VA-Vol-5-No-5-May-1977 by EAA Vintage Aircraft Association

•

co mmittees on which yo u would lik e to serve and drop a line to its chairman volunte ering your services. He will be very happ y to hear from you, and you will get much sat isfact io n from know ing that yo u have "join ed the !& ~ team". Those of you who ca n't plan far eno ugh ahead to be sure that yo u are going to be ab le to make it to Oshkosh this year, will still have plenty of opportunities to vo lun teer yo ur services after you arrive at the co nvention . There wi ll be sig n-up sheets in the Antique/Classic co n \ . q-fil.,; .tIL_.~ '" t.ail [ vention headqu arters barn, so pl ease co me down to the littl e red barn with the wind sock on the to p, located three-hour shifts per· pay. Your Divi sio n parking com mit south of the control tower, and sign up for the time slots tee ope rates ten po sts which must be manned durin g th e of your choice as soon as you arrive. In this way, yo ur day, and yo ur Divi sio n co nve ntio n headquMters barn has chairma n will be able to help yo u pick times which will four positi ons. This works o ut to be 320 th ree- hour not interfere with ot her activ ities which might interest shifts for the parkin g committee and 128 three-hour· you. Your officers and chairmen loo k fo rward to the flJJ/ .J.R. NIELANCER, .JR. shi fts for the headq uar ter s staff during th e eight co nven pl easure of meet ing you at Oshkosh. They also look for tion days. In additi on to these two most important com ward to the op portun it y of working with you. CONVENTION MANPOWER mittees, we have found it necessary to establish a We have again come to that time of the year when all security committee for the purp ose of patro lling the CONVENTION EQUIPMENT of our aviation thoughts, like th e navigation receivers in Antique/ Cl ass ic di spl ay airc raft parki ng areas to protect In add iti o n to the convention manpower needs as our aircraft when tuned to 111 .8mc and reading --- ... th e aircraft from ove rl y enthu siastic spectato rs. Th e outlin ed above, we st ill need severa l ite ms of equip ment .... , are homing in on Oshkosh. For many of us and our securit y com mittee will also aid the unifor med auxi liary to facil itate the smooth operation of o ur Di vision co n friends this means burning some midnight oil to com police volunteers in guarding the gates to, and in vention effort. Includ ed amongst th ese needs are a 40" x plete that beautiful restoration, or running that periodic patrolling the fence lin es. of, the Antique/Classic area. 40" Dalite beaded projection sc reen, a dual 8 millim eter inspection early enough so that we have plenty of time Thi s effort will consist of fo ur three-hour shift s. Also, movi e projector, a 16 millim eter sound movie proj ecto r, to correct any descrepancies, or, if we have all of the th e security committee will be operatin g a couple of an opaque projec to r, and a 35 millim ete r slide proj ector, hard work behind us, just polishing up the old bircJ and night patrol s. Aga in thi s yea r your Divi sion will be all for use in the Di vision forums tent. If you have any changing her oil. For others of us whose projects aren't operating a displ ay booth in the commercial display of thi s equipm en t in good used wor king condition and far enough along to con sider bringing them this year it building. This will require two persons on duty fo r two yo u would be willing to do nate it to th e Division or to mea ns thinking about wh eth er or not the old car will three-and-one-half-h o ur shifts per day, a total of 32 the Air Museum Found at ion for use by the Divi sion, make the trip, ancj, if so, will it need new tires first. shifts during the co nventi o n. Usu ally the men work on please let us hea r from you. Your forum s chairmen Also, many of us have to check over our ca mping equip the parking and security co mmittees whil e th eir wives, would be extremely pleased . Th e pro jectio n eq uipm ent ment to make sure that it is still in condition to ward off daughters, or girlfriends work in th e headq uarters barn does no t have to be the newest or th e most mod er n. In or in the display booth, but this is not necessar ily th e th e elements during our stay in Camp Scholler. fact, it only nee ds to be good qu ality standard equip All of these tasks are a small part of the convention situation. Last year we had so me women wo rking o n th e ment in good working condition . For exa mpl e, th e planning which is being don e by your Division con parking and security committees and so me men working movi e proj ecto rs should be the standard r·ee l type, and vention chairmen and co-chairmen. They have been in the headquarter s barn. Th e important thing is that we the slide proj ectors cou ld be eith er the type which feeds workin g steadily for months preparin g for their job s, need your help in whatever ca paci ty yo u are willing and slid es individu all y o r a caro usel type. acqui ring new eq uipm ent for the use of th eir com able to serve. Besides the proj ec tio n eq uipm ent needed for the mittees, and reconditionin g old equipment to give it new Th ese committees men t ioned above, althou gh th ey foru m s, the Di vis io n parking com mittee needs life. They have also bee n busy orga ni zing a nucleus of are the ones requiring th e greatest number of volunteers mec hanized two wheel vehic les, namely, mini-bikes, volunteers to aid them wi t h their co mmi ttee tasks. to help th em do th eir jobs succe ssfully, are only a small motor scooters, or trail bikes. They have a lot of acreage However, man y, man y more volunteers are needed to part of the total number of Antiqu e/C lass ic Divi sio n to cover, and quite a few of the posts can not be ade make yo ur Division's convention effort run smoothly, so convention co mmittees. Elsewhere in this issue yo u will qu ate ly manned o n foot. If you have one of these ve hi that you may enjoy it to the fullest. For example, your find a complete li st of the Divisio n convention commit cles whi ch you are willing to donate or if yo u are willing Division parking committee, as well as your Divis io n tees alo ng with th e names and ad dr esses of th eir chair to lend it to th e parking com mittee for th e period of the convention headquarters barn, are operated o n four men and co-chairm en. Pl ease pick o ut a co mmittee or convention, please let us hear from yo u. -

pT7

5iif6.

Restorer's

Corner

_,iL.."•

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

ANTIQUE / CLASSIC

DIVISION of

THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Editorial Staff Paul H. Poberezny J,\~s~CI.:'~e Editor H. Glenn Bu!.tington ~ 81 8 W. Crock ett St. No. 201

Se,a ttle, Washington 98119

Editor

AI Kelch

Associate Editor

Robert G. Elliott

1227 Oakwood Ave.

Day tona Beach, Florida 32014

P.O. Box 229 Hales Corners, Wis. 53130

MAY 1977

Assistant Editor Lois Kelch

Associate Editor

Edward D. Wi ll iams

713 Eastman Dr.

Mt. Prospect, Illinois 60056

Directors

OFFICERS

AI Kelch

7018 W. Bonniwelt Road

M eq uon , Wi sco nsin 53092

Claude L. Gray. Jr.

9635 Sylvia Avenue

Northridge. California 91324

Eva nder M. Britt

J ames B. Horne

PRESIDENT J.R . NIELANDER. JR . P.O. BOX 2464

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33303

VICE·PRESIDENT

JACK WINTHROP

RT. 1. BOX 111

ALLEN , TX 75002

'S ECRETARY

RICHARD WAGNER

P.O. BOX 181

LYONS, WI 53148

TREASURER E.E. "BUCK " HILBERT

8102 LEECH RD .

UNION , IL 60180

3840 Coronation Road

Eagan , Minnesot a 55122

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP

Box 1525

Lumberton. North Carolina 28358

George E. Stubbs

M. C. "Kelly" Viets

Box 11 3

Brown sb urg, Indiana 4611 2

Stillwell. Ka nsas 66085

William J. Ehlen

Ro ute B. Box 506

Tampa, Florida 33 61 8

Morton Lester

P.O. Bo x 3747

Martinsville. Virginia 24112

RR 1. Box 151

o NON-EAA o

Advisors W. 8rad Thomas, Jr.

Dale A, Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Dri ve

301 Dodson Mill Road

Pilot Mou ntain , Nor th Carolina 27041

Indianapo lis, IN 46274

Robert A. White 1207 Falcon Drive

Orl ando. Florida 32803

Sanl. Rosa. CA 95401

MaUrice "So nny " Clavel

Box 98

Wauchula. F L 33875

NUMBER 5

Resto rer's Corner ....... .. .. . ... . .... . .. . . ... . . .... . ... . . .. . . .. .. 1

Miller Flying Service ........ . .. ... . . ..... . . .. .. . ... . .... ... .......3

"Co nfessio ns of a Pi lot" . . . . . ...... ... .. .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. . .4

The Li ght Pl ane . .. ... ... . . . . ... . ... . . .... . .. ... .. ... . .. . . . . . ... .9

Vi ntage Alb um . ...... .. . . .. . . . ... .. .... ...... . .. . . .. . .. .. . . . . . .11

1930 Fra nklin Sport "A" .... . . . . ......... .. . . ....... .... . ...... . .14

Cont inental A40 . ... . .. .. .. .. . ... ...... .. . . ...... . .... . . . .......15

Fi rst Flighter (by Glenn Buffi ngton, Assoc. Ed itor) ..... . . .. . .... . .. . . ..19

Antique/Classic Co nvention Management . .... . .. .. .. .... . . . . . ... . . . . .21

Lindbergh Co mm emorat ive Tour ....... . .. . . .. . .. ........ ... .. . ....22

Assoc iate Edi tors will be identified in th e table of con tent s on articles they send in and repeated on the articl e if they have written it. Associa te Editorships will be assign ed to those who qualify (5 articles in any calendar year).

ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION

VOLUME 5

MEMBER - $34.00. Includes one year membership in the EM Antique/Classic Division, 12

monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; one year membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associa

ti on . 12 monthly issues of SPORT AVIATION and separate membership cards.

NON-EM MEMBER - $20.00. Includes one year membership in the EM Antique/Classic Division , 12

monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; c;ne 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 of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and membership card . (Appl icant must be current EAA member and must g ive EM membership number.

Roger J . Sherron

446·C Las Casitas

Stan Gomoll

104290th Lane, N.E,

Minneapolis, MN 55434

PICTURE BOX (Back Cover)

ON THE COVER

Franklin Sport 90 manufactured by j oy in 7932. Owned by AI Kelch.

THE V I NTAGE AIRPLANE is ow ned exclusively by Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc . and is published monthly at

Travelair 76£ formerly owned by Weldon and Ruth Ropp, donated to the E.A .A . Museum.

Ha les Corners, Wisconsin 53130. Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office. Ha les Corners. Wisconsin 53130. and additional maili ng offices. Membershi p rates for Antique Classic Aircraft . Inc. at 514.00 per 12 month period of which $ 10.00 is for the pu b lic ation 01 THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to atl who are interes ted in aviation.

By R.A. Miller North Benton, Ohio

44449 (Photos courtesy of the Author) "CONFESSIONS OF A PILOT". Fly boys are a pecu liar lot, some nurtured by fond and loving care and others just hom e-grown . This pilot is probably most easily identified as belonging to the latter group. It seems as far back as I can remember, I was fasci nated by things that flew. In my make-believe world, I flew like a bird and though t up all kinds of contraptions that made noises and took me up and away through all kinds of imaginary maneuvers and situations. In the late 1920's, while I was in my teens, came the era of oceanic crossings. The adventures of these brave pioneers: Nungesser, Cole, Kingsford Smith, Chamberlin, Byrd and others, and my hero - Charles Lindbergh, made headlines. I shared this admiration with many other boys my age, I am sure. One will never know how many young minds were influenced by this man. The seeds sown by "Lucky Lindy" in 1927 produced bumper crops of pilots for years to follow. Born and raised on the farm and the oldest of five, from May to September we were the barefoot kids. An expression of old, and made many times in the privacy of our family, was, "I'll try to put you all through high school and then it's root hog or die." We had to walk one mile to the railroad station and then to the Alliance High School by train. It was here that two men, Mr. Pfouts, the Manual Training teacher (now called Industrial Arts), and the school superintend ent, Mr. Stanton, by encouraging me to become a school teacher, afforded me the opportunity to earn enough money above that wh ich was needed for necessities, to allow me to indulge and experience for real, the thrills of flying. On flying-weather Sundays, with the help of second hand automobiles from Model T's to Rickenbachers, I traveled 30 miles to Mid City Airport near Akron, Ohio, and started flying lessons. Two things were considered of prime importance, how many hours to solo and what kind of landings were made. My budget allowed me 15 minutes a week, at 30 dollars per hour, in a Kinner Bird. In due time, I man aged my 10 hours solo, 10 questions on C.A.R. (civil air

regulations), 3 landings in the pre·sence of a C.A.A. In spector, and a private license. In the early 1930's, I had survived the then limited commercial and transport. The mastery of a transport license became a status symbol and transformed one into a self-styled super individual , complete with helmet and goggles, and this is where my story begins. I think if the truth were known, every pilot who has flown for a while has had experiences which he does not find comforting to talk about, particularly if he has been involved in one or more accidents. How desperately he tried, but how futile it was to find a logical excuse that was not pilot-related. If, after an accident, and the pilot is lucky, he extri cates himself from the wreckage, the first question bound to come is, "What happened?". The response will probably begin with, "The engine lost power," or "The engine quit," or "The mechanic ... ," "The Brakes ... ," but seldom if ever, "The pilot ... " It is amazing how humble one can get after 18,000+ hours, 45 years experience teaching, 40+ years a flight instructor, and a pilot examiner ever since they have had them. It is a very stupid pilot, who after all these years, cannot feel that accidents are caused by pilots, not airplanes. Furthermore, it is also a very stupid pilot who cannot learn and profit from the experiences of others. It is with the foregoing format that I offer these experiences. I. FI RST TEST FLIGHT It was two days before Thanksgiving, 1933. I could hardly wait to test fly the two cylinder airplane I had built from two wrecked airplanes. One was the remains of a C-3 Aeronca, owned by a local flying club. Some of the members dared to do some night flying and hit the trees on the approach, and totaled the airplane. I bought the pile for $25.00. Some time prior to this, I had learned of a C-2 Aeronca wh ich had been a collapsed hangar casualty. I bought it also for $25.00. From these two airplanes, I was able to get fittings, landing gear, engine, and the essentials. What was needed from there on, I made. In those days, an airplane only needed to be re qistered and given a number. An airworthiness certificate was not required. I rebuilt it in mother's old barn, and covered it with unbleached muslin (Penney's best) in the front room. The test flight was planned for the next morning be-

Above: "I built it in my mother's barn!"

Franklin Sport "90", made by joy Manu facturing Franklin P.A. Purchased unassembled from the factory for $600.

fore school. I had opened up the fence just west of the North Benton Presbyterian Church. Early that morning, I taxied the little, all-white jewel through the church yard, up the hill to where the old Indi an mount used to be, and chose to make a down-hill run to the north for take off. I had made the propeller, my first attempt at such a project, and I had some doubts about the proper pitch. The down-hill take-off was to favor my chances of at least becoming airborne on the first attempt. Much to my surprise, the take-off was short and she climbed well so I decided to circle over Ray Henry 's house at the Sebring Country Club to prove to him that his misgivings and advice were all unnecessary. Just about the time I had reached cloud nine and was re turning to the field, extremely pleased with myself, the

My first attempt. Indian motorcycle engine, buggy wheels and springs, a poplar propel/or, custom made by "boots" Mil/er, 74 yrs. old, 7978.

engine began losing power. I saw I was unable to reach the field from which I had moments before departed. I chose to land over some small undergrowth, briars, etc. uphill , and aimed for an open spot in the meadow. The rail fence was one rail too high which shortened my landing roll considerably, and I came to rest minus one undercarriage, one propeller and one wing . I had the Edinger boys take it apart, and I went on to school. I later figured out what had happened. The night be fore I had shellacked the cork float on the combined gas cap and fuel quantity gauge. The shellac remained tacky the following morning. I did not want to emmerse the tacky float in the gas tank, so instead, I put a rag around a much too sma ll cork and stuffed it in the fi ll er neck.

Lesson No . 1 - Don't underestimate the importance of a properly vented gas cap. Check and test it often. II. SPIN PRACTICE In one of the first Alliance-built Taylorcrafts, com plete with tail skid, I got lesson No.2. In those days I had all it took to run a "one man" flight operation. While giving sta ll and spin instruction to a tall, eager and capable stude nt, things went something like this: By this time the experience and demonstrated sk ill requirements for a private license had expanded some what from the three spot landings to include, among other things, two turn precision spins. We were practicing spins at a vCl'y comfortable alti tude near the field, when on one recovery I heard so me

thing snap, and the rudd er went limp and the airplan e kept on spinning. I took the cont rol s and the stab le littl e T - craft ca me out by just holding full down elevator and a steep dive. I was un ab le to kee p the airpl ane fro m turning after spin recovery. After a se ri es of sk ids and slip s, we ca me to rest in th e ce nter of the field, off th e runway. This stud ent was Geo rge Hende rso n, who has si nce put in 20 years as pil ot with United Airlines. Wh at caused this experience? Whil e wear ing th e mechani c's hat in this one-man operat io n, th e mecha nic had failed to detec t a fray ed ca bl e at a pull ey junction , and George, with h is lon g legs and eagern ess to sto p th e sp in o n its mark, had stomped on the rudd er and sep arated the few remaining stra nd s. Lesson No . 2 Thoroughly inspect all control linkages often. III. FLIGHT EMERGENCIES Th e next two lesso ns are espec iall y for flight instruc tions : My next airplane was a Franklin Sport, a biplane the last one built by the Joy Manu fact uring Company, Fr anklin , Penn sy lva nia. This was a new machin e, but never assembl ed. Joy Manufacturing Company built coal

