Va vol 45 no 2 mar apr 2017

MARCH/APRIL 2017

H A M I LT O N

METALPLANE •Stearman Model 70’s Journey •Chief’s Father-Son Duo

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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

AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 . . . You Gotta Be There!

VAA Executive Administrator. . Hannah Hupfer 920-426-6110. . . . . . . . . . . hhupfer@eaa.org Art Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . Olivia Phillip Trabbold

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 continues to progress with a great deal of enthusiasm and horsepower. Your VAA leadership is heavily engaged with the EAA in planning group parking/camping for a number of anniversary aircraft types in the Vintage area this year. We are currently planning to host dozens of Piper Cubs for their 80th anniversary year. We hope to also host a good number of prewar Ryan aircraft as well as some Lockheed Vega aircraft who are celebrating their 90th anniversary dates in 2017. Please go to the following web address to register your anniversary aircraft with us if you plan to attend AirVenture 2017; www.EAA.org/en/airventure/features-and-attractions/ airventure-highlight/featured-aircraft-anniversaries.

The VAA Friends of the Red Barn fundraising program has gotten off to a great start again this year. It’s 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 also takes a huge amount of resources to adequately support our hundreds of Vintage volunteers, who by the way performed nearly 29,000 hours of volunteer service to the VAA in 2016 in our efforts to provide all of 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 themselves into our culture for one full week every year. Please consider a contribution to the Friends of the Red Barn Fund. You will be forever glad you did! Come 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 many of my longtime friends at EAA and I recently lost yet another iconic friend and aviator from our midst. If there ever was a man who should be labeled the gentleman of aviation, it was Gene Chase.

Gene died peacefully on January 2, 2017, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dorothy, Gene’s wife of more than 70 years, died just six weeks prior to Gene’s passing. Gene served as a naval aviator during World War II where he flew F6F fighters and TBF torpedo bombers in defense of our country.

Gene ultimately retired from the Naval Reserve at Naval Air Station Denver as a lieutenant commander in 1958. Gene and Dorothy later moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and became deeply involved in sport aviation in the Tulsa area until Paul H. Poberezny invited Gene and Dorothy

ADVERTISING: Vice President of Business Development Dave Chaimson. . . . . . . . . . dchaimson@eaa.org Advertising Manager Sue Anderson. . . . . . . . . . . sanderson@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

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Vol. 45, No. 2

CONTENTS

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Beginning of the Journey The Stearman Model 70 Rick A. Brown

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Sole Survivor

Howard Wright’s Hamilton Metalplane Budd Davisson

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The Heavirland Father-andSon Duo

Captured by the Chief’s charisma Sparky Barnes Sargent

COVERS FRONT COVER: The sole surviving Hamilton Metalplane looks stunning on floats.

Photo by Mike Fizer/AOPA Media.

BACK COVER: Rick Brown captures the Stearman 70 with a snow capped mountain backdrop.

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ANY COMMENTS?

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

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

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Coast to Coast in a J-5 Cub The Trip of a lifetime Doug Bodah

COLUMNS 1

Straight & Level AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 ...

You Gotta Be There!

Geoff Robison

6 News What’s Waiting for You at AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 7

Letters

8 Ask the AME Pulmonary disease and the FAA John Patterson, M.D., AME 10 How to?

Construct a wing rib fixture Robert G. Lock 12 Good Old Days 14 Gone West 58 The Vintage Mechanic Teaching a Nation How to Fly, Part 2 Robert G. Lock 63 VAA New Members

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TM

Friends of the

RED BARN

Friends of the Red Barn program is our only annual fundraiser to support the VAA members, volunteers, and Vintage hospitality at Oshkosh. The VAA Red Barn is the centerpiece, the central gathering place for virtually all Vintage members during EAA Oshkosh each year. The Red Barn is where we meet our friends, get our questions answered, sit on the front porch to rest a bit, drink lemonade, and thoroughly enjoy our aviation friends and the spectacular events of the day. We never meet a stranger at the Red Barn; everyone is on cloud nine just to be enjoying being in a place we so thoroughly enjoy and appreciate. But the Red Barn as we know it today did not just happen. In 2000-2001, Vintage found itself attempting to provide a proper, acceptable facility to meet, greet, and accommodate its members. The Red Barn was old. We had used it since 1973 and it was used long before that as a real barn. It was tired and not in keeping with EAA and Vintage standards in terms of condition and acceptability. Vintage had no money to improve it; our dues were pitifully small and completely insufficient to assist in any way. We had to remedy an unacceptable situation . . . and we did.

We created the Friends of the Red Barn program in 2001. We kicked off our first campaign in early 2002. Our goal was to interest a small number of dedicated Vintage members to financially support the physical improvement of the Red Barn and, far more important, upgrade and support it to the point where it became an inviting, pleasant place to meet, greet, relax, and simply enjoy the magic and magnificence that is Oshkosh each summer. The Friends of the Red Barn has become a wonderfully successful support program for Vintage members and guests during the convention. 2017 will be its 16th year, and you will be amazed to know that the majority of the Barn’s loyal supporters have been a part of the group since the very first year.

Vintage is extremely proud of this dedicated group of members. Their names are listed annually at the Barn and in the pages of Vintage Airplane. These donors have made the Red Barn and its gracious hospitality what you enjoy today . . . and we are just beginning. The Barn is upwards of 80-90 years old. Every year it receives countless physical and cosmetic upgrades, but like many of us, one of these days soon the old girl is going to have to undergo big-time reconstruction.

When that day comes Friends of the Red Barn will be there to do our part.

We hope each Vintage member realizes what a treasure we have in our own facility to serve all of us each summer, and also know that it is member-created and member-maintained, principally through our Friends. Vintage is privileged to provide some very neat thank-yous when you become a Friend in return for your contribution. It is a win-win for all. Vintage is the very finest such organization in the world. We attract visitors from all over the world to the Red Barn and our newly expanded Vintage airplane area each summer. We have grown from one lone, abandoned barn to an entire complex replicating a small country airport. With your help, every year we will provide more enhanced hospitality for all.

Please stand tall and join with us in Friends of the Red Barn; you will be forever proud and happy that you did.

Charlie Harris, Director Emeritus EAA Life Member 96978, VAA Life Member 2158

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A Family Tradition Since 1953 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh has always been the place where the EAA family gathers to celebrate and create lasting memories and traditions.

Come home and be a part of the world’s largest family reunion.

July 24-31 | EAA.org/Tradition World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration ®

What’s waiting for you at

2017 marks the 80th anniversary of the Piper J-3 Cub, one of the most popular airplanes ever built.

Vintage is inviting all Cub owners to join us this summer. We hope to showcase at least 80 Cubs at AirVenture to celebrate.

Also this year marks the 90th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s historic flight across the Atlantic in The Spirit of St. Louis, a one-of-a-kind aircraft built by Ryan Aircraft Company. To celebrate this occasion, Vintage is inviting all Antique-qualified Ryan owners (1929 through August 31, 1945) to join us for special Ryan activities.

If you are planning to fly your Cub or Antique Ryan to Oshkosh this summer, please pre-register using the online forms at eaa.org.

BRADY LANE

BRADY LANE

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Letters

www.vintageaircraft.org

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

Pulmonary disease and the FAA H.S. writes: “I have been diagnosed with mild emphysema. How will this affect my upcoming flight physical?”

The FAA lumps the pulmonary diseases of chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and COPD in the same broad category. If severe, they will require a special issuance. In fact, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is an umbrella term that includes chronic bronchitis, or an irritation of the bronchial tubes or large airway passages, and emphysema, which usually refers to damage to the alveoli, or air sacs in the lung. These air sacs allow oxygen to be absorbed or carried by hemoglobin in the blood to other parts of the body.

Smoking is the most common cause of emphysema and COPD due to chronic irritation of the bronchial tree. COPD can, however, develop on the basis of genetic deficiency of alpha-1 antitrypsin. This is a protein that helps protect the lung from inflammation and environmental irritants that can lead to emphysema. Smoking also increases the body’s concentration of carbon monoxide, which binds preferentially over oxygen to hemoglobin and therefore decreases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. This is especially important in airmen since as altitude increases, less oxygen is available and the pilot can become impaired. The warning signs for lack of oxygen are not clear, and the first symptom of oxygen starvation may be euphoria and a feeling of well-being. Poor decision-making and confusion follows, and by then it is too late. Airmen with COPD may experience oxygen starvation at lower altitudes than normal.

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Treatment of COPD is most commonly smoking cessation along with the use of bronchodilators and sometimes steroids. Antibiotics may be necessary to combat the more frequent pulmonary infections due to chronic inflammation. A medical evaluation will require pulmonary function tests. The most important of these tests is the FEV1 and the FEV1 to FVC ratio.

FEV1 (forced expiratory volume) is the volume of air that can be expelled in one second, whereas the FVC is the functional vital capacity or the total volume of air that the lung can expel. The ratio of FEV1 to FVC in most healthy adults is approximately 80 percent.

If the FEV1 to FVC ratio is less than 70 percent or if any of these values are less than 80 percent of the predicted value for normal individuals, then the AME must defer the airman to the FAA for evaluation and special issuance. Additional indications for deferral include a requirement for treatment using a steroid dose that is greater than an equivalent of 20 mg of prednisone. Just as in asthma, the airman should not have any inpatient hospitalizations due to COPD exacerbation or more than two outpatient clinic or urgent care visits for exacerbation of symptoms. Most if not all bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids are approved and are not usually an issue. Once the FAA has approved the airman through special issuance, the AME can reissue the medical as long as these criteria are met.

Obviously third-class medical reform continues to be a hot topic, and I am anxious to write about it.

But at the time I was writing this article, the final or at least the preliminary plan for implementation was still pending. I hope to address some of those issues in future articles.

How to?

ROBERT G. LOCK

Construct a wing rib fixture To construct a wing rib, a holding fixture must be made. It is common to use a flat board, such as a piece of good pine board that may measure 1”x12”x72”.

If no good flat pine wood can be found, then consider using some 3/4” plywood of the same dimensions. Hopefully, an example of an original wing rib is nearby; however, in some cases where there are no ribs available it will be necessary to loft a full-size drawing of the rib outline. Coordinates for lofting a rib can be found in airfoil data books or from old NACA data. We won’t go into how to loft a wing rib at this time.

First, trace the outline of the rib and all its diagonal and vertical members. Then, cut out blanks to

represent the spar dimensions. The spar blanks will be placed at the appropriate location in the wing rib.

(Figure 1 and Figure 2).

The small wood blocks should be drilled in advance of gluing and nailing to the base wood to prevent splitting. The blocks will guide cap strips and truss members in their proper location. Photo 1, scanned from the ANC-19 book, shows a Boeing factory worker nailing up a model PT-13/PT-17 wing rib. The plywood gussets are precut and are in bins at the top of the table. This speeds up fabrication time. I usually cut all the gussets and place them in small cardboard boxes numbered as to their location. The spar blanks are precisely located and glued to the base and they will

FIGURE 1

PHOTO 1 FIGURE 2 10

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accurately locate the vertical members on each side of the spar. If I anticipate difficulty sliding the spars through their respective openings, I will leave the vertical member on the rear side of the front spar and the front side of the rear spar out of the rib, slide the ribs on, then insert the two vertical members and glue in place. This makes for a good, accurate fit.

In photo 2 shows a close up of my Command-Aire rib fixture made from aluminum instead of wood. I once had plans to construct five airplanes, but struggled to build just one. The wing rib shown is an original factory part. Rather than use triangular or square plywood gussets, the factory chose to use long plywood gussets that bridged from one vertical upright to the next, also reinforcing the cap strips. It took a lot of mahogany plywood to make these and there was much waste, which in today’s market is costly. I remember the first sheet of 1/16”x4’x8’ aircraftgrade mahogany plywood cost me $20.00, but that was back in 1959.

Finally, back in the old days, my father, Leonard (Photo 3), who built most of the wing ribs are assembling the right lower wing on the CommandAire. The wing was assembled and then attached to the fuselage to assure proper fit.

PHOTO 2

PHOTO 3

www.vintageaircraft.org

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Good Old Days From pages of what was . . .

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

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Gone West

by VAA Director Emeritus Charles W. Harris, VAA Lifetime 2158, along with comments from several aviation friends

Gene Chase

JIM KOEPNICK

Gene Chase, true greatness

Gene R. Chase, 92, one of EAA’s, VAA’s, and sport aviation’s all-time truly great people, died peacefully Monday, January 2, 2017, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, six weeks to the day after his wife, Dorothy, passed away on November 21, 2016.

Gene was born September 6, 1924, in Casper, Wyoming; however, the family moved to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, in 1930, and Gene considered Scottsbluff his hometown.

