STRAIGHT amp LEVEU Espie Butch Joyce

2 AlC NEWS

3 AEROMAIL

4 PASS IT TO BUCK EE Buck Hilbert

5 THIRTY FIVE YEARS AT THE OUTER MARKERDutch Redfield

8 MTO 99Jerry Cox

10 FUEL VALVES - CARE amp FEEDING CyGalley

11 TYPE CLUB NOTESFreddie Ludtke

13 THE BIGGEST LITTLE FLY-IN IN THE WEST Holly Palmer

16 BACK FROM THE ASHESBudd Davisson

21 MORE VINTAGE EAA AIRVENTURE

22 MYSTERY PLANEHG Frautschy

24 WELCOME NEW MEMBERS CLASSIFIED ADS

30 VINTAGE MERCHANDISE

Publisher TOM POBEREZNY

Editor-in-Chief scon SPANGLER

Editor HENRY G FRAUTSCHY

Executive Editor MIKE DIFRISCO

Contributing Editor JOHN UNDERWOOD

Graphic Design Specialist BETH BLANCK

Photography Staff JIM KOEPNICK LEEANN ABRAMS MARK SCHAIBLE

AdvertisinglEditorial Assistant ISABELLE WISKE

bull SEE PAGE 28 FOR FURTHER VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INFORMATION

ST EL by ESPIE BUTCH JOYCE

PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Doug McConnell is my counterpart at our sister organization the International Aerobatic Club Recently Doug wrote to his members regarding the mutually beneficial relationship we share with EAA He did it so well Id like to share his many of his comshyments with you

All VAAers are also members of the EAA Thjs has been autoshymatic ever since the VAA became an official division of the EAA at its very inception nearly 30 years ago In fact we can thank Paul Poberezny for helping the VAA get started when Buck Hilbert and others expressed an interest in organizing a special place for parkshying and enjoying vintage airplanes Did you know that Paul was a member of the VAA Did you know he still is Can you guess what his VAA number is Thats right- VAA 1

When you receive your new membership card each year you also receive a listing of the many EAA benefits that are automatishycally yours But there are many other marvelous EAA benefits enjoyed by the VAA which are not listed in your renewal mailing and about which members may have little knowledge VAA offishycers and directors are more aware of these since the benefits of EAA services and support have a lot to do with the successful dayshyto-day management ofour large and complex organization

An active V AA friend recently asked me to explain how our affiliation with the EAA helps the VAA and what if any cost is involved

Dealing with the cost first EAA membership includes the world-class Sport Aviation magazine which takes careful measure to include lots ofexciting information about VAA activities and reshylated subjects They reach 180000+ farilllies and friends many of whom are then drawn to VAA membership (EAA is the single largest source for new VAA members) The balance of your EAA dues goes toward the many services and headquarters office supshyports given to VAA free of charge Beyond that a portion of V AA membership dues are directed to EAA for various specific manshyagement services

The following is a partial list of EAA support services and benshyefits 1) Financial accounting services including monthly statements cash management investment fund management purshychasing controls receivables management audjting IRS reporting and related 2) Membershjp services including renewal notificashytions and administration benefit package mailing handling of dues special programs management chapter development and insurance programs 3) Merchandising assistance including mershychandise vendor selection warehousing inventory control mail-order fulfillment mailing and sales accounting 4) Vintage Airplane editorial support plus layout and design services inshycluding graphic arts and production 5) Human Resources services including recruiting interviewing contracting payroll

management benefits packaging staff training and professional development staff supervision division coordination executive office space administrative office space office furniture office equipment and utilities 6) Membership promotion brochure deshyvelopment website tie-ins advertising and direct mail programs 7) US government liaison and lobbying including FAA NTSB NASA congress and other agencies 8) EAA AirVenture conshyvention support and privileges including headquarters meeting space aircraft display area member parking staff carscarts foshyrum schedules special events privileges and accounting 9) Exciting museum displays for vintage aircraft including Pioneer Airport and Hall of Fame displays including production of bioshygraphical summaries for presentation during induction ceremonies which are also managed by EAA 10) Sponsor deshyvelopment and revenue sharing (such as the recent very beneficial long-term Ford Motor Company program) 11) Speshycial technical support projects such as logo redesign 12) Board of Directors support with EAA representation on VAA Board and VAA representation on EAA Board including also special presentations and coordination by EAA presidents staff 13) And other legal marketing administration sponsor relations and related counsel and assistance

In summary V AAs extremely valuable affiliation with EAA is harmoruous and vital for daily operations and long term growth If VAA had to pay for all of the free services and courtesies extended by the EAA andor had to pay the full going rate for the paid sershyvices provided the total cost of enjoying our membership with other vintage airplane enthusiasts would increase dramatically And if V AA were to lose its affiliation with the huge EAA memshybership body our membership recruiting and development would experience an unexpected stallspin event

The good news is that nothing is imposed on VAA by the EAA in exchange for their friendship and support (there is no price to pay other than modest fees for services) In other words they dont attempt to interfere with our programs policies or activities In adshydition the EAA is very careful about extending very high-class professional courtesies as they go about their business The EAA management and staff are helpful welcoming supportive and enshycouraging in every way

The bottom line is that we enjoy a unique family relationship with the EAA with a 30-year history and long term horizon VAAs continuing affiliation with this world-class recreationalsport aviation organization will assure lasting benefits for VAA members and future members for many years to come

My thanks to Doug for so eloquently highlighting the many benefits of being affiliated with EAA Ask a friend to sign up in the VAA - Join us and have it all

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

VAANEWS compiled by HG Frautschy

THE COVERS

FRONT COVER The Spirit of Dynamite is the appellation given to Monocoupe NC 2064 by its first owner R L Pete Brooks because he said it took off like I lit afuze to a rocket The name stuck for the reinshycarnated 110 Special when built up by Freddie Ludtke and by the current reshystorerowner pilot Richard Smith EM photo by Jim Koepnick He shot it on Fuji film using a Canon EOS1 n equipped with an 80 -200 mm zoom lens EAA Cessna 210 photo plane flown by Bruce Moore

BACK COVER Loening Out of Coco Solo is the title of this awardshywinning oil painting by Don DeGasperi of Albuquerque NM Presented with an Excellence ribbon during the 1999 EM Sport Aviation Art Competishytion Dons painting depicts a Loening OL-9 on a southeast heading over Gatun lake and the Panama Canal The marking are of Utility Squadron One (VJ-1 B) operating from Fleet Air Base Coco Solo CZ in the early 1930s

Don has been aconsistent contribshyutor to the Sport Aviation Art Competition and has won a total of nine awards A self-taught aviation artist Don served over 20 years in the US Air Force retiring as a Master Sergeant He was both an engineering draftsman and a technical illustrator during his Air Force years His civilian career were also spent as a technical illustrator with Dow Chemical and then later the Los Alamos National Lab

A private pilot Don enjoys other aviation hobbies including designing and building model airplanes and aershyial photography He is available for commissions and can be reached by writing to him at 975 Antelope NE Albuquerque NM 87122 Email mecart66com Check his web site at httpwwwmemberstripodcom DeGasperi

2 NOVEMBER 1999

FOREIGN MAILING The Vintage Aircraft Association is

truly an international organization with over ten percent of our membership comshying from outside of the United States One of the challenges we have to meet each month is ensuring that our internashytional members receive their magazines in a reasonable amount of time Overseas members have been telling us their magshyazine delivery over the middle portion of 1999 was sporadic Our Canadian and overseas magazine delivery is achieved using a separate company outside of the US Postal Service Since the mailing of the October issue a new company has been responsible for making sure each of those international members received their magazine within seven to twentyshyone days So far the response we ve received has been very positive To our Canadian and overseas members we welcome your comments regarding your magazine delivery in October and Noshyvember If you wish you can Email them to us vintageeaaorg or send it via regshyular mail to Vintage Airplane POBox 3086 Oshkosh Wl54903-3086

MINNESOTA SPORT AVIATION CONFERENCE

Its time again for the Minneapolis Convention Center to host the Minnesota Sport Aviation Conference and Flight Expo 2000

Over five thousand aviation enthusishyasts attended last years Flight Expo They will again be descending on the convention center on the 12th and 13th of February 2000 The Conference will again offer a broad range of seminars attracting everyone from the seasoned enthusiast to the prospective sport avishyator of tomorrow For more information call the Minnesota Dept of Aeronautics at 1-800657-3922 or write to Wayne Petersen wayne petersendotstaternnus

If your state aeronautics department hosts a similar event wed love to help you get the word out they can Email their notice to us here at vintageeaaorg or send it via regular mail to Vintage Airshyplane PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

CASSVILLE FLYING amp REPAIR SERVICE AUCTION

Starman Brothers Auction Service will be conducting an auction in Cassville MO at Timberline Airpark Inshycluded in the items will be a 1948 Indian

Chief motorcycle a 1939 Harley Davidshyson Model 45 and various wood props Also included are a 3 -cylinder Anzani radial engine and a complete OX-5 For more information contact Starman Bros at 402592-1933

GENE COPPOCK Gene Coppock best known for his

restoration of a Stinson Model A trishyMotor winner of the Multi-Engine Transport Class Champion at the 1979 EAA Convention has passed away at the age of 71 Roberta Coppock wrote to tell us that Gene was diagnosed with liver cancer late in the spring and died July 31999 His family history and pershysonal health did not show him predisposed to contracting cancer exshycept in one area something all of us should be paying more attention to - our use of carcinogenic chemicals during the restoration of our aircraft Many of us use compounds known to be detrishymental such as Methyl Ethyl Ketone Acetone and others but give little thought to hand skin and lung protecshytion We should be more careful

Gene retired from United Airlines and he was an active restorer for much of his life completing a Piper J-3 just last March In the past he also restored an Aeronca L low-wing and flew and mainshytained his Beech Baron Genes Stinson Model A is now a part of the Yellowshystone Aviation collection

Our condolences to Roberta and the Coppock family and to Genes many friends

THE WICHITA 4 Bruce Bissonette one of the tireless

men who keeps adding to our knowledge of the early days of aviation has neatly bundled four fellows whose destiny was intertwined into one easy-to-read volshyume Bruce weaves the lives of Clyde Cessna Jacob Moellendick Walter Beech and Lloyd Stearman together as they put Wichita KS on the map as the The Air Capital Sprinkled liberally with photos of the men and the airplanes they produced The Wichita 4 is full of the excitement and challenges met by the companies people and the men who led them up to the years of WW -II To get your copy of the 148-page book you can write to Bruce at 3908 Titanic Av EI Paso TX 79904 The cost is $25 postshypaid You can also order it from EAA by calling 1-800-843-3612 (the EAA order number is FOI714)

ST EL by ESPIE BUTCH JOYCE

PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Doug McConnell is my counterpart at our sister organization the International Aerobatic Club Recently Doug wrote to his members regarding the mutually beneficial relationship we share with EAA He did it so well Id like to share his many of his comshyments with you

All VAAers are also members of the EAA Thjs has been autoshymatic ever since the VAA became an official division of the EAA at its very inception nearly 30 years ago In fact we can thank Paul Poberezny for helping the VAA get started when Buck Hilbert and others expressed an interest in organizing a special place for parkshying and enjoying vintage airplanes Did you know that Paul was a member of the VAA Did you know he still is Can you guess what his VAA number is Thats right- VAA 1

When you receive your new membership card each year you also receive a listing of the many EAA benefits that are automatishycally yours But there are many other marvelous EAA benefits enjoyed by the VAA which are not listed in your renewal mailing and about which members may have little knowledge VAA offishycers and directors are more aware of these since the benefits of EAA services and support have a lot to do with the successful dayshyto-day management ofour large and complex organization

An active V AA friend recently asked me to explain how our affiliation with the EAA helps the VAA and what if any cost is involved

Dealing with the cost first EAA membership includes the world-class Sport Aviation magazine which takes careful measure to include lots ofexciting information about VAA activities and reshylated subjects They reach 180000+ farilllies and friends many of whom are then drawn to VAA membership (EAA is the single largest source for new VAA members) The balance of your EAA dues goes toward the many services and headquarters office supshyports given to VAA free of charge Beyond that a portion of V AA membership dues are directed to EAA for various specific manshyagement services

The following is a partial list of EAA support services and benshyefits 1) Financial accounting services including monthly statements cash management investment fund management purshychasing controls receivables management audjting IRS reporting and related 2) Membershjp services including renewal notificashytions and administration benefit package mailing handling of dues special programs management chapter development and insurance programs 3) Merchandising assistance including mershychandise vendor selection warehousing inventory control mail-order fulfillment mailing and sales accounting 4) Vintage Airplane editorial support plus layout and design services inshycluding graphic arts and production 5) Human Resources services including recruiting interviewing contracting payroll

management benefits packaging staff training and professional development staff supervision division coordination executive office space administrative office space office furniture office equipment and utilities 6) Membership promotion brochure deshyvelopment website tie-ins advertising and direct mail programs 7) US government liaison and lobbying including FAA NTSB NASA congress and other agencies 8) EAA AirVenture conshyvention support and privileges including headquarters meeting space aircraft display area member parking staff carscarts foshyrum schedules special events privileges and accounting 9) Exciting museum displays for vintage aircraft including Pioneer Airport and Hall of Fame displays including production of bioshygraphical summaries for presentation during induction ceremonies which are also managed by EAA 10) Sponsor deshyvelopment and revenue sharing (such as the recent very beneficial long-term Ford Motor Company program) 11) Speshycial technical support projects such as logo redesign 12) Board of Directors support with EAA representation on VAA Board and VAA representation on EAA Board including also special presentations and coordination by EAA presidents staff 13) And other legal marketing administration sponsor relations and related counsel and assistance

In summary V AAs extremely valuable affiliation with EAA is harmoruous and vital for daily operations and long term growth If VAA had to pay for all of the free services and courtesies extended by the EAA andor had to pay the full going rate for the paid sershyvices provided the total cost of enjoying our membership with other vintage airplane enthusiasts would increase dramatically And if V AA were to lose its affiliation with the huge EAA memshybership body our membership recruiting and development would experience an unexpected stallspin event

The good news is that nothing is imposed on VAA by the EAA in exchange for their friendship and support (there is no price to pay other than modest fees for services) In other words they dont attempt to interfere with our programs policies or activities In adshydition the EAA is very careful about extending very high-class professional courtesies as they go about their business The EAA management and staff are helpful welcoming supportive and enshycouraging in every way

The bottom line is that we enjoy a unique family relationship with the EAA with a 30-year history and long term horizon VAAs continuing affiliation with this world-class recreationalsport aviation organization will assure lasting benefits for VAA members and future members for many years to come

My thanks to Doug for so eloquently highlighting the many benefits of being affiliated with EAA Ask a friend to sign up in the VAA - Join us and have it all

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

VAANEWS compiled by HG Frautschy

THE COVERS

FRONT COVER The Spirit of Dynamite is the appellation given to Monocoupe NC 2064 by its first owner R L Pete Brooks because he said it took off like I lit afuze to a rocket The name stuck for the reinshycarnated 110 Special when built up by Freddie Ludtke and by the current reshystorerowner pilot Richard Smith EM photo by Jim Koepnick He shot it on Fuji film using a Canon EOS1 n equipped with an 80 -200 mm zoom lens EAA Cessna 210 photo plane flown by Bruce Moore

BACK COVER Loening Out of Coco Solo is the title of this awardshywinning oil painting by Don DeGasperi of Albuquerque NM Presented with an Excellence ribbon during the 1999 EM Sport Aviation Art Competishytion Dons painting depicts a Loening OL-9 on a southeast heading over Gatun lake and the Panama Canal The marking are of Utility Squadron One (VJ-1 B) operating from Fleet Air Base Coco Solo CZ in the early 1930s

Don has been aconsistent contribshyutor to the Sport Aviation Art Competition and has won a total of nine awards A self-taught aviation artist Don served over 20 years in the US Air Force retiring as a Master Sergeant He was both an engineering draftsman and a technical illustrator during his Air Force years His civilian career were also spent as a technical illustrator with Dow Chemical and then later the Los Alamos National Lab

A private pilot Don enjoys other aviation hobbies including designing and building model airplanes and aershyial photography He is available for commissions and can be reached by writing to him at 975 Antelope NE Albuquerque NM 87122 Email mecart66com Check his web site at httpwwwmemberstripodcom DeGasperi

2 NOVEMBER 1999

FOREIGN MAILING The Vintage Aircraft Association is

truly an international organization with over ten percent of our membership comshying from outside of the United States One of the challenges we have to meet each month is ensuring that our internashytional members receive their magazines in a reasonable amount of time Overseas members have been telling us their magshyazine delivery over the middle portion of 1999 was sporadic Our Canadian and overseas magazine delivery is achieved using a separate company outside of the US Postal Service Since the mailing of the October issue a new company has been responsible for making sure each of those international members received their magazine within seven to twentyshyone days So far the response we ve received has been very positive To our Canadian and overseas members we welcome your comments regarding your magazine delivery in October and Noshyvember If you wish you can Email them to us vintageeaaorg or send it via regshyular mail to Vintage Airplane POBox 3086 Oshkosh Wl54903-3086

MINNESOTA SPORT AVIATION CONFERENCE

Its time again for the Minneapolis Convention Center to host the Minnesota Sport Aviation Conference and Flight Expo 2000

Over five thousand aviation enthusishyasts attended last years Flight Expo They will again be descending on the convention center on the 12th and 13th of February 2000 The Conference will again offer a broad range of seminars attracting everyone from the seasoned enthusiast to the prospective sport avishyator of tomorrow For more information call the Minnesota Dept of Aeronautics at 1-800657-3922 or write to Wayne Petersen wayne petersendotstaternnus

If your state aeronautics department hosts a similar event wed love to help you get the word out they can Email their notice to us here at vintageeaaorg or send it via regular mail to Vintage Airshyplane PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

CASSVILLE FLYING amp REPAIR SERVICE AUCTION

Starman Brothers Auction Service will be conducting an auction in Cassville MO at Timberline Airpark Inshycluded in the items will be a 1948 Indian

Chief motorcycle a 1939 Harley Davidshyson Model 45 and various wood props Also included are a 3 -cylinder Anzani radial engine and a complete OX-5 For more information contact Starman Bros at 402592-1933

GENE COPPOCK Gene Coppock best known for his

restoration of a Stinson Model A trishyMotor winner of the Multi-Engine Transport Class Champion at the 1979 EAA Convention has passed away at the age of 71 Roberta Coppock wrote to tell us that Gene was diagnosed with liver cancer late in the spring and died July 31999 His family history and pershysonal health did not show him predisposed to contracting cancer exshycept in one area something all of us should be paying more attention to - our use of carcinogenic chemicals during the restoration of our aircraft Many of us use compounds known to be detrishymental such as Methyl Ethyl Ketone Acetone and others but give little thought to hand skin and lung protecshytion We should be more careful

Gene retired from United Airlines and he was an active restorer for much of his life completing a Piper J-3 just last March In the past he also restored an Aeronca L low-wing and flew and mainshytained his Beech Baron Genes Stinson Model A is now a part of the Yellowshystone Aviation collection

Our condolences to Roberta and the Coppock family and to Genes many friends

THE WICHITA 4 Bruce Bissonette one of the tireless

men who keeps adding to our knowledge of the early days of aviation has neatly bundled four fellows whose destiny was intertwined into one easy-to-read volshyume Bruce weaves the lives of Clyde Cessna Jacob Moellendick Walter Beech and Lloyd Stearman together as they put Wichita KS on the map as the The Air Capital Sprinkled liberally with photos of the men and the airplanes they produced The Wichita 4 is full of the excitement and challenges met by the companies people and the men who led them up to the years of WW -II To get your copy of the 148-page book you can write to Bruce at 3908 Titanic Av EI Paso TX 79904 The cost is $25 postshypaid You can also order it from EAA by calling 1-800-843-3612 (the EAA order number is FOI714)

VAANEWS compiled by HG Frautschy

THE COVERS

FRONT COVER The Spirit of Dynamite is the appellation given to Monocoupe NC 2064 by its first owner R L Pete Brooks because he said it took off like I lit afuze to a rocket The name stuck for the reinshycarnated 110 Special when built up by Freddie Ludtke and by the current reshystorerowner pilot Richard Smith EM photo by Jim Koepnick He shot it on Fuji film using a Canon EOS1 n equipped with an 80 -200 mm zoom lens EAA Cessna 210 photo plane flown by Bruce Moore

BACK COVER Loening Out of Coco Solo is the title of this awardshywinning oil painting by Don DeGasperi of Albuquerque NM Presented with an Excellence ribbon during the 1999 EM Sport Aviation Art Competishytion Dons painting depicts a Loening OL-9 on a southeast heading over Gatun lake and the Panama Canal The marking are of Utility Squadron One (VJ-1 B) operating from Fleet Air Base Coco Solo CZ in the early 1930s

Don has been aconsistent contribshyutor to the Sport Aviation Art Competition and has won a total of nine awards A self-taught aviation artist Don served over 20 years in the US Air Force retiring as a Master Sergeant He was both an engineering draftsman and a technical illustrator during his Air Force years His civilian career were also spent as a technical illustrator with Dow Chemical and then later the Los Alamos National Lab

A private pilot Don enjoys other aviation hobbies including designing and building model airplanes and aershyial photography He is available for commissions and can be reached by writing to him at 975 Antelope NE Albuquerque NM 87122 Email mecart66com Check his web site at httpwwwmemberstripodcom DeGasperi

2 NOVEMBER 1999

FOREIGN MAILING The Vintage Aircraft Association is

truly an international organization with over ten percent of our membership comshying from outside of the United States One of the challenges we have to meet each month is ensuring that our internashytional members receive their magazines in a reasonable amount of time Overseas members have been telling us their magshyazine delivery over the middle portion of 1999 was sporadic Our Canadian and overseas magazine delivery is achieved using a separate company outside of the US Postal Service Since the mailing of the October issue a new company has been responsible for making sure each of those international members received their magazine within seven to twentyshyone days So far the response we ve received has been very positive To our Canadian and overseas members we welcome your comments regarding your magazine delivery in October and Noshyvember If you wish you can Email them to us vintageeaaorg or send it via regshyular mail to Vintage Airplane POBox 3086 Oshkosh Wl54903-3086

MINNESOTA SPORT AVIATION CONFERENCE

Its time again for the Minneapolis Convention Center to host the Minnesota Sport Aviation Conference and Flight Expo 2000

Over five thousand aviation enthusishyasts attended last years Flight Expo They will again be descending on the convention center on the 12th and 13th of February 2000 The Conference will again offer a broad range of seminars attracting everyone from the seasoned enthusiast to the prospective sport avishyator of tomorrow For more information call the Minnesota Dept of Aeronautics at 1-800657-3922 or write to Wayne Petersen wayne petersendotstaternnus

If your state aeronautics department hosts a similar event wed love to help you get the word out they can Email their notice to us here at vintageeaaorg or send it via regular mail to Vintage Airshyplane PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

CASSVILLE FLYING amp REPAIR SERVICE AUCTION

Starman Brothers Auction Service will be conducting an auction in Cassville MO at Timberline Airpark Inshycluded in the items will be a 1948 Indian

Chief motorcycle a 1939 Harley Davidshyson Model 45 and various wood props Also included are a 3 -cylinder Anzani radial engine and a complete OX-5 For more information contact Starman Bros at 402592-1933

GENE COPPOCK Gene Coppock best known for his

restoration of a Stinson Model A trishyMotor winner of the Multi-Engine Transport Class Champion at the 1979 EAA Convention has passed away at the age of 71 Roberta Coppock wrote to tell us that Gene was diagnosed with liver cancer late in the spring and died July 31999 His family history and pershysonal health did not show him predisposed to contracting cancer exshycept in one area something all of us should be paying more attention to - our use of carcinogenic chemicals during the restoration of our aircraft Many of us use compounds known to be detrishymental such as Methyl Ethyl Ketone Acetone and others but give little thought to hand skin and lung protecshytion We should be more careful

Gene retired from United Airlines and he was an active restorer for much of his life completing a Piper J-3 just last March In the past he also restored an Aeronca L low-wing and flew and mainshytained his Beech Baron Genes Stinson Model A is now a part of the Yellowshystone Aviation collection

Our condolences to Roberta and the Coppock family and to Genes many friends

THE WICHITA 4 Bruce Bissonette one of the tireless

men who keeps adding to our knowledge of the early days of aviation has neatly bundled four fellows whose destiny was intertwined into one easy-to-read volshyume Bruce weaves the lives of Clyde Cessna Jacob Moellendick Walter Beech and Lloyd Stearman together as they put Wichita KS on the map as the The Air Capital Sprinkled liberally with photos of the men and the airplanes they produced The Wichita 4 is full of the excitement and challenges met by the companies people and the men who led them up to the years of WW -II To get your copy of the 148-page book you can write to Bruce at 3908 Titanic Av EI Paso TX 79904 The cost is $25 postshypaid You can also order it from EAA by calling 1-800-843-3612 (the EAA order number is FOI714)

Dear HG Frautschy I have included 2 photos taken apshy

proximately December 1934 of a Ryan monoplane purchased as a Ryan Ml All of the old books show the M I to be an open airplane and the M2 to be a cabin airplane It did not have any kind of windshield For some reason people insist that it (the airplane in these phoshytos) is an M2

It was a good flying airplane When passenger hopping they would put four in the front cockpit and a thin one in the rear cockpit with the pilot The ISO hp Hisso engine put it in the air after a very short run

Maybe we will fmd out what it is I unshyderstand that one was rebuilt in Virginia

Sincerely yours Harry C Luecke Winston Salem NC

Dear Harry The airplane in the photos is a Ryan

M-2 as described by Door Carpenter and Mitch Mayborn in the long out-ofshyprint book Ryan Guidebook published in 197576 Ill quote from the caption accompanying the photo of a Hisso powered M-2 on page 11

Quite similar in appearance to the M-I series which saw improvements introduced on each succeeding aircraft as it was built the M-2 was powered by the same series of engines The most common was the Wright-Hi spano or Hisso E-ISO Other installations inshycluded the Hisso A-ISO and E-2 of200 hp Externally the M-2 was identifiable by the addition of fuselage stringers to the otherwise flat sides of the M -1 The M-2 was a rugged and dependable airshyplane and was operated by a variety of private individuals and companies One of the M-2s (cn 22 G-CAJK) was used on skis in Canada and floated out to sea on an ice floe and was lost Conshystructionnumber range was from II through 29 with an M-I and M-32 airshy

frame or two mixed in distinctive rocker box covers and exshyTaking a close look at the photos you hausts of the Hisso engine There were

can see the extra stringers added to the 19 M-2 airplanes built in 1927-2S shysides of the M-2 in the photos and the HG Frautschy

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

PASS IT TO BUCK

Dear Buck It is with great pleasure that I read

your column every month Your old airline stories remind me of fond memoshyr ies from the past when my dad was flying for EAL out of A TL He retired after 30 years just before things got reshyally bad

Things have sure changed we used to fly kites off the end of 27 with 404s shy6s -7s Connies etc all flying right over us on short final What a sight for a young kid Then along came the fences - you know the rest There is nothing like round engines I had the chance to fly the EAA B-17 for a birthshyday present from my wife a few years ago Sitting there watching that big spinner and prop lumbering along right next to you is almost hypnotic like sitshyting in the back of a boat and watching the water speed by as you zoom along I wasnt fortunate enough to pursue a flying career when I became old enough due to slight color blindness but the flyshying bug stays with me I fly my 47 140 regularly and own half of a wrecked 717ACA (How many airplanes can say they have a mag for each cylinder) This brings me to my question Comshymon to a lot of old Champs is the rotted out bottom of the entry step Do you know of a source for the blister shaped bottom half of the step If necessary I am able to fabricate one but would rather not have to go through that

If you are ever down SE Virginia way or into Maryland look up The Poshytomac Antique Aero Squadron on the web at http www avialanticcom paashomhtml They have a wonderful fly-in each May on an old DuPont esshytate now owned by the state of Maryland Several OLD planes show up every year

Keep up the good work David L Cheek Smithfield V A

David Thanks for the kind words Yes times have changed and I someshytimes wonder if we arent dinosaurs and too dumb to realize were dead If the government has its way airplanes guns

4 NOVEMBER 1999

by EE Buck Hilbert EAA 21 VAA 5

PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

and anything else we enjoy will be conshytrolled there wont be any users like you and I Theyll be talking to themshyselves about what a wonderful world it is with nothing to interfere with their ofshyfice gossip

You might try Safe Air Repair and see if they have a blank I had to fabrishycate my a few years back It rusted out from within and I took some steel shaped it with hacksaw cuts to the form I wanted welded up the saw cuts and put a flat plate on top of it all I then reshywelded it to the arm and there it is today Works fine

PUERTO RICAN CLASSICS Dear Mr Hilbert First of all I want to congratulate

you for all your terrific articles you write in Vintage Airplane

My name is Cuso Ortez and I have been a V AA member since 1990 I love old airplanes and down here in Puerto Rico we have a few interesting models including one Aeronca L-16 and a Lusshycombe 8E both of which I ferried from Florida

Ive enclosed a picture of the Lusshycombe with me at the controls It was taken just north ofEI Morro Fortress in San Juan Luis Herrera who is also a prominent pilot took the photo The photo was taken from a 1968 Cessna

172 Enrique Gutierrez owns the Lusshycombe I fly banners for Aerial Sign Co here in Puerto Rico I use a Super Cub PA-18 and a Piper J-5 that came out of the factory on 12-7-1941 the day Pearl Harbor was attacked The J-5 had a 180 hp engine no electrical system and a low pitch prop Later I can write details on this particular airplane including photos and videos

Take care Sincerely Cuso

Thanks for the note and the photo Cuso We waited a while before we published it only because we wanted to be sure and print it in color We all look forward to seeing a photo and a note about your J-5 banner-towing machine It sounds like quite an airplane

Over to You f( -zlt 4

~t(ck

PASS IT TO BUCK

Dear Buck It is with great pleasure that I read

your column every month Your old airline stories remind me of fond memoshyr ies from the past when my dad was flying for EAL out of A TL He retired after 30 years just before things got reshyally bad

Things have sure changed we used to fly kites off the end of 27 with 404s shy6s -7s Connies etc all flying right over us on short final What a sight for a young kid Then along came the fences - you know the rest There is nothing like round engines I had the chance to fly the EAA B-17 for a birthshyday present from my wife a few years ago Sitting there watching that big spinner and prop lumbering along right next to you is almost hypnotic like sitshyting in the back of a boat and watching the water speed by as you zoom along I wasnt fortunate enough to pursue a flying career when I became old enough due to slight color blindness but the flyshying bug stays with me I fly my 47 140 regularly and own half of a wrecked 717ACA (How many airplanes can say they have a mag for each cylinder) This brings me to my question Comshymon to a lot of old Champs is the rotted out bottom of the entry step Do you know of a source for the blister shaped bottom half of the step If necessary I am able to fabricate one but would rather not have to go through that