•

mining mac hinery and dec id ed in 19 31 or th ereabo ut, after building so me 20 or 30 air pl anes, that th e airpl ane business and the mac hin ery business were not com pat ibl e, and quit the airpl ane business. I paid $600 for the airpl ane, NC-107 92. Born in the dep ression , this air pl ane like many other things in those difficult tim es, is remembered o nl y by a few. After trucking home, assembling and rigging, I began to do so me ser iou s in structing in this littl e jewel. One of my earli est students was Walter Pash. Walt was an easy goi ng, un exc itabl e guy. Walt was so casual, th at wh en I would close the throttle and indicate a simulated forced landing, whether he did or didn't make th e chosen fie ld made littl e difference. On this occasion, I had resolved to let him go down to an ex tremely low altitud e to show him how im possible hi s cho ice was. Thi s too k pl ace onl y abo ut a mile from the field and over terrain which I know almost with my eyes closed. I let Walt come down, and down when suddenly I felt a jolt and th e airplane pitch ed for ward and dow n. In stantl y I knew we had hit a power line, I pu shed the throttle open wide. Th e airplane al

most hit th e ground, then began to pick up speed and climb, when it aga in lurch ed and al most went out of co ntrol. We came o n back to th e field and found 110ft. of wire, one end of which had wrapped aro und and snap ped into sort of a kn ot aro und the landin g gear, with the rest of the wire trailing. Lesson No .3 - The instructor can learn more than the student. IV. FLIGHT EMERGENCIES CONTINUED I Got my next lesso n in simulated force d landings when Reube n Edin ger, "Boob" we called him instead of "Rub", caught me by surprise. He was right up on his toes. He had received enough instruction, and I had overly impressed upo n him th e importance of maneu veri ng into the wind as soon as possibl e, should an emergenc y arise. I pull ed th e throttle shortly after take off while on the down wind leg and at a very low alti tude. "Boob" h it th e controls so abr uptl y to turn the air pl a ne 180 degrees into th e wind, tha t th e airplane did a half snap and started to spin. I grabbed the controls and sto pped th e spin but did not have room to completely recover from the dive, and we hit th e ground at possible a 10 or 15 degree angle and bruised th e airplane badly.

Mr. Miller after a lifetime of experience is still a boy, doing the same things he did then. Be First Air Mail from Sebring, Benton and BelOit, carried by me in my Franklin Sport May 79, 7938.

hind him is his current project. (See picture on page 8).

Franklin Sport 90 NC-l 0792 after one of many rebuildings. Born in the depression, this plane like many others is remembered by only a few.

"Millers Brainstorm" under construction. Note the good looking hand hammered wheel parts. This plane is a completely Miller crea tion built in the late 40's. Fuselage is metalized oller tube truss. Sold 25 years ago, it is still flying.

began to turn. I sat there a few seconds and wondered The first thing I remember was that I could feel some why Bob didn't stop the turn. With some impatience I thing warm and wet on my legs. I thought I was grabbed the stick and gave it a jerk to the right and it bleeding. As I began to get my senses, I realized it was wouldn't move. not blood on my legs, but warm gasoline. I could hear By this time, the airplane was in a steep bank, and I "Boob" moaning in the back when I suddenly realized had to hold a lot of right rudder to keep the airplane the possibility of fire, and that I would have to get Boob from over-banking. This caused severe slipping. I could not keep it from turning to the left. out. After pulling him out and away from the airplane, we By this time those dead trees looked like a picket were relieved to find that he had only the wind knocked fence, and we were headed right for them with little or out of him when he hit the control stick on impact. I no directional control. You can say, as have I many had a sore head and was soon to have one of the finest times, "How lucky can you get?" Here we are, going shiners you ever saw. between trees in a big, uncontrollable circle. We came on For a very hot shot pilot, this was at the time very around and I hoped I could get back into the field, and hard to explain. Comments are not solicited. Lesson No. perhaps get down without hitting anything. We got 4 - Initiate your first similated forced landing at alti around into the direction of take off, but instead of being on the landing strip, we were among a bunch of tude. V. TRICKED BY A FIRE EXTINGUISHER corn shocks. We had been using full power to hold the This airplane gave me one more thrill . I shared this airplane in this crazy attitude. I began to ease back on experience with Bob Hendricks from Salem: the throttle and about 15 or 20 feet above the ground, I The strip in use was E- W with a corn field to the kicked full right rudder which threw the airplane into a south, and some tall scrubby and dead trees to the west. severe skid, and we plopped on the ground, between It was in the fall, and the corn was in shocks. We were corn shocks, and never scratched the airplane. I was so practicing take off and landing to the west. weak and shaky I could hardly get out of the airplane. On one such take off we had ju.st become air-borne, Right after take off, Bob felt the stiffness on the stick when the left wing began getting lower and lower and we and let go of the controls, thinking I was on them. He

soon was to learn that something was wrong. It certainly was not intentional. The cause? The fire extinguisher (then a required item of equipment) had become dis lodged, rolled down between the tube leading from the front to the rear control stick and the floor boards. Which hat was I wearing this time? It was the mecha nic's hat - the bracket should have been safetied. Les son No.5 - perform a thorough pre-flight, anything that can happen, will eventually. My apologies to the many students, who over the years have been made to believe their teacher can do no wrong. Apologies also to the pilot applicants who nerv ously and thoughtfully take their seats beside the master pilot who knows all, sees all, and may bust them any minute. And finally, apoligies to the F.A.A. whose con tinued confidence in his judgment and experience has renewed his pilot examiner designation repeatedly. After this writing, if I am lucky, they may take the position suggested by a friend of mine, who had been asked by an agent in the Cleveland Office to come be fore him and explain two successive gear-up accidents. After administering admonishment, the agent was asked in the victim's Tennessee drawl, "Sir, have you ever had an accident?" "No, sir!" was the reply. "Then instead of giving me hell, you should be asking me questions. I have had experience and you haven't."

Above: Old timers never qUit. This is the latest Miller creation. It is undergoing flight tests now. Designed and built by Miller you can readily see he is still looking to the future of aviation. I am glad to have lived and been a part of this era. Who knows, it has been perhaps the most significant in aviation history. Most of our acquaintances became friends because of a common interest in aviation. Next to health, friends are the biggest asset one can have. I take perhaps selfish pride in thinking I had a very small part in shaping some successful careers in aviation; some with Hughes, Lockheed, United, TW.A., Pan American, corporation pilots, and others. I only wound them up, and they kept on running. Perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences of all is to have some one, out of the blue, come up smiling with nand extended, and say, "Hello, Mr. Miller, you don't remember me, do you?" "You gave me my first airplane ride when I was seven years old." The act of giving kids an airplane ride is like putting money in the bank. The more you put in and the longer it's there, the greater the reward. I think flying can be pleasurable, profitable and safe. We must, like everything else, work at it. It is a game at which no one can win by cheating. A step in the right direction might be to stop blaming the poor, defenseless airplane, and assume a more honest and helpful approach to our safety problems.

Above: Picture was taken after I had sold the "Brainstorm".

How I wish I had it now. The owner will not part with it. I

did not attach much importance to it - it had done all I ex足

pected of it, and crowded for hangar space. I sold it for

$400.00,25 yrs. ago. How I wish I had it now.

Right: 2 photos of Miller Brainstorm under construction.

ene Liane

DLone By AI Kelch

The flying speed in the specifications was stated at wings are so well braced that there is no way in the air 105 mph cruise. After getting my plane restored, the that they could be removed from the airplane. Going back to the cross wind characteristics and best I could get out of it was 90 mph cruise, with a top speed of about 100. Landing speed, however, matches or landing, it does take attention, as does any good air betters the specs. The curved air foil, similar to that of a plane. I n a moderate to strong wind, it can be a tremen Waco 10, makes it a good barnstorming machine. It has dous handful. With such a low stall, the only way you that "hang-on characteristic and then a sharp stall. I can get it down is to fly it right on. The gusts slosh it would guess that the 27 mph stall speed is on the high around to where the ground becomes a moving target, side, however, I haven't had the time to leisurely watch and landing is sort of like shooting skeet. Now we come the airspeed on landing. It requires your undivided atten to the old subject of ground looping. I don't think any tion in this department. Cross winds are very bad with airplane is a ground looper - only the pilot. This one such a low stall. Ground handling on the other hand is deserves every split second of attention, and should you more than adequate, and it steers like a kiddie car on the let it get started, it will naturally go .around fast, being so ground. Since far the great majority of my time in flying short coupled. I have only ground loo'ped it once, and has been spent in Cubs, I am comparing it to the Cub, after having the experience, I know what to expect and which' is not a fair comparison, and my lack of high am always ahead of it. It is very easy to hit hard and be performance experience will somewhat shade this article. airborne quickly with the sharp stall. Still air is a com In the air the controls are quite sensitive. A moderate plete reverse in personality. The airplane in the air nor pressure places it into a steep bank turn, which took mally will not fly hands off, being a neutrally stable some getting used to on my part. Once I was used to it, airplane. It requ ires flying every minute. Th is charac it was great sport. A Iittle pressure, then neutral stick, teristic does change in still air, and it is possible to take and a 180 takes only seconds. The only flight charac your hands off for a couple seconds on a still evening teristic of the airplane that I do not like may be due to flight. In still air it lands like a pigeon, and would cer the rigging, and that is a tendency to wander on altitude. tainly take short field landing if they measured from The only other airplane that I have flown that gave me touch down to roll out, as they used to. As with many other airplanes, it is a shame that the this feeling was the Lambert 90 Monocoupe. For some reason or other, it's very easy to lose altitude if you are depression cut its life short, with only six Model 90s unattentative, and a gradual climb doesn't seem to be being built. There is not a true record that I can find, on possible. On the other hand, in a steep climb it is like a how many A models were built, or how many A models Fokker DVI I - it just hangs on and goes almost straight were converted to 90s at a later date, so the total num up. The roll rate is fairly fast, but not being an aerobatic ber is a great question mark. It has been said, anywhere pilot, I can't compare it. All in all, it is a good flying from 20 to 40 airplanes. It is easy to move by one person on the ground, easy machine that is tough as whang leather in construction. It was truly built for abuse. The landing gear is ex on gas, carries two large people with 24 gallons of gas, tremely sturdy and the fuselage is heavily built. The and a good long range of nearly 450 miles, if you stretch /I

