VA-Vol-5-No-11-Nov-1977

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Restorer's

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all that would have been needed from any volunteer in month, many of us are wondering what kind of a present order to supply the complete Division convention man­ we can give to that good friend who has helped us so power requirements. This desired total of 380 conven­ much with the work on our restoration, or who has tion volunteers would have made your Division's part of helped us to maintain our bird in such beautiful condi­ the convention operate even more efficiently and would tion. Others of us are wondering how we can show our thus have made it even more enjoyable for all of us. We appreciation to the A & P who has been so helpful in hope that next year the additional needed volunteers supervising our work, or the inspector who has been Your officers, directors, advisors, convention chair­ will step forward and help our very ded icated and hard signing off our periodic inspections, or the base operator who has gone out of his way to help us locate much men and convention co-chairmen of your EAA An­ working group. tique/Classic Division respectfully dedicate this conven­ ________________________ needed scarce parts. Why not show your appreciation to these good and valued friends by giving them a member­ tion coverage issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE to ship in the EAA Antique/Classic Division? Certainly each of you who volunteered your time to the Division Your convention chairmen and co-chairmen are meet­ and put forth your efforts to make th is 1977 Silver An­ ing with your Division officers, directors and advisors at they have demonstrated their interest in vintage aircraft niversary EAA Convention such a great success. It would EAA Headquarters on Saturday, November 12th, for a by the interest they have shown in your project. They not have been possible without your help and dedica­ combined convention debriefing and Board of Directors would surely enjoy such a present, and it would be re­ tion. This year 170 of you, a 33% increase in Division meeting. The suggestions for improvement of the con­ membered all year long with the monthly arrival of THE volunteers over last year, pitched in and took over con­ vention which come out of this meeting will be forward­ VINTAGE AI RPLANE magazine.

If your friend is already an EAA member, you can vention duties so that your fellow members, their fami­ ed to EAA convention management. Your Division con­ lies and guests could enjoy your convention. We know vention management team welcomes suggestions for im­ enroll him as a Division member for just fourteen dol­ that all of you who helped got a great amount of person­ provement or recognition of areas of deficiency. Please lars. If he is not an EAA member, the cost is just twenty al satisfaction out of being "a member of the team". send any comments to Division Headquarters as soon as dollars, and this includes full membership in EAA as Many of you worked as much as fourteen hours per day, possible so that they can be included in the Division well, but without the subscription to SPORT AVIA­ TION magazine. You can use one of the membership and we are all very much indebted to you for th is great debriefing report. application blanks included with this issue to sign him devotion to your fellow members. We sincerely apolo­ gize to those of you who, because of this great devotion, up. If you will attach a note to the application stating did not have the opportunity to see the other areas of that it is a gift membersh ip from you, an appropriate the convention. If an add itional 210 members had offer­ We have written on numerous occasions about the letter will be sent to your friend from Headquarters ad­ ed to help with convention duties this year, then two desirability and necessity of increasing the membership vising him of your gift. Do it today so that he will re­ 3-hour shifts sometime during the week would have been in the Division. With the holiday season coming up next ceive his membership in time for Christmas.

fJJ!I.J.R. NIELAl\nEH,.JR.

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

ANTIQUE / CLASSIC DIVISION

Editorial Staff Editor AI Kelch Associate Editor Robert G. Elliott 1227 Oakwood Ave. Daytona Beach. Florida 32014

OFFICERS PRESIDENT J. R. NI'EL A NDER, JR. P.O. BOX 2464 FT. LAU D ERDALE, FL 33303 VICE·PRESIDENT JACK WI,NTHROP a RT. 1, BOX 111 ALLEN, TX 75002

Associate Editor Edward D. Williams 713 Eastman Dr. Mt. Prospect, Illinois 60056

SECRETARY RICHARD WAGNER P.O. BOX 181 LYONS, WI 53148 TREASURER E.E. "BUCK" HILBERT 8102 LEECH RD. UNION, II,. 60180

,T HE V INTAGE" A I RP LANE is owned Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130.

531 30, and addi tional mailing 01 period o f which $1 0.00 is fo r the

D irecto rs Evander M. Britt William J. Ehlen Box 1525 Route 8 Box 506 Lumberton, North Carolina 28358 Tampa, Florida 33618 Claude L. Gr dy, Jr. 9635 Sylvia Avenue Northridge, California 91324

AI Kelch 7018 W. Bonniwell Road Mequon, Wisconsin 53092

Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Drive Indianapolis, In didna 46274

Morton W. Lester Box 3747 Martinsville, Virginia 24112

W. Brad Thomas. Jr. 301 Dod son Mill Road Pilot Mountain, North Carolina 2704 1 Advisor s

NOVEMBER 1977

Assistant Editor Lois Kel ch

Associate Editors will be identified in the tdble of con­ tents on articles they send in and repeated on the article if they have written it. Associate Editorships will be assigned to those who qualify (5 articles in any calendar year).

ANTIQU E AND CLASSIC DIVISION

of TH E EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 229 Hales Corners, Wis. 53130

M.e. "Kelly" Viets RR1,Box151 Stilwell, Kansas 66085

Arthur R. Morgan 513 North 91s1 Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226

Stan Gomoll 104290th Lane, N.E. Minneapolis, Minn esota 55434

Roger J. Sherron 446-C La sCa si tas Santa Rosa, California 95401

Robert E. Kesel 455 Oak ridge Drive Roch ester, New York 14617

Robert A. White 1207 Falcon Drive Orlando, Florida 32803 usively by Antique Classic Aircraft, I nc . and is published monthly at

flljtecial d~fUJ

VOLUME 5 NUMBER 11 @~It '77 Ci)f~

Editor's Note We have dedicated this issue to the winners at Oshkosh '77 and have attempted to have one article for each airplane. The following are winners whose article was not available at press time .

Best Cessna 190/ 195 Best Taylorcraft Limited Prod uction Raybourn Thompson Edwin Disch/Kent Jarellien/Wm. Knight Johnson Rocket Houston, TX Brodhead, WI Orval Fairbairn Sunnyvale, Ca. The response was amazing, all but three responded, making this issue a fat and sassy one. We thank all the contributors and hope you enjoy the reading as much as we have.

AI Kelch Assistant Editor's Note: It has been a pleasure to work with the great stories received from this year's winners. We thank them for their time and effort in preparing their restoration stories to share with us all. It is interesting to note the similarity of so many of them· that of finding them in barns or in the back of hangars, and the work and patience to restore them back to their original. Also noted was the fact that almost everyone states they could not have done it alone· they had the help of family and friends, and in some cases had the help of total strangers, who through the project, became close friends.

Lo is Kelch

(Photos of winners receiving their trophy were taken by Bob Mi//er)

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP o NON·EAA o o

MEMBER - $34.00. Incl ud es o ne year membersh ip in the EAA Antique/Classic Division . 12 monthly issues 01 THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE ; one year membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associa· ti on. 12 monthly issues 01 SPORT AVIATION and separate membership cards.

NON·EAA MEMBER - $20.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Ant ique/Classic Division, 12 month ly issues 01 THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; Gne year membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associa· tion and separate membership cards. SPORT AVIATION not included.

EAA MEMBER - $14.00. Includes one year membership in the EM Antique/Classic Division , 12 monthly issues 01 THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and membership card . (Applicant must be current EAA member and must give EAA membership number.

ON THE COVER

Forrest Lo v/ey's Grand Champion Antique. (Photo by Les Elliott)

PICTURE BOX (Back Cover)

Don Freitag's Grand Champion Classic. (Photo by Les Elliott)

Postage paid at Ha les Corners Post Office, Hales Corners. Wisconsi n ship rates for Antique Classic Aircraft. Inc. at $ 14.00 per 1 2 month

ion of THE V I NTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are

inte,ested in aviation.

Copyri9ht C 1977 Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc. All Rights R.-..ed.

2

GRAND CHAMPION KARl-KEEN SIOUX COUPE # NC10721 By: Forrest Lo vely

6905 Elliot A venue South

Richfield, MN 55423

Strange as it may sou nd, this project started with Gary Hanson breaking the crankshaft in the Velie engine on his Star Cavalier on the way to Oshkosh '75. While looking for Velie parts a friend told me of a Kari-Keen in Elroy, Wisconsin that had a littl e round engine with one cylinder missing. Upon contact ing owner Dick Braund I found that it was a 90 H.P . Warn er and not a Velie .

Gary Hanso n, Har lan Darr and I went to Elroy one Friday to look at the airp lane and to make a long story short, we sti ll didn't have the Velie parts but I now had a big proj ect ahead of me. The co ndition of the airplane can best be described by the fact that about a year later Gary admitted to me that he wondered what I was ever goi ng to do with all that "j unk " that we hau led home from Elroy.

We finally got started rebuilding in February of 1976.

The fuselage was in pretty good shape and only two pieces of tubing needed to be replaced. The entire st ick control system was mi ss ing and had to be built using

3

original factory drawings obtained from Way ne Ri sk of Sioux City, Iowa. On e gear leg was missing and was made from a piece of old sty le stream lin ed tubing supplied by Larry Frost of LeSeur, Minn. This about wrapped up the work on the fuse lage, exce pt for sand­ blasting and painting, so it was put aside and work was started on the wing.

The wing is anot her story all by itself. There wasn't a whole rib left on the wing. They had been broken and some had been lost in the many times it had bee n moved si nce the airp lane was dismantled in 1942. Since every rib is different, I had imagi ned at least a year's work in getti ng the rib s lofted and built. Wayne Risk came to the rescue again and supplied me with nearl y a com pl ete set of or igi na I factory ri~s tha t had been left over when they went out of business. Better yet, he had a ll the rib jigs and Fred Davis used these to make the four ribs that were missing. The spars needed so me new plywood in places where it had gotten wet and also in a few pl aces where I ope ned them up to have a good look at the wood. All new wires were bought from MacWhyte and the wing was reassembl ed. The wing was put on the fuselage for the first time in May 197 6 and all cables (nicopress) were installed. At this tim e I decided not to push the project to completion and took the summer off. We actually didn't go back to work on it until about Nove mber.

In the meantime Gary had come hom e fro m Oshk osh with the id ea to go completely original in order to qual­ ify in the antique category. This, along with Claud e Gray's article prompted me to remove a ll the nicopress cab les and lear n the five-t uck sp lice. All the elastic stop nuts came o ut and Fred Davis clai ms to have bent over at lea st a "million billion" cotte r keys. Th e on ly conces­ sio n to originality was made on the landin g gear. The originals were 22 X lOX 4 Goodyear Airwheels with mechanical brakes. Since it was impossible to find tires and tubes these were changed to 8.50 X 6 ti res on Cleveland 600 X 6 mecha ni ca l brake wheels. This end ed up with a profil e within 1/ 2 inch of orig in al and st ill retained the cushion needed as the gear had no shock abso rbers.

Th e covering process took longer than norm al because of the wing being 30 feet lon g and 7' 6" wide and nothing to hang on to. It became a regular Saturday ritual at the Lydia airport for all the neighbors to stop by the hangar and help turn the wing over. I don't envy Gar William s with his huge Cessna AW wing but at least

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"'.J' .

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Forrest Lov/ey and his pride and joy. (Photo by Ted Kaston) he was smart enoug h to build a turning fixture for hi s. A point of interest here - wh en we first got the airpl ane home it took seve n or eight men to move the wing aro und because anythin g that big just had to weigh at least 500 pounds. After it was completed we weighed it and found that two guys cou ld easily move it aro und as it only weighed 17 5 pound s co mpl ete .

The engin e had bee n a co ntinuing proj ect all along and although it only had 171 hours total time it was in terrib Ie shape. It had sat in the rafters of a mach inc shed for twenty years missin g one cy linder and the birds had moved in and made a four-plex out of the rest of it.

Luckily mo st of the top end parts are the sa me as the ol d 110-7 cy lind er engine and enough parts were found to make it run. The only thing that was impossible to find were the ex haust va lves. To solve this problem I visited an old friend , Ed Canaday, of Redwood Falls, Mn . one weekend. When I asked him what he thought I cou ld do abo ut my probl em he calmly walked over to a co rner of hi s shop and came back with a fistfull of 7/ 16 Lycoming exhaust valves. Not only did the valves fit perfectly but 50 did the entire spri ng, retainer, and keeper asse mbl y. The stem is just a little larger diameter than the original Warner valve which enab led us to ream out the worn out guides and we were in bu siness.

Things got pretty hectic aro und the first week in July and eve rybody pitched in to help get the ship done to go to Oshk osh. Ted Dahl volunteered to replace the original interior and did a beautiful job of it. Littl e did he know th at he was goi ng to have to do it while we were test running the engi ne. My pare nts duplicated the original sea t cushions and they must have done everyt hing right

Forrest Lovley and Gary Hanson making a fly by in the Grand Champ. (Photo by Ted Koston)

A boat load of long stem roses to jack and joyce Rose for such a magnificent machine. (Photo by Ted Koston)

as I sat on them for four hours going to Bl akesburg and I could still walk when I got there.

The airplane was test flown on Friday, July 29th after A.1. Ken Muxlow and F .A.A. inspector Jess Larson gave it their stam p of approval. I flew the sh ip about 10 minutes and then after an adjustment on the fin Gary flew it another 10 minutes. On Saturday Gary and I went out and rode around together for one hour to get an idea of the gas and oil consumption . On Monday I took off at sun-up and 2 hours and 20 minutes later I was sitting at Oshkosh.

One of my greater thrills in life was to have had my airplane judged Grand Champion at Oshkosh '77.

Although I did not hire any work done on the airplane, by no means can I take any where near all the cred it for its restoration. To list all the friends that helped, just because they wanted to, would take at least a ream of paper. I will say that Gary and I figured out that in the sixteen months spent restori ng the airplane that we bought 320 cases of beer. That's cheap labor if I ever saw it!

After flying the ship for about 20 hours now, we are quite pleased with it. It cruises at about 100 MPH on 6 gallons of gas and no oil. It used a quart of oil in the first hour and hasn't used any since. With that big, thick under-cambered wing it climbs flat and goes fast. It doesn't have any trouble hauling a load and about the only difference it makes with a full load is that the tail skid runs for about 10 feet before the tail comes up.

When the ship is light, the tail comes up immediately.

All in all, it seems to be a pretty honest airp lane and we will enjoy flying it for some time to come.

designed by Pitcairn to fill that need. Eastern Air Transport ordered 5 PA-8's for their own use and as it happened, they were the only customer. The advances in aircraft design had made the commercial biplane ob足 solete and even the Condors and Curtis Kingbirds had a short life span. The PA-S's were equipped for night flying and were the first to use the Sperry artificial horizon. PA-8 pilots such as Earl Potts and Dick Merrill taught themselves how to fly instruments in these ships and were supplied with radios for the first time. Pitcairn Aviation was deep in the Autogiro development at the same time the 8's were being built. Little enthusiasm remained regarding further development of the Pitcairn biplane. Consequently the PA-S Mailwing was the culmination of efforts of a group of dedicated individ足 uals and reflected the ultimate in mail carrying design.

In 1973, Tony Stei nback of Klamath Falls, Oregon advertised two Pitcairn mailwings for sale. Looking for a project but with no idea what I wanted, I called my friend Skeeter Carlson and asked him what Pitcairn PA-S was. After talking to Skeeter, I could hardly wait to go to Klamath Falls and take a look. When we arrived we met Tony and he took us to the hangar where the ships had been stored for 25 years. Stacked in the corner of the loft of a huge ex-military hangar were the bones of two complete Pitcairns, so he said. Skeeter and I count足 ed wings, flying wires, struts, etc. and spent half of a day trying to match up parts. In my mind, I decided the best course was to buy all the parts he had and sort later, hoping for one comp lete airplane. I also found out that Tony was very attached to the Pitcairns and wasn't at all sure he wanted to sell them. It took all afternoo n to

$ad and$oyu ~ RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION

PITCAIRN PA-8 MAILWING

# N10753 - 1931

By: Jack Rose

Route 7 Box 737

Spangle, WA 99037

Built by Pitcairn Aviation for Eastern Air Transport, five model PA-S's saw service from May 1930 to August 1933. Last registered in 1936, Pitcairn No. 164 was brought back to life by myself, wife and friends. I have the bones of No. 162 resting in the corner of my hangar (available for restoration) and along with No. 164 are the on ly remaining examp les of the PA-S. The service life of these ships was typical of the times, hauling the night mail for Eastern Air Transport CAM Route No. 19 , Newark to Atlanta to Miami. Early in 1931 the Post Office Department, through the Watres Bill, stipulated that the mail planes must be able to carry passengers. In anticipation of orders by small mail lines who would now be forced to buy new equipment, the PA-S was

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The beautiful workmanship is evident in this picture. For authenticity they had the help of Earl Potts who flew the same plane for Eastern Air Transport. (Photo by Ted Kaston) convince him that I was sincere and that I intended to restore the ships. Time was running out and our flight back to Spokane was due to leave soon. I hadn't made much progress but decided to make one last effort. We had agreed on a price for both ships and thanks to his wife, he reluctantly decided to sell. Making a run for the airliner, I grabbed the fin, which was still covered, to show my buddies that I had found a genuine antique airplane to restore. Two trailer trips from Spangle to Klamath Falls brought all the parts home. Now the fun begins. Matching the parts using ID numbers and bolt holes revealed that I did indeed have two complete air­ planes which were very restorable and would be very original upon completion. It also became apparent that neither ship had flown a great number of hours and the best estimate was approximately 450 hours each .

The actual restoration began in May of 1973 with my wife sandblasting the fuselage. The nuts and bolts of a restoration and the frustrations involved regarding the suppliers is known to all and there is no need to delve into that. The knowledge and skills gained from a project such as the Pitcairn are reward ing and when it's all said and done, it's what it's all about.

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In order to make an authentic restoration, valuable contacts were made with Stephen Pitcairn, the son of the founder and with Carl Gunther, the Pitcairn histor­ ian. Never can a restoration be completed wholly by one person --- so with the help of Bill Duncan, Skeeter Carl­ son, Art Swenson, Jack Hordemann and our FAA friend Dale Mumford, this Pitcairn No. 164, the only example of its type, flies again .

Many people have asked me "how does it fly)" My answer is, "how would you like a big old biplane to fly?" Its handling qualities are the results of a succession of designs by Agnew Larson who combined all the good traits of the previous models and came up with a ship that took a load off the pilot's shoulders and allowed him to concentrate on "flying the mail ".

''flJuci ~ 9JJowllty XIkiI GOLDEN AG E CHAMPIO N

( 1918 - 1927 )

SWALLOW MAIL PLANE # 3

By: "Buck" Hilbert 8 702 Leech Road Union, IL 60780

In 1926 when the Swallows of Varney Airlines began the CAM 5 operation, maximum payload was about 6001bs, Range about 3 hours, or approximately 250 miles. Weatker was the BIG factor and the pilot's of Varney flew a schedule under conditions that today are Wingspan 35' Empty Wt. 2,294 unthinkable. There is more weather information avail­ Total Wt. 4,000 Useful Load 1,706 able to the general public today than to professional Wing Loading 14.4 Ibs. pel­ sq. ft.

