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Restorer's Corner
$y .I.R . NIELAI\EEJ4• .JR.
New Year's Resolutions are the vogue at this time of year, so it is appropriate that we whom you have entrusted to guide the destiny of your EAA Antique/ Classic Division should make a few resolutions on its behalf. First, we have resolved to produce a high quality color brochure similar to those presently available from EAA and the other two Divisions. These brochures will tell the story of your Division and will enable you to better acquaint your friends with the Division and its objectives. They will be sent to all of those interested persons who write to Headquarters inquiring about the Division, as well as to all members requesting them. Additionally, they will be available for distribution at fly -ins and other aviation events where EAA mer chandise and publications are on sale. The availability of these brochures will be duly noted in a later issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE as soon as Headquarters receives a sufficient supply from the printer.
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members during 1978. Full details of this membership contest will be forthcoming in a later issue, but you can start in right now signing up new members, and they will count toward your prize even though the details of the contest have not been published. You have been receiv ing membership applications along with each copy of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE for most of the past year. Remove these applications from your magazines, and use them to sign up your interested friends. All you have to do to have your friend's new membership count toward your prize-winning total in the membership contest is print your full name followed by your Antique/Classic Division membership number on the back (blank) side of the application form which you give to him. Simple, isn't it? When his application is received at Headquarters, you will be given contest cred it for h is new membersh ip.
For the third Division New Year's Resolution, your officers, directors and advisors have resolved to develop closer working ties with the present Antique/Classic Division chapters and have gone on record as encourag ing the formation of additional Antique/Classic chapters. A new "How to Form an Antique/Classic Chapter" Kit has just been put together and is presently available from EAA Headquarters by writing to the Antique/Classic Division in care of the Division Executive Secretary. The presidents of all of the Antique/Classic chapters are invited to become members of the Division's Board of Advisors and to participate in the management of the Division. Additionally, the officers, directors and advi Our second New Year's Resolution for the Division sors have resolved to do their utmost to have Head concerns inaugurating a membership drive complete with quarters representation at each of the fly-ins sponsored prizes for all those members who sign up specific num by the Antique/Classic Division chapters during 1978. bers of new members, as well as a grand pri ze for the They are getting off to a good start by scheduling the member who signs up the greatest number of new next Division Board of Directors meeting at Lakeland,
Florida, during the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In. The Florida Sport Aviation Antique and Classic Association, an EAA Antique/Classic Division chapter, is one of the co sponsors of the Sun 'n Fun. Its president, Bob White, accepted the Board's invitation to become a member of the Board of Advisors some time ago. The fourth of the Division's New Year's Resolutions is one which can not be accomplished by your Head quarters staff alone. It requires the help and cooperation of each one of you. It concerns the contents of th is magazine and your input into it. Ideally each issu e should be an interesting mix of stories about restorations (both antique and classic), flight experiences with the older aircraft, pilot reports on handl.ing characteristics, and aviation history. Additionally, news of chapter activities and fly-ins, interesting anecdotes from the type clubs, and a calendar of coming events could be regular features. However, all of these items must originate with you, the member. Your editor can not write them for you. So please help your elected officers fulfill their New Year's Resolution to bring you an even better magazine by taking the time to provide your editor with material which will be of general interest and enjoyment to your fellow members. Editor's Note: Due to the almost two month's lead time, and the fact that David Gustafson our new Editor, reports for work January 1 st, the January and February 1978 issues will be done by us. Happy New Year to all . Lois and AI Kelch
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
ANTIQUE / CLASSIC
DIVISION of
THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
Editorial Staff Paul H. Poberezny Associate Editor H. Glenn Buffington 818 W. Crockett St. No. 201 Seattle, Washington 98119
Assistant Editor Lois Kelch
Editor AI Kelch
D irectors
PRESIDENT J .R . NIELANDER, JR. P.O . BOX 2464 FT . LAUDERDALE , FL 33303 VICE-PRESIDENT JACK WINTHROP RT . 1, BOX 111 ALLEN, TX 75002
Wil l i am J. Ehlen R oute 8 Box 506 Tampa, Flo r ida 33618
A I K elch 7018 W. Bonniwell Road Mequon, Wisconsin 53092
Claude L. Gray, Jr. 9635 Sylvia Avenue No rt h r idge, Califo r nia 9 1 32 4
Mo r ton W. L ester Box 37 4 7 Martinsvil le, Vi rginia 241 1 2
Dale A. Gusta f son 772 4 Shady H ill Drive Ind i anapolis, Inoiana 4 627 4
Arthu r R . Mo r g~n 513 No rt h 91 st Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226
Richa rd Wagr"le r P.O. Box 18 1 Lyons, Wisconsin 53 148
JANUARY 1978
VOLUME 6
NUMBER 1
Associate Editor Edward D. Willi ams 713 Eastman Dr. Mt. Prospect , Illinoi s 60056
Associ ate Ed i tor Robert G. Elliott
1227 Oakwood Ave.
Da ytona Beach, Florida 32014
Associate Editors are c r e dite d in the T a bl e of Contents for a rticles which they have submitted as well as f o r articles whi c h th ey have autho r e d. Associate Editor 足 shi p s for the fOllowing ca le n da r year are ass ign ed to those write r s who submit fi ve or more a rt icles which are pu b li shed in THE V INTAGE AIRPLANE dur i n g th e cu rrent year . Associate Ed i tors r ec e iv e a f r ee o ne y e ar membe r shi p in the Di v i sion for each year that they hold th e ir o ffi c e and a b ound vo lum e o f THE VINTAGE AI RPLANE fo r each year th a t they earn th e ir o ffi c e.
ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS
P.O_ Box 229 Hales Corners, Wis. 53130
M.e. "Kelly" Viets RR1,Box 1 5 1 Stilwell, Kansas 66085
Restorer 's Corner ..... . ... ... ... . Restoring an 88 Day Wonder . . . .. . . The Life and Times of Waco NC13072 Bleriot XI (1 911 ) .. .. . . .. . ..... . Vintage Album . .. . . ... ... ... .. . Terminal "Queens" , Ed Willi ams, Assoc . Ed. The Spirit o f Americ an Youth, Glenn Buffington, Assoc. Ed . Air Mail . ...... . . . . ... . . . . . . . Officers and Directors Nom inations
1 3 4 9 11
13 16
19 21
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP o NON-EAA
MEMBER - $20.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique / Classic Divi 足 sion , 12 monthly issues of TH E V I NT AG E A I RPLAN E; one year membership in the Experime nt al Aircra ft Asso c iation and separate membership cards . SPORT AVIATION not included.
o EAA SECRETARY W . BRAD THOMAS, JR . 301 DODSON MILL ROAD PILOT MOUNTAIN, NC 27041 TREASURER E.E . "BUCK" HILBERT 8102 LEECH RD. UNION. IL 60180
Advi sors Ronald F r i t z 1989 Wilson, N W G rand Rapids, Mich i gan 4 95 04
Stan G omo ll 10 4 2 9 0 th L ane, N.E. Minneapolis, Minnesota 5543 4
R oge r J . She r ron 4 4 6-C Las Casi t as Santa R osa. Ca l i f orn i a 95 401
Robe rt E. Kese l 44 5 Oak r idge Dr i ve Roches t e r , N ew Yo r k 14 6 1 7
Rob e rt A. W hi t e 1207 Falcon D r ive O rl ando, Flo r ida 328 0 3
MEMBER - $14.00, Incl udes one year membership in the EAA Antique / Classic Di vis ion, 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and membership card. (Applicant must be current EAA member and must give EAA membership number.)
ON THE COVE R
PICTURE BOX (Back Cover)
Cole Palen's 7977 Bteriot X I
The beginning of a Legend "Cole Palen"
THE V IN TA G E AI RP L A N E is owned p. x c lusi vely by EAA Antique/ Classic. Di viSion . Inc .. and is published mo mhlv a t H a l es C o rn e r s, W iscon sin 53130. Second class Postage p,llcl at H ales Corners Post OfficI', Hales C o rn e r s, W isconsin 53 1 3 0 , a n d additiOr1 .11 ri1.'.ldlng offrces. M e,nj)e ( sllt~ r<lt es for EAA Antlque , Classl c Division. I nc . , ar e $ 14.00 p e r 1 2 mO nth periOd o f w hich $10.00 I'> f o r the publiCation of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Me m be rs hi p is o p e n t o a ll who a re in te rested In aViation.