If you are ever down SE Virginia way or into Maryland look up The Poshytomac Antique Aero Squadron on the web at http www avialanticcom paashomhtml They have a wonderful fly-in each May on an old DuPont esshytate now owned by the state of Maryland Several OLD planes show up every year

Keep up the good work David L Cheek Smithfield V A

David Thanks for the kind words Yes times have changed and I someshytimes wonder if we arent dinosaurs and too dumb to realize were dead If the government has its way airplanes guns

4 NOVEMBER 1999

by EE Buck Hilbert EAA 21 VAA 5

PO Box 424 Union IL 60180

and anything else we enjoy will be conshytrolled there wont be any users like you and I Theyll be talking to themshyselves about what a wonderful world it is with nothing to interfere with their ofshyfice gossip

You might try Safe Air Repair and see if they have a blank I had to fabrishycate my a few years back It rusted out from within and I took some steel shaped it with hacksaw cuts to the form I wanted welded up the saw cuts and put a flat plate on top of it all I then reshywelded it to the arm and there it is today Works fine

PUERTO RICAN CLASSICS Dear Mr Hilbert First of all I want to congratulate

you for all your terrific articles you write in Vintage Airplane

My name is Cuso Ortez and I have been a V AA member since 1990 I love old airplanes and down here in Puerto Rico we have a few interesting models including one Aeronca L-16 and a Lusshycombe 8E both of which I ferried from Florida

Ive enclosed a picture of the Lusshycombe with me at the controls It was taken just north ofEI Morro Fortress in San Juan Luis Herrera who is also a prominent pilot took the photo The photo was taken from a 1968 Cessna

172 Enrique Gutierrez owns the Lusshycombe I fly banners for Aerial Sign Co here in Puerto Rico I use a Super Cub PA-18 and a Piper J-5 that came out of the factory on 12-7-1941 the day Pearl Harbor was attacked The J-5 had a 180 hp engine no electrical system and a low pitch prop Later I can write details on this particular airplane including photos and videos

Take care Sincerely Cuso

Thanks for the note and the photo Cuso We waited a while before we published it only because we wanted to be sure and print it in color We all look forward to seeing a photo and a note about your J-5 banner-towing machine It sounds like quite an airplane

Over to You f( -zlt 4

~t(ck

bull I ears

att Outer Marker

Continuing Dutch Redfields early aviation carreer he flies his First Paying Passenger

and Learrns to Fly Floats

As I taxied the Waco F2 back to the hangar following some afternoon spot landing practice Harry Ward gestured to me not to shut the engine down He came alongside the cockpit and shouted Taxi back of the hangar and Ive got ten bucks for you

I taxied around the corner where the airplane was out of view from the rest of the airport Here Harry sort of poured a somewhat inebriated gentleshyman up on the wing walk of the lower wing and into the front cockpit Harry in the prop stream leaned into the front cockpit and secured my passhysengers seat belt Then as he stepped back to the ground he said to me He wants to loop the loop

Carrying passengers for hire with a private license was against regulashytions to say nothing of aerobatics for hire yet ten dollars would buy me a lot of gasoline Harry slipped me the

ten dollars the next day The F-2 climbed steeply with only

one passenger and my usual light load of fuel I flew south away from the airport for a few miles to a posishytion behind the hills where I couldnt be seen

The Waco picked up speed as I nosed her over into a shallow dive A light back pressure on the control stick produced increasing Gforces as the cow led engine led our new arc up through the sky As we steeply climbed the distant horizon appeared to come down brushing through the upper wing center section the engine cowlings then quickly disappeared under the lower wings leading edges

To maintain orientation and rates of pitch change during the arcing firm seated climb I turned my head and searched for and re-found the slowly revolving tilting horizon off

the stubby left wing tips that were now pointing straight forward Then back forward with my vision as the now inverted horizon fell past the upper wing panels and dropped past the nose

Near the top of our arc rapidly disshysipating speeds were confirmed by the softening sounds of flight and by the laboring Continental Then we arced for the fields and section lines and fences below and the moans and whistles of flight rapidly increased in shrillness and intensity and the flat but streamlined flying wires buffeted in protest of their increasing loads and distorted airflows The unloaded unshystressed landing wires which support the weight of the wing structure when ground borne and now waiting to do their work bowed gently as they folshylowed us around

That this vertically planed invisible

by Holland Dutch Redfield

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

looping arc was completed I knew when the now dissipating cyclonic washes of our beginning arc climb were flown through with a whump of the airframe at the bottom of the loop

As another arc was beginning my first paying customer turned and glanced back at me then quickly turned back inside as the pressing Gs again took over A couple more loops and I started a long descent for home

Back behind the hangar again as the prop clattered to a stop Harry helped my wobbly new friend step from the lower wing to the ground and asked him how it was Great he muttered That was until I looked around and found I was up there with a darn kid

In late May we flew the F2 to Ithaca at the south end of 35-mile long Cayuga Lake there to make a seaplane of her Ithaca was choshysen because its airport closely bordered on the shore of the lake

In the Ithaca hangar we hoisted her on a chain fall suspended from a hangar beam removed the small tail wheel assembly disconnected the brake cables and lowered her landing gear and wheels to the hangar floor She looked odd hanging there minus her landing gear We slid the two floats under her and then careshyfully lowered her and knocked in place the bolts of the float support struts

Oh Lord she was beautiful But her floats seemed so very bulky and so long and the whole rig seemed so far from aerodynamically pure and she stood so high with her tail in an attitude close to that of an airplane in level flight Color-wise her aluminum floats were a pleasing match for her black fuselage and silver wings What a lovely thing she was

We had worked hard for many hours and it was late afternoon when the Waco was at last perched on a flat four-wheeled dolly We trundled her awkwardly across the airfield to a spot near the lakeshore where she was poised with her bows over the water A pail full of water wet the dollys surface and we shoved her off She bobbed then steadied as she slipped into her new element We pulled her back alongside the grass-clumped

6 NOVEMBER 1999

From an unchecked

unflared glide I had

literally flown the

airplane right into the

water while belieVing

I had many many feet

yet to descend

shoreline and how easy to move her what light airs cause her respond One hand could gently move her about or easily restrain her

Her summer home was to be nosed up on a wooden ramp on the shore of the Seneca River west of Baldshywinsville and north of Syracuse For many months she would be out in the wind and rain-not in the speshycial spot that was reserved for her near the doors in Wards hangar It was getting late and where the airshyplane now was at Ithaca she would be unprotected and in a very poor spot for the night I was anxious to get her out of there and bedded down in her new home

I climbed in and pulled the handle of the air starter which cycled comshypressed air and prime fuel to the waiting cylinders and the Continental came to life With only an idling enshygine she was already moving Barb at the wing tip walked along with her and eased her away from shore

How effortlessly she moved through the water and with only the pull of her idling propeller and with her new tail-high stance how much better I could see to taxi Looking forward of the lower wing leading

edges I could see the float bows and the forming bow waves Looking straight down from the rear cockpit behind the lower wing trailing edges I could see the sterns of the floats and the bubshybling stem wakes and the trailing water rudders

What a soft yet grooved response to the floats rudder blades and the planes air rudder simultaneously deflected into their appropriate streams when my feet positioned the rudder pedals How freely she glided I stopped the engine and she coasted and went and went I had no brakes to stop her and Id have to be careful when I got her home and plan well her inertia dissipation lest I bash her into her new ramp

For many weeks I had reviewed in my mind just how to fly her Now the sun was getting low and I felt the pressures of time There was little written material on how to do it nor was there anyone I knew who had flown a seaplane It was lonely out there in the lake as she bobbed in the gentle waves Well 1 said to myself Its got to

be done sometime and I eased the throttle full forward and pulled back the control stick

The propeller picked up and threw back heavy white spray from the float bows as the bow waves moved further and further aft and the setting sun reshyflected the spray being thrown onto the lower wings With little assistance from me the bows rose higher and higher and the bow waves raced rapidly aft Then of its own accord the nose began lowering and she softly rocked forward onto the float steps The floats were now planing with less and less of their under surfaces conshytacting the water as she gained speed She was accelerating rapidly

The Waco lifted off and water streamed from the lower wing trailshying edges and off the end of the float keels We climbed steadily and there was a much heavier yet very pleasshyant feel to her as the pendulumed floats suspended below gave her a new and beautiful lateral stability I was pleased at both the way she flew and how uneventful had been my takeoff It was only a 30-minute flight to her new home and I began to think But now Ive got to get her down We soon circled the treeshy

bordered and straight but short stretch of river in the gathering dusk then backed off for a long straight slow descending approach

We were below the bordering trees now and slowly descending toward the rivers surface Finding light surshyface ripples from which to project the geometry by which to flare her for landing was quite different but I found not difficult to apply I felt her down the last few feet using considerably more power than with an airport landshying The floats touched and the keels knifed the rivers surface How yieldshying it was how smooth the surface and the ride how the planing floats seemed to softly buzz on the light ripshyples How very very different than an oleod and wheeled landing gear meetshying the sodded surface of an airport

Deceleration was rapid and comshypounding as the planing support of the float bottoms faded As she swished off the steps the buoyancy of the floats took over and we were again floating and gliding steadily and smoothly with nothing but her idling propeller again pulling her along What a delight everything about this first flight in a floatplane had been I was keenly aware at that moment what a very different world of flying was opening before me

An aviator friend George Sawyer who owned the riverside camp where the Waco was to be kept helped me tie her to her newly-built ramp then I was invited in for dinner I was ecstashytic as we talked of my first seaplane venture It was now dark outside

In a couple of hours Barb showed up and we threw some extra lines on her in the beams of the cars headshylights As we backed away the Waco was now alone in the dark the river lapping the stems of her floats I didshynt like to leave her there

When we returned to the river seashyplane ramp the next day I was relieved to see the Waco still there It was a lovely spring morning and as we readied the airplane for flight we waved to passing tugs towing or pushing deeply laden barges and oil tankers low in the water The Seneca River here was also part of the Barge Canal system across New York State from Buffalo to near Albany Our plan was to fly her down to Onondaga Lake near Syracuse for some practice where I hoped to find

out much more about the characterisshytics of a floatplane

We eased her down the ramp then swung her around so the stems of the floats were lightly resting on the planks I climbed in and started her and again she was immediately movshying and underway We taxied slowly down the river warming the engine as the treed green river banks slipped steadily by the wing tips How toshytally different from a land plane restricted to airports all of which are cursed with the sameness of paved runways and hangars and parking lots and gas pumps

I was still aglow with the success of my one seaplane takeoff and landshying of the day before and in a short while I was to find out It really isnt always that easy We took off and I banked gently to follow a bend in the river As we climbed the tops of the bordering trees off the wing tips came down even with then fell steadily furshyther below her spray streaming wings

As we banked into our first apshyproach the lakes surface was lightly rippled from a soft but now fading morning breeze I made several landshyings and takeoffs and was learning and really savoring the many new and wonderful feels of a seaplane

Satisfied that I was making progress I turned and climbed away from the lakefront circuit pattern that I had been flying then to perhaps adshyvertise that a seaplane was now based close to town and ready to do busishyness we flew down over the city for a few minutes

Upon our return the lakes surface was like glass but was completely unshynoticed by me Any surface ripples left over from the now faded morning breeze were gone and what wave patterns had been produced as a result of my earlier takeoffs and landings had long ago splashed ashore and been dissipated Such conditions can be lethal to the unshywary and the ignorant and I was well qualified in both respects I didnt know this though as the Waco descended toshyward the lake gliding smoothly through the warm stable morning air There was not a tremor in the sky only the soft vibrations and sounds of the engine at a very reduced thrust What a grand mornshying to be flying

Unconcerned and certainly now a bit complacent I was looking forward to yet another nice touchdown after which

I planned to taxi to a shore side beach to see if we couldnt sell a few late mornshying seaplane rides

As the Waco got lower and lower as do all airmen on all landings I projected forward and slightly downshyward an angled line of vision toward the lakes surface My eyes began probing and searching for something to come into view that could be foshycused upon thus establishing the end of this line from which the angular changes of landing could be evalushyated and controlled

By evaluating the angles formed beshytween this projected vision line and the level plane of the landing surface the airman can establish and vary his final approach descent to achieve touchdown at an aimed-for spot

At very low heights he shifts vision forward again forming a new and much shallower angle with the surface applying control and power to cause this new geometric angle to flatten slowly thus effecting an always hoped for gentle touchdown

It seemed we had been descending for some time and I was puzzled why I wasnt picking up a ripple or something on the surface as I had been doing all morning This had given me no probshylems earlier-when - wham The two float bows struck and dug in deep From an unchecked unflared glide I had litershyally flown the airplane right into the water while believing I had many many feet yet to descend The deceleration was ferocious and I was slammed forshyward with my right shoulder down Somehow I was able to get the stick back and the throttle full open and the Waco came up out of there flying as I straightened myself in the cockpit and looked around in shocked surprise

From what I heard later we creshyated quite a boom and quite a splash but there was no damage except for my pride We had hit the water awshyfully hard

This was an early lesson on seaplanshying that I learned well Descending toward a mirror-like surface it is abshysolutely impossible for an airman regardless of experience to determine angles or height A similar problem exists when landing on new-fallen snow or a black-paved surface on a rainy night But there are other easy ways of doing it provided awareness is there and the condition anticipated

Continued Next Month

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

by Jerry Cox

The 3rd annual Luscombe Fly-In at Coles County Airport at Mattoon Illishynois (MTO) took place on June 11 12 and 13

Lousy weather in some areas kept many folks from attending Even so by Thursday evening with preparashytions underway the Win Me Luscombe from the Don Luscombe Aviation Historical Foundation was there the first Renaissance Luscombe was there and Gene Horsman from

Colorado had gotten by the weather to arrive by early evening In addition two gentlemen from Canada Harry and Lloyd Clark members of the Flyshying Farmers group had driven in because of the weather and Walter Smith had arrived on a visit from Saudi Arabia by commercial jet and rental car of course Rick Duckworth semishynar speaker had driven in from Michigan because of bad weather in his area

Friday morning brought on a lot of haze and although sunny visibility was not that good It began to bum off by noontime however and more airshyplanes began arriving through the day There were 12 Luscombes in by noon and 18 by 5 00 pm By then the weather was threatening and eight airshycraft were moved into the big hangar but the storm moved around us

John Dearden of Renaissance Airshycraft LLC arrived about 600 pm with

the brand new Luscombe (well new in March) Folks flocked to get a look at that beautiful new bird It is really gorgeous both inside and out By Sunday just about everyone preshysent had a chance to get a close look at the airplane

Saturday was a much more pleasshyant day though hot and humid By the time judging had stopped in late afternoon there were 36 registered aircraft and 12 people registered who did not fly in their own aircraft From the description of many weather was a big factor from just about all places in the country The turnout would have been much betshyter otherwise we are sure

During the afternoon Jack Norris spoke about propeller technology

Canadians all From left to right Lloyd and Harry Clark and Mr and Mrs Richard Marcus with Luscombe C-FEPO

8 NOVEMBER 1999

Nine Luscombes are nestled in the hangar with a few outside

and particularly how it pertained to Luscombes Doug Combs of the Don Luscombe Aviation Historical Foundashytion spoke on the Turbine Luscombe now being rebuilt and his unfortunate accident with the airplane Even though wearing a neck brace Doug had not lost his sense of humor They believe that a bug had plugged the right fuel tank vent and when he went to the Aux fuel pump there was no way the fuel could be picked up with the vacuum in the tank Doug also spoke about general Luscombe problems as did Rick Duckworth Rick had a lively discussion going on various probshylems that were brought up by the folks present

John Dearden spoke on the Reshynaissance Luscombe and answered questions about the proshyduction to be Doug Combs addressed the DLAHF agreement and quality control problems afshyfecting the new airplane

Judging went on during the afshyternoon with a team offour judges and by dinner time the results

The Peoples Choice award winner and the Grand Champion of the MTO Luscombe Fly-In is Nl448B proudly owned and flown by Steve McGuire of Ponca City OK

were in After the meal the trophies were awarded and many great door prizes were drawn

The Award Winners were Grand Champion 8F N1448B Steve McGuire of Ponca City Oklahoma Reserve Grand Champion 8F N1947B Jerry Cox and Scott Rose of Mattoon Illinois Outstanding 8A N37080 (really was an 8AC) Mike

Bowers of Mt Juliet Inshydiana Outstanding 8E N 1750K John Livesay and Mike Potter of Pana Illinois Outstanding 8F N9927C Robert Kellogg of Louisville Kentucky Outstanding T8F N1827B Irwin Reeb of Belleville Illinois Peoshyples Choice N 1448B Steve McGuire of Ponca City Oklahoma Longest Distance Flown 8A N25342 Gene Horsman ofGolden Colorado (773 NM one way)

Many thanks to Shanshynon Youakim Airport Manager Rick Reed the FBO the Charleston Illinois Lions club for food and Jerry Cox and other volunteers for a good fly-in

An item discussed was the possibility of moving the fly-in to a weekend in

August or September next year to avoid the bad weather syndrome in June Fly-In chief Jerry Cox asked the group to consider this and let him know On the spot response and disshycussions since the event have indicated that it was a good idea After searchshying the calendar for a satisfactory date the weekend of August 25-27 2000 was decided on See you there ~

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

FUEL VALVES bull CARE AND FEEDINO By Cy Galley

Another neglected component on your airplane is the fuel shutshyoff valve Many ownerpilots

take it for granted and never touch it It most likely is left in the ON position all the time I guess people think that if they ever need to turn it off it will function properly

Actually checking the function of the valve is part of a good annual Turning it off will check two functions First of all will it even move Some valves are gooked up with dried fuel dye varnish from old auto gas or complete seizure from corrosion and not a trace of any lushybrication due to fuel exposure over the years and lack of any exercise Secshyondly if it will move to the OFF position will it actually completely stop the flow offuel or will it leak a drip or two or more It could be like the valve that was in our Cessna We had to whittle a wooden plug for the fuel line to change the plastic float because the valve leaked so fast We actually lost a full load of fuel at an annual when 42 gallons leaked out overnight

The bottom line is safety How would you shut off the fuel if you had in in-flight fire How would you tum off the gas to a leaking carburetor with a stuck float At Oshkosh we have comshypletely drained tanks to eliminate the possible fire hazard Losing your plane to fire is bad enough but what if you also destroyed an entire row

Your valve needs to be turned to the shut-off position at each annual Then you or your mechanic can remove the gascolator bowl and all the filter screens in order to check them for foreign mateshyrial contamination It is hard to work if fuel continues to run from a tank It is a fire hazard

With low-wing planes a leaking valve might show up when your fuel pressure gauge begins to fluctuate at idle because it is letting air into the fuel lines rather than leaking gas out Suck enough air and the engine will stop This is anshyother source for a vacuum leak that can make the pressure gauge flutter

Many fuel valves are the cone type

10 NOVEMBER 1999

These are fairly inexpensive work well and are easy to repair With that said the valve used in our Cessna Skyhawk is not a cone type but a valve that is opened by pushing a ball away from an O-ring seal My Bellanca Cruisair came with a two valve setup with a selector and a shut-off valve It later used a three-way valve that could select either tank and shut it all off These valves have a common design feature They are a very simple cone type of shut-off valve The handle is part of or conshynected to a cone-shaped piece of steel with holes that will match the inlet and outlet ports of the body This cone or spool piece rotates in the valve body that is machined with a taper to match When the holes are aligned with the handle in the ON position and the holes in the cone part of the valve are blocked when the valve is turned to the OFF position Early VariEzes had problems with this kind of valve A plastic spool was tried but was not satshyisfactory But many of the older Aeroncas Cubs and T-crafts used these valves for years

These valves can sometimes be reshyturned to service without even removing them from the airplane but only after draining all the fuel if it is a gravity fed system On a low wing one just needs to get the fuel level below the valve Using just a small tab of Parkers Fuelube to coat the spool it can be reassembled and placed back in service This will cure most external leaks and make the handle easy to turn Some handles can be placed on the shaft in the wrong position With the Cruisair the handle has an AD to pin it to the shaft so that it is indexed to function correctly One also needs to check after reassemble to see if it turns off and doesnt leak

What if it doesnt tum off even if it doesnt leak even after the grease job Buy another Youve got to be kidding You might not like the price IF you can find an original for your certified airshyplane Even good new valves for experimentals are expensive You can rebuild it by completely removing the

valve from the aircraft This also reshyquires draining the fuel system Disconnect any remote fuel controls such as a Citabria would have Carefully remove the fuel valve taking care not to round off any wrench flats on the valve or the fittings or to twist any of the lines Completely disassemble the valve and let it soak in a small can containing acrylic lacquer thinner or MEK Lacquer thinner or acetone may also work but not as well

Dry the components and check for any damage such as scoring of the cone The valve body is usually brass and the cone is steel Obtain some valve LAPshyPING compound from a local auto supply or small gas engine repair store DO NOT use valve grinding compound The latter is too coarse Lapping comshypound or an equivalent should be used Apply a small amount around the cone part of the valve and assemble the valve pushing and rotating with just hand pressure Cant find lapping compound Use toothpaste instead

Rinse the old compound off and reapshyply some more fresh compound Do this two or three times until the valve cone and body have a nice smooth even satin look to both mating surfaces

Completely flush and rinse the comshypound from the valve components with clean thinner or petroleum solvent and apply a small amount of Parker Fuelube (Wicks PARKER FL or Aircraft Spruce 09-25300) to the cone This fuel-proof grease comes in a I-lb can and works miracles on old fuel valves Parker Sea lube is another product with similar properties Lightly coat the valve cone and reassemble the unit and install it in the aircraft Before placing your orshyder for a multi-lifetime supply see if you cant bum some off your FBO or mechanic It is like Bryicream-a litshytle dab will do you for several decades

Make sure that you get the handle on in the right position so that the placards agree with the operation Do a thorough leak check of the lines and fittings beshyfore you and your AampP mechanic return your plane to service

TYPE CLUB

NOTES by HG Frautschy

Compiled from various type club

publications amp newsletters

MONOCOUPE The Accident By Freddie Ludtke From The Monocoupe Flyer edited by Bob Coolbaugh

October 13 1994 The pilot is fine just some red sore spots from the safety harness but NC2064 is gone It beshycame uncontrollable just like the DC-IO that went down near Sioux City

My son Rick was flying over our small strip which is cut out of the tall fir on the northern peninsula near Port Angeles Washington He heard a bang from behind and the right rudder pedal went full forward The Coupe yawed right and immediately spun Attemptshying a recovery Rick found he couldnt move the left rudder pedal forward He thought I can fix that released his shoulder harness reached down and pulled the right rudder pedal as far aft as it would go Wedging his foot beshyhind the pedal to hold it he was able to recover from the spin controlling the remaining yaw with cross-controlled ailerons

With the altitude remaining he pershyformed a controllability check finding that the ship would snap roll to the right with the addition of even a little power and sink like a stone if slowed up Rick was able to control the snap tendency by judicious coordination of power speed and cross-controls He realized at this point that the elevator was jammed allowing only limited throw which was accompanied by heavy buffeting

Also the rudder was jammed to the

right with his foot holding it back somewhat toward center but not enoug to stop the continuing right hand tum He could only slow the rate of tum reshysulting in an uncontrollable right spiral Realizing that he could not land under control at the airstrip he slowed as much as possible about 65 KIAS and flew sideways and under marginal conshytrol into the 60-80 foot fir trees bordering the airstrip

The Coupe broke into five pieces The fuselage was severed behind the wing and hit the ground backwards nose up with the G meter pegged at 12 Gs The seat back and the cross tube behind the seat were bent by Rick s multiplied weight Fortunately his head was supported by the shoulder harness which was attached to the tube that goes across under the rear spar Chances are that this prevented his head from being jerked back on imshypact which would have caused a serious neck injury

When I built the fuselage from scratch I incorporated the 90AW drawing tube sizes and then added more structure to comply with the more stringent nose-over requirements in the current FAR Part 23 Beefmg up the main load structures paid off in the crash For example the left wing ripped away upon striking the trees snapping the lift strut with it Investishygation revealed that the lower longeron

lift strut fitting was undamaged The heavy attach bolt had sheared in two places at the fitting leaving the fitting intact The shear strength of that bolt exceeds 50000 pounds The cabin reshymained intact along with the gear The aft fuselage and empennage were deshystroyed as was the wing The engine was tom down for inspection

Inspection of the tail provided an immediate answer to the cause of the crash The Bang Rick heard was the structural failure of the left elevator hinges They tore away from the elevashytor spar allowing the airflow to bend the left side of the elevator back and up tilting it far over the rudder and forcing the rudder full right As you all know the majority of this Monocoupe was hand-built in my shop in the late 1980s However I used a 1937 Model 90A empennage clipping it slightly to resemble the 110 Special tail The hinges were the original factory welded assemblies Analyzing the cause of the failure of the hinges showed an alarmshying defect which must have slipped through the factory It is this defect that prompted me to ensure that the Monocoupe owners were alerted to a potential problem in their own Coupes The small finger patches over the hinge tubes separated from the eleshyvator spar tube The hinge tubes were not welded to the spar tube before the finger patches were welded over the

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

TYPE CLUB

NOTES smaller hinge tubes In fact there was a VOID between the hinge tubes and the spar tube Paint was in the void The finger patch welds had very little penetration

The Spirit of Dynamite was a great friend and a ticket to many adshyventures I shall always remember our last adventure to the Monocoupe FlyshyIn at Creve Coeur My son was safely returned by its strong 90A cabin strucshyture and I am thankful for that However when I made the decision to use that 1937 elevator 1 placed a fault in that airplane that almost kill ed my son A very sobering thought

Fortunately Rick has a strong desire and love of flying-a great motivator This gave him that Ill fix it attitude which got him through this episode He never became emotional stopped thinkshying or even thought of those last two words that appear at the end of airline cockpit tapes He controlled himself controlled the Coupe and walked away All he had to do was unstrap climb down out of the trees and brush the fir needles off As Rick walked out to call us he met a local crashing through the forest yelling about a crash Rick

calmed him saying 1 know It was me The next day Rick was scheduled for his Commercial Pilot check ride with the FAA examiner He decided to take it and passed

Lets all check the hinges on our elshyevators and rudders

From Bob Coolbaugh Mo n oshycoupe Flyer Editor Freddie taught both sons to fly in his J-3 Cub and moved to advanced aerobatics with them in the Cipwing Coupe Based on Ricks levelheaded performance Id say Freds lessons took

LESSONS LEARNED DEPARTMENT

First and foremost Rich has shown us that you never give up thinking plotting and fighting to overcome a problem in the air Hindsight is easy but it took a stroke of genius to figure a way to regain rudder authority as he was spinning into the ground With the rudder jammed to the right and left rudder pedal not effective in centerng it Rick quickly ducked down to pull on the right rudder pedal by hand For whatever reason this worked enough to save his life I wonder how many

others when faced with the failure of the obvious would simply push harder on the left pedal until impact It takes a calm pilot to walk the tightrope with a plane so marginally controllable and it takes a skilled one to accept the inshyevitable crash and plan for it and actually fly the plane into the crash inshystead of cursing fate Congrats Rick and do us a favor-take your Dad out for a glass of his favorite poison-tell him it s on us if you want but in your heart you have to know that it was he who taught you to fly a Clipwing which gave you the confidence and character to overcome your brush with the angels Aw heck forget the glass buy the old coot a bottle

There is a flying job out there for Rick-as a test pilot a fighter pilot or as a member of an airline crew 1 know I sure wou ld like to have him flying with me

Vintage Airplane Editors Note Freddie and the Monocoupe Club are to be commended for getting the word out regarding the cause of this accishydent in 1994 For the next chapter in NC2064 s saga please turn to page 16- HGF ~

12 NOVEMBER 1999

Fifteen years ago co-founders of the West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Bruce Fall (who has owned Cubs for most of his 54 flying years) and Monte

Finley invited a few Piper Cubs to Lompoc Airport The Annual Sentimental Journey Cub Fly-In in Lock Haven PA was an awshyfully long way to go for a West Coast pilot (and it could get expensive)

Since that first Lompoc Fly-In more and more Cubs show up every year there were many new faces among the familiar this year Even though the Fly-In is advertised to start Friday usually the first Cubs arrive on Thursday For years Larry Holman of Canby Oregon has arrived in his PA-18 Sushyper Cub on Thursday winning the First Arrival Award every time - but this year he was beat by only one minute by John Solly Solomon of Aurora Colorado in his J-3 It turns out that neither even knew the other was in the pattern

It was one of those extremely rare sumshymer weekends on the California Central Coast where fog was nonexistent sun was plentiful temperatures were mild wind was minimal sunsets were gorgeous and little yellow airplanes proliferated in the skies July 9 10 and 11 happened to be a perfect choice for the 15th Annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In at Lompoc Airport Lompoc California Plenty of J-3s PA-12 Super Cruisers and PA-18 Super Cubs a couple of J-2s PA-ll Cub Specials PA-22 Tri Pacers L-4s (military versions of the J-3) and a J-5 Cub Cruiser J-4 Cub Coupe and PA-16 Clipper flew into Lompoc from California Oregon Washington Nevada and Arizona

Of course other rag-wings were heartily welcomed including the infamous Cub look-a-like Aeronca Champs and Lusshycombe Silvaires and a couple of Stinsons a Porterfield a Citabria and a Cessna 140 More than 50 Cubs many other rag-

BY HOLLY PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE FALL

wings and who-knows-how-many spam cans were registered on the field and some who couldnt fly their Cubs drove in

One group of 11 Cubs flew in together from the WashingtonOregon area They took two days to get to Lompoc spending one night partying at the Flying Flanashygans almond ranch and private strip near Merced CA

Members of the group Jerry and Brenda Burr from Burlington WA took the Farshythest Distance Award in their highly modified J-3 Cub and have attended 14 of the Lompoc Fly Ins Jerry comes for the comfortable unstructured events and fun where he can just visit with friends and other Cub owners he hasnt seen for as long as a year We used to bring our kids but theyve grown up and moved out-so we come by ourselves now

CFr Kathryn Perry from Sultan W A made the two day trip with her two young

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

14 NOVEMBER 1999

(Top) Doug Morlan Vacaville CA and his J-3 flying over classic California country

(Second from Top) Kathryn Perry Sultan SA J-3 Cub is working on her spot landing with a young passenger in the front seat

(Second from Bottom) Keith and Molly Littlefield with sons Sam and Ben Molly flew her Cessna 140 while Keith and Ben flew the J-3 Cub They met at the fly-in in 1993

