VA-Vol-8-No-2-Feb-1980

STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

By Brad Thomas

Any successful venture, whether it be a one per­ son business or a large corporation, depends upon its internal leadership to succeed. A small clothing busi­ ness must bring to its customers the latest items of interest and fashion , and they must be availabl~ when the customer enters the picture to make a purchase .

Where does the business obtain the information needed to purchase these needed, saleable items?

Several sources are available: reputable salesmen; trade publications; catalog sources from manufactur­ ers and suppliers; verbal requests of customers who observed ads on TV , radio, newspapers and magazines, etc.

The large corporation will have a research and de­ vel opment department. Through the leadership of this department, intelligent planning is kept well ahead of production scheduling to allow the corpora­ tion to manufacture a successful product that is ac­ ceptable to the customer. The demands and require­ ments of the public definitely affect the continuing work of the research and development portion of the large corporation. These demands and requirements often change rapidly and unexpectedly, thus creating tremendous stress upon the management of the cor­ poration . By and large though , the basic purchas er controls the volume and success of any business, be it small or large.

What has all of this to do with EAA and our Antique/ Classic Division? Technically we are a small business, set up to promote antiqu e and classic air­ craft , assist those restoring and maintaining their air­ craft , conduct meetings , displays and educational programs relating to aviation, and improve aviation safety and education. We are a division of EAA which is a large corporation, well known and respected throughout the aviation fi eld . So hert. Ie are , both a small business and an active division of a large corpo­

ration. Our division must communicate with its members and attempt to assist them with their re­ quirements and needs, frequent ly and effectively.

This method of communication is accomplished through our publication The VINTAGE AIRPLA NE. For a publication to exist, it must have a publisher , an editor, a staff, and articles of interest. It should also have event calendars, chapter news , restoration arti­ cles, historical articles, fly-in coverage , and advertis­ ing. Let us cover each individual item .

Our pubrisher is Paul H. Poberezny, Founder and President of EAA. His initiative and drive has resulted in the high regard afforded EAA and the Antique/ Class ic Division .

Without an editor a publication cannot exist. Gene Chase was recognized as such in our January '80 issue of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE. His basi c duty is to or­ ganize and edit our publication each month. W e will not go into the details of the editor 's schedule to complete an issue of The VINTAGE A IRPLA NE . The time, effort, and expertise required is overwhelming.

The staff required to support his responsibility as editor is basically controlled by the size and fre­ quency of the publication.

Articles of interest are classified as those of a spe­ cial nature not covered under other listed categories.

An example would be a story of a unique, antique engine, or a one-of-a-kind aircraft.

Our Calendar of Events covers those fly-ins of general interest to antique and classic enthusiasts. It also includes regional fly-ins such as Chino, Sun ' N Fun , Tullahoma , et c. W e need a minimum of six weeks notice to enter these dates into the calendar.

Your cooperation in promptly getting these dates to the editor is very important.

Chapter news is an item that we have not covered effectively. Even though the numb e r of chapters is

not larg e, they do exist and we would like to let the entire membership know of the various chapter ac­ tivitie s and projects . Some division chapters m ee t only once or twice a year at their fly-ins. Others m eet more frequently. We want to pr ese nt chapter ac­ tivities in the magazine, whether th e meetings are frequent or infrequent . Chapter officers should e n­ courage members to ad\ii~e us of their restoration projects. A lso, coverage of even small impromptu fly­ ins , including picnics , breakfast or luncheon gather­ ings which could provide some interest i ng read i ng.

No one is more proud than a restorer who has completed his project! There for all to see is the complet ed aircraft, ready to fly .and spotless, without hangar rash. The restorer needs to be recognized for his efforts and what better way than an article in The VINTAGE AIRPLA NE . He doesn't have to be a " write r".

Just get as many facts as possible concerning restora­ tion and include photographs (black and white, if possible) taken throughout the restoration . Thos e small, interesting details of "ge tting a lost part " or obtaining the antique engine or finding the original paint scheme of a classic aircraft are the highlights to feature in the story. These same photographs can b e used to document the authenticity of the restoration and can be worth up to five points when the aircraft is judged at Oshkosh or a fly-in using our standard judgi ng procedu re o Most of our chapters have their own fly-ins, and unfortunately we have not had the finances available to send a representative from Headquarters to cover them. Our coverage has been entirely a voluntary one by a Division member in that area or a memb er of the sponsori ng chapter.

Coverage has been limited, due possibly to the fact that many of us think we do not have the ability to perform the job satisfactorily. If only one memb er of the chapter takes the responsibility to get sharp, black and white photos , and another member jot s down notes concerning the various eve nts , winners, etc., and identifies the photos sent, then adds, in his or her own words, the highlights of th e fly-in, we will work the photos and words into an interesting article for all to enjoy in The VINTAGE AIRPLANE. We also welcome any Type Clubs to forward us newsworthy articles and photos of th eir fly-ins . Many do not hav e a publication of their own, so her e is the opportunity to rec eiv e the recognition so well de­ served.

The historical articles are a must for our publi ca ­ tion. Th e nostalgia of r ea ding about th e pas t and then picturing ourselves in th e shoes of th e aviators in the (Contin u ed o n Page 26)

Editorial

Staff

Tti~ VI~TA(7~ AII2VLA~~ OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC

DIVISION INC.

Publisher Paul H. Poberezny

of THE EXPER IMENTAL A IRCRAFT ASSOC IAT ION P.O. Box 229, Hale s Corne rs, W I 53130

Editor

Gene R. Chase

Haro ld O . Wilson of Greensbo ro, GA is th e proud own er of this sharp, 1956 Cessna 1708 , N35830 .

CopyrightO 1980 EAA Antiqu e/Classic Division , In c., All Rights Reserv ed .

FEBRUARY 1980

NUMBER 2

VOLUME 8

(On Th e Co ver . .. G ene Coppock's ra re Stinso n A Trimotor flies over Wisconsin farm land near O shkosh . Ph o to by Di ck Stouffer.!

Associate Editors: H. Gl enn Buffin g to n , Edward D . William s, By ron (Fr ed) Fr ed eri ckse n , Li o n el Sa li sbury Readers are enco urag ed to submit stories and ph otograph s. Associate Editorships are assign ed to t hose writers who su bm it fiv e o r more arti c les which are published in THE VINTA GE AIR­ PLANE duri ng th e c urrent yea r. Associates re ce ive a bound volu me o f THE VI NTAGE AIR ­ PLANE and a free o ne-yea r mem bers hip in th e Divis ion f o r th ei r e ffort s. POLIC Y- Opi ni o n s expressed in arti cles are so lely th ose of the authors . Res po nsibil ity fo r acc uracy in re po rt ing rests ent irely w ith th e co nt ributor.

Directors

PRESIDENT W. BRAD THOMAS, JR. 301 DODSON M ILL ROAD PI LOT MOUNTAIN, NC 27041 919/368-2875 Home 919/368-2291 Office

VICE· PRESIDENT JACK C. WINTH ROP ROUTE 1, BOX 111 ALLEN, TX 75002 2141727-5649 '

SECRETARY M . C. " KE LLY" VIETS 7745 W . 183RD ST. STILW ELL, KS 66085 913/681-2303 Ho me 91 3/782-6720 Office

TREASURER E. E. " BUCK" HILBERT P.O . BOX 145 UN ION , IL 60180 815/923-4205

Clau de l. Gray, Ir. 9635 Sylv ia Ave nu e Northridge. CA 91324 21313 49· '1338

Mort o n W. les ter P. O . Box 3747 Ma rtin svi ll e, VA 24112 703/632 -4 839 H o me 703/638· 8783 O ffi ce

Da le A. G u sta fso n 7724 Sh ad y Hill Dr ive In dianap o li s, IN 46274 317/293·4430

Arthur R. Morgan 3744 North 51st Blvd.

M il wa uk ee, W I 532 16 414/44 2·363'1

Ri char d H . Wagner P. O. Box 181 Lyo n s, W I 53 148 414 /763·20 17 Home 414/763-9588 O ff ice

TABLE OF CONTENTS Vi ew Po int b y Ge n e Chase .. .. ....... .. , . . . . .. . .. . . .. . ,. . . .. . . . . . ... . . .

Stin so n M o d el A Trim o to r b y Edward D . W i lli am s. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .

It Mu st Be L For Lanky b y Li o n el Sali sbury . . . . . . . ... .. . . . ......... . . .. . ..

EAA-U SAF Mu se um Tour b y Jim Campb e ll ...... .... .. .. .... .. .. .. ......

Th e Clan cy Sk yb a by Bo rn 193 1 b y Ly n ett e Ann Butl e r ( nee Clan cy ) .. ... . . .

A Curtiss Album by G eor ge Hard i e , Jr ... . .... . . .. . . ........ ... .. . . . .. . . .

Bo r den ' s A e ro plane Pos te rs From Th e 1930' s b y Lion el Sal isbury . .. .. ... . .

Letter s .... . ... . .... .. . . .. .. . . . . . .. .. . . ... . ... . .. ..... .. ..... ... . .. . ...

Ca le ndar O f Ev ents ... .. .... .. . .. .. . . ... .. .. . . . .. . .. . . ...... . .. • .. .. . . .

Sea ttl e's N ew Pa cifi c Mu seum Of Fli g ht b y Po ll y Lan e . . ... . .. . . . . .. . . . . . .

Jo hn R. Tu rgya n 1530 Ku ser Roa d Tr enton , N J 08619 609/58 5·2747

Rob ert E. Kesel 455 Oa kridge Dri ve Roch es t er , NY 1461 7 7161342·3 170 H o me 716/325· 2000 , Ex t.

23250/2332 0 O ffi ce

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP MEMBER - $22.00. Includes one year membership in th e EAA Antique/ Classic Di visio n, 12 mo nthly iss ues of THE VINTAGE A IRPLANE ; o ne yea r mem­ bership in th e Experim ental Aircraft Association and separate membership cards .

SPORT AVIATION magazine not includ ed .

Advisors John S. Cop eland Stan Gom oll 9 Joa nn e Driv e 1042 90th Lan e, NE W est b o rou gh, MA 01 58'1 Minneapoli s, M N 55434 61 21784·1172 6171366·7245

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o NON-EAA

AI Kelch

66 W . 622 N. M ad i so n Avenu e

Cedar burg. W I 53012

414/377·5886 H o m e

Ronald Frit z 1989 Wil so n, N W Grand Rapid s, M I 49504 616/4 53·7525

(On Th e Back Cover .