Copyright C
1978 Antique Classic Airc raft , Inc. All R ights Rese rved .
Restoring an 88 Day Wonder
By: j. L. jenkins
569 Moose Hill Road
Monroe, CT. 06468
My Vagabond came into my hands back in 1970 his own Vag, which he was restoring at the time. After bringing the plane home we decided on install which my dad bought for us as our first restoration pro ject when I was sixteen. We found the Vag in a garage ing the 65 Lycoming that came with the plane to see if with cracked landing gear fittings, along with bent lower we could get it to run. After some coaxing, it finally did longerons within the gear fittings area, many of the small run only finding later a two inch crack in one of the parts such as fairings, gas tank, shock struts and miscella cylinders and with this engine this becomes a problem as neous things were missing or just plain unuseable as we the cylinders are cast integral with the crankcase, only wanted everything in nice shape so we could do a real the heads being removeable. So we bought another nice job. A Continental C85 was in the Vag for power at engine and my dad, having an A&P, did a complete the time of its last flight, but the owner removed it for major on it. To this day it has been a terrific little en
gine, and exceptionally smooth and quiet. Next came the fuselage, sanding, stripping, then welding fittings and the lower longerons into place bringing the fuselage up to the fabric and interior stage. I chose a more deluxe interior than what the Vag originally came with, my mom made up tuck and roll seats, wall panels in dark blue trimmed in an off-white and vinyl headliner. I even brought home a tropy for best interior from one antiquc fly-in. With the interior dctails taken care of, we covered the fuselage with ceconite, using nitrate and butyrate dope, finishing with daytona white with bahama blue trim. With Spring in the air we moved the wings from the basement to the garage so we could get them covered and up to the color stage, while I finished the trim colors on the wing's leading edge, my father made up all new cowli ng forward of the door except for the nose cowl which was taken to an auto body shop for some straight ening. By June we had all the missing parts located or made up new and installed, I even found a pair of original metal wheel pants (a RARE item). Living only 1500' from the airport we assembled the Vag in the front yard and rigged it, followed by our A&I's inspection, then closing up all the fairings and giving the finish a real good rub-out and a few coats of wax. The next day we pushed the Vag up to the airport and had a fellow Vag owner fly it. Seeing it fly after 14 months of nonstop work was a real pleasure. After being checked out by my instructor I went and had a ball, with its nearly full span ailerons the roll rate was something else, all controls were much more sen sitive than the Cub and Aeronca Champ I had been fly ing before, it was also much faster, cruising at a quick 95 mph. To date I have flown the Vag 530.0 hours and just love it, I'll never sell it. I attend all the antique & EAA meets I can get to, and it has brought home many trophies, I am real proud of this little airplane. I also have another Vag that I am restoring, it is the trainer version of the PA-15, this one being a PA-17 and having a Continental engine, shock struts, dual controls and a utility flight envelope, unlike the PA-15, which has just a normal flight category envelope. When not restoring this Vag, my dad and I are busy restoring a 1940 Warner powered Fairchild 24-W40 which I bought last year. I couldn't pass it up as they are beautiful. I really love antique airplanes, the only problem being that the disease gets worse instead of better. ~
By: Clark G. Seaborn
R. R. 9
Calgary, Alberta Canada
T2J2T9
..... As if in one fell swoop, all these improvements were incorporated into one airplane, and it emerged as the remarkable UIC of 1933. From perhaps any angle the new UIC was a beauty, the longer fuselage now had soft rounded lines, the rear view windows were redesign ed for a more graceful contour and the larger cabin inte rior promised much more stretch room. The front end of the airplane was its crowning glory; the 210 HP Con tinental engine was now tightly shrouded in a deep
My first contact with the 1933 Waco NC13072 was in March 1974. Its tattered and ripped fabric fluttered in the cold winter breezes as it sat in an oilfield storage yard near the Calgary Airport. The dope finish no longer had a new lustre. Many of the window panes had been smashed by vandals. Inside the cockpit the winter winds were only slightly less strong as they entered through the broken windows and roof skylight. A bird's nest in the instrument panel hole indicated that it had been exposed to the wilds of nature for some time. Some of its interior furnishings provided a hint of its former elegance; with polished wood frames surrounding the automobile type roll down windows and burnished aluminum strips sepa rating the woodwork from the upholstered side panels. Four layers of upholstery material had been consecu tively applied to the seats over the years - and all were in an advanced state of decay. The tires were flat, frame work tubing colored with rust, wood rotted and instru ments missing. It seemed like a moment of weakness in me at that point but I purchased the remains less logs, engine, propeller and a number of small parts. The only history I knew of its past was that it had been wrecked "up north" some years previously. With so many hours of flying and years of life show ing on this airplane remains, it seemed a shame not to know a little about her past, to find out who had en joyed her in the previous 41 years and what she looked like when new. Any airplane with four layers of seat covers has most certainly had to have a number of happy and proud owners. My first step in digging into this past was to join the National Waco Club - an organization devoted to the preservation and restoration of th is par ticular breed of old aircraft. Mr. Ray Brandly, the club president, was able to locate and copy the factory sales This picture is file-containing among other things a partial listing of the painting commissioned by Mr. B. P. first ten years owners. As expected, after a 43 year lapse, first owner of NC! 3072. telephone enquiries into the listed names yielded nothing of the early owners. About a year and a half following my purchase of the chord NACA cowling, a cowling that sported fancy look aircraft one of the previous owners of the wreckage, ing "blisters" over the rocker arm boxes to hold down living some 200 miles north of me unearthed a file of the overall diameter. It was not surprising that the UIC paperwork on the airplane, including a mostly illegible sold faster than it could be built, and some owners of logbook dating back to 1952. Among the other items in the earlier cabin Waco got quickly in line for the new the file was a "Waco Pilot" owners newsletter circa model. At least 70 of the UIC were built and sold in 1940. This contained testimonial adverisements showing 1933, and the owners names sounded like a who's who several notables who had purchased the then new Model E Waco: among them William P. Lear of Learadio. Pon of big names and dignitaries .. . .. from Joseph J uptner's U.s . Civil Aircraft dering this several weeks later, I noticed that a Mr.
,.
March 1974 - Waco NCI 3072 comes to its present owner - the flowers being held by the owner's wife were purchased at the same time as the airplane, in order to smooth over the few anxious moments following the unveiling of the new acquisition.
Barron P. Lambert was pictured in front of his Waco the caption indication that he was a Baltimore banker. ... THAT NAME SEEMED FAMILlAR ... like I had seen it somewhere in some other Waco papers. Sure enough the factory sales file on my airplane Iisted that name as the original purchaser of my airplane. A quick check of the Baltimore phone directory in the library indicated that a person of that name still lived there 36 years after the article was printed. A cautious letter to Mr. Lambert and the story started unfolding ..... Barron P. Lambert of 480 Park Avenue, New York took delivery of his Waco NC13072 in April of 1933. She was delivered with a vermilion fuselage and Diana Cream wings with black and gold pinstriping. As a pur chaser of the 1933 Waco cabin he was in the company of such industrialists as Powell Crosley Jr. and Henry B.