(Bottom) Ryan (L) and Dale (R) Weir Kent WA J-3 won Prettiest Cub Most Original Cub and Youngest Cub Pilot (22-year old-Ryan)

children and her solo student Al Wirtan (278 logbook hours) brought his Cub as well Other long-time attendees with the same group 737 Airline Captains Keith Littlefield and Molly (Flanashygan of the famous Flying Flanagans) Littlefield of Kent W A joined us again this year with their sons Ben (almost three years old) and Sam (three months old) These two met at our Fly-In in 1993 married and attended again in 95 97 (to show off their first-born to their Lompoc Family) and again in 99 The Oldest Cub Pilot Award went to Retired Marine Paratrooper Col Bruce Meyers from Snohomish WA who flew his J-3 RAF in Flitshyfire colors

The beautifully restored J-3 NC422 I I owned by Dale Weir (also with the Kent WA group) and flown by his 22-year-old son Ryan took the Prettiest Cub and Most Original Cub awards Ryan received the Youngest Cub Pilot Award

One obvious reason people enjoy the Lompoc Cub Fly-In is the wonderful homemade food Friday night fare always inshycludes generous servings of steaming hearty spaghetti garlic French bread salad and tables full of homemade desserts (preshypared by the local EAA 275 and Lompoc Valley Pilots Association members) Famous Lompoc Style tri-tip barbeque is served on Saturday night-and there is always plenty for second helpings Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday includes hotcakes sausage local strawberries orange juice milk and coffee Hamshyburgers and hotdogs are served for lunch on Friday and Saturday

One new aspect of the Fly-In this year is added ramp space Lompoc Airport is in the process of extending its runway and adding additional taxiways and parking on the hotel and restaurant side of the airport This enables planes to be parked within a few feet of several hotels and many restaushyrants as well as local shopping areas So if one would rather eat at a local restaurant instead of the Big Hangar many choices lie within close walking distance

After lunch on Saturday participants were briefed on the rules of the spot landing and flour bomb drop contest For the spot landing one or both of the main gear had to touch down and stay down as close to the chalk line as possible without hitting before the line The closest distance was 25 feet past the line (if you dont include the visiting Long EZ who just touched down to say Hi) Martin Leonard ofMt Baldy CA won the Spot Landing Award in his J-2 If you dont know Lompoc Airport you may not realize that we have pretty stiff gusty prevailing winds that can be crosswinds just a few feet above the runway so give these guys a break Ken Hetge of Tehachapi CA in his J-4 Cub Coupe with Jeff Sears as his bombardier won the flour bomb drop at a total of 26 feet for two bombs Bombardier Jeff was actually the youngest pilot at the fly-in-he is currently 16

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

looping arc was completed I knew when the now dissipating cyclonic washes of our beginning arc climb were flown through with a whump of the airframe at the bottom of the loop

As another arc was beginning my first paying customer turned and glanced back at me then quickly turned back inside as the pressing Gs again took over A couple more loops and I started a long descent for home

Back behind the hangar again as the prop clattered to a stop Harry helped my wobbly new friend step from the lower wing to the ground and asked him how it was Great he muttered That was until I looked around and found I was up there with a darn kid

In late May we flew the F2 to Ithaca at the south end of 35-mile long Cayuga Lake there to make a seaplane of her Ithaca was choshysen because its airport closely bordered on the shore of the lake

In the Ithaca hangar we hoisted her on a chain fall suspended from a hangar beam removed the small tail wheel assembly disconnected the brake cables and lowered her landing gear and wheels to the hangar floor She looked odd hanging there minus her landing gear We slid the two floats under her and then careshyfully lowered her and knocked in place the bolts of the float support struts

Oh Lord she was beautiful But her floats seemed so very bulky and so long and the whole rig seemed so far from aerodynamically pure and she stood so high with her tail in an attitude close to that of an airplane in level flight Color-wise her aluminum floats were a pleasing match for her black fuselage and silver wings What a lovely thing she was

We had worked hard for many hours and it was late afternoon when the Waco was at last perched on a flat four-wheeled dolly We trundled her awkwardly across the airfield to a spot near the lakeshore where she was poised with her bows over the water A pail full of water wet the dollys surface and we shoved her off She bobbed then steadied as she slipped into her new element We pulled her back alongside the grass-clumped

6 NOVEMBER 1999

From an unchecked

unflared glide I had

literally flown the

airplane right into the

water while belieVing

I had many many feet

yet to descend

shoreline and how easy to move her what light airs cause her respond One hand could gently move her about or easily restrain her

Her summer home was to be nosed up on a wooden ramp on the shore of the Seneca River west of Baldshywinsville and north of Syracuse For many months she would be out in the wind and rain-not in the speshycial spot that was reserved for her near the doors in Wards hangar It was getting late and where the airshyplane now was at Ithaca she would be unprotected and in a very poor spot for the night I was anxious to get her out of there and bedded down in her new home

I climbed in and pulled the handle of the air starter which cycled comshypressed air and prime fuel to the waiting cylinders and the Continental came to life With only an idling enshygine she was already moving Barb at the wing tip walked along with her and eased her away from shore

How effortlessly she moved through the water and with only the pull of her idling propeller and with her new tail-high stance how much better I could see to taxi Looking forward of the lower wing leading

edges I could see the float bows and the forming bow waves Looking straight down from the rear cockpit behind the lower wing trailing edges I could see the sterns of the floats and the bubshybling stem wakes and the trailing water rudders

What a soft yet grooved response to the floats rudder blades and the planes air rudder simultaneously deflected into their appropriate streams when my feet positioned the rudder pedals How freely she glided I stopped the engine and she coasted and went and went I had no brakes to stop her and Id have to be careful when I got her home and plan well her inertia dissipation lest I bash her into her new ramp

For many weeks I had reviewed in my mind just how to fly her Now the sun was getting low and I felt the pressures of time There was little written material on how to do it nor was there anyone I knew who had flown a seaplane It was lonely out there in the lake as she bobbed in the gentle waves Well 1 said to myself Its got to

be done sometime and I eased the throttle full forward and pulled back the control stick

The propeller picked up and threw back heavy white spray from the float bows as the bow waves moved further and further aft and the setting sun reshyflected the spray being thrown onto the lower wings With little assistance from me the bows rose higher and higher and the bow waves raced rapidly aft Then of its own accord the nose began lowering and she softly rocked forward onto the float steps The floats were now planing with less and less of their under surfaces conshytacting the water as she gained speed She was accelerating rapidly

The Waco lifted off and water streamed from the lower wing trailshying edges and off the end of the float keels We climbed steadily and there was a much heavier yet very pleasshyant feel to her as the pendulumed floats suspended below gave her a new and beautiful lateral stability I was pleased at both the way she flew and how uneventful had been my takeoff It was only a 30-minute flight to her new home and I began to think But now Ive got to get her down We soon circled the treeshy

bordered and straight but short stretch of river in the gathering dusk then backed off for a long straight slow descending approach

We were below the bordering trees now and slowly descending toward the rivers surface Finding light surshyface ripples from which to project the geometry by which to flare her for landing was quite different but I found not difficult to apply I felt her down the last few feet using considerably more power than with an airport landshying The floats touched and the keels knifed the rivers surface How yieldshying it was how smooth the surface and the ride how the planing floats seemed to softly buzz on the light ripshyples How very very different than an oleod and wheeled landing gear meetshying the sodded surface of an airport

Deceleration was rapid and comshypounding as the planing support of the float bottoms faded As she swished off the steps the buoyancy of the floats took over and we were again floating and gliding steadily and smoothly with nothing but her idling propeller again pulling her along What a delight everything about this first flight in a floatplane had been I was keenly aware at that moment what a very different world of flying was opening before me

An aviator friend George Sawyer who owned the riverside camp where the Waco was to be kept helped me tie her to her newly-built ramp then I was invited in for dinner I was ecstashytic as we talked of my first seaplane venture It was now dark outside

In a couple of hours Barb showed up and we threw some extra lines on her in the beams of the cars headshylights As we backed away the Waco was now alone in the dark the river lapping the stems of her floats I didshynt like to leave her there

When we returned to the river seashyplane ramp the next day I was relieved to see the Waco still there It was a lovely spring morning and as we readied the airplane for flight we waved to passing tugs towing or pushing deeply laden barges and oil tankers low in the water The Seneca River here was also part of the Barge Canal system across New York State from Buffalo to near Albany Our plan was to fly her down to Onondaga Lake near Syracuse for some practice where I hoped to find

out much more about the characterisshytics of a floatplane

We eased her down the ramp then swung her around so the stems of the floats were lightly resting on the planks I climbed in and started her and again she was immediately movshying and underway We taxied slowly down the river warming the engine as the treed green river banks slipped steadily by the wing tips How toshytally different from a land plane restricted to airports all of which are cursed with the sameness of paved runways and hangars and parking lots and gas pumps

I was still aglow with the success of my one seaplane takeoff and landshying of the day before and in a short while I was to find out It really isnt always that easy We took off and I banked gently to follow a bend in the river As we climbed the tops of the bordering trees off the wing tips came down even with then fell steadily furshyther below her spray streaming wings

As we banked into our first apshyproach the lakes surface was lightly rippled from a soft but now fading morning breeze I made several landshyings and takeoffs and was learning and really savoring the many new and wonderful feels of a seaplane

Satisfied that I was making progress I turned and climbed away from the lakefront circuit pattern that I had been flying then to perhaps adshyvertise that a seaplane was now based close to town and ready to do busishyness we flew down over the city for a few minutes

Upon our return the lakes surface was like glass but was completely unshynoticed by me Any surface ripples left over from the now faded morning breeze were gone and what wave patterns had been produced as a result of my earlier takeoffs and landings had long ago splashed ashore and been dissipated Such conditions can be lethal to the unshywary and the ignorant and I was well qualified in both respects I didnt know this though as the Waco descended toshyward the lake gliding smoothly through the warm stable morning air There was not a tremor in the sky only the soft vibrations and sounds of the engine at a very reduced thrust What a grand mornshying to be flying

Unconcerned and certainly now a bit complacent I was looking forward to yet another nice touchdown after which

I planned to taxi to a shore side beach to see if we couldnt sell a few late mornshying seaplane rides

As the Waco got lower and lower as do all airmen on all landings I projected forward and slightly downshyward an angled line of vision toward the lakes surface My eyes began probing and searching for something to come into view that could be foshycused upon thus establishing the end of this line from which the angular changes of landing could be evalushyated and controlled

By evaluating the angles formed beshytween this projected vision line and the level plane of the landing surface the airman can establish and vary his final approach descent to achieve touchdown at an aimed-for spot

At very low heights he shifts vision forward again forming a new and much shallower angle with the surface applying control and power to cause this new geometric angle to flatten slowly thus effecting an always hoped for gentle touchdown

It seemed we had been descending for some time and I was puzzled why I wasnt picking up a ripple or something on the surface as I had been doing all morning This had given me no probshylems earlier-when - wham The two float bows struck and dug in deep From an unchecked unflared glide I had litershyally flown the airplane right into the water while believing I had many many feet yet to descend The deceleration was ferocious and I was slammed forshyward with my right shoulder down Somehow I was able to get the stick back and the throttle full open and the Waco came up out of there flying as I straightened myself in the cockpit and looked around in shocked surprise

From what I heard later we creshyated quite a boom and quite a splash but there was no damage except for my pride We had hit the water awshyfully hard

This was an early lesson on seaplanshying that I learned well Descending toward a mirror-like surface it is abshysolutely impossible for an airman regardless of experience to determine angles or height A similar problem exists when landing on new-fallen snow or a black-paved surface on a rainy night But there are other easy ways of doing it provided awareness is there and the condition anticipated

Continued Next Month

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

by Jerry Cox

The 3rd annual Luscombe Fly-In at Coles County Airport at Mattoon Illishynois (MTO) took place on June 11 12 and 13

Lousy weather in some areas kept many folks from attending Even so by Thursday evening with preparashytions underway the Win Me Luscombe from the Don Luscombe Aviation Historical Foundation was there the first Renaissance Luscombe was there and Gene Horsman from

Colorado had gotten by the weather to arrive by early evening In addition two gentlemen from Canada Harry and Lloyd Clark members of the Flyshying Farmers group had driven in because of the weather and Walter Smith had arrived on a visit from Saudi Arabia by commercial jet and rental car of course Rick Duckworth semishynar speaker had driven in from Michigan because of bad weather in his area

Friday morning brought on a lot of haze and although sunny visibility was not that good It began to bum off by noontime however and more airshyplanes began arriving through the day There were 12 Luscombes in by noon and 18 by 5 00 pm By then the weather was threatening and eight airshycraft were moved into the big hangar but the storm moved around us

John Dearden of Renaissance Airshycraft LLC arrived about 600 pm with

the brand new Luscombe (well new in March) Folks flocked to get a look at that beautiful new bird It is really gorgeous both inside and out By Sunday just about everyone preshysent had a chance to get a close look at the airplane

Saturday was a much more pleasshyant day though hot and humid By the time judging had stopped in late afternoon there were 36 registered aircraft and 12 people registered who did not fly in their own aircraft From the description of many weather was a big factor from just about all places in the country The turnout would have been much betshyter otherwise we are sure

During the afternoon Jack Norris spoke about propeller technology

Canadians all From left to right Lloyd and Harry Clark and Mr and Mrs Richard Marcus with Luscombe C-FEPO

8 NOVEMBER 1999

Nine Luscombes are nestled in the hangar with a few outside

and particularly how it pertained to Luscombes Doug Combs of the Don Luscombe Aviation Historical Foundashytion spoke on the Turbine Luscombe now being rebuilt and his unfortunate accident with the airplane Even though wearing a neck brace Doug had not lost his sense of humor They believe that a bug had plugged the right fuel tank vent and when he went to the Aux fuel pump there was no way the fuel could be picked up with the vacuum in the tank Doug also spoke about general Luscombe problems as did Rick Duckworth Rick had a lively discussion going on various probshylems that were brought up by the folks present

John Dearden spoke on the Reshynaissance Luscombe and answered questions about the proshyduction to be Doug Combs addressed the DLAHF agreement and quality control problems afshyfecting the new airplane

Judging went on during the afshyternoon with a team offour judges and by dinner time the results

The Peoples Choice award winner and the Grand Champion of the MTO Luscombe Fly-In is Nl448B proudly owned and flown by Steve McGuire of Ponca City OK

were in After the meal the trophies were awarded and many great door prizes were drawn

The Award Winners were Grand Champion 8F N1448B Steve McGuire of Ponca City Oklahoma Reserve Grand Champion 8F N1947B Jerry Cox and Scott Rose of Mattoon Illinois Outstanding 8A N37080 (really was an 8AC) Mike

Bowers of Mt Juliet Inshydiana Outstanding 8E N 1750K John Livesay and Mike Potter of Pana Illinois Outstanding 8F N9927C Robert Kellogg of Louisville Kentucky Outstanding T8F N1827B Irwin Reeb of Belleville Illinois Peoshyples Choice N 1448B Steve McGuire of Ponca City Oklahoma Longest Distance Flown 8A N25342 Gene Horsman ofGolden Colorado (773 NM one way)

Many thanks to Shanshynon Youakim Airport Manager Rick Reed the FBO the Charleston Illinois Lions club for food and Jerry Cox and other volunteers for a good fly-in

An item discussed was the possibility of moving the fly-in to a weekend in

August or September next year to avoid the bad weather syndrome in June Fly-In chief Jerry Cox asked the group to consider this and let him know On the spot response and disshycussions since the event have indicated that it was a good idea After searchshying the calendar for a satisfactory date the weekend of August 25-27 2000 was decided on See you there ~

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

FUEL VALVES bull CARE AND FEEDINO By Cy Galley

Another neglected component on your airplane is the fuel shutshyoff valve Many ownerpilots

take it for granted and never touch it It most likely is left in the ON position all the time I guess people think that if they ever need to turn it off it will function properly

Actually checking the function of the valve is part of a good annual Turning it off will check two functions First of all will it even move Some valves are gooked up with dried fuel dye varnish from old auto gas or complete seizure from corrosion and not a trace of any lushybrication due to fuel exposure over the years and lack of any exercise Secshyondly if it will move to the OFF position will it actually completely stop the flow offuel or will it leak a drip or two or more It could be like the valve that was in our Cessna We had to whittle a wooden plug for the fuel line to change the plastic float because the valve leaked so fast We actually lost a full load of fuel at an annual when 42 gallons leaked out overnight

The bottom line is safety How would you shut off the fuel if you had in in-flight fire How would you tum off the gas to a leaking carburetor with a stuck float At Oshkosh we have comshypletely drained tanks to eliminate the possible fire hazard Losing your plane to fire is bad enough but what if you also destroyed an entire row

Your valve needs to be turned to the shut-off position at each annual Then you or your mechanic can remove the gascolator bowl and all the filter screens in order to check them for foreign mateshyrial contamination It is hard to work if fuel continues to run from a tank It is a fire hazard

With low-wing planes a leaking valve might show up when your fuel pressure gauge begins to fluctuate at idle because it is letting air into the fuel lines rather than leaking gas out Suck enough air and the engine will stop This is anshyother source for a vacuum leak that can make the pressure gauge flutter

Many fuel valves are the cone type

10 NOVEMBER 1999

These are fairly inexpensive work well and are easy to repair With that said the valve used in our Cessna Skyhawk is not a cone type but a valve that is opened by pushing a ball away from an O-ring seal My Bellanca Cruisair came with a two valve setup with a selector and a shut-off valve It later used a three-way valve that could select either tank and shut it all off These valves have a common design feature They are a very simple cone type of shut-off valve The handle is part of or conshynected to a cone-shaped piece of steel with holes that will match the inlet and outlet ports of the body This cone or spool piece rotates in the valve body that is machined with a taper to match When the holes are aligned with the handle in the ON position and the holes in the cone part of the valve are blocked when the valve is turned to the OFF position Early VariEzes had problems with this kind of valve A plastic spool was tried but was not satshyisfactory But many of the older Aeroncas Cubs and T-crafts used these valves for years

These valves can sometimes be reshyturned to service without even removing them from the airplane but only after draining all the fuel if it is a gravity fed system On a low wing one just needs to get the fuel level below the valve Using just a small tab of Parkers Fuelube to coat the spool it can be reassembled and placed back in service This will cure most external leaks and make the handle easy to turn Some handles can be placed on the shaft in the wrong position With the Cruisair the handle has an AD to pin it to the shaft so that it is indexed to function correctly One also needs to check after reassemble to see if it turns off and doesnt leak

What if it doesnt tum off even if it doesnt leak even after the grease job Buy another Youve got to be kidding You might not like the price IF you can find an original for your certified airshyplane Even good new valves for experimentals are expensive You can rebuild it by completely removing the

valve from the aircraft This also reshyquires draining the fuel system Disconnect any remote fuel controls such as a Citabria would have Carefully remove the fuel valve taking care not to round off any wrench flats on the valve or the fittings or to twist any of the lines Completely disassemble the valve and let it soak in a small can containing acrylic lacquer thinner or MEK Lacquer thinner or acetone may also work but not as well

Dry the components and check for any damage such as scoring of the cone The valve body is usually brass and the cone is steel Obtain some valve LAPshyPING compound from a local auto supply or small gas engine repair store DO NOT use valve grinding compound The latter is too coarse Lapping comshypound or an equivalent should be used Apply a small amount around the cone part of the valve and assemble the valve pushing and rotating with just hand pressure Cant find lapping compound Use toothpaste instead

Rinse the old compound off and reapshyply some more fresh compound Do this two or three times until the valve cone and body have a nice smooth even satin look to both mating surfaces

Completely flush and rinse the comshypound from the valve components with clean thinner or petroleum solvent and apply a small amount of Parker Fuelube (Wicks PARKER FL or Aircraft Spruce 09-25300) to the cone This fuel-proof grease comes in a I-lb can and works miracles on old fuel valves Parker Sea lube is another product with similar properties Lightly coat the valve cone and reassemble the unit and install it in the aircraft Before placing your orshyder for a multi-lifetime supply see if you cant bum some off your FBO or mechanic It is like Bryicream-a litshytle dab will do you for several decades

Make sure that you get the handle on in the right position so that the placards agree with the operation Do a thorough leak check of the lines and fittings beshyfore you and your AampP mechanic return your plane to service

TYPE CLUB

NOTES by HG Frautschy

Compiled from various type club

publications amp newsletters

MONOCOUPE The Accident By Freddie Ludtke From The Monocoupe Flyer edited by Bob Coolbaugh

October 13 1994 The pilot is fine just some red sore spots from the safety harness but NC2064 is gone It beshycame uncontrollable just like the DC-IO that went down near Sioux City

My son Rick was flying over our small strip which is cut out of the tall fir on the northern peninsula near Port Angeles Washington He heard a bang from behind and the right rudder pedal went full forward The Coupe yawed right and immediately spun Attemptshying a recovery Rick found he couldnt move the left rudder pedal forward He thought I can fix that released his shoulder harness reached down and pulled the right rudder pedal as far aft as it would go Wedging his foot beshyhind the pedal to hold it he was able to recover from the spin controlling the remaining yaw with cross-controlled ailerons

With the altitude remaining he pershyformed a controllability check finding that the ship would snap roll to the right with the addition of even a little power and sink like a stone if slowed up Rick was able to control the snap tendency by judicious coordination of power speed and cross-controls He realized at this point that the elevator was jammed allowing only limited throw which was accompanied by heavy buffeting

Also the rudder was jammed to the

right with his foot holding it back somewhat toward center but not enoug to stop the continuing right hand tum He could only slow the rate of tum reshysulting in an uncontrollable right spiral Realizing that he could not land under control at the airstrip he slowed as much as possible about 65 KIAS and flew sideways and under marginal conshytrol into the 60-80 foot fir trees bordering the airstrip

The Coupe broke into five pieces The fuselage was severed behind the wing and hit the ground backwards nose up with the G meter pegged at 12 Gs The seat back and the cross tube behind the seat were bent by Rick s multiplied weight Fortunately his head was supported by the shoulder harness which was attached to the tube that goes across under the rear spar Chances are that this prevented his head from being jerked back on imshypact which would have caused a serious neck injury

When I built the fuselage from scratch I incorporated the 90AW drawing tube sizes and then added more structure to comply with the more stringent nose-over requirements in the current FAR Part 23 Beefmg up the main load structures paid off in the crash For example the left wing ripped away upon striking the trees snapping the lift strut with it Investishygation revealed that the lower longeron

lift strut fitting was undamaged The heavy attach bolt had sheared in two places at the fitting leaving the fitting intact The shear strength of that bolt exceeds 50000 pounds The cabin reshymained intact along with the gear The aft fuselage and empennage were deshystroyed as was the wing The engine was tom down for inspection

Inspection of the tail provided an immediate answer to the cause of the crash The Bang Rick heard was the structural failure of the left elevator hinges They tore away from the elevashytor spar allowing the airflow to bend the left side of the elevator back and up tilting it far over the rudder and forcing the rudder full right As you all know the majority of this Monocoupe was hand-built in my shop in the late 1980s However I used a 1937 Model 90A empennage clipping it slightly to resemble the 110 Special tail The hinges were the original factory welded assemblies Analyzing the cause of the failure of the hinges showed an alarmshying defect which must have slipped through the factory It is this defect that prompted me to ensure that the Monocoupe owners were alerted to a potential problem in their own Coupes The small finger patches over the hinge tubes separated from the eleshyvator spar tube The hinge tubes were not welded to the spar tube before the finger patches were welded over the

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

TYPE CLUB

NOTES smaller hinge tubes In fact there was a VOID between the hinge tubes and the spar tube Paint was in the void The finger patch welds had very little penetration

The Spirit of Dynamite was a great friend and a ticket to many adshyventures I shall always remember our last adventure to the Monocoupe FlyshyIn at Creve Coeur My son was safely returned by its strong 90A cabin strucshyture and I am thankful for that However when I made the decision to use that 1937 elevator 1 placed a fault in that airplane that almost kill ed my son A very sobering thought

Fortunately Rick has a strong desire and love of flying-a great motivator This gave him that Ill fix it attitude which got him through this episode He never became emotional stopped thinkshying or even thought of those last two words that appear at the end of airline cockpit tapes He controlled himself controlled the Coupe and walked away All he had to do was unstrap climb down out of the trees and brush the fir needles off As Rick walked out to call us he met a local crashing through the forest yelling about a crash Rick

calmed him saying 1 know It was me The next day Rick was scheduled for his Commercial Pilot check ride with the FAA examiner He decided to take it and passed

Lets all check the hinges on our elshyevators and rudders

From Bob Coolbaugh Mo n oshycoupe Flyer Editor Freddie taught both sons to fly in his J-3 Cub and moved to advanced aerobatics with them in the Cipwing Coupe Based on Ricks levelheaded performance Id say Freds lessons took

LESSONS LEARNED DEPARTMENT

First and foremost Rich has shown us that you never give up thinking plotting and fighting to overcome a problem in the air Hindsight is easy but it took a stroke of genius to figure a way to regain rudder authority as he was spinning into the ground With the rudder jammed to the right and left rudder pedal not effective in centerng it Rick quickly ducked down to pull on the right rudder pedal by hand For whatever reason this worked enough to save his life I wonder how many

others when faced with the failure of the obvious would simply push harder on the left pedal until impact It takes a calm pilot to walk the tightrope with a plane so marginally controllable and it takes a skilled one to accept the inshyevitable crash and plan for it and actually fly the plane into the crash inshystead of cursing fate Congrats Rick and do us a favor-take your Dad out for a glass of his favorite poison-tell him it s on us if you want but in your heart you have to know that it was he who taught you to fly a Clipwing which gave you the confidence and character to overcome your brush with the angels Aw heck forget the glass buy the old coot a bottle

There is a flying job out there for Rick-as a test pilot a fighter pilot or as a member of an airline crew 1 know I sure wou ld like to have him flying with me

Vintage Airplane Editors Note Freddie and the Monocoupe Club are to be commended for getting the word out regarding the cause of this accishydent in 1994 For the next chapter in NC2064 s saga please turn to page 16- HGF ~

12 NOVEMBER 1999

Fifteen years ago co-founders of the West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Bruce Fall (who has owned Cubs for most of his 54 flying years) and Monte

Finley invited a few Piper Cubs to Lompoc Airport The Annual Sentimental Journey Cub Fly-In in Lock Haven PA was an awshyfully long way to go for a West Coast pilot (and it could get expensive)

Since that first Lompoc Fly-In more and more Cubs show up every year there were many new faces among the familiar this year Even though the Fly-In is advertised to start Friday usually the first Cubs arrive on Thursday For years Larry Holman of Canby Oregon has arrived in his PA-18 Sushyper Cub on Thursday winning the First Arrival Award every time - but this year he was beat by only one minute by John Solly Solomon of Aurora Colorado in his J-3 It turns out that neither even knew the other was in the pattern

It was one of those extremely rare sumshymer weekends on the California Central Coast where fog was nonexistent sun was plentiful temperatures were mild wind was minimal sunsets were gorgeous and little yellow airplanes proliferated in the skies July 9 10 and 11 happened to be a perfect choice for the 15th Annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In at Lompoc Airport Lompoc California Plenty of J-3s PA-12 Super Cruisers and PA-18 Super Cubs a couple of J-2s PA-ll Cub Specials PA-22 Tri Pacers L-4s (military versions of the J-3) and a J-5 Cub Cruiser J-4 Cub Coupe and PA-16 Clipper flew into Lompoc from California Oregon Washington Nevada and Arizona

Of course other rag-wings were heartily welcomed including the infamous Cub look-a-like Aeronca Champs and Lusshycombe Silvaires and a couple of Stinsons a Porterfield a Citabria and a Cessna 140 More than 50 Cubs many other rag-

BY HOLLY PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE FALL

wings and who-knows-how-many spam cans were registered on the field and some who couldnt fly their Cubs drove in

One group of 11 Cubs flew in together from the WashingtonOregon area They took two days to get to Lompoc spending one night partying at the Flying Flanashygans almond ranch and private strip near Merced CA

Members of the group Jerry and Brenda Burr from Burlington WA took the Farshythest Distance Award in their highly modified J-3 Cub and have attended 14 of the Lompoc Fly Ins Jerry comes for the comfortable unstructured events and fun where he can just visit with friends and other Cub owners he hasnt seen for as long as a year We used to bring our kids but theyve grown up and moved out-so we come by ourselves now

CFr Kathryn Perry from Sultan W A made the two day trip with her two young

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

14 NOVEMBER 1999

(Top) Doug Morlan Vacaville CA and his J-3 flying over classic California country

(Second from Top) Kathryn Perry Sultan SA J-3 Cub is working on her spot landing with a young passenger in the front seat

(Second from Bottom) Keith and Molly Littlefield with sons Sam and Ben Molly flew her Cessna 140 while Keith and Ben flew the J-3 Cub They met at the fly-in in 1993

(Bottom) Ryan (L) and Dale (R) Weir Kent WA J-3 won Prettiest Cub Most Original Cub and Youngest Cub Pilot (22-year old-Ryan)

children and her solo student Al Wirtan (278 logbook hours) brought his Cub as well Other long-time attendees with the same group 737 Airline Captains Keith Littlefield and Molly (Flanashygan of the famous Flying Flanagans) Littlefield of Kent W A joined us again this year with their sons Ben (almost three years old) and Sam (three months old) These two met at our Fly-In in 1993 married and attended again in 95 97 (to show off their first-born to their Lompoc Family) and again in 99 The Oldest Cub Pilot Award went to Retired Marine Paratrooper Col Bruce Meyers from Snohomish WA who flew his J-3 RAF in Flitshyfire colors

The beautifully restored J-3 NC422 I I owned by Dale Weir (also with the Kent WA group) and flown by his 22-year-old son Ryan took the Prettiest Cub and Most Original Cub awards Ryan received the Youngest Cub Pilot Award

One obvious reason people enjoy the Lompoc Cub Fly-In is the wonderful homemade food Friday night fare always inshycludes generous servings of steaming hearty spaghetti garlic French bread salad and tables full of homemade desserts (preshypared by the local EAA 275 and Lompoc Valley Pilots Association members) Famous Lompoc Style tri-tip barbeque is served on Saturday night-and there is always plenty for second helpings Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday includes hotcakes sausage local strawberries orange juice milk and coffee Hamshyburgers and hotdogs are served for lunch on Friday and Saturday

One new aspect of the Fly-In this year is added ramp space Lompoc Airport is in the process of extending its runway and adding additional taxiways and parking on the hotel and restaurant side of the airport This enables planes to be parked within a few feet of several hotels and many restaushyrants as well as local shopping areas So if one would rather eat at a local restaurant instead of the Big Hangar many choices lie within close walking distance