Gene was educated in the Scottsbluff public school system. After graduating from high school in May 1942, Gene enlisted in the U.S. Naval Aviation Cadet Program. He successfully progressed through the Naval Aviation Cadet training period, flying N2S Stearmans, SNV Vultees, and SNJ North American trainers. After completing carrier qualifications, graduating, and being commissioned as an ensign and naval aviator, Gene flew Grumman F6F fighters and TBF torpedo bombers.

After the war, Gene returned to Nebraska to attend Scottsbluff Junior College, where he met Dorothy 14

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Meyer, who became Mrs. Gene Chase in 1946. The marriage produced four lovely daughters. Gene began his professional civil aviation career as a corporate pilot in Scottsbluff flying high-altitude cloud-seeding operations in a Curtiss P-40N. In 1956, the family relocated to Salt Lake City, where Gene flew executive charter and pipeline patrol. Throughout this period, Gene continued his active Naval Reserve service, flying Grumman F8F Bearcats and F9F Panther jets at Naval Air Station Denver. When Gene ultimately retired from active Naval Reserve flying, he held the rank of lieutenant commander.

In 1958 the family relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Gene continued his professional flying career with Standard Oil of Indiana’s Service Pipeline organization, flying its executives throughout the country in Douglas DC-3s, A-26s, Beech 18s, etc.

During their nearly 15 years in Tulsa, Gene, Dorothy, and their family completely embraced the corporate and sport aviation groups and culture; they became the dominant couple in the local sport aviation field. Together they wrote and distributed the grassroots aviation publication Spit and Wire, and they planned and organized many sport aviation fly-in events. During this time, Gene acquired and restored an airplane out of the 1920s, a Church Midwing that currently resides in the EAA museum at Oshkosh, as does his personally restored Davis D1-W. Gene also acquired and restored a 1935 E-2 Cub, which resides in a St. Louis aviation museum.

Gene’s sport aviation leadership activities in Tulsa were so outstanding that EAA President Paul Poberezny invited him and Dorothy to join the select staff of the rapidly growing Experimental Aircraft Association of Hales Corners and later Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Gene rides with Jack Cox at

AirVenture.

st 7, 1971.

man F3F, Augu Gene in the Grum

Working as editor of Vintage Airplane.

They accepted, and in 1973 Gene became associate editor and later editor of EAA’s Vintage Airplane magazine while Dorothy became secretary to Buck Hilbert, Vintage Aircraft Association president.

Their involvement within the EAA and Oshkosharea communities was total — professionally, so-

cially, and culturally. They supported EAA in every way possible. Gene’s 14-year professional career with EAA was one of major distinction. He became one of EAA’s most highly regarded and well-known goodwill ambassadors and was regarded as one of EAA’s most congenial leaders. He flew 353 different types of aircraft, many of them experimental. Gene accrued 7,722 hours of flying time over his 68-year active aviation career. He and EAA President Paul Poberezny were the only two EAA professionals to fly the rare and prized EAA North American XP-51, which is one of the first three XP-51s ever built.

Gene was selected to participate and fly in the historic 1977 EAA 50th Anniversary Charles A. Lindbergh Spirit of St. Louis multicity tour of the United States. At the Spirit Tour Stop, which came to Tulsa in late September 1977, thousands of spectators saw the Spirit on display, being flown, and also doing firsttouchdown honors during the opening of the brandnew east-west runway at Tulsa International Airport.

The Spirit received an emergency invitation after a special nonstop 747 flight carrying top American Airlines officials and Tulsa political dignitaries (who had been scheduled to conduct the runway-opening honors) had a mechanical problem and could not depart New York City. Gene was flying the Spirit, of course.

The next day, September 29, 1977, at the Tulsa Fly-In at Tahlequah, Gene flew George Nigh, then Oklahoma’s lieutenant governor and later its governor, who had arrived right behind us in the state of Oklahoma’s King Air. We invited him to fly in the Spirit, and he jumped at the chance … good days!

Gene’s special piloting abilities were so widely recognized that he was given the privilege of flying Jim Younkin’s treasured Travel Air Mystery Ship at Oshkosh on public demonstration flybys.

Gene’s reputation as a master airman was further enhanced in 1971 when he managed to save himself and a young EAA Oshkosh passenger after the “only one in the world” Grumman civilian model two-place F3F-2 suffered an in-flight engine-compartment fire.

Gene had already briefed his young passenger on how exactly to leave the airplane should there be an airborne emergency. When the engine-compartment fire started at 6,000 feet, Gene told the passenger to leave the airplane, which he successfully did. Gene soon followed. Both men survived, although Gene suffered major burns and was hospitalized for several days.

Gene’s completely thorough briefing and instructions unquestionably saved the young passenger’s life, as well as his own — a master airman.

After retiring from EAA in 1987, he was invited www.vintageaircraft.org

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to join the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association board of directors, and in 1999 he was voted into the prestigious EAA Vintage Hall of Fame. He continued as a VAA director and/or director emeritus until his death.

Gene and Dorothy Chase lived exemplary lives.

They were a perfect match as a couple. Their personal, social, cultural, and professional lives showed them to be more than just a highly successful couple; they were a model couple and an ongoing inspiration to all who knew them.

When Gene’s health began to slowly deteriorate in 2011, Dorothy and their daughters decided they should move from Oshkosh back to Tulsa, where Gene and Dorothy would have the support and care of their medically oriented daughters. As a result, Gene received wonderful care in his last years.

Gene and Dorothy celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on August 15, 2016. It was a heartwarming family affair and their last anniversary celebration before they passed away less than five months later.

Gene’s achievements in sport aviation were far beyond exceptional; they reached the level of true greatness. His personal reputation was impeccable.

His death represents an immense loss to the Chase family, to his friends and associates, to aviation, to EAA and VAA, and to the world. Where do we get such men? How do we deserve such men?

Gene Chase was memorialized on Saturday, January 7, 2017, at the University Village Stovall Theater in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but he will live on in our memories the rest of our days.

— Charles W. Harris Gene Chase had the best smile and sparkling eyes. Gene was an inspiration because of his exuberant zest for life. Gene welcomed every person he met with interest. He was always learning and giving. Gene is a legend to many, and stories of his aviation experiences continue to fill conversations. This shorter-statured man with a giant heart was always a delight to be around. Gene, we know you are flying the vast skies above with your lovely wife, Dorothy, delighting in all the sights and sounds of an open cockpit forever.

— Olivia Phillip Trabbold Just a note to say that I have the fondest memories of Gene Chase, who ran some of my articles in Vintage Airplane. He had his Davis parasol at the time, and I was just transitioning from my 16

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Lycoming-powered Stearman to the Continentalpowered Stearman. He was a really, really nice man. When our flying season starts, I will rock my wings in memory on the first flight!

— Philip Handleman I have been reflecting on the life of Gene Chase all day. He represented everything good about humanity. As a husband, father, and aviator he excelled at everything. The neat thing about Gene was that he didn’t have to work at it. He was just a naturally good guy. I am so thankful I had the chance to know him and fly with him.

— George Daubner Gene was absolutely the best! A man without equal, both in personality as well as flying skill. I am honored to have been his friend.

— Joe Norris I got to know Gene when he was restoring the Davis back around 1993-94. When I became MAAC treasurer I was glad to have the opportunity to spend several afternoons with him just talking about old airplanes and people we knew. I will miss him.

— John Hofmann, A&P/IA Cub Club editor and webmaster I first became acquainted with Gene when I started chairing the Parade of Flight in 1979. Gene was the editor of Vintage Airplane magazine at the time. Later we both served as antique aircraft judges. I cannot remember when Gene did not have a smile and a good word to say. Truly a gentleman.

Gone but not forgotten.

— Phil Coulson, VAA director emeritus Remembering Gene Chase …

Here’s what I’ll never forget about Gene Chase: his face-brightening smile! When Gene smiled, his eyes twinkled, and he smiled a lot. Especially when talking about his wife, Dorothy, or flying.

I’ll also always remember what a cute, loving couple Gene and Dorothy were. I’m sure they had moments of disagreement, but you’d have never known that. It was clear that Gene loved and respected Dorothy, and she likewise him. It was an honor and privilege to watch them love and care for one another. I was sad when they decided to move back to Tulsa to be near their daughters as they aged, but it was the right decision for them.

Gene was my first flight instructor, giving me my

first couple of lessons in a J-4. He and I would arrive at Pioneer Airport before EAA’s offices opened, and we’d do some air work. He was so encouraging!

I never went on to earn a pilot certificate, but those hours of instruction with Gene in that side-by-side J-4 and later in Norm Petersen’s J-3 Cub (on wheels and floats) are some delightful memories.

One day we were flying Norm’s J-3 on floats; Gene in the front/me in the back. I was bringing the J-3 in to land at the seaplane base on Lake Winnebago, and Gene kept moving and preventing me from seeing the instruments up front. I remember saying something like, “Hey, stop getting in my way.” Gene just laughed and said, “You don’t need those instruments; use your visual cues.” I know he helped me land the J-3 on the water that day. I wasn’t good enough to land it yet, but that day he taught me the importance of looking outside the cockpit to make decisions and not just relying on instruments.

Gene was precise about everything he did — from writing articles to filing papers to flying, not because he was obsessive-compulsive but rather because he valued the importance of doing things right. I suspect that came from the discipline he followed while flying. He flew “by the numbers/by the book,” and that transferred to the rest of his life.

Gene was predictable at times. I always knew when it was break time because Gene would go to one of his file drawers and pull out an International Coffee sweetener before heading to the break room. He loved having those sweeteners with his coffee. Those break times were special; that’s how we employees from that era became a family, sitting around that break table from 10:00-10:15 or 10:15-10:30. Paul Poberezny ran a strict ship; no one overstayed those 15 minutes, but those 15 minutes helped us all come to know one another better.

Gene was a fount of knowledge about vintage aircraft, and he knew all the people involved with vintage aircraft as well. Ole Fahlin, Ted Businger, Steve Wittman, and many more were all friends and compatriots. Between Gene Chase, Jack Cox, and Norm Petersen, EAA had the ultimate triumvirate of aviation gurus. What those three men didn’t know about aviation or aircraft probably wasn’t worth knowing. I was very lucky to have them as my teachers/mentors!

I trust that Gene’s twinkling smile will live on as he holds hands with Dorothy into eternity.

— Mary Jones

I first met Gene Chase around 1984 when my wife, Wanda, and I went to Oshkosh after Paul asked me to help revise the EAA Chapter Officers Handbooks.

Paul asked Gene to give us a tour of the EAA building, museum, and grounds. We both enjoyed the tours, but we were really taken in by Gene himself. He had the calm, friendly, dignified personality that made you instantly like him.

During my years as a board member of the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, I always seemed to gravitate to Gene, as many others did as well. He had the ability to truly make you feel like his friend with his genuine interest in what you had to say. Many times during the EAA banquets and other events at OSH, Wanda and I would save a place for Gene, Dorothy, Gus, and Faye Gustafson at our table. What marvelous memories were generated then!

Gene was also our first “donut meister” at the VAA Tall Pines Café. He seemed to love every job he ever volunteered for at OSH. Gene was an incredibly talented pilot, historian, walking aviation encyclopedia, and editor, but he was probably the humblest person I have ever met. I will miss him; we all will.

— Dave Clark A short story on Gene Chase, a man we all considered a great person and friend: Tony Blackstone was flying the two-place Grumman F3F to Oshkosh and made a stop at Mansfield; problem was the airplane got away from him in landing and took out a runway light. I forget what damage was done to the F3F, but we put the plane in our hangar for the repair work. Tony left for Tulsa … and Enid, Oklahoma.

Gene came down from Oshkosh to ferry the airplane on to Oshkosh. As thanks for helping while in Mansfield he took a number of people for short hops in the airplane, including Stan York. As time was running short I missed my ride, but Gene contacted me at Oshkosh and we had a great flight on a sunny morning!

Gene always told me I was the last person to fly with him before the fateful flight.

So much for history …

— Jim Gorman I had the pleasure of knowing Gene for 45 years. To say that he was a sincere gentleman would be an understatement. Every time I flew with Gene I learned something. He will be missed.

— John Turgyan www.vintageaircraft.org

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Beginning The Stearman Model 70 Article and photos by Rick A. Brown

E

very hero’s journey begins with a call to action.

For most of this n a t i o n ’s A r m y Air Corps and Navy pilots in World War II, this call to action was delivered by Japanese aircraft on the morning of December 7, 1941. The first step of the pilot training journey took place in a primary trainer. The most numerous of these in the United States were the aircraft most commonly known as the Stear man: the PT-13, PT-17, PT-18, NS, and N2S. By 1933, Stearman and other aircraft manufacturers knew that the USAAC and the Navy would be purchasing new primary trainers in the near future. Political unrest was growing in Europe and Asia, and military plan18

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ners considered expanded airpower to be an important part of preparing for war. An expanded air fleet would require more pilots and would require more training aircraft. Thus, several companies set out to design a new primary trainer. Out of this work, Stearman developed the Model 70.