5
DuPont and such fast company as speedboat racer Gar Wood and aircraft racer J acquili ne Cochran. Mr. Lambert recalled recently how NC13072 was his first new airplane, "and what an exciting business it was to discuss the building and instrument layout with the factory in Troy, Ohio and finally to get it". Mr. Lambert also recalled his cross country trip in this plane - "my greatest trip (in all my flying) was in th is plane in the su mmer of 1934. With a friend I took off for Jackson Hole, Wyoming (Rand McNally maps, each state being a different scale). Landed at Dubois, Table Top Mountain - altitude 8100 feet, being second plane to land there. By car and horse we entered Jackson Hole and for $5 per day each had the best trout fishing I'll ever see, all with air mattresses, guides, steaks, horses, for one week. On leaving, crossed the rockies further
7943 - Seventeen year old Billie Coving ton put 200 hours on NC13072 while working to get in ferry command.
south and went to Salt Lake City, then to Los Angeles. On a southern route home flew over the Grand Canyon for an hour. Only trouble besides a touch of bad weather was a flat tire in Kingman, Arizona." While Mr. Lambert lived in New York he used to fly in and out of North Beach - now La Guardia. He recalled - "Lindbergh was training there for his South American Flight - Post and Gatty, Rosco Turner, the great AI Williams - all people I called "51 R" were coming in and out. The enormous DOX was parked there" . In August, 1933, Mr. Lambert moved to Eccleston, Md. outside of Baltimore. NC13072 was kept at Curtiss Wright Airport. He recalled - "one eve ning after moving from NY to Baltimore, when the moon was coming up full, I said to my wife and a friend ' It would be a lovely evening to fly up to NY for dinner'. 'Why don't you]'
7933 Mr. Lambert and Mrs. Lambert (deceased) pose beside NCl 3072. The jaeger chronograph barely visible in the photo at the right side of the instrument panel was used in a succession of aircraft owned by Mr. Lambert. It was re cently contributed to the restoration project and as it happens - it still fits in the hole cut for it 43 years ear/ier. said my wife. So I wired North Beach (now La Guardia) - 'WI LL BUZZ FI ELD ABOUT 8 P.M. PLEASE PUT ON FLOOD LIGHTS', which they did. Im agine doing that today. We got home at 4 A.M., after a great evening". In 1935 NC130n was traded by Mr. Lambert for a 1935 Waco after 371 hours flying time. This in turn he traded for the fastest of the Wacos, a Model E bought new from the factory in May, 1939. (This was the ma chine pictured in the Waco testimonial mentioned ear lier). In this last Waco he was practicing night landing at Sea Island, Ga . on January 14, 1941 -- "Did not notice a wind shift, made soft 3 point landings but went slowly off runway hitting soft sand and going over on my back (my only outside loop). I was drowning my sorrows in a nearby tavern while darkness and fog set in and an army bomber landed and hit my plane, for which I had insur ance".
7933 Waco NC73072 new from factory with proud owner Mr. Barron P. Lambert. Photo taken at the Curtiss-Wright Airport near Baltimore.
An interesting sidelight - Mr. Lambert's uncle was Major Albert B. Lambert - who learned to fly from Orville Wright and who was one of Lindbergh's first backers. Lambert Field in St. Louis is named after this gentleman. The Waco factory records indicate NC130n was used by Viair Lines I nco in East Orange, NJ during 1935. In 1936 NC130n was traded to the New York Waco dealer and resold to Mr. James S. Sammon of Baltimore who used it for his personal pleasure and transport. Mr. Sammon recently recalled, "She was a stout little ship and I never hesitated to loop her when the opportunity permitted. In 1936 I won the Washington Air Derby "Balloon Bursting" contest and still have a silver cup for the event. Some of the highlights of my ownership were cross co untry trips and weekend jaunts, such as the Gold Cup Steeple Chase in Warrington when we landed in a nearby cow pasture and after attending the ball which lasted until morning, we flew back to Baltimore de planing about 10 A.M. still dressed in white ties and tails. Once I flew out to the Kentucky Derby, landed on our host's lawn and parked beside his house. On week
ends we would com mute to Ocean City and upon arrival dive on the local cab stand which was a signal for him to pick us up at a nearby potato patch. Th e longest trip was from Baltimore to Los Angeles out the southern route and back over the Rocki es through canyons and at times in the laps of the gods, but we made it". Mr. Sammon sold NC130n in 1937 and a few years later joined the Air Force, spending 4 years in Africa, Europe and the Pacific. In this service he met Mr. Lambert, neither one knowing that each other had a bond in common. After that he joined National Airlines, retiring recently with 25000 logged flying hours. Re cently, after being to ld that a Mr. Sammon had o nce owned NC130n, Mr. Lambert, through the help and recollections of friends, located Mr. Sammon in Miami, 35 years later. As records indicate, NC130n was traded to Clifton Airport, Clifton, NY in 1938 then to Vinton A. Smith and Wilson P. Porch of Plainville, Conn. in 1939. No trace of these men. Early 1943 saw NC130n owned by Howard Dutton
6
in Semburg, Conn. She was then purchased by the own • ers of the Martinsville Virginia Airport - Messrs Arthur B. Via and J .G. Covington. Mr. L. R. (Bob) Pettus, the air port manager and instructor, and Mr. Covington's 17 year old son, Billie Covington were sent to Semburg to ferry NC130n back. After 2 weeks of bad weather, Billie Covington had to take the train home to continue his school. Mr. Pettus finally made it back after 3 weeks with the Waco. In Martinsville, NC13072 was used for charter service and by Mr. Billie Covington to build up his flying time to get 200 hours in an aircraft of 200 HP or more so that Above: 7958: By this time many of the distinctive origi
he could join the air force ferry command as a ferry nal fittings on NC73072 had disappeared and the paint
pilot. One of his flight instructors who encouraged him . scheme had changed. Note absence of triangular rear
in this venture was Mr. Sanford Gilley - who became one window. of the founders and Vice President of Piedmont Airlines. Mr. Covington flew her more than 200 hours. He re Below: 7936 or 7937: The Waco, Mr. James Sammon called, "I flew this old airplane back in 1943 with a lot and two other cowboys just passing through EI Paso, of enthusiasm and I enjoyed the way she flew. I got lost Texas. down in North Carolina back in 1943 when at the time with no radio equipment, the only way of navigating was by compass and watch, strictly contact navigation. The compass on the old girl worked for going south, but was quite a few degrees off going north. I was lost for about an hour when I finally saw Pilot Mountain in North Carolina - a very historical mountain. I got a com pass heading back home and when I landed the "old girl", the gas tank was empty. Mr. Pettus also flew her considerably during this own ership and his log book indicated a forced landing 15 miles from the airport on April 11, 1943. Mr. Pettus left Martinsville to work for the CAA in January, 1944 and NC130n was sold. (Mr. Pettus passed away in March, 1976, a few days after being contacted, and unfortu nately was not able to provide further information. His Below: 7963: NC73072 as she looked after last rebuild wife kindly helped with a number of the details). in Minot, ND. By a coincidence, paint scheme had As recollected by Mr. Covington, NC130n was sold changed back to almost the original one. to a Mr. Johnnie P. Jones, an airforce instructor based at Greensboro, North Carolina. No contact has been made with Mr. Jones and nothing is known of the whereabouts or the travels of NC130n until 1956. I n this period, between 1943 and 1956, NC130n changed considerably in appearance. As the factory in stalled engine became due for a major overhaul it was replaced with a slightly modified "war surplus" version. This later version with forced lubrication rockers and slightly larger outside diameter forced the need for a larger cowling. At this point the once stylish "Bump
.