1929 Buh l Sporl Sedan, CA-JE, Seri al Number 57 filled wilh a Packard Diesel

engin e. This a ircrafl is a modified CA-J D which was originall y po w ered by a Wrighl /-6. Ca n anyone

idenlify Ih e IWO genl/em en ? Ph olo from Ih e Lee Worlh inglon Co lleclion.)

o Gen e M o rr is 27 Ch andelle Dri ve Hampshir e, I L 60140 3 12/683·3 199

EAA MEMBER - $14.00. Includes one yea r membership in the EAA Antique/Cla ssic Divi sio n, 12 monthly iss ues of THE VINTAGE AIR PLAN E AND MEMBERSH IP CARD. (Appl ica nt mu st be current EAA member and mu st give EAA membership number .)

George S. York 181 Slob oda Ave. M an sfi eld , O H 44906 Busin ess Ph o n e 419/755·1011 H om e Ph o ne 41 9/529-4378

THE VI NTAGE AIR PLANE (ISSN 0091 -6943) is o wn ed excl usively by EAA Ant ique/Classic D ivis io n. In c .. an d is publ ished monthly at Hales Corners , Wiscon s in 53 130. Second c lass Postag e paid at Hales

Corn ers Post O ff ice , Hales Corn ers, Wisco nsin 53 130. and add itiona l maili ng o ffi ces. Membersh ip rat es for EAA Ant ique/Classic Divis ion , In c., are $ 14.00 per 12 m o nth per iod of w hich $10 .00 is for the pu bli cat io n of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Member ship is ope n to a ll w ho are interested in aviation .

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IIIEW POln'T

by Gene Chase As Senior Editor of EAA Publications, I look for­ ward to my new responsibilities, which include edit­ ing Th e VINTAGE AIRPLANE. I hope that my experi­ ence, both past and present, and my special interest in antique and classic aircraft will be translated into producing a magazine which will appeal to each member of the Division.

Any and all suggestions from you, the reader, will be welcomed and considered. Please let us know what you would like to see in the magazine. Or bet­ ter yet, submit articles and pictures of your own pro­ ject or experiences, or those of other members or ac­ tivities in your area.

In the future we hope to tip the scales in favor of current projects and activities rather than historical articles in the magazine . With reader participation in submitting material as m entioned above, we can ac­ complish this.

We will continue to publish articles of historic in­ terest, however we will endeavor to present material not previously published, whenever possible. In this way we can playa small part in pres erving bits and pieces of aviation history.

A certain amount of nostalgia is also in order ac­ cording to the favorable response we get from read­ ers concerning the series of Borden's Aeroplane Posters. These bring back special and fond memories to me as a kid growing up in the 1930's.

Before I could afford to buy aviation magazines I could manag e the few pennies need ed to send off for these posters. Her e in the U. S. they were made av­ ailable by the Thompson Malted Milk Company and I had the complete set. To me they were veritable trea­ sures and they provided me with my very first "tech4

nical " knowledge of aircraft. I read the back sides of the posters so many times that I had memorized th e specifications and performance data of each aircraft.

While awaiting my orders to active duty as a Naval Aviation Cadet in WW II , I gave away dozens of my model planes to kids in town (Scottsbluff, Nebraska).

I also gave away all of my Thompson Posters, and many times since have wished that I had saved them.

Needl ess to say, I was delighted when the series started in The VINTAGE A IRPL ANE, thanks to Lionel Salisbury and the readers who have made their col­ lections available for publication .

Som e of you may not be aware of the chapter program in the Antique/ Classic Division. Although the number of chapters is small at this time, the officers and directors would like to see the number grow.

The benefits of chapter participation are numerous , including the opportunity to gain new members through chapter activities. As Division President , Brad Thomas points out in his "S traight and Level" column this month, increased m embership is the key to being able to afford the expenses of additional pages in this magazine .

Currently, the chapter roster looks like this : Chapter 1 Lakeland , Florida Paul Hopkins 1617 South Florida Avenue Lakeland , FL 33803 TELEPHONE: (813) 646-2911 MEETING : Contact President Chapter 2 Cypress, Texas William F. Russell 3440 South Loop West Houston , TX 77025 TELEPHONE : (713) 666-7441 MEETING: 4th Sunday , 2: 00 P.M ., Dry Creek Airport

Chapter 3 Charlotte, North Carolina Brad Thomas Box 608 Pilot Mountain, NC 27041 TELEPHONE: (919) 368-2875 MEETING: Spring (1st Weekend in May), Bur­ lington, North Carolina and Fall (1 st Week­ end in October), Ca mden , South Carolina

Chapter 4 Minneapolis, Minnesota Stan Gomoll 1042 90th Lane, NE Blaine , MN 55434 TELEPHONE: (612) 784-1172 MEETING: Quarterly, Anoka County Airport Chapter 5 CHAPTER STATUS REPORT NOT ON FILE AT HEADQUARTERS Chapter 6 Rochester, New York William F. Leonard 231 Eugene Street Rochester , NY 14606 TELEPHONE: (716) 458-2403 MEETING : 3rd Thursday , 8:00 P.M., Spencerport Airpark Chapter 7 Flanders, New Jersey Walt Ahlers 60 Main Street Flanders, NJ 07836 TELEPHONE: (201) 584-7983 MEETING: 4th Sunday , 10:00 A.M., Flanders Valley Airport Chapter 8 Grand Rapids, Michigan Ronald Fritz 1989 Wilson , N.W. Grand Rapids, MI 49504 TELEPHONE: (616) 453-7525 MEETING : Quarterly, location varies Chapter 9 Seattle , Washington David G. Tatom Rt. 2, Box 21 03 Flying B Airport Yelm, WA 98526 TELEPHONE: (206) 894-2247 MEETING: Day and tim e varies, Auburn The procedure for forming a chapter is quite sim­ ple. A minimum of five (5) Division m embers is re­ quired and other information may be obtained by contacting Cindee at EAA Headquarters.

Sttnson Model vi Trilllotor

b y Ed w ard D. W illi am s

Ass o c ia te Editor

7 13 Ea stm an Dri ve

M o unt Prosp ec t, IL 6005 6

Antique aircraft enthu siasts will be happy to lea rn that a 1936 Stinson A trimotor, last r eport ed as a weather-ravaged hulk rescued from th e Alaskan wil­ d ern ess , is "a liv e and well " and flying in Illin o is.

Be ca u se of th e h ard work and d ed i ca ti on of Eugene D. Coppock , of Lak e in th e Hill s, Illin o is, hi s wife, Rob e rta , and th ei r 21-yea r -o ld so n , Van , the only flyable Stinson A in the world was res tored just in time to appear in las t yea r 's EAA Fly-In / Conventi on at Osh ko sh . Th ere, the M odel A w as named Champ­ ion in the tran spo rt catego ry in th e Antiqu e/ Class i c judging .

In a highly info rm ativ e articl e in th e Jun e, 1978, iss u e of Th e VINTA GE A IRPLANE, Associate Ed it o r By ron (F red) Fredericksen to ld graphi ca ll y h ow th e rar e Stinson A - NC1 5165 - had bee n rescu ed from the f rozen Alaskan tu ndra by Jerome D. Berry after an alm os t sup erhuman effort last in g more than ten yea rs and that it finally was being restored at Crysta l Lak e, Illinoi s.

That resto rati o n work began in 1973 in Gene Cop­ pock 's private han gar at the Crysta l Lak e Airport and wa s co mpl eted in late Jul y, 1979.

Beca us e Fr ede ri c k se n 's ar ticl e was so w ell de­ tailed , a lengthy account of th e Stinson's nea r d emi se in Alaska more th an 30 yea rs ago won ' t b e repeated h er e. Freder icksen ~s d ed ica ti o n to the rescu e of th e Stinson and hi s' interest in its restoration dates back to 1970, and hi s account of Berry's and hi s effo rt s to save the old bird from ex tin ction is ex tr em ely valu­ able from a hi sto ri ca l point of vi ew .

Thi s article tak es up where Fr ed eri ckse n 's left off.

It seems only natural that Coppo ck , an expe ri ­ enced restor er of antiqu e planes, would be int eres ted in the thr ee-e ngin e Stinson sin ce h e is a Unit ed Air­ lines Captain who flies th e thr ee-e ngine Boei ng 727 jetlin er for a living.

In addition to bein g an airline pilot, Coppock is a li ce ns e d airfram e and p ower plant m ec hani c. H e learn ed th e m ech ani c's trad e in a thre e-yea r hit ch in th e Nav y and afterwards in c ivilian lif e, and h e lea rn ed to fly as a civili an und er th e G. I. Bill.

(P hotos by Author)

It't·

Coppoc k 's interest in th e Stin so n A ha s o th e r stron g root s in hi s flying ca reer . It is th e sa m e typ e of plane flown by Ce ntral Airlines and th e n by th e m erged Pe nn sy lva ni a- Ce ntral Airlines in th e mid­ 1930s. Penn- Ce ntral in 1948 b eca m e Capital Airlines, whi ch m e rge d int o Unit ed Airlines in 1961. Since Coppo ck was a D C-6 flight engin ee r with Ca pital at th e tim e, h e also m erged into United.

Coppock had jo in ed Ca pital Airlines in 1957, and

he ha s restor ed th e Stin son in th e Navy blu e and red

co lo rs and markin gs of Pennsylvania-Central Airlines ,

it s predecessor.

Coppock said th at hi s Stin so n was bein g operated by an Alaskan fl yin g se rvi ce when it mad e a wheels up forced l andin g in soft snow in th e wilderness about 90 mil es west o f N enana, Alaska in N ovembe r , 1947. Although not serio usly damaged, it w as aba n­ don ed on th e sp o t. Berry, of Fairbanks , beca m e in­ terested in NC1 5165 in 1961, got titl e to the d er eli ct in '1964 and th en took eight winters to get it back to civi li za tion.

Coppock , m ea nwhil e, bought th e plan e from Berry in 1969 o n th e basis th at it be delivered to an access ibl e spo t . H e finally go t to see it firsthand at

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Ge ne Copp ock, w earing

a cap with th e logo of Pe nn s y lv a n i a-Ce ntra I A irlin es o n th e fr o nl, gets his Sti nson read y fo r fli g ht. Th e pl an e wa s painted in th e nav y blu e and red col ors and m ark­ in gs of a Penn- Ce ntral plane that fl ew on th e U. S. M a il A M 14- 22 ro ut e o n th e D etr o it­ Was hington , D .C. run.

