VA-Vol-8-No-8-Aug-1980

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STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

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Fly-ins cover man y ac tivitie s including soc ial and co mpetitiv e fu nction s and just plain old togethern ess and relaxation. Many fly-ins are e ntirely social. Back in the late Thirties we had th e monthly breakfast fli ght s. Throu gh word of mouth we would all attempt to gather early on a Saturday morning and pick a d es­ tination whi ch was compatible with the various typ es of aircraft, and away w e would go in a )-3 with an auto road map and a passenger who u sually was also a pilot. Frequently it took the co ntents of two po cke t book s to finance the flight in cluding gas and food.

Breakfast flights still ex ist today , but mor e often than not we are loaded into a " spam ca n" and we guide ourselves el ec troni ca lly to the d esti nation .

Today, w e have our type club fly-ins wh ere antique or c lassic buffs gather for an annual w ee kend , to swap stori es, have con tes ts, exchange idea s and gen­ erally enjoy fun and exc item e nt. Thes e fly-ins are both helpful and enjoyable as th e participants share a mutu al interes t in a single type of aircraft.

We also h ave the " Air Shows ", which have been go in g on for some 70 years. Although not actually clas sified as fly-ins, people gather to see the partici­ pant s demon strate flight activities not normally seen in everyday aviation. Th ese exhibitors are continually bringing before us new routines and demonstrations of th e capabilities of both pilots and aircraft.

What is mor e tun than having an EAA Chapter fly-in on a Sunday afternoon, participating with your friends in spo t landin g and flour-bombing contests, displaying your skill in a short cross co untry effi­ ciency contest, and th en enjoying the fine ea ting of th e home- cooked food suppli ed by the wives and girl friends of th e loca l fellows. This is EAA! Th e n we have th e activities of the International Aerobatic Club, a Divi sion of EAA. The average per­ so n in th e United States sees a Pitts and immediat ely cla ss ifi es th e pilot as an " air show" typ e who tak es hi s life in hand on every flight. H ow wrong they are!

The lAC has fly-ins which are contest oriented. We won ' t go into the actual details co ncernin g the rul es and regulations governing an lA C eve nt , but res t as­

• sured these co ntests are for pr ecision aerobatic fly­ in g, done und e r safe and stringent rul es, and are separated into classifications according to the exper­ tis e of the individual pilot. Our hats are off to th e outstanding m en and women of the lA C. Through their organized effort to mak e aerobatics a safe, recr ea tional sport, we are privileged to witness some of th e finest precision flying to be see n anywhere .

Th ere is no doubt th at THE fly-in of each year is th e Annual EAA International Convention a t Oshkosh.

Her e EAA members and guests are able to see all typ es of aircraft and participate in forum s, work­ shops, social activities, ca mpin g, etc. Also there are all kinds of co mmercial displ ays including modern factory-built aircra ft, and of course, tho se fabulous daily air shows. This convention ha s it all.

Th ere is one fly-in during the year that deserves all the acco lad es it receives from it s participants. It is a typ e club known as the Staggerwing Club and it is superbly organized and managed . Under th e auspices of th e Staggerwing Club is the Staggerwing Museum Foundation, In c. The f o rmer was organized in 1962 and the Foundation was founded in 1974. What is so outstanding about the Staggerwing group is what they hav e accomplished, and the manner in which their annual fly-in is conducted.

Since its origin, the Staggerwing Club and Mus eum Foundation has manag ed to obtain for its members ju st about all of the remaining parts of the various Beechcraft Model 17s that exist. From th e Beech fac­ tory they h av e obtained photos and all drawings of th e various models, including th e details and specifi­ cations of eac h aircraft manufactured and other p erti­ n ent information. All of this is available to its mem­ ber ship for us e in restoring and operating Stagger­ wings. Within the museum itself are static displays of various part s, engines, hardware , photos dating from the 30's as well as current photographs of the flying restorations of the m em b ers .

The annual Staggerwing Conv ention is h eld for its m embe rs and their g u es t s and currently is held in Tullahoma, Tenn essee. Thi s fly-in is uniqu e in many

way s and though its format may not work for all other fly-ins, the tr emendou s amount of enthusiasm it gen­ erates, its hospi tality and functional aspects should set an example for others. Generally the fly-in begins on a Wedn esday and concludes on the following Sunday . A safety committee functions to co ntrol fly­ bys and pre-arranged formation work. Workshops and forums are scheduled to assist the Staggerwing or Travel Air res torer , owner or pilot in bringing the aircraft and individual pilot abilities up to the stan­ dand s desir ed . Fli g ht checks by ex perienced Stag ge rwing pilots are offered and even FAA biennial flight reviews can be sc heduled during the Conven­ tion!

Daily social ga thering s are held and tours of the in­ dustrial and manufacturing facilities of the area are available. Evening meals and social hours are held on the site daily a nd an informal banquet concludes the se activities on Saturday evening. Even though there are over ten different models flying, the Staggerwing Convention pre se nts no trophies or awards! However, each Staggerwing or Travel Air prese nt at the Convention is presented with a unique plaque as re cog nition of attendance.

In sho rt , th e Staggerwing Club ex hibits the love for a ce rtain type of aircraft , togeth er with th e expertise to organize, develop, maintain , re store and fly their beloved ma chines. Th ey have es tablished and they maintain a museum of top quality and during their brief hi story hav e dev eloped th e fellowship and sin­ cere dedication we so n eed in sport aviation.

~/c comp;~e!2~ LI~~

SHOULDER HARNESSES IN ALL

SMALL AIRPLANES

Several weeks ago the National Transportation Safety Board recommended to the FAA that shoulder harnesses should be made mandatory and retroactive on all small airplanes. One of the problems is that on older aircraft it is not possible to hook up a safe and effective shoulder harness. The FAA recognizes this problem and has been investigating what could be done in the broad area of additional cabin and seat safety. The fAA analysis has not been completed but we hope to have a report on this within a few weeks ... David H. Scott, Washington, D.C.

CAPITOL DRIVE AIRPORT HAS 80 OCTANE FUEL Wally and Lois Mitchell, owners and operators of Capitol Drive Airport on the northwest side of Mil­ wau kee, Wisconsin, report that they have 80 octane avgas for EAAers enroute to Oshkosh '80. Telephone 414 /783-4515.

FAA ALERT BULLETIN -

STEARMAN

Boeing Model 75 Series (S tearman ) Wood Control Stick Assembly, PI N 75-3362 An accident occurred after the wood control stick in the rear cockpit broke during flight . The failure oc­ curred in the area between the retaining bolt and the upper end of the socket assembly.

The broken control stick was made of walnut. Boe­ ing drawings specify that only hickory should be used ; preferably in a straight grained solid piece of wood. However, 3/16 inch laminated stock is also ac­ ceptable for use in fabricating a replacement control stick . An aluminum control stick, PI N 75-3347, is in­ terchangeable with the wood control stick. ... from the Stearman Restorers Association News­ letter , "Outfit"

NO TCAs FOR ALBANY AND ROCHESTER,

NEW YORK

The FAA has dropped its plans to establish terminal control areas at these locations. An analysis of traffic data and comments at public hearings has convinced the FAA that the existing terminal radar services pro­ vide adequate safety.

However, new TCAs are still planned for Buffalo, Syracuse, Norfolk, Baltimore, and Dulles Airport at Washington, D.C., in the Eastern Region. Also, the existing TCAs at New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington will be altered.

VA FLIGHT TRAINING IN JEOPARDY The House Veteran Affairs Committee voted to cut off the Veterans Administration flight training benefits program , and if Congress follows suit the program could end on October 1 of this year. Over 15,000 per­ sons are enrolled in VA ftight training . General avia­ tion interests have been very vocal in opposing th e committee's action.

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(Pharo b y Gene Chase)

E. M. " Mally " Laird, EAA 10118, vi sited the EAA Air Museum on Jun e 17 to in spect th e Mu seum 's La ird Super

Solution replica prior to its being covered. Here he beams his approval of the project while sea ted in the cockpit.

~i tJeWS .

Compo/ed

by Gene Chase

LUSCOMBE PART AVAILABLE AURORA, CO - Univair Aircraft Corp. has received a Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) from the FAA for the design and manufacture of a replacement fin attachment fitting for Luscombes.

Thi s part is applicable to Luscombe se ries 8 planes with round vertical stabilizer s and is a 4130 steel re足 placement for the original cas t aluminum Luscombe fitting (P N 28444 or 28453) which may be required to be scrapped and replaced according to AD 79-25-05.

Univair's part number is U-28444 for the fitting.

The part i s ava ilabl e for immediate shipment at a price of $49.50. Univair also stocks numerous other parts for the Lu sco mbes.

Contact Univair at Rt. 3, Box 59 , Aurora, CO 80011, 303/364 -7661.

Warren Dodson, EAA 81697, A/C 685, was killed in March in th e crash of a Cessna 185 near Shaktoolik, Alaska while flying three officials of a Spanish film company while on location in the area. Warren was affectionately known as "Ace" and was one of the best known bush pilots in Alaska. His father , James Dodson , Jr., was considered one of the great aviation pioneers in Alaskan history. Warren was 44 and a pilot for Wien Alaska for 23 years. His pride and joy was a restored Stinson SR-8 Reliant. Several years ago he salvaged the abandoned remains of this gullwing which had been purchased new at the factory in 1936 by his father . Stinson aircraft were a very important part of Warren's life , and he helped many restorers with their projects. We will sorely miss hi s advice and e nthusiasm and genuine friendship. Word of War足 ren 's passin g was provided by the National Stinson Club News letter.

To'

GREAT LAKES AIRCRAFT AVAILABLE AGAIN The Grea t Lakes Aircraft Co mpany is back in pro足 duction again, turning out those ageless classic G reat Lakes Train ers. For information, contact Great Lakes Aircraft Company, Marketing D ept., P. O. Drawer A, Eastman, GA 31023 . Telephone 912/374 -5535 .

(Photo by Ray Th o mpson)

Hurley Boehler on th e left , pres ident of Antique/Class ic Chapter 10 accepts th e chapter chart er from G ene Chase.

Thi s first m eeting of th e new chapter was held in Tulsa, Oklah oma on M ay 28 with 40 p eopl e in attendance.

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Lady Peace /I on th e grass runway at Shan n on Airport.

by Merton A. Meade, Jr.

fAA # 112009, A /C # 2994

2009 Victoria Drive

Aquia Harbour

Stafford, VA 22554

Photos by the author

A great deal has been written about this most fan­ tastic old aeroplane, but not a lot about flying it. I' m certain that just about every EAA and Antique/Classic Division member knows the machine still lives, and that it was restored by a singularly brilliant craftsman named Harold W. johnston who now resides in Texas. It is well known that Harold spent several years of his life, all of his money, and God-only­ knows how much pain and suffering to get the machine back in an airworthy condition. just to call

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the Vultee airworthy is really much too mild a phrase .

It is, to paraphrase the Rolls Royce folks, not so much an aeroplane - more a way of life. just a very brief history of this machine reads better than most novels. It was delivered to its original owner, William Randolph Hearst in April of 1937, and was used by Mr. Hearst at his ranch at San Simeon, California from that time until he disposed of it in july of 1940. The pilots of the "big" Hearst Vultee ("big" to differentiate it from the other Hearst Vultee that crashed at San Simeon and burned), were AI Russell and H. R. Earnest . These two men thought NC16099 was the most fantastic flying machine they had ever encountered. And they were quite right.

In the middle of '40, Mr. Hearst sold the machine to Marcos Gallabert who took it to Panama where he used it on a little airline he had going at the time .

The day after Pearl Harbor, " Tito" Gallabert tangled with a U. S. Army truck in Panama, and all but de­ stroyed the aeroplane . A year or so later , however , the machine was rescued from the breakers torch by

a fellow named Sam Wilburn , and it was repaired and used by the Government. Later it was sold to TACA airlines and was landed , wheels-up , unfortunately, in Mexico. TACA didn 't figure the ship was worth fixing, so they sold it to the Kane Products Company in New England .

Kane sent a man named Tony Ross down to repair it and fly it back to New Haven, which he did. Kane kept the aeroplane for a couple years and then sold it to Welker Airways in Detroit. When Welker owned the Vultee, it was flown once in a while by Tony Bar­ num .

Welker sold the machine back into Panama , and it stayed in Central and South America until the late ' 50s. It was flown from San jose , Costa Rica by " jungle " jody Gooding and " Charmin '" Charlie Hud­ son with a load of monkeys and other exotic beasts in the back. The story of the trip back to California will almost fill a book , but that story will hav e to wait.