The Model 70 went from design to flight in 60 days in late 1933. It started as a series of modifications made by engineers Harold Zipp and Jack Clark to a plan drawing of a Model 6 Cloudboy, an earlier Stearman biplane designed by Stearman founder Lloyd Stearman. The Model 70 included some significant deviations from the Cloudboy, however, including more rounded wings, rounded fuselage, single-strut landing

of the

Journey

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Stearman Model 70, prototype of the famous PT-13, PT-17 series.

gear, and elimination of the movable stabilizer for pitch trim. The Cloudboy also had been used in the military trainer role but in very small numbers. The team at Stearman also showed foresight in building the Model 70 to handle flight stresses associated with a larger engine than what the Navy and Army were envisioning at that time.

During the development of the Stearman, several business issues had an impact, particularly on the nomenclature. Stearman had been founded by Lloyd Stearman in October 1926 and was re-established in Wichita, Kansas, on September 27, 1927. In 1929, the company was sold to United Aircraft and Transportation Corp. (UATC). At the time, the companies that we now know of as United Airlines and those of Boeing were all one company, UATC. In September 1934, antitrust measures forced reorganization of the UATC, Boeing’s holding company, resulting in Stearman becoming a subsidiary of Boeing.

This was because the United States decided that the manufacturing and air services functions needed to be separated. Thus, the government made UATC break up and become United Airlines and Boeing.

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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 three 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.

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Jakonah Matson Bell telling the crowd a little something about the Stearman 70 during the restoration hangar tour.

For a while, Stearman remained a subsidiary of Boeing but was completely merged into Boeing in 1938. Thus, production Stearmans are known by the military as Stearman/Boeing PT-13, PT-17, NS, and N2S; internally at Boeing they were known as Model 75.

On January 1, 1934, the Model 70 made its first flights and flew in the Army and Navy trials. Overall, the military was pleased with the flying characteristics of the aircraft, but the stall characteristics of the aircraft were too benign for a primary trainer, and stall strips were added to the top wing to alter this characteristic. The military 22

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Tom Murphy and Jakonah Madson Bell with the Stearman 70.

required a stall with a clear and distinct threshold. The stall strips easily fixed this issue.

The Navy quickly placed an order for the Model 73, a modified 70, and these aircraft were designated the NS-1. The first of these flew on November 26, 1934, and were delivered on December 18.

The Army followed with an order for the Model 75, designated the PT-13. Eventually, the Navy and Army versions were standardized, in the PT-13D/N2S-5; the first plane to be standardized between the two services. This series of aircraft went on to be the most produced biplane in U.S. history with

only the Polikarpov Po-2 and Antonov An-2 of the Soviet Union exceeding it in production numbers.

The AN-2 continues to be produced under license in China.

Thus, the Stearman became the most common first step in the U.S. military’s three-step flight-training program. This sequence was primary training, followed by basic, then advanced. The other, less common primary trainers were the Ryan PT-22 Recruit, Waco PT-14, and the Fairchild PT-19, PT-23, and PT-26 series. Foreign nations also bought and flew Stearman trainers. Canada procured a special version, designated the PT-27, built with a canopy to accommodate pilots who were training in Canada’s cold winter climate.

Manufacture of this series of planes was also important to the growth of Boeing facilities in Wichita, Kansas. These facilities have proved important in American aviation, including manufacture of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The Wichita facility was also important in the B-47 and B-52 programs and continues to be involved in Boeing aircraft manufacturing today.

The stor y of Stearman 70 NC571Y’s rebirth began at the C.T. “Red” Jensen estate sale in Sac-

ramento, California, in the early 1980s, approximately 20 years before the founding of the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM), with the legal entity being founded in 2006 and doors opening in 2007. Terry Brandt, founder of WAAAM, and Tom Murphy, director of restorations at WAAAM from the beginning until 2012, were there to see what aviation items might be acquired. The organization of the sale was a bit frustrating as items were sorted by part type, not the aircraft. Thus, piecing together a complete project was a daunting prospect. In one of the boxes that Terry and Tom purchased at the sale, Tom noticed a rudder that looked like that of a PT-17 but that had been modified several times.

Even more significantly, the control horn was in the wrong place.

After some research, he discovered that this tail belonged to the one and only Model 70. Now, excited by the knowledge of the unique aircraft that was partially in their grasp, they determined that they must track down the man they saw who purchased a set of wings and fuselage they felt was part of the same aircraft. Eventually, they secured the fuselage and wings in exchange for some cash and labor on a restoration project.

After this acquisition, they had most of the parts needed. However, the remaining parts of the tail, a center strut, and most importantly an engine still needed to be found. The fuselage was in rough shape, having been scavenged for tubing needed to repair other airplanes, but the wings were in excellent condition for their age.

Thirteen years after purchasing the rudder, Tom came across an engine in Trade-A-Plane that had a mount that appeared to be Stearman, but it didn’t quite look right. After

more thorough investigation, this proved to be the right engine and the original mount for the Model 70 project.

Restoration began in 1981, but plans and drawings were impossible to find, and some sort of reference was necessary to guarantee that the restoration was accurate.

Eventually, they were able to acquire a set of production photos from Boeing that allowed the restoration team, just Tom at this point, to determine dimensions.

Tom worked on the restoration off and on until his retirement in 2012. For that period, he figures that he put in roughly four to five years’ time on the 70 project.

The current head of restoration at WAAAM is Jakonah (Jay) Matson Bell. He has been working on the 70 for approximately another year, focusing largely on the sheet metal work. Of course, with any project

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of this scope, there are also many volunteers who have helped. Volunteers that worked on this project in the early years, under Tom’s leadership, include Dave Hmiel, Jamie Richardson, Bob Nall, Bob Spielman, Sylvia McCorkle, Barry Branin, Bob Wiley, Ken Ingersol, and Ken Hall. Recent volunteers include Butch Hunting, Todd O’Mealy, Joe Breniser, Dale Young, Bob Madsen, Pete Forsyth, Doug Davee, Ron Wilkins, Timm O’Donnell, Bill Avolio, and Ken Musser.

Terry, WAAAM’s founder, invited Addison Pemberton to fly down from Spokane, Washington, where his business Pemberton and Sons Aviation is located, to conduct the initial test flight. Addison’s son, Ryan, came along, and together they conducted preflight inspections and flew the plane on its first two flights. They own two Stearmans and work with many oth-

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23

ers in their local area; furthermore, they have a strong relationship with WAAAM, displaying their Boeing Model 40 there through the winter months for many years. Thus, they were considered the right people to test-fly the Model 70.

After the test flight, the group of test pilots, ground crew, and I had lunch together in the hangar. After lunch, I interviewed Addison and Ryan to get some insight into the test flight.

Ryan summarized the experience: “It flew just like the airplane looks.

It feels very Stearman, but nothing Stearman at the same time.” He went on in detail that the rudder and ailerons were heavier but more responsive. Further, the rudder has a small dead zone but is very effective once you push it beyond the zone.

The elevator is lighter and very responsive. This characteristic is connected with a feature that both felt was one of their favorites of the plane; the elevator trim tab is also a servo boost tab.

Ryan stated, “Performance, I think the airplane is lighter than your everyday, standard PT, so I think it got off the ground and climbed really well.” The aircraft also has dihedral on all wings, and Addison felt this contributed to a greater degree of stability in the aircraft. Other characteristics that are noticeable to those who aren’t experts in these aircraft are that the fuselage is more “crowned” and the windscreens are a little taller. The Pembertons noted that this led to better visibility and less wind in the cockpit. You may notice in the flight pictures that Addison used his sunglasses but not his goggles.

Taxiing was different when compared to a Model 75. Cockpit visibility was better, and this is something always appreciated in a taildragger aircraft. Overall, they felt ground handling was better; larger rudder 24

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and gear that are shorter, perhaps wider in stance.

They described the stall characteristics, as suggested in the historical record, as very benign. Ryan specifically remarked, “The stall was distinctly more benign than a 75.”

Addison described it as “a light burble and a mush, more than a stall. I was very surprised.” Always interesting to hear the military found this characteristic negative, but it is understandable that the military wanted to train the trainee pilots to handle something more pronounced.

Some of the differences between the Model 70 and Model 75 that even nonexperts may notice include: the nose of the Model 70 is longer due to maintaining the center of gravity with the lighter 215hp Lycoming R-680 engine; a larger vertical tail surface; the previously mentioned different fuselage crosssection; and the dihedral on the wings. There are also less noticeable differences. The Model 70 has a Navy N22 airfoil, while the Model 75 has a NACA 2213. The Model 75 also had stall strips attached to the top wing; these strips were added to the Model 70 during the testing but have not been installed on the restoration. Dihedral was also removed from the top wing of the Model 75.

Annually in September, WAAAM hosts the Hood River Fly-In. This year the event takes place on September 10 and 11 and is “The Year

of the Stearman.” Thus, look for the Model 70 to be the star of the show around WAAAM this year. A large contingent of Stearmans is expected to visit, and the WAAAM collection includes the oldest flying Stearman, a 1927 C3B acquired from Larry Tobin, and the “Bull Stearman,” the only surviving Stearman M-2 Speedmail. It promises to be a very exciting fly-in.

While I couldn’t be further from a hero, this plane has been a big part of my journey, too. All photographers have goals they envision in their career. Mine haven’t been as specific as I’ve heard from some other photographers, but photographing a historically significant aircraft, air-to-air for a magazine, has certainly been one of those goals. I would say that the Stearman 70 certainly qualifies as a historically significant aircraft, and I feel honored to have photographed an aircraft that has been such an important part of the story of the United States and WAAAM. I would like to thank Terry Brandt, Judy Newmann, Tom Murphy, Jakonah Matson Bell, Bryan Brandt, Ken Olsson, Addison and Ryan Pemberton, and everyone at WAAAM for bringing this plane back to life and including me on the ride.

For more information about WAAAM please visit www.WAAAMuseum. org, and attend the fly-in if you can.

“I’d been looking for a new truck for about three months. I was trying to find the features I wanted at the right price and talked to my local Ford dealer, Keller Ford in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Being an EAA member, I wanted to know how I could take advantage of Ford’s Partner Recognition Program discount pricing. After learning the details, it didn’t take me long to make my decision.

Using the program through the EAA website was easy. After providing the needed EAA membership authorization to the dealership, I ordered my new Ford F-250 Super Duty XLT pickup. It’s a great truck and perfect for towing my 5th wheel trailer. I’d highly recommend this program to other EAA members when considering the purchase of a new Ford or Lincoln vehicle. They’ll be surprised at how much money an EAA member can save.”

Greg V.

EAA 758283

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 about this exclusive opportunity for EAA members to save on a new Ford vehicle, please visit www.eaa.org/ford.

Tell Us Your Story Ford Motor Company is proud of our long-standing partnership with EAA and wants to hear from you! Feedback from those who have participated in Ford’s Partner Recognition Program is appreciated and owners are occasionally featured in EAA publications. Send us your story and photos to Kevin at kkeling@ford.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Howard Wright’s Hamilton Metalplane

by Budd Davisson

MIKE FIZER/AOPA MEDIA

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Sole

Survivor www.vintageaircraft.org

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Howard’s dream of having a Metalplane on floats would not have been realized if Kenmore Aviation hadn’t had the factory drawings to use in fabricating the mounting structures.

W

hen asked why he decided to purchase the unique 1 9 2 9 Ha m i l to n Metalplane at the 2010 BarrettJackson auto auction, Howard Wright’s answer was simple and to the point: “Because it has a unique history as a floatplane.” Could he be clearer than that?

Howard describes himself as “a floatplane guy,” which is totally understandable. The owner of a number of Seattle-based tourism and hospitality companies, he likes backcountry flying. Living in Seattle means that there are lots of backcountry lakes and inlets to be visited, and Howard lives in floatplane central because EDO Floats is owned by Seattle’s Kenmore Air, which may be the busiest floatplane operation in the country.

No one can visit Seattle and not

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MIKE FIZER/AOPA MEDIA

be aware of the constant stream of floatplanes coming and going in practically the middle of the metropolis. For a big segment of the very active Seattle aircraft community, floats are a way of life, and it bled over into Howard’s love of vintage aircraft in a very real sort of way, as shown with his Metalplane.

The Hamilton Metalplane epitomizes that breed of big antique airplane that led the way for the development of commercial airline travel as the 1920s gave way to the ’30s. At the same time, however, those pioneering multipassenger aircraft that started the airline movement were quickly overtaken by technology in the form of multiengine aircraft. Single-engine airplanes were immediately relegated to flying cargo or nonscheduled passenger flights, which meant many of them headed north where their ability to carry lots of cargo out of

minimal runways, lakes, and rivers would be appreciated. The Hamilton monoplane was among those.

Smith usually flies with only half of the seats installed to save weight.