Th e Copp ock fa mil y of Lake in th e Hills, Illin ois, w ork ed six years to res lOre th e Stinson A. Sh o win g th e plea sure of th eir accomplishm ent are, left to right, Eug en e D. Cop­ p ock, his wife, Roberta, and th eir son, Van.

Nenana - 60 miles south of Fairbanks - in May, 1972. The fuselage , wing center section and tail were trucked in a large van to Crystal Lake in June , 1972, and Coppock drove up the 3,500 miles the following September with a pickup truck and flat bed truck to get the outer wing panels, engines, props , wheels and ailerons .

However, if it weren't for the absolute conviction

by Berry that the Stinson could be saved , Coppock said , the old airliner would never have reached Il­ linois. Berry had started his long trek to civilization with the Stinson on a huge sled of skids moved along by a Caterpillar tractor. Berry could only move the plane in the winter months when the frozen ground could support the weight of the Caterpillar and its precious cargo . Once, the tractor went through thin ice and Berry had to get it out all by himself. In another mishap later , Berry broke a foot.

But dogged determination paid off, and the Stin­ son in May, 1972, reached Nenana and was ready for the trip to the Lower Forty-Eight.

Coppock stored the Model A in his 75-foot by 75­ foot hangar at the Crystal Lake Airport, but it was a year before he was able to get to the job of restora-

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tion. It then took Coppock, his wife, their son, and a number of good friends six more years to get the plane into the air again. This was accomplished only with a continuous schedule of long and tedious hours of work.

Van, who was only 12 when the Stinson arrived, was a valuable assistant because he was small enough . at that time to get into otherwise inaccessible places, Coppock said. And Roberta " by herself did about 6,000 rib stitch knots on the fuselage alone", Cop­ pock added . She also worked hard with steel wool on every wing rib , and there are 32 ribs in each wing.

The Model A today is in superb condition, but it was a sorry sight when the restoration began in 1973.

Coppock had restored a number of other airplanes , going back to a Piper J-3 Cub in the early 1950's, but th e Stinson was an exceptional challenge because of its size, he said . " In those six years, I had to be a welder, a seamstress, an upholsterer, a cabinet maker , a glazier, an engineer, a painter, a troubleshooter and, once , when I cut my arm , even an emergency medi­ cal corpsman ," Coppock said.

He estimated that in the six years he averaged 10 hours a day of work for the 16 days off he had every month. Roberta recalled that many times she brought him food to the hangar from their home in nearby Lake in the Hills Illinois , very late at night.

Over the years, Coppock said, he got some valu­ able assistance from a number of antique-oriented people. " Some of the hardest workers were United pilots Chuck Weber, Jerod Brandt, Jim Gesler, Jim Lacey, and Jim Dees and also John Schnittker of Un­ ited 's maintenance ," Coppock said.

The Stinson actually did not cause too many big problems , " just a lot of little problems", in its resto­ ration, Coppock reported. Of course, the plane n eeded all new fabriC, which had suffered greatly from the exposure to the Alaskan winters. " Most replacement parts are standard, but I had to make many of them by hand ," Coppock said. The axles had to be machined, and the rotted exhaust stacks had to be replaced . The vacuum-boosted hyd­ raulic brakes needed a lot of work , and fuel contami­ nation caused havoc with the tanks, " Coppock ad­ ded. " My biggest problem was with the old style in­ struments ," he said . " Because exact duplications were non-existent, I had to install newer instru­ ments." The 1936 radio, which could not be replaced with an exact duplicate, weighed about 64 pounds, and Coppock installed a new radio weighing only nine pounds. " That and other work account in part for the fact that the restored plane is lighter than originally," he explained.

As to be expected, the original Goodyear 35 x 15-6 tires were completely shot. " I spent a lot of time try­

The large wing struts w e re designed by Stinson 10 tak e up the shock of landing loads on the thick wing.

ing to find new tires of the same size, and I bought - sight unseen - eight 35 x 15-6 tires that proved worthless," Coppock said . He was able to locate sub­ stitute tires close to the original, however.

The Model A finally took final form in the summer of 1979. It was given its FAA air worthiness certificate on July 25,1979, and NC15165 was test flown the next day.

The test flight was an event to remember and was covered by the local news media. Coppock took it up alone the first time, aided by a ground crew of an­ tique aircraft lovers . The event also drew a crowd of interested spectators, who cheered as Coppock re­ vved up the three engines, taxied out to the runway and then took off. The proudest person in the crowd was Roberta Coppock, who later gave her husband a congratulatory kiss.

As NC15165 roared down the runway for the first time in almost 32 years, one spectator called out, "the tail ' s off", as it reached the half-way point of the strip. Another yelled enthusiastically, "she flies " . A third, who liked what he saw, said of Coppock, "he's a real artist".

Cautious on the initial flight, Coppock circled the cheering crowd once then executed a three-point landing. Back on the ramp with the engines shut down Coppock said: "It works fine . It's easy to con­ trol , but not as good as a 727." He reported only one problem in flight. He had to hand crank the landing gear up and down because of a weak battery. Luckily for Coppock, the Stin son ' s flaps and landing gear were electrically operated but also had a provision for hand operation in an emergency.

Model A, NC15165, was the twenty-fifth of 35 built at the Stinson Aircraft Corporation plant at Wayne, Michigan on February 28 , 1936, with serial number #9125. Its original owner was American Airlines, which took delivery on March 2, 1936. The plane was sold by American to Lavery Airways , at Fairbanks, Alaska, on April 27 , 1940, and to the Ray Peterson Fly-

Th e bea utifull y reslored and re furbi shed interi o r o f Cop ­ pock's Stinson A shows th e comfort and roomin ess o f th e cabin. The seats w ere o riginall y made of aluminum but did no t w ith stand th e yea rs in th e Ala skan wildern ess, so Coppo ck rebuilt th em of steel tubing and cove red th e m with Na ugah yde .

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When the Stinson A was iirst seen in 7933, it was touted as "America's Fastest Tri-Motor", and Coppock's NC 15165 carries that boast on its vertical fin.

ing Service at Anchorage on September 14, 1942. The plane crashed in November, 1947, and title to the wreck was sold to Northern Consolidated Airways the following February. But that firm never attempted to recover the plane from its frozen resting place.

The Stinson A, the last and the best trimotor made

by Stinson was called America's "fastest and most economical trimotor" when it made its appearance in 1933.

The configuration of the low-wing trimotor was unmistakable. It featured a one-piece, double tapered wing with two thick struts on each side to help take up the shock of the landing loads.

The interior was the best of the period, with ac­ commodations for a pilot, co-pilot, stewardess and eight passengers . The cabin was roomy and comfort­ able.

In addition to being soundproofed, the cabin was ventilated and equipped with heaters and shatter-

S

The biggest problem in the restoration of the Stinson A was finding instruments to replace the original instruments that did not stand up against the Alaskan winters as the plane sat on th e frozen tundra for 70 years. Coppock was forced to equip the plane with new instru­ ments because the much-needed 30-year-old type of instruments were not available.

proof windows. At the rear of the cabin, there was a very large baggage bi n (for up to 500 pou nds of bag­ gage) and a lavatory. Coppock said the original seats were aluminum "which didn't hold up very well" in the Alaskan winters. So he had to make new ones of steel tubing. They are the same size and shape of the old seats and are covered with Naugahyde.

The first five Stinsons went into service in mid­ 1934 with Delta Air Corporation and the second batch of five planes went to Central Airlines (the predeces­ sor to Coppock's first employer, Capital) on the Detroit-Washington run. American Airlines, also op­ erated some Stinson A trimotors, including Cop­ pock's for a few years. Four of the planes also were operated by an airline in Australia. A few even ended up in China. Production ended in 1937, and most Stinson A trimotors went out of airline service within a year afterward.

The Model A was powered by three 9-cylinder

Lycoming R-680-5 engines, with 260 horsepower each, and Coppock's plane still has its original engines. It also has Hamilton-Standard controllable props. It has a wing span of 60 feet, length of 36' 10" and a height of 11' 6". It has a cruising speed of 163 miles an hour and a landing speed of 63 miles an hour. It has a range of almost 600 miles. Coppock's Stinson has a gross weight of 10,200 pounds, although it originally had a gross weight of 11,200 pounds.

When not flying Boeing's three-engine jet, Cop­ pock plans to fly the Stinson trimotor at air shows, and it might even become a movie star. "At the '79 Fly-In at Oshkosh, I was asked if I would let it be used in a movie about bush flying at Manitoba, Canada, but I'll have to think about that," Coppock said. Coppock obviously considers that a crash in the wilds of Canada would be no better than a crash in the wilds of Alaska, and he would hate to go through a long restoration project all over agai n.

Gene Coppock gives his plane a quick cleaning with a rag after giving the center engine a supply of oil.

The thin chord of the wing at the wing root is apparent, as are th e bracing wing struts.

This head-on picture shows the double taper of th e Stin足 son's large wing and th e wing struts to th e top of th e fus elage.

9

By Lionel Sa lisbury Seven Harper Rd. Brampton, Ontario, Ca nada , L6W 2 W3

It

(A ll Pholos by SIeve Szarvas)

• RorA'

"C harlie, what's that over there? Those look like the tailfeathers of a Lancaster."

We had gone to Oshawa, Ontario, my family and I for Aviation Days which are held there annually in mid-October . We were the guests of Charlie and Marge Burnet of that city, and we were enjoying a pleasant, but cool day. The air show was great and featured two Harvards, a Chipmunk, and a Grumman Avenger from the collection of the Canadian Warplane Heritage of Hamilton, Ontario . EAA Chap­ ter 364 was in charge of the event, and we really had fun at the exhibits and booths, looking at the static displays, and watching the flying displays . The powered hang gliders were particularly fascinating, for that has got to be the closest thing to flying like the birds. At the far end of the ramp were two DC-3 's that are still in regular use by Skycraft Air Transport Inc., operating out of Oshawa Municipal Airport. It was while I was looking at these that I saw a strange but familiar tail surface poking out from behind the DC-3 's .

"O h yes," was the reply , " that's a Lan cas ter all right. It's owned by a local group.

They are rebuilding it. " I couldn't believe my ears. Rebuilding a Lancaster?

When I was a youngster th ey used to build those things at Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario during the second world war. Th e factory is still there , as a matter

10

of fact, and they use it now to build wings for the Douglas DC-10. Malton Airport is still there too, but they call it Toronto International now . The Royal Canadian Air Force would fly their newly completed Lancasters out of Malton Airport, off runway 28 most of the time. That took these machines over the Town of Brampton, where I have lived most of my life. On a clear day we would get either a Harvard , a Westland Lysander, an Avro Anson or a Lancaster every three minutes.