100 gals. fuel meterologists of the day. Weather observers were farmers Cruise speed 120 at 15 gal per hour along the route, or Forest Ranger stations that could be Stall Speed 50 Engine Wright Whirlwind telephoned and queried about the weather at their Horsepower 440 Price New $12,500 position.

Manufactured April 1931

Capt. Leon D. Cuddeback who was Varney's Chief

Pilot, related to me how when the pass was closed, th ey used to hire a State Trooper to drive a specially equipped Chrysler over the pass. The Swallow would land at an auxiliary field near the pass, th e mail would be transferred to the waiting Chyrsler and the Trooper would make a high speed run of about fifty mil es to the other side, where the mail would be transferred into another waiting Swallow and then flown on to its destination.

Navigation was st riclty pilotage. If you couldn't see to fly, you set her down and waited till you could. Th e engine reliability was a bit shakey, too. Walter "Doc" Eefsen, number seven Varney pilot, showed me his log book in an attempt to cheer me up after our Wright J 4 had disentegrated. I was absolutely astounded to find that about eve ry third entry was a forced landing, and the majority of those "irregularities" as they are called today, were engine malfunctions. He explained it this way, .

"The Wright Whirlwind was the greatest and most reliable engine we had ever seen or used. Adimiral Byrd had used them on his first Polar f lights, the engines had set all kinds of endurance and other records, but now the J -5 was coming along and the J -4's were surplused by the Navy. That was how Varne y acquired ours."

"With all the valve mech anisms out in the open and no overhead oiling of any sort, we greased and oiled everyth ing before eac h fl ight. These engi nes used a lot of oil too, normal being abo ut a gallon an hour. After take­ off it was sheer fo lly to st ick your head out beyond the windscreen. You'd get all full of grease and oil. It took about an hour to throw off all of the extra grease and oil, then you could almost set your watch in anticipation of what was going to happen. About an hour and a half after the engine dri ed up and quit throwing off oil and grease, almost without exce ption one or more of the va lves would start to get st ick y. If one stuck open, which was often the case, the pushrod would fall out and you made an eight cy lind er landing, took out your oi l can and little hamm er, and tapped on the offending va lve while oiling it until it broke loose and bega n operating again. You then stuck in a spare pushrod and went on your way."

"Doc" showed me pictures of land ing places that would make a stro ng Helicopter pilot cringe. From talk ­ ing with these old tim ers I ca n tell you forced landings ain't what they used to be. To illustrate; the first Swallow to be di spatch ed to Pasco, Washington where it

was to start the airmail service the next morning, had seven, yes, SEVEN, forced landings on the way up there.

At that time it was equipped with a Curtiss C-6 engine, and alth ough they were noted for being hard starting, it wouldn't run at all without gas.

The Varney pilots and mechanics, often one and the same, didn 't trust those new fangled aluminum fuel tanks and so had theirs made of turnplate. That's kinda like galvanized steel to you young fellows. Whoev er had soldered up the tan k had left all the solder flakes inside the tank . As the engin e vibrated in fli ght it shook all those little flakes and beads down to the point where they would block off the fuel outlet and the engine would quit. Bouncing along the ground during the subsequent landing would shake th em all up, uncover the out let and when they'd attempt a restart, the eng in e would run as if nothing happened. On the last and final forced landing luck deserted them. They ran thru a ditch and flipped the Swallow.

All this goes to illustrate that today we have engines and airframes to take you across the country in living room comfort at speeds better than 10 miles a minute.

We take this for granted. It's inconceiveable to try, but let's compare. ~he Swallow of fifty years ago with that Freighter you saw fly-by at Oshkosh. I flew one of those DC-8 Freighters from Chicago's O'Hare Field to Detroit Metro. Last Tuesday morning we carried thirty six thousand pounds of freight and the trip took forty-three minutes.

Let the mind wander for a minute. Swallow's payload is 600 pounds. WOW! that means we'd have to have six-hundred Swallows to do the job, with about four hours flight time for each one .. Lets see .. six hundred times 12 gallons tim es four hours .. Whats the weather?· Hey l, How do we navi gate? Wow! Can you imagine what the tower will do when 600 no radio Swallows come on the scene? What about hotel rooms for all those pilots?

Oh man l This is too much!

And so, when we show the Swallow alongside one of those big jets we aren't just showing an airp lane, we are showing FIFTY years of aviatio n. Fifty YEARS of Aviation progress, and although there are those who say all the fun is gone and adventure is no lon ger, I feel it's been all our way. We can now take our trip in living room comfort, at dazzling speeds, with inflight entertainment, and be reaso nably assured of reaching our destination when the sc hedu le says we should .....

And the Swallow ..... showed them the way ...

"Buck" and his immortal Swallow, one of the best known antiques of the day. (Photo by Bob Miller)

SILVER AGE CHAMPION

{1928-1932}

1930 PARKS P2-A # NC499H

By: Wayne L. Amelang 77 2 Stone Boulevard Tullahoma, TN 37388 6

Right: Wayne Amelang built up what was a sorry old bird that formerly belonged to Richard Bach. I can attest to the fine workmanship as I stopped to visit several times on the way to Sun 'N Fun. I have been flying a Ryan PT-22 for the past 10 years, but during all this time I always wanted an old biplane. I heard about the Parks being for sale in December, 1975.

It was disassembled and stored in a hangar in Newman, Georgia and I was fortunate in having first choice at buying it. I trailered it home in January, 1976 and start­ ed work on it almost immediately. It was obvious that the airplane had been badly neglected and was in need of some TLC. The restoration of the Parks was more or less routine; the only thing unusual being the short period of time in which it was done. It was dismantled down to bare bones; all welding repairs made, and all steel parts sand­ blasted and primed. All the wood in the fuselage was replaced and many ribs in the wings replaced due to damage or bad repair work. I even spliced in a new section on one of the wing spars. All leading and trailing edges were replaced. All covering was with grad e A cotton, butyrate dope, and more sanding than I care to do again soon. All new cowling was fabricated and new stainless steel flying wires purchased. I had never built up a Wright J6-5 engine before, but it didn't present any unusual problems. I was able to buy all the new parts I needed and it runs beautifully, using very little oil.

My original goal was to complete the restoration in time to go to the North Georgia Chapter Fly-in at Gains­ ville, and I made it with 5 days to spare. I test flew the plane on June 26 and was very pleasantly surprised at • how nice it was. I later flew it to Oshkosh and Blakes-~ !~:..~I:"&.:~~ ~II!!! _.r~-I burg, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. It's a • :: 1 ,.,;;;:-JJl ';J delightful old airplane and a joy to fly. I did have a small . ' -~;:~ problem on July 4. I had neglected to grease the plain bearings in my wheels; one wheel locked up on a land­ ing, resulting in a ground loop and minor gear damage.

Fortunately, I was on the grass strip. I learned from this experience to keep the wheels well greased and have had no problems since.

As you know, a job like this restoration can't be done by one person, and th is restoration was no exception. I'll be forever grateful to my son Jerry, to Gene Hood, and ~~_;;'fot;Y'';·tar..~ ':".,'p..;., l!-:"',;:i:::1~~ to Bobby Graves for their help. They all spent many Above: Sharing your rare airplane with others is half the fun of owning it. Gene is most generous, and if you look long hours with me and were always available when closely, there's a pair of goggles barely visible over the back cockpit - no doubt some future aviator is getting needed. initiated to the grand thrill of open cockpit, light plane flying. (Photo by Ted Koston)

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SILVER AGE RUNNER UP 1931 AMERICAN EAGLET # NC548Y By: Gene and Mary Morris 24 Chandelle Drive Hampshire, I L 60740 Whoops, my white scarf just got caught around the cabane struts and even at sixty indicated it tied a knot in itself and as I moved to look around the nose I was startled by a pulling around my neck.

Th is story takes place enroute to AI Kelch's for his annual "Turkey Shoot" where all of the Wisconsin antiquers gather at AI's beautiful strip to partake of scrumptious roasted turkey, sweetcorn, tomatoes, and all the rest. This fly-in is looked forward to by all of us, all year long.

My trip in the Eaglet, just like any other, in any other airplane, just like it has always been to us, that is, we don't hide our little bird back in the corner only to come out for a special fly-in on a special no wind day.

We fly it just like we would a Cub or Champ and enjoy taking anyone that drops in to visit for a ride. I am always amazed, and joined by many other, at how those 35 horses can carry two grown men, so well.

Since our last "Trophy Winner" article we have flown our Eaglet and abused "Ole Zeke" about 150 hours, so

in that time it's only natural that Murphy's law would get around to leaving the oil shut off at least once and I sure hope it's the last time! I had to steal the crankshaft from my spare engine and just barely got it altogether again for Oshkosh. That was my wife, Mary's lesson so I didn't say too much, but if she does it again, I'll cut her arm off.

So, this day is a beautiful September day with a south breEze eager to push me along my way. Higher and higher Ole Zeke pulls us 1500路2000 ft. it's getting cool now and my sweater is in the rear seat with my brand new white scarf. After four or five minutes of bobbling and wobbling around I have my sweater on and my scarf flying behind. I'll fly by, when I get there, and let the scarf fly in the breeze. 3,000 ft. MSL and I level off enjoying an estimated 30 mile tailwind. I estimate, for I have no map or compass, just a watch which says I will be one of the last to arrive. As I near the Milwaukee area I'm on top of some scattered clouds, I climb up to 4,000 to stay more legal and perhaps pick up even more wind.

The clouds are beautiful from any airplane but I had to wonder if Ole Zeke had ever been there before. It's also getting cold. Almost to Kelch's I see Timmerman off at two o'clock and moving slowly to my right. I'll just stay up here, I'm thinking, I'll be over head, on top and see if anyone can figure out what that funny sound is high above the clouds. I can see Kelch's now with some 15 beautiful antiques lined up on AI's lawn, a sight to behold. I'll get a picture from up here before I come down. AI's is under a cloud at first but I can see a hole just south and moving north. One three sixty and the hole is right over Kelch's where everyone is basking in the sun. I quickly turn around and get one, my last, picture with my wing struts and tip framing my subject.

Down I come throttling back and spiraling. Ole Zeke is really funny now, if they hadn't seen me by now, they'll surely hear the popping and backfiring that sounds like a comical shooting gallery. Round and round, down and down I come at one point I reach 95 MPH. I've never had it that high before and slowly ease it back, thinking of those frail little ribs hanging on to the spars with all their might. Again my scarf is tied around the cabanes, I take time to free it before my "low pass" so that it will fly properly. It did, I flew by and landed white scarf and all, just in time to walk to the chow line and fraternize with my fellow antiquers, knowing all the while that that little Eaglet with that funny little engine makes it all possible.

SILVER AGE - OUTSTANDING

OPEN COCKPIT BIPLANE

1929 ALLIANCE ARGO # N596K

By: Jim Browder 5647 W. Sutliff Peoria, I L 67607

The first time I saw the Argo, it was in the back of a hangar (it wasn't for sale at that time) under what appeared to be an inch of dust and bird droppings.

In 1950, they had removed all front cockpit, controls, main wheels and the very low time Hess Warrior and installed a Continental R670, smoke tank in the front cockpit, Glidertow hitch, wing walk and used it in various air shows.

Bill Sweet refers to the "oddball" (because of the 220 Cont. engine) in his book 'They Call Me Mr. Air Show."

The plane was last flown in 1952.

I acquired it a few years later. A ferry permit was issued, and the plane was flown to Peoria to be rebuilt.

The airplane was completely dismantled and the momen颅 tous task of trying to find any information and missing parts was undertaken.

8

Right: Not only is the Argo a rare airplane, but the ;~.

Hess-Warrior engine was built specifically for the air­ plane. It would be very safe to say that it is the only such engine operable,as is the airplane.

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Very few people ever heard of it and no one had any information on the airp lane . All welds were dye checked, the wings and center section rebuilt with Sitka Spruce (as original) by "Custom Woodcraft, Milan, Michigan ." All new stainless stee l flying wires, Grade A cotton and butyrate dope. Everything completely original except tail wheel instead of skid, new tires, chromed stacks, shielded ignition, and I added a 100 channel trans-receiver radio.

Both aircraft and engine restoration was watched and carefully checked by Herbert O. Edwards, air craft In spector.

Many years were spent in collecting bits of informa­ tion. I talked to Mr. lato, one of the company's test pilots several times. I also learned, Russ Miller had built the "Miller Special" using the Hess Warrior and other parts of the Argo.

Anyway, after many, many years, Argo N596K and I made the first flight in May of 1974.

I received several trophies at various Fly-Ins in the middle westin 1974 and 1975, including WWII P.T. Fly­ In , Nationa l A.A .A.-A.P.M. Fly-In . Due to the weather, I made Oshk osh on the last day of the show in 1975.

The plane stayed in the hangar and flew very little in 1976 and the spring of 1977, as the weather and my work kept me from havi ng much time to fly it.

The plane was built by the Alliance Aircraft Com­ pan y, Alliance, Ohio, one of the few compa nie s of that era that built both aircraft and engine. Approximately 28 were built.

N596K is the only one flying, and accordi ng to research, the only one in existence. There was another one in Massachusetts. It was rebuilt using a 145 Warner engi ne. When this one was being restored, I made several trips to the East coast and acq uired the origi nal gro und adj ustable propeller and miscellaneous items. However, that Argo was later destroyed in a hangar fire.

The ai rcraft is fully aerobatic and unrestricted. It is really a crowd pl easer. Very few know what it is. Many think it is an original design. Few o ld timers recogni ze it as an Alliance Argo.

I was very happy to receive the award at the 1977 -25th Anniversary Convention.

9

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SILVER AGE - OUTSTANDING

CLOSED COCKPIT BIPLANE

(OPEN COCKPIT WITH COUPE TOP)

1932 WACO IBA # N12453

By: Ed Paclwrd

22 7 S. Eddy Street

South Bend, IN 4667 7

When I was learning to fl y 25 yrs. ago, I used to practice landing at Cadet field , which was all sod that used to be South Bend, Indiana Municipal Airport. I saw this old biplane in a hangar that fascinated me. For years after I got my license, I would stop in and im agine things about that o ld biplane. I never saw it f ly or knew who ow ned it.

One day I landed on a farm with a friend, my oid instructor, to ride his horses. Hi s wife came by car to pick him up, and when I took off, I found to my dismay, the wind had cha nged, and my Cessna 182 didn't fly too well from a vall ey field with a tai l wind. I totaled it, so I needed a new airplane .

My son Barney Packard with coupe top on, ready to go.

A housing development had gone in where the sod fie ld was; so I inquired as to what ever happened to that o ld biplane. I discovered the fuselage had been stored in a barn for 12 yrs. and the wings in another barn 30 miles away . I gave $1900 for the pieces, and had it rebuilt. Six months late r the engine quit because of crud in the carburetor; and it went down and over in a cornfield the last week in August. I met Walt Sh elto n, wh o is an A&E, and he used to teach at Parks. He is an art ist who loves old planes, so he didn't repair it; he restored it. I sti ll didn't realize what I had, excepti ng an o ld biplane that I liked to fly.

I saw Haro ld Joh nso n from Day ton fly an ai rshow in Wabash. He saw my pl ane and said, "you have a rare Waco, so why don 't you join the Waco Club?" He told me about Ray Brandl ey, and my education began.

The IBA was delivered 45 yrs. ago with the coupe-top installed. It was gray with silver wings and tail. It was advertised as the golfers' airplane you land on the golf course when you pl ay . Behind the back baggage compartment, it says "golf clubs only." One ad from 1932 showed the golfer with his knickers, cap, and clubs by the plane on a golf course.

Another ad from '32 said, "The plane for the man who wants to go places and do things." The front baggage compartment holds 87 Ibs. and the back one 35 Ib s. My wife can take all the suitcases and luggage she wants, and does.

It stalls at 39 MPH ; cruises at 92 MPH. Th e co upe-top speeds it up abo ut 3 MPH and can be install ed in 20 min.

It is in thre e pieces. One piece goes in each door with sid e window and plastic V shape on top so when door opens V pulls out, so you ca n step down inside without craw ling under. With co up e-top on, you can easi ly converse and look at maps, etc.

It has the 125 HP Kinn er B54 and wheels are off the ground in 150 feet. Th e span is 30 ft.; length 21 ft,; height 8'6"; holds 30 gals. gas; and burns 71/z per hour.

Waco only sold two IBA's.

When I bought it, it had 687 hrs. airframe time. Th e Kinner only had 12 hrs. on it, because the owner bought it war surplus for $65. They put the B54's on PT 22's to start with, but went to the 160 Kinner, so 125 HP B54's were sold new for $65 war surplus. I've added almost 800 more fun and loop-filled hours to it; and never plan on stopping.

CONTEMPORARY AGE CHAMPION

(1933 - 1945)

1941 WACO VKS-7F #N31653

By: Vince Mariani 2409 Sweetwater Road Findlay, OH 45840 WACO N31653 was built in August of 1941 as a VKS and converted to a VKS-7F (ad dition of flaps) by WACO in 1944. Th e airpl ane was used by the WACO Co. exec utives until 1949.

I do have all of the original log books including the "C" ration gas card used du rin g W.W.II. I purchased N31653 in August of 1963 and spent the next 3 yea rs re-building and hand rubbing out the butyrate dope over t he ceconite covers.

Th e airplan e is pure pl easure to fly and it is a good comfortable cross country airplane.(1 added lots of sound proofing and padding.)

It now has bee n flown 11 years (+ 1000hrs.) since restoration, and N31653 continues to bring home trophies. The total trophies and awards number over 90, of which 20 were Grand Champions. N31653 has been Grand Champion and " past" Grand Champion at least 5 times at the Marion, Ohio EAA eastern regional fly-in. I can only say, that owning and flying a WACO has been my boyhood drea m come tru e.

10

Above: Bonnie and Vince Mariani (from previous page) and their 7947 WACO VKS 7F. It has won a boat load of trophies, including 20 Grand Champions. (Photo by Bob Miller)

CONTEMPORARY AGE RUNNER-UP 1940 FAIRCHILD F24 #N25323 By: Ed Wegner

70 Stafford Street

Plymouth, WI 53073

My Fairchild 24 was purchased from a good friend, Andy Dettman, from our area. He did some work on the airframe . He also built up a zero time engine from all new parts - yes - all new parts. Thi s was about IS years ago . Th e Ranger performs and runs very well.

I completely rebuilt th e wood and wings; install ed new wiring, instrum ents, radio and interior. It is finished in red and cream.

It cruises at 120 at 22 inches, 2100 RPM , uses 11 or 12 gallons per ho ur.

I enjoy flying this Fairchild as this is my seco nd F24.

I was very pleased to receive the award for Contem足 porary Age Runn er-up.

11

Below: Over the years, Ed Wegner has cranked out a stable full of immaculate restorations, the Fairchild 24 being no exception, is letter perfect. Of all the exotic airplanes he has restored, Ed says the 24 is one he intends to keep.

Right: The flight to Oshkosh from California in a sturdy old Stearman would be enough of a thrill - taking home a trophy is frosting on the cake.