CHRIS MILLER

A Legendary Decade

CHRIS MILLER

CHRIS MILLER

corrugated skin and thick cantilevered wing was developed by him and his chief engineer, James S. McDonnell, who had been involved in the design of the Ford TriMotor. Hamilton’s goal was to produce a small, efficient aircraft capable of carrying six passengers plus crew as a commuter-type airliner or enough mail to make it a viable mail plane.

Design began in 1927, and the aircraft was in full production less than two years later. It was unveiled as the shadow of the disastrous financial depression cast itself upon businesses nationwide.

The Hamilton Metalplane HK-45

CHRIS MILLER

The Hamilton Metalplane is the product of one of the most inspired, entrepreneurial, innovative decades in aviation history.

The 1920s were awash with names we’ve come to know as the foundation blocks of aviation. Individuals’ names like Boeing, Cessna, Douglas, Northrop, Beech, Stearman, etc. belonged to a generation that often worked together under the same roof, then separated to form their own monster companies. Today’s aviation is rooted in the soil created by the 1920s generation, and Thomas F. Hamilton was an integral part. Like all the rest, he was enthralled by the concept of flight almost from birth.

It is worth Googling Hamilton because his story reads like a biography about Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. By the time he was 16, in 1910, he and a schoolmate were already building, flying, and crashing biplane gliders. Eventually being employed by a propeller manufacturer during the waning years of World War I, he learned the shortcomings of wood and saw a new material on the horizon called “duraluminum.” Shortly thereafter, he started one of his many companies, all of which had his last name in the title.

Although he was a high school dropout, Hamilton designed as many as 25 aircraft during this period. Only a few of them came to fruition, one of them being the Metalplane series.

Recognizing the long-term efficiencies of aluminum and seeing the success German Hugo Junker had with his F13 transport, which itself was rooted in Junker’s WWI metal fighter designs, Hamilton’s designs borrowed on the corrugated skin concept. This type of metal was difficult to form but was self-stabilizing once formed. The

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Finding the original floats was harder than finding the airplane and Howard Smith’s primary reason for buying the airplane was to operate it on floats.

CONNOR MADISON

CHRIS MILLER

MIKE FIZER/AOPA MEDIA

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and HK-47 were among the fatalities. The exact figure of how many were produced is muddled by the fog of time, but many estimate it to be 29. Nine were purchased and operated by fledgling Northwest Airways, and Alaska’s pioneer airline, Wien Alaska Airways, purchased two.

W hen the HK line was shut down in 1930, Hamilton and McDonnell went their separate ways.

Hamilton continued with propellers, joining with another company to be Hamilton-Standard — the world’s propeller standard.

McDonnell eventually formed a strong company that in 1967 merged with another to become McDonnell-Douglas.

Sole Survivor: NC879H Nor th- countr y bush operations recognized the viability of the Metalplane in their environ-

ment, which is why NC879H, serial No. 67, skipped airline employment and was delivered to Provincial Air Service in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. It was mounted on a set of EDO 6500 floats that were serial-numbered to the airplane. Unfortunately, as is the case of most airplanes that spent their lives bouncing around in the backcountry, much of its history is lost.

All that is known is that many bush operators owned the aircraft and tried to keep it flying. (No matter how rickety, airplanes that don’t fly don’t generate revenue.)

According to the Metalplane’s paperwork and the history surrounding the aircraft, it wound up abandoned in Deering, Alaska, where it eventually was discovered by a Northwest Airline pilot, Capt.

Harry McKee. What was 879H doing in Deering, Alaska, and how did Harry find out about it? Deering,

Alaska, stands on the very brink of nowhere, just a little south of the Arctic Circle on the far northwestern Alaskan shoreline where, on a clear day, you actually can see Russia from your front porch.

Deering is tiny. Its population averages 141 hardy souls (127 in 2015), the majority of which are Inupiat Inuit who live by subsistence hunting and fishing. The village was founded in 1910 (population 100) as a supply base for inland mining operations, which is probably what 879H was doing there. Metalplanes were among the favorites for carrying loads into the mines.

What led to the airplane’s abandonment is unknown, but it’s quite likely it was unsolvable engine problems. Built as an H-47, it was powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet that had 525 hp versus the identical H-45

that was equipped with the similarly powered Wasp (R-1340). Unfortunately, only a few Hornets were built, and it’s probable that it decided to break in Deering and couldn’t easily be fixed. So, No. 67 was left to rot until Harry found it in 1951 and transported it to Minneapolis intending to restore it. Harry and his group of enthusiastic ex-NWA pilots and mechanics tried hard, but the complexities and finances of such a major restoration wore them down, and the airplane went into long-term hibernation just a few years after being rescued.

Enter Jack Lysdale Jack Lysdale was the aviation enthusiast’s enthusiast. A longtime A&P and lover of old airplanes, h e p u rc h a s e d 8 7 9 H i n 1 9 7 2 , and where Harr y was striving for a static museum restoration,

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PHIL MAKANNA

CHRIS MILLER

Jack was determined to get it back into the air. This was not to be your average J-3 Cub restoration.

When an airplane is covered in corrugated aluminum rather than fabric, the restorer’s life gets very complicated very quickly. If it’s a fabric airplane, you just rip off the old, ugly fabric, repair the rusted tubing, re-cover it, and life is good.

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An aluminum airplane that has spent its entire life performing the duties of a truck in the north country is light-years harder to restore because virtually every inch has seen rocks, gravel, cargo, etc. bounce off it. Then, if the aluminum is corrugated, the difficulty factor is moved over several decimal places. Just finding the corru-

gated aluminum would seem to be impossible. And it normally is, but not to Jack Lysdale.

Jack was blessed with an abundance of determination and resourcefulness, as well as volunteer helpers from NWA. He somehow determined that Alcoa still had the rolling dies that the company had used to make the original aluminum in 1929. Finding the rolling dies must have been difficult enough, but imagine a conversation in which you’re brow-beating a company the size of Alcoa into making a special, and very short, mill-run of aluminum that not another soul on the planet has a use for! Unfortunately, however, 879H wasn’t going to fly without it and virtually the entire airplane needed reskinning. The project started in earnest in 1972, and the first flight took place in August 1975. In ’76 he took it to Oshkosh, where it won Reserve Grand Champion Antique.

MIKE FIZER?AOPA MEDIA

It would not be overstating the case to say that Jack re-created the airplane in a form that was even better than when brand new.

Howard Wright Wants Another Unique Floatplane Flash ahead to 2010 and one of the more “interesting” experiences available to nuts and bolts aficionados: the Barrett-Jackson car auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. Known primarily for its extravagant events in which millions of dollars’ worth of cars roll across the auction block, Barrett-Jackson occasionally breaks form and puts an airplane in between the Ferraris and Bugattis. Jack Lysdale made his last takeoff in 1992, but his family kept the airplane in good condition before finally deciding to sell it at the Scottsdale car auction.

Howard Wright says, “I heard the airplane was going to be sold, so I went to Fleming Field in St. Paul to pre-inspect it. When it came up at the auction in Scottsdale, I was on the phone bidding, pretty much determined to own it.”

Howard already owned two floatplanes, a Beaver and a 1929 Travel Air S-6000-B, which he operated under the name of Pole Pass Airways based on Orcas Island, 60 miles north of Seattle in the San Juan

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CHRIS MILLER

JULIE WEGNER

Built as an HK-47, it was originally powered with the P&W R-1690 Hornet, a rare, difficult engine to maintain. Howard replaced it with the same R-1340 the HK-45s used.

Islands. He visualized the Metalplane as a perfect addition to his fleet, but floats were an essential part of that equation.

When the gavel fell and Howard officially owned the sole flyable Metalplane, he considered his acquisition to be only half36

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completed. He knew that there was a high probability that the original floats for the airplane were still somewhere in Alaska. Being float-centric, Alaska seldom scraps floats, regardless of their condition, so Howard began a concentrated scavenger hunt for them.

“Amazingly enough, I found the pair in a salvage yard in Fairbanks,” he says. “The owner knew they had been designed to fit only one airplane, the Metalplane, and for that reason thought they were made of gold, not aluminum, and priced them accordingly. He thought he had me in a corner. I pointed out that since the sole market for his floats was the owner of the only Metalplane and that it could fly without the floats, his market was severely limited, so he came to his senses. We reached a consensus, and they were mine.”

Where the airplane was in nearly pristine condition when he bought it, the floats were anything but.

They had been outside in the weeds for decades with many of the access panels open. Besides being exposed to some of the most inclement weather on the planet, local critters and plant life found

Rather than a collector ring, the Wasp’s exhaust exits via header tubes to a collector that ducts it under the airplane and past the passengers.

JULIE WEGNER

Left to right: Ken Perry, Camera Plane; Chuck Wentworth, pilot; and David Howe, copilot.

them to be perfect shelter. However, Howard had the solution required to get them to the same condition as the airplane.

He says, “EDO had a sense of history going back to their beginnings in 1925. When Kenmore purchased all the rights in the ’80s, they also received the EDO archives that included drawings and blueprints for nearly all of the floats EDO had built. This included the 6500s for the Metalplane. So, I shipped the floats to them, and

Rob Richey and his crew not only rebuilt the floats, which was quite an exercise, but also fabricated the mounting structure. Without their help, I’m not certain I would have attempted putting the airplane back on floats.”

About That Engine W h e n Ho w a rd s t a r te d f l y ing the airplane in 2010, it still had the original Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet engine on it. While he wanted to keep the airplane as

original as possible, he also wanted to fly it as if it were a modern airplane. The Hornet in any airplane is a huge question mark because the engine is so rare (very few airplanes used it), and spare parts are even more rare. Reliability was a must for Howard’s envisioned use of the airplane. So, he took the airplane to Chuck Wentworth in Paso Robles, California. Chuck is wellknown for having restored a number of large antique airplanes and has wide experience with all types.

Howard tasked him with the engineering and installation of a Pratt & Whitney R-1340, as found on a T-6 (and the H-45). Besides being an upgrade in power (600 hp versus 525 hp), it was far better in terms of reliability and support.

The Hornet still sits on a display stand ready to be reinstalled, but from purely a flying point of view, the R-1340 was a logical move.

It’s worth pointing out that the beautiful, ground-adjustable propeller the Pratt & Whitney follows has blade stickers that read “Hamilton-Standard.”

In keeping with his goal of safety and flyability, Howard also had Chuck install more modern brakes. www.vintageaircraft.org

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MIKE FIZER/AOPA MEDIA

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MIKE FIZER/AOPA MEDIA

How Does It Fly? Few 1929 airplanes can be said to handle like modern airplanes, and according to Howard the Metalplane is no exception. So, you just fly them as what they are — antique airplanes.

Howard reports that simply getting in is a chore because the cockpit is so narrow. One seat must be folded against the wall to let the pilot get to the left seat, and the top hatch must be opened to give enough headroom in the process. Once in position, the top three cylinders block forward visibility, but the modern brakes are handy when ground handling.

The airplane stalls at only 45 knots, so Howard reports, “On wheels and lightly loaded, its takeoff is sprightly. On floats, carrying a load, however, it has a fairly long takeoff run.”

The airplane has six passenger seats, but Howard removed three of them for a good reason. “The CG is, shall we say, ‘finely tuned,’” he says. “Plus, people in those days were considerably lighter than they are today, so limiting the number of passengers keeps the performance up and avoids any CG problems.”

In the air Howard reports a cruise of 100 knots at 24 gallons per hour and overall handling that’s typical for the time. For instance, engineers assumed

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pilots knew how to use their feet, so they made no effort at limiting adverse yaw.

“It’s best to lead rolling into turns with the rudder,” Howard says. “The ailerons are big and induce a lot of adverse yaw.

“The approach to landing is stable and actually pretty easy. I use 70 knots and it slows down considerably in the flare, but once on the ground you have to stay right on top of it because the rudder is essentially ineffective, hence the new brakes we installed.”

JULIE WEGNER

Magical Moments

MIKE FIZER/AOPA MEDIA

The late Jack Lysdale’s monumental drive and ingenuity is all that got the Metalplane back into the air.

Howard Smith, a very happy airplane owner, luxuriates in the view his aerial patio offers.

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In many of life’s projects there comes a moment that makes it all worthwhile, and Howard says the Metalplane project definitely had those moments.

“I felt as if I had accomplished my goal when I was sitting in the pilot’s seat in flight and was looking over at my instructor, the legendar y Merrill Wien,” Howard says. “His father, Noel, was one of the true pioneering pilots in Alaska, and Merrill followed in his footsteps. In a long lifetime of Alaska flying, Noel had actually f lown this Metalplane and many aircraft like it, so his son could pass along flying tips that few other pilots knew. More than that, during our time together I got a sense of what it was like to fly in Alaska back in the day. I loved it! It made every hour and every dollar that went into the project worth it.

“Now I’ve decided I’m going to sell the aircraft, as I’ve completed my mission, or ‘duty’: I’ve reunited the aircraft with the floats on which it was delivered, and I was honored to have Merrill Wien fly it both on floats and on wheels. Who could ask for anything more?”