Avro Lancaster KB889 is owned by the Canadian Air Squadron Society of Oshawa.

It was built in late 1944 or early 1945, the last year of the war, and was actually sent to Britain to join 628 Squadron of the RCAF, which for some reason not known to anybody now, was called the Ghost Squadron. This squadron and aircraft were based at Middleton, St. George, County Durham . It is not known if KB889 ever saw military action. When the war was over it was returned to Canada, where it was put to peacetime work for a number of years on air-sea rescue duty. The aircraft still bears thos e markings, although they are somewhat faded .

In 1965, in retirement, it went to the Age of Flight Museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario, where it was on static display , and where , as so often happens , it suf­ fered from vandalism. In 1968 Ken Shortt of Markham , Ontario arranged to have th e machin e dismantled and shipped by barge through th e Weiland Canal, across

Th e electri cal panel at th e flight engineer 's station.

Th e " ;ohn " needs

a minimum of restoration.

Th e Lanca ster 's front offi ce.

Ge rry Garrard tries out th e pilor's seat.

Lake Ontario to Whitby, a short distance from Oshawa. Then, in the dark of night the fuselage of KB889 was towed on its landing gear, tail wheel first, up the high­ way to the Oshawa Airport, accompanied by police escort. As the story goes the operator of the five wheel tractor that towed the lumbering Lanky misjudged a cor­ ner , and actually dropped one of the landing gear wheels into a ditch. I wonder how he ever got it out.

When the group started work on the mammoth project, many of the com· ponents were damaged or missing. Much of the time has been spent in acquiring and installing replacements for original gear . It is still possible to obtain original equipment parts from a few industrial supply houses that have "aircraft junk" either in the back of the shop or in the yard behind the store. Joe Corrigan and Dave Sut­ ton make trips around the country scouring these places for such parts. Other re­ placement parts have been donated.

It came as quite a surprise to me to learn that there are a total of eight Lancasters on static display in Canada. It is doubtful that most of these machines will ever fly

again, so in some cases the owners of these aircraft have seen fit to provide items from their Lancasters for use in the Oshawa Lanky.

Many other parts can only be obtained,by constructing them by hand and build­ ing-to-fit by carefully measuring the airframe to obtain the dimensions of the miss­ ing piece . Peter Tarazuk and Gerry Garrard can be found quite regularly, laboring at this kind of work. The work is time consuming and made more difficult by the fact that the group does not have a hangar. Although they have a small shack at the airport, almost all of the work is done outside, which means that it is restricted to those weekends when the weather will permit. The group has had as many as ten members. Most of the financing has been through their own personal donations.

Although I had seen many of these aircraft as a youth, I never had the oppor­ tunity to see inside of one. Gerry Garrard took us inside to view the most unbe­ lievable installation of valves, relays, wires, tubing, instruments and gauges. Why, this thing even had its own chemical john! As a matter of fact, that unit is the first thing you encounter when you step inside the access hatch. Steve Szarvas, who 11

It tak es hardy and dedicated souls to res tore a project of this magnitude under these conditions.

Look aft, th e tail gunner gains access to his co mpartm ent through th e hatch beyond the massiv e stabi lizer spar.

brought along his camera, had an absolute field day taking pi ct ures inside the Lank .

You have to scramble over the bomb bay to reach the forward part of the ship.

On the day we went for a look , they had a canvas over the pilots ' canopy, 'so I can­ not say what it is like to see from that vantage point. With the cover on it, the inside of the cockpit really looks more like the inside of a tank than the inside of an air­ plane. I felt the same about the forward turret.

The enormity of the job this group has taken on seems overwhelming to me .

When Victory Aircraft built the Lancaster, they employed (on a cost-plus basis) about ten thousand people. They turned out one unit a day. In other words , it took 80,000 hours to build the airframe. Of course, it won 't tak e that long to rebuild a Lancaster , but how long will it really take? I don 't know, but th e re is one thing that I feel sure of .. . that KB889 will fly again. Those four Rolls Royc e Merlin engines, each turning out about 1600 horsepower will again so m e day , rumble in uni so n.

During the war years, I think it was on Friday eve nings, th e British American Oil Company used to sponsor a broadcast on the radio ca lled " L for Lanky". My 12

friends and I used to listen to these patriotic stories every week to follow the ad­ ventures of our flying heros in the war with their Lan cas ters. Of course, we had no real understanding about what war really was. To us it was like hearing reports of so me sporting event, th ere was our side and their side , and we were the good guys. Radio was wonderful, for with a few sound effects at the studio, these sound technicians took us on the most fantastic flights of adventure. The one thing that impressed me most, both on th e program and from the aircraft that passed over­ h ead, was the synchronized drone of those four engines. It is a so und like no other.

Editor's Note: When the Lan cas ter is iinished it will be put back in th e colors of the air­ craft on which a Canadian, Andrew Mynarski from Winnepeg, lost his life and was awa rded th e Victoria Cross. When this fact was made public, the Cap tain of that aircraft paid a visit to th e group restoring th e Lanky. H e ha s sin ce, contacted his fellow wartime crew m embers and they will be donating funds to help with the restoration project.

EAA-USAF

MUSEUM TOUR

New Carlisle, Ohio, Chapter 610

by Jim Ca mpbell

P. O. Box 85

Medway, OH 45341

Photos by Jim Lewis , Except As No ted

During the january 1979 Chapter me e ting , w e were discussing projects in which we could get in­ volved as a chapter, which would promote a better understanding of aviation, as well as more fellowship.

The idea of hosting an all day trek to the U. S. Ai r Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio and a " b ehind th e scenes" look wa s dis cussed with Nelson Hall , C hi ef of Res toration at th e Mu se um. He is also an avid member of EAA Chapter 610. Nelson suggested that we write a lett er of req u es t to the Commander of th e Mu se um . This was don e post haste by Chapter Presi­ dent , Roger jam es. An affirmative reply was received from the Museum co n cerning th e dat e and tim e of the gathering. Thi s rea lly started the ball ro llin g.

A committee, chaired by Col. Bob Ta ylor , com­ menced the monum ental ta sk of setting up a prog ram .

This consisted of printin g information d escribin g th e location of the Mu se um , map s showing pertinent arteries and highways lea ding there and m o t el ac­ commodations in th e nea r vicinity. Also included was a description of l oca l airports and transport ati o n arrangements to and from for those who would fly in.

The cover letter also included arrangements and rese rvation t erm s.

Next began th e big tas k of folding, stuffin g, ad­ dressing envelopes, and stampin g sa m e for a mailin g to every EAA Chapter in the United States a nd Canada. That , m y f ri ends, is a lot of " Ii cki n ' and sti c­ kin '."

In the m ea ntim e, it was suggested that it would be nice if dinner co uld be h eld under th e wing of the B-36, and ca te red by the Wri ght Patt erso n AFB re­ staurant people. Approximately one hundr ed people co uld be accommodated at thi s location and we thought this would b e a great asset to th e tour .

With all th e ab ove information mailed out, it was just a matt er of time awaiting res pon ses from all EAA C hapters .

During the Oshkosh Co nve ntion, announcements wer e mad e p eriodi ca ll y ove r the P.A . sys tem about Chapter 610 hosting tlie USAF Museum Tour , October 13, 1979, at WPAFB, Ohio.

In September, we start ed to receive inquiri es and r ese rvation s for dinner, and Col. Bob Taylor 's and President Rog er jam es' phones were beginning to get hot. People w ere starting to stir again after res tin g up from Oshkosh and th e letter respons e was b eg innin g to get heavy. Consequently, th e program had t o be altered somewhat.

A special parkin g lot was established at the Museum for EAA m emb e r s only. This wa s an area n ea r the North Am eri ca n B-70 and the Boeing B-52, whi c h was mov e d further down the taxiw ay by Mus eum perso nn el to make room for our exclusiv e parking lot. The dinn er response was so great that th e buffe t styl e was ch ang ed from und er th e B-36 wing to th e Museum dinin g hall with its greater capacity.

On the Saturday prior to the tour , a group o f Chapter 610 " movi e criti cs" viewed and selected sev­ eral films to b e featured in the evening th eatr e por­ tion of the program .

Finally, th e tour day arriv ed with EAAers sh o win g up from allover. Th ese folks were handled sep arat ely from the general public visitors b y having th em sig n up at a regist rati o n desk se t up in th e Mu seum lobby for thi s purpose . After signing in, everyon e was p er­ mitt ed to wander through the Museum at th eir lei­ sur e.

At 4:30 P.M. when the Museum was closed to th e public, an announcement w as made for th e EAA co n­ tingent to assemble at the parking area for a carava n to th e Re storati o n Annex across Wright Fi eld , app rox­ imately 1'12 mil es away. Thi s is really h a ll owed gro und, b eing the loca ti o n of the acceleration runway for th e B-19, and testing ground for th e hu ge Barling Bomber. It was also th e h ome of many of the early experim ental fighters. Nostalgia abounds in this area.

Th e tour through th e Museum Annex was awe­ inspiring. So m e of th e air c raft h ave been restored and are r esp l endent in their full dress co lor s. Oth ers are still und er restoration su ch as the cocky Boeing P-12 and the o ld Standa rd j -l awaiting n ew fabric.

So m e of th e lu cky folks were able to fantasize about th e days of open cockpi t s, helmets and goggles when they go t to sit in th e glorious o ld Standard.

Th e resto rati on sh op was rea lly so m eth in g to be­ hold . The ma chin ery, tools and e ntir e work area was im mac ulat e. The spruce , plywood , tubing a nd hardware sto rag e area was mind boggling for EAA

typ es who are into hom ebuilding and r es toration.

Befo re w e know it it is 6:00 P.M. and tim e for th e ca ravan to for m up again for th e journey back to th e hu ge Mu se um complex. From across th e field th e 30' diameter star p aint ed on the end of th e Mu se um building appears to be th e size of the dial face of an altim eter. . Upon arrival we see that th e crowd s have cleared .

Th e Museum clos es at 4 :3 0 P.M . for the general pub­ li c and now th e facility i s available for our rea lly close in sp ection and enjoym ent.

Once again a P.A. announcement proclaim s th at dinn er will b e serv ed at 6:30. Soon we wer e enjoyin g a feast of roast b eef with all th e trimming s, as well as th e opportunity t o sit down for awhile. The ca marad eri e experienced by everyone in that dining h all will n ever be forgott en.