OUTSTANDING OPEN

COCKPIT BIPLANE

1941 STEARMAN # N57041

By: j. F. Atkinson, Jr. 4873 Concho Court Sacramento, CA 75847 N57041 is a Boeing A-75N1, serial No. 75-2935, PT-17. According to the Stearman Guide book, it was one of a batch of 84 delivered in 1941 .

It was restored by Drs. Larry Ingemanson and Rich O' Day. The covering, painting, rigging and engine work were done by Air Repair in Clarksburg, Ca lif. (just south of Sacramento Executive Airport.) I know nothing of the plane's history prior to that. The current airworthy certificate is dated Sept. 16, 1970.

I purchased N57041 in the fall of 1973. It has always been hangared. The airplane is flown about 100 hrs!year.

Th e engine is a Conti nenta l W670-A. The aircraft is as near stock as possib le. The only exceptio ns are electric starter, EL T,Geneve Nav-Com with built-in intercom and an anti, co li ision strobe on the belly.

Th e photo included was taken two years ago. The on ly change visible since then is t he fire extinguisher

door in the proper color (reddish brown) with the stencil, "fire extinguisher".

The flight to Oshkosh took four days and was great fun. We departed Sacramento Executive Airport and stopped over night in Ogden, Utah; New Castle, Wyoming and LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Flying time was approximately 23 hours. We settled quickly on legs of 21'2 hrs., more in deference to our sore butts than fuel considerations.

The Stearman seemed reluctant to climb much over 9,000 feet, but we were able to get her up to almost 11,000 at times by taking advantage of thermals. Prob足 ably the most exciting part of the trip was departing Elko, Nevada at noon time fully loaded with a tem足 perature of 95 F and density altitude of 8,700 feet. I'm glad that there were no obstructions higher than a jack rabbits' ears for a few miles.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Oshkosh ( our first) and plan to repeat the tr ip next year.

I received the plaque in the mail and need less to say was very happy. The Stearman has two trophys fro m Merced, Ca lifornia Annua l West Coast An itq ue Fly-in.

The latest and best 1st place Primary Trainer Bip lane in J une 1976.

CONTEMPORARY AGE OUTSTANDING CABIN BIPLANE 1936 WACO EQC-6 # N16591 By: Stan Gomoll

7042 90th Lane N. E.

Minneapolis, MN 55434

12

r

r' Stan Gomoll 44479- 7936 WA co EQC 6. (Photo by Bob Miller) On November 9, 1936, this Waco known as N16591 model DQC-6 was delivered to H. L. Linder - Paramount Trucking Svc. Inc., Milwaukee, WI. It was delivered with a 285 HP Wright engine with a 2B20 constant speed propeller. The airplane was painted gray with a vermilion strip, edged in gold. It was the most plush air plane you could buy at that time. The custom series Wacos were the executive planes of the day being owned by movie stars such as Victor Fleming, Howard Hawks, Leland Howard and Henry King. Henry B. DuPont and Jesse Vincent. Other owners were Stokely Bros. Food, an Aerial Taxi in the Philiippines, 2 large newspapers, several oil companies. 2 were shipped to Argentina and 3 were used by the Coast Guard. There were 20 EQC models and 11 DOC models built in 1936.

The selling price of DQC. with 285 HP Wright engine was $8,975.00 and $9,650.00 for EQC model with 350 HP Wright engine.

The second owner of th is airplane was Howard Air­ craft Company, Chicago, IL. They owned the airplane from 11-15-38 to 11·15·39 when Anthony Sedlek of Conrath, WI became the third owner. It was then sold to Lawrence Sadlek, Walter W. Sittler and B. D. Gordon of Chicago, I L. on 3·8-43. From there it went to Harlen M. Sheldon of Okanogan, WA on 12-1-45.

About this time the engine was changed to a 350 HP Wright model R-760-E2 with a super charger blower ratio of 9.17 to 1 which gave it a service ceiling of 19,000 feet. This changed the model to a EQC-6. The interior was changed to leatherette and Y2 plywood floor installed as the next record owner as Okoma Airways,

13

Inco Box 809 Okanogan, Wash ington on 6-1 -46.

The next recorded owner was Herb Brouker· Avia­ tion Industries Inc., Coeurd "0" Alene, Id aho.

It changed owners on 4·8-53 to Ray Phillips and Elmer Carlson in Idaho. Shortly after they bought it, the airplane went into dead storage due to a cracked power case.

In 1965 Bob Lueck of Missoula, Montana was looking for an airp lane to use in his flight school to have para­ chute jumpers in. He found this Waco sitting in the back corner of a dark hangar with its tail feathers removed.

Not knowing about the cracked power case he bought the airplane and brought it home to Missoula, Montana, where it took several years to find another engine and have it overhau led . This is when he found out why the airplane had changed owners many times, and had low time on airframe. When the engine was changed to a R·760 E-2, they installed a bump cow ling off a 1935 Waco, which has a sma ll er diminsion at the fire wall so the cowling would not let the air pass thru as it should, which caused overheating problems in warm weather such as high cylinder heat temps. an.d high oil temps.

I bought the airplane on Feb. 3, 1968 and became the 13th owner. I flew it home to Minneapolis, Minnesota in the middle of winter. When warm weather came I found out the problem I had inherited. It took severa l years to solve all the problems, with the help from many people.

The airplane now flies year around with no problems.

This airplane was recovered 19 years ago with grade A fabric, 33 coat finish and so has never been restored, just maintained thru the years. It is a fun airplane to fly.

CONTEMPORARY AGE OUTSTANDING OPEN COCKPIT MONOPLAN E RYAN ST A # NC17361 By: Dorr Carpenter

225 S. Saunders

Lake Forest, IL 60045

Ryan STA, serial number 166 was manufactured on July 7, 1937 by the Ryan Aeronautical Company of San Diego, Calif. The company records show that she was delivered to Booth Hemming, a dealer, and as the logs prior to 1942 have been lost, we have only sketchy information of her early days.

Nevertheless, we do have a few facts. Her logs start with 1875 hours and are well kept. At th is time she was used hard; day after day the logs show four or more hours in the air per entry. By February, 1944, this pace leveled off to a more usual individual entry of half an hour per flight. By June, 1945 she had accumulated 3210 hours total.

From 1948 to 1953 she was not flown and only 50 hours were added by Stanley Sicora in the next two years. Again she went into storage, this time in an apart·

ment building basement in Chicago. Here she stayed until purchased by Dario Toffinetti in 1967. For the next eight years, Dario flew the aircraft to many events and the red and white Ryan became a familiar sight.

Two items of interest come out of the logs: first, there are no recorded incidents of damage of any kind to the aircraft. Secondly, one engine, a Menasco D4, stayed on her for over 3000 hours. It was majored at least four times and topped three times.

I purchased number 166 in the fall of 1975 in.slightly damaged cond ition. The propeller was broken and the rudder bent.

In the process of checking out the aircraft, it was noted that the left wing had been replaced. This was most certainly done before 1942. The overhaul included refabricing the flying surfaces and re-shinning the aluminum fuselage. Also, a new Canadian surplus Menasco D4-87 engine was installed along with a Fahlin propeller.

In Ju ly of this year she was assembled under an oak tree in the newly cut alfalfa field behind my home. On the eighteenth of the month' she flew for the first time in two years . Two weeks later she was on her way to Oshkosh.

Any aircraft used for training, that was never a military plane, and was not involved in accidents of any consequences, is bound to have a dull history. But based on the fact that this plane flew safely for at least six registered owners for 40 years and 3445 hours proves she is a good aircl'aftl Below: Dorr Carpenter's Ryan STA.

AN AEROPLANE CALLED "SPINACH"

CONTEMPORARY AGE

OUTSTANDING CABIN MONOPLANE PORTERFIELD MODEL 35-70,1935

By: john P. Innes

5200 Valley Circle Boulevard

Woodland Hills, CA 97367

By way of introduction; I am a model 35-70 Porter足 fie ld . Thi s designation was give n when my design was created in 1935 and thus the 35. My power plant was a 70 hp LeBl ond and that is where the 70 came from.

My serial number is 229 so I had 228 sisters before me and many more younger, some with 90 Warners .. , .Wow, what performers they were!

On August 26, 1936, I was released to the sky, from the Porterfie ld factory at Kansas City, Mo. How proud I was of my new owner. He had selected me above many others. My forest green color suggested the name: "Spinach" which he prompt ly gave me. My happiness was even greater when I discovered I was to be a sport trainer for Instructor, License No. l ... Bob Cummings! .. My first owner.

Between Bob (I always cal led him by his fi rst name, 'cause we were so intimate) and my Prese nt Master, I had many owners and vast experiences which I intend to tell the entire world, in a book-size story.

I had an affair with John for twenty short minut es at Ogden, Utah on Feb. 28, 1943. I knew at that time, (he

didn't) that some way, some time, some where I would capture and possess him.

Twenty six years passed and one day I presented myself to John at Santa Paula, California. I was a mess! My weary bones crumpled in the corner of a breezy, leaky corrugated metal hangar.

The moment we met, I knew I had been saved ... to be born again!

Seven and a half years later, I blossomed forth, better than new, under the careful, meticulous, loving hands of my Saviour. John did 90% of the work himself. Only my engine was entrusted to a good buddy to recreate.

Oh, .. there's so much to te ll ... but must keep it short!

This was our third trip to Oshkosh. We won a beauti足 ful trophy. We travelled over most of the whole United States, even up to New York. We were away from home (Los Angeles) for over six weeks.

I showed John many beautiful views of our wonder足 ful country. I also taught him a thing or two about how tempermental we gals can be. Jealous too. John simply had to learn to straighten up and fly right!

Tell you all about it in the book.

Children of all ages wi ll love the story of romance, adventure, happiness, sadness and even stark terror. say, Children, because they love my kind of Spinach.

14

An airplane called "Spinach". (Photo by Ted Koston)

CUSTOMIZED ANTIQU E CHAMPION 1943 HOWARD DGA 15 P

# NC95 462

By: "Chub " Trainor 22 Kathleen Court Way ne, NJ 0 7470

15

Chub Trainor and his Howard DGA . (Photo by Bob Miller) I purchased " Big Red" in December, 1976 from John Turgyan. Thu s ended my lon g, often frustrati ng, coast to coast, and eve n international search for an antiqu e air足 plane in good, flying condition. Finding this beauty, in mint co nditi on was certainly one of the hi ghl ights of my long interest in flying.

When I saw "For Sale" in the window of thi s "Damn Good Airplan e" at Oshkosh '76, I co uldn't believe that Joh n was se llin g his " labor of love". The more I fly this aircraft, the more I reali ze th at all th e fi ne things John and I had discussed about it are fact and then some. Th is Howard has had eleven other owners, so consequently, has an indefinite restoration history. Originally built for the Navy, it has progressed on to becoming a beautiful classic. Th e last two owners were Ron Rippon, and of co urse, John Turgya n! Th e engi ne and prop had 57 hours on them when I bought it, and John , at one time or anot her, had rebuilt every syste m. Th e Howard has got dual 360 channel Comm, and dual Nav receivers, dual glid e sco pe receivers, ADF, mar kers, transponder and DM E. It was repainted with Dupo nt Delux enamel.

Thi s was 30 coats of dope and two coats of enamel. It also fitted with a leather interior.

wasMy interest in antique aircraft is lon g standing, and I feel it a privilege to fly this one. To me, it is an infinite thrill to be behind that PW R 985 engi ne, to hear it's sound and to feel it 's capabilities. It is no stranger to fly-ins, a nd I appreciate everyone's interest in this air足 pl ane. It is my Irish good fortune to own this pri ze winn er.

CUSTOMIZED ANTIQUE

RESERVE CHAMPION

1940 PIPER J4A # NC30340

By: A/an and Mary Anderson

28988 Swan Island

Grosse lie, MI 48738

This article is written as an Epilogue in that most things worth knowing about our Cub Coupe were printed in the August issue of Vintage Airplane. That story was prompted by our success at Oshkosh '76, in which we won the award for Outstanding Workmanship.

Since that time, we have had the good fortune to win at Marion, Ohio's Mid-Eastern Regional Fly- In, '76 and '77, Sandusky Fly-I n and culminated in 1977 with Re­ serve Champion in Class at Oshkosh. At the insistence of your Editor, AI Kelch, who has the ability to apply pres­ sure better than anyone I know, we would like to ad­ dress this "Epilogue" to a special part of the "Vintage Airplane Scene" unforeseen by us and the source of the title to th is vignette.

WIND: The terrible bugaboo of all Antiquers. A con­ stant worry whether we are on the ground or in the air­ is it too windy to fly today? Anything over 5 knots somehow feels like a full gale: Once in the air, the J4A performs like the elegant lady she was intended to be, "First Cabin all the way" . We guess this is usually the case for most Vintage Aircraft. Eventually, however, one must land and a crosswind on the ground can cause sweaty palms and shaking knees while mentally review­ ing the countless rib stitches, tip bows, nav. lights, etc., that could be sacrificed to the Ground Looping Gods.

If the plane is located at an airfield away from home, wind seems to become an obsession and the Antique is baby-sat in the best of parental style during the duration of the stay. Once home and properly hangared, wind becomes something to casually listen to and contemplate in front of a fire pl ace. Owners finally get a good ni ghts sleep!

WEATH E R: Besides wi nd, Antiq uers seem to worry more about eleme nt s - is it too hot to fly today, or is it too cold with the possibility of a start-up carb fire as she decides not to digest her 80 Octane. Worry, worry, wor­ ry.

Has it rained recent ly and is that airstrip paved or is it a hu ge mud puddle bent on redesigning the fi ni sh? May­ be it 's going to drizzle, which would be an easy method of washin g the bugs clean enroute to a show; but what if the drizzle turns into a downpour and the visibi lity drops to zero (good thing we have a great local Flight Service Station sy mpathetic to Antiquers).

Wheel pants and snow present another problem to be co ntended with and mulled over. Is our airport really plowed clean and what about our destination? Will the slush on the runway accumu late in the pants and tai l

Alan and Mary Anderson, she loves the Cub Coupe because it is the plane in which she was courted. wheel lock and create a more sudden stop than planned or an uncontrollable beast bent on embarrassing its own­ er by being only capab le of traveling in circ les? The unesthetic solution (removal) seems to be to concur­ rently detract from the plane's beauty, reduce precious speed by about 3 MPH and leave love ly streaks on the wings undersides. Hence, "to remove or not to remove" the wheel pants until warm and dry weather returns is in itself the source of a real trauma.

PEOPLE ATTENDING FLY-INS: Are "they" going to exhibit the touch of the real airplane lover or are they going to completely ignore the EAA "Please Don't Touch" signs and poke and probe in an ulcer provoking way. As have those Antiquers before us, we have become accustomed to the attention drawn at every airfie ld and then suffered reverse conditioning when we rent a "store bought" and receive no more attention other than "Gas, Sir" or "Will you be staying overn ight". Some Psychol · ogist wou ld love to probe the Antiquer's world.

From the dear woman who loved the Cub Coupe beca use it is the plane in which she was courted, to the A and E who repaired NC 30340 when she was onl y 3 months old, to the countless picture takers who are working on their ow n Antiques, the year and a half of flying our J4A has been fu ll of personal rewards far exceeding the effort or anxieties we have portrayed here, somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Many tha nks to you all and the staff of EAA and Vintage Airplane whose effort makes our "Antique Airplane Lifestyle" possible.

OUTSTANDING AI RCRAFT

1943 STEARMAN # N9078H

By: Griff and j eannie Griffin

3022 Northview Road Minnetonka, MN 5536 7 How can a person write a few paragraphs about an airplane that yo u've worked on fo r 4 years?

I t all happened by accident on a very warm day in August 1973. Bill Duncan and Jack Rose were visiting our neighbor who introduced us, and also negotiated a ride for us in Stearman 9078 H. These two fe ll ows were on their way home to Spokane, Wash. from Oshkosh.

We had no intention on buying a pl ane until that rid e and that same evenin g, when we fo und out that Jack would sell the Stearman. That night was a sleep less one, wonderi ng abo ut whether or no t our banker was airp lan e orie nted . He was.

Most of my time was in a J-3 and Tri-Pacer so, just to be sure I took so me extra in str uction with Nei ls Soren­ son who was a W.W.II Stearman instructor.

Later on that fall, we flew to Montana on a weekend to visit some friends when Jean ni e noticed a stick flapping in the breeze on the left ail ero n. She got my atte ntion in a hurry thinking that I had not checked over

16

~ .,~

the plane thoroughly enough when a head appeared, and then Mr. mouse tried to climb up onto the wing. Before I had time to reach for the camera or the fire extinguish­ er, he slid down the aileron, all fours extended for his free fall 2000 feet to the ground. We had to rib stitch and patch some wing area, and decided to look for a hangar with a door; a very tight door. We were renting a hangar, but with no door and we were always worrying about vandalism, etc.

In Nov. 1973, we bought a hangar at Crystal airport.

More payments to the payments!

We made arrangements with the tower at Crystal to fly in. Now we had a home and workshop for our Stear­ man. Since the R680 hadn't been majored since 1946, we had Bolduc Aviation check it over to see if it needed the valves ground and then re-ring it. That move turned out to be an R & R job. Remove and replace with all new parts from the case outward. More payments to the payments to the oayments!

The next step was to check the propeller, which Max­ well Prop Shop found unfit for service. Two new blades later, the prop was in A-1 condition. Then we added a rad io, shielded ignition, electric starter, generator, battery and re-wire for strobe lights. Also removed and had the instruments overhauled.

I n early spring of 1974, we had it painted in the navy color and markings and thought it was correctly done. It wasn't and we didn't like it.

By now, Jeanne is almost hysterical and ready to supplement her day time teaching job with a night time

17

- Left: jeannie and Griff enjoy

a lot of cross country in this

beauty.

cab driving job. Yup - more payments!

During the winter of 1975 we removed and stripped all the metal, sanded fabric and re-painted it in our own hangar. Ask Rick Hovind how much metal there is to strip on a Stearman. It's a big pile when its on the floor.

Every time someone came into the hangar, he was given a piece of 400 wet or dry and told which area to work on.

In 5 months and 300 cases of beer, we were finished with the paint job. Jeannie was the designer. She was fussy, fussy, fussy, with the color scheme, which I didn't appreciate at that time.

Now to start building my dream engine which would be a 300 with a front exhaust and constant speed propel­ ler. I figured you could build one of these in 120 days. It took 1Y2 years. Kenny Maxwell did the prop and gov­ ernor work, and John Sandberg assembled the crank and power section and supervised all the rest of the work. Of course with a new engine, you need more gauges, so another friend's help was enlisted . Eddy Jacobson, who is rebuilding a V77 Stinson made up a new little panel above the radio. There were so many people that helped, and a special thanks to all of them.

Also a special thank you to the Antique and Classic Division for the beautiful and treasured plaque.

Jeannie quits flying with me around Halloween when the weather cools off, but any day that I have the time, and it is above zero, you can see that '01 Griffin bird heading out of Crystal airport. The coldest day I've flown was -6 degrees and that's too cold for comfort.

The payments continue!