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The Heavirland Captured by the Chief’s charisma

by Sparky Barnes Sargent photos courtesy Bob and Vicki Heavirland

A n A e ro n c a C h i e f c a n b e a friendly old fellow with a great potential for forming warm family bonds — even when it’s in a state of disrepair. Such was the case with the Heavirland family of Minnesota.

“It was sitting there in the hangar with bird’s nests hanging off the wing struts, no doors on it, and mice and mud daubers were living in it,” says Bob Heavirland, chuckling. But that gave him no 42

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pause, because NC4311E had sentimental potential.

An instrument-rated private pilot, Bob originally soloed in a Cessna 150. A few years later, he became inspired to try some tailwheel-style f lying during a trip to Oshkosh. “After seeing all the people having fun with taildraggers, I went home and took taildragger lessons, and soloed after my fourth lesson in a Cub,” says Bob.

That tailwheel transition, combined with cherished childhood memories of NC4311E, led Bob to a delightful new chapter in his aviation life. “I’ve known [this Chief] since I was a farm kid in South Dakota,” Bob reminisces.

“It was a local flier. We’d drive to town on the county road and look over at the pasture beside us, and the Chief would be f lying right nex t to us — the pilot would wave at us and fly away.”

Father-andSon Duo Provenance

That pilot was Stanley L. Conkey of St. Lawrence, South Dakota. He purchased the Aeronca 11CC Super Chief on January 30, 1948, just six days after his local dealer, Dakota Aviation Co., took delivery of it from the Aeronca Aircraft Corp. of Middletown, Ohio.

While similar to the 1946 Chief 11AC, the Super Chief featured more amenities, including a roomier cabin, plush upholstery and adjustable seats, and mechanical toe brakes as opposed to heel brakes.

Additionally, Aeronca touted the

Super Chief as being a “flying farm wagon,” and Conkey proved the company right. He kept the airplane for the rest of his life, putting it to work on his farm and in his community. In the growing season, he sprayed crops with it using a modified Sorenson spray unit, and in the winter he put Federal A-1500 skis on it. When the snow was especially deep, he flew mail from Vayland, South Dakota, and delivered it to local residents. He also helped transport people who needed medical care. One winter, he even flew his pregnant wife to

the hospital, and later flew her and their new daughter home.

After many years of service, this faithful old Chief was rolled into the barn one last time in the mid1960s, where it languished until its owner had flown west. In early 1982, Bob was visiting the area on a hunting trip and stopped by Conkey’s farm. “I talked with the owner’s son and asked if he would be flying the Chief,” says Bob, “and he said he never got a license. He said his dad said to sell it to whoever would give them $4,000. I didn’t have the money, so I left,

Above: Pat Heavirland (left) and his father, Bob Heavirland, in front of their respective Aeronca Chiefs at their airstrip in Minnesota. www.vintageaircraft.org

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The Heavirland duo often fly their respective Aeronca Chiefs to local airports.

and after a month or so I called them up. They decided they’d sell it to me for $3,000.”

Bob made arrangements with a friend who owned and f lew a Cherokee, and the two flew from East Bethel, Minnesota, to pick up the Chief. “We landed between the feed bunks and the tool shed,” recalls Bob, “because that’s what they used for a runway. We looked over the plane for quite a while, and it started right up. So I put the skis in the passenger seat and secured them with the seat belt, put the doors back on, and flew it home. We stopped once for fuel; it was about a four-and-a-half-hour flight. He had a climb prop on there for crop spraying, so I didn’t have much for airspeed.”

And so it was that Bob became the second caretaker and avid flier of the Chief in April 1982, at age 36. He soon bought a new Flottorp 72A46 wood propeller for it and repaired the fabric on the airframe.

Four years later, he acquired the EAA Aviation Foundation’s engine and airframe STC kit for autogas.

Like Father, Like Son

O ne go o d thing b e ge t s another, and it wasn’t long before Bob’s young son Pat began enjoying the Chief as well. “When I got old enough to reach the rudder pedals in the Chief, I’d go up and 44

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fly around with my dad,” says Pat, smiling. “I started taking lessons when I was 16, but cars and girls were more important than getting my license, so I would just go flying with my dad.”

Bob’s Aeronca 11CC is a fairly rare airplane today; there are only around 90 on the FAA Registry.

As such, and for sentimental reasons as well, he’s not likely to let go of it anytime soon. To extend the Chief’s useful life, he decided to restore it.

“In 2000, we totally took the wings apart, redid the spars, and put all the ribs back on,” says Bob. “I took it over to an EAA friend of mine, Dean Griswold, who is a mechanic, and he and I re-covered the wings. Then we took the fuselage over to his place, and he and Patrick stripped it down, sandblasted the fuselage, did a little welding repair here and there, and re-covered it.”

While working on his father’s airplane at Dean’s shop, Pat’s enthusiasm for flying was revived. “I made the comment that if I could find a Chief or a Champ, I’d probably buy one as a project and work on it,” recalls Pat, “and Dean told me he knew where one was sitting in an open-sided T-hangar just a few miles away. It was a 1946 Aeronca 11AC Chief [NC9381E] with a Continental A-65-8, and we bought it and flew it for about 20

Skyways, April 1946

hours. I was 34 then, and that’s when I decided I’d better go ahead and get my license, which I did in a Cessna 172 in 2009.”

Another Restoration

Pat also decided it was a good time to restore NC9381E, since he had some current experience working on his father’s Super Chief.

“We tore mine completely down — every nut, every bolt, and every single thing came off the airplane.

We rebuilt the 65-hp Continental, re-covered the airframe, and replaced and rebuilt a bunch of stuff,” shares Pat, adding with a laugh, “mine was done about six weeks before Oshkosh 2013, and then I got my tailwheel endorsement in my Chief and flew it to Oshkosh.”

A n o te o f h i s to r i c a l i n te rest about Pat’s Chief is that J. Sharpless Richie of Riverton, New Jersey, was its first caretaker.

Sharpless bought the Chief on October 26, 1946, just a week after Beaverton Airport in Philadelphia took delivery of it from Aeronca.

Research reveals that he was a poultry farmer, and also one of the original founders of the New Jer-

Air Facts, April 1946

sey chapter of the National Flying Farmers Association in 1946.

So there ’s little doub t that NC9381E was a farmer’s workhorse in the 1940s, just as Bob’s Super Chief was. And Aeronca knew its air planes were good “farmhands,” as illustrated by a 1946 Aeronca ad in Farm Journal that proudly boasted, “Aeronca Ups Farm Income! Case histories show how f lying farmers cover wider territories … Super vise more acreage … Thus increasing farm production and earnings!”

Pat’s Chief flew around New Jersey until 1970, when it found a new home in Pennsylvania. After changing hands numerous times in the northeast part of the country, NC9381E arrived in Minnesota in April 1986, where it is today, in Pat’s care.

Air Facts, July 1947

Air Facts, October 1946

“So Safe … So Simple … Now ANYBODY CAN FLY AERONCA!” — 1946 Aeronca advertising

Biggest Challenges

Both Bob and Pat encountered a few challenges during their restorations. Bob says he discovered how easy it was “to get busy doing other things and not work on the airplane for about four years.”

One of those things was a rather www.vintageaircraft.org

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Bob has known NC4311E since he was a farm kid in South Dakota; today he is its second caretaker.

Side view of the “radio box” which Pat designed.

Pat designed a vintage, yet non-traditional, paint scheme for his Chief.

Rear view of Bob’s 1948 11CC Super Chief.

Rear view of Pat’s 1946 11AC Chief.

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unusual hobby that he and his son enjoyed, which entailed Pat teaching Dutch oven outdoor cooking classes while traveling with Bob’s 1890s chuck wagon.

And there was a bit of an ongoing, friendly rivalry as to who would complete his project first.

“Patrick kept teasing me for about two years that he was going to get done before me, and I was way ahead of him at that time,” recalls Bob with a chuckle, adding, “all I really had left to do was put it together, but you just have to stay on it every day, and I didn’t do that.

We have our own runway and hangar on our farm, and I had other airplanes to fly. So that got in the way of working on the Chief.”

Chiming in good-naturedly, Pat says, “I got my airplane done a month before my dad got his done — and I started about five years after he did!”

Pat reflects that his biggest challenge was firewall forward: “Working on the engine and mechanical systems was outside my comfort zone. So when I got ready to mount the engine, I took it over to Dean’s, and he helped me get everything installed. We also put on a McCauley aluminum propeller.”

1946 Aeronca 11AC Chief Manufactured Under ATC 761 Wingspan

36 feet

Wing chord

60 inches

Wing area

175.5 square feet

Airfoil

NACA-4412

Length

20 feet, 10 inches

Height

6 feet, 10 inches

Tread

72 inches

Empty weight

725 pounds

Useful load

525 pounds

Payload

257 pounds

Gross weight

1,250 pounds

Engine

Continental A-65-8

Fuel

15 gallons main plus 8 gallons auxiliary

Oil

4 quarts

Max speed

105 mph

Cruising speed

90 mph

Landing speed

40 mph

Climb at sea level

500 fpm

Service ceiling

10,800 feet

Cruising range

330 miles

Baggage capacity

Up to 70 pounds

Derived from Juptner’s U.S. Civil Aircraft

Bob’s Chief has steel fenders.

Like father, like son — Pat’s Chief also has wheel fenders.

Note the Aeronca logo and N-number on the hub cap. www.vintageaircraft.org

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Close-up view of NC9381E’s neatly finished instrument panel.

Modern Adaptations

Pat Heavirland of Rush City, Minnesota, with his 1946 Aeronca 11AC. NC9381E is powered by a 65-hp Continental.

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Bob’s Super Chief retains its original Tucson Cream and Stinson Maroon paint scheme, woodgrain instrument panel with dual ash receivers and glove boxes, and 85-hp Continental. He did install new seat belts with metal-to-metal clasps and Consolidair Model 17 wheel fenders to help keep the bottom side of the wings clean during operations from grass fields.

Both Chiefs were covered using the Poly-Fiber process; the Super Chief is finished in Poly-Tone while the Chief has an Aero-Thane top coat of Santa Fe Crimson and custom-mixed tan.

Since Pat’s Chief was missing various parts, he seized the opportunity to be creative and customize the airplane. On the exterior, he added wheel fenders and designed his own paint scheme.

“I wanted a vintage look without the traditional paint job, so I came up with that Aeronca stripe

down the side with the Aeronca logo. I drew it with CAD, printed it full size, and cut it out with a razor blade. Then I taped it on the airplane and painted it. I’ve had a lot of compliments on it,” shares Pat with a smile, adding, “I had some neat vinyl appliques that have the Aeronca logo with my tail number made to go on the wheel covers.”

On the interior, Pat further customized his Chief with laserengraved Aeronca logos on the beige leather seat upholstery and streamlined pockets on the leather door panels. He also fashioned some contoured panels, which fit neatly on each side of the instrument panel. His Chief lacked the escutcheons that adorn the center of the control yoke, so he made two from maple and had them laserengraved with the Aeronca logo and tail number.

Another detail that Pat is especially proud of is the removable radio box he designed and built. It

Bob’s Super Chief has its original wood-grain panel with dual ash receivers and glove boxes.

Bob Heavirland of North Branch, Minnesota, with his 1948 Aeronca 11CC Super Chief. NC4311E is powered by an 85-hp Continental.

www.vintageaircraft.org

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contains a 12-volt battery and is mounted to the aft center of the floorboard close to the seat so he can easily plug in his GPS, nav/ comm radio, charging port, and intercom. (The antenna is mounted under the floorboards.)

He also designed and made a new baggage compartment lid, cleverly hinging it in the middle so that it “slides back like an accordion, which makes it easy to reach into the baggage compartment without the lid closing on you,” explains Pat. Pat may make at least one more change to his Chief. “I bought an original hand-operated McDowell mechanical starter from Paul Poberezny during a work party over at Oshkosh,” says Pat. “I plan to install it on my airplane, but my engine has a tapered shaft and this starter is for a flanged shaft. I talked to Bill Pancake [VAA Hall of Fame inductee and Aeronca guru] about it, and he has helped me so much. I must have called him a hundred times, and he answered every single question I ever called him about.”

Chief Flying

With its long wings and oleo gear, the Chief is a pleasure to fly and land. With 15 gallons in the main tank and an 8-gallon auxiliary tank in the fuselage aft of the baggage compartment, the Chief has plenty of range. Bob has made a few round-trips to South Dakota since he restored his Super Chief, and he says he “can make it out there without stopping when using both tanks. One day, we were on the western side of Minnesota and I said to my wife, ‘I think it’s coffee break time — let’s land at that farm down there.’ And she said, ‘What?’ So I pulled the power, put the carb heat on, made a circle, and landed in a field behind a

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“It was sitting there in the hangar with bird’s nests hanging off the wing struts, no doors on it, and mice and mud daubers were living in it.”