After dinn er we were as k ed to assemble i n the th eatre where N elson Hall announced that th e B-29, B-36, P-51 and P4 7 would b e open and th at "close en co unters" would be permitted.

Th e Commander of th e Air Force Mu se um , Col. Richard Uppstrom wa s introdu ced and he greeted o ur gro up with a " h ea rty welcome" and th en offered a fine slide pr esentatio n of th e story, scope and future of th e Mus e um. Co l. Uppstrom stated that th e Museum is co nstantl y chan g ing with so m e displays rotating d.ay to day.

Your writer th en took ove r the M.e. duties and h ad th e hon o r and privilege of introdu c in g and ack n owledgi ng so m e of th e sp ecial g u es ts. In att en ­ dance was th e group from janesvill e, Wisconsin who h elp ed in th e co n stru ctio n of th e replica Wright Flyer whi ch is e n sh rin ed in o ur EAA Air Mus eum .

A very special g u es t was Mr. L. E. Rau senb e rger who Chapter 610 members named as th e f ir st n o min ee to th e EAA Antique/Classic Aviation H all of Fame. Mr. Rau senb e rge r designed and manufactured the first V-12 aircraft en gi n e (see th e August , 1979 issue of Th e VIN TAGE A IRPLA N E for th e comp l e t e story). H e is 92 years young , i s still go in g stro ng , and can tell man y inter estin g and excitin g sto ri es about the early d ays of aviatio n . Mr. Ra u se nb e rger stood and ack nowl edged th e honor bestowed up o n him .

Next, Rog er james, President of Chapter 610 made so m e award presentations. The awa rd for th e grea test distance trav ell ed t o pa rti cip ate in the USAF Mu seum Tour went t o Ro n Dixon, EAA Chapter 367 of Longview, Washington . EAA C hapt er 109, Versailles, O hi o won th e awa rd for the most m embers in atte n­ dance, and C h apter President Bill Groeneveld ac­ cepted .

13

(Air Force Museum Photo)

The U. S. Air Force Mus eum was d edicated by th e Presi足 dent of th e U. S. in September, 197 I. It houses ov er 85 aircraft, and is considered to be the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum. About 1 mil/ion visitors tour this free attraction each year.

Two "Old Timer" awards were presented, one to a deserving gentleman from Juneau, Wisconsin, Mr. Allen Rudolph. Mr. Rudolph holds EAA number 159 and he owns and flies a 1933 Pietenpol Aircamper powered with a Ford Model A engine.

The second "Old Timer" award went to Mr. L. E. Rausenberger for his many contributions to aviation.

Mr. Rausenberger resides in Springfield, Ohio. After presenting the awards, Roger James expressed his appreciation to Ray Watkins for providing the histori足 cal background on Mr. Rausenberger's aviation career.

The Museum Tour Committee Chairman, Col. Bob Taylor was introduced next and he highlighted the ef足 forts of Chapter 610 members in planning the tour.

Then Bob, on behalf of the entire group expressed his thanks and appreciation to Col. Uppstrom and the Museum personnel for their outstanding hospitality.

Next on the program was the viewing of 3 films, entitled "Air Oddities", "The Barling Bomber", and "Flyers on Parade". Following the movies, the group moved from the theatre into the Museum for the best part of the tour, the opportunity to actually touch, and better yet, get some cockpit time in some of the 14

C etting a clos e look at th e USAF Museum's P- 5 1 (Sharp Shooter) .

Ro n Dixon , left, from Lon g view, Wa shington is handed the "C reat e t Distan ce" awa rd b y Roger Jam es .

World War Two birds . Until 11 : 00 P.M . th e Museum would belong to the tour group.

The guests wand ered through th e exhibits in groups, in pairs or singularly and thoroughly enjoyed this unique opportunity.

One of th e highlights of th e day wa s the adopting o f 20 m embers of the Aviation Histori ca l Society of New Zealand, who were on tour in th e U . S. from " Down Und er " and the Mu se um happ en ed to be on th eir itinerary that day. Th e N ew Zealand ers were in ­ vited to dinn er and also to share in the "a fter hours" privileges. This act obviously furthered international public r elations , and some Chapter 610 m ember s w ere mad e KIW I'S when th ey wer e pr ese nted with stick pins of kiwi birds, by th e grateful overseas vis­ itors.

When this long and enjoyable day drew to a close, w e refle cted ba ck on th e hours spent with friends and studying at close hand , the beautiful displays portraying th e history of aviation from Leonardo de Vinci to Apollo XV. We co uldn ' t help but think of th e two brothers who contributed so much with their burning desire to fly and th eir homeuilt plane on the sa nds of Kitty Hawk. We und erstand their feeling .

As we w ere walking past the B-70 on our way to the parking lot , the P.A . system was broadcasting one last message, " Allen Rudolph please report to th e registration desk " . It see ms that Allen had lost track of tim e and was still exploring the innards of th e Boeing B-29 !

Mr. L. E. Rausenbe rger receiv es a Chapter 6 10 "O ld Timer" aware! from Chapter Presiden t, Rog er james. Mr. Rausenberger was also nominated by Chap ter 610 mem­ bers for acceptance into th e EAA Antique/C l ass ic Aviation Hall of Fame.

In attendance at this highly successful fir st EAA­ USAF Museum Tour w ere 300 members and guests, r epresenting 31 chapters from 10 states including Washington and New York.

New Carlisle Chapter 6'10 is already planning an eve n bett er excursion through the Museum in 1980.

Thos e who miss ed the first tour and thos e who want to experi en ce a repeat performanc e should mark th eir calendars for October 11, 1980. We , the Free­ dom Flyers , EAA Chapt er 610 will host the event again. We will b e there and w e hope YOU will too.

SPORT AVIATION HALL OF FAME The Board of Trustees of the EAA Air Museum Foundation, I nc., have authorized the format ion of a Sport Aviation Hall of Fame to recogn ize those indi­ vidua ls who have made significant contributions to specific fields of aviation. Designated areas in the Museum will be made availab l e for the disp l ay of photos and / or memorabi l ia pertaining to those elected to the Hall of Fame.

Although plans for this program are sti ll in the formulative stage, it is intended that all EAA members can be involved in the nomination of candidates.

Nominees will have made notable contributions to one or more of the special interest fields of sport av­ iation.

We applaud the energy of Chapter 6'10 in being the first to nominate a candidate to the Sport Aviation Hall of Fame.

- Editor

Some of th e New Zealand co nting ent relaxing after dinner in th e Air Force Museum restaurant.

Roger jam es, Ray Watkins and L. E. Raus enb erger discus s the m emorab l e to ur through th e facility of th e USAF Museum.

jim Campbell and Allen Rudo lph discuss ing th eir favorite . subject, Pietenpol A irca mpers.

Mr. L. E. Rausenberg er lo oks on as Mr. Ro y Watkins re­ ceiv es words of apprec iatio n from Roger j ames o n b ehalf of his effo rt s in perpetuating aviation history.

15

the

by

Lyn e ll e Ann Butle r (n ee (J an ey)

EAA # '7691 5, Antiq u e/Class ic #4918 On e Vi cto ri a S treet

Roseville, 206 9. N .S . W.

Australia

elanCll Skllbabll

All Photos Co urt esy O f Th e A uth o r

Cl a n cy S k yb a by - 193 1, w ith Jac k and A llan Clan c y (s tandin g) . Th e hard tyres w e re replaced soon after with S" x 4" hub!. whi ch w e re th e sa m e as th e tail wh eel on "S mith y's" Altair.

Born 1931

Towards the end of 1930, well into the depression (quite some time before I was even thought of), a happy event took place at the Sydney home of Bill, Allan and Jack Clancy, which was to have a profound effect on the lives of all of them , and incidentally, on mine too, I am sure. It was the purchase of a Hen足 derson motorcycle, for the princely sum of ten Au足 stralian pounds ($40 U. S. at that time), which proved to be one of the best deals they ever made, in spite of the worn tyres, piston slap and all that blue smoke.

Natu rally each one of them had to have a ride on the motorcycle and consequently were warned by the neighborly cop to keep the noisy monster off the road. That was the last time the Henderson was a road vehicle and at last the brothers had a motor for the Clancy Skybaby.

Money was hard to come by to purchase the necessary materials for the aircraft , so it took ten months to complete the Skybaby , which was built in the backyard garage of their home. The propeller was made by their father and the sewing of the fabric was done by their mother on her old treadle machine.

On February 17, 1931 the wings were loaded on to a truck and the fuselage was tied on to the carrier of a Harley Davidson motorcycle by the tailskid for tow足 ing, and the Skybaby was off to Mascot aerodrome , now Sydney Airport , for the big event. Full of hope, they saw that wonderful Henderson haul the Skybaby into the air on its initial flight. This being a rather un足 iqu e event in Australia , the press mad e quite a big

16

C la ncy Sk yba b y - 193 1, (l ying over Masco t aero drom e right w h ere today th e Sydn ey A irpo rt runway goes out into Botan y Ba y. (To p o f pho to)

deal of it and the news made headlines on the front page of the Sydney papers - apparently it was a re­ freshing change from the depressing news of the era.

The first few flights were made with the Hender­ son in its original side-va lve configuration running at a maximum 3000 rpm. Overheating was a problem, which was solved promptly by Uncle Bill by replacing the top half of the engine with new cylinders and alloy pistons, with the bore increased by 9/16" to 3Va". Overhead valves of increased diameter were carried in well finned heads cast in bronze for better heat dissipation and to avoid the need for valve seat inserts. This was some time before the first de Havil­ land Gypsy Majors appeared with similar heads.

A full dual ignition system was installed at this time. In this form the engine delivered 38 brake hor­ sepower at 2550 rpm. It cruised, cool and smooth, at 2200 rpm turning a 60" x 36" propeller. Compression ratio was left at 5: 1. An extension shaft was bolted to the crankshaft flywheel flange . This shaft was tapered to fit the propeller hub (which was turned down from a Model T Ford rear wheel hub), and carried a shoul­ der to accommodate a ball thrust bearing in the nose cone, which was fabricated from mild steel sheet.

Later versions of this engine which powered other Clancys, a Flying Flea, a Corben Baby Ace and a Heath Parasol, had cast aluminum nose cones .

All this machining was done on a treadle-operated lathe with Uncle Bill turning while the other shared the pedalling. The electric motor which had been borrowed previously for the circular saw had been reclaimed by its owner , so it was back to the foot­ work for the boys.

