe I can fly.”

The boy remembered the words his father told him when he wanted to stop believing in things. “You’re wrong,” the boy said. “Believing never ends; it can be forgotten and remembered again. Believing begins with the words I am. Small things hold the biggest secrets after all. When you start a thought with I am, anything is possible at the end. Starting a thought with am I is like starting a thought with I can’t! A thought that begins by saying I AM makes your thought end with I CAN.” The plane didn’t reply. Nothing says a lot, it just doesn’t use any words to say it in.

“I promise I’ll be back,” the boy said. “I promise I am going to restore you, and we will fly someday. I won’t forget you. I love you. You’re my Wish Twin.”

Then the boy closed the door of the shed, and the plane was left alone in the dark.

The boy was already past the orchard and through the field when the plane replied, “I believe you.” The plane smiled inside. It had been so long since the plane had a little boy say, “I love you.”

Just then, on the left of the shed, hidden in the corner of an old panel, the very small clock, with a set of very red hands, started to change . . . and glow.

To be continued . . . www.vintageaircraft.org

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Waco QCF-2 Home in the North Dakota skies photos and article by Moose Peterson

The pole barn door creeks and moans as it’s slowly winched up, revealing the history inside.

The waning light of the afternoon sun sneaks in under the rising door to light up what’s safely stored inside. When the door reaches halfway up, the large stainless Curtiss speed ring glistens as the sun reaches into the depth of the barn. There it reveals this gorgeous historic biplane—dark green fuselage, pearl wing with green scallops— 20

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waiting to be pulled out and to enter the North Dakota skies.

Waco, an early aviation manufacturer, constantly evolved its aircraft designs. With the success of the earlier Model F of 1930, Waco introduced the redesigned model QCF based on it. Known as the QCF2, this updated F-line had more horsepower with a Continental A-70-2 165-hp engine. Waco redesigned the landing gear, making it stronger. At the same

time the QCF-2 got an increase in its payload and speed. The Waco QCF-2 quickly established itself as the biplane of the day, earning a grand reputation for its class and became affectionately known as simply the F-2.

It has been written, “Engineers at the Waco factory, eager to demonstrate the F-2’s impressive short-field takeoff and landing characteristics, cleared their vehicles from the perimeter of

the 100-foot circular parking area to demonstrate that the F-2 could take off and then land on the parking circle. The short-field performance of the F-2 was so impressive that it even outperformed the exciting newcomer to American skies, the Pitcairn whirly bird rotary wing Autogiro.” Having flown in this amazing aircraft and seen it perform, it’s easy to see why the Waco QCF-2 is one of the most sought after biplanes today! www.vintageaircraft.org

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The exquisite leather interior has embroidered logos.

Everything designed to beautiful detail.

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The above cockpit photos show the detailed craftsmanship.

Waco QCF-2 NC11490 Lustrous History Delivered from the factory November 6, 1931, S/N 3572 had an orange fuselage, cowling, rudder, and fin and silver wings, stabilizer, and flippers. The Sales & Inspection Record shows the following extras: ring cowl, wheelpants, and metal front cockpit cover. It had a Continental engine, No. 299, with Stromberg carburetor and Scintilla magnetos. With a Haywood starter and Hamilton 16238 prop it was ready to fly.

Records show that the famous Marguerite “Martie� Bowman flew NC11490. She worked for Waco, ferrying new aircraft

to o w ne rs . O n 1 4 De ce m b e r, she landed at Parks Airport, Illinois, with the cited destination as K ansas City, Missouri. The Waco spent the majority of its first years at the Monrovia Airport, California (now gone), as a rental and banner-towing aircraft. Believed to be owned by Al Blackburn, owner of the Monrovia Airport at the time, NC11490 became a bit of a celebrity. Four Holly wood movies, including Laurel and Hardy, were filmed at the Monrovia Airport, and you can clearly see NC11490 in the background of the 1933 film Skyway. This history is still honored today even though the Monrovia Airport is long gone.

Today, there is a famous tile mural in Monrovia, California, depicting f light at the Monrovia Airport. The mural brings to life an old black and white photo of NC11490 on final at the airport. It’s believed at the stick of the Waco in this 1938/39 photo is Don Rolf who soloed in the Waco at Monrovia at age 16 and for years flew it around Southern California, delivering plane parts.

Rolf said he even landed the Waco

inside the track at the Santa Anita racetrack. And the photograph, it’s believed it was taken by the one and only Clancy Hess! Hess also flew the Waco out of Monrovia back in the day.

It was some time after this the Waco was purchased by Lester Causey of Taft, California. Causey, a business man and pilot, would fly his son in the Waco up to the Sierra lakes to fish. On 13 July 1947 they crashed in the Waco in the Sierra foothills during a flight with a potential buyer, killing Causey and seriously injuring his son. The current custodian of this piece of aviation history is

Warren Pietsch who purchased the Waco in 1998 through Forrest Lovley from the Causey family and brought the Waco back to North Dakota for restoration.

The Second Life of NC11490 Pietsch brought the Waco back to Pietsch Aircraft R&R for restoration. There, from 1998 until 2005 as “spare time and spare money allowed,” Pietsch, Gary Johnson, Gordy Valgreen, Chris Grina, Don Larson, and many others painstakingly and lovingly brought the QCF-2 back to airworthy. The final work of art hides much of the work www.vintageaircraft.org

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Warren Pietsch stands happily next to the shining WACO QCF-2.

that went into restoring the Waco.

It’s now powered by a Continental W-670 220-hp radial engine. It was retrofitted with a front exhaust to replicate its original Continental engine. Both e n g i ne s we re 6 7 0 - c u bic- i nch seven-cylinder radials. It has a Hamilton Standard ground24

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adjustable prop as it did from the factory. The only modern upgrade was to the brakes. Pietsch says, “It cruises at about 110 mph and is one of the most enjoyable aviation experiences that I have been able to share with other people, pilots and non-pilots alike.”

The woodwork and fabric was

done with great care to factory s p e c s a n d p re s e n t a t i o n . T h e Waco is covered with Ceconite fabric and painted with butyrate dope (Diana cream, forest green and gold pinstripes—not its original colors). And one of the final touches of restoration is the Curtiss speed ring, which is an option this airplane came with from the factory.

Does the Waco QCF-2 live up to its reputation in flight? Having the good fortune to fly in this gorgeous aircraft numerous times in level and inverted flight, I can personally attest to it. Better though is watching all those deplaning after a flight in it with Warren Pietsch at the stick. In August 2014, Warren was able to give Don Rolf his first flight in the Waco in nearly 70 years. A month later Rolf was still all smiles. There is no grander testimony to the magical flight of the Waco QCF-2. Pietsch sums it up well, “It is amazing to me the connections that have been made because of one airplane; aviation truly is a small world.”

Mechanical JIM KOEPNICK

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Art Art, it is said, is in the eye of the beholder, it’s hard for anyone to behold a Fairchild 71 and not classify it as art.

JIM KOEPNI

CK

Gary Coon a

n, aerial a

rt aficiona

do.

Gary Coonan’s Fairchild 71

by Budd Davisson photos by jim koepnick unless noted

“I knew absolutely nothing about antique airplanes, but as soon as I saw the photo of the Waco UBF, I thought, ‘That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I’ll take it.’” And so began Gary Coonan’s love affair with antique airplanes.

It wasn’t something he chose to do. It was as if antique airplanes knew his love for the mechanically unique and sought him out, culminating with the Fairchild 71, one of only three still flying. None of the foregoing, however, is unique in Gary’s life. From the beginning it has been tinged with a level of uniqueness seldom seen. www.vintageaircraft.org

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FELIX RUIZ FELIX RUIZ

The wicker seats were a major attraction for Gary, who redid the interior in leather.

The single seat cockpit gives a great view of the back of an R-1340 straight ahead but has good side visibility.

Just as Gar y knew nothing about antique airplanes when he got into them, he also knew little about life in America when he went to college. This was because his father, a Caterpillar executive, spent much of Gary’s life overseas, so he knew far more about life in Switzerland and Asia than he did about America.

“When I went to college in Colo28

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rado for mechanical engineering, one of the first things I noticed was the way the area smelled. And the huge lawns. I loved mowing lawns. I thought that it was cool because I’d never experienced it. I even loved the smell of going into a Kmart. All of America was a new experience for me.”

After college Gary worked in a number of automotive-related

companies eventually r ising into management for a company that manufactured automotive repair equipment.

“At that point in my life, I realized I really didn’t like working for other people,” he says. “In fact, I think I was a bad employee, if nothing else because I often felt as if I could be doing a better job than my bosses were. It became obvious to me that my destiny was to be doing my own thing. So, I did.”

While the segue is unclear (and a little curious), Gary left the automotive repair equipment manufacturing industry for the medical equipment manufacturing industry, forming his own company. But, aviation had always been on the back of his mind.

“Like most kids,” he says, “I loved building and flying R/C model aircraft. In fact, even as a kid overseas I knew I wanted to learn how to fly.

So, after I was out of college and working, I saw a Quicksilver MX ultralight for sale in the local want ads. I thought, ‘What the heck?

Why not?’ So I bought it.