Photos by: Robert Hegge This is a start of what I hope can be a regular feature. Light aircraft and super light aircraft, have a distinc tive appeal all their own. The Franklin Sport falls in this class, as one of the smallest of two-place biplanes. There were other small two-place biplanes, such as the Bell anca, with a Salmson engine, however it had a long slender configuration giving it greater dimensions than the Sport. The Sport has a span of only 26' on the upper wing, and 24' on the lower wing. The Lambert 226R of 90 hp is a very adequate power plant for the airp lane. Both cockpits will accommodate a large six footer with ease, which is a very unusual thing for such a small air plane. Looking at the configuration you'll see that the fuselage is quite deep, making the seats very comfort able, in that you are not sitting on the floor but in an almost chair position. The front seat is a little difficult to get into, but can be managed by threading through the half circle cut-out in the back of the center section. The weight is a light 845 Ibs., scarcely more than the Piper Cub. The square foot wing area is almost the same, however, it differs greatly in flying characteristics. It will stay with a Cub on climb, and land at a slower speed. If goes faster in cruise, however, being a biplane of short span, it operates completely differently.

it. The plane is smal l, antiqu e look ing, and has so mewh at the appea l of a WWl fighter. I have heard of a few rep li cas be ing built, and have located three other owners. On e has hi s pl ane almost ready to fly, after eight years of effort, and the other two are di sassembl ed and unrestored . Th ere were two models of the Franklin, t he A model with the Veli e engine, and the 90 mod el, named afte r the 90 hp Lam bert, which powered it. The primary difference in the A mod el and th e later 90, was merely fair ing on the fuse lage, to create a different look and shape. Th e A mod el was a rather simpl e fairing , with just a gent le curve for the top of the fuse lage, and the sid es being comp lete ly flat. The 90 had quite co mplicated fairings , and the headrest is built into the turtle deck, starting at the tail surface and going all t he way forward. The deck is much higher, sea ting you deeper down in the cock pit. An addi tional change was dropping t he rigid gear with Goodyear air wh ee ls and tires as its on ly cushion, in favor of a gear

id entica l to the Great La kes with oi l filled shocks, oleos and a variety of wheels. Evidently they were usi ng what ever wheels they co uld find as they built them . Some 90s had the Goodyear air wheels, others had the small 26" Bendix disc wheel, and mine came out with a set of Goodyear 8 x 4 Cub wheels. For those who are unin for med, this wheel was manufactured by Goodyear and used on man y airpl anes, since the Cub used them throughou t their total product ion , it has become known as a Cub wheel. The far most attrac ti ve wheel was th e 26" Bend ix, givi ng it a further look of the ear ly WWl planes, th e long legs contributing to the effect. It's a great pl ane for force d landings, with low sta ll speed, as I have fou nd out by having to make two of them. Th e last was caused by a parted valve at the keeper. It is possibl e to get the pl ane in a very small pl ot, however pick it soon, as the glide angle is steep. For those who are interested in what it is mad e of, we are reproducing a set of pl ates fro m an ear ly modeler's magazi ne, elsewhere in th is issue.

The double cockpits were deep

and very comfortable allowing

the crew ample protection from

the winds. Standard aircraft in

struments are used in the rear

only but dual controls are fitted.

Restored by A I Kelch.

Editor's Note: Anyone hav ing a desire to write a simil ar pilot report of this sort o n a light air plane, we would wel co me it and keep this feat ure go ing. For those of you who are not up on li ght aircraft, and are interested, I would recommend a book titled "The Light Plane", by John Underwood, publi shed by Heritage Press. Jack Cox introduc ed me to it, and I am on my second copy (wore the first one out) . It would be particularly interesting to have so me inform at io n on some of the "one of" pl anes, that were built in the attics or ga rages all over the country, such as " Schneider Baby Bomber", Bitty Budd y Bi pl a ne ", "Bebe Avroe", " Bell anca Driggs Dart", "Wiley Post", etc. Let's hear fro m yo u light plane fans. AI Kelch

Vintag(

Men and Thei .足

Pictures 7, 2, 3, 4: NC 73739 was last serial No. and last to be assembled by joy Mfg. Now restored and flying. Owned by your Editor "AI" Kelch shown beside friend "FRANKIE" Picture No.3. Picture No.5: NC 687 W. One of first "A" models. Franklin Aircraft shows on vertical stabalizer, was later moved to center of trade mark. Picture No.6: Serial No. 5 of "A" Model, M5A Velie engine. Manufactured in 7930. Sat in an open barn for 30 years till joe Arnold of Ft. Worth Tex. found it. 8 years of restoring and it is almost ready to fly. Picture No.7. This is the Model "A" from which Richard Anderson drew the plates featured on page 73-7 4. Last report it is in Ohio needing restoration.

Album

Vinta ge Machines

Pictures 8 and 77: NC 27 D Customized for aerobatics by Denny Sherman of Florida. Subsequent owners, Dr. Gerber who sold it to John Donahue. Present owner unknown! Picture No.9: NC 70792. A Model 90 much modified b'y William Grahill of Springfield Ohio. Lycoming 725 and landing gear changed. It was reported that he had approval on the modifications. "Good Looking!" Pictures No. 70 and 72: NC 70779 and NC 77607 b路o th of these pictures were kindly given to me at Oshkosh. I was too occupied to get more information or the donor's name. I would appreciate hearing from them.

l/"'

'II TIJIfI

~/AR blsr. />;wilL

*-~~ FWD.

PAN.L

".~ -I'

IC _ _

\l$ ~

1"1 -+E::

:=>

-=1. Jl\

~--====:=::=---.

HAMI£TOA/-SrAAlOARD (;J>OUND AOJUSTA8LE

/"fETAL

PROPELUR

(/'/OOD, OPTlOIVAL)

FIlOAIT £u:>I. £_~

/'fOUNT

SIOIi

ELEO/.

"-t .. 5 C"I.s . 6

Exl{

RING- R,,.,01lEO .

0,1. PRESS. LINIi

(Il>isr)

T"ICII. CAIUF

ENG

~P£CS

eo"PIlISS/ON NAT,,, 5.4: I WT ~~UU.

c."

~ ~T "'"''

~£S£ARCHED

«x'~~

ReAR EL.EV. £N(;. /'fouNT;

,z..J.4.ISCYlS. 8 LIAIES STROMIJE'IIl" NA - 1l3 CAllS.

VELIE

DWGS. ON THIs PLATE

Top "'likl - LESS

TANI< .It LjNES

/'1·5 ENG. DETAILS

IIi" DETAil

58-5 !fAGS.

ScINTILLA

LESS

;;2 . ~

~~\-J

1930 FRAA:'KLIN SPORT :,,f DRAI.IN J:

80111 4125 ,Sr_E 31S" i)ISP 250.6 cu IN.

"AX C_r: " "

flREWAU £NclOSURE FoR THROTTL.£. CRANI(.

- SCALE

iN = 1'- o·

~__

.. ··Ii"

1930 FRANKLIN SPORT fo1r."

PLATES OF THIS GOOD OLD SPORT PLANE BY RICHARD ANDERSON

;,;,:~ n~.sc W~R ~

Pg~ PARIO

,""

F'I#",., ~

A FA""NI<{~ IIV S po R r I1.,.DI'L ' A - R . c FNr L I'" ,QrsrORGO , OWN~O ANo FL OWN BI" R08 F RT I-tO R~ / S O~ SPRf,vG O~ / O .

=-+- _

e» _--,

Q~A q AuT hT T".,

L ON(;.E~C\4I

.L.

:;o i-Ji

rt h!r h 'E

VClly

r---' .

f ~ ,,,L r----/ .,"~ ~/:Itl.!~ . " ~ .

I ·J

:--'I

T~/ S

A / ~CRAF"r

OIl I G I IVAL AND

JI~ _ '

I -~

FIELD ,

LIF~ ~

/)q A"""NC S

-- -- -

,l '..J .

..---

d. I

I ' IF--+--I '1Dl'

S rfL L

,:'£ ATVIl.S A TAIL SKID, N o B~AK£ S OR SIIOC'K

ASSOIlBERS SrRvT

A.vo

HOVNT€D

ACTI..IATEO

AIR

A WINO

SP66'O

INDICAro4 .