In the thirties the Clancy Skybaby was flown by several famous pilots including Sir Charles Kingsford Smith ("Smithy") and Jim Mollison.

Texaco supplied free oil and the equivalent of two dollars per week to cover the hangar rent (which only cost one dollar). All this for the privilege of having "TEXACO" under the wing and the Texas Star and a few words on the fuselage. At this price the oil was changed frequently!

At least five Clancy monoplanes were built, two of them in New Zealand, all powered with the Clancy or Clancy-Watt Henderson conversion.

A few pertinent details follow which I am taking from the original blueprints: The Skybaby was an all wood parasol, covered with Irish linen, which really soaked up the dope .

The spars were "I" beams with 9/16" x %" flanges and Va " ply webs. The fuselage was a Pratt truss with 3;"" x 3/4 " longerons with Va" ply gussets and weighed

Clan c y Skybaby - 1933 . This pic ture shows th e O.H.V. conversio n of th e H enderson. D amage w as ca used by hit­ tin g a stump in long gra ss o n take-off. No ti ce n o dam age to stru cture (o r prop ) aft er on e- wh eel landing . It w as fl y­ ing again a w eek later.

"S mith y" fl ying th e "South ern Cross" arriving at M ascot (Sydn ey) with th e first airmail from Ne w Zea land o n M arch 29, /93 4. Clancy Sk ybab y ca n be seen under right wh eel.

17

only 15 1h pounds bare. A Gottingen 426 airfoil was used . The dihedral was Y2 degree.

Gross Weight .............................. 5601bs.

Empty Weight ............................. 3501bs.

Span ........... .. ................. . .. .. 25 ft. 6 in.

Length ........ ...... ............. . . ..... 16 ft . 2 in.

Wing Area ....... .. . . .... . ............. . "J04 sq. ft.

Wing Loading ............ ........ .... 5.4 Ibs .!s q. ft.

Span Loading ........................... 22.2Ibs.!ft.

Power Loading . ... . . ... . .. ............. 14 .7lbs .l hp

Cruising Speed at 2200 rpm ... ... .' .. . .. .. ... 55 mph

Stalling Speed ............................. 30 mph

Fuel . . ............. . .. 3'h Imp. gals. at 1 Y4 Imp. gph

Differential Brakes, 5" x 4" tyres, coil springs in tele­

scopic landing gear legs

The type of wooden construction used had a lot going for it. First, it was cheap and easy. In addition, no major repairs were ever necessary to the primary structure while the aircraft remained in the builder's hands, in spite of many accidents, including going over twice on to its back, and once with one side of the landing gear wiped off.

The performance and aerobatics of this little air­ craft often stole the show at air pageants. Its ability to leap into the air and land in a few feet made it a popular attraction. One major problem was beating off the crowds. People had a habit of supporting themselves on an elbow while inspecting the cockpit, which kept the turtledeck fabric in bad shape.

Although I have been hearing glowing reports of this nimble little aircraft for most of my life from people in the aviation world (mostly "oldies"), and have lived with the early photographs and original well-worn blueprints, .1 had never even seen a Clancy Skybaby until August 1979.

A few weeks after Dad and I returned home from Oshkosh, we received an invitation from Ron Walker (EAA #146779), to visit his wheat farm about 400 miles west of Sydney, to see his Skybaby replica. I was very pleased when he offered me the chance to fly it.

This ai rcraft is powered by a Praga "B" 40 hp flat twin which weighs only 100 pounds and the little plane performs with all the agility I had come to ex­ pect. It is delightful to fly, with excellent control, completely docile and almost foolproof. It had to be, in view of the fact that Uncle Bill and Dad had to send themselves solo in the original, being too poor to do it any other way .

It is now my favorite (little) aeroplane and I would love to have one, but Dad thinks it should be re­ designed as an ultralight exempt from normal regula­ tinns. The Australian regulating authority has adopted 18

The Ryan B-1 (cln 91) was the "Ci ty of Lismore" which together w ith a DH 80 Puss Moth sta rt ed th e first regular service between Sydney and Brisbane. Some lime later it was wrecked. It was rebuilt in 1936 by the Clancy brothers and was used by them for i.oyriding. C lancy Skybaby on right.

Bill Clancy, designer of Clancy Skybaby, ready for take-oft. Th is view gives an idea of the valve gear modification of the Henderson.

an enlightened approach to ultralights, the only de­ sign restrictions being a maximum gross weight of 400 pounds and a maximum wing loading of four pounds per square foot. These limitations make it possible to have a very light aircraft as opposed to a powered glider. Foot launching capability is not a requirement in this country.

Because the original Clancy Skybaby had not been built under the supervision of an engineer licensed by the Department of Civil Aviation, it was never re­ gistered. It operated on a "Permit to Fly" within a three mile radius of Mascot aerodrome for experi­ mental purposes. It seems that a lot of "experiment­ ing" went on over several years . However, the plans and stress analysis were accepted for type approval, but plans are not available in the aircraft's original form .

The Clancy Skybaby came to a rather sad end.

After a forced landing in a street in 1937, in the course of which it suffered only minor damage, it was literally torn to pieces by a mob of souvenir hunters.

Itwas rebu i It, but not as origi nal; fi rst with an

A.B.C. Scorpion, then in 1959, with the Continental A-40 which came out of our J-2 Taylor Cub, the air­ craft that Dad flew 8,000 miles around Australia in 1937 called the "Penny a Mile" flight, to advertise the Taylor Cub. The rebuilt Skybaby was finally written off about ten years ago.

I have been very fortunate in my flying career, with Uncle Bill, who established himself as an en­ gineer genius during his lifetime, an Air Force In­ structor and Airline Captain in Uncle Allan and a ver­ satile pilot-engineer and great enthusiast in my father (Jack), who is the only su rvivi ng brother, so it is ob­ vious that I have had a lot of help and encourage­ ment.

ED ITOR'S NOTE: Jack C lancy, Lyn's father made hi s first trip to Oshkosh in 1978. He was so enthused that he returned in 1979 bringing his daughter Lyn with him. She, too, is a licensed pilot in Australia.

We hope th ey can attend Oshkosh again in 1980.

Jack and Allan Clan cy with th e rebuilt Ryan 8-1 (cln 92) waiting for custom ers. 1')36, Sydn ey, Australia.

Jack Clancy and daughter Lyn with th e only fl ying Clan cy Skybaby . This o n e has a Praga "8" 40 hp engin e a nd first flew in 1973.

Pi cture 'aken August 1979, in Paddo ck of owner Ro n Walker (EAA #146 779), 400 miles west of Sydn ey, NSW Austra lia, on th e da y Lyn flew it.

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By G eorge Hardie, Jr. EAA Hi storian Ph o tos Fro m The Au thor's Co ll ectio n

A lth o ug h pro du cti o n an d develo pm ent of th e flyi ng b oa ts beca m e an imp o r­ ta nt part of th e o p erati o n o f th e Curti ss Co mpan y in th e ea rl y days , landplan e develop m ent was n o t neg lected. Curti ss had furni sh ed a num ber of th e pu sh er type b ip lan es to th e U. S. A rm y , b ut w h en th e tractor typ e ca m e into fa vo r , h e was ready w ith a new des ig n . Dubb ed th e Curti ss M ili ta ry Scou t Tracto r bipl ane , it fea tur ed s i d~ -b y - s i de sea tin g and a ch ain dri ve n p rop ell er . M o di fica ti o n of th e des ig n to m ee t new sp eci fica ti o ns res ult ed i n th e M o d el G Sco ut . Th e A rm y o rde r ed tw o.

Durin g thi s sam e p eri od th e M o d els J and N w ere und er dev elo pm ent. (Th ese w ill be fea tur ed in a later arti cle.) With th e advent of th e new M o d el VX Curti ss en gin e of 160 hp , a large bi p lane des ig nated th e M od el R w as built. As M o d el R-2, a d oze n of th ese m achin es we re used by th e Fi rst A ero Squ adr o n o f th e U . S. Arm y o n th e M ex ica n b o rder in th e summ er o f 1916. In Octo b er , 1916 th e N ew Yor k Ti m es ann o un ced it was spo nso rin g a non-stop fli ght fr o m Chi cago to N ew Yor k by Vi cto r Ca rl str o m in a speci al M o d el R with exten ded win g span . Th e fli ght wa s made o n N ove mber 2 b ut Ca rl str o m had to land at Eri e, Penn sylvani a. N ex t day h e compl eted th e f li ght by land ing at Gove rn o r's Island in New Yo rk har bo r .

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Gl enn Curtiss (right) in th e cockpit of the Milita r y Sco ut Tr actor, 1973 .

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Ca rl stro m 's sp ecial M od el R w ith a Curtiss /riplane Sco ut alo ngside fo r contrast in size.

20

A M od el G Scout, on e of two o rdered b y th e U. S. Arm y. No te th e direct-driv e propeller.

Reports from th e Euro pean war front featured th e activities of the fast pursuit typ es, labeled "Sp eed Scouts". Not one to miss an o pportunity, Curtiss brou g ht o ut a " Baby Spee d Sco ut " in th e summ er of 1916. Powered with th e Curti ss OXX-2 engin e of 100 hp, wing spa n was 20 feet and weight load ed was 1200 pounds.

This was followed by th e Curti ss M ode l S-2 " Wir eless Speed Scout " a design

An ea rl y Curti ss Model R with th e "Ba by Speed Scout ", sh owing its diminutive size .

featuring th e elimination of rigging wir es. The upper wing span wa s 21 feet 10 in ch es and th e I.ower only 11 f eet 3 in ches. Empty weight was 805 pounds and power wa s th e C urti ss 100 hp OXX-2 . A novel feature wa s a hollow spinner to allow th e air to coo l th e circular radiator mounted behind it. Timed over a mea足 sur ed co urse, th e average speed was a res p ectable 119 mph .

The Curtiss Model S-2 Wire less Speed Scout. No te th e hollo w spinne r

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Cu rtiss Model R-2 No.7 1 w it h th e First Aero Squadron o n th e Mexican border in 191 6.

Rear view of th e Wireless Speed Sco ut shows th e short lo wer w ing and th e brace strut in p lace of rigg ing wires.

21

BORDEN'S AEROPLANE POSTERS FROM THE 1930'S

by Lionel Sa lisbur y Seven H arp er Road Bra mpt on, O ntario Ca nada L6 W 2W3

Article Number 13, Pos ter Number 14 , Se ri es N umber I " Shrike"

Alas for poster number 13!