“So, there I was, on a field with my very own ultralight. It ran. I had read the book, and the field was pretty empty. So, I made one of the worse decisions I’ve ever made, and I’ve made plenty of bad ones: I decided I’d just jump in it and go flying. As soon as I was off the ground it became abundantly clear that this was not a smart idea. I was so scared! It remains the most exciting thing I have ever done, and I still can’t believe I was that stupid. Somehow I managed to get it down without killing myself and decided right then to go take flying lessons.”

He got his certificate in a Diamond DA20, and the uniqueness in life caught up with him again.

“I got my PPL on September 10, 2001. The next day the entire world changed. But, even though pressures were building on all sides, I decided to buy an RV-7 kit and for a while worked on it like mad. But then the business kept growing, and I got married and had a child, so the airplane, with an engine on it, sat in the hangar for a long, long time with me never touching it. I just didn’t have the time. I finally faced reality and gave up. It got to where I couldn’t bear to even read

The big tires smooth out the roughest field.

FELIX RUIZ PHOTOS

I love certain mechanical visual forms.

They look like art to me, and that was the Fairchild: pure antique art.

Details by the bushel in the Fairchild.

Former owner, John Cournoyer, made sure the subtlest of details were carefully restored.

Some details aren’t very subtle, as with the oil cooler. www.vintageaircraft.org

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Coonan flies the airplane to as many events as practical, even though its 100 mph cruising speed keeps it close to home.

JIM KOEPNICK

Sport Aviation when it came in the mail (yes, I kept my membership).

I’m a very grease-under-the-fingernails, hands-on guy, but life has its responsibilities. So…” He finally got out from behind the desk when, in 2012, he sold his company and began to live life again.

“I’m into almost anything old.

Especially mechanical stuff. For instance, I now own a 1908 and a 1922 Buick, a ’53 Indian Chieftain, and a ’43 Harley. I also own a 1934 Packard that looks perfect pulled up to the Fairchild ready to pick up weary travelers and their luggage. So, when I saw the ad for the gorgeous Waco, I was a goner.

I couldn’t not buy it! Yeah, it was an impulsive buy, considering it had been 12 years since I’d flown a tailwheel airplane of any kind and only knew the basics about round motors. But, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and I’m 30

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a sucker for old, beautiful stuff. I found a military pilot with experience in this kind of airplane, and away we went. My wife met us at the airport, and she too thought it was beautiful! It took me a while to get to where I could fly it, but David Williams who has flown just about everything worked with me until I was more or less comfortable in it.

Then the Fairchild entered my life.”

The straight-line distance from Gary’s home in Bell Buckle, Tennessee (no . . . really! That’s where he lives), to Creve Coeur, Illinois, is less than 400 miles. It’s just a pleasant cross-country in any kind of airplane. So it was only natural that, as his interest in antique airplanes blossomed, he’d quickly find his way to Creve Coeur, one of the hottest of America’s antique airplane hot spots. The museum is home to some of the most revered classics, and one caught Gary’s eye.

“I didn’t go up there,” Gary says, “with the intention of buying a Fairchild 71. In fact, I barely knew what one was. However, the second I laid eyes on it, I knew that I really liked that airplane. It just had ‘that look’ about it. I love certain mechanical visual forms. They look like art to me, and that was the Fairchild: pure antique art. It was classic air travel as it was at the very beginning. The lines, the wicker seats, the big round motor—all had me sold before I even knew it was for sale. It had been restored and put in the museum only a year or so earlier, so it was pristine. John Cournoyer’s restorations are famous for their perfection. So, before I knew it, I heard myself saying I wanted it and was calling the pilot who had worked with me in the Waco to work out arrangements to take it home.”

The trip home turned out to

FELIX RUIZ PHOTOS

be something of an adventure because the engine was using so much oil that Gar y said they ’d be almost totally out in 45 minutes. The first thing he did was have a freshly overhauled, and ver y pretty, Covington R-1340 swapped for the nine-cylinder oil pump that was there. The new one was the 14th engine to reside ahead of the firewall.

Gary Coonan’s Fairchild is reputed to be one of the few with a complete paper trail behind it.

Usually aircraft that are capable of carrying large loads gravitate to Alaska where they are put in harness and ridden hard until they drop dead at some remote airstrip, where their history slowly disappears and becomes hard to trace. NC9727 however never went north.

W hen built in 1928, it was equipped with a 400-hp R-1340 and wore Pan Am colors. It was

Gorgeous creativity, courtesy of the Pratt and Whitney school of art.

based in Brownsville, Texas, and f lew f lights into Mexico until 1934. It then drifted to the West Coast where it flew as an aerial survey ship.

After the war it had a 450-hp R-985 grafted to the nose, and it floated from job to job until, in the 1960s, it became a jump plane in southern California and eventually was re-engined with an R-1340, as originally produced.

The airplane cycled through a number of owners during the ’60s including several rebuilds, one of which saw it placed in the Airpower Museum in Ottumwa, Iowa. Close to 35 years later the airplane was traded to the Creve Coeur museum where John Cournoyer via Terry Chastain took it back down to bare tubing and built it back up again.

This included a long needed total rebuild of the massive wood wing. www.vintageaircraft.org

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JIM KOEPNICK

JIM KOEPNICK

FELIX RUIZ

JIM KOEPNICK

FELIX RUIZ

The airplane came out of the factory with a 400 hp version of the R-1340 but now the throttle commands 600 hp, which only yields 100-105 mph.

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What the Fairchild lacks in speed it more than makes up for in overall docility: it is often referred to as a “big cub.”

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Gary Coonan says, “When we got the airplane, other than the engine, it was actually quite flyable.

We rebuilt the brakes and replaced the vinyl upholstery with leather, but basically, it’s the way John Cournoyer finished it. I view the airplane as a tribute to him and his work.

“We take the airplane to as many fly-ins as we can, but it only cruises at about 100-105 mph while burning 32 gallons per hour so the distances traveled aren’t normally huge. We measure its gas mileage in yards per gallon, not miles per gallon.

“The approach is flown at 65 mph, so everything is happening pretty much in slow motion. It has been referred to as a gigantic Cub. David Williams flies it more than I do, but we both three-point it.

Visibility is pretty bad in three-point, but it really likes them, and once on the ground, you’re better off just leaving it alone. We try to avoid serious crosswinds for obvious reason.”

So, now what? He has his flying piece of art deco art. What’s next? Well…he’s been glider certified and is working on his rotary-wing rating. He also alludes to a mystery plane “. . . I’ve been working on and want to bring to Sun ’n Fun and Oshkosh this year.”

Hmm! At press time we were still guessing but should know what he’s working on soon. Let’s see: He just got his glider rating and is working on flying helicopters. Hmmm!

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Take Time...

to visit the VAA Red Barn during 2015 AirVenture. The place to immerse yourself in the planes and people of the Vintage Assoc. www.vintageaircraft.org

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SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

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Marlin Horst’s

FAIRCHILD “I

really wasn’t looking for a Fairchild; it just providentially fell into my lap,” says Marlin Horst with a smile, explaining, “I got talked into it by a friend.” Marlin, of Bird in Hand, Pennsylvania, won the Antique Grand Champion—Gold Lindy for the restoration of his handsome 1929 Fairchild 71, NC9708.

It all started in 2005 when a cache of antique airplanes in various stages of disarray was unearthed by a team from Radial Engines Ltd. at Frank Field in Caldwell, Idaho. The collection of 27 airplanes was owned by crop

71

duster Eugene O. Frank, and nestled amidst the cobwebs and decades of sedimentary dust in one of his large hangars were the recognizable remains of a Fairchild 71.

“The basic airplane that Frank had was fairly complete, but there were a few things that were just plain missing,” recalls Steve Curry of Radial Engines in Guthrie, Oklahoma. “We actually found the levers that release to allow the wings to fold in a scrap pile, along with some window trim pieces. When I told Pat Horgan, a good friend of mine who was then general manager of Waco Classic in Michigan, about our efforts to identify all the

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

A luxurious Lindy winner

by Sparky Barnes Sargent

www.vintageaircraft.org

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PHOTOS COURTESY MARLIN HORST

Fuselage woodwork is complete.

Perseverance pays off with new metal!

Applying the primer coat to the fuselage.

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airplanes, he flew out and looked at it, and called his friend Marlin to let him know there were some airplanes he’d be interested in.”

It took some time for Pat to convince Marlin that a Fairchild 71 would be a good airplane to restore.

Given the 71’s performance capabilities, it would make a good touring machine, which was what Marlin wanted. Historically, the versatile and capable seven-seat Fairchild 71 filled many roles, whether flown on wheels, floats, or skis. They were used for aerial photography, carrying reporters and newspapers, hauling supplies to faraway outposts in Canada and the United States, and flying air mail and charter passengers.

With a service record like that, the 71s had to have been designed and built well. A 1929 article in Aviation News concludes: “Throughout the making of the fuselage, no pains have been spared to make every part as dependable as it is humanly possible. No wonder any worker who has worked on a Fairchild plane is enthusiastic about its construction. He knows it is the best plane made.”

History Mystery

Marlin purchased the project, which turned out to be the accumulated parts of two 71s. One airplane had registration number NC58993, and the other one’s identity was unknown. He theorized that the second ship was likely NC9708, based upon evidence that in the early 1950s, a Fairchild 71 bearing that registration number was restored in Idaho.

