VP-Vol-2-No-9-Sept-1974

(Photo by Ted Koston )

THE PRESIDENT'S PAGE

By E. E. "B uck" Hilbert

President, Antique-Classic Division

THE 1974 CONVENTION IS HISTORY! Numerically it was a sensation, a success beyond all conception. Our Antiques numbered 173 - our Classics 512. This is more than fifty percent of the total (1345) attending. Is there any doubt the Antiques and Oassics have found a home?

Each year we learn something. We gain experience. We make new vows. It is sometimes difficult to enact all the ideas, to make good the vows, but we are going to try. There will be a debriefing meeting of all the chairmen and Division heads in the months ahead and this is where you come in.

I know what I saw. Maybe you saw more than I did. Maybe you have a suggestion that will benefit and influence the planning of next years Convention. I want that suggestion. I need that suggestion. Maybe you couldn't help with the nail bending or parking or forums, but now is your opportunity to help. Put those comments in writing and get them to me. Now! while they are fresh in your mind. Critique us, and then offer your suggestions for improvement.

Remember though that we had some very earnest, hard workers in there this year. The gang who helped make our Antique Barn habitable ... the dog faces who worked so hard to stave off chaos in the parking areas ... the Barnstormers who gave rides to workers and buddies ... the Forum speakers who enhanced our knowledge . .. the Judges who bemused and befuddled us and yet pleased some immeasurably ... our girls at the Barn who worked so hard so long and the EAA staff and volunteer workers who came up early and stayed late paving the way so it could all happen.

Red Leader put in one hectic time of it. Paul's staff could no way relieve him of those tragic moments he experienced. It was too personal. Even though we tried. How deeply the effect clearly showed.

Remember how all of these people and the submerged ones worked hard and long to make the Convention a success and make your suggestions in light of how we can all work together to achieve more, more easily, for next year's Convention.

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. ~ ~IAbf ARPlA~f

VOLUME 2 -

SEPTEMBER 1974

NUMBER 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS

A Vintage View of Oshkosh . .. Jack Cox ........... , . ......... . .. . .. ....... . .................

Antique Grand Champion Winner .. . Bill Hodges .. . ..... . .. ... .... .. .. . . .. . . .................

Reminiscing With Big Nick .. . Nick Rezich ............................ . .......................

Eat Your Hearts Out, Antiquers! ... Gar Williams . ..... ... ............. . .......................

Old Lady Wind-In-The-Face . . . Lee S . Thomas . ............ . ..... .. ... . ......... . ... . ........ .

"ASFTRSOABP" . .. AI Kelch . ................. . .. .. ................. .. ....... .. . . ...........

Around The Antique-Classic World . ..... .. ........................ ... .... . ...... . .............

ON THE COVER . .. 1974 Grand Champion Fairchild.

Photo by Ted Koston

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BACK COVER . . . J. Robert Pratt's Bellanca 14-19.

Photo by Ted Koston

EDITORIAL STAFF Pub lishe r - Paul H. Poberezny Ass istant Ed itor - Gene Chase

Editor - Jack Cox Assistant Editor - Golda Cox

ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS PRESIDENT 足 E. E. HILBERT 8102 LEECH RD .

UNION . ILLINOIS 60180

VICE PRESIDENT J. R. NIELANDER . JR .

P O . BOX 2464 FT . LAUDERDALE . FLA .

SECRETARY RICHARD WAGNER BOX 181 LYONS. W IS . 53148

TREASURER GAR W . WILLIAMS , JR. 9 S 135 AERO DR. , RT . 1 NAPERVILLE , ILL. 60540

33303

DIRECTORS EVANDER BRITT P. O. Box 458 Lumberton , 111-:- c. 28358

JIM HORNE 3850 Coronation Rd .

Eagan, Minn . 55122

MORTON LESTER P. O. Box 3747 Martinsville, Va. 24112

KELLY VIETS RR 1, Box 151 Stilwell , Kansas 66085

CLAUDE l. GRAY, JR. 9635 Sylvia Ave. Northridge, Ca li f. 91324

AL KELCH 7018 W. Bonniwell Rd. Mequon , Wisc. 53092

GEORGE STUBBS RR 18, Box 127 Indianapolis, Ind. 46234

JACK WINTHROP 3536 Wh itehall Dr. Dallas, Texas 75229

DIVISION EXECUTIVE SECRETARY DOROTHY CHASE , EAA HEADOUARTERS THE VINTAGE AIR PLANE is owned exclusively by Ant ique Classic Aircraft. Inc . and is published monthly at Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53130. Second Class Permit pending at Hales Corners Post Office. Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53130 . Membership rates lor AntIque Classic Aircraft . Inc. are $10.00 per 12 month penod ot which 57.00 is for Ihe subscri pllon to THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE . All Antique ClaSSIC Aircraft , Inc . members are required to be members of the parent organ Izat ion . the Experimental Ai rcraft ASSOCiation . Membership is open to all who are interested in aVI,atlon .

Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc., Box 229, Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130 Copyright

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1974 Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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A VINTAGE

(Photo by Ted Kaston)

President Buck Hilbert, standing, with Dale Crites and his Curtiss in front of the new Antique-Classic Headquarters building. That's the forums tent in the left background.

~ .U{U& ,~ THE NUMBERS GAME

685 aircraft were officially registered for judging at Oshkosh '74 under the Vintage classification. 512 of these were Classics, civil aircraft of any nation built between 1946 and 1954; the remaining 173 were Antiques; civil air­ craft built before 1946. These were record numbers for ail EAA fly-in and since this meet is far and away the largest of its kind ever staged anywhere and at anytime, we can safely assume that this year's crop of Vintage air­ craft was also the largest in history.

To play around a little more with the figures , there were 41 different Classic types and 53 different Antique types. Now this does not include a breakdown of sub types - for instance, this accounting lumps all Luscombe Model8s as one type rather than breaking them down into 8As, Bs, Cs, Es, Fs; all Stinson 108s as one type rather than 108s, 108-ls, 108-2s, 108-3s, etc . . . . the point in all this being that there was tremendous variety in both the An­ tique and Classic line-ups .

O . K., put on your thinking caps ... what would you guess was the aircraft type with the greatest number pre­ sent?? Did you instinctively think, "Cub"? Well, if you did, you missed the mark .. . for the undisputed leader in the numbers game was the Cessna 170, with 53 of the vari­ ous sub types (170, 170A, 170B) parked down in the new Classic area provided this year.

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The .secon.d most numerous type was the .Cessna 1201 140 senes With 52 examples registered. Third was the Luscombe 8 series with 47 . .. bearing in mind that this total includes both pre-war antique and post-war classic models. Fourth was the Aeronca 7 series, the 01' Champ, with 45. And all the way down in fifth place was William Piper's J-3 with 41 mostly solid yellow with a black light­ ning stroke down the sides examples on hand. The 41 Cubs also represent a combining of Antique and Classic numbers .

If you are old enough to remember the late 40s and most of the 50s, the Cub total shouldn't surprise you, because you will recall how voraciously the crop dusters were gobbling up all the Cubs they could locate ... and were breaking them just about at the same rate. It's a wonder any are left. Also, the J-3 is an awfully slow airplane for extended cross country work, whereas the Cessna 170 guys and gals think nothing of roaming throughout the hemisphere from the Bering Straights to Tierra Del Fuego.

Some other heavily represented types were : 37 Taylor­ crafts (all side-by-side models); 35 Ercoupes; 34 Swifts; 30 Stinson 108s; 24 Cessna 1901195s; 21 Piper PA-12 Super Cruisers; 20 Aeronca Chiefs; 18 Bonanzas; 17 Navions; 15 Stearmans; 14 Fairchild 24s; and 12 Staggerwings . The sprinkling of Bellancas, Commonwealths, Funks, Meyers, Mooney Mites, Vagabonds, Clippers, Pacers, Seab(i;'es, Aeronca C-2s and 3s, Culver Cadets, Airmasters, Fleets,

Howards, Monocoupes, Porterfields, Ryans, Spartans, Travel Airs, Wacos, and many more were literally the sl?ice that heig~tened the good taste enjoyed by Vintage aircraft enthusiasts confronted with this vast smorgas­ bord of old airplane goodies .

THE HAMMER AND TONG CREW

This year the Antique-Classic Division had a number of new facilities and a new parking area. In 1973 a tent was utilized as a headquarters, but this year the red barn that served as a rustic background for the cover photo of last year's Antique Grand Champion - see the November 1973 issue of SPORT AVIATION - was transformed into a pe~manent Antique-Classic Headquarters building. Im­ mediately after the 1973 fly-in, Antique-Classic Division ~resident Buck Hilbert approached Paul Poberezny regard­ mg the possible utilization of the bam for this purpose and was given a green light. This spring Buck started work on the remodeling, delayed somewhat by the need to recover from knee surgery and by wet, cold weather.