After lunch on Saturday participants were briefed on the rules of the spot landing and flour bomb drop contest For the spot landing one or both of the main gear had to touch down and stay down as close to the chalk line as possible without hitting before the line The closest distance was 25 feet past the line (if you dont include the visiting Long EZ who just touched down to say Hi) Martin Leonard ofMt Baldy CA won the Spot Landing Award in his J-2 If you dont know Lompoc Airport you may not realize that we have pretty stiff gusty prevailing winds that can be crosswinds just a few feet above the runway so give these guys a break Ken Hetge of Tehachapi CA in his J-4 Cub Coupe with Jeff Sears as his bombardier won the flour bomb drop at a total of 26 feet for two bombs Bombardier Jeff was actually the youngest pilot at the fly-in-he is currently 16

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

bordered and straight but short stretch of river in the gathering dusk then backed off for a long straight slow descending approach

We were below the bordering trees now and slowly descending toward the rivers surface Finding light surshyface ripples from which to project the geometry by which to flare her for landing was quite different but I found not difficult to apply I felt her down the last few feet using considerably more power than with an airport landshying The floats touched and the keels knifed the rivers surface How yieldshying it was how smooth the surface and the ride how the planing floats seemed to softly buzz on the light ripshyples How very very different than an oleod and wheeled landing gear meetshying the sodded surface of an airport

Deceleration was rapid and comshypounding as the planing support of the float bottoms faded As she swished off the steps the buoyancy of the floats took over and we were again floating and gliding steadily and smoothly with nothing but her idling propeller again pulling her along What a delight everything about this first flight in a floatplane had been I was keenly aware at that moment what a very different world of flying was opening before me

An aviator friend George Sawyer who owned the riverside camp where the Waco was to be kept helped me tie her to her newly-built ramp then I was invited in for dinner I was ecstashytic as we talked of my first seaplane venture It was now dark outside

In a couple of hours Barb showed up and we threw some extra lines on her in the beams of the cars headshylights As we backed away the Waco was now alone in the dark the river lapping the stems of her floats I didshynt like to leave her there

When we returned to the river seashyplane ramp the next day I was relieved to see the Waco still there It was a lovely spring morning and as we readied the airplane for flight we waved to passing tugs towing or pushing deeply laden barges and oil tankers low in the water The Seneca River here was also part of the Barge Canal system across New York State from Buffalo to near Albany Our plan was to fly her down to Onondaga Lake near Syracuse for some practice where I hoped to find

out much more about the characterisshytics of a floatplane

We eased her down the ramp then swung her around so the stems of the floats were lightly resting on the planks I climbed in and started her and again she was immediately movshying and underway We taxied slowly down the river warming the engine as the treed green river banks slipped steadily by the wing tips How toshytally different from a land plane restricted to airports all of which are cursed with the sameness of paved runways and hangars and parking lots and gas pumps

I was still aglow with the success of my one seaplane takeoff and landshying of the day before and in a short while I was to find out It really isnt always that easy We took off and I banked gently to follow a bend in the river As we climbed the tops of the bordering trees off the wing tips came down even with then fell steadily furshyther below her spray streaming wings

As we banked into our first apshyproach the lakes surface was lightly rippled from a soft but now fading morning breeze I made several landshyings and takeoffs and was learning and really savoring the many new and wonderful feels of a seaplane

Satisfied that I was making progress I turned and climbed away from the lakefront circuit pattern that I had been flying then to perhaps adshyvertise that a seaplane was now based close to town and ready to do busishyness we flew down over the city for a few minutes

Upon our return the lakes surface was like glass but was completely unshynoticed by me Any surface ripples left over from the now faded morning breeze were gone and what wave patterns had been produced as a result of my earlier takeoffs and landings had long ago splashed ashore and been dissipated Such conditions can be lethal to the unshywary and the ignorant and I was well qualified in both respects I didnt know this though as the Waco descended toshyward the lake gliding smoothly through the warm stable morning air There was not a tremor in the sky only the soft vibrations and sounds of the engine at a very reduced thrust What a grand mornshying to be flying

Unconcerned and certainly now a bit complacent I was looking forward to yet another nice touchdown after which

I planned to taxi to a shore side beach to see if we couldnt sell a few late mornshying seaplane rides

As the Waco got lower and lower as do all airmen on all landings I projected forward and slightly downshyward an angled line of vision toward the lakes surface My eyes began probing and searching for something to come into view that could be foshycused upon thus establishing the end of this line from which the angular changes of landing could be evalushyated and controlled

By evaluating the angles formed beshytween this projected vision line and the level plane of the landing surface the airman can establish and vary his final approach descent to achieve touchdown at an aimed-for spot

At very low heights he shifts vision forward again forming a new and much shallower angle with the surface applying control and power to cause this new geometric angle to flatten slowly thus effecting an always hoped for gentle touchdown

It seemed we had been descending for some time and I was puzzled why I wasnt picking up a ripple or something on the surface as I had been doing all morning This had given me no probshylems earlier-when - wham The two float bows struck and dug in deep From an unchecked unflared glide I had litershyally flown the airplane right into the water while believing I had many many feet yet to descend The deceleration was ferocious and I was slammed forshyward with my right shoulder down Somehow I was able to get the stick back and the throttle full open and the Waco came up out of there flying as I straightened myself in the cockpit and looked around in shocked surprise

From what I heard later we creshyated quite a boom and quite a splash but there was no damage except for my pride We had hit the water awshyfully hard

This was an early lesson on seaplanshying that I learned well Descending toward a mirror-like surface it is abshysolutely impossible for an airman regardless of experience to determine angles or height A similar problem exists when landing on new-fallen snow or a black-paved surface on a rainy night But there are other easy ways of doing it provided awareness is there and the condition anticipated

Continued Next Month

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

by Jerry Cox

The 3rd annual Luscombe Fly-In at Coles County Airport at Mattoon Illishynois (MTO) took place on June 11 12 and 13

Lousy weather in some areas kept many folks from attending Even so by Thursday evening with preparashytions underway the Win Me Luscombe from the Don Luscombe Aviation Historical Foundation was there the first Renaissance Luscombe was there and Gene Horsman from

Colorado had gotten by the weather to arrive by early evening In addition two gentlemen from Canada Harry and Lloyd Clark members of the Flyshying Farmers group had driven in because of the weather and Walter Smith had arrived on a visit from Saudi Arabia by commercial jet and rental car of course Rick Duckworth semishynar speaker had driven in from Michigan because of bad weather in his area

Friday morning brought on a lot of haze and although sunny visibility was not that good It began to bum off by noontime however and more airshyplanes began arriving through the day There were 12 Luscombes in by noon and 18 by 5 00 pm By then the weather was threatening and eight airshycraft were moved into the big hangar but the storm moved around us

John Dearden of Renaissance Airshycraft LLC arrived about 600 pm with

the brand new Luscombe (well new in March) Folks flocked to get a look at that beautiful new bird It is really gorgeous both inside and out By Sunday just about everyone preshysent had a chance to get a close look at the airplane

Saturday was a much more pleasshyant day though hot and humid By the time judging had stopped in late afternoon there were 36 registered aircraft and 12 people registered who did not fly in their own aircraft From the description of many weather was a big factor from just about all places in the country The turnout would have been much betshyter otherwise we are sure

During the afternoon Jack Norris spoke about propeller technology

Canadians all From left to right Lloyd and Harry Clark and Mr and Mrs Richard Marcus with Luscombe C-FEPO

8 NOVEMBER 1999

Nine Luscombes are nestled in the hangar with a few outside

and particularly how it pertained to Luscombes Doug Combs of the Don Luscombe Aviation Historical Foundashytion spoke on the Turbine Luscombe now being rebuilt and his unfortunate accident with the airplane Even though wearing a neck brace Doug had not lost his sense of humor They believe that a bug had plugged the right fuel tank vent and when he went to the Aux fuel pump there was no way the fuel could be picked up with the vacuum in the tank Doug also spoke about general Luscombe problems as did Rick Duckworth Rick had a lively discussion going on various probshylems that were brought up by the folks present

John Dearden spoke on the Reshynaissance Luscombe and answered questions about the proshyduction to be Doug Combs addressed the DLAHF agreement and quality control problems afshyfecting the new airplane

Judging went on during the afshyternoon with a team offour judges and by dinner time the results

The Peoples Choice award winner and the Grand Champion of the MTO Luscombe Fly-In is Nl448B proudly owned and flown by Steve McGuire of Ponca City OK

were in After the meal the trophies were awarded and many great door prizes were drawn

The Award Winners were Grand Champion 8F N1448B Steve McGuire of Ponca City Oklahoma Reserve Grand Champion 8F N1947B Jerry Cox and Scott Rose of Mattoon Illinois Outstanding 8A N37080 (really was an 8AC) Mike

Bowers of Mt Juliet Inshydiana Outstanding 8E N 1750K John Livesay and Mike Potter of Pana Illinois Outstanding 8F N9927C Robert Kellogg of Louisville Kentucky Outstanding T8F N1827B Irwin Reeb of Belleville Illinois Peoshyples Choice N 1448B Steve McGuire of Ponca City Oklahoma Longest Distance Flown 8A N25342 Gene Horsman ofGolden Colorado (773 NM one way)

Many thanks to Shanshynon Youakim Airport Manager Rick Reed the FBO the Charleston Illinois Lions club for food and Jerry Cox and other volunteers for a good fly-in

An item discussed was the possibility of moving the fly-in to a weekend in

August or September next year to avoid the bad weather syndrome in June Fly-In chief Jerry Cox asked the group to consider this and let him know On the spot response and disshycussions since the event have indicated that it was a good idea After searchshying the calendar for a satisfactory date the weekend of August 25-27 2000 was decided on See you there ~

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

FUEL VALVES bull CARE AND FEEDINO By Cy Galley

Another neglected component on your airplane is the fuel shutshyoff valve Many ownerpilots

take it for granted and never touch it It most likely is left in the ON position all the time I guess people think that if they ever need to turn it off it will function properly

Actually checking the function of the valve is part of a good annual Turning it off will check two functions First of all will it even move Some valves are gooked up with dried fuel dye varnish from old auto gas or complete seizure from corrosion and not a trace of any lushybrication due to fuel exposure over the years and lack of any exercise Secshyondly if it will move to the OFF position will it actually completely stop the flow offuel or will it leak a drip or two or more It could be like the valve that was in our Cessna We had to whittle a wooden plug for the fuel line to change the plastic float because the valve leaked so fast We actually lost a full load of fuel at an annual when 42 gallons leaked out overnight

The bottom line is safety How would you shut off the fuel if you had in in-flight fire How would you tum off the gas to a leaking carburetor with a stuck float At Oshkosh we have comshypletely drained tanks to eliminate the possible fire hazard Losing your plane to fire is bad enough but what if you also destroyed an entire row

Your valve needs to be turned to the shut-off position at each annual Then you or your mechanic can remove the gascolator bowl and all the filter screens in order to check them for foreign mateshyrial contamination It is hard to work if fuel continues to run from a tank It is a fire hazard

With low-wing planes a leaking valve might show up when your fuel pressure gauge begins to fluctuate at idle because it is letting air into the fuel lines rather than leaking gas out Suck enough air and the engine will stop This is anshyother source for a vacuum leak that can make the pressure gauge flutter

Many fuel valves are the cone type

10 NOVEMBER 1999

These are fairly inexpensive work well and are easy to repair With that said the valve used in our Cessna Skyhawk is not a cone type but a valve that is opened by pushing a ball away from an O-ring seal My Bellanca Cruisair came with a two valve setup with a selector and a shut-off valve It later used a three-way valve that could select either tank and shut it all off These valves have a common design feature They are a very simple cone type of shut-off valve The handle is part of or conshynected to a cone-shaped piece of steel with holes that will match the inlet and outlet ports of the body This cone or spool piece rotates in the valve body that is machined with a taper to match When the holes are aligned with the handle in the ON position and the holes in the cone part of the valve are blocked when the valve is turned to the OFF position Early VariEzes had problems with this kind of valve A plastic spool was tried but was not satshyisfactory But many of the older Aeroncas Cubs and T-crafts used these valves for years

These valves can sometimes be reshyturned to service without even removing them from the airplane but only after draining all the fuel if it is a gravity fed system On a low wing one just needs to get the fuel level below the valve Using just a small tab of Parkers Fuelube to coat the spool it can be reassembled and placed back in service This will cure most external leaks and make the handle easy to turn Some handles can be placed on the shaft in the wrong position With the Cruisair the handle has an AD to pin it to the shaft so that it is indexed to function correctly One also needs to check after reassemble to see if it turns off and doesnt leak

What if it doesnt tum off even if it doesnt leak even after the grease job Buy another Youve got to be kidding You might not like the price IF you can find an original for your certified airshyplane Even good new valves for experimentals are expensive You can rebuild it by completely removing the

valve from the aircraft This also reshyquires draining the fuel system Disconnect any remote fuel controls such as a Citabria would have Carefully remove the fuel valve taking care not to round off any wrench flats on the valve or the fittings or to twist any of the lines Completely disassemble the valve and let it soak in a small can containing acrylic lacquer thinner or MEK Lacquer thinner or acetone may also work but not as well

Dry the components and check for any damage such as scoring of the cone The valve body is usually brass and the cone is steel Obtain some valve LAPshyPING compound from a local auto supply or small gas engine repair store DO NOT use valve grinding compound The latter is too coarse Lapping comshypound or an equivalent should be used Apply a small amount around the cone part of the valve and assemble the valve pushing and rotating with just hand pressure Cant find lapping compound Use toothpaste instead

Rinse the old compound off and reapshyply some more fresh compound Do this two or three times until the valve cone and body have a nice smooth even satin look to both mating surfaces

Completely flush and rinse the comshypound from the valve components with clean thinner or petroleum solvent and apply a small amount of Parker Fuelube (Wicks PARKER FL or Aircraft Spruce 09-25300) to the cone This fuel-proof grease comes in a I-lb can and works miracles on old fuel valves Parker Sea lube is another product with similar properties Lightly coat the valve cone and reassemble the unit and install it in the aircraft Before placing your orshyder for a multi-lifetime supply see if you cant bum some off your FBO or mechanic It is like Bryicream-a litshytle dab will do you for several decades

Make sure that you get the handle on in the right position so that the placards agree with the operation Do a thorough leak check of the lines and fittings beshyfore you and your AampP mechanic return your plane to service

TYPE CLUB

NOTES by HG Frautschy

Compiled from various type club

publications amp newsletters

MONOCOUPE The Accident By Freddie Ludtke From The Monocoupe Flyer edited by Bob Coolbaugh

October 13 1994 The pilot is fine just some red sore spots from the safety harness but NC2064 is gone It beshycame uncontrollable just like the DC-IO that went down near Sioux City

My son Rick was flying over our small strip which is cut out of the tall fir on the northern peninsula near Port Angeles Washington He heard a bang from behind and the right rudder pedal went full forward The Coupe yawed right and immediately spun Attemptshying a recovery Rick found he couldnt move the left rudder pedal forward He thought I can fix that released his shoulder harness reached down and pulled the right rudder pedal as far aft as it would go Wedging his foot beshyhind the pedal to hold it he was able to recover from the spin controlling the remaining yaw with cross-controlled ailerons

With the altitude remaining he pershyformed a controllability check finding that the ship would snap roll to the right with the addition of even a little power and sink like a stone if slowed up Rick was able to control the snap tendency by judicious coordination of power speed and cross-controls He realized at this point that the elevator was jammed allowing only limited throw which was accompanied by heavy buffeting

Also the rudder was jammed to the

right with his foot holding it back somewhat toward center but not enoug to stop the continuing right hand tum He could only slow the rate of tum reshysulting in an uncontrollable right spiral Realizing that he could not land under control at the airstrip he slowed as much as possible about 65 KIAS and flew sideways and under marginal conshytrol into the 60-80 foot fir trees bordering the airstrip

The Coupe broke into five pieces The fuselage was severed behind the wing and hit the ground backwards nose up with the G meter pegged at 12 Gs The seat back and the cross tube behind the seat were bent by Rick s multiplied weight Fortunately his head was supported by the shoulder harness which was attached to the tube that goes across under the rear spar Chances are that this prevented his head from being jerked back on imshypact which would have caused a serious neck injury

When I built the fuselage from scratch I incorporated the 90AW drawing tube sizes and then added more structure to comply with the more stringent nose-over requirements in the current FAR Part 23 Beefmg up the main load structures paid off in the crash For example the left wing ripped away upon striking the trees snapping the lift strut with it Investishygation revealed that the lower longeron

lift strut fitting was undamaged The heavy attach bolt had sheared in two places at the fitting leaving the fitting intact The shear strength of that bolt exceeds 50000 pounds The cabin reshymained intact along with the gear The aft fuselage and empennage were deshystroyed as was the wing The engine was tom down for inspection

Inspection of the tail provided an immediate answer to the cause of the crash The Bang Rick heard was the structural failure of the left elevator hinges They tore away from the elevashytor spar allowing the airflow to bend the left side of the elevator back and up tilting it far over the rudder and forcing the rudder full right As you all know the majority of this Monocoupe was hand-built in my shop in the late 1980s However I used a 1937 Model 90A empennage clipping it slightly to resemble the 110 Special tail The hinges were the original factory welded assemblies Analyzing the cause of the failure of the hinges showed an alarmshying defect which must have slipped through the factory It is this defect that prompted me to ensure that the Monocoupe owners were alerted to a potential problem in their own Coupes The small finger patches over the hinge tubes separated from the eleshyvator spar tube The hinge tubes were not welded to the spar tube before the finger patches were welded over the

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

TYPE CLUB

NOTES smaller hinge tubes In fact there was a VOID between the hinge tubes and the spar tube Paint was in the void The finger patch welds had very little penetration

The Spirit of Dynamite was a great friend and a ticket to many adshyventures I shall always remember our last adventure to the Monocoupe FlyshyIn at Creve Coeur My son was safely returned by its strong 90A cabin strucshyture and I am thankful for that However when I made the decision to use that 1937 elevator 1 placed a fault in that airplane that almost kill ed my son A very sobering thought

Fortunately Rick has a strong desire and love of flying-a great motivator This gave him that Ill fix it attitude which got him through this episode He never became emotional stopped thinkshying or even thought of those last two words that appear at the end of airline cockpit tapes He controlled himself controlled the Coupe and walked away All he had to do was unstrap climb down out of the trees and brush the fir needles off As Rick walked out to call us he met a local crashing through the forest yelling about a crash Rick

calmed him saying 1 know It was me The next day Rick was scheduled for his Commercial Pilot check ride with the FAA examiner He decided to take it and passed

Lets all check the hinges on our elshyevators and rudders

From Bob Coolbaugh Mo n oshycoupe Flyer Editor Freddie taught both sons to fly in his J-3 Cub and moved to advanced aerobatics with them in the Cipwing Coupe Based on Ricks levelheaded performance Id say Freds lessons took

LESSONS LEARNED DEPARTMENT

First and foremost Rich has shown us that you never give up thinking plotting and fighting to overcome a problem in the air Hindsight is easy but it took a stroke of genius to figure a way to regain rudder authority as he was spinning into the ground With the rudder jammed to the right and left rudder pedal not effective in centerng it Rick quickly ducked down to pull on the right rudder pedal by hand For whatever reason this worked enough to save his life I wonder how many

others when faced with the failure of the obvious would simply push harder on the left pedal until impact It takes a calm pilot to walk the tightrope with a plane so marginally controllable and it takes a skilled one to accept the inshyevitable crash and plan for it and actually fly the plane into the crash inshystead of cursing fate Congrats Rick and do us a favor-take your Dad out for a glass of his favorite poison-tell him it s on us if you want but in your heart you have to know that it was he who taught you to fly a Clipwing which gave you the confidence and character to overcome your brush with the angels Aw heck forget the glass buy the old coot a bottle

There is a flying job out there for Rick-as a test pilot a fighter pilot or as a member of an airline crew 1 know I sure wou ld like to have him flying with me

Vintage Airplane Editors Note Freddie and the Monocoupe Club are to be commended for getting the word out regarding the cause of this accishydent in 1994 For the next chapter in NC2064 s saga please turn to page 16- HGF ~

12 NOVEMBER 1999

Fifteen years ago co-founders of the West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Bruce Fall (who has owned Cubs for most of his 54 flying years) and Monte

Finley invited a few Piper Cubs to Lompoc Airport The Annual Sentimental Journey Cub Fly-In in Lock Haven PA was an awshyfully long way to go for a West Coast pilot (and it could get expensive)

Since that first Lompoc Fly-In more and more Cubs show up every year there were many new faces among the familiar this year Even though the Fly-In is advertised to start Friday usually the first Cubs arrive on Thursday For years Larry Holman of Canby Oregon has arrived in his PA-18 Sushyper Cub on Thursday winning the First Arrival Award every time - but this year he was beat by only one minute by John Solly Solomon of Aurora Colorado in his J-3 It turns out that neither even knew the other was in the pattern

It was one of those extremely rare sumshymer weekends on the California Central Coast where fog was nonexistent sun was plentiful temperatures were mild wind was minimal sunsets were gorgeous and little yellow airplanes proliferated in the skies July 9 10 and 11 happened to be a perfect choice for the 15th Annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In at Lompoc Airport Lompoc California Plenty of J-3s PA-12 Super Cruisers and PA-18 Super Cubs a couple of J-2s PA-ll Cub Specials PA-22 Tri Pacers L-4s (military versions of the J-3) and a J-5 Cub Cruiser J-4 Cub Coupe and PA-16 Clipper flew into Lompoc from California Oregon Washington Nevada and Arizona

Of course other rag-wings were heartily welcomed including the infamous Cub look-a-like Aeronca Champs and Lusshycombe Silvaires and a couple of Stinsons a Porterfield a Citabria and a Cessna 140 More than 50 Cubs many other rag-

BY HOLLY PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE FALL

wings and who-knows-how-many spam cans were registered on the field and some who couldnt fly their Cubs drove in

One group of 11 Cubs flew in together from the WashingtonOregon area They took two days to get to Lompoc spending one night partying at the Flying Flanashygans almond ranch and private strip near Merced CA

Members of the group Jerry and Brenda Burr from Burlington WA took the Farshythest Distance Award in their highly modified J-3 Cub and have attended 14 of the Lompoc Fly Ins Jerry comes for the comfortable unstructured events and fun where he can just visit with friends and other Cub owners he hasnt seen for as long as a year We used to bring our kids but theyve grown up and moved out-so we come by ourselves now

CFr Kathryn Perry from Sultan W A made the two day trip with her two young

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

14 NOVEMBER 1999

(Top) Doug Morlan Vacaville CA and his J-3 flying over classic California country

(Second from Top) Kathryn Perry Sultan SA J-3 Cub is working on her spot landing with a young passenger in the front seat

(Second from Bottom) Keith and Molly Littlefield with sons Sam and Ben Molly flew her Cessna 140 while Keith and Ben flew the J-3 Cub They met at the fly-in in 1993

(Bottom) Ryan (L) and Dale (R) Weir Kent WA J-3 won Prettiest Cub Most Original Cub and Youngest Cub Pilot (22-year old-Ryan)

children and her solo student Al Wirtan (278 logbook hours) brought his Cub as well Other long-time attendees with the same group 737 Airline Captains Keith Littlefield and Molly (Flanashygan of the famous Flying Flanagans) Littlefield of Kent W A joined us again this year with their sons Ben (almost three years old) and Sam (three months old) These two met at our Fly-In in 1993 married and attended again in 95 97 (to show off their first-born to their Lompoc Family) and again in 99 The Oldest Cub Pilot Award went to Retired Marine Paratrooper Col Bruce Meyers from Snohomish WA who flew his J-3 RAF in Flitshyfire colors

The beautifully restored J-3 NC422 I I owned by Dale Weir (also with the Kent WA group) and flown by his 22-year-old son Ryan took the Prettiest Cub and Most Original Cub awards Ryan received the Youngest Cub Pilot Award

One obvious reason people enjoy the Lompoc Cub Fly-In is the wonderful homemade food Friday night fare always inshycludes generous servings of steaming hearty spaghetti garlic French bread salad and tables full of homemade desserts (preshypared by the local EAA 275 and Lompoc Valley Pilots Association members) Famous Lompoc Style tri-tip barbeque is served on Saturday night-and there is always plenty for second helpings Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday includes hotcakes sausage local strawberries orange juice milk and coffee Hamshyburgers and hotdogs are served for lunch on Friday and Saturday

One new aspect of the Fly-In this year is added ramp space Lompoc Airport is in the process of extending its runway and adding additional taxiways and parking on the hotel and restaurant side of the airport This enables planes to be parked within a few feet of several hotels and many restaushyrants as well as local shopping areas So if one would rather eat at a local restaurant instead of the Big Hangar many choices lie within close walking distance

After lunch on Saturday participants were briefed on the rules of the spot landing and flour bomb drop contest For the spot landing one or both of the main gear had to touch down and stay down as close to the chalk line as possible without hitting before the line The closest distance was 25 feet past the line (if you dont include the visiting Long EZ who just touched down to say Hi) Martin Leonard ofMt Baldy CA won the Spot Landing Award in his J-2 If you dont know Lompoc Airport you may not realize that we have pretty stiff gusty prevailing winds that can be crosswinds just a few feet above the runway so give these guys a break Ken Hetge of Tehachapi CA in his J-4 Cub Coupe with Jeff Sears as his bombardier won the flour bomb drop at a total of 26 feet for two bombs Bombardier Jeff was actually the youngest pilot at the fly-in-he is currently 16

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

by Jerry Cox

The 3rd annual Luscombe Fly-In at Coles County Airport at Mattoon Illishynois (MTO) took place on June 11 12 and 13

Lousy weather in some areas kept many folks from attending Even so by Thursday evening with preparashytions underway the Win Me Luscombe from the Don Luscombe Aviation Historical Foundation was there the first Renaissance Luscombe was there and Gene Horsman from

Colorado had gotten by the weather to arrive by early evening In addition two gentlemen from Canada Harry and Lloyd Clark members of the Flyshying Farmers group had driven in because of the weather and Walter Smith had arrived on a visit from Saudi Arabia by commercial jet and rental car of course Rick Duckworth semishynar speaker had driven in from Michigan because of bad weather in his area

Friday morning brought on a lot of haze and although sunny visibility was not that good It began to bum off by noontime however and more airshyplanes began arriving through the day There were 12 Luscombes in by noon and 18 by 5 00 pm By then the weather was threatening and eight airshycraft were moved into the big hangar but the storm moved around us

John Dearden of Renaissance Airshycraft LLC arrived about 600 pm with

the brand new Luscombe (well new in March) Folks flocked to get a look at that beautiful new bird It is really gorgeous both inside and out By Sunday just about everyone preshysent had a chance to get a close look at the airplane

Saturday was a much more pleasshyant day though hot and humid By the time judging had stopped in late afternoon there were 36 registered aircraft and 12 people registered who did not fly in their own aircraft From the description of many weather was a big factor from just about all places in the country The turnout would have been much betshyter otherwise we are sure

During the afternoon Jack Norris spoke about propeller technology

Canadians all From left to right Lloyd and Harry Clark and Mr and Mrs Richard Marcus with Luscombe C-FEPO

8 NOVEMBER 1999

Nine Luscombes are nestled in the hangar with a few outside

and particularly how it pertained to Luscombes Doug Combs of the Don Luscombe Aviation Historical Foundashytion spoke on the Turbine Luscombe now being rebuilt and his unfortunate accident with the airplane Even though wearing a neck brace Doug had not lost his sense of humor They believe that a bug had plugged the right fuel tank vent and when he went to the Aux fuel pump there was no way the fuel could be picked up with the vacuum in the tank Doug also spoke about general Luscombe problems as did Rick Duckworth Rick had a lively discussion going on various probshylems that were brought up by the folks present

John Dearden spoke on the Reshynaissance Luscombe and answered questions about the proshyduction to be Doug Combs addressed the DLAHF agreement and quality control problems afshyfecting the new airplane

Judging went on during the afshyternoon with a team offour judges and by dinner time the results

The Peoples Choice award winner and the Grand Champion of the MTO Luscombe Fly-In is Nl448B proudly owned and flown by Steve McGuire of Ponca City OK

were in After the meal the trophies were awarded and many great door prizes were drawn

The Award Winners were Grand Champion 8F N1448B Steve McGuire of Ponca City Oklahoma Reserve Grand Champion 8F N1947B Jerry Cox and Scott Rose of Mattoon Illinois Outstanding 8A N37080 (really was an 8AC) Mike

Bowers of Mt Juliet Inshydiana Outstanding 8E N 1750K John Livesay and Mike Potter of Pana Illinois Outstanding 8F N9927C Robert Kellogg of Louisville Kentucky Outstanding T8F N1827B Irwin Reeb of Belleville Illinois Peoshyples Choice N 1448B Steve McGuire of Ponca City Oklahoma Longest Distance Flown 8A N25342 Gene Horsman ofGolden Colorado (773 NM one way)

Many thanks to Shanshynon Youakim Airport Manager Rick Reed the FBO the Charleston Illinois Lions club for food and Jerry Cox and other volunteers for a good fly-in

An item discussed was the possibility of moving the fly-in to a weekend in

August or September next year to avoid the bad weather syndrome in June Fly-In chief Jerry Cox asked the group to consider this and let him know On the spot response and disshycussions since the event have indicated that it was a good idea After searchshying the calendar for a satisfactory date the weekend of August 25-27 2000 was decided on See you there ~

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

FUEL VALVES bull CARE AND FEEDINO By Cy Galley

Another neglected component on your airplane is the fuel shutshyoff valve Many ownerpilots

take it for granted and never touch it It most likely is left in the ON position all the time I guess people think that if they ever need to turn it off it will function properly

Actually checking the function of the valve is part of a good annual Turning it off will check two functions First of all will it even move Some valves are gooked up with dried fuel dye varnish from old auto gas or complete seizure from corrosion and not a trace of any lushybrication due to fuel exposure over the years and lack of any exercise Secshyondly if it will move to the OFF position will it actually completely stop the flow offuel or will it leak a drip or two or more It could be like the valve that was in our Cessna We had to whittle a wooden plug for the fuel line to change the plastic float because the valve leaked so fast We actually lost a full load of fuel at an annual when 42 gallons leaked out overnight

The bottom line is safety How would you shut off the fuel if you had in in-flight fire How would you tum off the gas to a leaking carburetor with a stuck float At Oshkosh we have comshypletely drained tanks to eliminate the possible fire hazard Losing your plane to fire is bad enough but what if you also destroyed an entire row