That 71 was owned by Tom Kiiskila of Orofino, Idaho, who operated Tom’s Flying Service. A photo of NC9708 was featured on the cover of the November 1961 issue of Antique Airplane Association News, and Tom wrote: “I had this plane re-

PHOTOS COURTESY MARLIN HORST

The “command center” is taking shape.

NC9708 is one luxurious Fairchild 71.

Beautiful wicker passenger seats.

stored to new shape by Hillcrest Aircraft Co., Clarkston, Washington, last year and they did a marvelous job on it… I do a lot of freighting and flying elk hunters and fishermen into the back country with this ship. It is a good load hauler with a useful load of 2,300 pounds.”

In March 2014, Marlin received a note regarding the two Fairchild 71s from Bert Zimmerly of Oregon. That information helped solidify his theor y: Ber t photographed N9708 S/N 600 and N58993 S/N 37 in 1955. He indicated that N9708 was nicknamed Dumbo and was used as a forest sprayer, but later crashed at Moose Creek Ranger Station strip. Marlin speculates the remnants from this crash were those of the partial 71 he acquired from Frank’s estate (and he hopes more information will surface).

Delving deeper, Marlin also discovered that the original NC9708 (serial number unknown) was featured at the 1928 Hamilton Aviation Fair in Ontario. “I looked up 9708 on the FAA Registry, and it was on an Ag Cat in Louisiana. I called the owner, and he didn’t recall having an airplane with that number, so I told him my story,

and he agreed to give it to me. I sent a letter to FAA Aircraft Registry, reserving N9708 and assigning it to N58993 S/N 37,” says Marlin, elaborating, “Serial No. 600 was the first 71 manufactured by Fairchild in Long Island, and Serial No. 600 NC9708 was eventually sold to American Airlines and served as one of the first commercial people-moving crafts. My airplane is as close a reproduction of serial No. 600 as possible based on existing information published by Fairchild. My goal was to create a corporate transport version of the 71, since this model was the first successful corporate aircraft for general aviation.”

Michigan—a total of 22 tubes were replaced. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, Marlin’s team began taking inventory of the extensive woodwork to determine exactly what they had.

Then they documented the items they didn’t have, which led Marlin to begin “the pursuit of either trying to find the drawing or an original piece to reverse-engineer. At times we designed the part from an engineering perspective, based upon our knowledge of what it was—and then we pursued material substitutions with an FAA designated engineering representative.”

The entire project was under one roof in Pennsylvania by the fall 2007.

Marlin engaged Tim Weaver and Rich Wallen to work on it full-time, and by fall 2008, they had moved the 71 to Marlin’s hangar at Smoketown Airport. Marlin’s son, Kendall, an A&P/IA mechanic, skillfully guided the project with his technical expertise and research savvy.

For four more years, the restoration continued one detail at a time, with Marlin contributing his time and talent as frequently as possible. The team divided the project into smaller ones, and each person assumed responsibility for specific tasks. “A project of this size should

Tackling the Project

Marlin Horst, a mechanicalminded man who enjoys working with his hands, has restored a number of airplanes. His two businesses, Horst Aviation and Premiere Custom-Built (which builds luxury cabinetry), dovetail nicely when it comes to aircraft restorations at the airport he owns (Smoketown Airport, S37).

The restoration commenced in 2006, with the fuselage being repaired at a professional shop in

www.vintageaircraft.org

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TYSON RININGER

not be your first project,” says Marlin, elaborating, “because you have to determine whether you have the ability to complete it. It’s an expensive pursuit and a labor of love; at this level you have to really envision the custodianship of history.”

Airframe

Numerous welding repairs and replacements were done on the structural metal components, including the fuselage frame, empennage, ailerons, flaps, and wing lift struts. The sheet metal work was done by hand.

“A little secret about metal working is this: If you think you’re only going to make one piece of metal, you’ll never ever make nice, complex metal,” explains Marlin. “You have to be prepared to make pieces as many times as you need to develop the skill to get it right. We used an English wheel, hammers, and shot bags to shrink or stretch the metal, and we did a lot of annealing. Basically, we just worked metal like the old-timers did.”

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Sitka spruce and mahogany aircraft plywood was used for the wing ribs, spars, leading edges, and wingtips, as well as various areas on the fuselage. All of these wood parts and assemblies were fabricated in Marlin’s cabinetry shop and received three coats of exterior urethane varnish.

Functional Features

An ad in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 1929, touts the Fairchild’s folding wings, which “allow great economy of hangar space. All appointments are standardized and interchangeable, including pontoons and skis. Leather upholstery, limousine trim and other fittings are stock appointments in the cabin, which is heavily soundproof.

The six passenger seats are springcushioned and the large horizontal windows open all the way.”

The folding wing feature may sound complicated, but such is not the case, according to Fairchild’s

assembly instructions, which state: “The wings may be folded by two men in less than two minutes without disconnecting any controls, fuel lines or electric wires.”

Since Marlin’s 71 had long since had its wing pins replaced with bolts, he lacked all the necessary wing and flap hardware. “I actually had a few drawings and a couple of pieces of original hardware,” recalls Marlin. “I also had a drawing of original wing pins, but the specified metal was no longer available, so I had to get a material substitution approved.”

Another feature which Marlin really likes is the 71’s oleo strut landing gear. “It has a 4-inch stroke, with 1 inch of compression on a 3/4-inch steel spring and 4 inches of travel on the oleo,” he describes. “She’s a soft lander; you don’t really know when you’ve touched down, because it takes a few seconds for the oleo to compress down to the spring.”

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT PHOTOS

Close-up view of the pilot’s command center.

Mods

Since Marlin plans to fly the 71 to Alaska with his wife, Jeanie, he knew he wanted to include modifications to make the cabin plane safe and reliable, and as low maintenance as possible.

The 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 AN-1 was overhauled by Covington Aircraft Engines in Oklahoma. “I put a 108-inch Hamilton Standard constant-speed 2D30 propeller on it,” says Marlin, “and I added a large capacity AeroClassics oil cooler which is ‘hidden’ under the cowl flap on top of the fuselage cowl. The exhaust system was built by Acorn Welding up in Edmonton, Canada.”

Wheels and tires were also on the modification list. “After long discussions with Dick Fischer—the only living reproduction producer of Bendix 6-by-36-inch wheels— it was determined that the landing weight of the F-71 needed the BT-13 wheels with large tires,” says Marlin. “We installed them for serviceability, as well as Cleveland hydraulic master cylinders, which are ‘hidden’ under the panel.”

Marlin also installed a Jasco 24volt charging system and Grimes

Leather seat covers and a luxurious cabin.

Step right into the pilot’s seat!

retractable landing lights. The fuel system was installed with fully restored original fuel tanks (145 gallons total) and Andair fuel valve and gascolators. To enhance the longevity of the fabric covering, he used the Stewart Systems process and finished the 71 with an original-style paint scheme.

He matched the original colors as closely as possible, based upon period research, using Arctic White and Maroon.

Marlin says he located and used “Model A Ford window regulators and latches, vintage broadcloth for the side panels, and wool for the headliner and carpet. I used Peruvian mahogany for the cabin molding and vintage leather seat covers. I also used sapele veneers for panel inserts, and detailed them with gold trim, similar to a rail car of the era. I get more compliments on the interior than I do on the airplane!”

The instrument panel is modeled after the Fairchild brochure as well. Marlin laminated an imbuya burl veneer to an aluminum backer, and then finished the veneer with a lustrous gloss urethane. The panel sports a blend of vintage and contemporary instruments; with a nod to modern technology, the panel includes a Becker transceiver and encoding transponder and a JPI fuel totalizer.

Marlin endeavored to learn the art of weaving wicker for the seven seat frames, but ultimately decided he’d best leave that task to a friend of his who was a skilled basket weaver and cheerfully willing to master wickerwork just to help with the 71.

Dedicated to Detail

When deciding upon the interior details for his 71, Marlin was inspired by the Fairchild 71’s 10page brochure that was printed for the 1928 Hamilton Aviation Fair.

“The brochure was a great resource because it illustrated many details that were not included in later production models,” explains Marlin, “and I also thought that someone of that era would have been very familiar with the appearance of a luxury rail car, so they would have wanted their aircraft to have a similar look.”

The original Fairchild interiors were fitted with luxury automobile hardware and fabrics, so

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Horst glances back toward the wing tip, now folded neatly back above the empennage.

You won’t find any Lexan in Marlin’s 71—the multiple flat windshield panels are made of safety glass, and the side windows of tempered glass. “The glass adds about 25 pounds, but weight isn’t an issue,” comments Marlin. “We believe the original aircraft had real glass, and it gives a real quality

The helpers find the wing easy to handle.

SPARKY BARNES SARGENT PHOTOS

Getting ready to fold the Fairchild’s wing.

The wing is completely folded back along the length of the fuselage.

look, as well as being nice to clean without worrying about scratches.”

Ready, Get Set—Pause

By the fall of 2012, the Fairchild was nearly ready for its first flight, but at that time, Marlin learned of health issues that would postpone the first flight for more than six months. He put the time to good use, wrapping up the paperwork end of the project.

“NC9708 received its airworthiness certificate in April 2013,” says Marlin, “thanks to Mr. Gene Breiner, a designated airworthiness representative and a great friend of antique aviation. We also have a great FSDO here, which was very supportive of the project.”