Work progressed steadily but it soon became obvious that completion of the work would be a down-to-the-wire pro­ position. When early arrivals made their appearance at Oshkosh, Buck impressed them into his work crew and shortly the sawdust was really flying . The last of the in­ terior paneling was nailed into place just before the official opening day of the Convention - with members already standing in the entrance waiting to be served. We don't have the names of all those who worked so diligently to complete the bam on time, but each person is to be highly commended.

As soon as the last pile of shavings was swept away, the gals took over - Edna Viets, Dorothy Hilbert, Nancy Hall, Pauline Winthrop and her daughter Liz (and un­

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doubtedly others this writer does not know about) all really pitched in. They signed up new members, took re­ newals, sold back issues of The Vintage Airplane (a hot item, incidentally), sold decals and patches, directed ~undreds of hard pressed Convention-goers to the nearest Johns, and answered questions until their voices cracked. " Invaluable" seems somehow inadequate to describe the contribution to the success of the fly-in made by these ladies.

Immediatley behind the Headquarters building was the foo'ntique-Classic Forums Tent. Here Vice President J. R. Nlelander had a constant stream of aviation experts in to speak on a variety of subjects relating to Antique and Classic aircraft. Most of the speakers were the leaders of the type clubs, the men who have done so much to foster the interest in preserving the great old aircraft we have grown accustomed to seeing at fly-ins around the country.

Of special interest this year was the appearance of some of the figures originally responsible for a number of An­ tique and Classic aircraft. George Williams, chief honcho of the Rearwin Club, had Ken Rearwin as his special guest.

Ken Rearwin was one of two sons of the founder of Rear­ win Aircraft. He and his brother Royce are the "Ken Royce" in the name for the engines that powered most Rearwin models .

Another famous personage appearing at the forums area was none other than Fred Weick. It would take this entire magazine just to list the contributions to aviation ma~e over ~he course of the past 40 plus years by Fred Welc~. ~e IS perhaps ~est known among Antique and ClassIC airplane enthUSiasts as the designer of the Er­ coupe, however, his work goes far beyond that - pro­ pellers, stall/spin research, high lift devices, Chief En­ gineer for Piper's Vero Beach facility, etc. , etc. Take a look

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

e 1974 Reserve Grand ChampIOn antique, a Rearwin Sportster restored by Alfred Nagle and Ken Gatzke of Montel/o, Wisconsin.

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(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Grand Champion Classic - a highly polished Swift owned by Ed Gorny of Livermore, California.

through your Aero Digests or other aviation magazines of the 1930s and see how many articles by and references to Fred Weick you uncover. In addition to his appearance at Kelly Viets' Ercoupe forum, Fred delivered a very signifi­ cant paper on the seemingly perpetual stalUspin problem at the main EAA forums area. This paper will be printed in SPORT AVIATION later in the year.

J. R. Nielander and all those who participated in the Antique-Classic Forum program are to be highly com­ mended. This educational aspect of the fly-in is all-im­ portant. It is the catalyst that triggers the enthusiasm neces­ sary for an EAAer to go out scouring the countryside for some old aerial derelict, spend months or years research­ ing its history and construction, spend more years and unspeakable amounts of money restoring it to beautiful condition. When he has his project completed and can bring it to a fly-in, he hopes for some tangible sign of recognition from his peers of his long and arduous labors - and this is where the awards program come in.

The Antique judging committee at Oshkosh '74 was headed by Evander Britt of Lumberton, North Carolina and included Pete Covington of Spencer, Virginia; Dusty Rhodes of Denver; Doug Rounds of Zebulon, Georgia; Kelly Viets of Stilwell, Kansas and Fred Weick as an honor­ ary judge. We understand Fred didn't take his honorary position lightly - he handed in meticulously prepared judging sheets just as was expected of the regular judges.

No free rides for Fred!

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The Classic judging committee was co-chaired by Jim Gorman of Mansfield, Ohio and Morton Lester of Mar­ tinsville, Virginia, ably assisted by John Engles of Lake­ land, Florida; John Parish of Tullahoma, Tennessee; Dub Yarbrough also of Tullahoma; George York of Mansfield, Ohio; Warren Hall of Burlington, North Carolina; Harmon Dickerson of St. Louis; Dale Woffard of Ashland, Ohio and Rod Spanier of Riviera Beach, Florida.

The decisions of these teams of astute authorities on ancient aeronautica are as follows: ANTIQUE AWARDS GRAND CHAMPION - Dick Buck. Tom Leonhardt and Jud Gude­ hous of Lambertville. Michigan for their Fairchild 24R. NC-77661.

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION - Alfred Nagle and Ken Gatzke.

Montello. Wisconsin for their Rearwin Sportster. N-20734.

JUDGE' S CHOICE - R. F. " Slim " Johansson. SI. Charles. Missouri for his Waco QDC. NC-11470.

AWARD OF MERIT - AI Kelch. Mequon. Wisconsin for his Frank· lin Sport. NC-13139.

GOLDEN AGE CHAMPION - Bob Frost. Greenfield. Indiana for his Fleet 2. NC-610M. SILVER AGE CHAMPION - Don Dickinsen. Santa Paula. California for his Spartan 7W Executive. N-17605.

WORLD WAR I CHAMPION - Charles Klessig. Galesburg . North Dakota for his Standard J-1. NC-9477.

PRE-WORLD WAR II CHAMPION - Gar Williams. Naperville. Illi­ nois for his Cessna C-165 Airmaster. NC-25485.

WORLD WAR II ERA CHAMPION - Charlotte Parish. Tullahoma.

Tennessee for her Stearman N2S5. N-44JP. MOST UNUSUAL ANTIQUE - Myles Robertson. Auckland. New Zealand for his DeHavilland Fox Moth. ZK-ASP.

( Photo by Ted Koston)

Left - The Antique Judge 's Committee . Left to right : Kelly Viets, Doug Rounds, Evander Britt, Chairman , Pete Covington and Dusty Rhodes.

(Photo by Ted Kaston )

Right - The Classic Judge 's Committee. Back row, left to right: Harmon Dickerson, Jim Gorman and Morton Les­ ter, Co-Chairmen , Warren Hall and Rod Spanier. Front row, left to right: John Engles, John Parish , Dale Wof­ fard , George York and Dub Yarbrough.

BEST CANADIAN ANTIQUE IN ATTENDANCE - Father John Mac­ Gillivray, Petawawa, Ontario for his Miles Hawk, CF-NXT. BEST ANTIQUE REPLICA - Dale Crites , Waukesha . Wisconsi n for his 1911 Curtiss Pusher, N-1911D. BEST DART - Art Bishop, Norton, Ohio for his Dart GC, NC-31697.

BEST FAIRCHILD - Claude Gray , Northridge , California for h is Fairchild F24W, N-81386.

BEST HOWARD - John Turgyan , Trenton , New Jersey for his Howard DGA-15P, NC-95462.

BEST MONOCOUPE - Art Marsden , Argos, Ind iana for his Mono­ coupe 90ACL, N-18062.

BEST REARWIN - Ken Williams, Portage , Wisconsin for his Rearwin 7000, NC-25570.

BEST STAGGERWING - John Parish , Tullahoma , Tennessee for his Beech G-17S, N-44G, " Big Red ".

BEST ANTIQUE STINSON - George Stubbs, Indianapol is, Indiana for his Stinson SR10-J , NC-21135.

BEST TRANSPORT - James Kramer, Lake Worth . Florida for his Cessna T-50, NC-69072.

BEST WACO - Vince Mariani , Findlay, Ohio for his Waco VKS-7 , NC-31653.

BEST RAZORBACK APPLICATION TO AN ANTIQUE - Jim Hall , Rockford , Illinois for his Taylorcraft BC-12D, N-96275.

BEST STEARMAN - Richard Hansen , Batavia , Illinois for his Stearman PT-27, N-59448.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AAA CHAPTER CHOICE AWARD - John Parish, Tullahoma, Tennessee for his Travel Air 4000, N-367M. "TIRED BUTT " AWARD - Robert Rust , Fayetteville, Georgia for his Aeronca C-2, NC-11276.

HEADWIND AWARD - Evander Britt . Lumberton, N. C.

CLASSIC AWARDS GRAND CHAMPION - Edmund Gorny, Livermore , California for Swift GC-1B, N-2459B. RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION - Dave Hamilton, Anderson , Indi­ ana for Piper J-3, N-42621 .

BEST CLASS I CLASSIC - Richard Krumbine, Lebanon , Pennsyl­ vania for his Taylorcraft, N-6442N. BEST CLASS II CLASSIC':"" Dutch Brafford . Lima , Ohio for his Cessna 140, N-89728.