Back in the States and re-registered with her origi­ nal number, NC16099, it passed through a few own­ ers before ending up sitting, in an absolutely junked condition, in the back lot of Johnston Automotive, Pueblo, Colorado. Harold decided to restore the Vul­ tee , and devoted almost seven years to the project, finishing with the test flight on May 1, 1971.

For the next six years, Harold used the Vultee, now named ,the Spirit of Pueblo, as his personal aero­ plane. He took it to Oshkosh where it was enthusias­ tically received, and also to Antique Airfield at Blakes­ burg, Iowa , where she looked like a mother hen , tow­ ering over the smaller aeroplanes.

For severa l years Sidney Shannon, owner of the Shannon Air Museum, had been watching with in­ terest the movements of the Vultee, and finally, in very early 1977, he and Harold Johnston ca me to an agreement, and Harold flew the machine to Virginia.

The name was changed to Lady Peace II, in honour of Museum Curator, Captain H. T. "D ick " Merrill, who flew a similar machine across the Atlantic in Sep­ tember of 1936. The big Vultee now sits in the center of the Museum, on the green Astro-turf hangar floor, watching over her brood of sma ller an tique s.

But, on to flying the ship. A walk-around inspection is about like you ' d expect on a DC-9. It's big! Also, there are a couple of things that are quite unusual. It mu st be remembered to turn on the brake shut-off valves located on each landing gear leg . These valves prevent fluid from running through the big multi-disc Goodyear brakes and out onto the ground. If you forget to tu rn on these valves, you obviously have no brakes, and since the tailwheel n either steers nor locks, you have a big, wiggly salamander and no way to control it.

Once inside , more interesting things take place .

The oil shut-off valve mu st be opened to allow the oil from the 19-9allon tank to get to the engine. Prime­ wobble-prime-wobble is the next order of business.

When the down-draught carbureter is properly primed and the fuel pressure is up , the starter switch is pushed over to the " Engage" side and a long , laboured whine begins as the inertia wheel starts to turn . When it's wailing like a banshee, and the throt­ tle is set right and the mags set to the booster side, the switch is flipped to the " mesh " side and the big Hamilton-Standard 3D40 jerks through. The R-1820 Cyclone comes to life with all the clouds of smoke and intoxicating smells associated with big radials , and all the dials spring into their proper places . With the Wright running - sitting there throbbing and sending powerful vibrations through the entire machine , you are reminded that this is not a machine

The Vultee 's front office.

to be trifled with. It is an airliner, and an old one at that.

When the pressures have all settled down to where they belong, and the oil temperature has started up, you can start to taxi to the runway. The old Goodyear brakes let out the most delightful moans and groans, which serve to remind you that they are not to be over-used . Run-up isn't unusual; about what you'd expect for a big radial. With the run-up complete, switch on the " No Smoking " and "Fasten Seat Belts " signs, and you're ready for a real experience.

Normal take offs are made without flaps, but up to ten degrees can be used for short fields or particu­ larly heavy loads. I always let the Vultee roll forward a few feet before coming up with the power, just to make certain the tailwheel is absolutely straight. To have an 8,000 pound lizard go squirming off into the toolies just doesn 't sound like this old man 's idea of a lot of fun. Anyway, up with the power to 37" of man­ ifold pressure (this isn 't anywhere near wide open ­ red line is 41"), and if the rudder trim is set right she' ll track just about straight down the strip. If she's light, the tail will hop up just like a Cub, but if she's slrghtly aft-loaded, you'll have to help it up with a lit­ tle forward stick.

The prop govenor will settle the rpm in at the red­ line of 2,200 and the Wright will make more noise than any, and I mean any, propeller driven aeroplane I've ever heard . Inside the sound isn't really too bad,

The Vultee as she sits today - surrounded by other an­ tiques,

but outside it is painful. In just a few seconds the airspeed is nudging 80, and a slight tug on the big, round wood-rim wheel will unstick her and up you'll go.

Holding an initial 37" for a few seconds, retract the wheels and the speed will jump to a hundred or more right away. After the wheels are up, pull in the flaps if any are out. To do this means moving the transmission shift lever from "Gear" to " Flaps", and then moving the motor switch from its normal place in neutral to "Up". After the flaps are in, move the motor switch back to " Neutral" , and then put the shifter back down to the " Gear" position. Sound complicated? You darn well better believe it!

I like to reduce manifold pressure just as soon as possible, and pull it back to 30" and 2,000 rpm. As soon as a little altitude is on, a further reduction to about 25" and 1800 is made, and if you then want to climb more, just pull the nose up to 120 miles per hour and go on up, being ever-mindful of the oil temperature. The oil cooler is mounted inside the cowling, behind the row of cylinders, so the Vultee is very sensitive to pitch attitude.

In cruising flight, the machine is a delight. She's fast; at about 50% power she'll indicate right around 150 miles per hour at, say, 8,000 feet. Sure, she'll go faster, but you sure pay the penalty in 100 octane. My good friend General Ben Kelsey accompanied me from Shannon Airport to Antique Airfield last year,

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and he described the Vultee as a "drifter". She just won ' t sit there absolutely hands off and perfectly hold a heading. No great deal of effort has to be made, but you've got to pay attention. She's basically very stable, and incredibly strong. It's hard to believe an airliner stressed 12 positive and 4 negative, bu't them's the numbers for the Vultee V-1A Special.

Landing the big Vultee is sheer delight, if your idea of sheer delight is being as busy as a one armed paper hangar with the hives. On downwind, slow her down to around 130 or 140 and put out the wheels.

That ' s easy; just make sure the shifter is in the "Gear" position, and move the motor switch to "Down". With almost no effort from the pilot, the airspeed will settle at about 120. Make certain the wheels are out by checking the indicator gauge, the green light, and also by peeking out the window to see if you can see the " weedcutter " gear door . If you happen to have the wireless turned on and ear­ phones on your head, you 'll know when the wheels are out. The old motor makes such a horrible screeching and shrieking through the headset, the re­ lief is so great when it stops you just know the wheels are down .

Next move the shifter up and the motor switch down to start the flaps out. I usually don't worry with looking at the flap indicator. When I start getting a pronounced pitch change, I stop the flaps, set the airspeed on about a hundred, and begin the ap­ proach . Fairly close in, 100 is a good number , and on short base or long final I put out the rest of the flaps.

As soon as all the flaps are out , make certain the motor switch is in neutral and the shifter back in the landing gear position. This is done so that if you have to make a go-around, you can get the wheels in first.

With the shifter in the gear position, you can crank in the flaps with the hand crank , and with the shifter in the flap position , the same crank works the undercar­ riage. Sort of like rubbing and patting at the same time, ain ' t it? Remember, no more than 30 " if the airspeed is less than a hundred; the rudder just won't hold direction.

Here we are, now, on short final , wheels down, flaps down, shifter down and the runway coming up to you. A touch of power holds the rate of descent just right and the speed should be about 80. As the runway comes up to you , just ease up the nose a bit, reduce the power and she'll settle nicely onto the main trucks with a little squeak. No need to keep watching the airspeed indicator ; she' ll tell you every­ thing you want to know.

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Wheel landings are easiest, mainly because you can see. I've three-pointed her several times, but the big fuselage has a way of blanking out the rudder. She slows down so quickly once on the ground , wheel landings just seem to work out best. I remember landing at Blakesburg last year with the General in the right seat. I must say that little runway looked short. As we rolled onto final and I started to really slow her down, General Kelsey leaned over and asked me if I wanted him to call our airspeeds. I al­ lowed that as slow as I THOUGHT I'd have to bring her in, I didn't even want to hear what the airspeed indicator was saying. The General courageously re­ mained silent , and after we were on the ground and taxiing in, he told me the thing was just about a nee­ dle width under 70 mph over the fence. As I said , I didn't even want to know how slow it was! As a mat­ ter of fact, though , the aeroplane felt just as solid as it looks, with complete control.

Once you 're on the ground with the V-1A , just sit there and leave things alone until you ' re off the run­ way and ready to taxi in. Make absolutely certain the motor switch is in neutral, move the shifter to the flap position and retract them. When they're all the way up again, put the motor switch in neutral and move the shifter back to the gear position. If you're not extremely careful, you can pull the wheels up while taxiing. Sitting still, with the full weight of the ship on the gear, the micro switches won 't allow the undercart to come up, but taxiing lightens the load enough , what with the long oleo travel, that the switches will not do their jobs and you can actually bring in the wheels. That could be a very embarras­ sing and expensive situation.

Shut down is fairly simple; just turn off the fuel and let it run out of gas. All switches off, firewall oil shut-off turned off and then get out and shut off the brake fluid . You ' re now all done.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Vultee V-1A Special is the most fascinating aeroplane I 've ever been involved with. If ever an aeroplane has been. destined to survive, it ' s this very one. It has had more opportunities to " die" than most ships and has side­ stepped all of them. Remember , it crashed in Panama back in the early forties, but survived. It ran out of gas with a load of monkeys on board back in the fif­ ties, but just happened to be right over an airport.

The pilot got her on the deck without tearing any­ thing up, even though the wheels were still winding down as he rolled them on the runway. It was sitting on a field in Central America one time when a hor­ rendous hailstorm came through. The hail beat up every aeroplane on the field except one, and I don ' t have to tell you which one that was. It wasn't even touched, though it was sitting right with the rest of them. Why didn ' t Harold Johnston just let it die after sitting in his back lot for a few years? It has had a few problems over the years that would have " killed" les­ ser ships, but NC16099 has survived, and I believe it always will.

(Ph o to b y Chris Sorensen)

A larg e c umb erso n a irpl ane. its eng ine th e p o w erful Wright Cyclon e 1000 hp gives it a sp eed of well o ver 780 mph . It m ade histor y wh en Di ck M errill fl ew it to England with H arry Ri chman. It was res tored to its present condi­ ti o n b y H ar o ld Johnsto n o f Pu ebl o , Co l o rad o . No w own ed by Sh anno n Air Mu se um , it is the only one of its kind.

. b y Wa lt A hlers, Pres ident

f AA Antique/Class ic Chapter # 7

fAA # 92795, A /C # 3974

60 M ain Street

Flanders, NJ 07836

Ph o tos co urtesy of th e auth or

A project, a project - Antique/ Classic Chapter 7 needed a project! During its first four months of exis­ tence, Chapter 7, based at Flanders Valley Airport in New Jersey, had managed to get itself chartered, started a newsletter, hold a square dance , plan a fly-in and recover a Stinson 108-1 . Yet , our ambition was to get our teeth into a full scale project ; a com­ plete restoration. With some of the funds collected from our previous efforts , the Chapter was ready to search seriously for such a project.

The original organizers of Chapter 7 were fortunate in being able to attract some fifty individuals, both men and women into membership by their en­ thusiasm and willingness to work. This provided a pool of talent, energy, and interest which found the opportunity to flow together upon discovery of the Reluctant Lady.

It all started with a phone call one Friday evening .

The voice of one of our members sounded like a 33 rpm record played at 45 rpm speed . He had located a wrecked Fairchild PT-26 which had flown only 23 ,hours since a complete restoration. The fuselage and other handy parts could be ours with the purchase of !the instruments. There was only one catch; the fuse­ Ilage was in a swamp near Ellenville, New York . But, the price was only $800! This was certainly worth looking Into, and immediate action would be neces­ sary. I was able to get in touch with two other mem­ bers, including a mechanic, and by 7 A.M . the follow­ ing morning, we were bound for Ellenville .

Upon our arrival, we located our contact who showed us the engine and instruments . The engine looked good, and the instruments looked like new which aroused our interest more than ever. We asked our contact to take us to the aircraft. Once we as­ sured him that we had brought plenty of warm cloth­ ing , he , agreed to lead us on. It seemed as if we had left civilization behind as we moved higher and higher into the mountain s and further and further into the woods. Finally , we were signaled to pull over to the side of the road. " She 's down there," he said, as he pointed to some trees. "Down there?", I asked . " Ya , right on the other side of the trees, there's a swamp and a pond ."

We bundled up and took off in the direction he had pointed. About 100 yards from the road we saw the pond and swamp; we still had another 50 yards to go. And then , we spotted her , glistening in the sun despite being partially submerged in ice. We ap­ proached for a closer inspection. One wing was bro­ ken at the center section and folded under ; the lead­ ing edge of the other wing showed evidence of hav­ ing taken some nasty blows on the way down . With the exception of some broken stringers , the fuselage looked good, but we were unable to determine the extent of damage to the underside.

A project? In our excitement we were afraid to voice the question . We trudged back through the packed snow to th e truck and left word with our con- ' tact that we would be in touch as soon as we re­ ceived an answer from the member ship .