Cowling" was discarded in favor of an easily available and easily installed war surpl us Cessna "Bamboo Bomber" cowlin g. The distinctive triangular shaped rear window was covered in fabric; as were later Wacos from the factory as a cost cutting measure. (It is also interest ing to note that the Cessna Aircraft Company reintro duced a very similar rear window in the mid sixties as a "new feature", called omnivision.) In 1956 the NC130n was based in Roanoke, Va., being owned by Irving E. Craig and Joe Woodard. It was subsequently sold to Mr. J .R. Holt in Indianapolis, Ind . in March, 1957 and then to Edward Frost in Le Sueur Minnesota in August, 1958. Slight damage was incurred in 1958 and the right lower wing and landing gear were replaced with new units ordered from the Waco factory. NC130n was then traded through Robert Hansen of Minneapolis and Wokal Flying Service of Bowman N.D. and ended up in the hands of Mr. Foe Kasper in Minot N.D. in 1961. By this time age and moisture deteriora tion had the upper hand on the fuselage woodwork and Mr. Kasper found himself soon engulfed in a major re build of the structure. Following this, Mr. Kasper logged quite a number of hours on NC130n - some on civil air patrol missions. Early in 1964, Joe Kasper sold NC130n, sight un seen, to a buyer in Fairbanks, Alaska. Despite the air plane being 31 years old at this time and considered a vintage airplane, it was being purchased for use as a per sonal transport in the harshest climate in North America - certainly indicative of the usefulness and longevity of the basic design. The gentleman from Alaska came down to Minot to take delivery and to ferry his Waco back up to Fairbanks. For several thousand miles he travelled northward - hopping from Minot on March 30, 1964 for Lloydminister, Edmonton, Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson and finally to Watson Lake in the Yukon Territories. Here he was held up for two days during a snowstorm. On April 6th, while attempting to take off (with the tail wheel lock not down) following the snowstorm, the air craft ground looped and cartwheeled onto its back - its occupant narrowly escaping injury in the tumble - with jerry cans of gas and other heavy items of baggage in the back seat. Having to get back to work and faced with the bureaucratic problem of leaving his newly purchased possession in a foreign country, he removed the landing gear and engine and instruments from NC130n and carried them to Alaska with him - by truck. The rest of the airframe was left at Watson Lake for (hopefully) a
Above: November 7976 "Maybe some day she '/I fly again" Below: April 7964 Watson Lake Yukon Territories Canada.
buyer. Some months later a group in Canada bought NC130n and drove to Alaska to retrieve the landing gear. For the next ten years its possession passed through the hands of 5 owners, each one intending to rebuild and fly it. The damage caused in the Watson Lake accident was nothing compared to the deteriora足 tion, vandalism, and shipping damage suffered as the frame and wings were trucked 2,000 miles down the Alaska Highway, first to Whitehorse, then to Edmonton and then finally to Calgary. Toda y it has been al most 1 3 years si nce Waco NC130n has last flown. Hopefully some day in the not too distant future she may fly again - in the condition in which she first left the factory. It is my hope that when this happens that we, the owners and past owners of this hard working old airplane may meet and once again fly in her. But that may be another story ......... ~
8
HIeriot Xl (1911)
By: Cole Palen
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
Rhinebeck, NY. 72572
The Bleriot type monoplane first made its mark in the world by flying across the English Channel in July 1909. The type enjoyed a large production life evolving through numerous improved models. The subject of this article is the famous cross-country type of 1911. Bleriots of th is model won races in the Circuit of Europe and Circuit of Britain and races from Paris to Madrid and Paris to Rome. Many of these flights were as far as 1,000 miles and over such mountains as the Pyrenees and the Alps. This model with its compar足 atively reliable Gnome engines of 50 and 70 HP, combined with its long-range gas tank slung beneath the fuselage, indeed continued to make history and burnish足 ed the name of Louis Bleriot, its designer and manufac足 turer. Many pilots of this famous historic aircraft gained fame and fortune flying it. The Frenchman, Andre Beaumont, who using his naval navigation techniques, won the Paris to Rome Race of 1911 and chalked up victories in the Circuit of Europe and Circuit of Britain cross-country flights. Georges Chavez, the Peruvian, who first crossed the Alps. The British entrepreneur, Claude Graham White, who won so many prizes in the United States at the Boston and Bel mont Park Air Meets and Editor's Note: Cole Palen, a legend in his time, with the able assistance of his wife Rita, have the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Rhinebeck, New York. Shows are every weekend all summer. For many years I have made a pilgrimage to his shrine to see and enjoy the works of a master. For any true antiquer, it has to be the mark of fulfillment, as is the annual Fly-In at Oshkosh. To say that you have been to both will tell your peers that you have truly reached that height of fulfillment. In the winter, when Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is closed, Cole packs up his crew and goes to Florida,
9
taking along one or two projects every year. The Bleriot was one winter's project, and the pictures tell the story of its restoration. As far as I know, there is only one other original Bleriot flying in the world. Cole is a master with the WW I Rotary engines and has flown theirs every weekend for years, as we would fly a 65 Continental. If you can find any excuse to travel East, do so, and visit Old Rhinebeck . There is no place in the world that you can see pre-World War I planes in action. AI Kelch, Editor
Above: Note the small wheel and control levers mounted on either side of control column. The electric Tachometer was a standard item. Dial is only instrument in front of pilot. Below: Some employee was no doubt inking his rubber stamp and tried it out on this spar several times - it survived time and fire.
Above: From these sad remains emerged a complete and 'original Bleriot. the American, Harri et Quimby, the first woman pilot to cross the English Channel, flew this model Bleriot. In thi s count ry at th at tim e there was talk of the Great American Circuit Race, and Bl eriot machin es were being built by different manufacturers. The aircraft I actually restored is an American-built, cross-country Bleriot po wered with wh at was probably the best ae r onautical engine of that period - the record -break ing 50 HP Gnome rotary of French manufacture. The airframe was built by the American Aeroplan e Supply Ho use, Hempstead, L.I ., N.Y. It was built in July or August of 1911 and crashed so me time prior to 1915 wh en it was stored by its last owner, James McGrath, in a barn near Boston. About 1964 the barn ca ught fire, the loca l fire com pany extingu ished it, looked in the barn and saw a slightly singed, old aeropl ane. The word was out and, eventua ll y, Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome was ab le to procure this origina l aircraft and now fl ies it in a limi ted and safe as possib le manner for the continued entertai n ment of attendants at the Old Rhinebeck Sh ow in New York any summer Sunday . The structure of this aircraft is 98% pure 1911; wood, wire and accessories. Of course, it has a new cloth cover ing and its origina l Gnome rotary engine. For those of you who are technica l minded, and it amazed us, it is
eq uipped with an electr ic tachometer. In America 's first air mail del ivery, on Sept. 23, 1911 , pilot Earle Ovington carried a cargo of 1900 letters and postcards . between Nassau Boul evard and Min eo la, L.I. , a distance of three mil es, and dropped the pouch of mail at the feet of th e waiting Postmaster. Thi s demonstra ti on flight wa s made at the Nassau Boul evard Air Meet. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ON THE BLERIOT XI (1911) 1. Note the charred ta il skid and rear section of the fuse lage which we felt must have been stored upside down with the skid close to the burning roof. 2. We dated the time the aircraft was in storage by a wadded-up newspaper dated Nov. 1915 which was stuff ed in the hollow crankshaft of the engine to keep out dirt, etc . 3. A very interesting thing that we found when we removed the origi nal fabric from the wings was a rubber sta mping adverti si ng Bleriots. (See picture page 9) 4. In the crash of the Bl eriot, the body was broken in half just after the cockpit. Four new sections of longerons had to be sp liced in, averaging 4 ft. in length each. Th e bottom horizontal land ing gear strut (bed stead) was replaced. Both wheels were replaced but we have one of the original damaged wheels. Another original 50 HP Gnome propeller was installed. ~
Above: Wesley Cullen poses with scorched wing before and after clean-up. Below: Engine before Mike Lockhart took the elbow grease after it.
,
Vintag~ Men and Thei
....
"
颅
Above: The engine after a thorough cleaning was
like new, unharmed by time and fire. Right: A cosmeticly clean and gorgeous engine in路 stallation.
rV~
Those magnificent men in their flyir downdidi down down, up, down and the grou~d
Above: Sweet Music to Mike Lockhart first run up and a smile tell the story. Below:
Above: Andy Keefe clowning il up. Is it 1976 or (,
11
Album
tage Machines
Above: Note the simple control system, the metal bell has 4 wires coming through the floor boards and connecting to its edge. Movement in any direction accomplish proportionate attitude.
hines, they go uppity up up, they go around, looping the loop and defying
Below: Tired but on the final stretch - the crew that helped in the restoration. Left to right: Mike Lockhart, CarlSchupe, Wes足 ley Cullen, Herb Eisen, Andy Keefe.
Above: The reason for the tape on the tire is obvious to me. I was standing back to it the first time the tube crept out around the rim and went bang.
light: Here we go gathering Nuts in May (Mike Lockhart at the Podium) .