BEST CLASS III CLASSIC - Tom and Lela Munden , Newhall , Cali­ fornia for their Stinson 108, N-8083K. BEST ORIGINAL RESTORATION - Stan York, Mansfield , Ohio for his Taylorcraft L-2M, N-47026.

BEST CUSTOMIZING RESTORATION - C. L. Wagner, Clark, South Dakota for his Aeronca Champ , N-1691E. BEST AERONCA CHAMP - Melvin Hill , Danville, Illinois for N-83633.

BEST AERONCA CHIEF - John Pringle, Tolono , Illinois for N-9715E. BEST AERONCA SEDAN - Art Hill , Cincinnati , Ohio for N-1482H. BEST BEECH BONANZA - Leo Storm , Lomita , California for N­ 5270C. BEST BEECH TWIN -John Parish, Tullahoma, Tennessee for N-4477.

BEST BELLANCA - Scott Twitchell , Berkeley, California for N-560A. BEST CESSNA 1201140 - George Johnson, Puyallup, Washington for 140, N-77101.

BEST CESSNA 170 - Steven Wilson , Arlington , Washington for N­ 3945V. BEST CESSNA 190/195 - Raybourne Thompson , Jr., Houston, Texas for 195, N-4477C. BEST ERCOUPE - Mitch Cooke , Clemmons, N. C. for N-3265H. 7

(Photo by Dick Stoufer)

Above - A portion of the Classic display area - Aeroncas and Pipers, in fact. There were rows and rows and rows like this!

(Photo by Lee Fray)

Right - Fred Weick of Vero Beach, Florida and the Er­ coupe he designed over three decades ago - both are still going strong!

BEST LUSCOMBE 8 SERIES - William Nichols, Beloit, Wisconsin for N-2126B. BEST MEYERS - E. R. "Curley" Broyles, Tullahoma, Tennessee for N-34360.

BEST NAVION - Bruce Hallock, Austin, Texas for N-5202K. BEST PIPER CUB - A. Garrison, Cantonville, Maryland 10r N-20280.

BEST PIPER - ALL OTHER - Ray Lemmon, Erie, Pennsylvania for PA-12, N-4285M. BEST STINSON 108- Ellie Clark, Eaton Rapids, Michigan for N-9562K. BEST SWIFT - Mark Holliday, Hastings, Minnesota for N-80760.

BEST TAYLORCRAFT - Doug and Ruth Anderson, Jackson, Michi­ gan for N-95957.

SPECIAL WORKMANSHIP AWARD - Tom and Lela Munden, New­ hall, California for their Stinson 108, N-8083K.

'74 IMPROVEMENTS

One of the big improvements for Antique-Classic participation in the 22nd Annual EAA Fly-In Convention was the display parking situation. In previous years, Antiques and Classics were stretched down the length of the north/south runway - a long, narrow display area that required members to walk nearly a mile to get to the far end. This was not an arbitrary placement on the part of EAA officials, it was simply the only airport owned land available to display the huge numbers of Antiques, and particularly, Classics. Since last year EAA has purchased the land immediately adjacent to and just west of the north/ south runway from the control tower to the diagonal road near the south end of the airport. This allowed EAA to open up a new parking area south of Ollie's Woods for Classics and the entire area north of the woods for both Antiques

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and Classics. The result was a much more compact park­ ing area located much closer to the center of fly-in activi­ ties . The area will be improved each year so as to make your stay at Oshkosh more enjoyable as each fly-in rolls around.

Ollie's Woods proved to be quite popular this year. On Saturday evening President Buck hosted a big Antique­ Classic party and a number of smaller groups had cook outs and parties there during the week. This grove of trees is right in the center of the Antique-Classic area, so is a convenient place to stop for a rest in the shade on those hot afternoons while one is tromping around trying to see all the aircraft.

This was really the first year that EAA's Antique-Classic Division was able to run its own show in its own area of the vast Oshkosh fly-in grounds. This observer noted that things seem to go quite well. A lot more people were seen roaming the Antique and Classic area than in previous years and the Headquarters Red Barn was mobbed all week. President Buck Hilbert deserves numerous pats on the back for pulling it all together this year. He would like to hear any and all suggestions aimed at improving the Antique-Classic program for next year. He and his offi­ cers and directors worked long and hard at Oshkosh '74 and are already planning better things for the future.

Look for color coverage of the Antique-Classic activity at Oshkosh '74 in the November issue of SPORT AVIA­ TION.

(Photo by Ted Kaston)

Right - Fred Berg's fine re足 production of a Fokker D VII.

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Charlotte Parish's beautiful Stearman N2S-S.

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Above - J. P. Jordan and K. G. Hofschneider of Clark, New Jersey were back again this year in their beautifully restored Tiger Moth .

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(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

ANTIQUE GRAND CHAMPION

WINNER

By Bill Hodges The EAA International Convention and Fly-In Grand Champion Antique for 1974 is a very deserving and out­ standing aircraft - a Fairchild 24R46A. Proud owners of N-77661, which carries Serial Number 361, are Dick Buck, Jud Gudehous and Tom Leonhardt of Lambertville, Michi­ gan.

The owners had been looking for a 4-place airplane and discovered "their" Fairchild sitting neglected on an airport in Lima, Ohio. In talking with the owner they discovered that the plane had not been flown in over a year. An exam­ ination showed, however, that it was ferriable and the pur­ chase was concluded in July 1970. The Fairchild was flown home and by September it had been completely disman­ tled . Everything that could come off did . Then the slow process of rebuilding it from th e ground up began . Every­ thing that could be replaced with new parts was and where replacement parts were unavailable they were either re­ built to standard specs or built from scratch. New parts were available in some degree from Thor Solberg Aviation, located in New Jersey. However, they did have the 200 h.p. Ranger engine overhauled in Toledo, Ohio . Stits Poly-Fiber was used for the new cover with urethan e enamel for the build up . A special mixture of yellow was used for the final color coats.

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What about the background on the owners of this year's Grand Champ?

Richard L. "Dick" Buck (EAA 85184) was a radar opera­ tor in the U. S. Navy during World War II and was as­ Signed to a Destroyer Escort. After the war he took flight training under the G. 1. Bill and soloed in a Piper J-3 Cub in 1949. Dick owned and flew a Cessna 140A, that he had refinished himself, prior to going into partnership on the Fairchild. Dick has been a bindery and paper salesman for some time now.

Jud Gudehous entered the U. S. Army Air Force in 1942 as an Aviation Cadet and made his way through Stear­ mans, BT-13s and Cessna "Bamboo Bombers" before eventually winding up in Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" as a bomber pilot. Jud put in 20 missions over Europe be­ fore World War II ended. Jud also owned a Cessna 140 prior to his partnership purchase of the Fairchild. Now 54, he is owner of an Optical Laboratory in Toledo, Ohio.

Tom Leonhardt (EAA 10981) has always been interest­ ed in airplanes. It wasn' t until 1958, at age 33, that the op­ portunity to learn to fly came about, however. Tom soloed in an Aeronca Champion in Milan, Michigan, and has been flying ever since. Unlike Dick and Jud, Tom chose a Luscombe 8A to rebuild and had many pleasant hours in

it before becoming involved with the Fairchild. Tom is a structural engineer and, like Jud, owns his own firm.

In inquiring about their trip to the Fly-In this year, I asked if it were routine or adverturesome. The answer was routine other than they did have to puddle jump from one airport to another due to the bad weather around Chi足 cago at the time .

Oh, yes, the time of restoration took until June of 1974 to complete - 3 years and 9 months.

SPECIFICATIONS

Wing Span .. . . . .. .... . .. .. .... .. ... ..... . . 36 ft . 4 in.

Length ......... . .. . .... . ...... .... ... . .... 26 ft . 0 in.

Height . . . .. . .. .... . .. . .. .. .. . . .. .... .. ... 7 ft . 7V2 in.

Wing Area . ... . .............. . .... . .... . . 193.3 sq . ft.

Power Loading .. .. .. . . . .. . .. . . . . . .... . . . . 12.3 Ib./hp

Wing Loading . .. ...... .. . .... . . . ... . ... 12.2 Ib ./sq . ft.

Empty Weight ... . . . ... .. ... .. . .. .. .. . . .. .. . 1613 Ibs.

Useful Load . ......... .. ......... ....... . . .. . 949 Ibs.

Gross Weight . .. .. .. . .. . ... ... . .. . .. . .... .. 2562 Ibs.

Fuel ..... .. . .. . . .. . . . ..... . . . .. .. . . . .. .. . .. . 60 gals.

Oil . .... . .. . ...... .. .. ..... . . . . . ... ... .. ... . 4.1 gals.