CoMPA SS

)lAS

IJr,1V

COMPI."

k!,rH CUilQ£Alr lJLAT I OAl$. S,I/INrEIAI A I RPLANes

VRGD

Or THE

/AI

AL L

I ()JO : 31

S po,q. r

ADDED F.A . A .

Tb RCQ

F'QANKI, I IV

HANlJr/t c r TW~L WERe

!./ERG

·A • TyPE Awo FIVE Or

·90 " OR LArc COAITI (; V QA r lOw.

TN.

"90 ~ !lAO A S 4IPEIllIO.Q A;q.m~ Ir:S 90 N.P. '- AM~Rr ENf;./AlE AAID

TN&"

!aI, r'1(

~/S

A I .-CRAFT I s

V eL l 1'

PoM/''-CD

W l rN

4JA$

N -S ENG/AIC Or SS/TOH'.II

TI DAl

COIVSTRVC nOAl Is VE RI" r "" 'C AL 0' TH. 1930 ERA. FVSEL At; C AAJD TA IL AsS,.... AR. 01'" 102.5 ..s. A E . TV6' IN#. k/I N$-S HA..-' 9VIf.. T - /jl" AND SOLID S 'A~S OF SITK.A S PRVCC .

AL ~OST 10E.vTICAL lJl rJ~ TNE ErcFP· (;qEAT lAJGF.s ~PE Or L AIIo

Or Irs

1.tIt;. GEAIl .

r~/s P ARnCUL M /'IJIl C H INE WAS TV/lNE"O O I.lT IN JVAJI 1930 AMO 8,AR.S SEq ,

R,.s

N!'

AI!

~Z}(

10 x J.. GOOO",,.AR AlIlWH~" f..S PRCWID. rNC 041''''' B ur A"'A~

TWc

WillS

ORJ('~ /VAL

IDC/I.Jn~/C,t:l T''',A)

NC· 10419 .

COf..OR SCH£M6" I'R l o,oz To B¥I NQ. Re · STORIOO AND ~EN l ./JU T F"LOW41 fA!

.sHOCK AJI.S"O~/N(;. AcTI OAl . OPTlOMl4L £Q4t"MEN r NOT ON T HI S P I4RTlClI I.Ao1if /'fAlCk/ME A.q~ trl:IoD "'£, AR BRAJo(IS AND A N""""""OOD A I R $T4IIItr,.4 .

194 1 WAS O IlAIV(rli j:"US ELAG-E . TH. AIilE .Qs

n. l tiNT

FcLU)WS :

AND St'-CIf

~r.sENr C OtOll2.5 NOi#Z / z 04lrAL

A.Il..L WHIrl . Fus.,-~ R"~R A~6' LOIN/All; ...., .f..f..OW T"', H .

SVIlF...c.:.S

F ,A.!. ANI) WITH

wn.n ;;s AI../.

SLAC K

~ " //

((

1'"1 r

,I "

~ ~ ~

~~ :Z~

w uve

~d 185 SQ . Fr.

A"'''-A (INlCLt.IDttfAIO A /LL.-ON$ )

7. 08 L ll s. ~SQ . Fr: ZI L4S Prlt. H.P. (US l M .

Wllve LOA&Nl'tlfi/> ~LCMA"NO-

EM"""" Wr.

G.cos.

WT. C"VI.'N~ S',/:D J,.""'NDI,.. .5"'.Q

RAT' Ci'

I J I Z.

L4S.

c!S

I'1.RII.

JO 1't. P.JoI. ,,-SO Fr. J:Y1f /'lIN.

C". .....

WINGSPAAI

Z6 Z'" • I 4. 19 7 4

( VPP IIf )

( Lowe R) CHOItD

$T.Q.""1t G AP ( ,AT Fus ,L.IIIC. ) L I!NO TH HI~ Q.NT

TR IA. D

Fr.-OIH. Fr.-OIN. Fr. - OIAl. Fr. - " IN. F-r. - 6IJ,tI

rr. · 61.,. Pr. 91111. F'r. - &/IJ.

,,~

~ ,

f; h NI o.11

l'; /II \ 1

f-~"'.--< C.... S.,. "',~

''''I ",

1 ~ !1 ~

ew;L___!

f SCAJ.'

Ll f i i"·

' :' 0"

19.30 FRANKLIN SPORr ' A '

8IP~A N£

~".!JI'A~NCD AND DR""'t.,,/N 4 ",

£>~

~~ I

:;ci " ~ ~I

" - 1

S tt ; ;

7470 Brookdale Dr.

Norman, Oklahoma

The development of the horizontally opposed, air cooled aircraft engine, was perhaps the single most important factor in the growth of our modern private aircraft industry. During the '20s and early '30s the structural designs of small planes were refined from the "stick and wire" of World War 1 to the use of steel and aluminum components we still see today. But perhaps due to the abundance of surplus OX-5's, light engine development lagged. The few "new Production" engines were generally radials, both expensive and, if not unreli足 able, at best had short service lives. THE ANNOUNCEMENT: Then came the Continental A-40. The following story appeared in the April 1931 "AVIATION" magazine. With the introduction of the model A-40 engine, the Continental Aircraft Engine Company, Detroit, Mich., has entered the light aircraft field. The engine is a four cylinder, horizontal opposed, air-cooled, L-head, four足 cycle design, developing 35 hp. at 2500 r.p.m., designed around the requirements of the private plane owner. The horizontal opposed arrangement of the two pairs of cyl足 inders makes for simplicity of cowling arrangement, and affords practically unobstructed vision from a cockpit behind the engine. The total weight is 138 Ibs.

All component parts of the assembly are mounted on or contained in, a heavily ribbed, one-piece, heat-treated aluminum alloy crankcase. Four engine supporting lugs are case integral with the rear of the case, and the oil reservoir is located in the bottom . A heat-treated alu minum alloy cover which carries the magneto and tachometer drive is bolted to the rear end of the case. A single carburetor is attached directly to the bottom of the crankcase. The riser from the carburetor goes up through the oil reservoir, and branches right and left inside the case, connecting with the external intake pipe to the cylinder at flanged connections located near the bottom on each side. The cylinders are nickel iron cast in pairs, and suit ably finned for cooling. The heads are heat-treated alu minum alloy cast in pairs, and the pistons are heat treated aluminum alloy die castings. Three compression and one oil control rings are provided above the wrist pin. The latter is secured in place by the use of snap rings. Connecting rods are high carbon steel forgings. The crankshaft is a one-piece, three-throw, high carbon steel forging, heat-treated and completely machined. Integral counter weights are provided. The shaft is drilled throughout for lightness and is plugged to form an oil passage. The shaft is supported in two bronze backed babbitt-lined bearing design to take thrust in both directions. The camshaft is a carbon steel forging. The cyl inders are of the L-head type and are each provided with one intake and one exhaust valve. The latter are of chrome steel and are operated by adjustable round nose steel tappets. Lubricating oil is circulated by a vane-type oil pump driven by the camshaft, and located on the front of the crankcase. Full pressure lubrication is supplied to the main bearings and the crank pins. The crankshaft bear ings are lubricated through drilled passages in the crank case. Cylinder walls and piston pins are oiled by spray from the crankcase. Pressure release valves and oil pres sure gauge connections are provided. The normal oil pressure at 2500 r.p.m. is 35 Ibs. Additional specifica tions of the manufacturer are : Bore ............ .. .... 3118 in . (79.4 millimeters) Stroke ................ 3 3/4 in. (95.2 millimeters) Piston displacement ............ 28.7 cu.in. per cyl. Total piston displacement ............. 114.8 cu.in . At last the light aircraft manufacturers had available

an engine that was cheap, light, simple, and went 500 hours between overhauls. Sensing a demand for a reliable powerplant, Continental Motors, a major supplier to the auto industry, had started the development of th is small four-cylinderengine in 1930 and introduced it in 1931. It was certificated under ATC No. 72 on May 19, 1931, with production models being shipped immediately thereafter. The specifications listed above reflect the use of many standard automotive components and design concepts of that day. Some say that the valves, pistons, rings, rods, etc., were standard parts from other Continental models. ACCEPTANCE: A number of small aircraft manufacturers were imme diately interested. Perhaps the most famous was the Taylor (Piper) organization of Bradford, Penn. They hild designed the E-2 Cub, originally for the Brownback "Tiger Kitten", but the twenty or so horses put out by that little engine just would not fly the Cub. C. G. Taylor says "We fin ished the airplane but we had no engine. Piper and I chased around for a long time looking for a suit able one. We tried one that didn't have enough power, then heard of the Continental engine up in Detroit, so Piper and I drove up there. About that time Bud Haven joined the firm at Bradford, and when we finally got a Continental engine installed in the Cub, he and I had 26 forced landings between us in the first 30 days. It kept blowing gaskets,. and the single magneto would quit. Gradually Continental got the thing refined and more reliable". According to records I examined at the Piper factory, this plane was Taylor SIN 12, (the first E-2), N-10594 built on 4-9-31 and had A-40 SIN 132 installed. Taylor SIN 14 was Canadian CF- ARA and had engine No. 150. These were the earliest Cubs, built under Group 2 (2-358) authorization. ATC No. 455 for the Cub with the A-40-2 engine was not issued until 11-7-31. Actually the fi rst airpl ane ATC'd with an A-40 was the Alexander Flyabout, built by the makers of the fa mous Eaglerock series. ATC No. 439 was authorized on 7-31-31, but due to the poor performance in the high Colorado altitudes, only four or five were built. Other manufacturers adopted the A-40 over the next six years, but with the exception of Taylorcraft, none attained substantial production. Listed below are the planes known to have been certified with the A-40; there may have been others.

