(Photo by Ted Ka ston )
THE PRESIDENT'S PAGE By E. E. "Buck" Hilbert President, Antique-Classic Division
TH EY ARE COMING OUT OF THE WOODS! AND HILLS, TOO! This year, Oshkosh, if it's still there after the tornado, is going to be the best ever. I've been getting letters from people volunteering to help with the Division activities from all over. Even whole chapters. This is great! This shows the cooperation and the drive we need to make this thing. And this year I'm gonna try somethin' different. Walt Petersen brought it up. "Volun teers are hard to get," he says, "so can we offer them a little incentive? Like maybe a ride in an antique airplane?" You bet, I says to myself, and I'm sayin' it to you now. Owner permit ting, you show us some work and we'll give you a ride in the machine of your choice. I'm sure the owners will cooperate and maybe we'll bring back some of that old spirit that seems to be fallin' by the wayside. Let's all share the work and some of the fun, too. And don't forget that Spin, Loop and Roll thing the lAC has offered us. Let's swamp 'em on that one. But let's take care of our own end too. Let's have the Orderliness and neat operation that makes it a plea sure to be part of it. Attend a few of the forums, too. There's no better way to learn about your machine than to share it with others. And you Classic guys, get those pre-registration requests in, make sure you've got that parking place reserved. See you there!
HOW
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JOIN THE ANTIQUE-CLASSIC DIVISION
Membership in the EAA Ant ique-C lassic Division is open to all EAA members who ha ve a special interest in the older aircraft th a t are a proud par t of our avia tion heritage. Membership in the Antique Classic Division is $ 10.00 per year which e ntith~s one to 12 issues of The Vintage Airplane published monthly a t EAA Headqua rters. Each member will also receive a special Antique-Classic membership ca rd plus one additional card for one's spouse or other designated family member. Membership in EAA is $1 5.00 per year which includes 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. All mem bership correspondence should be a ddressed to: EAA, Box 229, Hales Corners , Wisconsin 53130. 2
I~f ~ ~IAbfA RPlA~f
VOLUME 2 -
NUMBER 5
MAY 1974
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Uptown Swallow . .. Buck Hilbert . . . .... . . .. . .. . . . . .. . ... . .. . .. .. . . ..... . ...... Reminiscing With Big N ick . . . Nick Rezich . . ............ .... .... ... .. .. .. . ..... . .. . . Cloudland Revisi ted .. . Leonard Opdycke .. .. . . .. . . . .. . . ...... . . . .. . ... ... .. . .... . .. Wasp Powered Northrop Beta . .. Jack Cox . .. . . . . . . . .. . . .. . .. .. . . .. ......... . . ..... . Around The Antique-Classic World .. .. .... . .......... .. . . ..... . . . .. . .. .. . . ... .. ... ..
4 8 14 16 18
BACK CO VE R • •• Monocoupes Photo by Ted Ko ston
O N THE COVER •• • Northrop Beta Photo Courtesy Harold Wadleigh
EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher Paul H. Poberezny Assistan t Ed itor Gene Ch ase
Ed ito r Jack Cox Assistant Ed itor - Go lda Cox
ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS PRESIDENT
VIC E PR E SI DE N T
E. E HIL BERT 8102 LEE CH RD. UNION. IL LIN OIS 60180
J . R. NIE LANDER. JR. P. O BOX 2464 FT . LAUDERDA LE. FLA .
SECRETARY
33303
TREAS URER
RI CHARD WA GNER BOX 18 1 LYON S. WIS . 53 148
GAR W. WILLIAMS , JR . 9 S 135 AERO OR. , RT. 1 NAPERVILLE , ILl. 60540 DIRECTORS
EVANDER BRITI P. O. Box 458 Lumberto n, N. C. 28358
JIM HORNE 3850 Co ronation Rd . Eagan , Minn . 55122
MORTON LESTER P. O. Box 3747 Martinsville, Va. 24112
KELLY VIETS RR 1, Box 151 Sti lwell . Kansas 66085
CLAUD E L. GRAY, JR. 9635 Sylvia Ave. Northridge, Calif. 91324
AL KELCH 7018 W. Bonniwell Rd . Mequon , Wise. 53092
GEORGE STUBBS RR 18, Box 127 IndianapOliS, Ind. 46234
JACK WINTHROP 3536 Wh itehall Dr. Da ll as, Texas 75229
DIVISION EXECUTIVE SECRE T ARY
DOROTHY CHAS E, EAA HEADOUARTERS THE VINTAGE AIRP LANE is owned excl usively by Anti q ue ClassIc Aircraft . Inc. and is publ ished monthly at Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53130. Second Class Permit pending at Hales Corners Post Office . Hales Corners. Wiscons in 53130. Membership rates for Ant ique C lass ic Airc raft. Inc. are $10.00 per 12 month penod of wh ich 57.00 is for the subscnpt.on to THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE . All Antique ClassIc Ai rcraft. Inc . members are reqUired to be members of the parent organizat ion , the Experimen tal Aircraft Assoc iation . M embe rShip IS open t o all who are in terested i n aVI,atlon .
Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Antique Classic Airc raft, Inc. , Box 229, Hales Corn ers, Wisconsin 53130 Copy righ t
~
1974 Antique Classic Aircra f t, Inc. All Rights Reserved
3
(Buck Hilbert Photo)
Bastille Day for a Swallow! The old bird basks in the noonday sun for the first time since 1934.
THE UPTOWN SWALLOW By Buck Hilbert, President
EAA Antique-Classic Division
The first installment of a saga which President Buck threatening and pleading, the old boy finally broke loose. Hilbert will unravel at intervals until a rare Swallow Com The Swallow was available. We took it, but even now after mercial is flying again. Shamelessly using what has to be we have it on paper and the airframe is safely stored in the the worst pun of the year, he refers to this project as "Op hangar until restoration time, it doesn't seem possible. It's eration Deep Throat". incredulous! ... the false starts, the dreams, the plans are all in the past now, it is time to be realistic about it and get The actual beginning of this story is lost somewhere in to work. And work it is! the past. I can't recall exactly when we "found out" about Arriving at the garage where the machine had been the Swallow in the Uptown section of Chicago, but I can stored, all the year's dust accumulation became more ap remember how. One time when Dario Toffenetti and I were parent than ever. For the first time, we crawled all over working our wishing glands up to a frenzy talking about the loft and examined the best we could the bones we had old airplanes, Dario's wife, Ginny, suddenly blurted out purchased. There were numerous goodies, to be sure. A that she knew where there was an old airplane. She re Hamilton Standard Ground Adjustable prop, new 30x5 tires still in the wrappings, books, new spark plugs, OX-5 membered it from childhood days and told us exactly where to look for it. All the neighborhood kids knew where parts still in the new wrappin's and 10 and behold there it was, it had been there forever. were three engines. One OXX-6 and aside from the one hung on the ash engine bearers, a second OX-S stored in Well, it was there, and had been for eons . Since 1934 another loft. It was too much to hope for. But it's all to be exact, when the depression put the squeeze on a fly there, and we are still muttering in disbelief. ing partnership and they were forced to store the airplane for a while until things got better. The "time" never ar Two weeks after the first examination session we rived, and with the responsibilities of everyday living and showed with my pickup and the flat bed trailer constructed the shortage of money, the project was never revived. some years ago in hopes that maybe I'd get to use it for Dario began working on the owner and his patience this very sort of thing someday. I have had this trailer ever finally paid off. After ten years of badgering, haranging, since Bill Hodges dropped off the running gear in my farm 4