It was supposed to be the " NEW MARTIN BOMBER" " Mystery Ship" for the Army. From our collection of posters , published by the Borden Company , in 1936, from their Toronto , Canada office as a sales promotion, unlucky 13 is missing .

22

The company later brought out a second series and the same aircraft was supposed to appear as poster number 7 of that group. Its chang e of number did not change its luck , and I guess that the " NEW MARTIN BOMBER " will forever remain as originally billed 足 a mystery ship.

Therefore , we present in its pla ce, poster numb er 14, The Curtiss A-8 " Shrik e" Army Attack Monopl an e .

NEXT MONTH -

The Sikorsky " Clipper Ship "

CURTISS A-8 "SHRIKE" ARMY ATIACK PLANE

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DESCRIPTION OF CURTISS A-8 "SH RI KE" ARMY ATTACK MONOPLANE The Curtiss A-8 "Shrike" Army Attack low wing, all metal monoplane, is powered by a 650 horsepower prestone cooled Curtiss Conqueror engine.

The Curtiss Shrikes are equipped with 5 machine guns, and they carry a large bomb under the fuselage.

They are often referred to as the "Terror of the Skies" .

These monoplanes, built entirely of metal, including

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the covering of the wings, are equipped with slots on the wing leading edge and flaps on the trailing edge of the wing, in order to provide a relatively low landing speed. This photo shows the slots on leading edge of wing, in an open position.

This plane flies at approximately 200 miles per hour and is reputed to be one of the most efficient offensive weapons developed in aviation history.

The 650 horsepower Curt iss Conqueror engine which powers this plane, is of the same type used by Eastern Air Transport, operating Curtiss Condor bi­ planes between New York and Miami. Twelve of the

engines powered the Do-X on its historic flight to the United States. This engine only recently comp leted a perfect 500 hour endurance run, the most gruelling test in aviation history.

They also power Army pursuits, observation, and bombing planes, as well as Dornier \'Val flying boats, and U. S. Navy Patrol flying boats.

23

LETTERS

Gentlemen: Enclosed please find a check for the amount of $14.00 (fourteen dollars and nol100) to cover member­ ship to the Antique/ Classic Division as well as a one year subscription of your magazine Th e VINTAGE AIR­ PLANE. My EAA number is 138656 and is valid through May of 1980.

My brother, Jose Ma. Davila, EAA 86251, and I are finishing construction of a Pietenpol Aircamper which will be ready to fly in approximately five months. We intend to fly it to Oshkosh for the convention next year . Any information or addresses of other Pietenpol owners/builders will be greatly appreciated . I'll have some photos of it for you soon .

Thank you .

Sincerely, Marcial Davila Aviation Insurgentes Sur 1587 Mexico 19, D. F. Thi s proposed trip to Oshkosh '8 0 in a Pi etenpol by M arcial and jose Davila will b e one of th e grea tes t distan ce flights to the Co nvention in an op en cockpit, vintage typ e air­ cra ft. W e w ish th em a safe trip and look fo rwa rd to m eet­ ing th em at Os hkosh.

- Edito r

Dear Mr. Gustafson: When searching through my collection of Th e VI N­ TAGE AIRPLANE I realized that long ago I wanted to write you concerning some " problem pictures " .

The first is the Boeing picture on page 19 of the December 1977 issue. When you take Peter M. Bowers' book, "Boeing Aircraft Since 1916" you 'll find this one on page 101 as Boeing photo P-1520-A, giving the planes as 40-A's, TB-1's and PW-9C's. A complete description of the TB-1 is on page 63, stating that there were 3 built, of which you can see one in the photograph and the tail of a second one.

In his letter published in the June 1978 issue, Mr .

Harkcom suggests the plane in the February 1978 is­ sue to be the Ansaldo SVA-5 or SVA-9. This is only partly true. In fact, it is one of the first examples of the type SVA (without number) , probably even the proto ­ type , originally known as Savoia-Verduzio S. V. and after entering production with Ansaldo renamed S. V. A. 24

I wonder if anybody did identify the " bowed wing bracing" plane on the same page?

Each month I look forward with pl easure to the new issue of Th e VINTA G E AIRPLANE. Sincerely , Peter Vi ctor Dalmatic 64 Leusden 3831 EH Holland

Editor's No te: Th e Bo eing pic ture to w hich Mr. Vi c to r refers is in th e lo w er left corn er of page 19 of th e D ecem­ b er 1977 iss ue of Th e VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Th e ph oto was taken in the Boeing factory and is captioned " Boe­ ing 40 M o dels under constru ctio n. Strange plane in cen­ ter unidentified " . Mr. Vi ctor correctl y identifies th e "s trange plane" as a Boein g TB - l .

We apprec iate Mr. Vi ctor providing us with the ab o ve inform atio n, and also fo r furth er identifyin g the S. V. A. o n pages 1 I -1 2 of th e Februar y 1978 issu e. As yet, n o one has identified th e aircra ft with th e bowed wing brac­ ing o n page 11 of th e sa m e iss ue.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MARCH 16-22 - LAKELAND, FLORIDA - Sun ' N Fun 1980. Note new dates. For further information, please contact: Betty Jones, 4195 Forrest Drive, Mulberry, FL 33860 .

APRIL 25-27 - BAY CITY, TEXAS - Houston Sport Aviation i' Spring Fling" Fly-In, sponsored by An­ tique/ Classic Chapter 2. For further information , please contact Rocky Howard, 5262 Huckleberry, Houston, TX 77056. Telephone (713) 621-2510.

MAY 23-25 - COLUMBIA, CALIFORNIA - Fourth An­ nual Luscombe Fly-In. Free dinner for members, pilot games and trophies. For further information, please contact: Continental Luscombe Association, 5763 Esmar Road, Ceres , CA 95307.

. JUNE 14·15 - FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA -

Antique Aircraft Fly-In Air Show, Shannon Airport. Air Show attractions: Eagle's Aerobatic Flight Team , Bob & Pat Wagner - wing rider , Bob Russell - solo and duet Charlie Kulp. For further information, please con­ tact: Sidney L. Shannon, Jr ., do Shannon\ l\irport, P. O. Box 509, Fredericksburg, VA 22401.

JULY 12 -

TECUMSEH, MICHIGAN - Meyers OTW Reunion - Back to Factory. OTW owners and en­ thusiasts - hangar flying, dutch treat . For further information, please contact: Dick Martin, Rt. 3, Aerodrome Road, Green Bay, WI 54301, or Harold Lossner, 415 Eighth Street Place, Des Moines, IA 50313.

JULY 13 -

EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA - Fourth An · nual Aeronca Fly-In at the Easton Airport. Any and all Aeroncas invited . 10 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. Rain Date JULY 20. Contact Jim Polles, 299 Nazareth Drive, Nazareth, PA 18064. (215) 759-3713, nights and weekends.

AUGUST 2·9 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - 28th An­ nual EAA Fly-In Convention. Start making your plans now.

AUGUST 9·16 - FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN - The International Aerobatic Championships, sponsored

by EAA's lAC Division.

AUGUST 17·30 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - World Aerobatics '80. For the first time ever, the U. S. will host the World's Aerobatic Championships.

Don't miss this historic event. For further informa­ tion, please contact: WORLD AEROBATICS '80, EAA, Box 229, Hales Corners, WI 53130.

AUGUST 22·24 - COFFEYVILLE, KANSAS - Funk Fly­ In. Best Antique and Best Homebuilt trophies as well as Funk trophies. Fly-bys, spot landing, bomb drop contests. Meet and talk with Howard and Joe Funk, aviation pioneers. For further information, please contact: Ray Pahls, 454 South Summitlawn , Wichita, KS 67209, or G. Dale Beach, 1621 Dreher Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 .

OCTOBER 1·5 - TULLAHOMA, TENNESSEE - 2nd An­ nual EAA National Fall Fly-In. Don' t miss this one.

For further information, please contact: EAA Fall Fly-In, Box 229, Hales Corners, WI 53130.

A VISIT WITH BILL KIMSEY The following was extracted, by permission, from the December, 1979 issue of "Little Round Engine Flyer", an extremely informative newsletter edited

by Ken and Shirley Williams, 331 East Franklin Street, Portage, Wisconsin 53901. Everyone who operates radial engines, even the "big ones" should subscribe to this publication, which always contains helpful tips in keeping round engines running.

The Williams' are long time EAAers, as is the author of the letter, Lloyd Washburn . Glenn D. Angle was one of the pioneers in the development of radial en­ gines, and is credited with extensive documentation of these types as well as other early day aircraft en­ gines. (See his book written in 1921 , " Airplane En­ gine Encyclopedia ", as well as his contributions to "Aerosp here - 1939" .)

- Editor

Dear Ken and Shirl ey, The letter from Frank Luft triggered my m emory about the ear ly LeBlond days. I don ' t hav e G le nn Angl e's address but I did m ee t a man who w o rk ed with Glenn and with Capt. Edd ie Rickenba ck er bac k in the Detroit Air Ca t days. H e was living in Cin cin­ nati at th e tim e and we spe nt seve ral enjoya bl e ho ur s there over dinn er and drink s and he filled m e in on a lot of the happ enings.

According to Bill Kim sey, th e engin e was d es ig n ed

by Glenn Angle on hi s o wn whil e he was workin g at McCook Field , Dayton, Ohio during or shortly afte r WW I. About 1924, Eddie Ri ckenbacker who was th en associated with Ri ckenbac ker Motors, persuaded Angle to join him in Detroit wher e th ey tried to p erfect th e engin e and set up to pro du ce th em. Due to a disagree­ m ent with a Mr. Everett, president of Ri ck enb ac k er Motors, regarding assignment of patent ri g hts, Angle left the organization and with Ri ckenba c ker , se t up shop in a warehouse o n Warr en Avenue in D etr oi t in October of 1925. Th e n ew ent erpri se was ca ll ed th e Detroit Air Cat Engine Company.

During the eight month p eriod ending in M ay of 1926, th ey built 12 engin es , one of which w as in stall ed on a Driggs C3 whi ch wa s th e flying tes t bed. Some of the other engines were so ld to Don Luscomb e fo r us e on Monocoup es, and another wa s sold to a m an nam ed Hurd.

In early 1927 th e e ntire operation wa s so ld to Hu go Black, owner of Penin sular Produ cts Company in De­ tr o it. H e moved th e o p erati on to a plant loca ted near

th e Plymouth Moto r Car Plant and renam ed it th e D etroit Aircraft Engine Co rporation. But thi s too , was d es tin ed to be short lived . By D ece mb er , 1927 a d ea l had b ee n mad e with th e LeBlond Machine Tool Co m­ pan y , and th e whole thing was moved into a secti o n" of th eir plant in Cin cinnati.