AIRCRAFT HAVING A40 ENGINE Taylor E-2 Taylor (Piper) )-2 Piper) -3 Alexander Flyabout Heath LNA-40 Heath CNA-40 Taylorcraft A Welch OTW07 Porterfield 40 Aeronca KCA Rose Parrakeet PRODUCTION AND DESIGN EVOLUTION It is estimated that approximately 3000 A-40 engines were built. This figure comes from two sources; serial numbers and aircraft production. It appears that A-40 serial numbers started at No. 100. The - 2 series ran to about 450, according to notes in the parts book. -3's and -4's were evidently mixed together, but all numbers above 1000 seem to be -4's and I've never seen one above 3000. My highest is SIN 2538. The -5 twin ignition models started at SIN 3000, but not too many were built. (I have SINs 3002 and 3075). From this evidence, a total production of about 3000 could be estimated.

Records show -4 engin es were shipped as late as 12-37 to Tay lorcraft, and th e 1938 Pip er literature shows planes avail able with the single ignition A-40. Th e twin ignition o ption cost an additional $125. But for prac tically the same price you could get one of the new 50 HP Franklins, so it is easy to see why not many A-40's were so ld in 1938. If yo u add up th e known aircraft production it comes out something lik e thi s: E-2 Cub ........ ...... . ..... . .. .. .. ... .. . 350 J-2 Cub ................. . .............. 1195 J-3 Cub .... ........ . ... ...... ...... .. ... 200 Taylorcraft A . ............................ 350 Others ....... . ......................... . 300 Total 2395 If 25% or abo ut 600 were used as replacements, we come up with a total production of 3000. Consid er ing that so few were made, there still seems to be quite a number of these littl e engines around. I still get a chance to pick o ne up every once in a whil e, but have quit collecting them. With 11 in the shed, I'm running out of room! The design of the A-40 was basically sound, so th ere were few modifications as production contin ued. I know of no "bul let ins" ever issued for this engine. Th e ea rly development troubles, referred to by Taylor above, were quickly solved. A change was made to the Bendix mag, and thin copper gaskets were installed on each side of the soft aluminum he ad gaskets. One serio us defec t appeared later, however. The crankshaft wou ld brea k in the rear rod journal at almost exactly the 100 hour mark! Bill Jones, a fe ll ow antiquer here in Oklahoma City told me "We continually broke cranksha fts in our ea rl y A-40's. But we were near Detroit, so we'd just load the engin e in the car, take it to their se rvice shop, and in three hours, they'd have a new crankshaft installed. It was n't a particularly dangerous problem, since th e engine would run for several hours with the shaft broke n. The back rod bearing held th e parts in pl ace." Bob Thompson notes this probl em in his correspond ence, and Walt Jamouneau mentioned it during my inter view with him at Lock Haven . It seems it got so bad that Tay lor act ually design ed and built his own engine, expecting to drop the Continental. However, a new thrust bearing, or perhaps a redesigned cra nk shaft was installed, and the happy marriage of Cub and Continen

tal continued. Th e cause of this bl'eakage cou ld have been a mis design of th e thrust bearing. Old timers say the first engines had a thrust bearing at th e rear instead of the hont. This would let the little cra nk shaft ac t as a spring in tension, and after flexing 5000 times a minute for 100 hours, it would give way .. However, nothing in the en gines I've seen indi ca tes this design. The rear bearing carrier doesn't look as though it is designed to take any thrust load, and the origina l specs me nti o n bearings that would "take thrust in both directions. Perhaps the ear ly crankshafts were deficie nt in so me other way. As shown in the photo, th e -2 crank is co nsid erab ly different than the -4. It is machined all over, has a small er hub nut, is counterbalanced, and weighs two po und s more. Perh aps some reader can help so lve this mystery. With a minor timing change made whe n the -3 mod els appeared, the A-40's rem ain ed essentially the sa me throughout the remaining production life. Rod bearings were changed from poured babbit to steel backed in serts in 1935 , and the twin ignition feature was offered as an Above: "Fire Wall forward" the A-40 is ready to bolt option in 1937. on and go fly ing. There will be a lo t ofgreen eyed £-2 It seems doubtful, however, that the A-40 proved to owners drooling at the sight of this. (Including me be a financia l success for Continenta l. Early Piper "AI" Kelch.) records show th e cost of an engine to be $400. Thi s would mea n a total reve nu e of on ly a little over one million fo r the total production of 3000 engines. Of blad e about 12 inch es from the prop hub a nd you'll get course those were" real" 1935 doll ars! a good snap. Since my pla ne has no brakes, I use a FLYING THE A-40: "behind the prop" stance with my left foot ac ting as a Th e first remark you alwa ys hear abo ut the A-40 is chock. (see pic) This lets yo u hold onto the airplane and "but you o nly have one mag !" Looki ng back through get to th e thrott le quick er. my logs since 1939 I see that I' ve had other, bi gge r After th e engine starts let it idle at 6-800 rpm and engines quit, but never an A-40. Th e fact that they are watch th e oil pressure. It sho uld come up to over 25 so simple seems to work in favor of al most zero pound s in about 30 seconds. Sometimes though, after complete failures. I've always felt that if yo u kept the lon g periods of storage, yo u won't get any pressu re. Shu t magn eto in top shape, no ot her part will let you down. down immedi ately, and li ft the tai l of th e plane as hi gh So with that off my chest,let's talk abo ut how th e litt le as you can. This al lows th e o il to run to th e fro nt part of engine operates. the engine and prime the pump. First starting. If yo u ha ndl e them right they are easy Th e run up , if you want to do one, is a little difficult to start, even with o ut impulse mag and primer. Leave si nce most A-40 powered planeb have no brakes, I the throttle almost closed and pull the prop thro ugh 5 or usuall y warm the engine up with chocks in front of the 6 tim es. You will hea r a fairly loud suck in g noise whi ch wh ee ls at about 1200 rpm. Th e only way to ge t a safe means the idle jets are feeding gas into th e cylind ers. fu ll throttle check is to tie th e plan e to something, so Open th e thrott le a bit mo re , turn on the mag and give you get used to making this ch eck during take-off. the prop a qu ick fli p. Itwill al most alw ays start. Don' t Watch for 2250 to 2300 rpm as you start to ro ll; if yo u grasp th e prop out ncar th e tip, yo u wo n't get enough get thi s much, th e pl ane wil l take-off OK and will pro b speed on that non-impu se mag. Lay yo ur hands on the ably turn 2400 to 2500 as you go over the fence. Max

imum is 2575 but you will seldom see that. Frankly you mu st run these little engines nearly wide open to keep most planes in th e air. Some old timers have to ld me they always tlew with a wide open throttle on the theory that the coo ling was better. I try to cruise mine at 2300 with one person aboard, but have to raise it to 2400 when I have a passenger. Of course various prop pitch es can make a great difference here. The littl e engines are very smooth to fly, but will give an occasional "skip", especially in wet weather. I'm told thi s is due to carburetor ice, but I'm not sure it is. I have two almost zero time engines that I have changed back and forth in my Cub, one skips and the other doesn't. Usually, when the oi l temp is over 150, the skips stop. Ted Wells, the Piper General Manager in the '30's used to re-assure his customers with this advice, "It will spit, but won't quit" . There is no problem with the engine stopping in a glide, since they windmill so easily, but just to be sure I set the idl e to 550+ rpm. Let it run for a few minutes before you shut it down, lets things cool off evenly. That's about al l you can say about f lying the A-40, you just start them and fly them, it's as simple as that. All that fun on 2Y2 gallons of gas per houri CARE AND FEEDING: These little engines are particular about three things, gas, oil and valve lubrication. The nameplates say you should use 67 (later 73) oc tan e aviation gas. They will run fine on the modern 80 octane and also on most all car gas. But I don't believe in using car gas if you can avoid it, since there is a possibil ity of cutting the life of a rare and valuable antique engine. They will NOT run on 100 octane avgas. The plugs foul in a matter of minutes and you're looking for a place to land, I know! M-41-E plugs seem to work best with the 80 octane. The correct oil to us e is a matter of some con troversy. Th e Continental Owners Manual says to use SAE 30, 40, or 50, depend ing on the oil temp. Bob Thompson, and some of the other old timers say to never use heavier than SAE 20. Bob tell s this story: "I very well remember the first A40-3 that I saw, Mr. Ted Wells (Now Mrs. Walter Beeches' right hand man) had flown a E2 in to East Dayton Airport, was remaining overnight, and ordered a oil change, so I look ed on the Standard Oil Chart for the Littl e Continental and it said SAE-30-weight, so I put a gallon in, cow led