yard one. day, and apparently abandoned it. I took the thing and with the help of a welder friend, we built up a flat bed 17x7, installed all the lighting and safety gear and we were ready. I never got to use it. Word gets around on things like this and the trailer has been all the way to Texas, down to Arkansas, and out to Iowa, but each time it was a well meaning friend who used it and each time it came home it had several glaring defects that called for extensive modifications . One day after I thought all the mods were done, and the idea that maybe I'd better use it kept grawin' at me, I tried to bring a load of hay in from the field with it. I didn' t even get it back up here to th e barn before the running gear broke. That called for a bet ter and bigger axle assembly which is now in place and the crucial test was about to come, as I arrived on the Swallow scene. Now understand, this airplane has been stored up in the rafters of this commercial garage since '34. The ceiling is about 30 feet high, and getting it up there was easy. They just hooked a half inch cable to a drum pulley, tied it to the airplane and the front bumper of a car and backed the car up a sufficient distance to raise the Swallow up to the ceiling. It was then secured by means of a chain to a sixteen inch beam, and that was " home" for the next forty years. As the years passed the Swallow was all but swallowed by additions of storage lofts on either side and to the front. As a matter of fact, th e only visible parts of the machine showing when I first arrived to inspect it were the landing gear axles protruding and extending along the floor or ceiling of the lofts on either side. Walking over to stand di rectly beneath the machine was a very hazardous obstacle strewn path , and required considerable effort as you threaded your way past old cars, engines, tooling and d e bris. Please don't misunderstand. The owner, Mr. Bill Ir win, placed these objects there for future use, someday, and every piece had value to him, if no one else, but they were in the way. A rickety ladder was placed up to the loft and I esca lated my way up to look more closely. Sure enough, under all the dust and soot was a three seater, hot water eight powered Swallow biplane. The name plate said so. It was serial number 963 and was equipped with an OX-5 engine. The panel was almost intact and has only two missing in struments. The black leather seats are still intact and the seat belts (five inches wide) with leather adjusting straps and buckles are still in place. Except for the layers of soot and dust the machine appeared to be in excellent condi tion. The actual recovery operation now in progress proved all our original conclusions to be correct. The airframe is in good condition and the restoration will be made with a completely assembled airframe to start from . Oh , the wings, center section and tailfeathers are off, and there isn't a shred of fabric on the bones, but it's all there, and the components are complete. There will be no guessing here, it's right there to start with. Even the shock cords are still in place on the gear and tail skid. It's amazing. I haven't worked in such a dusty-dirty cramped space in many a year. If it weren't that we were dangling in air I'd say we had something in common with a coal miner. It was that dirty, as you'll see from the pictures . Forty years can result in quite an accumulation. The cramped spaces left for the fuselage didn't allow much working space, but after the automobiles and some of the engines, tools and other stuff were moved from be neath the airframe the project was started. Since there was no pulley available, much less cable, we elected to lower the fuselage with a two ton chain-faU. Great, but
how do we get this 125 pound-plus rig up there to the six teen-inch beam? Easy - we haul it up, and that we did, but not without much grunting, puffing and words of ex asperation. We finally made it though, and after hooking up began untying the various ropes and wires to free the "bird" from it's n es t. Dario was sitting in the cockpit and began payi ng out the chain and lowering hi mself and the airframe to the flo or. There is a pause here while a second safety chain is ti ed in and a smaller back-up chai n-fall is installed, just in case. That " jus t in case" becomes h orribl e reality in a few moments when th e entire airframe slips its chains and the fuselage rolls to the right about fifty degrees. Dario is hanging in there and is seen applying opposite stick and rudder in an obvious attempt to hold h er straight and level, but it jus t does n' t seem to have any effect. The safety chain and secondary chain-fall do their job though and the plunge to the concrete below is averted. We retrench and after som e more grunting and swearing, we disengage the prop from a unit heater and finally get down to the floor level. The wheels are installed and we roll it out into the sunlight. This is a "changing" neighborhood, but kids are kids . Within five minutes the word is ou t and every kid for three blocks around is at th e scene. There are big ones, lit tle ones, black ones, white ones, girls and boys and tots and mo thers - and daddys too. There are people every where - som e were jus t driving by and stopped to look, some are authorities on Fokkers, some on Jennies, and others know all about the horrible flig ht characteristics of th ese machines too. But th ey all know one thing, they have never seen four dirtier gu ys with such grins on their faces. After gathering up the cowling, the prop, the struts and all the oth er goodies we can handle a t the time, we begin the loading job. The OXX-6 goes in the pick-up bed, the extras go there too, and we being to think about getting this mo nstrous airframe up on the trailer, which seems to be an impossible task. We begin rolling the thing towards the trailer. Wait a minute! I thought we measured the gear at 6' 6" ... how come it doesn't fit on the trailer? Dum m y, the shock cords are giving out and the closer we get to the trailer the wider the gear gets. We jack up the fuse lage and tie the gear together with a chain. We now have our tread down to an acceptable width to fit the trailer and up she goes and into place. That was so easy as to be unbelievable. We cinch it down wi th a bunch of wire braces and to be certain it doesn't shift, we build a cradle for the gear from 2x6s and 2x4s . It seems solid, so we be gin to make tracks. It trails beautifully, no waver at all, and we are off to the hangar. The hangar is ninety miles away at Bill Haselton's in South Bend, Indiana. It promises to be a long haul and we are a little apprehensive - and understandably so. We crawl down the alley to a street in the right direction, ease out onto Broadway southbound, and we are on our way. What a sight! We begin to work the speed up a little and the years of dust accumulation begin to flow off the machine. It looks like a horizontal dust devil for about three blocks and this seems to be very amusing until we pass a Chicago cop who is standing at the curb writing a ticket. Most of the dust seems to swirl in and around him as w e stop for a red light abeam of him. He is so intent upon his ticket writi ng he doesn' t even look up until we begin to pull away as the light changes, and then we get only a mildly curious glance. With that crisis out of the way, we begin to look for a res tauran t with parking fa cilities for an airplane on a trailer. It is now a little after three in th e afternoon and we have been loading th.is thing
5
(Buck Hilbert Photo)
Left. After reading this story, you antique airplane scroungers will give up snooping around old barns in rural areas and rush to the big cities to haunt old garages! How is this for an unlikely place to find an airplane?
(Buck Hilbert Photo)
Below. Another view of the neighborhood in which the Swallow has been sequestered for 10 these many years .