Maximum Speed . ... .. ... .. ... .. ..... . .. . .. . 133 mph

Cruising Speed . . .. ... .. .. . . . . .. . . . .. . ... . .. 118 mph

Landing Speed ... . . .. . ......... . ..... . ..... . 57 mph

Service Ceiling . .. ... .. ...... . ....... . ...... 14,000 ft.

Rate of Climb . ..... . . . ..... . ... .. ..... . .. 560 ft ./min .

Cruising Range ...... ... ... ... ... . ......... 620 miles

(Photo by Ted Koston)

Above - The 24 and its ancestor, the Fairchild 22.

(Photo by Ted Kos ton)

Left - Instrument panel of the '74 Grand Champion Fairchild 24.

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REMINISCING WITH BIG NICK Nick Rezich 4213 Centerville Rd. Rockford, III. 61102

MY 35 YEAR LOVE AFFAIR Before I get carried away with my love affair I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the trea­ sures of mail that have reached me since the publication of of the "Howard" story.

The following letter is most precious and I felt it should be shared by everyone.

Los Angeles, California August 22, 1974 Dear Nick, Thank you for sending me a copy of the story - article - about us and our aeroplanes. You told it like it was ­ and made it very interesting.

I will not argue with you about the Howards being one of the greatest! Do you know that there are several of them out here still flying. As a matter of fact, at one time there was a Howard Club - all members owned and .flew the Howard.

Again, thank you very much for everything you wrote and feel.

Best personal regards, (signed) Mike Howard (Mrs. Ben O. Howard) As soon as the "Boss" allows me a stamp fund, I'll try to answer everybody. Many letters contain corrections of names, photos, etc.

Let me explain some of these mistakes . First, Jack Cox should receive a medal of the highest order for his ability and patience in transforming my hieroglyphics into reada­ ble material. (Nick is too modest ... his material is a plea­ sure for me to work with - JBe) His lovely wife, Golda, has come up with the " Rezich Alphabet" which helps somewhat, but it still takes her two weeks to unscramble the "i's", "e's", "s's", etc.

I love writing to doctors -

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it's my only chance to get

even with them. Maybe by now you all will understand why some misspelled names sneak in!

This past June I made a 5 day whirlwind tour of Cali­ fornia visiting some old Howard Aircraft buddies and family friends . My first stop was the most significant and the highlight of my trip. Sunday morning, June 9, dawned sunny and warm in Frisco where I picked up a rental car for my tour to L.A. An hour and a half out of Frisco I pulled into the Palo Alto Airport where I met Larry Low, a gung­ ho EAAer and antiquer, whom I.had never met before but knew well from our letter exchanges . ..

Standing in front of his hangar, we exchanged family introductions - all but one, the one behind the hangar doors . I was really getting antsy and it showed as I kept pushing on the locked doors. Larry finally got the message and we opened the doors. There she stood, my love - a majestic lady in all her pomp and glory. The last time I held her in my hand was almost 30 years ago to the day.

With moist eyes, I walked up and laid a very gentle hand on the door latch and introduced my wife of 23 years and mother of 3 to my first love affair, a Culver Cadet which I bought new 34 years ago, NC 20926, Serial Number 106 .

Larry Low has her dressed up in the latest fashion, urethane paint, tinted one piece windshield, carpeting, starter, generator, nav-com , ELT, chrome gear, landing, nav and strobe lights, plus one hell of a lot of tender lov­ ing care. After 34 years I could not find a wrinkle in her skin anywhere. I thought I had a show stopper when I owned it, but you should see it now! This fellow, Larry, has put much effort, time and money into this priceless jewel. Oh, sure! I made a pass at him - but he quickly in­ formed me of others that are available ... but not my love - at any price!!

This w h ole affair started back in 1939 when the aviation industry was still reeling from the blow of the depression.

The surviving companies and some new ones were all pushing new models . The route to recovery was paved with many new designs. The OX-5 powered machines had all been turned out to the pasture for a graceful and well earned retirement.

The machines of '39 all sported round engines or the new flat opposed 4s, all air cooled. Prices ranged from $990.00 for the Cub to $52,000.00 for the executive Lock­ heed 12. The most advanced airplane was on the drawing boards in a small plant located in Columbus, Ohio.

The genius behind the slide rule was AI Mooney who was known to many in the industry as a very bright, in­ genious engineer.

When Al Mooney announced he was building a 2-place airplane with retractable gear that would cruise at 120 mph, top 140 mph, have a service ceiling of 17,000 feet, a cruis­ ing range of 1050 miles with a 15 gallon aux tank ... and all this while powered by only 75 h. p. and selling for under $3000.00, he lifted many eyebrows - including mine!

I anxiously wal~ed to see w hat this new design of Mooney's would 10 - k like . I went to the Columbus, Ohio plant on the prete se of buying a Dart hoping to get a glimpse of the new ulver. It didn't work . After two days all I got was a lot o.f rumors and no peek-a-boo. Before I left, I made a deal with a friend of mine to send me a snap­ shop of the prototype as soon as it was rolled out of as­ sembly.

With the coming of fall and winter came my photo ...

WOW! When I saw what that little jewel looked like, I made up my mind right then and there - I had to have one! I ordered one without even having a ride in one. The price was $2475.00. I received the 6th one built, Serial Number 106, NC 20926. A blue and silver paint job was stock.

The late Art Carnahan of Monocoach fame was the area dealer and he delivered my new Culver as far as Joliet, Illi­ nois where the snow stopped him . I drove in a snow storm to Joliet to pick up Art and view my new jewel. There she sat in front of the hangar like a Thompson racer waiting for the starter's flag to drop!

---------­ I don't think I knew what the word "thrilled" meant until that cold evening in Joliet when I opened the cabin door and tried that Culver on for size. Art gave me a fast _

cockpit check, then we headed for my home back in Chi­ cago. During the drive Art explained the gear details and the flight characteristics. By the time we reached home I was ready for the races!

To knock off ~he chilI of the drive, my mother poured us some of our best hom~made wine which was followed . by a fiesta supper. After supper and a gallon of wine later, I stuffed Art's pockets with $2000.00 in fives, tens, and twenties and put him on a train for the trip back to Bloom­ ington, lliinois, his home town .

My first flight in the new Cadet was two weeks later, when the weather cleared. Up to that time, I had been fly­ ing Travel Airs, Pitcairns , a Laird, Bellancas, Stinsons, Porterfields, Rearwins, Cubs, Howards , etc., and from what Art told me none of the above flew like the Cadet.

My brother helped me roll it out of the hangar, pre-flight it and cranked me.

As I taxied out, I tried to remember everything Art had told me about the Cadet's handling. It felt good and solid while taxiing and when I got to the runway, I was ready. I set the tab at zero and poured the coal on. The take-off was smooth and straigh t ~ I le ft the pattern and started to climb to altitude for some turns and stalls. In the next 20 seconds I learned all about the Culver's sensitive flippers . I reached up to trim it for climb so I could concentrate on the gear re­ traction . Well!! When I gave the trim handle the usual husky crank, all hell broke loose. The nose shot up ... r pushed forward on the stick and went up against the roof . .. I pulled ~ack and r was pushed a foot down into the cushion! A90ther push forward . . . back on the roof! r finally got the message and stabilized and started FLY­ INC it.

I left the gear down and climbed to 3,000 feet where I practiced medium and steep turns, slow flight and some stalls. The more I flew it, the better I liked it. Now, I trimmed it for hands off and cycled the gear a few times.

All went well, so I headed for Willie Howell's airport on (Courtesy Nick Rezich)

Big Nick's Culver Cadet at Howell Airport (on the south side of Chicago) when the racy little two seater was brand spanking new. Notice the ground adjustable Freedman-Burnham prop.

the south side of Chicago where I was to keep it. As the airport came into sight, I dropped the nose and let it boil .

I went over the office indicating 170 mph and this brought everyone out, so, I did it again, followed by a steep, climb­ ing tum. I was really getting my jollies!

I dropped the gear, checked the lock and started in to land on the 1800 feet of solid runway the Cub's were using.

With that gang out there watching, I couldn't afford to goof the first landing. I dragged it in and put it on three point, using about 1200 feet. The roll out was like a Cub. I taxied in, shut down and stepped out ... the hero of the airport! I had the fastest, newest, cleanest, most advanced airplane on the airport.

I flew that little dude all over the country until I went into the service in June of 1944. My biggest maintenance bill was for wax. I would wax it every weekend before fly­ ing it .

I had no intention of selling th e Cadet when I went into service. I checked Willie Howell out in it and told him to give rides in it until I returned. I was home on furlough after completing my basic training when I received a phone call from a fellow from Wellington, Kansas. He informed me he was in town to buy my Cadet. I laughed and told him "no way" - not for sale, and that ended that ... I thought.