Flying the Fairchild

The fuel line and wiring stay connected when the wing is folded.

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When all airplane and human systems were ready and approved for flight in May 2013, Marlin climbed in the 71’s luxurious cabin and took to the air for a successfully uneventful first flight. He felt prepared for the flight; he’d logged 3,500 hours, including about

1,000 hours of tailwheel time, since he earned his private back in 1976 (and added an instrument rating in 1982). Additionally, he says, “My flight time in my YMF-5 Classic Waco, an early short-coupled one, prepared me to fly the Fairchild 71. Plus, there are still four guys around who have 71 or FC-2W2 experience, and I talked to every one of them more than once. One guy told me it flies like a heavy Super Cub without flaps—and that’s exactly how it flies.”

Describing the 71’s flight performance, Marlin shares, “She’s got plenty of power; the R-985 produces 450 hp at 2300 rpm and 38 inches of manifold pressure. I discovered that flying with 25 inches of manifold pressure at 1750 rpm gives me a 110 to 115 mph cruise, and my fuel burn is 18.5 to 19 gph.

Takeoff power at 2200 rpm with 30 inches is plenty adequate for a very

nice climb rate. Of course, hot days and heavy loads can require more of the reserve power. She handles her gross weight with energy to spare. The flight controls are operated by pushrods and bell cranks, and the 71 is a heavy airplane with a big wing, so she doesn’t like to turn. She likes to go straight; no aerobatics for her!”

NC9708 has an empty weight of 3,600 pounds and a gross weight of 5,500 pounds. Marlin says, “The forward CG limit occurs with me (150 pounds), no additional baggage, and just 30 gallons of fuel in the center tank. The rear CG limit occurs at 5,500 pounds with all six passenger seats filled—but the passenger weight on the back two seats has to be reduced to 100 pounds each. Basically, the 71 is a truck!”

Marlin lifts off the ground at 60 mph and flies the downwind to

base about 65 mph. Once he’s on final, he’s flying at 60 mph. “That works really good. If you carry a little bit of power to fly right down to the runway and f lare, you’ll land almost immediately on three points. There’s no float, so when you flare, you’d better be ready to land,” he explains, adding, “She’s very crosswind stable, and I lock the tail wheel before taking off and keep it locked until after I roll out on the runway. Then I unlock it to steer it.”

Overall, Marlin is very pleased with his 71. “She’s a sweet airplane and a pleasure to fly,” he says and smiles. “The control input is heavy but balanced. She has a stalling speed about 45 to 48 mph, and she doesn’t mind turbulence. Visibility is pretty good; in straight and level flight, the top of the engine is right on the horizon, so it’s easy to trim for cruise. On final ap-

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TYSON RININGER

TYSON RININGER

proach, I’m looking right between the cylinders.”

Knowledgeable Resources

As of February 2015, NC9708 (S/N 37) is one of only four Fairchild 71s on the FAA Registry. Marlin was fortunate to have the opportunity to glean knowledge from those who have actually maintained and operated the faithful old 71s.

“Jeanie and I flew to Lodi, California, and visited Tom and Kathy Dickson, who currently own N2K. 44

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Tom was really helpful because he had a 71 that was disassembled. I took dozens of pictures of it, and he had some extra parts and loaned me some that I used as patterns,” shares Marlin, adding, “John Cournoyer had a flying 71 in Creve Coeur, Missouri, and he was very kind—he let me spend hours crawling over his airplane and taking pictures. [That Right: Fairchild 71 ad— August 31, 1930, courtesy Antique Airplane Association.

“It’s been a great joy to bring this wonderful part of aviation history back to life.”

—Marlin Horst, owner/pilot/restorer

Fairchild 71 and Berryloid ad, courtesy Antique Airplane Association.

71 is now owned by Gary Coonan of Tennessee and received the 2014 Silver Age Champion—Bronze Lindy.]

Bob Cameron in Yellow Knife, Canada, wrote a book that records the history of vintage aviation in the Northwest Territories in Alaska, and he has an incredible wealth of knowledge. Then there’s my friend, Pat Horgan, who talked me into this project in the beginning. So those are the four key people who helped me through this project.”

All told, Marlin and his team devoted more than 13,000 hours to the Fairchild 71 restoration. Marlin himself logged about 40 percent of those hours. “I was very active in the restoration; we live on the Smoketown Airport, so my hangar is just a couple hundred yards from the house,” says Marlin. “I’d have supper with Jeanie at the house—she was very supportive of the whole project—and then work on the Fairchild until 9 p.m. on weeknights. Then I’d work all day on Saturdays.”

As for the future of his Grand Champion Fairchild, Marlin chuckles and comments, “I will own it until somebody wants it worse than I do, and would be committed to maintaining and keeping it in flying form. It’s been a great joy to bring this wonderful part of aviation history back to life, and we’re looking forward to flying it to Alaska.”

1929 Fairchild 71 General Specifications Manufactured under ATC No. 89 Length 33 feet Height 9 feet 4 inches Wingspan upper 50 feet 2 inches Total wing area 332 square feet Weight empty 2,930 pounds Useful load 2,570 pounds Gross weight 5,500 pounds Fuel capacity 148 gallons Oil capacity 12 gallons Maximum speed 135 mph Cruise 10 mph Landing speed 57 mph Wasp engine 420 hp Rate of climb 900 feet first minute Ceiling 15,300 feet Cruising range 650 miles (Derived from Juptner’s U.S. Civil Aircraft, Vol.1.)

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Project of a Lifetime The resurrection and restoration of a Boeing Stearman

by Damon Ring EAA 739083

Forward What has drawn me to aviation my entire life is learning—learning about the machines, the art, and the people who make flight happen. In that light, Stearman N5165N has been the project of a lifetime. As I learned about the technical aspects of a complete restoration of a tube, wood, and fabric aircraft, the people and places this airplane touched slowly emerged from its past. An enormous amount of original documents incredibly turned up, and the people, the ones who were there, told their stories and shared their pictures. This was a grassroots restoration—no business, no hard sales. Basically just me and Danny Rutten, a man who spent his entire life loving one airplane—the Stearman. This project would not have happened without Danny’s knowledge, care, and dedication to the Stearmans.

The following pages tell the incredibly wellpreserved story of Stearman N5165N. It is truly a grassroots story that has a happy ending—or really, a happy new beginning. Isn’t that what EAA is all about?

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Military History World War II, the second Great War, needed pilots—pilots to push back the aggression of the Japanese Empire across the vast Pacific. Boeing Model B75N1, construction No. 75-7650, was conceived by the needs of the war and its demand for trained pilots.

She was born 21 April 1943 through acceptance by the U.S. Navy at the Boeing Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kansas. Assigned Navy bureau No. 38029, she was delivered three days later to NAS Dallas, Texas, where she began her service as an instrument trainer preparing cadets for the war in the Pacific.

N5165N Military History This role continued at NAS Norman, Oklahoma, after transferring there in May 1944, and more cadets became proficient in her rear seat. Finally the war in the Pacific ended in August 1945, and the following January 38029 was transferred to NAS Glenview, Illinois, where she continued military flying in the Navy Reserves until September

1946 when the airplane was stricken from U.S. Navy records after 2,725.5 hours of faithful service. Her last military service was a ferry flight to Cimarron, Oklahoma, where she would wait two years for the next chapter in her life.

N5165N Military Facts Manufacturer: Boeing Manufacturer’s model design: B75N1 Customer’s model design: N2S-3 Customer: U.S. Army funds transferred to U.S. Navy Manufacturer’s construction number: 75-760 Customer serial number: Bureau No. 38029 Contract number: W535 AC-19041 Sales order number: 3250 Quantity of airplanes on this order: 450 Cost of this airplane at delivery: $5,930 No G.F.E. (prop, engine, tires, wheels, instruments) Total cost including G.F.E.: $8,474

age where it sat, inactive, for two years. The wait ended 8 May 1946 when the engine was installed in plane 07424. Then on 31 May, with Lt. William L. Hood at the controls, engine 26078 flew for the first time in two years on airplane 07424. The engine served 07424 for another 37.5 hours including the ferry flight to W.A.A. Sales and Storage in Cimarron, Oklahoma. At Cimarron, however, there was a twist. Airplane 38029 had also been ferried to Cimarron, and her engine had developed a problem.

And per fate, airframe problems on airplane 07424 led to a last minute engine swap of engine 26078 to airplane 38029 in Cimarron while the dispatched ferry pilot from Ohio and his girlfriend waited. And so the post-military life of 38029 begins.

N5165N Military History Timeline Accepted by U.S. Navy 21 April 1943, Wichita, Kansas.

Assigned Bureau No. 38029.

Delivered 23 April 1943 NAS Dallas, Texas, as instrument trainer.

Transferred May 1944 to NAS Norman, Oklahoma.

Transferred 23 January 1946 to NAS Glenview, Illinois.

Assigned Squadron No. 202 at NAS Glenview.

Ferried to Cimarron 24 July 1946.

Stricken from U.S. Navy Records 30 September 1946.