since nine-thirty. We are suddenly very hungry. We don't dare stay at the restaurant too long. The re sultant traffic back-up caused by curious "rubber-neckers" and the curious stares of the other patrons make us sud denly aware of how dirty and disheveled our appearance. We move along west to the Interstate and then around the south end of Lake Michigan into Indiana . We are overtaken and studied by State Patrol cars a couple times in lllinois and once in Ind iana, but they must be afraid to tackle these maniacs dragging an airplane so we travel on to South Bend. It's a three hour trip and we arrive a few minutes be fore dark. Bill Haselton comes out to the Chain 0' Lakes Airport and we unload the Swallow and put it into the han gar. The rest of the goodies go over to Bill's where they are placed in the loft until the time comes when he can work on them. "Bud" Kilbey arrives on the scene and we take the OXX-6 over to his shop. Bud is reworking a hot-water eight for the Travel Air he is building. The OXX-6 will give him a little more to do, but, as he says, if you're gonna do one, you might as well do two. Dario and I hit the shower and then sack out to dream about the Swallow all night. The next morning we gather up our wits and after church we head back home . The job is not finished though, we still have to scale that loft again, get the wings down and bring them over here. That comes next week. The following Tuesday at nine-thirty a.m. the operation is again in effect. Arriving at the garage we are more than anxious to get the job over with. The changing neighbor hood has taken on an atmosphere that seems almost ha zardous. The reason Bill Irwin decided to sell to us in the first place was because person or persons unknown had at tempted to burn his garage down . It was only his desire to preserve the machine that made him part with it. He was afraid it would be destroyed if it remained where it was. His fears were far from groundless. That very morning the building next door to his mysteriously caught fire. We worked with a certain frenzy to get the rest of the machine out of there. When the wings were originally placed alongside the fuselage back in '34, there was nothing to impede their placement. Bill merely attached a pair of pulleys to the ceiling and hoisted each panel up in place. They were then racked in a multiple "H" shaped rack secured to the ceil ing joists. Getting them back down was to prove most dif ficult. After they were up there a few years, a floor was constructed under them and a woodshop was installed on that floor. Wiring was installed, lighting and literally tons of stuff was stored up there. Carpeting, ceiling tile, light fixtures, car parts, a rather extensive book collection, 6
many, many new and used old car parts, and, of course, the wood-working machinery along with some choice pieces of select wood to be used "just in case". Again, everything was covered with a layer of dust you wouldn't believe. And so were we after about two minutes of ex posure. Before we could begin to remove the wings, we had to construct bracing and supports to hold up the floor of the loft. This took a while. We then undid the ceiling studs that held the whole thing up, one by one, until we had an open ing of sufficient width to slip the wings through. We were now ready to lower away! - and lower away we did. The original pulleys were still attached to the ceiling joists and Bill insisted we use them much the same as he did some forty years before when he put them up there. They worked just fine, however, we had just a little trouble with the old cotton clothes line. It had assumed a shape and at titude and didn't want to be disturbed. When we did, it all but disintegrated. We got the wings down though and one by one they and the rest of the airplane collected in the next door lot in preparation for loading. The trailer was again pressed intp use. The thing was just perfect for this kind of job. The wing panels were stacked on the flat bed with inner tubes between and the entire bundle secured with a couple of cross 2x4s securely wired in place. The ailerons were placed atop the pile and that took care of all that. One more thing though, that other extra engine that was away back in the other loft had to be brought down and loaded in the bed of the truck. "Hey, Buck! - this looks like an OXX-6!", yells Dario and, sure enough, it is. There are no accessories, but it seems to be about two-thirds Millerized, and there is one Dixie Magneto. Bill is very hazy about the origin of this en gine. Someone gave it to him, but he can't remember who or when or how long it's even been up there. By the way,
(Buck Hilbert Photo)
Right. Bill Irwin , the benefactor of today's generation of antique airplane lovers. Mr. Irwin has had the Swallow Commercial stored in his shop for the past 40 years .
(Buck Hilbert Photo)
Below. " . . . yeah , an ' I say George Washington 010 fly across the Potomac in one just like this!"
it was stored in a tire loft, and remembering what a scarce item 550-17 tires were during th e wa r (WW-II, that is) someone sure could have used that brand new pair that was alongside the engine. It was n't easy getting tha t engine d own . There was no way to hook on to it and, furthermore, nothing to hook it with . The flimsy fl oor could barely hold our w eight, let along th e OXX-6 and th e two of us to boot. We called for additional plywood to lay on the floor as a doubler, and then laboriously walked th e engine to the lip of the loft. The floor was complaining in a squea ky fas hion and th e sag was quite alarming. "Just look out below, Bill, this thing is coming down!!" We hoo ked a chain around a cou ple of cylinders and attac hed it to the front end of th e cranks haft, w heeled a chain -fall alo ng the sixteen inch beam some four fee t dis tant a nd secu red the hook to the engine halter. We locked th e hoist to the bea m about four fee t ou t from the loft and began ta king up the slack. The plywood skidded along just fin e acting as a sled and with a loud w hoomp the engine went over the lip and out into s pace. The chai n-fall jerked it up short about ten fee t above the fl oor a nd the whole works just hung there pendulously and the job was about over. Th e truck was backed in and the engine was load ed with no further gyrations, secured in place and that was that. Look at that, two ho urs wo rk and all that superb engineering, all co n densed into less than two p aragraphs. We are progressing. The cockpit coa rning, still res plendent with brig ht red (but dir ty) leath er and several other assorted pieces are load ed alongside of th e OXX-6, the trailer is hooked up and we are 'O n the way. Aga in the loading operati on took about three hours longer than anticipated. It is after three in the afternoon and I'm on the way to So uth Bend . Dar io has to go to wo rk so I undertake this trip by myself.
Once o ut o f th e city traffic, the stares from the passing cars and trucks are a real treat. I didn't really believe there were that many interes ted people in th e world. The S tate Police are at it again . The radio net alerts each sector as I pass thro ugh and me and th e load are given a better than cursory once over each time w e enter a new police sec tor. Only four cylinders of the OXX-6 s how with it lying on its side, and this evokes so me real curious stares as cars pass by. A Bensen Gyrocopter owner with Michigan plates about twisted his head off looking my load over. H e didn't offer to stop though a nd talk EAA, so I plodded along. About the time I was ready to turn off on Highway 20, I was intercepted by an EAA type in a Mercedes 220D. H e almost w ore out his eyeballs try ing to d ecide what it was, a nd, finall y, I waved him over to th e side of the road where w e had a real nice ten minute talk. H e was from Benton Harbor, Michigan. Although he didn't have a proj ect go ing he sure expressed an interes t in the Swallow . I wish I weren' t so lousy with names and could remember them. I'll see him at Oshkos h though and I' ll get it then . Bill Haselton is w ai ting when I arrive at Chain 0 ' Lakes a nd before the sun sets " Bud" Kilbey is there, too . Amidst the Ooohs and Aaahs and exclamations of what good con dition everything seems to be we manage to unloa d and store in the hang ar what needs to be stored, and w e then proceed to " Bud's" where w e off-load the engine. We are all very enthused . We now have enough par ts to build an OXX-6. Thi s is wo nderful! We will have a hot water eight w ith dual ig nition . .. if I can find mags to go with it. The res t is routine. Bill and I have been on th e phone almost daily since I dropped it o ff and we are completing the inventory and exa mination of w hat actually is there. Th e airpl ane is complete with the exception of one hori zontal stabil izer strut and one aileron interconnect strut. Even the origi nal fabric was there - off the airplane but bundled up for pattern during the recover. Th e original color was John Deere G reen and Ivory with a red stripe to m a tch the red leather cockpit trim. It had been repai nted black a nd ora nge (Swallow) colors sometime or other, but th e original colors were discernibl e under the new paint. The adventure is just beginning . The refurb must be preceded by research and finding out all there is to know about the machine, the builders, the owners and its hiS tory a fter it le ft the factory. In my preliminary research, I ca nno t find a ny thing oth er than an occasional factory reference to the Swall ow Commercial. This is not the TP. It had no center secti on, but a two pi ece upper w ing that butts in the middle. It has the typical four aileron config uratio n of the TP but is three pl ace a nd has "N" struts and streamline flying wires instea d of cables as on the TP. Th ere is also a s plit ax le landing gear ra ther than th e straight ax le. Wir e w heels a nd a skid are standard. 7
(Buck Hilbert Photo)
Dario Toffenetti, co-conspirator with President Buck in this sordid plot to snatch an old timer's body from an aero nautical entombment, spirit it across state lines under the very noses of the authorities and turn the remains over to that arch-restorer, Bill Haselton, who, with the aid of strange instruments and fiendish skill, will attempt to bring the old bird back to life.