the li tt le engine back up and went home for the day. Mr. Wells came out the next AM, paid his bill, got a tank of gas and a prop and was on hi s merry way, but abo ut 15 miles out the engine suddenly fro ze up, and down came Mr. Wells. He ca ll ed up the Airport Mgr, and had him bring out a gallon of 20-weight auto oi l, they dump ed the 30-weigh t, and put in the 20-weight. He apo l igized for forgetting to tell me about The Little Engines' Queer Whims about what oi l it liked. They are pretty much the same today, slight ly better with the new pis tons, but the long stroke, small bore, makes it hard to get lubrication up to the top of the bore, and 30-weight is still out except where it is very hot, lik e some parts of Texas, I believe you get away with 30-weight, where you have 90 to 105 degrees, day after day." I compromise and use SAE 20 in the winter and SAE 30 in the summer. This has work ed so far, the engi nes run cool and don't use oil. For breaking in after an over haul, use a nondetergent oil for the first five to seven hours, then change to a dispersant type. The va lve action of th e A-40 is simple, but it is also out in the open with no provision for lubrication. You should squirt the valves with pen etrating oil at least every hour or so to keep them both clean and lubricated. Normally they won 't stick when new, but after the guides get worn, smal l flakes of carbon stick to the stems and they will hang up. I' ve seen th e m stuck so tight that you had to take out a plug and pound the valve down so as to close it and get oil back into the gu ides. Overhauling the A-40 is not hard, in fact the four pages devoted to it in the service manual make it sou nd deceptively si mple . There are several points to watch, mainly involving the careful grinding and matching of the metal surfaces. For more information on this, refer to the article Bob Whittier wrote some years ago in the Experimental magazine entitled "Keeping the A-40 Going", and Bob Thompson of Dayton has helped out many peop le with their A-40 rebuilds. Parts and gaskets used to be a problem but I've coralled a fair stock over the years, and would share them if there is a real need. POSTSCRIPT I fee l obliged to say that many of the "facts" in the above artic le were obtained from sources that cannot be completely authenticated. Much has been deduced from my own experiences, and they may not hav e been typical. If your readers can offer additiona l information, I'd be happy to hear fro m them.

Above and Be/ow: With this starting stance it a/ ways starts, SEE!

'Fi,.., 'Fligh's,.

By:

Glen Buffington, Assoc. Editor 818 W. Crockett St. Seattle, WA 98119

In every era there are the first-timers; armed with a letter of introduction to Dr. first aboard the Mayflower, first to climb Hugo von Eckener, given her by General into the early wagon train heading West, Paul von Hindenburg, she was given the those with the initial automobile in the privilege of being a passenger aboard one local area and first in the airlanes. Clara of the test fl ights of the ZR- I" . The d ir Adams was such a person and chose the igible later was known as the USS Los hobby of being a first fl ighter as pas Angeles when it was delivered to the senger aboard some of the historic flights United States under the terms of the of the past. .Versailles Treaty. Mrs. Adams, a native of Cincinnati, In 1928, when the Graf Zeppelin made developed a love for flight early in life its pioneer round trip from Europe to the and made her first flight in March, 1914 Un ited States, it was Clara's honor to buy at Lake Eustis, Florida. The flight was in the first ticket ever sold to a woman to a Thomas flying boat, constructed by fly across the Atlantic. With 64 men and Walter E. Johnson and Charles Herrman, one woman aboard, the flight lasted 71 and Clara reported they went up only hours on the one-way excursion west about seven hundred feet. In 1924 she bound from Friedrichshafen to Lake was in Friedric hshafen, Germany and hurst, N. J.

Above left: Westward HoI Hono Above: Clara Adams deplanes

after another domestic first lulu, Midway, Wake, Guam and flight aboard United Airlines,

Manila -- 7,988 miles. The Paci fic Clipper over The Golden first DC-3.

Gate.

In 1931, she flew from New York to Rio de Janeiro in order to fly on the Dornier DO-X on its flight from Rio to New York, where it landed August 27th, with Clara as the only woman paying pas senger. A huge flying boat for that era, it had a span of 157 feet and grossed 106,000 Ibs. fully loaded. It was powered by twelve 600 h.p. liquid-cooled Curtiss Conqueror engines {back-to-back} and carried 170 persons on one of its early test flights from Lake Constance in Switzerland. Clara was fortunate in having a hus band, George L. Adams, Pennsylvania tanner, who sympathized with her love of flying and with his passing, "was good enough to leave her with enough money

so that she could continue flying". She followed the expanding airlines closely and as new segments and equipment were added, she made it a point to be present for the inaugurals on both domestic and overseas fl ights. As her reputation grew, the PR groups were pleased to keep her informed of up-coming flights. 1936 was a big year for Mrs. Adams. I n May she was one of eleven women on the flight of the Hindenburg, across the Atlantic on its maiden flight to America, which flew with 51 passengers and a crew of 56. In October of th at year she board ed the Ch ina CI ipper wh ich made the inaugural commercial passenger fl ight across the Pacific; she reported having covered 27,000 miles by air that year.

The following year she made the round trip between New York and Bermuda on the inauguration of that service. Back in 1931 she had reserved a ticket on th e first scheduled PAA trip to fly the Atlantic; an eight-year reservation in advance which must have delighted Pan American passe nger agents. This Atl antic hop , in June of 1939, was the first leg of her trip around-the-world on which she used only th e ex isting and regular pas senger services and set an enviable record. Sh e returned to New York after covering 24,609 miles, using five airlines, in 16 days, 19 hours and 4 minutes . The rout ing was: New York, Marseille, Leipzig, Athens, Basra, Jodhpur, Rangoon, Bang kok, Manil a, Guam, Wake, Midway, Ho n olulu, San Francisco and New York. On the way home, she engaged in a broadcast whil e in the air approaching Midway, talking to Mexico City in Spanish and then in English to Honolulu and San Francisco . Cl ara's favorite descriptions of herself wer e "Historic First Flighter" and "Persistent First Flighter", and she invest ed thousands of dollars in her hobby. Because of the frequency of fl ights an d the publicity given them, Clara felt her acceptance of air travel might be conta gious to others. No doubt they did serve so mewh at in promoting travel by air dur ing the formative years.

Another of Clara 's hobbies or avoca tion, when not airborne, was the design ing and making of unusual settings for gems. Many of her friends are blessed with beautiful pins, earrings and rings, designed by Clara. She also had a flair for the theatrical and would sometimes entertain her guests facing them on the piano bench and playing tunes with her hands behind her back. Viola Gentry, veteran pilot and a close friend of Clara, advises that "Clara was a great gal and continued her first flights whenever the airlines called her regarding their first flights. She 'folded her wings' on February 10, 1971 after only a short illness and being in th e hospital about a week". Viola saluted Clara Adams and Arnold Bayley, two of her devoted aviation booster friends, in memorial, by teaming with Ruth Johnson of Chino, CA., and flying the 1972 Powder Puff Derby. The 2,616 mi. race was flown from San Carlos, CA., to Toms River, NJ that year, and the girls turned in a good perform ance with a +23.46 score overall, an av erage ground speed of 201.46 mph. John Heinmuller, in his "Man's Fight to Fly", wrote "During the many discus sions I had with Clara Adams, who care fully analyzed all existing records and statistics on the round-th e-world flights, I had occasion to appreciate her deep

Above: 407. Even bigger than the Sarafand, Germany's Dornier Do-X needed twelve en gines to li ft it off the water. Powered ini tially by 550-h.p. Siemens radials, it was later re-engined with 675-h.p. Curtiss Con querors, which gave it a top speed of 730 m.p.h. Th e Do-X weighed 55 tons and could carry 769 passengers. During a visit to En gland in 7930 it was piloted fo r 70 minutes by the Prince of Wales. Later, it flew to New York and back.

knowledge of aeronautical subjects and her great loyalty to the cause". In the summation of her autobiog raphy, "Wings for Life", Ruth Nichol s wrote, "I consider it quite possible that during my lifetime interplanetary travel will become an accepted fact, and th at ord inary citizens may plan vacations on the moon instead of Miami Beach. Of one thing I am certain -- when space ships takeoff, I shall be flying them , whether in my present bodily form or another". Somehow or other, Clara Adams will not be far behind making reservations! References: "Hangar Flying" Viola Gentry "Women with Wings" Charles Pl anck "Man's Fight to Fly" John Heinmuller "Wings for Life" Ruth Nichols

Below: Pione er pilot Viola Gentry, license No. 7822, in the cockpit of the Curtiss Thrush "Outdoor Girl", assisting in the checking of radio gear used during and in-air refueling record flight. Originally, Viola and Mary Moore Sansom planned. to make the flight, however it was subsequently made by Frances Marsalis and Helen Richey who stayed aloft 237 hours 42 minutes, Dec. 20-30, 7933 over Miami, Florida.