On the way home we discu ssed the pros and cons of taking on the PT-26 as a chapter project. W e were trying very hard to maintain our objectivity. Our biggest question was " would the chapter be willing to undertake a project of this magnitude? " Just then , our di scussion was interrupted by the weather fore­ cast which added a sense of urgency for reaching a decision . The five day forecast called for a warming trend and rain - a January thaw? Once the ice thawed , the PT would sink deeper into the swamp . If that happened she would be impossible to retrieve, and our search for a project would have to start anew. W e returned to Flanders Valley Airport and met with some of the members we had left behind in the coffee shop.

The more we talked, the more excited we became .

We didn ' t want to let this opportunity slip through our hands . If we were to do it , we needed' a work party the next morning, but more importantly , we needed at least the tacit con sent of the membership to follow through . We cranked up the telephone chain and by the end of the evening more than half of the members had agreed to go dig her out.

The first crew was to leave at 5 A.M . with a second crew following at 7 A .M. It takes some kind of dedi­ cation to get up early on a Sunday morning in the middle of January. Mother Nature , fickle as u sual , had decided that instead of a warming trend she would send a record cold, bone chilling -20 0 F. temp­ eratu re o

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Upon rea c hing th e PT all hand s se t to - not dig­ ging out th e aircraft, but building a fir e. First things first. All th e chain saws , pick ax es and other assorted equipment were then put into se rvi ce cleaning th e brush and ice around th e aircraft. By noon, the fuse­ lag e was clear of ice, and it wa s determined th at th e center section was damag ed beyond repair . W e chose to cut it clear of th e fuselage at th e inboard fuel tank.

Th e water around the fu selage w as getting churned up and what wasn 't muddy wa s freezin g, so it was hard to tell what was being don e. It had been a lon g tim e since breakfast and all of u s were tir ed and hun­ gry . A break was d ecla red and some scouts wer e sent back to civilization for food .

But what to do about th e freezing water? Perhaps, if it could be kept circulating, it would not fr eeze, and the fu se lage could b e freed ; but a pump would be n ee ded. Wh er e to find a pump at noo n on Sun­ day? Why at a fir e house of course. W e stopped at Nap anoch Fire Company and those tru sting folks w ere agreeable to lending us a pump . No qu es tions asked. I guess th ey figured that if we were c razy enough to go to the top of a mountain to chop out an airplane in the dead of winter , we could be tru sted with a pump .

Upon our return we found the spirits of th e group w ere lagging . Peo ple were beginning to have seco nd thou g ht s about our salvage operation. Wh at had

10

start ed out as a lark was turnin g into a lot of hard , cold , fruitless work. Th e pump was set up and im­ mediately a petcock wa s broken. No sooner was the probl em overcom e than the pump froze up. It was ju st too cold. What see med lik e a good idea had sim­ ply fi~zled . W e figured that w e'd give it one la st ef­ fort. It would b e back t o muscle power. Th en if thing s did not work out , well, at l eas t , we ' d given our best try .

A co upl e of saplings were cut down and placed und e r the fuselage where it appeared to be stuck fa st. One e nd wa s attached to a Bronco, and all hand s grabbed on and pulled . Every ounce of com­ bin ed energy wa s exe rted. Th e Bronco 's front wheels w ere clear off th e ice and tho se men hanging onto the poles looked like so much laundry hung out to dry. Then ca me the shout , " It moved! " Had we really freed the fuselage or ju st damag ed it further? Then slowly, ev er so slowly, the Bronco returned to earth.

At th e same time , an old tree stump revealed its roots as th e PT was fre ed from the icy g rip of the swamp.

With th e PT fre e, we got our second wind . All that remained wa s to drag he r to high ground . A simple process! But , w e had not reckoned with the added w eight of the fu se lag e full of ice. With ropes at­ tach ed, w e attempted to mov e our Reluctant Lady with the Bronco. She would not move. The Suburban wa s attached to the Bron co and still no movement.

The remaining part s of th e cent er section was digging into th e ice. About that time , a st range face appeared in the crowd. H e was the former owner of our Lady.

Disb elieving what h e saw, he offered us a piece of plywood to use as a sled. Once positioned, we then had little trouble dragging her to the roadside and secured her . We had succeeded in retrieving her from the swamp before the thaw, but she still would hav e to los e some weight before we would be able to transport her to Flanders.

An exhausted, but happy crew returned home. All had work ed hard and it had taken the combined ef­ fort s of each and every person, with the help of some new found friends to fre e our Reluctant Lady . How­ ever , the se nse of well being we felt that night was replaced by sore and aching muscles in the morning.

Our chapter me eting was held two weeks later, and naturally , the Reluctant Lady was discussed at length.

The suggestion was made to bring her back that very day . Within fifteen minutes , twelve members volun­ teer ed, called their wives, and were off. This time a tilt-body truck, donated by a chapter member, was part of the equipment. The ice-laden fuselage was pulled aboard, and by ten o ' clock that evening, the Relu ctant Lady was in her new home, basking in the warmth of two space heaters. It was more than two days later that the last of the ice was cl ea red from her fus elage .

Res tor ation o f th e Relu ctant Lad y w as th e pr og ram at th e n ex t C h apt er 7 m ee tin g. Sh e w as un cove red and it wa s d e te rmin ed th at h er fu se lage h ad su stain ed o nl y min o r d am age. But , w e n ee ded parts. N ow th e sea rch was t o b egin in ea rn es t.

A t thi s tim e, th e Relu ctant Lad y co nsisted o nl y o f a d am aged fu se lage, an en gin e, and so m e in strum ent s.

Cl ea rly mu ch m o r e would b e n ecessa ry b efor e sh e co uld beco m e air bo rn e o n ce m o r e . Ear l y in o ur sea r ch , w e loca ted an en gin e cowlin g, fl ap s and so m e mi sce ll a n eo u s it e m s o n Lo n g I sl a nd , whi c h w e p ro mptl y acq u i red . In th e m ea ntim e, o ur "ex p e rt s" h ad al so l oca t ed a set o f win gs, tail surfaces, and o th e r p art s. Th ese were in W akem an , O hi o, b ut as u su al , th e r e w as a str i n g ti ed to th e b a rg ain . W e w o uld fir st h ave t o id entify th e p art s, and th ey we re stored wi th o th er d isasse m b led aircra ft - and n o th ­ in g w as m ark ed.

Aga in th e re qu es t for vo lunt ee rs was m ad e and m o r e th an en o u g h step ped fo rward . It w as d ecid ed th at thr ee of u s w o uld make th e trip . W e left o n a Fri day even in g, dragg in g a tr ail er , a nd pl ann ed t o dri ve str aig ht thr o u g h th e ni g ht. O ur v e ry und e r­ stand in g w ives sup p li ed u s w i th pl enty o f br ow ni es an d fri ed c hi c ken. W e reach ed Ortn er Fi eld in O hi o by 4 A. M . and g rabb ed ab o ut thr ee h o ur s o f sleep .

I aw o ke at daybr ea k , and m y fir st view o f th e field i n cl ud ed th e silh o u ett es of so me very large air craft.

W ithin sight of our ve hi cle was a C-46, two D C-7's, thr ee Co nvair s, and an A- 26 . Th ere w ere also th e re­ main s of two o r thr ee Beec h D-18s and a D C-7 ce nt er sec ti o n . Th is w as n o o rdin ary country air po rt ! Th ere th ey sa t , in th e mi st , lik e so m any crea tur es fr o m a p rehi stor ic age. M u ch lik e th e d in osa ur s o f o ld w h ose ex tin cti o n w as p red es tin ed b y climati c ch anges, th ese pr o u d craft, o n ce r ul ers of th e sky, h ad sunk int o t ec hn o log ica l obso lesce n ce.

By 6:30 A .M . everyo ne w as up, an d we h ea d ed int o tow n f o r so m e b rea k fas t. W e re turn ed t o th e f ield on ce m o r e ass umin g th at o ur "co nt act " would b e wai tin g. W h e n th ere was no sign o f him b y 9: 00 A. M . we ca ll ed. Hi s fi rst co mm ent w ent as fo ll o w s, " Yo u w er en 't supp osed to b e h e re thi s w ee k end . W ell , I' ll m eet you at th e coffee sh o p in 15 minut es. " So bac k int o t o wn w e w e nt. W e w ai t ed , an d w ait ed , and wai ted. N o o n e. "Was th ere an o th er co ff ee sh o p in tow n ?" " N o t si nce abo ut thr ee yea rs ago," th e w ait­ r ess re pli ed. Aga in w e h ea d ed fo r th e air po rt. Co n­ versa ti o n was a t a minimum as we w ere b eg innin g t o think th at w e h ad p lace d a $200 d ep os it and driv en 565 mil es f o r n o thin g. Av iati o n lo r e is full of sto ri es ab o ut p eopl e w h o have b ee n had, an d i t loo k ed as i f w e may h ave jo in ed th e ra nks.

Arrivin g a t th e fi eld , w e spotted a pi ck-up tru ck and approac h ed it o n th e o ff ch an ce th at th e dri ve r was o ur "co nt ac t". Sur e e n o u g h , m essages h ad b ee n scra mbl ed , and h e h ad b een w aiting fo r u s. H e fir st t oo k u s to a h an ga r wh ere th e o nly th i n gs w e fo und w ere a se t o f win gs. " I th o u g ht w e we r e supp ose d t o pi c k up so m e oth er p a rt s," I said . " Is thi s all y o u h ave?" " Yeh , th e r e's m o r e," h e dr aw l ed . " Th ey' r e o v e r a t th e bar n ." W e pull ed o ut th e win gs and fo ll o w ed him t o th e barn. H e o p en ed th e d o or , and th ere b efor e o ur eyes w as pa radi se. Th e b arn w as ju st pac k ed to th e raft ers wi th asso rt ed odd s and end s o f all ki nd s o f airc raft. W e pi cke d and ch ose w h at we w ant ed , pl ac­ in g all th e part s on th e g ro und o utsid e . Wh en w e fi­ n all y quit , th e barn lo o k ed as if n o thin g h ad b ee n r e m ove d , but an yo n e l oo kin g d o wn f r o m above w o uld h av e ass u me d th at a m ajor aviati o n di sas t er h ad tak en p lace.

We w e re f in all y rea d y for th e l oa din g, but th en M o th er Na tur e d ec id ed t o d o h e r thin g . Th e ski es d ark en ed , and h eavy, thr ea t ening cloud s m oved in p eltin g u s with a d o wnp our of rain and hail. Th ere we re littl e w hit e m arbl es of ice all over u s, all o v er th e ca r , and all o ver th e p art s. Yet , 30 minutes lat er , it w as all ove r , and th e sun was shinin g. A t thi s p o int all we coul d d o was laugh , pac k o ur tr eas ur es and h ea d b ac k to th e airport for o ur win gs and th e final loa d­ in g.

As w e loa d ed and r eload ed , it beca m e o bviou s that news of o ur ac ti viti es had tr'ave l ed . A ge ntl em en ap ­ p r oac h ed u s, i ntr o du c in g him se lf as Leo n. I f w e w o uld b e int er es t ed , h e' d lik e to sh o w u s hi s coll ec­ ti o n of ai rcra ft pa rt s and pi eces. By th at tim e, we had di sca rd ed o ur sc h edul e . " Wh y n o t, w e' ll fo llow you .

H ow far is it ?" " Ju st dow n th e roa d a pi ece," w as th e repl y; and so for tw ent y mil es w e f o ll o w ed him , fin all y turnin g o nt o a dirt roa d . Th ere, in a fi eld w ere thr ee j et fi g ht­ e r s, a Yal e, a n e n o rm o u s r adi a l e n g in e a nd a ny num ber o f fu se lage skel eto ns. In th e mid st o f all thi s sa t a whit e po l e buildin g. Leon gave u s a guid ed to ur of th e f ield , but in m y am azem ent , I h ea rd littl e o f w h at h e said. Cl oser in sp ecti o n revea led th at th ose sk ele to ns w ere PT fu se lages, b ut th ey w er e in r o ug h sh ap e, m any h av in g b ee n ravaged . I w o nd ered wh y th ey w ere b e in g save d . O ur h os t l ed u s int o th e building. Ju st i n sid e th e doo r sa t thr ee o r f o ur Ro ll s Royce M e rlin e n g in es. N ex t , I sp o tt ed a n AT- 6, a h eli copt er , m o re engines and an o th er pil e o f PT fu se­ lages. Th ese, too, had b een b ad ly ca nnibali z ed , but at th e b o tt o m of th e h ea p w as a fu se lage co mpl et e w ith it s ce nt er sec ti o n and gea r hou sing. Th ey w er e

b eyo nd repair , b ut co uld b e u sed as p attern s. Th e Re­ lu ctant Lad y w as badl y in n eed o f th ese parts i f sh e w as to fl y o n ce again . W e surveyed th e pil e and es ti­ mat ed th at it w o uld take sev eral h o ur s t o di slo dge th e n ecessa ry pi eces. In additi o n , w e w ere sur e that we wo uldn ' t h ave en o u g h roo m to ca rry any mo re bac k .