OUTST ANDIN G CUSTOMIZ ED ANTIQUE 194 1 MONOCOUPE 90A # N3892 2 By: Bud Dake

8378 Fairbanks

Berkeley, MO 63734

When asked to write words about our 1941 Mono­ coupe 90A, where does it begin? First I want to thank the Ant ique/Classic Division for the Outstand ing Customized Antique Award . It was certainly an honor and a big surprise. We still find such an Award hard to believe, after remembering all those beautifully restored and customized Antique/Classic planes which attended Oshkosh '77.

I had been searching several years before I found my Monocoupe. I was happy with the other airplanes I had owned but there was always that someth ing special I wanted, to fulfill my needs. That little extra is what the Monocoupes have and that's what makes them such delightful airplane. The one I now own was built in 1941 at the factory in Orlando, Florida, where they moved after they left Robertson Airport (now Lambert Field) in St. Louis, Missouri. It featured fuselage framework of 1025 and 4130 steel tubing. The Model 90A used dural metal sheet formers and wood fairing strips to come up

Left: Bud and Connie Dake, making like a bird. (Photo by Robert Hegge)

Right: james Patterson has made this 7938 Spartan the passion of his life and pocket­ book for three years.

with the attractive Monocoupe styling. The entire air­ plane was fabric covered with the best linen. The wing span is 32', overall length 20' 10" and height 60" with the wing area of 145 sq. ft., the wing loading is 11 Ibs. per sq. foot. Empty weight is 1025 Ibs., gross is 1610 pounds. A Clark 'Y' airfoil is used on this model. It carries 28 gallons of fuel in the two wing root located tanks.

I acquired my Monocoupe in July 1973. Although she was in good mechanical condition, having at that time, a 135 Lycoming installed. She needed some minor airframe, interior, and metal work. So while my wife, Connie, and I had a fun flying machine we also had work ahead. We also needed to find some of the original equipment, like fairings, wheel pants, etc.

In September 1974 we completely disassembled the airplane for a comprehensive inspection. I installed new bolts, control cables, pulleys, new brakes and tires and a new exhaust. I removed the instrument panel, which someone had made of aluminum and made a new panel of birch plywood. My wife stained it and I then applied a clear acrylic finish. This new panel was more like the original, which was also of wood. I also made up a new

bottom cowl for a more original look and a slight gain of speed.

A new interior, new glass, soundproofing, firewall pad, new engine cowl and several new instruments were installed. Now it was time for the cosmetics. This was one of the more time consuming jobs consisting of sanding, cleaning and preparing for the finish. It was quite a job to maneuver that 32' wing ... preparing one side, painting and then the good part...you have to turn that wing over, with its one degree dyhedral, without doing any damage. A job not for the weak of heart. Also a new skylight needed to be doped into place. Next came a repeat performance of getting the fuselage prepared for painting. The yellow and red Monocoupe has over 35 coats of dope on Irish Linen and three coats of hot enamel.

From the factory this Monocoupe originally had a 90 hp opposed Franklin. It was later changed to a 0-290-D11 and in the winter of 1976 we began the installation of a 9-320 Lycoming and this undertaking was completed and Field Approved in August 1976.

The time spent rebuilding N38922 was well worth all the effort. The labors of love are never a chore. Mono­ coupes have always been our favorite, guess that is why we have enjoyed Luscombes, but then they are genetically related, through the same designers, Clayton Folkerts and Don Luscombe. My wife and I have taken over the original Monocoupe Club, very recently, and hopefully there will be more of the magnicent Mono­ coupes attending many more of the Fly-ins. We would like to see more interset in the preservation of the Mono­ coupe.

OUTSTANDING AIRCRAFT

1938 SPARTAN 7W #N17615

By: Dr. James T. Patterson

7977 Falmouth Drive LOUiSVille, KY 40205 It was the most beautiful airplane I had ever seen! So sold my Beechcraft Bonanza and forced $35,000 on the guy who owned it. And that's how I came to own the 1938 model Spartan airplane that for three years and more has been the passion of my life, consuming my

18

time, attention, plus week-ends and a considerable share of my money. For this, the plane has returned me fun, and forced the learning of new skills.

The plane was built in February 1938 by Spartan Airplane Co. of Tulsa, Okla. It was one of 32 such planes made from 1932 to 1942. In the year of its birth it participated in the cross country Bendix Trophy race. It has passed through the corporate hands of Belmont Radio Corp. of Chicago, Airpath Instrument of St. Louis, and Scripps-Howat-d Corp. of Cincinnati. During World War II it was in the Navy - officially designated a UC-71 - as a personnel transpOi"t on the West Coast.

When I bought it around Christmas 1972 it had a bright red paint job, and had been extensively altered inside. At first I had no intention of doing anything but flying and enjoying it; certainly not rebuilding the whole thing. But a minor mishap changed all that. DUI-ing an early familiarization flight, my son dropped the rudder lock beneath the floorboards. Aftet- landing I removed the floorboards to retrieve it. The more I took up, the more problems I encountered - corrosion, aging, and the like. Mid 1973 found me in an extensive rebuilding and restoration job. I dismantled the plane entirely; wings, motor, fuselage, everything that could come off did. I worked every weekend and every Thursday for a year and a half, under the supervision of two licensed mechanics.

It was enough to qual ify me for licensing by the FAA as an air-frame mechanic, should oral surgery ever pall.

The project became a passion for the family, as well .

My wife and two boys came out to lend a hand. Our social life was zero.

My goal was to restore the plane as closely to its 1938 configuration as I could. I replaced the upholstery with plush material that reproduces its original very closely, had the plane repainted to its original design, in a lovely, cool mint green.

In January 1973, two years after I bought the Spar足 tan, it was finished. I now have a beautiful five place plane powered by a rebuilt-to-new 450 horsepower Pratt & Whitney radial engine. It cruises at 200 miles an hour and its range is 1,000 miles. At crusing speed it burns 22 gallons of gas and hour. Now I am hooked and thinking about buying and restoring a biplane, if I can find the machine I want. I have the feel ing my wife will welcome a new project.J ust the other day she was asking "Now that the Spartan is finished, what am I going to do with you all winter long?"

19

Above: Mr. McBride is to be commended for his for足 titude, and if there was a trophy for "Bravery", he would be the recipient. (Photo by Robert F. Pauley)

OUTSTANDING AIRCRAFT

1944 BEECH-STAGGERWING 0175

#N16M

By: W. McBride

7969 Fair Oak Drive

Rochester, M I 48063

Exactly why I became interested in the Staggerwing, and when my interest was aroused, I don't recall; I suppose it had to do with the fact that I owned a Stear足 man and that I am partial to biplanes. Also, a good friend of mine, George York, a Staggerwing buff, got me interested.

I actively started looking for an airplane in the spring of 1975, and attended the Staggerwing Convention in Albuquerque in October 1975, to look at several airplanes there for sale.

Upon leaving the convention, I went to Salt Lake City and looked at an airplane that had been partially rebuilt. It was in a dark hangar on a cold evening, and from what I could determine the airplane looked pretty good. The best part of it was that the airplane had been completely re揃covered and was still in the silver, which I liked because it gave me the opportunity of finishing the craft any way I wanted. The sheet metal looked good

and from what I could see, the workmanship didn't look too bad. (I later found out I didn't look too closely.)

The airplane also had no radios, which I also liked, because I wanted to start with an all new rad io package.

I went back to Detroit, made my decision, called the seller, and made a deal. I was assured the airplane would be put together and in working condition within a couple of weeks. However, several weeks went by and several phone calls made, and for various reasons given me the airplane was still in the condition in which I had left it in back in October. So I decided to go to Salt Lake City and put it together myself. The oil tank, exhaust system and all of the sheet metal had been removed and were scattered about the hangar. Optimis­ tically I told my wife I would be gone a couple of days.

After a week and a half, in a cold, poorly lit hangar, and with only one change of clothes, I finally got the air­ plane assembled. By this time it was late in November and the weather was not good.

I was told there was a man in Gunnison, Colorado, by the name of Rocky Warren, who owned two Stagger­ wings and had acquired thousands of hours in Stagger­ wings. Since I had never flown one, I decided to call him and ask if he would come to Salt Lake City and check me out. And this he did. When he arrived, the weather was bad so it was a couple of days before we could get the plane flying. I wanted to run a retraction test, could find no one on the field to help me. So, against my better judgement we flew the airplane without one. We flew for a couple of hours, then Rocky suggested that he make the first landing, of which I was in favor. We had flared out and were in the touch-down position when Rocky suddenly poured on full power. I heard a terrible sound. The prop was digging into the cement, and as I looked out the side window I could see the flaps bei ng ground down by the pavement. Somehow he got it back into the air. We got the gear down manually, and check­ ed the gear position by looking at our shadow in the snow. Rocky then madean uneventful landing, and we taxied up to the fixed base operator on the field. With tears in my eyes, I viewed a prop which had six inches removed from the blades, the flaps torn to shreds, and gear doors ruined. Luckily we did no damage to the bottom of the fuselage with the exception of wearing off the heads of a few sheet metal screws. I assumed this was the end of my airplane, but "good old" Rocky put his arm around my shoulder and told me not to worry because he had a brand new set of flaps and a new

propeller back in his shop in Gunnison. He told me to remove the flaps and prop.

He made a few phone calls, and in about three hours a friend of his rolled up in a 320 with the seats removed and in their place were a new prop, two flaps, and a few other things we needed. By 9:00 that night we had the airplane completely back together and ready to go. I believe I had the only man in the world with me who at that time had a spare set of flaps and a prop for a Staggerwing. The next morning we departed for Gunnison and had an uneventful landing. We were un­ ab Ie to put the plane in Rocky's hangar because the hangar was broken, so we had to work outside. I remov­ ed the wheels and brakes, which were not functioning, and replaced them with a set off of one of his planes. I now had a Staggerwing with borrowed flaps, borrowed prop, borrowed battery, borrowed brakes, and borrowed wheels.

I spent a couple of days working on the airplane in feeezing cold weather but finally got the gear problem solved, and was ready for a check-out with Rocky.

I believed that if you could fly a Stearman you could fly anything. Wrong! I had a terrible time landing and taking off the airplane, and had decided there was no way I could ever handle it, and Rocky thought I was a typically rotten flat-land pilot. However, with a good night's sleep and a couple of hours in Rocky's 180, Rocky felt I was good enough to try it from the left seat, at which time he opened the door and started out of the airplane. I asked him why he was getting out, and I don't remember his exact words, but they were some­ thing to the effect that since there were only brakes on the left-hand side he could do me no good in the right­ hand seat, and besides he didn't want to put his life in danger. I made a couple of terrifying landings and decided it was time to head for home. By this time over two weeks had elapsed on my "two day" trip. We topped off the plane fuel, and Rocky made me file a flight plan and promise to call him after I had made it over the mountains. Somehow I did, and I called him form Pueblo, Colorado. The rest of the trip went smoothly, and even my landings started to improve.

Upon getting home and looking the airplane over more closely, I decided that probably I had made a big mistake. The plane was now out of license. I had to make the decision whether to rei icense it and learn how to fly it, or to tackle the bigger job of rebuilding it and having the airplane the way I would really like it. I

decided on the latter.

The interior of the airplane had been recently reuphol­ stered in a horrible blue vinyl. My financial resources did not allow me to redo the upholstery, so I decided to paint the airplane in a color that would be compatible with the interior.

Another good friend of mine, Ken Wilson, who knows everything about airplanes, suggested that I restore the aircraft to the configuration of a mil itary YC-43. There were three aircraft of this type built in 1939 for the U.S. Embassy : one each for London, Rome, and Paris. These three aircraft had the identical colors of the Stearman PT-17, that is blue fuselage, yellow wings, red and white stripped rudder, and stars on the wings. I had restored my Stearman in these exact colors and had lots of butyrate dope left over so the decision was easily made.

The complete project took me approximately 1Yz years . I removed every nut and bolt I could get at with­ out removing the fabric. There were numerous problems.

The fabric job was very poor, and much of it had to be done over.

I even had problems, after the airplane was complet­ ed, with the dope peeling off in sheets to below the silver. On a couple of wings I was faced with peeling all the dope off and starting over again.

The engine was rebuilt, I pulled the instrument panel and re-conditioned every instrument, installed all new Narco radios, and I rewired the aircraft completely. As it turned out, both of my flaps were unusable because the spars were broken, which meant building new flaps from scratch.

One of the major problems I had in completing the aircraft was getting the U.s. Embassy seal for the side of the fuselage. It seems that the State Department does not like to sell decals to private individuals regardless of their intended use. I don't know how many times I call­ ed Washington and hung up frustrated. I finally had an artist friend of mine draw the seal free hand and through the process of using seven silkscreens made me some beautiful decals.

The Staggerwing convention in 1977 started June 8th, I completed the airplane the evening of June 8th and made it to the convention in Wichita the morning of the 9th.

The Hobbs meter now records over 40 hours and I'm becoming more comfortable with every hour. I may even get to like it almost as much as my Stearman.

r REPLICA CHAMPION

FOKKER DVIII # N7557U

By: Ed Swearinyen

40 Monee Road

Park Forest, I L 60466

The Fokker eased in behind and slightly above the Sopwith. Glancing behind to his right and left the Fokker pilot checked for unwelcome traffic. Satisfied, he dropped his left wing, at the same time tapping in right rudder. The Fokker went into a slight slip, allowing him to see down past the nose and check again the position of the seemingly unwary British plane. The sun's rays glanced dully off its olive brown wings and the cockades of red, white, and blue were in sharp contrast to its generally dull finish. Not so the German plane.

With its red and white cowling and black striped empennage it proudly proclaimed its identity with jagstaffel-6. True, the camouflage pattern on the fuselage and green painted wing made it hard to see from above, but from the side it was a cock pheasant among hens.

Straightening, the Fokker pilot dove and picked up his quarry over the sites of his twin guns. Start from th e rear and rake forward as you pull up and away. The gap closed slowly at first and then the pace quickened as the faster German plane closed rapidly. Not too close, he's

21

flying steadily, but you can't be too careful. Then it was time, and he pushed hard with his thumb on the top of his control column.

Nothing l There was no crashing, bucking of twin machine guns, no powder smoke pouring back in his eyes and streaking his face with burnt cordite, no rattle of cartridges racing through guide chutes. Malfunction足 ing guns over France 1918, no. It was Toronto, Canada 1972. The British plane was a rotary powered copy of the Sopwith Pup built and flown by George Neal, chief test pilot for De Havilland of Canada. The German plane was my own Fokker DVIII N7557U, built in Park Forest, Illinois, and the occasion, the Canadian National Exposition.

Walter Middyish, perhaps, but not solely. It had been fun to fly in shows such as this, and in fact we will be in one Oct. 15 and 16, 1977 in Virginia flying a World War I segment with Dick King of Old Rhinebeck, New York and his Pup. On rare occasions, we have stalked un足 suspecti ng Cubs and Cessnas, the Fokker and I. But primarily, the Fokker was built for my own pleasure just to have fun.

As late as the day this is being written I have had friends and strangers alike ask; "what's in you that says you have to do this? Why did you choose an old plane like that to build?" To me the answer is very simple.

Since I was a teen-ager I have yearned to own a WW I fighter.

As early as that, too, I have felt that the D-VIII was the one that I wanted if I could have a choice. To me it has always been the neatest and cleanest of all the WW I designs. But of course there are no choices, finding authentic examples of WW I aircraft today is a combi na足 tion of luck and perseverance. There are still some around, you hear stories all the time but lives and fortunes will be spent before they are all found. My odyssey with my fighter started in the Spring of 1960, shortly after earning my private license. Just as every pilot in the past and all those in the future will do, I began to search for a plane to own. I found to my dismay that you could spend thousands of dollars and still not have anything different than doze ns of other planes on the field. This is not to say the Cubs, Cessnas, Aeroncas, etc. aren't alright, but I didn't feel at the

moment like owning one. It was then I decided to build a plane. Once that decision was made there was no question which it would be; if I was going to build then it would be the one I had always wanted, the D-VIII. With this decision I unknowingly opened up a phase of my life that has proven to be one of the most gratifying and fruitful and certainly one of the most stimulating.

Although airplanes and aviation have been a part of my life off and on since I was eighteen, this would be my first attempt to build one. Not knowing any dif­ ferent, therefore, my search for information of the Fokker began with all the easy sources; the Smithsonian I nstitute, the Air Force Museum, etc. Soon letters were going overseas to England, France, Germany, and Italy and though I cannot read these languages the word "No" shows up fairly quick in any langauge. After many disappointments, an answer came back from the curator of the Munich Museum in . West Germany saying the original designer, Herr Platz, was still alive. In this letter he sent what he felt was Herr Platz's correct address with the suggestion I write directly to him. With hope born of frustration, a letter was sent off to Herr Platz telling him of my ambition to build a Fokker D-VIII. Within a few weeks I received a letter from this great man stating that he would be glad to help. There were, however, a couple of conditions. First, since it had been many years since he had designed the D-VIII and he had designed many planes, would I be so kind as to send him the general dimensions to refresh his memory. That was easy, the second requirement was not quite so simple. Please, to aid him, all future correspondence would have to be in German. Not only mine to him but his answers. Man, that was a killer. I could neither read nor write German.

Fortunately our very good friends and neighbors, Dr. and Mrs. Vrla, were German and for the next six years they received a liberal education in the design and construction of fighter aircraft. Without them and their invaluable help, it would have been an impossible task.

With this, however, our correspondence and later our friendship began and as stated above, this was one of the most gratifying six years of my life. My greatest loss was in not being able to meet Herr Pl atz personally, but through his letters, notes, and cards I will always feel that I did know him.

Gathering up all my information, I sent it to Herr Platz and within a few months back came a package. In it were sketches on millimeter graph paper showing the general details of the D-VIII. There were no dimensions

or measurements since it automatically was one tenth the original and one aft bay is 5 millimeters longer, mak­ scale. From these sketches all of the working drawings ing my D-VIII 100 millimeters longer than the one still have been made and from them the plane itself, also a in existence. All other major dimensions are exact. complete set of blueprints are being drawn. Certain The landing gear is mounted in the Fokker ball and details of Fokker construction techniques were learned socket arrangement with the cross bracing taking the from other sources and with available measurements and loads. The hinges on the rudder and elevator are strap graph paper, the empennage was laid out, Herr Platz hinges with bronze bushings silver soldered inside and never forwarded this information. drilled for lubricating. The empennage, rudder, etc., is of Through the years, Platz would send additional infor­ steel tubing as is the landing gear. The wing is of wood mation as it became needed. Because the wing was the construction with two full span box spars, Fokker type greatest mystery and, of course, the secret of success as ribs covered with 1.5 milometer three-ply birch ply­ far as the D-VIII was concerned, our correspondence on wood. Over this, I doped on razorback and then painted.