Left: Quadruplane replica on display in Lee
Terminal at Standiford Field, Louisville, Ky.
Original quadruplane, built by Matthew B.
Sellers in 7908, was the first airplane built in
Kentucky. (Photo Courtesy of Louisville and
jefferson County Air Board)
original "Spirit" since 1928. The replica, a Ryan B-1, was built in September, 1929, by Ryan Aircraft of San Diego and is very similar to the original Ryan NYP Lindb ergh flew on May 20-21, 1927, from New York to Paris. It incorporates the changes that Lindbergh had made for him for the his toric transatlantic flight. Lindbergh's plane had no forward-looking windows, and he could see the ground only from a periscope and from door windows on the side of the fuselage. To provide additional space for fuel tanks, Lindbergh had the plane built with a 46-foot wing span (the B-1 's wings were 42-feet wide). In front of the pilot's seat (which was made out of wicker) were an 89-gallon oil tank and a 201-gallon gas tank. Including three wing tanks, there was a total gaso line capacity of 451 gallons. Lindbergh landed in Paris with 85 gallons of gas left (enough for nine more hours in the air), and had used only 5 gallons of oil. The oval-shaped instrument panel held only a turn and bank indicator, a bubble-type inclinometer, standard air speed altimeter, clock, tachometer, oil pressure and temperature gauges and an earth indicator compas~. With the instrument panel starting at the cockpit roofline and dropping below the pilot's knees, Lindbergh had to use a periscope with a miniature screen to see forward. The St. Louis replica is owned by the Missouri His torical Society and is on permanent loan to the airport. It bought the plane in 1963 after a successful drive headed by the late Louis Werner, chairman of the Missouri Historical Society Airplane Committee. The plane was purchased from Paul Mantz, a movie stunt man and collector of old planes for use in motion pic tures. The society spent $8,000 refurbishing the plane to fly. The replica was flown by Albert W. Lowe, chief transport pilot for McDonnell-Douglas Corp., at a special ceremony in St. Louis on May 21, 1967, commemo rating the 40th anniversary of Lindbergh's epoch flight. The replica was stored in an aircraft-assembly build ing at McDonnell-Douglas Corp. until its installation at the St. Louis airport and is in perfect shape due to the preventive maintenance performed there.
TERMINAL •·Queens~ ~
By: Edward D. Williams
Associate Editor
773 Eastman Drive
Mt. Prospect, IL. 60056
There is a pleasant trend at airline terminals at the nation's airports to spotlight the pioneer days of aviation history, and it is a big boost for antique airplane enthu siasts. The trend is to put on permanent or temporary dis play in the terminal lobby a replica or an authentic an tique, which draws the ultimate in contrast with the large jet transports awaiting passengers at the terminal gates. Just a few of these are the replica of the Sellers "quadruplane" on display in Lee Terminal at Standiford Field at Louisville, Ky.; the authentic Curtiss Pusher in the Will Rogers World Airport terminal at Oklahoma City, Okla.; the original Curtiss JN4 "Jenny" at Staple ton I nternational Airport at Denver, Colo. , and the Ryan NYP replica at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
13
at St. Louis, Mo. And the trend continues, as illustrated by the fact that there has been a request for the permanent display at San Francisco I nternational Airport of the Swallow restored by E. E. "Buck" Hilbert, Antique/Classic Divi sion treasurer. Perhaps the most popular, and most easily recogniz able of the aircraft on exhibit in the air terminals is the full-size replica of Charles A. Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" which is on permanent display in the two-story lobby of the new International Wing of Lambert-St. Louis I nternational Airport. Although the original "Spirit of St. Louis" is perma nently housed in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the copy in St. Louis draws considerable interest from passengers passing through every day and has a bit of fame for itself; it was used in the 1957 motion picture biography of Colonel Lindbergh. The Smithsonian has owned the
The quadruplane (four wing) aircraft was the fi rst airplane built in Kentucky and was designed and con structed by aviation pioneer Matthew B. Sellers, Jr., in 1908. The replica on display in the main concourse of Lee Terminal at Standifor"d Field, Louisville, was built as a Bicentennial project by students of the Carter County Vocational School at Olive Hill, Ky., near the site where the original quadruplane was constructed and flown. Sellers is one of the lesser known but still important aviation figures of hi s time. He was born in Baltim ore in 1869 and from an early age showed an interest in flight, experimenti ng with kites and hot air balloons. He got a law degree from Harvard University in 1892 and for the next two years studied chemistry, physics and mechani cal arts at Harvard and at the Drexe l In stitute in Phil a delphia . By the time he was 24 he was experi menting with models of heavier-than-air flying machines, about the same time that his family moved to Kentucky. In 1897, he developed a blower to study air resistance to various shapes and later built a wind tunnel on his property near Grahn, Ky. In 1903, he built the first of a number of gliders, but the first one proved a failure. Sellers, who had inherited a sizable fortune, was deeply interested more in theories of flight rather than flying, himself, and much of his work was done in his own laboratory, where he studied designs of wings and propellers. By 1907, he was building and flying full-size gliders, and in 1908 he modified one of these four-winged gliders with a small, French-made two-cylinder engine and a three-wheel chassis. This aircraft was flown suc cessfully on Dec. 28,1908, from a hillside in Carter Cou nty , Ky. Sellers worked for several more years in Kentucky on aeronautical projects and was awarded patents o n his plane's mechanical innovations. However, he left Ken tucky in grief in 1911 after an assistant was struck on the head by the plane's propeller and was killed instantly. Sellers served as technical editor of a leading aviation magazine and, in 1912, was appointed by President Taft to the Aerodynamic Laboratory Commission, and later to the National Advisory Comm ittee for Aeronautics. The committee later was reorganized and is known to day as the National Aeronautics and Space Administra tion (NASA). Sellers continued to work in the fie ld of aeronautics until he died in 1932. In 1974, the airport at Olive Hill. Ky., was named in his ho nor.
Above: Photo of Ryan NYP replica being installed at St. Louis airport (note tail skid not yet installed on replica). Photo by McDonnell Douglas Corp.
Below: Photo showing Ryan NYP replica in process of being installed in the uncompleted wing of Lam bert-St. Louis Airport. Photo by McDo nnell Douglas Corp.
Above: jN-4D in the Denver Stapleton Airport.