— Bob Heavirland

house. A guy came out to meet us and welcomed us to have coffee.

You can fly around and stop in and visit people most anywhere with a Chief. Plus, the oleo struts make your landings look really good — even when they aren’t!”

Both airplanes have skis, and Bob says he really enjoys flying on skis because “you can land anywhere, including frozen lakes, and the airplane tracks straighter on skis.”

Pat has f lown about a dozen Young Eagles in his Chief and has taken a lot of other people for their first flights. “I had a girlfriend who hated to fly because she thought the landings in a commercial airplane were so violent,” Pat recalls, “so I took her up and landed at a grass strip — and she said, ‘Are we down?’ I told her we’d been down for a hundred yards. She said, ‘Really? I want to do that again!’ So that’s really fun.”

The Chief’s Charisma

If you ask this father-and-son duo what they like best about owning and flying a Chief, they’ll both say that it’s economical and easy to fly. Bob elaborates: “As much as people like having a control stick and tandem seating, the Chief ’s

yokes and side-by-side seating are really nice for carrying passengers because you can visit easier. One time when Patrick was about 12, we piled a pup tent and sleeping bags in the Super Chief and flew down to Redwood Falls, Minnesota. We camped right there on the airport, and they left the administration building unlocked for us.

We even had showers there, and it was a fun camping trip.”

In fact, Pat enjoys flying his own Chief on camping trips now. “I’ll do that a lot — fly to a pancake breakfast the night before, stay, and take off in the morning,” shares Pat. “Flying the Chief is a little bit nostalgic for me because the first airplane I ever flew was my dad’s Chief. So for me there’s a lot of sentimental history to owning a Chief.”

The twosome has become a familiar sight at local airports. “Quite often we go to fly-ins and arrive one behind the other, sometimes in a formation pass. Folks around here know our two airplanes and that makes it kind of fun, because that gives them a little story to tell about Aeronca Chiefs,” says Bob. “It was a lifelong dream of mine to fly a plane to Oshkosh, and when my dad and I were both able to fly our own airplanes to Oshkosh in 2013, that was an added bonus,” says Pat. “We parked next to each other, and we got a lot of questions about the airplanes. It was pretty cool to be there with my dad.”

There’s no doubt that Bob is proud of his son, and he’s also looking for ward to the future, when Pat starts taking his own son, Andrew, f lying with him.

And maybe, just maybe, one day well into the future, there will be three Heavirland generations flying three Aeronca Chiefs in formation. You see, Pat has a second 1946 Chief that he’s in the process of restoring now.

Coast to Coast in a J-5 Cub

The trip of a lifetime article and photos by Doug Bodah, Vintage 723834

W Part I

e had been waiting for several years for the right Piper J-5 to come on the market. I was holding out for an original orange one — a really nice orange one. Debbie, my fiancée, was very supportive but was beginning to wonder if we would ever find the right airplane.

Our friends Dan Dornseif and Glen Marshall own J-5s. They were very kind to give me a couple hours of dual, so I had a brief acquaintance with the airplane.

While I am truly fond of the J-3, the J-5 seemed to make more sense for Deb and me as a couple. This future airplane would be “our” airplane. I own a 180-hp Super Cub and Deb owns an S-1 Pitts. After flying these airplanes, it was a bit of a shock to step back in time to the 52

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85-hp J-5. My mind would race on each takeoff: “Is that all the power there is?” But the voice of an instructor from my past would enter my mind and say, “Just fly the wing.

You don’t need lots of power.”

Eventually an old friend called to say that a friend of his was thinking of selling his 1940 J-5. It was orange, and it was nice. The only problem was that we were in California and the J-5 was in New York.

The thought of making a long crosscountry trip had been in the back of my mind for a long time, but the thought of a coast-to-coast flight was intimidating — and intriguing.

Deb was in agreement the first time I mentioned it. The idea of getting away from work and the normal routine of life was a real draw.

We had the pleasure of meeting Bern Heimos in 2014 at the West Coast Cub Fly­i n. Bern flies

his J-3 all over the United States each year (www.VintageFlying.com).

I had pestered him for advice, and his bottom line was, “You can do a long-distance trip, too.” Thanks to our friend Tom Jones, I had become fairly comfortable with the navigational app ForeFlight. After some practice, I was now convinced I could use it and not get lost. On April 24, 2015, we started our vacation and boarded a commercial flight to New York. The sellers put us up in their guesthouse. We can’t thank them enough for their hospitality and kindness. After a couple of days of loose ends and weather, we departed on a cool but clear morning.

The only real guidelines I had made were that there should be no more than two two-hour legs a day flown in the mornings and that I would try to get the plane in a han-

gar at night, stay at nice hotels, and then try to relax. We were on vacation, and I didn’t want to push things. We could not carry full fuel because of the gross weight, but I did carry a one-hour reserve.

On the first day we took it easy.

The destination was Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, with a fuel stop in Danville, Pennsylvania (8N8). The trees were just starting to bud. We would love to see this part of the country when the trees are green or changing colors. The former home of Piper Aircraft, Lock Haven is where our J-5 was built in October 1940. It is currently the home of the Piper Aviation Museum. We were able to get hangar space there.

The airport manager was very kind and drove us to our hotel. He even drove us by Mr. Piper’s old house so we could see it. We both liked Lock Haven and ended up staying two extra days there due to low ceilings. Finally, on the third morning, there was blue sky. We headed southwest, stopping for fuel at Garrett County, Maryland (2G4), and overnighted at Mason County, West Virginia (3I2). The friendly lady who ran the FBO took us into town and picked us up the next morning. Her son also provided hangar space for us.

The next day we were airborne by 9 a.m. and were beginning to settle into the pattern. Lots of country to see and take photos of.

Being from the West Coast, we had no idea we would see so many rivers and so much river traffic, including barges moving lots of coal.

We were amazed. Our fuel stop was Cynthiana-Harrison (0I8), a nice airport in Kentucky where we were met by a friendly airport dog and found an FBO with big rocking chairs on its porch. What a nice place, and what friendly people.

Our destination for the day was Elizabethtown, Kentucky (EKX),

where friend and fellow Pitts pilot Mike Payton is based. Mike lined up a hangar and car for us. We had a pleasant evening with Mike and his wife.

The following morning we were in the air by 8:15 and en route to a fuel stop at Kyle-Oakley Field (CEY) in Murray, Kentucky. We had been looking forward to crossing the Mississippi River. However, we were surprised at how wide the river was. It was a bit unnerving when we crossed the river’s midpoint at 1,500 feet AGL and realized that we probably could not glide to either side in case of an emergency. Happily, the little Continental kept making its music. We stopped overnight at Jonesboro, Arkansas (JBR). The folks at Arkansas Air Center were very nice to us and gave us free hangar space and a car. Maybe they were intrigued by our journey in such an old airplane.

By now the weather was getting warmer the farther south we went, and several things were becoming apparent. The first was that the cruise prop sure wasn’t helping us on takeoffs. I had to make a plan B on each takeoff when there were trees, power lines, or homes at the far end of the runway. Secondly, the handheld radio was not liking the engine’s Eisemann magnetos. A lot

of static was coming over the headsets. That definitely ruled out any towered airports. I would make normal pattern calls in the blind at each towered field. But generally, once we turned on a tight downwind, I could hear a little.

The next day’s first fuel stop was in Hot Springs, Arkansas (HOT). It was a two-­hour leg and very pleasant. We were glad we had shipped our cold-weather clothes home while we were in Elizabethtown.

After fueling and eating our standard Subway sandwich lunch, we climbed very slowly out of KHOT and headed for Texas. It was there that we were seeing weather ahead on ForeFlight and had to change the plan for the day. That was a very short day of flying, and we stopped in Hope, Arkansas (MI8). Things didn’t get any better, so we remained overnight there. I was very happy to get a space for the J-5 in the classic World War II hangar that now serves general aviation.

The following morning was clear and beautiful. When we got to the airport and turned in the van, we found a Baron had come in later that day and was blocking our exit from the hangar. It took a while before someone arrived to move the Baron, so we didn’t depart until after 9 a.m. There was still weather www.vintageaircraft.org

53

ahead in the Dallas area. I had called ahead the night before to talk to our friends in Dallas. They suggested we land at Terrell, Texas (TRL), and call again to discuss the weather situation. We landed an hour later in a blustery wind to fuel and look at the weather. It was hard to taxi and even harder to fuel when the wind wanted to blow everything away. Finally, I decided it would be reasonable to try to get to our destination airport of Cleburne, Texas (CPT), south of Fort Worth. The ceiling was about 2,000 feet, there was some light rain in places, and winds were 12 to 15 mph. However, we had plenty of fuel and decent visibility.

It seemed ever y small Texas town had a water tower, so it was fun to try to read the names as we went by. It was late in the afternoon by the time we landed in Cleburne. I was tired, and it felt good to get out of the airplane. Our friend Kayla Morrow was waiting for us and led us to a hangar she had lined up through friends of hers. These people were very nice and would not take any money for the use of their hangar.

The weather got worse over the next several days, and our vacation was drawing to a close. All we could do was end the trip here, fly home commercially, and come up with a plan B. The J-5 was safely tucked away in the hangar. As the Airbus headed west, we flew parallel to the weather. We were probably at 35,000 feet, and the black 54

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ugly clouds were far higher than we were. Cells of lightning flashed inside them. This went on for nearly half an hour. I could see now that no other decision would have been possible, but we didn’t like it. Little did I know that I wouldn’t see the J-5 again for nearly a month.

Little did I know that I wouldn’t see the J-5 again for nearly a month.

Part II The weather in Texas at that time of year was incredible. Nearly every day a new storm flowed up from the south and parked itself as a wall, blocking the direction we needed to go in order to get the J-5 home. If Dallas had a good day of weather, it would turn out to be terrible in west Texas. It was a very frustrating time for us.

Finally, three and a half weeks later, the forecast looked good for about a week for the whole route.

Deb got me an airline ticket for the next day to Dallas. It was then that the tempo of the trip changed. Instead of slow and relaxing, I now

realized that I had to keep moving, as I would be meeting Deb three days later in Phoenix. I departed Cleburne, Texas, early the next morning and headed west. The wind was blowing 15 to 18 mph, but at least there were blue skies.

I circled historic Ranger Municipal Airport (F23) but saw no one on the ground. I decided to land at Albany, Texas (T23), for fuel because of the wind.

After a quick stop, it was on to Sweetwater, Texas (SWW). Luckily the wind lined up fairly well with Runway 22 and the taxi into Avenger Aviation wasn’t that bad. However, taxiing back to Runway 22 for the departure was another story. The left brake was feeling a little soft and wasn’t strong enough to keep me straight on parts of the taxiway.

I ended up having to shut down, get out, and push the airplane until I was directly tailed into the wind.

Then I got back in and very gingerly taxied to the end of 22. The takeoff was very quick, and now I had a howling headwind. My destination was Pecos, Texas (PEQ). I think I saw every oil rig on the face of the earth in this leg. The landscape had totally changed, too. Airports were much farther apart than out east, and there was also no guarantee that the airport would have fuel for sale. After flying for two hours I decided to land early at Roy Hurd Memorial Airport (E01).

Luckily the winds on the ground were very light. I went ahead and put some fuel in, along with a quart

of oil. The short flight to Pecos was uneventful, and I arrived there at 4:25 p.m. There wasn’t any hangar space available, but the nice folks at the Pecos Air Center were able to supply some brake fluid for the left master cylinder. That helped the left brake a lot. I was really tired, and the hotel bed felt great.

I thought that the next day’s flying might be the hardest yet, so I turned in early.

I was off the ground at 7:20 the next morning. There was one big cloud in the sky as I climbed out from Pecos, and I was surprised to see a beautiful rainbow extending from the bottom of that cloud to the ground. An hour later I landed in Culberson County, Texas (VHN).

This was as far south as I had to go on the whole trip, and I fueled all the way to the top. I also filed a flight plan for the next leg — the only one I filed during the whole trip. While planning the trip, I realized this leg was the longest and the one with the fewest options. Horizon Airport, just south of El Paso, had just closed for good. Now I had to go from Culberson, up along the Mexican border, around El Paso’s Class C airspace, and around several restricted areas to Las Cruces, New Mexico (LRU). I think this was the most desolate and inhospitable part of the country I had seen, but I knew that there was a highway off my left wing. I think that I missed Deb’s company the most on this leg.

Abeam El Paso I could see the

Guadalupe Pass in the distant mountains to the east. I wish I could have used that shortcut.

However, the winds were over 20 knots in the pass when I had to make that decision back in Sweetwater. Luckily the tailwind held and I arrived in Las Cruces in 2.1 hours. That tailwind helped a lot!

I did see something I had never seen before — dust devils.