The following Sunday, I was out to the airport flying the bird when this same fellow from Kansas pulls in with a cab and announces he's come to pick up the Cadet. We went through the whole scene again, only this time he added the green. He started peeling off the Big Ones and when he had $3500.00 laying there, I changed my mind and said, "O.K... it's yours!" He still had a fist full left and was willing to part with it.

I asked him if he wanted to go through the log books and look the plane over. He answered, "Hell, I know this airplane as well as you do! " I had raced this airplane and never lost to anyone, thanks to the help of "Sludge" Doyle and his "Offy" factory . I had a real hot rod - I was putting out 90 h.p . with a super thin Freedman-Burnham prop .

That is why this fellow knew all about my Cadet - he had kept track of it and wanted it for the speed.

He turned to Willie and said, "Fill it up." He paid the gas bill, threw his bag in the back and said, "Give me a crank." I cranked him up and went to the cockpit to shake his hand and say goodbye. As I reached in he handed me a twenty and told me to go have a drink. He took off to the west and that was the last I saw of NC 20926 until June of 1974.

After I returned from the California visit I bragged so much about myoId Cadet that my son Jim sold his beauti­ ful J-3 Cub that he soloed in and bought a Culver Cadet.

Now it will be a battle around our house trying to keep the 01' man out of the kid's airplane ... oh, well, that's love!!

My favorite story about the Cadet is a chapter in avia­ tion history . This particular flight didn't receive the pub­ licity it warranted, but BELIEVE-YOU-ME, it was historic.

It was February 16,1941 when Dr. Cecil Smith and fel­ low dentist Dr. Joseph Lorenz of Burlingame, California took off from Mills Field, San Francisco, California in a Continental 75 powered Culver Cadet called the "Twerp" headed for a tour of Central and South America . Dr. Smith had owned 6 different light planes before buying the Cadet.

He bought the "Twerp" for this trip because of its per­ formance and range. The only optional equipment bought with the airplane was the 15 gallon aux tank which gave them a cruise range of 1051 miles. A Kollsman sensitive altimeter, rate of climb and a turn and bank indicator.

Their cargo consisted of 12 pounds of maps and papers, emergency tools, tire pump, tie down ropes, flotation

14

gear, machette, gun and ammunition, two gallons of water, 15 pounds of beef jerky, plus personal luggage consisting of toilet articles, socks, underwear and cameras ... yes!! all that went into the Cadet! Oh yes! I almost forgot ­ both Dr. Smith and Dr. Lorenz wore glasses so a spare pair of each was also carried.

Now get out your world atlas and ruler and follow this little jewel. The first stop out of Frisco was San Diego for their clearance. The "Twerp" was cleared the same as a steamship - Port Bill of Health, Cargo Manifest, etc. The passenger list was eliminated by signing Dr. Lorenz on as a crew member. The next stop, Hermosillo, Mexico, where they spent the night.

Next morning it was on to Mazatlan. They covered that leg of 590 miles on 17 gallons of gas. Guadalajara was made by nightfall. They spent 2 /da ys each in Mexico City, Guatemala City and Managua, Nicaragua and then flew on to David, Panama. The next morning after land­ ing there, they phoned (at 7:00 A.M.) for permission to en­ ter the Panama Canal Zone. They received instructions on how to enter the Zone and were given a very explicit route to fly into France Field.

It was good that they flew as instructed as they were met at the channel by interceptors and were guided into France Field, landing at 9:30 A.M. There they were checked thoroughly and were granted permission to fly without cameras over any part of the Zone. They left Panama at 2:00 P.M. and landed at Turbo, Columbia at 4:30 P.M. At Turbo they landed at an emergency field washed by the spray of the Gulf of Uraba and protected from high tides by a dike. The only building was a mission where they spent the night as guests of the Catholic Fathers. Supper that night consisted of two cans of sausages, crackers and beer. They did not get much sleep because half the night was spent checking the tie-downs on the "Twerp" as a raging storm was in progress.

The rain belt extends the length of the continent and the doctor's concern now was to get to Cali, Columbia, over 300 miles of the worst jungle in South America where there was, at least, a hangar for the "Twerp". With no weather report from Cali they took off at 10:00 A.M. the next morning, following the Atrato River until it disap­ peared below the cloud layer they were forced to overfly to clear the fast rising Andes ahead of them. After 5 hours they broke out and followed a railroad to a narrow notch in the Andes to Cali.

The next leg was to Quito, Ecuador. When the "Twerp" left Cali, the pilots had been warned not to land outside of military fields. To enforce the warning, the Cadet was escorted to the border.

At Quito the airport was fogged in, so they flew on ...

IFR, VFR, IFR, VFR . . . with compass and altimeter as their only means of successfully threading their way through narrow canyons in a blinding rain. They pushed on for 500 miles and landed at Guayaquil where the "Twerp" took on 18 gallons of gas - not bad gas mileage for 500 miles.

It was still raining and it appeared that another big storm would hit Guayaquil's airport, so the Cadet roared off for Talara, Peru where they spent the night. On Feb~u­ ary 27 the dentists took off for Lima. This leg was covered in 51/2 hours; then it was on to Arica, Chile, a 690 mile leg flown in 5 hours and 45 minutes. After 11 % hours of Cul­ ver time that day, a night's rest and some sight seeing were well earned.

The next day, however, Smith and Lorenz headed southward again, down the Pacific Coast of Chile to Anto­ fagasta . . . where they encountered their first mainte­ nance problem, an oil leak. They spent two hours trying

N C 2

o

9 2

(Courtesy Nick Rezich)

Nick and a friend indulging in a little clowning for the photographer. The insignia is that of the Illinois State Militia. Nick once flew missions for the Militia into flood ravaged downstate Illinois, landing on roads to deliver blood to hospitals.

to locate the source of the leak, but failed to find it. They tightened everything in sight and took off for Vallenar, site of a Pan American emergency strip, where they spent the night.

The following morning saw further attempts to stop the oil leak and a take-off for Santiago. There, Pan American mechanics washed down the engine and found the leak ­ it was coming from a crack in the oil radiator. The mechanics soldered the crack and by noon the next day the Cadet was off for Mendoza, Argentina .

This short leg of only about 150 miles between San­ tiago and Mendoza would be the ultimate test of the Culver's performance for it involved crossing the very backbone of the Andes, past 23,834 feet peak of Aconcagua, tallest mountain in South America, and through Uspallata Pass. This involved the little over-grossed Cadet climbing to 17,000 feet for safe passage through the pass. The Uspal­ lata is probably the windiest and roughest pass in the world - test balloons have recorded winds to 200 mph.

Smith and Lorenz received a weather report from Pan­ Am that the pass was clear but winds up to 50 mph were blowing and were predicted to increase even more. They were advised not to go . The two were anxious to try it, however, so they fired up the "Twerp" and were on their way.

After circling the field to 10,000 feet, they headed the Cadet for the pass . The ride through was one Smith and Lorenz will never forget. It was slam! bam! all the way, but they made it. The Culver Cadet was one of the first produc­ tion light planes to cross the Andes and undoubtedly the first ever to make the crossing in a "touring" configuration, that is, with a full load of gasoline, baggage and both seats occupied. When they landed at Mendoza, the Cadet was awarded a free hangar for the night in recognition by the local people of the awesomeness of their feat.

At noon on March 4, the Cadet zipped acrosss the Rio de la Plata headed for Porto Alegre, Brazil. After 5 hours of bucking 60 mph headwinds, however, they landed at the Air France field at Pelotas, Brazil for the night. The next

morning they were off for Porto Alegre where they filled up on gas and water and went on to Rio . There, they again had the oil radiator soldered and, as an added precaution, wired the U .S.A. for a new one to be air expressed to Para, Brazil.

Leaving Rio, they headed into the state of Bahia. Rio had wired ahead for a supply of gas and at their next stop, a tanker with 350 gallons of gas was waiting. When they ordered 30 gallons, the attendant refused saying the gas was for a Pan Am airliner. Smith and Lorenz tried to ex­ plain that the fuel was for the "Twerp" but all the guy would do was shout, "Pan American! Pan American!" No one ever heard of a light plane being able to fly from Rio into Bahia and only needing 30 gallons of gas!

By now the oil radiator had recilly developed a super bad leak - and there were no facilities to fix it. The flying dentis ts took off anyway, oil leak and all. Two hours out over Pernambuco state at 6500 feet - over the jungle - the engine started to go . Twenty minutes later it froze . The ocean was too distant, so the doctor headed for the jungle and its head hunters. Frantically looking for a clearing, they spotted a sand bar in the distance that looked promising and headed for it, wheels up for max glide. As they ap­ proached the clearing, it looked like they could put it in wheels down - so they tried it.

The Cadet sailed over the edge of the dearing by a mere 35 feet and settled in on the sand. The wheels dug a 4 inch trench for about 50 feet before the left strut broke and the left wing dug into the sand bringing the bird to an instant halt.