Above and Below: Ruth Johnson and Viola Gentry by the Piper Comanche in which they flew the 7972 Powder Puff Derby and carried th e names of Clara Adams and Arnold Bayley into the air once again as a memorial.

Antique/Classic Convention Management

Antique/Classic Convention Chairman J. R. Ni eland er, Jr . Box 2464 Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33303 Antique /Classic Convention Co-Chairman Jack C. Winthrop Route 1 Box 111 Allen TX. 75002 Antique/CLassic Forums Antique/Classic Forums Chairman Willia m J . Ehlen Route 8 Box 506 Tampa, FL. 33618 Antique/Classic Forums Co-Chairman Allen D. Henninger 936 McKellar Drive Tullahoma, TN. 37388 Antique/Classic Parking & Flight Line Safety Antique/Classic Park ing Chairman Arthur R. Morgan 513 N. 91 st Street Milwauk ee, WI. 53226 Antique /Classic Parking Co-Chairman John J. Kalas 2603 S. Superior Street Milwaukee, WI. 53207 Antique Parking Chairman Rob ert E. Kese l 455 Oakridge Drive Roc he ster, NY . 14617 Antique Parking Co-Chairman Dutch Brafford 735 Weadoc k Street Lima, OH. 45804 Classic Parking Chairman Leon ard McGinty Route 2 Box 878 Thonotosassa, FL. 33592 Classic Parking Co-Chairman John S. Copeland 1089 Beec hwood Road Buffa lo Grove, IL. 60090 Antique/Classic Fly-By Schedule Coordination Antique/Classic Fly-By Schedule Chairman Eduardo C. Escal lon 335 Milford Drive 21

Merritt Island, FL. 32952 Antique/Classic Fly-By Schedule Co-Chairman Roger J. Sherron 446-C Las Casitas Santa Rosa, CA. 95401 Antique /Classic Judging & Awards Antique Awards Chairman & Chief Judge Claude L. Gray, Jr. 9635 Sylvia Avenue Northridge, CA. 91324 Classic Awards Chairman & Chief Judge W. Brad Thomas, Jr . 301 Dodson Mill Road Pil ot Mountain, NC. 27041 Classic Awards Co-Chairman & Co-Chief Judge George S. York 181 Sloboda Avenue Man sfie ld , OH. 44906 Antique/Classic Headquarters Staff Antique/Classic Headquarters Staff Chairman Kate Morgan 513 N. 91 st Street Milwaukee, WI. 53226 Antique/Classic Headquarters Staff Co-Chairman Do nn a Bartlet Box 5156 Lake land, FL. 33803 Antique /Classic Security Antique/Classic Security Chairman Billy Henderso n 502 Norfolk Circle Lake land, FL. 33801 Antique/Classic Security Co-Chairman Matt Woer ner Box 117 Highla nd s, TX. 77562 Antique/Classic Pavilion Programs Antique/Classic Pavilion Programs Chairman Dale A. Gustafson 7724 Shady Hill Drive Indi anapolis, IN. 46274 Antique /Classic Display Booth Antique/Classic Display Booth Chairman Alicia Smith 7930 Biscayne Point Circle Mi ami Beach, FL. 33141

Antique /Classic Di splay Booth Co-Chairman Phyllis Hamilton 905 Slack Drive Anderson, IN . 46013 Antique/Classic Displ ay Booth Co-Chairman Jackie House Route 1 Box 104 Sanger, TX. 76266 Antique /Classic Press Coverage Antique/Classic Press Chairman AI. H. Kelch 7018 W. Bonniwel l Road Mequon, WI. 53092 Antique/Classic Press Co-Chairman Lois Kelch 7018 W. Bonniwell Road Meq uon, WI. 53092 Antique/Classic Photo Airplane Pilot Ed uardo C. Escallon 335 Milford Dri ve Merritt Island, FL. 32952 Antique/ Classic Booth & Barn Decorations Antique/Classic Decoration Chairman Stan Gomol l 1042 90th Lane, N.E. Minneapolis, MN. 55434 Antique /Classic Equipment & Supply Antique/Classic Equipment & Supply Chairman Ri chard H. Wagner Box 181 Lyons, WI. 53 148 Antique/Classic Equipment & Supply Co-Chairman Arthur R. Morgan 513 N. 91 st Street Milwaukee, WI. 53226 Antique /Classic Restoration Workshop Antique/Classic Restoration Chairman Ronald Fritz 1989 Wilson NW Grand Rapids, MI . 49504 Antique /Classic Restoration Co-Chairman Wayne C. Fredline 362 Broman Road Sparta, MI. 49345

Lindbergh Commemorative Tour

EVENTS 1977

May 28- 29 • WATSONVI LL E, CALI FORNIA - 13th Annu al West Coast An tiqu e Aircraft Fl y- In and Air Show. Co-sponsored by the Nort hern Cali fo rni a Ch apter An tiqu e Airpl ane Assn., and th e Watsonvill e Ch amber of Co mmerce. Co ntact Earl W. Swaney

525 Saratoga Ave., No.3

Santa Clara, CA 95050

June 12 • ALLENTOWN , PA . - 5th Annu al EAA Chapter 70 Fly-In. Qu ee n City Airport . Warbird s, Hom ebuilts, Antiqu es and Cl assics. Rain da te Jun e 19. Co ntact Joe Tarafas

215-865-947 8

June 24 - 26 • HAM ILTON , OHIO - Waco Reuni on Fly-In. Co ntact Ray Brandl y 2650 W. Al ex Bellb rook Rd. Dayton, OH 45459

This map, which appeared in the March 1928 issue of Aero Digest, illustrates the four historic flights of the Spirit of St. Louis. EA A 's Commemorative flight will closely fo llo w Lindbergh's Round the United States Flight (solid line).

June 26 thru July 4 • Antiqu e Airf ield , Bl akesburg, Iowa, 50th Anniver sary Co mm emorativ e Fl y- In of Lindb erg's Tra ns Atlantic fI ight.

July 30 - August 6 • OSHKOSH, WISCONS IN - 25th Annu al EAA It is onl y fitting th at in thi s, t he 50th anni co ming th e Spi rit of St. Loui s when it land s in their city. Fl y- In. Start making your plan s now - it's goin g to be versary year of th e Lindbergh flig ht and nat ional tour, In th e course of publi cizing the Spirit 's visit, at tenti on a big o ne. EAA and the EAA Ai r Mu seum Found ati on honor the will be draw n to the loca l Chapter, loca l bu ilding pro man who more than any other in spi red us to fly. Th e jects and in teresting members as well as EAA, t he Air August 21 pl an, as ann oun ced last month, is fo r t he Found at ion to Muse um Found atio n and the sport avi ation move ment, • WEE DSPORT, NEW YORK - Antique, Cl assic and Homebui lt Fly-In . Trophies - Air Show. Fi eld cl osed const ruct a full size re plica of the Spi rit of St. Loui s and in ge neral. 1 :00 P.M . until 5:00 P.M. Intermi ssion for earl y de Lindb ergh co mm emorat ive tour fli ght is very The in mid Jun e of 1977 se nd it on a tour of th e co ntiguou s 48 st a tes . .. fo ll owing close ly Lind bergh 's original li kely th e last such eve nt. Fifty years fro m now ... in partures. Panca ke breakfast 8 :00 A.M. - 12 :00 noo n. ro ute. Th e itin era ry will be such that t he aircraft will the yea r 2027 . . . it is doubt ful th at such an aircraft as a Sponsored by EAA 486. Co ntact Herb Livingston

arrive at Oshkos h on opening day and will re main du ring Sp irit of St. Loui s will be co mpat ible wi th Twenty- fir st 1257 Gall agher Rd.

Ce nt ury A TC procedures. All of us, however, hope most of th e wee k, participat ing in f ly-in acti vities. Ap Baldwinsvill e, NY 13027

pro pri ate ceremoni es and an official se nd off for th e ... and co nfid ently ex pect ... th at spor t flying wil l still thrive in 2027 . Ifo ur comm emorative tour help s in some August 28 thru September 5 re maind er of t he tour are pl anned. In 1927 Charl es Lindb ergh so ught to ca ll atte ntion to small way to awake n aga in th e publi c in te rest in th e • 7th Annu al AAA- ADM Fly-In , Antique Airfield , and foster the growth of co mmerc ial avia ti on. In 19 77 adve nture of fl ying . . . fl ying fo r th e shee r love of it Bl akesburg, Iowa. Th e Nati onal AAA Co nve ntio n, EAA will uti li ze its comm emorative fli ght to spotl ight . . . and thu s ins ure that ou r type of ac ti vity will endure, open to memb ers and guests onl y. No publi c day . the wo rl d of sport avi ati o n. EAA members and Ch apters then t he inspirat io n of Ch arl es Lindbergh will have lived will be ca ll ed upon to assist in preparing fo r and wel on to se rve future ge nerati ons.