At th at p o int , w e d eci d ed th at w e w o uld hav e to scr o un ge th e part s cl ose r to h o m e; so w e th ank ed o ur h os t and r eturn ed to th e airp o rt . By thi s tim e, it w as ge ttin g d ark , so w e co mpl et ed th e loadin g pro­ cess in th e illumin ati o n o f o ur h eadli g ht s. We th en so ug ht o ut th e n ea res t m o t el fo r som e mu ch n eed ed res t .

Tw e nt y- f o u r h o ur s b e hind sc h edul e, w e arri ve d ba ck in Fl and e rs w ell sati sfi ed with th e re sults of o ur ad ve ntur e. W e t oo k inv e nt o ry (wh en we fin all y un ­ load ed ) and fo und th at w e h ad 9 ail ero n s, 3 fl ap s, 3 win gs, 5 rudd ers, 2 elevat o rs, 2 h o ri zo ntal stabil ize rs, 4 ve rti ca l st abili ze r s, 2 turtl e d~cks and asso rt e d pu sh-pull tub es.

W e are still in n eed of a ce nt er sec ti o n and th e landin g gea r h o u sin gs, but resto ration should b egin in ea rn es t aft er o ur fly-in in Jun e. W e f ee l th at mu ch h as alr ea d y b een acco mpli sh ed and w e kn o w that the Relu ctant Lady will fl y o n ce again .

11

Part I of the J. O. Doc kery story appeared in th e July , 1980 iss ue of The VINTAGE A IRPL ANE. Edi tor

From the l eft - Do c, tes t pil o t, Earl Rowland, c hief test pilot , and Jac k Pryor, assistan t c hief engineer a t th e Cessna factory in Wichita , Kansas , after winning app roval for use of th e Warn er engine on th e Model AW in 1928.

Do c continued telling about hi s bri ef experience working with Clyde Cessna in Wi chita , Kansas.

"Ea rl Rol and was Chief Pilot for Cessna, I wa s Test Pilot and Chief Bowhand was Tes t and Ferry Pilot.

During this time I also flew for Jak e Mull e ndick out at Swallow and Trav el Air. It all dep ended on where th e job wa s on a parti cular day. Mull e ndi ck was th e oil man who e n couraged Matty Laird to come to Wi chita

12

JESSE ORVAL DOCKERY . . .

'A FLYING SILVER EAGLE' PART II from C hica go and build th e Laird Swallow. H e had Lloyd Stearman and W alt er Be ec h working for him th e n . Th ey wanted to build a stee l fuselage but h e in ­ sist ed on wooden long e ron s. So th ey ju st quit after severa l ship s were built. Buck W eave r was t es t pilot for M att y and when asked how th e first mod e l flew , he sa id ... 'F li es lik e a Swallow! ' " It look ed a great d ea l lik e a Jenny o nly it had a nose radiator. Late r Matty r eturn ed to Chicago , where he co ntinu ed to build th em with steel fuselages pow­ e red by OX s, C-6s, and Hi ssos and became quit e suc­ cessful. " When th e fir st TP Swallow, a trainin g pl an e, wa s built I w e nt up and flew it. Nuthin' f an cy, n o up ­ hol ste ry, stripp ed down. I loop ed it , sp un it , played around and ca m e down and got g round ed for t est in g without a parachute. " Th e inspector had come arou nd ju st as I h ad landed and go t out. You weren ' t sup posed to do that. " In the Fall of 1928, whil e on a demonstration tour I ca m e ba ck throu g h Oklahoma City , sh ow in g the Cessna with a 10 cy lind e r A nzani , which was a m od­ ified WW I engin e. It used to h ave a su ction intake valve, no rocker a rm s, kind of a crude d ea l but a live ly en gi ne. Th e airpl an e flew well, but you n ever kn ew when it would quit. Wh e n I got to Okl ahom a City , I m et Paul Braniff who was flying a J-5 Eaglerock in the 1928 Ford Reliability Tour . H e h ad ju st won in his ca t ego ry . ' Doc: h e sa id ... 'I'm starting an airlin e and I want you t o come back h ere and work with m e.' Well, late r that winter while we were snowed in , I approached Maj o r Worl ey who was general m anage r whil e Clyde Cessna was away, and told him I 'd h ave to go hom e t o Corpus Christi where my folks liv ed, as my moth er wa s hav in g a seriou s operation. H e sa id . . . ' You ca n ' t do that , you can' t leave, w e've got airplanes th at need to b e t es ted and th e backlog mu st be delivered.' I sa id . . . ' M ajo r Worl ey, I ' m go in ' hom e to see my m o th er' . . . so I quit. I went h o m e, got m y wife and baby int o th e car and drove t o Cor­ pu s Christi. Mom ca me thr o ugh it all ri g ht , and in th e meantim e I stopp ed to see Paul. H e again sa id h e wa s startin ' hi s airline, so I j o in ed up with him. Tipp Scheer, M aurice Mars and I were th e first thr ee pilots with Braniff.

by Robert G. Elliott EAA #8514 5, AIC #3296

/ 227 Oakwood Avenue

Daytona Bea ch, FL 32 014 Ph o tos from th e Co ll ection of I. O. Dock ery

h ad n ' t been o n th e run but two or thr ee days wh e n Clyde ca ll ed and sa id . . . " Wh e n you go nn a ge t back up h ere? " , t o which I r espo nd ed . . " Clyd e, I've alr eady agreed to work with Paul a nd I had quit wh en I left you. " "O h , no . . . Major Worley sh o uld h ave let you go home to visit your mother, " ... and th en he sez ... " Wh o e lse can I get ?"

Th e previous yea r I had taug ht Penny Roge r s to fly.

H e was a good pilot so I r eco mm e nd ed him by say­ ing , " I 'm go in ' to be off tomo rrow. I ' ll bring h im up ."

As it worked o ut , we went t o Wichita a nd got Penny ch ecked o ut o n th e Cess nas. H e found thin gs agreeable w i th Clyde and h e b ecame th eir test pilot, remaining th e r e a numb e r of years."

In go in g throu g h a few of Doc's r ecords I found that in 1928 h e receiv ed hi s Federa tion Aeronautique Int er n ati o nal li ce n se number 440, sig n ed by Orv ill e Wright. ' 'I'm gettin ' ahead of my story ," said Doc, as we r e­ sum ed the documentation of hi s f lyin g expe riences. " My first barnstorming with new produc tion airplanes was with littl e two-pl ace OXS Waco 9's, Travel Ai rs, Swa ll ows, Eagle Ro cks . . . and lat er I got into th e big six pl ace Travel A ir in which we carried as many as we co uld ge t in . We k ep t one little plane to put o n a sh ow with which would bring ou t the crowd f r om town . Of co urse, th e parachute jumper would do hi s act daily ."

Employees of Braniff Airlines Corporation p osed for this photo on April 29, /929 a t Mcintyre Airport, Tul ,a, Ok­ lah oma on th e opening of the run between Tul sa and Se minol e, Oklahoma. Also, th e occasion wa, th e con ­ solie/a lion with Universal Airlines Sys tem , bec oming th e Braniff Airlincs Division. Originally fJVing 15-/ Ryan s, anel six pla ce 1-5 Trav el Airs , th e n ew co mpan y wa ;. now equipped with Horn et-powered H a milton s, Fords, Fokkers dn(1 Fairchilrl 7ls.

During that period of time I'd flown tri-motors quite a lot, including Fords, Bachs , Keystones, Fok­ kers, and Stinsons. Mid-South Airways, started by Captain Vernon C. and Phoebe Omlie in Memphis bought E. L. Cord ' s private custom built 'T' Model Stinson. Vernon was killed riding as passenger on Chicago-Southern at St. Louis , when the plane took off with the control locks on.

The 'T' Model was the first Stinson Tri-motor. Later they made the 'U' Model, a much heavier, bulkier airplane which didn 't handle as well or get in and out like the 'T' Model. The 'T' got off well, landed short and carried a good load . It was supposed to carry twelve passengers plus pilot and co-pilot. The last Tri-motor Stinson was the 'A' Model, a low wing job with retractable gear. Delta bought a few from Ameri­ can Airways back in those early days.

The Ford compared only in its ability to get in and out and carrying a load. But it wouldn ' t go anywhere .

At 80 to 90 mph , it was slow. The Stinson would use a little more room getting off, but after airborne, it'd carry the load cruising at 130 mph with the 215 hp Lycomings. Fords had )-4s , then )-5s, then )-69s , then later the 450s, and they went from 14 to 18 passen­ gers . The old Ford would balloon off the ground ...

I don ' t care if you ' d hung the hangar on it , it'd take it away."

Later, after I had joined Braniff, it was like old times, as they were flying Fords, Stinsons and Fok­ kers. Of course, Braniff started with a B-1 Ryan and

two 6-place Stinsons . Shortly after starting Braniff Air­ lines, Paul consolidated with Universal Airlines Sys­ tem. It was then that we started getting in the Fords, Fokkers , Hornet powered Hamiltons , Fairchild 71s, Flamingos . . . all of which were 'THE' planes of the day .

I barnstormed a J-5 Ford for the Kenyon Air Trans­ portation Company. Then I bought a Stinson and put about 1300 hours on it. Back in those days 90 % of my tri-motor passenger carrying time was at night." " People who were working during the day couldn ' t get out except at night. During what we called the 'hamburger days' , we had to turn hand springs for any work at all. In the early Thirties I flew in Florida during the winter months. Folks who were working all day, would go home, clean up some , eat, and come out to the field for a ride. I'd put a quart can of gas with rags in it at each end of the grass strip run­ way, put a match to them and they were my landing lights . I'd fly all night some times . Then .. . they would sign up for tours .. . Zephyrhills, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and back to Zephyrhills. Every time I would land, I' d get another full load. We were charging five dollars a tour then . . . that was BIG money. Most of the time, the short hops were one dollar a seat. On the short hops , we didn't carry much gas. As long as we could get the door shut, we ' d keep puttin ' people in. I've had as high as 25 at times in the ole Stinson. I wouldn't have said that in those days because the CAA, Department of Com ­

merce could accuse you of something if they could prove it."

Doc joined the famous Caterpillar Club on May 8, 1930. He was stunting a Fleet Model 1, which was in an intentional inverted spin. It wouldn't recover, so he left the plane at about 500 feet. The accident was during an air show. Also during the year 1932, Doc's log book showed an accumulation of about 8000 hours , most of it recorded in precision aerobatics, barnstorming, instructing and dusting.

Olin 'Pappy' Longcoy, a flying buddy of Doc's, re­ called the time he and Doc were in Gulfport, Missis­ sippi with a high wing Stinson Tri-motor. As 'Pappy' tells it ... " I was standing near the gate talking with a CAA inspector. Doc had just landed after a pas­ senger hop. The inspector was one of the good guys we knew. He turned to me and said , "Pappy, who's flyin ' that Tri-motor?" I sez . . . "J. O. Dockery, Stuttgart, Arkansas," . .. he sez . .. " Who, Doc?", .. . I sez " Yep" . . . he said . . . "I've got to turn my head" . . . I sez .. . " What's the matter?" . . . he sez . .. " I've counted eighteen people coming out that door already and they're still comin', and I don't want to count anymore." " Go tell Doc to shut it ,down and come here and talk with me. " So I went around the front and gave Doc the signal to cut the engines and pointed over to the gate. Doc looked and saw that he knew the inspector ... it was George Wiggs, if I recall correctly.

Mr. E. L. Cord of th e Cord Auto Company was a director of th e Stinson Corporation and this Model T Stinson was cllstom built for him . Cord also originated century airlin es in th e early Thir!~es. Photo taken a t Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Before Doc got there George said, " He knows bet足 ter than that. " I said, " Well, Doc's tryi ng to make an honest living." When Doc came up, George said, " Doc , do me a favor. " Do c sez , " What ' s that George?" . . . George sa id , " Don ' t put any more p eo ple in that thi~,g, y~,u're going to break it in two." ... Doc sa id. .. OK .