Below: EE "Buck" Hilbert's Swallow, now owned by United Airlines, is being sought for permanent display at Sdn Francisco International Airport. Being shown here with the British-French Concorde at Dulles International Airport, it illustrates the contrast of antiques and repli足 cas inside air terminals and the large airliners outside the terminals. Photo by United Airlines
Members of the Antique/Classic Division who know of other antiques or replicas on display throughout the world might want to let us know about it at the Vintage Airplane. We would appreciate short articles telling about them and glossy prints showing them on display for future issues of this magazine. AI Kelch, Editor
The replica was built by the vocational school stu足 dents from Seller's original plans, and they used bamboo in its construction, like with the original. The replica has never been flown. It was installed in Lee Terminal in September, 1976, and tentative plans call for it to be eventually displayed in a museum dedicated to Sellers. The Curtiss Pusher displayed in the main lobby of the terminal at Oklahoma City was formally dedicated on July 20, 1970, and has been hanging in the main lobby of Will Rogers World Airport terminal ever since. Partici足 pating in the dedication was Billy Parker, who built and flew the plane in 1914 while a high school student at Ft. Collins, CO. The plane, which has a wingspan of 30 feet and is powered by a 90 horsepower OX-5 engine, was donated to the City of Oklahoma City by the Phillips Petroleum Company. Parker built his own plane and taught himself to fly it in 1912 and the Curtiss Pusher, N66U, was one of two owned by Parker. He held pilot's license number 44, in his early years was a barnstormer, received a commission in the Royal Flying Corps and instructed at a flying school at Dewey, Okla. Later, he became manager of aviation for the Phillips Petroleum Company. He also served as president of the Early Birds, whose members were pilots who flew before Dec. 17, 1916. The Pusher was no hangar queen, and Parker flew the Curtiss at many events, including the 50th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk. The Curtiss IN-4 "Jenny" on display on the lower level of the terminal at Denver's Stapleton International Airport, is on temporary loan by the Colorado Chapter of the Antique Airplane Association. No decision has been made yet on the fi nal resting place of "Buck" Hilbert's Swallow, which was bought from him by United Airlines, but it seems a good bet that it will wind up in San Francisco, either in the terminal or in United's Maintenance Operations Center there. Antiques and replicas make interesting drawing cards for commercial air terminals. The quadruplane replica originally was scheduled to be removed from the terminal at Louisville this spring, but the Louisville and Jefferson County Air Board found it such a big attrac足 tion that it asked the vocational school to extend its display in the terminal, and the request was granted. In one way, at least, some of the old planes will continue to be "in the air," if only with the help of wires. ~
The Spirit
Of
ADlerican Youth
17 Year Old New Yorker
Flies Solo From San Francisco
To New York, Winter of 1928
By: H. Glenn Buffington
Associate Editor
Sky View Apt. No. 207
878 West Crockett Street
Seattle, WA. 98779
A boy and his love . .. "The Spirit of American Youth" and her proud pilot, Richard E. James. Once upon a time the President of the American Society for the Promotion of Aviation spoke to the members of the Flying Club of Flushing (NY) High School and told of a pri ze of one thousand dollars that was being offered to the first boy or girl under eighteen to fly solo from San Francisco to New York. For Dick James the adrenalin flowed as he realized such a flight was the challenge he wanted to accept. All he needed was parental approval and backing! It took a bit of sales manship in convincing his Dad, but he was finally won over when Dick showed him how the experience would be beneficial in later years. Over four decades ago, Dick wrote me regarding the flight, "I started for California to make the flight on August 2, 1928 and landed back in New York on Dec ember 15, 1928; spent quite a bit of time in Wichita, Kansas and two months in San Francisco in preparation. I flew a Travel Air with a Seimens-Halske radial, 9 cyl inder motor, made in Germany and producing 125 horsepower; covered about four thousand miles on the flight with an elapsed flying time of 40 hrs. and 52
minutes." Here, then, is a more detailed account - Westward Ho! Dick had taken his early dual and advanced training from Capt. Fred Becker at Curtiss Field in Garden City, however it was Oliver Young, another New York pilot, who accompanied the youth westward, via train, leaving August 2nd. They arrived in Wichita and at the Travel Air factory three days later and when Walter Beech showed them the new airplane the senior J ames had bought, Dick compared the experience to taking a ride on the "shoots" at Coney Island, a real joyous occasion! The finishing touches on the plane required another couple of day s and then James and Young flew in the Wichita area a few more days, practicing "short" land ings and getting acquainted with the Travel Air "Spirit" before heading west for the higher altitudes and the mountaineous terrain. The hops westward were accomplished with no trouble as far as Reno, as the fledgling acquired more flying experience. However, from Reno they neglected
to reach sufficient altitude and found it necessary to do some hedge-hopping through the railroad cuts in the mountains before reaching Sacramento. They continued to Oakland the next day where they found the field crowded with spectators. The word was out of the proposed solo fli ght by a junior pilot and "people want ed to see the fool who was going to do it, etc." The airplane was ferried over to San Francisco a few days later and Di ck met Frank Flynn, who was to be his guardian until the start of the flight, as Oliver Young had to return to the east. Frank advised there had been a cancellation of the letter of authority from the Dept. of Commerce in Washington, D.C., so it was necessary for the aspiring pilot to satisfy the Commerce Inspector on the West Coast that he could make the long flight with out killing himself or any other person. This was finally accomplished as the fall season came to a close. The delay in starting led to some trials and tribuations for the young flier later on as he encountered inclement, wintry weather, especially in crossing the Rockies and Alleghenies.
Meandering in the Mid-West
.........
Thrill of a Lifetime! Dick james gets acquainted with the new Travel Air at the Wichita factory. (A brand new Travel Air at age 77, WOW!)
East from the Golden Gate It was October 30th when Dick left the Bay Area for his twenty-four stop journey to return to his homeport . His suit coat and sweater, a pair of flying boots and breeches, in the open cockpit, were adequate in the California climate, however the garb left plenty to be desired in the higher altitudes and in the winter season. He was to ex perience many, many cold days enroute. The first night was spent in Sacramento where he was delayed because of weather cond itions. He wanted to make the flight to Reno as early in the day as possible to take advantage of the calm morning air, and started out with thirty gallons of gas and some candy to eat on the way, in case of hunger pains. From warnings, he had expected the flight to be cold and lonesome, however he admits to that leg as being the nicest part of the whole trip. After a night in Reno, he proceeded to Elko and then Salt Lake City, where he was forced to stay a
17
couple of days because of storms. Finally getting a good weather report, he flew to Rock Springs and then Rawlins, Wyoming, where again he was held up nine days because of snow storms. During this delay, and on his own volition, Dick took the bus to Lander, Wyoming to visit relatives. Finally his Dad located him by phone, telling him in no uncertain terms to return to the air plane and stay with the "project". The plane had been practically covered with snow as it was left out during the storms as there was no hangar. With the help of a good Samaritan, he was able to get the cold Travel Air started and took off for Cheyenne. However, he did some "lazy navigating" and decided to follow the iron-beam only to take the wrong spur out of Laramie and located himself over Fort Collins, Colorado, from where he proceeded to Denver, arriving with very little gas to spare! From the Mile High City he continued to North Platte, Nebraska.
Enroute North Pl atte to Omaha, the "Spirit" was forced down at Grand Island with a broken oil line, which was easily fixed. A very strong headwind prolong ed the flight to Kansas City, and being tired, Dick failed to exercise the necessary precautions in landing, result in g in a blown tire. The usual number of pessimists were around at most of the enroute stops, but Dick finally became accustomed to them and paid little attention to their comments. He chose to do h is best and let it go at that. The next day, the eager pilot headed for St. Louis where he stayed over night to atte nd a theatre party given by the boys at the field. Early the next morning he flew to Peo ria, where he was forced to stay a week as winter storms moved through the area. Jam es had planned to fly to Chicago and attend the Aviation Show, but he rece ived a telegram from his Dad advising the lower, or southern route, as there were several storms north which would delay the flight for another week or two. Therefore, Dick headed for Columbus, Ohio, after being forced down at Oakwood, Illinois, out of gas. "Aloha" to the Rescue Another telegram advised Dick his parents would meet him in Columbus, and the next day they arrived with Martin Jen sen in the Breese monoplane, "Aloha", the plane which had placed second in the famed Dole Derby to Hawaii the previous year. The following day the planes became separated flying out of Columbus and Dick returned to the airport. Here is his account of ensu ing events: "At nine o'clock I started out again, but had to turn back on account of low fog over the mountains. At noon Dad called and said they had landed at Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and for me to come through right away via Cleveland. I went up to the Cleveland airport and had the ship checked, but it was pretty late by the time I was ready to go, so I called Dad and told him that I would stay there over night. He did not like the idea, and said to come through to Clarion, Pa., where they would meet me and show me the way to Bellefonte. Orders were orders, so I started out, but had to land at Mercer, as it was getting dark. In the se mi-d ar kness I picked out what I thought was a good field. I prepared to land, cutting the speed as much as possibl e by "fish tailing" and "slipping". When I got all set to land I level
ed out and waited fo r it to hit the ground and stop. Th e wh eel s hit th e ground before th e tail and sank to t he hub s in th e soft dir t. I had pi cked out a pl owed field and didn 't know it ! Wh en th e whee ls stu ck th e tail went up in the air and ove r before I kn ew it. I hung head down for a seco nd or two, thinkin g, and OH! wh at I th ought! After I figured it all out, I bega n to rea li ze th at I was upside down and that th e gas was beginnin g to lea k out in front of me, so I released the safety belt and " fell" out. By this tim e th ere were quite a few peopl e around asking if I was hurt. Wh en they found I was alright, I asked th em to help turn th e ship back to its proper position. I go t to a teleph o ne and call ed Dad and Moth e r at Cl arion, telling them what had happ ened . Th ey told me to stay th ere and th ey would be right down to help. Th ey borro wed a ca r and ca me to th e fi eld , wh ere we work ed all ni ght fixing up th e ship. It had a brok en propeller and a bent stru t, but by noon th e next day, I was ready to continu e. I was in such a rush to get away, that again I negl ected to ch eck the ship, as I should have done, so an hour after starting, while in a snowstorm over one of the worst spots in the Alleghenies, th e motor stopped dead. Naturally the first thing I thought about was a place to land. In that country it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The BIG Crack-up! "I had had plenty of sensations during my previous flying, but I had more thrills in the five minutes it took me to land than all the time before. I immediately nosed the ship down to keep up flying speed and then looked for a possible place to land. Right below I saw a field that, though it did not look big enough to land in, was the largest one within gliding distance. It was up to me to maneuver the plane with dead motor to the field. I went out over the trees as far as I dared, then cut back to the field, "fish-tailing" and "slipping" again to lose all speed gained on the glide. I just cleared the trees at the end and was just leveling off for my landing when I noticed a fence and a ditch in front of me, so I had to bounce the wheels on the ground to clear them, all the time taking a chance of nosi ng over as I had done before. I didn't quite clear the fence, as the tail-skid caught and broke. I again tried to level off without the motor and swung to the right to avoid a sink hole that had been left from mining operations. In swinging, one wing caught in the line of trees on th e right, and was pulled into them. I finally managed to get my safety-belt loose and got out of the sh ip to see what damage had been done, and
Above: Frank Goldsborough, and the "Ameri足 can Boy" of whom Dick wrote, "We were in High School together, belonged to the same Flying Club and were almost as brothers for about three years." Frank set the first junior round-trip transcontinental record in May 7930足 34 hrs. 3 min., NY to LA, and 28 hrs. 78 min., LA to NY.