The radiator is ahead of the landing gear down on the belly and the engine is indeed mounted on ash engine bearers. Aside from being a little oily, they look entirely serviceable just as they are. The original cowling seems to be in very good condition and Ole Fahlin has promised to think about building up a prop. The new 30x5 tires that were unwrapped and installed when we moved the ma chine are still holding air and although the shock cords on the gear and skid are just powder now, they are still in place. The woodwork, glue joints and construction seems to have withstood the years remarkably well. We have tried to pry the joints apart - with good solid adherence foil ing our efforts. The spars, capstrips, drag and anti-drag wires are all in pretty good shape. Someone tried to "beef up" the wing fittings and "N" strut bolt holes by welding plates across them and re-drilling the holes, but by today's standards, they will have to be junked and new ones made. The all-tubing fuselage is a masterpiece of artful welding. Every stringer is in place and straight as new. There is one rusted area where the condensation drippings of an air conditioner ran fOT who knows how many years, bu the original prime is still good as new except for that one place. Engine controls are still hooked up and operable. The whole thing looks as though they just shut her down and pulled it up to the ceiling. There are two instrumen.ts mis sing from the panel: the tachometer and the old altimeter. These are both the oversize type, about four and a quarter inches in diameter. There is no compass installed, the temp, pressure and other engine gauges are all there. There is no airspeed indicator. - To Be Continued
8
The year was 1932 and America was close to rock bot tom . Crude oil was selling for ten cents - yes, ten cents a barrel; wheat for twenty-five cents a bushel and G eneral Motors stock was being quoted just under eight dollars a share. It was quite common to find college professors, bankers, bums and air line pilots in the soup lines , and jobless veterans were encamped in Washington, D. C. BELIEVE-YOU-ME, things were rough! I was a struggling fledgling working for Blue Bird Air Transport at the old Chicago Municipal Airport during this period of financial and economic turmoil ... and it was during 1932 that I first met the great Colonel Art Goebel, winner of the famed Pacific Dole Race. He was working for Phillips 66 as a skywriter writing "Phillips 66" in long hand ... in colored smoke. Art was making big money and was on an expense account. He hired me as his ground boy to take care of his Travel Air D-9-4000. The extra money I made working for Art came just at the time we lost our home because of the Depression and the closing of the banks. When Art found out that we were without a home, he doubled my pay from five dollars to ten dollars and would throw in a five dollar tip besides. I really loved him . .. for a world famous flier, he was not stuck up or arrogant. He taught me how to make smoke and what were then the secrets of sky writing. Most of the other big guys wouldn't give you the time of day much less help you . Later, when I was sky writing for Muntz TV, I often thought, "If it weren't for Art Goebel, I wouldn't be here." Our friendship grew with the years and peaked when he became president of the OX-5 Club of America. I am saddened with his departure as are many others . I am not sure that there will be many articles and books written about Art in the months to come - I only hope that whoever writes about him includes his interest in the early American Indian, his dog, Mike, his home in Cali fornia and ranch in Texas, which are more museums than homes . Art was a real pioneer - he taught himself how to fly instruments, sky write, and over water navigation . Many people think he did all his skywriting in the famous Boe ing fighter he bought from Howard Hughes - not so. It all started with the Travel Air D-9-4000, which is a D-4-D with a Wright J-6-9 of 330 horsepower and a dorsal fin. Art's skywriter was a one-of-a-kind airplane. When Art asked Walter Beech for a high performance airplane, he took a D-4-D and put in the 330 Wright, smoke tanks in the front seat and a long "blooey" pipe. On the first flight Art complained about running out of rudder on take off. Beech chopped the counterbalance off the rudder and lengthened the fin. This satisfied Art. The airplane was li censed NR because Art was in a hurry and did not care to wait for the CAA to issue an NC. Walter Beech followed up on this airplane and built the B-9-4000 as a production airplane. It was a B-4000 converted to a 330 horsepower Wright J-6-9. Art's Travel Air wound up in Chicago and finally in Lake Michigan. The Chicago owner was Paul Stanley, who sold it to the U. S. Navy during World War II. Col. Art Goebel was one of the finest akro pilots in the late 20s .. . let me correct that - he was a "stunt" pilot. He was one of the early motion picture pilots. Most of his stunt flying was for Cecil B. DeMille and Pathe News . The accompanying photos are from the Colonel's private collection and I believe this is the first time they have been published. How about that car-to-plane transfer? That took place in Los Angeles and I think that is Riverside Boulevard. Notice the curve in the road, the light poles and trees . This was a practice session before public viewing. Oh boy!
REMINISCING WITH
BIG NICK
Nick Rezich
4213 Centerville Rd.
Rockford, III. 61102
Wouldn't the FAA have a slobbering fit if you tried this today! Notice how the stunt man leaves the car - he is facing the on-coming ladder. Today's stunt men get on in reverse of this - they follow the ladder and lunge for ward. The airplane that Art is flying here is a Hisso Jenny. Art was truly the showman of showmen. He was al ways one jump ahead of the field. When everybody was flying with wing walkers, Art topped them by flying with two wing walkers and to add a touch of class, h e used young good looking girls instead of men. He was the first to use a girl for the plane-to-plane transfer. Then he topped that with the girl aerial " me chanic". I think the "Lost wheel" act is the most. This was a long and exciting act. Art would take off and lose a wheel - and about the time the crowd was expecting a crash, Bon MacDougall and Gladys Engle would take off in another OX-S Jenny and pull up alongside of Art. Now Gladys would strap a wheel on to her back and walk the wing to the tip, then transfer to Art's Jenny and walk the wing to the landing gear where she would wrap herself around the gear leg, unstrap the wheel from her back and install it on the axle. Climbing back into the cockpit, she and Art would land to the thunderous applause of the crowd. I am sure that all of you who have seen Sandi Pierce, Patti Deck, Judy Cole, John Kazian and young Gordy Mc Collom admire them ... but you must admit that Art Goebel's girls Babe Calerbak and Gladys Engle were Su per Stars. They were the pioneers. We all learned from their daring experiments. I know what some of you are saying ... sure they were great but they only flew straight and level - oh yeah! Cast your eyes on Spider Matlock on that Jenny . There is no argument as to the posi tion of the airplane - it's upside down. Yes, they did roll and loop them. You will also note - no chutes or braces.
Art flew with the world famous "Black Cats". There were 13 "Cats", each with 13 letters in their names ... "Fronty" Nichols, "S pider" Matlock and Bon MacDougall started it all. They wore black sweaters with a black cat and a figure "13" in an orange circle. They flew a fleet of appropriately decorated Jennies, and they cornered the motion picture and newsreel stunt business as well as fly ing on the airshow circuit. Yes, Col. Art Goebel was a great man, a great pilot and a great patriot. He will be missed by many, especially me. I am surprised that Art Scholl hasn' t come up with a double-girl wing riding act. Of course, he would have to graduate to a larger airplane than the Pitts. Are you lis tening, Artie?? Who knows, I may sell my Travel Air for an act like that! There will be a new air show act making its debut in California this year. It will feature three Travel Airs and girl wing walkers. This is a revival of the "Flying Aces" from North Carolina, circa 1929. Max Robertson is behind the project. The " Flying Aces" were operated by the Woods from 1929 to 1939. Robertson has named his Travel Air "Miss Jessie" after Jessie Woods who walked the wings, pumped chutes and flew with the original Aces. Next month I'll tell you how we built the famous Ho ward DGAs and myoid boss, the Super Great "Benny" Howard. I'll buy a beer for the first one who can identify the original EAA streaker ... it happened in Rockford. This is another one the Boss would rather forget. Till next month ... don' t forget to change the jets in the Zenith - summer IS coming. - Big Nick 9
(Art Goebel Collection)
Below. The famous " Lost Wheel " sequence. That's Bon MacDougall flying the Jenny in the foreground with Super Star Gladys Engle on the wing (with a spare wheel strapped to her back). Art Goebel maneuvers the Jenny that has " lost the wheel " in to pick up Gladys. Can any足 one identify the camera plane in the background?