Pappy co ntinu ed with another brief tale of those days ... " Us poor fella s used to put on small air shows out in Macomb and Meridian, Mississippi. There were about tw elve of us in the group. We ' d have aeroba足 tics, precision flying events and rides ... all for a few trophies ... no money . Then , here would come Doc, arriving late in a Waco Straightwing with the dusting hopper still under the belly. Well . . . who do YOll suppose walked away with the trophi es? .. . Doc, that's who! J. O. Dock ery, with dust coming out of every place on that plane. He 'd roll it about lik e it wa s a Laird Speedwing."

Wright }-4 power e(1 Straightwing Waco co n ver ted to a (IU-'I <:' r in / '0133. Later, a }-5 vVa ) imtall etl ju ) t befor e Booger Red Vince" completely washe(1 OLi t the airplane.

Doc again indicat ed h e wanted to continue tellin g about th e barnstormin g days. " I fl ew for Bo bby Jew el and th e Texas Flying Circu s o ut o f Dalla s. Earli er I had b ee n with th e Gates Fl yin g Circu s. Th ey had Cloyd Cleving er , Cl yd e Pangb o rn , a nd Diab alo . . . Iv a n G at es a lwa ys ca ll e d hi s para chut e jump ers, Diabalo . Wh en I fir st start ed fl y­ in g fo r th e m th ey had an extra airplan e in case o f tr o ubl e . All w ere paint ed red with a bi g Texaco star . . . Texaco bein g th e spon so r. Th e rese rve pl an e w as a C urti ss K6. Cl eving er and Pan gb o rn go t Gat es to l et m e fl y it. At M e ridi an , th ey w ere haulin g passe nge rs and Cl evin ger to ok o ff in hi s Hi sso Stand ard and it quit. Th e o nl y pla ce h e had to land w as on th e rai l­ ro ad tracks and b efo re th e du st had settl ed , th e Stan­ d ard w as prett y w ell used up . In o th e r w o rd s, th ey stuffed th e pi eces i n a crate and shipp ed it bac k to N ew Yo rk fo r repairs. But that put m e out o f a jo b , b ecau se Cl ev in ge r t ook th e K6. So I w e n t back t o Pin e Bluff and found m e som ethin g else to d o . Thi s w as th e t i m e I w e nt d o wn and w o rk ed fo r Bob b y Jewel . Anoth er frien d , Ted Kin cannon had th e Lo n e Star Fl yin g Circu s, and for a whil e I work ed for him al so.

O ne of th ose tim es in Texas, I ra n int o a film crew th at w as pr odu cing th e pi ctur e ' Win gs'. A f te r a sho rt tim e I b eca m e ac qu aint ed with two o f th e pi lo ts, Paul M antz and Pan cho Barn es."

Doc br o ke int o hi s barn sto rmin g r eco ll ecti o n b e­ ca u se he w as re mind ed o f so m ethin g else that hap ­ p ened bac k in th ose ea rl y days. " O n April 6 , 1932, th e And e r so n Al ab a ma A nti ­ Air cr aft Batt ali o n was pl annin g a sp ec ial ex hibiti o n with four , 800 m illion candl e p o w er sear chli ghts. Eac h li ght car ri ed it s own p ow er pl ant. Fo r th e d em o nstr a­ ti o n th e li ght s w ere pla ce d at th e corn ers o f a mil e squ ar e pi ece of g ro und . Th e purp ose o f th e ex hibi ­ ti o n w as t o sh o w th e eff ectiv e n ess o f loca tin g and trac kin g ai rc raft at ni ght. A g roup o f pil o ts had vo lun­ t ee red to fl y and tr y to av o id th e b ea m s o f li g ht.

Th er e w as Clyd e Pangb o rn , Wil ey Pos t, Len Povey, Tex Rankin , D o ro th y H es to n and m yse lf. N o ne of th e oth ers had mu ch lu c k in stay in g o ut of th e bri ght b ea m s as th ey w er e too b lindin g. Th ere w er e fo ur co nv e r g in g b ea m s, a nd tr y as th ey w o uld , th ey couldn 't esca p e th e tr ac kin g li ghts. Wh en it ca m e my turn , I fi g ur ed I w o uld have to d o so m ethin g fas ter th an th e b ea m s could tr ac k . So, aft er ge ttin g m y al­ titud e and movin g alo ng in th e b ea m , I did an Im ­ m elm ann and got out o f th e li g ht . Wh en I go t d own , Pan g b o rn , Pos t and Pov ey w ant e d t o kn o w h o w I could do an Imm elm ann in th at b lindin g li ght wh en I

couldn ' t see an y referen ce ho rizon ? WhO at th ey didn ' t reali ze w as th at I' d flown Tap erwin gs eno ug h to kn ow th at if you fl ew a loop and ti g ht ened up n ea r th e top , it w o uld r o ll o ut and do th e Imm elmann itse lf . . . it w as a charact eri sti c o f th e pl an e. Con sequ entl y wh e n I did that qui c k loop and ti g ht ened up at th e to p , I ro ll ed o ut into darkn ess and w o n th e hambu rg ers. " Sp ea kin g o f Len Po v ey remind s m e . . . h e o ri gi­ nally learn ed to fl y in th e milit ary as an enli sted m an .

I und e rsta nd that Ge n e ral Bill y Mit c h e ll all ege dl y g rant ed h i m p ermi ss ion for form al i nstru cti on an d yea rs later Len did tes tin g fo r th e G ranvill e Br o th ers o n th e G ee Bee." " Befo re w e leave thi s ph ase o f your ca ree r , D oc, what w as th e m os t v ersa til e airpl ane yo u u sed during yo ur du stin g days? " I as k ed . D oc r es po nd ed, " I li ked th e s tr aightwin g W aco. O f co ur se th e Hi sso Standa rd w o uld ca rr y a h ec k of a load , b ut i f yo u had t o be nd it around v ery mu ch it didn 't pr ove to b e v ery m a­

neuv erabl e. I lik ed th e Trav el Air to o , but I couldn 't get m y fa vo rit e h o pp er to fit in it. Eag l erocks w o uld ca rr y a good loa d also . Th e hopp ers w ere o ur own d es ig n , as th er e w as no co mm ercial so ur ce . Our fir st in stallati o n o f wh at w e ca ll ed a gin b ell , o r h o pp er , w as in a Hi sso Stand ard . Later w e use d Jenn ys . But I still lik ed th e s traig htwin gs b es t . . . p o w ered b y th e Hi ssos , J-4 s, J-5s , and J-6-7s.

A ft e r WW II th e bes t du ster w as th e Stea rm an. But th ey had th e littl e 22 0 Co ntin ent als and 225 Lyco m­ in gs, so w e pull ed th ose o ut an d put in 450s. W e u sed th ose fo r yea rs until th ey w ere all w o rn o ut. " D oc's cro p du stin g bu sin ess co ntinu ed to g row and p ros p er wh en it b eca m e ap pare nt th at WW II w o uld int erfe re. Ju st be fo re 194 1 an eve nt occurr ed whi ch h e d escr ibed : " W e had a Lock h eed Vega ov er at Dal­ las, at th e Cul ve r A ir craft Sa les . Jimm y M arshall and I Fr o m l eft - Len Pa vey, Do c, a n(1 AI KnO ll with A I ', W a rn er-powered Gee Bee.

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owned the business and at th e moment I wa s th ere working with him . A customer want ed to bu y the old Vega, which was then stor ed in Booth H enning 's o ld Dallas Aero Service Hangar at Love Fi eld , and h ad been for a long, long time. " Marshall wanted m e to fly it and check things out.

Well, I went over, got it out, and soon took off .. . but it'd been sitting around so long that th e shoc k struts h ad dried out from lack of service so when the plane lifted off the ground , th e wheels dropped way down and canted in at a rea l exagge rat ed angle. Try­ ing to land was like touching down on ice skates. I wa s all right though , as long as I had the engin e.

When I saw I was in troubl e, I went around th e fi eld once more, and that was when the engin e b ega n cut­ ting in and out. Several time s I touch ed down and nursed it along best I co uld . Finally , I pr actically went around a couple of DC-2s sitting th ere, as w ell as the Administration Building, then skidded to a stop, loos­ ing the prop , cowling and end of th e wing. " A couple of the boys hanging around had wanted to go along for the ride , and being in th e back , they were better ballast than sa nd bag s. After the final lurch , I came out over th e top of th e cabin. The guys in the rear wer e trapped by a jamm ed door. One of the Southern Air Se rvice mechanics had a large screwdriver which he used to tea r out the door cover­ ing . Although th e earlier model Vegas had been cov­ ered with wood veneer , thi s model was covered with metal and everyone was afraid o f th e boys being trapp ed inside in th e event of fire. " As this event had taken place before Pea rl Harbor , I naturally had to ask Doc . . . " What did you do in WWII? " " During th e W ar, I was with th e Ferry Command.

When the milit ary d ec ided to start th e Ferry Com­ mand u sing civilian pilot s, th ey had to co nsult the CAA at Fort Worth , who released th e names of those th ey thought would be available. Great numb ers had gone to th e Briti sh, the T-6 training programs, th e North Atlantic Ferry Service, Embry Riddl e, and th ere w eren 't many left. I wa s in Dallas wh en I got a ca ll from Ca pt ain To mm y Ferguson at H e nsl ey Field , a Naval Air Station. H e as ked if I would be int eres ted in doing ferry work for the Army Air Co rp s." " Since it was December, 1941, and I co uldn ' t sta rt my du stin g until th e following Mayor Jun e, I agreed to the offer. North American had an asse mbly plant at H en sl ey Fi e ld for th e T-6s . . . so h e drew one, checked out and req ues ted a flight arou nd th e field .

Upon landin g, h e assigned m e as ch eck pilot on th e T-6s for th e Ferry Command.

,\

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(Photo by Robert C. Elliott!

In January, th ey decided to run so m e of us throu g h four-en gin e tran sition . W ell, most of u s had d o ne some ferrying in A-20s. B-25s, T-6s, P-40s, P-63s and P-38s, which we had d eliv ered all ov er th e country.

They se le cted th e mor e expe ri enced pilots with multi-engin e tim e and sent us all out to Albuquerque for four-engine tran si tion at a TWA flight trainin g school. TWA and Pan Am Stratoliner pilot s were commandeered for in stru cto rs, as th ere were non e available in the se rvi ce. At that time , I had 3800 hours multi-engine tim e, mostl y in two and thr ee en gine pl anes. After w e went thr ough the training p er iod we were assigned as instruct o rs.

Wh en we completed th e co ur se th ey sen t u s to West Palm Beach, th e jump off place across th e South Atlantic for th e B-17s and B-24s .. . and it was there I ran int o Art Goebe l again . He was a Co lo nel th en and later he m ade Brigadier Ge nera l. H e g reeted m e by say in g, " Doc, come on in , they 'll probably make you Mess Officer . . . I ' m a Supply Off i ce r . The you ngs ters who have ju st started to fly in th e last four o r five years are the f li ght off ice rs!"

Af ter a moments thought , Doc co ntinu ed . .. " I was ass igned to chec kin g pilots ou t in ove rl eaded ai r­ craft , as up to that time eve ryo ne had bee n checked out in e mpty airpl an es. They ' d be taki ng off fully loaded, h eaded for So uth A m e rica and across th e At­ lanti c to Ascens io n Island and th en to Afr i ca. About th e tim e our o utfit was orga ni z in g, which meant I

J. O. Dockery after landin g a Beech Staggerwing at Bob White 's Airport a t Zellwood, Florh/a rec en tl y.

w o uld be sent to Ca ir o, Egypt, B. M. Gaddis, head of Pl ant Q uarantin e, Department of Agriculture, called m e from W as hin gton and sa id , " Do c, w e n eed you to bid on so m e mal arial co ntrol at so m e of th e arsenals and d efe ns e plants wher e w e've cre at ed m os quito hatches."

I sa id , " Mr. Gaddis, you ' ll have to speak to some­ o ne else, I' m supp osed to go to Ca iro , Egypt n ex t w ee k. " H e rep li ed, " My good ness, that ca n ' t happ en . .. wh o's you r commanding Ge neral? " I sa id , " General Olds, " ... h e says, " OK , h e's right h ere in the Pen­ tago n ," . .. I sa id ... " That's ri ght. " So th e next week when I was all se t to fly to Egypt, I go t a ca ll from Colonel Thomas 's office. He sai d " Dock ery , h ere's your Major 's Commission , it ju st caught up with yo u , and h e re's yo ur release .. . which o n e do you want? " I said, " Colo n el , if you had a gro up of airpl anes and th e gove rnm ent saw fi t to r el ease you, which would you take ... th at Major's Comm iss ion o r th at release?" H e answered, ' 'I'd take the release ... and I said ... " G iv e it h ere." As it turn ed out, I had to go back to H e nsley to pick u p the release . " During the War th en ... I had to stay and run my own air po rt , Dockery Airport at Stu tt gart, Ar kansas.