N5165N Engine 26078 Military History At NAS Glenview, like all training bases, engines were a commodity and would go from airplane to airplane through the cycle of overhaul and availability. During its wartime service, one engine, bureau No. 26638, manufacturer No. 26078, had previously served two other Boeing trainers and had been overhauled twice. The last overhaul was on 13 March 1944 after 1,167.3 hours of service. After pre-installation testing, the engine was put in stor-

N5165N Engine 26078 Military Facts Manufacturer: Continental Manufacturer’s model design: R670-11 Customer: U.S. Navy Manufacturer’s number: 26078 Customer serial number: Bureau No 26638

Engine Military History Summary Accepted by U.S. Navy 13 January 1943 at Long Beach, California.

Installed in Ship 64, bureau No. 29997, 5 March 1943 at NAS Los Alamitos, California.

Transferred to NAS Ottumwa, Iowa, for overhaul 11 September 1943, total time 569.2 hours.

Installed in Ship 129, bureau No. 38309, 27 September 1943.

Transferred to NAS Glenview, Illinois, 29 November 1943.

Removed from 38309 1 March 1944 and sent to overhaul, total time 1,167.3 hours.

13 March 1944: Preserved, awaiting engine run-in.

1 November 1944: Engine run-in test cell.

Installed in bureau No. 07424 8 May 1945.

Swapped to airplane 38029 at Cimarron. Total time in military: 1,246.3 hours.

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Lt. William L. Hood, the military pilot who flew 38029.

Test pilot Lt. William L. Hood’s last known flight path.

Lt. William L. Hood served as the test pilot for 38029 and the engine at Glenview NAS in 1946. He was a Marine ace from the Pacific theater where he flew Corsairs against Japan. He downed three Japanese fighters on April 21, 1945, then two more seven days later.

On August 4, 1946 (nine days after he ferried 38029 to Cimarron), Lt. Hood ferried his personally purchased Stearman to his home in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Lt. Hood left Glenview NAS early in the morning on August 4 and never arrived in Benton Harbor. Extensive searches over the planned flight path yielded no wreckage or survivor. It continues to be one of the lost planes over Lake Michigan.

Early Civilian History On 4 October 1948, O.K. Brown, known only as “Brownie” around the grass runways at Barber Airport in Alliance, Ohio, purchased 38029 for the sum of $450. Brownie enlisted Cletus Wilhiem, a local ex-Air Transport Command pilot to fetch the airplane from Oklahoma. Clete and his girlfriend arrived at Cimarron early October 1948 ready to set off for Alliance.

But the airplane wasn’t ready. Engine 27216, which was on 38029, had developed a problem, and engine 48

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26078 was being removed from airplane 07424 and being installed on Brownie’s 38029. So 38029’s postmilitary history began with a delay that was only the beginning of the end for Clete’s girlfriend. By the time they reached Indianapolis, Clete’s girlfriend had had enough of “Stearmanship,” disembarked, and took the bus home. Nonetheless, Clete arrived at Barber Airport, where C.R. Bucher completed the certification work and Al Barber, proprietor, Taylorcraft test pilot, and CAA designee, completed the conversion to civilian registry. Navy bureau No. 38029 now officially started her new life as Stearman N5165N. The Barber field locals applied a light coat of paint over the military markings, and the insignia of the Civil Air Patrol replaced the fuselage squadron number 202. Brownie had only earned his pilot certificate in 1945, but had grown an affection for aircraft from the war and cherished N5165N. He shared this affection, spending most of his hours logged in N5165N giving rides locally including his wife, Esther, on 14 August 1948.

The times of summer rides over the Northeast Ohio farmland combined with few cross-country flights that never left Ohio lasted for four years and a total of 111.0 flight hours. But “poor braking power” had even broken Brownie’s affection for flying her, and again 38029, now N5165N, was pushed to the back of Al Barber’s main hangar for what would be a very, very, long time.

Early Civilian History Summary Transferred to W.A.A. Sales & Storage Center, Cimarron Field, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 19 August 1946.

Aircraft 38029 purchased by O.K. Brown from Alliance, Ohio.

O.K. Brown paid $450 for the aircraft and engine.

Ferried by Clete Wilhiem from Cimarron Field to Barber Field (2D1), Alliance, Ohio.

Work for conversion to civilian certification completed by C.R. Bucher with Al Barber as the CAA designee 14 June 1949.

Flown locally to Barber field through 1954 season to a total time of 2,845.3 hours.

Last annual in 1954; no other flights logged.

Parked in back corner of hangar at Barber field with a total time of 2,850 hours.

N5165N Second Civilian Life For 28 years N5165N languished in the back corner of the main hangar at Barber field. She was complete and original as she served in the military and drove many men crazy with desire. For all those years

Brownie refused to sell her. But in the fall of 1981, Brownie relinquished and agreed to sell her to Murray Cunningham, a local pilot from Minerva, Ohio, only a few miles from Alliance. So a little over a week later, Murray, with the help of friend Dave Boyce, pulled N5165N out from the back of the old hangar to disassemble and load her on a truck.

A group of airport bums, watching the process, came up with the idea to “start ’er up.” So immediately they are dumping gas in the tank and replacing a missing primer O-ring. The inertial starter crank goes in, and an old guy is yelling at a couple of kids to turn it faster, “make it sing.” Well it didn’t go the first time, but on the second round the old Continental coughed, barked, belched some smoke, and within 10 seconds was running like 28 years was the day before yesterday.

Murray trucked N5165N home and started to tear the old military cotton fabric off. With a little rubbing, the military markings could still be seen. And as Murray worked he left everything as it was in the military, only adding an electric starter because his age said cranking was not in the cards. He labored on her whenever he could. But even so it would be April 1995, 14 years later, before “Brownie’s old Stearman” would fly again. Brownie would not live to see her fly again but was always there in spirit through the next 63.5 enjoyable hours Murray flew the airplane. But on 10 August 2006, Murray succumbed to a landing accident all too common with Stearman pilots. Murray was uninjured, but N5165N was flipped on her back and suffered damage to the landing gear and tail.

N5165N Second Civilian Life Summary N5165N languishes in back corner of hangar at Barber field for 28 years.

Murray Cunningham purchases N5165N from O.K. Brown in fall of 1981.

Locals pull N5165N from the hangar, start the engine, and it runs like 28 years was “the day before yesterday.”

Murray spends 14 years re-covering the aircraft and bringing her back to airworthy condition.

N5165N flies again April 1995. O.K. Brown passes before it flies again.

Murray flies aircraft locally for 63.5 hours.

Murray has landing accident 10 August 2006. Aircraft is flipped on its back.

Murray begins repairs on tail and landing gear.

Damon Ring purchases N5165N as project in January 2012; total time is 2,913.5 hours.

N5156N Restoration Begins Murray worked on N5165N for another six years repairing the tail, landing gear, and torn fabric before I found out about the very original Stearman in the local area. I made Murray an offer and bought the airplane with the idea of a six-month short-term project.

So again, N5165N was disassembled and trucked to the close by airport home of me and wife Debbie.

Once home, I started cleaning and looking over the Stearman. N5165N now sat in my hangar, complete as she sat in military service in 1943. However she was showing age. I couldn’t stand it and quickly made the decision that another “short-term project” was not to be. This airplane deserved a full restoration, down to every part, and damn the torpedoes, I was going to make it happen.

I quickly found out that with the increased demands of my work schedule, another large airplane project was not feasible alone. Fortunately, through another Stearman purchase that fell through, I had met a man who was passionate about Stearmans like no other. It was in his DNA as he was brought up by a father who flew Stearmans out of his private field dusting the shade tobacco around Havana, Florida.

Danny Rutten still lived on this same field his father had cleared and used to earn a living for his family.

Danny and I made an agreement to completely restore the Stearman to original condition. So Danny and another good friend, John Chmura, drove a truck and trailer up from Havana, Florida, and again N5165N was loaded up and off she went.

Danny Rutten works on the fuselage cover.

Over the next 12 months Danny Rutten put his soul into N5165N. We talked nearly every night about the state of every part and what was required to get it to absolutely “like new” condition. I made trips to Florida to work with Danny for a few days at a time and brought whatever parts I had been working on to www.vintageaircraft.org

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ing seen overhaul since 1944, was sent to Air Repair in Cleveland, Mississippi, where it was fully inspected and modified with roller bearings. The cylinders and all internal parts were found in near perfect condition, and the engine was painted and assembled.

Photos could never give justice to the care and dedication required to completely restore N5165N to the pristine condition she is today. The photos on these pages are meant to capture just a bit of what went into this grassroots effort to bring her back.

Markings painted on the left side.

N5165 First Flight After Restoration Amazingly, only a little more than a year since leaving Ohio, N5165N took to the sky again on 20 September 2013 from Danny’s old crop duster field in Florida.

And then on 27 September, N5165N returned to her adopted state of Ohio where she had spent 64 years of her 70-year life. Don Sirmons, a local Havana crop duster/flight instructor, flew N5165N with me back from Florida in one day, fighting fierce headwinds. But after 11 hours of flying we arrived at dusk, overflying the field waving to the Beach City Airport folks who had gathered to welcome N5165N home.

N5165N Restoration Timeline

Left bottom wing covering.

Restored instrument panel.

help. Bill Crone, patriarch of the Beach City Airport community and Stearman owner, pitched in to coordinate getting all the parts to Florida. Our goal was to bring the entire airplane to as she sat in 1943 with as many of the original parts as possible. Amazingly corrosion had spared nearly everything metal on the airplane. However saving the wood was not to be, and most of it had to be replaced. Engine 26078, not hav50

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February 2012: N5165N moved in parts from Murray Cunningham’s field to Damon Ring’s house on Beach City Airport.