REMINIS HI(
(Art Goebel Collection)
Right. Gladys has now walked down the wing, climbed down on the landing gear and is installing the wheel. Note Art Goebel peering over the side at her. Shortly afterward, Gladys climbs back into the cockpit and the two land to the amazement of the crowd.
10
(Art Goebel Collection)
Left. Gladys makes contact and prepares to scamp足 er on the wing of Art's Jenny - without a chute.
G WITH ICK
(Art Goebel Collection)
Above. Gladys has successfully transferred to Art's Jenny and now begins the walk down the wire and strut fes足 tooned wing . .. with that big drag producing wheel dangling from her back.
(Art Goebel Collection)
Babe Kalerback on the left wing and Gladys Engle on the right prepare themselves asArt heads under the Pasadena Bridge. The aircraft is a Hisso Jenny. The girls have no safety straps and are not wearing chutes - they are merely balancing on the king posts!
W - W - WOW!
(Art Goebel Collection)
One of the "Black Cats" , Spider Matlock, on the gear of a Jenny while Art flies inverted. Who says the Jenny was not aerobatic?
(Art Goebel Collection)
A car-to-plane transfer on a city street in Los Angeles . The transfer man has just been snatched out of the back seat of the car. He was standing facing backward in the car and leaped onto the oncoming ladder as the airplane over足 took them from behind . .. just the reverse of the way it is done today - and much more hazardous.
Photo)
(Nick Rezich Photo)
8ig Nick's Pepsi Cola skywriter NC-9917, a Travel Air 8-9-4000. The plane was rigged for skywriting and banner towing. That is Frank Rezich on the wheel.
Art's skywriter NR-481 N, a Travel Air 0-9-4000.
(Art Goebel Collection)
Left. Art Goebel after making the first west to east non-stop flight across the U. S. - in 18 hours and 58 minutes on August 19, 1928 in the Lockheed Vega "Yankee Doodle." Art collected $10,000 for this feat.
(Art Goebel Collection)
Right. The original $25,000 check Art received for winning the California to Hawaii Dole race. The plaque hangs in Art's home . The Travel Air " Woolaroc " is in a private museum in Oklahoma.
13
(Dick Stouffer Photo)
The Pfalz OXI/ nearing completion of res toration at the EAA Museum. Only the in stal/ation of the Mercedes engine (fore ground) and the wings remains. The aircraft is on loan from the Smithsonian.
CLOUDLAND REVISITED . . . OR .. . . . . A TRIPLANE IN EVERY GARAGE By Leonard E. Opdycke (EAA 1076)
Greenbriar Apts. A-12
347 South Road
Poughkeepsie, New York 12601
In England in 1922 you could buy the fuselage from a Bristol Fighter for 5 shillings, the wing of a Fokker DVII for another 5 shillings, put them together with another 8 shillings 6d for dope, and come in second in the gliding meet at Itford in October. Three years later, Dr. Whitehead Reid paid 5 pounds for an SE5, put a 90 h. p. RAF engine in it, and raced it at Lympne (not very successfully). There are still three Bristol Fighters around, one flying, but you won't get a fuselage for any 5 shillings. There are still Fokker DVIIs around, some ten of them, only two or three in flying condition, but you won't get a wing for any 5 shillings, either. And there are still SE5s around, seven of them, with three ready to fly - and none for sale at 5 pounds or at any price, for that matter. So after the few pilots who had managed to liberate their own (or someone else's) aeroplane after the Great War, and fly it at immense cost for a few years until it was wrecked, or decayed, or was in some other way dis posed of, there was no way of re-experiencing the delight (if indeed it was a delight at the time) of flying one of the Great Aircraft of the Great War . But where there is a will there must be a way. It turned out there were several, depending on luck, skill, time and mo·ney. Many wartime aircraft had been brought to the States for evaluation, for air racing, for barnstorming (I talked with an ex-barnstormer who remembered having unpacked a German Rumpler from its crates and grease and flying it in an air show circuit in Florida! But he couldn't remember what had happened to it later . . . ), and ultimately for movies. All these activities brought casualties, and the remains were often burned or buried or simply lost - but sometimes, along with the survivors, stored. Reginald Denny acquired a Ruston-Proctor-built Sopwith Snipe (built 22 Sept. 1918), and after flying it 14
some, sold it to Paramount Studios in 1926. It found its way to the Los Angeles County Museum sometime in 1930, and Jack Canary retrieved it in 1953. After his death, it was sold to the National Aviation Collection at Rockcliffe in 1963, and flew (for the first time since Paramount) on 21 May 1964. Pfalz DXn No. 2846/18 flew for the Kaiser less than a year, was taken over by the U. S. Army from 1918 1926, went to Paramount Studios in 1926, where Buck Ken dall took it and flew it to work, then she went into the Smithsonian, from where the Experimental Aircraft As sociation rescued her and is currently rebuilding her in the EAA Museum. Her sister ship, No. 7511118, went to the Jarrett Collection on Steel Pier, then through Tallmantz and Novak to Aeroflex and, finally, to Wings and Wheels in Santee, S. C. (Editor'S Note: Wings and Wheels Museum has closed its doors - the buildings are being leased to a business concern. The collection of aircraft has been placed in storage in various places in South Carolina pending a move to the Orlando, Florida area.) The more airplane you start with, the less work - in some cases - but the more cost and also the less likely . Ken Hyde of Warrenton, Virginia rebuilt a Curtiss JN4C out of parts of at least two, and the ship is now at Bradley Field Air Museum. Marion McClure of Bloomington, Illi nois hopes to rebuild his Curtiss MF boat from a handful of struts, spars, and fittings . It turned out that the hull had been cut off to make a motor boat years ago! The question of how much original material has to be present to author ize its status as a restoration rather than a reproduction has not yet been settled. ("This is my grandfather's knife; my father replaced the handle and I replaced the blade.") But perhaps no matter how hard you look, you can't find even a strut or altimeter, let alone a wing panel or a basket case or a whole, sparkling-like-new aeroplane.