believe me, it looked like a total wreck. The wings had all been broken somewhat by the trees, the propeller was broken, and also the motor mount and tail-skid. "Martin had been flying alongside up to this time, but had gotten a little ahead of me, and had not noticed I was missing until he landed at Bellefonte. I tried to find a phone to let th em know what had happened, but after trying for about three hours I gave up, to wait until they came back for me. Finally th ey located the wreck and began to circl e around to find a fi eld in which to land. They located a small spot fiftee n miles away and la nd ed there. Then, they too k an hour trying to get to me with a car, because th ose mountains sure look alike. When th ey located me th ey asked if I was hurt, and again I was lucky to be able to say " No " . Martin mad e a list of the things he needed to fix up th e ship and we all left fo r th e nea rest town , pl annin g to go bac k aft er the ship th e nex t
SPECIAL THANKS TO -足 Dick James for past and present correspondence and pictures, and his account of the flight in AERO MECHANICS, December 1929. Vio la Gentry's HANGAR FLYING and her account of the flight. Kenn Rust for the Frank Goldsborough picture. Glenn Buffington day. "The next day we sent four men to the sh ip to tear it apart and bring it back to town, where we were staying. Martin and I then started for Hagerstown, Md., in his sh ip to get the necessary parts to fix mine up. When we got back that night the men had the ship in one of the garages in the little town of Kylertown, where we could fix it. " We spent a whole week there, working night and day. Finally it was all set to go again. I took it up for a short flight and it flew a lot different than the last tim e I had flown it. We could not find a German propell er for it, so had to put on an old OX-S prop. It was turning up 1400 revolutions wh en it should have turned up at least 1800, but it flew, and th at was all I cared about at th e tim e. " Th e engine stopp age had been ca used by a malfun c足
18
tioning wind-driven fuel pump damaged during the previous forced landing. Home with Victory The "Sprirt" was flown to Sunbury, Pa., followed by a hop over New Jersey and then across Staten Island to the homeport, Curtiss Field. Dick landed amidst a great tumult of well-wishers, was picked up by the county police and driven to New York in an open car for a reception with the then-Mayor, Jimmy Walker. Howeve r, it was Charley Hand who greeted the young hero as Walker had a previous engagement as Dick had kept him waiting too long! Dick was given "the keys to the City and the ticker tape ride from the Battery and everything that goes with it." Subsequently, he was presented the $1,000 check by Thomas L. Hill, President of the American Society for the Promotion of Aviation, at a luncheon at the Roosevelt Hotel; also a loving cup by Dr. K.G. Frank of the Siemens·Halske Motor Company. A few days later he was flown by Martin Jensen in the "Aloha" to Wash ington, D.C. and was presented to President Calvin Coolidge at the White House. It was a fitting climax to a flight which had taken much ingenuity and fortitude. The historic flight was the culmination of an ambition by one of the early-on junior pilots of America. Epilogue Dick J ames' flight helped to inspire other youthful pilots and subsequent round-trip, coast-to-coast record flights were made by a close friend, Frank Goldsborough in a Kinner Fleet; Eddie Schneider, Cessna AW; Robert N. Buck, J-5 Pitcairn; and Stanley Boynton, Cessna DC-6B. All these flights were flown during the year of 1930. Dick worked five years at Grumman (1940-45) as Chief Flight Inspector; he was the last one to okay air planes for flight and delivery to the Navy -- physical check, not flight. He spent six years with Coil Winders, Inc., electron ics manufacturers, as Sales Manager and Vice-President of Sales and another ten years with Northfield Precision I nstrument Corp., as salesman, Sales Manager, and finally last six years as Vice-President Sales. Retiring in '71, he moved to Phoenix, Arizona in '73. Present hobbies are ceramics, photography and bowling, and just recently he came out of retirement to establish a mail order business to help combat some rising family medical expenses. We certainly wish him well with this new venture. ~
19
()
On Page 15, left column, top paragraph, it says -
"The heavy wooden legs" to which the landing
wheels are attached. The facts are the landing gear
struts (or legs) were of steel.
Very truly yours,
RYSON AVIATION CORP.
T. Claude Ryan President TCR:jbe cc: Dave Fox October 14, 1977
Rirmail August 15, 1977 J.R. Nielander, Jr., President Antique/Classic Division of The Experimental Aircraft Association P.O. Box 229 Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130 Dear Mr. Nielander:
Several copies of the Lindbergh Commemorative issue
of your publication, "The Vintage Airplane", were
given to me when I was attending the Oshkosh E.A.A.
meeting last week.
In reading the article entitled "Lindbergh's Great
Partner" by Frank Parker Stockbridge, I was sur
prised at three quite ridiculous errors. On Page 12, far
right column, second paragraph, first sentence, says-
"The fuselage, or body, of the plane is suspended
from the wi ngs by wooden struts." The facts arc - the
struts were steel, round in cross section, faired with
balsa, making a streamlined shape.
On the eleventh line of that same paragraph, referring
to the elevators and rudder, it says -- "are of wood
covered with fabric." The facts are those surfaces
were of steel tubing frame construction with fabric
covering.
Mr. T. Claude Ryan, President RYSON Aviation Corp. 548 San Fernando Street San Diego, California 92106 Dear Mr. Ryan: With reference to the article in the July issue of THE VINTAGE AI RPLANE titled, "Lindbergh's Great Partner," I am in complete agreement with you that the errors there are ridiculous, and, in fact, our editor was quite aware of these errors when he printed the article. However, he felt that the histori cal signifiance of the article far outweighed any in accuracy. If you will re-check page 3 of the July edition of THE VINTAGE AI RPLANE, you will note in the box an editor's note which states that the articles in this particular issue came from POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHL Y magazine and were originally printed in 1927 and 1928. That article on page 3, from the caption at the top, was in the April, 1928, edition. All of the other articles in that July edition are also from POPULAR SCI ENCE MONTHL,( with the ex ception of the article starting on page 21 which was reprinted from the SMITHSONIAN magazine, so actually these errors were made by Mr. Stockbridge shortly after the time that Lindbergh made the flight. I n fact, I imagine if you probe way back in your memory, sir, you will remember that you probably read POPULAR SCI ENCE MONTHLY in those days . You probably read Mr. Stockbridge's article that
originally was printed, and you probably had the same dismay at the thought of the errors back then. Mr. Ryan, it certainly is a pleasure to hear from .you, and I certainly did enjoy the opportunity of meeting you again at the convention this year and having an opportunity to talk with you for a few minutes. I hope you'll be able to make our conven tion again next year. If so, I'll look forward to seeing you and I hope that maybe, if we reprint any more articles on Lindbergh, we'll be able to find some that are technically correct. I know we would all prefer that, and I know it },!ould make you much happier. Again, thanks for writing.