Mtlo Burcham, center with Doc on right a side a Boeing P- 72.

Cour se you kn ow , at th e b eg inn ing of th e W ar, th ey p ull ed all pil o ts' li ce nses. To get it bac k yo u h ad to sh ow your birth certifi ca te, sw ea r all egian ce, be re­ i nstated and if you had an airp or t , it had to be in ­ sp ected , ch ec ked o ut . . . arri va l and d epartur e logs kept and all. If so m ebody w as comin g you ' d b e ad­ vised of th eir arri va l , and w h en th ey left , you had to w ir e th e ir de partur e tim e. O n top of runn ing th e air­ p o rt , I had to co ntinu e th e ag ri culture w o rk and m a­ lari al co ntro l. As I reca ll th ere were seve n o r eight de­ fe nse pl ants th at required sprayin g fo r m os quitos, but th ese we re m os tl y in th e South ern States . " Durin g th e latter pa rt of th e W ar , th ey ca ll ed m e from W isco nsin and sai d th e aphid s wer e ea tin g u p th e pea cr op o n th e mu ck farm s. Th e D epart m ent o f Ag r icult u re had give n th em m y nam e and h o p ed I co ul d so m e h ow co m e ri g h t away . I t ook t wo airplanes to Reed sburg, W isco nsi n , and fo und th ey needed to get th e job do ne in a hu rry. I arri ved in th e mi d dl e of the rai ny seaso n . Th ey had been tr yi ng to ki ll th e b ugs th e m selves and had crea ted su ch a mess i t wo ul d take fo rever to fin is h th e job . Im agi ne, a wet mu c k f ield, in to w h ich they had d rive n tru cks

Wil ey Post showing his round-th e-world course 10 Irene D ockery in 7932 at th e Ne w Orl eans Ca rnival of th e Air at Wedell -Willi ams A irpo rt wes t of Ne w O rl ea ns.

pullin g large tar p s. Al o n g sid e w er e o th er v ehi cles with du st bl ow ers, and the v ent s runnin g down und er th e tar p whi ch w as b ein g dr agge d . In thi s wa y th ey hop ed to l ay on en o u gh poi son t o kill th e aphids, but all it did w as mi x ev eryth i ng up int o a muddy fi eld.

"A ft e r gettin g th e tru cks and thin gs o ff th e area to b e du sted , we cr ank ed up th e two plan es and d id it ri g ht . As w e w o rk ed , f o lk s fr o m th e ca nnin g co m­ pani es w ere wat c hin g, and b ein g ri ghtfully impr ess ed , w e w o und up du stin g ther e eve ry seaso n fo r n ea rl y twe nt y-fiv e years."

A lth o u g h D oc cease d r eco rdin g hi s h o ur s so m e tim e ago, h e h as to d ate so m e 50, 000 h o ur s fl yin g tim e. Much of hi s tim e wa s log ged in pr ecisio n ag­ ri cultur al fl yin g, du stin g cr o p s. Hi s comp any h as lo g­ ged o v er 600,000 hour s h elpin g f arm e rs sa v e th eir cro p s. So m e o f th ose ye ar s he had b etwee n fift y and sixty airplan es workin g und er th e D oc k ery n am e.

Aft er an o th e r bri ef pau se, Do c co ntinu ed . . . " In 1956 I had a fir e whi ch des troye d a h an gar and sev­ eral pl anes at Do ckery Airp o rt. In 1966 th ere wa s fir e at m y Clarksdale, Mi ss iss ippi op eration. I still had th e Stuttgart , Ark ansas and Pard eevill e, Wi scon sin o p era­ tion s, ' tho th e Wi sco nsin o n e d ealt m ainly with du st­ in g En glish p eas and mu ck farm s. " Aft er th e second fir e I fi g ured that at age si xty it w o uld b e fo oli sh to tr y to start ov er aga in , so I re­ tir ed. I still do som e ag w o rk wh en m y fri e nd s get in a spot and n eed h elp. Al so I'm doing prim ary in stru c­ ti o n , bi ennial fli ght revi ew s, multi -e ngin e ch eck rid es, and putting in so m e seve n to eight hundr ed h o ur s a yea r . . . but I'm retir ed. " I do n ' t mind p eo pl e as kin g if I still fly . . . but I r ese nt th eir askin g ... Can you still fly ?"

Do c an( 1 Irene b y his original approv etl 450 Slearman in 1946 . Doc buill Ihe. >pecial mo lor mountl ami ran all Ihe les l for approval in Ca teg ory 9, agricultural work. Photo W ,]S ma( /e on King and Antlerson p lan tation, Clarksda le, Missi>sippi.

From l efl - Henry Wood, Doc ami Pau l Wooda ll , a t Mexia , Texa s in 1928. The plane is the first Ryan 8- 1 "off the line " after Limlbergh 's N.Y. P. was built. and its fi rs t owner was Frank Hawks who flew i t from San Diego to Hou ston, Tex as. The Ryan was la ter destroyed w h en i t langletl wi th a para chu te jumper, carrying h i m, the pi lo t and four passe ngers to their dea th s.

p ..

,.I

,. .... ­ I REMEMBER THEM BECAUSE

by AI W heel er f AA # 644 33 12 Bish op Pin e Lane

EI Sombrante, CA 94 803

During a 40 year as sociation with gen eral aviation have known many people, all a part , in one wa y or another, of that vast community, the operators, the passengers , the salesmen and deSigners, and builders mechanics and fellow pilots. Each , I remember some , with greater clarity than others and for a multitude of reasons, quirks of personality, accomplishm ents, mis­ takes , likes and dislikes.

As I remember the people , so do I remember the machines, perhaps even more vividly , for they , the tools of the trade, like the people , each had their own personality, some kind and docile and forgiving, others quick and demanding, their sharp , biting traits a thing to be reckoned with, demanding respect and skill and caution.

Personalities? To be sure, as various and as real and as unpredictable as those of their owners and operators. Of them I have known many , and, I re­ member, their individual characteristics etched in my mind.

The frustrations of trying to taxi my learning mount , a brakeless , tail-skidded Fleet, mindless of my frantic urging to taxi in a straight crosswind line across wide areas of Roosevelt Field's smooth asphalt . The bark of the short stacked Kinner and the roaring voice of my hard nosed instructor audible above all else. I re­ member the early Fairchild 24 as a quiet, docile lady, the smooth power of the 175 Ranger of direct con­ trast to the Fleet's raucous, barking Kinner , her long nose swinging easily to the touch of responsive brakes. Gone was the bumping, lurching, grinding tail skid. I remember the Curtiss Fledging, a great an­ gular box of a machine with wings stretching end­ lessly out on each side held together by a maze of struts and wires, prodded along, stroke by stroke by its six cylinder Challenger engine.

I admit to other frustrations too , those of dealing with the F series Waco's strange mating of Johnson Bar brake and extended throttle arm, fore and aft for throttle and a pull outward from the cockpit side for

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brakes, a system prone to provide th e novice operator with too littl e brake , too late , or too mu ch brake too soon , along with totally un coordinated throttl e m o vement s. Well , I rem e mber the earl y struggle in mastering this inappropriate mating , one retained until advent of the UPF- 7 series . A good , honest, hard working airplane , the UPF-7, it teethed great quantities of equally hard workin g pilots. Who does not remember the two handed, muscle powered sti ck jerk and slam into the rear corner required to af­ fect a clean snap-roll.

As one had special friends among the people he has known, so do some aircraft evoke a greater emo­ tion , a closer kinship between man and machine.

Such an aircraft was my STA Ryan, N18902 . I well re­ member its polished beauty, a young man , on his fir st proud day of ownership returning late to the air­ port on a bright moon-light night to sit silently and gaze at it , quiet, shining, bathed in soft summer moon-light, drinking in the beauty of its graceful lines , a happy young man, full of pride and with a lump in his throat. I remember clearly the many plea­ sure filled hours that followed, the sharp crack of the Menasco engine , the responsive controls and the pure joy of flight as young man and machine become friends .

Who can forget the stiff leggedness of the early Luscombes and Swifts and the ground looping prow­ ness of the short coupled Phantoms, an excellent per­ former in flight, providing the user with an honest 145 miles per hour on 145 horsepower, if only one never had to land it. Most gentle was the Brunner Winkle Bird with its outsized top wing, and the long , thin winged Meyers OTW that would fly nearly mo­ tionless in a fresh breeze and touch the ground at turn off speed, its long, wide landing gear giving only the slightest hint of contact with the soft grass.

A big, comfortable , reliable work horse was How­ ard N1227, its tireless 450 Pratt and Whitney grum'­ bling an unbroken song of dependability, a good, deep chested, honest worker, and the SR-7 Stinson Reliant , with its treadle rudder pedals and great sprawling wal nu t grai ned i nstru ment panel. I t cradled those who rode in deep, honest leather seats, in roominess and lush comfort unknown to the modern spam can .

I shudder at remembering strong crosswind land­

ings at New York ' s LaGuardia Field, and the struggle to keep a Stagge rwing Be ec h on th e center line and th e low slung flap s from dragging on the hard sur­ fa ce, th e sweaty palm s urging it , with cautious brake and throttl e to taxi cros swind. A gracious airborne lady, lithe and swift, turned into a groundling bea st .

From the spacious luxury of the golden era queens to the stark , cramped confines of the Goodyear rac­ ers . Tin y canopys, so small as to make turnin g one' s head a hazard, l est the back of the hard hat and the tender nose became wedged crosswise , like too many big fish in too small a bowl. Th e ab solute lack of for­ ward vi sibility over or around the long , big-spinnered no se, the screaming tak e-offs and the hot, heavily braked landing . No ladies the y, with only sheer p er­ forman ce to mark th eir pla ce in memory .

A fond friend wa s th e docile, fun loving Great Lakes, with its popping 90 horsepower Cirrus, tired and overworked , like the struggling Franklin , strain­ ing to urge a loaded Sea Bee up onto its step . I re­ member fir st seeing the long night-torch playing on the side of a T-6 and the whimsical bobbles of a climbing Culver Cadet as awkward hands tu gged at the little wheel to retract the spindly landing gear.

The thump thump of the Navion's main gear as it hit the uplocks, its super stability and the hair raising de­ scents possible with the barn door flaps hung all the way out.

All these things and more I remember of myoid friends , memories blended with the soft swish of tall grass, the tousled hair and the musical sounds of the wing and wires, the heady aroma of fresh dope and the feel of taut linen . I remember the many grassy places that were their homes and, for a time, mine.

When this year has passed, and again I look back , I shall remember today' s companion for many things, its shiny, white tininess, the gold script spelling Pitts Special on its rounded tail, the snugness of its cockpit and the surge and haste and torque of its take-off , the sky-devouring rate of climb and it's joyful love of play . Responsive and crisp, the effortless quickness with which it can whirl the earth and sky around itself til all is a blur. Its elevator-like descent to earth and its self-mindedness during the landing roll. A machine with which to stay young, a happy, vibrant friend, striving to blend its personality with one's own, to become an extension of one ' s self and thoughts , and , someday, like the others that have passed before, to be remembered . That it shall be, the tiniest spirit of all, yet with a heart and personal­ ity as great as the sky through which it tumbles and rolls and plays for endless hou rs.

It will remember, and so will I. 19

BORDEN'S AEROPLANE POSTERS FROM THE 1930'S

Articl e Number 19, Poster Number 6 of th e orig inal Thompson series

b y Lion el Sali sbur y EAA # 714 52.3, /l Ie # .J20 7 Seven Harper ROel(1 Bramp ton , Ontario LoW 2 W3 Cana(/a

The Boein g Tri-Motored Transport

This is the first poster added to our se ries through the assistance of Mr. Cedric Galloway of Hesp er ia, California . The Bord en Posters first started to appear in Th e V IN TAGE A IRPL ANE a year and a half ago , as the result of a gift to my son, David, by Mr. Glenn Inch , of Brampton, of 18 posters he had collected as a young man in 1936. David and I had great fun exam­ ining these posters when he first brought them home, and after some discussion we decided to pass them on to the editors, and that was the start of the series. In the original article to go with th e post ers, I reported what information I had about them, and mentioned that there were in fact , a total of 19 post­ ers issued in Canada, but I neglected to mention the name of the one that was missing .

Mr. Galloway read the article , and then went to his collection of aircraft memorabilia and pulled out his own posters that he had saved since 1933 and 1934.