After eating lunch and buying fuel, I decided to do one more leg for the day. That would put me in Deming, New Mexico (DMN), for the night.

My tailwind was now a crosswind, and it was blowing. I did see something I had never seen before — dust devils. Three of them lay ahead of me, the tallest one extending up to nearly 800 feet. The crosswind was pushing them across Highway 10, so I did not have to divert to the south very far to stay away from them. I landed on Runway 22 at Deming, got a spot in the FBO’s hangar, and made use of a courtesy car. I was very pleased to have covered that much ground with no

major problems.

The following morning, ForeFlight showed rain in Arizona. I thought I could get as far as Cochise County, Arizona (P33), before the rain arrived. I kept close to Highway 10, knowing that I could always turn back to Lordsburg, New Mexico, if I had to. I almost made it to Cochise before the rain.

The airport was nearly in sight when the clouds let loose. I moved in closer to the highway while water dripped in from the top of the windshield. The highway made a bend to the south, and there was the airport in the clear.

Louise at Walden Aviation came out to help me fuel the Cub. The folks here were very nice, gave me a shelter spot for the Cub, and then drove me to my hotel. It was a short day because there were lingering storms in the Phoenix area. That also meant that I would be a day late in meeting Deb. Luckily she was able to change her airline ticket.

The next morning was picture perfect — a calm, blue-sky day. I flew around the end of the Winchester Mountains, turned, and then flew north up a large valley following the San Pedro River toward the Phoenix area. I had a little trouble finding the airport at Casa Grande, Arizona (CGZ). It blended in with the rest of the terrain. It was a Saturday, and the pattern was busy. This was the first busy airport on the whole trip so far.

In fact, we had seen only about 12 airplanes flying since leaving New www.vintageaircraft.org

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York! I shut down at the gas pumps and a white car drove up. A gentleman a couple of years older than me got out and exclaimed, “I haven’t seen a J-5 in 10 years!

My name is Don. I own a J-4.”

From that moment on, I was Don’s guest. Brake f luid?

“Sure.” Tools? “Yep.” Something to eat?

“Let’s go!” Don was as good as they come — a real gentleman. I spent hours A rainbow from the Pecos leg of the trip. with Don, as Deb’s flight didn’t arrive until 6 p.m. at We landed in Blythe on RunSky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. way 8. Two Stearmans and a Waco I rented a car, drove to Phoenix, waited at the fuel pumps. They and picked Deb up. It was wonder- looked good, but it was intriguful to see her. It felt as though I ing to think that the J-5 was older hadn’t seen her in years! than the Stearmans and maybe the The next morning’s weather was Waco, too. It was around noon bea repeat of the previous morning’s. fore we had refueled and taxied Deb was excited to see the J-5 tied out. The temperature was exactly down on the line. We skirted the 100 degrees. We took off, but the Mode C airspace and landed in Cub would not climb past 2,100 Buckeye, Arizona (BXK), an hour feet AGL. Our next stop was golater for fuel. The next leg would ing to be Apple Valley, California put us in Blythe, California (BLH). I (APV), and I would need at least had been warned to carefully watch 4,000 feet of altitude. The only real the winds, as there was no fuel be- option was to return to Blythe and tween Buckeye and Blythe other try again early in the morning. than at a truck stop. I was told that Back on the ground at BLH, if by the halfway point my ground- we were informed that the town speed wasn’t 65 mph, I should turn was 7 miles away. Also, there were around and go back to Buckeye un- no rental cars, no taxis, and the til the next morning. With that courtesy car could not be lent planted firmly in my mind, we took out overnight. Finally, the FBO’s off, keeping Highway 10 in sight. owner allowed us to use the crew The wind did come up, but it was car overnight. If I ever go through not the headwind that I feared. The that area again, I will investigate quarter tailwind was back! Yahoo! Uber in advance. The next mornThe groundspeed at times was 105 ing we were off the ground at 7:15 mph! As we crossed the Colorado and didn’t add fuel. I changed my River into California, the land- plan to fly shorter legs with less scape along the river changed from fuel on board but still with a onebrown desert to green crops. hour reserve. That meant an extra 56

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fuel stop at Twentynine Palms, California (TNP).

We arrived there 1.1 hours later after flying around the higher mountains.

After adding a little fuel to get us to Apple Valley, we departed.

It was going to be another really hot day, and the rate of climb was very slow. Luckily, the area off the departure end of the runway was just flat, open desert. Deb kept passing me Gatorade to keep me hydrated. I was glad she was there.

One hour later, we landed at Apple Valley on Runway 18. I was surprised at the downslope of the runway, but it would be a blessing when we departed. I had to fuel for a longer leg with a long climb.

Apple Valley lies at an elevation of 3,062 feet, and the temperature was getting hotter. We used a lot of that downhill runway. I now had to skirt towered airspace at Victorville, California (VCV), and Edwards Air Force Base (EDW) and fly through a corridor for nontowered traffic. According to ForeFlight, this is a very congested area of airspace. Looking out the window, all you see is barren desert. We didn’t see any traffic out there and had to start a long, slow climb to get over the highest mountains we would face. From miles away I could see the lowest pass in the mountains ahead that we had to clear, the Tehachapi Pass. I could also see a wind farm at the base of the pass.

From miles away I was looking up at the windmills. Finally, we were higher than the windmills, with room to spare in the pass.

This was definitely an altitude re-

cord for us, and it took forever to get there. Coming out the other side of the pass was breathtaking! The view of the San Joaquin Valley, way down there, was beautiful. It took a while to get down to the 1,200-foot pattern altitude at Bakersfield, California (L45). We refueled and ate our lunch under a tree. The temperature was 97 degrees, and other people were flying. I thought we should leave before it got any hotter.

The airport had a 4,000-foot runway and lay at an elevation of only 378 feet, yet this takeoff was the most marginal I had ever experienced. The climb was agonizingly slow, and it took miles to reach our normal 1,500 feet AGL. Luckily, the final range of mountains we had to cross was 30 minutes away, and I picked a low spot. It was here that our tailwind kicked in again. I saw a groundspeed of 117 mph several times, and we rode that tailwind all the way to King City, California (KIC), in 1.8 hours.

King City is a quiet place. We have friends there who came out to greet us. It is also where I learned to fly the Pitts 10 years earlier at Sean Tucker’s Tutima Academy.

We were greeted by Ken Erick-

son, my old instructor. “Hey Ken, can I bum some brake fluid from ya?” I asked. After the brake was ser viced, we met up with Glen Marshall, who had flown down to King City to meet us in his J-5. The two J-5s were born one and a half months apart in 1940. Glen was going to fly in formation with us on this last leg of our journey. He was also going to be our voice at our home airport (KSNS), a towered field. What an honor it was to fly home with Glen.

In the days that followed our arrival home, Deb and I both felt restless trying to settle back into

our normal lives. Even today, a year later, each time we open the hangar door and smell that old airplane smell, we are transported back to the adventure. We could not have made this journey without the help of a lot of people. For this, we thank them sincerely. We saw many interesting things, took in some beautiful scenery, and met wonderful people by going low and slow. In the end, it doesn’t matter what you fly or where you go as long as you have the time to enjoy the adventure.

As for us, we eagerly await the next journey of the Orange Cub.

ode

Checkout C

save15%3

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The Vintage Mechanic ROBERT G. LOCK

Teaching a Nation How to Fly The Lon Cooper story, Part 2 Having received his private pilot certificate, Lon Cooper continued his flying by entering the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) Secondary Flight Training. Lon remembered, “The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, fully involved the United States in World War II. As promised, CPT students volunteered for the Army Air Corps, and many were enlisted for service — except me. My history of asthma as a child excluded me from service in the AAC. However, with my flight experience, I was placed in the AAC Enlisted Reserve and continued my flight training under Army supervision. Wartime security at Albert Whitted required admission only with approved identification. We were photographed, fingerprinted, and issued airman identification credentials by the Civil Aeronautics Administration.”

Only six students from Lon’s original primary class continued into the secondary CPT flight-training program. Classes began June 22, 1942. Ground school included advanced study of theory of flight, navigation, meteorology, CAA flight rules and regulations pertaining to commercial flight, instruction, and radio procedure. Since radios would be used, an FCC radio-transmitting license was required, which was issued after completion of a simple written test.

Flight training continued at nearby Whitted Airport but under the direction of Beard’s Flying Service.

Owner Otis Beard was an interesting study and had gained much flight experience. His commercial certificate number was 1054, which would indicate a very early issuance of the certificate. Beard was an early airmail pilot, which allowed him to log many hours 58 MARCH/APRIL 2017

of flight plus give much experience in cross-country flying. As a flight instructor, he taught flying at the Piper-Fuller Field in St. Petersburg before relocating to Albert Whitted Airport. Amelia Earhart had been one of his students.

Otis Beard was ready to join the CPTP and provide flight instruction to students enrolled in St. Petersburg Junior College. This is where Lon started his flying instruction.

The Wright-Morehouse two-cylinder engine.

Otis Beard and his brother, Louis, had once built a small airplane in 1927 that they named the Model B. It was a single-place monoplane with a wingspan of 19 feet, 11 inches, and a length of 16 feet, 6 inches. A Wright-Morehouse Model B engine of two cylinders,

ROBERT G. LOCK

Left is an Aeronca C-3 powered by an Aeronca E-113 two-cylinder engine developing 35 hp.

developing around 29 hp, powered it. There are no pictures of the airplane, but it must have been similar to the Aeronca C-2 and C-3 ships. A story from the December 13, 2008, issue of the Tampa Tribune regarding the death of Edward Hoffman indicated, “Mr. Hoffman was a bit of a daredevil, raised just five blocks from Albert Whitted Airport. As a teenager, he worked as a line boy learning how to build planes.

He sold tickets for rides with pilot Otis Beard in exchange for rough and tumble evening flying lessons in Beard’s Aeronca C-3.”

Lon recalled, “Flight training continued at Albert Whitted Airport. The secondary phase of instruction was for a commercial flight certificate and instructor rating and was taught by Beard’s Flying Service. Mr. Ellis instructed navigation and cross-country flying, and Mr. G.W. Lindsey (Certificate No. C69202) instructed all maneuvers, including acrobatics. Mr. Lindsey had flown several years as a crop duster pilot in Mississippi.

Safety and precision were the key points he stressed in all maneuvers. To improve precision control of the aircraft, he added eight-point stop rolls (a slow roll stopping rotation at every 45 degrees) to our curriculum.

And from his crop-dusting experience, he taught us wingovers for a quick turnaround, and side slips into short fields for emergency landings.”

Right, the aerodynamics textbook published by the CAA in September 1940. This textbook is Civil Aeronautics Bulletin No. 26. It is a very in-depth study of aerodynamics and the atmosphere and basic physical properties.

As has already been discussed, the CPTP was highly structured and standardized so instruction across the country would essentially be the same.

The CAA published a handbook designated as Civil

CAA Aerodynamics for Pilots textbook.

Aeronautics Bulletin No. 30, titled Ground Instructor’s Manual and published in September 1940. This manual was used by faculty who took part in the CPTP project as ground instructors and would be used for both primary and secondary training. This manual was divided into six parts as follows: Part One, Lesson Planning and Classroom Management; Part Two, Meteorology; Part Three, Navigation; Part Four, Aerodynamics; Part Five, Airplanes; and Part www.vintageaircraft.org

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CAA Ground Instructor’s Manual.

Six, Powerplants.

The manual stated, “It is expected that specific lesson plans will be worked out by the individual instructor who must of necessity take into account the ability and preparation of his students as well as the resources of library and laboratory which are available. Detail lesson plans are therefore not included.”

The final statement in the preface sums up using instructors not prepared for this type of instruction.

“As a result of setting up the Civilian Pilot Training Program, numbers of pilots who have had no training or experience as classroom instructors have been confronted with the problem of giving classroom instruction. On the other hand, many experienced classroom instructors have been confronted with the problem of teaching subject matter with which they have been heretofore unfamiliar. The Ground Instructor’s Manual has been prepared specifically to meet the needs of these two types of instructors insofar as those needs can be anticipated.”

Otis Beard had several training aircraft that would make a modern-day antique airplane collector drool.

His fleet included the following seven airplanes: Waco UPF-7 (NC32130), Waco UPF-7 (NC32028), Waco EQC-6 (NC16506), Waco EGC-8 (NC2312), Monocoupe D-145 (NC12360), Piper J-5 Cruiser 60

MARCH/APRIL 2017

CAA Ground

Instructor’s

Manual.

(NC35275), and a Piper J-3 Cub (NC31117). Three of the above aircraft are still on the FAA aircraft registry, and one, the Waco AGC-8, is flying again and located only a few miles from Lon Cooper’s home.

Above, the Pilots’ Radio Manual published by the CAA in September of 1940. This textbook is Civil Aeronautics Bulletin No. 29.