May 2012: N5165N was loaded on a trailer for the trip to Havana, Florida, to begin complete restoration.

Restoration was completed 20 September 2013 when Danny Rutten and Don Sirmons take the first flight.

Damon Ring and Don Sirmons fly N5165N back home to Ohio in an 11-hour flight on 27 September 2013.

N5165 Restoration: Back Home in Ohio Boeing B75N1, construction No. 75-7650, Navy No. 38029, Squadron 202, civilian registry N5165N, with engine 26078 up front, now flies regularly out of her hangar home at Beach City Airport. Beach City is a grassroots flying community with a 3,200-foot glass strip—a perfect place for N5165N and the other two Stearmans based at the airport to keep her company.

N5165N is now in pristine condition and as original as possible to how she trained cadets for war in 1943. Sitting in the same wooden seat I look in the original Hindview mirror mounted high in the center wing section and think about the faces of the selfless cadets and instructors who valiantly served our country and whose faces were reflected in the same original glass.

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Painted wing.

decades earlier. She is a survivor. She has held on to her parts and miraculously remained intact. She now will be flown and cared for as she deserves for many years to come—a fitting new life for such a wonderful airplane with a wonderful history.

N5165N Paint Scheme The exact paint scheme N5165N had in her years prior to her overhaul at NAS Glenview is impossible to know. However the paint scheme chosen actually 52

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Today Barber & N5165N. Right: Young Barber & N5165N.

takes advantage of this fact in choosing known military elements from the time it ser ved in a combination of markings and color that simply present and accentuate the beautiful airplane. Modern materials were chosen to provide safety from fire and further enhance the original beauty of the airplane.

The Bond of a

Taylorcraft A father and son’s blast from the past

by Matthew Retka

A

laska, Montana, Pennsylvania, and numerous states and little airstrips in between are all places this Minnesota boy got to see as a kid from the right seat of Dad’s airplane.

Not only did I get to tag along on these memorable flying trips with my father, but he also taught me to fly in one of the airplanes he rebuilt. I received my private certificate not long after getting my driver’s license.

My dad is a builder and restorer,

photos courtesy of the author with a passion for old tube and fabric taildraggers. It’s probably not too big a surprise that I developed an interest in aviation at a young age, getting such frequent doses of the fun and adventure from flying around in little airplanes with my dad since before I can even recollect.

I was a bit surprised, however, when in January of 2012, my dad asked me if I wanted to be partners with him on a Taylorcraft that hadn’t been flown in more than 20 years and needed some work. At

the time I was only a couple years out of college and trying to figure out what to do with my life and lived about four hours away, so I questioned the logistics of such a project. Still, I knew what my answer was going to be the moment he asked me.

The 1946 T-craft we were buying needed re-covering, but everything was all there. We suspected that some components would likely need to be replaced, and we also had some ideas for a few modiwww.vintageaircraft.org

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Picking up the T-craft from its high resting spot.

Once home . . . it’s sorting through all the parts.

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fications including adding rear windows, a skylight, an electrical system, and a radio/ transponder. My dad, who is a middle school shop teacher as well as a certificated A&P, had restored and re-covered a couple airplanes before, including a Taylorcraft. He had a much better grasp on what this project would entail and figured we could probably have it done in about one year.

My dad drove to Winon a , M i n ne s o t a , to trailer the plane home. It’s probably worth noting that the T-craft we were buying was then being stored in the loft of a barn. So just getting the plane down from its elevated hen house and on the trailer was a process in itself.

I soon found myself the owner of half an air plane.

No more time for daydreaming about backcountry flying trips up north; it was time to get to work. The strip-down of the airplane went quick. We nearly had the entire plane completely disassembled in a couple of weeks. My plan was to bring parts back to my home in North Dakota to work on, and once a month I would come back to Minnesota, work with my dad for a weekend, and swap the projects I had previously brought home for new ones.

This schedule was, for the most part, carried out for the duration of the project.

A fter str ipping it all down and taking stock of everything we had, we decided this needed to be a true restoration project, in which every single component of the aircraft would be re-

moved to be inspected, cleaned, repaired, replaced, or refinished. I had very little idea of how to turn what was now a bunch of pieces in labeled boxes on shelves and scattered in his shop into a flying machine again. I would be, more or less, the “magician’s assistant” for many aspects of the project.

We started disassembling the wings and every rib was removed.

I brought back a bunch of the sheet metal parts to strip the old paint off. The next couple months were spent cleaning and inspecting various parts, and we found that three of the four wooden wing spars had cracks. We replaced them, along with both aileron spars. We bought new aircraft-quality Sitka spruce that had to be cut and drilled to match the originals exactly.

We dissembled and reassembled the wings one at a time, so we always had one to reference while putting the other one back together. Every wing rib was removed and nailed back on the new spars. Actually one wing was dissembled twice, because we found a crack (just barely visible with the naked 20/20 eye) in what we had thought was a reusable spar.

We didn’t detect the crack until it was all put back together. We installed a new spar and trammeled it up again.

After the wings were put back together, we sandblasted and primed the fuselage and every steel part.

After removing decades of paint and grime, we learned that some components weren’t in as good of shape as we had hoped and would need to be replaced. Others we welded or repaired.

It was somewhere between replacing nearly all the wing spars and finding corrosion on some of the tail feathers and fuselage tubes that we realized that this project was going to take longer than we had originally anticipated. Af-

ter nearly a year, we were ready to start with the fabric recovering.

We would use Stewart Systems water-based process for this. Before we got going on the fabric work, we made all new control cables and replaced the ones that would be more difficult to do after the fabric was on. I brought all the tail surfaces and landing gear to North Dakota, and Dad got going on the wings.

The Stewart Systems instructional DVD did a good job of exp l a i n i n g t h e f a b r i c- c o v e r i n g process. We ended up having some problems with the Martin clips (the clips that are designed to hold the fabric over the wing to the individual wing ribs on most Taylorcrafts) and decided that they would have to come out and would be replaced by rib-stitch cord. I think I had to stop and replay the part of the instructional DVD that went over rib-stitching more than a couple times until I figured it out, and even after no less than 400 modified seine knots, if I were asked to do another now, I would probably have to watch the DVD again.

Matthew with his dad in the midst of the project.

I had previously read of someone else’s account of their airplane restoration project that “90 percent of restoring an airplane is just rubbing on it.” Between stripping paint, cleaning greasy parts, sanding, filing, and ironing, I would have to agree that there is definitely a fair amount of rubbing required in an airplane project. I was in no position to whine though, as

my dad was putting a lot of time into fabricating the new skylight and rear windows. After a few more monthly trips back to Minnesota, the entire airplane was covered.

My dad upgraded some of his painting equipment, and we got busy prepping for paint. After making a new bottom cowling, all the sheet metal was Alumiprepped and Alodined, and the final spray

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Taking each step at a time, slowly the emerging restored T-craft makes its appearance.

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coats of filler were applied on the fabric.

After that, I can’t say that I helped out at all on the painting process. That was better left for the professionals, aka Dad. He did an awesome job painting and even let me pick out the scheme.

With the fuselage and wings painted, it sure was nice to see what was now looking like an airplane again. But a lot of the airplane was still in boxes and bags on shelves and scattered around the hangar and shop. After taking stock in some components we knew we would have to order new, it was time to start putting it all back together.

The assembly process must be what makes someone do s u c h a p ro j e c t m o re t h a n once. You can start to see the fruits of your labor. However, I quickly learned that nothing goes back on as easy as it came off. In our case, we typically had to take off and put back on every piece two or three times over to get it all fitting right again. I got the feeling from my dad that this is not uncommon, but this was sometimes hard for me to swallow.

Now nearly two years after buying the T-craft, there wasn’t a whole lot left for me to transport back to North Dakota. Most of the components were back on the airplane, or needed to be fitted and worked on with the rest of the airframe. The airplane came with a pair of Federal snow skis that were in pretty rough shape, so I brought those back to rivet on new aluminum bottoms

and get them ready for ski flying.

My dad was busy doing countless aspects of the project including installing a new generator on the O-200 Continental, installing the windshield, wiring the new electrical system and radio, and making sure the paperwork was in order for all the modifications and repairs.

The original windshield had to be replaced. The first replacement we ordered didn’t quite fit right and ended up cracking after my dad had just finished fitting it. At this point I had already come to the realization that my dad had been doing a lot more than his share of the work.

We were getting close to seeing N96532’s rebirth. The engine went on, controls hooked up, spark plugs cleaned, magnetos timed, and it was ready for contact. No starter on this airplane, that would just be unnecessary weight and not true to form. It fired right up on the first pull!

It seemed to idle nicely, and after a post-run inspection everything seemed to be okay. The compression tested out great, and there wasn’t much left to do but finish up some paperwork and get it the air.

I had planned to come home a couple weeks later and be the copilot for the first flight. However, some ADs came up on the engine, and some work was needed on the carburetor that we didn’t know about, all of which would need to be addressed before it could be approved for its annual again, and its first flight in over two decades.