Must yo u give up Th e Drea m? By no m ea ns - th ere are still w ays of achi eving it. The N azis found it necessary to build up a reproduction Fo kker Dr.I at one of the earl y Luftwaffe shows to commemorate von Richtho fen (fate un know n), and Col. Jarrett built up another for his Museum he later burned it. And th ere must have been still oth er early reproductio ns. On e o f the first of the current torrent of building jobs was Ed Brennan's Fokker DVII, built w ith a modified Travel Air fu selage and an inver ted Ranger en gi ne about 1961. Stories about its fl yi ng qualities varied some said they were fine, others said th e small prop a nd high speed engin e produced some bad charac teristics. A nd the argument has raged ever since, whe never anyone pro poses an automobile engine instead o r a Merced es ("bu t was n't Mercedes an automobile?"). Stanley Morel's Fokker DVII reproduction is exact, with th e pro per engi ne and all th e fittings reproduced the way Tony (or Reinhold ) imagi ned them . Some builders, like Walt Addems and Joe PfeiHer, choose to replace th e wood fra me of the fu selage with steel tubing, often square, ra th er than co ping with oil-soaked wood and the continuous tuning job need ed to keep the originals in rig. Th eir two Nieupor t 11's are otherwise indistinguishable from the Fre nch originals. Some, like Earl Tavan , combine this sort of structural change wi th a new engi ne - in his So p with Triplane, a War ner. The reproductions used in Those Mag nificent Men In Their Flying Machines al l had minor to-major structural changes, but all shar ed new eng ines, with the a ttenda nt p roblems noted above. Some builders add brakes a nd a tailwh eel (like th e Tava n Triplane). One arg um ent cl aims that th ese addition s make th e airc ra ft possibl e to handle in the absence of limitless grass fields w hich stretch off in every direction; others tha t the hig h little fighters with th eir legs fu rther bac k than mod ern air cra ft are thereby tempted to nose over, and that the tail skid, o ften with a keelpl ate attached und erneath , p ro
vides a kind of anchor-plu s -tail-steering that the w heel does no t. Another argument rages . My model Fokker Triplanes were always small com pared to my others, and it seemed to me that was the way she was. In fact, the to p w ing stands some nine feet off th e ground, in landing position. Some builders prefer to sca le d own their reproductions, and built ·2/3 and 5/8 scale. Th e fin e Canadian-d esigned all -wood SES is 2/3 size, a nd clever mounting of the 85 h. p. Co ntinental keeps the orig inal proportio ns pretty well, although th e nose is a lit tle lo ng. Hobar t So rrell built two handsome small Fokker Tripl anes (one of whi ch is in the EAA Museum). Th e five SE5s in Darlin' Lily and Richthofen And Brown were built by Slings by's - all small, and to my tas te, ra ther out of shape. Finally, still in th e piloted class, come the homebuilts which have some remote resembl ance to a WWI ai rcraft. Th e Foo Fighter whic h does combat wi th littl e SE5s at EAA Fly-Ins, th e Volksjager Parasol a nd the late Marty Haedtler's " Morane-Sa ulnier Scout", w hich is pretty but unauthentic, are all exam ples. A t leas t they give you th e feeling o f flying biplanes and parasols with crosses and circles o n th em, and maybe a sort of Spa ndau, for good luck. But th ere are still auth entic pieces a nd whole airc raft in bar ns: George C. Dade came across a whole JN4 in a barn this last year, and it even turned out to have been o wned by Lindbergh! Th e EAA Museum came into another JN 4 the sa me way a nd the Air power Museum (AAA) hap pened on a S tandar d Jl some time ago. Keep looking ... Author Leonard Opdycke publishes an excellent publica tion called WORLD WAR 1 AEROPLANES, covering the restoration of World War I aircraft, the building of repli cas of these machines and the history of the period. Write him for details .
(Richard Day Photo)
Above. Richard Day's second Sopwith Camel - pow ered by an 80 LeRhone. Flies in Cole Palen 's air shows.
(Courtesy George C. Dade)
Right. George C. Dade and the rudder of Lindbergh's Jenny - recently discovered more or less intact.
15
Golden Oldie Of The Month ... THE WASP POWERED NORTHROP BETA. By Jack Cox
Harold Wadleigh (EAA 38884), 22 Ryle Drive, Greens burg, Indiana 47240 (formerly of Chapter 92 in Huntington Beach, California) sent us the pictures that make possible this month's Golden Oldie, the Wasp powered Northrop Beta. The Beta was a John K. Northrop design th at was con temporary with the Alpha, both having been developed through the prototype stage in 1930. The Beta was a small two place tandem, open cockpit sport plane that, of course, was an embodiment of Northrop's then new con cepts in all-metal aircraft construction. This meant stressed skin, multi-cellular wings and tail surfaces and a mono coque fuselage. Northrop is generally conceded to be the first to use what we might today call "modern" all metal aircraft construction techniques. The seven place Alpha prototype was put through certification testing and came out with ATC No. 381, but for reasons likely attributable to the Depression, the Beta was never certified. A preliminary search through the EAA library has resulted in evidence of only two Betas J;taving
16
been built, X963Y and X12214, shown here . X963Y was the firs t Beta and was powered by a 160 h. p. Menasco Buccaneer B-6. This inverted, inline six cyl inder engine allowed a long, slender nose that gave the plane a very sleek appearance, suggestive of high per formance - which it had. The Buccaneer Beta was introduced to the aviation public with great fanfare by virtue of being gown from the Burbank factory to the 1931 Detroit aviation trade show, where it created the hoped-for sensation. For months afterward, some of the most stylish ads ever to appear in aviation magazines trumpete'd the Beta's performance on the fligh t to Detroit. It had been flown across the Rockies via the famed central air mail route rather than the usual southern desert "low altitude" run through Arizona and New Mexico. This was done to show off the Beta's excel lent high altitude performance .. . "Landings and take offs were made without effort in the high altitudes at Salt Lake City and Cheyenne, Wyoming," spouted one ad.
The flight from Burbank to Detroit was made in 15 hours and 43 minutes of flying time, averaging 142 mph while consuming only 8 gallons of fuel per hour ... which in an open cockpit, 160 h. p. airplane is, indeed, something to crow about. It would be today. A top speed of 175 mph and a cruise of 145 were claimed for the Buccaneer Beta. Sometime in 1931 a second Beta, X12214, was com足 pleted, and this must have been some kind of rip-snorter - for a Pratt and Whitney Wasp Jr. of300h.p. was hung on the nose! The Menasco version was a small and admirably light airplane - 1135 pounds empty weight, a wing span of 32 feet and a length of 21 feet 8 inches - roughly the same as a later Ryan STA. So it is easy enough to imagine why the thoughts of an R-985 thumper up front would set the heart of any red-blooded helmet and goggles type to pounding at a rapid rate. The Wasp Beta is the one shown on this month's cover and above. Unfortunately, we know virtually nothing about it. Between Bill Hodges, George Hardie and the author, we
have been able to come up with only two tidbits of info: a small photo in the December 1931 issue of AVIATION with a caption stating that the aircraft had recently been flown across the country by E. T. Allen, and a "for sale" ad in the December 1932 issue of AERO DIGEST offering X12214 for $5000 Depression dollars. The ad copy gave 129 hours as the aircraft's total time to date and claimed a top speed of 212 mph, a cruise of 185 and a landing speed of 65. Aircraft Sales Company, Roosevelt Field, Hangar 0, Mineola, N . Y. was the seller. Now, what about it, aviatio{l history hounds? Were any more Betas built? What happened to these two? (You guys with the old registration lists ought to be able to help.) Do any of you remember anything about these birds? Do you know anyone who flew or worked on them? What a shame this design was not produced in quan足 tity. Can you imagine what a desirable antique a Beta 足 particularly the Wasp Jr. powered one - would be today!
17
Around The Antique/Classic World
flY-IN TIME Fur a ll e),cep t you lu ck y people who livt' in Florida, Cal ifornia and o ther points sou th , May is th e o p e ning month of th e new fly -in se<lson. OUf Calendar of Events sectio n lists seven fly -in s around th e country thi s month dt>\'o led mainly to antique/classic activity. W'e hope some of you \...; 11 lal..(' so m e pictures, coll ec t so me info a nd sha re It with th e fest of us in The Vintage Airplane . With two magazines to gt' l ou t each month, yo ur l'dilor is hard pressed to get o ut to man y fly-ins, much as h e would like to attend all of them. Su, give us .1 hand - repor t o n tho se events all during the summer.