Cross-country and navigation were taught by Mr. Ellis using the Waco EQC-6 or the AGC-8 aircraft. Lon’s class of six was divided into two groups of three. The instructor would take three students up at a time and allow each to fly a leg of a cross-country flight. Lon recalled his days of flying cross-country trips in the Waco: “Our crosscountry flights were conducted over South Florida to avoid congestion from the many military fields then in operation. [There were many transition bases in the area — P-51s in Bartow, B-26s in Lakeland, B-17s and B-26s in Tampa, and a Navy base in Sanford]. At that time, radio communication was usually limited to major airports and commercial aircraft. Flight plans were filed with Albert Whitted Airport. Navigation was by dead reckoning using a magnetic compass heading derived from charts and weather information. Visual observation of identifiable objects and geographic

features along the desired flight path were used to maintain a true course.”

Before radio navigation for small civil aircraft was refined, the only way to get from Point A to Point B on a chart was to draw a line, compute compass heading (correct for deviation and variation), add in wind component, get in the airplane, and go. Always looking out to the ground to verify checkpoints along the way. Students were taught to use an E-6B to calculate for wind drift, but navigation was clearly by the seat of the pants. During flight instruction in the cabin Waco, Lon recalled, “Our Waco was equipped with an AM radio receiver using a loop antenna. Rotating the loop antenna allowed us to establish compass headings for the AM radio stations from which our position could be established by triangulation.

Instrument landing approaches were practiced without a hood. Finding an airport under instrument conditions in 1941 required the use of a radio range station. This was a very complicated procedure, and rough air in the summer in Florida did not make it any easier.”

MIKE ARALDI

Waco AGC-8, NC2312, originally flown by Lon Cooper, now owned by Mike Araldi, Lakeland, Florida.

to Lon recently as he was able to fly the Waco again, thanks to owner Mike Araldi.

Otis Beard had two Waco UPF-7 aircraft to teach an advanced course in acrobatics. The UPF-7 was built to compete for the military primary trainer contract in 1940 that was won by the Boeing Wichita Division with its PT-13/PT-17 trainer. However, the PT-14 was such a good flier that it was designated UPF-7, and flight schools involved with the CPTP snatched them up for their advanced course in acrobatics. The CPTP Wacos were painted with a blue fuselage and yellow wings with a red- and white-striped rudder. Lon recalled, “With ailerons on both upper and lower wings, it was a great airplane for acrobatics. Added maneuvers were loops, chandelles, 720-degree steep turns, lazy-eights, snap rolls, and on-axis slow rolls.”

By the time that Lon was deeply involved in the CPTP, the United States was deeply involved in WWII. Lon completed his secondary training January 9, 1943, adding 63 hours of dual and 85 hours

A loop antenna mounted on top of the fuselage of a B-25.

The above image shows a loop antenna mounted on a North American B-25. The actual antenna was a loop that was mounted inside the teardrop-shaped housing and rotated to sense the strongest signal from a ground AM radio station. When a person gives thought as to how well the World War II combat pilots navigated with almost no precision navigating equipment like we have today, it is truly amazing that they could find their way back to home base or an aircraft carrier.

Waco AGC-8, NC2312, recently restored by Mike Araldi of Lakeland, Florida. This is the airplane that Lon flew his cross-country and radio-navigation dual instruction in back in 1941. Imagine being reunited with an aircraft you flew 69 years ago. That happened

Copy of original Monocoupe factory brochure showing the type of aircraft flown by Lon Cooper during his CPTP days.

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COURTESY LON COOPER

Lon Cooper with CPTP Waco UPF-7 at Albert Whitted Airport, St. Petersburg, Florida.

of solo flight to his logbook. Written examinations were taken and passed. On January 11, 1943, CAA Inspector E.J. Ulrich flew over to Whitted Airport for the checkrides of all six applicants approved by Otis Beard. After a 50-minute checkride, Lon’s private pilot certificate was upgraded to a commercial certificate for single-engine-land ships from 0 to 330 hp with an instructor rating.

It is interesting to note here that Lon’s solo time was in the Piper J-3 and J-5 ships, plus the Monocoupe D-145.

Regarding solo time during the secondary phase of CPTP flight instruction, Lon wrote, “I flew [solo] in all the planes listed except the EQC and the AGC cabin Wacos. We always flew them with three students and the instructor, even on our checkrides. The Monocoupe was Otis Beard’s favorite airplane. We were thoroughly checked out in it by Mr. Beard, three hours dual, before 3:15 hours solo! In a preflight check on the Monocoupe, we found a slight wobble in the prop. Examination found the crankshaft broken inside of the propeller-fastening nut. The front of the crankshaft came off with the prop.”

As Lon completed his CPTP training by passing the commercial/flight instructor checkride on January 11, 1943, his logbook showed the following times: Training

Dual

Solo

Totals

Private

23

16

39

Secondary 63

85

148

187

Note that Lon’s total flight time was 187 hours — 86 62

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hours of dual instruction and 101 hours of solo flight.

This flight experience was to qualify for a commercial/ flight instructor certificate. Times were much different then, compared to now!

As the United States entered WWII and on December 7, 1942, the name of the Civilian Pilot Training Program was changed to the War Training Service (WTS), and operation was put under direct control of the military.

Lon was now ready to launch to the next challenge.

He recalled, “Upon completion of CPT, the Army Air Corps Enlisted Reserve ordered me to report on January 15 [1943] to Atlanta, Georgia, for a checkride. Satisfactory performance was for required acceptance into the Army Air Forces Central Instructors School, which was being formed in San Antonio, Texas. The purpose of this school was to supply top-quality instructors for civilian contract schools and standardize flight-training maneuvers. Early in the morning of January 15, 10 of us anxiously waited for approval from Mr. H. Porter as he checked us in his Waco UPF-7. My checkride was the last of the day, and only two applicants had been approved. I was given a sequence in which to perform every maneuver we had been taught. At the end of the sequence, Mr. Porter told me to do the maneuver I liked best. I did an eight-point slow roll. Mr. Porter abruptly took over the controls, flew back to the airport, and landed. As he was getting out of the plane, he asked me, ‘Who taught you to fly?’ My heart sank; I named my instructors, none of whom he knew. He then said, ‘Of all I have flown today, you are the only one that has really flown the airplane.’

That was a great compliment to my instructors and me.

I was approved for Central Instructors School. Orders were given to me to immediately report to Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Alabama.”

TM

Straight & Level continued from page 1

to join the staff at EAA in Hales Corners. They accepted Paul’s invitation in 1973 and moved to Wisconsin, to work at EAA in the publications department. Gene retired from EAA as the editor of Sport Aviation magazine in 1989. Shortly after Gene’s departure from the EAA, he was invited to join the Vintage Aircraft Association as a director. In 1999 Gene was voted into the VAA Hall of Fame. Gene continued to serve as a director and director emeritus with the VAA until his death. Gene acquired and restored a 1920s-era Church Midwing aircraft and a Davis D-1-W during the 1960s. Both of these beautifully restored rare aircraft currently reside in the EAA museum in Oshkosh.

Dorothy, of course, was always Gene’s first love, but sharing the world of vintage aviation with others was always his second great love.

My personal condolences to the Chase family; may you forever rest in peace, Gene. I truly enjoyed your friendship for many years!

Now for a little good news! Most of you have by now heard the good news that medical reform was recently approved by the FAA and becomes effective on May 1, 2017 . My personal congratulations go out to the EAA Government Relations Committee for taking the ball to the goal line on this issue. In my wildest dreams I forever doubted that the FAA would pass on a set of rules that truly simplified the requirements and need for a third-class medical. This is true reform, and is likely the most welcome change our recreational pilot population has seen for decades. Many thanks to EAA and AOPA for all their hard work on our behalf!

Many thanks to all of the Vintage volunteers who attended our weekend work parties in 2016. So much was accomplished.

I would encourage all of the VAA membership to consider spending some time with us as we prepare the Vintage grounds for AirVenture 2017. The 2017 Vintage weekend work parties are scheduled for April 21-23, May 19-21, and June 23-25.

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

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

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

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

New Members Kenneth Allen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grand Haven, MI Johann Anders . . . . . . . . . . . . Tuebingen, Germany Russell Armstrong. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Commerce, TX Lavelle Barnes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reedley, CA Gordon Burton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calgary, Canada Chris Caffey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Greensboro, NC David Carlson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Valrico, FL Dale Climenhaga. . . . . . . . . . . . Burlington, Canada J. Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mardela Springs, MD Agnes Csanadi Fhal. . . . . . . . . . Szigetszentmiklos, Hungary Mike D’Angelo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charlotte, NC Stephen Drane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kerrville, TX Ken Dressel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Louis, MO Stanley Faust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nashua, NH David Freeland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leawood, KS Dick Gee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seattle, WA James Glasgow. . . . . . . . . . . Stamping Ground, KY Chuck Gratner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pittsburgh, PA William Green. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fairbanks, AK Serge Grynberg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paris, France Jerry Hancock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crofton, MD Michael Higgins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Martinsburg, WV Matthew Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Argyle, TX Patrick Hurley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fillmore, IN Jennifer Jacob. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rutland, VT Dennis Karoleski. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Portsmouth, NH Wille Langholz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pipe Creek, TX Geoffrey Lee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Otterville, Canada Chris Lehner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Camas, WA Lovro Matic. . . . . . . . . . . . . Gornji Stupnik, Croatia Kyle McAlister. . . . . . . . . . . . . Mountain Home, AR Gerald Mckibben. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starkville, MS Vlado Mihaljevic. . . . . . . . . Gornji Stupnik, Croatia Hugh Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas City, MO Carson Miller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oakdale, CA Daniel Miller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grain Valley, MO Judy Morrison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grandview, TX Jim Mullin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nevada City, CA David Muzio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Templeton, CA Kevin Ohlson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oklahoma City, OK James O’Neal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Houston, TX Robert Overman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fairfield, OH Dennis Ozment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Quincy, IL Matt Paine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oroville, CA Eric Parks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthews, NC Neal Pease. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colchester, VT Todd Peterson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phoenix, AZ John Pinter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Litchfield, MI Charlie Plumb. . . . . . . . . . . . . Westlake Village, CA Mike Ralich. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Diego, CA Krysten Renihan. . . . . . . . . . . . . North Auburn, MA Randy Rhodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McKinney, TX Larry Riddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comstock Park, MI Peyton Ridland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Irvine, CA David Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North Aurora, IL Eric Schlieper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Toronto, Canada James Sells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peachtree City, GA Wayne Simpson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Norwood, NC Troy Slack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Concord, OH Kevin Sloan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edmond, OK Robert Snyder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stevensville, MD Ron Spooner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Penn Valley, CA William Starostik. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Curitiba, Brazil Philip Steffora. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hollister, CA Chad Tarara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Webster, MN Stefan Thalhammer. . . . . . . . . . . Freising, Germany Harvey Tolbert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harker Heights, TX Lu Toxvard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Longmont, CO Charles Turner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhinelander, WI Andrew Wait. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Greenbrae, CA James Wallace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baltimore, MD Bill Witt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Henderson, NV Scott Wolfe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diamond Bar, CA Trevor Zahn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edwardsville, IL

www.vintageaircraft.org

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Vintage Trader

Something to buy, sell, or trade?

The EAA Vintage Aircraft Association wishes to thank our volunteers for the many efforts they put toward enhancing our organization and making it an association of which to be proud.

Directory

AIRCRAFT

For Sale: WW2 Fairchild F-56 Aerial Camera, complete, functional, packed in original trunk. $750. ARN-6 Airborne Radio Navigation Set, good condition, 1950’s era. $375. Email: wlipton@mytopsmail. com for more info and pix. 603-353-4882

WANTED

TM

VAA

Donate your plane, RV or vehicle to leave a significant legacy! A charity that provides mission/medical services to remote areas of the world. www.samaviation.com 970-249-4341 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.

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

DIRECTORS 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

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

Copyright © 2017 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association. All rights reserved.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published bi-monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086, e-mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 6 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $45 per year for EAA members and $55 for non-EAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54902 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. CPC #40612608. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES—Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING — Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920426-4800.

EAA® and EAA SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and Aeronautica™ are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

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MARCH/APRIL 2017

ADVISORS John Hofmann 548 W James St Columbus, WI 53925 john@cubclub.org

Ray L. Johnson 347 South 500 East Marion, IN 46953 rayjohnson@indy.rr.com

Earl Nicholas 219 Woodland Rd Libertyville, IL 60048 eman46@gmail.com

DIRECTORS EMERITUS David Bennett antiquer@inreach.com

Charles W. Harris cwh@hvsu.com

Robert C. Brauer photopilot@aol.com

Gene Morris genemorris@charter.net

Phil Coulson rcoulson516@cs.com

S.H. “Wes” Schmid shschmid@gmail.com

Ronald C. Fritz itzfray@gmail.com

John Turgyan jrturgyan4@aol.com

Š 2016 Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc.

THE

N E W S TA N D A R D

IN

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