The original had the 110 horsepower Oberursal rotary this was to say the least, interesting. The only question never really answered was how he hung the ailerons, and engine. Mine has 145 horsepower Warner and from all I I have come to believe that this was a deliberate omis­ can determine concerning performance it comes very sion on his part. I feel that he felt the original system close to duplicating the original's performance envelope. was dangerous in light of later knowledge gained and he Although mine climbs well, I do not think it possible to suggested instead, the piano hinge type that was a post make it duplicate the original's climb potential. With a war development for Fokker. This detail by the way, Sensenich 86/67 prop, take-off r.p.m. is 2050. Take-off precipitated one of the more humorous episodes in our run is about 900 to 1000 feet. Cruise speed is whatever volumnous correspondence. In one letter after much you feel like, but at 21 to 22 inches of manifold pressure prompting, he gave a long and detailed explanation of and 1825 r.p.m. it hits in at about 95 to 97 miles per the airleron hinge arrangement and then in a post script, hour. Top speed on a mile course at 3000' came in he advised I disregard all that he had written. It seems roughly at 121 miles per hour.

Stalls are hard to pin down, because of the Cub air that he disagreed with himself.

Looking back on those years, I have come to realize speed indicator, but seem to be between 40-45 m.p.h. in retrospect that I have had a privilege and an honor Besides that, I have always been too busy being scared to really look. It wants to climb under power, so therefore, afforded only a few men.

After some time the shocking realization came to me it requires some forward stick at cruise. It is a fighter, that Herr Platz was ill. On occasion his answers would but amazingly stable. Slow flight can be accomplished be delayed and once or twice I wrote and answers ex­ by pulling power back to 1550 r.p.m. and turning loose plaining the delay came from members of his family. the stick. It will try climb until it starts to lose too much This set for me an unknown deadline and I worked every speed, then the nose will bob down, it will then pick up possible moment to no avail. In the early Fall of 1966, I speed and try to climb again. It maintains altitude, but received the inevitable black bordered card telling me of you are sort of looping across the sky at an indicated 55 the death of my friend. miles per hour, a very weird feeling. This is also the best The plane is full scale, wing span is 27'6" and length procedure and time to check your charts on cross coun­ is approximately 19'. Construction details are as accu­ try trips. Although you have to be careful unfolding the rate to Fokker practice as was possible to duplicate. charts or they will blow up over your head .

Some specifics, the fuselage is welded steel tubing, wire Landings are still heart-thumpers, because of the nar­ braced with .090 piano wire, wire ferrels and turn buck­ row track gear and high center of gravity. The best pro­ les. The Platz practice of weld ing loops in the corners of cedure is wheel landings und er any wind condition 0 to his bays and looping the wire through was researched 10 miles per hour. It is never flown in high gusty cross and duplicated. I have had the pleasu re of measuring the wind conditions unless absolutely unavoidable. Stall only known example of an original D-VIII fuselage, landings can be done under calm conditions, however, which belongs to the Caproni family in Milan, Italy. Herr the right wing drops if you get too slow and are in Platz's 44 year old memory was fantastic, he made one ground effect. Don't ask me why, I just accept it and mistake. My cockpit area is 95 millimeters longer than wheel it on.

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REPLICA CHAMPION RUNNER-UP 1910 CURTISS PUSHER By: Dale Crites

804 Ridgewood Drive

Waukesha, WI 53786

Dale Crites flying "I FR" to Oshkosh - the "R" is visible in lower part of picture.

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

there in front and wave at all the farmers as you go by.

The only thing you keep thinking "Well I wonder how it would be to make a forced landing in a field ." Anyway, Ever yearn to fly a 1910 Glenn Curtiss Pusher? Well with all my confidence in the trusty OX5 engine, which you can, and if you are retired and have a few dollars has been performing so well of late, I decided to make you don't know what to spend it on, you can fly the the flight and save all that work. So on Wednesday after足 Pusher. It will take a few handy friends and will be a full noon, after listening to all the bad weather we were time job for you, and take about a year to build one just supposed to get, I decided to drive down to Kelches field like the Silver Streak, which has become a winner at any at Mequon, where the Pusher is hangared, and fly it back and all fly-ins or air shows. But to get it there takes a to Oshkosh. So my friend Harry and I jumped in the long and tedious decision on your part on how you are station wagon and arrived at the hangar, and soon had to make this possible with the least amount of work and the Pusher out and ready for the long cross-country trip time. back to Oshkosh, thinking about the bad weather that It takes two people three hours to disassemble and was to soon meet me on the fl ight to Oshkosh. With a load it up on a special trailer and a station wagon to haul short run north about 200 ft. I was on my way, follow足 it from point of departure to your destination. Then ing the highway back at an altitude of about 200 ft., another three hours with the help of three or four keeping and eye on those fie ld s near the highway, just in people - this time to assemble it for the flight. Then of case! course, the reverse to get it back home again .

So with a little zig-zagging, I made my first landing at So, after long thought you say "OK - it's on ly about Fond du Lac in 46 minutes. I checked the gas, called 60 miles to Oshkosh, and that should take only and hour Oshkosh by phone, and found I could land with no to fly it there". Anyway it's a lot more fun to sit out trouble. Once again on my way, I decided to get a little

23

higher for my arrival at Oshkosh, so with a little effort, I climbed to about 1200'. This gave me a chance to plan a let-down into the aircraft landing pattern. The landing was accomplished with a two spira l glide and I came in for an uniterrupted downwind final, and landing. On final roll-out I gunned the OX 5, held right stick and rudder for a perfect run-off the runway, into the grass with no help at all.

After three days at Oshkosh, I flew it back to the hangar non-stop, direct 55 miles, made in record time of 60 minutes. "Air encounter and mission accomplished!"

Editor's Note: Dale makes it all seem so easy. I have it that he took off in a drizzle, and came into good weather at Fond du Lac. All those that spotted his approach at Oshkosh know that he had to have a nose bleed - I have never seen the Pusher that high. He picked his spot, slid into the pattern, landed and taxied off - all by himself. Several of us were headed for the runway at high speed (for us that is) and arrived too late - he had already done it! To everyone who speaks of Oshkosh as a tough place to get into - think about that a little bit. It can sti ll be done with the oldest aeroplane in existance!

ANTIQUE HOMEBUILT CHAMPION 1928 HEATH PARASOL # N1926 By: Dr. Ed Garber 7870 Lakeshore Drive Fayetteville, NC 28304 The Heath Parasol was a dream of many would-be aviators in the 1925-35 era. Dual instruction and air­ plane rentals were expensive and America was entering a financial depression. Many who wanted to fly were not particularly interested in speed, altitude or traveling.

They simply wanted to fly, thus the Heath Parasol as conceived by Ed Heath. The first kit was offered in 1927 for $199.00. However, it could be purchased in install­ ments, and for $12.00, one could go to work. The Heath was s6 designed that it could be built in a garage or basement by an average craftsman using only hand tools.

The fuselage was bolted and wire braced with no weld­ ing. No doubt hundreds of Heaths were started and nev­ er completed.

The primary power for the Heath was the Henderson motorcylce engine. Kits were available for conversion or the Heath factory would do the conversion. A complete

Ed Garber and his Heath were quite the center of attention at Oshkosh.

Henderson-powered airplane, Flyaway Chicago, was $975.00.

Plans were available and actually published in the 1929 Modern Mechanics/Flying Manual.

My Heath, N1925, was built from a kit in 1928 by a father and son in New Jersey. The father died and the airplane was not completed. It went to Arizona where it remained for many years, thus the explanation for its fine state of preservation. It was offered to me from Arizona but for some reason I did not purchase it. Then a few years later when I tried to locate it, I learned that the owner had been killed in a crop-spraying accident.

In 1971, an ad appeared in TAP from California. I recognized it as the Heath from Arizona and purchased it. Albert Lane crated it in a single crate 5'x3Y2'x14' and shipped it by motor freight labeled "motorcycle parts".

Marion McClure provided plans.

Fuselage tubing was in good condition. Some of the bracing wires were replaced as well as many turnbuckles.

All fittings were made new and this was the most diffi­ cult task. All fittings are wrap-around with a rivet through the longeron. (Heath plans call for a 2 penny shingle nail as a rivet.) The soft steel used in 1928 appar­ ently was much easier to bend than the 4130 of today!

It was necessary to make a new landing gear, motor mount and wing cabane struts.

The wings were in excellent condition and required only minor repairs. The airplane was then assembled for strut fitting, cables and pre-cover inspection.

In an effort to stay as light as possible, Stits 1.7 oz fabric was used. This was followed by two coats of clear, two of silver and very little pigment. In fact, throughout this project,weightwas the number one consideration.

The Henderson motor was a home conversion. Histor­ ically, the engine had been used only eight hours; there­ fore, we did not take it down but simply cleaned and timed it. The back plate was not drilled for a tachometer cable so Reagan Ormond generously "loaned" his. The engine started on the first pull! The first start in forty eight plus years. Ray Hegy reconditioned the original propeller and made a new standby. Elmer Rogers was always available to help me as he had been on previous projects.

The Heath was completed in November 1976. It flies quite well. We have a 4,000 foot grass strip at Elmer Roger's 195 South Airport. Several take-off and landings were made straight ahead. I picked cool days with wind conditions ideal. I weigh 160 Ibs. and the Heath gets off and climbs with ease. The FAA is treating this as a home-built and the test area is limited to one mile of the airport. I doubt the airplane will ever fly seventy five hours!

We were anxious to take the Heath to Oshkosh, there­ fore, an enclosed trailer was constructed. Our trip was without incident. We assembled the Heath Monday morning down by Ollie's Woods. Needless to say, we had plenty of help! I attempted to get a waiver from the FAA to fly the Heath at Oshkosh, but this was denied.

The engine was started several times a day.

Interest in the Heath was tremendous. Many young folks wanted to buy a kit for $199.00! The real pleasure was talking to the older group of fellows who had many tales to tell about the Heath. Some even had pictures of Heaths and Henderson motorcycles.

In summary, it was a great week and well worth the effort. We reloaded the Heath Friday evening and head­ ed for Blakesburg Saturday morning.

24

letter from the Governor of Michigan to the Governor of Il linois, landed in the street in front of the 1933 World Fair.

In 1935, Robert Thompson , EAA 5351, of 232 Stansberry Road, Dayton, Ohio purch ased the racer, af­ ter it had been partially destroyed in a storage-room fire.

Bob took the racer to Dayton and placed it in dry stor­ age for 24 years until he acquired a partner, Charles Mathias, EAA 6265 of Box 66, Cherry Fork, Ohio.

Together, Charlie and Bob worked five and one-half years turning out one of the finest restorations in the country. They' reported it a real jewel and a pilot's "dream" to fly . It's sensitive but responsive in all maneu­ vers! The little ship is very stable and spin-resistant. The aileron controls are powerful and respond to 50 mph, which is 10 mi les per hour below the stall speed. Take­ off and landing rolls are about equal - approximately 700 ft. on hard surface. We purchased it from Bob Thompson and Charlie Mathias last December. It was in good condition but needed a lot of work. We took it completely apart except for the engine and gave it a complete going over ... new dope rubbed down, new BEST ANTIQUE RACING PLANE

lettering, stripping metal parts, repriming and painting, HEATH CENTERWING

some new parts, new tires.

It is now a beautiful antique airplane, with standard By: Raymond E. Von Ruden

type certificate No. 495, a memory of another age in Box 504

aviation. It is thought provoking to imagine how the Owatonna, MN 55060

course of aviation and also homebui lding would have been altered if Ed Heath had not lost his life just before Heath Centerwing N-12881 began existence in the the Centerwings were manufactured. They had a lot of Heath Factory in Niles, Michigan in the latter part of features way ahead of their time. For instance a top 1932. There were only five of the model made. N-12881 speed of more than 120 m.p.h. in pylon racing with only and two sister ships flew from the factory bearing a 40 h.p./ in the nose .

25

GRAND CHAMPION CLASSIC PIPER CUB PA-ll # NC78661 By: Don Freitag

707 Rainbow Road

Summerville, SC 29483

I first became interested in flying while stationed in Alaska as a member of the USAF. I made friends with one of the Hunting and Fishing Guides in Anchorage and did most of the maintenance on his float-equipped PA­ 18 Super Cub. In return he took me on several fly-in hunting and fishing trips. That is when I reali zed I was hooked on flying and bought my first airplane, a J -3 Cub on floats with an 85 hp engine . At that time I did not have a pilot's license so hired an instructor and learned to fly. The Cub was not equipped with the necessary in stru ments and radios required to take a private check ride, so I had to rent a plane to take the flight test.

Since that time I have lived in several different states and owned many airplanes. I had always wanted to own a PA-ll. As my family and I traveled from state to state we came across one or two which I always tried to buy but it seemed they were never for sa le. In 1975 I got the idea to go through the FAA Register and write to own­ ers of PA-ll 's east of the Mississippi, hoping to come across someone who was willing to se ll, and I finally did.

We found this airplane at a sma ll grass strip in the

The grand result of a family team - Don Freitag, wife Pat and son Mitch, who was not present at picture time. (Photo by Bob Miller) hills of wester n Pennsylvania . It belon ged to Gilbert Myers of Leechburg. He was the second owner and had owned it himsel f sin ce 1954. As my son Mitch, a friend ­ Tim Richter and I arrived in Leechburg, we found this old Cub Special tucked away in the back of a large hang­ ar, covered with dust and cobwebs. After gett ing it out and checking it over a little, we patched up a few holes in the fabric, installed so me missing in spection pl ates, cleaned it up a bit and after look ing it over ca refully, we decided it was airworthy. Mitch and Tim flew it back to Summerville. DUI·ing the trip it became evident that the engine was a littl e sick as they had plugs oil fouled each time they checked the mags. After they arrived in Sum­ merville, I checked the compression and found it very low. I then decided to remove the engine, disasse mbl e it and preoare it for a major overhau l.

I fully intended to put the majored engine back on the plane but just cou ldn't bring myse lf to put that

"beautiful" engine on that "not so beautiful" fuselage.

So I removed the wings and hauled it all hom e to my garage, storing the engin e safely in the closet of my home. My wife was not too happy with that arrange­ ment, but durin g the months that followed, accepted it, as more cleaned or freshly recovered pieces found them­ selves into other inco nspicuous corners of the house.

After a couple weeks I was sure I had made the right decision, for a tornado ca me ripping through the Sum­ mervi ll e Airport, demolishing 35 of the 40 airpl anes there, including my 1975 Award winning Aeronica Champ. A J -4 tied in the spot where I had the PA-11 , was rolled up in a ball in the middl e of the runway.

As I started the rebuild, I decided that I wanted to restore it to original. There are not too many PA -11 's around and we had a difficult time trying to find the exact paint sche me, colors, etc. I had a drawing from the front of the PA-11 Part s Li st and a small picture showing

the front exterior portion from, "The Piper Cub Story".

I must give my son credit for the detailed lettering in the interior and also for the exterior design and numbers done to scale. He had only th e above to go by.

When we removed the old cover we found th e struc­ ture to be in excellent condition. The airplane had never been damaged and had always been hangared. Stits Pro­ ducts were used with a finish of Stits Aerothane. Th e nosebowl and windshield were the only things that weren't replaced. Everything else was made new but i­ dentical to the original. My wife, son, and I worked most of our spare time for 111 years and finally completed it on May 19, 1977. My son wanted to test fly it, and since he had worked so hard on it I felt he deserved it. It flew great without any further rigging.

Now that it is completed and flying again, it is every­ thing that I expected. Now I feel as the other PA-11 ow ners did , "Not For Sale"l

26

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION

BELLANCA 14-19 # N6RJ

By: Roland joslyn 3833 Paseo Hidalgo Malibu, CA 90265 When you look around for a low-cost, four place, low wing monoplane with retrac table landing gear, control­ lab le or constant speed propeller, high performance and most important, a tubular steel fuselage for crash impact resistance, there is very little from which to choose.

And, if you like to see the tail on the ground, you have got to 'home in' on a Bellanca.

Late in 1969, I purchased a 1950 Cruisemaster, N509A, a cosmetically good looking plane in need of tender care. Although I had previous Air Force flying experience and a degree in aeronautical engineering, my newness to private flying and eage rness to purchase the plane clouded common sense. How blind I was to the difference between what is fly ab le and what is safely flyable. This was a Bellanca forecast for an accident.

When I started to change the battery, I uncovered a broken baggage floor under carpet, and this, in turn, led to a leaky auxiliary fuselage fuel tank, oil soaked fuse­ lage insulation, worn control pulleys with dirt and debris aro und them, a wing with skin delamination, brok en

27

main landing gear springs on both sides, worn oleo struts and on and on. I could not believe that I had flown in the plane prior to purchasing it, and that it had, two weeks before, received a fresh annual by a licensed air­ craft in spector.

The fixes began, slowly at first, but it was like trying to stem a tide. Too much wrong, too many fixes. I could gu lp , or get mad, but I had to start all over. Might as well build it fresh and incorporate all the goodies that I would like, that time, willpower and budget could stand.

Grin and bear my mistake ... and change the registra­ tion number to eliminate the grim reminder.

Strip the fuselage to the frame, glass blast it - - beauti­ ful condition - - spray on zinc chromate and clear epoxy to keep it that way. Use new wood throughout and a fresh ceconite covering with nitrate through the silver.

Stuff in layers of lightweight air lin e insulation and then put in a beautiful interior to cover it, high-lighted by solid mahogany trim for the baggage floor and around the exposed frames and doorway . Build new seat frames and get Terry Martin, a real craftsman, to cover them in yellow 'comfort-weave' fabric to compliment the oyster headliner and tobacco colored carpets. (This was Terry's last job before he ducked into the better paying insur­ ance business.)

Scra p the instrument panel and design and fabricate a modern layout. Place functions in gro ups, and stick to the Air Force standard flight arra ngement; put all the engine instruments in one row and above their appro­ priate controls; all radio circuit breakers in one line, and all aircraft circuit breakers in another. Change the land­ ing gear warning circuit so th at when the gear is up no lights glow, and the terrifying red light glares only when the gear, is in transit or not down and locked. Find space for dual nav-coms, dual transceivers, ADF, glide slope, marker beacon, transponder, G-m eter, remote compass, and a remote EL T. Don 't think of auto-pilot (you have a licensed pilot for a wife) and wait on DME to become more reasonably priced (it never will.) Paint the panel any color but black, so settle on a soft shade between the yellow seats and the oyster head liner - - in fact, mix the trim paints together to get the right background for the individually eye-brow lighted instruments. Put mi­ crophone buttons in the control wheels, and spend a small fortune to duplicate the old Bell anca flying geese wh ee l medallions to give the cockpit a taste of its origi­ nal character. Don 't forget the intercom - - planes are noisy.

Landsakes, all that work and sti ll harnessed to an old powerplant 7 Sell the Lycom ing 190 hp to a Stinson owner and latch onto a 260 hp Cont in enta l I0-470F from a later model Bellanca, comp lete with cow ling, en­ gine mount and exhaust system. It on ly cost $2500 for this maneuver, but watch out, down the line it will cost more. Modify the cowling to fit the lower firewall con­ tours; attach a support ring to the firewall; put in a cowl flap (FAA cooling tests ahead) and cha nge to a single air intake system (no nose gear to go around). Bellanca hasn't changed the mounting points on the firewall in 40 years. The new mount, less nose gear trunion, fits per­ fedly. Bolt in the engine, and reshape the ex haust stacks to get them to comply to the new cowling contours. Do an analysis on the forward fuselage truss, and a fuel flow report and test for the FAA. Work on the wings. Completely de-skin the one that is delaminating; check a spar repair made in 1952 by per­ forming a load test up to limit loads on the main spar - ­ all OK. Truck the wings to Harl ey Ki esz in Clements, California, for reskinning. Truck them back home and start the long process of micro-balloonin g both wing sur­ faces to eliminate the valleys and smooth the rough spots. New wood fuel tank covers, too. Bond to the outer wing surfaces copper foil transceiver, navigation and glid e slope antennas designed by Glenn McClure.