Smith and Lorenz sat for a few minutes dazed but un­ hurt. Finally, Dr. Lorenz said, "I believe we have arrived".

When they climbed out, natives appeared from everywhere - no, not head hunters, but friendly natives . Next came the sign language which eventually resulted in the doc­ tors spending the next several days on horseback and nights in native huts until they reached Barreiriwha, where a char­ tered plane flew them back to civilization.

Today a monument of wood and fabric lays on a sand

15

bar in South Am erica - a tribute to a great airplane, the Culver Cad et.

Up to the point o f the forced landing th e doctors had covered some 12,000 miles, averaging 30 miles to a gallon and at a total fl ying cost of $300.00!

HEY! PIPER, BEECH, CESSNA-CA N YOU TOP THAT O N 75 HORSEPOWER?? PROGRESS? BAH!!

Al Mooney . .. genius!!

How about you Culver owners in the Bay area trying to see if these two fin e pilots are still around and invite them to the next Culver Club get together. I p romise two most interesting speakers. In fact, I'd like to see som e sort o f recognition for these two men ... maybe in the form of a plaque. I would be willing to throw in 20 bucks toward it 足 how about it, Culver O wn ers?

Remember, there are th ose that have and those that haven 't . . . yet!

- Big Nick (Editor's Note: If Big Nick has any of you Culver enthusi足 asts stirred up as a result of his article, you might want to join the Culver Club. Write : International Culver Cadet Club, c/o Vic Schroeder, P. O. Box 22125, Dallas, Texas 75222 for further information.)

(Courtesy Nick Rezich)

Big Nick poses in front of his Culver and a friend does likewise with his Monocoupe 90A in the back足 ground. All the photos are from the 1940-44 era .

(Pho to Courtesy Nick Rezich)

Big Nick, left, and Larry Low, present owner of Nick's old Culver Cadet. Larry has done a super restoration on the bird. The registration number is now N-281W rather than NC-20926 as when new.

(Courtesy Ni ck Rezich)

Right - Chud Hanell, a race driver who worked at How足 ard Aircraft, and Big Nick in his Culver.

16

(Photo by Gar Williams)

Left - Mel Hef/inger of Redondo Beach, California restored this beautiful Harlow and has won a room­ ful of trophies with it in the past couple of years.

(Photo by Gar Williams)

Above - Watsonville 's Grand Champion award for 1974 went to Jim Ricklefs of San Carlos, California for this beautifully restored S.P.A.D. VII.

(Photo by Gar Williams)

Ben Con aster of Huntington Beach , California gets some wing walking assistance to the runway for his Fokker Dr. I Triplane.

EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT, ANTIQUERS!

By Gar Williams

9 S 135 Aero Dr. Rt. 1

Naperville, Illinois 60540

Watsonville - How can one convey the excitement, describe the setting, detail the airplanes, or give full jus­ tice to the hospitality without overusing adjectives like FANTASTIC! Watsonville - Undoubtedly known to those who enjoy apples for the product of its many orchards is also known by those of us who fancy old airplanes as one of THE f1y­ ins . This year the annual Watsonville gathering, spon­ sored by the Northern California Chapter of the Antique Airplane Association and the Watsonville Chamber of Commerce, enjoyed clear, cool weather and an accumu­ lation of Antique, Classic and Custom aircraft that rivals even Oshkosh both in quantity and quality. The coverage here will specifically be for the Antiques and Classics with the hope that we will see the Customs reported on in SPORT AVIATION. The history of the Watsonville Fly-In goes back some ten years to a point where members of the Northern Cali­ fornia Chapter of the Antique Airplane Association were interested in developing a local fly-in. This small start

grew slowly until the decision was reached for several chapters of "Antiquers" to band together to support the gathering - the "National West Coast" fly-in. The rest of the story is history - steady growth with an excellent example of teamwork between the sponsors and the con­ tinuing efforts of many individuals. For those of us who attended the show for the first time this teamwork as well as individual effort was readily apparent. Registration, parking, policing, contests - all very smoothly done.

The fly-in officially opened at noon Friday, May 17, with a good number of aircraft - Antiques, Classics and Cus­ toms already in attendance. Actually, Airmas ter Airlines had arrived late the previous day and we were quite sur­ prised at the turnout that early. Travel Airs, Stearmans, Luscombes, Ryans - quantity and quality already had ex­ ceeded the turnout of what could be considered a typical three day show. Opening day saw the expected influx of more ships. This year the weatherman came through with continuous severe clear although the winds off the bay nearly made whitecaps on the asphalt runway at times .

17

(Photo by Gar Williams)

The Ryan line at Watsonville. You can see more Ryans here than at the national events. Those Californians are guilty of a clear case of hoarding!

In spite of the winds, the fly-bys continued and only one case of a scraped wingtip was reported.

Friday evening after all the activity on the flightline quieted down, the Civil Air Patrol removed their "police" bonnets and donned white chefs hats for a CAP Hangar Feed in the Armory - a short walk from the flightline.

This little walk was rewarded with an inexpensive chicken dinner sprinkled with the fellowship of the many an­ tiquers in attendance . Following the dinner the exodus was directed to the Hotel Resetar and the "Early Birds" drink­ fest.

Activity along the flightline started shortly after sun­ rise the following morning with the takeoff and fly-bys of Champs, Taylorcrafts and less quiet ships like a Mustang and a Hellcat. The early morning air was perfect for for­ mation flying, low passes down the runway as well as trips along the beaches of Monterey Bay. Clear cool air was the order of the day. Fly-bys - air show - fly-bys­ what a miserable way to spend a weekend!

The Saturday night awards banquet was a real bust. The usual happy hour began at 6 P.M. at the County Fair­ grounds. Again the well organized approach was readily apparent with a neat pattern of tables, decorations con­ sisting of helium filled balloons with small gondolas simu­ lating the popular hot air balloons and other table decora­ tions in the motif of antique airplanes . The Armory was quickly filled, the happy hour refreshments downed and the buffet lines began for a delicious meal. Soon the awards time came and members of both the Northern California

Antique group and EAA Chapter 62 began the presenta­ tion of the many plaques and trophies . Somewhere along the way our attention was drawn to the main entrance ­ in bounded three people clad ever so neatly in helmets, goggles and . .. NOTHING ELSE! In true California tra­ dition Watsonville '74 was streaked by three beautiful young women! Eat your hearts out, Antiquers.

Once the insuing riot quieted down, the awards con­ tinued with additional presentations being made by Paul Poberezny from EAA Headquarters and Doug Rounds representing the National AAA organization. The culmina­ tion of the awards program was the presentaton of the Grand Champion Trophy to Jim Ricklefs for his beautiful restoration of an original SPAD. Sunday again dawned clear and cool and by 7 A.M. the dew-drenched benches at the "Lumberjack" break­ fast in Corralitos were being dried by the britches of many hungry people . Set in the redwoods several miles north of the airport, the breakfast site alone was worth a long trip to visi t.

As with many weekend fly-ins, the Customs and An­ tiques started to depart early during the day, many not staying for the fly-bys and air show. It was with great reluctance and a tear in the eye that Bob Zilinsky and I cranked up and headed south towards San Diego, start­ ing the 2200 mile trip home. Truly this was one fine week­ end with many new friends left behind.

For you who missed it - eat your heart out - and don't miss it next year!

MAJOR AWARDS -

WATSONVILLE '74

GRAND CHAMPION - SPAD VII, N-1916S, James Ricklefs, San Carlos, California.

MAYOR'S AWARD - Stearman C3R, NC-8828, Jack Greiner, Boulder, Colorado .

BEST HOMEBUILT - Starduster Too N-5464 Chuck Tyler, Long Beach, California. , ., NATIONAL AAA AWARDS - Fox Moth DH-83, ZK­ ASP, Myles Robertson, Takapuna, New Zealand; New Standard, N-155M, George Dray, Novato, California; Harlow PJC-2, N-18978, Mel Heflinger, Redondo Beach, California; Cessna Airmaster, N-25485, Gar Williams, Naperville, Illinois; Stearman N2S-2, N-68324, Gary and Terry Woy, San Jose, California; Porterfield, N-17029, John Innes, Studio City, California.

(Photo by Gar Williams)

This fine example of the ever popular Waco RNF is owned by Sam Haley of Union City, California.

NATIONAL EAA AWARDSBest Custom Built - Starduster Too, N-5464, Chuck Tyler, Long Beach, California.

Best Antique - SPAD VII, N-1916S, James Ricklefs, San Carlos, California.

Best Classic - Spartan Executive, N-17605, Don Dickenson, Santa Paula, California.

NATIONAL STINSON CLUB CHOICE - Stinson SR-8, NC-16190, Ernest Fillmore, Los Gatos, California.