Your valve needs to be turned to the shut-off position at each annual Then you or your mechanic can remove the gascolator bowl and all the filter screens in order to check them for foreign mateshyrial contamination It is hard to work if fuel continues to run from a tank It is a fire hazard

With low-wing planes a leaking valve might show up when your fuel pressure gauge begins to fluctuate at idle because it is letting air into the fuel lines rather than leaking gas out Suck enough air and the engine will stop This is anshyother source for a vacuum leak that can make the pressure gauge flutter

Many fuel valves are the cone type

10 NOVEMBER 1999

These are fairly inexpensive work well and are easy to repair With that said the valve used in our Cessna Skyhawk is not a cone type but a valve that is opened by pushing a ball away from an O-ring seal My Bellanca Cruisair came with a two valve setup with a selector and a shut-off valve It later used a three-way valve that could select either tank and shut it all off These valves have a common design feature They are a very simple cone type of shut-off valve The handle is part of or conshynected to a cone-shaped piece of steel with holes that will match the inlet and outlet ports of the body This cone or spool piece rotates in the valve body that is machined with a taper to match When the holes are aligned with the handle in the ON position and the holes in the cone part of the valve are blocked when the valve is turned to the OFF position Early VariEzes had problems with this kind of valve A plastic spool was tried but was not satshyisfactory But many of the older Aeroncas Cubs and T-crafts used these valves for years

These valves can sometimes be reshyturned to service without even removing them from the airplane but only after draining all the fuel if it is a gravity fed system On a low wing one just needs to get the fuel level below the valve Using just a small tab of Parkers Fuelube to coat the spool it can be reassembled and placed back in service This will cure most external leaks and make the handle easy to turn Some handles can be placed on the shaft in the wrong position With the Cruisair the handle has an AD to pin it to the shaft so that it is indexed to function correctly One also needs to check after reassemble to see if it turns off and doesnt leak

What if it doesnt tum off even if it doesnt leak even after the grease job Buy another Youve got to be kidding You might not like the price IF you can find an original for your certified airshyplane Even good new valves for experimentals are expensive You can rebuild it by completely removing the

valve from the aircraft This also reshyquires draining the fuel system Disconnect any remote fuel controls such as a Citabria would have Carefully remove the fuel valve taking care not to round off any wrench flats on the valve or the fittings or to twist any of the lines Completely disassemble the valve and let it soak in a small can containing acrylic lacquer thinner or MEK Lacquer thinner or acetone may also work but not as well

Dry the components and check for any damage such as scoring of the cone The valve body is usually brass and the cone is steel Obtain some valve LAPshyPING compound from a local auto supply or small gas engine repair store DO NOT use valve grinding compound The latter is too coarse Lapping comshypound or an equivalent should be used Apply a small amount around the cone part of the valve and assemble the valve pushing and rotating with just hand pressure Cant find lapping compound Use toothpaste instead

Rinse the old compound off and reapshyply some more fresh compound Do this two or three times until the valve cone and body have a nice smooth even satin look to both mating surfaces

Completely flush and rinse the comshypound from the valve components with clean thinner or petroleum solvent and apply a small amount of Parker Fuelube (Wicks PARKER FL or Aircraft Spruce 09-25300) to the cone This fuel-proof grease comes in a I-lb can and works miracles on old fuel valves Parker Sea lube is another product with similar properties Lightly coat the valve cone and reassemble the unit and install it in the aircraft Before placing your orshyder for a multi-lifetime supply see if you cant bum some off your FBO or mechanic It is like Bryicream-a litshytle dab will do you for several decades

Make sure that you get the handle on in the right position so that the placards agree with the operation Do a thorough leak check of the lines and fittings beshyfore you and your AampP mechanic return your plane to service

TYPE CLUB

NOTES by HG Frautschy

Compiled from various type club

publications amp newsletters

MONOCOUPE The Accident By Freddie Ludtke From The Monocoupe Flyer edited by Bob Coolbaugh

October 13 1994 The pilot is fine just some red sore spots from the safety harness but NC2064 is gone It beshycame uncontrollable just like the DC-IO that went down near Sioux City

My son Rick was flying over our small strip which is cut out of the tall fir on the northern peninsula near Port Angeles Washington He heard a bang from behind and the right rudder pedal went full forward The Coupe yawed right and immediately spun Attemptshying a recovery Rick found he couldnt move the left rudder pedal forward He thought I can fix that released his shoulder harness reached down and pulled the right rudder pedal as far aft as it would go Wedging his foot beshyhind the pedal to hold it he was able to recover from the spin controlling the remaining yaw with cross-controlled ailerons

With the altitude remaining he pershyformed a controllability check finding that the ship would snap roll to the right with the addition of even a little power and sink like a stone if slowed up Rick was able to control the snap tendency by judicious coordination of power speed and cross-controls He realized at this point that the elevator was jammed allowing only limited throw which was accompanied by heavy buffeting

Also the rudder was jammed to the

right with his foot holding it back somewhat toward center but not enoug to stop the continuing right hand tum He could only slow the rate of tum reshysulting in an uncontrollable right spiral Realizing that he could not land under control at the airstrip he slowed as much as possible about 65 KIAS and flew sideways and under marginal conshytrol into the 60-80 foot fir trees bordering the airstrip

The Coupe broke into five pieces The fuselage was severed behind the wing and hit the ground backwards nose up with the G meter pegged at 12 Gs The seat back and the cross tube behind the seat were bent by Rick s multiplied weight Fortunately his head was supported by the shoulder harness which was attached to the tube that goes across under the rear spar Chances are that this prevented his head from being jerked back on imshypact which would have caused a serious neck injury

When I built the fuselage from scratch I incorporated the 90AW drawing tube sizes and then added more structure to comply with the more stringent nose-over requirements in the current FAR Part 23 Beefmg up the main load structures paid off in the crash For example the left wing ripped away upon striking the trees snapping the lift strut with it Investishygation revealed that the lower longeron

lift strut fitting was undamaged The heavy attach bolt had sheared in two places at the fitting leaving the fitting intact The shear strength of that bolt exceeds 50000 pounds The cabin reshymained intact along with the gear The aft fuselage and empennage were deshystroyed as was the wing The engine was tom down for inspection

Inspection of the tail provided an immediate answer to the cause of the crash The Bang Rick heard was the structural failure of the left elevator hinges They tore away from the elevashytor spar allowing the airflow to bend the left side of the elevator back and up tilting it far over the rudder and forcing the rudder full right As you all know the majority of this Monocoupe was hand-built in my shop in the late 1980s However I used a 1937 Model 90A empennage clipping it slightly to resemble the 110 Special tail The hinges were the original factory welded assemblies Analyzing the cause of the failure of the hinges showed an alarmshying defect which must have slipped through the factory It is this defect that prompted me to ensure that the Monocoupe owners were alerted to a potential problem in their own Coupes The small finger patches over the hinge tubes separated from the eleshyvator spar tube The hinge tubes were not welded to the spar tube before the finger patches were welded over the

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

TYPE CLUB

NOTES smaller hinge tubes In fact there was a VOID between the hinge tubes and the spar tube Paint was in the void The finger patch welds had very little penetration

The Spirit of Dynamite was a great friend and a ticket to many adshyventures I shall always remember our last adventure to the Monocoupe FlyshyIn at Creve Coeur My son was safely returned by its strong 90A cabin strucshyture and I am thankful for that However when I made the decision to use that 1937 elevator 1 placed a fault in that airplane that almost kill ed my son A very sobering thought

Fortunately Rick has a strong desire and love of flying-a great motivator This gave him that Ill fix it attitude which got him through this episode He never became emotional stopped thinkshying or even thought of those last two words that appear at the end of airline cockpit tapes He controlled himself controlled the Coupe and walked away All he had to do was unstrap climb down out of the trees and brush the fir needles off As Rick walked out to call us he met a local crashing through the forest yelling about a crash Rick

calmed him saying 1 know It was me The next day Rick was scheduled for his Commercial Pilot check ride with the FAA examiner He decided to take it and passed

Lets all check the hinges on our elshyevators and rudders

From Bob Coolbaugh Mo n oshycoupe Flyer Editor Freddie taught both sons to fly in his J-3 Cub and moved to advanced aerobatics with them in the Cipwing Coupe Based on Ricks levelheaded performance Id say Freds lessons took

LESSONS LEARNED DEPARTMENT

First and foremost Rich has shown us that you never give up thinking plotting and fighting to overcome a problem in the air Hindsight is easy but it took a stroke of genius to figure a way to regain rudder authority as he was spinning into the ground With the rudder jammed to the right and left rudder pedal not effective in centerng it Rick quickly ducked down to pull on the right rudder pedal by hand For whatever reason this worked enough to save his life I wonder how many

others when faced with the failure of the obvious would simply push harder on the left pedal until impact It takes a calm pilot to walk the tightrope with a plane so marginally controllable and it takes a skilled one to accept the inshyevitable crash and plan for it and actually fly the plane into the crash inshystead of cursing fate Congrats Rick and do us a favor-take your Dad out for a glass of his favorite poison-tell him it s on us if you want but in your heart you have to know that it was he who taught you to fly a Clipwing which gave you the confidence and character to overcome your brush with the angels Aw heck forget the glass buy the old coot a bottle

There is a flying job out there for Rick-as a test pilot a fighter pilot or as a member of an airline crew 1 know I sure wou ld like to have him flying with me

Vintage Airplane Editors Note Freddie and the Monocoupe Club are to be commended for getting the word out regarding the cause of this accishydent in 1994 For the next chapter in NC2064 s saga please turn to page 16- HGF ~

12 NOVEMBER 1999

Fifteen years ago co-founders of the West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Bruce Fall (who has owned Cubs for most of his 54 flying years) and Monte

Finley invited a few Piper Cubs to Lompoc Airport The Annual Sentimental Journey Cub Fly-In in Lock Haven PA was an awshyfully long way to go for a West Coast pilot (and it could get expensive)

Since that first Lompoc Fly-In more and more Cubs show up every year there were many new faces among the familiar this year Even though the Fly-In is advertised to start Friday usually the first Cubs arrive on Thursday For years Larry Holman of Canby Oregon has arrived in his PA-18 Sushyper Cub on Thursday winning the First Arrival Award every time - but this year he was beat by only one minute by John Solly Solomon of Aurora Colorado in his J-3 It turns out that neither even knew the other was in the pattern

It was one of those extremely rare sumshymer weekends on the California Central Coast where fog was nonexistent sun was plentiful temperatures were mild wind was minimal sunsets were gorgeous and little yellow airplanes proliferated in the skies July 9 10 and 11 happened to be a perfect choice for the 15th Annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In at Lompoc Airport Lompoc California Plenty of J-3s PA-12 Super Cruisers and PA-18 Super Cubs a couple of J-2s PA-ll Cub Specials PA-22 Tri Pacers L-4s (military versions of the J-3) and a J-5 Cub Cruiser J-4 Cub Coupe and PA-16 Clipper flew into Lompoc from California Oregon Washington Nevada and Arizona

Of course other rag-wings were heartily welcomed including the infamous Cub look-a-like Aeronca Champs and Lusshycombe Silvaires and a couple of Stinsons a Porterfield a Citabria and a Cessna 140 More than 50 Cubs many other rag-

BY HOLLY PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE FALL

wings and who-knows-how-many spam cans were registered on the field and some who couldnt fly their Cubs drove in

One group of 11 Cubs flew in together from the WashingtonOregon area They took two days to get to Lompoc spending one night partying at the Flying Flanashygans almond ranch and private strip near Merced CA

Members of the group Jerry and Brenda Burr from Burlington WA took the Farshythest Distance Award in their highly modified J-3 Cub and have attended 14 of the Lompoc Fly Ins Jerry comes for the comfortable unstructured events and fun where he can just visit with friends and other Cub owners he hasnt seen for as long as a year We used to bring our kids but theyve grown up and moved out-so we come by ourselves now

CFr Kathryn Perry from Sultan W A made the two day trip with her two young

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

14 NOVEMBER 1999

(Top) Doug Morlan Vacaville CA and his J-3 flying over classic California country

(Second from Top) Kathryn Perry Sultan SA J-3 Cub is working on her spot landing with a young passenger in the front seat

(Second from Bottom) Keith and Molly Littlefield with sons Sam and Ben Molly flew her Cessna 140 while Keith and Ben flew the J-3 Cub They met at the fly-in in 1993

(Bottom) Ryan (L) and Dale (R) Weir Kent WA J-3 won Prettiest Cub Most Original Cub and Youngest Cub Pilot (22-year old-Ryan)

children and her solo student Al Wirtan (278 logbook hours) brought his Cub as well Other long-time attendees with the same group 737 Airline Captains Keith Littlefield and Molly (Flanashygan of the famous Flying Flanagans) Littlefield of Kent W A joined us again this year with their sons Ben (almost three years old) and Sam (three months old) These two met at our Fly-In in 1993 married and attended again in 95 97 (to show off their first-born to their Lompoc Family) and again in 99 The Oldest Cub Pilot Award went to Retired Marine Paratrooper Col Bruce Meyers from Snohomish WA who flew his J-3 RAF in Flitshyfire colors

The beautifully restored J-3 NC422 I I owned by Dale Weir (also with the Kent WA group) and flown by his 22-year-old son Ryan took the Prettiest Cub and Most Original Cub awards Ryan received the Youngest Cub Pilot Award

One obvious reason people enjoy the Lompoc Cub Fly-In is the wonderful homemade food Friday night fare always inshycludes generous servings of steaming hearty spaghetti garlic French bread salad and tables full of homemade desserts (preshypared by the local EAA 275 and Lompoc Valley Pilots Association members) Famous Lompoc Style tri-tip barbeque is served on Saturday night-and there is always plenty for second helpings Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday includes hotcakes sausage local strawberries orange juice milk and coffee Hamshyburgers and hotdogs are served for lunch on Friday and Saturday

One new aspect of the Fly-In this year is added ramp space Lompoc Airport is in the process of extending its runway and adding additional taxiways and parking on the hotel and restaurant side of the airport This enables planes to be parked within a few feet of several hotels and many restaushyrants as well as local shopping areas So if one would rather eat at a local restaurant instead of the Big Hangar many choices lie within close walking distance

After lunch on Saturday participants were briefed on the rules of the spot landing and flour bomb drop contest For the spot landing one or both of the main gear had to touch down and stay down as close to the chalk line as possible without hitting before the line The closest distance was 25 feet past the line (if you dont include the visiting Long EZ who just touched down to say Hi) Martin Leonard ofMt Baldy CA won the Spot Landing Award in his J-2 If you dont know Lompoc Airport you may not realize that we have pretty stiff gusty prevailing winds that can be crosswinds just a few feet above the runway so give these guys a break Ken Hetge of Tehachapi CA in his J-4 Cub Coupe with Jeff Sears as his bombardier won the flour bomb drop at a total of 26 feet for two bombs Bombardier Jeff was actually the youngest pilot at the fly-in-he is currently 16

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

Nine Luscombes are nestled in the hangar with a few outside

and particularly how it pertained to Luscombes Doug Combs of the Don Luscombe Aviation Historical Foundashytion spoke on the Turbine Luscombe now being rebuilt and his unfortunate accident with the airplane Even though wearing a neck brace Doug had not lost his sense of humor They believe that a bug had plugged the right fuel tank vent and when he went to the Aux fuel pump there was no way the fuel could be picked up with the vacuum in the tank Doug also spoke about general Luscombe problems as did Rick Duckworth Rick had a lively discussion going on various probshylems that were brought up by the folks present

John Dearden spoke on the Reshynaissance Luscombe and answered questions about the proshyduction to be Doug Combs addressed the DLAHF agreement and quality control problems afshyfecting the new airplane

Judging went on during the afshyternoon with a team offour judges and by dinner time the results

The Peoples Choice award winner and the Grand Champion of the MTO Luscombe Fly-In is Nl448B proudly owned and flown by Steve McGuire of Ponca City OK

were in After the meal the trophies were awarded and many great door prizes were drawn

The Award Winners were Grand Champion 8F N1448B Steve McGuire of Ponca City Oklahoma Reserve Grand Champion 8F N1947B Jerry Cox and Scott Rose of Mattoon Illinois Outstanding 8A N37080 (really was an 8AC) Mike

Bowers of Mt Juliet Inshydiana Outstanding 8E N 1750K John Livesay and Mike Potter of Pana Illinois Outstanding 8F N9927C Robert Kellogg of Louisville Kentucky Outstanding T8F N1827B Irwin Reeb of Belleville Illinois Peoshyples Choice N 1448B Steve McGuire of Ponca City Oklahoma Longest Distance Flown 8A N25342 Gene Horsman ofGolden Colorado (773 NM one way)

Many thanks to Shanshynon Youakim Airport Manager Rick Reed the FBO the Charleston Illinois Lions club for food and Jerry Cox and other volunteers for a good fly-in

An item discussed was the possibility of moving the fly-in to a weekend in

August or September next year to avoid the bad weather syndrome in June Fly-In chief Jerry Cox asked the group to consider this and let him know On the spot response and disshycussions since the event have indicated that it was a good idea After searchshying the calendar for a satisfactory date the weekend of August 25-27 2000 was decided on See you there ~

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

FUEL VALVES bull CARE AND FEEDINO By Cy Galley

Another neglected component on your airplane is the fuel shutshyoff valve Many ownerpilots

take it for granted and never touch it It most likely is left in the ON position all the time I guess people think that if they ever need to turn it off it will function properly

Actually checking the function of the valve is part of a good annual Turning it off will check two functions First of all will it even move Some valves are gooked up with dried fuel dye varnish from old auto gas or complete seizure from corrosion and not a trace of any lushybrication due to fuel exposure over the years and lack of any exercise Secshyondly if it will move to the OFF position will it actually completely stop the flow offuel or will it leak a drip or two or more It could be like the valve that was in our Cessna We had to whittle a wooden plug for the fuel line to change the plastic float because the valve leaked so fast We actually lost a full load of fuel at an annual when 42 gallons leaked out overnight

The bottom line is safety How would you shut off the fuel if you had in in-flight fire How would you tum off the gas to a leaking carburetor with a stuck float At Oshkosh we have comshypletely drained tanks to eliminate the possible fire hazard Losing your plane to fire is bad enough but what if you also destroyed an entire row

Your valve needs to be turned to the shut-off position at each annual Then you or your mechanic can remove the gascolator bowl and all the filter screens in order to check them for foreign mateshyrial contamination It is hard to work if fuel continues to run from a tank It is a fire hazard

With low-wing planes a leaking valve might show up when your fuel pressure gauge begins to fluctuate at idle because it is letting air into the fuel lines rather than leaking gas out Suck enough air and the engine will stop This is anshyother source for a vacuum leak that can make the pressure gauge flutter

Many fuel valves are the cone type

10 NOVEMBER 1999

These are fairly inexpensive work well and are easy to repair With that said the valve used in our Cessna Skyhawk is not a cone type but a valve that is opened by pushing a ball away from an O-ring seal My Bellanca Cruisair came with a two valve setup with a selector and a shut-off valve It later used a three-way valve that could select either tank and shut it all off These valves have a common design feature They are a very simple cone type of shut-off valve The handle is part of or conshynected to a cone-shaped piece of steel with holes that will match the inlet and outlet ports of the body This cone or spool piece rotates in the valve body that is machined with a taper to match When the holes are aligned with the handle in the ON position and the holes in the cone part of the valve are blocked when the valve is turned to the OFF position Early VariEzes had problems with this kind of valve A plastic spool was tried but was not satshyisfactory But many of the older Aeroncas Cubs and T-crafts used these valves for years

These valves can sometimes be reshyturned to service without even removing them from the airplane but only after draining all the fuel if it is a gravity fed system On a low wing one just needs to get the fuel level below the valve Using just a small tab of Parkers Fuelube to coat the spool it can be reassembled and placed back in service This will cure most external leaks and make the handle easy to turn Some handles can be placed on the shaft in the wrong position With the Cruisair the handle has an AD to pin it to the shaft so that it is indexed to function correctly One also needs to check after reassemble to see if it turns off and doesnt leak

What if it doesnt tum off even if it doesnt leak even after the grease job Buy another Youve got to be kidding You might not like the price IF you can find an original for your certified airshyplane Even good new valves for experimentals are expensive You can rebuild it by completely removing the

valve from the aircraft This also reshyquires draining the fuel system Disconnect any remote fuel controls such as a Citabria would have Carefully remove the fuel valve taking care not to round off any wrench flats on the valve or the fittings or to twist any of the lines Completely disassemble the valve and let it soak in a small can containing acrylic lacquer thinner or MEK Lacquer thinner or acetone may also work but not as well

Dry the components and check for any damage such as scoring of the cone The valve body is usually brass and the cone is steel Obtain some valve LAPshyPING compound from a local auto supply or small gas engine repair store DO NOT use valve grinding compound The latter is too coarse Lapping comshypound or an equivalent should be used Apply a small amount around the cone part of the valve and assemble the valve pushing and rotating with just hand pressure Cant find lapping compound Use toothpaste instead

Rinse the old compound off and reapshyply some more fresh compound Do this two or three times until the valve cone and body have a nice smooth even satin look to both mating surfaces

Completely flush and rinse the comshypound from the valve components with clean thinner or petroleum solvent and apply a small amount of Parker Fuelube (Wicks PARKER FL or Aircraft Spruce 09-25300) to the cone This fuel-proof grease comes in a I-lb can and works miracles on old fuel valves Parker Sea lube is another product with similar properties Lightly coat the valve cone and reassemble the unit and install it in the aircraft Before placing your orshyder for a multi-lifetime supply see if you cant bum some off your FBO or mechanic It is like Bryicream-a litshytle dab will do you for several decades

Make sure that you get the handle on in the right position so that the placards agree with the operation Do a thorough leak check of the lines and fittings beshyfore you and your AampP mechanic return your plane to service

TYPE CLUB

NOTES by HG Frautschy

Compiled from various type club

publications amp newsletters

MONOCOUPE The Accident By Freddie Ludtke From The Monocoupe Flyer edited by Bob Coolbaugh

October 13 1994 The pilot is fine just some red sore spots from the safety harness but NC2064 is gone It beshycame uncontrollable just like the DC-IO that went down near Sioux City

My son Rick was flying over our small strip which is cut out of the tall fir on the northern peninsula near Port Angeles Washington He heard a bang from behind and the right rudder pedal went full forward The Coupe yawed right and immediately spun Attemptshying a recovery Rick found he couldnt move the left rudder pedal forward He thought I can fix that released his shoulder harness reached down and pulled the right rudder pedal as far aft as it would go Wedging his foot beshyhind the pedal to hold it he was able to recover from the spin controlling the remaining yaw with cross-controlled ailerons

With the altitude remaining he pershyformed a controllability check finding that the ship would snap roll to the right with the addition of even a little power and sink like a stone if slowed up Rick was able to control the snap tendency by judicious coordination of power speed and cross-controls He realized at this point that the elevator was jammed allowing only limited throw which was accompanied by heavy buffeting

Also the rudder was jammed to the

right with his foot holding it back somewhat toward center but not enoug to stop the continuing right hand tum He could only slow the rate of tum reshysulting in an uncontrollable right spiral Realizing that he could not land under control at the airstrip he slowed as much as possible about 65 KIAS and flew sideways and under marginal conshytrol into the 60-80 foot fir trees bordering the airstrip

The Coupe broke into five pieces The fuselage was severed behind the wing and hit the ground backwards nose up with the G meter pegged at 12 Gs The seat back and the cross tube behind the seat were bent by Rick s multiplied weight Fortunately his head was supported by the shoulder harness which was attached to the tube that goes across under the rear spar Chances are that this prevented his head from being jerked back on imshypact which would have caused a serious neck injury

When I built the fuselage from scratch I incorporated the 90AW drawing tube sizes and then added more structure to comply with the more stringent nose-over requirements in the current FAR Part 23 Beefmg up the main load structures paid off in the crash For example the left wing ripped away upon striking the trees snapping the lift strut with it Investishygation revealed that the lower longeron

lift strut fitting was undamaged The heavy attach bolt had sheared in two places at the fitting leaving the fitting intact The shear strength of that bolt exceeds 50000 pounds The cabin reshymained intact along with the gear The aft fuselage and empennage were deshystroyed as was the wing The engine was tom down for inspection

Inspection of the tail provided an immediate answer to the cause of the crash The Bang Rick heard was the structural failure of the left elevator hinges They tore away from the elevashytor spar allowing the airflow to bend the left side of the elevator back and up tilting it far over the rudder and forcing the rudder full right As you all know the majority of this Monocoupe was hand-built in my shop in the late 1980s However I used a 1937 Model 90A empennage clipping it slightly to resemble the 110 Special tail The hinges were the original factory welded assemblies Analyzing the cause of the failure of the hinges showed an alarmshying defect which must have slipped through the factory It is this defect that prompted me to ensure that the Monocoupe owners were alerted to a potential problem in their own Coupes The small finger patches over the hinge tubes separated from the eleshyvator spar tube The hinge tubes were not welded to the spar tube before the finger patches were welded over the

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

TYPE CLUB

NOTES smaller hinge tubes In fact there was a VOID between the hinge tubes and the spar tube Paint was in the void The finger patch welds had very little penetration

The Spirit of Dynamite was a great friend and a ticket to many adshyventures I shall always remember our last adventure to the Monocoupe FlyshyIn at Creve Coeur My son was safely returned by its strong 90A cabin strucshyture and I am thankful for that However when I made the decision to use that 1937 elevator 1 placed a fault in that airplane that almost kill ed my son A very sobering thought

Fortunately Rick has a strong desire and love of flying-a great motivator This gave him that Ill fix it attitude which got him through this episode He never became emotional stopped thinkshying or even thought of those last two words that appear at the end of airline cockpit tapes He controlled himself controlled the Coupe and walked away All he had to do was unstrap climb down out of the trees and brush the fir needles off As Rick walked out to call us he met a local crashing through the forest yelling about a crash Rick

calmed him saying 1 know It was me The next day Rick was scheduled for his Commercial Pilot check ride with the FAA examiner He decided to take it and passed

Lets all check the hinges on our elshyevators and rudders

From Bob Coolbaugh Mo n oshycoupe Flyer Editor Freddie taught both sons to fly in his J-3 Cub and moved to advanced aerobatics with them in the Cipwing Coupe Based on Ricks levelheaded performance Id say Freds lessons took

LESSONS LEARNED DEPARTMENT

First and foremost Rich has shown us that you never give up thinking plotting and fighting to overcome a problem in the air Hindsight is easy but it took a stroke of genius to figure a way to regain rudder authority as he was spinning into the ground With the rudder jammed to the right and left rudder pedal not effective in centerng it Rick quickly ducked down to pull on the right rudder pedal by hand For whatever reason this worked enough to save his life I wonder how many

others when faced with the failure of the obvious would simply push harder on the left pedal until impact It takes a calm pilot to walk the tightrope with a plane so marginally controllable and it takes a skilled one to accept the inshyevitable crash and plan for it and actually fly the plane into the crash inshystead of cursing fate Congrats Rick and do us a favor-take your Dad out for a glass of his favorite poison-tell him it s on us if you want but in your heart you have to know that it was he who taught you to fly a Clipwing which gave you the confidence and character to overcome your brush with the angels Aw heck forget the glass buy the old coot a bottle

There is a flying job out there for Rick-as a test pilot a fighter pilot or as a member of an airline crew 1 know I sure wou ld like to have him flying with me

Vintage Airplane Editors Note Freddie and the Monocoupe Club are to be commended for getting the word out regarding the cause of this accishydent in 1994 For the next chapter in NC2064 s saga please turn to page 16- HGF ~

12 NOVEMBER 1999

Fifteen years ago co-founders of the West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Bruce Fall (who has owned Cubs for most of his 54 flying years) and Monte

Finley invited a few Piper Cubs to Lompoc Airport The Annual Sentimental Journey Cub Fly-In in Lock Haven PA was an awshyfully long way to go for a West Coast pilot (and it could get expensive)

Since that first Lompoc Fly-In more and more Cubs show up every year there were many new faces among the familiar this year Even though the Fly-In is advertised to start Friday usually the first Cubs arrive on Thursday For years Larry Holman of Canby Oregon has arrived in his PA-18 Sushyper Cub on Thursday winning the First Arrival Award every time - but this year he was beat by only one minute by John Solly Solomon of Aurora Colorado in his J-3 It turns out that neither even knew the other was in the pattern

It was one of those extremely rare sumshymer weekends on the California Central Coast where fog was nonexistent sun was plentiful temperatures were mild wind was minimal sunsets were gorgeous and little yellow airplanes proliferated in the skies July 9 10 and 11 happened to be a perfect choice for the 15th Annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In at Lompoc Airport Lompoc California Plenty of J-3s PA-12 Super Cruisers and PA-18 Super Cubs a couple of J-2s PA-ll Cub Specials PA-22 Tri Pacers L-4s (military versions of the J-3) and a J-5 Cub Cruiser J-4 Cub Coupe and PA-16 Clipper flew into Lompoc from California Oregon Washington Nevada and Arizona

Of course other rag-wings were heartily welcomed including the infamous Cub look-a-like Aeronca Champs and Lusshycombe Silvaires and a couple of Stinsons a Porterfield a Citabria and a Cessna 140 More than 50 Cubs many other rag-

BY HOLLY PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE FALL

wings and who-knows-how-many spam cans were registered on the field and some who couldnt fly their Cubs drove in

One group of 11 Cubs flew in together from the WashingtonOregon area They took two days to get to Lompoc spending one night partying at the Flying Flanashygans almond ranch and private strip near Merced CA

Members of the group Jerry and Brenda Burr from Burlington WA took the Farshythest Distance Award in their highly modified J-3 Cub and have attended 14 of the Lompoc Fly Ins Jerry comes for the comfortable unstructured events and fun where he can just visit with friends and other Cub owners he hasnt seen for as long as a year We used to bring our kids but theyve grown up and moved out-so we come by ourselves now

CFr Kathryn Perry from Sultan W A made the two day trip with her two young

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

14 NOVEMBER 1999

(Top) Doug Morlan Vacaville CA and his J-3 flying over classic California country

(Second from Top) Kathryn Perry Sultan SA J-3 Cub is working on her spot landing with a young passenger in the front seat

(Second from Bottom) Keith and Molly Littlefield with sons Sam and Ben Molly flew her Cessna 140 while Keith and Ben flew the J-3 Cub They met at the fly-in in 1993