Sin ce he did not know which poster was mi ss ing from the Canadian collection he sent me a list of the posters that he did have. The missing one was " The Martin Bomber - Mystery Ship for the Army ". He did not have that one, but he did list three posters that I did not even know existed.

This seemed a bit of a mystery at first , but an examination of the back of the posters indi cate d what had happened. It seems that the series had been originated in 1933 by a company in Waukesha , Wis­ consin, called the Thompson's Malted Milk Company.

They issued 18 posters in this original series. It then appears that the Thompson Company was purchased by the Borden Company of New York City. Borden must have liked the idea, for they brought out a sec­ ond series under their own name in 1934. This sec­ ond series included most of the originals , a few were added and some were dropped. The Canadian sub­ sidiary of the Bord e n Company brought out their posters in 1936. All told , there was a total of 30 post­ ers offered by Thompson and Borde n in the various series in Canada and the United States.

All of the posters were made of fairly stiff paper, about 19" x 11". Most of them w ere in black and white , although the Thompson posters had a brown­

20

ish hue to th e m , and had two c olors on the back, which seemed unu sual to me. The seco nd color on th e back was n o t us ed extensiv ely , ju sta buff co lor­ ing of th e poster numb ers and a sloga n which sa id , " Ord e r By Number - Always Use Co upon ". The back of th e poster always includ ed a line drawing of the ai rcraft featured on th e front, a nd usually a three-view at th at ,compl ete with dem ension s. A de­ scr iption of th e airplane was also included on the back of th e poster.

To get a poster ? Easy ... " Every Can of Thompson 's Chocolate M alted Milk contains a littl e round book wedged into th e top of th e ca n . It is not in side th e can . Look for the book when you buy Thompson 's . The back page of thi s lit­ tle book i s a co upon d es i g n ed for ordering pre­

mium s. You mu st use o n e coupo n for each picture.

Print your n am e a nd addre ss clearly. Write the number big as shown ."

After I h ad h ea rd from Mr. Ga ll oway, who v ery kindly loan ed th e three addition al po st ers for u se in The V INTAGE A IRPL ANE, I then rece ived a letter fro m Mr. Marion M cClure of Bloomington, Illinoi s. Mr. M cC lur e was al so a coll e ctor of th e Thompson­ Borden posters and h e sub sequently sent in hi s entir e collection! Hi s posters yielded an additional six items that wer e not ava ilabl e before, and they will be pre­ sen ted i n o ur serie s as well.

Thi s m o nth 's poster is of th e Boeing Tri-Motored Transport, a m os t unu sual ship , as you will see from th e notes taken from th e back of th e poster, which are as follows:

NEXT MONTH - Th e Co nso lidated Fleets ter BOEING rRI MOTOREO 11':A.NSF'ORf

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DESCRIPTION OF BOEING TRI-MOTORED TRANS ­ PORT The Boeing Model 80-A, manufactured by the Boe­ ing Airplane Company in its Seattle plant is a remark­ able performer for so large a plane. With eighteen passe n gers, and baggage, a crew of three, it can get off the ground in eleven seconds after a run of 750 feet, climb 850 feet a minute, has a service ceiling of 14,000 feet, high speed 138 mph, can cruise 4V2 hours at 115 mph, without refueling, and can land at 55 mph.

The Boeing Transport is a biplane 55 feet long, 16 feet high and has an upper wing span of 80 feet, lower wing 65 feet. Fully loaded, the plane weighs approximately 8 3,4 tons, and is powered with three Pratt & Whitney 525 hp nine cylinder, radial air cooled Hornets .

The planes of this fleet are t h e first to be com­ plete ly bonded and sh i e l ded t h roug h o u t for radiophone i nstallation. I n the future all com m ercial passenger planes prod u ced by Boeing Airp lane Com­ pany will be so prepared for radiophone. Th e radio equ ipment to be i nsta ll ed in th e Transport weighs 100 pounds. There is a p lace on the upper wi n g for an eight-foot d u ral antenna mast.

The comp leteness and orderliness of controls and instruments is impressive. There are whee l co n trols, one in front of each chair. Pilots can alternate in fly­ ing the plane without changing seats, and can assist each other as contr ols are duplicated. They have ap­ proximately ninety instruments and controls to aid them in flying the big ship. There are no instruments on side motors to watch, all instruments being con­ centrated in the pilot's cockpit.

A special feature of the Boeing Transport is the night flying equipment. In addition to the twenty-five individual electric lights these planes have retractable

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landing l ights in the wings, so co n tro ll ed that th e pi lot can crank them out of th e wi n gs w h en about to land and direct their powerful beams in any direction.

The pla n es carry four 400,000 ca ndle power f lares, each of which can be released separately and i llumi­ nate an area of one square mile for three min u tes.

The we ll proportioned cabin is spacious, being ni n etee n feet long, six and th ree-quarters feet high, and five an d one-third feet wide. Wall s and ceilings of the cabin are of p lywood manufactured with faces of mahogany and a core of ba lsa wood which serves as sound ins u lation . The entire cabin is in sulated and sound proofed . Care has been taken to inco rporate every known engineering device to minimize noise.

Seats are arranged in six rows of three each, two on the l eft of the aisle and one on the right.

Baggage is stowed in a forward compartment, and in an overhead rack. There is also a cloak room in the rear. Other new feat u res are hot and cold running water , and lavatory fixtures.

21

/ THE DESIGN OF THE GEORGIAS SPECIAL

by Orville Hickman PART I

EDITOR ' S NOTE - This construction article for the " Georgias Special " is a reprint from the 1931 Flying and Glider Manual. Neith er the text nor th e captions for the drawings have been changed since they were first written nearly 50 years ago. Powered with a " more modern " 65 hp Continental engine, this plane would be relatively inexpensive to build , and certainly would be economical to operate. Modern building techniques should be substituted for some of those shown, for example, wh en making the elevator and rudder horns. This article is the first part of a two part series. Part II will appear in the September is sue.

Well, here we are, boys - with something a little advanced . I expect that you have been waitin g for some time for this kind of a plane to build ; all steel but the wings , and they are of the conventional wood type .

The first thing we will start on is th e fuselage. It is rather simple when we know how to go about it. First get your tubing that yo u are going to u se for the longeron s and then lay a plan of th e side of th e ship out on so me level surface, preferably a wooden table so that you can driv e nail s around your outline to lay

22

th e tubin g int o . Th is work of la ying o ut th e fu selage side on th e tabl e mu st b e very ca refully done or o ur good int ention s are defeated before we get ve ry far .

After we get th e side laid o ut we put the pieces of tubing int o th e outline that we hav e mad e and cut th e vertical and diagonal pieces to fit. All join ts must fit closely and neatly, otherwise we will h ave to us e an undu e amount of welding rod to ge t th e h o l es fill ed up . This does not make as stron g a joint.

When all th e pieces are laid , get a welding ou tfit and if you are not a good welder ge t so m eo n e who i s and just "s pot" the joints all togeth er with the weld足 ing rod - not too much - then mak e the o th er si d e.

It is the sa me so you can u se th e same jig. After you hav e completed th e seco nd sid e tak e out th e sid e and draw another diagram of th e top of the ship o n th e table and drive your nails in . Place th e two sides on the outline, with the top lo ngeron down and th e vertical sides perpendicular to the table. Be sure that th ese sid es are strai gh t up and down. The best way to assu re that is to u se a ca rp e nter ' s squar e. After plumbn ess is determined cut your pi eces to fit hori 足 zontally and ta ck th e m to th e sides with a to rch . Also put in th e cross bracing on th e top and bottom and th e int ernal diagonals and all o th e r bracin g that th e pl ans call for.

Now th e fu sela ge is rea dy to tak e out and weld.

Th e best plan t o d o thi s is to weld o ne bay at a tim e

goi ng arou nd the fuselage laterally a joint at a time.

You will find thi s method th e best, h av in g the l eas t am o unt of warping.

After this operation is comp lete cut all of your fit足 tin gs th at go on the fuselage and then weld them o n in th eir respective places, motor mount lu gs , land in g chassis lu gs, and so forth .

Specia l care must be u sed h ere for all things mu st hav e th e exact measurement. O th erwise the parts that fit these lu gs will not go o n if "out " any. After the fuselage is all welded and th e lu gs welded o n , then give it a painting of lion o il , whi ch protects it from ru st.

Empennage The n ex t thin g is to build th e emp ennag e, whi ch is a rath er simpl e procedure. First thin g to do is to get th e o utlin e laid out o n th e sa m e tabl e that we used to la yo ut o ur fuselage, and cut th e tubin g to fit and sp o t thi s th e sa m e as yo u did th e fuselage. Tak e o ut th e spott ed framewo rk and w eld up . When you h ave all of th e e mp ennage welded , put th e co ntr o l horns on to th e elevators and rudder in their res p ec tiv e places , m akin g sure that th ey are exactly in lin e.

You will find th at th e empe nn age will warp consid足 erably in the part th at th e light tubin g is u sed , but with a littl e caref ul ch eck in g and linin g up by hand ,

bending cold (for th er e is o nly slight bending to b e don e) you will get a p erf ec t job . But let m e tell yo u her e that th ere is a litt le tri c k to h ea tin g a stee l tub e in the proper place to get th e right res ult s. That is, heat th e tub e on th e sid e that th e bend is to a dull red. At first this actua lly incr eases th e bend but when th e tubin g cools off you will find that it h as assumed an ang le opposite to the original b end and almost in­ varably comes out exactly straight.

In handling small ga uge tubin g ex tr em e care mu st be used not to get thi s metal too hot and burn th e tubing because it is a very easy thing to do and, of cour se, mi ght ca u se disastrous res ults after th e ship is f lying .

The best way to tell if th e w eld is good is as fo l­ lows: th e weld mu st be good, clean m etal , lookin g as though n ew m e tal h ad been pla ce d th ere. A poor weld ha s a sand effect on the outside, o r is ve ry sca ly. If any of th ese faults show up it is always best to throw that piece away and bu il d a new pi ece. It will cost m o r e, it is tru e, but nev erth el ess, it is always best.

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Fittings Thi s work is also another v ery important part of the work. All fittings are d es ig ned to b e cut out of sheet steel and not mor e than one bend mu st be m ad e in these fittings before they are use d on th e shi p . The wing fittings should be in stalled up o n th e spars be­ fore th e rib s are slipp ed on . Extreme care should b e tak en in cutting and bori ng the hol es, for th ese fit­ ting s are a very vital part of th e airplane.

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Landing Gear Lugs From these drawings one makes the full size drawing for the layout so the fuselage can be welded.

Th ese lu gs are mad e of thre e-e ig hth s by sixt ee n gauge steel tubin g. They are we ld ed o n th e lower longero n at the first and seco nd bay of th e fuselage and are secur ely welded to th e longe ron in line to th e landing gear struts and in refere n ce to the lon ge­ ron .

Motor Mount Th e lu gs for the mount are welded to th e front end of th e lon ge ron and for g rea ter safety are reinforced with a pi ece of 16 gauge sheet ste el passed around th e lug and w eld ed to th e hori zo ntal tub e and the longeron . Thi s mount n eed not be m ade demount­ ab le unl ess th e builder lik es, but in case you do want it thi s way , cut o ut the strap s which fit over th e ends

th at are to be supportin g tubes of the mount and drill th e co rre ct size holes; th e n th e mount is bolted to th e lugs that were we ld ed th ere for sa m e . Next lay out the mount on the tabl e and spo t it as you did th e other m etal work , then pl ace eac h res p ectiv e half on th eir respective p laces and block up and get lin ed up and spot th e cross bracin g in pl ace after all of th e members are placed in. Th en weld up the m o unt.

Tail Skid Th is part of th e sh ip is a sm all sp rin g that ca n m os t ge nera ll y be secur ed in a junk yar d where th ere are so m e o ld buggies to pick from, but if not procurable th e re, m ake one from sp rin g steel 3/16 i n . by 1-1 /4 in .

sh aped as shown and placed at th e ex tr em e r ear part of ·th e lo w er long ero ns. Th e skid is sec ur ed to th e longerons b y two 1/4 in . N .S. bo lt s.

Instrument Board This i s m ade from a pi ece of pl yw ood 1/4 in. thick and cut to fit und e r th e cowlin g. Th e form sh o uld first be sec ured by cuttin g a paper pattern , and then usin g th at to cut th e co rr ect form on the plywood .

Next, th e exact size of th e hol es for th e in strum ent s ca n be cut by an expa nsio n wood bit. Th e cowlin g is clamped by sm all alum inum clips to the vertical and th e h or izo ntal tub ing th e sa m e way .