NATIONAL WACO CLUB CHOICE - Waco VKS-7 ' N-31656, Dale Miller, S. Pasadena, California.

STEARMAN RESTORERS ASSN . (BILL ADAMS ME­ MORIAL TROPHY): Vaughn & Jean Lamb.

Books for Buffs

from HISTORIC AVIATION

o Amphibian

The Story of The

Loening Biplane

by

Grover Loening

Complete history of the " flying

shoehorns." Photos so good,

text so detailed and the book a

work of art. You 'll have to have it

for your library. 10" x 10", 250

photos.

o Water Flying ­

by Franklin T. Kurt

~

(Photo by Robert F. Zilinsky)

Irv Perlitch 's Ford Tri-Motor.

'If you own a float plane or are just interested in water flying you will want this book. It's the first Z all-inclusive book about flying boats, float planes, and amphibians. Covers operating techniques

and history of seaplanes. It is masteriully written

by a former Grumman engineer from a lifetime of

testing , designing and instructing in water craft.

100 photos, 15 draWings. $8.95

III

o

The Ford Air Tours 1925-1931

by Leslie Forden ~ A complete story in text and III photos of the seven cross­ Z country " Reliability Tours" Pro­ fusely illustrated, incorporating

much collateral material and an

interesting " whatever hap­

pened to ... ?" section in the

back relating capsule histories

of Tour participants. A must for the enthusiasts reference lib­ $11.00 rary. 8V2X 11 .

They Call Me Mr. Airshow

by Bill Sweet THEY CAll ME More than an autobiography of '- MflARSHOW Mr. Sweet, this book is a lively account of Bill Sweet's associa­ tion with the greats of the air show circuit from the 20's on.

The book is exciting, informa­ tive and in places riotously humorous. Once you start read­ ing you won't be able to put it

down.

$9.95 Cessna Guidebook Mitch Mayborn and Bob Pickett Complete like predecessor Stearman Guidebook .

Contains photos of every single engine model built through the Airmaster series and WW I I Bobcat, three view drawings of the most signific­ ant versions, reprints of old advertising and com­ plete serial listings for military Bobcats. Anyone who has ever flown or admired Cessna will want $6.95 this one .

U.S. Civil Aircraft

,

by Joseph Juptner

I ..

The antiquers bible . Ency­ clopedia of ATC planes giving a . ~ complete description, history, production data, periormance, specifications with excellent photo coverage. Coloriul narra­ tives are woven throughout tell­ ing of successes , failures and little-known anecdotes. Each vo'lume covers 100 ATC 's.

300 + photos & 300 pages. o Vol. 1, ATC #1 thru #100, 1927-29... $9.95 o Vol. II, ATC #101 thru #200, 1929 ... $9.95 o Vol. III,ATC #201 lhru #300, 1929-30 $9.95 o Vol. IV, ATC #301 thru #400, 1930-31 $9.95 o Vol. V, ATC #401 thru #500 1931-33 $9.95 o Vol. VI. ATC #501 thru #600 1933-35 $11.95

Vol. #6 covers sucn golden age classics as

~ the DC-2, Ryan ST, Luscome Phantom, Taylor ~ "Silver Club" and some of the great Stin­ sons, Fairchilds and Waco models, and more.

o

(Photo by Robert F. Zilinsky)

If a Ryan has to be modified . .. then let it look like this!

o

---

a> ..... o E .....

o N

c

o

tf2.

LO .--t ~

o o

..D

c

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tf2. o .--t

X -----'

(Photo by Robert F. Zilinsky)

Ted Holman's American Eagle.

(Photo by Robert F. Zilinsky)

. What is happening here???

.....

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« « w

HISTORICAVIATION prints and books for the collector

3850-8 Coronation Rd . Eagan. Minn. 55122

Enc. $ (Minn . res. add 4 % tax)

Name ____________________________

Address __________________________ City ___________________________ State ____________ llp __________ Postpaid 14 day Money ·back Guarantee 75¢ Handling on Orders Under $10.00

:t:I:

« « w

Mail in plain brown wrapper 19

IN RETROSPECT

OLD LADY WIND-IN-THE-FACE

By Lee S. Thomas

P. O. Box 1166

Pittsburg, Pennsylvania 15230

So she went to Ohio to learn to fly. The Depression was just barely started. Barr Peat had a little airport called Issouden, in honor of the Lafayette Esquadrille (but the French wouldn't recognize the pronunciation). She soloed in a little over five hours, like it was in those days. Al Litzenberger (you recognize these old names) taught her in a Bird (smaller than a Laird, but a honey of a plane to fly). Melba Beard has a nest of Birds, even today, out in Arizona, I hear.

Why do people do these things? Cliff Ball's pilot used to drop her mail over the field - it was only a little detour, between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Maybe that tells you something. Never heard of Clifford Ball, Inc.? Where you been? Ever hear of Capital? Ever hear of United?

Besides, maybe the pilot was lost, and just happened to have her mail on his lap . ("You don't need a map to get to Cleveland !") Radio? Instruments? You kidding? Every­ body got lost. You had to cut the engine to hear what the other guy was shouting about. ("What's Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning doing in downtown Akron?")

She flew Wacos, too, and Aeronca C-3s. They built a Standard at Bettis Field (shopping center? housing devel­ opment?) , to fly Cliff's mail route, and she flew the Stand­ ard. It was sort of like a Standard Mailwing, but the wing was different. A mite unstable, some said.

Must of been in the light of hindsight. The whole world,

20

and life, and aviation, were unstable, at Bettis, in those days. Ask Karl Voelter. Ask Kenny Sholter. (He first found his way to Bettis age about 12. As it turned out later, he could fly anything.)

Her own love was her Monocoupe. I hear it's still fly­ ing, over in Ohio somewhere, and that's 35 years later, or more. (It has a new paint job, though.) She took it down to Uniontown (there isn't any airfield at Uniontown, now), to tell the Rotary about the new self-starter. Everybody went out to the field, to marvel. Wouldn't start. Had to be hand-propped.

She took it over to Greensburg (there isn't any airfield at Greensburg, now), to pick up a passenger. Turned out to weigh about 220. There used to be a ditch at Greens­ burg. A good thing to avoid, what with the passenger's weight pulling the plane around, and the baby. The baby?

The baby was not only on the way, she was almost there.

(The doctor told her she could keep flying as long as she felt like it.) Of course, she avoided the ditch .

And you can feel sorry for these tricycle, kiddie-car types, with their radios and instruments and runways, and innocence of forced landings. What she knew they'll never know. What she felt they'll never feel. Well, a lot of these older types, ladies or gentlemen, ask you to sit on this side, or that side, of them. One ear bad, it seems.

Don't feel sorry for them .

"

(Oshkosh Daily Northwestern Photo)

" ASFTRSOA8P" (Translated: "AS SEEN FROM THE REAR SEAT OF A BIPLANE")

By AI Kelch

7018 W. Bonniewell Rd.

Mequon , Wisconsin 53092

To Weldon Ropp, everyday is a holiday since he has retired from 27 years of flying for National Airlines. He flies that little 16E Travel Air and has the kind of fun we all dream of (a long trip in a bipe with no time schedule and no flight plan, ala gypsy). His home base is an antique airdrome in Delray Beach, Florida. There he has his home and hangar on a mile long grass strip, along with several other airplane buffs . There is no need for anyone of these guys to ever go to Heaven - they're already there .

Willie, as m ost everyone calls him, decided to take that long trip this spring. He built a false floor for the front cockpit and proceeded to pil e it full of almost everything he owns - two suitcases of clothes, two boxes of spare parts, such as piston rings, exhaust valves, exhaust guides, intake valve and guides, rocker arms, gaskets, pliers , 1 gallon of grease, a grease gun, several gallons of Ma rvel Mystery Oil, plus a battery charger and tools enough to do a major overhaul. With all that, and 27 gallons of gas, the old Travel Air lifted from his home strip and headed north.

The following is Willie's personal log of the trip.

AN ANTIQUER'S FLIGHT LOG Thursday, May 23, 1974

Depart

Arrive

Delray Beach· 8:15 a.m.

Lake Wales· 9:55 a.m .

Ocala· 11 :55 a.m.

Perry· 2 :00 p.m.

Ozark - 4:40 p .m.

Lake Wales· 9:45 a.m.

Ocala· 11 :00 a.m.

Perry , Fla.. 1 :15 a.m.

Ozark , Ala . - 3:55 p .m .

Clanton , Ala. - 6 :00 p .m.

Flying Time 1:30 1:05 1 :20 1 :55 1:30

Fuel

Oil

O· 14.4 11.0 1 qt.

12.0 1 qt.

19.0 1 ql.

15.0 1 qt.

Notes : Overnight at Holiday Inn. A good stop. Airport Manager took me to the motel - an old timer, OX-5 man.