(Bottom) Ryan (L) and Dale (R) Weir Kent WA J-3 won Prettiest Cub Most Original Cub and Youngest Cub Pilot (22-year old-Ryan)

children and her solo student Al Wirtan (278 logbook hours) brought his Cub as well Other long-time attendees with the same group 737 Airline Captains Keith Littlefield and Molly (Flanashygan of the famous Flying Flanagans) Littlefield of Kent W A joined us again this year with their sons Ben (almost three years old) and Sam (three months old) These two met at our Fly-In in 1993 married and attended again in 95 97 (to show off their first-born to their Lompoc Family) and again in 99 The Oldest Cub Pilot Award went to Retired Marine Paratrooper Col Bruce Meyers from Snohomish WA who flew his J-3 RAF in Flitshyfire colors

The beautifully restored J-3 NC422 I I owned by Dale Weir (also with the Kent WA group) and flown by his 22-year-old son Ryan took the Prettiest Cub and Most Original Cub awards Ryan received the Youngest Cub Pilot Award

One obvious reason people enjoy the Lompoc Cub Fly-In is the wonderful homemade food Friday night fare always inshycludes generous servings of steaming hearty spaghetti garlic French bread salad and tables full of homemade desserts (preshypared by the local EAA 275 and Lompoc Valley Pilots Association members) Famous Lompoc Style tri-tip barbeque is served on Saturday night-and there is always plenty for second helpings Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday includes hotcakes sausage local strawberries orange juice milk and coffee Hamshyburgers and hotdogs are served for lunch on Friday and Saturday

One new aspect of the Fly-In this year is added ramp space Lompoc Airport is in the process of extending its runway and adding additional taxiways and parking on the hotel and restaurant side of the airport This enables planes to be parked within a few feet of several hotels and many restaushyrants as well as local shopping areas So if one would rather eat at a local restaurant instead of the Big Hangar many choices lie within close walking distance

After lunch on Saturday participants were briefed on the rules of the spot landing and flour bomb drop contest For the spot landing one or both of the main gear had to touch down and stay down as close to the chalk line as possible without hitting before the line The closest distance was 25 feet past the line (if you dont include the visiting Long EZ who just touched down to say Hi) Martin Leonard ofMt Baldy CA won the Spot Landing Award in his J-2 If you dont know Lompoc Airport you may not realize that we have pretty stiff gusty prevailing winds that can be crosswinds just a few feet above the runway so give these guys a break Ken Hetge of Tehachapi CA in his J-4 Cub Coupe with Jeff Sears as his bombardier won the flour bomb drop at a total of 26 feet for two bombs Bombardier Jeff was actually the youngest pilot at the fly-in-he is currently 16

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

FUEL VALVES bull CARE AND FEEDINO By Cy Galley

Another neglected component on your airplane is the fuel shutshyoff valve Many ownerpilots

take it for granted and never touch it It most likely is left in the ON position all the time I guess people think that if they ever need to turn it off it will function properly

Actually checking the function of the valve is part of a good annual Turning it off will check two functions First of all will it even move Some valves are gooked up with dried fuel dye varnish from old auto gas or complete seizure from corrosion and not a trace of any lushybrication due to fuel exposure over the years and lack of any exercise Secshyondly if it will move to the OFF position will it actually completely stop the flow offuel or will it leak a drip or two or more It could be like the valve that was in our Cessna We had to whittle a wooden plug for the fuel line to change the plastic float because the valve leaked so fast We actually lost a full load of fuel at an annual when 42 gallons leaked out overnight

The bottom line is safety How would you shut off the fuel if you had in in-flight fire How would you tum off the gas to a leaking carburetor with a stuck float At Oshkosh we have comshypletely drained tanks to eliminate the possible fire hazard Losing your plane to fire is bad enough but what if you also destroyed an entire row

Your valve needs to be turned to the shut-off position at each annual Then you or your mechanic can remove the gascolator bowl and all the filter screens in order to check them for foreign mateshyrial contamination It is hard to work if fuel continues to run from a tank It is a fire hazard

With low-wing planes a leaking valve might show up when your fuel pressure gauge begins to fluctuate at idle because it is letting air into the fuel lines rather than leaking gas out Suck enough air and the engine will stop This is anshyother source for a vacuum leak that can make the pressure gauge flutter

Many fuel valves are the cone type

10 NOVEMBER 1999

These are fairly inexpensive work well and are easy to repair With that said the valve used in our Cessna Skyhawk is not a cone type but a valve that is opened by pushing a ball away from an O-ring seal My Bellanca Cruisair came with a two valve setup with a selector and a shut-off valve It later used a three-way valve that could select either tank and shut it all off These valves have a common design feature They are a very simple cone type of shut-off valve The handle is part of or conshynected to a cone-shaped piece of steel with holes that will match the inlet and outlet ports of the body This cone or spool piece rotates in the valve body that is machined with a taper to match When the holes are aligned with the handle in the ON position and the holes in the cone part of the valve are blocked when the valve is turned to the OFF position Early VariEzes had problems with this kind of valve A plastic spool was tried but was not satshyisfactory But many of the older Aeroncas Cubs and T-crafts used these valves for years

These valves can sometimes be reshyturned to service without even removing them from the airplane but only after draining all the fuel if it is a gravity fed system On a low wing one just needs to get the fuel level below the valve Using just a small tab of Parkers Fuelube to coat the spool it can be reassembled and placed back in service This will cure most external leaks and make the handle easy to turn Some handles can be placed on the shaft in the wrong position With the Cruisair the handle has an AD to pin it to the shaft so that it is indexed to function correctly One also needs to check after reassemble to see if it turns off and doesnt leak

What if it doesnt tum off even if it doesnt leak even after the grease job Buy another Youve got to be kidding You might not like the price IF you can find an original for your certified airshyplane Even good new valves for experimentals are expensive You can rebuild it by completely removing the

valve from the aircraft This also reshyquires draining the fuel system Disconnect any remote fuel controls such as a Citabria would have Carefully remove the fuel valve taking care not to round off any wrench flats on the valve or the fittings or to twist any of the lines Completely disassemble the valve and let it soak in a small can containing acrylic lacquer thinner or MEK Lacquer thinner or acetone may also work but not as well

Dry the components and check for any damage such as scoring of the cone The valve body is usually brass and the cone is steel Obtain some valve LAPshyPING compound from a local auto supply or small gas engine repair store DO NOT use valve grinding compound The latter is too coarse Lapping comshypound or an equivalent should be used Apply a small amount around the cone part of the valve and assemble the valve pushing and rotating with just hand pressure Cant find lapping compound Use toothpaste instead

Rinse the old compound off and reapshyply some more fresh compound Do this two or three times until the valve cone and body have a nice smooth even satin look to both mating surfaces

Completely flush and rinse the comshypound from the valve components with clean thinner or petroleum solvent and apply a small amount of Parker Fuelube (Wicks PARKER FL or Aircraft Spruce 09-25300) to the cone This fuel-proof grease comes in a I-lb can and works miracles on old fuel valves Parker Sea lube is another product with similar properties Lightly coat the valve cone and reassemble the unit and install it in the aircraft Before placing your orshyder for a multi-lifetime supply see if you cant bum some off your FBO or mechanic It is like Bryicream-a litshytle dab will do you for several decades

Make sure that you get the handle on in the right position so that the placards agree with the operation Do a thorough leak check of the lines and fittings beshyfore you and your AampP mechanic return your plane to service

TYPE CLUB

NOTES by HG Frautschy

Compiled from various type club

publications amp newsletters

MONOCOUPE The Accident By Freddie Ludtke From The Monocoupe Flyer edited by Bob Coolbaugh

October 13 1994 The pilot is fine just some red sore spots from the safety harness but NC2064 is gone It beshycame uncontrollable just like the DC-IO that went down near Sioux City

My son Rick was flying over our small strip which is cut out of the tall fir on the northern peninsula near Port Angeles Washington He heard a bang from behind and the right rudder pedal went full forward The Coupe yawed right and immediately spun Attemptshying a recovery Rick found he couldnt move the left rudder pedal forward He thought I can fix that released his shoulder harness reached down and pulled the right rudder pedal as far aft as it would go Wedging his foot beshyhind the pedal to hold it he was able to recover from the spin controlling the remaining yaw with cross-controlled ailerons

With the altitude remaining he pershyformed a controllability check finding that the ship would snap roll to the right with the addition of even a little power and sink like a stone if slowed up Rick was able to control the snap tendency by judicious coordination of power speed and cross-controls He realized at this point that the elevator was jammed allowing only limited throw which was accompanied by heavy buffeting

Also the rudder was jammed to the

right with his foot holding it back somewhat toward center but not enoug to stop the continuing right hand tum He could only slow the rate of tum reshysulting in an uncontrollable right spiral Realizing that he could not land under control at the airstrip he slowed as much as possible about 65 KIAS and flew sideways and under marginal conshytrol into the 60-80 foot fir trees bordering the airstrip

The Coupe broke into five pieces The fuselage was severed behind the wing and hit the ground backwards nose up with the G meter pegged at 12 Gs The seat back and the cross tube behind the seat were bent by Rick s multiplied weight Fortunately his head was supported by the shoulder harness which was attached to the tube that goes across under the rear spar Chances are that this prevented his head from being jerked back on imshypact which would have caused a serious neck injury

When I built the fuselage from scratch I incorporated the 90AW drawing tube sizes and then added more structure to comply with the more stringent nose-over requirements in the current FAR Part 23 Beefmg up the main load structures paid off in the crash For example the left wing ripped away upon striking the trees snapping the lift strut with it Investishygation revealed that the lower longeron

lift strut fitting was undamaged The heavy attach bolt had sheared in two places at the fitting leaving the fitting intact The shear strength of that bolt exceeds 50000 pounds The cabin reshymained intact along with the gear The aft fuselage and empennage were deshystroyed as was the wing The engine was tom down for inspection

Inspection of the tail provided an immediate answer to the cause of the crash The Bang Rick heard was the structural failure of the left elevator hinges They tore away from the elevashytor spar allowing the airflow to bend the left side of the elevator back and up tilting it far over the rudder and forcing the rudder full right As you all know the majority of this Monocoupe was hand-built in my shop in the late 1980s However I used a 1937 Model 90A empennage clipping it slightly to resemble the 110 Special tail The hinges were the original factory welded assemblies Analyzing the cause of the failure of the hinges showed an alarmshying defect which must have slipped through the factory It is this defect that prompted me to ensure that the Monocoupe owners were alerted to a potential problem in their own Coupes The small finger patches over the hinge tubes separated from the eleshyvator spar tube The hinge tubes were not welded to the spar tube before the finger patches were welded over the

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

TYPE CLUB

NOTES smaller hinge tubes In fact there was a VOID between the hinge tubes and the spar tube Paint was in the void The finger patch welds had very little penetration

The Spirit of Dynamite was a great friend and a ticket to many adshyventures I shall always remember our last adventure to the Monocoupe FlyshyIn at Creve Coeur My son was safely returned by its strong 90A cabin strucshyture and I am thankful for that However when I made the decision to use that 1937 elevator 1 placed a fault in that airplane that almost kill ed my son A very sobering thought

Fortunately Rick has a strong desire and love of flying-a great motivator This gave him that Ill fix it attitude which got him through this episode He never became emotional stopped thinkshying or even thought of those last two words that appear at the end of airline cockpit tapes He controlled himself controlled the Coupe and walked away All he had to do was unstrap climb down out of the trees and brush the fir needles off As Rick walked out to call us he met a local crashing through the forest yelling about a crash Rick

calmed him saying 1 know It was me The next day Rick was scheduled for his Commercial Pilot check ride with the FAA examiner He decided to take it and passed

Lets all check the hinges on our elshyevators and rudders

From Bob Coolbaugh Mo n oshycoupe Flyer Editor Freddie taught both sons to fly in his J-3 Cub and moved to advanced aerobatics with them in the Cipwing Coupe Based on Ricks levelheaded performance Id say Freds lessons took

LESSONS LEARNED DEPARTMENT

First and foremost Rich has shown us that you never give up thinking plotting and fighting to overcome a problem in the air Hindsight is easy but it took a stroke of genius to figure a way to regain rudder authority as he was spinning into the ground With the rudder jammed to the right and left rudder pedal not effective in centerng it Rick quickly ducked down to pull on the right rudder pedal by hand For whatever reason this worked enough to save his life I wonder how many

others when faced with the failure of the obvious would simply push harder on the left pedal until impact It takes a calm pilot to walk the tightrope with a plane so marginally controllable and it takes a skilled one to accept the inshyevitable crash and plan for it and actually fly the plane into the crash inshystead of cursing fate Congrats Rick and do us a favor-take your Dad out for a glass of his favorite poison-tell him it s on us if you want but in your heart you have to know that it was he who taught you to fly a Clipwing which gave you the confidence and character to overcome your brush with the angels Aw heck forget the glass buy the old coot a bottle

There is a flying job out there for Rick-as a test pilot a fighter pilot or as a member of an airline crew 1 know I sure wou ld like to have him flying with me

Vintage Airplane Editors Note Freddie and the Monocoupe Club are to be commended for getting the word out regarding the cause of this accishydent in 1994 For the next chapter in NC2064 s saga please turn to page 16- HGF ~

12 NOVEMBER 1999

Fifteen years ago co-founders of the West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Bruce Fall (who has owned Cubs for most of his 54 flying years) and Monte

Finley invited a few Piper Cubs to Lompoc Airport The Annual Sentimental Journey Cub Fly-In in Lock Haven PA was an awshyfully long way to go for a West Coast pilot (and it could get expensive)

Since that first Lompoc Fly-In more and more Cubs show up every year there were many new faces among the familiar this year Even though the Fly-In is advertised to start Friday usually the first Cubs arrive on Thursday For years Larry Holman of Canby Oregon has arrived in his PA-18 Sushyper Cub on Thursday winning the First Arrival Award every time - but this year he was beat by only one minute by John Solly Solomon of Aurora Colorado in his J-3 It turns out that neither even knew the other was in the pattern

It was one of those extremely rare sumshymer weekends on the California Central Coast where fog was nonexistent sun was plentiful temperatures were mild wind was minimal sunsets were gorgeous and little yellow airplanes proliferated in the skies July 9 10 and 11 happened to be a perfect choice for the 15th Annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In at Lompoc Airport Lompoc California Plenty of J-3s PA-12 Super Cruisers and PA-18 Super Cubs a couple of J-2s PA-ll Cub Specials PA-22 Tri Pacers L-4s (military versions of the J-3) and a J-5 Cub Cruiser J-4 Cub Coupe and PA-16 Clipper flew into Lompoc from California Oregon Washington Nevada and Arizona

Of course other rag-wings were heartily welcomed including the infamous Cub look-a-like Aeronca Champs and Lusshycombe Silvaires and a couple of Stinsons a Porterfield a Citabria and a Cessna 140 More than 50 Cubs many other rag-

BY HOLLY PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE FALL

wings and who-knows-how-many spam cans were registered on the field and some who couldnt fly their Cubs drove in

One group of 11 Cubs flew in together from the WashingtonOregon area They took two days to get to Lompoc spending one night partying at the Flying Flanashygans almond ranch and private strip near Merced CA

Members of the group Jerry and Brenda Burr from Burlington WA took the Farshythest Distance Award in their highly modified J-3 Cub and have attended 14 of the Lompoc Fly Ins Jerry comes for the comfortable unstructured events and fun where he can just visit with friends and other Cub owners he hasnt seen for as long as a year We used to bring our kids but theyve grown up and moved out-so we come by ourselves now

CFr Kathryn Perry from Sultan W A made the two day trip with her two young

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

14 NOVEMBER 1999

(Top) Doug Morlan Vacaville CA and his J-3 flying over classic California country

(Second from Top) Kathryn Perry Sultan SA J-3 Cub is working on her spot landing with a young passenger in the front seat

(Second from Bottom) Keith and Molly Littlefield with sons Sam and Ben Molly flew her Cessna 140 while Keith and Ben flew the J-3 Cub They met at the fly-in in 1993

(Bottom) Ryan (L) and Dale (R) Weir Kent WA J-3 won Prettiest Cub Most Original Cub and Youngest Cub Pilot (22-year old-Ryan)

children and her solo student Al Wirtan (278 logbook hours) brought his Cub as well Other long-time attendees with the same group 737 Airline Captains Keith Littlefield and Molly (Flanashygan of the famous Flying Flanagans) Littlefield of Kent W A joined us again this year with their sons Ben (almost three years old) and Sam (three months old) These two met at our Fly-In in 1993 married and attended again in 95 97 (to show off their first-born to their Lompoc Family) and again in 99 The Oldest Cub Pilot Award went to Retired Marine Paratrooper Col Bruce Meyers from Snohomish WA who flew his J-3 RAF in Flitshyfire colors

The beautifully restored J-3 NC422 I I owned by Dale Weir (also with the Kent WA group) and flown by his 22-year-old son Ryan took the Prettiest Cub and Most Original Cub awards Ryan received the Youngest Cub Pilot Award

One obvious reason people enjoy the Lompoc Cub Fly-In is the wonderful homemade food Friday night fare always inshycludes generous servings of steaming hearty spaghetti garlic French bread salad and tables full of homemade desserts (preshypared by the local EAA 275 and Lompoc Valley Pilots Association members) Famous Lompoc Style tri-tip barbeque is served on Saturday night-and there is always plenty for second helpings Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday includes hotcakes sausage local strawberries orange juice milk and coffee Hamshyburgers and hotdogs are served for lunch on Friday and Saturday

One new aspect of the Fly-In this year is added ramp space Lompoc Airport is in the process of extending its runway and adding additional taxiways and parking on the hotel and restaurant side of the airport This enables planes to be parked within a few feet of several hotels and many restaushyrants as well as local shopping areas So if one would rather eat at a local restaurant instead of the Big Hangar many choices lie within close walking distance

After lunch on Saturday participants were briefed on the rules of the spot landing and flour bomb drop contest For the spot landing one or both of the main gear had to touch down and stay down as close to the chalk line as possible without hitting before the line The closest distance was 25 feet past the line (if you dont include the visiting Long EZ who just touched down to say Hi) Martin Leonard ofMt Baldy CA won the Spot Landing Award in his J-2 If you dont know Lompoc Airport you may not realize that we have pretty stiff gusty prevailing winds that can be crosswinds just a few feet above the runway so give these guys a break Ken Hetge of Tehachapi CA in his J-4 Cub Coupe with Jeff Sears as his bombardier won the flour bomb drop at a total of 26 feet for two bombs Bombardier Jeff was actually the youngest pilot at the fly-in-he is currently 16

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

TYPE CLUB

NOTES by HG Frautschy

Compiled from various type club

publications amp newsletters

MONOCOUPE The Accident By Freddie Ludtke From The Monocoupe Flyer edited by Bob Coolbaugh

October 13 1994 The pilot is fine just some red sore spots from the safety harness but NC2064 is gone It beshycame uncontrollable just like the DC-IO that went down near Sioux City

My son Rick was flying over our small strip which is cut out of the tall fir on the northern peninsula near Port Angeles Washington He heard a bang from behind and the right rudder pedal went full forward The Coupe yawed right and immediately spun Attemptshying a recovery Rick found he couldnt move the left rudder pedal forward He thought I can fix that released his shoulder harness reached down and pulled the right rudder pedal as far aft as it would go Wedging his foot beshyhind the pedal to hold it he was able to recover from the spin controlling the remaining yaw with cross-controlled ailerons

With the altitude remaining he pershyformed a controllability check finding that the ship would snap roll to the right with the addition of even a little power and sink like a stone if slowed up Rick was able to control the snap tendency by judicious coordination of power speed and cross-controls He realized at this point that the elevator was jammed allowing only limited throw which was accompanied by heavy buffeting

Also the rudder was jammed to the

right with his foot holding it back somewhat toward center but not enoug to stop the continuing right hand tum He could only slow the rate of tum reshysulting in an uncontrollable right spiral Realizing that he could not land under control at the airstrip he slowed as much as possible about 65 KIAS and flew sideways and under marginal conshytrol into the 60-80 foot fir trees bordering the airstrip

The Coupe broke into five pieces The fuselage was severed behind the wing and hit the ground backwards nose up with the G meter pegged at 12 Gs The seat back and the cross tube behind the seat were bent by Rick s multiplied weight Fortunately his head was supported by the shoulder harness which was attached to the tube that goes across under the rear spar Chances are that this prevented his head from being jerked back on imshypact which would have caused a serious neck injury

When I built the fuselage from scratch I incorporated the 90AW drawing tube sizes and then added more structure to comply with the more stringent nose-over requirements in the current FAR Part 23 Beefmg up the main load structures paid off in the crash For example the left wing ripped away upon striking the trees snapping the lift strut with it Investishygation revealed that the lower longeron

lift strut fitting was undamaged The heavy attach bolt had sheared in two places at the fitting leaving the fitting intact The shear strength of that bolt exceeds 50000 pounds The cabin reshymained intact along with the gear The aft fuselage and empennage were deshystroyed as was the wing The engine was tom down for inspection

Inspection of the tail provided an immediate answer to the cause of the crash The Bang Rick heard was the structural failure of the left elevator hinges They tore away from the elevashytor spar allowing the airflow to bend the left side of the elevator back and up tilting it far over the rudder and forcing the rudder full right As you all know the majority of this Monocoupe was hand-built in my shop in the late 1980s However I used a 1937 Model 90A empennage clipping it slightly to resemble the 110 Special tail The hinges were the original factory welded assemblies Analyzing the cause of the failure of the hinges showed an alarmshying defect which must have slipped through the factory It is this defect that prompted me to ensure that the Monocoupe owners were alerted to a potential problem in their own Coupes The small finger patches over the hinge tubes separated from the eleshyvator spar tube The hinge tubes were not welded to the spar tube before the finger patches were welded over the

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

TYPE CLUB

NOTES smaller hinge tubes In fact there was a VOID between the hinge tubes and the spar tube Paint was in the void The finger patch welds had very little penetration

The Spirit of Dynamite was a great friend and a ticket to many adshyventures I shall always remember our last adventure to the Monocoupe FlyshyIn at Creve Coeur My son was safely returned by its strong 90A cabin strucshyture and I am thankful for that However when I made the decision to use that 1937 elevator 1 placed a fault in that airplane that almost kill ed my son A very sobering thought

Fortunately Rick has a strong desire and love of flying-a great motivator This gave him that Ill fix it attitude which got him through this episode He never became emotional stopped thinkshying or even thought of those last two words that appear at the end of airline cockpit tapes He controlled himself controlled the Coupe and walked away All he had to do was unstrap climb down out of the trees and brush the fir needles off As Rick walked out to call us he met a local crashing through the forest yelling about a crash Rick

calmed him saying 1 know It was me The next day Rick was scheduled for his Commercial Pilot check ride with the FAA examiner He decided to take it and passed

Lets all check the hinges on our elshyevators and rudders

From Bob Coolbaugh Mo n oshycoupe Flyer Editor Freddie taught both sons to fly in his J-3 Cub and moved to advanced aerobatics with them in the Cipwing Coupe Based on Ricks levelheaded performance Id say Freds lessons took

LESSONS LEARNED DEPARTMENT

First and foremost Rich has shown us that you never give up thinking plotting and fighting to overcome a problem in the air Hindsight is easy but it took a stroke of genius to figure a way to regain rudder authority as he was spinning into the ground With the rudder jammed to the right and left rudder pedal not effective in centerng it Rick quickly ducked down to pull on the right rudder pedal by hand For whatever reason this worked enough to save his life I wonder how many

others when faced with the failure of the obvious would simply push harder on the left pedal until impact It takes a calm pilot to walk the tightrope with a plane so marginally controllable and it takes a skilled one to accept the inshyevitable crash and plan for it and actually fly the plane into the crash inshystead of cursing fate Congrats Rick and do us a favor-take your Dad out for a glass of his favorite poison-tell him it s on us if you want but in your heart you have to know that it was he who taught you to fly a Clipwing which gave you the confidence and character to overcome your brush with the angels Aw heck forget the glass buy the old coot a bottle

There is a flying job out there for Rick-as a test pilot a fighter pilot or as a member of an airline crew 1 know I sure wou ld like to have him flying with me

Vintage Airplane Editors Note Freddie and the Monocoupe Club are to be commended for getting the word out regarding the cause of this accishydent in 1994 For the next chapter in NC2064 s saga please turn to page 16- HGF ~

12 NOVEMBER 1999

Fifteen years ago co-founders of the West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Bruce Fall (who has owned Cubs for most of his 54 flying years) and Monte

Finley invited a few Piper Cubs to Lompoc Airport The Annual Sentimental Journey Cub Fly-In in Lock Haven PA was an awshyfully long way to go for a West Coast pilot (and it could get expensive)

Since that first Lompoc Fly-In more and more Cubs show up every year there were many new faces among the familiar this year Even though the Fly-In is advertised to start Friday usually the first Cubs arrive on Thursday For years Larry Holman of Canby Oregon has arrived in his PA-18 Sushyper Cub on Thursday winning the First Arrival Award every time - but this year he was beat by only one minute by John Solly Solomon of Aurora Colorado in his J-3 It turns out that neither even knew the other was in the pattern

It was one of those extremely rare sumshymer weekends on the California Central Coast where fog was nonexistent sun was plentiful temperatures were mild wind was minimal sunsets were gorgeous and little yellow airplanes proliferated in the skies July 9 10 and 11 happened to be a perfect choice for the 15th Annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In at Lompoc Airport Lompoc California Plenty of J-3s PA-12 Super Cruisers and PA-18 Super Cubs a couple of J-2s PA-ll Cub Specials PA-22 Tri Pacers L-4s (military versions of the J-3) and a J-5 Cub Cruiser J-4 Cub Coupe and PA-16 Clipper flew into Lompoc from California Oregon Washington Nevada and Arizona

Of course other rag-wings were heartily welcomed including the infamous Cub look-a-like Aeronca Champs and Lusshycombe Silvaires and a couple of Stinsons a Porterfield a Citabria and a Cessna 140 More than 50 Cubs many other rag-

BY HOLLY PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE FALL

wings and who-knows-how-many spam cans were registered on the field and some who couldnt fly their Cubs drove in

One group of 11 Cubs flew in together from the WashingtonOregon area They took two days to get to Lompoc spending one night partying at the Flying Flanashygans almond ranch and private strip near Merced CA

Members of the group Jerry and Brenda Burr from Burlington WA took the Farshythest Distance Award in their highly modified J-3 Cub and have attended 14 of the Lompoc Fly Ins Jerry comes for the comfortable unstructured events and fun where he can just visit with friends and other Cub owners he hasnt seen for as long as a year We used to bring our kids but theyve grown up and moved out-so we come by ourselves now

CFr Kathryn Perry from Sultan W A made the two day trip with her two young

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

14 NOVEMBER 1999

(Top) Doug Morlan Vacaville CA and his J-3 flying over classic California country

(Second from Top) Kathryn Perry Sultan SA J-3 Cub is working on her spot landing with a young passenger in the front seat

(Second from Bottom) Keith and Molly Littlefield with sons Sam and Ben Molly flew her Cessna 140 while Keith and Ben flew the J-3 Cub They met at the fly-in in 1993

(Bottom) Ryan (L) and Dale (R) Weir Kent WA J-3 won Prettiest Cub Most Original Cub and Youngest Cub Pilot (22-year old-Ryan)

children and her solo student Al Wirtan (278 logbook hours) brought his Cub as well Other long-time attendees with the same group 737 Airline Captains Keith Littlefield and Molly (Flanashygan of the famous Flying Flanagans) Littlefield of Kent W A joined us again this year with their sons Ben (almost three years old) and Sam (three months old) These two met at our Fly-In in 1993 married and attended again in 95 97 (to show off their first-born to their Lompoc Family) and again in 99 The Oldest Cub Pilot Award went to Retired Marine Paratrooper Col Bruce Meyers from Snohomish WA who flew his J-3 RAF in Flitshyfire colors

The beautifully restored J-3 NC422 I I owned by Dale Weir (also with the Kent WA group) and flown by his 22-year-old son Ryan took the Prettiest Cub and Most Original Cub awards Ryan received the Youngest Cub Pilot Award

One obvious reason people enjoy the Lompoc Cub Fly-In is the wonderful homemade food Friday night fare always inshycludes generous servings of steaming hearty spaghetti garlic French bread salad and tables full of homemade desserts (preshypared by the local EAA 275 and Lompoc Valley Pilots Association members) Famous Lompoc Style tri-tip barbeque is served on Saturday night-and there is always plenty for second helpings Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday includes hotcakes sausage local strawberries orange juice milk and coffee Hamshyburgers and hotdogs are served for lunch on Friday and Saturday

One new aspect of the Fly-In this year is added ramp space Lompoc Airport is in the process of extending its runway and adding additional taxiways and parking on the hotel and restaurant side of the airport This enables planes to be parked within a few feet of several hotels and many restaushyrants as well as local shopping areas So if one would rather eat at a local restaurant instead of the Big Hangar many choices lie within close walking distance

After lunch on Saturday participants were briefed on the rules of the spot landing and flour bomb drop contest For the spot landing one or both of the main gear had to touch down and stay down as close to the chalk line as possible without hitting before the line The closest distance was 25 feet past the line (if you dont include the visiting Long EZ who just touched down to say Hi) Martin Leonard ofMt Baldy CA won the Spot Landing Award in his J-2 If you dont know Lompoc Airport you may not realize that we have pretty stiff gusty prevailing winds that can be crosswinds just a few feet above the runway so give these guys a break Ken Hetge of Tehachapi CA in his J-4 Cub Coupe with Jeff Sears as his bombardier won the flour bomb drop at a total of 26 feet for two bombs Bombardier Jeff was actually the youngest pilot at the fly-in-he is currently 16

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

TYPE CLUB

NOTES smaller hinge tubes In fact there was a VOID between the hinge tubes and the spar tube Paint was in the void The finger patch welds had very little penetration

The Spirit of Dynamite was a great friend and a ticket to many adshyventures I shall always remember our last adventure to the Monocoupe FlyshyIn at Creve Coeur My son was safely returned by its strong 90A cabin strucshyture and I am thankful for that However when I made the decision to use that 1937 elevator 1 placed a fault in that airplane that almost kill ed my son A very sobering thought

Fortunately Rick has a strong desire and love of flying-a great motivator This gave him that Ill fix it attitude which got him through this episode He never became emotional stopped thinkshying or even thought of those last two words that appear at the end of airline cockpit tapes He controlled himself controlled the Coupe and walked away All he had to do was unstrap climb down out of the trees and brush the fir needles off As Rick walked out to call us he met a local crashing through the forest yelling about a crash Rick

calmed him saying 1 know It was me The next day Rick was scheduled for his Commercial Pilot check ride with the FAA examiner He decided to take it and passed

Lets all check the hinges on our elshyevators and rudders

From Bob Coolbaugh Mo n oshycoupe Flyer Editor Freddie taught both sons to fly in his J-3 Cub and moved to advanced aerobatics with them in the Cipwing Coupe Based on Ricks levelheaded performance Id say Freds lessons took