SKYFARER AND CURTI SS PUSHER INFO Dc.u Jack: The Gener;;l] S kyfar er arti cle la s t
~\'f arch requests any :.-mall bi ts of addi tio na l in form.ltlo n . I got thir ty minutes in one on 21 Septem ber 1945 a t th e Gard ena Valley Airpo rt , ius! south o f Los Angeles. Modd C 1-80, eln 19, com pl e ted 9}26!41, NC-4"1801. w ith a 75 h.p. Lycom in gO- 14S-C e ngine. The 1912 Cur tiss Push er article in the April iss ue asks for d u cs of one numbere d 3378, and the rC<l ding sugges ts it b o nc of "some rcall y ancient photos". Aw , co me on, fellows - le I' s do Ollr homt'work before w(' perpe tuate er rors like that, or the youn ger generation w ill really be li eve it! (Alas, Reverend , i t's already too late. we have staff members here at EA A who were born AFTER the in tro duction of the Bonan za! Frightening, eh? - JBC) Can you spot the obvio us clue to its age and identity? It' s s taring you right in th e face! "3378" - C heck thc De partnw nl of Commerce ( pre-CAA) register of Id e ntified Aircraft any time you sec il number Jike th at, and chances are it will d a te in th e lat e '20s or ea rly '305. "3378" was blllJt from scratch by Otto W. Timm (born Oct. 28, 1893) in his back yard in Eagle Rock, ,1 suburb northeast of Los Angeles. in th e sp ring of 1927. It may havi.:.' had modified Jr\-4C Ca nuck wi ngs. And il did ha ve a 90 h . p. Cur ti ss OX 5 L'ngine. A flight photo is on page 1184 of "Aero Digest", Decl'mber 1928. O tto s ho\ved me large photos of it in hi s scra pbook , with the notati on that it h,ld bee n built in March 1927 to th e order of AI Wilson. A year (l nd a half later. \vhen Ti m l11 was comp leti ng his first "Colleg iat e" (NC-337, w hic h I now own). the Dept. o( Comme rce d e manded .1 seri,l l number. Timm had built dozens of air planes si nce I sn 1 without ever thinking of seria l numbers, so th e prototyp e "Collegiat t."· ju s t arbitrari ly was ass igned c n (cons tru c to r's number) 101. Then the Feds discovered that Timm had two ea rlier ships flying. AI Wilson's "C ur ti::.s" Pu sher (3378) which go t the Mbit rary cln 99, a nd the big cabin biplane caBed th e Coach or th t., Gu ld e n Shell (X54Y9) whi ch was assigned cln 100. What happe ned to AI Wilson and hi s Timm "C urti ss" Pu sher? AI lived il t 424 North Jun e S t. , Hollywood. Ca lif. bu t he loved to follo\-... the .lir show circui t around the coun lTy, d o ing ex hibition flying w ith his Pu sher. Quoting John H. Livingston on page 62 of Vol. 3, No. 1 (January March 1958)' Journal, Am er ica n Aviation Historica l So cie ty: "AI Wilson was killed in thi s ship at C levela nd dur in); the races in , I believe, 1932. He did not co llid e with an Autogiro, but as Al and the Giro were putting on a n ex hibi tion at th e sam(' tinll', the Giro had jus t made a vertica l descent to a landing a nd as AI fl ew past th e sta nds im mediately following, he ran through th e down wash which forced him out of co ntrol and into the ground." All th e verv best, Boardrnnn C. Reed. AlC 1069 837 E. Leslie Dr. San Gabrie l. Calif. 91775
FLEET Dear Jack: Enjoy the magazine very mu ch and hope to ma ke a fe w fly-i ns wi th m y Fleet (if I o nly ge t it fini sh ed). Am in need of a No. 10 s pline prop hub for my Kinn er 6 -54 (125 h . p. ). But what I rea ll y need is the February iss ue o f The Vintage Airplane . See m to be missing a nd it looks Ilk e goo d things are going fast. Thank s much,
Curtis Zeidlhack , AIC 1036
10025 Emerso n So.
Bloomington, Minn. 55431
LA RHONE MANUALS Dear Sir: We have a nine cy linder LaRhone rotary e ngin e we are in the process of res toring. If by chance w e ho ped you may know of some ma n uals we may be able to buy (or thi s e ngine. If you know of any co pi es of th ese or of any parts please drop me a card . David C. Stevenson S tevenson Aviation , In c. P . O. Box 1711
Muskogee, Okla. 7440 1
18
T-C RAFT Dear Jack : Encl osed is a check for my 1974 Antique-Classic dues. Also find enclused ph o tos o f my 1946 Tay lorcrafl. Rea d your co mment s in th e Augu s t issue of The Vin · tage Airplane wondering why so m eo ne didn't res tore a T Craft to factory o rigi nal. Please excuse th e poor quality of th e pic tures as they were s nap ped with a n Ins ta mati c and among o th e r things I'm a rotten photographer. I ha\' e ow ned thi s airp lan e sin cl:' 1961. It was restored to factory o riginal in 1972-73. Thi s W,lS easy as far as accuracy goes si nce th e airplane was fa ctory original, including fabri c, lip to 1972 when th e res torati on was begun. Ship ha s new tires, glass, prop, interio r, color is an identical match, the origi nal fa bric was saved and th e markings. s tTiping a nd tape patt erns \-vere fo l1owt.'d faithfully. To tal tim e since rebuild is 8 1/2 hours. Total time A&E since fact o ry o ri g inal is 396:30 Ius. No work has e ver been done to th e e ng in e as it sti ll rUlls like new. I assume its one of the lowest total time and most origi nal T-Crafts in th e cou ntry. If you would lik e a better picture to print in The Vintage Airplane ll:'t me know. Will tak e some better photos with a better camera thi s spring. Would a lso like to ha ve o ne of th e Antique/Classic Achievement Awards jf I am e lig ible as I on ly did about 5% of th e \...ork. Th e o th er 95% was accomplished by Lee McC lothl e n Airc raft of Boo ne, Iowa. I-It.' spec ia lizt:'s in fabric work' a nd is one o f th e few craftsmen still around (at least o n a co mmercia l basis). He is an antig ue lover, so he reall y did a bang up job o n min e. I only caused tht:' r e~toration to happen by s uppl ying money - lots of worry, ca ll ~ to Taylorcraft Av iation and not mu ch brain power. If I a m eligible Ih e fo ll ow ing info you might need. Taylorcraft BC12-D NC 5020M - Ser. No . 10,320 It' s th e o nly T -Cra ft in original color and markings I' \"(~ seen. Wish more people would treat these as th ey do the J-3 w hen th ey resto re. Thanks fo r hearing me o u t. Regards, Dl'an L Sw ift 7403 Wil-Dcn Dr. Des Moines, Iowa 50322
E-2 CU BS Dear Gene; Th anks for your letter, and of course you may print my letter. The Serial No.'s of my E-2 C u bs ar e 97 and 84. The colo rs of the C ubs will be id en tica l and exac tl y as th ey \,'ere made at the bctory. Silvt.'r w ith red trim, which means a red nose and tail with a red o utlined black strjpe a lo ng th e hl selage. Fortu na tely, one o f my fuse lages had the original filbric, so I can effec t an exact rt:'storation. I'v e got a bunch of A-40 s tuff tha t ( wo uld trad e with o ther ser io us restorers, a nd I'm particularly interes ted in finding engines or ca~es, Ser ials 312 J {l d 322, which would be th e origina l e ngi nes in these planes. (How's that for being super .luthentic?) Also, I' ve got some extra E-2 a nd J-2 par ts, which I"d be glad to trade to people needing them to complete a res toratio n . I hope to see large num bers o f th e early Cubs, C-3 Aeroncas an d th e early model Tay lorcra fts a t future fly-ins. We'll have lots more fun as the numbers g row. You perhaps know that THE T.lylor's son. Robert H . Taylor o f 7203 Shock ley Ct., Camp Springs, Md. 20022 has th e No. "I Cub (w hich is serial 26 ) flying no\v. Wouldn't it be an attraction at th e Na tionals? Will look forward to seei ng you anJ many o th er flying friends at Oshkosh Yours truly, C hester L. Pl'ck 141 0 Brookdale No rman , O kl a. 73069
WACO CUC Dear Buck: I am h(lPPY to inform yo u that Joe Thre lke ld, Terry E. Hockman an d myself have purc hased a Waco cue 4·5 place cabin, Lie. No. NC-15213, Ser. No. 4302, Mfg. Aug. 1935. This plane has been co nver ted to a YOC m odel by removing thE.' original Wright engine and in s talling a R 755-9 Jacobs 245 h.p. W e bo ugh t it from Kelsey R. Holm('s and the plane is pretty well run d own. It looks like th a t \11~ wi ll hnve to re build th e whole plane. I a m thrill ed over th e Waco as I th oug ht that it would never happe n to m e. Plan to come to th e EAA Fly -In a nd get all th e information and advice on the res toratio n of the great Waco. I used to own a Fairchild F-24W46 and still yearn to get anot h er one. Am a member of the EAA AntiCJuL'-Classic Di vision my num ber is 172. Rea ll y lik e The Vintage Airplane and hope it will get bigger later on. Plan to wnte a story of my Waco for it. H ave taken a lot of pictures of th e Waco for th e story. Hope to hear from YOll soo n .