Cover the wings with two ounce fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin, and listen to th e 'experts ' say I have made a grave mistake. They are wrong. I nstall power-packed strobe Iights in the wi ng ti ps - - it's fu n to fl y at night.

But nobody will know wh at I've done or will appre­ ciate the subsurface work without seeing the outside glit­ ter. With Neal's help at Thunder Airmotive, overhaul the landing gear hydraulic and oleo system, then chrome plate the gear to MIL specs to eliminate hydrogen embrittlement, and add sh ine to an otherwise dull under­ carriage. Spend days coloring and drawing over Xeroxed outl ines of the wings and fuselage to get a paint scheme that will softe n the older Bellanca's ugly window shape, and stay away from the racy, current factory designs which do not lend grace to an older lady. Four colors of white, soft yellow, ·rich brown and orange, for accent, should do it. And along the way, flush the windows.

It sounds as though I have done a lot, but most of it I have forgotten to write down here, and that's true for anyone who has built or restored a plane. See, I almost forgot to mention the wheel pods, some smart thinking

by Wally 'Bellanca Bert ' Bertram, which add an easy five

i

"

r

Roland and Dorothy Joslyn and their 7950 Bellanca. (Photo by Bob Miller) and Lynn Cooter, in Long Beach, is the man who can to seven mph to the cruise speed .

ROLLOUTI Your lovely wife and great kids throw a find it. A compl,et,e major engin e overhaul with dynamic big hangar party and fr iends turn out to watch cham­ balancing of the crankshaft - ­ the crank was alm ost an pagne spi ll over the spinner. Nothing can go wrong on ounce out, and you wonder how it got through the fac­ the first flight. Too much time, labor and love have been tory in the first place, and how the previous owner had expended. Get old pro Don Dwiggins to accompany you never noticed the vibration. Remo unt the engin e and fly because he has watched it from the beginning and know s agai n. It sti ll shakes, but not as badly. I want to put a it almost as well as you do. Everythin g checks out fine. match to the plane but decide to tr y another propeller.

Back to Ray Fulton at the Santa Mon ica Propell er Shop GO! On climbout, the pl ane begins to shake. Vibration, and a switch to a McCauley. It WORKS . It had been an but from where? Friends and authori ties all have id eas unlucky combi nat ion of BOTH engin e and propell er and recommendations and I try them all. Block off the being sour. Like finding needl es in a hay stack .

Now a good cross-country and a trip to the East. trim tab syste m, change engi ne mounts, check th e fuel system for air leaks, take off the cow l flap and wheel Cruise at 185 TAS at 67% to Alexandria, Minnesota, and pods, change propellers, check tail wire tension, put in stop at the Bell anca workshop. Yes, I know every part of new eng in e hydraul ic lift ers, even try dynamic balancing my plane and I'm thrill ed to see them maki ng the new of the engine-propeller combination in flight. Is it one of Vikings th e sa me way, with infinite care, prec ision and those things that Fish Salmon says you so meti mes mu st prid e. live with because you can never find it ? Stop the guess­ And then a week's stay at Oshko sh, because friends work and talk to Stan Ras mu sse n, a dynami cs whiz, who have bee n rav ing about th e show and th e ca mpgrounds hands yo u off to Sand y Friezner at Specialized Test in g that are clea ner than Di sney land. You see yo ur competi­ Service. Mount recording eq uipm ent o n the backseat, tion and wonder if you measure up, what two years of and tape six acce lerom eters to sensitive parts of th e test flying and abuse did to that pristine plane that once plane. (Will the duct tape peel off the lovely paint job ? ­ was .

- it didn't.)

Well, good enough to win abea utiful and well appre­ Fligh t test and readout and there it is. Engine and ciated troph y. It was all worthwhile.

Now, mayb e I shou ld cha nge th e registratio n number prope ll er imb alance, but th e propell er is a new Hartze ll, espec ially made fo r this pl ane. It has to be the engin e, back to N509A.

BEST CUSTOM CLASS A

TEMCO SWI FT 42WW

By: Hugh Evans

South 3608 Davison Boulevard

Spokane, WA 99204

Your letter of August 17 , 1977 has been passed to me

by Mr. Harley Howell, EAA 114666, for reply. Mr Howe ll took our Swift 42WW to Oshko sh thi s year for display and we are very pl eased that it was a trophy winner. Incid ently, Mr. Howe ll has a lovely Swift, 2341 B, which has the tur bo 210 Continental, but we were unabl e to finish STC approva l in time for Oshkosh.

42WW is a fine aircraft and an exce ll ent example of what many Swift owners are doing. We are proud of the aircraft, but cannot claim credit for producing this su­ perb mac hin e. Most of th e credit belon gs to Len Lundmark from San Di ego, Ca. Len purchased the craft about four years ago after it had suffered exte nsi ve dam­ age from a gea r-up landing. The pl ane at th at time had been converted to the 210 Continental, but it was Mr. Lundmark's efforts along with a number of spirited help­ ers, that produced the present result.

It has been our pl easure to see man y fine Swifts and, of which, 42WW is a bea uty . We have thought many times of building new Swifts incorporating many of the

28

STC's on 42WW, but it is not economically practical.

Rather, the Swift will remain an extremely personal air足 plane, altered or preserved original, to suit the owner's personality.

Above: Hugh Evans' Temco Swift 42WW, rebuilt by Len Lundmark, San Diego, CA.

BEST CUSTOM CLASS B

(81 - 150 HP)

1946 AERONCA CHAMP # N85700

By: Robert Price 7905 Deepwood Round Rock, TX 78664 I n March 1974 I received my private pilot's license.

Although I was enjoying my 1/ 3 ownership in a Cessna 150, a ride in a friend's Citabria convinced me that I would not be happy until I flew my own tail dragger stick "fun" airplane. Being a model builder for many years I decided to direct my creative energies into restor足 ing a full size airplane of this type.

After spending several months chasing Trade-a-Plane ads and crawling through old hangars and barns I finally found N85700, a 1946 model 7AC Aeronca Champ.

Stored in a barn, straw and bird nest infested, ripped fabric hanging loose, bent spars, and damaged leading edges left one wondering if this classic could ever be restored. Piece by piece, with mahy a strange look from my wife and neighbors, I brought 700 home.

29

Below: Robert Price and his prize! Prize!

7946 Aeronca Champ N85700.

Not being an "authenic nut" but wanting to add cross country capability and pi zazz I decided to convert the 7AC model to a jazzy 7DC model. The larger engine would help compensate for the 26 gal. wing tank fuel system, low bounce landing gear, Hanlon-Wilson muf­ flers, full gyro panel, nav-com radio, wh ee l pants, large spi nner and fancier interior.

I completely disassembled the wings and fuselage, ex­ posing all metal parts. After thorough sand blasting, all metal parts including fuselage tubing were coated with Epoxy Zinc Chromate paint. After storing all wing parts in the attic I continued to rebuild the fuselage. Some fuselage wood was replaced with new and a dorsal fin was added. Th e fuselage and tail surfaces were then.cov­ ered with Ceconite 101 fabric and finished with Randolph Dope products. The final color coats were Randolph red, white, and blue butyrate dope usin g the scheme of the 1973·74 Decat halon.

Th e interior was completely revamped with red naughehyde and herculon fabric. A new headliner was purchased from Air-Tex. I added an extra wide rear seat and plush red carpet. All windows were replaced with new, including windshield.

Eliminat ion of the main fuel tanks with the wing tank installation allowed room for an expanded instrument panel with an Alpha 200 radio, rate of climb and full gyros.

All cowling pieces were stripped and some replaced with new. All surfaces inside the cowling including the firewall and engine mount were painted with white Imron. The outside cowling surfaces were painted with Randolph enamel.

The landing gear was replaced with the "no bounce type" which significantly improves the landing charac­ teristics,especially in crosswinds.

My enthusiam for totally rebuilding the 7 AC led me to Boston, Mass . where I spent a whole day inspecting and buying a completely dismantled engine. I completed a major overhaul on the engine which included a fresh ground crank, oil pump gears, chrome cylinders with all new pistons, rings, guides, seats, and high octane valves and of course, bearings, seals and gaskets. Not to discount new plugs and shield ignition harness (required by the addition of the Nav-Com radio) to eliminate igni­ tion noise.

After all this enthusiam and energy the project took a break . I mounted the engine on the fuselage, gathered wing parts and moved 1800 miles from Wappingers Falls,

NY to Round Rock, TX. The project was restarted after several months of set­ tling into the new home. I began by repairing ribs and making new spars (from scratch). All new leading edge stock was preformed with great difficulty using a hand made aparatus. The wings were assembled and slightly mod ified to accept the new 13 gal. wing tanks and mod­ ern citabria fiberglass wing tips. After covering and painting the wings I was ready to transport the finished product to th e airport for assembly.

I was fortunate to obtain a hangar at Tims Airpark in nearby Austin. It was now February of 1977 and the hangar not only served as a convenient place to assemble my pride and joy but will continue to protect the brightly colored fabric of N85700 from the hot Texas sun for many years.

After asse mbly, careful inspection, and final signoff, I was ready for the first flights. I had accumulated about 25 hours in a rented Champ at Tims during the preced­ ing months so I was ready to do the honors myself. The first flight in the airplane I had spent 3 years restoring, was as exciting as my first solo flight. I have since logged over 100 hours in my Champ and I can not imagine how any other airplane could be more fun to fly.

I had an exciti ng time flying my Champ to Oshkosh this summer. and I intend to return every year. Receiving the Best Class B Custom Classic award for my first fu ll size airplane project has made mv first trin tn Ochk-mh ~

Four time winner of its class is a record that is hard to beat. N83633 did it

BEST CUSTOM CLASS C

(0 - 80 HP )

AE RONCA 7 AC # N8363 3

By: Melvin B. Hill 702 Ash Street Danville, I L 67832 Aeronca N83633 has been the typical Champ, from trainer to sprayer and back.

In 1973, Don Freitag had completely rebuilt the air­ craft in beautiful shape and was at the Burlington, WI. airshow when the tornado hit. It picked N83633 up and turned it upside down smashing the wings, cowling, prop and top of cabin.

My friend Tom Johnson bought the aircraft then and rebuilt the wings and cabin damage.

Then I acquired the Champ and finished bringing it back to show condition with the excellent help of my friend Vic Andrews.

I have been taking in quite a lot of airshows with 633 and have had excellent results. I have been to Sun 'N Fun all three years and have won all 3 years.

N83633 has won its class at Oshkosh 4 years in a row.

I feel th is has to be some kind of a record.

I think I will retire it from competition at Oshkosh as I think it only fair to give the others a chance too.

30

Above: Warren Long's Taylorcraft is another winner that has a long record of previous wins.

BEST WORKMANSHIP TAYLORCRAFT BC 12D # NC44493 By: Warren B. Long

7209 E. Washington Street

Thomasville, GA 37792

Taylorcraft BC 12 D, NC44493 was completely dis­ assembled and the following accomplished: All tubing sandblasted, all wood formers and blocks replaced, all metal zinc chromated, then painted with black poly­ urethane. Wings were cleaned and two coats of varnish applied. Entire aircraft was recovered with Grade "A" using a total of 25 coats butyrate with sanding and hand rubbing. Metal parts were finished with matching red and black polyurethane in the original paint scheme, keeping panel and interi or appointments as near original as we could. Aircraft was assembled using all new bolts and nuts. Work was completed July 22, 1975. We li st below awards received for this aircraft: Best Classic 1 1976 Sun 'N Fun, Lakeland, FL Best Classic Tallahassee Fly In , Quincy, FL Best Classic Albany, GA. Fly In Neo-Classic Cracker Fly In 1976, Gainesville, GA Best Classic N. Tampa Fly In in Brooksville, FL Best Classic 1977 Sun 'N Fun, Lakeland, FL Best Classic Albany, GA. Fly In 1977 Best Classic Monoplane Cracker Fly In , Gainesville, GA Classic Aircraft Award-Workmanship Oshkosh 1977

31

BEST CLASS III CLASSIC (151 HP -up) RYAN NAVION 260B # N5437K By: Hale E. Andrews Box 786 Berkeley Springs, WV 2547 7

Our 1951 Ryan Navion N5437 K, Super 260 Model B, Serial Number 2733B, I suspect is possibly one of a kind considering its history. It has been a single owner air­ plane, my father having picked it up personally from the Ryan factory in San Diego in April 1951. While 37 Kilo has lead an active flying life over the last 26 years it has always been based here at our field in its own hangar with practically all maintenance supervised by the same individual, Leon Bright, now with Lancaster Aviation, since it first arrived from California.

I'm afraid I can't talk about any complete restoration project because N5437 K has been kept continually in a virtually restored cond ition (barring paint and uphol­ stery) since it left the factory. With the exception of engine and prop change from the original Lycoming GO-435-C2 with Hartzell to a Continental 10-470 H with McCauley, and of course electronics, the plane is abso­ lutely stock. New upholstery, badly needed, was in ­ stalled in 1974 and this May the factory paint was re­ moved (they used good paint and primer in 1951 since we had problems getting it off) and the ship repainted as original, but this time using Alumigrip. We carefully matched the original red and cream colors and markings,

preserving the wing numbers which had never been re­

moved. Since the 30 year limit from date of original

type certificate had passed we cou Id go back to the verti­

ca l fin and wing numbers in lieu of the fuselage mark­ ings. This is the reason I didn't repaint the exter ior in 1974. Since the Continental 10-470 is running smoothly

at 910 hours we don't plan to tamper with it for awhile, although a major or an engine change sometime in the future will give an opportunity to restore that depart­ ment to new cond ition. We will stay with the Continen­ tal and not go back to the geared Lycoming.

I'll end by saying N5437 K is a member of our family having been flown 1800 total hours over much of the United States, most of Mexico, and some of Canada by my father, brother and myself over the last two and a half decades. Only a Navion fli es like one and she has never let us down.

We don't intend to make the same mistake with N5437K that we did with another "member of the family" in 1967. Until then we owned and flew two factory new Navio ns, one of which was a North Ameri­ can Navion N8792H purchased in 1947. N8792H was also a beauty, all stock, Continental 205 engine, and sparkling, hand polished, unscratched aluminum finish.

Alas, we sold it, which was tragedy enough, but within 12 month s it had been rolled into a ball, completely unrecognizable except for the vertical stabilizer after being flown into the ground on a below-minimum instru­ ment approach by its new owner. Most peopl e will agree that the Navion is probably the safest instrument air­ plane ever produced, and no comment is needed as to the accident cause. N8792H's unfortunate new owner, with no instrument rating and probably no experience had attempted what experienced pilots would not. We think we'll keep N5437K as a family member.

Thanks again for your interest in 37 Kilo. We hope to make more shows in the future with it along with our restored Ryan ST3-KR, N441 V.

To an actor it's the smell of grease paint and the roar of the crowd that makes his efforts worthwhile, but to an avid antique/classic aircraft enthusiast it's the beauty of a newly restored aircraft and the roar of old engines that makes fly-ins worthwhile. Since I am one of those persons who not only enjoys fly-ins, but has been accused of being a photoholic, (I'm always taking pictures of aircraft and carry a camera instead of a flask), I needed an aircraft that could take at least two people with all the necessary camera gear, etc, to fly-ins.

(I usually travel to fly-ins with another photoholic, E. M. Johnson, who also serves as navigator, flight engineer and chief fingerprint on strut wiper.) The aircraft would also have to cruise at a reasonable speed, (yes, I call 120 MPH reasonable even though I earn my living flying at a much faster pace), in relative comfort, use most any available airport, and last, but not least, be economical.

Above: Hale Andrews runs a tight ship ­ My criteria was met in the Cessna 170B, and after one of the most beautiful Navions. searching for about a year I fou nd N2535C, commonly referred to as "Blue Bird", close to my home in Irving, Texas. This was in the spring of 1968 and she was sitting forlorn, in the need of TLC (tender loving care). Her log books showed that she had had one major engine over­ haul in her 1500 hrs., but that she had never received any serious damage. There were a few Kansas hail dents which she had received prior to delivery to the first own­ er, but all surfaces and paint were still the original bare aluminum with blue trim.

She was complete with a full panel and radio equip­ ment commensurate with the state of the art in 1954.

An unusual but interesting accessory called a Globe Gyro-Stabilizer had also been installed. This unit has its own electric driven gyro wh ich couples to the rudder through its own set of rods and cables and is used for holding a heading or making slow turns. Since this unit needed only minor work I retained it as a single axis auto-pilot.

In the past nine years I have attempted to upgrade her slowly rather than do a complete restoration at one time. This not on ly was easier on my budget, but kept her avai lab le for use with a minimum of down time . A BEST CLASS II CLASSIC

top overhaul and replacement of some of the engine accessories was all that was required to bring the engine ( 100 - 150 HP)

compartment up to standard. Next came new exterio r CESSNA 170B # N25 35C

pa int and a complete polish of all the bare aluminum By: M. R. Baas

surfaces. I repeat the clean and polish exercise once a 2700 Lago Vista Loop

year and each tim e threaten to paint all surfaces. Having Irving, TX 75062

a desire to keep her original as long as possib le has been

32

The "Blue Bird" has flown coast to coast, and has attended many fly-ins. It's unfortunate that a better picture was not available. I have seen this airplane and it is as shiney as a new boot - M. R. Baas keeps it that way.

the main reason for not painting all surfaces. Soon the N number will be removed from her sides so that the paint scheme will be the same as she was delivered, the N number on the wings having never been removed.

Eventually the inevitable will happen and I'll have to paint her allover, but I will attempt to keep the original color scheme. A new interior and soundproofing were added after a family of field mice decided to make a home in the headliner.

Fortunately the later 170 B's had enough panel space so that the necessary equipment could be added for full I FR operation, thereby adding to her usefulness when a long cross-country is required to attend a fly-in.

I have flown "Blue Bird" from coast to coast to at­ tend fly-ins and to take my family on an occasional vacation. This was my 6th trip to Oshkosh and it seems that the Antique/Classic division grows every year.

For those of you who are interested in statistics I can vouch for an honest cruise speed of 118 MPH on 8 GPH at 63% pwr. between 4500 and 7500 PA. She has no bad handling characteristics and will carry a useful load of over 800 Ibs. with her 145 HP Continental engine. What more can be said except that she fulfills her design criter­ ia and that her overall profile certainly belies her 23 years of age. You'd be surprised how many line boys have asked me if she was new, and where I got her chrome plated. (Honest) I feel honored that she was selected at what I feel is the inimitable of fly-ins . . .. Oshkosh.