My dad ended up flying it on March 5, 2014, and I went home a week later to take it up for myself. It was a bit surreal to be flying in a machine that was in parts and pieces scattered between two states for over two years. It performed really nicely, and after a couple minor adjustments it was flying like dream.

Father and son happy as their project flies like a dream.

The amount of detail, knowledge, craftsmanship, and just plain old hard work that goes into working on airplanes is nothing short of amazing to me now. I like to think that this project has strengthened some of these attributes in me. I also now understand why there are more than one or two such partially completed airplane projects typically listed in the Barnstormers and Trade-A-Plane ads. A big thanks goes out to all those who helped on our project, especially the Gregory brothers, whose welding expertise, advice, and extra T-craft parts helped us out immensely.

What an awesome father-and-son project it was. It was great getting to learn from and work with my dad. I think he enjoyed it, too. Aside from a few minor squabbles, which were usually the result of me trying to get by with using an original, only slightly tarnished AN bolt or some other piece of perfectly reusable hardware instead of finding a “new shiny one,” as my dad always insisted, we made a pretty good team.

There were certainly ups and downs. There were times when we ended up needing to redo many hours of already completed work that didn’t put either one of us in a good mood. He put it best after

we flew it together for the first time: “A big project like this is just a bunch of smaller projects that need to come together.” I probably won’t have another opportunity to spend this much time with my dad again, and I’m not sure I’ll take on another airplane project

like this in my lifetime. I like to think that I learned a few things that sure would be a waste not to put to some use again. Either way, we had a blast restoring this piece of the past. To top it off, we now have a heck of a nice airplane that we can both truly appreciate.

www.vintageaircraft.org

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The Vintage Mechanic ROBERT G. LOCK

Evolution of aircraft instruments—Part 2 We have explored early aircraft instrumentation that evolved from precision pieces such as watches and clocks. Now it is time to explore what I will call “specialty” instruments for aircraft use. At the top of the list is the airspeed indicator.

Before pressure airspeed indicators were invented, the only means for an aviator to determine how fast the ship was moving through the air was the Johnson airspeed indicator. The Johnson Airplane Supply Company in Dayton, Ohio, marketed a simple device as shown in the left photo taken from the 1929 Aircraft Yearbook.

This device attached to an interplane strut of the biplane, and when flying, the wind blew a vane back against spring tension.

Airspeed was read on the bottom of the scale.

It was fairly accurate, but not as accurate as the soon-to-bedeveloped presFigure 1 sure airspeed 58

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indicator. Figure 1 shows the famous Johnson airspeed indicator that mounted to an interplane strut of a biplane.

It is difficult to pinpoint the first use of a pressure sensitive airspeed indicator, but it was most likely in the early 1920s.

Certainly it was available as Pioneer, Consolidated, Kollsman, U.S. Gauge, Aeromarine, and others marketed the product, but its exact invention date is elusive. Pioneer Instrument Company offered a 4-inch diameter airspeed indicator that was widely used in Waco, Travel Air, and many other new aircraft of the time. Figure 2 is an early Ogilvie airspeed indicator.

Figure 2

Both the airspeed and tachometer indicators were available in 4-inch diameter models. Operation of the airspeed indicator is simple. The case is airtight, and there is an expandable diaphragm connected to the

needle by a series of rocker arms and gears. Ram air is directed inside the expandable diaphragm via a pitot tube mounted somewhere on or between the wings.

Static air is directed inside the case by the static tube mounted next to the pitot tube. NACA Report No. 165 in the year 1923, authored by Mayo D. Hersey, detailed experiments using “Diaphragms for Aeronautic Instruments” and gave a detailed analysis of the “new” technology.

As ram (pitot) air increases the diaphragm expands causing the needle to move around the scale giving indicated airspeed. Units were available for indicated speeds up to 350 mph. Pioneer recommended that 3/16-inch outside diameter copper tubing is used to plumb the pitot/static mast to the instrument. However, larger 1/4inch diameter tube could be used. The pitot/static tube should be mounted where it would receive undisturbed air. Pioneer also recommends that a suitable location will usually be found on one of the forward mid-wing struts about one-third of the way down from the top wing. Figure 3 shows proper mounting.

ematician. Elected to the Royal Board of Sciences in Paris in 1794, he became interested in hydraulics, particularly the flow of water through canals and rivers. He devised a method to measure the flow velocity of water by using two tubes, one open at one end and vertically inserted into the water to measure static pressure, and the other bent at 90 degrees and facing into the flow direction of the water to measure total pressure. Pitot announced his invention to the Academy on November 12, 1732.

Using Pitot’s invention, the first use of an airspeed indicator was in 1911 at the Royal Establishment at Farnborough that employed a pitot tube on an airplane for the first time. This was to evolve into the primary source for flight speed measurement through the air.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a simple airspeed indicator.

Figure 5

Figure 3

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of airspeed indicator plumbed to a pitot/static system. It is a very simple system, but all connections must be airtight as any leakage will cause erroneous airspeed readings.

Figure 4

Invention of the pitot tube is interesting. Named after its inventor, Henri Pitot (1695-1771), who was born in Aramon, France, and became an astronomer and math-

Figure 6

Note the simplicity of the operation of this unit.

If the pointer is ever discovered not resting on zero, be cautious that someone has blown into the pitot tube, permanently expanding the diaphragm and damaging the instrument, necessitating overhaul.

Pressure and temperature gauges were an integral part of early instrumentation.

Most pressure-indicating instruments were simple Bourdon tube type gauges.

Bourdon tube gauges were used for oil and fuel pressure indication, later to be used for hydraulic system pressure and any other fluid where pressure was to be monitored. The Bourdon tube is a springy bronze, and www.vintageaircraft.org

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increased pressure causes the flat tube to bend outward, thus transferring the movement to a needle to give an indication of pressure. Figure 6 is a sketch of a Bourdon tube pressure instrument.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a Bourdon tube temperature-sensing unit. This type of instrument is commonly used to sense oil temperature on early aircraft. Later it was used to sense outside air or carburetor air temperature, along with any other types of fluids that needed to be monitored.

Figure 7

The sensing bulb was connected to a capillary tube that was connected to the Bourdon tube in the cockpit. The capillary system was filled with either a liquid or vapor. If the capillary line was cut, the vapor or fluid immediately evaporated at ambient pressure and the instrument had to be overhauled. In this type of instrument a small amount of volatile liquid in the bulb exerts a vapor pressure that varies with temperature. An increase in temperature causes more force to be exerted to the Bourdon tube causing the tube to bend further giving a higher temperature reading.

Calibration can be checked by submerging the sensing bulb in boiling water. If the gauge is graduated in degrees F, then 212 degrees should be indicated. If the gauge is graduated in degrees C, then 100 degrees should be indicated.

Figure 8 shows a Pioneer oil temperature gauge complete with dimensions. Capillary lines come in specific lengths and cannot be shortened unless in an instrument shop.

We are closing in on instruments required to form a “primary panel.” That is, those instruments that must be available for powered flight. These instruments include a compass, tachometer, oil pressure and temperature gauges, and an altimeter. Which brings us to a discussion of the altimeter. Some of the earliest altimeters go back to the Curtiss Jenny days. These instruments were developed for the Signal Corps of the U.S. Army; therefore, they date to the World War I years. The altimeter shown in Figure 9 is not connected to any kind of static system. Rather, it has a small hole in the bottom of the case with the instructions, “DO NOT PLUG VENT ON UNDERSIDE OR BREAK GOV’T SEAL.” Although there is no manufacture date on my altimeter, it could be 1914-1919. From the early nonsensitive altimeters the sensitive units were borne.

These early altimeters had just one needle and no setting could be set for local barometric pressure (field elevation). These one-needle gauges were commonly used on early aircraft including the mass-produced Piper J-3 and Aeronca 7AC. Pictured below is a nonsensitive altimeter produced by U.S. Gauge Company.

Figure 8 60

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altimeter setting in the window at 30.15 inches of mercury. This type of altimeter was second in line in the aircraft’s static system behind the airspeed indicator. It took ambient atmospheric pressure from the static tube (or port) directly into an airtight case. Any leaks in the case would render the altitude readings erroneous.

Figure 9

The case on this type of simple altimeter was open in the back with a small orifice. This allowed ambient pressure to enter the case, although it was the pressure from inside the cockpit or cabin of the ship.

There was a single, evacuated, metallic diaphragm used to convert the pressure of the atmosphere into mechanical motion, giving an altitude reading on the face of the instrument. This altimeter reads 3,800 feet and would read altitude to a maximum of 20,000 feet. These units were not real accurate, and since the local barometric pressure could not be set, they were unreliable when flying cross-country. Figure 10 shows a typical light aircraft non-sensitive altimeter with only one needle.

Figure 10

Figure 11 is a Kollsman 0- to 20,000-foot sensitive altimeter. The knob at the 7 o’clock position adjusts the local barometric pressure (field elevation above sea level) and can be used for basic blind flying. Note the

Figure 11

Certainly the Signal Corps of the U.S. Army had a hand in developing advanced instrumentation (for the era) and advancing the technology of aircraft instruments. When the approved type certificate was initiated in March 1927 by the Department of Commerce, Aeronautics Branch, Aeronautics Bulletin 7A dated January 1, 1929, prescribed the minimum instrumentation for a powered aircraft granted an ATC. The basic instruments are: compass (for an airplane flying cross-country over 100 miles or a seaplane operating over large bodies of water beyond the sight of land), a tachometer for each engine, oil pressure and temperature gauge, and if a water-cooled engine is installed, a water temperature gauge. Further, “An instrument indicating the approach of stalling speed shall be provided. This may consist of an airspeed indicator or an angle of attack indicator. In either case this instrument shall be accurate at low speed and provided with markings indicating clearly the range corresponding to unsafe conditions of flight.” That is all that was required in 1929.