Sincerely,
J.R. Nielander, Jr., President
I RN/sw August 8, 1977 Mr. J .R. Nielander c/o Antique/Classic Div. E.A.A. Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130 Dear Mr. Nielander, Congatulations on a most successful Oshkosh '77! You and your colleagues are certainly to be com mended for the generosity shown in inviti ng our Cessna 120/140 Association and the West Coast Club to participate in our type forums. The tent, seating, P.A. system, and especially, the E.A.A. officer in charge, all combined for excellent
facilities and management of the meetings.
Although the West Coast representative was unable to
come to Oshkosh, we got an alternate from our ranks,
so the time was well spent on the intended type .
Thanks again for your cooperation, generosity, and efficient planning. We are already looking forward to Oshkosh '78. Yours truly, Tom Teegarden (No. 2540) Director, Past President Cessna 120/1 40 Assoc. Box 92 Richardson, TX 75080
P.O. Box 57, Melbourne Airport, TULLAMARINE, VIC. 3045 22nd September, 1 977. Mr. J. R. Nielander Jr., P.O. Box 2464,
FT LAUDERDALE, FLA. 33303, U.S.A.
Dear Mr. Nielander, The above Association has been following, with interest, the discussions that have been conducted in "The Vintage Airplane" about the scarcity of old aeroplanes for restoration. Please don't come to Austral ia and try to take ours, the few we have are now on the prohibited ex port list. The Commonwealth Government at our in stigation and pressure has stopped the outflow of old aircra ft. Don't think too badly of us for this action, but we need all the old planes we have still got. Our motto is "Keep the Old Birds Flying" and that is what we are trying to do. Enclosed is a copy of our latest newsletter which might interest you. Kind regards, W. Baker,
Honorary Secreta ry
This year the pace has been on. Four Foxmoth fuselages are underway - at present they are ready for assembly. Our No.1 hangar was looking more like an aircraft factory geared up with machines, jigs, etc., so a diversion from operation Foxmoths was made to build a similar hangar next door. Stan Smith has also built a hangar next door, so things are really happen ing. Now that construction work is over, the hangars have been cleared out ready for action. Our Air Department has settled down, and they are far more co-operative. Stan and Myles are working well together, which also helps progress. We did have a slight diversion - 2nd July we were married and had an informal, friendly wedding with a minimum of hustles - a lot of fun. Myles was pleased that it didn't interrupt too much. He came away on a Hong Kong flight with me the next week. I was work ing, but we have four days off up there, so we had a pleasant break. Odd snippets of news reach us from time to time of the Antique scene in U.S.A. - hope you all had a successful season . Perhaps Myles will make Oshkosh next year. Well, J .R., this will catch you up briefly on our news. You must be due for another visit down under to see what it is like when it isn't raining!! We are slightly more organized these days - would love you to visit. Kindest regards,
Valda Robertson Auckland, New Zea land 20th September 1977
Dear J .R. , Myles always seems to be racking the clock, so he had delegated me a pi Ie of overdue letters to write!!
A lot of progress has been made since you were down our way. Possibly you have heard bits and pieces, so I'll fil l in the details briefly. After com pleting BFP (Moth Minor under constructio n while you were here), Myles did'a repeat performance on AKM. She was completed late in February. Prior to reb uilding the latter, we sloshed in mud, wind and rain building a hangar at Dairy Flat Airfield - 20 min utes North and much handier than Ardmore.
Valda & Myles Robertson Auckland, New Zealand
Roy Oberg 8040 Shadybrook S. E. Ada, Mich. 49301 No. 5000 Dear Mr. Nielander: Please find my enclosed dues for another year to "The Vintage News",. I certainly have enjoyed the magazine and like the new format, my hat is off to you and all the others that make it possib le.
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I have had many a chuckle from your Oct. '76 Article and subsequent letters as to the "intenders" and the "doers". I can only comment that there would be one hell of a lot less "doers" if it were not for the intenders, locating, dismantling and storing the old goodies. Just ask the Wegners, Williams et al where they got their pride and joys. Just some food for thought. Sincerely, Roy Oberg
October 4, 1977 Mr. J.R. Nielander, Jr. EAA Antique Classic Division P.O. Box 229 Hales Corners, WI 53120 Dear Mr. Nielander: Received your letter of September 23, thanking me for my efforts during the EAA Convention. Certainly, no thanks is needed in this instance, since I personally was happy to do it and, quite frankly, it made the convention more meaningful to me being a more active part of it.
P.s. Iv'e been in both camps.
a recent photograph of the candidate and shall contain a brief resume of his background and experience. Candi dates must have been members of the EAA Antique/ Classic Division in good standing for the previous two consecutive years. Each petition requires a minimum of ten (10) signatures of EAA Antique/Classic Division members in good standing with their Division member ship number and expiration date. Nominating petitions must be submitted to the Chair man of the Nominating Committee, EAA Antique/ Classic Division, c/o EAA Headquarters no later than March 8, 1978. Voting instructions and procedures will be published in a later issue of THE VINTAGE AIR PLANE.
Sincerely, June 15, 1977 Ed Swearingen Dear Sir: The Seminole Air Force is collecting Prayers & Poems for Airmen. The collection will be compiled into a booklet and presented to the Experimental Air craft Association for printing and subsequent sale by them. The profit from the booklet sale will be used by the E.A.A. for the E.A.A. Museum and other E.A.A. educational projects. The Seminole Air Force is writing all those with an interest in aviation for any material they might have that could be used in the booklet. As far as we know, no publication of Prayers & Poems for' Airmen exists and the E.A.A. Booklet will contain, in one collection, some very beautiful Prayers & Poems for Airmen written for and by those who love flying and the Aviation world. Proper credits will be given in the booklet and releases for original works are solicited. I am a Princess in the mythical Seminole Air Force (We are Chapter 565 E.A.A.) and would appreciate your help in this project. All material will be ac knowledged by return mail. Thank you. Sincerely, Mrs. Ruth Jobes 25 Estate Drive North Fort Myers Florida 33903
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EOS:pk Calendar of Events NOMINATIONS FOR
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
In accordance with the Division By-Laws, as amend ed, the terms of two officers and four directors will expire at the 1978 EAA Antique/Classic Division Annual Business Meeting to be held on August 5, 1978, at Osh kosh, Wisconsin, during the 26th EAA International Fly-In Convention. Those offices which will expire are: PRESIDENT SECRETARY DIRECTORS
J. R. Nielander, Jr. W. Brad Thomas, Jr. AI Kelch Morton W. Lester Arthur R. Morgan M.e. "Kelly" Viets
All of the incumbents have indicated that they will be candidates for reelection. Additional nominations for these offices shall be made on official nomination forms obtainable from the headquarters of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc., P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130. The nominating petition shall include
January 23-29, 1978
Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, Lake land, Florida
May 26-29, 1978
Monocoupe Club and Ryan Club Fly-In, Dacy Airport, Harvard, Illinois
June 23-25, 1978
National Waco Club Fly In, Hamilton Airport, Hamilton, Ohio
July 8-9, 1978
National Stinson Club Fly-In, Minden, Nebraska
July 29-Aug. 5, 1978 - Experimental Aircraft As sociation Convention and Fly-I n, Wittman Field, Oshkosh, Wisconsin Aug. 27 -Sept. 4, 1978 - Antique Airplane Associa tion Convention, Antique Airfield, Blakesburg, Iowa
Are you restoring a Classic?
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