33

BEST CLASS I

(0 - 99 HP)

1946 CESSNA 140 # N76688

By: Ronald Degnan 462 Fairview A venue Canfield, OH 44406

Cessna 140, SN10861 rolled out of the factory 10/23/46 and served 8 owners faithfully until 1968.

F rom the factory 688 went to Montana, then to Provo, Utah, Long Beach, Cal., Titobouro, N.)., and finally ended up in the Ohio area where the last owner decided the plane was not worth the money and effort needed to put her in airworthy condition.

For the next 5 years 688 sat outside at Martin Field, Canton, Ohio while the birds and parts snatchers further reduced the plane to a pretty sorry condition of parts.

Two years of the customary haggling with the past owner and subtle negotations with my wife, Diane, 688 rested, almost, in my garage in Canfield, Ohio.

Disassembly of the airframe and the 246 hr. S.F.R.M. engine revealed no seriousdeterioration and the long pro­ cess of restoration began.

A corner of the cellar served well for the engine re­ build and the C-85-12F received new rings, bearings, valves, guides and mags.

The garage however, was too small for the airframe rebuild area. The family budget was modified, the garage area was more than doubled, Mrs Degnan got a new covered patio, and airframe rebuilding now became serious.

The inside of the fuselage and all control surfaces were cleaned, etched, alodined and chromated. All parts were rebuilt or replaced and all hardware replaced. All new wiring was installed as well as rebuilt instruments, nav-com and ADF radios. Wings were etched and epoxy chromated and covered with Razor back. The entire air­ craft was painted with epoxy chromate and Emron.

A fellow machinist, Ted McCreary, helped me throughout the restoration with the only payment of being a passenger on the first flight. I am indebted to him for all his generous labor.

The 140 has since repaid our efforts with now over 100 hrs . of fun flying and most rewarding is being an award winner two years in a row at Oshkosh. Many thanks to the EAA for the best time of the year.

Ronald Degnan's Cessna 740 triggered the enlarging of the house. Of course there were some concessions to the wife to make it all palatable. This is not the first airplane that has altered the abode of its owner.

Eugene M. Strine says, "It all began one summer day at a small airport in Marietta, PA. ....... "

Marietta, PA. where an old 1946 Aeronca Champ finally came to the poi nt where it could go no further. I had seen it come in and sit for several months, and watched as the parts were slowly removed, including the engine.

Something had to be done and soon. The more I thought about it the more convinced I became that the Champ would be my next project. But before I could start re­ building I would have to purchase what was left of the aircraft. After locating the owner, it did not take long to convince him to sell the aircraft.

Now it came time to move it closer to home, to a small shop I have. This is where I built, repaired and recovered the Champ. My shop has given new life to aircraft from Super Cruisers to Fairchild 24's, and every thing in between, including several Pitts Specials.

The decision was made to upgrade the Aeronca and construction got underway in 1972. The first thing to do was remove the fabric, after which came the inspection and evaluation of the fuselage tubing, landing gear and tail assembly. Several tubes and part of the bottom lon­ gerons had to be replaced. New pully mounting brackets to re-route the elevator cables under the floor were add­ ed and extra bracing tubes at the front firewall section.

A bigger engine was also decided on, which is a Ly­ coming 0235-C1, 115 HP. The Champ now has a cruise BEST AERONCA CHAMPION speed of 120 MPH, and climb of 1,000 feet per minute.

The STC for this installation was purchased from Buzz 1946 AE RONCA # N85544 Wagner, who is not a newcomer to modifying Aeroncas.

By: Eugene M. Strine A high fu II instrument panel, new two tone 4378 Kaybay Street naugahyde interior, electrical system, Cleveland hydrau­ Harrisburg, PA 7777 0 lic brakes, and extended baggage compartment (due to It all began one summer day at a small airport in elevator cables being relocated under the floor) were

added. Modernized square rear windows and a flatter windshield contribute to the airplane's appearance. High energy taxi springs were installed in the oleos and a no bounce landing gear were added for a higher gross weight.

The wings received one new spar and a pair of 19 gallon wing tanks. The leading edges were flush riveted for a cleaner airfoil and fiberglass wing tips were in­ stalled.

There was no question as to the covering material, as I have worked with all types of covering over the past years. We chose Ceconite for the Champ. As the work on covering and doping progressed, I thought we should strive for a fine finish to compliment this classic aircraft.

As the clear dope base built up it started to look good.

After applying the necessary amount of silver dope and sanding in between, the Ceconite was filling very well.

One final light sanding and then the color coats were applied.

The engine was installed and a new nose bowl and cowling made. A couple of hours were spent in taxi and engine run-up and test. Everything was now checked and it was time for flight. Yes, it was time, but the weather was not co-operative. As the haze slowly moved up and time grew shorter, the Champ made its test flight from Devener Airport in Hanover, PA. to the Reading Air Show. Then on to the biggest Aviation Show in the world - - OSHKOSH! The date now, 1977, five years later. Looking back over those years of th ink ing, discussing, removing, re­ placing, modifying and just plain work, was it worth it?

Was it fun? "I'll say it was!"

34

If it hadn't been for my wife Linda giving me a help­ ing hand and wanting the plane out of the house I prob­ ably would still be working on it today.

One suggestion I would make to those ready to start a project is that they keep a photo album of each step of the process as they work. Th is is very nice to have when the project is completed to show others exactly what has been done to the plane. Needless to say, restoring my Chief was more time consuming than I had expected, but winning a trophy at Oshkosh makes it all worth while.

I purchased my Aeronca Chief in April, 1972, know­ Clifford Wadsworth's Aeronca Chief. Cliff says if you dislike sanding, wet the floor down before you spray. ing the fabric would probably not pass the next annual inspection, but looking forward to restoring it as my (Photo by Bob Miller)

BEST AERONCA CHIEF # N9820E ll-AC By: Cliff Wadsworth Route 7 Box 32 A Lapel, IN 46057

35

first aircraft project.

The restoration of N9820E began in January, 1973.

What I thought would be a six-month project stretched into two and one-half years. The entire aircraft was dis­ assembled, checked, and rebuilt using several new parts including new wood formers and stringers in the fuse and new headliner and seats in the cabin. When the proj­ ect was started we lived in a house with only a one car garage. We managed to do most of the work in the garage, though, by doing one wing at a time while the fuselage hugged one wall. The fuselage was tended to while the wings were positioned on their leading edges against the other wall. After everything was covered with Stits Poly-Fiber I had to learn how to spray paint. This was accomplished along with a lot of sanding of the first coats, which were applied roughly. By the time the final color was applied I had the hang of it and had learned one important lesson about spray painting - - that is, if you dislike sand ing as much as I do, wet the floor down before you spray.

The project could have been completed earl ier but like a lot of other projects, at least in our EAA chapter, they get set aside for one reason or another. This project was no exception as it sat idle for a period of six months in which time we moved to another home. Then in April, 1975, we decided to make Oshkosh '75 our goal and resumed the project. The plane was reassembled and flew July 1, 1975.

$~ tuUi!l!ucy re~ BEST BEECHCRAFT BONANZA # N3869N - 1947 By: Gerald B. Coigny

Timberline Ranch

46360 Todd Eymann Road

Miramonte, CA 93647

In a recent visit to the Beechcraft factory with our original 1947 Bonanza, N-3869N, the office force turned out enmasse to look it over. Bob Buettge.nbach was espe­ cially interested because his records showed that he de­ livered our airplane to Mesa Farms of Bakersfield, Calif.,

on Nove mber 7, 1947. Th en in February of 1952 it was purchased by the Dudl ey Steele Farms in Delano, Calif.

Wh en we read the fo r- sa le "ad" in the Fresno Bee news­ paper in 1967, we rushed down to Dela no fo r an inspec­ tion . Although the airplane was dull in appearance, the 800 hours total claimed seemed reasonable. The log books showed no damage . The origina l plexiglass had not even started to craze. The origina l type wooden pro­ peller was in good co ndi tio n. The log books showed that the engine had been run up at least once a month and occasionally the airp lane was flown an hour or so.

It took me nearly a week of hard work with an elec­ ~~~~~~~~~I~;~~~ tric powered buffer, using Met-al polish to get its present ~ shine. We have flown the airplane about another 500 hours bringing the total hours to 1340 o n its original W~~i1f.~~~~~~~iiiiill.

165 horsepower Co ntin ental engine. The engi ne st ill has jerry and Lucy Coigny get great enjoyment from this classic that will take you places. (Photo by Bob Miller) good compression on al l six cylinders. It fli es about three hours to the quart of oi l. At 12,000 feet it burns approximate ly eight ga ll o ns per hour at an average air­ speed of 165 MPH. The engi ne has never been over­ hauled.

Wh en we purchased the airp lane in 1967, it sti ll had the original Motoro la push-button high freque ncy radio with the manual DF loop looated in the tai l co ne. Th e ! mechanism for the trailing antenna was sti ll insid e the fuse lage . To make the airp lane lega l we had an Alpha­ 200 installed. We also added a Kett ADF. Also in sta ll ed an artificia l horizon in the same panel in front of the pilot.

In Janu ary of th is year we located the origi nal type woo len material fo r the interior. We had the upholsterer sew the seat covers with the exact st itching used by t he facto ry. Also installed new glass all t he way aro und. The red trim was redone except for t he und erneat h surfaces of the contro ls. Th ey stil l have the origina l fini sh. Thi s work was done in preparat ion for show in g it at the EAA Convention in O shk osh. It was ent ered in the Antique/Classic Division wh ere it received a First Pl ace awa rd trophy. We would lik e to hear from anyo ne who BEST BELLANCA has a Bonanza more original than ours. #N524A -14-19 For the past ten years we have kept N-3869 N hanga r­ By: Jim Herbage ed on our private airstrip in the mountai ns at an eleva­ tion of 4,000 ft. The strip is 2400 ft. lo ng and located 4945 Castana 44 mil es east of Fresno. EAA members who drop in to Lakewood) CA 9077 2 see us are given the tour of the nearby Gi ant Redwood trees, acco mpani ed by a pi cnic in th e woods. Our dirt Th e story of Bellanca 524A is probabl y very similar strip is mark ed with an " R". You must use it according­ to that of many class ic airplanes, thou gh I may have had ly . a li ttle more to start with than most rebuilders. The

r

airp lane previously was ow ned by Chuck Froman. He li ked the airpla ne so well, he kept it for ten years. Chuck was a Bell anca dealer in Torrance, California, so his per­ sona l Cruisemaster was kept in perfect condition during those ten years. When Chuck died, the Bell anca was sold to acto r Conlin Carter, best known fo r hi s portrayal of the medic in the "Co mbat" TV series. Carter also was a classic air pl ane buff from way back, and he immed iate ly strip ped the ent ire airfram e for recovering and stored the pieces in his garage. Unfortunate ly, Conlin had so me acting com mitments in Europe that required him to be out of the cou ntry for a year, making it difficult to fi nish the restoration on 524A. He'd also recently bought a Stagge rwing Beec h that took up what littl e spare time he had, and the Bell anca wound up slee ping in the ga rage for a year befo re I hea rd about it.

After some negotiation, Conlin agreed to sell me the airpl ane "as was", and I was very happy to get it. There was no da mage hi story, the wings and tube steel fuselage were in exce ll e nt co ndition and t he engine was still fairly low time.

Neverth eless, the rebuild process took nea rly a year.

I'd had previou s experience reb uilding air pl anes from Nav ions and Clippers to a Bell anca Cruisair, all of which made the task of putting 524A back into the air more fun than work. After recovering the entire aircraft with ceco nite and overhauling all syste ms, I adapted a 1967 Vikin g 300 pai nt sc he me and finished the airpl ane in Dupont Dulu x ena mel.

Bellanca 524A has seen 38 of the 50 states since I've

36

owned her, not to mention a trip around the Bahamas (who can resist that?) and severa l hops up into Canada.

Despite Bellanca's wild 180 mph claims, my Cruise­ master is probably typical of the breed, cruising at a so lid 160 mph and hauling four in relative comfort over four hour legs. Fuel consumption is high compared to Mooneys and Bonanzas; about 12 ga ll ons an hour. Climb with four aboard runs 750-800 fpm, certa inly adequate in most situations.

I suppose in the fin al ana lysis, you cou ld call me a bonafide Bellanca nut. Several times, I've cons id ered buying other airpl anes, but I always come back to the Cruise master as the best compromi se of performance, initial purchase price and overall operating eco nom y on the retractable market.

Jim Herbage's Bellanca

BEST CESSNA 120/140 # N3516V -1948 By: Richard Harden 7209 70th A venue Minneapolis, MN 55423 3516V is not a product of restoration but rather an example of what twenty-nine years of T.L.C. can do.

We purchased the 1948 Cessna 140 in 1971 from Ken

37

29 years of T.L.e. for Richard Harden's Cessna 740.

Monson of Minneapolis. He had owned the plane since 1948 and had kept it hangared , polished and well main · tained for twenty-three years. He made no unnecessary changes so therefore th e original condition is truly orig­ inal , including headliner, panel, etc. In the six years we've had th e plane we have tried to keep it maintained, polished, and touched up without making any changes.

We try to attend as many fly-i ns as poss ible, and hardly a weeke nd goes by that we don't fly so mewhere .

We have flown to Lakeland, Fla. "Sun 'N Fun" fly-in, Oshkosh (six times) and participated in the "A . C. Flight Rally" four times. We've flown over 800 hours in the six years we've owned 3516V, and have pl ans for many more because it flies even nicer than it looks!

BEST CESSNA 170/180 # N170BB By: C. M. Brady Route 7 Dwight, /L 60420 Just returned from the Int. 170 Club Convention in Edmonton, Canada, where we took the Cessna award for the Most Outstanding 170, and then to return home and find we are trophy winners at Oshkosh, it seems to make all the time and work worthwhile.

We have now won five trophies in the past two years, and we plan to redo the panel yet.

Well my story is the old classic one about seeing a poor sick old bird setting in the weeds with flat tires, out of license, stripped of paint, and the interior hanging down on the top of the seats.

I wrote to the state and got the address of the owner, who I called and made an offer, he turned me down cold. I was in the area again later and I called him, this time we talked and with some effort I bought the plane.

A ferry permit and some work later we flew the 170 home and landed in a hay field near our home and pushed it home.

We then built a 50' x 60' hangar and a 2600' runway, then we started working on the old bird.

We brought the plane home in May of 1972 and it didn't fly again until July of 1975.

First we started working on the engine, the logs showed a total of 938.07 hrs. airframe and engine.

I'm very lucky to have a friend who is a Capt. for Delta and an A & P who also has a very beautiful 195 which he keeps in our hangar, N9849A polished alumi­ num and blue trim, all original.

He and I worked many hours on the total plane but having a "0" time engine makes a guy feel as if he has more than a new engine, because he feels he knows each and every part that went into it with much T.L.e. He also helped me with the wiring which, if you looked under the dash, is very neat.

I then took the headliner out and using it as a pat­ tern, another friend, who has a repair and carpet shop, took an off white and tan naugahyde and made a head­ liner that fits as if it came from the factory.

I wanted to use the vacuum pump and didn't care about the amount it would cost to change the two cowls, so the pump which mounts on the front of the engine, well with much work and the help of the FAA, I customed the original cowl to fit the pump, looks much like the 172 - 17 5 cowls.

I then took a 180 baggage door and again with the FAA, I started with the tin snips and much checking and double checking I got the door in and working fine.

Custom door handles, chrome steps, side vent, heated pitot, droop tips, wheel pants, and a '68 Hawk interior, the seats fit without any changes, the side panels had to be fit, all new glass including the Cardinal compass.

Then the paint job, well you plan and make drawings and change it a few hundred times and then you start.

We had some different co lors in mind, but with the Hawk interior being green, we thought white with two

tones of green, well again I went back to my local friends and talked to a very good car painter, who had never painted aluminum, so we went to the Ditzler deal­ er and got much good info from him, well we started and with about 5 miles of masking tape and enough paper to cover the world, we got it pai nted in three colors in about a week, and it came out beautiful.

And the 1954 - 170B fl ies as good as it looks.

But as for Oshkosh 1977, my wife and I flew while the kids drove up in the truck camper. We arrived Sun­ day about 11:45 AM. The tower had everyone landing on 27 due to the strong winds, well we landed about on the numbers and the plane sounded like the rear end had fallen off, and I was pumping rudder pedals like a bicy­ cle for a few seconds, well we had lost our tail wheel.

As soon as I could, I got into the grass and killed the engine. I got out to see what had gone wrong, and the first people there to help of course were Paul and Tom Poberezny, they helped me get the plane back from the runway and told me help would be short coming, and it was. I went back along the runway to find my tail wheel, when an old gentlemen came over and asked "are you looking for your tail wheel?" I was so happy to think I had found someone who saw where it had gone, I said, "I sure am looking for it." He said "well friend you didn't have it coming in over the lake, but you did a hell of a job of landing that bird."

So I went to the exhibit building and bought a new tail wheel, then on to the repair tent, the boys there got tools and a truck and withi n two and a half hours from touchdown, I was taxii ng into the Antique/Classic Divi­ sion grounds .

If you must lose a tail wheel, what better place could you pick? The help was fantastic and the people so friendly.

38

The paint job on Don Stretch's Coupe gives it a very fast appearance.

BEST ERCOUPE #N24AP -1946 By: Don Stretch 77 Harvey A venue Yardley, PA Ercoupe 24 AP was purchased in July 1976, and res­ toration completed in July 1977. Restoration included complete over haul of engine, entirely new panel all new instruments and radio, complete Randolph urethane paint-job new Airtex interior and many of the modifica­ tions such as Cleveland brakes, Kenney wheel pants, many other items such as engine mounts nose strut, and other related items.

Restoration was done in the garage at my home, thru many adverse conditions, such as freezing temperatures, and the typical bombardment of the local neighborhood kids and friends . Airframe wise Ercoupe 24AP has ap­ BEST LUSCOMBE proxi mately 1200 hrs. on the airframe, with many struc­ #NC2259K tural replacements over the years, thru various accidents.

Still a rather good looking and sound airplane. The wings By: Alan Ward

were metalized in 1962 and engine was upgraded to an 86 Pine Brook Road

85 in 1962 also.

Spring Valley, NY 70977

After now completing the aircraft and flown approxi­ Like so many others, my love for flying and for my mately 50 hrs. I must say that I am a firm Ercoupe lover and hope in the future to rebuild one more, and do some Luscombe was placed in me by my Dad, years ago. To­ of the things that I did not get a chance to do in this gether we built many model airplanes, spend ing count: less hours dreaming about flying. He would tell me many airplane.

39

tall tales of his experiences flying all sorts of airplanes and as a 8-24 pilot in WW II. We were both in the Civil Air Patrol for awhile and occasionally we flew the squad­ ron's Champ, and sometimes we rented a Piper J-3 and we would go for a short hop (always too short!). These were some of the more memorable times of my child­ hood, and so that's how I got the flying bug. More than fifteen years have past since we built our last model airplane together, and we now Iive on opposite sides of the country. We both have for a long time yearned to have our own bird and never did, until July '76.