Charl es L. Mitchell, Jr.
4119 N. Beckwilh 5 1.
Malden. Mo. 6386}
MYSTERY PROP
O SHKOS H HELP Dear Mr. Hilbert: In rep ly 10 "Who Will Mind The SIore'" (The Vintage Airplane. Mar. '74) may I say one thin g - co unt me in. 1 will be o ut o f sc hool for th e summer about 29 July . I will try to get 10 Oshkos h ASAP. If yo u ge t time I'd like to take you arollnd the " patch" in Ih e wo rld 's grea tes t j-3 - NC· 211OM. Let me know if I have been drafted. Thanks. Je ff Dielz Box 753, Parks Coll ege, Ca ho kia, Ill. 62206 Dear Buck: I see your appeal in th e March iss ue o f The Vintage Airplane for help from th e ca rly arrivals a t Os hkosh '74. I plan to be there in th e (a mpground o n S unday, Mo n day and Tuesday before th e o pening. Chapter 152 always ha s a block o f lo ts on s ho wer roa d. Put me down fo r some of your vo lunteer he lp. I am expe rie nced in paperwork, maki ng sig ns, jac kleg m ec hanic with a se t of tools, big talker and general jack-o f-a ll -tra des. I' m 58 yea rs old - no t a boy! Regards, Ray Lilli e, AIC 944 RI. I , Box 41 Leeds, Ala. 35094
Dear Sir: I hav(;' home a wooden prop th a t I can't find any in formation o n . Upon re turnin g to schoo l I asked a few of my instruc tors and th ey co uld n't find any information either. They th e n recommended m e ttl v"'rite to you. Here are all the markings that w ere o n the prop itself. Curtiss Pro p No. 730-R- H D - 8 ft. 4 inc hes Pitch - 16 ft. 6 inches Drawing No. 23520 If you ca n find any information regarding how o ld and what a ircraft it was o n. I would grea tly appreciatt· it. S incere ly yours. Gary W. H"Upl Box 904, Embrv Riddle Daylona Beach, Fla. 32015
STINSON TAIL CONE Dear Bu ck: Thi s pa st winter I bought and am rebuilding a Stinson L-SA, N-6653 I , SR No. 15025, mfg. May 1943. I hav e o ne big problem and that is I ca nnot find a tail co ne . I ha ve called a ll over Ih e country but no luck. I would like to have a notice in Sport Aviation and The Vintage Airplane. I would b uy o n e .o r rent one to take a mold from . Since I own a fib er-glass shop this is no probl e m . Thanks. Dick Forger, AIC 146 204 Woodspalh Rd . Liverpool, N. Y. 13088 (3 ISI622-3568)
Calendar Of Events
MAY 17-19 - WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA - 10th Annual West Coast Antique Fly-In. Antique, Vintage, Classic and Amateur-Built invited. Static displays, flyi ng events, trophies and banqu et. Friday night get-acqtJainted party. Contact: W. B. Richards, 2490 Greer Rd. , Palo AI to, Calif. 94303. MAY 19 - HARVARD, fLLINOIS - Dacy Chapter AAA Fly-In. Dacy Air port. Spot landing co ntes t on initial landing. Contact: Tom Lowe, 823 Kingston Lane, Crystal Lake, Ill . 60014. MAY 24-27 - GILBERTSVILLE, KENTUCKY - International Swift Associa tion Annual Fly-In. Kentucky Dam State Park. Contact: Charlie Nel son, P. O. Box 644, Athens, Tenn. 37303. MAY 24-26 - HAMfLTON, OHIO - Annual National Waco Fly-In. Satur day night banqu e t featuring Clayton J. Brukner as special gues t. Contact Ra y BrandIy, 2650 West Alex.-BeUbrook Rd. , Dayton, Ohio 45459. MAY 31/JU NE 1-2 - AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA - 1974 Old South Fly In. Aiken Municipal Airport. Contact: Old South EAA Fly-In, P. O. Box 911, Lexington, S. 5=. 29072. JU NE 7-9 - DENTON, TEXAS - Texas Chapter of Antique Airplane Association Annual Fly-In. Dent on Municipal Airport. Contact: Ed McCracken, 1044 East St., Grapevine, Texas 76051. JUNE 8-9 - BURLINGTON, WISCONSIN - 2nd Annu al EAA Antique/ Classic Division Spring Fly-In. JUNE 13-16 - TULLAHOMA, TENNESSEE - National Staggerwing Club Fly-In. Contact W. D. "Dub" Yarbrough, Lannom Mfg. Co., Box 500, Tiruahoma, Tenn. 37388.
JULY 6-7 - LA RUE, WISCONSIN (NEAR BARABOO) - 6th Annual Antique Transporta tion Mee t. Antiqu e airplanes and air games, steam train rides, a ntiqu e car games and hill climb, s wap meet. Fun for th e whol e family. NO landing or parking faciliti es fo r modern aircraft. Contact: Edward C. Wegner, 10 Stafford St., Ply m ou th, Wise. 53075. JULY20-21- SHIRLEY, N. Y. (LONG ISLAND)-12th Annual Fly-In of the Antiqu e Airplane Club of Greater New York at Brookhaven Town Airport . Dinner dance on Saturday nigh t. Contact Harry E. Geddes, Sec., 374 Latham Rd ., Mineola, N. Y. 11051 (516) 746-3453. JULY 31 - AUGUST 1 - FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN - Antiqu e/Classic Division Participation in EAA/IAC Aerobatic Contest. S pin, Loop and Roll Competition on August 1. Con tact: Don Taylor, Contest Chairman, 2 ChandeUe Drive, Hampshire, fll . 60140, (312) 683-2244. JULY 31-AUGUST 6 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - NEW DATES - 22nd Annual EAA International Fly-In Convention. Largest and best Antique and Classic ga thering anywhere. Make your p lans and reserva ti ons early. AUGUST 25-SEPTEMB ER 2 - BLAKESBURG , IOWA - Fourth Annual National Invitational AAAfAPM Fly-In - Antique Airfield. AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 2 - OTI1JMWA, IOWA - Ottumwa Antique Airplane Convention. Ottumwa Airport. Sponsored by Antique Air men, Inc. Contact: J. C. "Chuck" Weber, 441 Berry Rd. , Barrington, Ill . 60010. SEPTEMBER 13-1 5 - GALESBURG, fLLINO IS - 3rd National Stearman Fly-In. Contact: Jim Leahy, 445 N. Whitesboro, Galesburg, IU . 61401 OR Tom Lowe, 823 Kingston Lane, Crystal Lake, Ill . 60014.
Back Issues Of The Vintage Ai rplane Limited numbers of back issues of '!HE VINTAGE AIRPLANE are available at ,SOC each. Copies still on hand at EAA Headquarters are:
March 1973 April 1973 May 1973
June 1973 July 1973
Augu st 1973 September 1973
October 1973 November 1973
December 1973 January 1974
February 1974 March 1974 . ApriIl974
Mexican Fleet - owned by Marcial Sanchez of Lomas de Sotel o, Mexico .
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