From humble beginnings the aircraft instrument industry grew, eventually producing some of the most sophisticated flight instruments imaginable.

Particularly with the sensitive altimeter, airspeed indicator, rate of climb indicator, gyro horizon, directional gyro, and others that led to safe instrument blind flight. The first blind flight was achieved September 24, 1929, when U.S. Army Lt. James Doolittle, working with the Guggenheim Foundation, took off from Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York, flew www.vintageaircraft.org

61

Figure 12

a 15-mile course, and landed safely without ever seeing the ground. Figure 12 shows the very instrument panel used by Lt. Doolittle.

Just think of what Jimmy Doolittle had in the instrument panel of that Consolidated NY-2 Husky biplane. By 1929 aircraft instruments had advanced to “blind flight” quality and reliability, quite an achievement in a short period of time.

The Guggenheim Foundation, established by Daniel Guggenheim, which funded the Full Flight Laboratory for the Promotion of Aeronautics, made this achievement possible. Secret experiments were conducted by the Full Flight Lab that was staffed by brilliant people from both the military and industry.

“Borrowed” from the Army Air Corps were Doolittle, Lt. Benjamin Kelsey (safety pilot) and Corp. Jack Dalton (chief mechanic). From M.I.T. came the Lab’s technical assistant, professor Bill Brown. Support came from the Bureau of Standards, the Army and Navy, U.S. Department of Commerce, Sperry Gyroscope Company, Pioneer Instrument Company, Taylor Instrument Company, Kollsman Instrument Company, Bell and Radio Frequency Laboratories, and the Radio Corporation of America. Figure 13 is a typical early blind panel.

This team was assembled in early 1929 to research, design, test, and refine a series of unique blind flying navigational instruments and techniques. Among them: an artificial horizon, a directional gyro, a more precise barometric altimeter, and a short-range visual landing beam system. These new instruments were added to the full complement of current instruments already in use and placed in the rear cockpit of the NY-2. Jimmy Doolittle’s epic test flights laid the groundwork for the sophisticated instrument techniques used today. Figure 14 shows Lt. Doolittle and the NY-2 instrument plane.

By the end of 1929, with its primary research mission accomplished, the Lab was dissolved and its work ably carried on by the Department of Commerce Aeronautics Branch, the Bureau of Air Standards, the Army, and a number of private companies. With the end of the Guggenheim-sponsored Full Flight Laboratory other advances in blind flying had been achieved.

Radio beacons would eventually be established as the government set forth aids to air navigation for crosscountry flying. These radio aids were: radio range beacons, range marker beacons, radiophone stations, and airway weather broadcasts. Perhaps this would be an interesting subject for a future column.

Figure 14

References Introduction to Flight, 1989 by John D. Anderson Introduction to General Aeronautics, 1966 by C.N. Van Deventer Fundamentals of Aircraft Flight and Engine Instruments, 1969 by Jack Anderson Airplane Maintenance, 1949 by Hubert G. Lesley Aviation Handbook, 1931 by Edward P. Warner and S. Paul Johnston Aero Digest, November 1929

Figure 13 62

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Online Site www.Taircraft.com/parts/instruments/tb.html

Ask the AME Straight New & Level Members continued from page 9

Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City, State, Country

Cynthia Boelk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oakfield, WI Robert Cau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jakarta, Barat Brian Congiardo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chester, IL Charles Cotten. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Durham, NC Roy Cottrill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Westerville, OH Ryan Couture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dothan, AL David Davenport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fayetteville, NC Sherburne Dunn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olathe, KS Michael Flagella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oakland, CA Mark Galletly . . . . . . . Glass House Mountains, QLD Donivan Godsil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oneida, IL David Grainger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bradford, ON Rich Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fulshear, TX Maribeth Green. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fulshear, TX Rachel Green. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fulshear, TX Carl Green. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fulshear, TX Harry Greene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Honolulu, HI Glenn Grove. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brighton, CO Brett Hahn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Las Cruces, NM Dustin Harmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bainville, MT Adam Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonner’s Ferry, ID Charles Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benton, AR Nicholas Kanakis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . APO, AA Luke Lachendro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beaver Dam, WI Ed Livingston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crestview, FL James Maloney. . . . . . . . . . . . . Bloomington, MN Ryan McFeaters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oxford, CT Carol McFeaters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oxford, CT Chris McGinness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . La Canada, CA Robert McHugh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tulsa, OK Brian McKinley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Curran, ON Jason Patrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neosho, MO Robert Paulovich. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bryant, AR Robert Penny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Versailles, MO David Pevey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McDonough, GA Rai Saxena Prayaag . . . . . . . Hyderabad, Telangana Jeffrey Puckett. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rector, AR Lawrence Reed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Jose, CA David Roehm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leesburg, OH David Rossi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hephzibah, GA Arthur Schwedler. . . . . . . . . . . . . Stroudsburg, PA Thomas Snow. . . . . . . . . . . . Signal Mountain, TN William Sponsler. . . . . . . . . . . . . Saint Charles, IL Ronald Thevenot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oro Valley, AZ Scott Thomason. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Napa, CA Ed Voth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steinbach, MB Jeffrey Watt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edmonton, AB Daniel West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tellico Plains, TN David Whysol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sullivan, WI Mitchell Zess. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Austin, TX

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mended, and patients may even take a calcium supplement if desired for osteoporosis prevention.

Supplements should be limited to 1,200 mg per day and should be the calcium citrate form.

Less common stones are composed of uric acid, which are produced as a byproduct of protein metabolism. These stones can be dissolved by modifying the acidity or alkalinity of the urine. These stones are much more soluble in alkaline urine and can be treated with potassium citrate. Allopurinol is also used to prevent the breakdown of protein into uric acid in difficult cases. Uric acid crystals that form in joint fluid cause the inflammation commonly known as gout. Other types of stones such as cysteine and infection stones (struvite) are much less common, but they do have specific treatments.

In summary, if there are no retained stones and documentation is available, then the AME can issue the medical. If there are stones still present and they are likely to move, then an FAA decision is needed. Many, if not all, of these stones can be treated with shockwave lithotripsy (breakup of stones with shock waves) or laser lithotripsy. Once treated and no stones are seen on imaging of the kidneys, the AME can issue.

If a retained stone is still present and not amenable to treatment, it is imperative that the pilot obtain a letter from the treating urologist that the stone is stable in size and location and is unlikely to move and cause sudden incapacitation.

continued from page 1

nization with our routine expenses.

Join us by mailing your contribution to VAA FORB, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Please be a friend to the Red Barn this year, where not a single soul is a stranger!

So, what is going on in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association today?

One thing is for certain; our new executive administrator has completely immersed herself into the everyday business of the VAA. Erin Brueggen is doing an excellent job for us all as she consistently executes on a dayto-day basis getting us geared up for AirVenture. She will be with us for her second board meeting coming up in late April, and believe me, she is a pleasure to work with. As I mentioned in our last Vintage Airplane magazine, we are very busy with the detail work of executing on a number of capital improvement projects in the Vintage area that are certain to catch your eye at AirVenture 2015.

I am certain that you will find these improvements to be valuable amenities to your AirVenture experience! You can also anticipate some excellent improvements and service upgrades in the Tall Pines CafĂŠ, the Vintage merchandise efforts, and the AeroMart area. All of which are sure to be valuable changes.

Again, as always your thoughts and comments regarding the magazine as well as the business of the VAA is very much welcome!

As always, please do us all the favor of inviting a friend to join the VAA, and help keep us the strong association we have all enjoyed for so many years.

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What Our Members Are Restoring

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

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 Jerry Brown 4605 Hickory Wood Row Greenwood, IN 46143 317-422-9366 lbrown4906@aol.com

For more information, you can also e-mail jbusha@eaa.org.

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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.

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

Joe Norris 264 Old OR Rd. Oshkosh, WI 54902 pilotjoe@ntd.net 920-688-2977

George Daubner N57W34837 Pondview Ln Oconomowoc, WI 53066 262-560-1949 gdaubner@eaa.org

Tim Popp 60568 Springhaven Ct. Lawton, MI 49065 269-624-5036 tlpopp@frontier.com

Robert D. “Bob” Lumley 1265 South 124th St. Brookfield, WI 53005 262-782-2633 rlumley1@wi.rr.com

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

AIRCRAFT

Beechcraft D-18S Expeditor, 1953 completely restored, Royal Canadian Air Force Navigational Trainer, Two Interiors, Passenger & Navigation Training, 478 hrs since restoration, Oshkosh Award Winner. 403-291-9027, sales@hopkinsonassociates.com

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ADVISORS John Hofmann 548 W James St Columbus, WI 53925 jhofmann@reesgroupinc.com

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DIRECTORS EMERITUS David Bennett antiquer@inreach.com

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