LESSONS LEARNED DEPARTMENT

First and foremost Rich has shown us that you never give up thinking plotting and fighting to overcome a problem in the air Hindsight is easy but it took a stroke of genius to figure a way to regain rudder authority as he was spinning into the ground With the rudder jammed to the right and left rudder pedal not effective in centerng it Rick quickly ducked down to pull on the right rudder pedal by hand For whatever reason this worked enough to save his life I wonder how many

others when faced with the failure of the obvious would simply push harder on the left pedal until impact It takes a calm pilot to walk the tightrope with a plane so marginally controllable and it takes a skilled one to accept the inshyevitable crash and plan for it and actually fly the plane into the crash inshystead of cursing fate Congrats Rick and do us a favor-take your Dad out for a glass of his favorite poison-tell him it s on us if you want but in your heart you have to know that it was he who taught you to fly a Clipwing which gave you the confidence and character to overcome your brush with the angels Aw heck forget the glass buy the old coot a bottle

There is a flying job out there for Rick-as a test pilot a fighter pilot or as a member of an airline crew 1 know I sure wou ld like to have him flying with me

Vintage Airplane Editors Note Freddie and the Monocoupe Club are to be commended for getting the word out regarding the cause of this accishydent in 1994 For the next chapter in NC2064 s saga please turn to page 16- HGF ~

12 NOVEMBER 1999

Fifteen years ago co-founders of the West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Bruce Fall (who has owned Cubs for most of his 54 flying years) and Monte

Finley invited a few Piper Cubs to Lompoc Airport The Annual Sentimental Journey Cub Fly-In in Lock Haven PA was an awshyfully long way to go for a West Coast pilot (and it could get expensive)

Since that first Lompoc Fly-In more and more Cubs show up every year there were many new faces among the familiar this year Even though the Fly-In is advertised to start Friday usually the first Cubs arrive on Thursday For years Larry Holman of Canby Oregon has arrived in his PA-18 Sushyper Cub on Thursday winning the First Arrival Award every time - but this year he was beat by only one minute by John Solly Solomon of Aurora Colorado in his J-3 It turns out that neither even knew the other was in the pattern

It was one of those extremely rare sumshymer weekends on the California Central Coast where fog was nonexistent sun was plentiful temperatures were mild wind was minimal sunsets were gorgeous and little yellow airplanes proliferated in the skies July 9 10 and 11 happened to be a perfect choice for the 15th Annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In at Lompoc Airport Lompoc California Plenty of J-3s PA-12 Super Cruisers and PA-18 Super Cubs a couple of J-2s PA-ll Cub Specials PA-22 Tri Pacers L-4s (military versions of the J-3) and a J-5 Cub Cruiser J-4 Cub Coupe and PA-16 Clipper flew into Lompoc from California Oregon Washington Nevada and Arizona

Of course other rag-wings were heartily welcomed including the infamous Cub look-a-like Aeronca Champs and Lusshycombe Silvaires and a couple of Stinsons a Porterfield a Citabria and a Cessna 140 More than 50 Cubs many other rag-

BY HOLLY PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE FALL

wings and who-knows-how-many spam cans were registered on the field and some who couldnt fly their Cubs drove in

One group of 11 Cubs flew in together from the WashingtonOregon area They took two days to get to Lompoc spending one night partying at the Flying Flanashygans almond ranch and private strip near Merced CA

Members of the group Jerry and Brenda Burr from Burlington WA took the Farshythest Distance Award in their highly modified J-3 Cub and have attended 14 of the Lompoc Fly Ins Jerry comes for the comfortable unstructured events and fun where he can just visit with friends and other Cub owners he hasnt seen for as long as a year We used to bring our kids but theyve grown up and moved out-so we come by ourselves now

CFr Kathryn Perry from Sultan W A made the two day trip with her two young

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

14 NOVEMBER 1999

(Top) Doug Morlan Vacaville CA and his J-3 flying over classic California country

(Second from Top) Kathryn Perry Sultan SA J-3 Cub is working on her spot landing with a young passenger in the front seat

(Second from Bottom) Keith and Molly Littlefield with sons Sam and Ben Molly flew her Cessna 140 while Keith and Ben flew the J-3 Cub They met at the fly-in in 1993

(Bottom) Ryan (L) and Dale (R) Weir Kent WA J-3 won Prettiest Cub Most Original Cub and Youngest Cub Pilot (22-year old-Ryan)

children and her solo student Al Wirtan (278 logbook hours) brought his Cub as well Other long-time attendees with the same group 737 Airline Captains Keith Littlefield and Molly (Flanashygan of the famous Flying Flanagans) Littlefield of Kent W A joined us again this year with their sons Ben (almost three years old) and Sam (three months old) These two met at our Fly-In in 1993 married and attended again in 95 97 (to show off their first-born to their Lompoc Family) and again in 99 The Oldest Cub Pilot Award went to Retired Marine Paratrooper Col Bruce Meyers from Snohomish WA who flew his J-3 RAF in Flitshyfire colors

The beautifully restored J-3 NC422 I I owned by Dale Weir (also with the Kent WA group) and flown by his 22-year-old son Ryan took the Prettiest Cub and Most Original Cub awards Ryan received the Youngest Cub Pilot Award

One obvious reason people enjoy the Lompoc Cub Fly-In is the wonderful homemade food Friday night fare always inshycludes generous servings of steaming hearty spaghetti garlic French bread salad and tables full of homemade desserts (preshypared by the local EAA 275 and Lompoc Valley Pilots Association members) Famous Lompoc Style tri-tip barbeque is served on Saturday night-and there is always plenty for second helpings Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday includes hotcakes sausage local strawberries orange juice milk and coffee Hamshyburgers and hotdogs are served for lunch on Friday and Saturday

One new aspect of the Fly-In this year is added ramp space Lompoc Airport is in the process of extending its runway and adding additional taxiways and parking on the hotel and restaurant side of the airport This enables planes to be parked within a few feet of several hotels and many restaushyrants as well as local shopping areas So if one would rather eat at a local restaurant instead of the Big Hangar many choices lie within close walking distance

After lunch on Saturday participants were briefed on the rules of the spot landing and flour bomb drop contest For the spot landing one or both of the main gear had to touch down and stay down as close to the chalk line as possible without hitting before the line The closest distance was 25 feet past the line (if you dont include the visiting Long EZ who just touched down to say Hi) Martin Leonard ofMt Baldy CA won the Spot Landing Award in his J-2 If you dont know Lompoc Airport you may not realize that we have pretty stiff gusty prevailing winds that can be crosswinds just a few feet above the runway so give these guys a break Ken Hetge of Tehachapi CA in his J-4 Cub Coupe with Jeff Sears as his bombardier won the flour bomb drop at a total of 26 feet for two bombs Bombardier Jeff was actually the youngest pilot at the fly-in-he is currently 16

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

Fifteen years ago co-founders of the West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In Bruce Fall (who has owned Cubs for most of his 54 flying years) and Monte

Finley invited a few Piper Cubs to Lompoc Airport The Annual Sentimental Journey Cub Fly-In in Lock Haven PA was an awshyfully long way to go for a West Coast pilot (and it could get expensive)

Since that first Lompoc Fly-In more and more Cubs show up every year there were many new faces among the familiar this year Even though the Fly-In is advertised to start Friday usually the first Cubs arrive on Thursday For years Larry Holman of Canby Oregon has arrived in his PA-18 Sushyper Cub on Thursday winning the First Arrival Award every time - but this year he was beat by only one minute by John Solly Solomon of Aurora Colorado in his J-3 It turns out that neither even knew the other was in the pattern

It was one of those extremely rare sumshymer weekends on the California Central Coast where fog was nonexistent sun was plentiful temperatures were mild wind was minimal sunsets were gorgeous and little yellow airplanes proliferated in the skies July 9 10 and 11 happened to be a perfect choice for the 15th Annual West Coast Piper Cub Fly-In at Lompoc Airport Lompoc California Plenty of J-3s PA-12 Super Cruisers and PA-18 Super Cubs a couple of J-2s PA-ll Cub Specials PA-22 Tri Pacers L-4s (military versions of the J-3) and a J-5 Cub Cruiser J-4 Cub Coupe and PA-16 Clipper flew into Lompoc from California Oregon Washington Nevada and Arizona

Of course other rag-wings were heartily welcomed including the infamous Cub look-a-like Aeronca Champs and Lusshycombe Silvaires and a couple of Stinsons a Porterfield a Citabria and a Cessna 140 More than 50 Cubs many other rag-

BY HOLLY PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE FALL

wings and who-knows-how-many spam cans were registered on the field and some who couldnt fly their Cubs drove in

One group of 11 Cubs flew in together from the WashingtonOregon area They took two days to get to Lompoc spending one night partying at the Flying Flanashygans almond ranch and private strip near Merced CA

Members of the group Jerry and Brenda Burr from Burlington WA took the Farshythest Distance Award in their highly modified J-3 Cub and have attended 14 of the Lompoc Fly Ins Jerry comes for the comfortable unstructured events and fun where he can just visit with friends and other Cub owners he hasnt seen for as long as a year We used to bring our kids but theyve grown up and moved out-so we come by ourselves now

CFr Kathryn Perry from Sultan W A made the two day trip with her two young

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

14 NOVEMBER 1999

(Top) Doug Morlan Vacaville CA and his J-3 flying over classic California country

(Second from Top) Kathryn Perry Sultan SA J-3 Cub is working on her spot landing with a young passenger in the front seat

(Second from Bottom) Keith and Molly Littlefield with sons Sam and Ben Molly flew her Cessna 140 while Keith and Ben flew the J-3 Cub They met at the fly-in in 1993

(Bottom) Ryan (L) and Dale (R) Weir Kent WA J-3 won Prettiest Cub Most Original Cub and Youngest Cub Pilot (22-year old-Ryan)

children and her solo student Al Wirtan (278 logbook hours) brought his Cub as well Other long-time attendees with the same group 737 Airline Captains Keith Littlefield and Molly (Flanashygan of the famous Flying Flanagans) Littlefield of Kent W A joined us again this year with their sons Ben (almost three years old) and Sam (three months old) These two met at our Fly-In in 1993 married and attended again in 95 97 (to show off their first-born to their Lompoc Family) and again in 99 The Oldest Cub Pilot Award went to Retired Marine Paratrooper Col Bruce Meyers from Snohomish WA who flew his J-3 RAF in Flitshyfire colors

The beautifully restored J-3 NC422 I I owned by Dale Weir (also with the Kent WA group) and flown by his 22-year-old son Ryan took the Prettiest Cub and Most Original Cub awards Ryan received the Youngest Cub Pilot Award

One obvious reason people enjoy the Lompoc Cub Fly-In is the wonderful homemade food Friday night fare always inshycludes generous servings of steaming hearty spaghetti garlic French bread salad and tables full of homemade desserts (preshypared by the local EAA 275 and Lompoc Valley Pilots Association members) Famous Lompoc Style tri-tip barbeque is served on Saturday night-and there is always plenty for second helpings Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday includes hotcakes sausage local strawberries orange juice milk and coffee Hamshyburgers and hotdogs are served for lunch on Friday and Saturday

One new aspect of the Fly-In this year is added ramp space Lompoc Airport is in the process of extending its runway and adding additional taxiways and parking on the hotel and restaurant side of the airport This enables planes to be parked within a few feet of several hotels and many restaushyrants as well as local shopping areas So if one would rather eat at a local restaurant instead of the Big Hangar many choices lie within close walking distance

After lunch on Saturday participants were briefed on the rules of the spot landing and flour bomb drop contest For the spot landing one or both of the main gear had to touch down and stay down as close to the chalk line as possible without hitting before the line The closest distance was 25 feet past the line (if you dont include the visiting Long EZ who just touched down to say Hi) Martin Leonard ofMt Baldy CA won the Spot Landing Award in his J-2 If you dont know Lompoc Airport you may not realize that we have pretty stiff gusty prevailing winds that can be crosswinds just a few feet above the runway so give these guys a break Ken Hetge of Tehachapi CA in his J-4 Cub Coupe with Jeff Sears as his bombardier won the flour bomb drop at a total of 26 feet for two bombs Bombardier Jeff was actually the youngest pilot at the fly-in-he is currently 16

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

14 NOVEMBER 1999

(Top) Doug Morlan Vacaville CA and his J-3 flying over classic California country

(Second from Top) Kathryn Perry Sultan SA J-3 Cub is working on her spot landing with a young passenger in the front seat

(Second from Bottom) Keith and Molly Littlefield with sons Sam and Ben Molly flew her Cessna 140 while Keith and Ben flew the J-3 Cub They met at the fly-in in 1993

(Bottom) Ryan (L) and Dale (R) Weir Kent WA J-3 won Prettiest Cub Most Original Cub and Youngest Cub Pilot (22-year old-Ryan)

children and her solo student Al Wirtan (278 logbook hours) brought his Cub as well Other long-time attendees with the same group 737 Airline Captains Keith Littlefield and Molly (Flanashygan of the famous Flying Flanagans) Littlefield of Kent W A joined us again this year with their sons Ben (almost three years old) and Sam (three months old) These two met at our Fly-In in 1993 married and attended again in 95 97 (to show off their first-born to their Lompoc Family) and again in 99 The Oldest Cub Pilot Award went to Retired Marine Paratrooper Col Bruce Meyers from Snohomish WA who flew his J-3 RAF in Flitshyfire colors

The beautifully restored J-3 NC422 I I owned by Dale Weir (also with the Kent WA group) and flown by his 22-year-old son Ryan took the Prettiest Cub and Most Original Cub awards Ryan received the Youngest Cub Pilot Award

One obvious reason people enjoy the Lompoc Cub Fly-In is the wonderful homemade food Friday night fare always inshycludes generous servings of steaming hearty spaghetti garlic French bread salad and tables full of homemade desserts (preshypared by the local EAA 275 and Lompoc Valley Pilots Association members) Famous Lompoc Style tri-tip barbeque is served on Saturday night-and there is always plenty for second helpings Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday includes hotcakes sausage local strawberries orange juice milk and coffee Hamshyburgers and hotdogs are served for lunch on Friday and Saturday

One new aspect of the Fly-In this year is added ramp space Lompoc Airport is in the process of extending its runway and adding additional taxiways and parking on the hotel and restaurant side of the airport This enables planes to be parked within a few feet of several hotels and many restaushyrants as well as local shopping areas So if one would rather eat at a local restaurant instead of the Big Hangar many choices lie within close walking distance

After lunch on Saturday participants were briefed on the rules of the spot landing and flour bomb drop contest For the spot landing one or both of the main gear had to touch down and stay down as close to the chalk line as possible without hitting before the line The closest distance was 25 feet past the line (if you dont include the visiting Long EZ who just touched down to say Hi) Martin Leonard ofMt Baldy CA won the Spot Landing Award in his J-2 If you dont know Lompoc Airport you may not realize that we have pretty stiff gusty prevailing winds that can be crosswinds just a few feet above the runway so give these guys a break Ken Hetge of Tehachapi CA in his J-4 Cub Coupe with Jeff Sears as his bombardier won the flour bomb drop at a total of 26 feet for two bombs Bombardier Jeff was actually the youngest pilot at the fly-in-he is currently 16

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

(Top) This sharp PA-11 Cub Special belongs to Jeff Montgomery Kent WA

(Second from Top) Martin Leonard Mt Baldy CA is a study in concentration as he lands the only J-2 present He must have visualized the landing pretty well - he won the Spot Landing contest

(Second from Bottom) Col Bruce Meyers (Oldest Pilot Award) with his 1940 J-3 Cub in RAF Flitfire colors

(Bottom) John Solly Soloman (left 1946 J-3) and Larry Holman (right Super Cub) goodnaturedly dicker over who was actually first to arrive

years old soloed in his Cessna 150 to the fly in from Bakersfield CA and was scheduled for his private pilot check ride on July 20 the day he turns 17

Usually after game time on Saturday groups of Cubs take off for tours of our beautiful central coast One such trip including six Cubs went over to Point Conception then on down the beach and cliffs along the coast If you have a slow plane the trip is worth the planning

Awards presentations and entertainment commenced after dinner on Saturday in the Big Hangar For their efforts over the last 15 years Bruce and Nyla Fall and Monte and Laura Finley were presented with a plaque to hang in the Lompoc Airport Adshyministration Building Also recognized for their assistance with the Fly-Ins were the Lompoc Valley Pilots Association Local EAA 275 and the Santa Maria Valley 99s For those who dont know Bruces wife Nyla passed away this last winter after a lengthy illness

For the second year now belly dancers performed for the crowd (one of them a local pilot) then music played in the backshyground while everybody reminisced drank beer and soda and laughed until midnight

After all the Cubs left on Sunday a drawing was surprisingly discovered on Runway 25 (we always take our own airplanes out to play after our guests leave - its tradition) The artist used colshyored chalk to sketch Monte Finleys comical Cubbie the drawing stretching way across the runway and about 20 feet tall It took a little detective work to figure out who the culprit was He signed his work Doug Well two Dougs appeared on the registrants list but only one of the Dougs used colored chalk to elaborately mark his Cubs spot on the ramp We know who you are-and we know what you did It was great and feel free to do it again next year

Local EAA Chapter 275 and the Lompoc Valley Pilots Assoshyciation members are very proud of their little albeit growing airport With increasing and hard-earned community support Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity among citizens and city adshyministration A strong aviation community combined with prudent airport management enabled funds from the FAA and other sources to finally complete several long awaited Master Plan projects Included are our new south side taxiway (immedishyately adjacent to many hotels restaurants and stores) and ramp area recently funded plans for a 1000 extension to the runway (for a total runway length of 4600) and revitalized ramp areas Eventually new hangars and aviation related businesses are planned for recently acquired airport propelty

-continued on page 29

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

Proofthat you cant always believe your eyes was parked on the south side of the Theater in the Woods AirshyVenture 99 There its pug nose defiantly in the air sat NC2064 It should have been dead A source for spare parts but there it was Without meaning to the airplane stood as a monument to Fred Ludtkes craftsshymanship and sheer tenacity and the unbelievable love which so many people have for the Monocoupe breed It also stood as a monument to the concept that even a young boys dreams can come true

NC2064 was brought to Oshkosh 99 by its owner Richard Smith and his wife and partner Georgeen The very fact that the airplane still exists is something of a miracle The fact that a young Richard Smith had once stood in a dark hangar staring at Woody Edshymondsons 110 Special and vowing to someday own such an airplane adds another more human dimension to that miracle

Smith was born and raised in Lynchburg Virginia when the airshyport was still a military fuel stop for airplanes headed overseas Every Sunday his grandfather would take him down to the airport to watch the airplanes come and go Every time they did young Smith would say to himself Im going to do that Im going to fly airplanes

He was barely into his teens when hed ride his bicycle to the airport where he began hanging out doing whatever odd jobs theyd give him Soon he was a regular pumping gas and washing airplanes for flight time

At the time one of his regular cusshytomers was the legendary Woody Edmondson and his airplane was the equally legendary 110 Special Monoshycoupe Edmondson called Lynchburg home and even when he was away for extended periods of time the Monoshycoupe stayed in the back ofthe hangar its small outline taking up almost no floor space Young Smith designated himself the Coupes unofficial crew chief keeping the airplane washed and polished and in a perpetual state of readiness even though Edmondson often wouldnt visit for months The payoff however was well worth it Alshymost every time Edmondson showed up hed say Come on kid lets go flying and in minutes Richard Smith would be rolling and looping around

18 NOVEMBER 1999

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

the sky in the company of his and everyone elses hero Small wonder the aviation bug bit him hard Also small wonder that another of his promises to himself was that someday hed own a clipped wing Monoshycoupe of his own

Edmundson incidentally wasnt Smiths only inspiration or the Monocoupe the only airplane he promised himself hed own Another frequent visitor was a petite brunette Betty Skelton and he lavished his caretaker skills on the tiny biplane known as Lil Stinker He again made himself a promise This time - that hed own a Pitts Special some time in his life

By the time Richard was 16 he soloed and had his CFI only a few years later which as with so many others became his ticket to higher flight time As he built flight time he eventually gravitated to Franklin Pennsylvania where he has worked for the same flight department which he has managed for 30 years

Although he became a professional corporate pilot he never forgot those promises he made to himself He fulfilled the first one when he purshychased the first of five Pitts Specials hed eventually own Id buy one fix it up then sell it to buy a better one Thats the way I owned my airshyplanes I kept moving upwards by fixing them up as I went

The cockpit of the 110 Special is tight but the bright red and white interior makes it a cozy spot to enjoy some speed Monocoupe style Richards Coupe cockpit is equipped with the stuff a fast airplane needs to zip though just about any airspace you want A transponder and a Garmin GNC 250XL GPSCom lets Georgeen take care of the talking and navigating

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

Eventually he was able to purchase a 90A Monocoupe with a 145 Warner on it and he found himself closer to his eventual goal of owning a 110 Special That airshyplane was a little rough having had a poor restoration done so I spent a year and a half restoring it the way it should have been in the first place

He flew it for something over 110 hours and reports he worked on it for about five hours for every hour of fl ight time

As early as 1994 he had been trying to get Fred Ludtke to sell him his 110 Special but with no success Then Freds son was flying the airplane the elevator hinge let go and the airplane wound up in the trees

If the airplane had been anything but a 110 Special that would have been the end of the story However the little clipped wing monsters seem to have some sort of magnetic appeal to them Although most sources report only seven 11 Os were actushyally built by the factory another several dozen were the result of people bringing their 90As back to the factory to have their wings shortened Johnny Livingstons clipshywing was one of those In addition in recent times a number have been hand built Smith says 12 clipped Coupes are flying the mashyjority of them being modified 90 s or homebuilts

Ludtkes airplane was built in the tradishytion of the modified airplanes when he put it together in 1987 Wanting it to be lishycensed as a Monocoupe rather than a homebuilt he acquired a 90A fuselage and serial number Then using just enough of the fuselage to satisfy the Feds he conshystructed a new fuselage of 4130 rather than the original mild steel He used factory drawings when building the wings

The airplane was to be are-incarnation of the original NC2064 which was a 110 Special built for R 1 Pete Brooks

20 NOVEMBER 1999

Brooks heir to the Astor fortune is reputed to have some financial stakes in the Monoshycoupe company and his airplane was named Spirit of Dynamite because he said it took off like I lit a fuse to a rocket Jackie Cochran borrowed the airplane to raise the light plane I OOKM closed course record for women to 173097 mph in 1939

Brooks sold the airplane to a clergyman Leonard Peterson who when not ministershying to his flock was performing airshows which featured low altitude outside loops The inevitable happened at Richmond in 1940 and the airplane was destroyed in a flaming crash

All of the factory airplanes were custom built so none of them are exactly alike However the original 110 Specials used the narrow door that could clear the strut when it was opened while most others have the wider round bottom door that folds up as it bumps against the strut Smith says Woody Edmondsons airplane N36Y was the last clipped coupe to be built

When Ludtke began rebuilding his airplane for the second time in 1994 after the accident he went back to his original factory drawings for the clipped wing which is ten feet shorter than the original 32-foot wing but with the same number of ribs They are just moved closer toshygether to give the wing more strength during aerobatics Second time around Ludtke knew exactly what needed to be done to build the airplane faster than he did the first time

Smith refers to his airplane as a replica even though it is licensed in standard cateshygory Again enough of the original airplane was used to justify calling the restoration a repair He however says the majority of the airplane is new as every major component was absolutely trashed in the accident

The current engine is a 165 Warner

which he says gives the airplane tremenshydous performance but is getting difficult to support In fact he had just bought a six-bolt hub to run a wood prop while his metal prop is in being overhauled and the search for the hub proved to be both diffishycult and expensive He hemmed and hawed about buying the hub but his wife stepped in and talked him into parting with the money He says Shes the greatshyest wife and a major part of this project The interior was her design and the airshyplane seldom leaves the ground that shes not in it She does all the GPS navigating and handles all the communications

He reports the airplane cruises at about 145 mph at 1800 rpm and 165 mph at 2050 rpm but he prefers the lower rpm to preserve his engine He says he starts his approach at 110 mph on down wind slowing it to 100 mph as he comes around on final and sets it into a slip for the last part offinal at 90 mph At 90 mph he says it sinks fairly rapidly and describes the touch down and rollout as tender with his feet barely tapping the rudders to keep from over controlling He strongly recommends riding with another Monoshycoupe pi lot the first few times even though the airplane isnt really hard to fly For the first few hours however its just too easy to get excited and cause problems The ability to control the airshyplane better on the ground is also why hes installed a bigger more normal tailshywheel than the tiny original He doesnt feel as if its smart to compromise safety in the interest of originality

So whats next for the Smiths He says Georgeen eyes every Staggerwing as it comes in And although its a big jump he thinks they may try to do it After all hes gotten the first two airplanes on his wish list He might as well add another

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

Family activities have always been a big part of the annual EAA Convention and this year EAA added a new dimension to the event KidVenture sponsored by Nestle was a big hit with thousands of youngsters enjoying the hands-on activities and displays Volunteer Alden Frautschy (above) instructs a group of budding rocket scientists how to build Straw Rockets lung-powered misshysiles built up with soda straws and sticky labels At another set of tables (below) parshyents and kids worked together to complete model rockets kindly donated by Estes These are just two of the wide range of events and activities youngsters enjoyed

Cubs make such wonderful airshow watching airplanes

Hey this guy looks familiar Former Vintage Airplane editor Mark Phelps has a vinshytage airplane to call his own Mark recently purchased this 1954 Beech Bonanza and has been enjoying the 155 knot airspeed

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

these men Ernest R Breech became the new president ofBendix Under his leadershyship and as a result ofthe huge war-time contracts Bendix again expanded and made major contributions to the war effort by developing Radar pressure carburetors and the famous Gibson Girl emergency radio transmitter Ernie Breech however was even then anticipating the problems the companyfaced in the post-war future - that ofconverting the huge Bendix empire back to peace time production In 1944 Bendix formed an aircraft division at the suggesshytion ofBreech (who was a private pilot)

by HG Frautschy with the intention ofentering the post-war

We had a few takers of the August Mysshytery Plane Bob Pauley sent in his article on the airplane first published in the Great Lakes Pilots News Heres Bobs extensive writeup

The Bendix Corporation has been assoshyciated with aviation for a long time and is probably best remembered for the Bendix trophy awarded each year since 1931 to the pilot who established the fastest transcontinental speed record The hisshytory ofBendix dates back to 1914 when a young inventorfrom Moline 1L Vincent Bendix developed an automobile starting motor drive that later became known as the Bendix Drive The rights to his inshyvention were sold by Bendix to the Eclipse Machine Company By 1919 over one million had been built and almost every automobile then being manufacshytured was equipped with a Bendix Drive

After he had signed the agreement with Eclipse Bendix was free to devote his talents towards other ideas and in 1923 hejoinedforces with a French inshyventor who had developed an internal expanding brake shoe 1n 1924 heformed a new company the Bendix Corporation and began producing this advanced vehishycle braking system which was in great demand throughout the automotive inshydustry By 1928 General Motors had become his major customer and that same year General Motors aided Bendix financially with further plant expansions

This expansion included acquisition of the Eclipse Machine company that had been manufacturing his Bendix Drive That same year the companys name was changed to the Bendix Aviation Corporashytion and Bendix embarked on a period of

22 NOVEMBER 1 999

expansion buying other well known aviashytion companies including Scintilla Magnetos Pioneer Instruments and Stromberg Carburetors It was during this period the company introduced the Bendix trophy to help stimulate aircraft designers to build better andfaster airplanes

1n 1937 General Motors which by that date held a controlling interest in Bendix stock installed two oftheir own men on the Bendix Board ofDirectors Later in 1942 after Vincent Bendix had retired one of

private aircraft field To head the new Bendix Aircraft Divishy

sion an experienced aircraft designer was brought into the picture Athanas P Jack Fontaine had been Chief Engineer at Stinshyson where he had designed the Voyager series and later was Assistant Director of Engineering at Consolidated Vultee

The first order ofbusiness for the new division was to conduct a market study to determine what type ofairplane should be built This resulted in the conclusion that the expected post-war aviation boom would demand a two-place all-metal retractable

November Mystery Plane

Our November Mystery Plane is a gift f rom Fred Austin Santa Paula CA He found the photo in Buenos Aires earlier this year We try to keep the number of foreign Mystery Planes to a minimum but some are just too fun to ignore

Send your answers to EAA Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 54903shy3086 You answers need to be in no later than December 27 1999 so they can be included in the February 2000 issue

If you prefer you can E-Mail your answer to vintageeaaorg Be certa in to include both your name and the address in the body of

the copy and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject line

landing gear airplane and as a secshyondary need a four-place all-metal should be offeredfor saleArmed with this information the small group ofengishyneers who worked in an office at 261 McDougal St in Detroit designed and built the Bendix Model 55 in a remarkshyably short period oftime

The first sketches were made in July 1945 by Vern Biasell an ex-Stinson deshysigner who had been responsible for the L-5 series and by mid-December ofthat same year the first airplane had been built and was ready for its testflight

The Model 55 was an all-metal low wing design with side-by-side seatingfor two and a retractable tricycle landing gear The wing span was 33 3 it was The Bendix Model 55 NX-341 03 SIN 2 This picture by Brian Baker was taken July 281957 at

Detroit City Airport when it was owned by the Detroit Technical High School The airplane is22 long and it had an empty weight of shown here after its wings had been clipped to render it unflyable

1043 pounds The engine was a 100 hp Franklin driving an Annesley two-posishytion controllable pitch propeller

In an attempt to simplify production and reduce costs the airplane had been deshysigned to make use of an automotive production line concept starting with a bashysic keel moved along an assembly line Many novel ideas were introduced to keep costs to a minimum For example the tail surfaces were designed so all three composhynents (the fin and rudder and the two stabilizers and elevators) were identical and each was made ofonly 12 parts not counting the skin The wing panels also feashytured simplified construction with the ribs arranged in a zig-zag pattern which reshyduced the number ofribs required yet still maintained the strength and correct airfoil shape Only 19 parts were required to build either wing panel again not counting the skin The wings used an original Bendix 416 airfoil section that had a pronounced reshyflexed trailing edge which gave gentle stall characteristics

AIso the full span ailerons could be drooped to serve as landingflaps which reduced the stalling speedfrom 53 to 47 mph

The first Model 55 was completed in Deshycember 1945 and was taken by truck to Windsor Airport in Canada for assembly and initialflight tests The airport was choshysenfor its close proximity to Detroit but it also offered a degree ofsecrecy to the proshyject which kept it from the prying eyes of the press and competition