January '76, I decided to take the plunge into air­ plane ownership. It was 6 months, however, of tracking down Trade-a-Plane ads and local airport bulletin boards, and miles of ground-pounding the northeast in myoid kidney-busting pickUp. I looked at several airplanes, mostly Champs and Chiefs, until 1 had rides in a Luscombe 8E and an 8F. Now the possibilities had nar­ rowed down. People tried to warn me of the Luscombes "reputation" as a ground looper, and its alleged tenden­ cy to go over on its back easily, but 1 was determined and convinced .

After looking at several unsatisfactory Luscombes for sale, I finally found "Haida" just outside Philadelphia, a '47 Luscombe Silvaire 8A (metal wing) NC2259K serial 4986. 1t was love at first sight. She had just been re­ stored by her last owners, Leroy and Alan Moyer of Line Lexington, PA., and needed only a few details and new interior to complete the restoration. A price was agreed upon, the deal made and a life long dream realized. {I ncidentally, my Dad bought a '46 Lu scombe 8A fabric wing 2 weeks after I bought my Luscombe!}

Since July 2, 1976, when I brought Haida home, I've put about 150 hours on her, including two trips to Osh足 kosh. The most recent, Oshkosh '77, where Haida was awarded a Classic Aircraft Award for best Luscombe (what a thrill!)

My Luscombe is based at Romapo Valley Airport in Spring Valley, NY., where members of our EAAChapter 69 have given me valuable assistance and advice in caring for my Pride and Joy. Thanks EAA, thanks Ch . 69 and thanks Dad. Luscombe 8A Max. speed 115 Continental A-65-8 Cruise 105 Span 35' Stall 45 I. R.O.C 705 Lenght 19' 11" Area 140 Range 350 Wt. empty 750 Wt. gross 1,260

I

Above: This picture will no doubt bring Alan fond memories when the snow flies. (Camping under the wing at Oshkosh.)

Below: A slick looking paint job makes 65H an eye catcher when it goes whistling by!

then so ld to a person at Bloomsburg, PA., who owned the aircraft for a few years. Then in 1966 people back in Reading, PA., purchased the airplane and had Reading Aviatio n Service strip the paint, repaint the aircraft, in足 BEST NAVION stall new interior, new center mount radios and panel, # N8865H -1947 new E-225 engine and prop and all accessories, new Britten tip tanks, Palto Alto tail, new tinted windows, By: Merle Smith

and single axes auto-pilot.

Route 7

Two years later a woman bought the airplane at Lewistown, PA 77044

Wi ll iamsport, PA., who is a 9ger. My wife, who also is a Navion N8865H was sold to a person in the construc足 9ger, comm . pilot and flight instructor got together on a tion business at Reading, PA., by Reading Aviation Ser足 deal with the above. My wife and I acqu ired N8865H in vice in 1947. It was owned for about six years at which 1972. In the six years we have had N8865 H, I have time it was traded for another aircraft. N8865H was installed two Mark 12A's 360 channel along with Bendix

A. D. F., t hree LM B transponder auto - amp, gear door's leading edge wing speed fairings, strobe and a few other items.

Total time on the aircraft is about 2,200 since new, 655 since rebuilt and new engine installed. It is a mighty fine machine. It gets off with my wife and two boys in about 600 feet, climbs 700 feet per minute, cruises at 150 at sea level at 2300 RPM and 23 inches, thats 75% power.

I maintain, license, and hangar N8865H here at our approved repair station at Mifflin County Airport, Reedsvil le, PA. I hold Inspectors, A & P license, comm . pilot, and flight instructor rating in both fixed wing and helicopter.

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This is the only picture we had of Tom ~ beautiful Cub. It is too bad for it is the finest restoration of a Cub I have ever seen. Every detail is original.

BEST PIPER J3 CUB # N92643 - 1946 By: Dr. Tom Willroth 2779 Carroll Street Boone, IA 50036 was home recuperating from an accident in the lat­ ter part of December, 1975, which gave me a great deal of time to read about, think about, and dream about antique airplanes. I saw an ad in the Des Moines Register for two )-3 Cubs for sale. That ad was the beginning of a new life for NC92643, although the real beginning for me was in 1951 when I first soloed in a local Denison, Iowa )-3 Cub. My new, old Cub rolled off the Piper line April 23, 1946. By August of that year it was a sprayer and re­ mained so for most of her next 5000-plus hours. She was tired and I knew it would take tender, expert, and dedi­ cated hands to give her 30 more years.

I had been fortunate in that earlier I had the opportu­ nity to see several of the gorgeous antique airp lan es that had been restored by Mac and Rose McGlothlen of MAC'S AI RCRAFT REPAI R of Boone, Iowa. They a­ greed to restore my newly acquired, tired and worn-out old sprayer) -3 and we ferried it on permit to Boone.

The restoration took six months and we encountered the usual problems of finding authentic new or "as new"

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parts. What we cOl.!ldn't find, Mac made ,as only he can.

We traded the 115 hp engine that was hung on the Cub when I bought it for an old, sick, run-out 85 hp Conti­ nental. The end result was a beautiful, better-than-new, 1946 metal spar )-3 Cub with a snappy, zero-time engine attached to it.

We finished the airplane just in time to take it to the Pender, Nebraska Antique fly-in and new airport dedica­ tion. The Cub won BEST ANTIQUE at that show and my wife Mickey and I returned home in the rain as proud as new parents. We then entered it at the National A.A.A. Fly-I n at Blakesburg and we lost the BEST PIPER award to a WW \I Piper Warbird. The editor of Vintage Airplane gave me many helpful ideas on little things (such as original cable guides instead of plastic, old black harness wire instead of blue, etc.) to improve our Cub, so we are determined to give it a go at Blakes­ burg again this year.

In the meantime, our Cub won BEST PIPER at the A.A.A. WW \I and Liaison Fly- In at Blakesburg earlier this summer, and BEST )-3 CUB at Oshkosh most re­ cently.

I would be remiss, if I didn't mention how helpful the Piper Aircraft Corporation was in the restoration of NC92643. I made many phone call s to Lock Haven, and Mr. Walter J amouneau, for whom the ")" Pipers are named, and Mr. Larry Butler of Customer Service were most helpful in finding the minute facts on )- 3's. Mac's Aircraft insisted on doing everything as minutely correct and original as practical and we indeed did it.

Tommy Martin, Martin Field, South Sioux City, Ne­ braska was also most helpful. Tommy Martin is probably the existing active dean of J-3 pi lots and his hangars are

like a "candy store to a kid " if you're looking for old Cub parts.

Our Cub is not one of those "prima donna" antique airp la nes that is covered up between shows. In my pur­ suits as a large anima l practicing veterinarian, I land on gravel roads and in pastures frequent ly. We use it weekly for giving rides to friends and strangers alike, just to introduce them to the fun of "75 mile-an-hour flight".

My 18-year-old son, Tom is also flying the Cub and as with cars, I sometimes feel he's harder on it tha n the gravel roads.

Again, I'm most indebted to MAC'S AI RCRAFT RE­ PAIR for the new li fe he gave our Cub. I'm also ind ebted to Crawford County, Iowa's animals and their owners as they made it possible for me to own not only the best, but also the most expe nsive J-3 Cub in America.

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BEST PIPER - OTHERS

PA-22 TRIPACER # N72CJ

By: Bruce R. Lund 472 Hounds Run, West Mobile, A L 36608 After 35 years of corporate flying, what do you do when you retire) My father, Carl Lund, was faced with that decision a few years ago. His interest in airp lanes

A retirement project for an old Flyer produces a superb (Milk Stool) P.A. 22. has run the full range. In 1924, he built and flew a tow glider. Hi s first so lo flight was in 1928, at th e co ntrols of a OX-5 Lincoln Page, after 1 Y2 hours of du al. He owned a Thomas-Morse " Scout " ; flew Boe ing 40 B's, 247's, Fokker Universa ls, Ford and Stinson Trimotors fo r the airlines; De Havill and s, Wacos, Travel Airs, Ryans, Eagle­ rocks, J ennys, Curtiss Robins and Curti ss Pu shers for pleasure. Lockh eed 10's and 12's as a corporate pilot.

During WW II, he was a test pilot flying B24's and P38's right off the production lines. He also flew a P47 and B26. After WW II , he went back to corporate flying with a Lock heed Loadstar, Beech 18's, King Airs, Grumman Gulfstream, Cessna Citations, Jet Star, and Falcon Jet. After 35 years, 15,000 hours, and over 80 different kinds of aircraft, wh at could kee p his interest? Air­ planes!

Wh enever "Old Tim ers", like my father, get together and discuss the good old days, the tales that come out would f ill a series of books that would put Jul es Vern e to sham e. To name a few: navigation by fo ll owing rail­ roads, always stay ing on the right side so you wouldn't run into the guy following the tracks com in g from the other direction. forced land ings through barbed wire

fences, repairs made with fe nce posts, baling wire, and tablecloths for fa bric; looki ng for an updraft to get yo u over the mountain passes; melting ice off the windshields with hot coffee; blind land ings in blizzards without in­ struments or radio; and the smel l of castor oi l soaked flying suits of the rotary engin e pilots.

Rebuilding these ai rpl anes after almost every flight kept the pilot s and ground crewman busy. Usually, every pilot was an A. & E. mechanic out of necessity . They would do whatever was necessary to get those old crates back up in the air as soon as po ss ibl e. Can yo u imagine do ping the wings of a large biplane in a small building during the middl e of a co ld winter in Montana? To keep the room warm enough for the dope to dry, every win­ dow was shut tight. No ventilation at all. The vapor would soon get to you and yo u would stagger out or be carried out, only to go bac k in and put on anoth er coat.

Th ese were "the good old days" .

As years past, airpl anes became more sophisticated while the men main taining them beca me better trained.

Gone were the days of " make do". Everything has to be just right now or the airpl ane will not fly. My dad was no exception. He lear ned at an ea rl y age to do it right

the first tim e and chances are you won't have to do it again . There are no short cuts in thi s business.

Perhaps it was the drive to relive "the good old days" or a desire to see if he still had the touch to rebuild just one more airplan e. For whatever reason, one day he de­ ci ded to do it and started looking fo r a suitable project to rebuild. Nothing fancy or ex pensive. Finally, he set­ tled for a Piper Tri-Pacer that was obviously on its last three legs. It had bee n sitting in an open field for months, just a couple of mil es from the Gulf of Mexico.

The mild ew and fungus had just about taken over t he inside of the cabin. Th e fabric was torn and the flaps were drooping. It looked pretty sad. It was an old Tri­ Pacer (SIN 18 3) that had been shuttl ed from owner to owner over the years. Each time showi ng more wear and tear from years of abuse and neglect.

After we had dismantled the plane and stored it in my dad's garage, we started stripping the fabric. It was rotten and in very poor cond itio n. First inspection of the wings showed a spliced spar an d many bent ribs. As best we could tell, the pl ane had been on its back at least twice. The wooden wing tip bows were rotten, being held in pl ace by the fabric. The tail was corroded badl y, as the last time it was covered, someone forgot to pro­ vide drai n hol es in the fabric. We looked at the fuselage bottom lo ngero ns expecting th em to be in very bad shape . They, surprisingl y, were in pretty good condition.

Whil e discussing how fort unate we were not to have ma­ jor fuselage corrosion, I happened to see a bit of rust on the to p longeron near the wing attachment point. Closer inspection revealed that yo u could stick a sharp instru­ ment through both top longerons in several places. We now reali zed that this was not going to be mere ly a patch and recover job. Th e pl a ne was in such poor condi­ tion that it would have to be completely stripped, in­ spected, repaired, and reasse mbled.

No two pieces were left together. Everyth ing, and I do mean everything was taken apart: wings, tail, engine, fuselage, and landing gear. Each piece was cl ea ned , re­ paired, inspected, painted, and stored for reassembly.

Th e fuselage framework was sandblasted, repai rs made, linseed oil placed in side, and finally, placed in a jig for reassembly. After three years, reassembly of the plane began. It was in as good, or in some cases better condi­ tion, than when it left t he Piper factory 24 years ago .

Not one repair waS made to just get by. Th ey were all "by the book", and inspection was a snap.

Final assembly was made in the hangar where the

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corporate aircraft that my dad had flown so much were hangared. They seemed to be saying, "Who is that new upstart over there in the corner with the bright paint job and shiny spinner." You could tell at a glance that this airplane was more than just a new paint job. It was proud, and not at all out of place sitting beside those expensive corporate jets.

After rigging the washout in th e wings and making a thousand and one adjustments, it was time to start the engine for the first time. Dad had also rebuilt it just as met iculously as the airplane. It was pulled through a few times and the starter was push ed. As the first cylinder came into compression, it fired and the engine came to life. After 15 minutes, the throttle was brought back to idle and you could al most count the prop blades as they went by .. tic ...tic ...tic ... The test flight went very well with only a few squawks.

It was almost Oshkosh time by now, so the little plane was made ready for its first long flight in many years. The flight to Oshkosh was long, and as always, into a head wind. 10Yz hours later N72CJ settled onto Whittman Field, and was immediately flagged into the Classic parking area, within a stones throw of the tower.

This was great! My dad had thought that he would have to park at the far end of the field with all of the other "common" aircraft.

During the week at Oshkosh, we would occasionally come by and check on our plane. We would usually find Tri-Pacer lovers looking at it. Friday morning N72CJ headed south to Mobile, and would you believe, head­ winds all the way. Another 1 OYz hours.

A few days later a letter arrived telling us that N72C) had won a trophy at Oshkosh. My dad was all smiles.

Members of Chapter 416 were as thrilled with the trophy as he was.

In the meantime, I had been looking for an engine for my Mustang II project. A severe windstorm at the local airport flipped several planes over on their backs and produced an opportunity for me to buy an airplane for salvage. I figured that I could get the engine, instru­ ments, radio, and other goodies from it. I dismantled the plane and towed it to my dad's garage. He was away on vacation at the time. When he came home and saw what I had done, I could see what was going to happen. He said, "This plane looks like it could be repaired and flown again. Let's strip the fabric and see what the struc­ ture looks like. You know, this is a newer Tri-Pacer than mine and it has a larger engine .... "

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r BEST STI NSON # N8074K 108-2 By: R. C. Kramer

Route 7

Pella, IA 50279

I purchased my Stinson in 1969 from its second owner, at Pella, Iowa. He had owned the plane since near new. It was in pretty nice shape, and I flew it regularly until the fall of 1973, when at annual time, the fabric was found to be marginal.

I decided to have the plane recovered, and one thing led to another, and I ended up pretty much completely restoring it. Ceconite was used, with original Stinson blue with white trim. The engine was pulled and majored by myself. The interior was redone, new carpet, naugahyde seats, and original type cloth headliner, start­ er installed, and an Escort 110 radio. The major part of the work was done by Maci Aircraft Repairs, and they did an excellent job on it.

I wish to thank you for the interest and the award again given this year for my plane.

I have been to OshkoSh every year from 1972 to 1977, and the last three years have shown my Stinson.

The EAA people have always been very friendly, and I really enjoy the Convention each year. Hope to be back in 1978.

BEST SWIFT # N2334B By: jim Montague

3360 Klondike

Lake Elmo, MN 55042

I first saw Swift N2334B at Independence Airport near Kansas City on ) uly 22, 1972. Having just pur­ chased a basket case Swift I looked 34B over with con­ siderable interest. Although at first glance she appeared faded and tired, I noted the airframe was extremely straight and the skin was in exceptional condition. I real­ ized then and there that my basket case would require years of effort just to equal this bird. During the next year I sold a flying Swift I owned and renewed efforts on the basket case airplane. Then, like a bolt from the blue I received a phone call from the owner of 2334B, would I be interested in her at a premium price? I found out 34B had only 500 hours total time aircraft and en­ gine! The next weekend I was on a 727 for another look - and after one quick trip around the patch I brought her home to Minnesota.

A partial restoration followed, new air/oil landing gears, new Scott tail wheel, new brakes, the instrument panel which was the only non-original thing on the air­ plane was replaced with an original panel. The original

Above: Too bad we couldn't publish this Swift picture in color - it is obviously taken in winter at extremely high altitude - it's a beauty.

Below: Another picture that needs color - this Stinson looks great in its original al/ blue with white trim configuration.

light case engine developed an internal failure and was replaced with a balanced 0-300A, along with new Bendix mags and a 60 amp alternator. Five different propellers were tried and I finally used a Sensenich M74DR-1-62 , which gives me cruise speeds high enough to qualify me as a liar among those who think they know how fast a 145 Swift should go! The original blue trim and wing numbers were repainted although the numbers on the

bottom of the left wing have not been repainted or even touched up since leaving the factory in August, 1948. Of course, the big thing manhour wise on this, or any pol­ ished bird, is the countless hours spent restoring the skin, polishing and repolishing - then polishing again.

At Oshkosh '77, 2334B was awarded the "Best Swift" trophy for which I am very gratified. I don't consider her "finished" yet - new plexiglas is coming, and a new interior. In the meantime I'm enjoying flying her - I've put on al most 300 hours so far. She's fast enough for cross country and when life gets a little stale a few loops and rolls are just what it takes to get my head on stra ight.

With just about 1000 hours in type and 38 different Swifts in my log I feel somewhat qualified to comment on flying the Swift. I t's just an airplane but it does have a few characteristics that can get an unqualified pilot in trouble, and if you have 20,000 hours but no Swift hours you're unqualified. First of all its a taildragger, and a short one at that, so a modern trained pilot should be at least checked out in a Citabria before trying the Swift. With the smaller engines, the takeoff should never be forced, or made 3 point, but accelerate to 65 mph in a level attitude then gently lower the tail and allow the airplane to fly itself off. A considerable amount of right rudder is required in climb. With a fixed pitch prop its best to climb at higher airspeeds - 100 mph or more. The airplane is licensed in the old part 4 and legal for aero­ batic maneuvers excepting extended inverted flight and spins. It has no difficulty in flight characteristics and is as easy to drive around the sky as a Cessna 150. The landing is perhaps the greatest challenge, wheel landings are definitely recommended for beginner Swift pilots.

Three point land ings can be done, the flare is very close to the ground and airspeed control is the secret, 1.3 times indicated stall speed over the threshold being the number. Even though I may sound real smart I still em­ barass myself by dropping in occasionally doing a 3­ pointer! In a word flying the Swift is great! She's a little heavy for her power but the newly STC'ed 200 - 210 ­ 220 hp conversions are fantastic. I'm building up an­ other Swift with a 210 hp Continental 10-360 but 34B will remain a 145, I don't have the heart to mod ify her.

Incidently the Swift Association is the number one active owners group tn the sport aviation movement. We have more fly-ins and activities than just about anybody.

The address is : Swift Assoc., Box 644, Athens, TN 37303.

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L eft to Right

John R. Turgyan

Photo by Bob Miller

Doug Rounds

Edward C. Wegner Absent from picture 路 Evander M. Britt

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Richard K. Martin

Ken Williams

Dale A. Gustafson H.N. Rhodes

C.W. Covington

Claude Gray - Chief Judge

George York

Ed Kendall

Paul Justus

Herb Buckett

Patsy Padgett

Gene Padgett

Jim Mankins

Dal e Wolford

Stan York

Fred A. Komlosy

Paul Stephenson

Brad Thomas - Chief Judge

John Womack

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