At last a mor e or less p erman ent home had been found! LeBlond turn ed out some 1200 engines in th e p e riod be tw ee n Janu ary , 1928 and Decemb er , 1938 wh en all the d es i gn s, tools, fixtures and inv e nt o ry w ere so ld to Rea rwin for a reported $15,000.

By mid 1939, the equipment had been moved to Kansas City and th e Ken Royce engine wa s in produ c­

tion . Bill Kims ey wa s a p art of all t'hi s and stayed with Rea rwin until November of 1939 when he r eturn ed to LeBlond and th e ma chin e too l indu str y . H ere h e re­ main ed until our m eeting in 1967.

I didn ' t m ea n to get so long-wind ed but guess it will be int eres tin g to so m eo ne who ha s neve r h ea rd th e story b efo re. By th e way , Bill also m ention ed that Warn er of Warn e r Engin e fame, was also with th e g roup for a tim e, Sincerely, Lloyd D . Wa shburn 3958 East W as hburn Drive Port Clinton , OH 43452

SEATTLE'S NEW PACIFIC MUSEUM OF FLIGHT

by Poll y Lan e Seal/Ie Tim es

The long-plann ed $'16 million Pacific Mus eum o f Flight - a mu se um se tting th e Pacific Northw es t' s aviation history into a world co ntext - is about to co me togeth er.

M e mber s of th e Pa cifi c Northwest Aviation Hi s­ to ri ca l Foundation are readyin g for a spring co nstru c­ ti o n start o n th e co mpl ex ' s first pha se and pr ep arin g to laun ch a major fund driv e to finance th e remaind er of th e work.

King Count y alr eady h as acquired th e 16. 5-ac r e sit e at th e so uthwes t co rn er of th e King County Air­ p o rt (Boeing Fi eld) and approv ed the thr ee-stage de­ velopment plan s.

Initi al construction will r ehabilitat e th e old Red Barn, the buildin g in which The Boeing Company had its b eginnings as a com m ercial airplan e produ ce r. Th e tw o-stor y wood-framed building will b e in sulat ed and get new double windows in th e sa m e small -p ane con ­ figuration as it h ad when co nstru cted in 1910.

Th e building was m oved to th e mu se um sit e ju st off Eas t Marg in al Way So uth in D ece mb er, 1975, from th e bank of th e West Waterway of th e Duwami sh Riv er, which th e Port of Seattle ha s sin ce red eve loped.

Th e Red Barn will be u sed for ex hibits depi cting how co mm er cial av i ati o n d eve lop ed ' in th e Pac i f i c Northwest , includin g pro du ction methods and o th er artifacts, according to Gideon Kram er , d es ign er for the new mu se um 's ex hibits.

Ri chard Bangert , pres id ent of th e foundation, sa id hi s m emb ers are " very excited and enthu sia st ic" about the museum pl ans. Th e g ro up h o ld s pledges for up

to $3 million to finance th e first-phase work .

Howard Loveri ng, fou ndation executive di r ec tor , sa id the up co min g fund drive will seek large institu­ tional grants and donati o ns so work on th e $11 mil­ lion seco nd pha se - a dramatic glass-and-steel di s­ play hall and related spaces - ca n progr ess as soo n as the Red Barn rehab ilitation is co mpleted in 1981.

A third ph ase will provid e offices, support and storag e spa ce for the mu se um , which is to b e th e largest on th e W est Coas t.

Work on the di splay hall will tak e about 18 m o nth s.

The 15-yea r- o ld foundation already has mor e than a dozen major aircraft for di splay purpos es in various stages of restoration , plu s ot h er parts and artifa cts, and promis es of other planes and equipment , as w ell as loans from other promin ent co llections su ch as th ose in th e National Air and Space Mu se um and its parent Smithsonian In stitution in Washin gton, D. C. The foundation has it s co ll ection stored in ware­ ho uses from Everett to Taco ma . Lov erin g h o p es to co n so lid ate eve r y thing in Ta co ma soon until th e mu se um i s co mpl eted .

Th e group, with o ffi ces in th e Finan cial Ce nte r , wa s moved out of a spa ce in th e Seattle Center at th e end of September, where in th e past two years it had hosted an average of 70,000 visitors annua lly.

Love ring pr edi cts th e new museum will attract at leas t 1 million visitors annua lly, but Kramer is far mor e o ptimistic , puttin g th e numb er as high as 6 million .

The National Air and Space Mu se um , in co ntras t , is vis it ed by abo ut 12 milli o n each yea r. Loverin g Ihink s

25

the interest in flight is tremendously underestimated by most people.

The Seattl e museum will be a "dest ination " trip for visitors, rather t.han a " drop-in " center in the heart of a downtown , as some others are . There wil l be parking for 500 cars on the site.

Besides the ex hibit space inside, there will be hangars and display ar eas for larg e craft around the buildings.

Unlike many o th er flight museums around the co untry, th e Pacific Museum of Flight won ' t be de­ voted to a single theme - su ch as gliders or jets ­ nor will it have to deal with every artifact to be saved for histo ry as at the Smith so nian .

Kram er emp hasiz es that the museum will be his­ tory of flight from man 's earliest fancies of flying right into the exp loration of the stars.

It won't be just a Boeing Compa ny display , nor will it be a " war" museum devoted to fighter equip­ ment. The Northwest's con tribution s to th e age of aviation will be woven into the historical and world context.

There will be a food concession, book store, sma ll display area, a large auditorium and a variety of sup­ port activities. The fo undatio n expects the estimated $1 million annual operating cost to be se lf-su staining from entran ce fees, book and food sa les and ot h er activiti es .

ATTENTION LUSCOMBE OWNERS An Airworthiness Directive (AD) has been iss ued which requires inspection of the vertical stabilizer forward attach fitting , PIN 28444 or 28453, for cracks on Luscombe (Larson Luscombe) Model 8 Series air­ planes. The AD is needed to prevent failure of the vertical stabilizer forward attach fitting which could result in loss of the verticle stabilizer from the air­ plane .

DATES : Effective December 17, 1979. Compliance required within the next 10 hours time in service.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Bentley , Aerospace Engineer, Engineering and Manu­ facturing Branch , FAA, Southern Region, P. O. Box 20636, Atlanta, GA 30320 - telephone (404) 763-7407.

26

Gentlemen: Enc losed is a photo of the Aeronca Champ we just finished restoring. The first major fly-in we attended with it was Tullahoma '79.

We purchased the Champ damaged in August, 1977. We then completely st ripp ed it down to the tube fuselage, sandb lasting it , and then rebuilding it.

Sincerely, Jim & Lu Mahoney 703 Milton Avenue Ande rson, IN 46012

WANTED: One pair of 16" Bendix disc wheels with mechani­ ca l brakes (for 24" x 4" tires) as used on light air craft in the late 1920's and ear ly 1930's. Th ese were original equipment on the Model E Star Cavalier , and I need a pair for my Cavalier, N 7239.

R. H. (Si) Meek

14614 West 90th Terr.

Lenexa, KS 662 '15

(Continued from Page 2)

art icl es genera tes an interest and desire that ca n only be experi enced wh il e reading of these historic occa­ sions. Over the years we have published many of these fascinat in g articles, but o ur suppl y is definitely limited. Your interest and cooperation in bringing these to us is great ly appreci ated.

To increase the quantity of pages in Th e VIN TA G E A IRPL AN E, we need two basic items. First of all , our membership must increase (bas ica ll y double) before we can afford the costs of added material . Secondly , ou r advertising is limited beca u se we do not have the minimum publication distribution necessary to mak e it feasible for a company to advertise on a national basis. So the two go hand-in-hand; when we increase our membership, the publication can increase in size and bring in the adve rti sing to help offset the publi­ cation cos ts. These benefits belong to our member­ ship and on ly we can promote this good ca u se by as­ sisting our Division's effort to increas e its member­ ship. All Type Club s are welcome to become chapters in the Antique/Classic Division. With their help and participation we can bring to all , the many assets our Division possesses. We must set our goals to bring all the facets of enjoyi ng antique and classic aircraft to you, the member. With your help, we wi ll succeed.

(Right) • Individually Numbered American Commercial Aviation Bicentennial Commemorative Is· sue Stamp (mounted), signed by E. M. (Mat­ ty) Lai rd - $5.00. (Tax deductible portion: $3.50)

• Laird Super Solution Lithograph (Shown Above) 17"x22" - Full Color . $6.00 . (Tax deductible portion: $5.00) Lithograph autographed by E. M. (Matty) Laird and General James Doolittle ­ $175.00 (Tax deductible portion : $125.00)

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LAIRD SUPER SOLUTION RESTORATION PROJECT

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American Commercial Aviation

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Classic owners! ~~'t

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DOG DRESS IT UP WITH A NEW

I • All Items READY-MADE for Ea~y DO-IT-YOURSELF INSTALLATION

(Right) • Laird Jacket Patch ­ Handsomely embroid· ered in gold , green and red - $2.00.

Seat Upholstery - Wall Panels Headliners - Carpets - etc .

Ceconite Envelopes and Dopes Send $1.00 for Calalog and Fabrics Seleclion Guide

(Left) • Historical Photo Album 12 8x10 Glossy Prints from E. M. (Mat· ty) Lai rd 's Personal Collection - $10.00.

(Tax deductible por· tion : $5.00)

This project being funded by the sale of mer­ cha ndise. Th e sales price includes a donation to the Air Museum Foundation, Inc. Send check or money order to :

r.

Il~P~,jHC. ~

259-15 Lower Morrisville Rd. Follsington, Po. 19054 (215) 295 - 4115

EAA AIR MUSEUM FOUNDATION, INC. P.O . Box 469 Hales Corners, WI 53130 Payable In U.S. Funds Only

AVAILABLE BACK ISSUES OF

The VINTAGE AIRPLANE

1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980

-

Mar ch through Dece mb er January through March , May through December All Availabl e February through May , August through December All Available Mar ch through Jun e, August, October, February through December January

The above mentioned back issues are available from Headquarters for $1.00 each, postpaid.

CORRECTION:

In the January, 1980 issue of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE, the listing for THE HEATH CLUB in the list of Airplane Type Clubs on Page 18 contained an error. It should have read: The Heath Club Robert Burge, Chairman 7612 Erie Street Sylvania, OH 43560 No Newsletters Dues:

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