The maiden flight was made in late Deshycember of 1945 by Chief Test pilot Al Schram another ex-Stinson employee and he plus two other test pilots then embarked on an extensiveflight test program The first Bendix Model 55 (NX-34110) featured a

six-inch long propeller shaft extension that gave the airplane a very streamlined apshypearance A second airplane was completed afew months later (NX-34103) and it also had the extension shaft but in the interest of reducing costs it had been decided to elimishynate thisfeature in the production airplanes

The first airplane was eventually modishyfied to the short nose production design which detractedfrom the original streamshylined appearance The Model 55 had a top speed of148 mph a cruising speed of140 mph and a rate ofclimb of900fpm which far exceeded the performance ofany other two-place airplane then available on the market

Progress on the production version of the two-place Model 55 was moving forshyward at a rapid pace and all of the requirements for an Approved Type Certifishycate had been met 1n the meantime back in a new office in Detroit several hundred tool designers were working on the production toolingfor the Model 55 and a plant had been leased in Garland TX in which to build the airplanes

Optimism among the Bendix Aircraft Dishyvision employees was high and by September 1946 they were alliookingforshyward to the introduction oftheir new design to the post-war lightplane market However an event that had taken place earlier that year was to bring the entire program to an untimely end

Ernest Breech had been directly responshysible for the expansion ofBendix into a corporation with annual gross sales ofmore than one billion dollars and his managerial talents had attracted the attention ofHenry Ford In May 1946 Ford announced that Breech had accepted his offer and would

become Executive Vice-president and Dishyrector ofFord Motor Company Breech left Bendix that same month

Breechs successor at Bendix was Malshycolm Ferguson who did not share the enthusiasm Breech had shown for the lightshyplane program In September the Bendix Board ofDirectors announced they were closing the Aircraft Division after having spent approximately two million dollars on the program

One contributingfactor to the board s decision was the realization that ifBendix had produced a lightplane they would have been in direct competition with many other airframe manufacturers who were cusshytomers ofvarious Bendix divisions and success ofthe Bendix lightplane could well have meant a substantial loss ofsales in other areas The ambitious program came to an end and the Bendix Aircraft Division was disbanded

Jack Fontaine who had been in charge ofthe Aircraft Division left Bendix but later returned to become President and Chairshyman ofthe board The Bendix planes that had been completed (EditorS note Includshying the Model 51 landplane and the 51 A Amphibian which we didnt include in this article - HGF) were donated to various schools in the Detroit area so aeronautical students could learn by working on them The Detroit Aero Mechanics High School Wayne State University and the University ofMichigan all received parts ofthe varishyous Bendix airframes but unfortunately none ofthem exist today

Other answers were received from Larry Knechtel Seattle W A Marty Eisenmann Alta Lorna CA and John Fink Chashywottesville VA

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

=mes NEW MEMBERS Carlos Moyano

Santa Cruz de la Sie Bolivia

A Johannsson Mosfellsbae Iceland

Ronald H Smith Bruno AR

Allen Benjamin Pheonix AZ

James M Dale McNeal AZ

Gerald R Bartosh La Mesa CA

Robin M Campbell Torrance CA

Willard Carpenter San Diego CA

Allan G Hanson Somerset CA

Bob Hixson West Point CA

William McNulty Vacaville CA

Jim OBrien Riverside CA

Dave Ormond Avery CA

John Raley Costa Mesa CA

Andrew Wait Corte Madera CA

Dwight L Cresap Niwot CO

Dennis Raphael Colorado Springs CO

C 1 Calder III Goshen CT

Jim Regan Naugutuck CT

John D Hovan Pembroke Pines FL

James A Sprigg Dade City FL

John G Threlkeld Senoia GA

David C Camp West Berlington IA

Roger Acker Taylor Ridge IL

Jeffrey W Fink Loves Park IL

Jamie Kee East Peoria IL

Charles J Baxter Bonner Springs KS

Sal Catizone Revere MA

Raymond H Clark Groveland MA

James Ryan Winthrop MA

Walter O Volz Waquoit MA

Arthur Whitworth Tisbury MA

Thomas K Zucal Jr Waldorf MD

Joseph Jarski Riley MI

Najeeb Khan Edwardsburg MI

Samuel E Mosshamer Grand Rapids MI

Lawrence C Besser Hermantown MN

Robert E Lee Lindstom MN

Donald E Schlichting Mankato MN

Dan D Huey Cl inton MO

Ben Morrow Liberty MO

Thomas W Bobbitt Jackson MS

Victor Mikell Petal MS

Jerry Scherer Billings MT

Anna F Pennington Wilmington NC

Robert W Ottaway Bedford NH

Langford Keith Silver City NM

Matthew K Eaker Addison NY

Dave Fuller Churchvi lle NY

Sheldon Tieder Rhinebeck NY

J-ugo Visconti Rhinebeck NY

Sheri L G1adish Miamisburg OH

Ray Lang Columbus OH

Kent Faith Tulsa OK

W 1 Burdis Coraopolis PA

James E Chick Fairfield PA

Mark F DeMario Brockway PA

George Ominski Lancaster PA

Steven E Warwick Lansdale PA

Erbin Baumgardner Riceville TN

William M McClure Hixson TN

Brian Hagen Plano TX

Douglas 1 OConnor Houston TX

JeffG Quaid Carrollton TX

Joanne Roemer Clear Lake Shores TX

Richard Rowles Woodlands TX

Marlisa Horocks Park City UT

Forrest Mcfaden Forest VA

Thomas A Olgeirson Uppervi lle VA

David C Wasulko Charlottesville V A

David A Bromels Mt Vernon WA

John Ireton Anacortes W A

Chris J Johnson Tacoma WA

Pete Karp Wenatchee W A

George J Graphos Green Bay WI

John P Reynolds Janesville WI

Martin M Smiltneek Oconomowoc WI

William E Motsinger Hurricane WV

VINTAGE TRADER

Something to buy sell or trade An inexpensive ad in the Vintage Trader may be just the answer to obtaining that elusive part 50cent per word $800 minimum charge Send your ad and payment to Vintage Trader EAA Aviashytioll Center P O Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 or fax your ad and your credit card number to 920426-4828 Ads must be received by the 20th ofthe month for insertion in the issue the second month following (e g October 20th for the December issue)

MISCEllAN EOUS BABBITT BEARING SERVICE - rod bearings main bearings camshaft bearings master rods valves Call us Toll Free 1800233-6934 e-mail ramremfgaolcom Web site httpwww ramenginecom VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS N 604 FREYA ST SPOKANE WA 99202

Newsletters for ArcticInterstate (6 Back issues$900) BeaverOtter (3$500) Norseman (16$2100) $16504 issues Free sample write call fax ALL credit cards accepted Dave Neumeister Publisher 5630 South Washington Lansing MI 48911-4999 800594-4634 517882-8433 Fax 800596-8341 517882-8341

BROWNBACK TIGERlAnzani 90hp need info and spare parts for this 6 cylinder twin row radial Ralph Graham St Paul MN (651)452-3629 e-mail GevonGaolcom

TAIL WHEEL CHECK-OUT available in a Classic 1941 J-3 Cub - dual or solor rental Doskicz Aircraft Specialties Bally PA (610)845-2366

Aeronca Champ-Helton Lark-Aeronca K Project-Aeronca C-3 Wamer 145 and 165 engines (2) Curtiss Reed props Lets talk Buck Hilbert FAX 815923-4605 E buck7acmcnet

24 NOVEMBER 1999

=mes NEW MEMBERS Carlos Moyano

Santa Cruz de la Sie Bolivia

A Johannsson Mosfellsbae Iceland

Ronald H Smith Bruno AR

Allen Benjamin Pheonix AZ

James M Dale McNeal AZ

Gerald R Bartosh La Mesa CA

Robin M Campbell Torrance CA

Willard Carpenter San Diego CA

Allan G Hanson Somerset CA

Bob Hixson West Point CA

William McNulty Vacaville CA

Jim OBrien Riverside CA

Dave Ormond Avery CA

John Raley Costa Mesa CA

Andrew Wait Corte Madera CA

Dwight L Cresap Niwot CO

Dennis Raphael Colorado Springs CO

C 1 Calder III Goshen CT

Jim Regan Naugutuck CT

John D Hovan Pembroke Pines FL

James A Sprigg Dade City FL

John G Threlkeld Senoia GA

David C Camp West Berlington IA

Roger Acker Taylor Ridge IL

Jeffrey W Fink Loves Park IL

Jamie Kee East Peoria IL

Charles J Baxter Bonner Springs KS

Sal Catizone Revere MA

Raymond H Clark Groveland MA

James Ryan Winthrop MA

Walter O Volz Waquoit MA

Arthur Whitworth Tisbury MA

Thomas K Zucal Jr Waldorf MD

Joseph Jarski Riley MI

Najeeb Khan Edwardsburg MI

Samuel E Mosshamer Grand Rapids MI

Lawrence C Besser Hermantown MN

Robert E Lee Lindstom MN

Donald E Schlichting Mankato MN

Dan D Huey Cl inton MO

Ben Morrow Liberty MO

Thomas W Bobbitt Jackson MS

Victor Mikell Petal MS

Jerry Scherer Billings MT

Anna F Pennington Wilmington NC

Robert W Ottaway Bedford NH

Langford Keith Silver City NM

Matthew K Eaker Addison NY

Dave Fuller Churchvi lle NY

Sheldon Tieder Rhinebeck NY

J-ugo Visconti Rhinebeck NY

Sheri L G1adish Miamisburg OH

Ray Lang Columbus OH

Kent Faith Tulsa OK

W 1 Burdis Coraopolis PA

James E Chick Fairfield PA

Mark F DeMario Brockway PA

George Ominski Lancaster PA

Steven E Warwick Lansdale PA

Erbin Baumgardner Riceville TN

William M McClure Hixson TN

Brian Hagen Plano TX

Douglas 1 OConnor Houston TX

JeffG Quaid Carrollton TX

Joanne Roemer Clear Lake Shores TX

Richard Rowles Woodlands TX

Marlisa Horocks Park City UT

Forrest Mcfaden Forest VA

Thomas A Olgeirson Uppervi lle VA

David C Wasulko Charlottesville V A

David A Bromels Mt Vernon WA

John Ireton Anacortes W A

Chris J Johnson Tacoma WA

Pete Karp Wenatchee W A

George J Graphos Green Bay WI

John P Reynolds Janesville WI

Martin M Smiltneek Oconomowoc WI

William E Motsinger Hurricane WV

VINTAGE TRADER

Something to buy sell or trade An inexpensive ad in the Vintage Trader may be just the answer to obtaining that elusive part 50cent per word $800 minimum charge Send your ad and payment to Vintage Trader EAA Aviashytioll Center P O Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 or fax your ad and your credit card number to 920426-4828 Ads must be received by the 20th ofthe month for insertion in the issue the second month following (e g October 20th for the December issue)

MISCEllAN EOUS BABBITT BEARING SERVICE - rod bearings main bearings camshaft bearings master rods valves Call us Toll Free 1800233-6934 e-mail ramremfgaolcom Web site httpwww ramenginecom VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS N 604 FREYA ST SPOKANE WA 99202

Newsletters for ArcticInterstate (6 Back issues$900) BeaverOtter (3$500) Norseman (16$2100) $16504 issues Free sample write call fax ALL credit cards accepted Dave Neumeister Publisher 5630 South Washington Lansing MI 48911-4999 800594-4634 517882-8433 Fax 800596-8341 517882-8341

BROWNBACK TIGERlAnzani 90hp need info and spare parts for this 6 cylinder twin row radial Ralph Graham St Paul MN (651)452-3629 e-mail GevonGaolcom

TAIL WHEEL CHECK-OUT available in a Classic 1941 J-3 Cub - dual or solor rental Doskicz Aircraft Specialties Bally PA (610)845-2366

Aeronca Champ-Helton Lark-Aeronca K Project-Aeronca C-3 Wamer 145 and 165 engines (2) Curtiss Reed props Lets talk Buck Hilbert FAX 815923-4605 E buck7acmcnet

24 NOVEMBER 1999

The Board ofDirectors ofOcean ReefClub Key Largo Florida

cordially invites you to attend

THE 6TH ANNuAL VINTAGE WEEKEND

December 3rd4th and 5th 1999 Honoring classic conveyances by air land and sea

~ and including ~

The Antique and Classic Airplane Fly-in The Concourse dElegance of Automobiles

The Antique and Classic Yacht Rendezvous

I ~

Participation includes welcoming cocktail party in a private bome Friday evening

SatllrdflY day-long celebration ofboats cmos and planes [Jenuine Maine lobsterbake

Saturday evenmg witb Tbe Bill Allred Jazz Band awards and fm-ewell breakfast

Sunday morning

O CEAN R EEF CLUB

31 O CE AN R EEF D RIVE S UI TE C-300 K EY L A R GO FL OR ID A 33 0 37

RS VP Marry ](jlby - (305) 367-5874

Because Ocean ReefClub is a private dub The Vintage Weekend is open only to members and invited guests staying in

tbe Inn or Mmina

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

Steven c Roth

Arlington VA

Flying since 1984

Purchased first airplane

a 1959 Cessna 172

while a student pilot

AUAis

~ approved

To become a

member of the

Vintage Aircraft

Association call

800-843-3612

Steven Roth acquired his 1948 Swift in 1998

II have been flying since 1984 getting

my first airplane (1959 Cessna 172)

while still a student pilot I have been with

AUA for a number of years and was first

attracted by the price and friendly

service Last year I acquired this 1948

Swift and lacked tailwheel experience

AUA treated me fairly and at the right

price as I transitioned into it Thanks AUA

for the years of service and friendly helpI

- Steven Roth

The best is affordable

Give AUA a call - its FREE

800-727-3823~ Fly with the pros fy with AUA Inc

AUAs Exclusive EAA Vintage Aircraft Assoc Insurance Program

lower liability and hull premiums

Medical payments included

Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft carrying all risk coverages

No hand-proR ing exclusion

No age penal

No compone t parts endorsements

Discounts for laim-free renewals carrying all risk coverages

Remember Were Better Together

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

Steven c Roth

Arlington VA

Flying since 1984

Purchased first airplane

a 1959 Cessna 172

while a student pilot

AUAis

~ approved

To become a

member of the

Vintage Aircraft

Association call

800-843-3612

Steven Roth acquired his 1948 Swift in 1998

II have been flying since 1984 getting

my first airplane (1959 Cessna 172)

while still a student pilot I have been with

AUA for a number of years and was first

attracted by the price and friendly

service Last year I acquired this 1948

Swift and lacked tailwheel experience

AUA treated me fairly and at the right

price as I transitioned into it Thanks AUA

for the years of service and friendly helpI

- Steven Roth

The best is affordable

Give AUA a call - its FREE

800-727-3823~ Fly with the pros fy with AUA Inc

AUAs Exclusive EAA Vintage Aircraft Assoc Insurance Program

lower liability and hull premiums

Medical payments included

Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft carrying all risk coverages

No hand-proR ing exclusion

No age penal

No compone t parts endorsements

Discounts for laim-free renewals carrying all risk coverages

Remember Were Better Together

AVIATION UNUMITED AGENCY

1 -_- - shy-_ p-- --~ )-shy--

ltlIgtIdioltl(Dlt 10 _ ~~ l)-_

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The most reliable rugged meta1-W 0 rki n g e quipmen t

When it comes to intricate metal work and detailed shaping the finest craftsmen know the finest brand

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Craftsmen know cutters and bead rollers

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Since 1958 Ceconite has been the touchstone of fabric covering Now theres a new super-clear supershycomplete manual that makes the Ceconite process a breeze to use It tells you how it works which airshyplanes you can use it on even what you need and how much It takes

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fAX 7 7 0 - 6 7 - 9 I 3 Aircraft Covering Process 219middotA Barry Whatley Way Griffin Georllla 30224

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Custom quality at economical prices

bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes

Free catalog of complete product line

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

Qirt~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

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Since 1958 Ceconite has been the touchstone of fabric covering Now theres a new super-clear supershycomplete manual that makes the Ceconite process a breeze to use It tells you how it works which airshyplanes you can use it on even what you need and how much It takes

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fAX 7 7 0 - 6 7 - 9 I 3 Aircraft Covering Process 219middotA Barry Whatley Way Griffin Georllla 30224

Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation

Custom quality at economical prices

bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings bull Recover envelopes and dopes

Free catalog of complete product line

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

Qirt~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT

Membershi~ Services Directon_ Enjoy the many benefits ofBAA and the

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Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association azine not included) (Add $10 for Foreign Inc is $40 for one year including 12 issues of SPORT Postage) AVIATION Family membership is available for an addishytional $10 annually Junior Membership (under 19 WARBIRDS years of age) is available at $23 annually All major Current EM members may join the EM Warbirds of

credit cards accepted for membership (Add $16 for America Division and receive WARBIRDS magazine

Foreign Postage) for an additional $35 per year EM Membership WARBIRDS magazine and one year membership in the Warbirds DivisionVINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION is available for $45 per year (SPORT AVIATIONCurrent EM members may join the Vintage Aircraft magazine not included) (Add $7 for Foreign

Associaton and receive VINTAGE AIRPLANE magashyPostage)zine for an additional $27 per year

EM Membership VINTAGE AIRPLANE mag-azine EAA EXPERIMENTERand one year membership in the EM Vintage Airshy

Current EAA members may rece ive EAAcraft Association is available for $37 per year EXPERIMENTER magazine for an additional $20 (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included) (Add per year$7 for Foreign Postage) EM Membership and EM EXPERIMENTER magshyazine is available for $30 per year (SPORT

lAC AVIATION magazine not inciuded)(Add $8 for ForshyCurrent EAA members may join the International eign Postage_) Aerobatic Club lnc_ Division and receive SPORT AEROBATICS magazine for an additional $40 FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS per year Please submit your remittance with a check or EM Membership SPORT AEROBATICS magazine draft drawn on a United States bank payable in and one year membership in the lAC Division is United States dollars Add required Foreign

Postage amount for each membership_

Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions

Copyright copy t 999 by the EM Vintage Aircraft Association All nghts resened

VlNTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 009Hi9431IPM 1482602 is published and owned exclusively by the EM Vinlage Aircraft Association of the Experimenla1 Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EM Aviation Ceoter 3000 Poberezny Rd PO Box 3086 Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Periodicals Poslage paid at Oshkosh Wisconsin 54901 and al additional mailing offices POSTMASTER Send address changes to EM AntiqueClassic Division Incbull PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow alleast two months for delivery of VlNTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via suriace mail ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircraft Association does nol guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferiQ( merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken EDITORIAl POUCY Readers are encouraged to subm stories and photographs Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor No renumeralion is madeMateriai should be sent to Edrtor VlNTAGE AIRPLANE PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone 9201426-4800

The words EM ULTRALlGHT FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM SPORT AVlATION FOR THE LOVE OF FLYING and the logos of EM EM INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION EAA VlNTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INTERNAshyTIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are reg registered trademarks THE EM SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EM AVlATION FOUNDATION EM ULTRALlGHT CONVENTION and EM AirYentu are tradeshymarks of the above associations and their use by any person other than the above association is strictly prohibited

28 NOVEMBER 1999

- Big Little Fly-In from page 15

Lompoc Airport is gaining popularity in the aviation community as well Not many General Aviation airports can boast hotels restaurants and shopping within five minshyutes (or less) walking distance of parking their plane A coded security gate on the new parking ramp leads to a Quality Inn Holiday Inn Express and a Motel 6 restaushyrants include the casual Steak House amp Las Palomas and just about any fast food place you can think of If you want to bring you pet a kennel is across the street Rent-a-cars are a phone call away from the restaurant lobby or the airport administration building (of course just about any airport bum you could find would be more than happy to give you a lift) Championship 18-hole La Purisma Golf Course lies five miles due east of the airport for those who enjoy golfmg as well as flying Other noteworthy reasons to vis it Lompoc are the famous namesake flower fields (most brilliant around June and July) the historical Lompoc Museum housshying thousands of Chumash Indian artifacts the growing number ofbeautiful murals repshyresenting Lompocs history painted on 100 year old buildings and the newest project

restoration of Old Downtown And if you do not already know nearby Vandenburg Air Force base launches missi les on a regular basis-and boy are they a sight to see

Fifteen years of Cub Fly-Ins down and how many more to go We dont know

But as long as you wonderful supportive happy people are willing to show up on our doorstep every year well be happy to give you some Lompoc Airport hospitalshyity Thank you and we hope to see you next year ~

The Quality Goes In Belore The Tag Goes On At Aircraft Specialties Services CRANKSHAns ROCKER ARMS CRANKSHAn BALANCING TAPPET BODIES STARTER ADAPTERS CAMSHAns MAGNAFLUXING COUNTERWEIGHTS CONNECTING RODS ULTRASONIC INSPECTIONS CUSTOM MACHINING

At AircraH Specialties Services the quality really does go in before the tog goes on Our Platinum Precision Process breathes new life into proven seasoned steel porls

Experl personnel with years of experience and the latest equipment assures you more than just a serviceable pori We remochine and recondition every pori to the very tightest OEM specifications We also have a new state-ofmiddotthe arl Digital CrankshoH Balancer

In addition AircraH Specialties Services operates our own engine test cell We continually test various makes and models of engines to insure our porls perform to top of the line new specifications This whole process can toke your proven steel porls and return them to you ready to provide like-new reliability and service The quality you demand at prices you can offord thats our Platinum Precision Process only from AircraH Specialties Services

We also corry a full line of new nome brand aircraH porls Our porls people are not just order takers but knowledgeable experienced aviation people who insure you get the right pori for your application Tires batteries brakes lighting plugs engine and airframe porls are all available from AircraH Specialties Services

Call Bob or Greg today for complete information = A SU~ ~_ _

1800826-9252 _ NTENAnGiiJit nc - ilJEff wwwaircraft-specialtiescom

VtNTAGE AIRPLANE 29

V00260 Airshow

V00259 Logo shirt

V00261 Air Race

intage

V00262 Airmail

ASSORTED VINTAGE T-SHIRTS 100 cotton tee featuring four different Vintage scenes 5- 2X $1295

BLUE EMBOSSED DENIM JACKET Made of 100 cotton Vintage logo embroidered on front with special embossed logo on back V00241 M-XL $6599 V00244 2X $6599

VINTAGE MAROON JACKET The perfect jacket for the outdoors This 100 nylon jacket features the Vintage logo embroidered in front Also for added convenience this jacket can be folded and made into a carrying pouch V00126 s-XL $2595 V00130 2X $2599

VINTAGE NAVY JACKET Gear up for fall in this Acadia lined Jacket Outer shell feashytures 100 waterproof nylon while the lining is a comfortable cottonpoly blend V00118 M-X $3595 V00131 2X $3695

To Order Call 1-800-843-3612 (Outside US and Canada920-426-4800)

DENIM SHORT-SLEEVED SHIRTS with Button-down collar by Three Rivers Features button-closure on pocket Double stitching on sleeves for durability 100 cotton SM-XL V41263 $3699 2X V41267 $3999

DENIM LONG-SLEEVED SHIRTS with button-down collar Similar to above shirt but in long-sleeved design The shirts feature two-button adjustable cuffs Available in light-blue deninl or natural colors Natural MD-XL V41268 $3999 2X V41271 $4399 Lt Blue MD-XL V41272 $3999 2X V41276 $4399

COTTON PIQUE GOLF SHIRTS 100 combed cotton Knit collar and cuffs Two-button placket Drop-tail with side vents White SM-XL V41294 $3299 2X V41298 $3499 Khaki SM-XL V41299 $3299 2X V41303 $3499 Navy SM-XL V41289 $3299 2X V41293 $3499

JACQUARD GOLF SHIRTS 100 combed cotton Knit collar and cuffs with beige trim Five-button placket Drop tail with side vents Wine MD-XL V41281 $3499 2X V41284 $3799 Navy MD-XL V41285 $3499 2X V41288 $3799 Black MD-XL V41277 $3499 2X V41280 $3799

BRUSHED COTTON TWILL KHAKlNAVY PRO STYLE CAP V00227 $1295

WASHED BULL DENIM CAP V00222 $1295

WASHED PIGMENTED DENIM CAP V00221 $1295

COTTON TWILL KHAKI GOLF-STYLE CAP V00223 $1295

BARREL BAG Show off the Vintage colors proudly at the hangar with this goldnavy Vintage imprinted barrel bag V00237 $1295

LADIES SMALL FLOPPY HAT V00133 $1995

STUFFED BEARS These brown bears are an adorable accessory to any gift Dressed in a gold Vintage t-shirt these bears make a great flying companion V00238 Lt Brown Bear V00239 Dark Brown

$1295 $1295

Feature adjustable leather closure strap One size fits most White V41260 $1099 Khaki V41261 $1099 Navy V41262 $1099

CLUBHOUSE JACKETS High quality jackets feature two-button adjustable cuffs elastic waistband inside coat hook loop inside pocket with velcro closure and more Contrasting color trim pieces and adjustable lanyard cord on collar make this jacket very distinctive Shell and lining are both 100 nylon NaturalNavy Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399 2X V41254 $6699 Navy Fst Grn Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399 2X V41254 $6699

WORW CLASS NAVY SWEATSHIRT This solid navy blue World Class sweatshirt by Jerzees feashytures unique embossed Vintage logo on front CottonPoly Blend M-XL V00252 $2795

MENS TRl-MOTOR 2X V00255 $2995 SPORT WATCH V00219 $2495

SMALL VINTAGE PIN V00258 $399

LARGE VINTAGE PIN V40120 $1199

MENS METAL VINTAGE PATCH WHITE WBLUE BAND WATCH V00257 $199 TWO-TONE MUG V00215 $2895 V00234 $495 LEATHER BAND WATCH

Mens V00218 $3295 Ladies V00214

NYLONPOLY WINTER CAP LADIES LARGE FLOPPY HAT LEATHER EMBROIDERED CAP WITH EARFLAPS V00132 $2395 WITH EARFLAPS VOOl44 $1495 V00137 $2995

(not shown) RABBIT FUR WINTER HAT WITH SIDE FLAPS V00134 $3295

DENIM SHORT-SLEEVED SHIRTS with Button-down collar by Three Rivers Features button-closure on pocket Double stitching on sleeves for durability 100 cotton SM-XL V41263 $3699 2X V41267 $3999

DENIM LONG-SLEEVED SHIRTS with button-down collar Similar to above shirt but in long-sleeved design The shirts feature two-button adjustable cuffs Available in light-blue deninl or natural colors Natural MD-XL V41268 $3999 2X V41271 $4399 Lt Blue MD-XL V41272 $3999 2X V41276 $4399

COTTON PIQUE GOLF SHIRTS 100 combed cotton Knit collar and cuffs Two-button placket Drop-tail with side vents White SM-XL V41294 $3299 2X V41298 $3499 Khaki SM-XL V41299 $3299 2X V41303 $3499 Navy SM-XL V41289 $3299 2X V41293 $3499

JACQUARD GOLF SHIRTS 100 combed cotton Knit collar and cuffs with beige trim Five-button placket Drop tail with side vents Wine MD-XL V41281 $3499 2X V41284 $3799 Navy MD-XL V41285 $3499 2X V41288 $3799 Black MD-XL V41277 $3499 2X V41280 $3799

BRUSHED COTTON TWILL KHAKlNAVY PRO STYLE CAP V00227 $1295

WASHED BULL DENIM CAP V00222 $1295

WASHED PIGMENTED DENIM CAP V00221 $1295

COTTON TWILL KHAKI GOLF-STYLE CAP V00223 $1295

BARREL BAG Show off the Vintage colors proudly at the hangar with this goldnavy Vintage imprinted barrel bag V00237 $1295

LADIES SMALL FLOPPY HAT V00133 $1995

STUFFED BEARS These brown bears are an adorable accessory to any gift Dressed in a gold Vintage t-shirt these bears make a great flying companion V00238 Lt Brown Bear V00239 Dark Brown

$1295 $1295

Feature adjustable leather closure strap One size fits most White V41260 $1099 Khaki V41261 $1099 Navy V41262 $1099

CLUBHOUSE JACKETS High quality jackets feature two-button adjustable cuffs elastic waistband inside coat hook loop inside pocket with velcro closure and more Contrasting color trim pieces and adjustable lanyard cord on collar make this jacket very distinctive Shell and lining are both 100 nylon NaturalNavy Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399 2X V41254 $6699 Navy Fst Grn Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399 2X V41254 $6699

WORW CLASS NAVY SWEATSHIRT This solid navy blue World Class sweatshirt by Jerzees feashytures unique embossed Vintage logo on front CottonPoly Blend M-XL V00252 $2795

MENS TRl-MOTOR 2X V00255 $2995 SPORT WATCH V00219 $2495

SMALL VINTAGE PIN V00258 $399

LARGE VINTAGE PIN V40120 $1199

MENS METAL VINTAGE PATCH WHITE WBLUE BAND WATCH V00257 $199 TWO-TONE MUG V00215 $2895 V00234 $495 LEATHER BAND WATCH

Mens V00218 $3295 Ladies V00214

NYLONPOLY WINTER CAP LADIES LARGE FLOPPY HAT LEATHER EMBROIDERED CAP WITH EARFLAPS V00132 $2395 WITH EARFLAPS VOOl44 $1495 V00137 $2995

(not shown) RABBIT FUR WINTER HAT WITH SIDE FLAPS V00134 $3295

Feature adjustable leather closure strap One size fits most White V41260 $1099 Khaki V41261 $1099 Navy V41262 $1099

CLUBHOUSE JACKETS High quality jackets feature two-button adjustable cuffs elastic waistband inside coat hook loop inside pocket with velcro closure and more Contrasting color trim pieces and adjustable lanyard cord on collar make this jacket very distinctive Shell and lining are both 100 nylon NaturalNavy Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399 2X V41254 $6699 Navy Fst Grn Trim SM-XL V41250 $6399 2X V41254 $6699

WORW CLASS NAVY SWEATSHIRT This solid navy blue World Class sweatshirt by Jerzees feashytures unique embossed Vintage logo on front CottonPoly Blend M-XL V00252 $2795

MENS TRl-MOTOR 2X V00255 $2995 SPORT WATCH V00219 $2495

SMALL VINTAGE PIN V00258 $399

LARGE VINTAGE PIN V40120 $1199

MENS METAL VINTAGE PATCH WHITE WBLUE BAND WATCH V00257 $199 TWO-TONE MUG V00215 $2895 V00234 $495 LEATHER BAND WATCH

Mens V00218 $3295 Ladies V00214

NYLONPOLY WINTER CAP LADIES LARGE FLOPPY HAT LEATHER EMBROIDERED CAP WITH EARFLAPS V00132 $2395 WITH EARFLAPS VOOl44 $1495 V00137 $2995

(not shown) RABBIT FUR WINTER HAT WITH SIDE FLAPS V00134 $3295