23

Fuselaee Fairing O n the sid e of th e fuselage fairing is sec ur ed by drilling a sma ll 1/8 in. hol e o pposit e each tubin g th at th e fairing passes and wrapping h eavy co rd throu g h th e ho le and aro und th e tubin g . Thi s h later dop ed.

The bo tt o m and top turtl e decks are built up and mortised into formers. Th ey are bolted to th e lo nge­ rons and cross bracing by small aluminum clamps th at go all th e way around th e tubin g, bolting into th e sp ru ce formers.

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This is made fr o m a pi ece o f 16 gauge aluminum sec ur ed ar o und th e to p hori zo nt al bracing of the third bay o f th e fu selage . A w ood fo rm er is pl aced o n th e fl oo r board. Thi s piece of board is determined by th e size of th e p erso n wh o is to fl y the ship and a lit­ tl e " se lf designing " mu st be used th ere.

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Th e landin g gea r is th e most import ant part of th e ship wh e n you co m e in to land so mu st be built with th e mo st exac t ca re. It i s bes t built with th e ship l eve l ed up a nd in the co rr ec t di sta n ce from the g round. Then th e correct diagram pla ced o n th e fl oor directly und ern ea th , th e tubes cut and pl aced in th eir res p ec tiv e pl aces.

Th e stub ax le as you see from th e dr awin g sh o uld be f irs t built up , bent and w eld ed into th e false ax le wh ic h goes up to th e top o f th e gea r. Th e shoc k co rd i s attached to th e cross m emb e r, th e gea r i s rein­ forced d own at th e atta chm ent with th e stub ax le with 16 ga uge sh ee t steel 6 in . up from th e stub ax le inn er washer o n both sid es .

Th e wheels ca n b e str ea mlin ed if you lik e with cloth, and doped, but it is no t n ecessa ry. Use 1/2 in. sho c k cor d. It tak es 3 ft. for eac h sid e.

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Tank Thi s sh ould be b uilt with tern plate and no dimen­ sio ns are giv en, b eca u se each perso n wants differ ent ca pacity. It s loca tion is shown . Unl ess you are v ery good with a so ld e ring i ron and solder , I would advise yo u get it built by a loca l tinsmith .

Propeller Thi s sho uld be bought fro m so m e of th e propeller co mp ani es fo r b es t resu lt s. A ship has been built from th ese pl ans u sin g a 28 hp Law r en ce- Hi c kman conv ersion.

H er e i s a mor e sp ec ifi c drawin g th a n th e on e o n the precedin g pa ge . It shows th e sid e, top and bOllom lay o ut s for th e fu se lage m emb ers . N o te the man­ ner in whi ch th e lu gs are w elded on .

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Cowling This ca n mak e or break th e loo ks o f th e plane , and extra care should be u sed in makin g thi s. A g rea t deal of ingenuity must b e used here for the co rrect lin es of the ship d e pend on th e correct cuttin g of the alum inum . Th ere is no beating to be d o n e on thi s cowling. The fusela ge cowling ca n b e cut from o ne pi ece and th e coc kpit cut out in its prop er p la ce. Th e motor cowlin g is in one pi ece on the bottom and two The Cess na typ e underca r­ on top , bolted to geth er with 3116 in. stov e bo lts. riage is one 0; the most sim­ ple types of landing gear to build, as well as being the easiest 0; the split types to keep on a ship. Th e drawing will give you a good idea of how th e motor moun l is lined up.

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Orville Hi ckm an , auth or of thi s a rti c le, te ll s how to manipulate th e fine tubing so th at it will not bend or warp. Notice how th e horns are made. Simp le , eh ?

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FLYING AND GLIDER MANUALS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

AUGUST 2-9 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - 28th Annual EAA Con­ vention and Sport Aviation Exhibition - the world's largest and most exciting aviation event. For further information, please con­ tact: Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), P.O. Box 229, Hales Corne rs, WI 53130. Telephone: 414 /425-4860.

AUGUST 10-16 - FOND DU lAC, WISCONSIN - The International Aerobatic Club's annual aerobatic competition. Biggest field any­ where for an aerobatic contest plus greatest variety of aerobatic aircraft. For further information, please contact: Herb Cox, Con­ test Chairman, 812 Taylor Ave n ue, Mt. Vernon, Il 62864.

A UGUST 10-16 - MilWAUKEE, WISCONS IN - 12th Annua l Con­ vention of the In ternationa l Cessna 170 Associatio n at General Mitche ll Field. Fo r further infor mation, please contact : Richard Tomasello, 1333 Wagner Drive, EI Cajon, CA 92020.

AUGUST 16-17 - BEA LETON , VIRGINIA - Piper J and l series fly-in (up to and includi ng 1946). Air show on Su nday. For furt he r in­ formation, please contact: Flying Circus, Bealeton, VA 22712.

Te lephone: 703/439-8661.

AUGUST 17-30 - OS H KOS H , W ISCONS IN - Wor ld Aerobatics '80.

Fo r the first time ever, the U. S. wi ll host th e World's Aerobatic Champ ionships. Fourteen countries will pa rticipate. Don't miss this historic event. For fu rther informatio n , p lease contact: World Aerobatics '80 , P.O . Box 229, Hales Corners, W I 53130 . Telepho ne: 414/425-4860.

AUGUST 22-24 - COFFEYVillE, KANSAS - Funk Fly-In. For further information , please contact: Ray Pa hl s, 454 South Summitlawn, Wichi ta, KS 67209, o r G. Dale Beach , 1621 Dreher Street , Sacra­ mento, CA 95814.

AUGUST 24 - WEEDSPORT , NEW YORK - Fly-In sponsored by EAA Chapter 486 at Whitfords Ai rport Field. Airpo rt closed from 1:00 p.m . to 5:00 p.m. for air show. For furt h er information, p lease contact: H erb livingston , 1257 Ga llager Road , Ba ldwinsville, NY 13027.

AUGUST 30 t o SEPTEMBER 1 - CALH OUN COUNTY , TEXAS - Port lavaca-Cal houn County Chamber o f Commerce sponsors an air show at Ca lhoun County Airport. Fo r f u rt her i nformation, p lease contac t : Preston Van Hanke n , Port lavaca Chamber of Commerce, P. O. Box 528, Port lavaca , TX 77979. Telephone: 512/552-2959.

SEPTEMBER 5-7 - MARION, O HIO - 15th Annual Mid-Eastern Re­ gional EAA Fly-In at Marion Municipal Airport. For further i n­ formation , please contact: Mr. l ouis lindeman , 3840 Cloverdale Road, Medway, OH 45341 . Telephone : 513/849-9455.

SEPTEMBER 12-14 - CALGARY, ALBERTA - Alberta 's 75th Anniver­ sa ry as a Province , th e Airdrie Cou ntry Club of the Air is sponsor­ ing a " Diamond Jubilee Antique/ Classic Fly- In", at Aird rie Air­ port. For further information , please contact: George B. Pendle­ burg , Vice-President , Pub lici ty Chai rman , 304 Mano ra Road , N.E., Ca lgary, A lberta T2A 4R6. Telep hone: 403/272-4383 .

SEPTEMBER 12-14 - DELANO, CALIFORN IA - lAC Con test - Spon­ so red by lAC Chapter 26 for the Sportsman and Unlimited cate­ gories. For further information, please contact: Jack Gladish, 120 South Ham lanek, lodi , CA 92540. Te lephone: 209/369-5768.

SEPTEMBER 13 - GREEN BAY, W ISCONS IN - Chapter 651 is spon ­ soring a fly-in at Plainview Airport. For further information, plea se contact: Dave Frisbie , 414 /336-3257.

SEPTEMBER 13-14 - OSCEOLA, WISCONS IN - lAC Contest - Spon­ so red by lAC Chapter 78 for the Sportsman category only. For further information, p lease co ntact: James G. Taylor , 119 Comanche Drive, Webster, MN 55088. Telephon e : 507/652-2607.

26

SEPTEMBER 14 - EASTON , PENNSYlVANIA - Antique & Classic Piper Fly-In. For fu rther information, please contact: Jim Polles, 299 Nazareth Drive , Nazareth, PA 18064. Telephone: 215/759­ 3713 (nights).

SEPTEMBER 14 - lANSING, ILLINOIS - The lansing Police Cadets will sponsor their 2nd Annual Fly-In and Air Show at lansing Municipal Airport. For further information , please contact: J. P. Fish, P.O. Box 411, lemont, Il 60439. Te lephone: 312/257-7552.

SEPTEMBER 19-21 - KERRVillE, TEXAS - 16th Annual Southwest Regional Fly-In, sponsored by the Texas Chapters of EAA. For further information, please contact: Bob Reese, Rt. 4, Box 305, San Angelo , TX 76901. Telephone: 915/658-4194 or 915/949-2886.

SEPTEMBER 19-21 - V INCENTOWN, NEW JERSEY - lAC Contest ­ Sponsored by lAC Chapte r 94 for the Sportsman and Intermediate categories. For further information , please contact: Fred Weaver , Himmelein Road , Box 9E, Medford , N J. Telephone : 609/654-7867.

OCTOB ER 1-5 - TUllAHOMA, TENNESSEE - 2nd Annual EAA Na­ tiona l Fall Fly- In . Don't miss this on e. For further information , please contact: EAA Fall Fly- I n, P.O. Box 22 ') , H a les Corners, WI 53130. Telephone: 414 /425-4860.

O CTOBER 17-19- CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA - Fly-In. For further information, please contact: Geneva McKiernan, 5301 Fi nsbury Place, Charlotte , NC 28211.

1929, 1930, 1931 1932, 1933, 1929-33 Miscellany

2.50 ea. or 6 for $12.50

SEND CH EC K OR MONEY ORDE R TO :

EAA Air Museum Foundation , Inc. Box 469 Hales Corners , WI 53130 All ow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery

Wisco nsi n Resi d ents Incl ude 4% Sales Tax

Classic owners!

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DOG DRESS IT UP

AVAILABLE BACK ISSUES

OF

The VINTAGE AIRPLANE

1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 -

Ma rch thr ough December All Are Avail ab le All A re Avai lab l e j anu ary, Ma rch , Apri l, May, August, October , November' , December A ll A r e Avai lable ja nu ary, M ar ch throu g h june, August, Oc­ tobe r , November Februa ry thro ugh December ja n uary th rough ju ly

The above ment io ned back issues are ava il ab le from

H eadqu ar ters fo r $1.00 each , postpaid,

WITH A NEW

,q~

I N T E RIO R !

Ea~y

All Items READY-MADE for

DO·IT·YOURSELF INSTALLATION Seat Upholstery -

Headliners -

Wall Panels

Carpets -

etc.

Cecon ite Envelopes and Dopes

-Send for FREE Catalog Fabric Selection Guide - $3.00

_I

,4~P~,JHC. 259 Low.r Morrisville Rei. •I V/S4· • •--. -1' Fallsington, Pa. 19054 .' ':r.:....·t (215) 295 - 4115

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WANTED

CLASSIFIED ADS

For Mu se um Restoration , an original radiator and propeller for OX-5 JN4-D. Call W. B. Osborn, Jr. 512/ 826-8654 or write to P. O. Box 17968, San Antonio, TX 78286.

For Sale

ACRO II PLANS The n ew 2-p lace aerobatic trainer and sport bi­ plane. 20 pages of easy to follow, detailed plans. Com­ plete with isometri c drawings, photos, exp loded views.

Plans - $85 .00. Info pack - $4.00. Send chec k or money orde r to : ACRO SPORT, INC, Box 462 , Hal es Corn ers, WI 53130. 414/425-4860.

ENGINES 1930's Vintage Franklin 4AC-150A 60 hp . No logs , no mags, no carb., one bad cyl. - rusted. Everything else in excellen t co ndition. Mak e offer or will trade for, avionics or Rev master 2100 or ??? Box 444, Mab­ ton, WA 98935 or 1-509/894-4493, 2000Z - 2200Z week­ days only. Also have spruce kit for Coot A, Cheap.

I have available a set of seats for a Timm, and a complete Holly carburetor for a Warner 165. I need 700 x 7.5 ti res for my Tiger Moth and WWI or early WWII boots and uniforms. Ed Allen, 114 Air Park Drive , Warner Robbins , GA 31093. Telephone 912 / 987-2898 .

(Photo by Gene Chase)

Brothers Jim and Bob Younkin and their full sca le How­

ard " Mr. Mulligan " replica. Photo was taken on May 27,

1980 at Razorback Airport, Fayetteville, Arkansas where

the project reached this stage in only seven months . En­

gine is a P & W R-1340. The craftsmanship is unsur­

passed and the plane will be flying in 1981 .

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