Friday, May 24, 1974 Clanton - 8 :45 a.m.

Starkville, Miss . -10 :20 a.m.

1 :35 15.7 1 ql.

Notes : Starkville has a grass field started many years ago. The son showed me pictures o f his dad 's Great Lakes with a Cirrus engine that he bought plus an Aeronca C-3. The ' Lakes , N-308Y, is still flying. Said they lost track of it after it left Florida .

Starkville - 10:55 a.m .

Grenada - 11 :45 a.m. :55 0­ 8.7 Grenada - 12 :10 p .m .

Clarksdale, Miss. ­ 12:55 p.m. :45 8.7 0­ Notes: Went to Clarksville to help Chapter 27 (Memphis) with their lAC Contesl.

Contest May 25 and 26. Sunday 's contest day ca l led off due to rain and low ceilings. I spend day pulling push rods out and greasing them - a five hour job alone , but with plenty of help we did it in two hours plus pull the cowling to see that all the screws and bolts are still in place , Monday, May 27, 1974 Clarksdale - 10:05 a.m.

Hayti - 12:50 p .m .

Sparta - 3 :00 p .m.

Notes : RON at Holiday Inn -

Hayti , Mo. - 11 :45 a.m.

Sparta , III. - 2:20 p .m .

Lincoln, III. - 4:30 p .m. good place to stop

1:40 1:30 1 :30

16.0 1 ql.

15.2 1 ql.

15.0 0­

Tuesday, May 28, 1974 Lincoln - 8 :22 a.m.

Lincoln - 8 :52 a.m . :30 0­ 4.5 Notes : Ceiling too low to even follow roads!

Lincoln - 12 :30 p .m .

DeKalb , III. - 1:45 p .m.

1:15 12.0 1 qt .

DeKalb - 2:10 p.m.

Bill Dodd 's - 2:40 p.m. :30 Notes: Airplane placed in Bill Dodd 's hangar. Spend May 29 with my son from Wonder Lake , III. - about 20 miles from Dodds. Son flies for United.

Thursday, May 30, 1974 Bill Dodd ' s - 10:30 a .m.

Burlington , Wi s. -11 :OOa.m. :30 Burlington - 11 :30 a.m.

Hales Corners - 12:00 :30 14.0 0­ Notes: Was shown th e red carpet here. Bill Hodges happened to see me fly over the EAA Museum and alerted Mike Heuer and Gene Chase who crossed paths with me as the airport manager drove me to the Museum . Bill showed me the Museum , the work shop and the warehouses. One cannot believe they build airplanes in a work shop so clean. One should have a whole day to spend at the EAA Museum - there is so much to see and read. This is a must for everyone.

Hales Corners - 2:15 p.m.

AI Kelch 's - 2:40 p .m. :25 Friday, June 1, 1974 Notes : With AI Kelch to Waukesha to see Dale Crites and his Curtiss Pusher and the Waco restoration . Had a ride in the 1924 Chevy touring car. Back to AI' s.

T ook off for Oshkosh so as to be able to say I put the old Travel Air on the runway there . This was th e second tim e that I used the radio since leaving

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(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Willie Ropp at Oshkosh - taking a couple of lucky friends up for a joy ride.

(Photo by AI Kelch)

Willie Ropp of Delray Beach, Florida.

Florida. The other time was at Clarksdale. EAA had a work crew painting . plant足 ing flowers. etc . Back to AI 's.

Saturday, June 2, 1974

Notes: To West Bend to put the Travel Air in the hangar with AI 's Franklin Sport.

Flew the Travel Air 22 hours and 20 minutes . . . never missed a beat!

On a Thursday afternoon I got a call at my office. He had found my home strip, landed and hitch-hiked to town .

He was having a late lunch when I caught up with him, and Willie was wearing that silly smile that is typical of all aircraft drivers and is seen often on pilots immediately after solo flights, for pictures with their newly restored aircraft and other achievements . I spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying his trip second hand . Friday and the rest of the weekend was a visiting fireman type of affair.

We flew over to visit Dale Crites at Waukesha Airport to see his newly built Curtiss Pusher, which many of you later saw at Oshkosh, and we also saw Dean Crites' in process Waco Straight Wing and got in on the run up of that wonderful J5 engine - a sound to delight the soul and fill the nostrils with perfume (carbon monoxide to other than airplane buffs).

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Saturday afternoon had been scheduled for a visit to Oshkosh. At the last minute I couldn't go, so Willie went alone. He was much impressed with the activity and the enthusiasm of the volunteer help and came back raving about the organizational ability of the whole staff at EAA. Sunday was filled with visits to local airports and pri足 vate strips, plus a few rides to the onlookers.

Monday, after an all too short visit, I saw Willie off to Florida via commercial. He left his Travel Air in my hands and returned several times this summer to continue his mean de rings and visit the local fly-ins . His agenda has in足 cluded attendance at La Rue, Oshkosh and Blakesburg.

Then he will no doubt meander south again with the birds, visiting along the way, causing me to turn green, when everything else is turning brown. Just being able to share Willie's experience second hand, gives me a thrill and something to remember during next winter's long no-fly spell. Shared experiences with others is a good part of the glue that holds our organization together and makes it such an exciting one. The adventure that rubs off at one Oshkosh Fly-In is probably more than the average civilian type can stand in a year. Look Willie up at the next fly-in - he is a fun type "O.F." (Old Flier).

Around The Antique/Classic World

NORTHROP BETA INFO In the May issue of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE we featured the rare Northrop Beta as our Golden Oldie of the Month. At the end of the article we requested some assistance from our readers in determining w hat ulti­ mately happened to the two Betas. Member John C. Barbery, P. O. Box 108, Bedminster, New Jersey 07921 has provided us with copies of his Aircraft Research Data cards on X-963Y and NC-12214.

According to Mr. Barbery's records, the C-6 Menasco Buccaneer powered Beta was inspected and approved by the CAA on March 31, 1931 for experimenta l license X-963Y, issued to expire on October 1, 1931. The entry en titl ed "Fi nal Disposi tion" sim pI y states, "Washed out at Los Angeles, California on August 12, 1931." The only listed owner for the aircraft was the factory, North­ rop Aircraft Corporation of Burbank.

The Wasp Jr. powered Beta, NC-12214, lasted a little longer. It was initially licensed by the CAA on Septem­ ber 1, 1931, wi th experimental number X-12214 to expire on March 1, 1932 . A footnote states that Don Berlin was th e chief engineer for this d esig n and that Stearman Air­ craft Corpora tion ran th e development a nd flight tests on the plane. The Beta was sold o n February 8, 1932 to

Kenyon Boocock with the NC lice nse (approval under 2­ 401). At this point 12214 had a total time of 40 hours. Anoth ­ er footnote sta tes tha t the Wasp Beta bore an incorrect serial number 1 on its nameplate until May of 1932 when Stearman provided Boocock a new nameplate with the correct serial number 2.

12214 was damaged in an accident at Hicksville, Long Island on Jan uary 16, 1933 arid was put in storage. On January 16, 1933 it was sold to George W. Hard of West Sayv ill e, Long Island. A t some point in late 1933 or early 1934 (no date known) the plane was purchased by S tearman in Wichita, who rebuilt the Beta for experi­ menting with various flap configurations (conventional, zap, Fowler and Wright types), completing it on May 1, 1934. On May 3, 1934 title was transferred to United Air­ ports, East Hartford, Conn ecticu t (apparently for regis­ tration purposes only) and two days later, on May 5, the aircraft was completely destroyed in an accident at Wichita.

So there you are, antiquers ... it would appear that all h ope is lost of finding a restorable Beta in someone's barn.

Our thanks to John Barbery for making this informa­ tion availabl e.

- Jack Cox, Editor

ClASSIFIEDS

WANTE D - Two wire wheels for 30x5 tires ; Siemens Halske SH III 160 h.p. geared rotary engine . Roy Rehm . Box 4832. Stateline .

Nevada 89449.

FOR SALE - Aeronca TAC. civil version of the Defender. 70% restored . original aircraft of Aeronca Employees Flying Club. Lynwood Clark. 8200 Meyers Road. Middleton. Ohio. 422-3417.

Calendar Of Events OCTOBER 11-13 - TAHLEQUAH . OKLAHOMA - 16th Annual Fly-In spOrisored by Tulsa Chapters of AAA . EAA and lAC. Homebuilts.

Antiques and Classics welcome. Contact : Bert Mahon, 3101 South Boston Ct. . Tulsa. Oklahoma 74135.

Back Issues Of The Vintage Airplane Limited numbers of back issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE are available at .SOc each. Copies still on hand at EAA Headquarters are: 1973 - MARCH, APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 1974 - JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JULY, AUGUST

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